MERLIN Benjee spoke so well. Like, his word choice was always so much higher of a level than V could understand. But she did her best. She also didn’t want to admit that she didn’t understand almost half of what he said. Also…if she was the shadow, was he still Peter Pan or whatever? How had the nickname come along? She remembered smudgy details, but when you were young, things seemed to all blend together sometimes. Even if that had been only last term or the term before, Victoria felt so much older than even last year. Things felt so different.

And now she didn’t know what a sociological standpoint was, so she didn’t how to reply. A head nod here and there to show she was listening, but she didn’t directly reply.

“Are you looking to make your own brand of jelly beans? Or different candies?” She asked. Taste testing sounded nice, but V DID have a figure to watch. If she wanted to be able to dance during the summers, she had to make sure she did her best to stay a decent dancer during the year. It wasn’t like she was worried about being thin - she wasn’t all that much. It was more about keeping her body’s stamina up and feeling nourished properly. “I would love that. What made you want to do that?” If they were talking about assumptions, V wouldn’t had taken Benjee as a candy maker person.

EMPATHETIC

HER?

V snorted. “I’m shocked you think that. I don’t think of myself as empathetic. I guess I could be if I care about something. Someone. I don’t care about slugs,” she stuck out her tongue in a disgusted way.

WHOAH THO

HER BRIGHT SMILE?

Victoria found herself beaming at the description. “You think I have a bright smile?” She asked shyly, batting her eyelashes just a little as she timidly tucked some hair behind her ear like the schoolgirl she suddenly felt like. Blegh. Also WHAT Was that giggle escaping her???? It was so involuntary that she felt EMBARRASSED when it happened, and then THAT made her cheeks turn bright red and- and-

Um.

Victoria tried to clear her throat to play it off. “Thanks.”