"Meredith."  Esther says, easily.  "Meredith Parsons.  And you're.. Amalia, right?  I thought I recognized the hair.  Good to meet you!"  Esther peered around the room from the doorway, giving the impression she was looking for someone, but actually just checking to make sure the room is empty.  Esther is cautious.  The Other Thing doesn't seem to be very riled about Amalia, but she'd rather not get cornered in a room with Mindy until she had some idea what she was dealing with.  As she is scanning over the room for any place large enough to hide a person, she idly talks.<br/><br/>"I was actually looking for someone..." Deciding that it's clear, for the moment, she looks directly at her.  "Maybe I'll wait for a second.  You don't mind, do you?"  Esther crosses the room, taking a seat neat where she is.  "I don't mean to pry, but I see you in here a lot with that cute band geek.  He seems to know his shit, at least.  Is it getting any easier?"  These are idle things, designed to get Chatty talking a little.  Esther takes whatever information she gives and makes a little small talk, but quickly moves past the seg-way into what she is really after.<br/><br/>"Hey, I wanted to ask you something, actually!" Esther made it sound like an after-thought, as best as she could considering that she wanted to get in and out of there fast.  "That friend of yours.. Mary?  Mindy?  I'm sorry, I didn't notice her very much until recently.  She's like a different person, though!  The hair, the vibe!  I'm kind of jealous, really!  What did kind of make-over did she get?"<br/><br/>Esther expects resistance here, or at the very least some evasiveness.  That alone is telling, in its own way, and Esther wants to read that as well.  Esther will also make a quick peek at the door, as if distracted by a noise, when Amalia starts to ramble.  If no one is there, than Esther will lean in and whisper.<br/><br/>"Seriously.  Tell me what's going on with Mindy."  It's not a question at that point: it's a demand.<br/><br/>Esther rolls [2d12] [Always Gets Her Way] to make Amalia Spill the Beans on Mindy.<br/>[Result: 9, 2]<br/><br/>Now, if someone, i.e. Mindy, is there, she will not do that and proceed differently.