MJ (figureditout) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2020-07-28 15:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | -complete, mj, shuri |
Who: MJ & Shuri
What: Becoming friends
Where: a coffee shop
When: Wednesday afternoon
Warnings: not yet... but everyone should be afraid of these two
Status: complete
When Shuri reached out a few days after her arrival in their odd universe, MJ was more than happy to make plans to meet her for coffee. It would be nice to have someone her own age that she could hang out with and talk to about the weirdness of this whole situation. Sure, she had Peter and Ned, but a girl she might be able to be friends with was different.
She sat in the corner at the Starbucks near Avengers Tower, figuring that was the best place for them to meet. Since she’d arrived early, she was reading a book about the Kennedy assassination while sipping on a large frappucino.
*
She was looking forward to meeting someone around her age who knew the crazy nature of their circumstances. Having her brother here and in the know, too, was wonderful, but it would be nice to have some girl talk, as it were. A Starbucks would do nicely for their first meeting. It was convenient that MJ was also a coffee enthusiast and then there were all those lovely pastries to choose from as well. Braids back in a ponytail and wearing shorts, sandals and a sleeveless top to beat the heat - all in sky blue - she entered the place and stood in line, her eyes scanning the board behind the counter to make her selection.
When her turn came, she stepped up to the cash. “Hello, I will have a Venti Nitro Cold Brew with Salted Honey Cold Foam and a chocolate croissant, please.” Not that she was in any danger of falling asleep, but the boost of caffeine was always welcome.
*
MJ glanced up and recognized Shuri from her picture on the network. She caught the other girl’s attention and waved at her so she’d know where to come after getting her order. While she was waiting, she stuck a bookmark in her book to keep her place and set it aside so she could focus on their conversation.
Friends weren’t exactly something she was good at making and she hoped that Shuri wouldn’t think she was a hopeless nerd or anything.
*
She saw a young woman with curly hair wave to her from a corner seat and she waved back. Once her order was completed, Shuri carried her beverage and her plate with the croissant upon it to the back of the coffee house.
“Hello,” she said with a big smile, setting her things on the table. “It is good to meet you in person, MJ.” Shuri made friends easily, for the most part, and she wasn’t prone to judging anyone.
*
“Likewise,” MJ said, her smile more tentative as she greeted the other girl. “Are you settling in okay?” She remembered how awkward she’d felt when she first found herself in an alternate universe and was grateful that Peter had been around to help her acclimate. Since Shuri had her brother and seemed to know a few of the others, MJ hoped she might have an easier time.
She took another sip from her drink and eyed Shuri’s croissant. Maybe she should go grab a snack.
*
She shrugged and sat across from MJ. “I’m dealing with it all. It helps that my brothah is here and I know some of the Avengers. And I’m keeping myself busy, you know?” Shuri noticed the glance at her pastry and asked, “Would you like me to get one for you? They had some left when I was up there.” She’d only just sat down and she didn’t mind at all. Besides, MJ looked comfortable.
*
It was a kind offer, but MJ shook her head. “No, thanks, I don’t know if I want one or not.” She might want something else. Or she might want to wait and grab a sandwich later. “It’s good that you have people here to help you adjust. I really only had Peter. The Starks are great though. So is everyone else I’ve met.” And now Ned was here, so that helped too.
*
Shuri nodded and had a sip of her Nitro Brew. It was very good and might keep her jazzed for hours after her natural inclination to stay up late when focused on a project. “It is a good thing Peter was here, though the Doctor seems very on the ball about attending to those of us who slip across without much delay.” In her case, that was a very good thing, giving the reception committee that was inadvertently happy to give her a hand. Not.
*
“Yes, he was quick to greet me and explain things,” MJ said. And she appreciated that he hadn’t talked down to her despite her age and lack of being a superhero. “It is weird not being able to talk to people about everything though.” Not that she talked to a lot of people. That was probably a good thing that made adjusting a little easier. “You’re from Wakanda, right? Will you tell me more about it?”
*
“Good, good. I don’t think he sleeps.” Shuri didn’t have anyone in New York to avoid speaking to other than those who were already aware; an advantage of being from ‘out of town’. “” Yes, I am from Wakanda, though I was in California when I was brought here.” She picked up her croissant and took a bite. Flaky pieces of pastry floated to the plate. She made an ‘hmmm’ sound and wiped her face with a napkin. Once she had swallowed, she asked, “There is a lot I could tell you about my home. What would you like to know?”
*
MJ wasn’t sure if any of the Avengers slept. They all seemed to be everywhere all the time. At least when Peter was sleeping, she knew he wasn’t getting into trouble. The rest of the time, she worried. Especially lately.
“Everything,” she said. “I only know a little bit about it, you know, what’s on the news. Mostly.” She knew that there was a lot more going on in Wakanda than was reported about and knew that they had some crazy good tech.
*
She considered where to begin. “Do they teach you about Wakanda in school? Either before or after we revealed our true selves to the world?” The news was supposed to report things without any opinion, but so were history and world politics classes. There was no guarantee. However, that was not necessarily the case in America. “What does the news tell you?”
*
“No, we didn’t learn about Wakanda,” MJ said. “And the news makes it sound like a quaint village type of place.” She was fairly certain that was not an accurate depiction based on things she’d heard here and there and being aware that the Avengers had fought Thanos there.
American schools did not teach much about any place other than the United States, which MJ found frustrating. It was one of the reasons she did a lot of her own reading.
*
Shuri sighed. “Why is it that schools don’t teach about nations which are not considered important because they are perceived as poor?” She wasn’t angry when she spoke, but it wasn’t just Wakanda that was often left out of any lessons about history, geography, politics or economic concerns. Still, she could share some things without overwhelming MJ. She hoped.
“Well, here are some basic facts, just to give you a starting point. The Kingdom of Wakanda is the official name of my country. It is a small, landlocked nation with three other nations on the borders: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Just south of the equator.” She had a sip of her coffee and smiled as she thought about home. “There are rivers and lakes, mountains and forests and it is so beautiful there.”
*
It sounded like a place MJ would like to visit sometime. Maybe that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. “Sounds a lot nicer than New York City,” she said. Not that she’d really want to live anywhere else, she was a city girl through and through. But no one would really call New York beautiful. At night, she supposed it didn’t look as bad, with all the lights, when you couldn’t see the dirt and grime.
“Did you go to school there?” she asked. “What kind of things did you learn?” It wouldn’t surprise her at all to hear that education was far more well rounded in Wakanda.
*
“It is very different from New York City,” Shuri replied, “And yes, I did go to school there, as well as taking some courses remotely and visiting a few places for a limited time.” She had another bite of her croissant and finished swallowing before continuing. “I learned the usual things, though obviously that included lessons on Wakanda. I studied science, engineering and medicine. I kept very busy.” To put it mildly.
*
“Wow, you studied engineering and medicine?” MJ repeated. “I thought you were around my age, but they don’t teach that kind of thing to sixteen years old in our schools.” If Shuri was her age, she was going to be very jealous.
*
“Ah, I am eighteen, so that explains it,” Shuri said with a big smile. Being two years older didn’t explain her multiple areas of study or her degrees, which should apply to someone with more years of experience. She found that being a genius was difficult to explain, primarily because it made her sound like she thought of herself as above it all, which wasn’t the case. “I am, how you say, precocious? But very grounded.” Another sip of her nitro brew followed.
*
MJ nodded. The two year age difference didn’t really explain it, but if she was incredibly smart, that did. Especially since, if she remembered correctly, Shuri and her brother were part of the royal family of Wakanda. Obviously she would have a lot more opportunities available to her. “That’s awesome,” she said. “Peter will enjoy getting to know you. He’s really smart.” So were she and Ned, though neither of them could really compare to Peter’s smarts. It was too bad that book smarts didn’t always translate to common sense. The lack of that was why MJ worried about him so much.
*
“If you and Peter and Ned are part of the academic decathlon team at your school, I should think you are all really smart,” Shuri said. “Tell me about that. You compete with other schools, right? How do you qualify for being on the team? What sort of topics are part of the challenges?” She hadn’t experienced anything like this formally, unless late-night science-riffing on various communities on the Internet or playing the equivalent of ‘Pictionary’ with the Wakandan Design Group counted.
*
Most people would find talking about the decathlon boring and yet MJ could tell that Shuri was genuinely interested. “You have to have a certain GPA,” she said. “But we compete in various events focusing on science, art, literature, economics, pretty much a little bit of everything.” For someone like MJ, who was a voracious reader and enjoying learning new things, it was a natural fit of an extracurricular activity. “I guess you won’t be going to school with us.” That was too bad, because she’d make a great member of the team.
*
She nodded. It made sense that you would need good marks to qualify for the team and the variety of topics was encouraging, not just memorizing the Periodic Table or knowing the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow - 20.1 miles per hour or 9 meters per second.
“That is a wide range of topics. Good.” Shuri smiled. “I do not think I will be attending your school, though it would be interesting to visit it, if that is allowed?” She wasn’t going to go into her official education and the degrees she’d already completed. It wasn’t important, but she was genuinely interested in the American high school education.
*
“We might be able to arrange that,” MJ said. “Depends.” They were pretty strict about security, but she could probably pass Shuri off as a cousin or something. Alternately, Tony Stark could probably pull some strings to get her a tour. “I’ll see what I can find out.”
She smiled and took another drink from her frappuccino. “Okay, I think I’m going to get a muffin. You want anything?” she asked.
*
“Thank you,” she said, “I am good.” She still had a few bites of her croissant to finish. “Just let me know about your school. I would ask my brothah if he could arrange something, but then there would be a fuss and the less fuss the bettah, I think.” Unless it was official Wakandan business, Shuri and her family preferred to keep a low profile.
*
MJ nodded. “Yeah, we can figure out something else,” she said, standing up and pulling her wallet out of her bag. “I’ll be right back and then I can tell you about all the cool places to go in New York.”