xp_logs | (no subject)

Angelo walked down to the medical wing, carrying the SAT practice papers he'd promised Lorna he'd give Marie. He'd never been down to that part of the mansion before, and was concentrating on not getting lost. Finally finding what he assumed was the medical wing, he knocked on the door and waited.

After a moment, the door opened slowly. "Hey, Hank, got your hands..." The girl who opened the door stopped talking as soon as she saw Angelo. Surprise and suspicion crossed her bruised face, and her eyes narrowed. "Hi."

Angelo took a step back, holding out the books in his hand. "I just came down to bring you these SAT papers from Lorna. And to say hi."

She frowned. "Angelo?" She backed away, opening the door. "Hi. I'm Marie. Come on in. We keep the door closed or it gets even colder in here." Marie stepped aside to let him enter. There was something that looked like an office with an observation window, and another door, open to the room beyond.

"Yeah, that's me", Angelo said, smiling tentatively. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him, taking in the room as he went.

"Thanks", she held out a gloved hand. "I'll just put the books in here. Hank lets me use his desk when he's not working. He just stays in here to keep me company and to keep an eye on me some times. It's nice to meet you."

Angelo handed over the books. "Nice to meet you too. I've actually been meaning to come down and say hi for a while."

Marie put them neatly aside on the desk and held out her left hand to greet him properly. "Hi. And you picked a decent time to come down. Earlier might not have been so good. How're you doing today?"

Angelo shook her hand, smiling more confidently now. "Oh, good. And I'm doing better today than I was before. Looking forward to the trip."

"That's cool." She perched on the desk and shoved the chair toward him with her foot. "Have a seat if you want. I was kind of wondering how you were."

Angelo grabbed the back of the chair, pulled it towards him, and sat down. "Thanks. I was just having a particularly bad night, really. It's not always that bad."

She grinned. "Yeah, I hear you. I have them myself. Like the monster gets me or something, swallows me up. It's good to reach out, though. It takes strength to say you're having a shit time. Good on you for doing it. I never say I'm here to talk to, like the present trend of save the worlders seem to do, but I give a try at hearing when someone's talking."

Angelo grinned back, wryly. "I never expected to kick off a whole big thing, I have to say", he admitted. "I was just having my little self-pity moment, and suddenly I'd started a trend."

"I don't think that saying what's real is self-pity. If you hurt, you hurt. It's better to let it out." She shifted holding her right wrist in her left hand. "It was like dying for me. I kind of have to give it the same respect." She looked over his shoulder, through the wall beyond. "It was good, because it let me think that way. I'm glad you did it."

"Yeah, me too", he said. "I mean, if you hadn't asked, I probably wouldn't have told anybody how it happened until I ended up screaming it at them, for some reason."

Marie smiled a little. "Well, you had it pretty bad. The people you trusted screwed you over. And here, you end up having to trust people. It would have hit the fan."

Angelo glanced down, studying his hands. "Yeah. I'm just slowly getting to know people, but I haven't really spent time with anyone except Paige and John."

"Well, you're new. I'm sure you'll get to know everyone better on the trip. I'm jealous of you all."

"OK, well, I guess I should go upstairs and finish packing", Angelo said, realising that the conversation had come to a halt. "It was really good talking to you, and we'll have to get together again after I get back."

"Angelo, hey..." She was looking thoughtful. "Before you go. If there's anything you want, like if you want someone to let your mom know you're okay or anything, we could work something out. We're good that way."

Angelo looked taken aback, then grinned. "That would be beyond great. It's been one of the things most on my mind, since I got here."

"Just think about it while you're gone, okay? Whatever you want, I bet we could swing it." She stood, wincing as she moved. "Besides, it would be nice to have something really happy to do for a change."

Angelo stood up too, moving towards the door. "Definitely - and I'll talk to the professors about it when I get back. I just wish I could have talked to her before I left, you know?"

"Yeah. I know", she said a little sadly. "But we do what we have to do. I know she'll understand. You have a good trip, okay? I'll be ready to kick your butt on this SAT stuff when you get back."

"You wish", Angelo replied, seemingly cheerful again. "I'll be reading my copies of the books every spare minute I get, now you've said that."

She grinned impishly. "You'll have to, to keep up. See you in a few days."

"See you!" he said with a wave, opening the door to leave.

Marie watched him go, then picked up the top book, flipping it open. "Nothing like a little competition to get people motivated", she said to herself. She smiled and reached for a pencil.