[Luke is in his office!  School's out, and he's probably planning much evil.  
Or, uh, getting ready to leave.  Possibly both.]
[Go?]
* Luke sits at his desk, flipping through a copy of Hamlet, the same edition as 
the students have.  He takes out a pen and circles a passage.
[It's probably something designed to cause them pain.  See, he *was* planning 
evil!  Meanwhile, there's a knocking at his !chamber door.]
* Luke looks up.  He closes the copy of Hamlet and slides it into a drawer in 
his desk before saying, "Come in."
[In pokes Tabby!  She looks at Luke, then swallows and walks on in.  Her 
textbook pile is absent, though she still has the overstuffed backpack.]
<Ardweden> (Tabby's going to grow up with shoulder strain.  Like me! >_<)
<Luke> "Hello, Tabby."
["Hi, Mr. Mendel," she says, a little timidly.  "Um, I saw you before and you 
told a story about a demon..."]
<Luke> (He's about to get eaten.)
<Ardweden> (I'm shocked you'd think I'd do such a thing, Nic.)
* Luke pauses as if thinking back, the smiles and nods.  "I remember, yes."
[Tabby stops right on the inside of the door.  "Do you... I mean, do you really 
believe that?  In demons?"]
<Luke> "Sometimes those stories have a basis in fact.  Sometimes they don't.  
The question is part of the appeal."
[She blinks.  "What?"]
* Luke grins.  "They're fun because they may be real or they may be fake.  Like 
tabloid headlines about movie stars cheating on their spouses."
["Oh."  Tabby shuts up, scrunching her face a little as she works through what 
Luke just said.  It's taking some real effort.]
["So you don't really believe it."]
<Luke> "I believe some of it."  Luke stands up, picking up the briefcase that 
had been standing beside his chair.  "Why do you ask?"
[Tabitha clutches her arms around her chest; without those big textbooks, it 
looks like she doesn't know what to hang onto.  "I was wondering if it's true or 
not."]
* Luke circles the desk and leans back against it, clasping his hands together 
in front of him, his case dangling in front of his legs.  "I don't know what 
happened, Tabby.  But what I told you is... a possibility."
["Then you *do* think it's true."]
<Luke> "Not one for ambiguity, are you, Tabby?"  Luke shakes his head slightly.  
"I don't know for certain what really happened.  But I do think the story I told 
you is as likely as spontaneous human combustion, for whatever that is worth."
[She nods slowly and looks behind Luke at the other things in his office, and 
around at the other offices.  "So, um... what about vampires?"]
<Luke> "Not their modus operandi."
[She starts, but she recovers herself quickly enough and looks up at Luke.  
"Really?"]
<Luke> "They don't tend to cause people to burst into flame."  Luke pauses, 
frowning.
["But... *they* burst into flame, right Mr. Mendel?  I read somewhere that 
vampires catch on fire if they go in the sun."]
* Luke seems to start a bit, as if she'd said what he was thinking.  "But Camila 
wasn't a vampire," he says, sounding more confident with each word that leaves 
his mouth.
[Tabitha looks thoughtful.  "Yeah, she'd never be able to be taken outside if 
she were a vampire..."  But she doesn't sound quite as certain.]
<Luke> "Exactly."  Luke gives an easy grin.
["I have to go."]
<Luke> "Okay.  See you later, Tabby."
<Luke> "Have a good evening."
[Tabitha nods distractedly and rushes to the door, messing with the handle 
clumsily before she manages to get it open and runs away!  I mean, goes to do 
something important!]
* Luke walks forward and closes the door after her, then returns to his desk.
* Luke sets the briefcase down beside the chair again, then takes out the copy 
of Hamlet again.
* Luke checks the passages he's circled, putting an X in the margin next to one.
<Luke> (Does Luke have a computer?)
<Ardweden> (Yes.  It's a modern high school!)
* Luke boots up the computer, then begins typing in Word.  He consults Hamlet as 
he copies passages.  After a few minutes, he saves and prints it.
[Luke hears something slam into a locker outside of his room.]
* Luke winces slightly at the noise.  He gets up and walks toward the door, 
grabbing his briefcase in his left hand as he goes.
* Luke opens the door and looks out.
[Luke looks out!  At first he doesn't see much of anything, but upon looking 
down the hall, he can see a girl he doesn't recognize at all: she's smaller, and 
she's obviously Asian.  Her hair's cut a little short, though not boyishly, 
she's very physically fit, and she's wearing jeans and a white T-shirt.  And has 
Tabby shoved hard into a locker.  Tabby's backpack is on the ground and Tabby, 
herself, looks stunned.]
["Where *is* he!" the Asian girl yells, keeping her pinned there.  "I know you 
have something to do with it!"  Tabby tries to open her mouth to say something, 
but she ends up just shaking her head.]
* Luke looks over and sees Tabby pinned there.  He winces in apparent sympathy, 
his entire head flinching to the side so he's not looking directly at the 
altercation as he says, "Hey!  You!"
[The girl turns to see Luke and she mutters something in Chinese.  She sighs and 
slowly lets go of Tabby, who seems on the verge of hyperventilating.]
* Luke collects himself and looks back at them.  "Tell me your name," he says, 
mustering his authority.
[The girl looks like she'd rather bolt, but instead she stays.  "Sun-Niang Shi," 
she says after a bit of hesitation.]
<Luke> "What is this about?"
["Nothing."  She's looking at the floor now.]
* Luke looks between the two girls.  "I am going to have to punish you for this, 
Sun-Niang.  But how severely is up to you and whether you tell me what this is 
about.  I imagine you must be used to a week's detention, so we'll call that the 
light punishment."
[Sun-Niang hesitates again.  She glances up to look at Tabby, who's staring at 
her, and then at Luke.  "I..."]
<Luke> "Just being told what the heavy punishment is would constitute the medium 
punishment," Luke adds, and it's unclear whether he's joking.
[She folds her hands and looks down again for a while before she says, still 
looking at the floor, "My uncle's gone."]
* Luke's tone softens as he asks, "What does this have to do with Tabby?"
["She was the last person who saw him."]
* Luke turns to Tabby.  "Do you know what she's talking about?" he asks, his 
voice quiet and calm.
[Tabby shakes her head, rapidly.  "I saw- I mean, I saw her uncle, but I didn't 
know he was gone!"]
<Luke> "What happened?"
[Sun-Niang's glaring at Tabby now.  She's about to say something, but Luke cuts 
her off, so instead she jabs her finger at the other girl and says, "He went in 
back with her, and *he* didn't come out!"]
<Luke> "You wanted to find out what happened, Sun-Niang," Luke says calmly.  
"Would you prefer not to find out what Tabby has to say?"
[Sun-Niang glares at Tabby, but she lets her hand drop, if not the glare.  
Tabby's found her backpack and is now clutching it, heavy as it is.]
<Luke> "Sun-Niang?"
["I want to hear what she has to say," she says, a little snippishly.]
<Luke> "Then you should apologize for interrupting."
[She glares at Tabby.  "I'm sorry."]
<Luke> "Tabby, please continue."
[Tabby still looks shaken, but she says, "I was... I mean, Sun-Niang and her 
uncle, they... they run a shop in Chinatown, and I was in..."]
* Luke nods, keeping an eye on the other girl as he listens to Tabby.
["I just wanted to look inside.  We moved here pretty recently and-"  She 
swallows.  "And it looked interesting.  When I went in and was looking at stuff, 
her uncle took me into the back part to see the stuff there and then I left 
after that but- but-"]
[Tabby focuses on Sun-Niang.  "I never did anything to him, I swear.  He was 
there when I left!"]
<Luke> "What was he showing you?"
["Oh, just..."  Her eyes widen.  "It was nothing *bad*.  It wasn't like he- he's 
a very nice man, Mr. Mendel.  A little crazy, but he's nice."]
["Maybe was," Sun-Niang says bitterly.]
<Luke> "Sun-Niang, Tabby is trying to help you."
[She doesn't look like she's buying it, but she nods anyway.]
[Tabby looks a little uneasy at Sun-Niang's statement.  "Nothing happened while 
I was there, though.  And you weren't in front when I left."]
["I was getting tea," Sun-Niang responds hotly.]
<Luke> "What did he show you?"
["Just... some things he said were magic?  I don't know if they are or not.  He 
says *everything's* magic."]
* Luke grins.  "Maybe it is.  But can you remember what specifically?  It might 
be important, and it will help Sun-Niang's peace of mind."
[Tabby shakes her head.  "It was a lot of stuff," she says, her voice quickly 
getting steadier.  "She's got to know what's back there, too."]
["I do... mostly."  Sun-Niang looks a little doubtful now.]
* Luke pauses to listen to the back-and-forth, intent for signs of things going 
south.
["It's just sometimes he hides things and..."  The girl sighs, then looks up at 
Tabby.  "Sorry."]
[Tabitha nods.  "It's okay.  I don't think I have any bruises."  At this, Sun-
Niang winces.]
* Luke notices the wince.
[Tabitha notices the wince, too.  She ventures carefully, "If you want, we can 
go... I mean, we can go to your place and look at the stuff.  If you think that 
has anything to do with it."]
["I don't know.  I don't know a lot about the stories or anything-" Sun-Niang 
starts before Tabitha interrupts with, "Maybe Mr. Mendel can come with."]
* Luke looks from one girl to the other.  "I have some work to finish up at the 
moment.  Why don't you two go ahead and if you give me the address, I can stop 
by later to see what you've found and make sure you're behaving yourselves."
* Luke's last words are jovial but carry a slight edge of warning.
[Tabitha nods, and before Sun-Niang can protest, is already reaching into her 
pocket, soon after scribbling down an address on a small pad of notebook paper.  
Sun-Niang's look changes to one of slight fascination as this happens, and 
Tabitha tears off the paper and hands it to Luke.]
<Luke> "Since you apologized to Tabby, Sun-Niang, I think I can reduce that week 
of detention to two days, just this once, if Tabby doesn't object."  Luke looks 
to the latter girl.
[Tabitha shakes her head.  "No."  Sun-Niang looks totally confused at that, but 
she nods anyway.  "Okay."]
* Luke adds, as an aside for Sun-Niang, "See, Sun-Niang, you often get better 
results if you at least try asking nicely before shoving people into lockers."
[Sun-Niang just nods, sort of numbly.  Tabby puts her backpack back... uh, on 
her back!]
<Luke> "So, go see what you can find at that store.  And, girls, hokey as I know 
it sounds, you should really try to be friends."
["Okay, Mr. Mendel," Tabby says.  She starts down the hallway, not even a limp 
to her step.  Maybe she gets shoved into lockers a lot.  Sun-Niang just sort of 
nods again, dumbly and still confused, then follows after her.]
* Luke watches them go.
<Luke> (They should try being friends!)
[They leave.  A budding friendship?  Or possibly less hatred?  Who knows, but 
Sun-Niang isn't trying to kill Tabby, which is definitely a good thing!]
[In the distance, Luke can hear Sun-Niang say, "I really am sorry.  I don't 
normally do that," and Tabby respond with, "It's okay."  Because Sun's uncle 
disappearing must be a normal occurrence.]
[End!]