tavia -- 

          TAVIA HAD BEEN trying to fight her father on making ollie return home to no avail. when he wanted something, he almost always got it. “ yes, sir. – of course, sir. i understand. ” she sighed before hanging up her phone and shaking her head at her brother. “ well. i tried. ” she mumbled before he dashed off and she was left standing alone. why couldn’t their dad just leave them alone? at the sound of a voice in her ear, tavia whipped around and instinctually went to punch the surprise visitor. “ what the HELL? ” she asked. “ news flash, dumbass, we don’t just sneak up on people! it’s creepy. ”

casper saw the fist being swung at him, and to be honest he should’ve expected worse. he recovered from the shock of the reaction quickly, however, the devious smile he so often wore once again plastered across his face. ‘creepy just happens to be my middle name,’ he said with a dark chuckle. ‘i am dearly sorry for sneaking up on you, but i couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. may i ask who in the world octavia greene is calling “sir”?’

archie -- 

archibald shook his head and calmly slipped his cell phone into the pocket of his ripped jeans. “what are you trying to accomplish, casper? because i am not smart enough to see that, i’m afraid. so, what is it that you want?” he outright asked - not that he was going to give in. this weasel faced guy could do whatever he wanted, he wasn’t one to be blackmailed and he wasn’t going to start now.

“also, what happened to alyssa really isn’t something to joke about.”

‘nothing quite yet. for now, i’m simply reminding you that i’m probably not someone you want to get on the bad side of. so i’d advise being a little...nicer. unless of course, you don’t mind me doing a little digging around for that precious daughter of yours.’ casper said with a mockingly sweet smile. ‘i wasn’t joking about alyssa, althought i’m entirely sure she had it coming anyway. no, my point was simply to point out that the only person who could outdo me as the life of the party is her.’

genevive -- 

there’s a devilish grin as she can’t help but feel her ego be boosted. “i like when a man treats me like a princess,” she jokes. “is that so ?” genevieve asks, “and do your skills elsewhere have the same praise ?”

‘don’t most women these days? shame it’s so tough to find a decent man out there,’ casper lamented in a semi-mocking tone. ‘my skills elsewhere? whatever do you mean?’

gerald --

“as much as a differ with the ideas that are formulated in islam, i do believe all abrehamic faiths serve, in some capacity the same god. so, why not learn from someone who knows a lot about arabic and shares my interest in religion and faith? it just seemed like the right choice.” he told him, calmly explaining why he had chosen an imaam. “besides, most people who teach arabic are muslim around here.” he added.

“well, alright, suit yourself.” he told casper, releaved the other guy wasn’t coming with him to the class. casper wasn’t the best at getting along with people and didn’t mind starting an argument or a discussion and he could just really miss that. he knew casper suspected something though, so he’d be careful. as long as he didn’t hear him talking about allah, or saw him pray he’d be alright, he thought.

‘that’s a fair assumption to make and i can see your point.’ casper said with his usual casual shrug. ‘well, yes i’d assume so considering how intricately connected the language is with their faith’. the young man had only a limited knowledge of islam - and any other religion for that matter (he’d always neglected the christian faith his mother had forcefully tried to bestow upon her son). ‘i might be able to make it with you one day in the future, but for now i’d rather fly solo. i appreciate your understanding.’

vivienne – 

          “ NO, ACTUALLY THEIR job is to run a country, not pester me every five minutes. ” vivienne rolled her eyes before shaking her head at him. knocking her intellect wasn’t going to get him anywhere, she knew how intelligent she was and no one could make her doubt it. “ you try evading my parents when they’re determined to lecture you. it’s not as easy as it sounds. and i’ll have you know, stomping my ‘pretty little foot’ has gotten me a lot through life. ”

‘i think you’ll find parents are wonderful multitaskers. they can pester you and run a country simultaneously i’m sure,’ casper said with somewhat of an informative tone. not that he would be any kind of expert considering the prominent absence both parents had in his own life. ‘i would, my dear, but they’re not my parents to evade. and your life must not have been very difficult at all if thats what it takes to get your way. i hope you don’t think you’re going to be able to get away with that little stint with me or any other respectable person in the future.’ 

kaia –

«this may come as a shock to you; but i don’t think she’d mind,» kaia was quick to reply, a short breath of laughter making its way through parted lips. there was just something about rich kids and their insistent belief that all parents preached about table manners that just never ceased to amuse her ever so slightly. shifting the grip on her textbooks, she allowed herself a second or two to let her eyes scan the other for a whole second before speaking: «i also think you’re a tad too liberal with your use of the word ‘friend’, mate. why the fuck are you approaching me in the first place? thought i told you — i haven’t got access to the bloody blog anymore, alright? trust.»

‘i guess i shouldn’t be shocked. it’s like they say - like mother, like daughter, right?’ as someone who had been raised to use the most proper manners appropriate, casper often forgot that not everyone on the prestigious campus was as “refined” as he believed himself to be. ‘i’d rather be liberal with it than conservative. there’s nothing wrong with having a few friends, is there now? and to answer your question i approached you for exactly the reason you might think. i know you still have access to the blog, kaia. and even if you didn’t, you’re perfectly capable of gaining that access if need be. well, need be. because i want in.’

eleanor – 

in most cases, it was nearly impossible to get under the skin of the young princess - she had always been guarded, cautious, calculating. and the fact that the boy in front of her managed to, seemingly with ease, wasn’t something she welcomed with open arms.«reality is a rather subjective concept, don’t you think?» it was an odd concept, this conversation - both of them clearly digging for answers, but neither of them willing to give them up. his next comment caught her completely off guard, and she found herself having to fight off the urge to shudder. «oh yes, how awful wouldn’t it be if they leaked the same scandal twice. absolutely devastating.»

‘no, though i suppose it must be difficult for a pretty little mind like yours to wrap around the concept.’ he had no problem with the idea of reality, especially since everything in casper’s lire was carefully controlled, meticulously manipulated. ‘don’t be daft. you and i both know that where there is one scandal there are bound to be plenty of others.’ with that said, the young man tips back onto his heels before adding, ‘try to be a little less defensive, will you? your avoidance tactics are becoming almost painfully obvious.’

archie --

“think whatever you want, casper. it’s really none of my concern.” he told him and hated that he couldn’t just talk about his daughter as a proud father. he couldn’t afford for casper to start nosing around, as he’d find the birth announcement of his daughter, saying that the proud mother was elizabeth emsworth, not archibald emswort. it was in a local, online paper and yes, it had his picture pre-transition, holding magnolia. he didn’t know how to stop it and for some odd reason, the song que sera, sera started to play in his head and he felt like he was going to implode. why did things have to be so damn difficult all the time? “also, i don’t think anyone would like you at their birthday party. you’d put a real damper on any festivities.”

‘well then you should consider making it a concern. because you might not care what i think, but a lot of other people do,’ he said with a tone of warning. now that he had stumbled across this little tid-bit of information about archie there was no way he was going to go and forget it anytime soon. ‘i am personally offended,’ casper commented, a hand over his heart. ‘i would consider myself to be the second life of any party - preceded only by the infamous alyssa loric, of course.’

kaia --

if there was one thing kaia had not braced herself for when leaving the house to tutor some struggling first-year, it was having someone ( a living, breathing person ) whispering something in her ear. her immediate reaction was to yelp, stumbling a step or two backwards, books still clutched in ill-manicured hands. however, as she identified the perpetrator, her expression of horror was swapped for one of annoyance. “fuck off, summers,” she all but groaned, turning to face him properly. “go get a fuckin’ hobby or some shit. and before you ask — no, whatever this is doesn’t count, you wank’.”

a genuine laugh of amusement came from casper as he watched kaia stumble backwards. ‘oh dear me, that’s no way to greet an old friend. i don’t think your mother would be pleased to hear that language from you,’ he playfully reprimanded. ‘this is my hobby. and what do you mean? of course this counts! everything counts, my friend.’

mickey --

       THEY  HUGGED  THE  girl they were talking to just a she was leaving,  as if they actually enjoyed the mind-numbing conversation the two were having. in their hand, they held a phone,  not their’s,  but the girl they were talking to just moments ago.  mickey was in the process of putting in the password   (   it had been easy enough to figure out with the smudges on the screen   ).  the word he spoke into their ear was enough for them to begin reaching for their switchblade in their pocket.  realizing who it was did nothing,  in fact it only made them grip onto the blade harder.   “   y’know,  i might have to get some bells to wear for your birthday.  hello to you too.   ”

‘bells completely eradicate the element of surprise though, and then it’s no fun at all!’ casper exclaimed with an animated expression painted across his features. his eyes then travelled down to the phone in mickey’s hand and from the pink glittery phone case he assumed it wasn’t theirs. ‘speaking of fun, what is it that we have here?’ he said, tapping a finger lightly against the edge of the phone they held in their hand. 

eleanor --

in response, she pulled her coat slightly tighter around her slender frame; clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of being read. it was a short, subconscious move, and she was quick to piece herself back together (after all, she wasn’t short of experience when it came to facades). «do you ever fear you’re going delusional, darling?» she wondered, softly brushing off his accusation; he hadn’t given any indication that he actually knew, so might as well not worry, right? «—- well, no one’s clocked me yet, so i think we’re doing fine on that front for now,» she half-joked, brows slightly furrowed as his comment dawned on her.

the smile already across his features twitched in delight as he watched her body language as she visibly closed in on herself. he was not entirely sure what part of his prior comments had made her so uneasy, but he was equally as sure that he was bound to find out sometime soon. ‘no. not ever, actually. i rather like to pride myself on being quite grounded in reality,’ he replied lightly. ‘one can never be too careful! you of all people must know how easy it is to be...,’ he trailed off, taking a step forward to whisper the last part in her ear, ‘...exposed.’

gerald --

“i didn’t want a minor, i just really wanted to do it on my own terms.” gerald told his friend, and while he knew it was coming, his heart still sank. of course casper would want to investigate, he probably thought that it would contain valuable information. he would just play along, let him join and he’d get bored soon enough. “i do have the details. it’s a local imaam, named mehmed. he is a native speaker and studied the language in a formal setting as well.” he said, without moving a muscle in his face. “he teaches the language to have conversations as well as study religious texts. i’m obviously going for the conversational skills.” he said with a smile. “now, i’m going on tuesday so we could meet up outside my dorm and go together. i leave at around six in the evening.” he told casper. he’d just call the imaam to say that he wanted to learn more conversational arabic first, before he’d go over to more religious texts. that way, casper would probably stop going with him by the time the qur’an and other texts were discussed.

‘each to their own, i suppose,’ casper said with a nonchalant shrug. ‘an imaam? what an interesting choice,’ he mused, pondering for a moment why exactly a devout christian like gerald had enlisted the help of someone so distinguished within the islamic community. ‘oh yes, yes of course you are. and as much as i wish i could join you i am rather...preoccupied tuesday evening. anyway, i’d much prefer to go on my own considering my rather lacking linguistic abilities - wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in front of you, would i?’ now you see, the young man had absolutely no intention of learning arabic ( beyond maybe a few words of greeting, perhaps ). instead, he planned to secretly tail this dear friend of his to find out if he was, in fact, telling the truth. because he of all people knew that others would never tell the truth when they thought other people were watching. 

mama who BORE ME: mama who gave me no way to handle things who made me so sad.

          mama who BORE ME:           mama who gave me no way to handle things           who made me so mad.

mama who BORE ME: mama who gave me no way to handle things WHO MADE ME SO BAD.

archie --

archie looked at casper’s face and realized how much the guy looked like a weasel, well that was fitting. he hated hearing this jelly fish of a person speaking his daughter’s name. it sounded so sleasy coming from his mouth. first of all, he didn’t want this creep of a dude knowing about his daughter, because he seemed like the guy that if she really wanted to target him, he wouldn’t care whether or not he hurt his daughter in the proces and second of all, this guy knowing anything at all about him was just not something that sounded much fun. “i must do nothing of the sort.” he simply said and shook his head. “besides, what inclinations are you even talking about? most people here seem quite normal… well, except for you.”

‘fine i’ll go with the first option - that it’s your daughter - because you don’t seem like the kind of person who would be into that sugar daddy sort of stuff,’ he surmised with a casual shrug. ‘my dear friend, you must be completely oblivious! you see, if people like you took a moment to just look around you might catch a glimpse of how utterly abnormal everyone here is.’ casper stopped himself here knowing that otherwise he ran the risk of rambling. ‘but back to the topic at hand - your daughter, sweet magnolia, with her birthday soon approaching. how old is she turning? and more importantly, am i invited to the birthday party?’

gerald --

gerald walked along with his friend and just kept his poker face on. luckily, studying law had afforded him the ability to lie, very very well. “why not? i mean, of course i am busy but i happen to find languages fascinating.” he explained, running his fingers through his hair. “besides, my father’s law firm does work quite a bit with people who have arabic as a native language. knowing the basics of the language will just make it easier to form a bond with clients. besides, i hate when people talk around me in a language that i don’t understand. it makes me uneasy.” he said, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. it wasn’t untrue, but that wasn’t his main focus, but casper wasn’t the person to know of his religious doubts. he knew him - one way or another, he’d use that knowledge to his own advantage.

‘maybe you should’ve considered a minor in foreign languages then,’ casper remarked casually. he listened closely to the words of his friend, all the while thinking to himself that there must be something more to this than meets the eye. there always was with people, wasn’t there? ‘i suppose you make quite valid points. in fact, i’m tempted to take a shot at it myself. there’s always room for growth, right?’ he paused for a moment and smiled before continuing. ‘do you happen to have the details of who’s teaching you arabic? if you chose him i’m sure he must be excellent at his job.’

archie --

“-oing okay then? yeah, tell her i miss her.” he said and smiled to himself. “no, no put her on the phone if you can… magnolia, hey, baby…” he said, in a cutesy voice. “did you? wow, that sounds amazing. so, for your birthday do you want to come visit daddy here? yes? i’ll take you to the ice rink if you want, daddy can teach you how to skate. would you like that? listen baby, daddy has to go now but i’ll call you tomorrow, alright? yes, i love you too, princess.” he said and hung up, still smiling to himself at his daughter’s excited voice. she was almost three now and he was so proud of her.

“holy fuck!” he swore as he jumped up. fucking casper; he thought, he would have heard and there was nothing he could do about it. “what is it now? is it forbidden to call here now?” he snapped.

casper merely chucked at the use of profanity that spilled from archie as he jumped. the young man took a special kind of delight - among other, more morbid things - in creeping up on people. he neglected to reply to the other guy’s question, answering instead with questions of his own. ‘magnolia...what a pretty little name.’ he stopped, took a moment to pause, and put a hand over his heart before continuing. ‘but you must indulge me because the curiosity is simply eating me away - was that your baby daughter or your sugar baby? i’m tempted to go with the first, but one can never be too sure these days. especially on a campus so heavily populated by people with....unusual inclinations.’