drawing pictures of mountaintops

[francis_barnam]

Francis has a box of sidewalk chalk, and is currently doing a very, very large piece in front of the Conrad. He's been working on it for hours, and doesn't look like he's going to be stopping any time soon. It seems to be a rather gory murder mural. It's not particularly good.

Dr. Katherine Kirschenbaum is lecture planning in the Coffee Shop. Her

Comments

[diatomic_life]

She picks up one of her notes, watching it slowly drip on the floor with a heavy sigh. Blotting it dry, although still a mess, she puts it up on one of the chairs, frowning.

It's nice to hear someone call her smart. Obviously she knows she's smart, but it's nice to hear it from someone else every once in a while.

"You see tons of molecules around caffeine, generally," Kat says, trying to save another one of her papers. "But that's not what I meant. I meant that caffeine, one of the molecules you see in every day life, is much more complex than sugar. And even caffeine is relatively simple when you compare it to other things."

She gives him an odd look at the 'must persevere' comment, but shakes her head, going on.

"Although, one could say that everything's relatively complex in the end, considering we can't even understand half of what we see." Kat tips the cup up, stuffing the soggy napkins inside. "Although, once we understand them, we tend to forget why we thought they were complex, and therefore worth understanding in the first place."

[sensi_doctor]

"Oh," JD says as he stares listening and wiping the coffee up at the same time. He may be wiping in the wrong spots, but that's because his attention is focused on her. "You have to be an expert at whatever it is you do. I mean you're a genius, right? Only geniuses talk like you do."

He glances at the papers as though only just noticing them. It's possible that he has only just met them.

"Is that what these papers are on? Different molecules?"

[diatomic_life]

Kat doesn't even know how to deal with someone who openly congratulates her intelligence.

"Yes, I am," she says, blinking at him slowly. "And yes and no. There are my lecture notes for my organic chemistry class."

JD, you have managed to stop Kat in her tracks. She's honestly not sure exactly what to say to you. ...congratulations?

[sensi_doctor]

"So you're a professor. But you have to be doing more, right? Cause you strike me as the kind of genius who could change the world. Cure cancer or something like that," JD picks the cup filled with napkins up. "Team work."

He grins at her.

"I used to go to university. Those were the days." Lots of being a nerd in his dorm room and inviting himself to parties to end up with second-hand mono. Good times! "I'm a doctor." JD takes a stance of pride when ever he says that sentence. Without fail. "I-I-I'm gonna throw this away."

He sort of skips over to the trash can and tosses it inside before returning to her.

"Do you like teaching? Somebody once said that those who can't do... teach, but I never really bought into that. Teachers are important. And you can't be a good teacher if you can't do what you're teaching well, right? It's what I think."

[diatomic_life]

"I'm working on it," Kat lies through her teeth. "Curing cancer. Among other things. Cleaner fuel." Well, she is working on more fully utilizing fuel and possibly coming up with higher powered alternatives. "...you're a doctor. That's noble. I mean, someone's got to think about the greater good on such an applicable level."

She kind of just stares at him wandering over to the trash can.

"And yeah. I love teaching. The next generation is all we really have. If I can't help them, we can't go forward. And I don't just teach. I also do research."

[sensi_doctor]

"Really? You're- I mean, I kind of only said that to be saying something, but oh my God!" JD hugs her tightly. She's curing cancer and making the world a better place! She deserves all the hugs. "On behalf of everybody, I want to say thank you. We appreciate your efforts."

He pulls back, again.

"Wow. You're a woman of many talents. I approve." JD leans on a nearby table. "You know you're right. About the next generation. I mean, I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess insi-i-i-ide."

Yes, he started singing. Only a little.

[diatomic_life]

Oh g-d in heaven. What the hell is happening?

He's hugging her, and the entire cafe is singing and dancing.

Maybe she isn't as immune to her chemicals as she thinks.

Make it all stop.

Just-- make it all stop.

[sensi_doctor]

JD stops singing, and then realizes that he's daydreamed the whole room into singing and dancing.

"It's like a musical. They look magical," he says all excited and dreamily, and then he realizes that sending an entire cafe into illusions is not the best of ideas and he stops it before they can return to the chorus.

Everyone in the cafe starts to look around as if they think they've lost their mind.

"... oops. I didn't mean to- That wasn't me."