[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

[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."

[chronobreak]

There's not a whole lot better than the smell of cooking food. "The maximum here is a forty-eight hour work week. What's it like in Japan?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Well, in theory it's 40 hours," said Heiji, watching in fascination as the cooking oil sizzled.

"But in practice, some people work 60, 80-hour weeks. Unpaid overtime." Thankfully, he never had to deal with that, though.

[chronobreak]

Unpaid- there's a brief look of horror. Why would anybody even want to agree to that? If they aren't getting a paycheck out of it, what's the point?

"You're serious?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Hey, why would I make that kinda thing up?" Heiji leaned an elbow against the counter. "No one does that out here? I know there's some crazy workweeks over in the States, too, but I think we got them beat."

[chronobreak]

"They've got to be nuts," it the only explanation he can come up with. If they were actually getting paid it would be different, but otherwise, good grief.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah..." said Heiji, enjoying the smell of cooking food. "But I guess that's what's expected, y'know? Until someone changes things."

[chronobreak]

Ekko just groans and rubs his cheek. Workaholics are probably the only people in the world he just doesn't understand.

"I guess," it sounds a more like a petulant teenager than he really wanted it too. "Anybody planning on that?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Lotta people grousin' about it," he said, taking his plate with a smile and a thank you as his order was finished. "But unless something serious happens, I don't think it'll change anytime soon. You know, like an organized labor movement."

[chronobreak]

"Doesn't America have something like that?" He didn't pay that much attention to his world studies class, he did tend to perk up when the matter involved business.

He thanks the waiter as he gets his plate and starts in. "Guess stuff's different everywhere."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Labor unions? Sure. They've fallen out of the influence they used to have, though." Don't ask Heiji how he knew about American labor unions, though.

He sat down at a table, popping a fry into his mouth. "Personally, I don't think I could deal with it. Sounds like a pretty awful way to live."

[chronobreak]

"The labor unions or working like that?" He takes a seat next to Heiji and starts chowing down on a piece of fish.

"I don't think I could have my work dominate my whole life."