Monday, October 6, 2008

Chapter 21: Beau's Oasis Is Shattered

Tues, November 3, 2074 8:02 pm: Pleasantview Youth Boarding House- Tolsbury, Pleasantview

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Beau was exiled, but he was used to it. His roommates both had more of a tendency to bring women (or in Orlando's case, whatever home with them in the evenings than Beau did. On such occasions, Beau would slink into the girls' dormitory with good book, hoping to enjoy a quiet respite in the peaceful company of the fairer sex.

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Beau had barely cracked open A Condensed History of Rural Veronaville before his perfect oasis was shattered. Haven flung open the door, allowing the metal knob to slam into the wall. The resulting clamor was much like the firing of a shotgun. Beau almost dropped his book. Haven took no notice of him but immediately climbed atop her bed and began jumping furiously. It was now Beau's great misfortune to experience the sound of a squeaking mattress in stereo, as he could also hear it through the wall that adjoined them to the boys' dormitory.

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"Stupid- Adrienne Burb- Thinks- She's so special- Just because she's pretty," Haven spat. Beau little knew what had inspired this monologue and what was more, he didn't care. But if he declined to say something in response, that little red headed twit would never leave.

"Ok, I'll bite. Who is Adrienne Burb?" Haven slowed down, her breathing steadily growing more audible.


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"She's a girl in my class. Today we were at lunch and I heard her say to her friends that since her brother married Mrs. Lothario and her sister is going to marry Enoch Goth, she'll probably marry Laurie. My Laurie! She didn't call him Laurie though. She called him, 'the Caliente heir'." Haven snickered bitterly.

Beau should have known. When Haven wasn't talking about amphibians or candy or how she would decorate her room when she left the boarding house, she was talking about Lawrence Caliente. How sweet he was. How cute he was. How he called every week to see how she was doing. Beau attempted to use this pause in the conversation to skim a page. In 1460, the first known Fae was born to Marietta Henderson of 830 Stratford Street...


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"So what do you think," Haven asked. Beau had already forgotten the thrust of the conversation.

"Hunh?"

"About Adrienne and Laurie." Beau sighed heavily through his nostrils. He didn't ask much. Just a quiet room to read in while Orlando was busy banging some guy next door. It seemed a reasonable enough request.

"I don't know why you set your heart on him so much," Beau said.


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"Why not? I've known him almost since I was born."

"I know but he's... Well, he is the Caliente heir and full caste and much older than you." There were other things that Beau could have said. That Haven was the illegitimate daughter of a townie-born housekeeper. That she was extremely eccentric and a little funny looking. That guys like Lawrence Caliente had girls throwing themselves at him everywhere they went. But Beau valued what was left of his tranquility and would rather that Haven didn't hate him. Haven stopped jumping and hopped down from the bed.


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"Are you trying to say you think he will marry Adrienne?" This conversation was completely inane. Beau wished that he could bury his head under a pillow and make it go away.

"How should I know, Haven?"

"I would die if he married her," Haven grumbled. When she spoke again, her voice was soft as though she didn't want anyone to overhear. "Sorry, Beau. Usually, I wouldn't be bothering you about this kind of stuff but Orlando is in the boys' room screwing a dude and-"

"Haven!" Maybe if he threw the pillow at her, she would take a hint. Haven pouted at having been chastised.


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"Well, he is," she said plainly.

"That isn't the point. Little girls don't talk about-" Beau halted in mid-sentence when the intercom came on with a click.

"Dinner in ten, kids." It was the voice of Mr. Fuller, the boarding house's director.

"Ok," Haven and Beau called out. After the intercom went off, Haven flashed Beau a wicked smile.


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"Actually, I know all about coitus. Jack said that-" The intercom clicked back on.

"Is Jack home," Mr. Fuller asked wearily. This line of inquiry made Beau wonder whether Mr. Fuller could still hear them with the intercom turned off.

"He's at chorus practice," Beau replied. Chorus practice was a new invention of his. He and Jack had laughed together about it the night before. It was plausible enough since Jack often sang in the shower but the idea of him joining the school chorus seemed so out of character that it was indeed laughable.


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Beau didn't know exactly where Jack went at night, only that he came home smelling of liquor and cigars. Sometimes he came in with blood on his clothes. Jack disappeared at different times throughout the week but was always out on Friday nights from about seven to midnight without fail. Once upon a time ago, Beau worked up the nerve to ask Jack where he disappeared to and Jack said that he was a member of some kind of gardening club or something. Beau never asked Jack about his nocturnal wanderings again.

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"I didn't know that Jack was in chorus. No one ever tells me anything," Haven fumed. For a moment, Beau had completely forgotten that she was even in the room. But before he could respond, she skulked away, perhaps to terrorize Willow or perhaps to eat dinner. Beau smiled contentedly. Haven was someone else's problem now. Contessa Capp died of consumption on April 3, 2043...

11 comments:

  1. With this chapter, I just wanted to introduce Beau and remind you of Jack from the prologue. Hope no one has forgotten about him. He'll be popping up within the next few chapters.

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  2. Noooooo! Orlando too! *sobs*

    OK I am still holding on to some hope for Jack...

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  3. lol

    Yes, Jack is straight. He's also a pretty cool dude.

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  4. Haven is a really cute character. She's very direct, isn't she?

    So is this boarding house different from the place seen in chapter 12? I at first thought Beau was in college because of the roomies bringing home women.

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  5. No, no. This is the same boarding house. The Pleasantview Youth Boarding House. They house children between the ages of five and seventeen- Mostly Townie kids looking to assimilate into Residency.

    Seventeen is the legal age of adulthood in Pleasantview and children generally graduate from school then.

    College does not exist here. When someone goes into a profession that requires additional education, they learn from a combination of private tutors and very lengthy internships.

    Hehe and yeah, tact is not one of Haven's strong points.

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  6. Okay - yup, I remember Jack - he was the one who cheated at cards right and has that weird relationship with the older guy?

    So, who was Orlando bangin' - anyone important to the story?

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  7. teeheehee

    I wouldn't exactly call Jack's relationship with London weird. Jack is London's foster son and protégé.

    I haven't quite decided who Orlando is bang'n in there. I think it's a Townie guy from Orlando's school but which Townie guy, I have no idea. Whoever it is, it's a casual fling and the guy probably won't appear in the story. Unless it becomes something more serious. Which I don't think it will.

    There was a time when I thought that Orlando might be hooking up with Ian's little brother Warren. But I have since re-thought Warren's sexual orientation.

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  8. Oooh no! But I thought Orlando was going to end up with Haven! *cries*

    I remember Jack. So he's doing some dirty business for the mafia or something, huh?

    Is this Beau Broke, Dustin Broke's younger brother?

    Also, this got me intrigued: In 1460, the first known Fae was born to Marietta Henderson of 830 Stratford Street...

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  9. hehehe No, I have other long-term plans for Haven. *rubs hands together*

    Pretty much. But there's a lot going on with Jack at the moment.

    Yes! It is indeed. We'll see Dustin too.

    That Fae was the father of this woman:

    Night, Hannah Iseul

    He doesn't have his own family tree entry yet. I'll do that after work. But the keyword in that sentence was the word "known". And by "known", I mean known to humans. The Faes themselves can stretch their lineage back to the year 340, to a woman known only as "Sarah".

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  10. Mmm, interesting. I wonder if Elise is connected to them as well. Maybe she'll even meet this Sarah in a dream.

    By the way, I'm really liking how you handle the supernatural elements of the story, as well as the supernatural elements themselves. It's all very refreshing and mysterious, which is hard to find in most fantasy stories. *is jealous*

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  11. Elise is connected to the husband of the woman linked. :)

    I have no plans to bring Sarah into the story ever but I won't discount it. I change my plans so frequently, right up to the last minute.

    Thanks, Maruutsu!

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