Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“O-
Okay, but… please let me know if that was… inappropriate for me to
say,” she said quietly. “I really hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable…”
It did, but that’s all
on my part, Carlos thought to himself. He still smiled at her. “No worries,”
he told her. “I ought to be flattered, shouldn’t I?”
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“No,
no, no, no, no, the gray is wonderful!” she grinned. “It makes you
look…” She paused for a moment, searching for the right word.
“Distinguished,” she established. “You look like you’re somebody who’s
wise enough to know things about the world. It looks nice.”Carlos smiled and looked down bashfully. “At a risk of
sounding repetitive… thank you. You really know how to flatter a guy!”“Sorry, you’re just…” She looked down at her tea, a dark blush taking root in her cheeks. “To be truthful, I’ve kinda been admiring you from afar for a few weeks. I’ve been kind of enamored by this… idea of you, and now I’m getting to see that you’re actually… much more fascinating than what I had imagined you to be…” The blush in her cheeks slowly made its way down to her chest, and she could feel herself getting hot. “I hope that’s not too forward of me to say,” she added quietly, not looking up.
Bashful? No – Carlos was now downright embarrassed. “O-oh…” He was having trouble looking at her too.
God – what did he say to that? He was a dork! How could
anyone be so enamored by him?“Um, w-well… I, uh… I appreciate that and all.” He really
did. But he felt like his response fell flat. “Um… thank you,” he then added,
hoping that helped.She flicked her eyes up to him, still keeping her head down. “I feel like there was supposed to be a ‘but’ after that,” she murmured. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that…” she whispered. “I can go, if you’d like.”
Carlos looked at her. “What? No, don’t go,” he said. “I – It’s – it’s okay, I promise! Thank you! Thank you for, um… for telling me.” He smiled at her, though he tried to keep all nervousness out of his face.
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“No,
no, no, no, no, the gray is wonderful!” she grinned. “It makes you
look…” She paused for a moment, searching for the right word.
“Distinguished,” she established. “You look like you’re somebody who’s
wise enough to know things about the world. It looks nice.”Carlos smiled and looked down bashfully. “At a risk of
sounding repetitive… thank you. You really know how to flatter a guy!”“Sorry, you’re just…” She looked down at her tea, a dark blush taking root in her cheeks. “To be truthful, I’ve kinda been admiring you from afar for a few weeks. I’ve been kind of enamored by this… idea of you, and now I’m getting to see that you’re actually… much more fascinating than what I had imagined you to be…” The blush in her cheeks slowly made its way down to her chest, and she could feel herself getting hot. “I hope that’s not too forward of me to say,” she added quietly, not looking up.
Bashful? No – Carlos was now downright embarrassed. “O-oh…” He was having trouble looking at her too.
God – what did he say to that? He was a dork! How could
anyone be so enamored by him?
“Um, w-well… I, uh… I appreciate that and all.” He really
did. But he felt like his response fell flat. “Um… thank you,” he then added,
hoping that helped.
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“No,
no, no, no, no, the gray is wonderful!” she grinned. “It makes you
look…” She paused for a moment, searching for the right word.
“Distinguished,” she established. “You look like you’re somebody who’s
wise enough to know things about the world. It looks nice.”
Carlos smiled and looked down bashfully. “At a risk of
sounding repetitive… thank you. You really know how to flatter a guy!”
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“Well,
coincidence or not, I think you have a wonderful personality, and I
also think you’re incredibly intelligent, and extremely interesting,”
she praised.Carlos blinked. He smiled a little bashfully at that. “Well,
um, thank you,” he said. “That’s… very nice of you to say.” She was just a flatterer, wasn’t she?“I mean, that… is just my personal opinion, but… you’re welcome,” she smiled, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. “It’s… also my personal opinion that your hair is very nice, and your smile is lovely.”
Carlos laughed suddenly. He didn’t mean for it to be so
sudden, he was just… tickled that she’d
say something like that! “Well, thank you! That – that’s also very kind of you to say! Heh, I’m –I guess I’m glad someone likes my hair! And isn’t
bothered by the greying bits on the sides.”
And his smile? Honestly, he didn’t
even try. He just brushed once every night and his teeth were great. He was
aware that some people would be very jealous of it, so he didn’t really
broadcast about his good teeth.
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“Well,
coincidence or not, I think you have a wonderful personality, and I
also think you’re incredibly intelligent, and extremely interesting,”
she praised.
Carlos blinked. He smiled a little bashfully at that. “Well,
um, thank you,” he said. “That’s… very nice of you to say.” She was just a flatterer, wasn’t she?
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
She
took in a deep breath as she nodded in agreement, then sighed before
taking a sip of her tea. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It really is…”Carlos smiled at her and took a drink of his coffee. “But it’s
got its own charm too, don’t get me wrong. It just… took a while for people to
even take me seriously. And sometimes, still, people don’t really trust
science.”“That’s really a shame. I mean, I was never really good at science in school, but I always thought all the stuff people could do with science was amazing,” she smiled. “But sometimes the people here just… are afraid of what they don’t understand. So, ya know, maybe they don’t understand what you’re saying, and decide that… the easier route is to get upset with you or say you’re wrong. I’m sure it isn’t you, it’s more… their lack of understanding.”
Carlos nodded. “Yeah… the mountains thing is still a very
hot debate. It also doesn’t really help that the SSP keeps telling people that
we’re comedians.” He shrugged. “I mean, I know my jokes can be punishing, but it’s not like it’s my job
or anything.” He grinned at her.She giggled and shook her head. “That was awful,” she smiled. “Well, that’s a lie, I actually think it was pretty punderful,” she amended, a grin spreading across her face.
Carlos chuckled and smiled at her. “Glad you think so,” he
said. “I was always a class clown. It’s more of a coincidence though, that I’m a scientist as well as funny.”
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
She
took in a deep breath as she nodded in agreement, then sighed before
taking a sip of her tea. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It really is…”Carlos smiled at her and took a drink of his coffee. “But it’s
got its own charm too, don’t get me wrong. It just… took a while for people to
even take me seriously. And sometimes, still, people don’t really trust
science.”“That’s really a shame. I mean, I was never really good at science in school, but I always thought all the stuff people could do with science was amazing,” she smiled. “But sometimes the people here just… are afraid of what they don’t understand. So, ya know, maybe they don’t understand what you’re saying, and decide that… the easier route is to get upset with you or say you’re wrong. I’m sure it isn’t you, it’s more… their lack of understanding.”
Carlos nodded. “Yeah… the mountains thing is still a very
hot debate. It also doesn’t really help that the SSP keeps telling people that
we’re comedians.” He shrugged. “I mean, I know my jokes can be punishing, but it’s not like it’s my job
or anything.” He grinned at her.
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
She
took in a deep breath as she nodded in agreement, then sighed before
taking a sip of her tea. “Yeah,” she whispered. “It really is…”
Carlos smiled at her and took a drink of his coffee. “But it’s
got its own charm too, don’t get me wrong. It just… took a while for people to
even take me seriously. And sometimes, still, people don’t really trust
science.”
Carlos was taken off-guard, but he merely gave the other a contemplative frown before reaching out to comply. “Uh… alright,” he said.
“Being
your own boss,” she said quietly, taking a moment before she looked
back up. “The people who’ve been in charge of me in the past have been…
Less than favorable,” she added. “So… It’s better this way.”“Oh,” Carlos said softly. That didn’t sound good. He could
only imagine how it was, as he’d had a few bad jobs himself. “Well… I’m glad
everything’s better this way,” he said. “It’s kind of useless to hate your own
job, right?”She gave him a small smile. “Yeah, I suppose it is, isn’t it? Sorry, I didn’t mean to make that weird. There’s just a lot of memories in this town. That’s part of why I left for a while. But… you always come back to what you know, I guess.”
Carlos nodded, understanding. “Yeah, it’s okay,” he
promised. “So… where did you go when you left Night Vale?” He tried to change
the subject, figuring that she was anxious about her admission.A soft smile played at her lips. “Baton Rouge,” she answered, sounding somewhat wistful. “That’s where my family is from. It’s uh… Where I was born. I came to Night Vale when I was very, very young, and I grew up here, so I consider it my home, but… I wanted to get back to my roots.”
“Oh! Is it nice down there?” Carlos asked her. “I’ve never
been there before.”“Yeah,” she smiled. “Humid, lots of bugs, but… I really liked it. I think it’s… really what I needed. Things got to to be too chaotic, I needed a break, so I kinda ran away for a bit, and… I discovered a lot about myself… A- A lot. But… It was good. It’s what I needed.”
Carlos nodded. “That’s great – that’s fantastic, actually. I’m
glad you could do that. I definitely know, Night Vale is a little…” He trailed
off, not sure if he needed to elaborate.
The Perfect Scientist 