ic contact;

[psycholawgy]

You've reached Athena Cykes. I'm currently unavailable, but leave a message and I'll get back to you pronto. Danke! (voice/call → text → video → action)

Comments

[cardboard_journalism]

R-right.

[Oh well...]

... [crunch crunch crunch]

That, and you know... after what happened at the party...

[psycholawgy]

The party...

[ Right. That happened after the Christmas incident. Not fun at all. ]

Sorry, I wasn't myself that day.

[cardboard_journalism]

W-What?!

[she coughed, suddenly]

No, Athena! You did nothing wrong!

[cough-cough-cough]

It was all the fault of that... white-haired... jerk!

[psycholawgy]

Archer's always like that. I've gotten used to it.

[ Even though he IS annoying. ]

[cardboard_journalism]

...Always? Sss, sss, sss...

What else has he done?

[dishonorstudent]

Oh, great, you're both workin' together on this one.

Why do I even bother?!

[psycholawgy]

Maybe you're the one who's acting weird!

[psycholawgy]

[ Waves a hand dismissively. ]

A handful of... mean things, that's for sure. But he can also be nice.

[cardboard_journalism]

Sounds like open deception to me...

So, he's got a long history of doing jerk things mixed with the occasional backhanded good deed? Sss, sss, sss.

[psycholawgy]

Pretty much!

He's a good guy. He just has a difficult time showing it.

[cardboard_journalism]

"Pretty much," --I think that quote speaks for itself.

[munch munch munch]

[psycholawgy]

I did not confirm or deny it.

[cardboard_journalism]

You don't need to! I've got a primary source.

[That is, herself.]

[psycholawgy]

Wait — This isn't for another article, is it?!

[cardboard_journalism]

...

[suddenly quiet]

[psycholawgy]

[ ... this room got really quiet all of a sudden. ]

[cardboard_journalism]

[--well, okay, she'll eventually speak up, after another bite or two]

--A journalist holds back their scoops until the exact right moment.

...and the only thing I would ever print with my byline would be something I fiercely believed to be true. Surely, there's no problem with a newspaper printing the truth.

[psycholawgy]

I'd imagine you have bigger scoops than... Archer.

[ She'd also prefer it that people don't write any bad stuff about him. It might be the truth, but she's trying to help the guy. Having him see these kinds of things doesn't help at all. ]

[cardboard_journalism]

Eh, maybe he's less a scoop and more a... public service announcement.

...Anyway, I don't know why you're defending him. The very first time we talked about him, the first words out of your mouth were "That jerk!"

And that party... I never felt so humiliated in all my life...

[...well, no. There was also the court room when Athena told her she was a failure, but she wasn't going to bring that up.]

[psycholawgy]

[ SHHH MYRIAM Athena fixed that!! Remember?!?! ]

Like I said, he's still a good guy despite his awful personality.

[ It would be better to elaborate some more on that, but that would be talking too much. ]

[cardboard_journalism]

[HOW COULD SHE FORGET]

...

Let's change the subject.

...nice hot wings. Secret recipe, or...?

[psycholawgy]

I'm not sure! [ She waves a wing around before taking a bite. ] I'm sure the chef at the cafe will teach me how to cook it if I asked, though.

[cardboard_journalism]

R-right...

[stupid question. Athena was a waitress, not a chef, she wouldn't know.]

...well, I think I'm stuffed. Kahk-kahk...

[psycholawgy]

[ She nods, though she still isn't quite done with her food yet. Still, she puts her utensils side by side at the center of her plate. ]

When the stuff I cook gets better, I'll be sure to make some wings for you, Myriam!

[cardboard_journalism]

T-thanks, Athena...

[does the same utensil placement thing]