When curiosity came a-knocking, Tabetha was always the first one to answer the door.  It was simply in her nature.  Caution was merely another term for indecisiveness, and she was anything but unsure of herself.  Confidence meant strength, both in body and personality.  Still, she was not the sort to simply blunder into situations that she found to be suspect.  There was a difference between arrogance and self-assuredness.  If she wandered head first into a tricky situation, she trusted herself enough to find a way out of it.  Not that she expected any trickery this evening.  Certainly not from<em>him.</em><br/><br/>Kevin London.  Top of the class.  Top of everything, the way he sometimes talked.  She kept her intense dislike of the man a closely guarded secret, as she did with anyone else she found distasteful.  Hatred was a poisonous emotion that had to be kept in check, lest it consume her and waste a perfectly useful network of powerful acquaintances.  Sometimes keeping power meant dealing with people one would rather do without.  But she hated London for a different reason than most; she admired his intelligence.  It was one thing to look up to the academics of the past, who were either long since dead or so old that they may as well have kicked it years ago.  But to have a peer of such brilliance did nothing bur infuriate her.  Tabetha's one blessing was that his fascination had led him into the field of chemistry.  Given his fascination with the mind it could have easily led him down the same route as her.  But psychology was a field she made her own at the school, and she guarded her dominance there like a dragon with its treasure trove.<br/><br/>She was more than simply punctual; she was early.  The only one in the lab besides her was the prodigy himself.  No doubt the others would arrive shortly, but for now they had the room to themselves.  Tabetha had chosen to come in formal attire, with a crisp black suit that tucked in at the waist, a white dress shirt, and a brilliant red tie.  Her shoes were as sensible as always, though outfitted with steel heels, and her dapper hat rested firmly over her mess of light brown hair.  She was a no-nonsense sort of woman, and it showed.<br/><br/>"I like what you've done with the place, London," Tabetha said to announce herself.  She entered slowly, behind her back and eyes roving about the room.  Scrutinizing.  Her lips were turned up in a smile that was convincingly real and respectful, though it seemed to die somewhat every time she glanced his way.  The metallic sound of her heels against the floor resounded in the empty space, giving her a much larger presence.  It wasn't an accidental choice.<br/><br/>Upon arriving in front of the table she bent ever so slightly over to give the vials a cursory inspection.  "I take it these are the reason you sent out the invitations?"  She glanced up at him and quirked a brow.  Right to business.