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pascal_curious
The warm morning sunshine felt wonderful on Nervous Subject’s naked head as he and Circe walked from their parking space to the car lot. It was a beautiful morning and, for once, Nervous felt optimistic, not only about what the day might bring, but his entire future. He was taking his first steps towards becoming his own man. He was not going to live under Loki’s thumb any longer. He was taking control of his life; today he was tackling his first objective in his total transformation.
Nervous grinned as he thought about it, his total transformation. It sounded like something from an infomercial. He imagined himself on a TV set, surrounded by scantily clad women with their breasts bouncing as he led them through a grueling exercise routine. “The Nervous Subject Total Transformation Program: take control in three easy steps,” the announcer would say. Nervous chuckled as he pictured himself, muscles bulging and drenched with perspiration, surrounded by bouncing breasts.
“Why all the sudden interest in cars?” Circe asked, interrupting Nervous’ reverie.
“Huh?” he mumbled as he tried to shake the image of bouncing boobies from his head.
“Why did you get me out of bed early, on my day off, to come look at cars?”
“’Cause I need to have one,” Nervous informed her.
“Why?” she asked. “You don’t even have a job. What on earth do you need a car for?”
Nervous huffed irritably at her silly question.
“I have to have a car so I can get a job. I can’t go into an interview and tell them ‘my mom will drop me off’ when they ask me if I have transportation.”
Circe was surprised that Nervous was considering getting a job. He had been surprising her a lot lately. Ever since his little disappearing act he had been acting strangely.
“Okay then,” she said smartly. “If you don’t have a job, how do you plan to pay for a car?”
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said with annoyance. “It’s a real circle twenty-two isn’t it?”
Circe tried very hard not to laugh. He had looked so confident when he said it.
“Catch twenty-two,” she corrected him.
“What?” he asked, looking slightly confused.
“It’s a catch twenty-two,” she said. “You can’t buy a car without having a job, but you can’t get a job if you don’t have a car.”
“That’s what I said,” he told her. “Anyway, I have money saved up. I figured it is enough to make a good down payment and that will give me a month to find a job.”
“What money?” she asked as they reached the center of the car lot. She glanced at the cars around the lot. She doubted that any amount he had saved would be enough to even buy him a test drive in any of them. He’d probably be laughed off the lot.
They stopped beside a shiny brand-new Camaro.
“You’ve been giving me fifty dollars allowance every week since I was twelve.” He put his finger to his temple as he did the math in his head. “That makes fifteen thousand six hundred dollars,” he said after a few seconds thought. “I’ve spent about two thousand of it; most of it was to buy my computer.”
“Wow,” Circe said, genuinely surprised.
“I dunno why you even gave me an allowance,” he told her. “I’ve never even had to buy my own clothes or anything.”
“Well, maybe fifty a week was a bit much,” she said in retrospect.
“I thought so. None of the other kids in school got that much, but I wasn’t going to tell you that.”
Circe shrugged. Once again she got the feeling that Nervous was a lot smarter than she gave him credit for, even if he got his literary references mixed up.
Nervous glanced around the lot, scoping for something that he liked. In the back of the lot he spotted a section of used cars.
“Oh, wow,” Circe gasped.
Nervous turned around to find her peering through the driver side window of the Camaro.
“This is gorgeous,” she said as she looked at the car longingly. She tried the door handle and was disappointed to find it locked.
Nervous had to agree. It was a pretty amazing car. When he saw Vidcund with the one he had rented for his trip Nervous had been tempted to ask if he could take it for a spin.
“It’s so cool isn’t it?” he asked. “Vic rented one to take Lacey to Vegas. I wanted to take it out for a drive but I knew he’d say no.”
Circe’s attention was immediately diverted from the car to Nervous.
“What?” she asked, her eyes wide with hurt and surprise. “Who the hell is Lacey?”
“Crap,” Nervous muttered, realizing his slip.
“Um, nobody,” he said, trying to minimize the damage that he had done. “Just a friend.”
“What do you mean, just a friend? I’ve never heard of her before.”
“She’s just some girl that Bernie knows,” he explained as he looked at his feet.
“If she’s Bernie’s friend why did Vidcund take her to Vegas?”
“I dunno,” Nervous said, feigning ignorance. “They just met at the bar the other night and thought it would be fun to drive up to Vegas.”
“Oh God,” Circe moaned. “He was drunk wasn’t he?”
Nervous was getting annoyed. He was sorry that he had let the information slip, but he was irritated that she was so upset about it.
“How the hell would I know?! I wasn’t there! She just told me and Bernie about it.”
“If he’s been drinking, and he took her to Vegas…”
Nervous could almost see the gears turning inside Circe’s head as she allowed her imagination have free reign. She looked at Nervous with horror. He could tell that panic was setting in as she jumped to the worst conclusion she could possibly come up with.
“Vegas…” she mumbled as she covered her face with her hands. “He wouldn’t,” she groaned.
“Even if he was drunk, he couldn’t…” Circe took her hands away from her face and looked at Nervous with pleading eyes.
“He wouldn’t…he just met her, right? He couldn’t do something that foolish. Not even to… Oh, God…”
Nervous had reached his limit. There was nothing like making a public spectacle. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a firm shake.
“Stop it!” he demanded.
Circe barely noticed that he had said anything at all.
“But it’s my fault,” she cried. “He would do it, just to spite me!”
Nervous gave her another shake, this time a little more forcefully. “Stop it!” he growled.
“He would run of to Vegas with someone and elope, just to spite me!
Nervous hoped he wouldn’t have to slap her to shake her out of her hysteria. He squeezed her shoulder hard and gave her another joggle.
“Mom!” he shouted.
Finally, Circe snapped out of her frenzy. Such was her surprise that she stared at Nervous, unable to say anything. She was able to count the number of times Nervous had called her “mom”, including this one, on one hand and still have two fingers left to make a rude gesture with.
“You’ve got to let it go,” he told her in a calm voice.
“But…” she began to protest feebly.
“Let him go, Mom. You have to let him go.”
Circe looked at him is amazement. His big brown eyes, which she had always thought showed about as much intelligence as a dairy cow, were watching her intently. What she saw in them now was not only intelligence, but compassion and concern... and possibly affection.
Seeing that he had somehow jolted her out of her hysteria, Nervous let go of her shoulder and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “We shall not speak of this again,” he said in an effort to make her smile.
Circe turned away from him and pretended to admire the Camaro. She didn’t know what to think. Her adopted son suddenly seemed like a stranger to her. She was noticing things in him that she had never seen before. It was the confidence she was seeing that surprised her the most.
Come to think of it, she thought, when did he get to be so tall?
Had she spent so much time away from home in the last few years that she had completely missed the fact that the poor little tormented soul who had clung to her hand so tightly on the day that they signed the adoption papers had become a man? She tried to keep the tears that threatened to ruin her mascara at bay. She didn’t know which she felt worse about, driving Vidcund away, or having missed so much of Nervous’ growing up. She wondered if it was too late to try to make up for some of what she had missed with Nervous. She studied his reflection in the Camaro’s passenger side window. He was still watching her.
“Y’know,” she said as she turned to face him. “The Porsche is paid off. I could just sign it over to you and just get myself something newer to drive.” She ran her hand over the rear fender of the car.
“No way,” Nervous told her emphatically. “This is something I need to do myself. Besides, Loki would shit a brick.”
“Oh, he will get over it,” she assured him. “Anyway, I’m the one who makes most of the money in this family. There’s not really much he could say.”
“No,” Nervous reiterated.
Circe had been about to protest further but she was interrupted by someone who was walking up behind her.
“Mrs. Beaker!” he cried “What a pleasant surprise!”
Circe turned around to find the dealership’s owner, Julien Cooke striding toward her. He was wearing a smarmy grin and held his arms open in a warm welcome.
“Hello, Julien,” Circe said, trying to appear pleased to see him. It was hard to be pleased to see a used car salesman.
“You’ve been keeping very well, Mrs. Beaker.” He said as he took her hand and gallantly kissed it.
Nervous tried hard to stifle a snort. Julien spared Nervous a cursory glance.
“I see you are admiring my latest acquisition,” Julien said with a demonstrative flourish toward the Camaro. “It’s a beautiful piece modern automotive engineering isn’t it?”
God, Circe thought, does he ever stop sounding like a commercial?
“It’s a beautiful car,” Circe agreed.
“You wouldn’t, perhaps, be considering trading up would you?” he asked. Circe thought she could see dollar signs reflected in his eyes. “If you are, I can assure you that you will be the only one in Strangetown with one of these. It’s a limited edition vehicle,” he explained. “It’s one of the only two in southwest Arizona; there were only about 1500 of these made.”
Circe looked longingly at the car and then at Nervous. Nervous frowned and shook his head.
“Actually, Julien, my son told me he was ready to buy a car and you were the first one I though of. So, here we are.”
“Wonderful! I’m flattered that you recommended me to your son! I feel privileged to assist the son of one of my favorite customers!” He turned to Nervous and gave him a wide, toothy grin.
“Julien, this is my son, Nervous.”
“Excuse me, did you say Nervous?” he asked.
Circe gave him a flustered smile. “It’s a family nickname that’s kind of stuck,” she explained.
“Of course, of course,” Julien said as he gripped Nervous’ hand in a strong handshake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nervous. What kind of vehicle is it you are looking for?”
“Something used,” Nervous answered as he glanced toward the line of used vehicles at the back of the lot.
“Wonderful,” Julien cried. “This would be your first car then, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes.” Nervous answered.
“If you follow me,” Julien instructed as he started toward the line of used cars at the back of the lot, “I’ll show you my selection of fine pre-owned vehicles. Every one of them has undergone a 110 point quality inspection and carries a Ninety day, three thousand mile warranty.”
Nervous and Circe followed Julien down the line of used cars. Nervous looked closely at each one as he passed them. He stopped beside a pristine looking Buick.
“This is nice, what it is?” he asked Julien. He was embarrassed at how little he knew about cars.
“This gorgeous machine is a 1970 Buick GranSport. It has a 455 cubic inch V8 engine with only twenty seven thousand miles on it, and all original parts. It was garage kept until I procured it, and we gave her a new coat of paint before I added it to our inventory. This is a very rare vehicle, especially in near mint condition. I was very lucky to come across this one at an estate auction.”
“Uh-huh,” said Nervous, unimpressed. It was a nice looking muscle car, but it wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, and probably too much for him to afford. He walked away from the Buck and on to the next car. Nervous turned his nose up at this one. It looked like an old taxi cab repained black. He walked past it and moved on to the next car.
As soon as he laid eyes on it he stopped in his tracks. It was love at first sight. He tried not to appear too excited, but inside he felt as giddy as a twelve year old girl with a pair of Jonas Brothers tickets. He didn’t want the salseman to see that he wanted the car as badly as he did.
“This one,” he said, trying to sound disinterested. “How much are you asking for this one?”
Nervous couldn’t see how it was physically possible, but Julien’s grin widened even further. It seemed he had seen through Nervous’ charade.
“This is probably my favorie car of all time,” Julien explained. “The Delorean DMC12. I have had this one for quite a long time,” he said as he affectionately ran his hand across the hood of the car. “I initially bought it to use as a draw for sales events, but it seems that people don’t get as excited to see one of these as they used to.
I can tell by the look in your eye that you immediately recognized it. It’s hard to believe that this icon is almost thirty years old. I would hate to see it go, but in this economy, it’s just not practical to hang on to it.”
Julien looked at Nervous. “You wouldn’t be interested in taking it for a test drive would you?” he asked with a devious twinkle in his eye. He knew as soon as the boy got the behind the whell the car was as good as sold.
“Yes, I think I would,” Nervous told him, still feigning indifference.
“Wonderful! I’ll just get the keys and have my assitant clear the way so you can take her for a drive.”
Julien headed toward the front door of the building but stopped before he made it half way.
“I almost forgot…I know it is a ridiculous question, but I am required to verify…” Julien stated. “You do have a valid driver’s license don’t you; not your learners permit or anything?”
“Of course,” Nervous assured him.
“Perfect! I’ll be back in half a jiff.”
Cirke stepped next to Nervous and poked him in the arm. “Nervous,” she hissed. “You can’t lie to that man about having a license!”
“I’m not!” Nervou informed her crossly. He reached into his back pocket and produced his wallet. He extracted his drivers license and handed it to her.
“When did you…” Circe began to ask.
“Right after I turned sixteen,” he told her angrily as he snatched the license back from her hand.
“But how?”
“Pascal and Lazlo taught me. I used Laz’s truck for the driving test..”
“Why didn’t you say anything? I would have…”
“You were too busy,” Nervous interrupted again. “And I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Loki to teach me how to drive.”
“Oh,” mumbled Circe dejectedly. She wondered what else she had been too busy for.
Julien returned quickly and presented Nervous with the keys for the Delorean. “Take as long as you need to get a feel for her. I’ll be right here when you get back.”
“C’mon,” Nervous said to Circe as he opened the gull-wing door. It was getting harder and harder for him to repress his excitement.
Circe opened the passenger side door and joined Nervous in the car.
“You can’t be serious about buying this thing. It is about the ugliest car I have ever seen.”
“Silence woman!” Nervous snapped at her. He was grinning madly and giggling maniacly as he gripped the steering wheel.
“One point twenty-one gigawatts,” he whispered as he turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life. To Nervous, it was one of the most beautiful noises he ever heard.
“One point twenty-one gigawatts,” he said to Circe, still grinning like a madman.
“You’re cracked,” she told him as she fastened her seat belt.
After about twenty minutes of driving back and forth on the Road to Nowhere, Nervous reluctantly pulled the Delorean back into the car lot. Julien was waiting for them. His grin grew even wider yet as he watched Nervous exit the vehicle. Nervous’ face was flushed pink with excitement and Circe’s hair was tousled from having put the windows down.
“What’s the best deal you can offer me on this car?” Nervous asked as he handed Julien the keys.
“Well, that depends on a few things,” Julien told him.
Circe stepped away from the two men to let them haggle. She hoped Nervous wasn’t getting in over his head. She didn’t want him to be embrrassed if things didn’t go the way he wanted them to, but she didn’t want to interfere either. She had the impression that Nervous was determined to do this himself. She walked around the Delorean and pretended to be looking it over carefully while she listened to them. She wanted to make sure that Julien wouldn’t try to take advantage of her son.
“I do believe we have a deal here, Nervous” Circe finally heard Julien say. “If you follow me into my office, we can make it all final.”
Nervous looked up to Cice and smiled the biggest smile she thought she had ever seen on him. She couldn’t help but notice what a handsome young man he was when he was smiling. She wondered how she could have missed that before. It only took her a few seconds until she realized that her son probably hadn’t had many reasons to smile until now. She vowed to herself that she would do everything she could to make sure that wan’t the case any longer. It might be too late to make it up to him, she thought, but that’s not going to keep me from trying.
Circe and Nervous followed Julien into the car dealership. Inside the building were the most expensive cars that Julien had for sale, BMWs, Jaguars, Mercedes, and even a Rolls Royce. Nervous looked around at showroom and wondered who in Strangetown could afford to buy one of them. He wondered how Julien was able to keep this place in business.
Julien led them to his small office at the back of the showroom. Circe and Nervous made themselves comfortable on the sofa infront of Julien’s desk whild Julien searched for the necessary forms to finalize the deal.
“If you will just fill out this short form first, I can have my secretary set up financing for the balance of the car,” Julien explained as he handed Nervous a piece of paper and a ball point pen with the name “Cooke Motors” embossed on it. Nervous filled out the short form as qickly as he could and handed it back to Julien.
Julien looked the form over. “Hmm,” he mumbled as he checked Nervous’s information. “Spectre?,” he mumbled to himself. He looked to Circe.
Before Julien could ask the question, Circe jumped to answer.
“My husband and I adopted Nervous when he was a boy,” she told him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think of his different surname.”
“It’s not a problem at all Mrs. Beaker. No need to apologize,” he assured her. “I’ll just give this to my secretary and she will make the arrangements for the financing.”
Julien walked away toward the other side of the showroom.
Circe and Nervous sat in awkward silence. She could tell he was anxious; he was picking nervously at his fingernails. She wanted to comfort him, but for some reason she couldn’t think of what to say. She reached over and put her hand over his to stop him from the self destructive habit. He stopped and looked up at her. Unable to think of anything to say, she smiled at him hand gave his hand a squeeze.
A few minutes later Juien returned and sat down behind his desk. The smile he had been sporting earlier had faded.
“Is there a problem?” Nervous asked.
“”Oh, no. No problem at all. The financing request has been accepted. It’s just that, even though you are making a sizable down payment, I’m afraid the interest rate is going to a little high. Is it possible that you could find someone to cosign for you?”
“What do you…”
“I’ll cosign for him,” Circe interjected, saving Nervous from revealng his ignorance.
“Spectacular!” Julien shouted. “We’ll just get this paperwork finished so the two of you can be on your way. I’m sure you will want to show all of your friends your time machine,” He said to Nervous with a wink.
A short while later Nervous walked out of the dealership with his head held high and the keys to his Delorean in his hand.
Circe followed behind him, proud of what her son had accomplished. She watched him walk toward his car, amazed at the change in him.
Just before they reached his car Nervous stopped and turned to her. He put his arms around her in a great bear hug.
“Thanks, Mom,” he said as he squeezed her tightly.
“You’re welcome, dear” she said softly.
Circe knew she would never have to pay a cent for the car; Nervous would never let that happen. But, even if she ended up paying for the whole thing, that hug and those two little words would make it worth every penny.
Nervous let her go and planted a kiss on her cheek. He strode proudly to his car and opened the driver’s side door.
“I’m going up to the bunker,” he announced. “I have to show the guys.”
Circe smiled and waved to him and proceeded on to her own car. She passed the silver Camaro on her way. Her smile faded as she remembered what Nervous had told her earlier. In the excitement of buying the Delorean, Circe had completely forgotten about Vidcund and Las Vegas. She gave the Camaro a dirty look, as if it had been the one to offend her, not Vidcund. She sighed and turned her back on the silver car, symbolicly turning her back on Vidcund as well. She was going home, to her husband. She had a burning question she was dying to ask him.
What the hell was a gigawatt anyway?
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no subject
Date: 2010-03-23 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-25 06:51 pm (UTC)I really enjoyed this update. It so clearly demonstrated not only the changes in the characters as they develop but the dynamic between them. I've never seen Circe portrayed so mother-like before, and was surprised by how believable I found it. It's quiet remarkable the change Nervous has been through since his Oasis adventure ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-03-25 08:03 pm (UTC)(I loved taking pictures of all those pretty cars!)
I am so glad you commented (Thanks!) I was beginning to think this chapter was a real stinker ;-) I'm trying to make them seem like real people, I'm never quite sure if I am doing a very good job or not. I think Circe and Nervous still have quite a bit of growing to do, but nobody has so far to go as Vidcund. I can't wait to delve further into his little brain.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-25 08:55 pm (UTC)I think your portrayl of the characters as real people is one of the strongest points in this story. Whether it be a drunken Vidcund or a victory-dancing Circe, it's refreshing to step away from stereotypes that otherwise often never fluctuate as people in real life do! I think seeing characters grow and evolve is one of the best parts of any story :)
no subject
Date: 2010-03-27 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-18 05:24 am (UTC)I love seeing Nervous turning into a man, this is great!