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Floating Sea
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You have some thoughts. Some might even be worth saying, as much as you’d prefer to fade into the background.
One topic at a time, starting with the biggest issue of the bunch: Getting inside the plant.
Sending Albert home... it doesn’t feel like a good idea. Not after what you saw yesterday at least. Whether his dad had a key or not, it’s a risk you don’t want to take at his expense. Thankfully, a far safer alternative comes to mind.
Clive: “...’Bec could get us in.”
Enid: “Who? I don’t recognize that name, is it a classmate?”
Roger: “She’s a middle schooler actually. I think she was... The Rebel, right?”
Clive: “Yes. ‘Bec can get her hands on whatever she needs. She can get us a key.”
Albert: “Does she even know about the nuclear plant’s existence?”
Good question. You weren’t sure.
Clive: “...It’s fine to tell her. She can keep a secret.”
Albert doesn’t fight you on that point, already knowing One of the secrets she’s kept her mouth shut about. He does ask a good question though.
Albert: “Can you Afford her services?”
Clive: “...No. I’ll need cash.”
Enid: “How much?”
Albert: “Her prices vary for keys, if I’m remembering her price sheet correctly. Assuming this will be a higher end item, and judging by her other prices...”
Albert: “I would say somewhere between Fifty Cents and Two Dollars.”
Clive: “...Sounds right.”
Albert: “We could also purchase an extra flashlight while we’re there, but it all comes down to how much currency we have available.”
Albert: “And unless Clive can find the money we need...”
You just shake your head. It’s true that you steal what you have to, but that’s it. Just that much raises enough suspicion, and you don’t want to take your chances by nabbing any more.
Albert: “...Right then. I don’t have anything I can contribute here, so I’ll ask you two. How much do you both have?”
Roger: “I have a dollar.”
Enid: “I have two dollars in my pocket. But I have more at home.”
Albert: “How much more?”
Enid: “Um... Thirteen?”
Roger: “Whoa!”
Albert: “That will certainly suffice!”
Enid: “Wait, sorry, there’s a problem with that...”
Enid: “I’m supposed to go and spend it with Mrs. Foster at the toy store tomorrow to replace my old things, so I think she’ll notice if any is gone.”
Roger: “Oh. Wait, then that money was... your Inheritance?”
Enid: “Yes. They told me most of it is in the bank for when I’m older, but they left enough out to get back some of what I lost.”
Enid: “Sorry. She suggested it yesterday, and was really insistent about her and I doing it together. I would have tried harder to talk her out of it if I knew we’d need it.”
You frown (actively, rather than your normal passive frown). Three dollars, not counting what Enid would spend on her flashlight... Would that be enough? Even if it could get you the key, you might have to discard the idea of picking up an extra flashlight.
Enid: “...Roger, you look like you want to say something. Do you have an idea?”
Roger: “Well... I was just thinking that if I could sell...”
Roger: “...Uh, nevermind.”
Albert: “Sell what, your art?”
Roger: “...That is what I was going to say, but my main buyers are Barry and Carol. They just went through my sketchbook recently and picked up a couple drawings.”
Enid: “So you mean they spent all they had or bought all of the ones they were interested in already?”
Roger: “...Yes. That is what I mean.”
...You’re terrible at reading people, but even you can tell there’s something he doesn’t want to say.
Whatever, you’re not gonna call him out. If you all die because he’s getting stingy, at least it wasn’t your fault. Besides, if you can tell, the other two probably can too. Let them speak up.
Roger: “That still leaves us with Three Dollars. Is that enough?
Albert: “I would think a decent flashlight should run Enid about a dollar fifty.”
Enid: “Maybe less than that. Giovanni likes me, so I bet I could get a discount if I put on my sad face.”
Roger: “Can you do that on command?”
Enid: “I can turn it on, but turning it off is a little hard right now.”
Clive: “That leaves us a dollar fifty, unless Enid secures a bargain. If ‘Bec asks for a high price, we won’t be able to afford it.”
Albert: “Any chance she’ll give you a discount or take credit? You are her best customer.”
It wasn’t likely, but not impossible. ‘Bec doesn’t trade in promises, but rather cold hard cash right in her hand. Still, it’d have to do. Maybe you’ll get lucky on the price, and you’ll be able to pick up a flashlight as well.
With that discussion finished, you carry on straight into the next. Food.
Clive: “...I might be able to pick up a few snacks from home.”
Enid: “That’d be great, thank you.”
Albert: “It wouldn’t hurt to have, especially if we end up staying there for some time.”
Albert: “On that note, is there anything else you all think we should bring?”
Clive: “Maybe a first-aid kit?”
Roger: “Franklin carries one, so- oh, right, he’s not here right now.”
Enid: “He carries around a first-aid kit?”
Roger: “Well his dad is a sort of doctor, and Jhonen’s parents were the kind that actually work in the hospital. With company like that, it makes sense.”
Albert: “That, and he seems the second most likely of any of us to injure himself, falling just short of Lillian.”
Roger: “So, who else has one at home they can take?”
After a short discussion, you offer to grab the first-aid kit from your house. The conversation continues to other items.
Roger: “I can borrow a Compass from Louie, no problems. I’ll just tell him it’s for a game, and I don’t think he’ll question me too much about it.”
Enid: “If we’re all stopping at our homes at least once, then maybe we can each grab at least one Toy while we’re there.”
Clive: “I don’t have any.”
Enid: “What? Really?”
Clive: “...I don’t play much.”
Enid: “That’s... very sad.”
Not really. Even before things in your life got weird, you rarely played with toys. They didn’t interest you. You prefer reading, or playing games.
Albert: “If that’s everything, then I believe we’re good to split up. We’ll meet up by Enid’s house in about twenty minutes. Is that acceptable for all of you?”
Clive: “Yeah.”
Enid: “I think so.”
Roger: “Shouldn’t be a problem.”
Albert: “Alright. And just to be safe, I’ll suggest that we split off into pairs.”
You barely hold back a groan. It was like he’d waited until the last minute to bring it up. Was that on purpose?
Clive: “I’m fine on my own.”
Albert: “Am I wrong in my understanding that you were directly Interrogated by our teacher earlier today?”
He was not wrong, which is strange since he definitely Hadn’t been there. The only other person who was had been Enid, so how-
You side-eye Enid. She’s looking away, very intentionally.
Albert: “If the perpetrators of this plot are starting to notice our actions, then it’s imperative we play things more cautiously.”
Albert: “There’s safety in numbers, so we’ll avoid being caught alone.”
He has a point. You know he does, even if you hate to agree with it.
Clive: “Fine.”
Enid: “If we’re pairing up, then can I go with you, Albert?”
Roger: “Huh?”
Albert: “I don’t mind at all... Is there a reason you’d like to go with me in particular though?”
Enid: “Well, I went with Roger on Monday already, so I just wanted to go with someone other than him.”
Roger: “Why not Clive then? You’ve barely had a word with him so far, so wouldn’t it be better to establish some foundation with him?”
Clive: “...We haven’t talked much either.”
Roger: “Well y-yeah, but y’know... We’ve been in the same class, so it’s different really...”
...Oh, he just doesn’t want to go with you. Well that should have been obvious from the start.
Enid: “I guess that’s true...”
Roger: “What do you think, Albert?”
Albert: “Don’t drag me into this. I’m fine with whatever combination we go with.”
At this rate, if you don’t say anything, then Roger will likely get his way and you’ll go with Enid. That isn’t a bad option, if anything you’d rather be with someone willing to put up with you than a kid that’s actively avoiding your being nearby.
That said, you’ll need to deal with this sooner or later. If this keeps up, his tendency to avoid you may cause problems later. Or maybe it won’t, and you can both happily coexist away from each other. Who knows? Who cares?
Should Clive Speak Up?
A: Enid is fine
-Keep your mouth shut and go with Enid.
B: Clive: “Actually...”
-Speak up, and reject Roger’s proposal
-You’ll probably end up going with Roger if you do that
C: Get someone else to speak for you
-Nudge Enid or Albert into saying something (specify who)
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