A quick little Dead Inside ditty

[demiurgent]

So, I'm playing Dead Inside tomorrow. I'm excited. And to get my head around the character a little, I've done this. Enjoy.

     It was a stylish wedding, and the reception was going well. It was expensive to rent out Dominick's, but worth every penny. Penny was radiant in her dress, and Gordon couldn't have cut a more stylish groom. The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen were well on their way to getting drunk, and Penny's mother was drinking Pimm's Cup after Pimm's Cup, developing the light glow of the proud parent.

     Penny slid back into her chair after a dance with Gordon's Uncle Todd. "I think he tried to feel me up," she said, leaning close to her new husband.

     "You think?"

     "How can I be sure through this bustle?"

     "Riiiight." Gordon smiled. "Uncle Todd sometimes forgets which wedding he's at after long conversations with Johnnie Walker."

     Penny laughed. "I should have known." She looked off in the distance, and frowned slightly. "Honey... who's that again?"

     Gordon looked where Penny was surreptitiously pointing. He sighed. "Lewis. Lewis Wolverton. I told you about him, didn't I?"

     "Oh. Just that he was your college roommate. I don't remember him from the receiving line."

     "He was more than that, Pen. And he probably didn't go through it. He doesn't like...."

     "Doesn't like what?"

     Gordon shrugged. "Social situations. I'm surprised he came at all."

     Penny arched an eyebrow. "You sound like there's something wrong with him."

     "Wrong? No no. Well... no. No. He's... he's brilliant, if anything."

     "Brilliant? What does he do?"

     "Software engineer. Programmer."

     "Oh." Penny peered at the man, staying off by himself. He was tall, and thin. Blond hair, short, maybe slightly thinning. Slicked back, but not overly stylish. Round glasses, gold rims. He would have been handsome if he didn't look so... removed, almost. "He doesn't look like a geek."

     "He's not. Back in the nineties, when I was running Info Unlimited? I knew a lot of geeks. We employed them by the truckload. None of them could connect to him either."

     "He worked for Info U?"

     "He was Info U. He's brilliant, Penny. He designs software like... like I used to play with legos. I was great at legos. I could see something in my head, and just start grabbing bricks, and click them together and the next thing you know, it was all done and beautiful and exactly what I wanted. He does that with software design."

     "Wow." Penny posed for her Aunt Esther, who was taking a picture. "You make it sound like he should have owned Info U."

     "He didn't want to. He couldn't get on with people. He could knock off the most incredible software designs, but he couldn't interact or manage or team build or get venture capital. We talked about the potential back in the room... I described the kinds of niches someone could fill, and the next thing I'd know he'd have built an engine for it. If every internet startup had a Lewis Wolverton the bubble'd still be growing." Gordon grinned to his eight year old niece. "Hey Tammy! Don't leave without giving me a dance, okay!"

     "So did he make a lot of money when you sold?"

     "Yeah. It doesn't matter, though. He's always got work. Last I knew, he was coding up some new spin on secure client/server stuff for Citibank."

     "Impressive." Penny peered a bit. "I wish he'd talk to someone. It's almost creepy."

     "He's not much of a talker. Want me to chat with him?"

     "Would you? I think he's bringing people down. I mean, be nice, but...."

     "No sweat. I've had these conversations with him before."

     Penny grinned, leaning to kiss Gordon. He paused to enjoy it, then got up and made his way to the corner of the room. He shook hands and laughed with guests as he went, until he reached Lewis.

     He paused. He hadn't gotten a good look at Lewis at the wedding. But now....

     If anything, the always thin Lewis had lost another twenty pounds. He looked tired. Dulled. Almost like he were sleepwalking. He was sitting by himself at one of the tables, looking at the chicken dinner he hadn't really eaten yet.

     "Lew? Hey, Lew! Thanks for coming out."

     Lewis blinked, and looked up. "Oh, hey Gordon," he said. "Hey. Good to see you."

     "Thanks. I'm a lucky man."

     Lewis blinked. "Lucky?"

     "Um... yeah? You know? Penny?"

     Lewis looked off to the side. "Oh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. She... she looks... yeah. Great. Good for you."

     Gordon frowned. "Lew... are you okay?"

     "Why wouldn't I... I mean... yeah, sure. Of course I am."

     "You sure? You always used to ask me to call you Lewis when I called you Lew, before."

     "I..." Lewis shrugged. "Does it matter?"

     "Well, no. Not if you don't think so." Gordon shook his head. "Lewis... Lewis, are you using something? Or drinking?"

     "Huh? No no. Why?"

     "You..." Gordon tried to figure out how to say it. His old roommate had always been distant, but there had always been... a glow about him, almost. Like he was listening to music only he could hear. Now... he seemed dim. Like a shadow. Like a husk.

     "Me what?"

     Gordon forced a grin. "Nothing, man. Thanks for coming out." He clapped Lewis on the shoulder.

     "Sure. Um... I'm gonna take off. Uh... tell... tell... uh...."

     "Penny?"

     "Yeah. Tell her... y'know. Hi."

     "I will."

     Lewis nodded, getting up. Gordon watched him walk out. He looked back at the uneaten meal he'd left behind.

Comments

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

Excellent stuff.

[chadu.livejournal.com]

Veddy interesting/ Lew is the character, right?

CU

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed. Personality: Thoughtful. Virtue of Courtesy. Vice of Cowardice. Software Engineering/Programming-Master (+6), Intuitive Logic-Good (+2), Conversationalist-Poor (-2). Discovery is slow and ongoing, and how he lost his soul....

Well, that I don't yet know. You'll have to talk to the GM.

[undauntra.livejournal.com]

I think "bridesmaids" and "groomsmen" aren't generally capitalized?

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

They are when they're superheroes!