344/Shine Bright Like a Diamond

Shine Bright Like a Diamond
Date of Scene:	10 May 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Jacky Diamond, Deadzone

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Jacky Diamond has posed:
It's a full moon tonight. That means the crazys are out, because the shopping area south of Getty Square has a promotional every full moon and the Deals! Are! CRAZY!!

Jacky Winters doesn't care if deals are crazy. He needs new guitar strings. He broke four of them earlier in the week when he was playing something with weird tuning, and he's even brought along the twelve-string to fit them on-site. Fortunately, a music store is in fact one of the CRAZY places.

He sits just outside the store on a bench and tunes ... twnnng twnnnnnng toing! Ping ping ping!

Deadzone has posed:
Considering the new student has no clothes and doesn't feel comfortable out in public yet, it is up to Tatum to get him some new clothing. She has a pad of paper with the boy's sizes and style//colour preferences. She looks at it from time to time as she looks over clothing. Man, this kid dresses like a little Hank! Dress shirts and ties? The boy is 15! She looks over at some t-shirts with stupid sayings on them and sighs. Maybe just one?

She pays for the purchases she has now and then heads out to the next shop for shoes for the boy. It's then that she spots the musician. Ooooh! Busker. She smiles and leans against a wall, waiting to hear what he plays.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
The tuning takes a minute or so before the twelve-string sounds like a twelve-string should. The man takes off a baseball hat and puts it on top of his guitar case out of sheer habit, and begins to play "Hurricane" -- the Dylan piece -- though so far he isn't singing along. Instead he does the melody line separately to the usual use of the 12-string as the "continuo and secondary". He looks up, eyes closed, as he plays, and people around begin feeling a sense of the music more strongly than they might otherwise. Many of them suddenly remember the lyrics as if they knew the song, but not many people know this song in modern time.

He doesn't stop. He switches to a Hollies song -- "Look Through Any Window" -- and this time he does sing along audibly. His voice is pleasant enough. One of those mild lower tenor voices that sounds familiar. Like it's someone you know, but can't quite recall.

Deadzone has posed:
Letting the bags rest on the ground, Tate lets the music flow into her. Okay, she would rather be playing but it's always nice to listen to it too. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She starts thinking of how she would accompany the piece if she had a cello. She starts to humming along to the Hollies song, watching and just content.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
The song ends; Jacky pauses to retune slightly, and begins playing "Eight Miles High" -- purely musical, no vocals. As he gets to the middle, a cashier comes out from the music store and says quietly but impatiently, "I think you left your credit card," and Jacky looks up and continues playing. His eyes seem to gleam faintly greener for a moment. The cashier's impatience fades and she sits and waits until he finishes the song.

"OK, thanks for waiting," he says. "You //think// I left my card?"

"Yes, but I wasn't on the register then. Could you tell me your name?"

"Sure. John Winters. But it'd be 'Jacky Winters' on the card. With a 'Y'."

She nods. "OK, then this is probably yours."

Jacky smiles. "Thanks, then."

"Any time," she says, and returns inside, a bit distracted. The musician slips the credit card into his pocket, and rubs between his eyebrows a bit ruefully, before returning to another sixties staple: "Turn, Turn, Turn" as provided by The Byrds. Again he doesn't sing along. He's too busy doing interesting things with the melody.

Deadzone has posed:
Yeah, she saw that. Tatum watched the clerk come out all impatient and then just go glassy eyed as she sat down and waited for the song to end. She also noticed the credit card handed over without the girl even checking the name on it. Soooo. Psychic? Using powers to make money. Basically stealing.

Tatum is torn. Talk to the guy? That wouldn't change anything. She could put him in her bubble, but that would only work for the night. It's not like one can call the cops. What would she say. 'Hi. I just saw a pychic make a person hand over a credit card. Well, no, I don't have proof. But I'm pretty sure I'm right.' Yep, she'd get locked up for being crazy. Let's not have to get Chuck or Hank to bail her out of prison.

She keeps watching, now more suspicious and happy that her bubble keeps her safe.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
When that's done Jacky stops, sitting straight, stretching a bit and cracking his neck, his shoulders, and his fingers. He rubs his fingertips and to the close viewer they might seem to take on a bit of a shine. He begins with a simple-sounding piece, reminiscent of the Pachelbel Canon in D, but not the same thing. It sounds more like a saraband, an older one at that. Two passes through, and he's playing a more complex piece. Someone who has played music from the mid-1600s would recognize a tune played in the court of the Sun King -- La Follia -- and eventually it gets to the point where it's almost ready to do change for a resolve... and a string breaks. Jacky plays around it, and a second string breaks. He finishes without that part, and sighs in annoyance.

"At least you were kind enough to wait for me to get to a store before you broke."

A sense of ... something? makes him stop for a moment, but he can't get a handle on it. Strange.

Deadzone has posed:
Shiny fingers? Okay, the thought of him being a mutant just increased. There is something about this guy that is nagging away at Tatum, something in the back of her mind that says he's familiar. She puts it off to it being like someone from her own world. After all, she was transplanted here. The music is pretty good though. Tatum finds herself missing her cello more and more. Time to talk to Warren about that agreement of theirs. He buys her a decent cello and she goes on a date with him. Mind you.... what is Hank going to say about that deal....

When the strings start to break, tatum winces. It's never fun when that happens an guitars are one of the worst stringed instruments for that.

He pauses and the goth stiffens. If he really is a psychic, she stands out like a sore thumb. She just isn't there. Her aura protects her but also makes her obvious by the fact that they can't feel her thoughts or emotions. Like she's a blip on the radar.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
Jacky sings absent-mindedly. "'There's a hole in the world tonight. There's a cloud of fear and sorrow. There's a ...' Huh. Eagles. Ominous."

He picks up his baseball hat, which has about two dollars and fifty cents, and puts the guitar back inside. He heads inside the music shop for a moment, carrying the guitar because you NEVER leave the guitar, and comes out shortly with two new strings. He sits down again, not putting the hat out, and puts the new strings on the guitar, tuning it back up to where it should be. And as he's starting to play, the cashier comes out again and just yells from the door this time.

"Mister Winters. You dropped your credit card again."

Jacky reaches into his pocket... and finds a hole.

"Oh man. Thanks, Rita. You're a lifesaver!"

He gets up to get the card and puts it in the pocket that does NOT have a hole in the bottom of it.

"OK, one last song," he says to the few people who are waiting around. "Any requests?"

Deadzone has posed:
Oh yeah, she's got her eye on this one. Doesn't trust him. Doesn't like him. Using his sneaky head powers to get people to give him... okay, well, they didn't really give him that much. She makes more then that in a sitting. Well, he's still using his powers to steal! Or... not. Oh look, knows him by name and he has a hole in his pocket.

Well, that's what you get for always thinking the worst of strangers, Tate. She chuckles to herself and reaches into her purse. She scoops up her bags and walks over to drop the fiver in the guitar case. "Thank you," she tells the busker with a smile.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
"Thank YOU," Jacky replies, and looks up at her. His smile goes a touch confused, just for an instant, and he's clearly trying to figure out what to say or not to say. But the moment passes.

A song is called out, and Jacky starts playing. It's a song that got too much airplay recently. Rihanna. He doesn't sing it but the girl who asked for it does, slightly off key, and he fills in the simple melody to make it tolerable and to help her find the right register.

"Shine bright like a diamond.
Shine bright like a diamond.
Find light in the beautiful sea ... "

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum heads to the shop for the shoes the boy asked for and groans. Seriously? He's 15! He dresses like he's 60! As she pays for the shoes, she makes an impulse and heads over to a store nearby that sells novelty socks. If he's going to dress like a dweeb, at least a part of him is going to be fun and cool.

After that shopping is done, she stops again to see the man with the guitar playing and smiles. She's getting itchy fretting fingers just watching him

Jacky Diamond has posed:
Jacky sees the girl return from shopping and decides to close down. It's been an hour, and he doesn't have a permit so they'll get upset if he keeps it up. He looks up to her as he snaps the latches closed on the guitar case. The baseball cap is inside the case.

"Hey. I have to stop playing or the cops will make me buy a 50 dollar busking license. I'm craving one of those disgusting sweet mango smoothie drinks from the Smoothatorium, can I buy you one too?"

Deadzone has posed:
When the man approaches her, she smiles warmly to him. And then he offers sugar. It's not like this guy has any way to know that its her weakness, but it is.

However she sighs softly. "I'd say yes, but I have a boyfriend. But thank you! It was nice to hear some decent playing. The kids at the school, lord luv'em, can't play worth shit most of the time.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
"No strings attached," Jacky says. "Not a pick-up line, honest."

No alcohol was involved in this not-a-pick-up-line. Don't drink, kids.

"And thanks for the compliment, it's what got me through vet school. You wouldn't think that playing music would help with animal medicine at all. But it does."

He tilts his head to the side just a bit.

"Kids at the school who can't play... you teach music? What school?"

Deadzone has posed:
She has to laugh when he promises that it isn't a pick-up line. Let's just hope he means it, otherwise she is going to have to break something. Like a finger or a kneecap. That always puts such a downer on the night. She nods her head then. "Okay then, Mr. GuitarMan. I accept your offer of a no strings attached mango smoothie."

She starts to slowly walk in the direction of the food court. "I don't teach music anymore. They moved me over to Home Ec. Not as much fun, but I get to eat all the cookies I want now. I work at Xavier's Institute for the Gifted. It's a private co-ed boarding school." She gestures with her chin in the direction the schooll lies from where she is standing.

Jacky Diamond has posed:
"Yeah, I know, I was a student there five years ago..." Jacky says at the 'private' part before he realizes he's on the verge of breaking Rule Four: Don't tell people what the Special Requirement is for being a student at that school. (It used to be Rule 4 anyway.)

Oh well. If she's really a teacher there, and he's got no reason to think otherwise, then she knows what the place is about, and if not, he hasn't given away his powers. (He thinks.) So.

"Two mango smoothies," Jacky says to the highschool girl at the window. He gives her the credit card, and remembers NOT to put it in the leaky pocket.

Deadzone has posed:
Tate's smile only grows when she hears that this stranger is actually from the school. "Really? So, you know some of the senior staff then? Who's the Maths teacher and what is his favourite thing in the world?" Yeah, it's a gimme for anyone that has lived there. Everyone know's Scott loves his car. It borderlines on creepy.

She doesn't let on about the private part, since that whole rule 4 thing. But it does confirm her suspicions. "Oh, don't forget about the hole in your pocket," she reminds him

Jacky Diamond has posed:
"Thanks," Jacky says, putting the the card in the correct pocket.

"Well, when I started, it was the Professor for all the basic classes. But there was this guy Scott... Kind of a stick up his back. He was part of the First Class, I was in like the second or third group depending on how you count. He rebuilt this grungy old sports car. Is he still around?"

Jacky hands over the first smoothie, then takes a sip of the second one. Brain freeze PLUS way too sweet. It's perfect. And that reminds him.

"Ask them if they remember Jacky Diamond's trick with his food. I used to show them my food while I was eating it."

Not the normal way either. Being essentially transparent in the thinner parts means you can chew and swallow for all the world to see.

Deadzone has posed:
And this guy, Jacky Diamond apparently, passes the test. "Yeah, he's still there. Still polishing his muscle car daily. He's the math teacher now." She goes to find a table so she can sit down and put all the bags of shopping down while she enjoys the smoothy. Mmmm, this much sugar before bedtime means she might not be such a zombie in the morning.

"I think Hank mentioned something about a Jacky Diamond once. I'm Tatum, by the way. O'Neal. Yes, like the actress. No, no relation. And no, not Tatum Channing either."

Jacky Diamond has posed:
"Good to meet you, Tatum. I'm Jacky Winters. And I can see him teaching math. I should drop by and say hi to the Professor. I met a kid the other day whose folks were trying to get him into a boarding school that could handle his unusual talents. The last I knew the kid's dad was thinking of two candidates, and the Institute was one. He's in a bad situation until they do. The mom's very fundamentalist and abusive."

Code for 'mutant hater' of course.

"Funny thing is, I could tell that he got it from both sides. The part she hated? Came from her side."

Pity the person trying to follow that conversation. Jacky sips at the mango courting a second attack of brain freeze.

Deadzone has posed:
Sipping at her smoothie she sighs softly and nods. "Hmmm, yeah, that happens a lot. His mother likely even knows it comes from her side of the family. A lot of that fundamentalist behaviour is do to being afraid of what you see in yourself. I used to be rather fundamentalist myself until another part of me blossomed." Yep, from an outside observers point of view, this conversation is whacked!

"You should definitely come by the school sometime, but call the Professor first. I'd hate to have you show up and be sayin' Yeah, yer goth home ec teacher invited me.'

Jacky Diamond has posed:
"She's German, the whole family is from there. Very stubborn. I hope he gets into one or the other soon, though."

(SLURRRP gurgle) (Brainfreeze part three, the mango stabbening)

"I never thought of just calling the school, but I guess that would make sense. I was always a part-time resident at the school. My uncle lives a few miles south of here, and I work for him, so he's let me move back into the mother-in-law house."

Deadzone has posed:
Sipping slowly, Tate lets each sip warm in her mouth before swallowing. See, no brainfreeze. It means it goes more slowly, but also less pain. "Yeah, we forget about things like phones when you have ... Other ways to get a hold of each other."

Tatum starts to stand and figures out which hands to put the bags in so she can still hold her smoothie. "I should get going. We have a new student and I was doing some shopping for him."

Jacky Diamond has posed:
Jacky looks at the bags. Good vibrations.

"Huh. I have a weird feeling he's going to have a crush on you for a month."

OK, it's only 75 percent likely, but it's hard to tell sometimes. It's the socks that push things over. Without the socks it would be much less interesting.

"I need to stop by the clinic and check on the overnighters too. Good to meet you. I'll try to call soon."

Jacky's smoothie is done, because he chugged it, but the energy was the point of it. Teleporting can be draining. And it's too late for the bus line.

"Have a safe trip home," Jacky says, hopefully like any other normal person because he can't tell for sure with this person. Hole in the world, but not in an ominous way. He goes around a corner, there's nobody looking, and he's gone.