strangetrip | Check-In: Not-Mother Hen

Kitty sat at the bar with a cup of coffee and her notebook, watching the 'welcoming committee' make themselves busy. Liz was here, as she'd promised Kitty she would be and Kitty gave her a quick smile of encouragement.

One of the worst things about Check-In Days was that you never knew whether it'd be a whole long day of no one arriving, one spectacular fall from the ceiling and dropping dead after another, or anything in between. It made it hard to know what to do with yourself. After awhile, you got used to it and just kept on with whatever you'd do otherwise, and know that if you didn't step up for a new arrival, someone else would. But for someone not used to treating it like a responsibility to be here, especially someone with Liz's anxious need to be perfect at it, Check-In Day could be emotionally exhausting.

So Kitty made sure to have milk warmed for hot cocoa and her plans for the obstacle course handy in case Liz needed something to do with herself. Otherwise, she was working on a modification of Cerebro to see if she could start detecting new arrivals.

[ooc: Regular check-in day gathering post. If you want Kitty, ping me.]

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It was so weird sitting there talking to someone who looked so much like Peter. She knew that the moment her shift was done here, she was going to have to go tell him about Brad.

"I know it's a lot to take in..." Probably a huge understatement. "But, um... I keep busy by working at the restaurant and bakery, I help out here now in the welcoming committee and sometimes I help out at the clinic, too... Plus I sort of go to school here?" Which she knew was dorky to most kids her age. "People usually find something they are good at to keep themselves busy."

"I like school." He said, remembering his father's disbelief at such a statement. "Liked."

Brad thought of his friends, of Melissa. He suddenly remembered his phone and hoped mmaybe there would finally be service. He dug the phone from his pocket, but there were no bars. Bradley frowned.

"I like school because my friends are around." He said. and sometimes I like learning new things, I guess.

He pressed the button on his iPhone and checked to see if there were any texts from his mom or Ted or his friends. Brad sighed when he saw there was nothing new.

"How long will I be stuck here for?" He asked, looking up.

Liz tried not to frown as she said the answer. She knew it wasn't exactly what anyone wanted to hear. "No one really knows... I've been here for six months now." That it really had been that long was still hard to wrap her head around. "Other people have been around longer... Some shorter." She winced slightly. "Sorry... I know I don't exactly have any answers you want." And she felt bad about that.

"But... You'll have a room here? They're usually pretty over-the-top, but they're clean and comfortable. You just go to the front desk to check in, like a real hotel."

Bradley stared out at the lobby blankly, but he thought while he did. He considered all that Liz was saying and what he saw in front of him. The couch under him felt real and as comfortable as a typical hotel couch.

The silence lasted several minutes.

"I guess I have no choice but to be here," he finally said.

Brad turned to look at Liz again.

"Thanks." He said, sitting forward on his knees. "I should... Take a walk around. Figure out this place."

She felt like she was staring at him, but she hoped she wasn't. It was just so strange to see someone who looked so much like Peter, but clearly wasn't. The way he held himself, the way he said things - it was all different. She wanted to ask him how old he was, but she thought that might be weird to do, especially right when you arrived.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He looked tired, after all. "...If you need anything, I'm in room 189." She paused, then suddenly worried about how that sounded. "Or, um, that woman over there?" She gestured to where Kitty was. "That's Kitty. She can also help you. Or anyone else, really. They're really nice." And now she was rambling. "But, um. yeah. I'd be happy to help..."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, looking at her. She keeps looking at me like she knows me. "Are you okay>"

Liz flushed. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. Sorry." She offered him an apologetic look. "You, um. You sort of look like my boyfriend, that's all. His name is Peter. Peter Parker. You'll probably see him around soon. Anyways, it's nothing." She made a mental note not to stare as much, even if it was so weird.

He had never been told he looked like someone else's boyfriend before. Maybe it's just the hair or something.

"Oh," He said. "I have a girlfriend back home. Her name is Melissa..."

Not that she's here or that matters right now.

He held back a frown, but pushed himself to his feet. Bradley still felt exhausted.

"Thanks, though," He said, glancing back to her. "I guess I'll see you around."

Brad smiled because it was polite. He then headed in a random direction to explore.

Check-In: Not-Mother Hen

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