ACME Spring Break

[Sophie]

It was the middle of March and the sun hung high and bright, warming the air a balmy fifteen degrees Celsius as light breezes swept in across the Bay. Laughter from both adults and children chimed, and in the Park Chalet Garden Restaurant, an equable Sophie Conrad and a lighthearted @Gudrun Nygård did a final walkabout of the conservatory. Light poured in through the glass panels that lined the roof and walls, and through them, the colourful carpets of tulips and the tall, grey form of a languid windmill could be glimpsed. For now, the tables and chairs around lay empty--but it would not be long before they would be filled.

The invitations had been despatched a fortnight before, in both print and digital format. Addressed to all the ladies of ACME, it communicated a gathering of food and fun in celebration of the spring that had now dawned over San Francisco. The responses were swift and sanguine and it was eventually decided that each attendee was to contribute an item of food or drink. The venue was reserved, flowers ordered to adorn each table, and a string quartet from the local community hired.

Salted and peppered brie, smothering thinly-sliced tomatoes and pumpernickel bread had been baked and squared. Set beside jugs of iced lemonade, they now lay in wait as Sophie turned to smile at her companion...

 

[Elsa]

Gudrun Nygård was very excited for her first real Sorority party... until she found out it was a sort of picnic at the park, and wasn't about girls doing things things boys didn't know they did. She had never been to any gathering that required a 2-weeks invitation before either, so this was still an experience. San Francisco and the American way was a little odd to her, but she knew this was the kind of place that needed a reservation in advance or there won't be any space, they have those in Sweden too.

She had moved here a few short months back to continue her degree in Historical Literature with a focus on Lore and Mythology. It was her favorite field back home and ACME was offering its agents something a little extra too: Travel oppotunities.

She invited another friend to this party @Ivy, a senior agent she had met on her first month here, and possibly the only other person she knew wouldn't mind bringing food to a party.

 

[Rose]

She knew it sounded all pessimistic of her, but from the first moment she saw the invitiation to the ladies' function, Rose Ningolsham knew that it was a less than a good idea for her to go. There had been numerous good excuses placed upon the table, but none of them held up against her friend's persuasive words. Just go once to an event like this, @Constance had implied, and if she really didn't like it, then there was no reason to go again.

Deciding to go was easy enough, but then the March day came around, and she spent much of 45 minutes in search of that invitation to see whether it was a casual or forrmal event and what time it exactly was. Unfortunately, the search proved vain since a wave of origami had hit home, and all paper had mysteriously disappeared. Well, not entirely. If she had decided that the consequence of tears was a price she was willing to pay, she would have started yanking the flying pieces of origami off of the celing till she found the invitation in the form of a bird, shape, or other animal. She tried to contact Constance for the information but found that her friend was not available, and so she was left with the choice to do or die. So she did.

Now here she was outside the Park Chalet Garden Restaurant, lopsided heart shaped scones [She didn't know exactly why they ended up as hearts. That wasn’t the shape she originally had in mind] in hand, and desperately hoping her entry would not be too noticeable having little clue whether she was extremely late or the opposite. After a few deep breathes to force the hurriness away, she entered into the building and searched till she found what she believed was the right room. It had to be. Empty chairs and tables were arranged here and there about the open space, and from the tidiness, she could tell that she was in danger of being on the early side.

She wasn't quite sure what was to be done next until she spotted two unfamiliar figures walking about the room. They didn't seem to have noticed her entry; so she stepped forward and spoke up, "Sorry, am I terribly early? Or am I even in the right place?"

 

[Cali]

Cali Corranos arrived a little bit later because she had to make sure her vegetarian Acarajé (black-eyed peas bread with peppers and green tomatoes) were well done and not too watery. The Feijoada (stew) had beef so she made the Acarajé in case someone among ACME's international crowd did not eat meat.

She arrived in her Havanas sandals, forgetting to put on real shoes, but in San Francisco it seems to be acceptable.

"Allo," she walked up with food to the conservatory of the Park Chalet Garden Restaurant, "Only us so far?"

-------

Acarajé


Feijoada tem a cara do Brasil

 

[Ivy]

When Ivy first received the digital invitation, she was sure someone was pulling a prank on her. First there was the fact that it was addressed to the ladies of ACME. Many words could be used to describe Ivy, but a "lady of ACME'" seemed completely pass her swearing, hotheaded-rough persona. Secondly, the invite hinted that someone believed she could cook a dish that wasn't frozen and nuked in a microwave.

Within the next day however, Gudrun Nygård delivered a paper invitation. Upon the realization that this was indeed an actual event and it was being overseen by Sophie Conrad, Ivy suddenly felt an odd sense of panic. She knew these people from work. There was a part of her--a big part of her--that really wanted to make a good impression. Being raised primarily with her father and brother and then starting work at ACME before she was even allowed to date left Ivy somewhat inexperienced and wanting in the social norms of group female friendships.

Ivy changed her outfit at least three times, finally settling on a sheer blouse and silk wide-leg pants. Her choice of food was an assortment of spring rolls from one of San Francisco's finest Chinese take outs, cleverly disguised as homemade with the art of re-plating.

She parked her Kawasaki Ninja and took a bit of time to make sure her blouse wasn't wrinkled before heading towards the conservatory. Luckily there were people she recognized already there, and she flagged down Gudrun and Sophie first.

"The place looks beautiful," Ivy observed. Everything seemed to blend well together, though it was beyond her comprehension as to how that was achieved. She paused, already feeling a bit awkward. "Nice... weather too."

 

[Constance]

Constance had awoken to the warm sun as it poked through the thin curtains that covered her apartment window and lightly kissed her face. She had no problem tossing the blankets off and rising from her bed. Gliding towards the light, she opened the window and took a deep breath of the fresh spring air as it floated into her room. Near a tree below, a small bird happily pecked at the ground in the hope of finding a seed of sorts or maybe a tasty worm: A sign that all was right on this beautiful spring day.

Quickly Constance prepared for the day. First her morning run; then a shower. After this she carefully made a large plate of tortilla, cream cheese pinwheels. By this time, she had two hours left before the luncheon. Just enough time to dress herself for the occasion, apply makeup, and be on her way. She was quite pleased with how the day was progressing.

Upon finishing her preparations, Constance made her way to the restaurant, arriving, thankfully, on time. Entering the conservatory in the trail of a few other guests, she was struck by the beauty of the place. Somehow the many windows, the tables, and the empty chairs created a cosy but spacious feeling at the same time. It was perfect for such a gathering as this. After a quick survey of the room, Constance spied Dr. @Sophie Conrad along with another woman and carried her plate of food over to where they stood.

“Good afternoon, Sophie! This place is absolutely lovely!”. Constance glanced down at her tray before quickly adding, “Where would you like me to put this?”.

 

[Sophie]

Individuals trickled in, some bewildered and others enthusiastic, and Sophie watched them all even if only out of the corner of an eye. She was a part of ACME Medical, and thus, rarely had an opportunity to socialise with the non-medical members of ACME apart from mission imperatives and organisation-wide events, which were much too formal for true amity. At the end of the winter holidays, she had found herself in the library of the ACME Academy in search of a book. Hoping to find an English translation of an old French cooking instructive for a colleague, she had consulted the librarian--and had, consequently, met Gudrun Nygård. Directions to what she sought led to conversations about food which spanned across international borders and resulted in later meetings for hot chocolate and sandwiches. It was then ideated that a gathering would be useful for the introduction of newly-arrived Gudrun to the ACME community and to give Sophie the much-needed opportunity to meet associates on casual terms.

Petal-sleeved, her purple dress was printed with small yellow dots and its hem swirled around her knees as Sophie moved to greet arrivals. Prior to this afternoon, she had drawn out the files of every respondent to the event, her intention only to match faces to the names. Her memory was keen and it now became a personal sport for her as she tallied the names on the guestlist to the faces that were appearing before her.

Among the food that was gathering on a decorated island in the center of the patio, glazed scones were received with gratitude and a fragrant stew of beans and beef could not be ignored. Rose Ningolsham, Sophie recalled to herself as she thanked their contributors, and Calina Corranos...

She was just about to speak more than greetings and gratitude when a wave caught her attention, and then another. Laughing lightly in more spontaneous recognition, she received both Ivy Monaghan and Constance Kitlyn. The food they had brought was handed over to the staff of the restaurant who would take charge of the reheating and subsequent presentation, and Sophie was free to address the younger blonde:

"I'm glad to see you," the doctor said, "How did the essay turn out?" She remembered @Constance approaching her for references on contemporary views of primary medicine care, and they had spent an evening tapping into the resources of ACME and UCSF together.

 

[Rose]

Rose’s question was answered without words when a wave of other ACME women entered the building after her. She lingered there in the midst of them until she was relieved of her scones and then faded into the background. There was a table towards the corner that her eyes had landed on, and now it looked even more and more welcoming as she began to feel a bit claustrophobic.

She slipped between the different ladies and found her way to the chair. Once there, she couldn’t help but glance down at her cellphone just in case there was a message. Just in case. Of course, there wasn’t, but that didn’t dissuade the slight anxiety from keeping its abode in the pit of her stomach. She really wasn’t used to a feeling like this, and it just didn’t seem right.

The various sounds of motion throughout the room brought her back, and she slipped the cellphone under the table in almost a guilty manner. Already this year she had spent more time looking at her cellphone than any other year in her life, but that fact hadn’t altogether wipe her memory of the times she became frustrated when other people were glued to their cellphones, especially at work.

Making up her mind, she quickly rid herself entirely of the phone by putting it into her purse underneath her chair and then turned her attention back to the women around her. People hadn’t ever been her strong point, but she still enjoyed watching them, strangely.

 

[Colleen]

Colleen felt the black dress to be a boring but strategic choice, as it would be most likely to conceal any food, drink, or antibacterial cleaner spills incurred during the event. She calmed her nerves with the knowledge that it would be an all-female party, which agreed with her unspoken belief that the ACME females were generally more sanitary than the males.

The only unchaperoned social events she had attended were at Berkeley's computer club, where the primary interaction consisted of trading parts, circuits, and device information. Uncertain as to whether or not this was standard interplay in other settings, she packed two EVGA graphics cards in her purse. Grabbing the "Key Lime pie" she made, her thoughts turned to how raw veganism could be off-putting for some people. The two large bottles of pear vodka hidden in the back of her closet would surely provide adequate insurance.

An hour later, Colleen hurried towards the conservatory. Incredibly late and increasingly doubtful about her food selection, she felt a shakiness build in her arms. Attending a party was surely a misstep on her part, but it was too late for second thoughts now. As she approached a table with food, she set the pie and vodka down and turned abruptly to a nearby group of women.

"Hi! I'm Colleen. I'm really late and a vegan, but I brought vodka and components,"she rattled on apologetically.

 

[Constance]

"I'm glad to see you," the doctor said, "How did the essay turn out?

The mention of the essay brought a lack of pleasant thoughts to Constance. It wasn’t that she didn’t find its topic interesting, but the process of finding the few, assuredly elusive research articles that pertained to the subject and then integrating them into a twenty page essay was disheartening at best. While the paper had turned out quite well, she was relieved to have finished it. Of course, as a reward, more similarly enjoyable papers of increasing difficulty were promised in the quarters to come.

Despite all these disagreeable thoughts, Constance mustered a brave smile.

“I was pleased with the final draft, and so was the teacher it turns out. Thank you so much again for all your help finding applicable research. It can really be a bother sometimes.” Constance would have followed with a compliment of the doctor’s absolutely splendid dress, but, by this time, guests were forming a line with the intention of greeting the two hosts and thanking them for the kind invitations to this luncheon.

Side stepping out of the line, Constance excused herself. “I should probably find a place to sit. I certainly hope to talk with you later.”

 

[Derrin]

The early morning sunlight slipped through the slats of Derrin's blinds, becoming more powerful as it rose into the sky, signaling the start of a new day. Its beams hit her square in the face, and returning back to sleep was a quickly dimming prospect. So instead, the girl sat up, stretched, then made her way to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, the date on a tastefully done invitation caught her eye.

That's today?
Derringer had joined the Agency less than a month ago, and was stuck in a rut of training, work, and home. At the courteous prompting of a few of her senior colleagues, she accepted the invite, promising herself and them that she would go to get to know her coworkers outside of a few polite exchanges.

She opened the fridge again, wondering what she could come up with in such a short time. Eventually she settled on a batch of fudge brownies, which baked in the oven as she showered, and cooled as she stood in front of her closet, wondering what to wear. Having a penchant for anything black, leather, or studded severely narrowed her options. Eventually she settled on a pretty coral wrap dress. With a pair of low heels and her usually braided hair cascading down her shoulders, Derrin had to admit that she felt out of her element, but cute nonetheless.

Choosing not to ride her bike in fear of mussing up her hair she arrived at the venue by taxi. Entering the conservatory, and gratefully relieving her arms of baked goods, she felt a sudden shyness as she approached the group. The dress that she wore had pockets, which she liked because she could conceal both her namesake gun and now her nervousness.

"Nice day isn't it?" she began.

 

[Ivy]

As the women mingled and found seats, Ivy couldn't help but think that this was actually going quite well. She found Colleen Slate to be an excellent conversationalist, even if her replies were sometimes perplexing. Further speaking to Gudrun and Cali and learning about how much time they took to prepare their dishes, her nervousness quickly gave way to hunger.

The food was starting to smell really good, and a smoky scent of something grilled caught her attention. As a child, Ivy developed an acute sense of smell. It came in handy at least twice during V.I.L.E. cases, and several times when she could prove that Zack hadn't done his laundry. In this case, Ivy followed her nose, though she couldn't see any sort of live cooking station. It was then that she noticed the orange flames fanning just beyond the glass conservatory.

Jarring back, Ivy pushed a chair behind her causing its legs to screech against the travertine floor.

"Fire." Her first attempt wasn't nearly as loud as she wanted it to be so she cleared her throat and tried again, "Fire!!"