Door to Door Subscription

[Toby Chastain]

This struck Toby as a decidedly bad idea. Who actually like someone who came out to their house and asked for money? Nobody, exactly. But this was one of those things that the school insisted, and as Toby was involved in the school paper, he didn't really have a whole lot of options here. It was go out and try to get some subscriptions or hide in shame.

The hiding did come after one particular individual had been downright vitriolic about the whole situation. Probably didn't help that Toby had made a fairly snarky comment about what he thought was a dish rag but turned out to be some kind of dog or something. At least Toby only had a few leaves in his hair and looked only semi-rumpled.

He rapped on the door again, before leaning in, hoping that someone answered or showed or something. "Hello?" He called, straining to look. He couldn't even recall if this was someone's house or an apartment complex. Go him. "Selling newspaper subscriptions and getting donations?" Toby tried knocking again. "Support your local schools? And young men who are definitely go-getters and not looking out for big dogs..." Toby glanced over his shoulder as he said this last, trying to feel less nervous than he was.

[Devinder Singh]

A sudden knocking at the front door made Devinder spring out of bed. He was on his feet in a flash, bleary-eyed and confused. What was happening? He took a step to answer whoever was knocking on his apartment door, then stopped. His turban. He had taken it off to have a nap. He swore under his breath. He couldn't answer the door like this, without anything covering his hair. He snatched his patka from inside the turban and put it on as he walked to the door. It was a large, rectangular piece of material, this one happened to be black, that he wore under his turban usually. Or, at moments like this when it was impractical to put his turban back on. He would often leave only the patka on if he had to run to the store or something similar instead of tying a full paghri turban.

He was at the door seconds after the voice on the other side stopped speaking and knocking. One benefit of his super speed, even if he couldn't get above 60 mph anymore. Those had been the days, when he was much younger and performing at his top speeds. Ah, well.

Devinder patted his patka, making sure it was secure, and opened the door. "Hello?" There was a young man on his doorstep, looking somewhat worse for wear. Devinder's mind blanked in that moment, overwhelmed with recognition, but unable to put a name to the face. The young man was a student at the school, but Devinder was sure the kid wasn't taking his foreign studies course.

[Toby Chastain]

Don't say anything about the turban. Don't just assume he's a terrorist or something stupid. For the love of God, don't start asking if he's going to be engaging in a Bollywood film. And don't ask him to start chanting. Don't say anything about the turban. Please, please don't say anything about the turban

"Hello turban, I mean sir," Toby said, before pausing to cough into a fist. "Hello, I'm from the school. The big one," he pointed, "with all the... Bellefonte. Probably should have just started with that. I'm a student at Bellefonte Academy, here to offer up a subscription to the school's paper. We're looking to branch out and start getting copies to--"

Toby paused, eyes narrowing as he looked up at the man. "Do I know you from-- you work there, right? Because you look familiar..."

[Devinder Singh]

Devinder looked at the kid for a long time before answering. He had a bemused expression on his face. He had been called a lot of things since coming to America, but being called 'turban' right off the bat was actually quite funny. Especially since he wasn't even wearing a full turban, just the patka. But, as a proper Sikh, he kept his hair long and the knot he kept it in on the top of his head was visible under the patka, so it couldn't be passed off as a simple bandana.

"Well," Devinder replied, his Punjabi accent still very heavy on his words, "that explains where I must have seen you. I'm the foreign studies teacher at Bellefonte. I don't think you're taking my class, however." Devinder's foreign studies students would never dream of calling him 'turban'. He usually fielded questions about being a Sikh and his traditional dress codes on the first day of class. He did this for several reasons. One, plenty of Western students knew a Sikh to see one, but had misconceptions about what religion they belonged to. As a result, Devinder usually answered a lot of questions about Islam as well. Secondly, it was a good teaching moment. What better way to start a foreign studies class than with an intro on how to interact with minorities and foreigners, from a minority foreigner?

He leaned casually on the the doorframe, placing most of his weight on his forearm against the side of the frame. He smiled at the kid to show he hadn't been offended. "But how about you call me 'Mr. Singh' instead of turban from now on?" He said gently.

[Toby Chastain]

He had the accent too. Toby couldn't quite place it, but it sounded like it came from the whole India/Pakistan/Saudi Arabia area. It then occurred to Toby that as someone who was interested in journalism, he really should brush up on his geography and foreign relations. He made a mental note to look more into that at a later and arguably more convenient time.

"Ah, I haven't taken that class yet. Hear great things," he offered, hoping to slightly salvage it. Helped that Toby actually wasn't lying at this point: he'd heard good things about the course and the teacher, to the extent where he did intend on signing up for it at some point. Clearly he'd need to try and repair some of the damage his foot was doing to his mouth first though:

"Mr. Singh works fine," Toby said, nodding. "Though I feel obligated to point out that I did call you sir very quickly after ,and that is a general term of respect and all," Toby paused, then squinted. "Turbans are a... Sikh thing, right? See, I know things. I'd know more if people would be ever so willing to support our school paper," He held up the paper, hoping that he hadn't completely botched his actual goal here.

[Devinder Singh]

"If you haven't taken it yet, then I'm expecting to see you next semester," Devinder said with a laugh. He admired the young man's dedication to his extracurricular activity. Going door to door selling subscriptions to a paper, especially a student paper, could be tough.

"And you're right, turbans are a Sikh thing," Devinder confirmed. "Although, this is not a turban. But, you'll see it at school, I'm sure."

He reached to grab the paper from Toby. He leafed through a few pages before looking at the kid and giving him a grin. "Alright. I'll get a subscription. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't support the students?" He handed the paper back. "What do I need to do to sign up?" He couldn't help but be endeared to Toby. The kid was earnest, and although it seemed he didn't think much before speaking, Devinder liked his apparent sincerity. And if a kid was willing to focus and put the effort into such an undertaking as a student paper, then he believed it was his duty as an adult, and potential future authority and mentor figure, to encourage and foster that interest.

[Toby Chastain]

"I probably will," Toby said, shrugging again. It was pretty much true, after all. "Got the whole journalism thing, so foreign studies kinda goes into all that," he was already shifting to see if he could sell some more subscriptions. He'd managed to get a few more together and all, and they did a pretty good job of covering local Kalispell news, something that Toby had mentioned to a few other donors.

"It's not? Looks like one," Toby said, glancing at the guy's head again. He was tempted to start asking and figure it out, but it also occurred to him that he had pretty solid evidence now about the whole international mutant thing, though he did already know it. He let the guy took the paper and then shifted again, pulling out a tablet.

"we just need you to put some information in here. It's a yearly subscription, and I really should remind you that there's some local news that gets covered, along with school events and the like that get wrapped up in here," Toby tapped the screen, showing the teacher the fields. "And your support is greatly appreciated; goes right back to the paper directly. Mostly to get us into events and try out a few things for reviews, stuff like that," Toby shrugged. The school itself provided most of their technology, after all.

[Devinder Singh]

Devinder shrugged his shoulders and motioned for the tablet to fill out his information. He usually got his news online, and as a teacher was fairly aware of whatever was going on in the school, but that was fine. He wanted to support the students. He knew at least one kid in his class worked on the newspaper too. He filled out the fields on the tablet, his name, address, and the like. When he was finished he handed the tablet back.

"I don't think I caught your name," he said, the though occurring to him suddenly. He should probably learn the student's name. The school was big, but not so big that they would never see each other again. Especially if the kid decided to take foreign studies in the future, like he had said.

[Toby Chastain]

Toby rocked on his heels while the teacher filled out the tablet, his gaze drifting a little. Was it so wrong that he sort of wanted to get a look inside? to see if there was anything else in the house that he should be aware of or anything that should look cool? There was a part of Toby wondering if that wasn't racist, but he was brushing that off; he was just curious, really.

The question drew Toby back to the man himself, and soon he was smiling. "I'm not sure I gave it?" he offered. Toby extended a hand, "Toby Chastain, and like I said, I go to Bellefonte. you'll probably get me in class pretty soon too, which I'm also pretty sure I already said. Since I feel like I should be giving out at least some new information, I'm pleased to tell you that I'm a fairly good student and that this whole talking thing extends to class too."

Toby nodded, feeling like that should have bought him at least a little more leeway.

[Devinder Singh]

Devinder shook Toby's hand in return and then handed the tablet back. "Nice to meet you, Toby, and it is nice to hear that you're a good student. I'm sure you will be a pleasure to have in class."

He could see the young man was restless, and probably curious. But Devinder had nothing to show him that was particularly exciting. His turban was simply that, a turban, and Toby would definitely see it at school, since Devinder never, ever went on campus without one on. Devinder didn't keep or wear many of the proper Sikh symbols. He didn't carry a kirpan sword. And it was evident that he kept his beard short, so he didn't even keep to the tradition of not cutting one's hair. The only other Sikh symbol that Devinder wore was a kara, a steel bracelet. But he wore that on his wrist and it wasn't particularly interesting. 

"Well, I don't want to keep you much longer if you have to continue on your way," Devinder said apologetically.

[Toby Chastain]

"I'm a delight," Toby replied, nodding, "a hoot, even," he smiled some then, knowing he was only half-joking. What, a little pride in yourself was a good and admirable trait to have, right? Toby certainly thought so. Plus, he was feeling a bit up, what with having gotten another subscription and all. There were actually a few names and such already saved on there.

"Oh yeah, I got other houses to hit," he agreed, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. He turned to leave, only to find that a rather large dog was now apparently parked just a few feet away from the edge of Devinder's property. Toby froze, staring at the dog, who looked up at him like he'd been stuffing bacon in his pockets. The youngster turned back to the teacher.

"Don't suppose that's your dog?" he asked, pointing at the creature, already resisting the urge to start sprinting off in just about any direction but here.

[Devinder Singh]

Devinder looked over Toby's shoulder at the dog. He recognized it. It belonged to the people across the street. It must have gotten out of their yard. Devinder lived on the ground floor, so he had seen it often. He wasn't sure if it was friendly or not. Judging by how it was standing on the edge of the property, it didn't seem friendly. Devinder looked back at Toby, only to see how nervous the young man seemed to be. 

"That's not my dog," he said. He was beginning to feel a little tense. Despite the time he had spent in the US, Devinder wasn't used to Western pet ownership culture. In Jalandhar, there were lots of stray and feral dogs wandering the streets, and they were not friendly. Seeing this dog off leash concerned him.

"Do... do you wanna come in until it goes away?" Devinder offered awkwardly. That was appropriate, right? What would happen if he let Toby leave on his own and he got bitten by the dog? What if he got rabies and died? What if the dog rippedhisfaceoffandthenhehadtolivewithnoface-- he interrupted his own extreme, racing thoughts with a more logical statement: "Or I can drive you somewhere?"

[Toby Chastain]

Not reassuring seeing Devinder as nervous about the dog too. Toby was still seriously considering shifting behind the man and using him as a shield or something. He could, at least, sue his neighbors or deal with them or something if it came down to it. Yeah, Toby was definitely shifting toward the guy.

"Oh yeah, going inside sounds like a plan," Toby said, nodding his head vigorously. "I mean, I suppose running toward a car might work, or it might excite the guy and get us on the cover of the next issue of the paper in a very, very bad way."

Yeah, the temptation to hide behind Devinder had turned into an outright actuality. Toby shifted behind the man to put him between the dog and so forth. That might make getting into the house a little difficult, but, well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

[Devinder Singh]

Toby edged himself into the apartment and Devinder let it happen. When the student was further in, Devinder nudged him back a step so he could close the door on the dog. He didn't know much about animals but that seemed like aggressive behaviour. He could not, in good conscience, send Toby out with a large, probably territorial dog outside.

Devinder stepped around Toby to get out of the tight space of the doorway. His apartment wasn't too bad. There was a small laundry room and a kitchen (separated from the living room with a half wall countertop) to the left of the front entrance, and straight ahead was the living room with a couch and loveseat facing a television. Off of the living room there was a bedroom with an ensuite. In the living room there was a picture window that looked out over the back of the building, so if either of them wanted to check if the dog had gone, they would have to cautiously open the door.

The walls were decorated with framed photos. There was a photo of the skyline in Jalandhar at dusk, some photos of his parents, and photos of Devinder with friends and family at various events. Most of his friends and family were also Sikhs, so Devinder didn't stand out in his turban in the photos nearly as much as he did in day to day life.

"Have a seat," Devinder pointed at the living room. "Can I get you anything to drink? Or eat?"

[Toby Chastain]

Toby kept looking over his shoulder even as he entered the relative safety of the dwelling. The dog had literally moved to the end of the entryway, looking as if he were just waiting for permission to head in and start ravaging Toby. The young man gulped and tried to instead focus upon everything around him. The guy decorated with pictures, which struck Toby as being kinda eccentric and kinda sweet at the same time. He paused looking at one that he thought was probably the guy's home or something. It didn't look like people, at the least.

"Uh, sure?" Toby said, twisting to look. "I mean, like, if you've got something on hand that you don't mind me having," he shrugged. "I'm not too picky," he waited another beat before pointing at the picture. "This your hometown? Looks a little too exotic to be Kalispell at dusk. Assuming I'm not looking wrong or something," Toby squinted, twisting his head to try and get the best possible view of the picture. It did look nice; he'd have wanted it on his wall and it wasn't even his hometown. assuming it was a hometown...