Third Floor Common Room, Saturday Morning

[dollpocalypse]

Topher was exploring.

Usually he had to be careful. Mom and Dad didn't like it when he went too far or wandered outside. But today Mom and Dad weren't around, and anyway he had all the necessary precautions -- his safety goggles, a pair of gloves, and a magnifying glass -- just like the scientists on TV. So it should be safe to see what was nearby.

Like in this room, the TV was all weird and skinny, not like the TVs at home. He wanted to go behind it to see what wires did what, but Mom had yelled at him last time. So instead he took his magnifying glass and used it to look at the buttons on the remote, but really, really big. It looked cool!

While he played with the remote, he turned on the TV. Cartoons, cartoons, cartoons... ooh, but a special about fireworks was on! That was enough to distract him from the buttons, so he came up closer to sit on the floor and hold up the magnifying glass to the TV instead. It made the fireworks all big and pretty.

It was a good thing there weren't any big kids around, he decided. They would just laugh at him like the kids at home. Better that he had this whole big room and TV all to himself. 

Comments

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

Sadly enough, he wouldn't have the whole big room to himself for very long.

She'd been on her morning jog, but Quinn wasn't quite awake yet. She had the coffee pot halfway full of water before she really looked at the guy on the couch and realized he was just a little kid.

She'd have to check with Puck and see if Beth had turned up again yet.

"Great," she said. "One of those weekends. Whose kid are you?"

[dollpocalypse]

Topher's eyes widened behind the goggles. He hadn't expected grown-ups! What if she told Mom and Dad that he'd went exploring?

"Um," he said, dropping the magnifying glass down away from the TV. "Um. I'm. Um. My daddy's Zachary Brink but please don't tell him I'm here 'kay 'cause I'm not supposed to be out 'cause of that thing in school with the glitter okay?"

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"... what thing in school with the glitter?" Quinn asked, since that was the most obvious question.

As for the rest of it, she was pretty sure this was Topher given the boy's dad's name, but that meant the whole thing had skipped her. Which was too bad. She'd liked being seven. "And I don't even know your dad, so I won't tell him," she added. "Probably."

She could only be so mean to a little kid, even if the kid would grow up and turn into the most annoying human being on the planet.

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

Toby wandered up to the biggest person in the room and looked up at her with wide blue eyes. "Are you in charge?" he asked.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Sure!" Quinn was both school co-president and the tallest person in the room, so she figured this was even true. "I'm helping people get breakfast and stuff, do you need anything?"

[lockestheway]

Peter had woken up in a room a lot bigger than he was used to, all by himself, which he liked fine-- except he couldn't tell where Ender or Valentine were.

And he was bored.

And getting steadily more annoyed because of it. So of course he went walkabout, sticking his head into the common room. "And who are you?"

[dollpocalypse]

Topher stared. A lot. Big kids were scary and this kid was bigger than him and and he sounded annoyed and Topher didn't know what he'd done wrong except wear goggles but that was for safety and it was good to be safe, right?

"Hi," he tried, his voice coming out very, very small. "I'm Topher. Um. Did you wanna watch the TV?"

[lockestheway]

"What are you watching?" Peter asked. He didn't exactly sound friendly, but he was stalking towards Topher on the couch.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Hi, I'm Quinn," Quinn informed Young Mr. Attitude. "And who are you?"

Why was she talking to the midgets? Apparently she had some kind of bizarre yen to babysit.

[lockestheway]

Peter - messy dark hair and Alexander the Great-like-face and all - promptly offered Quinn his best 'you're an adult and I'm a well-behaved boy' smile. "I'm Peter," he chirped. "Hi."

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

Your name is Toby. Toby Logan. Say it! "Toby," he said. "Who're you?"

[lockestheway]

"Peter," said Peter, and looked over at this boy, who also didn't seem to be oh so confident or anything. "And what are you doing here, Toby?"

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"What are you doing?" Tony did not approve of this totally not professional science tomfoolery. He knew science, darn it. He had a job and everything.

[dollpocalypse]

Topher drew in a little closer on himself, wary. This kid didn't sound like a bully but bullies never sounded like bullies until they took his stuff and cut his hair and made fun of him for playing with wires in class.

"Looking at the TV," he whispered. "You can change it if you want."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Is everybody a midget today but me?" Quinn wondered aloud. "Also, hi. Do you need breakfast or anything?"

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

Toby glanced up at the sound of Tony's voice, but quickly determined he hadn't been talking to him. Still, he offered the other boy a tentative smile around his mouthful of cookie-cereal.

[whitequeensfire.livejournal.com]

Angelica was hungry, but peeking around the fourth floor common room hadn't turned up anything to eat, so she trudged down the stairs to the third floor.

"Hiiiiiii," she said shyly. "Is there any cereal here?"

[dollpocalypse]

Oh, no, a girl. Girls were always the meanest to him 'cause they chased him around and made him run even though he had asthma and then when they caught him they wanted to kiss him and it was scary and he didn't like it.

"Um," Topher said in a tiny voice, already wondering if he should start running now. "Um. I don't know. Um. You can have it. If there is."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"Cereal and somebody tall enough to reach the bowls," Quinn answered, charmed by the shyness. "Want me to get you some?"

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"I found some that's cookies," Toby offered, holding up the box so she could see.

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

Toby had woken up hungry, which wasn't new. So, naturally, he'd followed the voices (not the out-loud voices, the other kind) that were talking about food to the big room. There were lots of people, but that was okay. He could handle that for a little while, as long as he could get some cereal.

"'lo?" he said tentatively.

[dollpocalypse]

Topher looked up from his scrutiny of the TV.

"Hi," he offered in a small voice. This kid looked shy like him so he probably wasn't a bully, but he couldn't be sure. "Did you want the TV?"

[knight-fatali.livejournal.com]

Seifer made his way slowly into the common room, looking around for the other orphanage kids. He still wasn't finding them, but he did find a LOT of other kids.

"Wow." He was just going to stop here by the television and stare at them all.

[dollpocalypse]

There were so many kids around, and only one so far had been mean to him, but that didn't mean he shouldn't still be cautious.

"Hi," Topher offered softly, adjusting his goggles and looking up at Seifer. "I'm Christopher."

[godgavemecable.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Toby said, waving a spoon at Seifer. "You can come in, it's okay."