Teacher's Lounging

Posted on Tue Oct 10th, 2023 @ 20:42 by Jonathan Monroe & Rebecca McMillen

Chapter: All Hallow's Eve
Location: Teacher's Lounge
Timeline: Saturday, Nov. 6
1833 words - 3.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Rebecca sat, staring at her plate. A simple sandwich. Peanut butter, and jelly. Nothing to write home about, not that she'd ever write home. She sat and stared at it, and the longer she stared the more of her appetite she lost. The memory of the assault on the castle, the assault on her home, not just a day ago and still heavy on her mind, heavy in her soul. Did she do this? Did she lead those miserable people here? No. No they knew about Avalon. They knew who was here, where whatever it was... was, and they knew how to get it.

And she just stood there, in a sea of grass and feet, letting it happen. She took a breath. She barely even touched her sandwich, just a nibble here or a bite there. Hell, the five.... four blocks of cheese that flanked the sandwich had only fared slightly better, but that's mostly because Rebecca's love of cheese was able to conquer her fear and self-doubt.

Three blocks.

She took another bite of her sandwich. Were she in less nervous spirits she'd be picking up crumbs and nibbling on them with cheese chunks. At the moment, though, she just tried to get her proverbial feet underneath her. She kicked off her shoes, just to feel the cool floor against the pads of her feet. A constant foundation, a support, a sensation. Something to hold her steady. It felt good. It felt calming. Wasn't helping with the sandwich though.

Jon didn't even notice her presence as he walked wearily in through the door and went straight for the fridge. Of course there wasn't even a light beer on offer, with it being the teacher's lounge. He'd have to raid Claire's office for that. Or hit up one of the places in town. Grabbing a milk bottle, he almost jumped out of his skin when he noticed that there was someone already sprawled over a seat with bare feet massaging themselves against the floor.

"Whaoah-" The noise wasn't even an actual word. "You scared me there. I thought everyone was laid low after the..." The thing nobody seemed to be talking about. He hadn't worked out a name for it. "Everything all right?" he asked, raising a curious eyebrow at the strange pose he had discovered her in.

Her first instinct was to hide at the startle, and hide she did. At the startle, Rebecca simply vanished. No poof, no cloud of dust, just one empty space where Rebecca was.

"H... hold on." came her voice, much much meeker. Much more..... less. Standing on the chair where Rebecca was sitting, was Rebecca. About five centimeters tall, the mousey blonde really started to live up to the look. A thin tail, the rat paw feet, it all started to come together. "I'm alright just... startled." she took a moment to calm down, and once she was more in control of the moment she was able to return to a more approachable height.

"Sorry, jumps make me react and, well, survival." she offered, "I'm getting better at not just becoming tiny as a reflex but... no worries, nevermind that. Hi." she offered as a way of resetting the conversation. "Yeah, it's a bit quiet after all that, and ... yeah, yeah I'm alright, or at least I'll be alright. Just sorting things out. All of that what went down is still ... I mean, that's the most awful thing I've been in since I got out of my folks place." her accent was thick enough to almost tell what her London address was. If this conversation kept up, Johnathan could send her mail. "Anyway, hi. I'm Rebecca."

Jonathan began to wonder for a moment if his eyes had completely deceived him, until remembered where they were and what the usual person that worked here was capable of. Some sort of size-changing ability was evidently at play. "Jon," he answered, still processing. "You were...a mouse, just then?"

"Well..." she stood, she was still a bit shorter than Jon, but that didn't seem to be her mutation's fault. "I'm.." and at that, she simply pointed down. Her feet were more like paws. Long digits, scratchy nails. Those were rat paws, and it was around that time that her thin, long tail came into view. Lightly fuzzed from the look, but touching it would be quite the invasion of privacy.

"I'm... okay so I can TALK to rats and mice, I can hear in their range of hearing, I'm REALLY good at keeping my balance." she listed off, "And, yeah, I can make myself..." she illustrated with her hands, cupping them together to indicate something small. "Small. Like, mouse small. So, I wasn't a mouse mouse, but I can be small like one."

With that, she sat back down and motioned for Jon to join her. "Now, I know the deal is usually I tell you mine, you tell me yours, but if you don't feel comfortable I won't push."

He winced a little at the notion of sharing, but the pleasant and polite nature that Claire had drilled into him over the years took over. With a faint smile, Jonathan picked up a block of cheese. After a second it lit up with blue flame and almost instantly melted over the back of his fingers. Licking the melted remnants up, he tilted his head apologetically. "I suppose I'm a walking grilled cheese machine then? I'm really useful at barbecues."

"Oh I bet. That's pretty wicked." she complimented, "Everyone has such amazing powers. I can get small, ride in pockets, ask mice for directions." she grumped for a moment, but the moment passed as she took another nibble of her sandwich. "Sorry, just, moping. I think it's pretty though, I do. Blue is such a nice color."

"Please, please don't tell me they nicknamed you Panini." she said with a hint of amusement, "Mind if you if they did it'd be loads better then the quote unquote name my sisters gave me." a pause, as though milling about whether to share or not. Well in for a penny, after all.

"Critter."

"Blaze." After everything, just making a small connection felt like a step in the right direction. "My grandpa was the one who came up with it; his first words when he found out were 'what in the blue blazes!?" and it stuck a little, given the circumstances. Although I think Blue Blaze is a bit over-the-top." There was a strange irony that the moniker had come about just a couple of days after an encounter with someone else called Rebecca. But not one he wanted to linger on.

Rebecca gave a nod and a soft smile. "Blaze. See now that's cool. Though I do agree, Blue Blaze is a bit over the top. Also, kinda means that I'd have to keep my eyes peeled for other Blazes. A whole rainbow squad at that point." a smile, one that lost the edges after a moment, "You can guess how I got the nickname. Not as colorful or vibrant." another nibble of her sandwich before she paused, "You want half? Pretty sure you don't have a peanut allergy, and no one has a jelly allergy." she offered, relaxing in the presence of a fellow outsider. Thin tail making lazy swishes back and forth at the later half, rat paws now back to resting against the cool tile of the room.

"Sure." He accepted the offer and took a little bite. Strangely, the taste reminded him of home; the PB&J sandwich not being that well known this side of the ocean. Memories came flooding back of being a kid and grabbing the spoon to devour the remains of a scoop. "So, Reb...Critter," he used her mutant name so that he didn't have to draw the association with less fond memories again. "What do you think of all this mess with the Sherwood Rangers?"

She tore her sandwich in half, giving him the larger of the two. "I think it's downright rubbish. They think they're helping matters but most folks out there can't separate socks and slippers nevermind us and them. Folks out there are going to see them, raising hell, and think that's how we all are. I wish we could just, sit down with them and talk. Find their goals, tell them our side, and just hash out something where they stop being such an issue."

A pause, "It was Claire's speech that kinda steered me here. I, well, I had enough of the treatment I was getting at home. I didn't want to just up and quit because, well, I'm not a quitter. I saw her on the tele and I came all the way from London. Took every rail, bus, and cab I could hitch onto to get here." she offered with a smirk, "Rats know every way into and out of a city."

She paused to give another nibble on her sandwich. "What's your take on them?"

"I think they're dangerous. But...we're pretty dangerous too," he admitted. "It's not right what they did. Nor do I really understand why they would want to come after us if they're all about 'mutantkind is superior' or whatever their agenda is." Claire hadn't really shared much more with him about motives, if she even knew herself. "In the end though, it seems like it wasn't a smart idea. We'll be ready for them next time. And we'll protect our students, too."

She listened as he gave his piece, nodding where needed, and especially at the end. "Gonna have to work a drill into class, I think. Hide under your desks or something. I'd rather it not come to that but..." she shook her head, nibbling a little at her sandwich to cover. "Maybe they think we're too soft because we're a school and they're, I dunno, Robin Hood or something." she offered with a slight shrug, "I dunno, but I do know you're right. I ... I don't have much in the way of power like the others, like you... but you're right that next time, we'll be ready for them."

The tip of her tail gave a happy twitchy twitch. Not a full on wag like a dog, but still. Twitchy twitch.

"We will be," he agreed. And after a moment, he regarded her with a faint smile. "And don't ever discount yourself, Minnie Mouse. We all bring something to the table. I challenge anyone to come up with a better sandwich," he added with a wink.

She looked down with a smile, "Thanks, Goofy." she countered, Disney for Disney. "But that's impossible. Nothing's better than peanut butter." she tucked a stray length of blonde hair behind her ear. "Who knows, maybe next time you'll have your own." she said with a giggle.

"Toasted," he grinned, flicking a light flame in the air on his way out of the door. "Always toasted."