2014-03-16 - Study Break
| Title: Study Break! | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Two tired students, taking a rest from an intense period of study, meet and form the basis of a friendship! | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Ohtori Academy Espresso Bar | |
| OOC - IC Date: A nebulous amount of time after "No Silence in the Library" -- Follow the Further Misadventures of Asagao Uekawa by going on to "Derive While You Prove" next! | |
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
As the evening hours crawl on, Asagao Ueakawa (8th Grade, Gymnastics and Crafting Enthusiast) emerges from the library. Her eyes are tired, her hair a bit limp, and though she's ostensibly on some sort of break, she's got a book in one hand.
Even as she leans backwards with her free hand on the small of her back to work a kink out, while letting out a whimpering moan.
Walking towards the Espresso Bar, Asagao is still reading the book - holding it open in one hand ('Chemical Changes and Reactions, A Thorough Compendium') - at least being careful to look up now and then to make sure she doesn't ram into anyone on the way to her chosen 'recharge.'
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Rune is already at the bar, and in some ways is a more pronounced copy of Asagao; there's no book, but the fatigue is even more prominent. Enough so that she was starting to nod off in her seat, but even careful footsteps make a little noise and that's sufficient to jar her back to reality. "Huh? Oh..."
Looking around, she eventually spots Asagao. There's no immediate recognition aside from silently wondering if they have passed one another in the school halls before, but this lack of familiarity isn't a huge problem. A polite offer is made: "If you want my seat, I was just about done here?"
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Hmm?" Asagao looks up a bit tiredly, recognizing that she's being spoken to - and then smiles; thin and a little weak, but warm nonetheless. "I'll join you if you don't mind? There's no need to rush off, and plenty of chairs after all."
Setting her book down to the open page, Asagao quickly gets her espresso and comes back to the table with one croissant in her mouth and two more on small plates. One of which she sets down by Rune!
Tearing off and hungrily getting down the hunk of croissant in her mouth, washing it down with some coffee, the older girl finally leans back and allows herself a small, contented sigh. "You been at it all day, too?"
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Joining her works too. The bar is rather popular, but there's room for it. Rune is merely tired, not avoidant; Asagao's offer nets a "Alright," then the food nets a "Thank you." The croissant itself is interesting enough, and Runealy gets a few bites into hers... then stops to answer the question. "All day and then some. Up until a few days ago, it wasn't whether I was going to pass or fail but /how badly/ I was going to fail. Now, maybe I have just enough of a chance to make it. But,"
She gestures to Asagao's drink. "Did that help you as much as it sounded like?"
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
The whole 'going to fail and fantastically' part gets nothing but sympathy from Asagao, her brow wrinkling a bit in worry but relaxing again upon the last part... which then easily transmogrifies into another smile!
"Oh, I don't know how much it will help with studying, or with sleep, but it does *taste* really good and it's nice and warm so it definitely helps morale if nothing else!"
A bit of a giggle, and then Asagao sets her cup down. "What subject are you worried about the most, maybe I can help?"
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
"Huh..." The description gets Rune's interest. "Be right back," she comments while stepping away to get an espresso of her own. Her words only prove somewhat true; it actually takes her a bit of trial-and-error to figure out how the drinks are prepared. This is the sort of thing that's embarassing to do, but might also be just as bad to watch.
She gets it eventually though, and returns to her seat beside Asagao. "Which one? All of them, except math. Let me put it this way." A pause to take another bite from the croissant, then she stares Asagao right in the eyes to speak with grave seriousness. "I didn't know what cell phones were until about a month and a half ago, and still have no idea whatsoever how 'automobiles' work." This more formal term for cars is said with an air of unfamiliarity one might reserve for referring to sorcery or brain surgery.
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Oh my!" Asagao says, actually sounding both impressed and curious. "It must be very different, where you're from." She's only ever imagined life without all of those things, and has some fairly romantic ideas about such a life for it. "Do you miss it very much? Or are you looking forward to going back someday and sharing everything you learn while you're here?"
As a sort of follow up, Asagao picks up the other half of her croissant and tears a strip off of it. "From the sound of it, Science will probably be your hardest exam - in which case I'm afraid I might not be much help at all. It's my worst subject!" Both confessional and apology in her tone, it's not difficult to get the sense that her grades on paper are probably better than she feels about them in her heart.
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
Impressed. That's a new one; Rune had been wincing and braced for laughter. Asagao's question is different than that, and turns Runealy contemplative. How much to say? A full confession would sound completely insane, but Asagao has asked something compelling all the same. "...Yeah. I miss it a lot. But when I go back... 'everything'? No. We're not ready. We wouldn't take electricity and trains well, and our idea of a 'dating sim' would be to hire a stage actor to pretend. Those things I can't share. What I've learned about people, though? That might be okay."
The apology is handled gracefully. "That's okay. It's weird, a tutor from Infinity approached me out of nowhere a few days ago and they've been helping out a lot. I have no idea why she did it, but with the way she's presenting the lessons? I have a chance. I'm not going to get top grades, but if I /pass/, even by just a little, that will be good enough for now."
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Several platitudes about grades and studying leap immediately to mind, but frankly Asagao is *way* more interested about the sort of place Rune comes from, so all she offers on the subject of exams is; "That's wonderful, though! To come from not knowing much about the sort of things we study to being able to *pass* the tests is great progress! If you keep it up you'll do even better during the next ones!"
Which is a mouthful, but it comes out fairly quickly. The espresso must be starting to kick in.
"How long have you been in Tokyo? Was it very difficult to adjust to so much technology so quickly?" Asagao's eyes even start to get a little starry, "I've always dreamed about living life without all the creature comforts, but my parents' idea of camping is renting a cabin without cable television!"
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
"Well, you'd be right if I was actually learning much. I..." Rune decides to make a dangerous admission. "I'm /memorizing./ Learning the right answers, but not why they're correct. And I know it's wrong, that these lessons are making a foundation for understanding important things. But for now, faking it with the right answers is the best I can do! If I pass these exams, then I'll really start learning."
Asagao seems fascinated, and is now onto topics that don't require omitting major details. Runealy eases up a little for those questions. "Just short of two months, and... yeah. It was, and still is. There's a lot of stuff we just don't 'get.' Like how you can have miniature trains in buildings. No windows, but somehow you push a button and they take you to another part of the place. Glass candles light up the whole room when you pull a switch. Three months ago, we would have told you it was completely impossible to do things like that."
Then Rune takes a drink from her own espresso, and... her eyes go wide!
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Is... that your first coffee?" Asagao asks quite tentatively, eyes wide and brow knit. "I hope you put some cream and sugar in it, it can be..." Hmm. "Drinking it without anything in it takes experience. Lots of it," she says instead. Everything else is on hold until she sees how Runealy makes it with the coffee.
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
"Y... yeah. /Wow!/" Rune looks as though she just drank fire instead of coffee, and if Asagao was watching earlier then... no, there wasn't any cream or sugar used. Getting just the coffee itself had been enough of a challenge that Rune had an air of 'good enough, go with it' by that point. "Well, I /was/ tired! That explains why they set all this up in the first place!"
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Just be careful you don't have too many of them too quickly," Asagao warns just a little. "If you aren't used to the caffeine, too much of it can make you a little over-energetic!" One Espresso shouldn't be so bad, though, right?
"So, how did you come to Tokyo? If you lived in a place with no cars or electricity, what drove you to even want to make contact with the outside world?" Asagao is probably thinking of some sheltered, Amish-like rural community somewhere, not another world entirely!
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
That warning is taken with grave seriousness. "What?" Rune stares at her drink, then at Asagao. Then the drink again, and she sets it down on the bar and pushes it away. "Thank you for telling me. I... wouldn't want to do that again." This is more than just a polite 'thanks'; Runealy looks genuinely grateful for the advice, in the same way someone else might be relieved if sudden help from a stranger prevented them from mixing dangerous chemicals.
Several deep breaths follow as Rune tries to calm down. "That's a long story. What brought us here was desperation. We thought we needed something important, but it turned out what was really required was... people. Good people with a lot of talent. It turns out Tokyo has plenty of those."
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
Asagao listens, her attention totally rapt, leaning her chin on the heel of her palm. She smiles at the last statement, "Your family certainly picked a good place in that regard then, yes!"
Suddenly, she sits up with a small gasp.
"I'm so sorry! I've been so rude, talking all this time and we haven't even exchanged names! I'm Asagao Uekawa, please forgive me!"
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
"Yeah..." Runealy winces, suddenly not feeling the caffeine as much; Asagao's comments have inadvertently but clearly hit a nerve. "Everyone was..." How does one explain it in mundane terms? A lot of people around Ohtori have reacted very oddly to the full truth, usually passing it off as rather average fiction. Partial truths end up being the order of the day here: "Very sick. 'Going to die if we didn't get help' sick. Several people here in Tokyo were able to help, and now I'm here to see if there's something," Rune suddenly turns very intense and speaking with firm defiance, "anything that can be done to repay them. If that means I have to get past a few 'final exams' to do it, then I will."
...Then she deflates when Asagao points out the obvious problem. "Ah!? You're right." That's embarrassing. "Runealy Waldia," not a name from around here, obviously. "Or 'Rune' for short. That's easier." A nod. "Pleased to meet you."
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Very nice to meet you, Rune-san," Asagao says with another bright smile, lifting her head from 'apology bow' state. "I'm very glad that our people were able to help your people, and your aim is an admirable one!"
"Speaking of final exams, though, we should probably get back to studying! I only meant to take a quick break, but it's been so nice talking with you!" Asagao really means it, too, or at least seems to. "Thank you for answering so many questions, I'm sure I was a bother."
Pose Tracker: Runealy Waldia Ohtori Academy (7) has posed.
The shift in mood works, bringing Rune back up from a brief funk. "Well, I'm getting there at least." A very mild show of self-depreciation. Then as Asagao tries to wind the conversation down, Runealy has a few headshakes. "A bother? No. Actually, you put a few things in perspective for me. That's just as good as any sort of tutoring help would have been, so... thanks. Maybe we can talk again after these final exams are over?" Not the casually-termed 'finals', but 'final exams', much as Asagao had been saying it... just with a bit more unfamiliarity. Despite that, Rune returns Asagao's smile; fainter, but it's there and it's clear the elder student's questions did get the gears turning in someone's head.
Pose Tracker: Asagao Uekawa Ohtori Academy (8) has posed.
"Of course!" Asagao announces, all smiles, as she stands up and sticks her thumb in her book to hold its place. "I'd like that very much!" Before she turns to go back to the library though...
"Oh! About what you said earlier, about the memorization?"
"It's actually a really good learning technique! Even if you don't feel like you're connecting with the material, you're building a solid base of things to grow on!" Asagao's eyes close with how bright her smile gets. "You'll do great! See you later!"
END!
