[Ben is riding the train. It'll be a while until he gets there. Start!] * Ben is dressed in grey slacks and a blue polo shirt. Yes, seriously. * Ben sits in his chair. He glances out the window every so often, but his attention is on the train car he's in, and his fellow passengers. His attention wanders about the car in a constantly moving surveillance of his surroundings. [Ben notices a steaming brew of potential ne'er-do-wells: the daughter of the rich family on her last jaunt out, a businessman with a woman probably not his wife, the unassuming tourist with a deadly secret in his past, and a mother on an urgent mission for her child. But none have had the courtesy to kill someone, so there'll be no investigation of them today.] * Ben's gaze lingers briefly on the nervous looking man mumbling to himself in some foreign language as he clutches a briefcase tightly to himself. [Ben, for the record, has an appointment made on short notice to meet Jaida Kinsley in the medium sized town near the school coffee shop to have his questions answered before embarking on a tour of campus. He also has directions to get there. He's currently on time.] (There's a medium sized town located near the school coffee shop?) (Is the school coffee shop not in the school?) (Err... That's what I get for changing my sentences mid course) (Shop in town, town near school) [And after not too long, the train arrives, the unassuming tourist and the mother and about two dozen other people get off the train at Ben's stop.] * Ben gets off at Ben's stop. (Greg, for the record, Ben has left his grenades, gun, and hunting knife at SAB HQ. He retains the rest of his equipment.) * Ben follows the directions to the coffee shop, which is a coffee shop in the town located near the school and not the school coffee shop near which the town is located. * Ben arrives outside the coffee shop, and takes a good look at its exterior, also trying to see in through any windows for a view of the interior. [Ben's glance in reveals a fairly nice shop with good atmosphere, book laden shelves along the walls, and a woman in her forties in a somewhat conservative brown robe/dress that could pass for normal attire were that the goal. That matches the picture of Jaida Kinsley.] * Ben enters, taking another good look around, then asks the nearest waiter or waitress, 'Excuse me, I'm looking for a Jaida Kinsley. She'd be expecting me. I'm Benjamin Ward.' (Ben's cover name is Benjamin Ward. His supposed child is a daughter, Penelope, aged 14.) * Waitress in her mid twenties, in a somewhat casual traditional looking local outfit, points out the aforementioned woman. "She's right over there." 'Thank you. * Ben walks over to the seated woman. 'Hi there. Name's Benji Ward. Are you Jaida Kinsley?' * Woman steps up. "I am." She reaches out to shake his hand. "Good to meet you." * Ben's grip is perhaps a bit too tight, and he shakes her hand vigorously. 'You too.' * Ben's American accent is thicker than normal, and will be throughout his use of this cover identity. [About now, a woman Ben recognizes from the train, the mother, walks in the coffee shop. She stops to speak to the same waitress Ben did and gets a similar response. The woman looks to be in her late thirties, has her brown hair in a conservative short business cut, business casual attire, but notably wears a pentagram on a necklace.] Ah, and here's Ms. Worthing. We typically prefer individual interviews with parents, but given the short notice we thought you'd prefer to double up rather than wait a few days. 'Yes indeed. I won't be in town long. Gotta be back Stateside by next week. Just in Jolly Ole England on business for a few days.' * Ben sticks out a hand for Ms. Worthing to shake. * Worthing walks up to the table. "Ms. Kinsley, I presume." She then offers a fairly weak handshake to Ben. "Ah, the American (her tone has a slight 'doubtless you're about to invade something' note, subtle but there) I'm Emily Worthing. Pleasure to meet you." 'Likewise.' [There's a few apparent business people as well as a few other patrons in more casual attire around the shop, still fairly early so no families or apparent students. Doesn't seem to have hit its peak yet customer-wise.] [Kinsley and Worthing shake hands and then sit down. As this happens the waitress from before comes by bringing menus for everyone.] * Ben has a seat at Jaida's table. [Worthing looks like she takes good care of herself and could probably be rather attractive if she put efforts in that direction; as is, she's merely pleasant to look at. Her dress is appropriate for someone in a less intensive business environment, like a library or more relaxed government agency.] [Her suit itself is black/dark gray and she does have a shoulder bag that seems to function as a purse but could also easily hold papers.] [Brown straight hair not extending beyond her neck and blue eyes. She's wearing contacts.] [Oh, and her pentagram necklace is on a silver chain and has a fairly natural pattern to it, branch and vine motif. Good craftsmanship.] Since you both requested an interview and visit, I assume you already know something of our school. Would you like me to give an overview, or would you prefer to go straight to any questions you may have?" 'Might as well start with the big picture.' Sensible, I suppose. * Kinsley speaks in a slightly reading from a script voice; she tries to make it a little dynamic and heartfelt but it doesn't entirely work. "The Preparatory Academy of Magic is a boarding academy that offers a truly well rounded arcane education in an immersive learning environment."" So your child will not only learn magic, but get an opportunity to use it in and out of the classroom, while having her (looks to Ben) or his (looks to Worthing) sense of wonder and imagination vigorously exercised. * Worthing nods but looks slightly bored; seems she knew this already. 'Gotcha,' Ben says to Jaika. 'So, here's the first question. How much is this going to cost me?' (Has Penelope supposedly exhibited any arcane talent?) (No.) * Kinsley looks slightly uncomfortable, but answers. "Well, I believe Penelope hasn't yet blossomed as a user of the Arcane arts, so equipment for her will be more expensive, I'm afraid. Tuition in such cases will be about 200,000 U.S. dollars a year. This includes room, board, and all books and equipment." * Ben raises an eyebrow and grunts. 'Huh.' * Worthing has a slight trace of smirk at the "hasn't blossomed yet." (Worthing thinks she's so much better than Ben because her kid has magic powers and actually exists.) It is... somewhat exorbitant, but we're the only institution offering this level of immersion for a reason. In addition, Ms. Theobold, our award winning mundane topics teacher, will guarantee a normal education on par with good private academies. Once you tour our campus, I hope you'll understand" 'Well, what sort of return can I expect on that investment? And don't tell me about the great educational experience. You really going to give Penny magic powers?' She will have full access to them on the grounds, and our methods have been proven to allow even those who had not shown any past ability to wield a level of magic in the world upon graduation. We can arrange for you to interview some of our past graduates on that matter if you want further proof when we're done." * Kinsley sounds a bit more comfortable now. * Ben nods. 'Okay then. You got any questions, Emily?' * Worthing looks as if she's somewhat dubious at that, but she nods. "Thank you, Ben (not the warmest thank you). I've been training Devon in the art since birth. He won't have to start at the same level as those who haven't "blossomed" yet, correct?" We'll certainly not require him to repeat subjects that he's already mastered. We foster camaraderie by assigning the students to houses, so even if all the students in one year aren't at the same level, they still can easily bond with their classmates. * Worthing nods and looks back to Ben. 'Is it true that some author is suing you people? I don't want to pay two hundred grand only to have you shut down halfway through the year.' * Kinsley looks exceedingly embarrassed. "Uh, that case has been settled. J. K. Rowling is rather particular about games played on broomtop. We've taken steps to ensure that our team sports and physical education will not in the future encroach on any copyrighted games." * Worthing has a look that says "Inside I'm snickering, but I'm too polite to actually let it show." * Ben nods. 'One more question. How strict are you about maintaining a proper atmosphere and keeping out bad influences?' 'I don't want my Penny exposed to drugs, sex, that sort of thing.' * Kinsley nods and gets a more intent look. She seems happy about this topic. "We keep our male and female students separated at night and keep the campus isolated from outside influences. Students have been known to sneak in cigarettes on occasion, but Mr. Borland as well as a range of spells not available to your average school ensure against more egregious violations." * Worthing nods with approval at the question. 'How isolated? Can they leave campus?' 'I'd hate to think of Penny not even allowed to head into town for a movie.' * Kinsley nods. "With parental permission they can leave so long as it doesn't interfere with their studies. If you'd like, you can speak to Mr. Borland about protecting Penny without denying her freedom she's earned." Many of our parents prefer their child stay on campus, but so long as she stays within certain boundaries and keeps us accurately informed, it won't be a problem. * Ben frowns. 'Why all the worry? Is this town full of trouble?' * Kinsley shakes her head. "Not in the least. We just want to be sure where our students are so that should an accident occur we know about it quickly. As we are a boarding school, we need to fulfill some parental functions." 'Has that happened often? Do kids get hurt a lot at your school?' Ben sounds concerned. * Kinsley shakes her head. "No more than at any institution of our size. Kids push themselves in sports, climb trees and fall off, and experiment with magic. So we have occasional sprained ankles and things of that magnitude. It may be possible to prevent these incidents, but we think that would restrict their freedom to a degree that'd be harmful to their development." * Kinsley sounds like she believes it, although there might be a bit more freedom magical-experiment-wise than she'd strictly prefer. But he's fairly certain if there's been something serious, she doesn't know about it. * Ben nods, his brow furrowed. 'How about fights? I've heard that kids with magic powers sometimes bully those without.' * Worthing watches this all with a slightly bemused "my Devon can handle himself" look. (Yes, well, Penny can't. Or so her father thinks. But then, she is Daddy's Little Cover Story.) There are occasional minor altercations. They tend to be between rambunctious teenage boys who are both looking for such a thing. We frown on any discrimination based on ability or any other form of bullying and will discipline offenders. [Kinsley has definite annoyance in her tone when she mentions the teenage boys.] 'So, there's no discipline problems at the school? Nothing I should know about?' 'And if I find out there is and have to pull Penny out, well, let's just say that we have pretty good lawyers in the U. S. of A.' Ben smirks. 'So let's here it now.' * Worthing glances at Ben for a moment before rolling her eyes at the U.S. of A comment. Some of the students are more troublesome than others. They tend to mouth off at teachers or push boundaries. ::she smiles slightly:: We push back. This isn't a military academy. We don't demand absolute discipline, but no, sir, Penny will have nothing to worry about. 'Not even those rambunctious boys you mentioned? Like I said, I don't want Penny exposed to a bad element. She's the most precious thing in the world to me.' (*sniff* Ben is such a devoted fake father.) * Kinsley smiles slightly. "Most of that behavior tends to be between Lion and Drake houses, if you wish to make sure your daughter is surrounded by studious and well behaved students she will find a comfortable home within our Unicorn house." (* Kinsley puts a hand over her mouth. 'Oh crap, now Rowling's going to sue us again!') 'Lot of bad apples in Lion house?' * Kinsley frowns. "I wouldn't say bad apples, just kids that take themselves a bit too seriously or want to push their abilities too far, too fast. Think they're going to be the next generation of heroes or something, and rules don't apply to them. Most Unicorns have little dealing with them." 'Sounds like this Unicorn's the place for Penny, then. That other house, Drake, it's just as bad?' * Worthing looks like she's buying this line about the houses. Drake House tends to be for students a tad too clever for their own good. Their style often clashes with the Lions. ::she then sighs:: But they'll probably all be well suited to pursue their fields of choice once they graduate. * Kinsley seems to think that Drakes will be good at business and such and thinks it a waste. She won't say that, though, as Ben might take offense. She apparently believes what she's been saying, although *most* Unicorns not having dealings with Lions is noteworthy. 'Unicorn it is, then. Unless... Are there any other teams?' * Kinsley gives a somewhat amused smile. "We had a fourth house initially, but there just wasn't much interest." (For some reason, the Dumb But Steadfast House just didn't seem cool. Dunno why.) 'So, Unicorn it is, then. How 'bout you, Emily? Think Unicorn's the house for your kid?' * Worthing chuckles slightly. "Can't say I'm surprised. And I suppose I'll leave it to Devon, but I think he'll be most interested in learning all he can, and that would make him a Raven... that is, Unicorn." * Kinsley looks pleased. She seems used to the slip. * Ben chuckles. 'If I were to leave it to Penny, she'd pick whichever one had the cutest boys.' * Kinsley gets a slightly "am I getting a vapid kid?" worried look for a moment before chuckling, somewhat forced. (What? There are NO vapid kids at this school?) 'So, Emily, I seem to be asking all the questions. You already know about this place?' I did have one question. What sort of Arcane equipment do you have available? I've been able to provide Devon the basics, but some of the more elaborate components, magic mirrors and the like, are rather difficult to get for those of us in small covens. * Kinsley nods sympathetically. "We have the best available, including some special items we make available to our more advanced students. We'll cover those on the tour." * Worthing nods. "Excellent." * Ben looks slightly taken aback at the reference to 'advanced students'. 'How many of the students who are not magic users when they arrive end up being advanced?' About a quarter. However, don't tell her I told you this, but Maris Richmond, one of our brightest stars, came to us at about Penny's level of ability. * Kinsley has a definite note of pride in her voice. * Ben looks satisfied by this answer. 'You were saying I'd have a chance to talk with some students. Perhaps that might include her?' 'I want to find out if she has any tips I can pass along to Penny.' * Worthing nods. "I'd find that useful." * Kinsley looks thoughtful for a moment and then nods. "That should be possible." * Ben frowns. 'Is it a problem? You don't seem too keen on the idea.' I'll just need to talk to her first, but I think she'll agree. [Ben doesn't really get a feel for any undertone to that answer.] 'Do you have many Americans at your school?' About a quarter of the students. * Worthing looks slightly disappointed. 'Good.' Ben seems to think this was an important issue well resolved. So, if you're both ready, we can begin the tour. 'Fine with me. How about you, Emily?' * Waitress somewhere is vaguely disappointed at not getting any sales because the GM forgot about her. But Kinsley leaves a fiver anyways, 'cause she's a good witch. I'm rather looking forward to it. [Break.]