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A plan was being formed to talk to Candice about her tryout for the cheerleading squad.  Sammy, Sarah and possibly Sylvia were going to be there, Sylvia perhaps at a distance.

"So how are we going to do this?" Sammy asked the other two girls.  "Should we put an agreement to an interview form inside of a plastic folder so that she has to grab the folder and leave her prints behind in order to sign the form?  Or do we want to do something completely different?"

"That sounds pretty good to me," Sylvia says.  "So we're scrapping the goad-her-into-fit plan?"

"We could do it that way, but we'd have to wait a few days until the paper is published.  Do you want to do that?  f you have other ideas, now's the time to spill."

Sylvia shakes her head.  "Fingerprints are good.  Fingerprints are safe.  If they're not foolproof, does anyone know any keen tricks with phenolphthalein?  Maybe her pH would give us a clue."

"Tricks?  Not unless we get some filter paper for her to touch too.  Then we could maybe spray the paper with a pH testing solution to see if an acidic print shows.  I think that might be awfully hard to do though.  It might be easier to sneak by her locker and swab the combination lock and handle for acid residue."

Sarah says, "Fingerprints are good."  Are we even going to the same school?  "Hey why don't we just give her a drink to hold.  I hear that does a pretty good job.  Just walk up to her with your arms full and a petition or," Sarah grins a little, "an invitation to retry for the cheerleading squad.  Hand her your drink to hold while you fumble with the books... take it back and presto. 

"It shouldn't be hard to swab her lock or whatever CSI magic you guys want to try."

Sammy looks embarrassed.  "How'd you know about the CSI thing?  It was so stupid, but my dad convinced me it would be a cool science fair idea."  She shrugs.  "It did okay.  But you're probably right, Sarah, simple is usually best."

"Remember I watch the show.  I don't understand the science... or lack of it.. they could say they use pixie dust to collect the DNA and I'd probably just nod.  Never hurts to try a couple things.  Maybe we wont be able to match up a useful print against the acid burns.  The acid could screw up the print." 

She smiles at Sammy, "You're doing CSI stuff for science fair?  Cool."

"Yeah.  If nothing else, it gives me an excuse to poke around in different places -- I can be testing out my project.  Its not as cool as a robot though."  Sammy stops and thinks for a moment.  "Where and when do we want to meet this girl?  If she's innocent, there's no danger, but if she's Pinky... we'll have to be really careful in case she pops a cork or something.  We don't want innocent people getting hurt.  I can get some doctored up filter paper from Mr. Heep, if I ask him nicely for it.  Then all we'd have to do is fool Pinky into touching it, to see if her hands have any acid residue on them at all.  I don't know how long it would take to get that ready though.  It might be fast, or it might take an overnight to dry."

"You can't blow-dry that kind of thing?"  Sylvia's no science whiz.

Sammy opens her eyes very wide and flutters her hands around her head in a very exaggerated manner.  "I don't know!  I'm guessing at all of it -- I have no idea if it can really work or not, it just seems like it might.  When I don't know, I go with intuition and instinct, and bluff my way through if I have to.  Horrible way to get through life, I know, but it sort of works for me.  Most of the time anyhow."

Sarah grins, "Whats that expression?  Fake it til you make it?  I'm on board with that.  So lets get her prints and hope we have something to match it with."  She shrugs and adds, "Honestly am I over thinking this?  Let's just spot her locker and get prints off it after school.  Sammy can you butter up one of the science geeks to help us out or at least give us directions.  Maybe your dad would know?  All I know is I've seen them put these clear plastic sheets over the prints.  I don't know what those sheets are like."

 :spittake:  "'Butter up'?  ME?  Hello, band geek girl, definitely not a Megan, not a Sylvia, not even my sister -- wha'?  I can ask around, sure, but... butter up?  I don't have the buttering up class until next year, maybe the year after if I need the elective space for something else."  Sammy looks at Sarah with some amusement.  "But yeah, ok, I'll ask Mr. Heep for help.  He counts as a science geek, I think."

Sylvia blanches when Sammy puts her in the list.  Those darned magic pom-poms.

Sarah rolls her eyes at Sammy, "Oh please do not even try and throw that at me.  Or is it some other band geek named Sammy that's currently being seen with the most eligible senior in the school?  You could crook your finger at that lot and they would get into a throwdown over you." 

"But you're probably right that Mr. Heep is the person to go to.  Even though he may be immune to your charms."

Sylvia cringes.  "God, let's hope so."  The oogie-factor is undeniable.

Sammy looks at Sarah, a trace of uncertainty racing across her face.  "Most eligible? Really?  I thought the jocks took the most eligible spots.  Best connected maybe, but most eligible?  Nah."  She takes a second to file that whole thought process away for private examination later.  "I'll try to get to Mr. Heep this afternoon.  If he can get the things we need quickly, I'll try to get the prints by the end of the day; otherwise, I'll aim for tomorrow."  She pauses again.  "Do you suppose prints can be lifted with scotch tape?  'Cause that would be the easiest solution of all."

"Isn't that how they do it?  Graphite powder and Scotch tape?"  She pauses, suffers a moment of girly finickiness.  "But not the cloudy low-tack kind, the clear high-tack kind."

Sarah blinks blankly, "Uh... sure.  Hey how about I be lookout while you do the printing?"  I swear to god I don't know what people are saying half the time any more.  I get powers and I get stupid.  There's a great combination. 

Sammy grimaces.  "Trust me to think of the hard way first.  Do you have any of the good kind of tape in the newspaper office?  Or do you know where we can get some quickly?  One of us can lift prints off her locker while the other two stand lookout.  Simple.  Easy peasy.  A lot easier than filter paper tinged with pH test solution.  Gah.  I hate myself sometimes.  I always make things much more difficult than they have to be."

"I'll go get it," Sylvia offers.  She trots away to the news room to find supplies.  She'll be back later.

"Come on," Sammy says to Sarah.  "The band director keeps a can of graphite powder in one of the equipment lockers in the equipment room.  I can get in there."

Sarah nods and tags along. 

Between one thing and another, the girls didn't reconnect that day, and then there was the Incident which was going to make talking to Sylvia just a little bit uncomfortable, for Sammy at least.  For that reason, Sammy approached Mr. Heep when he was alone.

"I need fingerprint tape.  And dust, if graphite powder won't work, or at least the kind of graphite powder that comes in a spray lube can.  And pH sensitive paper, that can react to the little bit of moisture in a person's skin.  Can you get that for me, or tell me where I can get some for my, uh, 'Science Fair' CSI project?"

"Um, Science fair.  Sure."  Mr. Heep nods.  "I could get you that stuff tomorrow if that's not too late."

"It's perfect.  Thank you.  I'll see you then!"  Off she goes.

Before classes start on Thursday morning, Sammy stops at Mr. Heep's classroom to see if he has the goods for her. 

"I had to make some assumptions, so here's what we have."  He lays out a stack of white printer paper, "The paper will react as requested, but you'll need UV light to see it."  he sets a small UV flashlight down on the table.  "These are lift kits."  he sets a half dozen items down that are a white backing card with a clear adhesive fold over sheet.  "You press the tape against the surface that's been dusted to capture the print, then fold it over the card."  Next he sets out a small bottle with a pink powder in it and a brush, "This isn't standard fingerprint powder, it's my own recipe.  It picks up prints a little better and can easily be mistaken for eye shadow or blush."  He sits down and looks at Sammy, "The paper can be printed on without harming the Ph testing qualities, use a very gentle wrist motion with the powder to keep from getting too much of it on the surface.  So, you're all set for your science project."

"Cool."  She looks up at him, and asks "What do I owe you for this?  And, do you want to see my, uh, lab results before I come to any final conclusions about my work?"

Mr. Heep takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes for a minute.  "Whatever you're comfortable with Ms. Jameson, I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me anything."  He puts his glasses back on and looks back up at her with a smile, "I trust that you wont do anything highly inappropriate."

"Just testing out some theories, that's all.  I'll keep the ventilator on, safety first!  See ya later!"

The materials are thrust into her backpack and she tears off to her first class.  She probably won't see any of the others until lunch, unless there's a chance meeting in the hall.

Just after the first class of the day (Thursday), Sammy shoots a message to Sarah and Sylvia.

Got the materials; now we just need to visit Candice.  You guys still up for it?

Sylvia's message is monosyllabic, like all her other communications since Tuesday evening.  She's been such a drag.

sure

wicked - you say when and im there

Sarah smiles at her phone. 

Sylvia's in the newsroom when the time comes.  She's been sitting in her chair, messing with the layout software, and things are looking pretty good.  Bereft of the smoochy kind of stress-relief, she drowns her woes in work.

Sammy comes in and drops her backpack on a table.  "Hey, how's it going?"  She doesn't wait for an answer.  Unzipping the pack, she pulls out a stack of printer paper.  "This is special paper; it will pick up acid from a person's touch, if there's acid to be picked up.  We need a questionairre, something,  maybe even a sheet that says Property of Newspaper that can be taped on the back of a clipboard.  Think of something.  I also have some dusting powder and real fingerprint tape, so we can lift prints off of whatshername's locker so long as nobody's watching.  I don't want to be caught fooling around by her locker.  You weren't inside the coffee house the other night, but El said his sister Lisa lost her pink "bitch" hoodie; that might mean everything or it might mean nothing.  Hell, maybe Lisa Janush has a split personality, I don't know.  Any questions?  Ready to get started?"  It's all business.

Sylvia sorts through the files on the newsroom server and finds a survey she put together about extracurricular activities.  "That'll work."  She lifts a few sheets of the paper off the stack and pops them into the printer.  Et voilà, through the miracle of desktop publishing, an investigative tool.  "I'm not going up to her with you.  I'll hang back, keep an eye on things.  You just want fingerprints, right?  You're not going for the tearful confession?"

"Not right away.  I don't want to bully somebody unnecessarily, especially if she turns out to be somebody who can ooze acid!  I could get an ow-ie!  We can get prints off her locker if there are lookouts to protect the person doing the dusting, but the acid test is, well, the acid test."  Sammy sits down and pulls out a dog-eared copy of To Kill A Mockingbird.  "I'm supposed to be reading this for English and I'm a little bit behind.  I'm just going to read until Sarah gets here," she says somewhat awkwardly, "unless you want to talk or something."

Sylvia just lets out a puff of breath and gets to her feet.  There's an old gray filing cabinet in the corner, and she pulls open the top drawer, rooting around.  "I have Cheetos.  You want Cheetos?"

"I like cheetos.  Do you like brownies?  No nuts."  Sammy pulls out a half empty tin and opens it on the table in front of her.  It holds homemade brownies.  They're very rich and chocolate-y looking.  They smell good too.

"Sure."  Sylvia unclips the bag and sets it on one of the work tables between them.  She takes a brownie and, with a paper towel for a plate, pinches off a crumb--less hungry than restless.  "Hey, are you going to the Halloween party with Elrod?"

"Yes.  Sort of.   I'm not telling anybody how I'm disguising myself, so he's going to look for me until midnight.  If he hasn't found me by then, I'll go to him.  It'll work out well with the special effects plan."  Sammy chomps on some Cheetos.  "How about you?  You're going, right?"

Sylvia nods in a way that doesn't imply commitment so much as compliance.  "Ginny wants me to go.  Mitzi made me a costume."  She puts the crumb of brownie into her mouth and, after a pause, looks at it with renewed interest.  "That's romantic, the hide-and-seek game.  What are you wearing?"

"What is this a picnic?  I thought we were supposed to be crime fighting," says Sarah as she walks through the door. 

She smiles brightly to Sammy and Sylvia and adds, "Yeah, I know I'm late."
 
With a glance at the supplies she grins.  "Cool.  How does it work?"  She nods at the answer.  "Have you two already worked out a plan?  Are we hunting down Candice?  Do you suppose she likes to be called Candi?" 

OOC: Curse you double post! 

"That would be telling, and I'm not telling anybody!,"  Sammy says.  "Even though you'll probably spot me anyhow.  I can pretend nobody recognizes me, pretend that I'm someone else for just a little while at least.  Halloween is the one night in the year where you're allowed to do that once you're past the age of 8 or so."

Sammy laughs.  "Crime fighters need energy.  Calories are energy.  Brownies and cheetos have lots of calories, so we'll be unstoppable after we finish these!  Want some?  We don't have any Candy.  Not yet.  Just ideas about how to see if we've found pink candy or just generic candy.  We're going to conduct a survey!"

She proceeds to explain the purpose of each of the different materials Mr. Heep provided.
( http://groovygamers.com/forum/index.php?topic=3178.msg94752#msg94752 (http://groovygamers.com/forum/index.php?topic=3178.msg94752#msg94752) )

"If things go crazy wrong," Sylvia says, "flash me a signal--"  Surely they've worked out something like this under Jack's advice.  "--and I'll do my best to distract her."  That said, she breaks off a chunk of brownie and pops it into her mouth.  "Let's go."

Sammy, Sarah, and Sylvia head out into the school, and go to the section of hallway that contains Candice's locker.  Sammy asks the other girls to stand lookout while she dusts the locker for prints.  After getting prints, they can go look for Candice herself.

Looking for prints (1d20=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=897625)

She has a small magnetic locker mirror stuck up on an adjoining locker so that she can pretend to have stopped to touch up her makeup if that ruse becomes necessary.

Sammy gets the prints with no trouble.  It's not hard to find Candice, school operates on a schedule and you certainly could have gotten a copy of hers from Dave.

She's on her way to her next class when you you intercept her, but stops to listen to you if you talk to her.

When the girls spot her, Sammy looks at Sarah.  "You do the talking, I'll stand there and smile and look like a puppy freshman.  All you need to do is make sure she holds the clipboard and that her hands touch the paper.  We'll flash a signal to Sylvia if there's trouble.  OK?"

On the way out the door Sarah looks at the survey.  She prints prints a few more copies on regular paper and rumples them all up before penning in a few with different names and answers.  She stuffs those into a folder. 

-------
When they find Candice-

Sarah nods to Sammy, "Gotcha,"

She approaches Candice with the clipboard in hand and a hopeful smile on her face.  "Hi there, we're from the school paper and we were wondering if you'd like to take a survey on extra-curricular activities.  It's anonymous unless you'd like to provide your name for a possible follow up piece later on.  We just want to get a idea of what activities students are involved in, what they like and what they would change."   

"Sure."  Candice says brightly, taking the clipboard and filling the survey out, includeing her name.  Candice is the type that if asked her opinion obviously give it, becuase there is a spot on the survey for "Additional Ideas or Thoughts." and she fills the block up with references to emails and letters she's sent the board of education.  When she's finished she hands the clipboard back to Sarah, "There 'ya go.  I also wanted to say that you guys are doing a great job with the paper this year, much better then that last group.  Keep it up."

"Wow, thanks!  To be fair this year has had a lot more to write about than 'whats new on the lunch menu'."  She glances at the paper, "You really have time for all this stuff?  That's amazing."

"It's important to have a firm social position and ideas to improve things you find inequidable.  Colleges really look for that kind of thing."

OOC: Did she mention cheerleading tryouts in this mighty list or just the clubs /activities she is a member in/part of?

Sammy tries to look at the list over Sarah's shoulder and fails.  "So, like, what's the number one thing you would fix about this school?"   She looks at Sarah and says excitedly, "Maybe we should interview her next, after we do the article about kids who have overcome adversity!"

Sarah nods, "Thats a great idea!"  She looks at Candice, "Would you be willing to give an interview sometime in the next week or two?  We could email you to confirm and set up a time if you are interested.  We'll probably run an opposite article on the classic underachievers as well.  Or maybe a broad spectrum of student lifestyles from the overachiever to the slacker.  Though getting a slacker to show up for an interview or answer seriously may be more trouble than it's worth.  Sorry I'm getting carried away.  Thank you again for your time."

"As this is my senior year I'd be happy to do an interview.  My email address is in the school student directory, let me know where and when and I'll try to schedule it in."

"Great!  Thanks again!"  Sarah smiles and heads with Sammy down the hallway away from Sylvia in supposed pursuit of another interviewee.

After they join back up with Sylvia, Sammy wants to go back to the news office so they can shine the special flashlight on the paper.

The paper shows no sign of acid contact when you examine it.

Sammy sighs and shrugs at the results of the acid test.  "Well, there was no guarantee of that anyhow, if it is her and if she has full control of her powers.  Colin has the image of the fingerprint taken from the metal.  Sarah, as if you need an excuse to see him or for him to see you -- can you see to it that he gets copies of the prints we lifted from the locker?  I'm going to be busy tonight."  She hands each of the other girls a piece of unused test paper.  "Think maybe we should each keep a piece of this with us, just in case?"

Sarah says, "Happy to bring these to Colin.  Though we should probably bring a copy of both to Mr. Heep.  I don't know anything about fingerprint identification and I don't think Colin does either."

OOC: for what it's worth, Colin already gave you a copy of those prints.

{ooc:  I should have been a lot more clear about what I wanted.  I want Colin to have the newly acquired prints so that he can make larger copies of them for comparison with the ones we already had.  I also figured Colin would have the best eye for comparing the prints.  Sorry about that.}

Sammy says "Well, we can take them to Mr Heep to compare and pass on to the police if they match, or we can let Colin give them to his mom's policeman boyfriend.  I don't care which way it goes.  I just know that I'm not good enough to be able to say on my own if they match or not."

"Why don't we try Mr. Heep first.  When we've got some proof we can get Colin's dad involved," says Sarah.  "I'll bring them to him if you like?"

Sammy nods.  "OK.  I'll get the prints to him as soon as I can,  as quietly as I can."

--------

Later that day, she stops once more by Mr. Heep's classroom.  She had purchased a lab notebook from the school store, and had put the prints inside of it for comparison.  She hands him the notebook.  "Thanks for the extra help, Mr. Heep.  Here's the first set of test results from the first experiment I ran; when you get some time, could you look at it to make sure I did things right?  I'm not feeling real confident."
She thanks him again and leaves.