RoustWriter: Blog

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...They were partially facing the group as they conversed. "Jeff, I know that Selina has talked to her brother and sister, but I think…"

"Yeah, I'm with you, but I don't want to hurt our little genius' feelings. The obvious implication would be that I thought I could find out things she couldn't because she's a child, and that just isn't true."

Selina was over near the big window, practically surrounded by the women. When Jeff had called his Clan Queen, Selina's curiosity had piqued. There was too much noise in the big room in addition to the distance between them for Selina to hear what Jeff and Diana were saying. Consequently, the child in Selina "couldn't help" reading their lips, at least enough to get the gist of their conversation.

After excusing herself, she hurried across the room. "My Prime and my Queen, might I insert my thoughts into your interaction concerning the question at hand?"

"Certainly," Jeff responded.

"I would be grateful if you, My Prime, would converse with my brother and sister for any light they might shed on the possible location of my parents. I think my brother and sister informed me of everything they knew about the situation, but because of our relationship, they might have assumed I knew something that I do not."

Jeff glanced toward the group of conversing women. If he concentrated, he could make out most of the conversation going on there, but even with his hearing, he had to strain to accomplish it with all the other conversations and the TV competing. Selina was super intelligent, but he knew she shouldn't be able to hear their conversation that far away, especially with all the noise going on at the moment. That resulted in only one possibility.

His focus left the other end of the room and centered on the child genius looking up at him, but before he could voice his train of thought, Selina spoke.

"Your assumption is correct. I am not efficient with it, but with people I know, I can usually get the gist of a conversation by reading lips and the expressions that accompany speech. Please forgive me. It isn't something that - once learned - can be turned on or off. My infamous curiosity sometimes leads me to places I do not expect to go." Turning to face Diana fully, "I was curious when My Prime motioned to you, and I eventually invaded the privacy of the both of you. I apologize."...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...When the commotion was over, and they were alone again, Phillip stood grinning as he took in the volume of "necessary" backpacking equipment strewn about the room, supposedly in some kind of order.

"Don't you dare say anything," Dessie said before her husband could comment. "A lot of that is yours. Besides, we have a base where most of it will stay until we have a use for it."

"I have a feeling that our first backpacking trip will be cut short."

"Why?" Dessie asked with a frown as she began moving boxes, apparently searching for something.

"Because we'll want to go back to the castle, rest up and lighten our packs."

"Oh, poo. Both of us are in reasonably good shape. We'll be sore for a few days, but we'll get used to it. Besides, we've done this before - many times."

"Yeah," he responded, chuckling, "twenty-plus years ago. I don't know how much loving you're going to get out of me after I lug that backpack all day."...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...Phillip stared at his wife. "I thought we agreed that we were going to primitive camp - taking only the essentials, etc."

"We did, but we also agreed that we would have a base at the castle. Besides, even though we will be using new technology, we will be taking only the necessities with us."

"And what does that mean? We have to take adequate food with us. You can't fish for food, if that's what you're referring to - not here in Germany. Even residents here have to take a two-week course or something like that to get a license to fish, and chances are the license would be even harder for tourists to get."

"Unless… you know the right people," she said with a giggle. "I told Charles what we needed and our reason, and as I said, he said the license could be obtained through the person I talked to at the sporting goods store - for the appropriate incentive. We agreed on the amount, and I gave it to him...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

..."When I was little, they tried to lock me out of their personal lives - their bedroom, their computer files, Facebook, banking, things of that nature, but the lockouts were child's play to circumvent," Selina said with a sick laugh. "Deep down, I think the ease with which I bypassed their roadblocks shocked them. Since I was barely past the toddler stage and should have still been in diapers, only made it worse. They incurred many problems with me, but I think that shook them to the foundations of their egos. My brother and much older sister are normal. My sister is in college and I never see my brother.

"My parents, intelligent adults by any measure you care to use, had to undergo the humiliation of their young child dominating them, and I found out later that it wasn't just them. Having failed themselves and in apparent desperation, they called on nationally known security agencies to lock down their computers, phone, etc., all of which barely slowed me as I continued to humiliate them. To me, it was just a game - the type of problem-solving game that I loved. Of course, I was a small child at that point and did not understand what I was doing to their egos as I blew past their roadblocks with my incessant thirst for knowledge - any knowledge.

"I was enthralled with sex, as were my parents, apparently. My mother is beautiful and has the finances to afford the best plastic surgeons to keep her looking that way. My father looks much younger than his age - well, you have seen them. Of course, I could only watch the sex, but I learned a lot about it from them before they realized I had overridden their locks and had been watching their orgies and swaps for months. My brother was seldom home and was finally enrolled in a prestigious high-school academy out of state, and my sister was in an equally prestigious college. When my parents learned that I had been watching, it really scared them. What if the police or some - as you refer to them - do-gooder organization found out? They reasoned that they would be in jail and their daughter would be part of some system, and should the government find out how smart I was, no telling where I would be.

"They stopped having their sexcapades in the house, but I found ways of bugging their apparel, vehicles, etc. It wasn't as efficient, but I still got more than they expected. I even used somewhat unscrupulous detective agencies that were only interested in the money - money my parents showered me with as they tried to distract me from their personal lives.

"As I grew, I learned to conceal my intelligence and act my age, which seemed to please my parents as they were now able to pretend that I was a normal child when we were around others. It reached the point that I would often act as if I were slightly retarded just to frustrate my mother more. Now that I am older and have spent time with you marvelous people, I have realized that my parents loved me - maybe still do - but they were terrified of me and particularly of what I might do to amuse myself. I would agree to almost any rule they introduced, but I would always find ways to bypass them and get whatever I wanted. To say that they are wealthy could be categorized as an understatement, and it is old money. They were accustomed to being rich, so money meant little to them...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Arlene and Jeff:

...The giant wolf hesitated for a moment while she tested the words in her mind before tentatively saying, "Feels good, but hate conjugate - no - conjugating verbs."

Her pronunciation wasn't perfect, but they easily understood, then a second later, the meaning, which brought about laughter.

Before the wolves could react negatively, Jasmine quickly reassured them, "We aren't laughing at you, and I totally agree. Conjugation, as my husband would say, is a bitch. Particularly when you're learning a new language - which you two certainly are."

"English crazy. Sometimes one way, other times… different. We know words from machine. Not sure how to put words together… right?" Lila questioned.

Morales chuckled. "Hell, I was raised speaking it and sometimes I still screw up. Well… maybe more than just sometimes," he finished as his women chuckled, and the wolves looked at each other.

Morales knelt in front of the wolves, who were now sitting side by side. "Deal. You don't laugh at my poor grammar, and I won't laugh at yours. Okay?"...

Have a goodun;

Roust