"oh! cool. is your boss here, then?"[break][break]

which in itself isn't too strange. sootopolis has history and it's difficult to just uproot and move away even if a criminal organization has overtaken the city.[break][break]

but then again, it's not like things are very different. it's just insanely more difficult to get in.[break][break]

nodding, james reaches up for the pan.[break][break]

"and i guess you work here, right? what do you do?"

[attr="class","ooc"]jayden cross[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

[attr="class","littlejay"] "no, i think he preferred mossdeep."

[break][break] which was - not entirely - a lie. he swallows.

[break][break] he looks up, taking the pan with an appreciative glance and begins to place a baking sheet over the pan. the scent of sugary cookie batter fills the room, if only briefly.

[break][break] "oh. no — actually, i'll probably taking up some classes again. i had to take a break - " he glances at JAMES BAKER this time, looking a bit sheepish. "i had to take a break for family stuff." again, not entirely wrong.

[break][break] "how about you? how are your classes?"

[attr="class","ooc"] + JAMES BAKER

☉

"ah. i gotchu."[break][break]

family stuff. now that's something james could easily relate to as there's always family stuff going on. most of it is good, though.[break][break]

when asked about his classes, james can do no more than sigh.[break][break]

"man, they're killing me. SET ME FREEEEEEEEE."[break][break]

he whines.[break][break]

"i'm almost there, though. just a few more months then my paper's done..."

[attr="class","ooc"]jayden cross[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

[attr="class","littlejay"] the agreement from JAMES BAKER should be enough to springboard into another conversation; after all, jayden doesn't really know much about his friends' past either. the two are simply school friends. however, jayden is not typically not the type to pry, at least not where he doesn't see it's needed, so he lets the topic die for now.

[break][break] he takes a nearby piping bag and starts folding the batter into the plastic contents, before squeezing them carefully onto the baking sheet. jayden is methodical in his approach, making sure that each is perfectly symmetrical.

[break][break] "what's your paper about?"

[break][break] what was it that james studied again?

[attr="class","ooc"] + JAMES BAKER

☉

having had to explain his dissertation numerous times prior, the words come easily.[break][break]

"it's on regional variants. it looks into variations that currently exist — why they happen, the changes that stemmed from them, and so on — and it also theorizes what variations would happen if some things were different."[break][break]

yet somehow he still sounds enthused when he explains it.[break][break]

"my focus is biology and genetics."

[attr="class","ooc"]jayden cross[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

[attr="class","littlejay"] "ah, that's right."

[break][break] it comes back to him as soon as the other repeats his verbal abstract. back when they had been attending the same classes together, the facts had been part of his database as naturally as any other obscure rocket facts. since they'd spent so much time apart, his mind had simple categorized them as unimportant.

[break][break] "back in galar, i do recall pokemon looking quite differently than they do on hoenn."

[break][break] he thinks of the ponyta especially that frequented his childhood woods. they were a lot more colorful than the current one in his possession... the kind of pokemon that luka chêne would probably like.

[break][break] "i have a friend who specializes in genetics," he says thoughtfully, thinking of illeana reyes. "i finished all my bio classes for my pharm course. though, i still have a few more business classes to take for my second major."

[break][break] his head tilts.

[break][break] "have you thoughts on the distortions, as of recent?"

[attr="class","ooc"] + JAMES BAKER

☉

"oh! my boss illeana reyes specializes in that, too. maybe we're talking about the same person."[break][break]

well, he has two bosses, but his point still stands.[break][break]

at jayden's question on distortion, james nods.[break][break]

"it's been a big topic of discussion in the lab as of late. Eva Morales is publishing a paper about it soon, i think."[break][break]

then, with a smirk, he playfully nudges his friend's shoulder.[break][break]

"guess who's a co-author?"

[attr="class","ooc"]jayden cross[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-manectric"]

[attr="class","littlejay"] his boss?

[break][break] "you work for the league?"

[break][break] it shouldn't have been as much of a surprise as it was. unfortunate, however.

[break][break] "i suppose you work with Eva Morales as well. i know them both."

[break][break] though one a little more than the other. he had only met eva on a handful of occasions, and he wasn't sure if she would even recall him, as unmemorable as those occasions were.

[break][break] he begins to pour the batter into into a bag, cutting off the tip. he then begins to squeeze it onto the tray nearby, to make sure each of the cookies were symmetrical in shape.

[break][break] "i'll have to take a look then," he says, with a half-smile, as the other nudges him. "congratulations, james."

[attr="class","ooc"] + JAMES BAKER

☉