Pleasantries - Prologue - Part 2
Apr. 19th, 2010 02:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
genlisae
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Genre, advisories, etc are all in part 1. If you haven't read that yet, why are you here? Go read Part 1
For those of you that did things the right way around, welcome, kudos and carry on!
Pleasantries - Prologue - Part 2
12:10PM Wednesday, March 4
“So not fair,” Dirk Dreamer pouted a few hours later as they sat down to eat their lunch.
“It’s only during class times, not like it’s all day,” Lilith sighed, pushing her food around her plate. “Okay, really, the salmon was not a better choice. How is the spaghetti?”
“Oily,” Dirk replied, doing some food pushing of his own. ”But what about between classes? What do I do then?”
“You can always hang out with Damon and Tybalt,” Lilith suggested, a small smile playing on her lips as her eyes settled on the pair in question.
“Oh yeah,” Dirk snorted, “because I want to spend fifteen minutes between each class watching that.”
“I dunno,” Lilith shrugged, “I think it’s kind of cute.”
“ ‘Warped’ is more like it,” Dirk corrected. ”They never stop. The world could explode around them. They wouldn’t notice!”
“Jealousy does not become you, Dreamer,” Tybalt Capp called over his shoulder briefly before turning his full attention back to his blue-shirted boyfriend.
“See,” Lilith laughed, “they’d notice. I just don’t think they’d care.”
“Who doesn’t care?” Ripp Grunt asked, pulling up a chair at the table.
Lilith inclined her head toward Damon and Tybalt.
“Oh, well, yeah. I wouldn’t care about much either.” Ripp shrugged.
Lilith frowned slightly as she caught the flustered look Dirk sent Ripp’s way, his grip tightening on his fork.
Clearing his throat, Dirk asked, “Do you care that Lil is being taken away from us?”
“No way,” Ripp paused to shoot her a questioning glance. “When, how?”
“This afternoon,” Lilith sighed, attempting to muster up enough courage to actually taste her lunch. “No more classes for me.”
“What?” He sank down into the chair. “Why?”
“My grades are ‘abysmal’,” Lilith explained, “none of the teachers think they can get through to me, and I am going to fail.“
“They think she’s dumb,” Dirk added helpfully.
“So they are just pulling you out of classes,” Ripp repeated. “That doesn’t sound helpful.”
“No,” Lilith hurried to explain, “I get my own private tutor. Kind of like intensive one-on-one instruction near as I can tell.”
“All day,” Dirk supplied, “except for lunch.”
“Wow,” Ripp said quietly, “harsh.”
“I could handle getting out of classes myself,” Tybalt commented, pulling up a chair at the table. “How do I get in on this?”
“Oh yeah,” Lilith snorted, “all day with a complete dork for company and only a lunch break. I can’t wait.”
“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Damon put in, taking his customary seat on Tybalt’s lap, “he might be cool.”
Lilith sighed, “That is doubtful. Cool people don’t tutor screw-ups like me for a living.”
“Lil,” Dirk began quietly, “you are not ...”
“Don’t, okay? Not today,” Lilith cut him off. “Look, I gotta go. Time to go meet this guy and find out what I am in for. I’ll see you guys after school.”
A round of nods and wishes for good luck followed her as she made her way back into the school.
* * *
12:50 PM Wednesday, March 4
Lilith watched the pencil roll across the table, stopping just short of the edge. The dork was late.
Not that she particularly minded the lack of school work. That part she was rather enjoying. Usually, she would be staring in frustration at the gibberish on the white board in Algebra right now. The distinct lack of gibberish was good; the mind numbing boredom of waiting though, that she could do without.
Reaching out her hand, she rolled the pencil back across the table with her little finger just as the door opened.
“L-Lilith Pleasant?” a man’s voice inquired timidly.
Without looking up, Lilith nodded.
“I am afraid you have me at something of a disadvantage,” the voice continued as its owner crept, mouse-like, into the room. “I am woefully unprepared for this meeting. I was called in on short notice and haven’t had the opportunity to go over your previous work yet. Nor have I yet reviewed the lesson outlines supplied by your teachers. I don’t suppose there has been any sort of testing done for learning disabilities? Academic aptitude? Psychological evaluation to rule out any underlying issues?”
Lilith shook her head and rolled her eyes. He even spoke like a dork. No, correct that, he spoke like a nerd. A nerd who had just insinuated she might be crazy. When she looked up, she was going to see glasses, suspenders and a pocket protector; she was sure of it, and she was going to want to kick him.
Oh.
Well, she had the glasses right.
“And now I have rambled my way into making you feel completely alienated and like some sort of lab rat,” he was saying as he placed his brief case on the table, “because I turn into a pompous windbag when I am nervous. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come across that way. Incidentally, I also talk with my hands when I am feeling out of my element, like now, and when I am really, really nervous, I stutter.”
Lilith arched a brow, “And I am the one that needs a psychological evaluation?”
“Err, umm, yeah,” he cringed, and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “A-about that, s-standard p-procedure, really. J-just to make s-sure, y-you understand? Personally, I have had several. G-goes with the job.”
Lilith smirked. He even managed to make stuttering look adorable ... Realizing what she had just thought, she gave herself a mental shake. Maybe that evaluation wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
He heaved a sigh, taking a moment to compose himself, before addressing her again, “This is not going correctly at all. What do you say we forget all of this and start over?”
“You think we can?” she countered doubtfully. He had made quite the first impression after all, and it had not been good.
“It certainly can’t hurt to try.”
Clearing his throat, he made his way around the table to pull out the chair next to her.
“Hello, I am Winston Talbot,” he stated, forcing a cheerful smile. “I understand you are having a few difficulties with your school work?”
Lilith nodded, a smile curling her lips despite her best efforts, “A few, yeah.”
“So, since I haven’t had a chance to look over anything the school gave me,” he said taking his seat, “why don’t you tell me what is going on.”
“You want me to tell you?” Lilith asked in disbelief, remembering how flustered the fact that he hadn’t reviewed any of the mentioned papers from the school had him just a few moments before. “Wouldn’t the notes and reports and other stuff they gave you tell you more?”
Winston shrugged, “Maybe. More likely they will be full of trumped up jargon explaining how all of your teachers have tried so very hard to reach you, but you are a difficult case, or that you simply refuse to apply yourself.”
Lilith winced at his use of the term ‘apply’, and he chuckled, visibly relaxing. Obviously this was more inside his comfort zone.
“Ah, you have heard that one before, I see. They like to use that one. It makes them feel smart, I think. Let me guess, you could be so much more if only you would apply yourself? Am I close?”
“Close,” she admitted, wondering if this was some sort of bizarre dream. Surely her new tutor was not implying that her teachers were, for the most part, full of shit. “Usually it involves a reference to my sister.”
“You have a sister?” he asked raising a brow. At her nod, he continued, “And she does amazingly well in school, I take it?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Lilith grumbled.
“Tell me about her,” Winston suggested.
“You so don’t want to hear about Angela,” Lilith retorted, unable to keep the bitter edge out of her voice.
“There is nothing I would like to hear more about right now,” he assured her, his tone friendly.
Lilith just shook her head. That was a whole can of worms he really didn’t want to open.
“Whatever you tell me Lilith, no matter what it is, stays between us,” he told her gently when she remained hesitant. “So let’s start with what is bothering you about Angela, yeah?”
Lilith stared at him incredulously, “You’re a shrink, aren’t you? They’ve sent me to a shrink?!”
Winston laughed.
“Not really, no,” he assured her, “I am an Educational Psychologist, but not in the usual sense. My main purpose is to tutor you, but that isn’t going to do you much good if we can’t sort through everything else enough for you to focus and retain what you learn, is it?”
“So you help me with my grades and the mess in my head?” she snorted. “Is that how this works?”
“Something like that, yes,” he nodded.
“You have your work cut out for you. I am not sure there is much help for a screw-up like me.”
“I think you will surprise yourself,” he smiled gently. “So we have a deal?”
“It’s not like I have a choice, is it?” she countered.
“You always have a choice, Lilith,” he let his words hang between them. He could see the gears turning in her mind. She could choose to co-operate or she could simply go through the motions and make things more difficult for both of them. He’d had students simply go through the motions before; it wasn’t pretty, and always made him a little sad. He had a good feeling about this one though.
“So,” she said at last, and Winston let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. “Angela is just so infuriating! Everything she does is perfect ...”
* * *
“Pst! Ang!” The whisper was barely audible over the clicking of keys in the computer lab, but Angela Pleasant jumped all the same.
“Dustin!” she hissed back, “You have a computer right in front of you! Couldn’t you just IM me instead?”
“No, I prefer talking. Besides, the network is monitored and the teacher is not here right now,” Dustin countered still in hushed tones. “Let’s go to FM on Friday.”
“Oh,” Angela immediately sounded disappointed, “I can’t. I promised Mom a girls’ night on Friday.”
“Aw, come on,” Dustin whined, “you can do girls’ night with your mom another day. She’ll understand if you ditch just this once.”
“Are you insane?” Angela cried, outraged. “You know she’s really upset right now. She thinks Dad is cheating on her again. I can’t ditch her when she is in that condition!”
“I know, it’s just ...” his voice trailed off into a frustrated sigh, “Never mind.”
“What?” she insisted, not willing to let the argument slide.
“We haven’t been out anywhere in over a month, Ang,” he told her, “you are always too busy with school or your family. I guess I was kind of hoping that maybe there could be some room in there somewhere for me. You know, like ...”
“Like what?” she prompted when he didn’t immediately finish the thought.
“Like there used to be.”
“Is that what this is about?” Angela asked, a small smile curling her lips. “You feel left out?”
“No, no,” he said too quickly, belying his words, “It’s not that. It’s just, well, couldn’t Lilith do the whole holding your mom together thing for a while so we can have some us time?”
Angela laughed, “You’re joking right? Lilith?”
“No,” he replied, “it’s her mom too.”
“Yes, but that would mean that Lilith would have to think about someone besides Lilith. That would be too difficult for her.”
“Yeah,” he sighed, his shoulders slumping, “I guess you’re right.”
“I love you, Dustin; you know that,” Angela sighed. “Right now I need to focus on my family though.”
“I know.” He still didn’t sound happy.
“Look, I will see what I can arrange, okay?”
He nodded, but didn’t answer. What could he say? In her list of priorities, he was obviously nowhere near the top.
* * *
“And sometimes I just feel so bad for him,” Lilith was saying. “I mean don’t get me wrong, Dirk is great and he tries so hard, I just know that he is uncomfortable around Damon, Tybalt, and especially Ripp. I just can’t figure out why. He and Damon have been friends since Kindergarten; they hang out all the time. It only seems to be an issue for him when Tybalt is around.”
“Perhaps he is a little homophobic?” Winston suggested.
“You know, I thought that too at first,” Lilith replied, “especially when we were dating, but that doesn’t seem right, particularly his issues with Ripp. Ripp isn’t exactly open about his sexuality, he can’t be. I don’t think anyone else even knows. His father and brother would not take it well at all. That worries me too. One of these days they are going to find out, and these are scary people.”
Winston grinned as she paused to take a breath, “You love your friends.”
“Kind of obvious, huh?” she asked, blushing slightly.
“A bit, yeah,” he chuckled.
Lilith sat for a moment, lost in thought. They had been talking all afternoon and it seemed like hardly any time at all had passed. This was not at all what she had been expecting; he was not at all what she had been expecting. Maybe this whole tutoring thing wouldn’t be so bad after all, and her grades could certainly use the improvement. And, if she was honest with herself, she was enjoying having someone she could talk to so openly who didn’t have expectations of her, wouldn’t lean on her like her friends did. She didn’t mind being leaned on, but sometimes it was good to have someone she could lean on as well. Most importantly though, she knew Winston wouldn’t compare her to Angela.
“You are thinking,” Winston commented.
“I am,” she confirmed.
“About?” he prompted.
She hesitated for only a moment, “Mr. Talbot ...”
“Ew, no!” he interrupted with a slight cringe. “Mr. Talbot was my father; just Winston, please.”
“Winston,” she corrected, “I owe you an apology. I was positive this was going to be horrible, that you were going to be some hideous little dork that bored me to tears. I was wrong. You are actually kind of cool.”
“Oh, I am definitely a dork,” he assured her.
“You are not,” she scoffed.
“No, really,” he insisted, “you should see my postcard collection. It’s sweet. Only two more to go, and I will have one from every country in the Far East.”
Lilith started to laugh, but something in his expression made her stop.
“You really aren’t joking, are you?”
“I never joke about post cards,” he responded, his tone at odds with the smile lighting up his eyes.
Lilith’s stunned brain was spared having to think of a reponse by the bell ringing, marking the end of school hours.
“I guess that’s our queue,” he stated, rising to his feet.
Lilith followed suit, though somewhat reluctantly.
“So, see you back here first thing tomorrow, and we will get started on some actual learning?” he asked as they gathered their things.
“Will you have gone over the trumped up jargon by then?” she countered.
“Jargon will be gone over and largely ignored,” he chuckled.
“Good,” she nodded, “you do your homework tonight and I promise to do mine from now on.”
“Deal.”
“Oh, and Winston ...” she added quietly, “Thanks.”
“Any time, Lilith.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Note: Yay! Sorry, it is just for a while there I wasn't sure I was ever actually going to get this posted at all, but here it is. Celebration over now though. A few things I wanted to mention.
1) I have obviously taken a lot of artistic license with Winston's profession. I have known a few Educational Psychologists and he is the ideal of what those few wished they could be without the restrictions placed on them various regulatory agencies associated with public education.
2) Re: Genre. While mostly a drama, this will also have smatterings of sci-fi and and crime thrown in as well. Over all it will be very dark,
3) Chapter length: These first 5ish chapters are VERY long. I had slideshare in mind when first writing them so amount of pics wasn't really an issue. I will do my best to split them into more manageble portions but obviously this is going to make for some awkward breaks :( bare with me? Pretty please? Just 'til we are past the pre-written stuff and then it will be all better!
4) Confession time! This is the 4th (5th if you count the slash4sims picpost earlier!) thing I have ever been brave enough to publish so all feedback is GREATLY appreciated. I'm a noob! Help me out by letting me know what isn't working and what is!
And last but not least ...
Credits:
Custom Content by more people than I could possibly list and some by me. Used with my eternal gratitude and virtual cookies (they are yummy I promise). If you want to know where I got something, ask me, I will try to remember.
I promise I am only going to say this part once. The Sims 2 © Electronic Arts Inc. There I said it. We can move on now.
Okay, that's all. I have rambled enough.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-04-19 11:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-19 10:27 pm (UTC)I <3 Dirk, he keeps me on my toes. I am glad Lilith is working out *lets out a huge sigh of relief*
Next chapter should be up in a day or two, just as soon as I figure out how to split it up ... :D
no subject
Date: 2011-01-26 03:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-19 08:19 pm (UTC)I hope you do more soon!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-19 10:30 pm (UTC)Working on the next chapter right now. *nods*
no subject
Date: 2010-04-30 01:39 am (UTC)And if you don't mind, could you tell me where you got Lilith's purse, and how you got her to hold it?
no subject
Date: 2010-04-30 02:00 am (UTC)Lilith's purse (and a lot of other stuff that will pop up from time to time) and how she holds it comes from the same place. The Custom Prop Hack for Movie Makers & Storytellers at MTS2 http://tinyurl.com/2e53krp It has 23 different props (I think, if I remember correctly) and allows the sims to hold all of them.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-14 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-28 11:52 am (UTC)And her friends' situation... I also want to know how it unfolds.
Peace!
Pekky
no subject
Date: 2012-04-13 01:37 am (UTC)You just helped me see Lilith in a whole other light - not the maxis-painted image of her. I like this side of her a lot more.