Peaceful Hell (open)

It was a very cold day in Jump City. Without the wind chill the temperature is -10 degrees. It was too cold for even snow. The citizens were all either inside or hiding from the cold in their cars no one was brave enough to embrace this cold... well no one normal. Dravocn was walking around a school and decided it would be interesting to observe possible test subjects. It was very difficult to study the people due to everyone wearing coats. It was only breakfast there were very few people there yet so Dravocn wandered around the school and just basically hung out studying the social interactions of others.

Marleigh got called in for a favor that cold morning. The usual lunch lady had caught the flu and couldn't make it to school. Fortunately, it was not too busy a day and Marleigh could afford to take the job. Not to mention it was culinary work and was the perfect excuse to practice a bit of cooking. She did have one worry though. If she tried too hard, the students might not want to have the usual cafeteria food anymore and the lunch lady would be out of work.

She reviewed the menu when she arrived. True enough, it was the sort of plain food you would expect from a school cafeteria. She received permission to spice things up a bit as part of a today only special. It was her pleasure to take them up on that.

One by one, the few people who showed up early that day had their faces lit up with contentment as they tasted Marleigh's home-cooked courses. They quickly noticed it was someone new preparing the meals instead of the usual person. Marleigh was delighted at the positive reactions and happily continued working.

As Dravocn had been hanging out he decided to get some food... He went up to the breakfast line picked up a tray and immediately noticed a new woman behind the counter. 'She's actually pretty cute' he thought to himself. Should he speak to the new girl? Should he just go on... he debated among himself for a good three minutes and decided to talk to the girl... "Um... Hello there... um... i see you're new here." at this point he lost his appetite and only wanted to talk to the girl and put his tray back. "Who are you? What's your name?"

Marleigh was expecting to hear an order but instead the next customer seemed to want to engage in a conversation, noticing that she was new around there. It was a good thing it was early and no one else was lining up otherwise she would have politely asked him to move on. He was rather peculiar looking and his features stood out from the average person. He was also lightly dressed considering the weather they were having.

"Good day to you as well. I am just filling in for the usual cafeteria lady. It seems she caught the flu. It will only be for today though. I heard she would be fine to come to school tomorrow after a day's rest."

She turned down the flame on the stove, allowing the contents of what she was cooking to simmer.

"I'm Marleigh by the way. Marleigh Garrett. A part-timer."

Continuing to be further intrigued in the girl Dravocn he wanted to continue the conversation ... understanding that the day is passing and there may be some people coming he said "Well met, My name is Dravocn Hecoro a student... and i was wondering if ... um... you wouldn't mind hanging out with me during lunch or after school ... or both... both works for me..." he depressed himself at the thought of her denying his offer and looked away from her in shame of himself. He knows he's not good at social interaction and yet that's why he craves it so much... he would prefer to have relationships but he will not push his limits when it comes to something that could fail so fast.

Ah, so that was it. Marleigh figured she now had a good idea of Dravocn's intentions. In all honesty,  this caught her by surprise. A school cafeteria would not be the first place on her mind if someone asked her where should would likely be approached by someone hoping to become friends. Though she wondered if it was really just being friends. In any case, her answer would be the same either way.

"Oh, well, it's a pleasure to meet you too Mr. Hecoro. But I'm afraid I will be working all day and after school, I will be needing to return to my real employer as soon as possible. I cannot say for sure if and when I shall have time to hangout."

She pushed up her glasses.

"But like I said, I will be here all day. Though when more people start coming in, I doubt I shall have the free time to talk. Perhaps if you were working here too, we would get opportunities to converse."

She turned her attention back to the food she was cooking, readjusting the flame once more.

Hmm... he thought Perhaps I could get a job here... the kids in special education often work for the cafateria maybe I'll ask them if I could help out... of course it would take away from my research... of course ... what's the point of talking to her if I was only going to give up on the first problem that comes in between getting her as a friend... why the heck not... and later i'll ask more. "That's a good idea ... I just might take you up on that offer." He said with a grin. He proceeds down the line and eats his breakfast and later finds the special education teachers and asks them if he could help out. They asked him about his grades and he told them the truth that he had passed all of his required classes and they accepted his offer of help. Later that day he goes into the kitchen and starts helping with cleaning.

It was around lunch by the time Marleigh had run into Dravocn again. And this time, rather speaking to her from over the counter, he was right there in the kitchens, cleaning. No one would blame her if she began to become wary and suspicious of him. As far as Marleigh was concerned, he was trying too hard to be friendly. She wondered what exactly his motive was.

She passed by him, carrying a load of used pots and pans to wash in the sink.

"You are rather persistent Mr. Hecoro. I honestly did not think you would take my suggestion seriously. Though I do not really mind the company. However I am curious what all this is about. Do you not get many opportunities to talk with people in your usual job?"

"No mam," Dravocn said with a happy face "I never really had any friends ... I'm usually caught up in my studies, studies being a general term because school is not the only thing that requires studying. I actually go home to a house that i built myself and talk to my personal robots..." realizing how ridiculous he sounded and how big a lie it sounded regardless of the fact that it was true he shut up immediately, frowned and started to scrub every last crevice as if the devil lived in every last bacteria.

"I could tell at first glance that a man like yourself must have some interesting and unique hobbies. No offense meant. You must be quite talented to have a house you built yourself and personal robots. Personally, I am not too gifted with technology. There is much to learn on the subject."

Marleigh maintained a neutral stance, neither expressing too much interest nor any indication of boredom. She did notice that for a job Dravocn seemingly took on a whim, he was doing things quite seriously. That was how she interpreted his vigorous scrubbing anyway. Anyone who liked cleaning that much was not too bad in her book.

"Why this school though? You look like you have the talent to be in bigger and better places. Or is there something special here?"

Shocked that she didn't find what he said to be fake he stopped and looked at Marleigh and said "This place as in ... education purposes or this place as in working here to help out? Just in case I shall answer both ... I can understand the idea where you find my talents to be too high to be in this school .... however I'd prefer to not find myself too highly, it would mean I would find myself to be too smart to go to school, and it would also mean I have no hope to meet someone as smart or smarter than I." realizing this sounded like a rant ... he decided to start working while talking so he wouldn't just be wasting time and proceeded to scrub as hard as he was before he started talking. "I don't like to think that way because the second part depresses me a bit and the first part makes me sound like a jerk so I bring myself to school for the possibility of getting more information ... you can't know everything ... but as long as you study your whole life you can get as close as you could possibly get." he smiles understanding that his body is wearing down due to the amount of effort he's putting in the job and he knows that he can't take much more but this is the best thing he can do to get closer to her so he pushes himself more and more...

"I see. That is a good personal outlook and I can respect that. One can find new things to learn in the most unexpected of places and you could easily miss things if you thought too highly of yourself."

Marleigh went back to the counter to take another order. A small group had just arrived was falling in line. Meanwhile Dravocn was really working diligently on his cleaning. She almost wondered if he had some sort of vendetta against filth and dirt.

She returned to doing the dishes when the line had finally gone.

"So how has it been so far? Has going to this school been rewarding for you?"

"Well, if this works out for me I should say that the school needs more social acceptance among one another. Otherwise I'd say it's an average school among most areas, granted I haven't been anywhere else but...." catching what he said earlier he couldn't help to be embarrassed of his lack of coherence and due to the effort he still can't handle much more and slowly loses his consciousness but still working hard too keep up appearances.

"We cannot always expect things to go our way. There will always be room for criticism and improvement. It is all a matter of patience, whether you choose to stay or move on somewhere else."

As she was busy with her own share of work, Marleigh did not immediately notice that her conversation partner has lost consciousness. By the time she looked in his direction because of the unnaturally long pause, he was already slumped against a table, out cold.

"Hmm. Now this is a problem. We cannot have you dozing off here. It seems you are someone who does not have a very good grasp of your limits."

Marleigh quickly went over to the counter. There was a phone there and she pressed the speed dial to the nurse's office. After briefly explaining the situation, she went back to manning the counter. A couple more students had shown up looking for something to eat. The nurse mentioned sending someone over so she did not have to leave her post to take care of Dravocn.

When Dravocn awoke he noticed a warm sensation upon his forehead and he was no longer in the kitchen anymore. "Damnit," he thought "I couldn't do anymore work?! Stupid, weak body! You couldn't go another hour and a half?" he started to feel woozy again and he tried to fight it. He didn't want too fail at making a friend on his first try. Luckily he was rested enough to walk without any aggression ... so he figured that if he just stayed calm and work lightly he would be able to stay up. When he got back to the kitchen it was almost empty "Duh, of course it's empty ... lunch is over ... no one is going to be here anymore." he wobbled into the kitchen and just like she said Marleigh was here still so he got the nearest mop and started working ... calmly so as not to pass out again.