Harry's Night - Part 2
Jul. 29th, 2023 06:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_spectrum posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsPub night continues. Sooraya and April talk shop.
"It's pretty fun." Sooraya returned the grin, eyeing the new match going on. "As long as I don't have to play Scott again. That man is a pool shark. Maybe if I try playing against someone else... or something else." She studied the dart board for a second. "Honestly, I've never really played darts either. Except maybe jokingly throwing a few darts at a picture when someone was being obtuse with a project."
"It's pretty good stress relief, done like that. It's not terribly different competitively, and it's really good for small hand-eye coordination." April pushed the basket of pub chips she was munching on towards the other woman, eyes still half on the pool table. "Do his powers help his pool ability somehow? He's been busy, so we haven't talked as much as I've talked to say, you or Kyle. Pyotr doesn't count, since I live with him."
"Scott? No one has ever really come out and said so, but with some of the things I've seen him pull off with his powers... yeah, I'm pretty sure that plays some part." Sooraya sipped from her mocktail. "Have you had the chance yet to really see Cyclops in action? I've seen him bounce the blasts off nearly a dozen surfaces before they hit their target dead on. Though if you do this long enough, you'll see everyone pull off some pretty amazing feats."
April shook her head. "No, not really. Our schedules just haven't matched up well for DR time, I think. That's really cool though. I love seeing the interesting things people manage to do in various scenarios. You think you have a grip on what someone can do, and then Alison's bouncing lasers off Pyotr and the only thing I can see anymore is pain and disco."
"That is a neat trick. Very creative. Who else haven't you had the chance to work with directly?" Sooraya quickly glanced around the room, most of their fellow X-men accounted for.
"Oh, probably about half the team." April blinked, fingers moving as she mentally counted. "Maybe closer to a third? The people that tend to be busy or take mid-day sessions during the week while I'm at work. David's the only one I hadn't read the file on yet this morning, though. He gave Pyotr and I a run-down earlier, but I'll read that file during my comms shift tomorrow too. He seems nice." April gave Sooraya a sly smile, and asked not-at-all subtly. "I hear there's a special date for the two of you in the future. Celebrating anything special?"
"A special date?" Sooraya raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's simply a little surprise... just to get our mind off some stuff. Some things have been pretty intense. Pyotr helped me figure out an interesting place or two to go."
"Well that's good. I hope you both enjoy your time together. You seemed like you were when he was teaching you how to play pool."
"We did. I mean, wouldn't you when you might have the chance to trounce your overconfident team leader?" Sooraya grinned mischievously. "Even if that didn't quite work out as planned. Honestly, I'm glad David is back... I saw him when I visited Muir, but that was always so brief."
"Oh yeah, I definitely get that. What's Muir like? I don't think we had an equivalent, or if there was I wasn't aware of it. Could've just been American blinders." April bit into another chip. "We didn't really do things internationally. I mean, I've seen the Eiffel Tower, but that was on a school trip."
"The landscape can get pretty cold and wet... almost desolate. Still beautiful in a way though." Sooraya grabbed a chip of her own, chewing as she thought. "The center itself... I'd call it a mix of hope, despair and everything in between... How much do you know about what they do?"
"I've gathered they do some sort of mutant-focused medical and maybe some research?" Cold sounded nice, now that it was summer in New York. "But that's mostly guessing, little comments I've heard or seen. Tell me about it?"
"Mutant-related research and working with mutants with issues with their powers are the biggest parts of what they do. Often they are able to help, but not always..." Sooraya's eyes darkened at the memory of the news David had shared with her a few weeks ago. "I should introduce you to Moira someday. She runs the center."
"I'd like that. Do they ever have a need for prosthetics?"
"I am not fully sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do sometimes." Sooraya tilted her head a little, narrowing her eyes. "That's right... prosthetics are something of your specialty, right?"
"I enjoy working on them, yeah. If Mr. Worthington actually wants to fund my Master's, that's probably what I'm going to focus on. Especially making it easier and less expensive for kids. Adults aren't still growing, but when you're going through growth spurts and maybe gaining 6 inches in a year..." she trailed off for a minute. "I could get long-winded, but maybe we could set up a video meeting?"
Sooraya had to laugh: "I was just thinking the same thing. Moira will definitely be interested in talking to you. Let's get our agenda's out tomorrow and find a moment that'd work."
Maya introduces herself to Haller's wolf.
It had to have been at least a solid five minutes now, and the situation was showing no signs of resolving any time soon. It was time to say something.
"Why is he doing that," Jim asked, keeping his voice level so as not to risk moving his diaphragm in a threatening way. "I don't even have any food."
The wolf cocked his head to the side, eying Haller with what seemed to be a disturbing amount of intelligence. "Hurmeph." He rumbled, shifting his legs a bit but still in place in front of Haller as he was seated.
“You’re never gonna get him to leave you alone if you act that way,” Maya noted as she pulled a chair over to where Haller sat. She raised her eyebrows at the wolf and spoke directly to him without any hint of discomfort. “Are you sure you need him to love you?”
"Was that directed to me or the wolf?" Jim asked. Maybe he should have been carrying biscuits. Garrison had said the wolf expected them, but, now that he thought about it, not what would happen if it did not receive them. With the animal sitting this close that felt like an important detail.
“First to you, second to wolfie here.”
Maya held her hand out with fingers curled inwards for the wolf to sniff if he so felt like it. She stayed far enough away that she wasn’t getting into his space unless he wanted her to.
“Most animals tend to gravitate towards the people who don’t get all up in their face. We humans have a bad habit of ignoring all the body language and just figuring we know what’s best.”
The wolf lifted his muzzle and snorfuled at her fingers for a moment, giving a contented rumble and closing his eyes for a second as he sniffed. And then, the head shifted to trap Haller in his gaze again.
Jim glanced from the wolf to the girl. "Are you saying it's reading me as the animal equivalent of playing hard to get?"
“Maybe?” Maya’s comment was non-committal as she raised her hand to get some attention from the bar. “Can we get some hamburger meat? Maybe with a bit of egg mixed in?”
She looked back at Haller and grinned impishly, a truly weird expression on Maya.
“Could be he just thinks scaring you is funny.”
Kane wandered past, finishing off his pint on the way to the bar. He paused just long enough to press a bag of jerky into Maya's hand. "Please put Haller out of his misery." He said before disappearing.
Maya burst into well natured laughter but dutifully pulled out a fistful of jerky and started feeding it to the suddenly interested looking wolf.
“I suppose I can rescue you, just this once.”
In another corner, Jean-Phillipe and April get to know each other over darts.
April had done a lot of observing, a little talking, and a bit of eating. Now she was observing again, sitting on a barstool watching one of her teammates throw darts at a board. He was good at it, and the rhythm was almost mesmerizing. She watched a few more rounds, then spoke up. "Fancy a friendly match? I'm April, by the way. I don't believe we've really met in more than passing yet."
Jean-Phillipe nodded to April as he gathered the darts. "A pleasure, I am Jean-Phillipe." They had indeed crossed paths a number of times by now, but not really spent any time socializing. He handed her a trio of darts, keeping the other half of the handful for himself. "I picked up darts when I worked the docks in Marseilles," he told her, ceding the line to give her first shot. "Was never much of a card player, and those tend to be the two things one does when drinking after a shift."
"That sounds interesting," April replied while accepting the darts. "I'm alright at cards, but prefer playing them for fun, not money. Was that before you ended up here?" She stepped just behind the line, three fingers wrapping delicately around the dart as she aimed and released. It hit in the triple spot for 9, which she was perfectly happy with.
"I was not always the picture of responsibility and domesticity you see before you," Jean-Phillipe proclaimed with a faux grandiose air as he took the line. He aimed, taking a slow breath, and threw - hitting 20, near the outer bullseye. "Before I manifested my powers, I was un debardeur. Stevedore, I believe is the English term." As fluent as he was, occasionally he'd find a relatively niche word where he forgot the English equivalent, even after speaking it every day for years.
April bit her lip to stifle her laughter at his theatrics. "Sounds responsible enough to me. Put food on the table, didn't it? Or maybe that's my dad talking. Big on that whole personal responsibility thing. When I decided not to go to university right away, one of the stipulations was that I get a job. I had a bit of a grace period because of the whole -" her hand waved broadly for a moment as she stepped up to the line "- science experiment shit. I was allowed to screw around for a year within reason so I could learn to be a person. Well, my own person, not May's imitation." The dart spun as it left her fingers, sticking in the 19. "I did a lot of reading, took some art and music classes, played some rec sports. That's how I figured out I can't sing worth a damn." She stepped back from the line. "Can I ask you something kinda serious?"
Jean-Phillipe nodded along, sipping from a glass of wine as April took her shot. "Ah, April and May. Was that an intentional bit of wordplay?" He didn't want to offend if it wasn't. "My cousin is more musician than I," he admitted. "She plays the cello. I am content to listen, preferably in a club with a heavy amount of bass and synthesizer." His second shot sailed a bit left, but stuck in the triple 11 to keep him relatively close to April's score. "Certainment, you may ask. I may tell you it is too personal, but I have a suspicion of what the topic might be." Most serious conversations about his experiences tended to touch on one of a small handful of subjects.
"It was!" April was delighted he'd caught it. "I'm April, she's May, and our birthday's in June. I didn't really think about that last bit when I picked my name, because I was still pretty fresh out of cryo. Neither of us has much musical skill, though we keep time well enough. Listening is better, especially if it's got the steady sort of beat I can move or zone out to." Her last dart hit the inside single for 20. "So. I had to do a bit of reading about what groups we might be facing in the field, but why was that Madin person so weirded out by you being ex-Brotherhood? You've obviously been here a pretty long time. Isn't that like... the whole Xavier thing? Giving people a chance? Or a second chance, if they need it?"
"Sixty-six to you..." Jean-Phillipe tallied their scores. "Meaning I need at least sixteen." He did his best to focus on the board, also leaving him more time to frame a response. The dart sailed right, ending in the outer single for 10. "Round to you, Mam'selle Parker," he told her with a slight bow. "That is the ideal that the Professor built his school and the X-Men around, yes," he finally answered her question. "As to Madin...I cannot speak to their experiences and how they might inform their reaction to things." He certainly had his own opinions, but that was not quite the topic. "As to the being surprised over my ex-Brotherhood status, to be fair I have been at the mansion for over fifteen years."
"A solid matchup," April replied with a grin. "I wouldn't mind doing this again sometime. Or maybe hanging a few boards at the mansion, assuming there aren't already some set up somewhere. It's just. I imagine you were watched pretty closely once the information came out. But obviously you passed whatever probationary period you were set, so it seems silly to be surprised that the major mutant guy preaching second chances uh... actually gives them. Maybe they haven't had much experience with that, though."
Jean-Phillipe's shrugs could have been in a dictionary next to the adjective 'Gallic' - 'a nuanced gesture with myriad meanings'. "Perhaps they forgot they are not the only former Brotherhood member at the mansion," he theorized, picking his words carefully to avoid as much implied judgment as possible.
"A... Are they, do you think?" That would maybe explain some things. "I thought they were just running from something, but..." she shrugged, tugging on a lock of hair. "That'd be a little bigger than just the average shitty situation I was thinking of."
"I know they at least had some sort of involvement along those lines." Jean-Phillipe chuckled. "Around here, shitty situations are rarely 'average'."
Nica, Maya and April take it upon themselves to judge the karaoke.
“Whose idea was the karaoke again?” Maya asked as she pulled a chair out and sat down next to April and Nica. She dropped off the round of drinks she’d brought on the table, pushing their drinks toward each of them before grabbing her own. “Because I’m not sure what Haller thinks he’s singing but it’s not Beyoncé.”
"Not it," April said wryly as she watched. "Points for enthusiasm though, and willingness to look a little silly." She let out a whistle and clap as the song ended, holding up eight fingers. "Russian-adjacent judge knocks off one point for not being on key, adds two points for joy." As Pyotr took the mic, the familiar strains of a Neil Diamond song started up and April let out a moan of dismay. "I'm going to web his mouth shut," she hissed, as her roommate launched into a very enthusiastic rendition of "Beautiful Noise".
Nica sipped her soda through the straw, wincing despite herself. "I'd give him points for trying, but..." There was a particularly out of tune moment. "I'm sorry, no. Some people just shouldn't sing in public."
“Some moments exist only to serve as an example to others of what not to let your friends do,” Maya noted with a shrug as she picked up her beer and took a swig. “Although if someone was going to sing Neil Diamond at least it’s not anyone who’d try to imitate the hip swivels.”
"Oh no, this is painting music, not dancing music," April replied with a grin. "I told him no Sweet Caroline and he delivered." She held up eight fingers again as her roommate finished, standing up long enough to wrap him in a hug as he passed their table and went back to his sketchbook. The tendrils intertwined with her hair became more solid as Kane approached the makeshift stage area. "I need to meet that wolf," she said, watching it intently as a song she didn't know started.
"I still can't believe there IS a wolf," Nica replied. "And I have no idea what this song is, but he's doing a good job of it? I remember from one of our bonfire nights that Garrison is a good singer. Obviously not professional, maybe a bit over emotional, but easy on the ears."
“And the eyes,” Maya noted as she watched the performance. “Pity he’s old enough to be my Dad.”
"He is easy on the eyes, but he reminds me too much of my Dad. It's the whole good cop energy he's got going. Besides, I'm perfectly happy with the person I'm dating," April replied with a faux-haughty sniff. She held up nine fingers as Kane finished, giving him a bonus for actually staying on key, then turned to Nica. "Are you going to get up there before Alison ends up giving us a mini-concert?"
Nica grinned. "I thought you'd never ask," she replied in an obviously fake affected tone as she got out of her seat in response to the DJ's summons. On the stage, she gave a little bow and announced, before the music started: "I thought I'd do a tribute to the late, very great, Tina Turner." And the opening chords of "Proud Mary" began.
"It's pretty fun." Sooraya returned the grin, eyeing the new match going on. "As long as I don't have to play Scott again. That man is a pool shark. Maybe if I try playing against someone else... or something else." She studied the dart board for a second. "Honestly, I've never really played darts either. Except maybe jokingly throwing a few darts at a picture when someone was being obtuse with a project."
"It's pretty good stress relief, done like that. It's not terribly different competitively, and it's really good for small hand-eye coordination." April pushed the basket of pub chips she was munching on towards the other woman, eyes still half on the pool table. "Do his powers help his pool ability somehow? He's been busy, so we haven't talked as much as I've talked to say, you or Kyle. Pyotr doesn't count, since I live with him."
"Scott? No one has ever really come out and said so, but with some of the things I've seen him pull off with his powers... yeah, I'm pretty sure that plays some part." Sooraya sipped from her mocktail. "Have you had the chance yet to really see Cyclops in action? I've seen him bounce the blasts off nearly a dozen surfaces before they hit their target dead on. Though if you do this long enough, you'll see everyone pull off some pretty amazing feats."
April shook her head. "No, not really. Our schedules just haven't matched up well for DR time, I think. That's really cool though. I love seeing the interesting things people manage to do in various scenarios. You think you have a grip on what someone can do, and then Alison's bouncing lasers off Pyotr and the only thing I can see anymore is pain and disco."
"That is a neat trick. Very creative. Who else haven't you had the chance to work with directly?" Sooraya quickly glanced around the room, most of their fellow X-men accounted for.
"Oh, probably about half the team." April blinked, fingers moving as she mentally counted. "Maybe closer to a third? The people that tend to be busy or take mid-day sessions during the week while I'm at work. David's the only one I hadn't read the file on yet this morning, though. He gave Pyotr and I a run-down earlier, but I'll read that file during my comms shift tomorrow too. He seems nice." April gave Sooraya a sly smile, and asked not-at-all subtly. "I hear there's a special date for the two of you in the future. Celebrating anything special?"
"A special date?" Sooraya raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's simply a little surprise... just to get our mind off some stuff. Some things have been pretty intense. Pyotr helped me figure out an interesting place or two to go."
"Well that's good. I hope you both enjoy your time together. You seemed like you were when he was teaching you how to play pool."
"We did. I mean, wouldn't you when you might have the chance to trounce your overconfident team leader?" Sooraya grinned mischievously. "Even if that didn't quite work out as planned. Honestly, I'm glad David is back... I saw him when I visited Muir, but that was always so brief."
"Oh yeah, I definitely get that. What's Muir like? I don't think we had an equivalent, or if there was I wasn't aware of it. Could've just been American blinders." April bit into another chip. "We didn't really do things internationally. I mean, I've seen the Eiffel Tower, but that was on a school trip."
"The landscape can get pretty cold and wet... almost desolate. Still beautiful in a way though." Sooraya grabbed a chip of her own, chewing as she thought. "The center itself... I'd call it a mix of hope, despair and everything in between... How much do you know about what they do?"
"I've gathered they do some sort of mutant-focused medical and maybe some research?" Cold sounded nice, now that it was summer in New York. "But that's mostly guessing, little comments I've heard or seen. Tell me about it?"
"Mutant-related research and working with mutants with issues with their powers are the biggest parts of what they do. Often they are able to help, but not always..." Sooraya's eyes darkened at the memory of the news David had shared with her a few weeks ago. "I should introduce you to Moira someday. She runs the center."
"I'd like that. Do they ever have a need for prosthetics?"
"I am not fully sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do sometimes." Sooraya tilted her head a little, narrowing her eyes. "That's right... prosthetics are something of your specialty, right?"
"I enjoy working on them, yeah. If Mr. Worthington actually wants to fund my Master's, that's probably what I'm going to focus on. Especially making it easier and less expensive for kids. Adults aren't still growing, but when you're going through growth spurts and maybe gaining 6 inches in a year..." she trailed off for a minute. "I could get long-winded, but maybe we could set up a video meeting?"
Sooraya had to laugh: "I was just thinking the same thing. Moira will definitely be interested in talking to you. Let's get our agenda's out tomorrow and find a moment that'd work."
Maya introduces herself to Haller's wolf.
It had to have been at least a solid five minutes now, and the situation was showing no signs of resolving any time soon. It was time to say something.
"Why is he doing that," Jim asked, keeping his voice level so as not to risk moving his diaphragm in a threatening way. "I don't even have any food."
The wolf cocked his head to the side, eying Haller with what seemed to be a disturbing amount of intelligence. "Hurmeph." He rumbled, shifting his legs a bit but still in place in front of Haller as he was seated.
“You’re never gonna get him to leave you alone if you act that way,” Maya noted as she pulled a chair over to where Haller sat. She raised her eyebrows at the wolf and spoke directly to him without any hint of discomfort. “Are you sure you need him to love you?”
"Was that directed to me or the wolf?" Jim asked. Maybe he should have been carrying biscuits. Garrison had said the wolf expected them, but, now that he thought about it, not what would happen if it did not receive them. With the animal sitting this close that felt like an important detail.
“First to you, second to wolfie here.”
Maya held her hand out with fingers curled inwards for the wolf to sniff if he so felt like it. She stayed far enough away that she wasn’t getting into his space unless he wanted her to.
“Most animals tend to gravitate towards the people who don’t get all up in their face. We humans have a bad habit of ignoring all the body language and just figuring we know what’s best.”
The wolf lifted his muzzle and snorfuled at her fingers for a moment, giving a contented rumble and closing his eyes for a second as he sniffed. And then, the head shifted to trap Haller in his gaze again.
Jim glanced from the wolf to the girl. "Are you saying it's reading me as the animal equivalent of playing hard to get?"
“Maybe?” Maya’s comment was non-committal as she raised her hand to get some attention from the bar. “Can we get some hamburger meat? Maybe with a bit of egg mixed in?”
She looked back at Haller and grinned impishly, a truly weird expression on Maya.
“Could be he just thinks scaring you is funny.”
Kane wandered past, finishing off his pint on the way to the bar. He paused just long enough to press a bag of jerky into Maya's hand. "Please put Haller out of his misery." He said before disappearing.
Maya burst into well natured laughter but dutifully pulled out a fistful of jerky and started feeding it to the suddenly interested looking wolf.
“I suppose I can rescue you, just this once.”
In another corner, Jean-Phillipe and April get to know each other over darts.
April had done a lot of observing, a little talking, and a bit of eating. Now she was observing again, sitting on a barstool watching one of her teammates throw darts at a board. He was good at it, and the rhythm was almost mesmerizing. She watched a few more rounds, then spoke up. "Fancy a friendly match? I'm April, by the way. I don't believe we've really met in more than passing yet."
Jean-Phillipe nodded to April as he gathered the darts. "A pleasure, I am Jean-Phillipe." They had indeed crossed paths a number of times by now, but not really spent any time socializing. He handed her a trio of darts, keeping the other half of the handful for himself. "I picked up darts when I worked the docks in Marseilles," he told her, ceding the line to give her first shot. "Was never much of a card player, and those tend to be the two things one does when drinking after a shift."
"That sounds interesting," April replied while accepting the darts. "I'm alright at cards, but prefer playing them for fun, not money. Was that before you ended up here?" She stepped just behind the line, three fingers wrapping delicately around the dart as she aimed and released. It hit in the triple spot for 9, which she was perfectly happy with.
"I was not always the picture of responsibility and domesticity you see before you," Jean-Phillipe proclaimed with a faux grandiose air as he took the line. He aimed, taking a slow breath, and threw - hitting 20, near the outer bullseye. "Before I manifested my powers, I was un debardeur. Stevedore, I believe is the English term." As fluent as he was, occasionally he'd find a relatively niche word where he forgot the English equivalent, even after speaking it every day for years.
April bit her lip to stifle her laughter at his theatrics. "Sounds responsible enough to me. Put food on the table, didn't it? Or maybe that's my dad talking. Big on that whole personal responsibility thing. When I decided not to go to university right away, one of the stipulations was that I get a job. I had a bit of a grace period because of the whole -" her hand waved broadly for a moment as she stepped up to the line "- science experiment shit. I was allowed to screw around for a year within reason so I could learn to be a person. Well, my own person, not May's imitation." The dart spun as it left her fingers, sticking in the 19. "I did a lot of reading, took some art and music classes, played some rec sports. That's how I figured out I can't sing worth a damn." She stepped back from the line. "Can I ask you something kinda serious?"
Jean-Phillipe nodded along, sipping from a glass of wine as April took her shot. "Ah, April and May. Was that an intentional bit of wordplay?" He didn't want to offend if it wasn't. "My cousin is more musician than I," he admitted. "She plays the cello. I am content to listen, preferably in a club with a heavy amount of bass and synthesizer." His second shot sailed a bit left, but stuck in the triple 11 to keep him relatively close to April's score. "Certainment, you may ask. I may tell you it is too personal, but I have a suspicion of what the topic might be." Most serious conversations about his experiences tended to touch on one of a small handful of subjects.
"It was!" April was delighted he'd caught it. "I'm April, she's May, and our birthday's in June. I didn't really think about that last bit when I picked my name, because I was still pretty fresh out of cryo. Neither of us has much musical skill, though we keep time well enough. Listening is better, especially if it's got the steady sort of beat I can move or zone out to." Her last dart hit the inside single for 20. "So. I had to do a bit of reading about what groups we might be facing in the field, but why was that Madin person so weirded out by you being ex-Brotherhood? You've obviously been here a pretty long time. Isn't that like... the whole Xavier thing? Giving people a chance? Or a second chance, if they need it?"
"Sixty-six to you..." Jean-Phillipe tallied their scores. "Meaning I need at least sixteen." He did his best to focus on the board, also leaving him more time to frame a response. The dart sailed right, ending in the outer single for 10. "Round to you, Mam'selle Parker," he told her with a slight bow. "That is the ideal that the Professor built his school and the X-Men around, yes," he finally answered her question. "As to Madin...I cannot speak to their experiences and how they might inform their reaction to things." He certainly had his own opinions, but that was not quite the topic. "As to the being surprised over my ex-Brotherhood status, to be fair I have been at the mansion for over fifteen years."
"A solid matchup," April replied with a grin. "I wouldn't mind doing this again sometime. Or maybe hanging a few boards at the mansion, assuming there aren't already some set up somewhere. It's just. I imagine you were watched pretty closely once the information came out. But obviously you passed whatever probationary period you were set, so it seems silly to be surprised that the major mutant guy preaching second chances uh... actually gives them. Maybe they haven't had much experience with that, though."
Jean-Phillipe's shrugs could have been in a dictionary next to the adjective 'Gallic' - 'a nuanced gesture with myriad meanings'. "Perhaps they forgot they are not the only former Brotherhood member at the mansion," he theorized, picking his words carefully to avoid as much implied judgment as possible.
"A... Are they, do you think?" That would maybe explain some things. "I thought they were just running from something, but..." she shrugged, tugging on a lock of hair. "That'd be a little bigger than just the average shitty situation I was thinking of."
"I know they at least had some sort of involvement along those lines." Jean-Phillipe chuckled. "Around here, shitty situations are rarely 'average'."
Nica, Maya and April take it upon themselves to judge the karaoke.
“Whose idea was the karaoke again?” Maya asked as she pulled a chair out and sat down next to April and Nica. She dropped off the round of drinks she’d brought on the table, pushing their drinks toward each of them before grabbing her own. “Because I’m not sure what Haller thinks he’s singing but it’s not Beyoncé.”
"Not it," April said wryly as she watched. "Points for enthusiasm though, and willingness to look a little silly." She let out a whistle and clap as the song ended, holding up eight fingers. "Russian-adjacent judge knocks off one point for not being on key, adds two points for joy." As Pyotr took the mic, the familiar strains of a Neil Diamond song started up and April let out a moan of dismay. "I'm going to web his mouth shut," she hissed, as her roommate launched into a very enthusiastic rendition of "Beautiful Noise".
Nica sipped her soda through the straw, wincing despite herself. "I'd give him points for trying, but..." There was a particularly out of tune moment. "I'm sorry, no. Some people just shouldn't sing in public."
“Some moments exist only to serve as an example to others of what not to let your friends do,” Maya noted with a shrug as she picked up her beer and took a swig. “Although if someone was going to sing Neil Diamond at least it’s not anyone who’d try to imitate the hip swivels.”
"Oh no, this is painting music, not dancing music," April replied with a grin. "I told him no Sweet Caroline and he delivered." She held up eight fingers again as her roommate finished, standing up long enough to wrap him in a hug as he passed their table and went back to his sketchbook. The tendrils intertwined with her hair became more solid as Kane approached the makeshift stage area. "I need to meet that wolf," she said, watching it intently as a song she didn't know started.
"I still can't believe there IS a wolf," Nica replied. "And I have no idea what this song is, but he's doing a good job of it? I remember from one of our bonfire nights that Garrison is a good singer. Obviously not professional, maybe a bit over emotional, but easy on the ears."
“And the eyes,” Maya noted as she watched the performance. “Pity he’s old enough to be my Dad.”
"He is easy on the eyes, but he reminds me too much of my Dad. It's the whole good cop energy he's got going. Besides, I'm perfectly happy with the person I'm dating," April replied with a faux-haughty sniff. She held up nine fingers as Kane finished, giving him a bonus for actually staying on key, then turned to Nica. "Are you going to get up there before Alison ends up giving us a mini-concert?"
Nica grinned. "I thought you'd never ask," she replied in an obviously fake affected tone as she got out of her seat in response to the DJ's summons. On the stage, she gave a little bow and announced, before the music started: "I thought I'd do a tribute to the late, very great, Tina Turner." And the opening chords of "Proud Mary" began.
