Ross Kerrigan (fullspectrum) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2011-02-10 15:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-08-09 |
Let's go for another round
Who: Adam and Ross
Where: Their respective homes via phonelines
When: Noontime
As much as Ross enjoyed a good game of Mario Party with his kids, there were only so many ways to tell Peach to go to hell without Lanni whacking him upside the head. That then gave the psychic a few options after he called it quits with the Wii. He could retreat to the basement, where his potter wheel was. Maybe he could finally glaze those tea cups he had owed Lanni for a while now. Or maybe he could go online and double check his blog. Maybe write up an entry for shits and giggles just to see how people would respond. Nah, that took too much work. He could always call up his siblings out in New York to see how things were back home or maybe the fellow neighbors in town or-
Ooooooo... we have a winner.
It was probably not a good thing that Ross was tenting his fingers together while giving his best Mr. Burns “Eeeeexcellent” impression. Well, not for anyone who was about to get a phone call from him... namely a certain Adam Rowe, but he wasn’t pointing any fingers yet. Retreating to the kitchen, Ross swiped the phone to punch in his friend’s number. It had been a long ass while since he talked to the kid. Then again, going back and forth from Scarlet Oak to New York tended to do that. Ross waited as the phone brrrringed in his ear and the second there was sign of life on the other end-
“DUDE, YOU’RE ALIVE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY HOUSES I’VE CALLED, ONLY TO HAVE SOME PUNK DEMON PICK UP AND TELL ME THE SMITHS WEREN’T HOME!?” May they rest in peace. “HONESTLY. I WAS STARTING TO IMAGINE YOUR OBITUARY DESCRIBING HOW ONE OF THEM KILLED YOU VIA BAD GRAMMAR WHILE CITING WIKIPEDIA.” Ok, even that made him crack up. Once he was done laughing, he sighed with a chuckle. “Hey man, it’s Ross. What’s up?” Classic.
Adam, on the other hand, was trying to distract himself as best he could. He was trying to spend the day doing something besides sitting in front of the TV and watching the news like a zombie, so he settled for a quick update on the headlines every hour or so, and then found something else to do. Yes, he was interested to know what was going on, but he couldn’t give into that fear and worry - it would overwhelm him. But, Adam being Adam, his distractions weren’t really typical of a 23-year-old guy. He’d spent the morning doing a little bit of novel work, graded a few papers, and then moved to the piano.
His neighbors were probably sick of him by now, but when Adam was playing, none of that mattered. The song he was currently playing wasn’t one he played often, but given today, and his mood, it seemed to fit perfectly. The music was the only reason he didn’t hear his cell phone go off at first, the buzzing noise it made completely lost among the notes of the piano. Once he heard it, he didn’t look at the caller ID before answering - because after all, who was going to call him in the middle of the demon apocalypse?
It took a moment for the voice to register, and meanwhile Adam’s face crinkled as he thought. “Ross?” When was the last time he’d talked to the other man? Weeks, probably. Adam was actually bad with dates, and numbers in general. “Ross! How are you? Back from New York?” If so, it was unlikely his friend would travel with everything going on. That kind of pace was hard to keep up with anyway, which was part of the reason why Adam eventually came back to Michigan. The city was nice, but this was his home. “And I am not dead, thank you very much. I’m - all right.”
If it made Adam feel any better, Ross wasn’t good in the numbers department either. He went to school for art, not math. At least they had that in common. The psychic just laughed as Adam pieced two and two together, happy to see the guy still remember him. It had been a long while, yes, but Ross wasn’t going back to New York in a long while. Sad, mostly because he loved his home city, but for the sake of his family, he had to sacrifice it. “Yup! And not leaving anytime soon, actually. Long story, but we’ll get to that. I’ll give you a head start on making the popcorn, though.” Seriously, if someone could make a job resignation hilarious, it was Ross. “But you! How are you doing, man? Aside from being not dead and alright.” It had been too long since they last talked and Ross wanted details! Like whatever came of that ‘date’ with him and... Esme? He couldn’t remember her name, but he just remembered Adam being all giddy about it.
How could Adam forget Ross? He’d been one of the few people to remember Adam’s birthday, and he’d remembered it by buying of everything sold at Party City and then covering Adam’s office door with it. That left an impression on the young writer, a good one. And truth be told Adam didn’t have many friends, so he wanted to keep those he did have. “Really? Long story how? I like those.” He was a writer, it was kind of par for the course with him. And he had all the time in the world right now, seeing how his piano could wait for him to return, in ways that, sometimes, his writing didn’t let him. “And I’m - okay. Been an interesting few weeks, I guess.” He’d gotten a girlfriend and lost her just as quickly, and it was only then that he realized he’d never mentioned Telyn to Ross. There wasn’t much point in doing so now, seeing as she wasn’t coming back. Who only knew what happened to Esme, he hadn’t talked to her since that one night at Dave and Buster’s.
Wow, had it really been a few weeks since he last talk to Adam? Well that was changing right about now. Sadly - and also thankfully - Ross couldn’t use his psychic powers through the phone, so he didn’t have the slightest clue as to whether or not Adam was doing ok or miserable. Ross was a visual guy and did far better off with people in person than through the computer or what not. “You guess? Well, it was either crazy good or sucked balls, man.” He was teasing, as always, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned. “Anything interesting? Should I be getting popcorn for this, too? Actually, wait...” Seeing he was in the kitchen, he poked through the cupboards for a moment before having success. “I HAVE PRETZELS!” Score. Munching on a couple, he leaned back against the counter. “Ok, go on.”
Seeing as Adam was still blissfully unaware of Ross’ psychic abilities, he didn’t know his friend couldn’t read him over the phone or not. In truth, Adam wasn’t used to having friends to talk to about this sort of thing, period. What was he going to do, call up his mom and have a little chat? No, he’d outgrown that stage by now, thank you very much. “There were some very crazy good moments,” he conceded, “followed some moments that did, as you put it, suck balls.” Man those were some weird words to say. Meanwhile, Adam got up, seeing what he had in his cabinets. “Better than me, I have... a fortune cookie. The Chinese food it went with is long gone.” He sighed, unable to put this off any longer. “I was seeing a girl. Telyn. She was a firefighter, lived in the same complex as me. I thought things were getting somewhere and then - she left. Nothing to do with me, she said, but left regardless.”
Ross sat on the kitchen counter while munching away at his pretzels, diligently listening to Adam’s tale of love and passion... except it wasn’t really that romantic. He would have made it seem like it was if he was telling the story, but it was Adam’s turn to talk. Still, that didn’t mean the old man wasn’t interested. In fact, his eyebrows were knotting up while he informed her of this Telyn girl. She was a new name for Ross. Either that or Alzheimer's was coping up fast. “Wait... that’s it?! She just left? Who does that?!” Seriously, this made no sense! “I mean, did something happen or was she like, ‘la dee da, Ima just skip town now?’ People don’t just do that for no reason, you know?” Ross had to force himself to stop, knowing that dwelling on the topic wasn’t going to help Adam out at all. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that man. Women are tricky creatures, you know?” Lanni would have whacked him with a rolling pin if she was present to hear that. Then again, Ross would have promptly hid behind a chair and given her some raspberries. They matched quite well. “Are you doing alright now?”
Meanwhile, Adam was busy trying to open his fortune cookie one handed, only to eventually give up and prop the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could pop it open. The fortune wasn’t even that good - Help! I’m trapped in a Chinese bakery! Funny, but not what he needed to hear right now. “She found out her parents were actually her aunt and uncle,” he said. “Something about being adopted and how she was leaving to deal with things. It was hard to understand, she was in tears when she called me.” Adam sighed, “Either way, I understand it, but I know I got the short end of the stick, as the phrase goes. And I’m fine. A little lonely, but fine.” Adam shrugged, though Ross couldn’t see it. That was just the way life was for Adam, the genius who was brilliant with words but failed at keeping a girlfriend. He and Telyn had only been official for such a short amount of time that it probably wasn’t even worth talking about anymore. “Anyway. How’s the family? Lanni and the kids?”
Ouch. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was to hear that you were adopted, but he wasn’t sure it was skipping town worthy. Whatever. Good to see that Adam wasn’t in tears about it. “Well, you know if you ever want to hang out, you can give me a call, man. I may not be the most ideal wingman, but I can help!” He kind of was a walking radar when it came to pinpointing people’s emotions and thoughts, so he could at least steer Adam away from the bad picks. “And the family? They’re good! Lanni’s got her dance studio and the weeboos are glued to the TV right now playing Mario Party. Peach was kicking my ass, man, I couldn’t keep up!” After a little chuckle, he just nodded his head. “But no, all is well. No demons here, thank god, so I’m counting my blessings.” And then it hit him. “OH! I need to tell you my epic story!”
Adam might be lonely, yes, but at least he wasn’t crying into his beer every night about things he had no control over. Life happened, you dealt with it, and then you moved on. End of story. “You know, I think we might have to do that just to see how it goes. The you being my wingman thing.” Even if Adam had absolutely no game whatsoever, all of his recent experiences reminded him of that. At least with Ross in tow, Adam knew he wouldn’t get bored. “That’s good... though I’ve never played Mario Party. Or many video games in general, actually. I’m glad everyone’s well.” He paused, “What epic story? Do I need to get a snack for this one, too?”
The thought of him and Adam going to some random bar to chill and try to score a girl’s number for him just made Ross grin. It really was like college all over again. He liked to think that if he hooked up with Lanni eventually, then he could steer any guy towards their ideal lady. Seriously, Lanni was a tough cookie. So worth it. “YOU’VE NEVER PLAYED MARIO PARTY?!” This was going to change in the near future. “Next time you come over, we’re playing, man. No question.” He was sure Alexan and Lynne would love another player to go up against instead of a computer player constantly winning. “But anyhow, story time! You’ll probably need a snack, it’s kind of crazy.” Hell, Ross jumped off the counter to make himself some coffee while explaining this. “So, you know how I was still working for the Times, right? Doing art critiques and stuff? Well, it got to the point where I have to go back to New York every weekend to see some fancy gallery openings and write stuff up, blah blah blah. That and trying to run my gig in Detroit was getting way too tiring. Lanni was upset I was almost never home... hell, I haven’t seen you in weeks. So I finally went up to my boss last time I was in the city and told him I needed to stay home out in Michigan for the family, blah blah blah. And then he went off about how I would be ruined if I left, my career would be gone, you know, the typical crap they say to try and reel you back in.” It was a nightmare for his telepathy and empathy, though, seeing Ross knew his boss was lying and realized how scared he was of losing an asset like Ross. “So... I called him out on in. Idiot had his door wide open, the entire floor heard me more or less say ‘Fuck you, I’m going home,’ and then I walked out. Totally stole a stapler and coffee mug in the process.”
A slight pause, munching on some more pretzels and then went on. “So! Now I’m back here, even dropped the gig in Detroit and I’m back down to the teaching thing at the university, but to keep myself occupied-” Because a bored Ross was never a healthy thing for anyone. “-I’ve opened up my own gallery space and studios for rent in town. All for the local artists. You’d really like it! Oh, and I also started up my own blog. Now I can bitch about art without the Times breathing down my neck.”
Adam had to physically pull the phone away from his ear, all thoughts of going out with Ross one night gone with that one shout in his ear. “No, I haven’t played Mario Party,” he said, surprisingly dead pan. “I’m a book nerd, remember? Not a video game nerd.” He had books when he was a kid, not a Super Nintendo. Adam wouldn’t even know where to begin with a Wii, to be honest, though he was kind of curious to see if he’d be any good at said games. He had the feeling Ross would introduce it to him sooner rather than later. Getting up, Adam dug through his cabinets for a moment so he could find a snack. His kitchen was a little less stocked than normal, surprising considering that he knew he was going to be staying in for a few days, but he still managed to find a bag of crackers tucked in the very back. “Okay, snack is in hand, go.” And then Adam took a seat at his kitchen table, figuring this story would be a long one.
No, Ross hadn’t been around, but he also knew that his friend had a bunch of things going on, so Adam hadn’t held it against him. Ross’ wife had every right to be mad about that, however, so he wasn’t surprised that Lanni put her foot down. “Really? Your boss said that?” Munchmunchmunch on crackers. “Good for you, though, snagging the stapler and coffee mug in the process.” It was probably the only time Adam would advocate stealing, too, but then again, how many office supplies randomly found their way back to his place after being up to the university for the day? He didn’t mean it, it just kind of happened like that. “So where is your new gallery space? I might not know much about art, but I’ll totally stop by and see it.” Adam would learn about art, mostly so he could understand what Ross was talking about. And of course he’d read the blog! Adam and reading was always fun times.
Ross was beaming proudly, happy to know that his story was received well. A couple of his other friends just shook their heads, but everyone knew Ross meant well in the end. He wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s in downtown Scarlet Oak. Called Panorama. The rent on the building was cheap, all things considered. So two floors are dedicated to gallery space and the third floor is all studio space for rent. Figured it would help out the art community here.” It was still new, but it was something to keep Ross’ mind occupied. Better than commuting to Detroit every day. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get some inspiration by checking the place out. Muses come from all sorts of things, don’t they?” For Ross, Lanni was his own muse, but it didn’t sound like Adam had a girl to keep his juices flowing. He’d help him out with that, even if the two of them made for the most unlikely duo at a bar. It would at least be fun times.
Ross had never struck Adam as the particularly impulsive type, doing things for shits and giggles. If he did something, he meant it, and that was the kind of passion anyone could admire. “Panorama.” Adam dug through his pocket until he found a pen, then leaned back in his chair to grab a notebook that had been laying on the counter. One of the good things about being disorganized, he was never really far from something when he needed it. “That is awesome, and I am definitely stopping by sooner rather than later. Soon as all this demon crap clears itself up.” Which it could do any day now; Adam didn’t like the idea of living in fear. “Exactly, and I love seeing anything new that could help with my writing, you know that. Just - don’t think it weird if I curl up in the corner and start going to town in my notebook for a while.” He didn’t have a muse right now, no - and he feared his work would suffer for it. Adam wouldn’t let that happen.
He laughed at the image of Adam curling up and scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. Reminded of how he could be when at the computer, typing up a review with immense rage. Didn’t mean to do it on purpose, but when you were in the moment, it just happened like that! “I will have you know there are plenty of corners to curl up in! We even have benches for your sitting needs. Quite comfy, too.” He laughed a bit more before a new thought came to mind. “And heeeeey, new school semester will be starting up soon! You ready to take on the freshman?” The older students were the least of Ross’ worries. His advanced classes were open only to people who wished to take it, so he liked to think that people taking it did have an interest in art. But his Modern Art 101 class? That shit was mandatory for all art majors, so fuck his life. At least he’d try to make it as fun as possible.
If anyone was going to scribble furiously in a notebook, it was Adam. He was old school about things like that, and thought his ideas always came out better when he wrote them out first. A computer was great and all, but it didn’t stand a chance against the feel of pen against paper. “I will definitely do that, then,” he said, laughing. “Turn your benches into my makeshift desk... I’ll try to keep all of my papers in one place, though.” Ross had seen Adam’s office, he knew exactly how big a mess the kid could make. Sadly his genius did not extend to cleaning and keeping things in order. “And yes, I’m looking forward to it. I only hope I’ll be able to keep the freshmen engaged long enough to get them to learn something.” He paused, “And I pray at least some of them can write.” Nothing was worse than grading a hundred poorly written Shakespeare essays, in Adam’s opinion.
Ross felt like Adam had the harder job between the two of them. Sure, Ross’ class was required for all art students, but it was still art and he assumed they all liked it, so bonus points. Trying to get a bunch of freshman interested in English when it was a required course for everyone? That was hard work. “Maybe I’ll slip into one of your classes at some point and ask a question to stir up some debate. Or I’ll just ask you obnoxious questions before you tell me to leave.” He would, too, but it was all meant in good fun. “At the very least, we could share poorly written essays during lunch. Ooo, I could even bring over coffee and bagels! Done. This is happening.” Nobody could say no to coffee and bagels, or at least Ross couldn’t. He was excited to meet up with Adam again, though. Speaking of.... “Though that aside, we should hang out before the school year kicks off.”
Teaching freshman was probably going to be the hardest challenge in his professional teaching career, at least so far. His writing students, after all, were in his class because they wanted to be. Adam wasn’t dumb; he knew some of the other professors were chuckling behind his back about it, mostly because of his age. How could he teach those just a few years younger than him? He’d have to talk to his dad, also a former English professor, for advice when the going got tough. “Please do, it’ll keep things interesting. Should I send you a copy of the syllabus so you’ll know what the class will be like beforehand?” Adam was mostly kidding... unless Ross actually wanted a copy, then he’d have to dig it out of his bag to send it over. He totally would, too. “And yes! Perhaps I’ll make copies and red pens so we can go to town.” Was that legal to do? Maybe not, but he’d get a kick out of it. “Absolutely! Name a time and I’ll be there. Possibly with a notebook in tow, but you know.”
There went Ross cracking up again. It was hard to tell if the guy ever took a second of his life seriously. “You’d send me a copy of the syllabus? Really?! Oh wow, I should get me one of those three-ringed binders especially for your class. I’ll be all spiffy and on top of my game.” Sadly, that probably said a lot more than what most of the kids would be doing. Either way, they would find a way to make the upcoming semester enjoyable. The rest of the faculty would be facepalming, but Ross didn’t give a crap. “I can’t deny a fellow writer his notebook. I feel you there. Except mine is filled with more critiques than creative stuff.” Once a critic, always a critic. “We could stop by a cafe for coffee. Or maybe a bar for a beer or two. Or maybe someone’s finally invented a fusion place and we can get coffee beer.” Ross was going to invest millions in that if he ever heard word about it. “No, I’m game for anything!”
“I will absolutely send you a copy of the syllabus. And if you show up on the day the essays are due, I will expect to have something ready to turn in, Mr. Kerrigan.” Adam tried to be stern, but this was Adam talking - it came across like a kid trying to lecture his dad, and he started laughing halfway through. He was also sure that his friend, the professional critic and blogger, could write something miles better than his freshman, no matter what the topic was about. Hell, Ross could give him one of his columns and Adam would be glad for the break from his actual grading. “You know, whatever works. I’ve lost track of everything that has ended up in my notebook over the years.” Grocery lists, mini descriptions, scene ideas, words he liked... Adam was easily amused. “I’d be game for either of those. Next week, definitely. If I find coffee beer, you are the first person I’m telling.”
Asking Ross Kerrigan to write up something usually meant one thing - he was totally going to do it. And he had no issues writing the most outlandish, off-topic paper for Adam to get. Just to brighten the kid’s day. Ross liked to think that was better than bad grammar or blatant wikipedia copying. “Sounds good to me! You let me know when and where and we’ll call it a done deal.” Mid-sentence, Ross heard some yelling coming from the living room along with several thoughts that made his brain twitch. Oh, the joys of having kids. “And as much as I’d love to keep chatting, there’s about to be a smackdown in the living room and I need to put in my hours of being a father this week.” With a light chuckle and shake of his head, Ross just hoped it was over the game freezing again instead of someone losing. “So I’ll talk to you later, Adam?”
Adam would never expect Ross to write anything with bad grammar or to cite Wikipedia. He was just hoping for something funny for him to read and therefore keep his sanity while grading all the freshman papers he knew he was going to assign. “Sounds like a plan,” he said. He could hear faint voices in the background, what he assumed were coming from Ross’ kids. “I’ll let you go put an end to the upcoming war,” he said, chuckling. At least Ross wasn’t alone in the house. Adam had Konstantine, wherever the cat had gone. She’d be back out as soon as she heard his papers rustling, that was for sure. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay?” With that, Adam hung up the phone, still smiling. It was always good to hear from a friend.