Playing Pretend

[Maya Deveraux]

After years of mimicking proper social conduct (through books), Maya could safely say her abilities to pick up on social cues (verbal ones anyway) were up to par. Which was why when customers came, she was pleasant, engaging and warm. With her staff, she was professional but not cold. She didn't overdo it, just enough to make sure people didn't suspect anything. People. Baseline human beings.

She did her usual rounds of the whole book store, making sure nothing was going to topple over and nobody could trip over. She actually smiled when she realised the cafe was serving up their afternoon paninis. The bread smelled amazing.

Sliding her stick against the floor, she didn't realise someone was behind her until her stick hit them. "Oh my, I am so sorry. Clumsy me."

[Guy LeGrange]

"Quite fine, most people overlook me," replied Guy. He'd only winced slightly as the stick hit him, working his way through the book store. Not that Guy could really get much direct enjoyment out of the various books stocked here. The daughter of a friend, however, had been getting about to the reading age, except that, well, she needed books like the ones offered here. So Guy had figured that he should fulfill his role as an educator and head to the book store. Local shopping and all that.

Though he hadn't expected to get whacked with a stick. Usually he had to go to a bar or something for treatment like that. He winced and walked around, frowning as he looked up at the wielder of said stick. Not because of the rudeness, though he hadn't appreciated that, but because she sounded and looked vaguely familiar. All that meant was that she could've potentially passed through town or possibly been here a while.

"Actually," said Guy, nodding, "I was looking for a book. Daughter of a friend is hitting the chapter book phase and yes," he said, looking up, "she requires braille books, hence why I'm here, looking at your stock..." he paused, frowning and looking up, "and you look familiar. You don't perchance have an older sister or mother? I ask because you're attractive, but you seem just a tad young to be one of my exes," there, something complimentary, a little self-deprecating, all with the potential to open things up for further conversation.

[Maya Deveraux]

Maya had to frown when the man's voice came out pretty familiar. She tried to reach out with her ability, only to find that either he didn't have any or hers wasn't working. She didn't normally find baseline humans to be familiar though.

She was distracted by his request however, so she put on a smile and tried to judge where she was by where the smell of food was coming from and where her stick hit. Josephine had strategically placed indicators on the floor so Maya could navigate through it without much problems.

"Ah. The children's section should be on the other side of the room." She hoisted her stick up and pointed the head to where the children's section should be.

When he revealed that she too looked familiar, Maya tried once more to reach out with her abilities. Again, distracted, but this time due to his remark about her looks. Widening her smile, she feigned embarrassment and nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Thank you and yes. Josephine Deveraux is my older sister." She responded. Josephine was one of the most renowned real estate agent in Kalispell. Maybe the man had bought a house from her?

"You sound familiar, sir...I feel like I've heard your voice before. Are you a local?" She asked as she let her walking cane rest against her hip. She also then registered that his voice had come from slightly beneath her. Was he in a wheelchair?

[Guy LeGrange]

"Ah, well, hopefully I'll find something there that should be of interest to her," said Guy, turning to look. He hoped that the titles were written out as well. Near as he could tell there were at least a few directional signs here and there done out. Probably put up for sighted parents or the few odd entrants like him.

The woman did have an older sister, and Guy recognized the name. Hard not to, given that there were billboards here and there with the woman's smiling face: realtors almost always looked like they were so happy to sell you a house that it physically hurt them. He hadn't had any contact with Ms. Deveraux though, as he'd bought his house some time before she rose to prominence.

So why did he recognize the woman? "I work at one of the local schools," he said, "Bellefonte Academy. I've been there for well over two decades now, much to the regret of most of the locals. I'm also a regular fixture at Matt's Hole in the Wall, where I regularly attempt to eat myself into an early grave," Guy paused and then raised a hand, ready to either block the cane or help it. "I'm also short of stature, so please be careful with your weapon there. Be awkward if you end up bopping me before I place my order and all."

[Maya Deveraux]

Nodding in acquiescence, Maya figured he was ready to move towards the pointed out section, so she started moving that way.

When his voice came back, Maya was surprised he was still behind her and she turned at the mention of her alma mater. Things came rushing back to her and she gave out a genuine laugh.

"Oh my God...is that you Mr. LeGrange?" She asked with a small chuckle. "Excuse me for laughing. I just didn't think I'd be seeing you this soon."

[Guy LeGrange]

Mr. Legrange? That made her a student, and likely one that Guy had actually had himself. He grinned up at the girl, glad that she couldn't see the slightly confused expression he wore right then. This did happen from time to time, though Guy at least did better at remembering his students then most. Helped that he worked one on one with them for an extended period of time.

"It's alright, most students don't expect to ever see me again," he said, attempting to add a shrug. Even the ones that didn't leave Kalispell seemed almost surprised when they encountered Guy again, as if they weren't fully aware that he lived in the area and wasn't a recluse or anything like that. "Though I'm guessing you don't mean that quite literally, as despite what some have said, I'm not Jesus Christ."

Okay, a bit crude, but it usually worked as an ice breaker, especially among students who weren't expecting their instructor to talk like that.

[Maya Deveraux]

Genuine laughter often surprised Maya when it crept up. It wasn't easy to elicit one but when it came, even Maya would be weirded out. More so when you take into account that it came from someone Maya had not liked. Respected yes; it was hard not to respect someone like Mr. LeGrange. But like? No.

"No, I suppose you're not." She smiled behind pursed lips. "Although I must admit, it's quite refreshing to reconnect with people who know you well enough to roll with the punches." She shook her head in amusement, having referenced how insanely PC people in Kalispell were around her.

"So you're still at BA? How quaint."

[Guy LeGrange]

The only problem with meeting past student was that Guy could never tell precisely how they'd react to him. Some remembered him fondly and were thrilled to catch up. Others still hated him for past wrongs, either real or imagined. He'd had to dodge his share of power blasts before. He didn't recall Maya being one of those though, and he was sincerely hoping that he wouldn't have to put his poor reflexes to the test now.

"Rolling happens to be one of my greatest talents," Guy drawled in response to Maya's comment, chuckling. He appreciated self-deprecating humor, after all. It made dealing with certain issues a little easier, if not a lot easier. He turned to look down the aisle though, hoping that he could find what he needed. Maya's comment/question caught his attention, and he looked back, raising a brow.

"You're still in Kalispell yourself," he pointed out, nodding. Guy figured that Maya was just used to missing gestures like that, and he didn't see any reason to alter his behavior unless she told him it bothered him. "There's something about the area that has a tendency to draw our people back to it. Probably helps that this is something of a mutant haven. Though I did try to become an assistant coach for the NBA. They just weren't interested for some reason."

[Maya Deveraux]

"Is that so?" Maya joined in the chuckling as she shook her head at his measly joke. No use making an enemy of a person who could very well render her useless in a power battle.

She quirked her head to the side briefly before nodding at his response. "My family is here. Though sentimental I am not, I do have a duty to my parents' legacy." She explained before chuckling genuinely at the teacher's next joke.

"Oh I'm sure the height had nothing to do with it. You might accidentally activate yoru powers during a game and render half the court useless because we both know basketball players are obviously mutants."

[Guy LeGrange]

Guy was used to people thinking that his humor wasn't all that funny. He didn't necessarily mean for every joke to cause a chuckle; the point was to create an environment, not necessarily to entertain. If he'd wanted to do the latter, he would've gone into the circus. They probably already had a clown outfit in his size.

The answer came easily enough from Maya, one that he'd heard some variation of before. Family did have the tendency to draw people. The talk of legacies made Guy wonder if the building he stood in now had something to do with that. He thought about asking, though he soon found laughter replacing questions as she picked up his comment and ran with it.

"Sadly, I could only do one or two at a time. Which would still be amusing, watching them slip and slide," Guy nodded. "I don't suppose you could help me pick out a book? might as well do what I actually came here for, though I don't begrudge the company, unless you've something better to do."

[Maya Deveraux]

Maya simply smiled at Guy's response, finding it amusing that they were still going with the joke. Thankfully, the guy seemed to pick up on the cue and decided to use her for what she was actually there for.

"I own a bookstore, Mr. LeGrange. The only better thing I could do is sign off on a new shipment. And I already did that last Tuesday." She chuckled before tapping her stick to lead the way to where the power suppressor's selection was.

"Is there a particular book you're trying to find? Or any will do? Because I can recommend a few here." She stated as her fingers slid across the panels that had the Braille indentations coded by author's name.

[Guy LeGrange]

"Ah, I must've figured that the life of a book store owner was much more glamorous. I blame television," said Guy. He fell right in line behind Maya, watching her deftly maneuver her way through the shop. He'd never been one to underestimate someone just because of some physical attribute though: he'd long since learned that lesson. Though he supposed he shouldn't be overly impressed: it was her shop after all. Which was precisely why she had suggestions on hand.

"I wouldn't mind a classic," he said, looking over at the shelves. "Something along those lines. Though I should probably pick up something more modern..." Guy shrugged, "I suppose nothing says I can't get two books. I'm an educator, so I can always use that. Which reminds me, I don't suppose that teachers get a special discount of some sort, do they? Because I certainly wouldn't mind saving a few pennies..."

Or more, if it came down to it.

[Maya Deveraux]

"Oh you should. We should all blame the television, really. I blame the TV as well," she said with a mock serious look on her face.

Nodding at Guy's choice, Maya's hands guided her along the shelves to find some Dr. Seuss books. "Ah, here. And yes, these are my classics." She smirked as she picked one at random and showed it to Guy, or at least she thought she was since she didn't know where he actually was right then.

"We're reasonably priced as is, actually. But if you sign up for a free membership today, I could shave twenty percent off. And maybe for sentimental reasons, I suppose five percent more as well." She shrugged with a semblance of a smile.

"And if you're looking for more modern stuff, I believe we have the Babysitter's Club collection somewhere."

[Guy LeGrange]

Guy nodded, fully in agreement with Maya's assessment of television. He did seem to realize that she probably hadn't noticed the gesture, as he quickly followed up with a verbal: "Quite."

Next thing he knew, he was among the various books, looking at them all. Maya plucked a book from the shelf nearly at random, and soon Guy found himself looking down at what appeared to be a copy of Little Woman. Perhaps not strictly what he was thinking about, but he assumed it would be a good start. If nothing else, the young person could grow into it.

"Sounds like I'll be signing up for a membership then," said Guy, looking up from the book. He did have to agree with Maya's assessment: the prices he saw were quite fair, on the whole. "The Babysitter's Club?" repeated Guy, amusement creeping in. "Is that supposed to be a joke? Because I'm pretty certain the Babysitter's Club was modern back when I was looking for chapter books. though I was much more interested in more masculine literature, I can assure you."

[Maya Deveraux]

"Great." She set her lips into a wide smile when the teacher agreed on signing up for a membership.

Maya chuckled when her joke caught on, shrugging delicately as her fingers skittered over the authors trying to find more recent literature. "I'm quite sure you don't need to validate your masculinity with me, Mr. LeGrange.

Finding some cartoon adaptation and also some recent animated movie adaptations, she picked a few and presented them to the teacher. "Perhaps these might interest her? It...is a her, isn't it?" Maya asked, completely unaware of the pronoun she had chosen.