Power Play
The wind whipped the freshly fallen snow across the quiet campus. Few students were still there; most had gone home for the winter break. Sigrid caught sight of two brave souls venturing into the world, clutching cocoa cups to their chests. The weather was not kind to their joints, ironic, they thought, given the place they grew up in. They weren’t sure if they could call it home anymore; they had traveled so much.
“Be careful!” they called, watching one of the children nearly fall on the ice-covered stairs of the library.
“Yes, professor!” she yelled back, trying to catch her balance. Sigrid shook their head, tennis shoes in a blizzard. Was this even considered a blizzard? The definition has changed over the years.
“Siggie, What the hell are you doing?” Wyatt drawled.
“Standing in the snow.”
“Because?”
They turned, raising an eyebrow. “Do you really need to ask?” He rolled his eyes, holding a hand out to them.
“Come on. You gotta get warm, immortality or not. You and I both know you’re a bitch when you get sick.”
He was right; they knew it. The last time they had been sick was in the late 1800’s. Or was it the early 1900s? They would remember later. It wasn’t that they themselves were a bitch when they were sick, as Wyatt apparently liked to point out, it's that they didn’t want others getting sick. After the Plague, they had become, admittedly overly concerned with how fragile people actually were when it came to their immune systems. They had been the first to argue for online classes during the 2020 pandemic and start wearing a mask when the CDC mentioned it. They didn’t like it any more than anyone else, but just because they couldn’t die from it didn’t mean they couldn’t spread it.
“You know I won’t get sick from being in the cold. That is not how germs work.”
“Isn’t it, though?” he wrapped his coat tighter around himself. How funny, he thought, they must look standing there. Him in a technicolored wool coat, two scarves a beanie and Stetson, and them, in a light jacket and loose scarf.
“You’re just jealous I have the ability to stay warm even in this. Go on inside. I will meet you there for the meeting shortly.”
He raised an eyebrow, not that they could see it under the curls his hats pushed into his face, but walked inside. They were sure they would get a lecture later, but they couldn’t be bothered. Since Wyatt had come back into their life, less had changed than they would have thought. Blaire had freaked out. Of course, she and Wyatt hadn’t been as close as Sigrid and him, but they had still known each other. Their classes rarely overlapped; they were in separate departments, after all, and history was history.
“This meeting could have been an email anyway.” They sighed before going back into their building. Really, the agriculture department had been wondering if they could do more joint classes with he anthropology department. Apparently, their research grants were running low, and calling what they did cultural may help them to get funding. They thought it was bullshit but apparently saying that in an email is rude.
“Now that everyone has joined us,” The dean started, “We can get down to business. I apologize for the weather but unfortunately, I can’t control when it’s going to snow.” His joke fell flat based on the look he received from each of the people he had called in.
“Michaels, you and I both know that Zoom exists now. Id there any reason in particular that you wanted us to have this meeting in person or were you just trying to flex your own inferiority complex?” it was rude in an email. In person, it was just stating facts.
“Sigrid.” Michaels sighed; this was not the first time they had run into each other when Sigrid was on one of their this could have been an email tirades. “It is better to meet in person when discussing matters of financial- “
“No then?” They raised an eyebrow, the scar down their face seeming to pull their cheek, “I thought not. You can continue I just wanted to make sure everyone else here was aware of your power trip.” They leaned back in their chair, propping a leg out in front of them. Their hip was starting to hurt worse.
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“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” Wyatt mumbled, pulling his scarf over his nose.
“Michaels has an issue with the new professors. He’s very old-fashioned and thinks what he says is law. He isn’t a god, he’s a man. He needs to be reminded of his place as a person, regardless of him having seniority over the majority of the others that were in that meeting.” Sigrid's voice was hard. He hadn’t heard them speak like that since they got in a fight with the American military, “it's dangerous to travel when the roads are iced over, he created a potentially hazardous situation without thinking about the ones most likely to get hurt.”
“Well yeah, but sometimes meetings gotta happen in person, they coulda said no.”
“Most of the people in there were new, within the last three years. And they’re young. It's harder to stand up for yourself and your safety when you don’t see anyone else doing it, especially when you’re young. Maybe now, next time, they will.”
“I mean, I guess, but c’mon Siggie.” A gust of wind blew a patch of snow off a tree as if to prove Sigrid's point. Wyatt shivered.
Sigrid rolled their eyes, pulling their scarf off and wrapping it around his shoulders. “you’re shivering from the actual wind.”
“I already have two scarves on.” He complained but gripped the scarf's edges, wrapping himself tighter with it.
“You get cold faster than I do. Just make sure I get that back.” They smiled before turning to go to their office.
“Thanks…” He had missed them.