"'night Dad!" Shawn put his arm around Bobby and started guiding him towards the bathroom to get washed up.

A few minutes later, with Dad gone, the faucet made a bubbly sound as Bobby pressed a bit of Crest toothpaste onto his toothbrush and looked at Shawn in the mirror.

"You understand what I mean right?" Bobby said.

"I really like being here." He said "And your..." He paused, perhaps feeling a little shy or timid to say what he was about to say outright.

"Your my friend. My Mom usually says I'm 'snarky' and my Dad calls me a 'wise guy.' But I'm more than just a kid that likes G.I. Joes and makes wise-cracks."

"You might be the only one that understands that. That you gotta do what you have to do to protect the things like your family and friends. Even if it means doing something you don't want to do."

He shoved the toothbrush in his mouth, giving his front teeth a generous brushing and then, with a mouthful of foamy spit, he said.

"But what good is it in my case, if I can't even be with my family? No, I've go to find out what happened to them." he reasoned, spitting into the sink.

"I like being your...friend too. I don't think I've ever had someone I could really talk to before." Shawn's voice was a little muffled by his toothbrush, but otherwise understandable. He spat his toothpaste into the sink. "You're right. I've been so caught up in having my Mom and Dad back I didn't think about what you're going through. We'll find your family. Together, okay?"

Bobby seemed relieved at Shawn's response. His shoulders sagged, and there was a smile on his face.

"OK." He said brightly. But then the worry returned to his expression.

"I think it has something to do with the Book. Something to do with the Book itself. I'm not sure if we should try again tonight, or maybe wait until tomorrow when you're back from....err...work?"

"What I mean is? Are you allowed to stay up late?"


OOC: Shawn Chooses:

1) Stay up late tonight: -2 Penalty to All rolls tomorrow

2) Go to bed: No penalty for tomorrow

"I don't think we should try tonight - we won't be able to figure out the Book if we're looking over our shoulder for Mom and Dad the whole time." That, and maybe it'd be a little less scary in the light of day.

"You're right." Bobby said. He looked at Shawn with look that Shawn hadn't really seen in...in a long time, maybe never. Bobby's face smiled but there was something else there: Friendship. True happiness. A mutual understanding.

Shawn put a hand on Bobby's shoulder and looked him in the eyes, trying to project reassurance. "We can do this, as long as we're smart and work as a team. Like the Joes." Confidence was weird - even though Shawn knew he wasn't half as ready as he sounded, just saying that out loud made him feel better about their plan.

"Thanks." Bobby said, and Shawn could feel Bobby's own confidence growing.

"Let's try tomorrow. We'll probably be able to make a good run at it when you get home."

"Just like the Joes." Bobby agreed.

OOC: Shawn may make an optional Wits + Empathy + 1 Bonus this scene Roll   with the following results:

0 Successes: Bobby is happy, but isn't inspired - no benefit to Bobby's Rolls next scene

1-2 Successes: Bobby is determined, he gets +1 Rolls next scene

3+ Successes: Bobby is confident as a result of Shawn's discussion with him. Bobby gets +1 Rolls next scene. When using the 'teamwork' rule and Bobby is selected as the lead, Bobby gets +3.

OOC: Shawn Joins Scene: Shawn: A Grueling Day

OOC: 22:50, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 3,3,9,8. Wits + Empathy + 1 Bonus.

Shawn sat outside, listening to the muffled voices of Mom and Mrs. Worthington. The hallway was narrow and a few people in business suits walked by. A small kid shuffled along behind them, blonde hair dangling low over her face, head looking down as she turned the corner and walked out of sight.

All around there were bright lights for the action sequences. Shawn could see the make up artists powdering a few girls not much older than him, their stoic faces reflecting in the mirrors, bright light bulbs shining on their faces. In the corner, another boy was pacing back and forth, his mouth moving as he strained to remember lines for a scene that had yet to be filmed.

Then Shawn heard a voice next to him

"Hey. Don't I know you?"

Shawn groggily blinked to attention, and then quickly shook it off. His face was already shifting into a polite but confused smile when he froze and realised he did actually recognise her. "Wait, Sally, right? From that movie a while back?"

"Oh, that's right! You're Shawn. The one who had been in a movie, right?" She looked excited.

"What brings you here?" As soon as she asked the question, Shawn noticed...

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Empathy or Composure +1

OOC: 21:31, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 9,9,3. Wits + Empathy.

As soon as she asked the question, Shawn noticed that Sally's face was struggling to force a pleasant smile. The sides of her mouth were completely slack.

She looked like she was trying to summon the same kind of emotions from within that Shawn did when his Mom asked him if things were going well and they really weren't. Or when Dad would ask Shawn if Mom was too hard on him, and Shawn would smile and say 'no.'

Now Shawn could see Sally's face scan the room, doing the math that Shawn was probably here for the same reason a lot of the kids were here: Not because they wanted to be here. Not because they were looking forward to being here and acting. But because they had to be here.

She smiled a forced smile at Shawn, her eyes artificially bright, happy. Anticipating his response with dimples that any director would compliment. But her eyes were sad, tired.

Shawn's heart broke a little for her, but if he couldn't help himself with the same problem, he could hardly help her. He forced the same bright smile she gave him. "My mom's looking for a new acting coach for me. She's just talking with Mrs. Worthington. How're you?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:53, Mon 28 Nov 2016.

"It's...it's good." Sally lied. Shawn could tell. He was good at lying. And by the looks of it, better than Sally.

"Actually, I've been making all of the rounds. Things have been good. I've been acting with Mrs. Worthington for a few years. She's a....." she paused looking for a word. "...demanding teacher."

Then she paused again. Her eyes drifted a way from Shawn and looked up at the rafters. A mess of metal criss-crossed bridges, beams and wires hung above the ceiling. Shawn had seen many a production studio like this in his time.

"This is all...great." Sally lied again. "But sometimes....." She stopped.

"Sometimes I wish that I could just, ya know, double myself. You ever see a cartoon a movie like that. Where you could just double yourself? Just for like a little while. Sometimes I imagine that. Just so, you know, I could take a day or two if I was sick or something."

"I mean, only if I was sick." She justified, quick to avoid any potential judgement that Shawn might levy at her for not enjoying the experience. "I wouldn't double myself to take a free day. Just if I was sick. So, so,...so I wouldn't get anyone else sick."

"Yeah, she seemed pretty intense to me. Does it work, though? Have you gotten good parts since you started here?" Shawn saw a glimmer of a way out - it wasn't quitting if his mom withdrew him, right? "I know what you mean by doubling, though. I have a br-a friend I like to hang out with too, but I'm so busy all the time. I like acting, but sometimes I wish I could be in two places at once, you know?"

"She really, um....squeezes the talent out of you." Sally advised. "But, I'm not sure there's much that you can to but kind of go along with it. I mean, not that I don't want to....I mean not that you don't want to do it. Because you want to be a star. And sometimes to do that we have to work really hard. Harder than the other kids and that's what she makes you do." Sally explained.

"So there's that." she finished.

"If I could double myself, I would just have the person come here all day. Or...or have them just do the scenes that I don't want to do. Or...or I know! Have them do all of the 'takes.' You know, the ones'  you don't want to do because you've already done them like hundred times?"

"Oh...that's good. I don't mind working hard, as long as I know it's getting somewhere, you know?" Shawn nodded seriously, though he felt a little ill. "But I'd feel kind of bad for my double, especially if he was me. I figure we'd alternate, so we could both do the fun scenes and the boring stuff."

"Yeah, I think that would be great." She mused.

"You should really be careful with Mrs. Worthington, because for sure she'll work hard, and she expects a lot and..."

"Alright Shawn! Ready to go home?" Mom interrupted.

Shawn almost flinched, but fortunately several straight hours of intensive acting practice makes you very self-aware about your body language. "Coming Mom!"

He gave Sally a sympathetic look as he left. "Maybe I'll see you again?"

Sally looked at Shawn's Mom and then back to Shawn. "That would be great!" She said excited. Then, as if realizing perhaps she was too excited for the occasion, she said in a much quieter voice

"good luck with Mrs. Worthington..."

"Thanks..." He trailed off as he trotted off after Mom.

OOC: Shawn joins thread

Shawn: The Shadows Start to Creep In...