Neviara
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Cycle 31-8: Digging Deep
🕑 Added 2024-02-27 05:19:37 +0000 UTCIt took all of Kaitlyn's willpower to not look up Elliot's dad right there in the career fair. She managed to make it the whole way through, even getting back to her dorm before pulling up the web browser on her phone. Flopping onto her bed, she quickly tapped in the name "Glen Ambrose." But before hitting "search," she hesitated.
Should I be looking this up? It seemed like Elliot liked someone not knowing who he was…
If she looked the name up like he'd said, then there was no going back. She couldn't simply forget the information like everyone else in the loop. Whatever it was, it would stick with her as long as she was here.
…I could just ignore it. Pretend like I never heard the name. But… Kaitlyn bit her lip. I do need to find out more info about him. And he already expects me to look it up – would he even believe it if I said I hadn't?
After going back and forth on the issue for a while longer, Kaitlyn finally decided. She was too curious to let the mystery stand. Tapping on the search button, she began to read through the results.
Initially, she'd expected to do a bit of digging. Glen Ambrose might be a popular name in this world, after all. She might have to cull through a few different results, maybe check around for references to Elliot or biology stuff in general. But it instantly became clear that wasn't the case.
Businessman, investor, entrepreneur…? Kaitlyn scanned the results, opening up a few pages in other tabs. So he's rich then? Is that why people know him?
But as she read on, it became clear that "rich" was a bit of an understatement. When she found the guy's estimated net worth, Kaitlyn's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.
He's worth HOW MUCH?! Why?! What does he even invest in?
A lot of things, apparently – especially Ambrose & Ambrose, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies around. She'd seen their booth at the career fair. If the name wasn't a big enough clue, their page confirmed it. Glen Ambrose was the company's founder.
He also had also built a hospital down the street – Ambrose Health. Apparently, the guy had a habit of naming things after himself.
…And his wife works there, too. His doctor wife. Of course. It seemed kind of like a conflict of interest to Kaitlyn, but who was she to judge? Maybe that was a natural step to take for a family so steeped in healthcare.
Kaitlyn let out a long sigh. Suddenly, the picture was making a bit more sense. In particular, she understood Elliot's confusion when she hadn't recognized the guy. Even if he wasn't quite a household name himself, then the big hospital was a pretty clear connection point.
It's not really my fault, though. I didn't have much reason to look into this stuff, and I've never gone to the hospital. She paused. Ok, actually, I think I have. One time. But it was for Vinny, not me, and I wasn't exactly paying attention to its name. I was focused on Vinny's broken hand.
A bit more searching gave her far more information than she'd particularly wanted. Things about the man's childhood, personal life, beliefs, and eventually…
…His family.
Sure enough, Elliot's name was right there. Elliot Ambrose. The only child of Glen and Melinda Ambrose. It was confirmation that this whole thing wasn't some big misunderstanding or strange joke.
She tossed the phone to her side and lay on the bed, looking up at Heather's bunk. So. Elliot's dad obviously had connections, which might explain how he'd joined Professor Adams's lab before even getting to college. His mom being a doctor also propped that theory up further.
Closing her eyes, she thought back to Elliot's words. "This never happens to me. Let me enjoy it for a little longer."
He must get tired of people knowing who he is. Although, it doesn't seem like he's anywhere near as famous as his dad… maybe he's just flying under the radar really well?
Her thoughts whirled, thinking through past interactions with the guy. He didn't seem to have hangers-on or paparazzi or anything following him around. There was Esme, but she was obviously different as an actual friend, or "friend". Maybe a pharmaceutical giant wasn't necessarily on the same level as a celebrity when it came to fame. Maybe there was no need for him to go around in disguise or anything like that.
That doesn't mean he'd completely escape notice though. Anyone who knew the name would probably realize who he was, especially if they're local or in the healthcare field. Like Ray did.
Kaitlyn threw an arm over her eyes. Suddenly, Elliot keeping to himself made a little more sense. But the real question was: did it really matter?
Does it actually change anything? I mean, I don't think it'll change how I approach him, right? Maybe I understand where he's coming from a little better, but…
With a final shrug, she pushed herself up to a sitting position. If nothing else, she'd gotten what she'd hoped for. She'd finally learned something concrete about Elliot. Now, she just had to put it to use. Somehow.
She stood and headed toward her keyboard. Next time they were in lab together, she'd bring it up. That might not be soon, given the fact that midterms were right around the corner – she knew from experience that he usually skipped lab during those weeks. But in the meantime, she'd gotten plenty done today. It was time to unwind with some music.
***
Corgo dashed across the stage, leaping over the enemy Hunter's missile as it shot forward. The dog ducked under another projectile before sliding to a halt, his robotic arm darting out to grab the opponent. The mech suit-clad Hunter wriggled in his grasp, struggling to get free. After a brief moment, Corgo threw Hunter into the air above, just as CinnaBun leapt forward with a powerful downward kick.
The enemy bounced against the stage, ricocheting back and forth between CinnaBun and Corgo as they continued their relentless assault. Hunter ragdolled helplessly until, finally, she was sent offstage with a powerful swipe.
Kaitlyn's opponents, a mousy guy with glasses and a greasy-haired blonde, rocked back in their seats with sighs. They reluctantly held out fists toward Ian and Kaitlyn with mumbles of "good game." As they left, Ian turned toward her. "Nice grab there."
"Thanks," she grinned. "I wasn't sure if you'd pick up what I was going for, but…"
"Wow, really?" He clutched at his chest. "You didn't think I'd spot the combo we've been practicing all week? I'm hurt!"
She gave him an exaggerated shrug. "Well, you did get hit by that pretty obvious charged shot setup…"
Ian winced. "You saw that? You were fighting on the other side of the stage!"
"I'm a good teammate. I pay attention."
They pair made their way toward the front desk to report their matches. John glanced up as they approached. "Hey! How'd it go?"
"2-0," Kaitlyn spoke up. "We're on a roll today."
"I'll say. Let's just hope you're not using all that luck up before singles."
"Luck? Rude!" Kaitlyn argued. "I don't play Squeegee. Luck doesn't get me anything."
"Hey, Squeegee is pure skill," he retorted. "Those 'random' super launches? I can feel when one's coming on. You just gotta know the signs."
"Then how are you so bad at landing them?" Ian raised an eyebrow.
"It's all mind games. Trust me. A year from now, all the time I've spent conditioning you people will pay off big-time."
They left their friend to his duties before wandering about the other matches for a while. Most were still in progress, since they'd finished up relatively quickly. They stood near ZoggyWoggy's game, watching as the Corgo player and his CinnaBun-playing teammate made quick work of their opponents.
"So. We're facing Zog next, huh?" Ian asked.
Kaitlyn nodded. The guy's game was still in progress, but it was practically a given. The guy was too strong of a player for the outcome to be anything else.
"Think we can take them?"
Kaitlyn thought about that. "...Maybe. It'll be close." She lowered her voice slightly. "If we do, I should be able to take out his teammate if you keep him occupied, then we'll have a better time handling Zog alone."
"You make it sound so easy."
"Is it not?"
Ian chuckled. "Uh, I haven't won a single match against the guy. Did you forget?"
"Yeah, but you have won games," she pointed out. "And they're always close. So at the very least you can keep yourself from dying until the two of us can take him down together."
"I'll try…" Ian ran a hand through his curly brown hair, eyes fixed on the monitor before them. There had been a brief instant where things could have turned around, but not anymore. Zog and his friend were firmly in the lead. "It's hard though. He's not the type to get isolated like that."
Kaitlyn nodded. "I know. I'll do the best I can, though. It's not like we don't have experience with the matchups. If anything, I'd say I'm better against CinnaBun than any other character."
Ian gave her an askance look. "You think so? Seems like you still need some practice to me."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm getting better! Besides, you're not a fair comparison."
She watched the match for a while longer, trying to learn whatever she could about their opponents' habits. At the same time though, she remembered her real goal here. It wasn't just to win the tournament. It was to learn about Ian.
I've gotta keep trying. Eventually he'll open up. Besides, we've hung out a lot this loop. He can't keep being awkward forever.
"Oh yeah," she asked nonchalantly. "How're your midterms going?"
"Eh? Fine." Ian shrugged. "Not much to say."
"Yeah?" She nodded. "That's good, I guess. How many more do you have?"
"Just Jazz History." He shifted slightly. "It's… on Monday."
"Really?" Kaitlyn looked at him with surprise. "Dang. Yours were early, then. Were they hard?"
"Kind of?" Ian shrugged. "Not really. But not sure how I did."
That piqued her interest. Calculus I can understand, even if it's an intro class. But Intro to Programming? No way he found that hard.
She evaluated her options for a moment. At this point, it would have been clear to anyone that Ian was working on something programming-related. He was always on his laptop before tournaments, not to mention their own hangouts.
Kaitlyn knew what it was – his game, obviously. But anyone else might assume that it was class-related. So maybe it wouldn't be too strange to ask about it.
"You're not confident on Intro to Programming?" She pressed before she could talk herself out of it. "It seems like you're always working on stuff for that class. Does it just have a lot of assignments?"
"It's…" Ian hesitated for a moment, seeming to consider his answer. "Kind of. But the stuff I'm working on then is… well, it's not for class. It's something else."
Her eyes lit up. Yes! An in! This is way earlier than the end of the loop, too!
"Really?" She asked, hiding the excitement in her voice. "What is it then?"
"Just… a personal project." He scratched his ear, his face reddening slightly with embarrassment. "I don't really like talking about it too much…"
"That's ok! I don't want to pry." She backed off immediately. This was enough progress for now. No point in pushing too far. "But if you do want to talk about it, I'm definitely interested. I'm actually learning programming myself."
"Really?" He perked up slightly. "Aren't you a bio major?"
She gave him a knowing smile. "Yeah. It's more of a hobby than anything. I'm auditing a Software Engineering class right now, actually."
Ian cocked his head. For a brief moment, he seemed interested, his eyes lighting up. But before he could open his mouth, John's voice cut through the air.
"Alright! Listen up!" He called over the buzz of conversation and sound effects. "Doubles teams, here's your next round matches!"
Just like that, the moment was lost. As they headed to battle ZoggyWoggy and his teammate, Kaitlyn thought over the interaction. She'd finally managed to have a conversation about classes with Ian, one that didn't feel insanely awkward. That was a win in her book. Hopefully she'd be able to learn from it for the future.
Now it's time to see if we can get in another win.
Comments
Mio P
Thanks for the chapter! Damn John for cockblocking… also, I’m looking forward to the Elliot route, I’m 99% that’s where this is going 😏
