DaffodilsAndDragons
you are the one true king
This roleplay is for
WhipDing
Rhian Kendrick was caught up in the early morning crowd as she stepped onto the tube platform, having just exited her train. It swept her along towards the escalators leading out of the station as if it were a powerful current amidst an ocean. After almost a year living in the city, she was still not used to the morning rush on the Underground. If she were to sit and think about it, Rhian would say that it wasn’t so much the small spaces and overcrowded feeling that made her dislike the experience, it was more the feeling of being one among thousands – feeling about as mechanical as the way in which London ran itself.
That was far too philosophical for her to dwell on for too long. She had somewhere to be! Rhian pressed her Oyster card against the snapping barrier door and glided through onto the street. She quickly crossed the road, just catching the lights at the right time, and stood looking over the Thames. It was a bright, summer morning – the sun wasn’t high enough in the sky to cause too much warmth just yet. Rhian had tried to dress appropriately, shorts and a comfy pair of trainers that were smart enough for job for the day. She straightened her red King’s College London student ambassador t-shirt, re-tying the matching hoody around her waist, though she doubted the weather would call for it.
She checked her phone for the time – 9:05, she had enough time to grab a drink. She walked over to a street cart that she had visited a few times that week. The man, with an accent she still couldn’t pinpoint, greeted her with a friendly good morning as she picked up two bottles of water that sat in his mini fridge. “Could I grab these and a copy of the Guardian please?” she asked, her Welsh accent always sounding thicker when she asked a question.
“Yes Miss!” the man retorted with a smile. “No sweet treat for you this morning?” he asked, having remembered that Rhian normally eyed up the chocolate selection.
“I can’t make a habit of these early morning treats…” she mumbled, handing him her money and pulling her backpack to the front of her to put her water inside, keeping the newspaper in her hand. “Uh, keep the change” she said, waving a hand as she zipped up her bag.
“I will keep it, and you will come back and use it to get a treat when you leave that university this evening!” he said with a wink, tapping the change that was now in his pocket.
“I might need a bit of chocolate after today” she replied with a laugh, saying goodbye and crossing the road.
She opened the paper, startled to find her university among the headlines. ‘King’s College London making leaps and bounds! Scientific research is going through the roof, literally!’ Rhian raised a curious eyebrow at the headline. She was a student of Politics, and a prominent member of the Journalism society – she helped run the university paper. It was fair to say she had taken all the opportunities thrown at her during her first year. Maybe she could ask the student ambassador supervisors if she could pay a visit to the Science department as part of her day’s work to get ideas for some articles. They wouldn’t say no, maybe they’d just deduct her pay slightly.
Rhian was still walking, flicking through the paper as entered the university grounds, the whole area decked out with open day sign boards. It already looked busy, with nervous soon-to-be students, probably already with offers from the university, and equally nervous parents alike. She suddenly bumped straight into someone with a thud, dropping the paper. Slightly winded, she took a step back and watched as the man she had bumped into bent down to pick the paper up, looking at the front page. “Sorry! I should really look where I’m going” she exclaimed, embarrassed at herself. She stared at the man who still hadn’t responded, he was just thumbing through the paper now.
“Any chance I could keep this?” he asked.
“No problem” Rhian responded, she had managed to read the stories she was interested in anyway. She might’ve said no, but she noticed he looked official, he wore a full suit though his hair looked a little untidy. She was about to walk away to register herself in the admin block when he rounded back on her.
“You’re a student ambassador, correct?” he queried, to which she responded with a nod. “Will there be a lot of you walking around, giving tours? I’m especially interested in the physics and engineering department, given all this research going on” he continued with a curious tone.
“There’ll be a bunch of us providing both general and course specific tours throughout the day. Though I’ve heard that its now compulsory to show visitors that department due to its recent successes, I guess it encourages more students to study a scientific subject here! Tours begin at 10AM, follow those signs in that direction” she explained with a smile, pointing towards a pathway.
“Do you know if there’s any chance of a peek behind the scenes?” he wondered. “For a professor like myself” he added, pulling out his identification. It read ‘Doctor John Smith, PhD Physics at University of Cambridge’. Rhian immediately straightened up, a little journalistic switch went off in her brain.
“That could probably be arranged, Sir” she said curtly and with a sweeter smile than before. “I’m not the right person for this tour because I study BA Politics and IR, but if you follow me I can get someone on admin to sort something out”. The man grinned as the pair walked towards the admin building.
“What are the requirements like to study here?” he asked as they climbed some stairs.
“For my course, it was three A grades, for the sciences I think its slightly lower – though I’ve heard rumours that the requirements are being raised in the next year. I think the university is trying to get the best of the best”
“I think students who can achieve what you achieved are pretty much the cream of the crop” he said with a shrug. Rhian’s lips curled into a smile at the professor’s compliment.
“I don’t know, there are a lot of people here who got three A*s. Thank you though” she replied as they entered the building. She quickly darted towards some boards that had lists of names on, putting a signature next to hers as the professor trailed after her. He looked down at the newspaper in his hands.
“You bought a newspaper earlier” he commented, to which Rhian gave him a confused smile. “Not many people, or students, actually buy a newspaper any more”.
“I’m part of the writing team for the university newspaper, which is the responsibility of the Journalism society” she explained, his face split into a wide grin.
“Ah, a journalist!” he exclaimed. “If I manage to get this behind the scenes tour, maybe I could ask after you to join me?” he queried. “Might be a good little column in your paper”. Rhian let out a small laugh, it’s as if he had read her mind earlier – she showed him to the desks where the administrative staff sat behind, talking to a few of the visitors.
“That would be great if you can! My name is Rhian Kendrick, someone will chase me down if you give them my name. Thank you so much, Sir!” she said excitedly, checking the time before rushing back out of the building.
‘John Smith’, The Doctor, gave her a little wave before turning towards the desk, his face turning slightly serious as he approached a woman who was free at the desk. There was something going on at the university, something to do with this new research they kept pumping out. He might need someone like Rhian to provide a bit of context about the university, but he needed that tour first.
“Hello!” he said merrily to the receptionist, explaining who he was and what he wanted at breakneck speed to the seated woman.
Rhian on the other hand, had exited the building and was back out onto the grounds. She was told she'd be on 'general' tours today, which she was pleased about - it'd be easy to break away from if that professor managed to get her on this tour. It might even make her own tours better. It was getting close to 10AM and visitors were starting to gather, she clapped her hands together, motivating herself for what was the start of a long day.
WhipDing
Rhian Kendrick was caught up in the early morning crowd as she stepped onto the tube platform, having just exited her train. It swept her along towards the escalators leading out of the station as if it were a powerful current amidst an ocean. After almost a year living in the city, she was still not used to the morning rush on the Underground. If she were to sit and think about it, Rhian would say that it wasn’t so much the small spaces and overcrowded feeling that made her dislike the experience, it was more the feeling of being one among thousands – feeling about as mechanical as the way in which London ran itself.
That was far too philosophical for her to dwell on for too long. She had somewhere to be! Rhian pressed her Oyster card against the snapping barrier door and glided through onto the street. She quickly crossed the road, just catching the lights at the right time, and stood looking over the Thames. It was a bright, summer morning – the sun wasn’t high enough in the sky to cause too much warmth just yet. Rhian had tried to dress appropriately, shorts and a comfy pair of trainers that were smart enough for job for the day. She straightened her red King’s College London student ambassador t-shirt, re-tying the matching hoody around her waist, though she doubted the weather would call for it.
She checked her phone for the time – 9:05, she had enough time to grab a drink. She walked over to a street cart that she had visited a few times that week. The man, with an accent she still couldn’t pinpoint, greeted her with a friendly good morning as she picked up two bottles of water that sat in his mini fridge. “Could I grab these and a copy of the Guardian please?” she asked, her Welsh accent always sounding thicker when she asked a question.
“Yes Miss!” the man retorted with a smile. “No sweet treat for you this morning?” he asked, having remembered that Rhian normally eyed up the chocolate selection.
“I can’t make a habit of these early morning treats…” she mumbled, handing him her money and pulling her backpack to the front of her to put her water inside, keeping the newspaper in her hand. “Uh, keep the change” she said, waving a hand as she zipped up her bag.
“I will keep it, and you will come back and use it to get a treat when you leave that university this evening!” he said with a wink, tapping the change that was now in his pocket.
“I might need a bit of chocolate after today” she replied with a laugh, saying goodbye and crossing the road.
She opened the paper, startled to find her university among the headlines. ‘King’s College London making leaps and bounds! Scientific research is going through the roof, literally!’ Rhian raised a curious eyebrow at the headline. She was a student of Politics, and a prominent member of the Journalism society – she helped run the university paper. It was fair to say she had taken all the opportunities thrown at her during her first year. Maybe she could ask the student ambassador supervisors if she could pay a visit to the Science department as part of her day’s work to get ideas for some articles. They wouldn’t say no, maybe they’d just deduct her pay slightly.
Rhian was still walking, flicking through the paper as entered the university grounds, the whole area decked out with open day sign boards. It already looked busy, with nervous soon-to-be students, probably already with offers from the university, and equally nervous parents alike. She suddenly bumped straight into someone with a thud, dropping the paper. Slightly winded, she took a step back and watched as the man she had bumped into bent down to pick the paper up, looking at the front page. “Sorry! I should really look where I’m going” she exclaimed, embarrassed at herself. She stared at the man who still hadn’t responded, he was just thumbing through the paper now.
“Any chance I could keep this?” he asked.
“No problem” Rhian responded, she had managed to read the stories she was interested in anyway. She might’ve said no, but she noticed he looked official, he wore a full suit though his hair looked a little untidy. She was about to walk away to register herself in the admin block when he rounded back on her.
“You’re a student ambassador, correct?” he queried, to which she responded with a nod. “Will there be a lot of you walking around, giving tours? I’m especially interested in the physics and engineering department, given all this research going on” he continued with a curious tone.
“There’ll be a bunch of us providing both general and course specific tours throughout the day. Though I’ve heard that its now compulsory to show visitors that department due to its recent successes, I guess it encourages more students to study a scientific subject here! Tours begin at 10AM, follow those signs in that direction” she explained with a smile, pointing towards a pathway.
“Do you know if there’s any chance of a peek behind the scenes?” he wondered. “For a professor like myself” he added, pulling out his identification. It read ‘Doctor John Smith, PhD Physics at University of Cambridge’. Rhian immediately straightened up, a little journalistic switch went off in her brain.
“That could probably be arranged, Sir” she said curtly and with a sweeter smile than before. “I’m not the right person for this tour because I study BA Politics and IR, but if you follow me I can get someone on admin to sort something out”. The man grinned as the pair walked towards the admin building.
“What are the requirements like to study here?” he asked as they climbed some stairs.
“For my course, it was three A grades, for the sciences I think its slightly lower – though I’ve heard rumours that the requirements are being raised in the next year. I think the university is trying to get the best of the best”
“I think students who can achieve what you achieved are pretty much the cream of the crop” he said with a shrug. Rhian’s lips curled into a smile at the professor’s compliment.
“I don’t know, there are a lot of people here who got three A*s. Thank you though” she replied as they entered the building. She quickly darted towards some boards that had lists of names on, putting a signature next to hers as the professor trailed after her. He looked down at the newspaper in his hands.
“You bought a newspaper earlier” he commented, to which Rhian gave him a confused smile. “Not many people, or students, actually buy a newspaper any more”.
“I’m part of the writing team for the university newspaper, which is the responsibility of the Journalism society” she explained, his face split into a wide grin.
“Ah, a journalist!” he exclaimed. “If I manage to get this behind the scenes tour, maybe I could ask after you to join me?” he queried. “Might be a good little column in your paper”. Rhian let out a small laugh, it’s as if he had read her mind earlier – she showed him to the desks where the administrative staff sat behind, talking to a few of the visitors.
“That would be great if you can! My name is Rhian Kendrick, someone will chase me down if you give them my name. Thank you so much, Sir!” she said excitedly, checking the time before rushing back out of the building.
‘John Smith’, The Doctor, gave her a little wave before turning towards the desk, his face turning slightly serious as he approached a woman who was free at the desk. There was something going on at the university, something to do with this new research they kept pumping out. He might need someone like Rhian to provide a bit of context about the university, but he needed that tour first.
“Hello!” he said merrily to the receptionist, explaining who he was and what he wanted at breakneck speed to the seated woman.
Rhian on the other hand, had exited the building and was back out onto the grounds. She was told she'd be on 'general' tours today, which she was pleased about - it'd be easy to break away from if that professor managed to get her on this tour. It might even make her own tours better. It was getting close to 10AM and visitors were starting to gather, she clapped her hands together, motivating herself for what was the start of a long day.
