Susan was thoroughly confused. When she said it out loud, the situation sounded simple enough, and entirely innocent, but judging from the expressions and stray half-sentences she managed to catch from other sutdents' conversations, together with her years spent with three roommates who qualified as 'girly'...
Apparently, mutant relationship stuff was just as complicated as human relationship stuff. And it required the same skills. Which she still lacked, more or less.
Susan needed advice. Or at least a clear, useful definition.
And she knew who she had to call to get one.
She waited for Noel to pick up her phone. There was a good chance she wouldn't, or that she would take her time checking her notes to remember who she way. Susan waited patiently. Once she heard the click on the other end of the line, she spoke.
"Um, Noel. Hi... this is Susan. Susan Hyde." pause "... ummm, do you remember me?"

The phone rang and it showed the picture of a girl. The picture didn't stir up any specific memory, but if Noel had a picture then it was someone interesting or nice enough to stop for one.

"Hello?" She checked the date in her phone that corresponded with her notes and went to fish for them while whoever was on the other line spoke. Noel tried to keep the face on the phone screen in her mind and associate the name and voice with the face.

"Susan, I may not remember you specifically, but I have days where I can't even remember myself. I'd try not to take it personally if I were you."

Maybe she hadn't explained herself to Susan last time? "See, I have this memory thing, it has to do with my ability. I'm not sure if I've explained it to you before, but I'm not too good over the phone. I like to look people in the eyes." And hear things from their own lips. It was too easy to be lied to over the phone.

Noel flipped through her pages until she found her notes. The last of which said something about Noel offering her help if the girl was in trouble. "You're not in trouble are you? Look, I'd rather meet in person if you can manage it."

Noel glanced at the clock. It was after work. After dinner. Coffee sounded appropriate. "I can come to you or we can meet for coffee." Noel shuffled her things until she could poke at her phone to put Susan on speaker so she could look up a coffee shop in her phone that was close enough, but far enough away to be a safe meeting place.

Whatever they decided, Noel would be there and she would brush up on her notes from last time before hand.

"Susan, I may not remember you specifically, but I have days where I can't even remember myself. I'd try not to take it personally if I were you. See, I have this memory thing, it has to do with my ability. I'm not sure if I've explained it to you before, but I'm not too good over the phone. I like to look people in the eyes."
Susan nodded. Into the phone.
"I know, you told me about your mutation. I won't take it personally." she assured her. She was prepared for this, after some thought about Noel's memory issues; there was a good chance she wouldn't remember her.
"You're not in trouble are you? Look, I'd rather meet in person if you can manage it. I can come to you or we can meet for coffee."
"No, I am not in trouble" the witch answered "I just... have some questions and I need someone to talk to." she tired not to sound like a teenager girl. Whining is disgusting. Besides, she didn't have anything to whine about. Just some pure scientific curiosity.
"I could meet you for coffee." she nodded again. She remembered the notes and the map Noel had "You pick a place you know, I'll meet you there. Umm... I mean, if it's not a problem."

(OOC: feel free to skip ahead to the cafe if you'd like )

Noel raked her lower set of teeth across her upper lip as she looked at her papers strewn around her desk. Yeah. Meeting a random girl looked a HECK of a lot better than sorting through the files that had been dumped on her. "Meet me there in twenty. I've got an address." And besides, Noel's notes indicated that the girl could be useful to RUPERT. That meant this was official business. She readied her company credit card.

Rocket Coffee was a tiny store wedged between two behemoth institutions, one a bank... maybe, but it didn't matter. The smells from the tiny store were big enough to compete with its neighbors. Noel's phone had a picture of this place. Her map had a X. There was even an idle doodle of their logo on her desk calendar. It had to be good.

One double shot white mocha raspberry with whipped topping steamed its delicious little heart out between Noel's hands. There was the faintest nip of winter left in the wind and well, that was about as good an excuse as she could think of to explain her obnoxiously girly drink. She liked it. It made her taste buds happy. She glared at any who dared question the tall mug she sipped.

The whipped topping mustache that came with it was just added bonus.

Susan balanced a mug of hot chocolate on a plate as she made her way over to Noel's table. It took her some time to find the café, but not too much - she could see the scent of coffee coiling around it from two blocks down.
"Hi." she said, sitting down on the chair opposite from Noel "So, um. Last time you explained to me how your mutation works... you have notes about me, don't you?"
It was a weird way to start a conversation, but in theit case, it made sense. Susan just wanted to make sure Noel had all the information she needed to give valuable advice.
"Anyway. It's... good to see you again. I, um, need some advice."

"Synesthesia and poor social skills, right?" She didn't have her notes out, they often unnerved people. And Noel had a pretty sharp mind for winging it anyway

A dainty sip of girly coffee traveled into a happy belly.

"How can I help you, Susan?" Noel could pretend to know people that she really didn't know. She did it all the time. A faking of recognition in the eyes. A smile. Use of their name and something you talked about last time. It was what normal people did, but usually not from paper and practice in front of a mirror.

"Synesthesia and poor social skills, right?"
The witch smirked. Look who's talking.
"Yes, that about sums me up." the nod had some sarcarsm in the mix, but she couldn't deny either part of what Noel had said. The latter being the reason why she sought her help in the first place.
"How can I help you, Susan?"
Susan sipped her hot chocolate before looking at Noel again.
"Well, since, quote, my people skills suck, unquote" she started with the corner of her lips turning up "I think I need a definition of when a social meeting qualifies as a date, and on what basis. That... would be a good start."
It was purely a case of scientific curiosity. Clearly.

"A date?" That was not what Noel had been expecting. This girl was... innocent for her age if she was just now dancing around the date topic.

"You're going to dissect anything I say aren't you?" It was in her eyes and the cadence of her careful tone. She was a picker, but she was also serious. Another sigh. Noel had offered her assistance. It was too late to retract it just because the question was naieve.

"A date is when two people agree ahead of time to spend a minimum of one hour together to see if their hormones start oozing out. If neither participant of the maybe-date feels amiable toward the other in a romantic way, it is likely a meeting of friends."

Her face had gone sour when she said the word romantic. She sipped her coffee for strength, not for thirst.

"Is there going to be a meal? A form of entertainment before or after? Do you feel teh urge to dress up?"

"A date is when two people agree ahead of time to spend a minimum of one hour together to see if their hormones start oozing out. If neither participant of the maybe-date feels amiable toward the other in a romantic way, it is likely a meeting of friends."
Susan sighed and relaxed. Noel gave a very good, clear explanation, one she could work with. Now she was assured she was not going on a date, since there had been no talk of hormones whatsoever. What a relief.
She also observed that Noel was not thrilled about the concept of 'romantic' relationships. She could taste it. Or maybe it was just coffee.
"Is there going to be a meal? A form of entertainment before or after? Do you feel teh urge to dress up?"
"Meal, yes. Entertainment, I am not sure. Depends on waht qualaifies as entertainment. And no" she shuddered "I do not feel the urge to dress up."
She never did.
"We agreed to practice our social skills together."

Agreed to practice together? Hm. Noel thought on that for a while.

He was either very crafty or so inept that he inadvertently asked this girl on a date. It was most likely that he was some mix of the two. More information was needed before Noel could properly caution Susan.

"What's he like? You're opponen-- uhh da-- crap." She shut her lips firmly then tried again. "You practice partner, is he older? Younger? Mutant? Is he nice?" Noel kept the coffee at bay. Strong tastes sometimes interfered with her ability to correctly discern partial lies.

"You practice partner, is he older? Younger? Mutant? Is he nice?"
Susan's eyes narrowed. Something was telling her Noel did not believe in the none-dateness of her future meeting.
"He is... about the same age as me." she answered "Yes, he is a mutant. Healer an telepath." she paused before the last question "Well. I am not sure what qualifies as 'nice'. But he understands the way I talk, which is more than most people are capable of." she smirked "No offense. Last time you were doing quite well too."
Susan sipped her hot chocolate, musing about the meeting.
"He has little to no people skills though, just like me - and you were the one who said it, too - so we decided to practice together. It's less awkward than practicing with, ummm, ordinary people."

Had she met this other telepath? The memory-mancer wondered if Susan's statement was a nuance of language or if Noel really knew the kid. She did meet a lot of young mutants in her work. They were often the most troublesome.

Other than girl-name she couldn't recall any kids around the right age. And girl-name was a cat summoner... maybe.

"Well, sounds like you two are perfect practice partners then." Sip. "And it sounds like you enjoy making friends with telepaths." It must have been her frankness. Others feared their dirty little secrets coming to light.

Then it dawned on her. Susan called her... for girl talk. Head tilt. "Did you... need anything else?" She was afraid to ask. Please no aunty flo talk, please no aunty flo talk.

Susan shuddered. "Not all the time" she answered "Some telepaths can be really annoying."
Like, murder-you-in-your-nightmare annyoing.
"... but it is one of the most fascinating mutant skills, yes."
"Did you... need anything else?"
The witch thought about it for a moment before she shook her head.
"No, thank you. The definition was very clear."
People skills. Empathy. Social interaction.
"Um... do you want me to leave now?"

Well Noel wasn't running her out of town.... it just seemed like the kid had concluded her business. If the kid had concluded her business, didn't that mean SHE was done with Noel?

"If you like, I don't have to be anywhere for another half an hour at least." Appointments were an hour long, usually. No one would expect her back early. That meant there was no reason to hurry.

And here came the awkward sitting and shifting part. Sip of the coffee. "So... what's new with you?" To Noel, it would all be new. Well, besides the date thing.

"For you? Probably anything I say." Susan smirked at Noel; she was not really mocking her, it was more like a Susan-kind of an attempt at friendly teasing.
"But, since we last met..." she sipped her drink, trying to remember "... well, I'm attending Xavier's Sister School, although there's not much studying going on there, from what I see... Also, I spent some really unpleasant hours in a haunted house, held hostage by a pair of psycopaths with telepathic skills who almost burnt me as a witch." she shuddered at the memory and wondered what the heck happened that made her agree to a meeting with a man who had the same skills...
"... what else? Oh. I'm learning to skate. It's, um. Fun."
She looked at Noel, satisfied with her conversational skills.
Almost satisfied.
"... and what about you?"