[Open]

[chronobreak]

A. Redbright Institute

School might be out for the summer, but there are still plenty of students around. Some of them have dorms here, and others are just there for the summer classes. Regardless, Ekko is also there, keeping track of the underclassmen. Occasionally he has to guide a student to their classroom after they've gotten lost.

Sometimes he wonders why he took the position, but of course he knows why. It's just another small step in a quest for recognition. It's worth it. Even if he does have to deal with dealing with young kids.

Still, if he's needed or called for, he's there to help.

B. Everywhere

Ekko is seventeen and has about a year before he'll graduate. He knows that he wants to stay in London, and his grades are good enough for the universities here. But he also knows he's going to need a job. Which means there's a kid walking all over the place checking out stores and popping into them to ask for applications. Thankfully most have gone the way of electronic applications, but a few of them still have paper forms.

For shame.

He still takes them, slowly amassing a small collection of application forms over the day.

He may bump into people in his hurry to visit as many stores as possible. He could rewind so it never happened, but sometimes it's easier to just go with the timeline.

"Didn't see you there."

C. Wildcard

Choose your own adventure!

[Prose or brackets okay by me!]

Comments

B

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji looked surprised, but not put out, by the bump. One of the application forms had been jolted out from the rest of the pile by the impact; he slid it back in with its fellows. "No worries. Lookin' for a part-time job? I just quit mine a couple days ago."

[chronobreak]

As long as he didn't actually injure anybody, it's fine. He straightens the pile back, once Heiji puts the form back.

"Yeah? Where at?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Place called Cafe Poirot over in Barnet. It's a nice place; you should check it out if it's in your radius. Owner's got a thing for detective shows, in case that's a dealbreaker, but I only turned in my notice 'cause I got too busy."

He certainly seemed willing to chat up total strangers...

[chronobreak]

Barnet, not too far away and located in Redbright's territory. He'll need to hit it up.

"A detective themed cafe's no deal breaker, unless there's a bunch of actual murder mysteries to deal with. What'd you get busy with?" He can't help being curious.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji slid a hand along the brim of his baseball cap. "Not a P.I. yourself, huh? That's too bad! I got family over for the month, so obviously I gotta run all over London showin' 'em around. They wanna see everything -- the swans, Big Ben, the Thames... plus that one platform from them books about the wizard.

"That, and I got another job with a bunch of nutty coworkers. It pays better, I guess."

[chronobreak]

"Nope, I'm not much for dealing with bodies anyway." More like he's had to deal with too many dead friends to want to deal with anybody else's.

"There's plenty to see, if they're into that stuff." He's pretty glad his parents have never gone and dumped relatives on him like that. He's not sure he could deal with the boredom of lines. Ah, if only he could jump forward in time too.

"Yeah? Where are you now?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, only I already saw it all myself a couple months ago. Plus, have you ever tried to keep a bunch of little girls on task? I swear, they're always tryin' to wander off to who-knows-where." And harassing lawyers, he supposed.

Heiji made a face. "Over on the east side," he said a little morosely, gesturing in the direction of the Thames as if some of the earlier energy had been sucked out of him. "One lady brings her cat to work. I swear, one of these days it's gonna come back with someone's hand, that's how mean it is."

[chronobreak]

He feels for the guy. And he especially knows the feeling of trying to keep children on task. It's exhausting. He's not even in charge of them, but younger students seem to look up to him. Which is all at once concerning and a boost to his pride.

Yeesh, maybe the pay increase isn't worth that much if it's got this guy looking miserable. "Sounds rough. Did it scratch you?"

[detectiveofthewest]

How did they run so fast with those stubby little legs...

"Wha -- no. I mean, not yet. It better not if it knows what's good for it! Cat scratch fever's a real thing, y'know." Fever, chills, vomiting, fatigue... of course, whether Grimalkin was carrying anything like that around, he had no idea.

"Oh, well. I guess it could be worse. Hey, did you know a cat infected with toxoplasmosis can shed the parasite for up to two weeks? I mean, not that I have to clean out any litter boxes or anything, I'm just sayin'."

[chronobreak]

The boundless energy of youth?

"I don't own a cat." So none of those have ever come up for him. And he gets along with most animals well enough. Except for that one time he had a rat and it escaped- but that's another story.

"Did you look that stuff up just because you had to deal with one?"

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji laughed. "Nah, I do it for fun! You never know when a bit of trivia's gonna come in handy. Like check this, right? Toxoplasmosis gondii infections have also been linked to an increased risk for car accidents. 2.65 times more likely than people without it. They think it might be due to interference with normal reaction time, plus increased risk-taking behavior."

Yeah, sure, that was totally useful to know if you were on a quiz show or something.

"But I like 'em, anyway. I mean, except for that one, maybe. Dogs, though -- we just don't get along too well."

[chronobreak]

He can feel his eyes glazing over. He might be interesting in a few odd things, but cats have never been high on that list. And he's pretty sure it's not going to help him out much in his day to day life. "Weird trivia you've got."

Aren't dogs supposed to be more friendly than cats? "Did a dog bite you?"

[detectiveofthewest]

The search for someone to bandy about random facts with would have to continue, it seemed.

"There's usually a space between when you can tell they ain't happy with ya and when they actually bite you. So it's pretty much just barkin' and growling. Disappointed?"

[chronobreak]

He's not opposed to the odd fact here or there, but he much prefers things that have immediate uses.

"I'm not wishing animal wounds on a stranger." He shrugs.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji sighed. "Aww, come on -- that was wide open! I mean, you coulda said 'glad you aren't fooling ahound'. 'Dog bites can be ruff'. Gimme somethin' to work with, here."

Where was that ghost girl when you needed her?

[chronobreak]

Oh, so that's how he wanted to play. His lips quirk up, "Sorry, I'm not a pun guy."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji grinned widely. "Thanks for throwin' me a bone. It's a real dog-eat-dog world out there!"

[chronobreak]

Those are awful, but he's having fun. He can be just as terrible. "Guess you weren't barking up the wrong tree after all."

[detectiveofthewest]

They were terrible, but Heiji laughed anyway. Living in a city like London could be a bit bleak at times, and if there were bad puns to laugh at, then so be it.

"Hey, are you done for the day? Pickin' up applications, that is. If so, there's a great fish and chips joint around here. I mean, they got other stuff, too, and if you're short on cash, I could pick up the lab."

[chronobreak]

Like most cities, this one had it's ups and downs. Recently with more ups than downs, but that can change at a moment's notice.

He looks down at the stack in his hand. He's probably deserving of a break now. "I'm done if you're buying."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Then let's go!" Heiji started walking in the direction of the little eatery, from which delicious cooking smells were wafting into the air.

"It's tough poundin' the pavement in the summertime. Gotta keep up your energy."

[chronobreak]

The smell of food is always enticing. He can feel his mouth watering already.

"So what are you doing out?" If he's already got a job.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji waved to the guy taking orders and, perhaps predictably considering the way he'd introduced the place, ordered the fish and chips. "Me? I'm takin' the day off! Gotta do it every once in a while, y'know? Recharge your batteries."

And rest while he could, because who knew what the future held?

[chronobreak]

If the guy knows the fish and chips are the best thing here, he'll just go ahead and order the same. "Yeah, no good being burned out."

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji paid for them both, savoring the smell of the cooking food as he waited for their order. "Right? You gotta take a break now and then, make sure you're all fresh and daisylike when ya get back. Although the U.K. has shorter working hours than Japan, on average."