Lessons One and Two

*Video feed begins.
Celia is sat in her usual seat at her desk. She wears an elegant dress made of black mesh that shimmers in the orange light of the table-lamp. She runs her hands through her hair, ruffling her sleek tresses and drawing her fingers down across her face with a deep sigh.
Looking to a point behind the camera, she takes out a tissue from a drawer and begins to remove her eye make-up.*

I've learned two valuable lessons tonight. One; The Skyhook is not the best place to go for a quiet dinner. Two; Embracing emotion might not be the best idea.

*throws the tissue down and pours herself a drink from a decanter. She takes a large sip before continuing*

I met Milo for dinner this evening. On the whole, it was an enjoyable experience; we chatted for a while, keeping the subjects light and had soup. I can't remember what it tasted like, everything tastes the same to me these days, but Milo appeared to enjoy it.

*finds a fresh tissue and takes it around her mouth, removing her lipstick*

He sometimes gets nervous around me; Given what I've told him of myself, maybe that's to be expected. But I'm hardly intimidating... am I?

*Leans forward to look closely at the mirror behind the camera, tilting her head left to right; with her hair ruffled and face devoid of dark make-up she has a more natural, gentle look*

Hmm. And he is always so humble; the man has great skills, but continually plays them down. He also seems evasive sometimes and it's difficult to judge what he's thinking. Not that this bothers me too much, I'm not one to pry and certainly not one to go chasing people. I tell him things about myself 'cause it makes me feel better. If he wants to do the same, I try to listen and take interest.

*shrugs, leaning back in her seat and taking another drink. She smiles contently*

So we whiled a couple of hours away like that, chatting and enjoying each other's company. I was just starting to feel the warm buzz of happiness and too much brandy when...

*throws her hands into the air in exasperation, frowning*

...Vincent, Kimochi and Kelsy cause a scene, making my date very nervous and ruining the whole evening! How fucking inconsiderate!

*snatches a cigarette from her drawer and lights it, clearly annoyed*

So, from what I saw, Vince and Kimmi were chatting at the bar for a while, then Kelsy shows up. Vince kisses Kelsy, right in front of Kimmi, who promptly stalks out looking livid and real upset.

*Celia pauses, watching her cigarette smoke. A corner of her mouth raises ever so slightly*

She had that coming, fucking around with Vince's head like she did. You live by it, you die by it.
I don't know what to make of Kelsy, to be honest. As long as Vince is happy with her and she doesn't fuck with his head I can't see there being any further problem.

*Frowns, shifting in her seat restlessly. She stands and disappears out of the camera's view for a few moments before re-appearing in a black night-shirt.*

Still, after that whole debacle, Milo and I were in no mood to continue our evening, so we finished up the brandy and left. I stayed back a while longer before coming home, thinking about the dangers of letting emotion control you like that. I mean, how would I have handled being any one of those three?

*pauses in thought for a minute, then sneers to herself and finishes her glass of brandy*

Hah! I wouldn't be so fucking stupid to get myself in such a mess in the first place!

*Exhales and extinguishes her cigarette in an ashtray. She opens her drawer again, taking out a small blueish capsule and a vial of Vitoc antidote and places them on her desk. Celia swallows the pill, loads the antidote into a booster-shooter and punches a series of buttons on her coms console. She snaps sharply at a tinny voice acknowledging her call;*

Chamber-slave to my quarters, immediately.

*She gives herself an assured smile in the mirror before deactivating the camera.
Video feed ends*