[Mingle-Log] Only non-alcoholic beverages in the punch bowl...

[adminfury]

[This is an open mingle log. You do not have to be part of the community to post in this thread. Consider it a test-drive of sorts to get your voice or meet new characters!]



SHIELD Academy
Open House
Everyone is congregated in the spacious auditorium of the SHIELD Academy. The noise level is probably a decibel below deafening and the lights are probably a little dimmer than what might seem normal for this time in the evening, but it doesn't seem to bother anyone as they just carry on. There are banners strewn about welcoming all first years to a new chapter in their lives while others welcome the others back for another year at the Academy. Refreshments are served up on stage while other tables set up around the massive room are home to pamphlets and flyers for clubs and classes. Special electives and advertisements for training sessions are also littered amongst the tables.

Make a few friends, find old ones, look into clubs that catch your interest. This is open house for all returning students and prospective students, so hang out, hit up others and just mingle!

Comments

Virginia Potts | MCU

[unseasoned]

[It's incredibly difficult to not feel overwhelmed as she looks around the auditorium. Although Virginia is in her third year, she's a new transfer, a total stranger in a crowd of friends, and probably as lost as most of the freshmen running around. This is a chapter of her life she never asked for, but she's here now; she has to be, and all she can do is try and make the most of it.

So after some awkward staring and trying to decide where to begin, Virginia begins moving to the tables, checking out displays, and trying to get a feel for this school in general. She'd been an ambitious student with a lot of determination before. She refuses to let what's happened take that away from her now.]

[rhodetowarmachine]

[Rhodey was currently taking a break from working at Club booths (he’d moved from Football to a few other clubs) and had gathered a few club fliers, not really to join anything but to see what others were doing and how. So much for getting away from the booths, huh? He plucked up a flier at a booth where a red head was standing. Didn’t matter what it was, he was collecting.]

[For a moment he wondered if he cut in, thus he drew back, giving a smile.] Sorry about that. [she didn’t look like a freshmen though. He tilted his head before saying] Are you new here?

:D :D :D

[unseasoned]

Nothing to be sorry for. [There are plenty of flyers to go around, right? She returns the grin, clearly not put out by his presence.] That I am; I just transferred in. My name is Virginia.

;D :D :D

[rhodetowarmachine]

[Apologies are always good for a ice breaker, right? He reached back to slide the little tri fold into his back jean pocket with the rest of them, then offered his hand in a shake]

James Rhodes. Though you might hear them call me Rhodey. Welcome to the Academy.

Re: ;D :D :D

[unseasoned]

[Huh. Virginia doesn't exactly expect a handshake to come from a high schooler, but in her books James gets points for it. She takes the offered hand, feeling a bit more at ease because of it.]

Thanks. I'm thrilled to be here. [Except there's a dryness to her tone that might make it seem like she isn't--which is the truth. Honestly, Virginia is trying to make the best of a bad situation, which she reminds herself of with a soft sigh.] How many years have you been here? You definitely don't strike me as a freshman, even with the pamphlet gathering.

[Pepper's got a stack of her own, although hers are tucked neatly into her bag rather than a pocket.]

[rhodetowarmachine]

[His mama taught him well. He tends to get shit for it from some students and friends, but those people who had been important were always a little impressed. So go figure. She must be important then, by that argument.]

Oh sure. I can feel your excitement from here. [he said about her being thrilled, clearly amused by the tone.] This'll be my fourth year, so, I'd hope I didn't come off as a freshmen. The pamphlets are for... research. [he gave a grin here, which said they aren't fr GOOD research. but oh well.]

[unseasoned]

[Clearly she's a good woman who has raised her boy right.]

I'll try and reign it in a little. [So far so good. Virginia hasn't talked to too many people yet that haven't been on the other side of a display table. But things with James are going well enough. She even laughs when that touch of mischievousness sneaks into the way he smiles.] Should I ask what kind of research? I'm actually looking for clubs to join.

[Which a fourth year should be able to clue her in on, right?]

[rhodetowarmachine]

Oh, nothing nefarious. I assure you. [he said with a smirk, stepping away from the table they were at, spreading his hands out to either side of him.]

We got a little of everything. What kind of things catch your interest. [a pause as he glances over then points.] Science Club? Join the ranks of those who enjoy Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons? Or... [Ah, wait, he points another table out] Are you more a choir type? Song and dance and little cummerbunds and bow-ties?

[This is Rhodey, scoping the new girl out for what interests her.]

[vates]

[ Kevin's feeling the same way, a new transfer in his second year, and he's been slowly moving through the tables, too. He's not exactly a shy person, or an antisocial one, despite being a nerd and all that, but there's more to this than just being at a new school, and the Magical Studies club is really driving home that fact.

The girl standing next to him seems a little older than him; he can probably ask her a question or two, right? Even if she's not part of the club? She's probably been here longer than him. ]

Do you know what kind of magic is... the usual kind of magic that goes on here? Is this talking about... spells, or wands? Stuff like that.

[unseasoned]

[He isn't the only one having a hard time dealing with this particular booth; Virginia has been there a few minutes herself, reading over the pamphlet again and again, trying to absorb what it's saying. Being made into an unwitting science experiment is one thing, but this is talking about actual magic, as in the kind of thing that she's always thought of as fiction.

She looks over at the source of the voice, clearly startled out of her thoughts.] I'm sorry? Oh. Well, the pamphlet says it's real. The spells and wands. [But she remains hard to convince, shaking her head slowly even as she answers.]

[vates]

But you haven't seen any of that for yourself yet. [ He can figure that much out, at least, from her tone, and he's kind of disappointed, but also glad to have found someone on the same page as him. Sure, he can do some stuff, but he'd hardly call it magic or even anything worth bragging about. ]

Do you think most people here can do this kind of stuff?

[unseasoned]

No. [Because what happens to her isn't magic at all. It's the stuff of nightmares rather than fairy tales, and Virginia can't see it in any other light regardless of how many times SHIELD has promised that she'll adjust.

She just wants to be a normal student, which makes this line of questioning a little hard for her.]

I don't know. They're supposed to specialize in training people with...abilities. [She almost mimics quotation marks with her fingers, but even without the motion he might still be able to hear them in her voice.] Maybe. Most people don't seem to be advertising it though.

[vates]

[ Kevin fidgets, but tries to keep a blank expression. He has some of those abilities. They're crappy, but they're abilities that might be useful someday. And maybe if he practices with them enough, the headaches will stop? He guesses he'll have a chance to find out. ]

Would you? If you had abilities? [ Because either she doesn't or she's really got some self-hating issues. Or a really good poker face. ]

What will they train people without abilities to do, then? Be spies?

[unseasoned]

[He's only right when he guesses that there's some level of hate involved; like Kevin, Virginia has abilities. They're ones she never asked for, and even thinking about them makes her feel uncomfortable in her own skin. She folds one arm in front of herself, gripping the other and lightly squeezing as she tries not to think about it. The last thing she needs is to start breaking down in the middle of orientation.]

Not a chance. [Even if powers and magic are all normal here, what she is, isn't. She's having a hard enough time adjusting to being the new girl. The last thing she wants on top of that is to be known as the victim. Maybe it's just a matter of time before people do start finding out, but for now, Virginia wants to keep her secrets.]

Or scientists, maybe. There's a club for it, if that kind of thing interests you.

[vates]

[ She seems tense, and then she goes and says that... and Kevin's a little nervous now. There are other people who can do things, but what do the other students say? What do they think? Is he going to have to worry about that, here, of all places? ]

Science is okay... I wanted to be a politician. [ He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to change things, help people.

Maybe this is a new way of doing it. ]

[dyskinesia]

[ After trying to navigate himself through the massive crowds - and failing largely, if he's to be honest -, Bruce settles himself by the tables, near the clubs he's been part of for the past years, answering any questions that newcomers might have, and giving away pamphlets to anyone that might look interested.

When she approaches the tables for the Science club and the Mathletes, Bruce's standing there, hunched slightly as if he's trying to make himself appear shorter, but probably only calling more attention to himself in the process. He lets her check out the information on display first, then tentatively he holds out pamphlets for both clubs, hazarding a guess since he's never seen her around before. ] Hi. Freshman?

[unseasoned]

I look like a freshman to you? [The corner of her mouth quirks upward, but Bruce can relax. There's more amusement in her sarcasm than anything else, and she doesn't snatch the pamphlets or anything. Typically she's been looking over each as she receives them, but this time she focuses on the person offering them. She's seen him almost cowering in the brief time she's been standing there, and she figures it must have taken him some courage to actually talk to her.]

Virginia Potts. [Shifting both papers to one hand, she offers the other to the boy across the table.] Newly-transferred Junior. What about you?

[dyskinesia]

[ Bruce seems almost taken aback at her tone for a moment, then with a slight shake of his head, he answers. ]

Well, I never saw you before. I didn't want to assume. [ Still, it doesn't look like she takes to heart his assumption, as she accepts the pamphlets, then stretches a hand out in a greeting. He hesitates, looking from her to that hand before getting his brain into gear and grasping it in a shake. ] Bruce Banner. Senior.

[unseasoned]

[Oh, poor guy. Virginia almost wonders if he's this shy around everyone, or maybe just girls. Either way, it's pretty clear just how hard he's trying, which oddly enough helps Pepper feel better. She's got all her own reasons to be awkward, but compared to Bruce, it's hard to feel that way at all.]

It's nice to meet you, Bruce Banner, Senior. [Still smiling, she looks down at the pamphlets. Hopefully talking about the clubs will be a bit easier on him.] I'm not really much of a science and math person. At least, not the complicated stuff. With a school like this, I'm imagining the ones who are must be genius level.

[dyskinesia]

[ He returns the words with a lopsided grin, shaking his head and making an effort to look her in the eye. ] Just Bruce is fine.

[ She seems nice, at least, that always helps him relax, despite the awkwardness that always comes from talking with new people. Especially when she pretty much shoots a comment his way that can only be seen as an indirect compliment. ]

I wouldn't say genius. [ Though in his case, yes. ] We've got a few people who are just curious, even when they don't know much about the stuff we do or talk about. But-- yeah, it's... alright. There's a lot of other clubs for you to pick from.

[unseasoned]

Good; that's what I was planning on going with. [She definitely does like him, even with the awkwardness. She's already a little curious to see what he's like when he's relaxed, and quick to address what she thinks is disappointment.]

And no rules saying you can't be friends with someone not in the clubs, right? [Because while Virginia doesn't see herself joining either the mathletes or the scientists, she also hopes that Bruce doesn't see it as a rejection of him.] Are you involved in any other activities?

[superteen]

[ Phil is doing his best to be friendly. He's not shy, per se, but he's not exactly a social butterfly, either. Still, first impressions are important and he's pushing himself to say hello to people who look unfamiliar. He remembers being new here, himself. ]

Hi, are you new?

[unseasoned]

New and starting to feel like I have a sign over my head. [But at least she's smirking when she says it. It's a little worrying that she stands out so easily. This school is either really tight-knit, or she's more noticeable than she thinks.]

I'm Virginia; I just transferred in for my third year.

[superteen]

Don't feel bad. The school's not that big, so it's easy to spot people who we don't recognize

[ He grins. ]

I'm in my third year, too. My name's Phil. The Academy isn't too scary once you get accustomed to it.

[unseasoned]

Oh, well. I can't think of any new transfer who wouldn't feel reassured after hearing that. [Except for maybe all of them. But Phil is clearly trying, and she can tell from his smile that he doesn't mean any harm. It's why she grins too, opting not to give him too many smartassed replies.]

I don't know if I'm scared. [Worried, concerned, sure. But something like fear is reserved more for what's inside of her. As for everything else, Virginia just slowly shakes her head.] It's just hard to know where to start. Back home, I would've been the one finding new people to greet. Here, I just feel lost.