InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "What? What!? WHAT?"

Jack Montgomery (manchildish) wrote in zenithrp,
@ 2016-01-10 17:43:00

Entry tags:

#day 016, avram, cecilia, chase, damon, evie, jack, jim, juno, kiley, lennon, madison, marco, oliver, owen, pam, tobias

Who: EVERYONE
When: 5:30ish (about half an hour into eating)
Where: The Dining Room

Jack and his motley crew had been working their butts off for most of the afternoon, and the bounty they'd created was absolutely glorious. The spread in the center of the table by the time people had started to arrive could probably have fed a hell of a lot more than they'd planned for, but Jack doubted anyone would complain about leftovers. The burgers were split into three plates based on how rare or well done they were, and just about every type of roll the house made available was there. Bacon was cooked crisp or fatty, depending on which end of the plate you took it from, and both mushrooms and onions had been sauteed on another. Tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and every other condiment and type of cheese you could want was there for the taking. Sides of beer batter french fries, fried green tomatoes, grilled corn on the cob, portobellos and eggplant sat front and center, alongside a fresh green salad and two kinds of potato salad (he hadn't been able to decide between the two, so why not?). Juno and Lennon had been a great help, and there was enough time that he actually got a chance to properly teach them a few things in the midst of it all.

All in all, it had been a great afternoon.

He and Avram had managed to pull in the kitchen table and set it up with a few chairs, elongating the already impressive dining room table to accommodate everyone. Or, at least, for twenty-four. He still had no idea how many new people they were going to have today, aside from the one big dude Pam had brought in for introductions earlier.

Said big dude, Oliver, was now sitting next to him close to the entryway of the dining room. Jack had picked that spot specifically so he could get up and get anything needed from the kitchen for anyone. That had lasted all of one trip before the big guy clamped a gorilla-sized hand on his shoulder and politely told him it was the chef's turn to relax, then got up to grab the container of home made relish that had been left behind. He paid close attention to the kind of burger the guy made for himself later (mushroom swiss, light on the fixings, sun-dried tomato on the burger, bacon on the side as if he didn't think he'd have room for it), and told himself that someone was gonna be getting lunch later on in the week.

His own burger was a monster, toppled high with bacon, mushrooms, caramelized onions, bleu cheese and barbecue sauce. He'd thrown a tomato on there just because he thought a proper vegetable might stave off any disapproving looks from Evie, though he wasn't entirely certain she'd care. It was better to be safe than sorry.

He caught Cecilia's gaze down the wide expanse of the table, around the chattering group enjoying the food all around. He smiled at her, trying to relay how great it was to have everyone in the same place together without being forced.

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bloominsnow
2016-01-10 11:21 pm UTC (link)

In Cecilia's heart of hearts, she had not expected everyone to show up and actually stay. She knew the lure of Jack's food would bring them, but had honestly expected at least a good chunk of them to grab what they want and retreat back to their own little corners of the house. Her attempts at getting people together to talk about things she felt were important on the network had been met with such limited interest that perhaps it had made her look on her companions with a touch more cynicism than was necessary. But they were all here, and for the moment staying here, and that was amazing. She was going to have to exploit Jack more often. He'd probably be okay with it.

Of course, Cecilia fully recognized the fact that as soon as she started talking about Serious Business she had a good 40% chance of losing a third of them.

She caught Jack's eye and gave a little smile and nod, having to acknowledge that he'd done a great job and she appreciated it very much. Now that they were lured in by food, it was time to go adult on them. She didn't want to wait until they were totally finished eating; that would just make it easier for them to leave. "Hey, guys," she said, waving a hand for attention as her voice called out over the din. Her tone was clear, calm, and carried across the room with the ease of someone who was used to making herself heard in any environment. She sounded more comfortable than she was, partially rising to her feet. Partially, because one stayed planted on the floor, the other was tucked under her butt on the chair to give her a little boost. "Now that we're all in the same place, I have a few things I'd really like to go over. Some of you might not think all this stuff is important but, well, I do." Said like she had no problem with making herself as annoying as possible until properly acknowledged. Because she was.

"First, for those of you that I haven't met yet, I'm Cecilia. I'm a nurse, my room is on the first floor by the bathroom, and you're more than welcome to come to me if you ever need something. For anyone that hasn't been here since the beginning, I've got paper and markers, and I'd really appreciate it if you could put your name on your door. Every morning I check the doors to try and figure out if They've changed the line-up, and we need to be able to find each other quickly if there's ever an emergency." If. Like this whole situation wasn't an emergency.

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pumpkinbutter
2016-01-11 01:25 am UTC (link)

"You check them every morning?" came Pam's high voice from somewhere in the middle of the table. She hadn't expected there to be a speech at the dinner, she'd just been excited for food. And boy, was there food. Her stomach had been rumbling since she'd walked through the kitchen, and had quietly stolen just a bite of some of one of the potato salads. She could tease Jack up and down for losing Chopped, but at the end of the day, the man knew how to cook.

She was already closer to full by the time Cecilia spoke up. She was far from surprised that if anyone was going to do a speech, it was going to be Cecilia. She just wished it would have been Daphne Evergreen. Daphne Evergreen, who was two seats away.

Still, she paid attention. It would have been rude not to.

"I didn't even know you were checking on people," she continued, slowly realizing that maybe she'd interrupted. "Sorry. Is this one of those where we have to listen to everything you say first and then it's an open forum, or can we all just yell questions?"