Student Selling Books

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Encounter Conditions

Non-Etheric only
Encounter stops appearing if you've bought all four books

Initial Text

First paragraph:

You notice a cheerful looking student trolling through the crowds, chatting to everyone as they pass. Eventually, she sets her sights on you. Hmmm, at least she's probably less of a bother than those guys in strangely-colored robes handing out pamphlets.

Second paragraph:
(First time buyer)

She approaches you, smiling. "Hey. I'm trying to unload some books from last semester. I've got EE301, Physics 520, History 110, and English 315. Only forty apiece!"

(If you've already bought a book)

She approaches you, smiling. "Back for more? I've still got <unbought books>. Still only forty credits apiece."

(If the remaining books are EE301 and Physics 520)

She approaches you, smiling. "No QM or EE? I suppose I can't blame you, neither's great for non-majors. Still, if you change your mind, they're a steal at forty credits. The bookstore is robbery."

(If the remaining books are History 110 and English 315)

She approaches you, looking a bit concerned. "You know it's good not to save your gen eds until the end right? I got stuck with History 110 and this stupid poetry course way at the end. Take 'em now, save yourself the trouble."

She pauses. "Oh yeah, forty credits apiece."

(If any other two books are remaining, they are listed in the order they appear in the choice list)

She approaches you, smiling. "Hey, I've still got <book 1> and <book 2>. Round out your set for forty credits apiece."

(If she has one book left)

She approaches you, smiling. "Hey, if it isn't my favorite customer! I've just got <last book> left if you want it."

Summary of Choices

1. EE310 - lose 40 credits, gain Electrical Engineering III, remove option
2. Physics 520 - lose 40 credits, gain Quantum Mechanics, remove option
3. History 110 - lose 40 credits, History of the Orbital Wars, remove option
4. English 315 - lose 40 credits, gain Survey of Modern Poetry, remove option
5. Talk about Halloween - During Halloween only
6. Rush her (evil) - Get pelted with paper mache for 1 damage
7. Make excuses - walk away?

Choice Text and Results

If you attempt to purchase a book you can't afford

She frowns a tiny bit. "You don't have forty? That's a shame."

"Ah well, I'll probably still have them if you want to shake down your parents or something."

EE310

She pauses to let the credits roll over to her account, then flashes you a smile. "Now you can make fun of everyone who paid one-twenty-five at the bookstore for it."

You found: Electrical Engineering III

(You lose 40 credits and removes this option)

Physics 520

She waits a second for you to transfer over the credits, then hands you the brilliant red book. "Here you go. If you want my advice, try not to think about what it means too much, just do the math."

You found: Quantum Mechanics

(You lose 40 credits and removes this option)

History 110

She pauses to let the transfer roll through and hands you the book. "Don't worry to much about this one. Everything you heard about it being an easy A is right on the money. And you get to learn about drones saving civilization, so that's pretty cool."

You found: History of the Orbital Wars

(You lose 40 credits and removes this option)

English 315

She takes the transfer and leans towards you conspiratorially. "Yeah, the bookstore keeps selling out. Only a dozen people registered for the class, but I think people are using them to ward off Dave."

You found: Survey of Modern Poetry

(You lose 40 credits and removes this option)

Talk about Halloween

+Older messages

(During Halloween 2010:)

"Yeah, Halloween," she shakes her head, letting her smile falter for a second.

"I just don't know. There was a girl in a couple of my survey courses… she was a bit standoffish, but not a bad person. She disappeared last Halloween and now everyone's acting like it doesn't matter."

"The administration barely even admits she used to go to school here. And all the students can talk about is that Emerald Gift'll be there and how great a party it'll be."

(In the run-up to Halloween 2011:)

"Yeah, Halloween," she shakes her head, letting her smile falter for a second.

"I just don't know. Last year went okay… I guess having a spooky band works for Halloween, but it just seemed disrespectful of the dead."

She sighs. "Now Empress Davers is going to build her giant maze or whatever where all those people died two years ago? That's not much better."

(During Halloween 2011:)

"Yeah, Halloween," she sighs and shakes her head.

"Empre… Emily Davers totally duped me into helping. Now I'm 'Fundraising Chair'," she awkwardly provides the air quotes despite the books in her hands.

"But I promised, so I guess that's that. If you want some to take a look at the stuff we're selling for fundraising at some point, give me a call."

You've gained a new contact: Jess

(In the run-up to Halloween 2012:)

"Yeah, Halloween," she shakes her head, letting her smile falter for a second.

"Last year I helped out running the concessions, so this year I get roped into running the whole thing. You know how it is with volunteering."

"But," her smile returns brighter than before, "because I'm running things, that means I can make some changes. I'm trying to convince the administrators that they should let us use the Art Museum."

"I haven't made much headway, yet, but they don't seem to want anyone going into the dorm ballroom either, so I think we might have some leverage."

(During Halloween 2012, if you haven't received a halloween museum petition:)

"Thanks for your help!" She smiles and hands you the stack of petitions on a clipboard.

"Just get as many as you can. Remember, students only!"

You found: halloween museum petition

(After Halloween 2012)

Her smile drops completely. "It's terrible. I almost feel responsible because… well, we moved the party to the museum and there could have been hundreds of people down there, looking for trouble… maybe keeping it from happening."

"Or hundreds of people could've died. And there's no way to really know. It's just… a lot of weight for an Event Coordinator, you know? It's supposed to be about having enough punch, not people's lives."

In the run-up to Halloween 2013

Her smile drops completely. "I got named Event Coordinator again this year, but there's some sort of fight about our funding."

You wait for a second and she quickly becomes uncomfortable, picking the thread of the conversation back up. "It's on Midgard's side. Emily, the old Event Coordinator, works there now… she says some of them want the party back in the Dorms, another bunch want to get the second floor of the museum done, and the rest just want to write us off."

(and, sometime on or before rollover on 10/27/13:)

She sighs. "And, to top things off, they seem distracted by whatever's going on in the Dorms. The rumor is that there've been drone attacks in there and students sneaking in disguised as Slags cleanup crews… not the costumes I'd choose to ring in the season early."

(then:)

"I won't know what we're doing until I hear from them. I just hope they decide before Halloween or I'll have to make these books into paper mache candy bowls and fill them with those awful OmniTech peanut butter things."

In the run-up to Halloween 2014 (October 21st and 22nd, 2014)

Her smile falters for a moment, then drops completely. "I got named Event Coordinator again this year, but funding is still a huge issue. The administration just wants their fangs in everything."

"We covered renting the Hall of Sculptures from what was left over from last year, but they want another sack of credits to rent the Hall of Paintings. And, as though that's not…" She pauses for a second, breathing deeply.

"Sorry about that. I just… anyway, they're asking me to raise money for a new project for them on top of everything else. It's enough to make you throw up your hands and quit, but… a lot of people are counting on us and throwing a party means a lot more when previous ones have destroyed half of campus."

In the run-up to Halloween 2014 (October 23rd, 2014)

"Well," she nods with satisfaction, "I think we've got it down to a science this year. I set up the fundraising store, let everyone buy things and use them to fund the party."

"Sound good?" She doesn't wait for you to respond to beam over her contact information. "Call me if you want to buy anything. It'll all go towards that fundraiser."

"Oh, I almost forgot. The university wants in on it this year," her smile flickers a bit. "They're trying to set up a special collections area to raise some money, but they're too cheap to help us with the party or pay for their own fundraising."

"So if you want to help them out, I won't hold it against you… much," she delivers the last word with enough of a grin it probably isn't a threat.

You've gained a new contact: Jess

In the run-up to Halloween 2015 (October 21st, 2015)

Her smile falters for a moment, then drops completely. "I got named Event Coordinator again this year, but they won't even let me talk to the museum staff to hold it there again. Somebody decided we're holding it at a Midgard facility in Oldtown and that's not changing."

"Well, at least some people are excited about it… maybe a little too excited. The Omegas are calling in some alumni that work for Midgard. Some artists think they're going to make the whole thing performance art. The punks… well, they want to whole thing burn down."

She sighs. "And Midgard Internal Security doesn't seem excited about helping out, so we need to get some security in."

"At least Midgard is supplying a lot of the decorations. I suppose that's the silver lining."

After October 24th, 2015

"Well, things are a little weird this year. We're holding things in Oldtown rather than here on campus. Midgard won't even give us more than a handful of IDs…"

"But the more money we raise, the more people we can get inside. The more people we get inside, the better the party can be."

"But everybody wants in… the artists, the punks, the Omegas, our donors, and I'd even like to see some external security. So I'm letting the donors decide."

"Anyway, I've got to run, but give me a call if you want to buy anything." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

(And, if you don't already have her as a contact)
You've gained a new contact: Jess

In the run-up to Halloween 2016 (October 21st, 2016)

Her smile falters for a moment, then drops completely. "I got named Event Coordinator again this year, but Midgard and the museum staff aren't exactly returning my calls."

"Well, that's not fair. Midgard has helped us find a site we can do some work in. I was angling for one of the ballrooms in Silver Towers downtown, but they were already booked."

"So… it looks like we're back to decorating for ourselves and trying to keep things secure."

After October 24th, 2016

"Well, things are a little weird this year. We're holding things off campus and Midgard won't even let us use their facility again… turns out this were a bit too much of a mess last year."

She sighs. "But, they did hook us up with a place we can rent out. Hopefully that'll do the trick."

"Anyway, I've got to run, but give me a call if you want to buy anything." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Jess

In the run-up to Halloween 2017 (October 21st, 2017):

Her smile falters for a moment, then drops completely. "I got named Event Coordinator again this year, but Midgard and the museum staff aren't exactly returning my calls."

"Well, that's not fair. Midgard has helped us find a site we can do some work in. I was angling for one of the ballrooms in Silver Towers downtown last year, but I got turned down. This time, we've got it… now we just have to afford it and see if we can decorate it enough to appease the Silvers."

"And they don't want students onsite until the day of, but hopefully some of our off-campus friends can help a bit."

October 24th, 2017:

"Well, they finally listened to us. We've been trying to get a room at Silver Towers for years and we can finally give it a try. We can even finally walk there from the Metros stop again."

She sighs. "But Silver Towers means money. Like big credit money and we're, well, students. So I'm selling stuff to raise money for the party."

"Anyway, I've got to run, but give me a call if you want to buy anything." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Jess

In the run-up to Halloween 2018 (October 21st, 2018):

Her smile falters for a moment, then drops completely. "I got named Event Coordinator again this year. I'm not sure I'll even graduate at this rate, but Midgard… well, they seem to think it'll look good on my resume."

"Anyway," she takes a deep breath, "I'm hoping we can get back in Silver Towers. There were some problems with water from our forest leaking last year, so we might be installing that later."

"But Midgard's promised to have someone from their side help out."

October 24th, 2018:

"Well, they finally listened to us. We've been trying to get a room at Silver Towers for years and we can finally give it a try. We can even finally walk there from the Metros stop again."

She sighs. "But Silver Towers means money. Like big credit money and we're, well, students. So I'm selling stuff to raise money for the party."

"Anyway, I've got to run, but give me a call if you want to buy anything." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Jess

In the run-up to Halloween 2019 (October 21st, 2019):

Her smile falters for a moment, then drops completely. "I tried to remove my name from the Event Coordinator listing, because I'm never going to graduate at this rate, but nobody else stepped up and Midgard… well, anyway."

"Midgard's having a posh launch party that day for their new spider drone. No way any of us are getting into, but we were thinking of doing a big spider-themed bash."

Her smile returns a bit. "I think we might be able to get a bunch of extra space too, because none of the people that use Silver Towers stuff want to compete with their bosses' big event."

After October 24th, 2019:

"This year should be a bit cheaper than last year, thanks to Midgard having their big launch party the same day. None of the folks who live in Silver Towers should want to throw their own party that day against the big event."

She sighs. "The downside is that a bit cheaper than last year is still way more than we can afford on a student budget. Even with Midgard covering the day-of expenses, we're all students. I'm gonna need to sell a lot of bags of candy to make this one to remember."

"Anyway, I've got to run, but give me a call if you want to buy anything." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Jess

In the run-up to Halloween 2020 (October 21st, 2020):

Her smile brightens further. "I finally managed to get out from under the Event Coordinator shackles. There were a couple of volunteers and the voting should have wrapped up already."

"Anyway, I can't officially say who's going to replace me, but I can officially say it's not going to be me!"

She thrusts a fist up towards the heavens. "I'll hang up my pirate hat and graduate someday!"

Or, a couple days later:

"Ha ha! Nope, not this year!"

"I wanted to step down, again, and they actually named a new coordinator this time!"

"Anyway, you should talk to Yvonne, she seems nice." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

(Gain Yvonne as a contact if you don't have her yet?)

In the run-up to Halloween 2021 (October 21st, 2021):

Her smile brightens further. "I finally managed to get out from under the Event Coordinator shackles last year!"

She thrusts a fist up towards the heavens. "I've hung up my pirate hat and will definitely graduate someday!"

In the run-up to Halloween 2022 (October 21st, 2022):

Her smile brightens further. "Things seemed to go fine last few years without me!"

She thrusts a fist up towards the heavens. "I've hung up my pirate hat and will definitely graduate someday!"

October 25th, 2022:

"Ha ha! Nope, not this year!"

"I actually managed to step down!"

"Anyway, you should talk to Yvonne, she seems nice." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Yvonne (2022)

In the run-up to Halloween 2023 (October 21st, 2023):

Her smile brightens further. "Things seemed to go fine last few years without me!"

She thrusts a fist up towards the heavens. "I've hung up my pirate hat and will definitely graduate someday!"

October 25th, 2023:

"Ha ha! Nope, not this year!"

"Anyway, you should talk to Yvonne, she seems nice." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Yvonne (2023)

In the run-up to Halloween 2024 (October 20th, 2024):

Her smile brightens further. "Things seemed to go fine last few years without me!"

She thrusts a fist up towards the heavens. "I've hung up my pirate hat and will definitely graduate someday!"

October 25th, 2024:

"Ha ha! Nope, not this year!"

"I actually managed to step down!"

"Anyway, you should talk to Yvonne, she seems nice." Your comm beeps with an incoming contact.

You've gained a new contact: Yvonne (2024)

Rush her (evil (4))

You rush her, but she pauses only long enough to pelt you with books before bolting. Well, you suppose that's one way to get them.

And (with all but quantum mechanics purchased)

You take 1 damage.
You found: paper mache

with survey of modern poetry purchased:

You take 5 damage.
You found: paper mache
You found: History of the Orbital Wars

With no books sold:

You take 10 damage.
You found: 2 piles of paper mache
You found: Electrical Engineering III
You found: History of the Orbital Wars
You found: Survey of Modern Poetry

with low hp < damage dealt:

She comes back a little later and cautiously retrieves her merchandise from your unmoving form.

(get no items)

Make excuses

She smiles. "No worries. No worries. Didn't mean to bother you."

"After all, I have to get a bit of my 365 back somehow." She shakes her head ruefully.

See Walk Away