littleladylord (littleladylord) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2011-10-02 02:34:00

Entry tags:

Let's Do Lunch.
It was just a little after sunrise in Gateway City.

Okay, burning building: evacuated politely at the top of her lungs. Inhabitants: accounted for. Fire department: called. Once they got there, Cindy could go back to her dorm and take a shower.

Once she had, she wrote it all down in her diary, then skimmed back to review. Pretty successful week. And that wasn't even counting nailing that Advanced Civics test.

Cindy looks at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and then picked up the phone.

"Hello, Jon?"

(Post a new comment)

	first_son 2011-10-02 05:21 am UTC (link)
	Jon answers the phone, after her recognizes the number. "Oh, Cindy... hey. Been a while." (Reply to this)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 05:22 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah. Hi. I was wondering if you were free for lunch anytime this week?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 05:27 am UTC (link)
	"Any day but Thursday." he agrees, after a moment. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 05:31 am UTC (link)
	"Great, how about today around half past noon? There's this wonderful little place right off campus here in Gateway." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 05:33 am UTC (link)
	"Sure, I'll meet you there. What's the name of it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 05:45 am UTC (link)
	"Cafe Med. You okay with Greek food?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 05:46 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, sounds great. I'll see you there, 12:30." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-10-02 05:55 am UTC (link)

"Great. See you then. Bye, Jon."

And Cindy was gleeful in a way that would have given her mother the completely wrong idea.

Her parents wouldn't necessarily be happy to have clarification on that, either. She could hear Dad's voice countering 'The Kents are not the emperors of superheroics. You're not suddenly a proper young heroine because you got him to acknowledge you're in the biz and not messing it up too badly.'

But Cindy knew it wasn't that simple. Jon's opinion, like his dad's was one of those Officially Trustworthy things. He might be nice, but he wasn't going to get out of being honest. If he thought you weren't just fooling around, then that was a fairly believable statement. And that'd be ... nice. She had to admit; it'd be nice.

Cindy handled the stuff she had to that morning on campus, and then made it to Cafe Med at 12:22.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 06:01 am UTC (link)
	Jon walks in at 12:29 - punctuality was always a big thing in his household, after all, deadlines and meeting times being a big thing for a house of two reporters. Once he spots Cindy, he heads for her table. "Good to see you again." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 06:06 am UTC (link)
	She stands and reaches for a handshake. "Hi. You, too." She'll sit down and ask the waitress for a lemonade. There are already menus available. "Pretty good day so far?" Only polite to ask. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 06:07 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, staying busy. How've you been?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 06:12 am UTC (link)
	"Me too. It's been a pretty busy year, between school and working with Tess and Avia and Dinah." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 06:16 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I'd imagine so. But all that has been going well?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-10-02 06:30 am UTC (link)

"Yeah. They've been a lot of help, and it's gone really well. Been doing some stuff on my own -- aside from that whole Thing back at the beginning of the year," Cindy underplays, both because she knows Jon won't want to talk about that stuff and because it doesn't look that good for one's professional record to be told You Want It All by a villainous cosmic system. Still, she was proud of the way she'd done her best to protect Michael and everyone else who was 'hers'. "Been going pretty well. Getting stuff done. Staying professional even with the annoying ones..." Her expression darkened a little. There'd been an assault she'd prevented earlier in the week. The things she wanted to politely ask that man to do... But the point was, she hadn't.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 06:57 pm UTC (link)
	Jon nods at mention of the stuff earlier this year - and glossing over it. "Glad you've been getting things accomplished. The people you've been working with have said nothing but good things. Professional is also good. I know its tough sometimes." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 08:31 pm UTC (link)
	A small smile. "Yeah. Thanks. So..." A breath. "Have you got any suggestions?" And here's where he'll either find a nice way to say 'Get out of this before you get hurt' or 'Get more help' or... you know... the equivalent of a decent credit rating in this line of work. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 09:27 pm UTC (link)
	He nods. "Now that you've been working in this field, talked to a number of people, seen how the different teams work - keep doing what's working for you. You're a valuable asset... and proving to be a good heroine." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	Cindy tries to make sure the ensuing smile isn't too creepy. "Thanks, Jon. I really appreciate that." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 10:30 pm UTC (link)
	"No problem. Thank you for all the help you've been this year." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-10-02 10:32 pm UTC (link)

"You're welcome." She's just going to bask in this for a moment, then rein it in before he gets the wrong idea.

And waitress. Orders. Salad for her, like usual. Her diet's been pretty well structured when she hasn't been overwhelmed by the hunger-craze of Orangeness.

And to furhter ensure that Jon doesn't get the wrong idea about her intentions... "So how's Maria." She's a Lord. She Hears Things.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 10:35 pm UTC (link)
	He lifts a brow. "Maria? Oh, she's... got a daytime job, seems to be doing fairly well." he replies, blushing a little. "Alina and Corinna are good too." he adds, regarding the others he's interacted with recently. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 10:37 pm UTC (link)
	"Very glad to hear it. They're all great people." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 10:38 pm UTC (link)
	"They are." he agrees. "They keep me plenty busy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 10:46 pm UTC (link)
	"I bet." She smirks slightly, and doesn't think before she says "We should all have such scheduling problems," aloud. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 10:51 pm UTC (link)
	He blinks, tilting his head a bit. "I'd be happy to give you phone numbers?" he finally offers, as his mind catches up with the implication. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-02 11:03 pm UTC (link)
	She is such an idiot. "Oh, thank you, that'd be good for professional stuff, but, you know... other.... things... aren't really on the agenda anytime soon." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-02 11:11 pm UTC (link)
	He nods. "I know the feeling. Alina and I are kind of taking things slow and seeing where it goes. Maria would like me to be more social, I'm sure, but life really is mostly work." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-03 03:01 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Now you: eat! My treat." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 03:03 am UTC (link)
	"I've learned better than to argue with a determined young woman, so I'll just say thank you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-03 03:04 am UTC (link)
	"Always knew you were a smart guy." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 03:05 am UTC (link)
	"I try. But while we're here - is there anything I can help you with?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-10-03 03:28 am UTC (link)

"Well, I'm always open to suggestion, but aside from just addressing things a little in general, I wanted to let you know that word'll be making it's way around soon that I'm going in as a financial partner with Tess Holt on some video projection and Public Service announcements, and I wanted to assure everyone on the JLA end of things who gets invited that ... well my parents aren't involved in anything to do with that investment, so they don't need to be scared off." She grinned sheepishly.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 03:38 am UTC (link)
	He nods thoughtfully. "I appreciate that, and I'm not worried about things being tied to your parents just because you're involved. I do tend to be very careful what I lend my name to, but I'll start by wishing you luck, and seeing where it goes." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-03 04:07 am UTC (link)
	She nods. "Of course. Thanks. Sometimes I figure I can't be too careful." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 04:39 am UTC (link)
	"Least I can do. Tess has a good head on her shoulders. Between the two of you, I'm sure it'll go well. Thanks for the heads up." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-03 05:20 am UTC (link)
	"Thanks." Cindy fidgets with her straw. "Did your parents ever give you any trouble about whether work would interfere with college stuff?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

first_son
2011-10-03 05:23 am UTC (link)

He thinks on that a moment, not so much what to answer, as how best to put it. "They really didn't. My parents have always been supportive of whatever we did - and acknowledged that going into this side of the family business was as big a commitment as anything I could do. Admittedly, Kryptonian brains and speed help a little with making sure the school work gets done."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	littleladylord 2011-10-03 05:27 am UTC (link)
	She listens and nods. It figured. "Thanks. Just curious. Still trying to reassure mine ... well, Dad." Mom accepted that she was doing fine not because she necesarily got that Cindy was doing fine but because she refused to echo Max's concerns. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 05:39 am UTC (link)
	"Would it help if I visited and told them what an asset you've been in the field, and that we do have some resources for work-study programs?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-10-03 05:49 am UTC (link)

Cindy blinked. Nobody wanted to deal with her parents. Nobody but Mr. J'onnz, the Frees, and the Kord-Carter alliance wanted to put up with her parents' presence. For half a second, Cindy tries to figure out what Jon's angle is. Then she remembers he doesn't tend to have one, not in the conventional sense.
But wait... would he think, upon reflection, that she was going for ....

"Gee...Jon, that's really nice, but dragging you into the parent problem wasn't really my angle here. Honest."

Welcome to Lord Logic, Jon, when one feels the need to defend and clarify one's agenda at the drop of an altruistic hat. Even when one is trying to be in an altruistic business.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 05:54 am UTC (link)
	"You didn't ask, I volunteered. I'm careful what I attach my name to, like I said. But once I'm committed, I take it seriously. The league is one of those things. You've been a capable and dedicated heroine. If I can help out that easily, if you think it might help, I'd be glad to." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

littleladylord
2011-10-03 06:02 am UTC (link)

"Then... yeah, that could be cool. Dad probably won't be absolutely entirely nice about it, but I think it really would reassure them overall." Just without Max's acknowledging it initially. Kents not being the emperors of superheroics and all. But even dad would have to understand that she wasn't just a dilettante anymore, and maybe he'd understand what it meant to her.

"So...that would be cool... Thanks." She was careful not to say please. She never told a friend please. But thanks never worried anyone.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	first_son 2011-10-03 03:50 pm UTC (link)
	A smile and a nod. "I wouldn't expect your father to be totally nice about it, but if it'll help, I'll be happy to." He knew Max could be tricky, but he's used to dealing with difficult people, and he knew the S still carried some weight as far as verification a matter was serious, even with Max. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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