Jo sighed impatiently. Her part-time job at Barnes and Noble really wasn't the busiest, but usually, it was consistent. Most of the time, Jo had something to do. Currently, everybody in bookstore was either reading by the benches, totally absorbed in their books, or wandering around, doing nothing productive of any sort. It was utterly boring.
Jo's shift would be over in precisely eleven minutes, though. To be honest, she wasn't exactly popular with the customers. She couldn't quite be described as rude, but Jo supposed she had always been a bit...insensitive. Blunt. Oblivious to people's feelings. This led to her coming off as harsh. Of course, Jo didn't purposely act cruel. She was just...brutally honest. Yeah.
But at the same time, the customers liked her. Not quite as a bookstore clerk, but more likely as a book recommendations specialist. Sure, it wasn't exactly her job, but by analyzing the each person's unique preferences and budget range, along with using her rather extensive memory on book plots, etc., Jo could find the perfect books for each and every customer. Well, most of the time. Everybody makes mistakes.
Fortunately for Jo, the eleven minutes passed by quickly enough. The redhead traded places with the Hikari, the Japanese girl with dyed blonde hair who was operating the next shift and headed out of the bookstore. She - along with the rest of Los Angeles Neighbors' Club, or LANC for short - was supposed to go to the Bass residence to be interviewed by a couple of detectives on the subject of Mason's recent disappearance. The police wanted to gather some information. Although Jo and Mason weren't as close as the latter was to Summer or Jane, the redhead did feel some concern when Mason didn't turn up at his school of choice. She just...wasn't the best at displaying that concern. Jo never had been good with emotions in general. It just wasn't her thing.
Jo's shift would be over in precisely eleven minutes, though. To be honest, she wasn't exactly popular with the customers. She couldn't quite be described as rude, but Jo supposed she had always been a bit...insensitive. Blunt. Oblivious to people's feelings. This led to her coming off as harsh. Of course, Jo didn't purposely act cruel. She was just...brutally honest. Yeah.
But at the same time, the customers liked her. Not quite as a bookstore clerk, but more likely as a book recommendations specialist. Sure, it wasn't exactly her job, but by analyzing the each person's unique preferences and budget range, along with using her rather extensive memory on book plots, etc., Jo could find the perfect books for each and every customer. Well, most of the time. Everybody makes mistakes.
Fortunately for Jo, the eleven minutes passed by quickly enough. The redhead traded places with the Hikari, the Japanese girl with dyed blonde hair who was operating the next shift and headed out of the bookstore. She - along with the rest of Los Angeles Neighbors' Club, or LANC for short - was supposed to go to the Bass residence to be interviewed by a couple of detectives on the subject of Mason's recent disappearance. The police wanted to gather some information. Although Jo and Mason weren't as close as the latter was to Summer or Jane, the redhead did feel some concern when Mason didn't turn up at his school of choice. She just...wasn't the best at displaying that concern. Jo never had been good with emotions in general. It just wasn't her thing.
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It was awkward, to say the least.
Well, for the cop. Jo was unfazed.
He and Jo were sitting across from each other, face-to-face, doing practically nothing besides the essential actions of surviving. Jo had an apathetic expression on her face, while Detective Barnega was clearly uncomfortable with the silence that resonated in the makeshift interview room. Finally, breaking the minute-long silence, Detective Barnega cleared his throat, sitting a little bit straighter.
"So," Barnega attempted to break the ice. "Ms. Rompaye - "
"Ms. Van Rompaye," Jo corrected immediately, her tone rather bland. "Similar to Ludwig van Beethoven, although his surname is usually referred to as simply 'Beethoven', van is still an important part of the name. And it's not pronounced rom-pay, it's pronounced rom-pie-yay."
There was a long pause after Jo's rather rude interruption, although she never found correcting someone to be rude. Barnega had a frustrated look on his face, as if he had dealt with enough rudeness for the day. Mackenzie probably turned him off. It was the reasonable explanation.
"Ms. Van Rompaye," Barnega tried again with a strained voice, emphasizing the first part slightly and correcting her pronunciation. His patience was running thin. "What is your relationship with Mason Bass?"
"Clearly we're friends," Jo explained rather efficiently, "although if you're not competent enough to draw that conclusion, I sincerely worry for the citizens of this city." Yup, Barnega was definitely annoyed.
"No worries, Ms. Van Rompaye," he responded, with a lilt in his voice. "The police force has gathered that already."
Jo clucked her tongue and shifted her position slightly. "Good, your performance is so far satisfactory," she said, clearly irritating Male Detective (although that wasn't her direct intention). "Other than that, we're academic rivals, but if you think I'm childish enough to sabotage Mason simply because I was salutatorian instead of valedictorian, then dear God, I worry for this city's police force."
Barnega looked ready to punch Jo in the face out of his frustration. Jo didn't blame him. "Alright then," he said in a tightly strained voice. "Salutatorian. Clearly not a suspect." Jo narrowed her eyes. He was doubting her, plain as day, anyone could see it. "How far were you from being valedictorian?"
"0.0017 of a point," Jo said calmly, refraining from straining her voice. "Not that it should matter. Just a hint, you're asking the wrong questions."
"Oh really, Ms. Van Rompaye," Barnega drawled. "And why is that?"
"You mean why you're asking the wrong questions?" Jo inquired in a light tone. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because you fail to actually comprehend the information you were given in the correct way?" Barnega had a furious expression on his face. "Oh, don't look like that. Statistically, 98.62% of the population are like you, it really isn't that rare." Yes, Jo could come off as a bitch, but to be honest, that wasn't exactly her intention. Then again, she preferred not to sugarcoat things.
"Alright, then!" Detective Barnega was smart enough to end the exchange right there without losing his temper - well, for the most part. "Moving on! When has he last contacted you, Ms. Van Rompaye?"
"One day, seventeen hours, and thirty-two minutes before he left," Jo responded immediately, ignoring Detective Barnega as he raised an eyebrow. The redhead had always been a rather precise person. "We spoke - texted, in fact - about our schools of choice. Stanford for him, Berkeley for me. Before you ask, there was nothing suspicious in his texts." Detective Barnega bit his lip; it was clear that he weren't receiving any useful information, considering the questions he's been asking.
"Do you think anyone would've wanted to hurt Mason?" he inquired, not particularly friendly. Jo shrugged, somewhat indifferent. Yes, she was concerned about Mason, but she wasn't good at conveying her emotions. The redhead probably seemed like she didn't care, although that wasn't the case.
"Really?" Jo scoffed. "The Mason Bass? He's Los Angeles' real golden boy." The redhead leaned forward. "Listen, while I'm not exactly socially or emotionally adept, I actually understand - well, somewhat - what's going out there. There are two types of golden boys. Those who hate the first type mainly hate him because he's liked by so many people, or they're jealous of his talents. The second type? Well, the second type is sincerely loved by the people around him. Even those who dislike him could never hate him enough to sabotage, kidnap, or throw him off his path to stardom, because the second type of golden boy just has that damn charisma. Mason's the second type. Statistically, there is only a 2.13% chance that anybody who knows him would want to hurt him. Balance of probability, if Mason was hurt in any way, shape, or form by another human being, they would most likely not know him personally."
Officer Barnega was still scrawling down his last notes before finally asking another question. "Are you completely sure about that? There must be someone who despises him beyond belief. Despite your...guide on golden boys, every one of them is sure to have an archenemy of sorts." Barnega scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "A guy like that...if people like him as much as you say, surely he's played around with the ladies? You know, hook up, have sex, dump them on the street?"
Even Jo could've lost her composure at that statement. Barnega clearly didn't care much for this case. "Excuse me, Barnie," Jo said sharply, paying no attention to the flustered noise the detective made at the nickname, "are you sure you are a qualified officer? If you've cheated your way into your position, I wouldn't be surprised. Perhaps you've done some...less than chaste things with your colleagues? 'You know, hook up, have sex, dump them on the street?' You seem far from professional. Although I'm not the one to assume one's sexuality, a bisexual - or is it pansexual? I'm not sure - man like yourself wouldn't have too big of a problem with the police's...variety. It's a surefire way of climbing the ranks, quickly and easily."
Although Jo couldn't exactly be described as patient, she couldn't quite be described as easily triggered either. There were very little things in the world that could truly get Jo fired up, and to be honest, Mason wasn't one of them. But he was her friend, and Jo was not going to let Officer Barnie get away with a statement like that.
It was safe to say, that after that incident, Jo and a very flustered Officer Barnega finished that interview up as quickly as possible. Jo strode out of the makeshift interview room, her demeanor rather calm and collected, given the situation. She approached the fraction of the LANC club who were already interviewed leaned against the edge of the couch in a slightly awkward manner. She did try to be sensitive of her friends' feelings, but she wasn't exactly good at it.
Well, for the cop. Jo was unfazed.
He and Jo were sitting across from each other, face-to-face, doing practically nothing besides the essential actions of surviving. Jo had an apathetic expression on her face, while Detective Barnega was clearly uncomfortable with the silence that resonated in the makeshift interview room. Finally, breaking the minute-long silence, Detective Barnega cleared his throat, sitting a little bit straighter.
"So," Barnega attempted to break the ice. "Ms. Rompaye - "
"Ms. Van Rompaye," Jo corrected immediately, her tone rather bland. "Similar to Ludwig van Beethoven, although his surname is usually referred to as simply 'Beethoven', van is still an important part of the name. And it's not pronounced rom-pay, it's pronounced rom-pie-yay."
There was a long pause after Jo's rather rude interruption, although she never found correcting someone to be rude. Barnega had a frustrated look on his face, as if he had dealt with enough rudeness for the day. Mackenzie probably turned him off. It was the reasonable explanation.
"Ms. Van Rompaye," Barnega tried again with a strained voice, emphasizing the first part slightly and correcting her pronunciation. His patience was running thin. "What is your relationship with Mason Bass?"
"Clearly we're friends," Jo explained rather efficiently, "although if you're not competent enough to draw that conclusion, I sincerely worry for the citizens of this city." Yup, Barnega was definitely annoyed.
"No worries, Ms. Van Rompaye," he responded, with a lilt in his voice. "The police force has gathered that already."
Jo clucked her tongue and shifted her position slightly. "Good, your performance is so far satisfactory," she said, clearly irritating Male Detective (although that wasn't her direct intention). "Other than that, we're academic rivals, but if you think I'm childish enough to sabotage Mason simply because I was salutatorian instead of valedictorian, then dear God, I worry for this city's police force."
Barnega looked ready to punch Jo in the face out of his frustration. Jo didn't blame him. "Alright then," he said in a tightly strained voice. "Salutatorian. Clearly not a suspect." Jo narrowed her eyes. He was doubting her, plain as day, anyone could see it. "How far were you from being valedictorian?"
"0.0017 of a point," Jo said calmly, refraining from straining her voice. "Not that it should matter. Just a hint, you're asking the wrong questions."
"Oh really, Ms. Van Rompaye," Barnega drawled. "And why is that?"
"You mean why you're asking the wrong questions?" Jo inquired in a light tone. "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because you fail to actually comprehend the information you were given in the correct way?" Barnega had a furious expression on his face. "Oh, don't look like that. Statistically, 98.62% of the population are like you, it really isn't that rare." Yes, Jo could come off as a bitch, but to be honest, that wasn't exactly her intention. Then again, she preferred not to sugarcoat things.
"Alright, then!" Detective Barnega was smart enough to end the exchange right there without losing his temper - well, for the most part. "Moving on! When has he last contacted you, Ms. Van Rompaye?"
"One day, seventeen hours, and thirty-two minutes before he left," Jo responded immediately, ignoring Detective Barnega as he raised an eyebrow. The redhead had always been a rather precise person. "We spoke - texted, in fact - about our schools of choice. Stanford for him, Berkeley for me. Before you ask, there was nothing suspicious in his texts." Detective Barnega bit his lip; it was clear that he weren't receiving any useful information, considering the questions he's been asking.
"Do you think anyone would've wanted to hurt Mason?" he inquired, not particularly friendly. Jo shrugged, somewhat indifferent. Yes, she was concerned about Mason, but she wasn't good at conveying her emotions. The redhead probably seemed like she didn't care, although that wasn't the case.
"Really?" Jo scoffed. "The Mason Bass? He's Los Angeles' real golden boy." The redhead leaned forward. "Listen, while I'm not exactly socially or emotionally adept, I actually understand - well, somewhat - what's going out there. There are two types of golden boys. Those who hate the first type mainly hate him because he's liked by so many people, or they're jealous of his talents. The second type? Well, the second type is sincerely loved by the people around him. Even those who dislike him could never hate him enough to sabotage, kidnap, or throw him off his path to stardom, because the second type of golden boy just has that damn charisma. Mason's the second type. Statistically, there is only a 2.13% chance that anybody who knows him would want to hurt him. Balance of probability, if Mason was hurt in any way, shape, or form by another human being, they would most likely not know him personally."
Officer Barnega was still scrawling down his last notes before finally asking another question. "Are you completely sure about that? There must be someone who despises him beyond belief. Despite your...guide on golden boys, every one of them is sure to have an archenemy of sorts." Barnega scoffed, leaning back in his seat. "A guy like that...if people like him as much as you say, surely he's played around with the ladies? You know, hook up, have sex, dump them on the street?"
Even Jo could've lost her composure at that statement. Barnega clearly didn't care much for this case. "Excuse me, Barnie," Jo said sharply, paying no attention to the flustered noise the detective made at the nickname, "are you sure you are a qualified officer? If you've cheated your way into your position, I wouldn't be surprised. Perhaps you've done some...less than chaste things with your colleagues? 'You know, hook up, have sex, dump them on the street?' You seem far from professional. Although I'm not the one to assume one's sexuality, a bisexual - or is it pansexual? I'm not sure - man like yourself wouldn't have too big of a problem with the police's...variety. It's a surefire way of climbing the ranks, quickly and easily."
Although Jo couldn't exactly be described as patient, she couldn't quite be described as easily triggered either. There were very little things in the world that could truly get Jo fired up, and to be honest, Mason wasn't one of them. But he was her friend, and Jo was not going to let Officer Barnie get away with a statement like that.
It was safe to say, that after that incident, Jo and a very flustered Officer Barnega finished that interview up as quickly as possible. Jo strode out of the makeshift interview room, her demeanor rather calm and collected, given the situation. She approached the fraction of the LANC club who were already interviewed leaned against the edge of the couch in a slightly awkward manner. She did try to be sensitive of her friends' feelings, but she wasn't exactly good at it.