Dulce et Decorum Est, part 3
Jan. 11th, 2008 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darklunaCharacters: A, B, C, and L
Rating: Totally G!
Word count: 1340 for this part
Summary: Alter is a verb as well.
1 | 2
Chapter 3: A B C
Mr. Roger took us to the room where I had met L, which I'd found out was a common room. There were snacks out again, and someone had brought in more toys since the last time.
"Classes will start the day after tomorrow," Mr. Roger said. "You'll study the usual subjects for your age, and you'll be able to choose from some advanced classes as well. We'd like you to enjoy your studies, but you should know that we expect you to excel. I'll talk to each of you separately to decide which classes you want to take. You may have the rest of today free. Dinner's at six. Any questions?"
Cat shook her head. Her brown eyes looked very big.
"When will we meet L?" Backup asked.
"I'll find you and Cat tomorrow and take you to meet him."
Mr. Roger left, and I decided to stay and find out more about what Backup and Cat were like.
Cat went over to the big windows, and stared out at the trees. I started to go talk to her, but Backup came and stood in front of me.
"Hey," he said. He had black hair, like L, but his was much tidier. His face was still blank. I wasn't sure if he had taught himself how to make it like that, or if he just didn't feel anything. "Have you met L?"
"Yes."
"What's he like? Is he very smart? How old is he? What's he look like? Do—"
"Stop for a second," I said. It was weird to hear so many questions from someone whose face didn't show me anything at all. I tried to remember them all. "He's our age, and very smart. He has black hair and grey eyes with black circles around them. He likes to eat cake. He's nice."
"He's our age?"
I nodded.
"Hm." He made his eyes narrower at me, and turned and went over to the toys.
Cat turned away from the window and raised her eyebrows at me. The sunlight was very bright in here this time of day, and her hair looked glowy and gingery.
"Hi, Cat," I said.
"Hey, Alter."
"L calls me Al," I said quietly. It seemed like a secret.
"They tried to give me another name," Cat said, "but it was stupid."
I felt surprised that she had disagreed with Mr. Roger about anything. I had been too excited and nervous to mind anything very much. "That was brave of you," I said.
"Not really," she said. "I just wanted to pick for myself." She looked around the room. "It's pretty fancy here."
"Don't worry. They don't expect us to be."
"That's a relief. I wouldn't know how. I've lived six different places already, and none of them were any good. At least some of the people were amusing in their stupidity."
I didn't know if I could find stupidity funny, but I didn't say that. Cat told me a little about the places she'd lived, and I told her about my mum, and about how I came to the House.
"Oh, Al," she said, and patted my shoulder.
I took a few steps away from her. "I don't like it when people touch me."
"Oh. OK." She looked at me, then down at her hands, at her interlaced fingers. "Is it because your mom hit you?"
"She didn't hit me. I just don't like it." I thought Cat wouldn't have asked that unless someone had hit her, but I knew it was one of the things most people didn't like to talk about.
***
Classes started, and we studied maths, grammar, history, and science. I had picked languages and forensics from the advanced classes Mr. Roger told me about, and I was learning Japanese. It was hard, because I mostly only knew Romance languages. Forensics was easier for me, and being good at it made me mind less that I was second in the class.
L didn't do lessons. He was working on a new case instead. Sometimes I looked out the classroom windows and saw him walking around outside, or sitting under the big tree with his papers.
Weeks passed, and I learnt a lot. I liked Cat, but Backup's blank face still made me feel strange when I talked to him. He was tops in our classes, but it didn't seem to make him happy.
L was very busy, but sometimes he came to visit me.
"I don't think I like Backup," I said, one afternoon when he stopped by my room.
He thought for a moment. "I'm not saying you had it easy," he said, "but B and C had it a lot worse."
I'd already guessed that about Cat, but Backup acted so superior that I hadn’t thought about it. "Maybe I should've taken psychology."
"I've read their files," L said.
"Did you—" I began, but stopped. "You won't tell me anything, will you? Not about any of our files?"
He smiled, and shook his head. "I call him B for a reason, you know."
"The same reason you call me Al." I felt bad then, and decided I would try to be nicer.
***
It had been a little while since I had seen L, so one day I went to his room.
He wasn't working. He was just sitting at his desk with his thumb in his mouth.
"How are you?" I said.
"I'm doing well, now."
"Did you solve the case?"
"Yes. We got him." L clicked some keys on the computer to shut it down, then looked around the room. There were stacks of paper everywhere, and plates with crumbs on them, and pillows on the floor. "Wow, what a mess," L said. "Al, what day is today? I think I lost track."
"It's Halloween," I said.
"Oh. It's my birthday today."
"Happy birthday," I said.
"Thanks." He pushed his hair out of his face. It was even messier than usual. "Sorry, Al. I have to decompress after hard cases, and I get a little scatterbrained."
L being scatterbrained at all was a very funny idea, so I laughed. "We could go outside."
Cat was also through with her classes for the day, and when we saw her in the common room as we went by, L invited her to come along.
It was cold outside, and the sky was full of grey clouds.
"Maybe it'll snow!" Cat said.
She gave me her mittens when she saw that I didn't have any. One was green, and one was yellow.
L told us about the case he had just finished. "Motive is the key," he said. "Once you understand why a crime happened, it almost always leads you to the guilty party."
***
When we went back in for dinner, there was a big banner up for L's birthday, and a white cake with lots of yellow flowers.
I took some shepherd's pie, and so did Cat and B. L didn't have any. I saw that B only ate a little before pushing his plate away.
Then it was time for cake.
"It's my birthday too," B said when we went over to the table.
"It is not," Cat told him. "Your birthday's not for another four months."
B stared at her for a second. Then he shoved her out of the way. He pushed L down and hit him.
Miss Parker yelled, and Mr. Roger hurried over. I was too surprised to move, but Cat wasn't. She grabbed B's hair and pulled very hard. "Get off him!"
B kicked at Cat, but missed. "That's enough," Mr. Roger said. "Backup, come with me."
I realized I could move again, and went over to L, Cat, and Miss Parker. "Are you hurt?"
"No," L said. He put his tongue out and touched a place on his lip that was bleeding. "Not badly, anyway."
"You need to take self-defence with me," Cat said.
L licked the cut on his lip again. "Yes. Apparently I do."
Rating: Totally G!
Word count: 1340 for this part
Summary: Alter is a verb as well.
1 | 2
Chapter 3: A B C
Mr. Roger took us to the room where I had met L, which I'd found out was a common room. There were snacks out again, and someone had brought in more toys since the last time.
"Classes will start the day after tomorrow," Mr. Roger said. "You'll study the usual subjects for your age, and you'll be able to choose from some advanced classes as well. We'd like you to enjoy your studies, but you should know that we expect you to excel. I'll talk to each of you separately to decide which classes you want to take. You may have the rest of today free. Dinner's at six. Any questions?"
Cat shook her head. Her brown eyes looked very big.
"When will we meet L?" Backup asked.
"I'll find you and Cat tomorrow and take you to meet him."
Mr. Roger left, and I decided to stay and find out more about what Backup and Cat were like.
Cat went over to the big windows, and stared out at the trees. I started to go talk to her, but Backup came and stood in front of me.
"Hey," he said. He had black hair, like L, but his was much tidier. His face was still blank. I wasn't sure if he had taught himself how to make it like that, or if he just didn't feel anything. "Have you met L?"
"Yes."
"What's he like? Is he very smart? How old is he? What's he look like? Do—"
"Stop for a second," I said. It was weird to hear so many questions from someone whose face didn't show me anything at all. I tried to remember them all. "He's our age, and very smart. He has black hair and grey eyes with black circles around them. He likes to eat cake. He's nice."
"He's our age?"
I nodded.
"Hm." He made his eyes narrower at me, and turned and went over to the toys.
Cat turned away from the window and raised her eyebrows at me. The sunlight was very bright in here this time of day, and her hair looked glowy and gingery.
"Hi, Cat," I said.
"Hey, Alter."
"L calls me Al," I said quietly. It seemed like a secret.
"They tried to give me another name," Cat said, "but it was stupid."
I felt surprised that she had disagreed with Mr. Roger about anything. I had been too excited and nervous to mind anything very much. "That was brave of you," I said.
"Not really," she said. "I just wanted to pick for myself." She looked around the room. "It's pretty fancy here."
"Don't worry. They don't expect us to be."
"That's a relief. I wouldn't know how. I've lived six different places already, and none of them were any good. At least some of the people were amusing in their stupidity."
I didn't know if I could find stupidity funny, but I didn't say that. Cat told me a little about the places she'd lived, and I told her about my mum, and about how I came to the House.
"Oh, Al," she said, and patted my shoulder.
I took a few steps away from her. "I don't like it when people touch me."
"Oh. OK." She looked at me, then down at her hands, at her interlaced fingers. "Is it because your mom hit you?"
"She didn't hit me. I just don't like it." I thought Cat wouldn't have asked that unless someone had hit her, but I knew it was one of the things most people didn't like to talk about.
***
Classes started, and we studied maths, grammar, history, and science. I had picked languages and forensics from the advanced classes Mr. Roger told me about, and I was learning Japanese. It was hard, because I mostly only knew Romance languages. Forensics was easier for me, and being good at it made me mind less that I was second in the class.
L didn't do lessons. He was working on a new case instead. Sometimes I looked out the classroom windows and saw him walking around outside, or sitting under the big tree with his papers.
Weeks passed, and I learnt a lot. I liked Cat, but Backup's blank face still made me feel strange when I talked to him. He was tops in our classes, but it didn't seem to make him happy.
L was very busy, but sometimes he came to visit me.
"I don't think I like Backup," I said, one afternoon when he stopped by my room.
He thought for a moment. "I'm not saying you had it easy," he said, "but B and C had it a lot worse."
I'd already guessed that about Cat, but Backup acted so superior that I hadn’t thought about it. "Maybe I should've taken psychology."
"I've read their files," L said.
"Did you—" I began, but stopped. "You won't tell me anything, will you? Not about any of our files?"
He smiled, and shook his head. "I call him B for a reason, you know."
"The same reason you call me Al." I felt bad then, and decided I would try to be nicer.
***
It had been a little while since I had seen L, so one day I went to his room.
He wasn't working. He was just sitting at his desk with his thumb in his mouth.
"How are you?" I said.
"I'm doing well, now."
"Did you solve the case?"
"Yes. We got him." L clicked some keys on the computer to shut it down, then looked around the room. There were stacks of paper everywhere, and plates with crumbs on them, and pillows on the floor. "Wow, what a mess," L said. "Al, what day is today? I think I lost track."
"It's Halloween," I said.
"Oh. It's my birthday today."
"Happy birthday," I said.
"Thanks." He pushed his hair out of his face. It was even messier than usual. "Sorry, Al. I have to decompress after hard cases, and I get a little scatterbrained."
L being scatterbrained at all was a very funny idea, so I laughed. "We could go outside."
Cat was also through with her classes for the day, and when we saw her in the common room as we went by, L invited her to come along.
It was cold outside, and the sky was full of grey clouds.
"Maybe it'll snow!" Cat said.
She gave me her mittens when she saw that I didn't have any. One was green, and one was yellow.
L told us about the case he had just finished. "Motive is the key," he said. "Once you understand why a crime happened, it almost always leads you to the guilty party."
***
When we went back in for dinner, there was a big banner up for L's birthday, and a white cake with lots of yellow flowers.
I took some shepherd's pie, and so did Cat and B. L didn't have any. I saw that B only ate a little before pushing his plate away.
Then it was time for cake.
"It's my birthday too," B said when we went over to the table.
"It is not," Cat told him. "Your birthday's not for another four months."
B stared at her for a second. Then he shoved her out of the way. He pushed L down and hit him.
Miss Parker yelled, and Mr. Roger hurried over. I was too surprised to move, but Cat wasn't. She grabbed B's hair and pulled very hard. "Get off him!"
B kicked at Cat, but missed. "That's enough," Mr. Roger said. "Backup, come with me."
I realized I could move again, and went over to L, Cat, and Miss Parker. "Are you hurt?"
"No," L said. He put his tongue out and touched a place on his lip that was bleeding. "Not badly, anyway."
"You need to take self-defence with me," Cat said.
L licked the cut on his lip again. "Yes. Apparently I do."
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 02:25 am (UTC)Cat is cute. ♥
B pulls at my heart a bit already. Backup, ouch; it does kinda hurt, doesn't it? Ooooh. Loved that bit about the birthdays. More ouch. Gah, B.
And I just... love this in general. Yes. Yessss. ♥
no subject
Date: 2008-01-12 02:49 am (UTC)My usual style is much more, well, flowery *g* - I'm trying not to go too far the other way.
I think Cat responded to her unhappy past by becoming very protective of others, while B went in pretty much the opposite direction. I feel for him, too, though. He's so broken.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-15 01:21 am (UTC)And I agree with Rinna, you got the child-like pov spot-on. Also, simple details like, She gave me her mittens when she saw that I didn't have any. One was green, and one was yellow give the story so much life.
Oh, and some of the things A says and thinks, like how words have colors and feelings - does he have synesthesia here?
no subject
Date: 2008-01-15 03:18 am (UTC)Oh, and some of the things A says and thinks, like how words have colors and feelings - does he have synesthesia here?
I think so. I didn't know exactly the word for it. A's one of those characters my subconscious handed me pretty much fully formed, but it doesn't tell me everything. :)