Carlos looked down at the boy, a little surprised by his apparent sheepishness. Max was usually more confident than this.
Immediately Carlos turned to face him fully. “Hey – no, I haven’t seen a cat. What does it look like? Do you need help looking for it?”
“Yes, yes! Help would be nice!” He smiled at the helpfulness of the other. “She- hmm…” He looked around, thinking. “She’s black! She has…. yellow! Yellow eyes! And a white spot on her nose!”
Carlos smiled at the boy. “She sounds cute,” he said. “What’s her name?”
“Sabrina!” He stated happily, bouncing up and down with joy. “And she really is cute! And small!”
“Is she? Well, let’s find her so I can see her.” Carlos was allergic to cats, but eh… that’s what medicine was for. Besides, this kid (who looked a whole lot like Max – were they related?) needed the help so Carlos was going to give it.
“Thank you so much!” He smiled, happy that someone was helping him. “Come on! I think the last time I saw her was somewhere over there!” He pointed at some bushes. “Oh! Right! I think I should tell you my name too! I’m Max!”
Carlos blinked at the child. “Ah… um, that’s – that’s a nice name!” Okay, so there was a multiverse to deal with. No biggie – Sleepy Peak was a surprisingly supernaturally active area, he was coming to discover. “You know, you kind of remind me of me when I was a kid. I think I looked a lot like you.”
“Really? That’s cool!” He smiled. Thanks to a little tooth gap he had a lisp whenever he talked. “Uh- what is your name, sir?”
“My name is Carlos. I’m a scientist.” Carlos looked around. “So, let’s go to where you last saw Sabrina and see if she probably came back there.”
He nodded, quickly going to the bushes. “You’re a real scientist…? Like, those who do all the math and stuff..?”
Carlos nodded as he followed after the boy. “Yep, I am,” he said. “I’m actually here for science – I’m checking out Sleepy Peak Peak for volcanic activity, though my work has kind of expanded to the surrounding forest as well.”
“Woah…” Max was in awe. “You must be very smart! And do you have a lab?”
“Well, yes I do!” Carlos said. “I have one here, though it’s a very temporary one – my real lab is in my home in Night Vale.”
“Night… Vale?” He curiously tilted his head, raising a brow. “I’ve never heard of Night Vale…” He glanced away slightly. “Is it like… a-a town? Or a city?”
Carlos smiled at him. “Yeah – it’s a small desert town. Rural, you could say.”
Max smiled softly, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. “It must be peaceful living there… it’s probably quiet, unlike the city i’m from..”
Carlos couldn’t help the bark of laughter he made in response. “Haha! Oh, Night Vale is a lot of things, but it’s not peaceful,” he said with a grin. “
“It’s not? Well, then what’s it like living there?” He seemed interested, looking up at Carlos.
“Well… it’s exciting,” Carlos said. “And very scientifically interesting. I’m never bored there in regards to work… or anything else, really. It’s a strange town, but I really enjoy it.”
“It sounds amazing…” He grinned slightly. “And it sounds way better than home…”
Carlos looked at the boy curiously. “Does it?” he asked. “Why do you say that?”
“W-well… normally I wouldn’t bother strangers with this but… I-i don’t really have a good life back home…” He rubbed the back of his neck, exposing his, with bandaid covered, arm. “Y-you see… my parents… they don’t really act like parents… most of the time…”
Carlos started to frown. “How do they not act like parents, Max?” he asked, watching the boy carefully.
The Perfect Scientist 