the frost, it looks like dust, settled on the world —

[misshuang]

Who: Miss Huang + YOU!
What: general arrival catchall / event-related threads to be added in later.
When: December - January.
Where: Milton for now, may add more later.
Content Warnings: None explicitly, but themes of her canon content warnings may make an appearance in my introspection for her.

Note: I did have Miss Huang on a previous TDM; however, I've apped her in now from a later canonpoint. For that reason, I'll be clean-slating that TDM arrival and bringing her in fresh for new interactions!

Comments

[misshuang]

[ Miss Huang is equally as baffled by the older boy's reaction. He's admitting that he was entertained by the books.... Which, all right, some simple enjoyment is fine, but... one really does have to be careful saying that aloud. Wording it certain ways.

It'd be fine, for example, to say that one found enrichment in a particular reading material...

She has no idea what "PG" means, but the fact some of his books had dead bodies in them... If they don't have to do with Kier, then this is very strange. She should report this! ...To whom, she's not yet certain, but. She should report this when she finds out! Unless.... maybe he's being teasing. The girl hesitates, peering up at him like she is wholly and utterly unsure, eyes wide. ]

Are you.... saying a joke right now? It's all right if you are. Only— [ She draws in a breath and says, very seriously: ] There's a time and a place for saying jokes. Like when we're having designated game time, not during work hours.

[afterdrop]

[ How did this conversation somehow get even weirder? ]

Designated game- [ Okay, no, Charles can't deal with this. ] We don't have game time here. It's whenever you want it to be, if there's nothing needs doing. Nothing's designated.

[ Clearly this girl is from some kind of weird religious cult, like those people in America who have all the wives. There was a TV program about them, he thinks. ]

Where are you from?

[misshuang]

[ What kind of establishment is this....? She realises it's very remote and rather primitive out here, nothing like the clean, sterile halls she's used to, but....

Nothing's designated? Truly?

That must be part of the experience, then.... she's really meant to be "roughing it" out here, huh.... Miss Huang looks deeply unsettled as she thinks it over, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before she looks up at the boy. This, at least, is something she can answer with certainty. ]

I'm from Kier, PE. I've been working at Lumon for the past quarter. [ She doesn't elaborate what "PE" stands for! She maybe doesn't even know! ] Where are you from?

[afterdrop]

[ He hasn't heard of Kier, but he's pretty sure "PE" is somewhere in Canada. Is there a kids' book set there, or something? ]

I'm from London. Lived there my whole life. [ And the decades since, but he's not about to tell a kid all about being dead. Even a kid as patently abnormal as this one. ] Seem a bit young to have a job, though. I was just in primary school when I was your age.

[ She doesn't look like she's been working down in a mine, or in a mill like Oliver Twist, but one never knows. ]

[misshuang]

[ If she's ever heard of London, it's not been relevant enough in her studies to warrant much else besides the name; she may as well know nothing about the place. But she figures it makes sense that there would be transfers here from all over the world. ]

Oh — this isn't my first! I was a crossing guard before I started working for Lumon.

[ She says this very proudly! And seemingly with no ounce of concern for the thought that she might be too young to have a job. In fact, it seems to be one of her favourite topics of discussion, as she's very enthused to ask him: ]

What's your job title here?

[afterdrop]

[ Well, crossing guard at least sounds sort of like something appropriate for a kid. Something you'd get assigned in school as a way to learn safety and responsibility. The girl certainly seems the type, all practical and authoritative. Maybe Lumon is her school, back in her own world. ]

I don't have one here, other than pitching in. That's what we all do: help wherever we can. Guess you could call us helpers.

[ A bit cheesy, but that's something Charles has always been good at: keeping the spirits up. ]

Back home I'm a detective, though. One reason I like mystery stories so much.

[misshuang]

[ "Helpers".... The girl takes a moment to think about that, mouth tugging to the side for a moment before she seems to settle into the idea. That's kind of nice, actually. And certainly sheds more insight onto some things: though she's still not sure if she's meant to assimilate and become one of these Helpers, or display more of her skills as a Manager.... Regardless, she likes this thought. All of the community helping. ]

You're a detective? Like... a police officer? [ People in her world still hold such jobs, it's just... a little different, especially the part she lives in. The most interesting thing she focuses on, though: ]

You help people solve mysteries? What kind of mysteries?