Birthday Party for Laura/X-23

[noteful]

It's a pretty low-key party, all things considered, and not significantly different than the one Parker or Meg would have thrown in a dorm room for a friend at home, not-exactly-traditional menu not withstanding.

There's music, low enough to talk over (and maybe with a little more folk in the mix than one expects to find a party). Balloons and streamers in purple and blue and red. A place to leave presents. People to meet or catch up with.

And, most importantly, a chance to wish X-23 (or Laura) a very happy birthday.

Comments

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

Jamie's leaning against the food table, doing his best to project an air of just happening to be there while he talks to people. (Instead of what he is actually doing, which is reaching out every ten minutes or so to grab a piece of garlic bread. Sorry, Meg! He's a teenaged boy, and it's there.)

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[uquars_gadget]

Eventually, Helen comes to stand next to him. She doesn't know anyone else except Joris and X, so.

She has a plate with some salad and a few meatballs on it. She couldn't think of how to eat the spaghetti, and so avoided it.

The garlic bread stealing might get a bit of a glare.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

Jamie ignores the glare, with the ease of much practice, and eyes her plate instead.

"What have you got against spaghetti?"

Honestly, Helen is such a picky eater. Is he going to have to eat for two again?

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[uquars_gadget]

"It looked like a mess."

Helen eyes his breadcrumbed self with extreme judgement.

And eats a meatball. Tidily.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"I never thought you were one to turn down a challenge," Jamie remarks, and takes another bite of spaghetti, just to show her.

With his mouth full: "It's better than Vanessa's cooking, anyways."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[uquars_gadget]

"Anything's better than Vanessa's cooking," Helen admits, ignoring the first statement.

She is not watching him talk with his mouth full, though. Boys are gross.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"Then you ought to be glad we've got an alternative. Poor Adam's stuck with it."

It's no wonder he wants to sell Vanessa off really. (Not that this is acceptable behavior, of course.)

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[uquars_gadget]

Helen snorts.

'Poor Adam,' is not a concept in her mental encyclopedia!

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"Now, I'm beginning to warm to Adam," Jamie says, mildly enough.

"It's true he can be a know-it-all and a half, but it isn't like I'm not used to that." HELEN.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[uquars_gadget]

"You are a little arrogant," Helen concedes.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"Me?"

Jamie shakes his head at her.

"That's rich, coming from Miss 'I'm Right and You're Wrong Whatever The Actual Facts'."

It's said without malice; they've had near-identical arguments many times before.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[uquars_gadget]

"Facts you make up don't count as facts, Jamie!" Helen counters, with some annoyance.

They've had near-identical arguments many times before, but that doesn't stop it from being true!

(And yes, facts that Jamie knows and fails to bring up until after the fact count as being made up in Helen's book. It is cheating.)

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"I don't make them up."

Most of the time.

"I have had about a hundred worlds to learn things on, remember? That's only, oh, ninety more than you . . ."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[noteful]

Jamie would have to work hard to be worst thing to hit this buffet table.

Besides, it's there so people will eat it.

But Meg is keeping an eye on the food, so when the tray of gralic bread begins to look at little sparcely populated, she turns up with more.

"Good evening."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"Evening!" Jamie says, suavely putting down his latest piece of garlic bread on the plate next to him.

"Are you one of the people organizing the party? Because if so, I meant to thank you. It's great of you to think of doing this for Laura."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[noteful]

"She's a very good friend," Meg says. "I'm glad we could do it."

Laura deserves a party.

"And, yes, I'm Meghan Ford. Meg."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

Jamie grins.

"I'm awfully fond of her too. But we've been out for what must have been a while. We only just got found another door - with grand timing, it seems."

Jamie sticks out the hand that is not covered in garlic bread oil for shaking.

"Jamie Hamilton."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[noteful]

Meg shakes his hand, smile very bright.

"Perfect timing. I'm glad you could come, Jamie."

The smile edges slightly to mischevious, and she holds out the new garlic bread tray.

"These are still warm, if you'd like."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"Yes I would like," says Jamie, the wattage on his smile going up another notch, and snags a piece of bread out of the new tray.

Through a mouthful of food: "Dd oomk aths yrsf?"*

*Did you make all this yourself? in comprehensible speech.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[noteful]

Meg has spent enough time around teenaged boys recently (she's only 19, after all), to get the jist of that, at any rate.

"Bar made it," she says. "I just fetched it."

She sets the tray down next to the bowl of spaghetti and looks around the room.

"I'm not sure I could make enough food for this party."

There are some impressive eaters among Laura's circle of friends.

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

Jamie swallows, and says, more clearly, "I was going to compliment you on it, but I reckon I should save that for Bar. I appreciate the fetching, anyways."

He looks around also.

"So, do you know all these people? Because I don't know more than a quarter of them."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[noteful]

"I'm sure Bar would appreciate that," Meg says. "It is very good garlic bread."

She shakes her head.

"No, I really don't. I mean, I know some of them, and I've met people this evening, but I think the only acquaintance we all have in common is Laura.

"Parker and I just asked Bar to give the invitation to all Laura's friends.

"She has a lot of friends."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

"It's a good thing, really," Jamie says, considering.

"I mean, in the world I come from they used to say it takes a village to raise a child - so how many people does it take to raise a full-grown former experiment?"

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[noteful]

Meg blinks.

"I'm not sure I'd have put it quite that way," she says.

She wouldn't say that Laura needs raising.

"I mean, I think I kind of see your point, but . . ."

Re: Mingle with the other guests

[walksthebounds]

Jamie laughs.

"You're probably thinking 'raising' is rich coming from a boy my age, and I suppose you're not wrong," he says, good-natured.

"But what I mean is, well, learning about people. You need a lot of different examples for that to even get you any kind of idea."