Second Floor Common Room, Monday Evening

[arsenicmauls]

Gert had had exactly one class today, but after months of having zero classes, it managed to be a bit of a bummer. Granted, it was a class on feminism, which would always be her number-one pick from a course catalog -- but it was the principle of the matter.

After class, her next step had been to go get some food in town, and now she was back in the common room with the intention of eating it. She very much doubted that the burger she'd acquired would be anything of In-N-Out Burger quality, but she'd give it a shot. Meanwhile, she flipped through channels before settling on a show whose entire premise seemed to be that people asked a judge whether he thought they had a chance at getting any money from ideas that they had for lawsuits. Gert thought it looked too stupid for words, but she had to admit it was nice to have a TV again.

Old Lace, perched beside Gert next to the couch, seemed to think Gert's burger definitely had potential, but she so wasn't getting any of it. Poor hungry dino.

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

Jim's first class was tomorrow so he was gonna celebrate his day off by...doing nothing. Again. But, he was spending a lot of time out of his room because of Jackson and some weird...goo. Whatever.

As soon as he came into the common room, his eyes fell on the dinosaur. "So, that's what Ulrik was telling me about."

It didn't look that...dangerous. At least it wasn't huge.

[arsenicmauls]

Just seven feet! Practically a very, very large dog!

Okay, no. But she wasn't giant, at least.

"This is Old Lace, genetically-engineered deionychus from the eighty-seventh century," Gert recited. "She's not dangerous, you can get your coffee or nachos or whatever in peace."

Almost as if telepathically instructed to, Old Lace ducked her head somewhat and looked adorable.

[pursuedthestars]

"Yeah, a friend of mine mentioned there was a dinosaur in town," Jim told her, tilting his head and checking out both girl and dinosaur. "I asked how the town was still standing and he told me the dinosaur wasn't huge so I guessed she wasn't dangerous."

Well, he'd hoped.

"Heya, Old Lace. I'm Jim. I'm not really here for nachos though. Maybe some cookies, if they're still around."

[arsenicmauls]

"Top shelf, left cabinet," Gert recited. She'd done some scoping-out this morning. "I'm Gert. I also haven't stampeded the town or anything yet, but no one's asked about that."

[pursuedthestars]

"That something we should be looking out for?" Jim quipped, heading for the kitchen and the cookies that lay within. "You stampeding the town? That your superpower?"

Pretty cool one, if it was.

[arsenicmauls]

"In a manner of speaking." In the manner of speaking that meant 'mostly no.' "What's yours?"

Hypothetically speaking. He didn't really seem to be giving off a powers vibe.

[pursuedthestars]

"Undeniable charisma. Couldn't you tell?"

Okay, not really, but he couldn't resist as his grin probably illustrated.

"No superpowers for me. I'm from way in the future, though. Spaceships, other planets, aliens. That kind of future."

[arsenicmauls]

"Might be the first one of those that I've met here," Gert said thoughtfully. "Everyone else is past or present. How weird is being stuck in the past?"

When you were an orphan of time-traveler parents, you tended to be curious about these things. Not that she cared about her parents. At all. Really.

Hush.

[pursuedthestars]

"Slow." That was the first thing that came to mind. "No one does anything fast here. It's always walk here, stand here, drink here. I've been trying to convince a friend of mine for months to go on a joyride with me. Think I've finally got her convinced."

He'd have to find Karolina and see if she was still game soon.

"But, I don't mind it that much. People are still the same, booze is still available and girls are still very, very nice."

[arsenicmauls]

"Part of that is probably that it's a small town," Gert offered. "Cities tend to have a lot more going on. And fewer stairs."

She was totally still grumpy about the stairs, yes.

"But I don't care what century I'm in as long as there are Mac computers and working air-conditioners."

That was pretty much just this century, Gert.

[pursuedthestars]

"People really hate their stairs here," Jim said, amused. "A few stairs won't hurt anyone."

Sure, there were more than a few derp derp me but they didn't bother him that much.

"You a hacker or something?" Jim asked, taking a bite out of one of the cookies he'd found.

[arsenicmauls]

"No, I just like how they work better than other computers," Gert explained. "They're more reliable. And I just spent three months without any internet at all. Not doing that again."

The horror.

[pursuedthestars]

"Why were you that there was no internet?" Jim asked, curious. "I thought even the Eskimos in Antarctica or wherever they live now were connected."

[arsenicmauls]

"Actually, they live in Canada and Alaska," Gert corrected him. "They probably do have it there, but not where I was staying. Some friends and I were traveling and none of us thought to bring our computers."

Not to mention that it was pretty hard finding free wi-fi in a cave.

[pursuedthestars]

"Congratulations on surviving," Jim said dryly. He scooped up the cookies and came over to take a seat, kicking his feet up.

"What do you think of this place so far? You're the second new person I've found getting cozy with the television."

[arsenicmauls]

Jim's proximity to the TV meant that Old Lace was now padding over to investigate the new person. And possibly to make pleading eyes in the hopes of being given cookies. But she was investigating Jim for sure.

"It's not bad for a boarding school," she settled on. "So far, anyway. I was picturing more rampant preppiness."

[pursuedthestars]

Jim was just gonna trust Gert in that Old Lace wasn't going to eat him or anything so he stood still and let the dinosaur investigate him. When he got hip to the dinosaur wanting a cookie, he even held one out in his palm.

"Yeah, I've been here for a few months and the only preppiness I've seen lives with me," he said and made a face. "He's a cliche."

[arsenicmauls]

Old Lace inspected the cookie, concluded that it wasn't made of meat, but then scarfed it up anyway. She was adaptable like that. And now Jim was her new best friend, so congratulations, Kirk.

"Your clothes could use work if you're going to go all out," Gert decided. "But the haircut's about right."

[pursuedthestars]

"Hey, I wasn't talking about me," Jim said, mock offended. "I was talking about my roommate. He's the prep of the bunch. How could you even think I was a prep? Do I give off that vibe?"

Gross.

[arsenicmauls]

"I met you five minutes ago and you haven't proven otherwise," Gert pointed out. "Not so much?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Yeah, I'm not gonna do a song and dance to prove I'm not some prep," Jim decided, shaking his head. "You haven't done it either, you know."

[arsenicmauls]

"I have purple hair and a pet dinosaur," Gert pointed out. It was possible Jim hadn't noticed that yet.

[pursuedthestars]

"I'm eating cookies and talking to you," Jim countered. Most preppy people that he knew (which was like...Jackson) wouldn't even bother.

[arsenicmauls]

"Yeah, so did nine or ten people at the picnic the other day," Gert dismissed. "Maybe including your roommate. Got anything else?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Nope." He shrugged. "Guess you're just gonna have to take my word for it. Or not and think I'm some sort of snotty prep. No skin off my back. I'll sleep just fine tonight."

[arsenicmauls]

"I'm neutral on the subject so far," Gert said, eyeing him oddly for that little declaration. "I'll let you know if I come to a conclusion."

Which was her way of saying it was not that big a deal, Jim.

[pursuedthestars]

"And I'll be waiting with bated breath for your conclusion," Jim quipped lightly. He'd forget about this conversation tomorrow.

"Jackson's gonna be the one you wanna look out for anyway," he added. "You'll know him before you see him. The air of superiority reeks. But, he's fun to mess with."

Jim wondered if he'd ever found the iPod that Cade had stolen.

[arsenicmauls]

"Yeah?" Gert doubted she'd have an interest in messing with some random kid she hadn't met yet, but she absolutely wanted to know about anyone who might give her a hard time here. "Do tell."

And maybe if this Jackson sounded like a total jackass, she could always introduce him to Old Lace sometime. Because she just didn't get to do that enough, and one of the perks of having a dinosaur was the pants-wetting terror you got to inspire in mean people sometimes.

[pursuedthestars]

"Oh, there's lots to tell."

Jim had a ton of Jackson stories.

"He likes to try and kick me out of our room because he's got an itty bitty little cold. Doesn't have any friends here. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's going to end up in some single in the dorms somewhere still."

They were all back home according to Jackson but Jim didn't believe him.

"His girlfriend tried to intimidate me. She was actually...a little more intimidating than him. Should have worked that in her favor. I let a friend of mine steal something of his just for kicks."

[arsenicmauls]

"He sounds charming," Gert said dryly. And then, because okay, she couldn't resist, she wondered, "You think he'd appreciate running into a seven-foot dinosaur sometime when he's not expecting it?"

Look, when you had a deinonychus and a whole lot of time on your hands, you sometimes had to make your own fun.

The kind of fun where people were startled. Not eaten. Just so that was clear.

[pursuedthestars]

"You know, I think he would really love that," Jim told her oh so seriously. "He's a very surprise loving kind of guy."

He really was not.

"And he loves nature and animals, big and small."

Again, no.

"I would be a bad roommate if I didn't endorse this idea."

[arsenicmauls]

"I'll see what I can do," Gert said. "Depending on if he gets on my nerves as much as it sounds like he will. Old Lace is always happy to surprise inconsiderate jerks, though, huh, girl?"

Old Lace made a noise. It probably had more to do with the cookie she'd eaten than any kind of agreement, but it was very well-timed.

[pursuedthestars]

"If he doesn't get on your nerves, I'll be stunned," Jim said because yeah. Jackson was just that bad. "Maybe you'll catch him on a good day."

At that, Jim laughed. "Probably not. Guy doesn't have good days. We're on this floor so it's pretty much a given you'll run into him at some point."

[arsenicmauls]

"I'll keep an eye out." For a guy whose only physical descriptor was that he smelled like superiority, apparently. It couldn't be too hard. "It's too bad I can't ask you to annoy someone for me in exchange. 'Charm' isn't as useful a power for that as having a dinosaur."