visionary

bold. brave. true. may zhao a lady never shares her age. harvard university grad student

[may-zhao]

jacob-denning​:

Jacob wouldn’t say he had any sort of plan in regards to those two, that lying and manipulative girl he once called a dear friend and the scumbag that hung around her so often now… It was what she did, he figured, getting clever men to do her bidding until she no longer needed them. First that guy Wes, then him, and now that rat she picked off the street. So no, he wasn’t planning anything, but he wasn’t walking from an opportunity either. “Hey,” he smiled at the sight of Sebastian’s girl. “Long time no see”. He gestured to the bench, silently asking if he could join her. “I’ve been alright for the most part. Well, rough weeks at work, some family drama with a cousin’s divorce, but other than that-” Jacob shrugged. “You know, life goes on,” he laughed softly. “How about you? How have you been?”.

May scooted over towards one side of the bench so Jacob could join her. She hadn’t seen him since the last time she and Sebastian went out and saw Jacob and his girl. It was a little tense the last time Bas and Jacob saw each other at a party, but May wasn’t one to hold grudges. She knew tempers were hot and they were all more than a little drunk, so she’d hoped they’d calmed down since then. She didn’t push Sebastian that much after the whole incident, but she did have to talk to him about the time he came home with a black eye and he said it was from a skirmish with none other than Jacob. May would stand by Sebastian no matter what and she loved him, but again, she wasn’t one to hold grudges and she saw the two oft hem arguing as nothing more than a macho man pissing contest. She had no skin in the game and while she might not be anything more than acquaintances with Jacob, she would remain friendly unless he became more hostile towards her. So far, he wasn’t. “It has been a while. I know the last time we all hung out, it was a little heated, but I hope we can put that all behind us,” May said, crossing her legs. “I’m glad you’ve been doing well.” She laughed lightly, recognizing how crazy life could get. “I’ve been doing well. I’m searching for jobs, getting ready for interviews, all that good stuff. Funny how looking for a job is basically a full time job, you know? Currently crossing my fingers for this position in New York. I like Boston and found a job here, but I’d really like to see if I could make New York City work.”

[may-zhao]

@jacob-denning​

May sat on a bench, waiting for Sebastian to get out of class so they could go out for dinner. It seemed rare that they could go out these days. He was getting busy with his final couple of semesters and a senior year thesis while May was spending her days searching for jobs, sending in applications, and getting ready for interviews. She was trying to find a way to stay in Boston or at least New York if she couldn’t stay in the area. She liked it up in the Northeast, plus she liked staying by Sebastian and she’d hoped they’d move in together soon, or at least when he finished his degree. She looked up from her book and waved to a familiar face walking by. “Jacob! Hey! How are you?” she asked, grinning at him.

[may-zhao]

june-maslow​:

June pursed her lips and shook her head. “I mean, we might be as well be. As I said, we got stuck and-” the hacker just let out a sigh and shrugged like there was some extra weight on her shoulders. She wasn’t even sure how to proceed with their little venture to stop, or at least contain G.A.I.A… So maybe it was best if May thought they’d hit a wall and were done for now. “Yeah, uh- Kishan,” June nodded slowly, “Who knows? Could be that. I think they had a complicated relationship, and it must be hard that they never really got any closure”. Of course, June knew more than what she was letting on. She wasn’t sure how much Sebastian might have shared with his girlfriend about that, and the hacker didn’t want to make it seem that perhaps, for some reason, Reyes had confided in more than he had with May. “Yeah, no problem,” she managed a small smile, giving the other girl a reassuring nod. “It’s normal to worry about the people we care about,” she mentioned. She didn’t think May was being an intense girlfriend or anything, it all came off as genuine concern and not some toxic pattern about sneaking into the areas of Sebastian’s life that didn’t focus on her or wanting control. So yeah, she would talk to Reyes, mostly to make sure he wasn’t spiraling, mostly to let him know he had her in his corner, mostly because she cared about him. “I’ll be in New York for a few days,” she let May know, so she knew she couldn’t really count on June to keep an eye on Sebastian then. “But I’ll stay in touch and check up on him when I come back”. She probably would check up on him before she left.

"Oh. So you’ll still work on it even though you’re not here anymore? Must be a pretty big passion project then,” May said with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” May picked up her cup when they brought her order out and set it on the counter. She waited for June to get her drink before they turned and started wandering in to the courtyard. “Complicated? Do you know the whole story about it then? Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Sebastian isn’t much of a talker and hasn’t really said anything about it. I guess he hasn’t told me for a reason, but...I mean, you know about it, right? So why hasn’t he told me anything? We’ve been together for like a year now and sometimes I feel like I don’t even know him. It’s like he tells me everything, but the way he tells it you feel like you know everything, except that you don’t.” Sebastian was a pro at it and she hadn’t even realized it until now when she spoke to June. He was still great to be with though and she just hoped that eventually he’d open up. “Great. Thank you. I appreciate it. Let me know if he says anything or needs help.”

[may-zhao]

june-maslow​:

“We uh- we’re kind of stuck at the moment,” she replied with a shrug, pursing her lips. “I don’t know, maybe that’s the end of the road. We’ll see, unless we somehow crack the problem”. Unless they finally understood G.A.I.A. The hacker wasn’t so sure they could outsmart an AI of that level, but well- more improbably things had happened. The two of them reached the academy’s café and June was the one to pull the door open, walking in and pressing a hand to the glass to leave it open for May. “My treat,” she offered before they went to stand in line to order something. “Yeah, I’ve also noticed something’s going on,” she glanced briefly at Bas’ girlfriend. At first, the hacker thought his anger, the overworking, and his sleepless nights were all derived from walking into The Grid and facing whatever the Geists threw at them… now she wasn’t so sure. “He’s not exactly open. It’s hard to figure out what’s on his mind, I’m sure you know that better than anyone,” she mentioned as she glanced at the large blackboard menus written with white chalk, searching for the caffeinated options. Sebastian rarely opened up and yet June could draw fairly accurate conclusions from what he did share in other ways. In his silence. In his glances. It was an odd thing, but the two of them seemed to understand each other better because of what was left unsaid. “He’s my friend, May. I’ll keep an eye on him whether I like it or not,” she chuckled softly. May had seen the two of them interact- the teasing, the sarcasm, the playful insults. They weren’t the type of people to openly admit to caring. But June cared for him, deeply. Responsibility or not, of course she’d try to look out for him, to have his back. The hacker let out a breath, momentarily biting her lip. “You know, I’ll try to figure out what’s going on. I’m pretty sure there’s a 99% chance he’ll shut me out too… but I can give it a shot. If I can pry anything out of him, I’ll let you know,” she suggested, managing a small, reassuring smile. Whether she shared all, only a fraction of or nothing at all from whatever Sebastian might say depended entirely on what he said. She would never share anything Grid-related, or anything Reyes asked her to keep to herself. May was a nice person, a kinder one than June had ever expected- and that was probably why a part of her did want to do something, help tame the other girl’s anxiety a little bit. But her loyalty was to Sebastian first and foremost. The person before them walked away to wait for their coffee and it was their turn to order. June asked for a double macchiato and then stepped aside, letting May make her order.

"Oh. You’re not done with it yet,” May said, raising her eyebrows. “I thought you guys were done since you graduated.” She didn’t want to be a jealous girlfriend. It seemed like such a cliche, but even though Bas and June were already friends, the thought of them working through the night on a project in a subject she knew nothing about made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. “Thank you,” she said with a small smile as she stepped into the cafe. She reached into her bag to grab some cash to at least leave a tip for the student workers there. “I just...I don’t understand what could be the problem, you know? I figured it must be stress, but this seems different. And then I thought maybe it was him thinking about that one guy too much and how he was friends with you before he died...I don’t even know where to start....” She couldn’t keep track of all the people in their friend group as Bas talked about them unless she was with them in person, but she was fairly familiar with the one who died and the one who cut off the rest of them. May was also familiar with Bas’s past for the most part along with a little Googling, but there were still some things that Bas kept under wraps. She made her own guesses and conclusions about his past, but May never shared her thoughts with him since it was a touchy subject for him. “Thank you. I really appreciate it,” she said, nodding towards June. “I hope I’m not too overbearing about this. I swear I’m not trying to be nosy or controlling. I just worry about him. I can’t help it.” May smiled at June and then ordered something for herself before dropping the cash into the tip jar.

[may-zhao]

june-maslow​:

She could read the uncertainty all over May. Whether it was uncertainty regarding Sebastian, regarding her- or both- she didn’t know. But there was a very distinct ‘oh shit…’ feeling nestling inside of her, despite the hacker’s usual composed exterior. She tilted her head towards Common Grounds, thinking of offering to get May a coffee or something while they talked. June had pulled an all-nighter working on some class stuff and working on some code to try and track G.A.I.A.’s invisible presence outside The Grid with little success. She sure as hell needed that coffee. “Yeah, I’ve seen him around the academy,” she answered easily, not thinking about lying to her about that. “We get lunch together sometimes when we have breaks at the same time”. Her lips would remain sealed regarding the altercation with Jacob, though, but June was offering something, she was offering some information, so maybe that would ease May a little. “Is everything okay? You look- a bit worried”.

"I’m guessing you’re done with that project you were working on with him then?” May asked. She hated that she sounded accusatory as she questioned June about her boyfriend and his whereabouts. She remembered that June and Bas would hang out more often when they were working on a project together, but surely their project was done by now. “Have you guys hung out outside of work or anything?” She nodded as June mentioned that they would get lunch every now and then. It seemed harmless, but why was Bas acting the way he was? “Yeah, no...um...everything is fine. I think?” May looked away for a moment and furrowed her eyebrows. “It’s just...I think something is going on with Bas and I know you two are good friends and he doesn’t seem to have many other friends beyond your little group. But he hasn’t even hung out with you guys at all. He’s not as talkative anymore and he’s less responsive. He’s up for hours on end and works until he crashes. I just don’t know what to do and when I bring it up, he shuts me down and says he’s fine. He seems angrier these days. I’m worried that he’s stay out too late or getting into fights or I don’t know...he’s going to burn out with his school work.” She let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. “I know it’s not your business or your responsibility to keep an eye on him, but I just wanted to know if he’s seemed different to you at all, especially since I figured you two would see each other more often since you’re both right here in the same area.”

[may-zhao]

june-maslow​:

She had just put on her earbuds after walking out of hers and Professor Hopkins’ classroom but as soon as she saw May clearly walking towards her, June slowly took them off and stashed them in her bag. “Hey,” she greeted with a small smile. It didn’t show on the hacker’s face but somehow it surprised her a little to see May at Turing. It made sense that she was, of course, she was Sebastian’s girlfriend and the academy was a part of his world… the other times she had seen the other girl it had been in other spaces, spaces that weren’t really as much June’s world as this place. “No, I’m not busy. I actually just finished class,” she said with a little shrug, vaguely gesturing towards the crystal doors of the ASC she had just exited. “What’s up?”. She didn’t think to ask if May was here looking for Reyes, somehow the ‘Do you have a minute?’ tone didn’t sound like she was looking for her boyfriend.

It seemed strange to approach June without any of their mutual friends around. Even though May liked June for the most part, she knew they’d never really be friends. They didn’t run in the same crowds and didn’t seem to have much in common other than the people they hung out with. Still, May enjoyed June’s presence and they could have fun together when they were in the right setting. “Oh, great,” she said with a small smile. “Um...” She wasn’t quite sure where to start with this conversation. May brushed her hair behind her ear. “Have you been hanging out with Bas recently? Or seen him pretty often?” She hoped that she didn’t sound like a jealous girlfriend or anything, but after having dated Bas for a year now, she felt like she had a right to be concerned and to talk to his friends without him being around. 

[may-zhao]

@june-maslow​

“Hey, can we talk?” May asked as she walked up to June. She was just leaving Bas after a small lunch date with him when she saw June across the way. Once Bas was out of sight, she jogged across the Quad to catch up with her. She stopped to catch her breath and smiled at the other girl. She wrapped her arms across her chest in an attempt to stay warm. It was getting warm outside now, especially in the sun, but the wind chill was still a killer. “Do you have a minute? I don’t want to disrupt you if you’re busy.”

[may-zhao]

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

elcucuy-reyes‌:

Sebastian handed one of the drinks over and then leaned against an empty table as they all settled back down. When May made her suggestion, Bas put on a sly smile and looked at June and Jacob. “Sounds like a fun idea to me,” he said. He raised his eyebrows to see what the others had to say. He took a sip of his drink and then put an arm around May’s shoulders. “Anyone have any specific game they want to play next? Otherwise, why don’t we give bowling a go?”

May’s suggestion to switch team partners was surprising but sounded like an entertaining idea. “Okay, I’m up for it” he said as he looked towards Bas. He’d already taken notice that he and June seemed to be two more competitive ones out of the four of them so it was probably good to keep having a partner that really wanted to win these games. Especially since he wasn’t particularly good at bowling, but he was here to have a good time and to get to know June’s friends from Boston a bit better.

June nodded, agreeing to give bowling a shot. The idea of teaming up with May would have greatly annoyed her a few months ago, but she had to give it to the girl: being so damn nice was actually working, because June actually liked her a bit more now. She wouldn’t say they were friends but at least she’d graduated from being ‘that girl Reyes is dating’ to a friendly acquaintance. The hacker tilted her head a bit to the side and smiled towards her new partner “I think we can crush them”. She got her new drink -Was this the third? Or the fourth?- and walked towards the area where they would get those ridiculous bowling shoes. The mild buzzing sensation in her head told her that yes, just as she’d initially thought, this whole drinking game was a bad idea, but she wasn’t about to back down from the challenge now.

"I think we got this,” May said, winking at her new game partner. She took a big swig of her drink and headed over to the couple of bowling lanes that they had for guests. “You ready for this?” she asked, grinning. She poked Bas in the side with her elbow. “Ladies first,” she said. She hadn’t been bowling in years, but she always enjoyed it. She picked up one of the balls and went up to the lane. The first roll was a bust as the ball went into the gutter. But, the second roll, she got all the pins, picking up the spare. 

[elcucuy-reyes]

- Where do you want to do? - We can go to a party, or a bar…or we can just kick back, have some drinks, and watch a movie?

[may-zhao]

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

elcucuy-reyes‌:

Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh at May’s surprisingly bad toss. His attempt wasn’t much better, making them both fall into fits of laughter. “Hey! I haven’t played skee ball since I was like nine,” he said. “Besides, you didn’t do any better than I did!” He lifted his drink with her and took a swig of it, being sure to abide by the rules that they’d set with June and Jacob. “It’ll just take me a few minutes to warm up. My muscles are still thinking about air hockey,” he joked. As they kept playing, things did not get any better for team May and Bas as they fell further and further behind in the points. By the end of the game, June and Jacob had an overwhelming lead over them. It wasn’t even close. Bas tossed the last ball they had even though there was no way for them to catch up. “Alright, you win this time,” Bas said. “But the next game we play, May and I are getting our revenge.” He headed over to the bar with May once she got all their drink orders. As they waited for the bartender, May looked over at Bas. “What’s the the nickname?” May asked. Bas shrugged his shoulders. “Uh…I don’t know. Just something she came up with after watching that Pixar movie,” he said, not wanting to discuss his ex-extracurricular activity with her. “It’s weird, right?” May laughed and shrugged her shoulders too. “It is, but I kind of like it. It’s kind of cute. I can definitely see you playing a guitar with some sugar skull makeup and a red hoodie. Maybe for Halloween?”

Jacob laughed along with May and Bas as they continued to make their not-so-awesome throws, and he and June cheered when it happened, pleasantly aware that they were well on their way to beating them. The confidence that their total score was way above the score of their opponents just boosted his confidence and in turn that helped him continue to make some damn good throws. He grinned at June when the game ended and officially won. “Hell yes!” he said with excitement as the two of them high-fived and hugged. He lifted June off the ground for a moment, making her laugh and when he put her back on the ground he said “Well done, partner”.

June wasn’t a hugger in any capacity but she was too pumped about the win to care much about it when Jacob pulled her into a hug and pulled her off the ground. A laugh even escaped her when it happened. “Well done, partner” she replied as they pulled away. “They’re going down in the next one” the hacker said with a smirk, purposely speaking loud enough for May and Reyes to hear her at the bar. She was still feeling the excitement of the win as well as a sensation that reminded her of what she drank during their game of air hockey. Jacob seemed to share the sentiment, feeling somewhat unstoppable, even if it was only due to a silly arcade game competition. Jacob and she had been holding hands after the hug and the hacker felt a bit self-conscious about it for a moment and slowly slid her hands from his grasp just in time for Reyes and May to come back with the next round of drinks.

May came bounding over to June and Jacob with their drinks. She handed them over before taking a sip of her own drink. “Okay, so I’m thinking that for the next game, we switch up the teams! June and I will be a team and then Bas and Jacob will be a team,” May said. “Keep us on our toes!” She grinned at Jacob and June to see what they would say to it. She definitely wanted to get to know June some more as she wanted to know all of Sebastian’s friends a little better. “What do you think?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. 

[may-zhao]

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

elcucuy-reyes‌:

Sebastian took a swig of his drink and set down on a barstool nearby. He wrapped his arms around May’s waist and listened to her talk about June and Jacob. As she spoke, he turned his head, craning to see June and Jacob at the bar, talking and then paying for the drinks. For being friends, June did seem to show a bit of awkward behavior around him and a bit of hesitance whenever Jacob got close to her. One thing was for sure, Jacob was more interested in June than she seemed to be in him. Of course, that could simply be June being June. When May asked her question, he hadn’t really caught everything she said and he shrugged his shoulders as a response. Sebastian pulled back and stood up as June and Jacob came around with the drinks. “Thanks,” Bas said with a smile. He took May’s hand and headed over to the skee ball section and he set down their drinks. “I think same rules works,” Bas said, glancing at May and then to June and Jacob. “Ready to get crushed again?” he asked, with a laugh.

Jacob gladly accepted having June come with him to get the drinks. “Sorry your other friends couldn’t come, I was looking forward to meeting them” he said to her as they waited for the bartender to finish their order for the second round. “But Bas and May are nice. They’re fun” he added with a smile. She nodded and smiled briefly in response. He wasn’t an idiot, he could read some of June’s awkwardness. They’d been simply friends so far and now he was beginning to show a different kind of interest in her, which would change things between them. Only if she let it, of course. He’d back off if she wanted him to. Their drinks were served and they headed back to the couple, ready to start the skee ball match. Same rules, same opponents, but a different outcome, hopefully.

Part of her was content that Reyes and May were getting along with Jacob, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was somewhat odd to have these two sides of her life meet. Turing and Brown. Her current life and something of the past. But her friendship with Jacob had never really stayed in the past, not truly. Coming back to Sebastian and May with the drinks meant she didn’t have to overthink about her relationship with Jacob and the possibilities he seemed keener on exploring than her. “Same rules” she agreed with a nod and glanced at Jacob to see he was also in agreement. He offered her the ball to start the game and she held it in both hands for a moment, looking at the loops with the scores ahead. The hacker tossed the ball and it rolled and bounced to enter the loop with the 100 score mark. She turned to her opponents, allowing herself to smile smugly as she looked at Sebastian if only to raise the challenge. “Oh yeah, super ready, Coco” she stated with undeniable sarcasm. She then turned to her partner who rose a hand for a high five. Then he went ahead to score a 50 -not perfect, but not a bad score- before it was Sebastian and May’s turn. If they couldn’t beat the initial 150 points the hacker and her friend scored, it’d be their turn to start drinking.

May grinned at Sebastian and then took a sip of her drink before picking up one of the balls to toss. The ball rolled up the slope and bounced off one of the rings, landing into the 25 points. “Oh my, God! What?!” She laughed, taking a swig of her drink as she noticed June and Jacob get ahead early on. As Sebastian took his turn, the ball rolled into the 50 point range. “Babe, what is going on?” she said, laughing as she playfully shoved Bas. “I thought you were going to be good at this game.” They continued to play with June and Jacob and they unfortunately had very good luck and/or aim. Occasionally, May and Bas got a few good ones, a 100 or 75 points here and there, but June and Jacob crushed it. By the end of their game, Bas and May had completely finished their new drinks and it was time for another round. “Okay, okay, you guys won this round. Do you want the same drinks or something different?” May asked them as she chewed on a piece of ice.

[may-zhao]

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

The game began and soon enough he found that he and June had an unspoken rule to cover their respective side, which worked for the most part. They seemed to be a good team, working in a more structured way than their opponents, but at times one wasn’t fast enough and Bas and May managed to get the puck in. It was quite an even match but then for the tiebreaker, the other two got the winning point. “Don’t get cocky, you’re losing on skee ball” he said with a smile as he pointed at his opponents. May had suggested skee ball earlier and with the drinking game involved, he was more than up to playing that. He turned to June and placed a hand on her shoulder “I got it” he said, meaning that he’d pay for the next round of drinks.

When Reyes and May got that final point, the hacker shot him a playful glare. A silent warning to keep the gloating to himself. But it was Sebastian, of course he was going to poke fun at her for losing at some point or another because this was what they did, after all, they set up challenges and tried to best each other at every turn. She hadn’t expected Jacob to offer to pay for everyone’s drinks for the next round. Sure, Sebastian and May’s drinks were on them, but she didn’t think her friend would want to pay for hers too. It felt a bit date-ish to let him do that. “Uh, no, it’s okay. We can split it” she said to him and tilted her head towards the bar so they could order together the next round. Besides, this way she could also pick what the hell she’d be drinking. Though she had to admit Reyes’ selection for the first round hadn’t been bad. At the bar Jacob and she asked the bartender to recommend something good and not too expensive and returned with two drinks each, giving May and Sebastian their respective glasses. “Skee ball, then?”.

May laughed as he talked with Sebastian as they waited for June and Jacob to get the drinks. She sipped her own drink and looked over at the two of them over at the bar. “Are they together or are they just starting to date?” she asked, noticing a bit of awkwardness between them. More than that, she noticed the hesitance in June as they went over to get the drinks. She set her drink down as Bas wrapped his arms around her waist and he shrugged his shoulders as a response. “Jacob’s nice though. He definitely seems like her type,” she added, tilting her head to the side. “I think they’d make a cute couple. Maybe if they get a few more drinks in them, June will loosen up and Jacob will make a move?” As they came over with the new round of drinks, May grinned, taking the glass from June. “Thank you so much.” She tried the drink and then gave June a thumbs up on the choice that she made. “This is awesome. I think I’ll probably end up having another one of these,” she said, laughing. “Yes! Skee ball! Let’s go!” She walked next to Bas, holding his hand, and met up with June and Jacob at the skee ball section. “Same rules? Losing team buys next round?” She raised her eye brows and gave them a sly smile. 

[may-zhao]

elcucuy-reyes‌:

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

“That’s really admirable, wanting to make a change out there” he mentioned with a nod and a smile. Jacob then nodded along Bas’ idea to make the hockey match a little more exciting. Hopefully, he and June would do well enough, because as far as he recalled his friend wasn’t much of a drinker. They went over to the hockey table and grinned at June. “Ready to beat them, partner?” he asked as he playfully nudged her side.

Of course. It was no surprise at all that Sebastian suggested the hockey match was turned into a drinking game. He’d poked some fun at her in the past for being short and not being the best at holding her liquor… so with a little luck, this game wouldn’t give him further reasons to keep teasing her with that. As they headed towards the hockey table she made eye contact with Reyes and shook her head lightly, smirking for a moment. It felt like a challenge of sorts, not just because they’d be playing against each other, but due to the added factor of the alcohol. She grabbed one of the neon green paddles and glanced at Jacob as he nudged her. “Of course. I hate losing” she plainly admitted. Being wrong and losing were two things that didn’t settle too well with June Maslow. And then Jacob started the game.

Bas picked up one of the red paddles and then handed the other one to May. They grinned at each other and got ready for the game to start. Jacob set the puck down in the middle of the table and then the game began. Bas and May were admittedly quick at the game and very in tune with each other. Of course, they ran into each other a couple of times and couldn’t help but laugh about it. After they scored one, they gave each other high fives as June and Jacob had to drink. It became a rinse and repeat kind of game as Bas and May racked up the points. A few times, Jacob and June scored and Bas and May took swigs of their drinks and sometimes each other’s drinks. “I hope you brought enough money to tip the bartender because you’re about to head over to buy the next round,” Bas said.

Despite declaring herself as being competitive, May was all about having fun and enjoying herself. She didn’t care too much about who won and lost in situations like this. She was far more competitive when it mattered like class and work. This was too fun to ruin it by the fear or hatred of losing. She especially had fun with Bas and two new friends that she liked. May and Bas were sinking the puck into the goal left and right. And soon, she scored the last point, earning them a win. “Whooooo!” May grinned and gave Bas a high five as they claimed victory. “Hell yeah! That’s what I’m talking about,” she said with a laugh. She looked over at June and Jacob and smiled at them. “Think about what game you want to lose at next while you go get the next round,” she teased. She took a sip of her drink, which was already nearly gone. The rest of the evening was surely going to be entertaining the more they drank. 

[may-zhao]

elcucuy-reyes‌:

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

Jacob nodded along as Bas spoke, interested in why the two of them would be working together if he wasn’t into virtual reality -which as far as he knew, was what June was working on. “Is it for a project in specific?” he asked as he glanced at him and then at June. Then as May spoke, his attention went to her he raised his eyebrows and smiled lightly, very much impressed with her area of study. “That’s very interesting. How come you switched from linguistics to criminal justice?”. It didn’t sound like something that would be at all related, so he was curious as to what made her choose to change. “Well, AI doesn’t necessarily have to be tied with any form of VR. When it comes to ventures solely focused on computer science, there’s a lot of tech available to merge both. But at the moment I’m actually working with doctors. The latest projects from the AI Lab at Brown have been focused on medicine, so it’s pretty interesting to collaborate with people from such a different field”. He glanced at June, who surprisingly wasn’t up for the idea of getting into the virtual reality game. Given her background, he would assume she’d be all over it. “Air hockey sounds good. I’m down for that” he said, not wanting to push her to do something she didn’t feel like doing.

June rolled her eyes at Sebastian’s comment. Then she playfully glared at him, lightly shaking her head. She reached for her glass and still maintaining that playful glare she took a small sip from her drink. “Hmm, tempting” she replied flatly to Reyes, the sarcasm clear in her voice. Would there really be anything worth comparing about the tech found at Turing and whatever the owners of this retro arcade place had set up? Probably not. When May suggested air hockey and Jacob agreed to that, she shrugged and gave a nod. She may not be the best at pool, but air hockey she could play well enough. Her eyes went to Reyes then and she raised her eyebrows, expectantly, waiting to see if he was up for that.

Sebastian leaned back against the seat and shrugged his shoulders. “For June, yes. Not so much for me,” he said, figuring that was the best way to go about explaining it. It wasn’t entirely a lie. It did mean a lot more for June and was for her own personal work. Bas was simply tagging along. Once they decided on air hockey, Bas grabbed his drink and got up with May to head over towards the table. He set his drink down on the table nearby and clapped his hands together. “Okay, so, of course, we gotta make this fun,” Bas said. “Let’s say that whoever gets scored on, they have to take a sip of their drink. And…losing team buys the next round?” He raised his eyebrows, looking at everyone to see how they felt about the rules. 

"You know, I’m not entirely sure the reason why,” May said, leaning forward. She propped her head up under her hand as she set her elbow on the table. “I think I thought I could help more people by improving the criminal justice system somehow. I still like linguistics. Who know? Maybe I’ll become a forensics linguist,” she added with a laugh. She nodded as she listened to what Jacob had to say, which all seemed very interesting. It certainly wasn’t her area of expertise though as some of it still felt like it went over her head. She popped up off her seat and took Bas’s hand as they headed towards the air hockey table. She bounced up and down excitedly at the announcement of rules and when to drink. “I like it. Let’s do it!” She turned to Jacob and June and gave them a little playful smirk. “It’s on, you guys! You’re going down!” She helped Bas set up the table and put the puck in the “rink.”

[may-zhao]

elcucuy-reyes‌:

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

Jacob couldn’t help but laugh a little when Bas called June ‘princess’. He wouldn’t say it was a fitting nickname for the girl he knew but surely there was a story there. “Oh, not pool. This one can’t play pool to save her life” he mentioned with a playful smile towards June. She might have gotten better but he doubted she’d gone pro since he last saw her. And if they were to play pool the two of them would be paired up against Bas and May, for sure, and the outcome for that didn’t bode well for him. He was competitive enough to not want to have such lousy chances of winning. “The virtual reality thing sounds interesting” he added with genuine curiosity about it, looking at June and Bas to see if they were up for it as well as him and May were. “I didn’t know you were also into computer science” he said as he glanced at Bas. Now it made more sense that he and June were friends, with something like that in common. “And no, these days not so much. I did work in some projects related to virtual reality during my master’s but I started focusing on AI as time went on and now I’m mostly focused on that” he said to May with a smile. “That’s great. You might keep us from nerding out about tech stuff. What do you do?”.

“Come on, Coco” she smirked in response to Sebastian’s statement “Of course I can handle it”. Which of course, was to be seen. But she lifted her drink to her lips and took another swig, maintaining eye contact with him as she did so. As Jacob told them she practically sucked at pool she nudged him and shook her head, smirking lightly. “I don’t know” the hacker scrunched her nose a little, leaning back as the others talked about the virtual reality game here. “I work with that all the time, I’m not so sure I want to get into it in my free time too”. Which was a lie, of course. A well-disguised lie. Few things had stopped June from devoting her free time to work-related things. As Shadia and Zara often pointed out, she was all work and no play. But the thing was, after experiencing The Grid no virtual reality game could hold a candle to it. “But if you want to go in, go ahead. I can just stay here with this friend” she mentioned with a small smirk, raising her drink for another sip.

“I think that June will discover that she’s not nearly as good at everything like she thinks she is,” Sebastian said in a teasing tone. He glanced over at Jacob and he shook his head as he set his drink down. “Oh, no. I don’t do virtual reality. I’m working with June, but I’m not doing specifically work on virtual reality. More artificial intelligence and viruses. Finding back doors to places.” He shrugged his shoulders, not getting to much into it. He recalled what June said about Jacob being more straight laced. He picked his drink back up and nodded towards June. “Oh come on,” he said. “Don’t you want to compare the expensive Turing equipment to this bar’s set up? Maybe you’ll have magical powers and you’ll have wings to fly.” He didn’t care if they used the VR system or not, but Bas did find it amusing with all the dancing around the two of them were doing. He looked at May and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll do it before we go.”

May took a sip of her drink and grinned at Jacob. “I’m doing work with criminal justice and forensics. Biology, chemistry, all that good stuff. I still really like studying linguistics, which is what I originally started studying, but not so much as a career. I’m still trying to figure it all out, but it’s all a lot better than working in politics,” she said, shuddering at the thought of having to work as a lobbyist or politician. “Oh, you work with artificial intelligence? That’s so cool! Is there a big difference between AI and VR?” she asked. “Like, obviously, there’s differences, but do they tie in together a lot now with all the technological advancements?” Bas didn’t talk much about his work other than at a surface level. He was fun to be around and fun to talk to, but he didn’t open up a whole lot about certain topics. Still, May was certain that would come with time as the two of them hadn’t been dating for a very long time. “We don’t have to do the VR right now. Why don’t we try air hockey then? Or skee ball!”

[may-zhao]

elcucuy-reyes‌:

june-maslow‌:

jacob-denning‌:

I inevitably brought a smile to his lips when June texted back. The last couple of times he’d seen her it had been all business, so it was a nice change of pace to go out and have a bit of fun for a change. It didn’t surprise him that the friends she invited to join them were just two since the girl had never been one for big crowds, after all. Soon enough introductions were out of the way, June got there and they were all ready to start drinking. “June told me this was your idea” he said with a smile as he glanced in May’s direction. “This place is pretty cool”. The retro vibe was well executed and the music was actually good 80′s music, not cheesy 80′s music, which he appreciated. “Thanks, man” he said once Bas was back with the first round of drinks, grabbing one and passing it over to June and then taking one for himself. “Cheers!”.

June had wondered several times ever since they agreed via text to come here whether this was a fantastic or a terrible idea. She knew it would go either way -a great experience or a dreadful one-, no middle ground. The hacker had to admit that it was nice seeing May so pleased to see her, it felt a bit like having someone friendly on her side. Which frankly, was a bit odd because they still didn’t know each other that well and June still wasn’t so sure how she felt about Reyes dating her. Dating anyone, really. Soon enough she pushed those thoughts away, hugged May, greeted Jacob, and looked around to try to find Sebastian. He made his way to their table with the first round of drinks. The hacker greeted him silently with just a small smirk, feeling a sense of victory by having managed to get him to come thanks to getting May involved. “We’re not wasting time, I see” she mentioned, then they all had a drink in hand. The hacker raised her drink in a silent toast and took a sip. Some of the neon lights gave her an Alpha sector vibe, but she didn’t say anything. Sebastian hadn’t been around to see it and their other two companions knew nothing -and would never know anything- about The Grid. “It does have a cool vibe. And you said there was air hockey, bowling and some other stuff, right?” June asked, already trying to get the others to consider a game since she didn’t want to spend the whole night just drinking. It might end badly, considering Reyes and she had a tendency of challenging each other in one way or another when drinking was involved.

“We’re all here for a good time, not a long time,” Bas said with a smirk as he took a sip of his drink. “Drink up, princess, unless you can’t handle it.” He leaned against the back of his seat and wrapped an arm around May, pulling her closer to him. She smiled and scooted in closer to him, resting a hand on his leg with her other hand holding her drink. He looked over at Jacob, trying to figure him out. He wondered how he fit into June’s life. Other being interested in the same topics as her, Bas couldn’t quite figure out how Jacob’s personality fit in with June. June was about as friendly and welcoming as a cactus though and still somehow had a wide range of friendships thanks to the Grid. As he listened to May explaining what sorts of activities there were, he sipped his drink, mentally trying to figure out which game he could challenge June to first. “What are you feeling like doing first? Anyone? Air hockey?”

May laughed at Sebastian’s comment about being there for a good time, not a long time. Always funny and lively. It was what she liked about him. May took a swig of her drink and leaned in close to him as he pulled her to him. She rested a hand on his leg as Jacob and June spoke. “Oh! Yes! There’s air hockey, pool, bowling, foosball, arcade games, karaoke, giant card games, and giant Jenga. Oh! Oh! Oh! And! There’s this virtual reality thing that they have that looks like a lot of fun. I really want to try that.” She looked over at Bas and tugged on his shirt sleeve. “I want to make sure we do it before we leave. Okay? Promise? Plus, I’m sure it’d be super fun since it’s what you’re working on with June, right?” She glanced over at June and grinned. “What do you think? Virtual reality? See how it compares to all the fancy stuff you’re working with at Turing? And you work on that kind of stuff too, right, Jacob? Guess I’m the odd one out.” She laughed lightly, realizing who she was surrounded by.

[may-zhao]

elcucuy-reyes‌:

june-maslow‌:

@elcucuy-reyes​

June’s motorcycle was parked in the lot next to the direction May had sent and she hopped off, taking her helmet along with her. She checked again that she was in fact in the place they had agreed to meet but judging by the retro appearance of the place and the music coming from inside, she was definitely in the right place. She checked the time in her phone and it was 7:56 p.m., so she was expecting to be the first to arrive. As she walked in she was proved wrong, seeing as Jacob had already gotten a table for them. The hacker smiled lightly at the sight of her friend. “Interesting place, huh?” she said as she sat next to him, figuring it was only right to let Reyes sit next to May. It had been somewhat odd -though not necessarily in a bad way- when Jacob asked her to go out because even though they had spent some time together in Providence he had never given signs that he was interested in her. Or she hadn’t seen the signs… But this wasn’t going out as in a date, after all. He told her she could invite more people and she’d done just that. So maybe there really weren’t any signs to be interpreted to begin with and her friend just wanted to have a good time in Boston.

Sebastian headed inside the retro-arcade bar with May by his side and noticed Jacob was already there without June. It felt strange being here on this not-double-date date. Sure, June asked other people to come with them, but none of them ended up coming. So, it ended up being Jacob and June and Sebastian and May. Bas was pretty surprised that June even agreed to come here since to him, she never liked any kind of fun. As Bas sat down with Jacob and May, he asked if any of them wanted something to drink. He headed over towards the bar to get them drinks before June arrived. He stood by the counter and leaned against it to talk to the bartender briefly as they made the drinks. He glanced over when he noticed a familiar face stroll on out of the corner of his eye. All he could think was how strange it was that June didn’t come to the bar with Jacob. Of course, it wasn’t really a⁠—“Double date?” the bartender asked, noticing where Bas was looking. Bas looked at the bartender and laughed. “Nah. Not a chance. Double dates are for mundane domestic couples that have no other way to have fun other than meet up with other couples and talk about a pretty house they saw on HGTV.” The bartender also laughed in response and handed him two of their four drinks. “I gotta say you guys look like you’re straight out of the matrix. Not a double date, but I’m definitely seeing double,” they said, putting the last two drinks down for Bas to take over. Sebastian headed over to their table and set down their drinks on the table. “Alright, round one. Here we go. Cheers,” Bas said, holding up his glass. 

May held Bas’s hand as they walked down the sidewalk towards the bar that she’d been dying to visit. She walked with a little skip in her step as she spoke with Bas about her day. Bas held the door open for her and she slipped inside. She’d expected to see June and could recognize her, but she had no idea who Jacob was. She waited until Bas found the other guy and then followed him to the table. She sat down and told Bas what she wanted to drink before June arrived. As Sebastian headed towards the bar, May introduced herself to Jacob to get the small talk out of the way. He seemed nice and outgoing enough on the surface. He seemed very different from June to start with, but she was certain she’d see a different side of him, June, and maybe even Bas once they had enough drinks and started playing games. She grinned and waved to June as she walked in. She got up to give June a hug before they sat down. “I really like the place and the whole vibe they got in here. Feels like you’re a kid again, but it’s better because now we can drink. I heard about this place from lots of friends, and I’d been waiting to come here.” May smiled at Bas as he came over with drinks. She gave him a quick kiss and a thanks for the drink. “Cheers!” She clinked glasses with everyone and then took a sip of her drink.