[Gate University] "Spiced Chili"
Sat, Jul. 14th, 2012 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
judicious_imitationStory: Gate University
Title: Spiced Chili
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,091
Notes: I don’t have a timeline or anything yet. This story is still very much under construction, and I’m feeling my way as I go. Constructive criticism is, as always, welcome.
Summary: The townies don't know much about Gate.
“So you’re a townie, huh?” Craig says.
Liza smiles at him. “Guilty as charged. I work at One Records, down on Sycamore.”
“Oh yeah, it’s a pretty cool place. Hey, there’s this potluck on campus that the Psychology Club is holding. Any chance you want to be my guest?”
“Sure.” She smiles wider. “What should I bring?”
“Just something small, whatever you want. I’m allergic to chocolate, though.” Craig gives her a brilliant smile of bright white teeth. “It’s at seven tomorrow night, in front of Evelyn Hall. There’s a map at the campus entrance, if you’ve never been.”
“I’ll see you there.”
Craig gives her another one of those glowing smiles and leaves the café. She sees him take off at a jog, despite the heavy-looking backpack he’s carrying, and smiles to herself. He must be built.
She makes a sheet cake topped with homemade raspberry buttercream. The campus is a little confusing, going from the parking garage to the buildings, but she eventually figures out where Evelyn is and heads in that direction. There are tables out front, groups of people, and she glances around for Craig.
“Liza!” he says, out of nowhere. “I thought I saw you coming. Oh, that looks awesome. Just go ahead and put it on one of the tables and grab a plate. I’ll introduce you to some people.”
She does and, before following Craig, dishes herself some chili and cornbread.
“So this is my roommate Evan. Evan’s awesome, he’s going into counseling for special kids.”
“Special?” Liza asks.
“You know. Unique,” Evan says. “It’s nice to meet you, Liza.”
“You too.” She has to wonder about that, ‘unique’ kids, and as they move on, asks Craig, “Does he mean, like, gifted when he says unique?”
“Yeah, that kind of thing. Hey, here’s Kelsey! Kelsey’s double-majoring in biochemistry and psychology. She’s going to be a psychiatrist, outshine us all.”
Kelsey has violet eyes, and they don’t look like contacts. Liza tries to remember that condition she heard about that causes that and fails. “Nice to meet you,” she says in a sweet voice. “Oh, you’re trying my chili! I hope you like it.”
“It looks really good,” Liza says, and laughs. “I just haven’t had a chance to try it. Craig’s introducing me to everyone.”
“Take a bite,” Kelsey encourages her. “I think you’ll really like it.”
Craig gives Kelsey a strange look, one Liza catches as she takes a bite. The spices tingle on her tongue and leave a pleasant burn when she swallows. It’s bean and tofu, no meat. “God, that’s good,” she says appreciatively. “Amazing, seriously. You’re talented.”
“I whipped it up in my dorm room,” Kelsey says with a wink, and Liza tries to figure out if she’s joking.
“Oh, hey, Dr. Mitchell!” Craig calls. “I want you to meet someone.”
Dr. Mitchell is incredibly short, shorter than Liza and she’s not tall, and wide, with a squashed, bulbous nose and a wild beard. “Craig, who’s this?”
“Liza. She’s a townie I met yesterday.”
“Liza, it’s great to meet you.” Dr. Mitchell offers his hand. “I hope you’re comfortable here.”
“Everyone’s really friendly. I’m having a great time.”
“Dr. Mitchell teaches positive psychology and child psychology,” Craig says.
“Among other pursuits,” Dr. Mitchell says with a chuckle. “Why don’t you eat, Liza? It looks like that plate is having more of the chili than you are.”
Liza laughs and digs in as Dr. Mitchell moves on. “Seriously,” she says after a swallow, “this is amazing. I’d love to have Kelsey’s recipe.”
“She has some, uh, secret ingredients,” Craig says. “I don’t think she wants to give away trade secrets.”
“Trade secrets? What, is she a chef on the side?” Liza finishes off her chili and mops up the sauce with her cornbread.
“Something like that,” Craig says with a grin. “Listen, Liza, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go on a date sometime.”
She smiles wide. “I’d love that. Does Thursday work for you?”
Craig obviously runs something through his mind before shaking his head. “I have a meeting. Every four weeks.”
That seems a little odd, but Liza says, “Saturday?”
“Saturday’s perfect.”
There’s a spiral of dust kicked up out of nowhere, and Liza coughs. She barely sees Kelsey come closer and wave her hand in a strange gesture, and the dust happens to settle then.
Her cake is a hit, completely gone by the time she decides to leave, and Craig walks her to her car. When he gets back, most of the department is still there.
“Scoring a townie,” Evan says. “Nicely done, dude.”
“Hey, I like her. I’m not scoring anything.” He turns to Kelsey. “What was in the chili?”
“Nothing harmful! Just some herbs I had on hand that enhance pleasure.” She shrugs. “Who set off the dust devil?”
As one, the three of them look down to the end of the tables, where Mickey’s picking through the remains of the food. “I think,” Craig says.
“Ugh, Mickey. He needs to stop trying to upstage me.”
“You handled it fine,” Evan says. “Before it could be an actual issue.”
“Still. He couldn’t have made that chili.”
“Are you pouting?” Craig asks, the corners of his mouth pulling back.
“No,” she says, in a blatant ‘fuck you’ to her expression.
“Everyone knows you’re way better than Murray,” Evan says. “He’ll be lucky to be a high school counselor.”
She smiles a bit. “If he even passes adolescent. I swear, he has no talent for reading.”
Craig shrugs. “Kelsey, just…no more magic on Liza, okay?”
“I didn’t know a townie would be here,” Kelsey argues. “I thought it’d just be, you know, us.”
“She has a point. You didn’t say a word,” Evan agrees. “Hey, what’d you tell her about Thursday?”
“You heard her, but not me?”
“Pitch, dude. I’m better with higher.”
“You should work on that. Club meeting, every four weeks.”
Evan laughs. “Lame!”
“And you have better?”
“That’s why I only date Gaties. I don’t need a better one.”
Kelsey cuts in with, “Guys? Do me a favor. Go talk to Mickey and check out his scent.”
They shut up, ears nearly pricking. “There a reason?” Craig asks.
“I’m wondering if he’s getting into necro,” she admits.
Evan claps her on the shoulder. “You got it.”
“Thanks, guys. I have watch on Thursday. Anything you want?”
“Rabbits,” Craig says, and Evan nods in agreement.
“I’ll pull some out of my hat,” she deadpans, and the guys groan as they meander toward Mickey.
Title: Spiced Chili
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,091
Notes: I don’t have a timeline or anything yet. This story is still very much under construction, and I’m feeling my way as I go. Constructive criticism is, as always, welcome.
Summary: The townies don't know much about Gate.
“So you’re a townie, huh?” Craig says.
Liza smiles at him. “Guilty as charged. I work at One Records, down on Sycamore.”
“Oh yeah, it’s a pretty cool place. Hey, there’s this potluck on campus that the Psychology Club is holding. Any chance you want to be my guest?”
“Sure.” She smiles wider. “What should I bring?”
“Just something small, whatever you want. I’m allergic to chocolate, though.” Craig gives her a brilliant smile of bright white teeth. “It’s at seven tomorrow night, in front of Evelyn Hall. There’s a map at the campus entrance, if you’ve never been.”
“I’ll see you there.”
Craig gives her another one of those glowing smiles and leaves the café. She sees him take off at a jog, despite the heavy-looking backpack he’s carrying, and smiles to herself. He must be built.
She makes a sheet cake topped with homemade raspberry buttercream. The campus is a little confusing, going from the parking garage to the buildings, but she eventually figures out where Evelyn is and heads in that direction. There are tables out front, groups of people, and she glances around for Craig.
“Liza!” he says, out of nowhere. “I thought I saw you coming. Oh, that looks awesome. Just go ahead and put it on one of the tables and grab a plate. I’ll introduce you to some people.”
She does and, before following Craig, dishes herself some chili and cornbread.
“So this is my roommate Evan. Evan’s awesome, he’s going into counseling for special kids.”
“Special?” Liza asks.
“You know. Unique,” Evan says. “It’s nice to meet you, Liza.”
“You too.” She has to wonder about that, ‘unique’ kids, and as they move on, asks Craig, “Does he mean, like, gifted when he says unique?”
“Yeah, that kind of thing. Hey, here’s Kelsey! Kelsey’s double-majoring in biochemistry and psychology. She’s going to be a psychiatrist, outshine us all.”
Kelsey has violet eyes, and they don’t look like contacts. Liza tries to remember that condition she heard about that causes that and fails. “Nice to meet you,” she says in a sweet voice. “Oh, you’re trying my chili! I hope you like it.”
“It looks really good,” Liza says, and laughs. “I just haven’t had a chance to try it. Craig’s introducing me to everyone.”
“Take a bite,” Kelsey encourages her. “I think you’ll really like it.”
Craig gives Kelsey a strange look, one Liza catches as she takes a bite. The spices tingle on her tongue and leave a pleasant burn when she swallows. It’s bean and tofu, no meat. “God, that’s good,” she says appreciatively. “Amazing, seriously. You’re talented.”
“I whipped it up in my dorm room,” Kelsey says with a wink, and Liza tries to figure out if she’s joking.
“Oh, hey, Dr. Mitchell!” Craig calls. “I want you to meet someone.”
Dr. Mitchell is incredibly short, shorter than Liza and she’s not tall, and wide, with a squashed, bulbous nose and a wild beard. “Craig, who’s this?”
“Liza. She’s a townie I met yesterday.”
“Liza, it’s great to meet you.” Dr. Mitchell offers his hand. “I hope you’re comfortable here.”
“Everyone’s really friendly. I’m having a great time.”
“Dr. Mitchell teaches positive psychology and child psychology,” Craig says.
“Among other pursuits,” Dr. Mitchell says with a chuckle. “Why don’t you eat, Liza? It looks like that plate is having more of the chili than you are.”
Liza laughs and digs in as Dr. Mitchell moves on. “Seriously,” she says after a swallow, “this is amazing. I’d love to have Kelsey’s recipe.”
“She has some, uh, secret ingredients,” Craig says. “I don’t think she wants to give away trade secrets.”
“Trade secrets? What, is she a chef on the side?” Liza finishes off her chili and mops up the sauce with her cornbread.
“Something like that,” Craig says with a grin. “Listen, Liza, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go on a date sometime.”
She smiles wide. “I’d love that. Does Thursday work for you?”
Craig obviously runs something through his mind before shaking his head. “I have a meeting. Every four weeks.”
That seems a little odd, but Liza says, “Saturday?”
“Saturday’s perfect.”
There’s a spiral of dust kicked up out of nowhere, and Liza coughs. She barely sees Kelsey come closer and wave her hand in a strange gesture, and the dust happens to settle then.
Her cake is a hit, completely gone by the time she decides to leave, and Craig walks her to her car. When he gets back, most of the department is still there.
“Scoring a townie,” Evan says. “Nicely done, dude.”
“Hey, I like her. I’m not scoring anything.” He turns to Kelsey. “What was in the chili?”
“Nothing harmful! Just some herbs I had on hand that enhance pleasure.” She shrugs. “Who set off the dust devil?”
As one, the three of them look down to the end of the tables, where Mickey’s picking through the remains of the food. “I think,” Craig says.
“Ugh, Mickey. He needs to stop trying to upstage me.”
“You handled it fine,” Evan says. “Before it could be an actual issue.”
“Still. He couldn’t have made that chili.”
“Are you pouting?” Craig asks, the corners of his mouth pulling back.
“No,” she says, in a blatant ‘fuck you’ to her expression.
“Everyone knows you’re way better than Murray,” Evan says. “He’ll be lucky to be a high school counselor.”
She smiles a bit. “If he even passes adolescent. I swear, he has no talent for reading.”
Craig shrugs. “Kelsey, just…no more magic on Liza, okay?”
“I didn’t know a townie would be here,” Kelsey argues. “I thought it’d just be, you know, us.”
“She has a point. You didn’t say a word,” Evan agrees. “Hey, what’d you tell her about Thursday?”
“You heard her, but not me?”
“Pitch, dude. I’m better with higher.”
“You should work on that. Club meeting, every four weeks.”
Evan laughs. “Lame!”
“And you have better?”
“That’s why I only date Gaties. I don’t need a better one.”
Kelsey cuts in with, “Guys? Do me a favor. Go talk to Mickey and check out his scent.”
They shut up, ears nearly pricking. “There a reason?” Craig asks.
“I’m wondering if he’s getting into necro,” she admits.
Evan claps her on the shoulder. “You got it.”
“Thanks, guys. I have watch on Thursday. Anything you want?”
“Rabbits,” Craig says, and Evan nods in agreement.
“I’ll pull some out of my hat,” she deadpans, and the guys groan as they meander toward Mickey.
