New Philip Nichols fanfic
Title: Plots to escape Part 1
Author: Amanda
Rating: I am just going to label it R for now, since I think there may be adult themes later.
Character: Philip Nichols
Summary: Philip didn’t just leave in the night, he actually had very detailed things he needed to accomplish before he vanished. He knew in order to hide in the real world there were specific things he needed to accomplish. He also knew though he wouldn’t be a minor anymore when he escaped, he needed to do everything in his power to make sure he wasn’t forced to come back to his house, and deal with the life his father wanted for him.
Author’s note: I haven’t decided if this will sort of expand Philip Nichols and his bags of tricks, and contemplate it… or exist in a sort of alternative universe as another way to describe how he became the crazy cult leader he is. I will figure it out later maybe.
Part 1: Experiments in delinquent behavior
A leaf drifted slowly in the wind, fluttering in the small drift of smoke coming from the open window. It drifted into the face of the person standing by the window. As he swatted the leaf away, he managed to drop his cigarette.
Philip Nichols followed the path of the cigarette, hoping it wouldn’t start a fire in the pile of leaves below his window. If that happened, he would definitely be caught. It seemed to have put itself out as it fell helplessly to the ground. Philip sighed happily, closing the window hastily.
He was sure if smoking had been a successful experience or not. He may have to try again later. In preparation for his up coming escape into the real world, Philip had decided that he was going to experience some of adult things. That way he wouldn’t look so naïve. He didn’t want anyone to catch on to the fact that his newly acquired fake id lied about his age.
A small escape Philip’s lips, as he finished latched the window. He was sure his brother or his father would not notice the smell of smoke on him. The whole house seem to permeate with the smell of cigarettes sometimes. He was sure all tobacco executives houses smelled that way. (He had been in several others, and they had smelled that way as well.)
Maybe he wouldn’t need to smoke in the real world. There were the occasional person who didn’t smoke. Also, it seemed that non-smoking campaigns were starting to get some credibility. Maybe one day, America would be smoke free, and no one will notice if he didn’t take up the vice (Philip was sure if that day ever happened, his father would have a ballistic meltdown)
Philip would think again about taking up the experiment. He had other things that he had to experiment with in the next few weeks. He actually had a small bottle of wine chilling underneath his bed to try later tonight. He was hoping the experiment would go better than the smoking one.
(He didn’t know he would be so awkward at holding the cigarette, he had also managed to leave a small burn on his fingertip when he had tried to light it. He was trying to master a cool way of lighting a match that he saw, and had managed to light one of the matches still in the book. Luckily, it was a small burn, and no one would notice it. Philip could easily master the act of not being in pain when he did something, so he wouldn’t do something like wince in public if it bothered him.)
He knew that if he was telling people that he was 28, and not 18, if he didn’t either smoke or drink people would be suspicious. There weren’t many adults he knew that didn’t partake in one or both of the vices. There was one adult he knew that didn’t do either, and he was considered the misfit of the circle of friends that Mr. Nichols had.
(Tim Phelps was actually a very nice guy. He was also highly intelligent, and also treated Philip like an adult. Though Philip, admired Mr. Phelps, and actually thought he was far too good to be hanging out with Philip’s dad,; he could easily see the animosity that the others had for him sometimes. Philip didn’t want to stand out when he made the transition into the real world. If he didn’t fit in, his secret might easily be discovered, and might try to send him home.)
It was true that Philip would be 18 when he escaped, but he feared that if something went wrong they would send him back to his father’s. Then Philip would be under his father’s oppressive hold, and would have to work at the Tobacco Company. Also, Mr. Nichols would make damn sure that Philip was never able to escape again.
Philip peeked under the bed to make sure the wine was still there.
The maids didn’t go in his room very often, so he was lucky. Usually they didn’t need to though, Philip kept it immaculate. He had been taught he had to be perfect, and keeping his room clean was his responsibility. Though Philip thought it unfair that Mr. Nichols, and Edward could do as they pleased. (Though Philip also knew this was never going to change, even doing everything he was told, Philip would always be seen as the black sheep of the family.)
Philip walked into his bathroom, and washed his hands quickly. Dinner would be soon, and he would be required to make an appearance. Philip starred in the mirror. Tonight he told himself he would go through the play Hamlet in his head as he ate.
He had to give himself something to think about whenever he ate with his family. Neither his father or his brother would even bother to talk to him unless they were making fun of him. He found it easier to get through the dinner if he had something to focus on. Philip could then still pretend to hear their conversations, which sadly most of the time he did hear the nonsense that they talked about, and not be completely bored at the dinner table.
---
Philip wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel as he slowly sipped the wine. He wasn’t feeling buzzed. He wasn’t sure if that is what he should be feeling anyway.
He had made sure to sneak up some food when he was drinking. He wasn’t really planning on getting drunk, but he also wanted to see if he would get sick.
The taste was a little bitter. He had pulled out one of the newer vintages out of he wine cellar. He wasn’t going to leave any clues of his plans. If his dad had noticed that alcohol he actually cared about was missing, then Philip would be punished.
(In his mind, all his plans seemed very obvious, that he would try out some of the things that adults in society did, before he escaped. In actuality, Mr. Nichols really paid little attention to his eldest. The signs that normal people might actually see as signs of someone thinking of running away, he didn’t see until days after Philip had left.)
Philip wondered if he should keep drinking, or throw the rest of the wine away.
He almost wanted to throw it away just because Mr. Nichols cared so much about his wine collection. As he was thinking about it, he wasn’t sure why he had decided to try alcohol. He had had alcohol before. He had never gotten drunk, but occasionally he was allowed to drink it.
Philip had never had this particular wine, usually it was champagne at New Year’s. (Only a glass though, because thought Mr. Nichols had assumed that Philip would be a bad drunk. Philip had never asked why he had thought that when Philip had been no where close to being in that state.)
Philip set the glass of wine on the nightstand near his bed, and stood up.
He needed to find the list he had made. He had hidden it in a spot that his father would never look. (His father occasionally searched his room. Philip never was sure what for, but Mr. Nichols seemed to enjoy these searches, especially when he knew it aggravated Philip. Philip could not take disorder in his room, and it took a lot of energy to make sure he didn‘t cry after seeing the state of his room.)
Philip closed his eyes, and tried to think of the exact things that had been disrupted in the room the last few times. Then, he would remember where the list was.
He knew that it was not under the mattress. For some reason his father always looked there. He liked to move the bed frame as well, so Philip would have to get his tape measure out and put it back in the exact location where it was supposed to be.
Last time the room had been searched, every book had been taken off the bookcases. They had actually been moved into the hall, and the bookcases had been found where the bed usual sat. It had actually taken Philip a good four hours to put his room back to the exact location it was before the search
He was wondering if he was going to have to spend a few hours actually putting everything where it was after the search so he could figure out the hiding space. Philip didn’t really like the possibility. It would aggravate him if he had to disassemble his room. His memory was usually good about remembering exact details like hiding locations. The alcohol must have affected his memory.
Philip began to nervously dig his nails into the palm of his hand, feeling a panic start to set in as he thought of having to make the room a mess just to find the hiding spot. The thought of the mess made him feel like he had been kicked in the stomach, and he found it harder to breath normally.
The ringing of his brother’s phone nearby, made him instantly remember where he hid the list. He almost was glad of his brother’s popularity at that instant.
Philip walked to the desk across the room. He took a screwdriver out of the top desk drawer, and unscrewed the bottom base. He had hidden the list there since his phone was hardly ever used. He pulled the list out, and scanned it. There was nothing else he could do tonight.
Philip carefully put the list back, and put the phone back together. He made sure that each screw was in the exact spot it had been in. He didn’t want it to look like it had been tampered with.
He picked up the bottle and glass of wine. He poured the remains down the sink.
Afterwards, he spent 30 minutes scrubbing the sink. He also rinsed out the bottle and glass.
Philip went to the window, and tossed the bottle and glass into the bushes outside his brother’s window.
Edward was considered the golden boy of the family. It wasn’t the first time though that the Gardener had found signs of drinking outside Edward’s window, and wouldn’t be the last. Nothing that Edward did wrong was ever reported, so if the bottle and glass were find in the bushes, they would just be disposed of and forgotten.
Author: Amanda
Rating: I am just going to label it R for now, since I think there may be adult themes later.
Character: Philip Nichols
Summary: Philip didn’t just leave in the night, he actually had very detailed things he needed to accomplish before he vanished. He knew in order to hide in the real world there were specific things he needed to accomplish. He also knew though he wouldn’t be a minor anymore when he escaped, he needed to do everything in his power to make sure he wasn’t forced to come back to his house, and deal with the life his father wanted for him.
Author’s note: I haven’t decided if this will sort of expand Philip Nichols and his bags of tricks, and contemplate it… or exist in a sort of alternative universe as another way to describe how he became the crazy cult leader he is. I will figure it out later maybe.
Part 1: Experiments in delinquent behavior
A leaf drifted slowly in the wind, fluttering in the small drift of smoke coming from the open window. It drifted into the face of the person standing by the window. As he swatted the leaf away, he managed to drop his cigarette.
Philip Nichols followed the path of the cigarette, hoping it wouldn’t start a fire in the pile of leaves below his window. If that happened, he would definitely be caught. It seemed to have put itself out as it fell helplessly to the ground. Philip sighed happily, closing the window hastily.
He was sure if smoking had been a successful experience or not. He may have to try again later. In preparation for his up coming escape into the real world, Philip had decided that he was going to experience some of adult things. That way he wouldn’t look so naïve. He didn’t want anyone to catch on to the fact that his newly acquired fake id lied about his age.
A small escape Philip’s lips, as he finished latched the window. He was sure his brother or his father would not notice the smell of smoke on him. The whole house seem to permeate with the smell of cigarettes sometimes. He was sure all tobacco executives houses smelled that way. (He had been in several others, and they had smelled that way as well.)
Maybe he wouldn’t need to smoke in the real world. There were the occasional person who didn’t smoke. Also, it seemed that non-smoking campaigns were starting to get some credibility. Maybe one day, America would be smoke free, and no one will notice if he didn’t take up the vice (Philip was sure if that day ever happened, his father would have a ballistic meltdown)
Philip would think again about taking up the experiment. He had other things that he had to experiment with in the next few weeks. He actually had a small bottle of wine chilling underneath his bed to try later tonight. He was hoping the experiment would go better than the smoking one.
(He didn’t know he would be so awkward at holding the cigarette, he had also managed to leave a small burn on his fingertip when he had tried to light it. He was trying to master a cool way of lighting a match that he saw, and had managed to light one of the matches still in the book. Luckily, it was a small burn, and no one would notice it. Philip could easily master the act of not being in pain when he did something, so he wouldn’t do something like wince in public if it bothered him.)
He knew that if he was telling people that he was 28, and not 18, if he didn’t either smoke or drink people would be suspicious. There weren’t many adults he knew that didn’t partake in one or both of the vices. There was one adult he knew that didn’t do either, and he was considered the misfit of the circle of friends that Mr. Nichols had.
(Tim Phelps was actually a very nice guy. He was also highly intelligent, and also treated Philip like an adult. Though Philip, admired Mr. Phelps, and actually thought he was far too good to be hanging out with Philip’s dad,; he could easily see the animosity that the others had for him sometimes. Philip didn’t want to stand out when he made the transition into the real world. If he didn’t fit in, his secret might easily be discovered, and might try to send him home.)
It was true that Philip would be 18 when he escaped, but he feared that if something went wrong they would send him back to his father’s. Then Philip would be under his father’s oppressive hold, and would have to work at the Tobacco Company. Also, Mr. Nichols would make damn sure that Philip was never able to escape again.
Philip peeked under the bed to make sure the wine was still there.
The maids didn’t go in his room very often, so he was lucky. Usually they didn’t need to though, Philip kept it immaculate. He had been taught he had to be perfect, and keeping his room clean was his responsibility. Though Philip thought it unfair that Mr. Nichols, and Edward could do as they pleased. (Though Philip also knew this was never going to change, even doing everything he was told, Philip would always be seen as the black sheep of the family.)
Philip walked into his bathroom, and washed his hands quickly. Dinner would be soon, and he would be required to make an appearance. Philip starred in the mirror. Tonight he told himself he would go through the play Hamlet in his head as he ate.
He had to give himself something to think about whenever he ate with his family. Neither his father or his brother would even bother to talk to him unless they were making fun of him. He found it easier to get through the dinner if he had something to focus on. Philip could then still pretend to hear their conversations, which sadly most of the time he did hear the nonsense that they talked about, and not be completely bored at the dinner table.
---
Philip wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel as he slowly sipped the wine. He wasn’t feeling buzzed. He wasn’t sure if that is what he should be feeling anyway.
He had made sure to sneak up some food when he was drinking. He wasn’t really planning on getting drunk, but he also wanted to see if he would get sick.
The taste was a little bitter. He had pulled out one of the newer vintages out of he wine cellar. He wasn’t going to leave any clues of his plans. If his dad had noticed that alcohol he actually cared about was missing, then Philip would be punished.
(In his mind, all his plans seemed very obvious, that he would try out some of the things that adults in society did, before he escaped. In actuality, Mr. Nichols really paid little attention to his eldest. The signs that normal people might actually see as signs of someone thinking of running away, he didn’t see until days after Philip had left.)
Philip wondered if he should keep drinking, or throw the rest of the wine away.
He almost wanted to throw it away just because Mr. Nichols cared so much about his wine collection. As he was thinking about it, he wasn’t sure why he had decided to try alcohol. He had had alcohol before. He had never gotten drunk, but occasionally he was allowed to drink it.
Philip had never had this particular wine, usually it was champagne at New Year’s. (Only a glass though, because thought Mr. Nichols had assumed that Philip would be a bad drunk. Philip had never asked why he had thought that when Philip had been no where close to being in that state.)
Philip set the glass of wine on the nightstand near his bed, and stood up.
He needed to find the list he had made. He had hidden it in a spot that his father would never look. (His father occasionally searched his room. Philip never was sure what for, but Mr. Nichols seemed to enjoy these searches, especially when he knew it aggravated Philip. Philip could not take disorder in his room, and it took a lot of energy to make sure he didn‘t cry after seeing the state of his room.)
Philip closed his eyes, and tried to think of the exact things that had been disrupted in the room the last few times. Then, he would remember where the list was.
He knew that it was not under the mattress. For some reason his father always looked there. He liked to move the bed frame as well, so Philip would have to get his tape measure out and put it back in the exact location where it was supposed to be.
Last time the room had been searched, every book had been taken off the bookcases. They had actually been moved into the hall, and the bookcases had been found where the bed usual sat. It had actually taken Philip a good four hours to put his room back to the exact location it was before the search
He was wondering if he was going to have to spend a few hours actually putting everything where it was after the search so he could figure out the hiding space. Philip didn’t really like the possibility. It would aggravate him if he had to disassemble his room. His memory was usually good about remembering exact details like hiding locations. The alcohol must have affected his memory.
Philip began to nervously dig his nails into the palm of his hand, feeling a panic start to set in as he thought of having to make the room a mess just to find the hiding spot. The thought of the mess made him feel like he had been kicked in the stomach, and he found it harder to breath normally.
The ringing of his brother’s phone nearby, made him instantly remember where he hid the list. He almost was glad of his brother’s popularity at that instant.
Philip walked to the desk across the room. He took a screwdriver out of the top desk drawer, and unscrewed the bottom base. He had hidden the list there since his phone was hardly ever used. He pulled the list out, and scanned it. There was nothing else he could do tonight.
Philip carefully put the list back, and put the phone back together. He made sure that each screw was in the exact spot it had been in. He didn’t want it to look like it had been tampered with.
He picked up the bottle and glass of wine. He poured the remains down the sink.
Afterwards, he spent 30 minutes scrubbing the sink. He also rinsed out the bottle and glass.
Philip went to the window, and tossed the bottle and glass into the bushes outside his brother’s window.
Edward was considered the golden boy of the family. It wasn’t the first time though that the Gardener had found signs of drinking outside Edward’s window, and wouldn’t be the last. Nothing that Edward did wrong was ever reported, so if the bottle and glass were find in the bushes, they would just be disposed of and forgotten.