Elsie speaks to her parents, about the meeting on Saturday. She doesn't think her mother really understands -- but every teenage girl thinks her mother doesn't understand her, that's not really anything new to this earth. Her father takes her aside and stumbles over his words for a few minutes before she puts her hand on his arm and says, "I know. ( Read more... )

Elsie's father delivers her letter promptly after she writes it. She tries not to think too hard about anything after that.

Dear Radek,

I don't know what to say to you. Everything I say upsets you. Nothing I ever do is good enough. I'm not sure what you want from me any more.

I don't want to upset you. But I also don't want to not say anything, and ( Read more... )

Lizbet sits quietly at her desk in her bedroom. Her laptop is neatly put away and she's sitting in front of the desk top, her cellphone on the desk by her mouse and a mug of coffee -- half drunk -- slowly cooling next to that. She's in her pajamas, neatly combing and braiding her hair into two plaits in a chatroom lull.

Nobody has talked to him.

( Read more... )

Curled up with Garak and Julian, she's fallen quiet, rubbing her gloved hands together and huddling in Julian's coat, close to him for warmth. She's not scared, or at least, not as scared as some people seem to be -- everyone's writing little notes, she's seen, but she's just sitting here, trying not to freeze. She trusts, without even really ( Read more... )

After Julian leaves, Lizbet goes to bed and fails to sleep. She doesn't cuddle with Math like he suggested, preferring her solitude -- or at least, that's what she tells herself as she lies there, staring at the ceiling.

It is okay. It's not like he threw it in her face; he didn't make fun of her, or worse, pity her, which she'd worried about a ( Read more... )

Steven Weir has never missed a Christmas with his children. Maybe they weren't always great Christmases; maybe some years he was too distracted or annoyed. Christmas can be a stressful holiday season, and sometimes the day itself is just a crescendo of everyone's irritability ( Read more... )

Lizbet...hasn't had the best day, after all ( Read more... )