Fifth Floor Common Room | Late Morning | Thursday | July 15

[therewaslife]

Bod had spent last night dreaming. To have one night of dreams was unusual so having several nights worth had him completely confused. Still, getting to see his parents in his dreams every night like he'd never left wasn't something he'd question. It made the ache of missing them all the more apparent in the mornings but he managed to keep those feelings hidden.

After waking up from another dream, Bod had padded sleepily down to the common room and decided to spend some time there, eating crackers and trying to piece through the various variations of the dream. The television was playing some sort of cartoon but Bod wasn't really paying attention.

Instead, his thoughts, stuck on those dreams as they were, eventually wandered into daydreaming territory and he was back to seeing his parents, feeling them holding him and hearing their voices in his ear. It felt like he was there and not on the island. It was so...strange.

[CR's an open place and I wish I was still sleeping]

Comments

[vanillajello]

Kate had already been to class by the time she made her way here. She was exhausted, but there were no pudding snacks in her common room anymore, and she was positive there were still some here.

So, she appeared at the door, still humming things like I could have been a surgeon, I like taking things apart under her breath. Noticing Bod, she gave him a smile and a little wave, starting towards the kitchen area.

[therewaslife]

Any other time, Bod would have been waving back or greeting her immediately but, this time, it was almost as if he didn't hear her. He'd gotten a little deep into his daydream, blocking out the rest of the world while he focused on his dream.

Unfortunately, it looked like he was ignoring her when he was just really caught up in something he couldn't control.

[vanillajello]

Oh-kay then... Kate raised an eyebrow at being blanked like that, but continued what she was doing, which was locating a pudding cup in the fridge, and finding a spoon for eating it.

Having done both - taking some time to, and still humming pirate songs – she wandered over to Bod.

"Don't I get a hello?"

[therewaslife]

Bod was slow to come around but he eventually did especially at the sound of her voice. He blinked a few times, focusing his gaze straight ahead before looking up at her.

"Kate!" Well, he hadn't heard her come in so surprise seemed to be deserved at seeing her nearby him. "Hullo, Kate. Did you just get here?"

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"Hello, Bod," Rilla trilled as she came into the common room lugging an enormous wicker picnic basket. "Are you hungry? Susan sent me a birthday packet of food and there's enough to feed an army."

[therewaslife]

Bod's daydream had faded by then so he was able to pull himself out of it quicker than before which meant he could smile over at Rilla and her huge basket.

"Hullo, Rilla," he said, standing up and wandering over to try and help her with the big basket. "Is it your birthday today?"

[vanillajello]

"Well I've been here long enough to get these," Kate said, showing him the cup and the spoon, while giving him an odd look. "You okay?"

[therewaslife]

"I didn't hear you come in," he said apologetically, rubbing at his eyes and then mussing his hair. "I've been -- "

He shook his head again, trying to clear it. "I'm all right. How are you this morning? Hungry?"

[vanillajello]

She gave him another look, but let it go (for now, at least), choosing to flop down next to him instead. "Tired," she said. "From singing and... piratey things."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"It is," she said, smiling. "I'm fourteen today!"

How very grown up!

[therewaslife]

"Happy birthday!" Bod said, returning that smile. "How is fourteen thus far?"

[therewaslife]

"What are piratey things?" he asked, the word sounding unfamiliar coming out of his mouth. "Singing, I know but...piratey things?"

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"Delightful," she said, setting the basket down and twirling on one foot. "Walter is home from hospital."

[therewaslife]

"That is good news," he said, nodding his agreement. Whatever might have happened to her Walter, him being home had to be good news if she was reacting like she was. "And doing well, I hope?"

[vanillajello]

"Hoisting sails and coiling ropes," Kate explained as she opened her snack. "Stuff like that."

Okay, maybe they had more to do with sailing than being a pirate, but if you were doing them while dressed as a pirate and singing pirate songs, they were totally piratey.

[therewaslife]

"I didn't know you were interested in such things," he said, half smiling. "Were you singing while hoisting sails and coiling ropes?"

[vanillajello]

"Yeah," she said, around the first spoonful. "Apparently that makes it singing like a pirate. It's a workshop."

[therewaslife]

"And it's made you tired?" he asked, amused now. "Perhaps you're not quite at high level pirate status yet?"

[vanillajello]

"Perhaps I have shitty upper-body strength," she returned. "I didn't think that would be required."

Mostly because she hadn't actually read the class description all the way through.

[therewaslife]

"You're just small," he said affectionately, reaching over to rub one of her shoulders lightly. "I don't think your arms are quite made for hoisting sails and coiling ropes. Not consistently, at least."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"Very," Rilla chirped. "Dad said Walter's had as close a shave with typhoid as he ever hoped to see, but he'll recover! They didn't tell me how ill he really was before they sent me here, and I should be terribly angry with them about it, but I was going mad with worry as it was, so I suppose Mother knew best."

[therewaslife]

"So, a very welcome and relieving birthday gift, then," Bod surmised with another smile. "I'm glad to hear he's doing all right. What sorts of things do you have in your giant basket?"

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"I haven't gotten through half of it," Rilla admitted with a laugh. "Susan doesn't believe there's a Yankee born who can cook." She dipped her hand into the basket and came up with a packet of shortbread cookies, then a poundcake, then a jar of homemade strawberry preserves. "She must have spent a week cooking for this," she said, sounding delighted.

[therewaslife]

"And you're the beneficiary of her generosity," Bod said, peering at each new thing interestedly. "Perhaps it'll take you a week to get through the food? That is a lot of food."

[rilla-myrilla.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure the shortbread will keep," Rilla mused. "Would you like to try some?"