Room 401, Saturday Evening

[nottrivial]

It was officially way too loud everywhere. In town, in the common rooms, just everywhere. In the world. Ever.

All Alec wanted to do was quietly read his book on demon poison, but no. He had to be subjected to an endless loop of child shrieking. And, considering he'd only ever gotten along with one or two children even when he was a child, it was probably for the best that he keep his distance. 

So for the sake of not going crazy, he was fiddling with that weird mundie music device they'd given out in Seven Deadly Sins class one week and trying to figure out how to make it work. It didn't look like it had any music on it, which couldn't possibly be right, because what was the point, then? And anyway the headphones fit strangely in his ears and the whole thing was just a disaster. Maybe he should go to the library or something. Or New York. Or overseas. Just to be safe. 

[[open!]]

Comments

[nottrivial]

"Well, I do," Alec replied. Though that was not at all relevant to this discussion. "But that's just how it works here. We share. Apparently."

Sigh.

[ultron_junior]

"Here is weird," Victor decided, with no real heat. He bounced onto his bed, took another look at Alec. "Are you listening to music? Can I hear it too?"

[nottrivial]

"I'm actually not," Alec sighed, yanking out the headphones and giving them a good glare. "I can't figure out how to work it."

Well that was an embarrassing thing to admit to a seven-year-old. Especially one who was a robot. Ahem.

[ultron_junior]

"Is the battery dead?" Victor asked, seriously. "'Cause that's usually the problem. You need to charge the battery for, like, foreeeeeevvvvvver."

This particular seven-year-old did not know he was a robot, but he liked playing tech support long before he had powers.

[nottrivial]

"...I don't know," Alec said slowly, then reached around to grab something from a nearby outlet. "Does it work with this charger?"

No, Alec. A brand new iPod did not work with that dinosaur of a phone charger. Really now.

[ultron_junior]

"Nuh-uh, you need a white ... thingie, with a long part to stick in the iPod," Victor said knowledgeably, thinking that for a big person, Alec wasn't very smart.

He poked into a milk carton of random electronic parts his older self kept at the foot of his bed, came up with an Apple charger that was rather the worse for wear. "Like this! Try it."

[nottrivial]

Alec plugged it in, and... wow. That actually did seem to do the trick. It was lighting up and showing him an apple on the screen, anyway.

"Thanks," he said, mildly surprised that that had worked. "I haven't used one of these before. I thought it'd be easier than this."

[ultron_junior]

"De nada. And how come?" Victor asked bluntly. "Are you poor?"

His mother would have told him that was a rude question, but she wasn't there.

[nottrivial]

"No," Alec said, making... kind of a face at that. Not much of one. But it was definitely a face. "I just don't have a lot to do with technology. Anyway, are you even supposed to have these now? You're a little kid."

Oh, Alec. That was the wrong way to refer to a seven-year-old. Really now.

[ultron_junior]

"Seven isn't little," Victor said, returning the face. "And ... the cord was here, so I'm allowed. Obviously."

His mother, again, might have disagreed.

[nottrivial]

"Right." Okay then. Alec wasn't sure about that, but Victor wasn't choking or getting electrocuted, so he figured it was fine.

"Well," Alec said, "do you know what to do now? I guess it's... on."

He held out the iPod. Sure enough, it was on, but there was no music on it, seeing as how he hadn't set it up yet. Plus it seemed to want him to calibrate some settings, which was just... way out of his league.

[ultron_junior]

Victor took the iPod, mashed the buttons for a moment before glancing back over. "Did you put any music on it?" he asked. "It can't find any files."

Alec, wee Victor thinks you are a dumbass.

[nottrivial]

"...It doesn't come with that?" LOOK, IT WASN'T HIS FAULT, OKAY. SHADOWHUNTERS DIDN'T USE THESE. "Well, shouldn't it? I don't know what people listen to."

[ultron_junior]

"So ... how come you got an iPod?"

IT WAS A LOGICAL QUESTION.

[nottrivial]

IT WAS.

"A teacher was giving them out," Alec said, shrugging. "I didn't know it didn't do anything."

And now he was fixing that iPod with an unhappy glare. COME ON, IPOD. BE SMARTER.

[ultron_junior]

"Lame," Victor decided, and frowned hard at the iPod. "I think we need a computer to get the music to make it work."

He did not have a computer. Or, rather, the one his older self used was tucked snug in a carrying case, and was password protected anyhow.

[nottrivial]

"I have one?" Alec offered, gesturing to his desk. "Over there."

It was not password-protected. It also lacked iTunes. Whoops.