((here’s some drawings of Carlos and Angela in the Camp Camp AU.
There’s also a sketch of a scene from a thread I did with @sungpraise, where baby!Carlos (a senior in high school) is talking with (closeted) baby!David (who I think is a junior). I should have uploaded this one earlier… like, a LOT earlier…
Yeah, high school Carlos still has a mustache and goatee.
Carlos was a bit surprised at that. It seemed
like a really random subject to be interested in, he thought. But a fascinating
one, none-the-less.
He smiled at Daisy, hoping to encourage her
further. “Really? How is it? Do you find it interesting?”
David had expected some kind of odd look for that, not really the encouragement Carlos offered him. A small, genuine smile found its place on his lips at that. “It’s– it’s pretty cool. There are some stories about unexplained events and how it’s portrayed in pop culture.”
Carlos nodded. “Like in Matilda?” he said with
a smile. “Sorry – I really liked that book. And the movie’s phenomenal.”
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.
Would Carlos think him weird? Maybe not. Lots of people had odd interests didn’t they? For some people it was comic books or old music or crime stories. Was telekinesis that odd?
“Yeah, it’s… it’s about telekinesis.” He smiled weakly. “And other powers of the mind.”
Carlos was a bit surprised at that. It seemed
like a really random subject to be interested in, he thought. But a fascinating
one, none-the-less.
He smiled at Daisy, hoping to encourage her
further. “Really? How is it? Do you find it interesting?”
Angela perked up, hearing Nikki yelling. She
looked over at her father worriedly. “Daddy…?”
Carlos groaned. He set the nozzle down and
reached into his pocket to grab his phone. He handed it to Angela. “Find
another adult. If you can’t, call 911, mijita.”
Angela nodded, shaking but determined. “O-okay,
daddy!” she said and she turned around to hurry away.
She went to the flagpole first and was
relieved to see Nikki and David.
“David! My daddy’s here taking care of the
fire, but he said we need to call the police!”
David was taking deep breaths, trying to shake this feeling when Angela approached. Her words felt distant but her father was there? And they needed to call the police?
Cameron was going to be so mad at him. The police were going to be mad too. They were tired of coming here, they were going to be really, really mad. He felt sick.
“David!” Nikki snapped again.
He was shaking as he tried to sit up, fumbling with the phone. He managed to slide it to unlock but he was struggling to dial the numbers. He stuttered out where they were to the operator and that there was a fire. Any further questions he was asked didn’t seem to process but the fire department was on the way.
The counselor was far from excited to explain this one.
Angela smiled shakily at David. He didn’t look
okay at all, but she was glad he called the police like her daddy told her he
should.
“That’s very helpful, David – good job!” she
told him. She clutched onto her dad’s phone tightly with one hand and reached
out to gently pat David’s shoulder. “What now, David? What do we do now?”
Where Carlos was, the scientist could still
hear the sparkler going off inside the tree. Who the hell thought fireworks was
a good idea in a forest?? He looked over his shoulder at the remaining children
– a tiny one with a fishbowl over his head was crying, and a small black-haired
boy was clinging to the legs of a girl with a purple streak in her hair.
The bang and screaming had Carlos running
toward the smoke faster. Quickly he emerged from the forest and saw cabins, a
flagpole, and a bunch of running and screaming children. “Everyone, away from
the fire!” he exclaimed, and he broke the lock on the extinguisher before
running to the tree. He started to blast the fireworks inside with cold CO2
foam.
Anglea was surprised when she realized she
recognized the labcoat and the black hair not unlike her own. “Daddy!” she
cried, running up to him.
“Angela??” Carlos said, shocked. “Angela, stay
back! Does anyone have a phone!?”
“David does!” Angela said. “Where’s David?”
She looked around at the other campers. “Is he tied to the flagpole again?”
Carlos looked at his daughter incredulously. “What??”
Panic had set in, though David couldn’t place exactly why he was feeling so terrified. Why all this felt so familiar. He was feeling utterly, hopelessly constricted when Nikki seemed to decide the situation was out of hand and that David needed help.
Things were out on control and so much more different than usual. Even with the new adult helping, she knew she needed to get David out.
She was quick to work at the knots they had tied, struggling with how tight they were with trembling fingers. The adrenaline rush wasn’t as fun as she would have hoped. Finally though, he was freed.
David fell to his knees, gasping for breath while Nikki seemed to be trying to pull him up.
“David, come on! David!” She was trying to get him to move but something seemed really wrong. She looked around, really starting to worry. Was there such a thing as too much chaos? “Somebody!?”
Angela perked up, hearing Nikki yelling. She
looked over at her father worriedly. “Daddy…?”
Carlos groaned. He set the nozzle down and
reached into his pocket to grab his phone. He handed it to Angela. “Find
another adult. If you can’t, call 911, mijita.”
Angela nodded, shaking but determined. “O-okay,
daddy!” she said and she turned around to hurry away.
She went to the flagpole first and was
relieved to see Nikki and David.
“David! My daddy’s here taking care of the
fire, but he said we need to call the police!”
Angie heard yelling and looked around. Where
was David? Was that his voice?
Ered was lighting a spark fountain and Nerf
had found a big, red, funny-looking Firework with no label. They lit them and
ran away to watch with the other kids.
Suddenly though, the red firework let off with
a loud BANG! that had Angie’s ears ringing. Most of the kids fell over from the
force of the bang, or from shock, and when Angie was back on her feet she saw
that one of the trees had fallen over onto the fireworks. The spark fountain
was going off within the branches, and a couple of the kids screamed.
“It’s going to catch fire!” Neil shrieked.
“Oh no! Where’s David?” Angela asked. “We need an adult!”
He couldn’t see what was going on but that horrible bang scared the hell out of him. David’s heart was pounding, his ears aching. Where was the quartermaster? Where was anyone that could help? He silently hoped that Cameron would come in and save the day again.
“Kids!” David called as loud as he could, struggling against the ropes and feeling the uncomfortable burn start to form on his skin from it. “Someone, untie me, please!”
There was the fear for the kid’s safety but something about what he said and the fact he was bound set off a wave of panic he couldn’t place. The situation hit him with inexplicable deja vu. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, tears stinging at his eyes.
“Help me!”
The bang and screaming had Carlos running
toward the smoke faster. Quickly he emerged from the forest and saw cabins, a
flagpole, and a bunch of running and screaming children. “Everyone, away from
the fire!” he exclaimed, and he broke the lock on the extinguisher before
running to the tree. He started to blast the fireworks inside with cold CO2
foam.
Anglea was surprised when she realized she
recognized the labcoat and the black hair not unlike her own. “Daddy!” she
cried, running up to him.
“Angela??” Carlos said, shocked. “Angela, stay
back! Does anyone have a phone!?”
“David does!” Angela said. “Where’s David?”
She looked around at the other campers. “Is he tied to the flagpole again?”
Carlos looked at his daughter incredulously. “What??”
“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?”
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.
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?”
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.
The Perfect Scientist 