Pinefall High Field
Morning Phase
07.09.1994
Partly Cloudy
I fail to see how my ability and willingness to jog in the early morning is in any way an assessment of reliability.Originally Posted by Elaine Winters
He is this close to opening his mouth and saying those exact words. He would have definitely done so yesterday. Not this morning. Instead, he considers Elaine’s curious choice of words. He may be working from first impressions, but Elaine projected the image of a down-to-Earth kind of person, completely unlike others among the First Class, like, say, Adelaide. “Running off her mouth”, projecting an image of “talkativeness” and addressing a boy she has just met as “reliable”.
Elaine Winters wants something. Alternatively, maybe he is reading too much on things and she is just naturally friendly in a different way to Sakura. In which case, great! It will be nice to get along.
In the former case, well, John Dove also wants something from Elaine Winters.
A few somethings, to be precise.
Wait, so it was not a figment of his imagination, and Adelaide…
Mentally scolding himself for, again, getting way ahead of things, John Dove shakes his head in a way he hopes projects amusement.
“Nice to meet you too, Elaine.”
His smile becomes a little crooked.
“But, um, I dunno about ‘reliable’; I mean…I’m as out of my element here as I’d say everybody else, and, well, we all know the reasons we are here.”
Is there a single “reliable” person among First Class?
John almost laments not putting enough thought into this before coming to Road’s End. Even if they belong to the hollow, colorless world, their inner struggles, to them, are very real, and define the lies they wear. This is true everywhere, but considering the nature of the people chosen by Mr. Oceandrop, it is of dramatic importance in this stage.
Another mental kick. Save the deep thinking for when alone, he tells himself. It is a drastic change to his usual mentality, but, right now, Elaine Winters is important.
“But, if there’s any way I can help make this year more, um, agreeable to the two of us, well, you can let me know.”
Immediately after that, John Dove wonders whether he has not just said something that could be easily misunderstood. Not for too long, though.
Originally Posted by Ubon Sĕeklêun
Of course.
For a moment, for a vestige of a moment, John Dove’s face hardens with suspicion. Why is she here? Is she following him? Is she out for revenge for the butt-tick fiasco, or is it something more important?
Then he remembers that, no, the world most definitely does not revolve around him, and well, it is Ubon Sĕeklêun. If anything, he should be glad to see her.
“Hello, Ubon,” he greets at the figure still a distance away; probably the loudest he has spoken in years. “I’m fine today, thanks for asking, but I’m clearly no match for your enthusiasm.”
Aware of how societal cues work, John then turns to his current jogging partner, gesturing in the energetic newcomer’s direction.
“You might already know this, but this is Ubon, from Thailand. She is…”
And that is when John Dove realizes that, indeed, he has no words to describe Ubon Sĕeklêun.
The morning breeze wheezes past as if in mockery. Emergency times call for emergency measures.
“…quite something.”
Strangely, for the first time in his life, John Dove wishes he rather were an ostrich.