[IC] Metalheart

[ladyanglaise]

Cooper laughed lightly. "Are you kidding? With how smart you are and how successful your family is, you'll get a great job." She shifted to lean back in her chair and cross her arms. "You have nothing to worry about."

[Fubsy]

Marcella relaxed at her words. "Thank you, Cooper." She leaned towards her friend, all traces of anxiety gone. "I already know what Mr. Future-Lawyer over there is gonna be," She gave Maxwell a teasing wink, "but what about you? Are you gonna be a Metalheart like your parents?

[ladyanglaise]

"Of course! I've never been more excited for anything!" Cooper exclaimed. "I know it isn't glamorous, but it's what I've grown up around and what I love to do. I just hope I won't be the only one from our class who gets chosen for it."

[Rusalka]

~"I'm sure there are others who will join you, sweetie."~ Daniella chimed in overhearing the conversation between Cooper and Marcella. Both girls she found to be quite charming in their own respective ways. ~"There is nothing wrong with an honest living after all."~ From the lips of an aristocrat, such words would seem insulting, sarcastic venom, yet true was Daniella. She admired a woman who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

[ladyanglaise]

"I hope so." Cooper replied to Daniella, deciding that was a safe response whether Daniella was being genuine or not.

[Dmessenger]

Alex just chuckled from the comments he heard, if his father knew what he was hearing, his father would be pissed.

[Rusalka]

~"And just what's so amusing to you, dear Maxy?"~ A wry smirk Daniella gave turning back to him, leaning over his desk. ~"Aren't you going to be a big fancy lawyer just like your father?"~

[Fubsy]

Marcella nodded and clasped Cooper's hand. "Daniella's right. There's no shame in doing what you love. And to those that say otherwise, well...well, to hell with them!" Marcella shivered as the crude words stumbled out of her mouth. Rarely if ever was she allowed to speak so roughly. If her parents heard her now, defending Metalhearts and speaking like a peasant...
But they aren't here, Marcella silently reminded herself. She let go of Cooper and turned to the others. "Whatever jobs you get, I'll be here for you. Always. I swear on my soul."

[ladyanglaise]

Cooper felt like tearing up, and almost reflexively started to laugh. "To Hell with them!" she said victoriously. She was cackling and tearing up and she felt great. It was weird being surrounded by so many different people and not feeling like an outcast, it was weird and it was amazing. "I wish every day was like this, don't you?" she asked them, glancing around to each of them, starting at Marcella, then Daniella, and her eyes landing finally on Maxwell.

[Dmessenger]

Max said "what I find amusing is how you say that it doesn't matter and yet our parents would toss you out of the house if you got a job result that they didn't like" He looked at Cooper and said "though you don't have worry about that"

[Rusalka]

A jovial laughter she shared with the others, an exchange of smiles and mutual admiration with her fellow classmates, no, not mere acquaintances. To Daniella, they were indeed her friends, even some perhaps more. Yet while they enjoyed such merriment, soon came a damper of her spirit from Max's quip.

Of course, how could Daniella forget, the cruelty expressed equally by their prominent families, save for Cooper's. The outrage they would express should any of their darling children be labeled something else, something that was stigma, taboo, and uncouth among the aristocracy. Metalheart.

Even utterance of the word was sheer offense to them, their narrow, bigoted parents.

Once more the smile faded from her lips, replacing it a disappointing frown. To think a family would go so far to disown their children for differing views. ~"Even so..."~ She whispered. ~"I believe the destinies of men are shaped by what lies in their hearts, not what some amalgamation of steel and circuitry has to say."~ Though was it true?

[Dmessenger]

Max then said "though I've heard from my father that the machine can be tricked under certain circumstances which has happened, he had a couple cases of that." He then chuckled again and said "but besides that, it's not like any of us besides Cooper have a chance of getting the metalheart result."

[ladyanglaise]

Cooper eyed Maxwell with some suspicion, but didn't want to embarrass him... at least not directly. "It can be tricked?" she asked, with maybe a touch too much fake curiosity. Why else would he bring it up, she thought, if that wasn't his plan?

[Fubsy]

Marcella frowned. "Tricked?" The idea that the machine that determined their jobs—no, their lives—could be tricked was beyond comprehension. The mere suggestion of it was terrifying even. "How?"

[Dmessenger]

Max shrugged "My dad didn't tell me the details, but what I can gather from what he said a few metal hearts learned about how the machine worked and set the perimeters to that exact point." He then said "but that was a few years ago the machine has gotten stronger and more accurate"

[Rusalka]

Tricked? A tinge worried was Daniella, but her face did not portray such, still the confident smirk as she crossed her arms, haughtily replying, ~"Then it just proves my point. How could a machine, even if it is stronger now, determine our fate?"~ Though, she dreaded the thought, not just of losing everything...but everyone, her friends....and most of all, Maxwell.

[Dmessenger]

(ok i'm going to skip time to after school and just before the ceremony)

[Dmessenger]

Max heard the bell ring for class to be over. He then grabbed his stuff and ran out the classroom toward the place where the event is being held.

[ladyanglaise]

Cooper stood from her chair and followed Max, wondering if he would be able to trick the machine or not.

[Rusalka]

And so here it was. With the ringing of the dismissal bell the time had come to step forward and embrace their chosen destinies. Truly this should have been a glorious occasion, something to celebrate, the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. But...not so thrilled was Daniella. The march towards the machine, she couldn't think of any other comparison, other than a convicted criminal being led to the guillotine. Her breath was short, her heart quivering behind her ribs, a small bead of perspiration she quickly swiped away from her forehead. This was it, the time to decide their fates for the rest of their lives. Happiness or sorrow, joy...or despair?

But also... it was the ripe time possibly to test Maxwell's theory...and to answer a long standing hypothesis of Daniella's, can life be determined just by a simple machine?