mercurio | 〈 recolle ic contact 〉

it's kind of a mix? i have my own place
but i hang out at noct's quite a bit
it's a really big place i think he doesn't mind the company

No, I should imagine not.

[Another pause, then.]

The next meal you're scheduled to bring me is dinner, yes? At the university?

[It most certainly is, and she knows it. But she asks anyway.]

yeah, dinner! raviolis i think... i got a copy of the menu in my bag

Bring something for yourself. I'll show you a sample of the coursework then.

[this sounds like one of those offers that mean more than what it's... meant to, at first glance.]

yeah sure i can do that
are the raviolis you order any good?

[Listen, she's eaten enough meals alone to know it's a pretty lonely thing, okay, except of course she's not going to admit that. So he's coming over to learn about quantum physics, that's it, that's all.]

I'm very fond of them. And they're a great deal better than something you get out of a can, so yes, I'd say they're fairly good.

then i'll give them a try! they must be really good
i'm sure it'll be delicious

[prompto arrives in time for his daily dinner drop-in at the university, bearing a slightly heavier bag with food from the ridiculously fancy italian place. well, fancy for prompto, anyway.]

[he knocks on doctor lutece's door despite it being already slightly open, and he pokes his head in with a smile. it's not that she intimidates him anymore, and it's not like prompto trusts her without question--but there's something about seeing a person on a near-daily basis to deliver them their favoured meals that really does something to the gained perception of things.]

Dinner delivery.

[in he goes, as he usually does, and waits for rosalind to make space on her table before setting down the bag. prompto points over at his backpack with his thumb in a motion of a person who just remembered something.]

I brought some peach flavored ice tea. Thought you might enjoy it.

[Oddly enough, the narrator is drinking that right now, so well chosen, Prompto, what an excellent suggestion.]

I'll certainly try it. I typically stick to hot tea-- although that's something of a lost cause around here.

[Do you know how many times she's endured bagged tea, Prompto? Too many times. Rosalind reaches for the food, pulling containers out of bags and setting it up between them. She's two paper plates, and even two sets of plastic utensils, dragged out from her secret stash (supplied by Fawkes, who gets bullied into stealing from the student cafeteria).]

No problems getting here?

--same as always. It's never too bad in the evenings, and going on a scooter means I avoid most traffic.

[he sits himself down and pulls his backpack over, pulling out the carton of ice tea, and setting it on the table. he's never quite witnessed the ritual for dinner eating, so it's a bit fascinating to see the secret stash.]

[but whether he saw it or has an opinion on it, prompto says naught.]

Figure hot tea's kind of hard during the summer. I'm a bigger fan of sports drinks.

[setting his backpack down, he looks through the plastic containers and picks out the one with tomato sauce for himself. rosalind gets her creamy sauce with truffles.]

Do you usually stay in longer after dinner?

Sometimes. It depends on if I'm in the middle of researching something or if all I'm doing is grading things. I should say--

[She waves a plastic fork carelessly, shrugging as she does.]

I'm better about it here than I was when I worked in the field. I used to have a cot in my lab back then, because I'd usually end up wanting to stay the night when I worked on a problem. But Ardyn's had to force me into heading home more than once before.

[he transfers his food onto the plastic plate, and setting the container aside, starts by biting in a ravioli. it's definitely meat... and delicious. like it was just freshly made. no wonder there's so much hype over this place.]

[at the mention of ardyn, prompto smiles, then lowers his eyes, trying to coat another ravioli with sauce entirely]

Ardyn's an unexpected voice of reason.

Being so passionate about something is really cool, though. I'd have a lot of fun staying up til crazy hours just developing pictures and falling asleep on a corner of the room. --then I saw Shutter and I said, no heckin' way, not doing that again!

[he's jovial, looking up at the wall with the doctor's merits.]

Teachers really work hard. It's admirable.

To be perfectly candid, I put in the most work utilizing the lab for my own purposes.

. . . but I appreciate it. It's a far different job than I expected it to be, but it has its own rewards.

[Moments like these, for starters. Rosalind glances behind her, noting where he's looking. If he does the math very quickly, he might just figure out she earned her doctorate by twenty-three.]

Dare I ask after the plot of Shutter?

[he doesn't do the math, but he does realise that many of her degrees are close to one another. it's impressive, nonetheless, since he doesn't think she's all that much older than him--maybe by a decade or so.]

[eyes blowing up dramatically, prompto kicks his feet on the floor]

No way! You totally got to watch it! But just know that there's a lot of ghost scares while in the darkroom. Nightmares for weeks.

[wheeze]

I love creepy shi--- things, but that was a little too close to home for me...

[Her mouth twitches, and Rosalind presses her fingers to her lips, hiding a smile.]

You can curse, Prompto.

Is that the one where they've . . . isn't it something about they have a week's time to pass on the photograph or some little girl comes to kill them?

[Listen, she's not so good at the pop culture.]

[unabashedly, prompto does laugh]

No way! That's The Ring you're thinking about, and it's a video tape! It's a Japanese one, but Shutter is Thai. Are you easily scared? I can get you a DVD copy if you aren't! It's worth experiencing!

The ending has this amazing [spreading his arms] twist, my mind was blown!

[This is most definitely something she's going to regret, but whatever, yolo.]

I should think I have to watch, now. Although if I refuse to be photographed by you afterwards, you can't complain.

That's fine. Only the photographer would be haunted.

[matter-of-fact nod, eating two raviolis in one go. hm! he picks up at the ice tea and fills up the two plastic cups, drinking from his own almost immediately]

I'm sure there'll be a lot of chances for me to do so if I end up in your class anyway.

Oh, no.

[How can one person look so arch and authoritative while eating ravioli? Generations of breeding, that's how.]

No, no. If you take my class, you'll be paying attention. I don't tolerate goofing off.

[she does look authoritative, but it does very little for prompto]

Who says it's goofing off? I could totally be working on a class assignment. You'd never know!

[he's not going to be a star student]

You're not supposed to be doing that either. When you enter my classroom, Prompto, you ought to only have one thing on your mind.

"Everything is made of waves, and also particles"?

[he asks, closing his eyes dramatically. but... he can't help the amusement in his features as he smiles, and stabs at the last of his ravioli]

I can't promise I'll be a good student. I don't really know what to expect, although I suppose the worksheets you'll give me might help me out. But... I do promise to do my very best.

I'm committed [chomp chomp raviolis] --not to let y'down.

I very much doubt you'll let me down, Prompto.

[She says it so quickly, the sentiment semi-hidden in false language, that he might be forgiven for not hearing her at all. Certainly Rosalind seems keen on distracting him; she passes a stack of papers over the desk.]

Here. They're what I offer my classes the first week, to see what people know and where I have to start. It's as good a test as any.

Edited (let's clarify that a bit) 2017-07-23 03:51 (UTC)

[prompto glances up and takes the papers, putting them beside him. he cleans up his hand on his dark jeans and pushes the now empty container away so he can looking down at the papers, flipping through the first couple of pages.]

[raising his head again, he goes about and picks out a pencil from the holder on her desk.]

Honestly.

Physics' is like a puzzle. I like solving puzzles.

[he starts scratching at the paper, answering problem #1 on the side of the paper]

As a kid, I would spend hours at home practicing maths problems. During the summer I'd rent out the maths book from the school library, go through the entire thing. Reciting the multiplication tables while bouncing a ball on the wall.

Most fun I had.

[he stops to look down at his answer, and satisfied, moves to the second one]

[She's pleased he looks down at the paper, because it means she can successfully hide her smile without him knowing it. Rosalind busies herself with her drink, and then, when she thinks she can keep her expression under reasonable control:]

My mother was never very fond of my spending too much time in the library. When she inevitably kicked me out, I'd grab my physics books and climb a tree, and do the precise same thing anyway. Though I suppose I at least got some fresh air while I was at it.

〈 recolle ic contact 〉

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject