I Believe You Owe Me A Cupcake

[Charity Croft]

Charity heard the not really and she had to let out another little snorting laugh at that. She bent over slightly, bringing her hand up to sort of cover her mouth. He talked about their meeting, which only brought it back up in Charity's mind which only furthered her own amusement at the whole situation.

Though she did realize that perhaps her reaction wouldn't go over quite as well as it should. She shook her head at the comment, raising a hand. "I totally remembered you! Believe it or not,' she lowered her hand, still fighting the giggles, "I don't talk penis cakes with just everyone," Charity let out another little chuckle before shaking her head. She lifted both hands up, took a deep breath, and released it slowly, hands lowering as if to push it out as she did.

When she finished, Charity nodded once more and looked up at Jason. "Besides, you were, like, one of the first real friendly conversations I had after coming here. It was kinda rough getting here for the first time and all," Charity shrugged. "and hey: I clearly didn't scare you away. So maybe I'm better at this whole talking to adults thing then I thought!"

{Charity's post 200, whooo!}

[Jason Campbell]

Jason had not seen a woman quite like her. On some aspects, he was even ready to say she was not entirely out of adolescence just yet. Or maybe it was just him who matured too fast and couldn’t just have fun when fun was right in his face. He knew he was not what you’d call a funny person. He was not necessarily boring either, though sometimes he was, he just was not the clown in the group. Never had been. Yet, somehow, he kept making her laugh and that was a strange if not unpleasant feeling for the doctor.

He laughed with her as they recalled their first encounter. “It’s true that it isn’t every day you get the chance to discuss that,” he admitted. Unless you worked in that kind of bakery but that clearly was not the point for either of them. And, quite frankly, this was not a bakery Jason would go to a lot in his life, if ever.

He was actually surprised to hear this from her. She looked like a very friendly person and didn’t expect her to have trouble socializing. When you introduce yourself by talking of penis cakes, Jason figured you had no problem going to people. Then again, maybe the people had trouble talking t you if your topics of conversation were always this... unusual. “I get that it’s not always easy to come back. We were students before and now we return as adults, it’s not the same deal,” he told her. He didn’t think he struggled so much but he didn’t go after complete strangers to try and socialize with them just because they were adults like he was. He mostly talked to the ones who could settle him in his new job and from there made some friends. Although the amount of said friends around here drastically dropped after Guy was gone.

He had a soft chuckle as she pointed out she did not scare him away. “I’ve worked at the emergency of an hospital before. You’d be surprised all you can see or hear,” he replied. He said nothing to her being better at adult discussion than she thought because, honestly, he wouldn’t be able to assure her she was good at it. She still surprised her but he had been kind enough not to call her a freak and just leave.

[Charity Croft]

Charity's head again bobbed as they remembered how they'd met. It was definitely the sort of meeting that you would remember. Charity knew that she at least had that going for her: most people who met her didn't really end up forgetting her.

It seemed as though Jason also understood the whole going back to the school thing. Charity again found her head bobbing along with some assessment there. "yeah, I think that's part of my problem. I keep having these flashbacks to my awkward teenage years," she waved a hand over her face for a moment before letting out a slightly nervous laugh. Sometimes it felt as though she hadn't ever left those years, though then again, from what Charity knew, it sounded like that was what it was like for just about everyone.

So Jason had done emergency work at a hospital: definitely something to keep in mind. He was pretty decent looking too, but Charity knew he'd also known her dad, which pretty much meant she was out of luck when it came to the dating thing. Eh, things could be worse.

"I was actually working with younger kids until pretty recently," Charity admitted, adding a slight shrug. "so, like, I'm used to talking to people way younger than myself, and younger even than most of the people here. It kinda puts me in weird positions from time to time," She gave him another slightly awkward smile. This definitely felt like one of those times. She again wondered what script she should be following, exactly...

[Jason Campbell]

Funny how he got to meet her like that. Jason never pretended to be someone particularly interesting or funny. He didn’t think he left any kind of impression on people, whether it be good or bad. He might while healing them, as he was a competent doctor and a skilled healer, but other than that, he considered his personality to be bland. He was fine with it. Not everyone was meant to shine. So the circumstances upon which they met seemed out of character for him. He was certain it was the reason why he left an impression on her, although he would not be surprised if she actually did not manage to recognize him until he brought it up.

He looked at the reception where they were, thinking back at the way it looked when he was a student himself. “I was sort of a ghost myself. If we ever did a reunion, I don’t think many of those who graduated at the same time I did would remember me. Not unless they still live here and happened to be my patient now,” he told her. He was not bitter about it. It was just a fact and he knew he was also to blame for this. He never tried to have people know him more. Teenage years were always awkward, he thought, so he didn’t think there was a particular reason for her to use that word over any other at her disposal. It was fascinating how people often claimed that to be the best years. They sure were not.

“Elementary school?” What? She said younger kids. Then he remembered she was a trainer so she might not have done anything like teaching before. Kindergarten then? He was terrible at guessing. “I was always told I talked like an old person. Even when I was a student here,” he admitted after she shared with him her struggles at conversing with the students of this school. If she had trouble, he could just imagine himself. He would never get their slang. He already had trouble whenever someone texted him with abbreviations.

[Charity Croft]

Strange to think of yourself as a "ghost" when it came to something like school. Then again, Charity had encountered at least a few students here who would probably say the same thing. Sometimes it just felt as though some of them were in the background, that they didn't make an impact or even matter in the grander scheme of things.

"With me it was less ghost and more sort of nerd," Charity replied, shrugging. "Old school weird type though. I don't really get, like, Star Trek or whatever. I wanted good grades and to make stuff," she shrugged slightly. That had been what had carried her into her career which had in turn led her to where she stood now.

"Uh, yeah, some, and younger, even," Charity replied, laughing a little. It always seemed odd to mention it now, as she was standing there as a trainer of mutants. You didn't generally think someone would go from working with children under ten to dealing with teenage mutants. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. 'Well hey, that just means that you've grown into your talking."

She gave him a smile, a nod, and then looked around. "So, uh, do you think we should maybe go get that coffee or something? 'cuz standing here is a little awkward, right?"

[Jason Campbell]

Jason never had a problem not being in the spotlight. It might sound a bit depressing but he thought it was just being realistic to say he did not have a personality that called for so much attention. He was doing his thing, on his own, without expecting anything from others. Most of the time, he didn’t need their approval and if he happened to need their help he would ask. For the rest, he did not mind if they focused their attention elsewhere. It was an attitude he already had at school, preferring to study than making lots of friends and going out every day. The teachers probably liked him for that, but that sure didn’t make you very known or liked by the students.

He smiled as she claimed to be a nerd. It was funny yet not all that impossible to imagine at the same time. “I thought liking Star Trek made you a geek? Or is it the other way around? I’ve never watched that show too much either. I was more into studies too. I didn’t exactly have a personality to stand out in a crowd but I never wanted that. I just wanted to finish high school and go to med school,” he explained to her. Just like her, his plans back then and the way he was led him to where he was now with the career he now had. He bet he thought being something else than doctor in the past. Every kid wishes to be all sorts of things at some point. But Jason could not remember those days and was pretty sure doctor was the only career he had been really serious about.

So elementary school, he supposed. Not that it mattered, unless she chose to leave Bellefonte and go back there. But there was something about being here in Kalispell, in helping their kind. Jason felt that. Maybe she did not but he liked to believe she did, otherwise she would not have become a trainer. He laughed at what he assumed to be some way to comfort him about ‘talking old’. It did fit a little more his age now. And people tended to like their doctor to act professional, even in the way they addressed to them.

“Oh yes, sure!” Jason let out as she mentioned coffee. He was almost forgetting that when he called her for it. “I don’t really know where to go exactly for that so I’ll follow you?”

[Charity Croft]

"They weren't really separating it back then,' Charity pointed out, smiling a little at the memory. "And you've got plenty of personality: just not the goofy, awkward kind," Charity pointed at herself and let out a soft laugh, her eyes falling for a bit. Yeah, she definitely felt more awkward when dealing with people like Jason, people closer to her own age. They always made her feel like she'd missed the day when the How to Be a Mature Adult books had been handed out to everyone.

Again: the time as a primary school teacher definitely didn't help much. Charity knew that already, could feel the head bob already coming, though she suppressed the urgef or the time being. There was that offer of hers after all, which it seemed like Jason was up for.

"right, no problem!" Charity said, clapping her hands together. She bobbed to the tips of her toes, swiveling slightly and pointing with clasped hands. "It's just this way, pretty much right back where I was," she let out another little nervous laugh before walking, hesitating only for a moment to make sure Jason was following along before taking off again. Had she mentioned the cafeteria or the teacher's lounge? They could get coffee in both places...

well, technically they could get coffee in Charity's room, but she definitely hadn't meant that, right?

...

Right?

[Jason Campbell]

He laughed at Charity’s words. It was true that he heard distinctions between nerds, geeks and any others who used to fit this category since only a few years ago. There was a time it was just easier to call them all nerds. They would then identify himself based on whatever they were fans of. Nerds, or geeks or whatever, seemed to be more and more popular these days. Maybe not at school, but with the amount of shows, movies and events for them, it was obvious they found a place in the society. “Thank you,” he said as she claimed he had personality. He chuckled softly at the way she brought it. “It’s true that I don’t see myself as a goofy one, but we need all kinds of people, right?” He never had a problem with who he was. He let others be goofy and awkward, like Charity.

He never really had a reason to explore the staff-only areas of the school. After all, he was normally called for a student, who was either transported to the nurses’ office or was wherever they collapsed and needed assistance. That rarely included the teacher’s lounge or any other place the staff members went to when they wanted to be amongst each other without anyone under eighteen around. He said nothing as he was ready to follow her but she seemed to be hesitating. “A problem?” Jason asked her. She said it was right back where she had been before he had her called to the reception. Did she have a change of heart? He could understand that, he just wished she would tell him right ahead instead of making him wait like this.

[Charity Croft]

"Sometimes you need someone who's all steady and solid and stuff," Charity continued, fighting the urge to outwardly wince at the word "stuff." Yeah, that was brilliant adult type talk right there. Because adults totally went around saying stuff all over the place. They also totally said totally all the time; yeah, she so had this.

And she should so have the whole getting to where the coffee was thing. She had paused and Jason had noticed and now she was trying to figure out what to do about that. "What? No, not really. Like I said: no problem," Charity waved her hand as if to dismiss the whole idea of it. She then licked her lips and turned to look. "I just, ah, I'm not sure where we were heading again? Like,just to the teacher's lounge, right? There's coffee there. Pretty decent coffee too."

Charity bobbed her head slightly to that, her lips pursed, an expression that was fairly familiar to anyone who's spent more than five minutes actually attempting to talk to her. She did take a step forward, if only to get some more moving in there.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason already understood that Charity was not exactly your average adult person. Was this a bad thing, he didn’t think so. But Jason was not used to this so she would often leave him uncertain as to how he should react. He tried to be as ‘cool’ as he could possibly be and just let things go by. For once though, he could understand perfectly what she meant. The fact she almost winced at her words, as if not liking that choice hoping she had thought of something better did not really affect him. “That would probably be the best way to describe. Or the nicest,” he replied. He didn't mean for it to sound like he underestimated himself. He had enough self-confidence. He just knew that steady, trustworthy, helpful were more the words you’d use to describe him compared to others like lively, entertaining or charismatic. He was okay with that.

She quickly went back to surprising him when she admitted not knowing exactly where they were going. Wasn’t she the one leading the way here? “I figured so. Unless I cannot go there since I’m not actually a teacher here. Do they serve any coffee at the cafeteria?” Somehow, Jason remembered the lessons, the classes, the science club, but he’d couldn’t tell if they offered coffee to the students or no.

[Charity Croft]

"Both, let's go with both," Charity supplied, pointing at Jason and smiling. She nodded a few more times before lowering her hands back to her sides, patting them slightly. Just get back to walking and going forward and yeah, they could totally do this and Charity could definitely make sure not to make it weird. She so had that ability. In spaces even.

to the teacher's lounge. "Pretty sure you can as long as you're accompanied by a teacher," she offered. "And we have one right here," she pointed at herself, making a few little beeping sound effects before lowering her hand again. "They do have coffee in the cafeteria, and it's pretty good for being school food and all. Actually," Charity had to pull a slight face, "it's probably better than what we have at the teacher's lounge. Buuuut you have to deal with the students and that coffee actually costs more."

Which was why Charity was now walking them toward the teacher's lounge. 'cuz somebody needed to be saving up for an apartment. Living in a dorm at age thirty was just not cool, not cool at all.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason was used to discuss with people who were generally older than he was. Or he was the old wise one in the group, somehow. It was weird for he didn’t consider him old or wise. There was something about Charity that made it clear he’d be the ‘adult’ one in this conversation but he actually was not used to be the adult in such circumstances. He knew this came mostly from his work putting him in a position of authority compared to those he could see as nothing more than his patients, or future patients. He didn't think of Charity as a child. There definitely was something grown up about her, and he was not just talking about her look. But she kept her innocence, something he was not quite sure he had still.

“Figured. It’s not like they expect me to do something bad, right?” Again, Jason tried to joke and he didn’t need her to fake a laugh to know it was not the funniest one could go with that. He laughed at the joke she made while pointing at herself. When she called it school food, he assumed this coffee would suck but she later said it might be even better than the one you’d get at the lounge. “Really? I would’ve thought the teachers kept the best brew for them.” He would have done that. He didn't really mind the students but he didn’t want to force her to pay him a coffee if there was some for free. He figured it would be more trouble for her going to the cafeteria. “The teacher’s lounge then. That’s where you’re heading right? Because, if I remember right, the cafeteria is this way,” he said, pointing where he believed it should be. He was not entirely sure. It had been a while since he walked this corridor but if his sense of direction was fine it should be there.

[Charity Croft]

"Well, I would hope not," Charity replied, letting out a few laughs. Mostly because it was nearly impossible to actually picture Jason doing something that would get the administration at the school all worked up. No, it was far more likely that Charity would be the one to do or say the wrong thing, even though she was the one who technically worked for the school and all that good stuff.

Hence her knowledge of how the coffee worked, which she further confirmed with some nodding. "Yup," she offered, before bringing her hands behind her back to thread fingers together, "it's probably got something to do with the fact that they give us our stuff but they charge students. Also might have something to do with the fact that we've technically got a coffee pot so advanced that it won't be on shelves for years."

Charity popped her lips for a moment. She'd heard that explanation and seen the coffee pot... it made sense, it also explained why the machine had this fun tendency to not exactly work like it should and require mutant tech support. "And yeah, we're heading that way. I do know the school fairly well, believe it or not," Charity offered, nodding, smiling and walking more that direction. "Grew up here for quite a few years and all. Did you go here too?" she pointed. "I think you mentioned it but, like, I can't quite remember?"

[Jason Campbell]

She was right to laugh at the thought of Jason doing something judged reprehensible by the school but it was still a little hurtful to see that he was so predictable. People had an idea of him, even those who only knew him a little, and it was generally accurate. He was not a surprising kind of guy. Sometimes, he wished he was. Women like Charity would then find him a lot more interesting.

“I see,” Jason said although he was not quite sure he saw as well as he claimed to. In the end, did it really matter which coffee was better or why? It was true that the teachers were free to have their own blend or buy it elsewhere on their way to the school, whether they lived here or in town. Could he live here? Yes, Jason thought that, had he worked for the school, he wouldn’t mind living here. He only wanted a roof above his head and a place to do his research. He could have that here. He’d even have a better lab here than at his home.

Jason laughed, hoping indeed that she knew her way around the school she worked for. Before he could say anything, she added she grew up here for a while and asked about him so he pushed away the comment that was not really worth it in the end and chose to answer her question instead. Starting with a nod. “I was born here, in fact. Kalispell, I mean. It made sense I would go to Bellefonte.”

[Charity Croft]

Somehow Charity wasn't sure that Jason actually saw what she was saying and wasn't just being polite. She knew better than to second guess things: she'd gotten several minutes into this conversation without completely embarrassing herself and she intended to continue that pattern for at least as long as she possibly could. No penis talk this time around, that much was definite.

Yeah, they were totally talking about the school and hometowns and stuff. Definitely an easy, free subject that Charity could embrace without any reservation. "That's cool. I was conceived here, technically," okay, no, bad path. Stop. "You know, with my dad being here at the time," no, stop, "and my mom," why are you still talking? "But she wasn't, actually here, just visiting and all," move the conversation along. "I still ended up here though. Hey, we were probably here at the same time! I was probably way too young for you though."

And nervous laugh. Yay, you at least didn't mention your father's penis. Take the small victory, Charity: it's all you're going to get.