“Do I hear ‘Monster Mash’ playing?”

sungpraise:

the-perfect-scientist:

sungpraise:

“yeah. i’m kind of weak for halloween in july.” david, that’s not even a real thing. you literally just made it up.

Carlos chuckled. “Does it have to be Halloween?”
Carlos asked. “You could have used an actual summer holiday as an excuse. Like
World Environment Day, the Summer Solstice, the night for the summertime Meteor
Showers, or even Picnic Day. Though, admittedly, that last one isn’t American.”

“Well– uh…” David wasn’t sweating nervously yet but a nervous chuckle did escape his lips. “I really, really like Halloween honestly. It’s fun.” David didn’t have a good reason, the spooky mood just seemed to hit early and the others were willing to go along with it for once.

Carlos grinned at that. “Well, there’s nothing
wrong with liking Halloween,” he said. “It is a really fun time.” He folded his
arms, still looking at David. “So, you got any plans for the kids? You gonna
have them craft together some costumes?”

sungpraise:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos was soon engrossed in his physics
homework, formulas and numbers running through his head as he worked on the
equations.

However he did notice Daisy lift her head to
look at his book, and Carlos glanced up to look at her. He gave her yet another
kind smile before looking down again and writing in the answer for his current
equation.

“Are you… taking a spirituality class?” he
asked suddenly. “Or… maybe a mythology class?”

Was it better to lie? What could he really say about the truth though? David found himself shifting, trying to get more comfortable and find some kind of words.

“I– I um,” he swallowed. “I was just curious.” Well, that wasn’t the lie but it wasn’t the whole truth either. No one needed the whole truth anyway.

“It’s kind of interesting.” David shrugged.

Carlos nodded and smiled. “Ah, I see,” he
said. “What is it you’re reading about? Is… is it okay if I ask?”

Gently, Carlos told himself. Daisy seemed
pretty uncomfortable with talking, but Carlos hoped she would warm up to it. If
not… well, he’d go ahead and let the conversation taper off.

sungpraise:

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos just smiled a bit wider and nodded his
head. He set down his physics book and slid into the seat. He arranged his
notebook next to the text book so he could write on it and he went back to
work, still smiling a bit.

Yeah, it was a little awkward sitting across
from Daisy. She was obviously a little nervous. But Carlos wasn’t here to give
her a hard time, so she shouldn’t have to worry. A bit of companionship went a long way, sometimes.

Of course there was an urge to ask why, to question any motives for him to do this but from what little David knew Carlos was a fairly nice person. Maybe it was just pity.

He fidgeted and tried to read again, too nervous to try to initiate a conversation. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, didn’t want to push it. It never seemed to end well when he tried.

Eyes did wander from the page, curiously looking at the physics book before deciding it was probably best to mind his own business.

Carlos was soon engrossed in his physics
homework, formulas and numbers running through his head as he worked on the
equations.

However he did notice Daisy lift her head to
look at his book, and Carlos glanced up to look at her. He gave her yet another
kind smile before looking down again and writing in the answer for his current
equation.

“Are you… taking a spirituality class?” he
asked suddenly. “Or… maybe a mythology class?”

sungpraise:

the-perfect-scientist:

That looked like acknowledgement to Carlos.
Just a little lift of the hand… but it was something. Though she still seemed
to really be shy though.

Carlos wondered if anyone had given Daisy any
trouble since what happened in the locker room. Probably, he thought – this was high school.

An idea struck Carlos. He decided to use the minor social
opening Daisy had given him, so he grabbed his books and moved to the spot
across from her on the table.

Carlos smiled at her pleasantly. “Hey. Mind if I sit?” he
asked her.

David read over a paragraph in the book, or his eyes scanned the page but he didn’t feel like he had absorbed it. Something about how telekinesis was gaining some popularity in fiction.

Well, fiction didn’t help him anyway.

Green eyes glanced up as the boy took a seat, curiosity coming to his features though he didn’t say anything, not yet. Not until Carlos spoke first.

David shook his head, slowly finding his voice. “Go ahead.” It wasn’t what he expected to hear. People didn’t usually willingly want to be near him, not without a less than friendly motive but Carlos had never outright contributed to anything. Not that he was aware of, anyway.

Carlos just smiled a bit wider and nodded his
head. He set down his physics book and slid into the seat. He arranged his
notebook next to the text book so he could write on it and he went back to
work, still smiling a bit.

Yeah, it was a little awkward sitting across
from Daisy. She was obviously a little nervous. But Carlos wasn’t here to give
her a hard time, so she shouldn’t have to worry. A bit of companionship went a long way, sometimes.

sungpraise:

the-perfect-scientist:

Just about everyone in school had heard what
happened to Daisy. Carlos, upon hearing about it, was shocked. What sort of
girls did things like that to a kid, just to embarrass her as much as possible?

It was a coincidence, really, that Carlos came
to the library only to see Daisy sitting at a table reading. It was some kind
of spirituality book or something, from what Carlos gathered of the cover. He
had to get some of his homework done so he went in and sat at a table a little
bit away from Daisy. Though, she was still in his line of sight.

He couldn’t help looking up at her every so
often – just… sort of trying to gauge how she was feeling.

However, he was a little surprised when she
lifted her head and started looking around. When her eyes finally fell on him
he just smiled at her and gave a friendly wave.

He nearly looked away once he briefly made eye contact with Carlos, surprise by the smile and wave. There was an immediate wave of suspicion though he couldn’t see why something so simple would have ulterior motives. David felt guilty for feeling that way, it wasn’t nice.

Slowly, he raised his hand slightly, fingers extending but quickly letting his hand fall back to the table. The wave was for him, he knew it was for him, but what if it wasn’t? What if there was someone behind him? What if it was just pity? Or somehow some kind of joke like he had thought? Too many bad possibilities.

He looked back down at his book, biting at his lip. David should mind his own business, just keep reading. Just try to get through the day until he could go home.

Then again, what was there to really look forward to at home either? Isolation in his room he supposed. At least no one would bother him there.

That looked like acknowledgement to Carlos.
Just a little lift of the hand… but it was something. Though she still seemed
to really be shy though.

Carlos wondered if anyone had given Daisy any
trouble since what happened in the locker room. Probably, he thought – this was high school.

An idea struck Carlos. He decided to use the minor social
opening Daisy had given him, so he grabbed his books and moved to the spot
across from her on the table.

Carlos smiled at her pleasantly. “Hey. Mind if I sit?” he
asked her.

Science Camp…? (closed w/ dadvids-search-history)

dadvids-search-history

“AH! Nurf, don’t do that!”

Gwen watched as David ran off to scold the other kids for getting dirty.

“You seem a lot less rambunctious than these other kids.” she noted, looking down at Angela.

Angela looked at the other kids with a slight
frown. But then looked up at Gwen again. ‘Really?” she asked. “Well, my daddy
said it was important to do as adults said when they were in charge of you. My
mama though says sometimes it’s okay not to if it’s for a good reason. I get in
trouble at Mama’s house sometimes, but not at Daddy’s. His house is small and
it’s in a weird down so I have to follow the rules to be safe.”

“What are you getting all mad about, David?”
Nerf was heard asking. “I thought the point of a hike was to get dirty?”

“Do I hear ‘Monster Mash’ playing?”

sungpraise:

the-perfect-scientist:

sungpraise:

“yeah. i’m kind of weak for halloween in july.” david, that’s not even a real thing. you literally just made it up.

Carlos grinned. “Well, I’ve heard of it in February, but not July.”

“Not all of our campers and counselors really celebrate Christmas so I thought Halloween would be fairly inclusive for everyone. Plus it’s an excuse to get some extra candy.” David smiled.

Carlos chuckled. “Does it have to be Halloween?”
Carlos asked. “You could have used an actual summer holiday as an excuse. Like
World Environment Day, the Summer Solstice, the night for the summertime Meteor
Showers, or even Picnic Day. Though, admittedly, that last one isn’t American.”