Day 28: Picnic
Dinner Theater
Chloe panted, hands on her knees. She wearily raised her head, rasping her breath. She stared at the psychoseismometer, which whirred with sudden stability. While she was aware of its function to detect and collect negative psychic residue, she hadn't anticipated being pulled into the fight-or-flight part of her brain, battling a barrage of enemies until the machine decided she was finished.
That tidbit of information had been excluded by her mentor. Although the psychoseismometer was now functional, it became apparent to Chloe why the agent decided to toss her head-first into a training session. She slowly pulled herself upright, heaving out a breath. Narrowing her eyes, she pivoted around on her heels and faced her mentor.
They were in her laboratory, machinery and tools filling every spare table. Inventions were proudly displayed on the shelves. Specific materials were kept in jars, neatly labeled and occasionally glowing from radiation. Chloe had hoped to have a lab exactly like it, but for the moment, the situation was not fit for an inventor.
Laid out on the tiled floor was a checkered, gingham blanket. There were sandwiches, apple slices, grapes, and fancy crackers with brie cheese spread across them. Chuckling to themselves, lying down on the blanket, were two lovebirds, an on-and-off again couple according to Chloe's research. Gisu and Dion paid Chloe no mind, entirely in their own little world. Dion nibbled on his sandwich, a tomato slice spilling out. It landed dangerously close to his silk vest, but he quickly pinched it between his fingers and popped it into his mouth, listening as Gisu spoke.
"...and so I said, 'But Hollis, the psilirium is too powerful,' and she said, 'It's not on our budget to be picky with our resources,'" Gisu recalled. She was propped up on her elbow, twirling a brunette lock of curly hair.
Dion smirked. "She's such a hardass. How can you work for her?"
"Well, the pay is pretty good when you move past Junior Agent status," she replied, snickering. "Oh, there's also the fact that I can technically build anything I want without major consequences. Seriously, that's all my mentor did. Otto was - huh? Oh."
She paused mid-sentence, catching eyes with her dumbfounded intern. Chloe wanted to scoff, but she maintained her poise, as painful as it was. It appeared they had been chattering and canoodling while she PSI blasted her way through an almost never-ending swarm of Censors. Gisu cleared her throat, but she hardly moved to greet her. Dion simply arched an eyebrow at her, the resemblance he shared with her friend, Mirtala, was not as uncanny as one would expect from siblings.
"Agent Nerumen," Chloe seethed, folding her arms behind her back, "you failed to warn me about your true intention with the psychoseisometer."
Gisu smirked, showing off her teeth. "Well, you're the type of person who reads up on everything. I guess you just didn't read up on this when it's basic Psychonauts knowledge."
She balked and pushed aside the hot flush storming up her neck. "This device wasn't in the handbook. I had no knowledge of it until I became your intern, and you gave me the job today to delouse it." She narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't expecting it to suddenly activate and send me to a mental battlefield of my own creation."
Gisu hummed, appearing to consider Chloe's claim. While Chloe liked her mentor, who often encouraged her creativity with her inventions, there was a lackadaisical nature behind her that frustrated Chloe. It wasn't the first time Gisu failed to mention an aspect of a task, one that usually led to something malfunctioning or forcing Chloe to think on her feet. The challenges were intriguing and promoted Chloe's psychic growth, but it was still aggravating when Gisu shrugged her shoulders at Chloe's criticisms.
"Consider it today's lesson," Gisu interjected with a raised hand when Chloe took a breath. "You're never going to be a hundred percent ready. Hollis told me that the mind is not a safe place, and she was a hundred percent right on that." She flicked a grape at the psychoseismometer, and Chloe stepped aside, afraid it would pull her back into her mind. "And besides, you're the one who made an assumption. You need to be prepared for anything."
Chloe squared her shoulders. "Regardless, I feel as a mentor, you should inform your mentee about your discretion."
Dion snorted, injecting himself into the debate. "Hey, Tala's friend, whatever your name is? Can you take your whining elsewhere? We're trying to have a moment."
"And why are you two having a picnic in the middle of the lab?" Chloe cried, frustration pooling inside her.
Gisu smirked and balanced a grape on her finger. "Because it's dinner and a show."
Chloe paused. They did not have a television or a radio. There were no portable devices meant for digital discs, either. Cupping her chin, Chloe furrowed her brow, only for her eyes to shoot wide open when Gisu's grin stretched into her cheeks.
She pointed at herself, blurting, "How long were you two watching me struggle in my own mind?"
Gisu clicked her tongue. "About…the whole time? Then, we bailed before you realized it. The show was over, and now, it's time for dinner."
As Dion laughed, planting his palm on his brow, Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose. She supposed there was a lesson to be learned. Humiliation came in all shapes and forms. It was to be expected in her future occupation, as well. She breathed in deeply, hearing Gisu snickering while she stood up. Gisu slammed her arm around Chloe's shoulders, rocking her slightly, as she dug her knuckles into Chloe's cheeks.
"Agent Nerumen, he's not even psychic," Chloe huffed, glaring at Dion.
"When the babe next to you is one, she can pull you into a mind with her. Didn't think of that, huh?" Dion winked at Gisu. Chloe did not repress her revulsion as it shivered up her spine. It was worse when Gisu raised her eyebrows at him, and Chloe decided she had enough.
She slipped out underneath Gisu and hurried for the door, calling, "I'm going to take my leave now. Thank you for the lesson, Agent Nerumen."
Gisu still laughed as she yelled, "Chloe, don't be mad! C'mon, I'm your favorite teacher! For your success, you can fool around in my lab, and I can fool around with him!"
Chloe stood in the doorway, tempted. But when she looked at Dion, she slowly shook her head.
Dion snorted. "Aw, just let the kid go. We have some catching up to do."
Shrugged, Gisu waved her off. "Well, Chloe, go take your lunch break, and head over to Hollis' class when you're done." She flashed a peace sign, brought it to her temple, then thrust her hand out. "Gisu, out."
As the door shut behind her to the sound of Gisu purring to know where they left off, Chloe made a beeline to the Junior Agent division. She weaved through agents, jogging at one point without realizing it. She almost darted past the office when she spotted him among his coworkers, fiery orange hair held up in a ponytail as he slept on a desk, drooling into paperwork.
Chloe skidded to a stop next to him and snatched his shoulder. "Bobby, wake up," she ordered.
Bobby jolted to life. A paper stuck to his face. As his heart seemingly hammered, earning the annoyed glances of his peers, he shouted, "Huh? What? Agent Forsythe, I'm not asleep!"
"No, Bobby, it's me, and you were asleep," Chloe deadpanned, releasing him.
He blinked, looking up at Chloe. As she pulled the paper off his face, he cleared his throat, freckled face flushing. "Oh, oh, hey, Chloe. What's up, nerd?"
She settled into the chair next to him, folded her hands under her chin, and leered at him out of the corner of her eye. "When I become the Grand Head of the Psychonauts, I'm going to implement changes for all interns to have better rights."
He ruffled her hair, sighing. "Bad lesson with Gisu, huh?"
"Bad day with Gisu and her romantic partner."
Cracking his knuckles, Bobby set aside his clearly unfinished paperwork. "Want me to beat him up?"
"Violence is not the answer, but this time, I'm seriously considering it."
He puffed out a cackle, his peers unimpressed with their conversation. One Junior Agent asked them to pipe down. Chloe held out her hand before he could snarl back at her.
Sighing, she asked, "Despite the fact I'm exhausted, do you want me to get you lunch? You know, because you clearly aren't done yet, and I was going to invite you to come with me if you were."
Scowling, Bobby waved a stack of papers at her face. "Hey, no need for sarcasm. Filing this shit is a nightmare. I should be on missions. I'm an actual Psychonaut."
She lowered them with her index finger. "You would be if you did this appropriately and didn't upset your superiors by sleeping on the job. That way, they would actually offer you a mission instead of busy work."
He frowned and lowered his voice. "Damn. That's cold, Chloe."
Smiling, she excused herself, promising her friend lunch so long as he finished by the time she returned. He tossed himself into his work, pen blazing across the papers. Turning away refreshed, Chloe wondered what other fascinating, if hazardous tasks Gisu had planned for her throughout her internship.
(She later made a call to Mirtala, who promised to beat Dion up when he returned to the circus. Chloe tried dissuading her, but her other friend had already hung up, the preparations underway. Chloe decided it was in her best interest to turn a blind eye to whatever happened to Dion.)