14256/Mad Monks and Potato Chips

Mad Monks and Potato Chips
Date of Scene:	02 April 2022
Location:	Midvale, New Troy
Synopsis:	Every type of chip except the salt and pepper.
Cast of Characters:	John Connor, Cameron

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John Connor has posed:
Human beings were social creatures. They needed to interact with people in order to thrive. They needed to feel a sense of belonging. They needed to feel part of a community. And they needed to trust. These needs were unfulfilled when it came to John Connor.

At school, the now seventeen year old was there, he learned, but he didn't really interact. He had conversations with people, excuse me, hello, goodbye, can you pass the salt, those sorts of conversations, if you can even call them that, but he gave nothing of himself, nor did he ask of others.

He was showing many signs of depression. His only friends were his mother, his uncle, and a killer robot built and designed to kill him. What's worse, he had genuine affection for said killer robot. She was his protector. And yet, she was the closest thing he had to a friend and confidant. He lived a very confusing life.

He sat on the couch in his home. He had not been shot at this week. He had not had anyone try to kill him, that he knew of, this week. And yet, he looked down. He looked tired. It was after school, but far too early to go to bed. He had a bottle of Pedras Limao water, something he had grown fond of while in South America. Carbonated lemon flavoured water. Made in the United States, but the company and formula was Portuguese.

He wore a red Spider-Man t-shirt that someone had sold on the street. Peter Parker no doubt got nothing from it. And he had blue jeans on below that, and comfortable grey socks. The television was showing The King's Man prequel film. And his right finger, on the bottle, was twitching ever so slightly, barely perceptibly, as he watched.

Cameron has posed:
The door opened to allow the killer robot to enter. Although she wasn't currently a killer robot set out to kill him. Instead she was his killer robot protector. Sent to his past self by his future self. Where in the future, she was also probably his only real friend.

It was a very confusing life.

"Nothing on patrol. The perimeter is clear," she announced matter-of-factly before moving through the living area. Just a quick check of windows and doors then she moved to stand near the couch he was reclining on. Her attention was focused on the screen at first. Watching the action taking place there. Then she turned to look at John, running a quick scan on him to be certain he wasn't hiding something. Because he tended to do that when he could. If something happened that wasn't killer robots from the future. A bruise here. A cut there. Just little things that indicated there was more to his days than he always expressed openly to his mother or uncle. Or to Cameron for that matter.

"Is everything alright?"

John Connor has posed:
John Connor was genuinely good. He thought of others. His life was devoted to them. But he wasn't really one of them. It was a hard thing to cope with. Especially for a seventeen year old who was born into this. Once, unbeknownst to him, Cameron had taken it upon herself to observe him, a day in the life, so to speak, to assess his risk profile, or however she filed it away in her memory banks.

On that day, a Saturday, he had crossed traffic to push a woman out of the way of an oncoming cyclist. She was none too pleased at his actions, not being aware of the danger. Later, he chased down a purse snatcher, tackling him to the ground. The entire future could have ended with a knife or a gunshot. And all for some woman's purse. He was even manhandled by the police, and would have been arrested had it not been for the lady's intervention.

He pulled a jumper off a ledge, risking falling along with the desperate man. And he had come to the defence of a young girl who was being bullied in an alleyway. He walked her home, and was nearly arrested a second time that day. Although the girl did hug him afterwards, the only one of the four people he helped that day to show appreciation.

When he finally did come home, he had described his day as pretty quiet. Not all his days were that eventuful, but it was fairly typical of his attitude. He willingly put himself in danger. It was a tactical error, but it was consistent with his personality. It may well have been his only means of expressing himself, to total strangers, random acts of kindness, as anything to someone he encountered regularly would raise suspicion.

Looking up at Cameron, he likely had bruised his right bicep under his t-shirt. He may have twisted his left ankle, or at least aggravated it somehow. It was likely that he had a cut on his left thigh, near his knee. "Pretty much, except this Rasputin guy is crazy." He gestured to the movie on the television.

Cameron has posed:
The computerized scan picked up on things. She could only guess what he might have done this time. During that previous observation, she was reminded of the day she had told him not too interfere. Not to bring attention go himself. So he was technically doing what she suggested. Trying to keep a low profile. Yet still helping people in his own way.

If Cameron had human emotions. it would be infuriating. If his mother knew, she would have a complete fit. So Cameron had kept it to herself. She'd learned early on she couldn't be with him 24 hours a day. She did not like it. As much as like weighed in on the equatiion with her being a machine. Yet, she had come to accept it.

She looked at the tv again where the character in question was talking during a dinner party it looked like. "Rasputin. The name is in my memory but I do not know details about him other than he was called the Mad Monk."

John Connor has posed:
John Connor did not think of himself as a hero. He didn't think of himself as a vigilante either. But he did commit acts that could be considered heroic, on a fairly small scale, and he took precautions like most vigilantes. When he did, anything, he carried a specific wallet, cash, a couple of pieces of identification with an alias, in case anything did happen with the authorities.

Technically, Cameron could be with him 24 hours a day, but that would become uncomfortable fairly quickly, and socially awkward. Showers, toilets, and sleeping arrangements being a glaring start to any such discussion. At least he did like her company. Sometimes he did want to be alone, other times he was content to have one person around. Strangely, Cameron was the first name on any list of people he would like to spend time with, and that included his mother and uncle.

Reaching for the remote, which was on the counter, John rewound the movie back to the beginning. It wasn't that far in. "Well, now's as good a time as any to learn." He rose to his feet, having seen this part, "do you want anything to eat or drink?" Of course, this could always be an excuse to ditch her. Escaping through the kitchen door. But the time made that unlikely. It was too late for him to go off on his alone time.

Cameron has posed:
"I could just go check the computer for further information." Or go the library but that was usually one of her night time escapes when she felt comfortable enough. Right now wasn't one of those times. While it had been a week or two, she was still concerned about the missing terminator machine leading someone to their doorstep. Far fetched but the entire lot of them weren't paranoid. After all, something was trying to kill him.

She sat down on the other end of the couch as he took the movie back to the start. It was a bit longer than she would've expected for him to rewind but maybe he wanted the company. "Some chips." She didn't really ask for water with them, which would be more proper. A human would need a drink with something that dry.

John Connor has posed:
His mother had started buying some of those multipacks, rather than big bags of one flavor. They were cheaper, much poorer for the environment, but knowing what was likely coming, somehow the environment was low on the priority list. It did have the advantage of variety though.

A few moments later, John would return with a turquoise bowl. He had put Doritos, Plain Lays, BBQ Lays, and Salt and Pepper Lays. He had mixed them in, and tossed it, so they were well blended. He also had two bottles of flavoured water, Wild Berry. He set the water on the end table next to her, handed her the bowl, and took his seat, the same one he had been in before, which was the other side of the couch. Of course, this wouldn't work too well with shared chips.

Cameron has posed:
Of course it would! She set the bowl of chips on the cushion between them. So they could both reach into the bowl and get whatever they wanted out of it. And if he paid attention while they were watching, he wouold notice she pulled out every type of chip except the Salt and Pepper. She seemed to be actively avoiding those while trying not to look like she was actively avoiding them.

She did take the bottle of water and open the cap, taking a quick sip then setting it aside. Then she focused on the movie again. Though out of no where came the question. "What happened to your leg? You are shifting your weight slightly to avoid the fabric rubbing an area I suspect has been lacerated."

John Connor has posed:
John was observant, but he didn't have machine like observational skills. He had done this before, mixing the small chip bags into a bowl, and he hadn't caught on until the end, that he seemed to be getting far more salt and pepper chips than random chance would allow for.

This time was a test. He loved learning of her likes and dislikes. It was so interesting to see a machine that had preferences. Not that he really thought of her as a machine. As she tried to avoid them, he tried to eat as many of the salt and pepper chips as he could, without it being too obvious. He wondered if she had already caught on to his own efforts.

"Oh," she broke the chip thought with a question about his injury. "Gym class. They made us play shirts and skins. I was skin. I got tackled near the fence."

Cameron has posed:
She was monitoring him. He knew this. It was one of her things. Checking his blood pressure, the way the pupil might dilate slightly, heartrate. Things that might tell if he was lying.

Of course, John was very good at lying. He had to do it so often with the life that his family led.

She didn't give away what she had perceived. Simply nodded and picked up a Dorito. "You should be more careful."

John Connor has posed:
John understood that Cameron could measure things visually, by scent, by hearing, by a variety of her sensors. There was so much that humans gave away. Like that he cared for Cameron, was attracted to her... exterior. He was good at lying, but he couldn't hide those simple physiological signs. Thankfully, he didn't think about them. It was a bit too heavy to contemplate.

He knew she knew him better than anyone. She knew future John. And she was no doubt constantly comparing present John to future John. Thinking too much about that would drive him insane. At least he had salt and pepper chips to enjoy.

"I'd prefer mom to give me a note that says I don't have to take gym class anymore." That wasn't an option. It would look weird and draw attention. But it was a nice wistful thought. And then a thought cross his mind. It was a weird thought. He shook his head in the negative, disturbed by the thought. But he didn't say what it was.

Cameron has posed:
"We could claim you have asthma."

Seemed Cameron was being helpful in this regard rather than dismissing it outright. "It wouldn't require much to feign such. Also would not draw as much attention. Unfortunately, you have already been in the class and shown no such illness."

She had caught that look and she tilted her head slightly. The curiosity expressed in her face briefly. She nibbled her chip and once it was finished, took another sip of water. "What was your idea? You had that look."

John Connor has posed:
"Heh," he said, not really laughing, but amused by the helpful thought. There was a slight curl of his lip too. Clearly, he approved of the gesture, even if they both knew it wouldn't work. "People develop asthma at all ages." He offered, giving it somewhat serious thought. But his tone of voice suggested he had no intention of following through on it.

"Oh, no, nothing about that," he took another chip, biting, chewing, swallowing, and licking his lip as the salt of the salt and pepper made him especially thirsty. He hadn't taken that much of his water, trying to avoid drinking it all too quickly.

He had another chip, and then took a sip. "I was just thinking, we're supposed to start dance lessons in gym next week." But why would that cause his reaction? There must have been more to it.

Cameron has posed:
"That should not be difficult," Cameron stated as she took a plain chip and tossed it in her mouth. A few crunches as she chewed then swallowing the bit. "You have an acceptable level of endurance and flexibility."

She considered then looked at his leg. "Within a week, your leg should be fully healed as well. At least enough that it won't interfere with your class.

John Connor has posed:
Nodding his head in the affirmative, he mimed agreement. She did make good points. But that wasn't what he had been thinking of. As advanced as Cameron was, she wasn't a mind reader. In fact, it was a very good thing that she wasn't a mind reader. No mind reader should be near any man until he's at least twenty-five. "Oh, this is a good scene coming up," referring to the movie.

Cameron has posed:
Her brow tightened a moment as he changed subjects. Cameron realized that meant he didn't want to talk about it. Or suspected. Either way, she opted to let it drop and turned her attention back to the movie on the screen.