15746/Cramming coffee run

Cramming coffee run
Date of Scene:	28 October 2023
Location:	The Coffee Bean - Manhattan
Synopsis:	Angelica and Willow had a good visit with time to commiserate their potential woes in life and make friends.
Cast of Characters:	Firestar, Willow Rosenberg

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Firestar has posed:
Angelica sits to the back of the coffee shop. She has a cup of coffee infront of her and a Philosphy book on the table. Several notebooks also rest there. She scowls at the book, apparently not her favorite subject from the look of things.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
One more exam!

Okay. She lied. Two proctors. Exam grading. One major paper.. BUT only one exam!

Willow ordered a coffee, and a croissant, and looked for a space to sit. Two spaces seemed to be available: One near a old man, and One near a girl reading.. *tilts heads to read the title* .. Philosophy.

No choice! Easy peasy!

She walked over to the one near the girl and sat down. Pulling out her books: "Mathematics and String Theory", and "Computer Dynamics". Light reading.

Firestar has posed:
Glancing up from her frustration, Angelica smiles a little at the fellow red head. She offers,"Fellow warrior of the college campaigns." She lifts her coffee cup towards Willow in salute.

"I wish I was looking at yours instead of mine." she admits and scowls at the book on her table. She moves some notebooks out of the way to make more room for Willow to settle into her area.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
That's new.

Picking up her books, and coffee, Willow moved. "You're kidding, right? Most people get this glazed look on their faces as they walk away from me, very carefully. I'm Willow, by the way. Finishing up my second year of my Masters. I took some philosophy in my undergraduate degree. It was okay, but I had to narrow it down for graduate school and it didn't make the cut."

Putting both books on the table, she inquires, "You like maths? I'm studying theoretical mathematics myself. Well, that and computer sciences."

Firestar has posed:
She smiles and indicates her t-shift. NYU, Physics department,"Yours might not be my cup of tea, but they are certainly closer to comfortable than this..." she indicates the book.

She smiles and admits,"I want things I can grasp. Something tangible. Not something someone else can decide is wrong because they want to."

She tucks her pencil behind her ear and offers a hand to shake,"Angelica. First year student that had to take a few years off so trying to catch up now. Physics is my specialty and I am hoping to be able to test out a few classes since I have been the quote un-quote Physic's prodigy since high school."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow shakes Angelica's hand, and smiles. "D'oh. I should have looked! Physics is neat! I mean, it's not my best subject, but.. Me? I went to Gotham with my friend. I should have gone ..anywhere else, but I felt like I had to support her. A school is a school, really. Right? Besides, Colombia welcomed me with open arms when it came to grad school. It's weird.."

"So if Physics is your gig are you going to grad school? I mean when it's time. Let me guess - mandatory electives?" She point the the Philosophy book. Mine was psychology. It nearly brought my grade point down." She shivers at the memory.

Firestar has posed:
"No worries." Angelica says with a wink and after the shake takes her hand back,"Physics is...well it's a passion and way of life I guess." A nod and she adds,"I understand supporting someone that you care about. I did a little opposite. I ran from those that might have wanted my support, but they were using me in ways..." she doesn't go too deep.

"I intend to go to grad school yes." she replies,"I have to get through the mandatory electives though. I really think we should be allowed to focus on what we need and leave..." she looks at the offensive book with a snarl,"...this sort of thing for those that don't mind risking their GPA's unnescessarily."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"No kidding! Didn't they look at what I /did/ take? Really. Though someone told me it's to weed out the people that shouldn't be there. You know if you sat in on your GRE I'll bet you could skip most of this."

Willow sips her coffee. "Come to think of it, why didn't I do it? Other than money. That's right." And Buffy. So much of her undergraduate life revolved around Buffy.

Firestar has posed:
"Funny how weed out the less desirables sounds a lot like make more money." Angelica mutters darkly. She nods and adds,"I have to survive the first semester and then I can start testing out of classes. That should slow down the heavy load and make grad school less intimidating. Financially and academically."

She chuckles softly and tells Willow,"Hindsight is twenty twenty my friend. Mine is sharper than most." She takes the last drink of her coffee and indicates a refill from a passing server.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Well looking back.." Willow holds her mug up and blows softly upon the coffee. Buffy was worth the trouble. She does good work in our neighbourhood. If I would have left? Some things would have been a problem. Sort of my specialty. She stands up for the right things, and I support her in ways that she finds invaluable. And no, she never asked me to stay. I volunteered."

Putting her coffee down for a top up, she nods. "There was a time I thought that maybe I'd made the wrong decision. It's hard, you know? One the one hand all your reasons are still the same. And on the other hand we seemed to grow apart. It took until.. oh.. this year for us to unravel just the tip of the iceberg. To make it short, she wasn't herself. And, no, it wasn't an excuse. Trust me."

Firestar has posed:
"We take care of those we love Willow. It's what we do." Angelica advises,"Sometimes we drift apart after that." she admits,"My two best friends I rarely get to see. On the one hand, we drifted. On the other hand, when the chips are down, any one of the three of us will come running. Sometimes friendship isn't about the quantity of time so much as the quality when you have it."

She smiles and admits,"When the three of us split I questioned it. When I went to a private school and found out the teacher was manipulating me I questioned it more. I went to Canada and left all my friends behind. I made new ones of course, but lost touch with the others. It's hard thing to do, live life."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Yeah.." Willow smiles. "In Canada? My friend lives there. And I know it's a great big country so I won't ask you. But she lives in Starling. Occasionally I have the opportunity to visit. I cheat. I use the teleporters from my job.. kinda. I'm lucky though, I guess. I've got really good people who I can call friends."

Firestar has posed:
"I have been to Starling many times. Maybe I know your friend?" she suggests and thanks the server for her refill, starting to doctor up the coffee with sugar and cream.

"Transporters from work sounds interesting. I have been allowed to use some recently. Going to the Hall of Justice as a civilian contractor. They are neat, but the idea of spreading your atoms over space like that is...disconcerting."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"My friend is Kara. Kara Danvers. She's really nice."

Willow giggles then. "You get used to it. Trust me. Though if you work for the Justice League? You might find me there. Well - usually on the weekend. In The Watchtower. It's a bit of a story, but when Superman was taken by Darkseid, I.. helped.. bring him back." She blushes.

Firestar has posed:
"I have heard the name, but I don't think I have had the pleasure yet." Angelica replies,"I have met a few of them though. Superman is cool. Power Girl too. Wonder Woman is..." she pauses. Yes, that would be a fan girl look.

"Diana is amazing." she finally manages,"Batman is...intense to say the least." She considers the words of her story and raises a brow,"You went off planet that far away? To Darkseid's world? That's...terrifying and amazing all at once."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I.. kind of made the portal from here to Apokolips?"

Now she is blushing rather furiously.

"Superman asked me himself. I've met Batman. I haven't made up my mind on him. Diana is.." Yes, she too, could be a fangirl. "I'm not necessary much. I go to my shifts out on the Watchtower. They really don't need magic very often, I guess. But, yeah, that's my story."

Firestar has posed:
Both of Angelica's eyebrows raise to their apex at the mention of the portal,"You made a portal that crossed time and space to another planet? The physics behind that is...surreal."

She smiles again and tells Willow,"You're amazing if you could do that even once." She considers and produces her I.D. card and asks,"You have one of these yes?" She doesn't make a big show of it, just a quick flash of the card so Willow can see it. Her's is still probationary, but Willow can see the Justice League logo on it, Angelica's fingers covering her name at the moment, but the card is legit.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Hey I've mine.. uh.. Oh no. Here I make my claim and I can't find my badge. I swear in in here. Somewhere.." Rooting through her satchel, so far she isn't finding it.

"It's a bit physics. Plus a lots of understanding that two places can be transposed with the right magics to solidify the point here to the point there and have a person who makes it easier to hang the spell off of. I've never done it so far apart, but it was for Superman!!" As if it was someone else she may not have tried it.

Firestar has posed:
A smirk and Angelica waits patiently for her to find the card. There is no rush on her part,"Hey I have time." she assures her.

"I understand the physics, but the magic is beyond my understanding unfortunately. I have encountered some in the past, but seeing isn't understanding."

She smiles and nods,"The man just carries himself in such a way that you just don't want to let him down."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"He.. he carries himself with all the hope of mankind. If he can do his part - we can do ours. I would have followed him to the ends of the earth. Well, I guess I did. Neat." She seems pleased with herself.

Just when Willow was going to give up, she found it. "Aha! I remember, I put it in my sandwich bag to remind me to take an extra sandwich on Saturday. Just in case." Apparently the last time she shared.

There on her badge was her name: Willow Rosenburg.

"I know. I haven't got a proper superhero name."

Firestar has posed:
"He does have that presence about him." Angelica agrees softly thinking of the man of steel,"He elicits a certain expectation of conduct even if he doesn't mean to."

She smiles as Willow remembers where the card is. A soft chuckle when she sees the card and Willow's name. She nods and takes her finger from the card where her other name is emblazoned: Firestar.

She winks when her super hero name is revealed, but doesn't comment much more than to admit,"Sometimes I wish I didn't need one."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow smiles. "Firestar. That's nice.."

She puts her badge away. "But that's why *you* have one. When he is out and about, he still carries himself in that certain way. You don't know who he is, or why you respond that way.. but you do. And when he's Superman.."

"Same with you. Your name is just a reflection of who you are inside. That all your hero name really is. When I close my eyes your name reminds me of something spectacular. People feel like if you are there everything will be alright. You're lucky."

Firestar has posed:
A smile and she tucks the card back into her bag. She nods and admits,"I know why I do it, I just hate that I have to do it." A smile and she adds,"Maybe someday I will figure it out, but for now I just accept he is Superman and move along."

A smirk and she adds,"Firestar came to be on a necessity. I needed someone to act for me without being me. To help me catch a crminal clear back in high school." She chuckles softly and admits quietr yet,"I am a mutant, so I have to be mindful of everybody and everything."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I guess it would be okay if I told you this one.."

Willow puts her books in her satchel. Let's face it, she's not going to read here. "I met my friend Buffy in highschool. That's where I found out I could do magic. Don't tell my mother. I've erased her memory once.She was going to burn me at the stake. But that's not the story. My friend is a Slayer. Essentially we protect.. well, she protects humanity from the opening of hell's gates. You know.. demons. That sorta of thing. I stayed here because I felt she needed me."

"So before I was a Justice Leaguer, I was a Scooby." Willow grins.

Firestar has posed:
Angelica smiles and closes her book as well. That ship has sailed. She stacks things and then puts them in her bag. She listens and nods as Willow tells her about her past. She raises a brow and admits,"That is a lot to take in for sure." she admits,"Thank you for sharing. I have met something that, if it wasn't a demon it was damn close. I also met another trio of monsters." She says softly,"Bad sorts that are right out of a bad comic or paperback novel?"

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Now that is something that Willow is interested in.

"Most of the time we deal with lesser demons, and the usual sorts of supernatural kinds of creatures. You know: vampires, ghosts, werewolves - that sorta of things. Usually they are drawn to Sunnydale because of the entrance to hell. Like there's a surprise."

"What did you do when you had the encounter?"

Firestar has posed:
A slow raise of her brow and Angelica mutters,"Note to self, stay out of Sunnydale." She takes a drink of her coffee and considers for a moment,"Well. The first encounter was with Dracula. Legit." she admits softly,"He had me under his sway for several days. I don't remember a lot and try not to." By the time she is done she is barely whispering.

A shake and she adds,"My ex boyfriend and I went to Canada a few months ago and found a creature he called a wendigo. Not the bigfoot wendigo. SOmething else. We eventually killed it. I had to bisect it from head to crotch. When my beam hit its heart it shrieked a sound that nightmare fuel is made from."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oooo, Wenido. Taller than the average man. Furry. Claws.. And his heart screamed? That's unusual." Willow blinked and got a far away look in her eyes. "Nothining tweaks my memory. I could open my laptop and do a search.. Except.. you weren't asking me too."

The blush comes back.

"Sometimes I forget myself. I am sorta the person that looks up things to find how to beat them. Sometimes I forget that it's not polite to barge in on others' stories and do that."

Firestar has posed:
"Taller than average." she replies,"Emaciated, wearing a deer skull for a hat, and trying to eat people. Damn near impossible to stop." She shakes her head,"Not the bigfoot version of the creature. I have heard of that too. The monster screamed when I burned the heart. Sorry I should have been more clear." she explains.

A soft chuckle and Angelica says,"You are a helpful person and you want to make sure if help is needed you will do what you can. Nothing wrong with that." Angelica tells her,"If I have to go after another some day, God forbid, I will look you up."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"That's one way of looking at it!" Even Willow has to laugh. "But anytime. Even if I wasn't so involved in the groups I'm in. It's weird - I wonder how is it that everyone doesn't want to help out? Mind you, it gets me in trouble sometimes. Like when students fail. I hate that. Everytime I have to remind myself that the mark is so that they see where they are in the continuum of how much they understand."

Firestar has posed:
"Make no mistake, the world needs more people that will help other people." Angelica tells Willow,"Always it is better to be willing to help. YOu just have to know to be mindful of people that you are helping. Some of them take advantage and you have to watch out for them."

She smiles a little and agrees,"People tend to earn what they put the effort in to. I hate to be a hard nose that way, but I have met too many that just tried to get by and sometimes it bites them."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow grows quiet.. "I don't know. Sometimes you have to see the good in them before they can see it by themselves." Heck! Angel comes to mind. Even Spike. "But sometimes I get burnt by being too nice. I once dated a Demon. He was using me. I still feel ooogy about that. I don't know if I would ever change though. Some people just need that little push."

But students? She is fast getting aware that the as a group will bleed you dry. Witnessthe hours lately that she has been setting for the exams. Much more than her fellow TA's - that is for certain.

Firestar has posed:
"Hopefully I can get back to seeing things better." Angelica admits,"In recent months a few things have happened to make me a little jaded." she admits. She nods in agreement,"I have been burned like you. I can't say it was a demon that swayed me, well not in the totally literal sense, but still." She doesn't dwell there long,"Some do need a push though. You are right. I am glad I am not teaching class like I almost was. My life would be a total wreck as opposed to a fender bender.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow nods. "To tell the truth, I don't really have to TA. I mean the scholarship is big enough that I don't have to. I would feel like I was ripping them off though. Pay me to go to school?!? Some days I pinch myself to see if I am awake."

Firestar has posed:
After another drink of coffee, Angelica smirks a bit,"It is good to get paid to go to school, but there are a few bills to pay so I have to do some tutoring to make sure I can eat and have power in the apartment. Tutoring is the easier way for me to do it."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Oh! I know about figuring out who to pay this month, and who I let slide. Trust me. My whole undergraduate degree was pinching pennies and even then.." She shudders. "That was with two jobs on the side."

Admittedly, Willow needed the money. But she was also a workaholic by nature. Or more rightly, to earn her parents approval.

"I still work at the Magic Box. But I have given Buffy the majority of my shifts. Thankfully X-Corp is really great for working around my schedule - or I would have to quit there. It's kinda neat.I am the single, solitary, non-mutant on their staff. Neat, huh? But as I get closer to my Masters fulfilment I'll have to decide whether I continue with my PhD. But that's not until next year."

Firestar has posed:
"A friend of mine paid for my apartment for a year. I don't have a car, and the apartment I live in is all electric. Water and trash are covered in the rent so all I have for bills is food, phone, and electricity." she explains.

She smiles and adds,"I have heard of the Magic Box. I think I went past it a while back. Not far from Macanally's. Not close, but not far." The X-Corp gets a nod and she offers,"It is good for them to have non-mutants in there to remind themselves they need to work with others, not just pay lip service to it."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I look up things for them. But one of my favourite things is to help them find jobs away from X-Corps. They really look out for their people."

Willow blinks. "Did you say a year? Like 12 months in a row?? Like 12 months in a row?? Wow! You must be a special kind of friend." You just you when she says 'special kind of friend' with her there is no nudgenudge-winkwink behind it. She really means special. "I hope you have remained friends with them."

Firestar has posed:
"I wish there more people like you. Helping other people find their way. Mutants get a bad rep, so it is nice when someone doesn't want to take them out."

She smiles and takes another drink of coffee,"Yes. A friend covered my rent for a year. He's the best in the world at a lot of things, even if he only professes to being the best at one. I just wish I had some way to repay him other than working hard on my degree."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I do magic.. which is like a form of mutancy? Sometimes I think that people are more afraid of magic users because they can't pick them out of a crowd, or can't protect themselves against magic. So when I was looking for a job to help my future prospects they had an internship.. and the next thing you know, I was working for them with an actual paycheque. Win-win. I really like it there. And Mr. DeCosta is perfectly happy with hours as long as I get them in. Which has let me continue working while I went to school and stuff."

Like her superhero gigs.

"I bet that your friend realizes that you are an important member of society and he can pay it, you will spread the good around by.. well.. you know.." She motions to Angelica's pocket that has her Justice League membership.

Firestar has posed:
"If you are born able to use magic that would imply you have a mutation on the genetic level." Angelica agrees thoughtfully,"Aggravating when folks fear or hate you just because of how you were born."

She smiles and listens to Willow talk ore,"Berto is good people. Don't tell him I said that. It would go to his head and make him intolerable." she stage whispers conspirtatorially.

She smiles at the mention of her friend,"He's a good one. He'd probably thump me if he heard I told anyone he did it, so I keep his secret." She looks at the card in her pocket and smiles,"You might be right about that." she agrees with that assessment. For another hour or two the girls can talk about any number of things and eventually they have to part ways, Angelica giving her number to Willow and making her way out into the city again.