[School has normally been uneventful for Clod. She came, listened to the usual litany of national pride and enmity for those dirty Communists, and left with homework that she would often neglect to do. It just wasn't all that fun to her and therefore, not worth doing.
It's lunch time now and the little green girl took her tray and started finding a place to sit. Anyplace will do. Even...
... Hey. Is that... is that her brother? In the distance is a boy who looks similar to Pokey except that he didn't quite have as much volume. Their hairstyle and color seemed to match almost exactly. Clod walks over with her tray to where the boy is sitting alone and sets it there without so much as permission.]
... Yeah, right, there was no way you could be Pokey.
[Picky briefly looked to the girl when she came to the table, then quickly turned his attentions back to his peanut butter sandwich. He had to be careful, that's what Pokey said, or...]
W-what?
[Snap. His head came right back around again, moving with enough speed to momentarily blow the hair from his eyes. Someone was recognizing him already.]
[He seems confused. Well, that's natural when some stranger comes up to you and starts saying what very well might be cryptic statements. But Clod couldn't care less. No, instead, she'll just be sitting right near Picky.]
[He uses this as his chance to cram his mouth full of peanut butter sandwich. It'll take a while to get it chewed and swallowed, and he can use that time to think of something else to say.]
...Finch. I'm Finch.
[It was that or Aloysius. And... no. Aloysius was a terrible name.]
Finch? Oh, you mean like the bird. Okay, that's a good name.
[The boy seems anxious, Clod notes, but that could just as easily be because of her sudden appearance. There were many people who were "naturally nervous", so the girl doesn't find it particularly strange. She'll treat this like a normal conversation because, for the most part, it really is.]
[Clod hasn't touched her food all that much. Or at all. In fact, given her current state as a god-like entity, she doesn't even really need food. But it's a fond reminder of her humanity which... she regained not too long ago, come to think of it.]
Like in those black and white television sets. You know, if you'd like to pretend that this is just a dream, I don't see what the problem is.
No matter how much time passes, you'll return to your world and life as if nothing happened, I think. In that case, it's just an extended dream.
[He's not sure he likes these suggestions that Clod's making. And it shows on his face. He has a scrunched look, sort of, sandwich raised but not bitten into.]
[Clod's smile... remained. She could empathize with having lackluster parents. Her sister only gave her trouble, but she was the only one that stood by her. These similar circumstances and familiar emotions felt by the two should have softened Clod's voice.
But no. It's that last line that irks her. Her smile widens and as she opens her mouth, a piercing cackle resounds through the cafeteria.]
"Maybe this'll be better". Was that meant to be a joke, little one? Your parents very well might be the scum of the earth. I don't doubt that. The entire world is caked with scum like them!
But if you're trying to use Mayfield as a means of escape, then you'll only be met with tragedy. Mayfield is a nightmare where all your inner demons will hound you down. It knows what you're afraid of the most and it'll bring that out relentlessly. Your world might be covered with scum, but that's all Mayfield is on the inside. You have something to look forward to in your world: a future. Time doesn't move here. It's just a fantasy.
[He hadn't expected a lecture. What regular little girl could give a lecture like that? It was becoming plainly obvious that Clod wasn't normal in the slightest. The rest of his sandwich is squished in his hands, and he scoots his chair away from her almost a foot.]
I... I don't care.
I don't!
I don't.
[The sandwich is still good, if just a little flat, so he starts to finish it. And he turns himself away from Clod, intent on ignoring her. She'd have to get tired of it and leave eventually. Most did. He had been bullied before, and wasn't about to let some creepy girl get to him.]
It's lunch time now and the little green girl took her tray and started finding a place to sit. Anyplace will do. Even...
... Hey. Is that... is that her brother? In the distance is a boy who looks similar to Pokey except that he didn't quite have as much volume. Their hairstyle and color seemed to match almost exactly. Clod walks over with her tray to where the boy is sitting alone and sets it there without so much as permission.]
... Yeah, right, there was no way you could be Pokey.
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W-what?
[Snap. His head came right back around again, moving with enough speed to momentarily blow the hair from his eyes. Someone was recognizing him already.]
...who?
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You looked like family. So, what's your name?
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[He uses this as his chance to cram his mouth full of peanut butter sandwich. It'll take a while to get it chewed and swallowed, and he can use that time to think of something else to say.]
...Finch. I'm Finch.
[It was that or Aloysius. And... no. Aloysius was a terrible name.]
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[The boy seems anxious, Clod notes, but that could just as easily be because of her sudden appearance. There were many people who were "naturally nervous", so the girl doesn't find it particularly strange. She'll treat this like a normal conversation because, for the most part, it really is.]
You can call me Clod.
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[It was working, it was working.... He dares to smile a little.]
Clod. Okay. I just got here today. Uh... how long have you been in this town, Clod?
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Mayfield is almost like Wonderland. Or just a nightmare. Or maybe it's a bit blurred.
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It doesn't look too different from home. Too much. It's... everything's older. Like a TV show.
I'm... not sure what I think about it, yet.
[Pros: Big Brother is here, horrible parents aren't. Cons: MIGHT END UP DYING.
It required more thought.]
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Like in those black and white television sets. You know, if you'd like to pretend that this is just a dream, I don't see what the problem is.
No matter how much time passes, you'll return to your world and life as if nothing happened, I think. In that case, it's just an extended dream.
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...I don't think I want this to be just a dream.
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[A smile curls up on the girl's face expressing a mixture of curiosity and slyness that urges on the boy to argue why she's wrong.]
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...my mom's lousy. My dad... the last time I saw my dad, it was a few months ago, and he was drunk, and the cops had to come and take him away.
[He looks away pointedly, and bites into his sandwich. Chewing and swallowing gives his words some time to sink in, he hopes.]
Maybe this'll be better.
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But no. It's that last line that irks her. Her smile widens and as she opens her mouth, a piercing cackle resounds through the cafeteria.]
"Maybe this'll be better". Was that meant to be a joke, little one? Your parents very well might be the scum of the earth. I don't doubt that. The entire world is caked with scum like them!
But if you're trying to use Mayfield as a means of escape, then you'll only be met with tragedy. Mayfield is a nightmare where all your inner demons will hound you down. It knows what you're afraid of the most and it'll bring that out relentlessly. Your world might be covered with scum, but that's all Mayfield is on the inside. You have something to look forward to in your world: a future. Time doesn't move here. It's just a fantasy.
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I... I don't care.
I don't!
I don't.
[The sandwich is still good, if just a little flat, so he starts to finish it. And he turns himself away from Clod, intent on ignoring her. She'd have to get tired of it and leave eventually. Most did. He had been bullied before, and wasn't about to let some creepy girl get to him.]
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