Moderator
|
1,612 posts
|
2 likes
|
Mischief Managed!
|
Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
|
Unicorn
|
Post by elise13 on Feb 24, 2013 14:34:19 GMT -10
((This one is so fun. Interesting to write about. My poor baby *sob* I’m sowweee….sadly, Tessa can’t say anything because it’s all in Albert’s head. Although, she probably would not say anything nice…))
An awkward silence fell over the table. Not as awkward as it could have been, for both of them were thoroughly occupied eating, but it was still a bit uncomfortable. At least for Tessa. She had never thought of herself as one who craved conversation, but it seemed unnatural to be sitting with another person and not say /something/. Maybe this silence was typical behavior for people while eating. She normally ate alone, so had little applicable experience. Although, the way Albert was acting, it did not seem that he had much experience with people. In general, let alone at meals. Yet, she did not comment on it. Albert seemed, lost in thought. For a moment, his eyes fogged over. Probably dreaming of his home or maybe the adventures he was to a have in the future. And just like that, he was back at his food again. Had she imagined it? Hardly. She was not one to conjure up hallucinations about eyes. In fact, she was not one to hallucinate at all. Tessa was much too down-to-earth for that silliness. No, hallucinations were a sign of a bored, unintelligent mind. And she was neither of those things. Her mind was always working at perfectly high level. Not to mention she considered herself to be something paramount to a genius. Well, he was fine now, so there was no use thinking on it any more. Either he had been dreaming or it had not. It made no difference to her in the long run. She stared at her food, trying to be neat with that pasta. This whole endeavor with white dress versus pasta could be a real issue. Have faith in yourself, she told herself. She knew how to eat like a civilized human being. Tessa did not really remember learning how, but she was sure she learned at a young age. Younger than others, that much was obvious. Tessa’s head snapped up at the sewing comment. She looked at him blankly for a moment, sewing? What did- right, that was part of her lie. For heaven’s sake, she had just mentioned it. Where was her head? Tessa swallowed, normal girls did not talk with their mouths full, that much she knew about polite society. Tessa replied, cheeks flushing due to her imagined pride, “Yes. I make some of my own. I used to be quite gifted.” She added, “Except for gloves. I could never quite get the knack of those.” She ate another bite of her food. That would do. It sounded sincere too. Right down to the blush. She commended herself on a job well done. But she supposed it was a bit early to do so. After all, that was just three sentences. Not exactly the most stunning performance of the decade. Yet it was a good recovery from the poor show earlier. Tessa queried, “Do you have any special talents?” Not that sewing was very special, but she supposed it was a talent. It was just an applicable skill. ((Sorry it’s so short….))
|
|
Dormant
|
201 posts
|
0 likes
|
I swear next time I make a character they are going to be Japanese
|
Sept 19, 2016 22:08:23 GMT -10
|
Viscount (Viscountess)
|
Post by Specter Seren on Feb 24, 2013 14:53:34 GMT -10
((It's okay, there was stuff, lol. I know~ They’re characters are just so...Gosh. I would say Tessa’s my baby but I don’t think she would take kindly to that. I love her though~))
“Ah, I see...”
Albert wasn’t really quite sure what else he could say to that. He hadn’t really been thinking when he asked the question; he was just more concerned with trying to pick up the conversation once again.
[Gloves...huh?]
He, too, had had an up-happy past with gloves. They annoyed him. Luckily, gloves were only needed in the most special of circumstances, but whenever his mother had forced a pair down upon his fingers, he could only remember being unhappy about it. First of all, the gloves were usually white. White was a hard color to wear, especially on ones hands, with which things were always being done. And said things were always more difficult when one had slippery, often-times just too big, pieces of fabric slapped on this.
[Whoever came up with such a ridiculous idea, anyways?]
That was strange. Why was he suddenly questioning something as simple as a pair of gloves? But it was silly. Why did a man need something on his fingers? Well...at least the fancy ones, which were all Albert knew. If he had been more familiar with work gloves, he might have seen the good they could do.
“I can see how gloves might be tricky...”
He really had been thinking about it.
But he wondered why suddenly all of these memories and past experiences had been coming back to mind. Was it Tessa? Was meeting a new person some sort of trigger to make Albert realize all of the little things odd about his life?
[Well...it’s not like she’s perfectly normal...She /did/ escape from a war-infested country, after all.]
Still, to Albert, Tessa represented everything which he had been missing in his life. Experience. Freshness. She was polite and refined...and yet...somehow exotic. Maybe it was because those whom he had gotten to know over the course of his life, since they were so few in number, he had gotten to know them too well. Here was someone who still retained an air of mystery.
As if his guest could read his thoughts, she immediately questioned him about talents. Really, he had just been thinking about the only talent he had ever had, and he gave that up in early elementary school.
Maybe he really was just a boring guy, after all. All of the wonderful things he enjoyed about Tessa...he himself possessed none of those traits. Well, maybe to her he did. That was some small ray of hope.
“Uh...I guess...not really. Business tactics. Reading. Food. Knowing things...Those are just interests, though. I don’t really have any talents, per say...”
He tried to think of the last time someone had complimented him on something, and came up with nothing. Even Elise...so full of praise...well...she was more concerned with his appearance, most of the time, than with anything he could or could not do or do well.
“It would be really cool to be able to make clothes, though. Then you can wear anything you’d like. Wait, did you make that dress you’re wearing now?”
To try and ease his own boringness, he hoped to make Tessa, at least, out to be even more interesting. It would be nice, though. Not that Albert had ever been turned away from anything he had really, truly wanted to buy...but creative skills were those he was always most jealous of. With the power to create, one immediately had immense freedom. Almost as much as they would like.
|
|
Moderator
|
1,612 posts
|
2 likes
|
Mischief Managed!
|
Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
|
Unicorn
|
Post by elise13 on Feb 24, 2013 17:41:02 GMT -10
((She would pop out of my head and hit you. She’s a real beastie. I’m glad you like her, she’s incorrigible.))
Tessa replied, “It’s all the fingers, I think.” They were tricky. Fingers were really useful. In fact, they were the reason anyone could sew in the first place. But all the different ways the fingers could flex and bend certainly made sewing something to cover them difficult. Nearly impossible. She had never sewn a pair personally, they always looked too much work. Tessa really only mended her own clothes on a regular basis. On the bright side, she could darn socks with her eyes closed. And she had really developed a talent for stitching things up without adding any extra fabric. Yet she sincerely doubted that was the kind of sewing Albert’s Tessa would do. She did domestic sewing, she decided. Probably for money. Like how Tessa has imagined her mother doing. Her fake mother, she reminded herself. She never imagined her real mother. The woman was meaningless. Dead. It was pointless thinking of her. The imagined one was the important one. And they could not be one and the same because the imagined one was actually a mother to the imagined Tessa. She actually taught her kid how to sew. Stuck around long enough to take care of her. Teach her things. Saved her child’s life. The imagined mother….was not real. Imaginary mother for an imaginary girl. How suitable. But you’re not bitter about it, Tessa told herself. No. She did not need a mother. She never did. Tessa took care of herself. Taught herself to sew. Didn’t need a mommy do to so. Tessa focused on the food for a moment. It provided her a chance to remove her brain from such a dark road. The food was just as good as it had been a minute ago. At least that proved her sanity. There. She was not losing her mind because of this kid. Maybe just getting frustrating, but at least she was not completely losing her marbles. Tessa nodded at his list of talents. Chewing. Not very interesting. Nothing she did not already know. Still, it was polite to respond to someone revealing information. Even Albert had and he had been severely let down by her revealing the business about the sewing. At least they had found something decent to talk about. She responded, “Knowing things is a talent. Never could keep a thought in my head well. So is business. You are lucky to be good at that sort of stuff. Don’t discount yourself.” There. That was a compliment even. And it should boost his self-esteem. But she had not been lying. Everything she said was true. Those things were talents. He was lucky to be able to do them. Well, there had been a lie. She could keep plenty of thoughts in her head. So many that she was running this gone. There, that boosted /her/ self-esteem. Which was admittedly a bit inflated. Not in a bad way though. Of course not. Tessa nodded, another flattered flush rose to her cheeks, “Yeah, actually I did. I made it when I got here. I thought it seemed Algrandian.” She shrugged. She could only hope that he would never see another dress like hers. At least she had not gotten it from a store window. Tessa continued, “It is nice. And if something does not fit, I can fit it.” That was convenient, she thought. If only it was something she really did.
|
|
Dormant
|
201 posts
|
0 likes
|
I swear next time I make a character they are going to be Japanese
|
Sept 19, 2016 22:08:23 GMT -10
|
Viscount (Viscountess)
|
Post by Specter Seren on Feb 24, 2013 18:20:12 GMT -10
“Really...you think so? Thanks.” At the girl’s compliment Albert could feel himself getting redder once again, and his non-fork-holding hand instinctively went up behind his ear. A strange habit. Did he always do that? Perhaps it would need to be curbed before entering the real business world. Even though he was glad, Albert was really surprised that Tessa actually accepted his pathetic list of “talents.” Well...some people really just were nice, he reasoned. Tessa was obviously one of those people. After all, he had only met her after she had decided to return his luggage to him. Was that not the greatest act of kindness? [Then again...there /was/ money missing...] But as he quickly paused in his eating, food almost to his mouth, to gaze at Tessa once more, Albert found it impossible to imagine her stuffing her pockets with his money. And even if she had... [She can keep it. I don’t need my parents’ dirty money, anyways.] Wait, what was he saying!? A businessman who didn’t properly prize his money was...basically useless. Being a kind person didn’t mean running a charity case. He remembered the inspector. Hopefully he’d get a lead on the thief soon! If nothing else, Albert didn’t want to be known as the tourist who let himself get robbed. That wasn’t a very responsible face to show the world...especially to his parents. [“Why do you always let people walk all over you, Albert? You have to be firmer! Like Owen was.”] But the young man wasn’t exactly in the mood for his communications teacher’s past moralizations at the moment. Or ever, really. [Always comparing me...] It was a bit annoying. One of the few things that truly annoyed him. No one should have to feel like they weren’t capable of doing something. No one could tell him that he wasn’t going to be successful. “Really? That’s great. I think it does blend in pretty well with the atmosphere. How long did it take to sew?” He had seen some pretty outrageous dresses for girls to wear. There were some so covered in lace and ruffles that it was hard even to see what the person wearing them actually looked like. Owen used to joke about it all the time. It didn’t seem so funny now. [Why do you keep thinking about Owen? Quit it!] He scolded himself since it was not something which he wanted to think about. Maybe all these memories of the past was his subconscious trying to tell him that he was homesick. Wait, homesick? No way! That was the last feeling he was experiencing, and that was saying something, since he was experiencing so much. There was absolutely no reason for him to have any reason to go home, whining back to his parents, begging them to take him in again. Just so they could flaunt how he’d been wrong and they’d been right. Despite what any communications teacher might say, Albert did have quite a lot of self pride; certainly too much to do anything like that. Not before at least trying and giving it his best shot. [“After all...Tessa’s here now...”] That’s right. She had promised to help him. That should certainly make running the exhaustive gambit to try and get the right permits to set up business and whatnot a lot more pleasurable. Even though Albert enjoyed a healthy amount of work, it was a bit trying on his mind to have to haggle with the Algrandian embassy day after day. The only upside was that, due to his own family’s influence, of course, at least they all spoke the same language. Speaking of which... “Hey, Tessa, how did you learn to speak our language so well?” Ugh. Yet another sudden conversation change, before he had even given her a chance to respond to his first question. He really had to curb the excitement of his. Well, practice makes perfect.
|
|
Moderator
|
1,612 posts
|
2 likes
|
Mischief Managed!
|
Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
|
Unicorn
|
Post by elise13 on Feb 26, 2013 16:22:23 GMT -10
Tessa nodded, “Of course.” At least he could take a compliment semi-decently. That was pretty good for such a kid. He did not get inflated about anything, but was appropriately modest. Well, sometimes he was a little too modest, but not in a false way, she decided. He truly did feel that way about himself. Someone had not been kind enough to him as a kid. She would have to make sure to get him some significant self-confidence. No one should be in such poor standings with themselves. Tessa could not imagine being so embarrassed and unwilling to accept one’s own talents. Of course, she was confident by nature, but it was almost disheartening to know that Albert was not aware of his own gifts. He was brilliant, knowing everything about books there was to know. He was kind, never doubting for a second that the world was filled with good people. Albert seemed honest too, he even revealed his most prized secret for fear of lying to her. Albert was a good kid. He really was fantastic. He was wonderful, sweet, funny, and precious as could be. Tessa snapped back to attention. What was she doing complimenting him? He was naïve. And….too trusting. Though she had put that in the plus column a moment before. She supposed that was neutral then. But, there was plenty wrong with him! He was…himself! And that was enough. There was nothing she needed to help him see. He was rich and he was smart, he did not need her holding his hand to get him there. Wherever there was exactly. Though, he did seem eager to have a friend. That was beside the point! She was sending him home. Not helping him find his way in life. That was most certainly not her job. Tessa flattened the dress across her lap. She smiled demurely, which she now considered an expert skill of hers, “Thank you.” Tessa fingered her fork, but did not pick it up. She was battling between talking and eating, but she had to keep her mouth completely empty while talking. If Albert’s Tessa was one thing, it was well-mannered and she was not about to risk that for a mouthful of food. Nope, the food would just have to wait. Then he asked how long it took to make. Well, that was a question. She supposed he would not be able to call her out if she said an incorrect time. He even admitted that he did not know about sewing. So she could say anything she wanted. Tessa tried to fathom what time would be appropriate to sew a dress. A couple hours? That was probably correct. Tessa waved a hand in the air, “A few hours. I cannot quite remember how long. I have plenty of time- I am unemployed after all.” She shrugged. Hopefully he would not fret over the time she had spent sewing the dress. Albert was quiet for a few minutes, thinking most likely. He was a thinker. There were often pauses in the conversation where he would just think. Of course, then he never called her out on the long pauses she took to answer a question. All was fair in that regards. Except, she had no clue what he could be thinking about. He did not have lies to keep up and keep straight and in order. He was just telling the truth. As far as she knew. He had no tells of lying though, so she was fairly certain he was telling the truth. Tessa was pretty good at spotting tells, if she did say so herself. And she would. Of course, she had no tells. She was way better than that. Cleverer. She knew better than to have a tell for her lies. She had learned how to control herself. Speaking of long pauses to think, Albert asked an even harder question than the sewing question. How /did/ she speak the language? Dermain did have another language all its own! How had she forgotten that? Oh yeah, Albert had kind of shoved that lie at her with some question. She could not quite remember what. It had been a convenient lie at the time, but it seemed to be getting more and more inconvenient. She had to dodge her own family for conversation, which seemed to make Albert uncomfortable. Though she could not figure out why. After all, he did not exactly want to chat about his family either. But that still left the question. Tessa drummed her fingers on her leg, just out of Albert’s line of sight. Think, think, think. How exactly could she explain that? Mother sewed, so that was out as an excuse. They could not have lived by the border or else they would have simply crossed to the other side at the beginning of the war. She could not say she had gone away to a foreign school, or else her family would have more money and she would not be living semi-poor in Talera. Hardly something a wealthier girl would do. Although, Albert was doing the exact same thing, so he could not exactly criticize her for it. Though, that would be fighting the odds and impossibilities, having the exact same story as him. She was far better than such an obvious solution to the problem. Besides, if that had been true, she would have mentioned how similar they were earlier. It was too late for the story, so she would have to with a different idea entirely. Family? Maybe some of her family was foreign. Oh! Perhaps her father was the one who was foreign. He was from Albert’s country. And she was bilingual. Perfect. Good cover that did not mean she had to be incredibly intelligent to keep up. Tessa replied, her right eyebrow raised unconsciously, “Oh, that. My dad was not exactly Dermanian. He snuck across the border to be with my mom. So he spoke ((whatever language- I forgot the name XP)) ‘round the house. And I was a little kid, so I just picked it up the same as Dermanian.” She shrugged, as if it was no big deal. Of course I speak two languages. What decent kid doesn’t? What a silly question, Albert. Nonchalance was the best way to handle the situation. Rather than sounding surprised about the fact she spoke two languages. She needed to say it like it had been there all it life- since that was what she was claiming, after all.
|
|
Dormant
|
201 posts
|
0 likes
|
I swear next time I make a character they are going to be Japanese
|
Sept 19, 2016 22:08:23 GMT -10
|
Viscount (Viscountess)
|
Post by Specter Seren on Feb 26, 2013 21:42:13 GMT -10
((OMG! This post was a gift for me, wasn’t it? I mean, it was so long...and Albert finally won so many compliments. Augh! Happy feelings right now. Makes up for unhappy feelings from Ge Ming, lol. Oh...and...I don’t even think Albert’s [and maybe real Tessa’s?] country had a name or language...our geography is so cracked in this world, anyways, lol.))
Something about the girl’s words seemed odd to Albert.
[“I have plenty of time- I am unemployed, after all.”]
He couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but there was a sort of disharmony to the way she had said that. Or rather, maybe it was just because he felt as if she were calling out himself.
[Obviously I can do something as simple as that. I bet I could make ten thousand dresses if I had the free time you have.]
Albert once again struggled to chase his thoughts from his mind. Maybe all that reading had damaged him after all. It seemed to have given him a very over-active imagination. Or maybe that had merely been his survival technique. Survival of the fittest, after all, and to survive in Winther-Mansion-Land without going insane one had to come up with all sorts of ways to entertain oneself. Evidently, over-thinking everything and letting your brain run wild was one of them. And now that he was released into the wide world beyond, his mind was going crazy with all the new information.
That thought, juxtaposed with the mind-Tessa-teacher scolding his perceived laziness at never really having to do any sort of manual labor made him laugh to himself, just a bit. It was just too ridiculous. Maybe he really did have a problem.
As Tessa continued to talk about her family life, explaining how she had developed such good speaking skills, Albert nodded respectfully. There were lots of little cues to let people know you were paying attention to them, and it varied between cultures and sometimes even societal standings. That had been a hard test, Albert could remember. Having to learn all the differences between what was and wasn’t polite in different countries. Only his strong background in history had allowed him to live through that one.
Still...it all seemed so nice, the way Tessa described it. As if having a warm, loving family who taught you how to sew and speak in foreign languages was the simplest thing in the world. Of course. Why shouldn’t it be? Most people came from normal families. Even if Albert suspected that his friend’s was particularly peachy, he still felt that her experiences in life must be a whole lot closer to the norm than his had.
“That sounds nice. It must be great, having your family teach you things like that...”
At the mention of Tessa’s now-deceased family Albert, catching himself, realized that he had better change the subject. Fast. But the more he thought about it, the more depressing it all became. How cruel was it that someone with as good a family as Tessa’s...the type of family who would die for you, who stuck by you, who always believed in you...why was it that they had been so harshly taken away? Especially when a family like his, who couldn’t even begin to compare, still lived on? But what Albert was really concerned with wasn’t himself. He didn’t feel guilty for having parents while Tessa’s were dead. He was just...really, really sad. Almost as if Tessa was a character in a book, one whom he had become deeply attached to. Even though she was a different person, a different individual, it was like he knew everything about her, or at least enough to feel what she must have felt. And yet she could sit there talking about it so calmly...Even the small outburst of tears earlier seemed paltry in comparison to what Albert thought such a tragedy would warrant. But then again, maybe he was just weak. He really had to learn how to become stronger, if he was ever going to survive.
But he also remembered his promise to himself, that he wasn’t going to let his dreams get in the way of his moral standings. Was it really so pathetic to feel empathy with another human being?
“It’s really...too bad...”
Here he had meant to change the conversation, but the topic had consumed him. He was sure that he looked ridiculous, sulking like that, though, so he continued to throw himself into his eating once more. Practically a third of the way into the thing and he was already feeling stuffed to the core. Although pampered, Albert had never been greedy. Gorging himself to blotation wasn’t something he was familiar with.
Another thing about Tessa, he realized, was the easy way in which she was carrying on the conversation. Other than the quick bout of excitement when he had first revealed himself to her, she had been acting relatively normal. As if he had told her his family name was Harrison from up the street. And that was how Albert had always imagined it. Even if Elise always insisted that outsiders would treat them differently, Albert had always suspected that soon they would come to appreciate him for what he was...just another human being. As flawed and perfect as the best of them.
He mentally thanked Tessa for giving him that.
|
|
Moderator
|
1,612 posts
|
2 likes
|
Mischief Managed!
|
Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
|
Unicorn
|
Post by elise13 on Mar 10, 2013 11:16:02 GMT -10
((Yes….of course it was a gift. Albert deserves them, so he can at least have a few. Oooooh…Ge Ming, where both of your charries troll everyone into annoyance. I don’t know what we did with geography, but we really, really murdered it. I’m glad to know that you don’t know what language it is either. I establish it as Chantenese and the country is Chanten. I don’t know why, I just smashed those letters together. Tada! And I think real Tessa is from that country. I love how I don’t know that info. She tells me lies a lot. Took forever to get a name out of her. Sorry this is a bit short, didn't have much to say.))
Tessa nodded. She supposed it would be nice. Having parents around like that. Well, she felt like some sort of psychology example. Because she didn’t have parents, she went and created herself the perfect little family. Bilingual father. Seamstress mother. It was all very lovely. The perfect- no. There was no such thing. No families were perfect. Parents fought. Kids rebelled. Imperfect. Why would she want all that drama? She was better off never having known her parents. She could take care of herself. Tessa could never run home desperately. She did not need to. Tessa was fine. Better than fine. After all, Albert had parents and he was much more screwed up mentally than she was. He had had to run away to get away from them! Whereas she- she had to do no such thing. No, she was free to go wherever she wanted whenever she wanted and she had complete control over herself. The only thing she lacked was his funding, which she might get after finishing this job. If she ever got that far. “Yeah…it is.” Why did he keep talking about it? She thought she had tossed a huge wrench in that by crying earlier. But no. He was an insensitive boy. Boys. And she thought she was heartless. But here he was disregarding her feelings on her imaginary dead family to make unintelligent conversation. Of course it was a shame! Her bloody parents died. Fake parents, of course, but he did not know that. Tessa distracted herself with the food. That was acceptable. Though, her food was mostly gone already. She did not really recall eating most of it. She had not exactly been focusing on that. The conversation had been rather occupying. Suddenly, she could not exactly remember if she had eaten lunch. Come to think of it, she hadn’t. Tessa had been too busy plotting and stealing a suitcase. No wonder she had been so hungry when the food arrived. Hopefully, he would not comment on her voracious appetite. That was certainly against some sort of code with women. Don’t comment on the amount of food eaten. Also, do not ask for her weight or age. All that was forbidden. Even she knew that and she was not exactly a social butterfly. Thus, she expected Albert to know the same information. Tessa cleared her throat. Time to change the subject. She queried, “Anyway, did you parents teach you how to do anything like that? Not sewing, I mean.” There. And she might actually get some information out of him for once. She didn’t know why he was so curious about her regular backstory. Sure she had a war escape behind her, but it was still not particularly exciting. It wasn’t even real! She supposed it was because he had had such an untraditional childhood. He was probably after the normal. No one seemed to understand what normal really was. It was nonexistent. Everyone was different and had some weird portion of their backstory. There was no normal. Not really. But there Albert was chasing after it. And she was not exactly eager to give it to him. If there was a normal, she was fairly certain that she could not speak on it. She lived on the streets, flying solo. That could not be a normal. She was certain that it was not the nonexistent normal everyone was always striving for. Tessa was better than normal anyway. Normal was boring. Normal was average. She was anything but average. Though, that was what everyone thought. And that was only further proof that normal does not exist.
|
|
Moderator
|
1,612 posts
|
2 likes
|
Mischief Managed!
|
Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
|
Unicorn
|
Post by elise13 on Mar 11, 2013 16:08:55 GMT -10
|
|
Dormant
|
201 posts
|
0 likes
|
I swear next time I make a character they are going to be Japanese
|
Sept 19, 2016 22:08:23 GMT -10
|
Viscount (Viscountess)
|
Post by Specter Seren on Sept 30, 2014 16:46:58 GMT -10
((I'm crying because the link is taken down. And then laughing because I do have the trolliest characters in Ge Ming. Or did. Who knows, now? Hurrah we officially established where they are from! But shhh on the geography...who needs it? I'm just gonna go ahead and reply now since I already re-read everything~ I did make a list of pointers while I was re-reading it if you'd like to see, though. )) And there was super-Tessa, there to save the conversation once again by skillfully steering its course. Well, Albert didn’t think that it had been a plane wreck...at least she hadn’t cried this time. Not that she didn’t deserve to. Having such a beautiful family torn away from her...it would be no small wonder if she walked out on him right then and there. This time, however, her response to his apparent insensitivity was to focus on her food. And by focus, Albert noted that she was eating it near-voraciously. Instead of thinking how unladylike that was, Albert felt a shudder of guilt run through him. It was just a small reminder that his actions had consequences...even the simplest touch of selfishness on his end had upset his guest. Right. The balancing act. He /had/ to remember. Albert furrowed his brow as he continued to make headway on his own dish. How nice it would have been to been able to practice all of these communication skills in a less pressing environment. Well, there was no time like the present. Besides, he was actually doing pretty well for himself, despite his lack of real-world practice, and making some real headway He couldn’t say the same for his fafnir, which he wasn’t even halfway done eating. And yet he was feeling quite full...he had to be careful, here. If he allowed himself to get bloated then it may impact his ability to communicate later on. So it would probably be best for him to stop...it seemed like such a waste, though. Was there a refrigerator in his room? It wasn’t exactly common, but with the amount he was paying for it (well, now, apparently, the amount that the manager was paying for it), there’d better be. While he was thinking about all this, Tessa continued her attempt to sail the conversation into less troubled waters. On this point she was successful, on her end, at least, for as the question registered in Albert’s brain he had to put down his fork to process it. And process it again. And again. But the answer was always the same, and it was something he hadn’t even realized until that point. “No...they...I can’t say they /did/ do anything like that, for me.” The realization came to him almost as a shock. Sure, his parents were a bit overboard with their “never leave the house, never do anything” outlook on life, but he had never considered them...neglectful. [They haven’t even frozen my accounts yet. Even after I made all those preparations to leave...they never said a word. Did they really not notice?] It seemed strange to him, that they could be so smothering and yet so distant at the same time. But the more he thought about it, the less he could remember any single time the three of them had spent together that didn’t feel forced or rushed. “But I was given lots of tutors, so I have learned a lot, at least...” Taught how to dress, how to act, how to speak...and yet never allowed to show it. As if they were creating a product for their factory line. A commodity. Albert pushed his chair away from the table, his hand over his forehead. “Forgive me...I have to use the toilet.” Trying his best not to seem rude, even though he couldn’t quite process what he was doing while he was doing it, Albert quickly rushed away from the table, blankly following the signs to the restroom. Only when he found himself, with face and hands dripping wet, staring into the mirror, did he realize what a fool he had been. What on Earth was that!? He had broken just about every rule of a successful engagement. And for what? He still...wasn’t exactly sure. Julie and Maximilian Winther...his mother and father...what sort of relationship /did/ they have? Or did they not have one at all? Had it always been that way? Or had it changed...because of Owen... Albert stared himself square in the face. He had to snap out of this! There would be plenty of time to mope around the hotel room later, not that he was planning to mope. There was nothing to mope about! At least, not yet, not until he completely ruined the first real friendship he had established in years because of his own idiocy. If things weren’t as peachy with his parents as they had been for Tessa and her family, then really, he had no one to blame but himself. It was a fact of life he just had to face. But he still wasn’t about to let that ruin him. There was nothing he could do about the past...even if mistakes had been made, that was then. This was now. Straightening himself out, Albert made his way back to the table, looking considerably calmer, although slightly flushed. ((This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would //always))
|
|
Moderator
|
1,612 posts
|
2 likes
|
Mischief Managed!
|
Aug 31, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -10
|
Unicorn
|
Post by elise13 on Feb 5, 2015 13:38:56 GMT -10
((I fixed the link. AND POINTERS?! I love pointers. Gimme!!! Sorry this is a bit short. But it is time to get them out of the restaurant.))
Tessa took a quiet breath of relief when Albert seemed like he was going to talk like a normal person. However, he became all dramatic again. Go figure. Must be a rich people thing. To be dramatic, that was. Poor people didn’t have time for that garbage. Tessa certainly didn’t.
At least he had the decency to run off to the bathroom before he threw more drama at her. Tessa debated whether or not she was supposed to follow him. That seemed kind of weird really, following someone into the bathroom. Creepy, in fact. So that decided it for her. The real Tessa. Real Tess was also pretty sure Albert’s Tessa wouldn’t go after him either. Though for different reasons entirely. Albert’s Tessa would not want to be rude or intrude on his time alone, which he clearly took to cry or something of the like. And Albert’s Tessa would be afraid to embarrass him.
Meanwhile, the real Tessa had the privilege to sit at the table alone for a moment. She leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table, allowing her spine a break from its intensely perfect posture. She sighed, this kid was a piece of work. His family was apparently really lame. Of course, Tessa had no frame of reference in that department. But teaching him nothing, leaving him with a string a tutors. Though, caring enough to educate a child was a kindness, wasn’t it? Well, that might be true for poor people. But rich people were an entirely different matter. Education was essential for those folks. So that was hardly a sign of affection. What a mystery.
Judging by Albert’s sudden egress, he was not exactly pleased with the realization that his family did not love him quite as much as he had initially predicted. That was going to make making him homesick a little more difficult. After all, who wanted to return to a family like that?
Probably not Albert.
Maybe Tessa should ask for more money. This was going to take considerably more time after all. And all because they could not bother to raise their son properly. If they had done a better job, Tessa would not be here in the first place. Then again, she did like having a job. So maybe they should have done a slightly better job so that he would actually like them, but not enough so for him to have stayed home entirely.
Tessa took the opportunity to eat her food in a less ladylike manner for a few minutes, actually enjoying it the way it was intended to be enjoyed. Thoroughly.
She had made her way through the remains of her meal before she stopped for a drink of water. Real food. And someone else was paying for it, so that made it taste even better. Though, Tessa supposed she was working for it. For she had to deal with Albert and his beastly curiosity the entire meal. Except for this blissful break.
Tessa massaged her temples when out of the corner of her eyes she spotted Albert’s approach. Tessa realigned her spine, smiling warmly at Albert, like she was truly delighted at his reappearance. Albert’s Tessa was, naturally. Real Tessa was not positive where her feelings were. But she needed to get back to business. And regain a sense of mystery, so that she could convince Albert to meet with her again.
Tessa stood up, allowing her brows to arch while still smiling. Thus she was smiling and looking nervous, which was the exact look she was going for. Tessa said, “I know my timing couldn’t be worse, but I need to get going.” She twirled a strand of her hair that had come loose around her finger. Tessa looked demurely away from a moment before returning her gaze to Albert’s eyes, “I wish I could stay longer. But…could I see you tomorrow?” That should do it.
|
|