<@Ciara> [Date: Thursday, February 26th] <@Ciara> [It's late in the afternoon, after classes have finished for the day at Akaraki High.] <@Ciara> [Haruko has arranged for them to meet in one of the study rooms at the Tokyo Tech library. Sadly, this means no food. ;_;] <@Ciara> [Thankfully, you're meeting Haruko and not Maki.] <@Ciara> [Haruko has arrived first and is waiting for the other two.] <@Ciara> [Session Start!] * @Haruko sits in the study room, two books, a binder of notes, and an equation cheat sheet spread out before her. She's wearing a buttoned up white chemise and a grey ankle length skirt. Her hair is up in a bun and she's wearing a pair of earrings with featuring small blue stones. The elegent image she is trying to portray is undercut by the grease stained sneakers she doesn't realize are visible under the table when you enter the room. Stupid easy to break formal shoes. * Taki knocks on the door and peaks in to make sure she's got the right room. * @Haruko looks up, startled. "Hi!" * @Haruko stands up and tidies up her papers. Hi, I hope we didn't keep you waiting too long. * @Nicola is also with Taki. Her hair is currently in a braid that's been pinned up into a bun. Both she and Taki are wearing their school uniforms. * Taki then steps back and takes the door with her so that Nicola can enter first. <@Haruko> No not long... * @Nicola walks in and bows politely to Haruko. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with us." Her hair stays perfectly pinned. * @Haruko returns the bow. "You're welcome, it is a pleasure to finally meet one of Taki's new friends." Her hair does not stay perfectly pinned, a few strands fall in her face, which she brushes back with her hand as she sits. * @Nicola smiles. "And a pleasure to meet one of Taki's old friends." * Taki holds out her hands. "This is Kinsha Haruko, second year student here at Tokyo Tech." And gesturing the other way. "Arai Nicola, third year highschool student, and that's the formalist parts of this out of the way." * @Haruko takes a moment to look over Nicola as she sits, eyes widening for a fraction of a second because man, Taki. She returns the smile. "I had the pleasure of encountering your sister a several times back when I was in high school, I hope she is well." * Taki sits as well. "Haruko was one of the upperclassmen I hung out with at Sakuragaoka." * @Haruko nods. "My third year was a rather interesting time, but I had the chance to make a number of new friends. Taki is one of the closer, she has pulled me out of the fire, so to speak, more often than I care to say." * Taki laughs neviously. "You flatter me, but I try to take good care of my friends." * @Nicola smiles. "It is nice to see that Taki has kept in touch with old friends, despite the difference in schools and time." <@Haruko> Some more than others, but life is like that, you know? We do still all get together every now and then. * Taki nods. "We all have our own lives now." <@Nicola> Ah, speaking of... Ah? * @Nicola reaches into her bag and pulls out an envelope. It is from Korubane University. "This arrived yesterday." * @Haruko smiles and looks. "Ooh, Korubane? Is the news favorable?" <@Ciara> [The envelope is thick, and has been opened.] * @Nicola nods. "The news is quite favorable." * @Haruko grins. "Impressive, I've been told that Korubane makes our humble Tokyo Tech seem like merely a regional school." She chuckles at her own inside joke. "What do you intend to study?" <@Nicola> I actually wish to go into veterenary science someday, so my inclination is towards the biological sciences. * Taki grins and takes Nicola's hand. "Congrats! And now I know who we should talk to next." * @Haruko grins. "Yes, congratulations." * @Nicola blinks, surprised by the hand-grabbing. "Oh? Oh, and thank you." * @Haruko leans over the table and says in a bit of a stage whisper. "I think it's a better in biology than engineering, but there are still far too few women in science and engineering. If you run into any trouble on that score please know you'll have friends ready to help." * @Nicola reaches up with her free hand to adjust her bun slightly. "Thank you. I will keep that in mind." Two of our friends are also students there, but they're in arts and buisness, so I don't think you'll have any classes together unless you all pick the same electives. * @Haruko tilts her head slightly. "Oh, I believe Katie Andrews may actually also be taking biology classes. But she is a year ahead, so Taki's not necessarily wrong there." * Taki blinks. "I haven't actually talked to her about the specifics of her classes, just sort of general 'what's college like?'" * @Nicola looks at Taki. "What has she said? It would be beneficial to know." * @Nicola does gently attempt to remove her hand from Taki's so she can pull a notepad and pen out of her bag. * Taki lets go and looks up as she recites a Katie flavored anecdote about trying to get all the classes she wanted first semester. * @Haruko looks a triffle amused as she says that, but she keeps it out of her tone. She keeps her eyes on Nicola, having noted the hair bun gesture earlier and trying to get her measure. "My impression is that her classes are challenges in different ways and that she gets a bit annoyed at those that don't take them seriously. That said, I couldn't tell you the class to class specifics. I don't * @Haruko think she's decided her specialty yet as well, but don't quote me on that." * @Nicola nods and writes a few things down. She looks at Haruko, then at Taki. "So she would be a useful reference?" For lots of things. But we're kinda focusing on the wrong preson here. How about college advice from you Haruko? * @Haruko nods. "She's a fairly private person, but I suspect she'd be happy to talk about what professors to take and which to avoid." * @Haruko looks over to Taki with a genuine surprised smile. She then looks back to Nicola. * @Nicola has taken a few more notes, and looks up from her notepad to Haruko. "Yes, I would appreciate any you would be willing to provide." * @Haruko goes over some of the basics and talks about her core classes a bit, things that surprised, points on dorm life, she tries to stay away from anything too Tokyo Tech specific. <@Haruko> And, let's see, if you join a club, be very careful before agreeing to become an officer. Also, it may not happen until your sophmore year, but if you can find a good roommate it'll make all the difference in the world. * @Nicola writes a few more things. "I will be commuting, but I appreciate the advice." <@Haruko> Oh, staying with family? * @Nicola nods. "I will be continuing to live with my parents." * @Haruko, now that she's said her piece for a bit, takes more time to study Nicola and her responses. * Taki nods. "If Hattori accepts me before I have to make my final choice, I will too, but right now it looks like I'll have to remember those things." * @Nicola looks at Taki. "You have not heard back yet?" * @Haruko glances over to Taki, curious. I'm on their waiting list. Tsuji and Nakamura have both sent me acceptance letters, so I've got a month or so for all the people ahead of me to decide that they'd rather do other things with their lives. * @Haruko frowns slightly. "Good luck." <@Nicola> The other two are where, exactly? * @Haruko looks back to Taki, she remembers they were not here maybe, but that's about it. Kyoto and Fukuoka, which is a long commute, but still not as bad as poor Shizaru and Paul-san. He's in America and the roommate of probably the last of my old friends you're going to meet. * @Nicola frowns slightly. "I see." * @Haruko grins. "Paul-san has the cutest terrible American accent. I enjoy talking with him before he hands me off to Satoshi." * @Nicola gives Haruko a level gaze. "It is not easy to learn a foreign language." I'm still hopefull that I'll get to stay here in Tokyo. So I can stay with you and keep my dad from accidentally burning down the house... or deciding that a human being can live on nothing but instant ramen. And microwave pizza. * Taki makes a distastefull face at the memories. * @Haruko matches the gaze. "Man, don't I know it. He probably tells his friends, Haruko-san can't even manage a proper ." <@Nicola> I would hope that the one Yamada-san cares for would be more polite than that. * @Haruko lets out a breath to the side. "Paul-san is very respectful. He actually would say the -san. I was just putting words in his mouth to make fun of how awful I am at other languages. It makes research rather hard some times, as Japan has great engineering but I want to be able to see sources from other countries. I'm the only one of our old group that doesn't actually have a second language." * Taki nods. "Paul-san is pretty nice most of the time, but I've heard he gets mad at Satoshi when people here call him and forget about the time difference and wake him up." * @Haruko glances over at Taki. "We actually do pretty well." She looks back to Nicola. <@Haruko> I'm sorry. I do like to tease people, but I also try to give Paul- san some Japanese practice and he seems to enjoy it. But I know someday I might need to study or work abroad to be a better engineer back home. There are topics I prefer to keep out of bounds, and that's a boundary I can respect for you. * @Haruko was babbling a bit there. * @Nicola nods to Haruko. "Thank you. I accept your apology." * @Haruko leans forward again. "Thank you. I like playing, but I want to make sure it's games other people enjoy too." She snorts. "I don't even have to win much. But that's a tale for another time after you've met more people." * @Nicola laughs softly. "Perhaps I should teach you how to play cards." * @Haruko barely constrains her desire to check Taki for a reaction. "Interesting, what sort?" * @Nicola gets a sly smile. "Poker." * Taki manages to not ask a rude question and instead "That sounds like fun, but I'm pretty awful at bluffing." * @Haruko laughs. "Ah, yes, Katie has told me of this game. She told me to never play it for money. We shall have to have a card night with Shizaru-san and Mikage-san, Taki can make snacks." * @Nicola nods. "We can play for things that are not money. I agree to your idea!" * @Haruko keeps smiling and moves in for the kill. "Since it's luck based, I still like my odds better than a beauty contest. What do you do with your hair? That bun is perfect! I'd love to train Maki to do it for me." * Taki eyes Haruko. * @Haruko eyes back. "Don't judge me, buns are hard." * @Nicola relaxes a bit more. "Practice and subtle usage of hairpins." <@Nicola> It's first best to work on getting the braid even. * Taki reaches back to touch her hair, and keeps listening. * @Haruko nods and takes notes at that under the heading "Instructions for Maki." * @Nicola describes a few other tricks to braiding, including shampoo usage, helpful brushing techniques, and the best way to keep from getting split ends. * @Haruko follows along with a mix of questions that establish that she knows some of what she speaks but also getting more details. * @Nicola is surprisingly good at describing the technical aspects of hair styling. * Taki adds her own input, but it's been a couple of years since she had long hair, and other than pulling it back and the occasional loose bun, she didn't really do anything with it. * @Haruko cuts it off before Nicola gets bored. "So, I'll send Taki some dates she'll make this happen." She gives Taki her small regal smile. "Right?" Yep, I can do that. I look foward to my lessions on how to be less bad at card games. * @Nicola smiles. "So do I." <@Ciara> [And so, Girls' Poker Night may actually be a thing!] <@Ciara> [Session End!]