Me and My Nerds (PokemonGo)

interviews

Willow had a dream about the day he interviewed candidates for his assistants.

Originally, he wanted as many as possible, his grant said that he could have as many as fifteen. He had fifty people scheduled to interview over a week's time. Over the course of that week, every single one cancelled, nobody wanted to sign on under an unknown professor. Being a world traveler didn't exactly get your name into the science field. He was surprised to find three young eager college students still interested when he called them. He wouldn't have hired any of them based on their applications or resumes. One of them didn't even have a resume and he signed his application with an autograph mixed with a smiley face.

But at that point he was desperate.

Willow ended up scheduling them for the same day all around lunch. He figured since he was already being innovative with his research, Why not be innovative with the interviews?

That was a bad idea. Blanche showed up first, twenty minutes early. She and the professor just sat in relative silence for fifteen of those minutes while he started flipping patties for the Bar-B-Q. When he finally got her talking, all she could talk about were facts and figures about Pokémon. She'd read about them all her life, but had never actually interacted with them.

She was applying for the internship but had no experience. It was peculiar, she knew almost every range of statistic for any Pokémon Willow could name, except one. Mewtwo, but no one really knew much about Mewtwo to begin with. When he asked her about their behaviors, everything she said sounded like she was quoting it from a book. She was a competent study he gave her that much.

The interview was going to take place in front of the facilities with a wooden picnic table on the short slope up to the building. He heard and saw the next applicant at the same time. A young man in sunglasses wearing a leather jacket and slacks with a loud yellow shirt drove up riding a quiet motorized scooter.

This guy, appeared to be a little more outdoorsy than the first, this could be good, but what was with the scooter? Willow wondered.

The Young man rode up to the small slanted slope that led up to the building and didn't stop, he just didn't move...? He seemed unaware that his scooter was dying and struggled to make it up the hill.

Then the scooter died.

Maybe he'll walk the rest of the way?

The young man pushed his shades up onto his forehead and looked at the scooter. With one swipe of his foot, the kick stand was down and he bent over it looking at what should have been the battery read out. He pulled something out of his pocket.

Is that a taser?

The young man pressed it up against the engine and a lightning jolt brought the scooter roaring back to life.

Willow and Blanche's jaws dropped as he blazed the remaining fifteen feet over to the picnic table.

Willow composed himself. "Hello my name is Professor Willow I'm pleased that you were able to make it." He put on his warmest smile and held his hand out to the newcomer.

The young man struck a pose straight out of a corny Anime by angling his knees just so, with his face in the crook of his elbow and the other hand pointing straight out behind him.

Is that 'Dabbing'? Willow had heard of it and had seen a few meme's enough to recognize it, but he'd never met anyone fool enough to do it, especially as an introduction at an interview.

"My name is..." he lifted his shades above the brim of his arm. "Spark, but you can call me... " He spun and took off his shades in a suave display that didn't impress anyone. "...Spark."