we live on front porches and swing life away

[pushtheboundaries]

It's first a matter of coincidence; a story in the news being on as he sipped at his coffee, skimming over a student paper someone had suggest he read- and then looking between them as he realizes the names match. That in itself wouldn't be enough to hold his attention, if some of the concepts in the paper hadn't suggested potential. A bit more digging and his attention is caught, and it's only so long before he's making his way to the hospital.

A few words, some outreaching, and he's given a visitor's badge and directions. From there, it's only a matter of finding the room, and quietly opening the door.

He's not sure if she's resting, but somehow Callaghan thinks that if she isn't, she may be bored out of her mind.

Comments

[maglevflash]

Bored and surly, if the scowl on her face is any indication. Ethel was muttering to herself as she clicked through the article written on her accident. Lost control, please. She knew better than that. It was her fine control that kept her from being any more injured than she was. Her leg was in a cast and there was heavy bandaging around her ribs, but aside from that? It could have been a lot worse.

Those bastards. She'll show em.

She tossed the tablet onto the bed and picked at the gauze on her cheek, schematics running through her head, but she looked up when the door opened. Ethel frowned, her mother already visited for the day. Who else was going to bother tracking her down?

if this isn't her last name lmk i will edit :u

[pushtheboundaries]

Well then. No need to waste time, since she's already aware of his presence.

"Miss...Tomago, isn't it?" Robert closes the door behind him, a small portfolio tucked under an arm. "I wanted to ask a few questions, if you had the time, but I can come back later if you wanted to get some rest."

I don't know if there's a fandom accepted one, so this'll do.

[maglevflash]

Ethel pushed into a more seated position, scooting back against her pillows, and looked him up and down.

"Who's asking?" He didn't look like a cop, more like someone's granddad, and she'd already given he statement anyway.

[pushtheboundaries]

"Oh, I'm not the police, if that's what you're worried about." He unzipped the folder, opening it up and pulling out a few papers. "Or a detective, or...anything, really. I'm going to go and and guess that you'd have no idea why I'm here..."

He tossed a set of stapled sheets on to the bed. Ethel might recognize the subject...from a couple years ago.

"My name's Robert Callaghan. A friend had me read some of your work. I just wanted to know why you hadn't applied it here."

The paper in question has to do with some vehicular engineering. Truth be told, Robert very well knows why- the kind of concepts express within it aren't exactly the sort that your every day street racer could pull off, not without some sort of sponsor or connection.

[maglevflash]

Picking up the papers, Ethel stared at it. She hadn't picked this up since she turned it in. Her teachers had talked about it for weeks, mentioning something about a scholarship she'd paid little mind to at the time.

Scholarships are great and all, but it would have been years before she'd been able to follow through with her theories. Where would she have found the time? Besides, her bike had still been the best, even without it.

"Don't know what you're talking about." She dismissed, idly reading over her science.

[pushtheboundaries]

"Your bike," Robert supplied, not much for playing around. (At least, not too much.). "I saw a few pictures of what it was like after the accident, and from what I heard of how it happened...your proposed upgrades could have helped avoid such a severe crash. Among others," he added as an afterthought, leaning against the wall and facing her to get another look.

Rough around the edges, but...there could be potential here.

[maglevflash]

She sighed and dropped the packet back down onto the bed, avoiding looking at him.

"Yeah, if I'd been able to build it from the beginning then they wouldn't have-" Been able to tamper with it. She clenched her fists, seething at the thought of what those assholes did. A proper suspension would have given her great mobility at the kind of speed, and she could have improved the braking system tenfold if only she had access to the right materials.

"That stuff costs more than I can make right now." She'd been saving her winnings for years.