saveourearth | Life Lessons [Log] [Semi-Open]

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Life Lessons [Log] [Semi-Open]

Date: August 1st through the 4th
Characters: Benjiro and Sadie; possibly others? (Seriously, he needs lots of voices telling him BAD BEN)
Warnings: Mention of blood and loss of a tooth

When Benjiro had left the house belonging to his great aunts on Wednesday early in the morning to make an urgent repair for a neighbor, he had expected his great aunts to be there when he returned. Agatha and Rosemary were due to leave tomorrow for a last-minute trip to London that would last until next Friday. They needed to assist some more distant friends with some matters, and had decided to make a proper vacation of the trip. Agatha had made certain Benjiro would be comfortable alone, and for himself, the teenager thought it a lucky chance to really put in some time for his livestream.

However, when Benjiro returned in the late afternoon, he walked up to the front door to find it locked. Odd in itself, as his great aunts rarely locked the door if they were expecting him, he could not hear any music or television playing. Rosemary loves her music when the two aren't settled in to watch old movies or any number of programs on the telly. Pulling his cellphone out of his bag, he dials the home phone first. It rings, both through the speaker of his phone and inside the house, without answer until the voicemail picks up. He hangs up, and tries Rosemary's cellphone. He hears the ringing through the speaker, but it too ends up going to voicemail. Holding the phone down from his ear a second time to check the signal from his end, he is surprised as the dim rings of the speaker are accompanied by the faint yet familiar ringtone from inside the house.

Aunt Rosemary had left her cellphone behind.

Perplexed and concerned, he moved around the sides of the house to check in through the windows. When he reaches the back, he looks into the kitchen. Nothing is active, and although he cannot see clearly enough to make it out, he spots a handwritten note on the fridge.

A sinking feeling makes him wonder if his aunts had gotten off in their days. Being recently retired, they had difficulty keeping track of the day of the week, especially with Benjiro now on summer break from his schooling. Of course, something could have come up to make them rush out sooner to head faster for London.

Rather than waiting around, he methodically moves around the perimeter of the house. Checking the door in the back first, he then checks the windows of the first floor. All of them are locked. Returning to the backyard, he sits down on the patio furniture and drops his bag beside him to consider his options. He could damage a window to gain entry and replace it, but he didn't want to cause any harm to the home or startle the neighbors into calling the police on him. He could contact a locksmith, but he has no proof of his residence here without his aunts to vouch for him as the home owners. He could call Walter, Russell, or even Sadie and...

His thoughts stop, freezing over with a wary discomfort. He shouldn't rely on anyone else. That's what his parents had told him before they sent him to live here in Mossgate. He has to be independent if he's going to make any difference at all. When faced with a problem, he's smart enough he shouldn't need any help to get through it, and he needs to accept that he's not a child anymore. If he can't - then maybe he's not so smart after all.

Benjiro shifts his focus to how he might be able to manage. He has access to the backyard, his phone, and the things in his backpack that he always keeps on hand - including his phone charger. He rifles through his bag to discover the leftover change from when he had been out shopping on Monday to pick up parts for building on his latest project. It wasn't much cash, and certainly not enough to buy more than meager items. With the storage shed locked and the backyard garden limited to floral arrangement and trees, he doesn't have much more than what's on him.

With the heat of the day, he needs to go somewhere with air conditioning and access to water, so without hesitation, he heads for the library. While there he sets a plan; he can buy a bar of soap, use it to keep clean in the backyard at night with the garden hose and even make use of the clothes line as necessary without fully removing his clothes behind the privacy fence, sleep on the patio, and return to the library during the day. He has plenty of research he can do to keep himself busy, and with his notebook on him, he has a place to record any pertinent findings. The library would keep him cool and provide access to as much water as he wants, as well as regular access to a restroom. Food...was another matter. Rather than spend in small sums that would get him very little daily, he could save up to buy a single larger item on special if he timed stops at the deli or other local stores correctly. It wouldn't be pleasant, but he would limit his physical activity to decrease his need for calories.

Logically, it was a sound plan.

By Saturday afternoon however, Benjiro has learned first hand how much going hungry can make it difficult to function and want to do anything aside from sleep. So when he got a discounted sandwich on manager's special only to have the precious meal knocked out of his hands while standing at a cross walk by a hurrying passerby on a cellphone, he's horrified by the sight of the sandwich disappearing under the tire of a car. Moreover, he's stunned as that hollow feeling washes through him and his heart pounds harshly.

Are you genetic mishaps fighting again?! an angry voice yells from his memory as part of a startling recollection.

Dazed by the memory, he returns to the library quietly. Sitting in the corner of the library with a book opened but not bothering to turn the pages, he dredges up as much detail as he can from the new memory. Distracted from the effort by a dull ache in his jaw growing to a mild throbbing on the left side toward the front, he puts the book up and moves off to an open computer.

Logging into his accounts, he'll spend the next hour doing something familiar that might ground him and help his hands stop from trembling. He answers another round of comments and questions left to his accounts, then posts a notice. UVPulse will not be actively streaming any content tonight, and will not return himself until after next weekend. Instead, he's already selected friends to host to highlight their skills and humor.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The end of July and the beginning of August always tended to be hectic in Sadie's family, from birthdays to wedding anniversaries, it felt like barely a day had gone by when her parents hadn't dragged her and James off to some sort of family do or another. Luckily there were three cousins close enough to her and James in age that they all covered for each other in a shared effort to avoid the older relatives as much as possible and sit around on their phones in peace and Sadie had seised the time to text Ben and nothing had seemed off at the time.

Honestly, the notice from Ben about his stream would have prompted an "Are you okay?" text if Sadie hadn't already been in the library, phone on silent in her pocket, hunting down her next book to read. She was a tad surprised to spot Ben sitting in the computer section as she wandered the shelves and so she wandered up to her friend with a wave and smile. Which dropped pretty quickly into a worried frown as she easily spotted how tired and drawn he looks.

"Ben," She whispers as she gets closer, "Are you alright?"

Edited 2018-08-05 00:41 (UTC)

Benjiro doesn't seem aware of her approach, even with the motion of a wave in greeting as he starts scheduling the periods for hosting with fellow streamers. When she gets close enough to whisper, he becomes aware in a hurry. He actually startles enough to jump himself up straight in his seat as he twists to look at her with his dark eyes widened. Staring at Sadie as he processes that question, he answers in a whisper with noticeable delay born of both hesitation and indecision, "......uuuhhhhh, yes? I mean it's been a rough few days, but I... Yeah." The last word comes out low as his gaze drops down with recognition of his inability to deny he is not in fact doing alright.

He knows he looks rough. For someone that barely needs to shave he looks scruffy, his hair is messy with only finger combing to keep it tame, and his clothes are more wrinkled than usual. Besides that, even with avoiding dehydration he doesn't look well, and his hand shakes as he reaches up to rub his neck.

At least he doesn't smell.

"Just...just let me save this and I'll go with you somewhere we can talk," he requests before turning back to finalize the schedule he has so far and close out his accounts.

Sadie starts off a little concerned for Ben but when he fails to notice her that concern starts to rise. Ben normally comes across as pretty observant of his surroundings, for him not to notice her...how tired was he?!

His noticeable hesitation when answering her hardly helps matters and she shifts towards the higher end of concern and the lower end of anxious.

"Rough couple of days?!" Her eyes widen in shock, as evidenced by the way her brows rise above her sunglasses, Ben hadn't mentioned anything when she'd been texting him! "I-of course..."

She hovers anxiously at his side as he saves, keen eyes easily spotting and helping Sadie categorise every crease, every rumple, and every patch of discoloured skin. Be it eye bags or other Sadie was able to spot it.

As soon as he's done and stands up to leave she looks for the opportunity to link arms with him, worry for Ben driving her to worry at her lips.

Edited 2018-08-05 02:03 (UTC)

The first night sleeping out on the patio had been rough while getting used to the heat. Thankfully, his aunts keep numerous citronella candles on the patio (due to the warnings on the news prior to summer), and he had no trouble getting those lit to keep from being eaten by mosquitoes. The second night he had fared better, but last night had been rough with his body getting more stiff from the furniture not meant to support someone for more than a few hours at a time. The area under his eyes are darker for it.

He works quickly to close everything out with the browser cache cleared, not wanting to make Sadie wait any longer than absolutely necessary. Once he has the computer ready for the next person, he'll hike his backpack onto one shoulder and move to stand up with one hand firmly on the desk surface. The wooziness that comes with rising passes slowly, but he'll urge himself forward away from the desk to head towards the exit with steady steps just the same.

There is no resistance as Sadie links arms with him, and he looks over to see that worry written so clearly in her expression. Guilt flares, and he smiles apologetically to her with a squeeze against her arm, "Sorry..."

Passing with her outside, he'll move away from the entrance to find a place to stand where he can lean against the outside of the building and turn to face her. He can't...quite look to her directly as he begins to explain, even with her sunglasses, "My great aunts left early for London and I got stuck. I've been keeping busy here at the library... At least trying to since I had my own hallucination earlier. An hour ago? Wait...what time is it?"

Benjiro usually has a very good sense of time, but he's trying to speak through the fog of hunger.

Sadie squeezes his arm back as they head out of the library, the evident wooziness when Ben stood up was not good at all and it is what prompted her the open her satchel as soon as the stop and fish out a well chilled bottle of orange squash and a small packet of Animal biscuits and passing then over to Ben, hopefully some sugar and a little extra dehydration would help.

Sadie frowns further at him, so Ben had a similar experience to her at Moss Manor, that could explain some of the fuzziness to him but this was more than a that...

"Ben it's quarter to four...what time did you think it was? And how have you been 'stuck'?" Her question is delicate, tentative. He is clearly uncomfortable and Sadie wants to avoid him clamping up by her being too forceful.

Not in any position to decline, Benjiro takes the offered snack and drink. His stomach whines audibly with hunger at the promise of food, and he holds them both in one hand to open the bottle first. Fast sugar absorbed from beneath his tongue should help clear his head, so he takes a slow drink to start. The sharp flavor cuts through, and he visibly appears steadier even with just that. Bowing his head, he’ll properly thank his best friend, “Thank you, Sadie. I promise I’ll pay you back for these.”

Working open the bag of snacks, he answers her first question immediately, “Closer to three. It happened just after two o’clock. I must have spent more time trying to think about details than I realized.” Bag successfully opened, he doesn’t yet take out a biscuit as the second question looms. There is just no easy way to say it.

Embarrassed with his broad shoulders rounding and eyes on the items he holds, he admits,“...I got locked out of the house. It was probably because they left in a rush, and relied on habits to get on the way faster. Unfortunately, they left Rosemary’s cellphone too, and I couldn’t remember the number they wrote down for me to call for where they are staying with some friends.”

Sadie rests her hand gently on his shoulder, "That's fair, it's a ...weird sensation, isn't it? I think if I hadn't been with Walter when I saw those things at Mossgate Manor I would have been much the same." She gently rubs her thumb against his shoulder, a small gesture of comfort and one that Sadie's mum tends to use on her and James.

She frowns at Ben, "Don't be daft, it is literally a small pack of biscuits and my bottle of squash, there is nothing you need to pay me back for." She shakes her head, what a thing for him to think about in a situation like this.

Her eyes widen and she stares at Ben, somewhat stunned as to how his aunts could have managed to lock him out of the house even if they had been in a rush. "Locked out of the house, that's awful!... Wait." The tiredness, the rumpled clothes, how hungry and thirsty he was. "Ben," She asks slowly. "How long have you been locked out of your house?"

The touch against his shoulder coupled with her understanding of that type of experience is calming. The memory had left him feeling raw, the images and voices playing in his head too much like science fiction. Clear as though it had just happened to him earlier in the day, Benjiro can still recall the phantom sensations of the tussle. It makes it all the more important to feel her thumb rub at his shoulder to ground him when he is questioning so much.

Another murmur of thanks follows the denial of him compensating the snacks, and he’ll take a biscuit out to eat. He winces as he first bites down on it, but moving it off to the right and back in his mouth, it doesn’t aggravate that pain in his lower jaw. After a quick sip to follow, he’ll answer without thought about why she’s asking to number the days, “Three days, and roughly five hours.”

Sadie gasps, staring at Ben in shock. Nearly four days locked out of the house! But as she continues to look at him, it doesn't take a genius to realise that Ben had done something monumentally stupid. He wouldn't be in such poor a state if he had somewhere to stay...

"You idiot!" Sadie emphasises just how much of an idiot she thinks he is by punching him on his upper right arm. Hard. Seventeen years of squabbling with her twin fully evident in the way she hits with her knuckles pointed enough to hurt and cause a nice bit of numbness down his arm.

"Where have you been staying?!" She continues angrily, glaring at him from behind her sunglasses. "Clearly nowhere good from the state you're in. Christ Ben, why didn't you say something?!"

The gasp is finally what gets him to look up at her directly, but it serves no warning. “Ouch! Sadie-?!” he blurts out half in surprise, half in actual pain when she manages to trigger a nerve with the punch and send a sharp tingling down his arm enough he has to fumble to keep from dropping the bottle of squash.

Her fierce reaction gives him pause. Startled by it, her first question seems rhetorical, yet explaining himself properly might keep him from taking another sock in the arm. Switching the bottle to his left hand, he’ll open his right to gesture as he responds, “You’ve been busy with your family and I didn’t want to bother you. But it’s not been bad until today. I’ve been at the library during the day to stay cool and have access to facilities, and at night I went into the backyard to sleep. I thought about breaking in, but I don’t want to get the police called. Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Agatha are going to be upset enough without neighbors talking about this.”

"Been busy?!" If Ben was hoping to make Sadie less angry at him with that argument then he was much mistaken. "Ben, no-one would have batted an eyelid if I had ducked out of those events to make sure my friend wasn't basically homeless!"

She is so bloody tempted to punch him in the arm again but she reigns herself in. "And don't even get me started on how dangerous this is! Staying out in this heat, you obviously haven't been eating or drinking properly, you could have easily passed out, or caught sun-stroke!"

Sadie huffs angrily, digging into her bag. "Anyone one could have called the police! If I saw someone sleeping in my neighbour's garden I would, and then what would have happened?!"

Put like that, it all sounds much worse.

Cringing as she points out numerous flaws, specifically those related to heat, Benjiro reaches up to rub the back of his neck as he bows his head. He had figured the neighbors would not think much of him being outside since he had been living there over a year now and the privacy fence keeps view limited. Still...in the dark, a lot could have gone wrong.

Attempts to raise reasoning in his voice stall to nothing more than a sigh when he realizes how much those bits of logic sound like mere excuses. Instead he lets his hand slide back down from his neck, and his voice comes out more quietly, “...you’re right.”

Sadie looks up from her bag, deep scowl still in place, at his quiet admission. "Yes I am." She softens slightly at the look on his face, but she's still too angry at how reckless his behaviour was to let him off that easily. She continues to dig for a moment longer before she pulls out her phone and two small, white tubs.

Unlocking her phone and going to her contacts, she tucks her phone between her ear and her shoulder. Sadie then removes her sunglasses as the call gets picked up.

"Hi Mum..." Sadie popped open the two tubs revealing a set of light blue contact lenses as she responds to her Mum switching into rapid Spanish. As she talks to her mum Sadie starts putting the coloured contacts in. Eventually, Ben's name came up in the middle of a burst of some very fast Spanish from Sadie.

"...Okay, see you in a few. Te amo." She hangs up and starts fighting to get her left contact in.

"You're staying at mine until your aunts get back, Mum's going to pick us up in a mo because you look like you'd keel over before we even made it halfway to my house." It is very much a statement.

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August 4th

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I laughed. XD

Yes good

Re: Yes good

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