After experiencing some kind of mindblock or sort of thought traffic jam as a result of not finding out how her new powers could be useful in this context, while also struggling to catch up with the content of clases she decided to join the conversation, specially for Jai ans Shin Ji to hear

"The number of missing students is indeed interesting, unfortunately i find easier to handle concepts than social interactions, so far the only thing i can think of is using my "extensions" to try hearing conversations from some short distance if someone mentions the missing ones or to scout the girl that seemed to be aware of the network blackout, like if she has been seen with someone or anything that can lead somewhere"

There are knots of kids, as is expected, hanging about in the hallways - mostly kids cleaning out their lockers and chatting - or out front of the school, in that case exchanging contact and chatting before heading home.

One group of four guys cleaning out their lockers near the front of the school includes Trevor from the A/V club and Pete Moore.

Darina, elusive as she was previously, is now outside talking with three boys.  They are all rather large jock types making her look small by comparison and she seems delighted by the attention.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 01:56, Thu 05 May 2022.

Tailgate skidded to a stop and stiffened in to complete paralysis at Vamp's words even as he had been turning to head off. His eyes widened and he quickly turned away as he turned beet red. He desperately tried to keep his movement away steady and casual even though he wanted to run and hide - which made him look awkward for a second as he sort of tried to do both, stumbled slightly, avoided tripping by giving a small hop and then started walking.

He shoved everything else out of his brain to focus on going to see the school counselor. Counselor. Counselor. WHY am I goin' t'see the counselor again??

Vamp looked down and laughed softly at Tailgate's reaction to her comment. "He's cute in an awkward yet endearing way. He's also exactly what Val needs right now. She might not even know she does but I see the pain in her eyes now that I'm looking outwards."

She sighed and shook her head. "So much life has passed me by these past few years. Dying was easy; it;s living that's hard."

Tailgate arrives outside the counselor's office still a little frazzled by Vamp's advice.  The director of counseling is a man in his late thirties everyone calls Mr. Mushingi.  He is of West African descent, though where in West Africa is a bit of a mystery, and his reputation among the juvies is that he is chill, for an adult.  His hair is short and neat, he wears slacks and a button-down shirt, often with a sport coat, and comfortable loafers, often in primary colors.  Today the slacks are black, the jacket, shoes and belt blue, the shirt white.  He is packing up his bag to go at the end of the day when Tailgate arrives at the office.

---

It doesn't look like he's seen Tailgate yet.

Tailgate hesitated a moment. He tried to collect himself, reorder his mind after the...confusing hallway interaction. He definitely tried to not think about the 2 "V"s at all. And he didn't think talking about that situation would be a good idea with the counselor as it wasn't...technically...school related.

Finally, he knocked on the open door and while he hadn't planned on it, his face looked a bit on the hesitant and confused side. "Mr. Mushingi?" He pushed on. "Oh. You're about t'leave. Sorry. I..can come back tomorrow."

And adults thought they were the only ones that could use things like reverse psychology.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:24, Thu 12 May 2022.

Jai pointed at his head.

"I still have no idea how this is supposed to help. I thought not needing a deck would turn me into one of those bad guys from old netwar propaganda movies, waving my fingers and yanking data around, but I've done as much research as I can..."

He slumped his shoulders.

"I can keep trying, but I don't even know where to look."

Mr. Mushingi smiles at Tailgate.  "Mr. Pechman isn't it?" he asks, his voice is deeper than one might think from looking at him and his smile is warm and inviting.  "How can I help?"

In reply to Jai (msg # 55):

"Well .. i think you've done good enough with what you have been given, so thank you.. Im also kinda lost but i think that we can just stir things up, make some questions around.. if we dont get any answer at least  we might end up getting attention from whoever might be behind this."

Tailgate made a face at this last name, flinching and looking disgusted. He hated his real name. That's why he always went by Tailgate instead. "Aw, man, please, at least call me Mal instead."

He then looked down for a moment, trying to appear as if he was struggling with something. "Um. So." He let out a sigh. "I dunno if you know anythin', or if you do if you can tell anythin' but..." He scratched his forehead above one eye. "There...there seems t'be a buncha kids missin' from school. Is there like...somethin' goin' on? Like, I heard somethin' happened but not much else."

After talking to Jai she sees Daryna and she feels her revoltionary instincts compelling her to take action after feeling so suppressed lately, she turns back to Jai and  says "Speaking of the Devil, excuse me, it now or never" She walks towards her and makes an effort to not be rude to the 3 boys "Sorry to interrupt guys!, i'll be quick, Daryna might I talk to you for a second?"

Tailgate:

"There are several missing, yes," Mushingi says cautiously.  He puts down the book he was holding and sits on the edge of his desk.  "Any of your friends among them?  Someone you know?"  He asks, definite concern in his tone.

---

Nikola:

Darina looks at Nikola annoyed, but cuts off what was likely to be a sarcastic brush off.  Looking at Nikola intently for about five seconds she then turns to the guys with a promising smile.  "I'll be right back, guys," then she walks away from them until she is a good 20 feet away.  Turning to Nikola, she says, "Well?  What is it?"

"Hi, sorry about that by the way, so here's the thing: there was some kind of network blackout and im under the impression that you noticed it , at least to a greater extent than the other ones did, as if you have felt it..Can you tell more about it? To show you that im going full disclosure with you let me show you something, Please dont panic"

Nikola rolls her trenchcoat sleeves and shows her "extentions" to her

"Im sure the events of a few days ago are not completely unknown to you, i was changed in this way but i think that others were also changed, it's been said that some develop a special connection with networks after they get exposed to the carbon plague, maybe its your case or not, im just trying to know what exactly happened with many students that seem missing"

Tailgate hesitated, not just to try and keep up the 'appearance' he was using to try and get information. He genuinely wasn't sure how much to share. After a moment, he spoke again. "I mean...I'm nervous an' worried. I SAW the raid. I saw kids taken. Shot. An' it's all been covered up. An' I haven't heard about the kids who went missin'. Are they okay? Are they comin' back?"

He let out a sigh and shook his head. "Just...it's messed up, y'know? I don't know what t'think."

Tailgate:

Mushingi looks concerned, walks past Tailgate and closes the door.  "It looks like you have something to talk about.  I'm here for you, for all of the kids in this school.  Want to tell me about it?"  Tailgate may or may not have taken advantage of Mushingi's services before, but he is a psychologist and many of the kids do essentially get free mental health care by talking with him.  His style is very much a dialog and he shares his personal stories.

For Tailgate, roll Genspeak with INT.

---

Nikola:

Darina quickly moves close and pulls Nikola's sleeve back down to cover up the extensions.  "Are you crazy?!" she whispers in an alarmed near-panic.  She looks around then quickly regains her composure, returning to her 'detached and casual sexy' persona.  In a normal voice, she says, "look, why don't we talk where there are fewer prying eyes, especially yos in my circles; I don't want to lose my cred," she says and her 'prettier than you' arrogance is back.  "Celtic Knot, behind the school, 8:00 o'clock?"  Nikola has definitely heard of the place, and it is a bit of surprise that Darina has also, considering it is an old fashioned bookstore.

Tailgate didn't have to pretend to look worried or maybe even a little frightened as his mind flashed back to the raid on the Obelisk. The panic. The chaos. The...He looked down and his hands gripped one another tightly.

"Ha-have you heard anythin'? About the kids that're...gone? I h...have friends...that aren't at school." He closed his eyes. "Are they...still alive? Do you know?"

12:07, Today: Tailgate rolled 16 using 1d10+9, rerolling max with rolls of 7.  Genspeak with INT.

Nikola eyes open wide as she realizes both that Daryna is aware of the situation and also that she was not socially savy .. again "Sorry!.. you are right! and also i must say i might be a little Crazy, but i guess that you agree with me that this is serious, so lets do that, i mean lets meet in the Celtic Knot. Do you mind if someone else also affected by the carbon plague comes with me?"

Tailgate:

As the conversation proceeds Tailgate becomes aware that Mr. Mushingi is very well versed in streetslang and even the "juvie lingo" aoften called Genspeak.  He gives very good advice on handling tough things life throws at you, but interlaced in his therapy is another message: he is saying he knows about the carbon plague and assures that he is on your side.

---

Nikola

Darina rolls her eyes when Nikola mentions knowing people with the carbon plague, but simply nods and then turns her back on the other girl and returns to the boys, flirting shamelessly again and rather easily recapturing their attention.

Tailgate was a little afraid to take a chance. To let Mr. Mushingi know the truth. What if he did and then he too was 'disappeared'. What if Tailgate was then watched to lead the hunters to others with the Carbon Plague. And after what happened at the Obelisk, he had every right to be scared and cautious.

But hope. Hope was a powerful thing to. So he told Mr. Mushingi, slowly, carefully, hesitantly, that he knew the real reason that the raid happened. What they were looking for. What he'd 'overheard'. That he might have known someone who was sick and now was gone.

"...what should I do?"

Nikola smiles at her and decides to leave her alone for the moment, after all, she did press Daryna because of a hunch and it seemed to work, she wouldnt want to keep pressing on her luck. She goes back to whoever is still around of their group, willing to offer one of them to come with her to the celtic knot

Mushingi smiles in a manner clearly intended to be friendly and trustworthy.  "There's a focus group that gets together, for mutual support, you understand?"  He says writing something on one of his business cards.  "I recommend giving them a chance, it's the sort of thing that can help.  It is organized by a charity group I work with in my off time, something I'll be doing more of as the summer begins." He hands Tailgate the card, on the back is written "The Celtic Knot, 8 pm, Saturday."

Nikola looks at the group to locate Vamp, she seems to have enough motives to risk going with her, also she feels confident that a though girl like her could do something in case things go south, "So.. basically  Daryna seems to be involved in something similar to us and wants us to meet in the Celtic Knot, I asked for a plus one to come with me. What do you think Vamp? Wanna go?"

Tailgate listened quietly to the counselor speak, not interrupting throughout at all. He nodded at the question of whether he understood. He understood the 'concept' of a support group at least. He certainly hoped this was the real deal and not a trap or something weird.

After a long moment, after he looked over the card, he finally spoke. "...alright. Thanks. I'll...maybe check it out..."

He hesitated and then left the office, going to look for Val, and the others.

Mushingi smiles are Tailgate leaves in a clear attempt to be reassuring.

---

Across the road that runs behind the school there are several older buildings.  Originally low-rise housing now converted into multi-use, with businesses on the lower levels and apartments in the upper.  One such building, near the center of the road, stands out for appearing older than the rest, looking more like an East coast brownstone or urban town house, complete with red brick façade.  The sign out front features a Celtic dragon wrapping itself into a Celtic Knot, and those words are printed beneath.  There is a short flight of steps to the door, and it even has an old-fashioned bell that rings when opened.

Inside it is clear that renovations were done, and the bookstore covers the first and second floors.  In design, the upper floor is open in the center and the shelves surround a balcony looking down.  A metal spiral staircase grants access between floors.  There is a check out desk by the door with cash register and the usual assortment of bookmarks, keychains and desk knickknacks sold at such places.  They don’t publish too many paper magazines or newspapers anymore and so those aren’t available, but there are a lot of books for sale.  From the entrance you can see that the books on the lower level are all popular titles and there is even a terminal for ordering online, presumably connected to an on-demand printer somewhere in the store.

Behind the desk is an attractive older woman, her age indeterminate between 40 and 50, with fiery red hair in a modest bun, half-lens spectacles on her nose, and wearing clothes that accentuate her feminine curves.  She is, of course, reading a book – with a brown paper cover concealing the title.  The lights are bright enough to read, but not garish or bright, providing lots of shadowy corners and there are plenty of comfortable chairs for people to read.

Vamp thought for a moment then nodded. "I'll go. It's time we learned more of what happened to us and what we can do. If anyone has info on my missing friends I want to know. I'm in."