Eating the Future for Breakfast on Cascade Hall

Captain Daniel Nash II, Head Boy

January 26, 2011 4:22 PM

Eating the Future for Breakfast by Captain Daniel Nash II, Head Boy

Daniel was down one player yet for his Quidditch team, but he thought he had talked the new first year Preston Stratford into it by emphasizing the political and social benefits of joining that could help him eventually get Head Boy. He'd been sure to mention that both the Head Boy and Head Girl last year had been on Aladren's team, and that more Head Boys before himself and Thomas had been Quidditch players than not. Geoff Layne had been Captain, Zack Dill had been Seeker, Chris Dupree played; in short, over the last seven years, only two Head Boys and two Head Girls hadn't been Quidditch players. Ten out of the last fourteen Heads had played Quidditch. Statistics like that could not be ignored.

It was, perhaps, not the Quidditch-pure reasons for joining that some fanatics would have liked, but it put his team at seven and that was what mattered most to Daniel. It wasn't like Daniel was playing for Quidditch's sake either. He'd started because he'd felt a responsibility to his House to help them win a competition and stayed on for those very same reasons he'd explained to Preston once he'd come to realize them.

So it was not Quidditch that was troubling him as he sat down for breakfast less than a week after classes had begun. Rather, it was the rather quickly approaching Future that had picking at his toast with a complete lack of appetite.

Street Beat had one more season. They'd been renewed for an eighth, but that was it. End of the line. Wrap the story up. Daniel was, quite frankly, kind of relieved. It meant he wouldn't need to decide between Street Beat and college. Between generic acting and college, there was no contest, he could go to college and decide later which path he wanted to take, but Street Beat was as much a part of his life as Sonora was.

It did make him worry for Dad and Barry's relationship, though. They'd been stable for a while, but how would the stress of auditions and maybe not working together affect them? But there wasn't anything he could do about that here except work himself up into hating Barry as much as he hated Anton and he'd really rather not do that. Sometime over the last few years Barry had become Real Step Dad Number One without Daniel quite noticing it until it was a done deal.

Now, what he needed to worry about was After Sonora.

First there were RATS. He was, obviously, dropping Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. He'd gotten Es on his CATS in both of those and was therefore not good enough or interested enough to pursue those subjects further. Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions were all core disciplines and should certainly be continued. DADA was a question that he was less sure about, but he was going to keep on it if for no other reason than because he liked the class and Holly didn't. Astronomy was one he was still on the fence about but he'd signed up for it anyway and he was worried that had been a mistake.

Not, unfortunately, as worried as he was about what to do with all those RATS once he had them. He'd begun to fall into the believe that Street Beat would go on indefinitely and had started to consider forgoing the magical world in favor of making a life as The Actor Who Plays Nate Bealer. He enjoyed that life. It paid well. He was good at it.

Now there was no future in Nate Bealer. There was just generic acting and he'd learned from watching Mom that he hated that. And the Head Boy badge changed everything, too.

It probably didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Certainly not in the muggle world. Probably not even in the magical world. But it was the first thing he'd really earned rather than something handed to him on a silver platter. An honor given to him because he was Daniel Nash the Second, Aladren student, and not because he was the only option or because he was the Son of Dan Nash or because he was Kathleen Burbridge's kid or because he was the oldest or because he had the money to buy it. He got it because he'd been nominated by the teachers and voted for by the students. His and his alone.

In the muggle world he'd never be anyone but 'the son of Dan Nash and Kathleen Burbridge who got his start because his parents got him parts in their productions.' In the magic world, he could actually earn his place through hard work and dedication and nobody would ever think he'd skipped the hardest part to becoming successful.

Plus, he'd never wanted to be an actor anyway. Street Beat made him forget that, but now that the show was coming to a close, he felt no desire to try to find a new part.

So, magic world. What in the name of Merlin was he supposed to be in the magic world?

Daniel cradled his head in his hands and asked his toast, "What do I do next?" This was Sonora. It was very remotely possible it might have a better idea than he did. Or maybe he'd finally gone mad.

1 Captain Daniel Nash II, Head Boy Eating the Future for Breakfast 130 Captain Daniel Nash II, Head Boy 1 5

Charlotte Abbott

February 03, 2011 9:04 AM

So I waited over a week for someone else to reply by Charlotte Abbott

Charlotte had always put a little more effort into her appearance than some of her peers deemed necessary, but she didn't think that taking care of your body was a bad thing. She liked to look nice, and she didn't think that having a good sense of self-esteem was a crime, either. She didn't think she went over the top - a quick shower followed by swift some pleasant smelling body lotion, a touch of black mascara, a dab of clear lip gloss, and a small amount of sleeking serum swept through her hair. Then she'd stand in front of her wardrobe staring at her clothes for a good five minutes while she mentally put together outfits and decided what to wear: this was about standard for her morning routine (aside from Quidditch mornings when attire was self explanatory and there was no point in sleeking her hair or applying make-up). This year, Charlie was paying even more attention to her outfits than usual. She still wanted to look good, and saw no harm in showing off the figure that Quidditch and dancing had made her proud of. But then she was also prefect and head Girl, and wanted to come across as responsible and reliable to the rest of the school. It was hard work, and it hurt that she then had to cover it up with uniform robes for the majority of her day.

After the usual five minutes of wardrobe planning, Charlie selected her outfit: smart, well-fitted black pants, red pumps, and a red corset blouse, that looked smart and gave her excellent clevage. Thank you, mom's guilt-induced shopping spree. Running a brush through her hair beofre tying it into a high ponytail (the shorter front sections of her hair didn't quite reach the elastic so she tucked them behind her ears) the sixth year considered her relfection in the mirror, and was satisfied. A fine gold chain with a ballerina pendant completed the look. Now she was dressed, she was ready for a good breakfast to start the day, and so made her way down to Cascade.

Practically as soon as she'd entered the room, she saw Daniel picking morosely at his breakfast, and hesitated just a little before going over. She wasn't sure she could trust herself round him, and had barely spoken to him since they got back from summer. She could go sit on her own, safe from making a real fool out of herself and risking her friendship with Daniel, or she could throw cuatin to the wind and go sit by him. He looked like he could use some cheering up, and that's what friends were for. Plus she often sat with him to eat, anway. All in all, it would have been weird for her not to go over.

Taking the seat opposite, Charlie heard Daniel's question, and though it rather looked as if he was addressing his toast, she thought she might as well chip in with an answer. "Cereal?" she suggested with a cheerful smile. "Toast doesn't seem to have worked for you today," she gestured to his plate, and felt momentarily a little envious that he could eat bread. Logically, Charlotte knew the odd piece of toast in the morning wouldn't hurt her, but she found it easier to just cut out the whole group of high starch, full of carbohydrate foods than to allow herself the odd piece here and there. That did make breakfast tricky, as she denied herself toast and bagels, cereal, pancakes and waffles, pastries and muffins, and high sugar fruits. She didn't like to eat bacon or sausage because of the fat content, and wouldn't eat fried food anyway. Luckily that left her with low sugar fruits, such as melon, berries and grapefruit, eggs (providing they were not fried), yoghurt, nuts, and seeds. While she contemplated her food options - and Daniel's - she reached for a jug and poured herself some grapefruit juice.

0 Charlotte Abbott So I waited over a week for someone else to reply 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Daniel

February 03, 2011 11:19 AM

I really don't know why everyone assumes I'm popular by Daniel

For a second, Daniel thought his toast told him to eat cereal. While that self-preservationist advice might have made sense for toast to offer, Daniel had experience spotting insanity, and looked up to find Charlie sitting across from him before she finished the thought that would have made toast sound like it talking in the third person. Which, admittedly, was only slightly crazier than toast talking at all, but it would have made him feel embarrassed if it took him that long to figure out.

This ability to spot his own delusions before they reached the point of embarrassment, he felt, was clear proof that he wasn't yet insane enough to need professional help.

"I meant in life, not for breakfast," he said dryly, already feeling better than he had now that Charlie was here. But as quickly as his spirits had risen, they fell again just as fast as he remembered the cause of his initial mood.

He frowned a little, directing the expression at his toast again even though it was as innocent as Charlie was. He put it down on his plate again and wiped a smear of butter on his napkin (he normally didn't use butter, but today he'd felt a craving for it, and it was months before he was going to be on camera again - the first two weeks of school he usually let his diet relax a little). "I don't know if it made the news yet, but Street Beat was canceled."

He looked out over the breakfast options and decided cereal was not on his menu, but maybe an apple might be a good compliment to his toast. He picked one from the fruit basket and began cutting it into slices as he added, "One more season and it's done. If I can't be Nate Bealer, I don't know if I want to keep acting professionally."

1 Daniel I really don't know why everyone assumes I'm popular 130 Daniel 0 5

Charlotte

February 03, 2011 12:16 PM

Popularity is relative by Charlotte

"I meant in life, not for breakfast," Daniel replied, and all that did was make Charlie smile wider. She hadn't really expected him to be holding his head in his hands over his breakfast choices. Her smile faded a little though as Daniel didn't seem to be any less miserable. Sure, considering the Future was a tough topic, but he seemed really disheartened by it. His next statement about Street Beat being cancelled sort of explained why.

"Oh," Charlie said, not sure how else to respond. "Bummer." She was sad for the show to be ending, partly for daniel's sake, partly because she'd enjoyed watching it for a good few years now, and partly because it had enabled her to privately admire Daniel from a distance, in ways that she couldn't normally. Like in swimwear. Focus.

Daniel went on to explain his doubts about a career in acting. No wonder he'd been frowning at his toast. "Well, do you have to decide now?" Charlie questioned. For a start they still had a year of Sonora left, and then even after school finished it didn't sound like the sort of decision that needed to be made immediately. But then Charlie had to admit she didn't know all that much about acting.

"Well do you need to make up your mind just yet?" She asked. "I mean, once the show's finished, you could look around at what other acting options you've got, see if anything takes your fancy," she suggested. With many members of his family in show-business it might even be comparitively easy for Daniel to get back into it even if he took a short break. There were people - and Charlie was one of them - who had no real options at all. She wondered whether it would help Daniel to be made aware of this, but probably not, because it wouldn't make his own situation any better, even if he did believe he was in a better position than most. "Is there anything else you've thought about doing?" she asked instead. She was sure that Sonora used to have a guidance counselor to talk about this sort of thing. Maybe Daniel could talk to his Head of House, but then anyone who wanted to spend extra time with Fawcett should probably seeking a more professional version of help.

0 Charlotte Popularity is relative 0 Charlotte 0 5

Daniel

February 03, 2011 2:02 PM

You're my only friend, Abu! by Daniel

"I guess it's not urgent," he granted reluctantly, "but I like to have a plan and know what's going to happen next." He wondered, sometimes, how much trouble he had given the sorting potion, and was half surprised some days that he hadn't turned out purple as the red and blue battled for supremacy. But then again, his need to know what was going to happen was what drove him to make plans, so maybe he hadn't been difficult at all.

It was why he had tried Divinations in the first place. If it had actually worked the way the movies said it did, he might have kept after it, but it was so subjective that it was pretty much useless.

"Regardless, I wanted to go to college anyway. I might have put that off for Street Beat, but I was never going to skip it entirely. I just don't know what to study." He frowned thoughtfully at one of the waterfall walls of the Hall. "When I was a kid I wanted to be an accountant." A wry smirk crept into his expression and he glanced back at his friend. "Don't laugh. I was nine years old and the only thing in my life that stayed the same was my mom's accountant. I thought: that is a stable job."

The smile faded. "Acting isn't and I don't deal well with change. I always swore before Street Beat that I'd never be an actor and the only reason I joined that first year was because I wanted to do something with Dad before I ran off to Magic School for nine months out of the year for the next seven years, and then it was something to do with Dad when I was home for the summer. It was never about acting. You ever have something you're really good at, and everyone thinks you should keep at it for the rest of your life, but you don't actually like it all that much?"

He sat up quickly. "Don't get me wrong," he interjected quickly, "Street Beat was awesome and I'd do that forever if I could. But the Acting Profession is awful. High divorce rates. Tons of pressure. No job security. No privacy - you do one stupid thing and the whole country knows about it within the hour. And my family? Not exactly known for being able to differentiate fact from fiction. Ask me anything about Nate Bealer, and I'll answer you in the first person."

"So it would be a terrible idea to go into professional acting." He frowned down at his toast again. "But I don't know what else I can do. I've always been either Daniel Nash the Second, Aladren Student, or Danny Nash the Child Actor. So what happens to me when I'm not either?"

1 Daniel You're my only friend, Abu! 130 Daniel 0 5

Charlie

February 03, 2011 3:51 PM

... does insanity run in your family? by Charlie

Hmm, Charlotte took a moment to wonder if she'd ever known what was going to happen next. Growing up in a hotel meant you could never predict what was around the corner - this guest might have a heart attack in the lobby, that guest might turn out to be a drug dealer and the police show up in force - it was entirely unpredictable. Add in three magical kids being brought up as Muggles but occasionally visiting an Uncle who brewed potions for a living and let them ride broomsticks in the yard, and there was pretty much no way of knowing what tomorrow would bring. Even the things that seemed constant could surprise you, like Julian aiming to go to a good college on his football scholarship, and ending up not going to college at all and working a dead end job, or Oliver who never showed any aptitude for schoolwork becoming a potions apprentice. Nothing was for certain, and if Charlie felt this about her relatively stable world then she struggled to imagine how Daniel had found suitable stability in his crazy Hollywood world.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do," Charlie replied, not sounding in the least bit bothered by this. "At least you know you want to go to college. that's a good start. You can start looking at colleges and seeing what requirements you meet, and that'll narrow down your course options," she said reasonably. She thought that there must be loads of people who went to college not knowing what they wanted to study. it didn't seem feasible that every eighteen year old knew what they wanted to do with the rest of his or her life. Daniel, though, seemed to have once decided he would be an accountant. Charlie had already begun to chuckle when he told her not to laugh. She still grinned through his explanation - it probably was a stable job, but it sounded boring as anything.

As for dealing well with change, Charlotte survived on change. she got bored easily and was always looking to move onto something bigger and brighter. Life was too short to just stick with something if you hadn't already given loads of other stuff a go. She doubted her philosophy would come as a surprise to anyone who knew her. It made her wonder why she was even in Crotalus in the first place.

Charlie wasn't all that good at acting besides very basic school plays, but she thought she probably had a better disposition for show business than Daniel - she wasn't saying she thought it was an easy life, but she would have no problem with jumping from job to job without knowing what was really going on, and her boyfriend count at sixteen was equal to that of many thirty year olds. Of course, she had no inclination to be an actress, anyway. She had no real inclination for anything, really, which put her more or less in the same boat as Daniel. "You ever have something you're really good at, and everyone thinks you should keep at it for the rest of your life, but you don't actually like it all that much?" he asked. Charlie was about to tell him that no, she'd never done anything well enough for people to say that to her, but Daniel carried on, keen to correct what he meant about not liking acting.

"Well, when you're not either, you'll be something else," she replied to his identify conundrum with logic that should have been coming from an Aladren. "You only became an Aladren once you began Sonora," she explained, "so you could be a whole new persona at college. And then perhaps someone else afterwards." The conversation she'd had with Lita at the Opening Feast about Daniel putting on an act came flooding back to Charlie. She leant over the table a little closer to Daniel and said, "Or, just maybe, you could just relax and be yourself."

0 Charlie ... does insanity run in your family? 0 Charlie 0 5

Daniel Nash II

February 03, 2011 5:30 PM

Have you <i>met</i> my sister? by Daniel Nash II

Daniel could not even begin to fathom Charlie's complete ease with not knowing what she was going to do with her life. Plans changed. He could accept that this was a normal result of planning. Not all factors could be taken into account. He would most likely start to freak out a more than a little if everything started going exactly according to plan because that meant something was seriously wrong with the most important law of the universe (Murphy's) and what would be the point of all of his contingency plans then?

Still, he liked having a plan, regardless of how doomed to failure it was. He didn't need it to be right, he just needed it to be possible. Something to work toward. A goal he could achieve if he did everything right and managed not to anger the Gods of Chance.

And then Charlie gave him one.

"Research," he breathed, like she'd just offered him the holy grail. "I can do research and plan on making a plan once I have more information." He smiled gratefully at her. "That's a great idea." Honestly, he felt a little upset with himself for not thinking of that sooner.

As for his identity crisis over who he'd be in two years' time, Charlie came up with a truly baffling answer to that. He blinked at her. "Myself?" he repeated. He managed to contain the shrill laughter before it happened. "I have absolutely no idea who that is. I've been reading Abnormal Psych books for years to double check that I'm not actually a split personality."

After the words left his mouth, he realized he wasn't quite sure why he told Charlie that. He'd been keeping his mental health fears to himself for as long as he'd had them - which was since he was eight years old and he'd done his first bit of accidental magic. The same symptom that had prompted Mom and Paul Greer to send Holly to a psychiatrist.

1 Daniel Nash II Have you <i>met</i> my sister? 130 Daniel Nash II 0 5

Charlie

February 05, 2011 9:49 AM

Hm. I'm taking that as a big 'YES' by Charlie

Of course. She should have remembered she was talking to an Aladren, and that offering research as an option was the easy way out. Naturally Daniel thought it was a great idea, and Charlie realized that's why she was in Crotalus - it was the sensible, down to Earth part. She might not be good at following plans herself, but she could lay them out for others - others being the Aladrens who liked to follow plans, but had their heads in the clouds (or books) too often to see the obvious answers. More to the point, however, she'd cheered Daniel up enough to make him smile, and Charlie smiled back, pleased to have helped if only a little.

It's a shame she couldn't have stuck to the good ideas to keep him smiling, because when she suggested he try being himself Daniel's countenance was not exactly one of cheer. Unfortunately Charlie thought it was probably an important issue that needed to be addressed - perhaps more important than Daniel's plans for the future. Admittedly there were some selfish overtones in her wanting to help Daniel figure out who he was, namely that he might decide he liked her and they could date (or provide the alternative that enabled Charlie to move on and forget about Daniel). Though ignoring her personal interest, Charlie felt it was important for her friend to figure out at least in part who he was. She could accept that some people might not know who they really are until much further into their lives than sixteen, but it didn't seem logical that Daniel would be able to plan for his future without knowing what he did and didn't want to do; who he did or didn't want to be. Unfortunately he didn't seem to have a clue, and the comment about reading up on split personality was sufficient to temporarily silence Charlie and though she tried to suppress it, she knew her expression would show some of the surprise she felt at hearing this news. Luckily she recovered quickly.

"Okay, first off, don't read abnormal psych books," she recommended. Years too late, apparently. "I mean, I know you're an Aladren, but you seem perfectly sane to me. And just about everyone else that's ever met you, I'm sure." It seemed from what Daniel had said that he, too, didn't think he had the split personality whatsit, but that didn't make him any less certain about what sort of single personality he had. "Secondly," she said, trying hard not to lecture him because that wasn't what she'd intended to do at all, "loads of people don't figure out who they really are until much later in their lives. Some people spend loads of time trying to figure that out," by going to college or not, by travelling the world, experimenting with narcotics - Charlie couldn't see Daniel doing all of these activities, of course, but she was sure it would be harder for him to find who he really was if he kept pretending to be someone else. She might have to break this to him at some point. "Just because you're not sure quiet who you are, doesn't stop you from knowing who you're not," Charlotte theorized. Sometimes she thought it was easier to come at a problem from its opposite - in Daniel's case, he could perhaps find out who he might be by establishing who he definitely wasn't.

"For example," Charlie said, selecting a strawberry flavoured yoghurt for her breakfast, "I know I'm not the sort of person to make plans - routine and schedules frustrate me. Therefore I can reasonably conclude that I am the sort of person who does things on a whim." She grinned at Daniel. She was getting closer to doing something on a whim every second she spent talking to him. "Your go."

0 Charlie Hm. I'm taking that as a big 'YES' 0 Charlie 0 5

Daniel

February 08, 2011 11:55 AM

I know I do by Daniel

Fortunately, Charlie did not draw away from him and tell him to go to the medic right away for a referral to a mental health professional. Either she didn't believe him when he clearly implied he was dangerously close to multiple personalities - which was obviously a very serious condition - or she wasn't terribly surprised by the revelation. Honestly, he wasn't sure which would be better.

Of course, her first piece of advice did make him lift a wry eyebrow. He wondered if he should tell her that he'd been reading abnormal psych books since he was eight or if that would give away far too much about his mental stability.

And it was good - very good - quite relieving in fact - that she seemed to think he was sane. She was wrong, he knew that beyond all doubt, but it was still an enormous weight off his shoulders that he could pretend sanity convincingly. In theory, being voted Head Boy should have proved that, but he'd heard enough about Zack Dill that this was not a given.

He suffered silently through her reassurances that nobody knew who they really were, but doubted that most people running into that didn't answer to three different names in three different manners.

As he thought about that for a few seconds longer, he wondered if he should start going by Danny again. When people said 'Hey, Danny' he smiled and said 'Hey' back. When people said 'Hey, Daniel' he turned to see who had spoken first and then said 'Hello' and only smiled if it was Charlie, Adelita, or one of his Quidditch teammates. Danny was clearly a happier person than Daniel was.

(Nate, incidentally, also turned to see who was speaking first, but that was because Daniel had said 'Hi' back one too many times to people who weren't talking to him.)

He tuned back in to what Charlie was saying when she did make a valid point. He smiled at her again when she declared that she was not the sort of person to make plans but preferred to do things on a whim.

He could do this. Just start small. There were a few inalienable things that did not change no matter who he was pretending to be. Also, things that just felt wrong when he pretended otherwise. Things that he was not he could handle.

"I am not an optimist," he stated first and foremost. "I am not impulsive. No, wait, Daniel's not, but Danny can be. I am not stupid. I am not a fan of the color yellow. And I do not like bow ties. At all." He gave Charlie a small crooked smile, "Don't tell Mom."

1 Daniel I know I do 130 Daniel 0 5

Charlie

February 09, 2011 6:01 AM

Acceptance is the first stage to recovery by Charlie

Excellent, being a slave to whim didn't make Daniel wrinke his nose (which, Charlotte realised for the first time, was something she thought he might do as Daniel but not as Danny... was she starting to get to grips with his identity issues?) and there was that smile again. She didn't think, by any stretch of even her wild imagination, that she was going to solve her friend's identity problems during this conversation, or even during this year, but if she could start by making him smile when he had been frowning at his toast just moments ago then she would happily settle for that for the time being.

"I am not an optimist," Daniel said, and Charlie smiled back; she was pleased that he was having a go, and she was amused by the statement that he chosen first. It said a lot about him. No wonder he was stressing over the future if he didn't think it was all going to turn out alright in the end. For Charlie's part, she was definitely an optimist, no mistaking it. An optimist who acted on whim. She was also impulsive, which apparently she had in common with Danny, but not with Daniel. Interesting. Charlie had never really been a pop-psychologist type, but she could see that Daniel would make an intriguing subject for study. Though on the other hand, didn't everyone change their persona depending on who they were with or what they were doing? Charlotte knew she was different when she was in her Quidditch captain role - she was bossier, more competetive, and she swore a lot more. These were traits that she had anyway, but when she was in charge of her team they seemed to be exaggerated, and she did it without even noticing. Likewise when she was dancing she could be a perfectionist, and would be prepared to work hard until she was happy. This was not the case with DADA assignments, which usually extracted only sufficient effort for a passing grade and to get it out of the way quickly so she could move on to her next task.

"I am not a fan of the color yellow," Daniel claimed, and Charlie found herself making a mental note not to wear yellow anymore. She didn't wear much anyway, because it didn't really compliment her skin tone and had the tendency to make her look ill, but if Daniel dind't like it then it was banned from her wardrobe. She wondered vaguely whether he liked red, and more specifically the red top she was wearing that was practically designed to draw attention to the wearer and certain assets she might possess. Charlie thought clothes could do a lot for a person, and wasn't surprised that at least one of Daniel's comments made an allusion to clothing. "Don't tell Mom," he said.

"When I meet your mother I'll be sure to steer conversation well away from bow-ties," Charlotte replied, her tone semi-serious. She couldn't really imagine herself in a situation where she would be spending any great amount of time with Kathleen Burbridge. Unless, of course, she ended up marrying Daniel, but considering their relationship so far, even an optimist such as herself couldn't truly believe in that scenario.

"I think you're making excellent progress," she said to Daniel with a smile. And if I stay here much longer I'm going to run amok and maybe ruin it all, she added silently. Having finished her yoghurt and juice, Charlie stood with the excuse, "I have to go get ready for class. So, I'll see you later?" Before she could quite leave, she allowed her propensity for being impulsive to govern her parting comment. "Just for the record, I think you're wrong. I think Daniel can be impulsive." She smiled, winked, and sashayed her way out of the Hall.

0 Charlie Acceptance is the first stage to recovery 0 Charlie 0 5

Daniel

February 09, 2011 10:02 AM

I accepted this a long time ago by Daniel

Daniel was momentarily distracted from the conversation at hand by the thought of Charlie and his Mom meeting. He had no idea how either woman would take the other and he made a mental note to have Charlie visit him when he was at Dad's if she ever came over during the summer. Mom did not always get along well with other females, especially pretty ones, and Charlie was definitely pretty even when she was wearing the less-than-fashionable school robes (in that top, she was well past 'pretty').

He came back to the present as she began to make leaving noises, and his 'Bye, Charlie' got caught in his throat as she made her parting shot.

He frowned in disagreement and wanted to debate the issue but she was already gone. That was not fair.

Daniel was not impulsive. Any time Daniel acted impulsively - which was not often at Sonora - that was because he'd either been chemically imbalanced by drugs or by strong emotion and he wasn't actually Daniel at that point anymore. Any impulsive act Charlie might have witnessed would have been Danny peeking through, because Daniel didn't do impulsive. That was against the role.

He crossed his arms and glared irritably at his toast. "I am the antithesis of impulsive," he told it. "The problem with this persona is that it thinks too much." He paused for a moment, considering that. "And that it talks about itself in the third person to breakfast food. I should go to class, too." Leaving the half-eaten toast and apple where they were, he pulled together his things and headed out of the Hall.

1 Daniel I accepted this a long time ago 130 Daniel 0 5