César's been full of nervous energy all morning, occasionally bouncing his leg or fiddling with his silent pen. They're waiting for the TV to come on and show them their fellow passengers being tortured in some way. He distracts himself with working on his interdimensional phone design, but even that can't keep his interest.
A couple of hours after it's still quiet. César stands and starts walking towards Johnny as he reaches into one of his belt bags. He pulls out a folded over sheet from the cruise notepads that's held closed with a piece of tape on either end, and he gently holds it out to Johnny with one hand.
"Johnny? I, ah. Should probably explain this more, but... here. This is from Rich." César's face is already mimicking an apologetic puppy because he can guess at the contents.
Hi Johnny, If you're reading this, I'm guessing I've just left for the excursion a couple hours ago. I didn't tell anyone I had signed up because I didn't want you worrying about me. If that just made it worse, I'm sorry. I'm really not used to people being concerned about me. To be completely honest, it usually pisses me off. Because I'm tough enough not to need it, or I feel like I don't deserve it, I don't know. It makes me feel like a child, so I was avoiding it. César was the only one who could get through to me, which is super annoying, but I guess it's why I'm writing you this. Speaking of César, I'm guessing he's with you right now. Keep him close by. I think the both of you are going to need each other this week. And try not to worry, as impossible as that sounds. I'm going into this knowing what to expect, mostly thanks to you. I've made sure to brush up on my survival skills from Scouts, and I'm keeping in mind what kind of media I've seen that happens at camps. Sounds weird, I know, but from what you said about that murder competition, I think it'll keep me prepared. I'm going to do everything I can to look out for Watson. I know it's not an excuse, but I did feel like I kind of had to sign up, after seeing his name there. After all you've done for me, I think I owe you all a favour, and this is what I could think of. Anyways, take care of yourself. You've got a life to live, and I don't want you spending all of it freaking out over some kid who's got nothing to lose. Trust me, the whole 'journey to find myself' thing is probably what I need right now, even if it's a little life-threatening. Rich
4. Wildcard, Morning sometime before Pillowfort
A couple of hours after it's still quiet. César stands and starts walking towards Johnny as he reaches into one of his belt bags. He pulls out a folded over sheet from the cruise notepads that's held closed with a piece of tape on either end, and he gently holds it out to Johnny with one hand.
"Johnny? I, ah. Should probably explain this more, but... here. This is from Rich." César's face is already mimicking an apologetic puppy because he can guess at the contents.
Hi Johnny,
If you're reading this, I'm guessing I've just left for the excursion a couple hours ago. I didn't tell anyone I had signed up because I didn't want you worrying about me. If that just made it worse, I'm sorry.
I'm really not used to people being concerned about me. To be completely honest, it usually pisses me off. Because I'm tough enough not to need it, or I feel like I don't deserve it, I don't know. It makes me feel like a child, so I was avoiding it. César was the only one who could get through to me, which is super annoying, but I guess it's why I'm writing you this.
Speaking of César, I'm guessing he's with you right now. Keep him close by. I think the both of you are going to need each other this week. And try not to worry, as impossible as that sounds. I'm going into this knowing what to expect, mostly thanks to you. I've made sure to brush up on my survival skills from Scouts, and I'm keeping in mind what kind of media I've seen that happens at camps. Sounds weird, I know, but from what you said about that murder competition, I think it'll keep me prepared.
I'm going to do everything I can to look out for Watson. I know it's not an excuse, but I did feel like I kind of had to sign up, after seeing his name there. After all you've done for me, I think I owe you all a favour, and this is what I could think of.
Anyways, take care of yourself. You've got a life to live, and I don't want you spending all of it freaking out over some kid who's got nothing to lose. Trust me, the whole 'journey to find myself' thing is probably what I need right now, even if it's a little life-threatening.
Rich