Re: Train tracks: Oliver & Gwen
"Your statements are contradictory." But she wasn't sure they actually were, and that was also evident in the way she looked at him. She was getting confused, and that was just a result of life lived via screen, because experiencing stuff was totally different, and it was easy to get things all jumbled up. Standing there, she wasn't sure if she had an opinion about the longevity of interest, and she was pretty sure she'd had one when she'd stumbled upon the chalk garden earlier that evening. That confusion remained when he talked about cereal (which she totally didn't realize was cereal). "I've had toast. Is that toast that's encrusted in cinnamon, thereby rendering it crunchy?" And, yet another frown. "Are you saying there's a difference between liking something and being happy, because I thought those things went together. Conversely, if you dislike something, then you're unhappy."
Her own chalk was ignored in favor of his earthworm addition, and she crouched and touched it. There was a smile on her lips, and that dimple dug in deeply. She didn't realize he thought she was a weirdo, and she gave him a look that continued to be curious. "But people are trying to be happy. Why would anyone's agenda be the propagation of inaccurate information about happiness? Is it profitable somehow?" She knew capitalism meant profit was a driving force for people's lives. But that was super unimportant in the face of him saying dreaming was a drag. "Dreaming is amazing. You can go places in your head. How is that not totally cool?"
She watched him stand, and she understood that he didn't like being shy. Or he didn't like that she'd implied that he was shy. She didn't apologize, because the nuance of apology was something she hadn't grasped yet, having no practical experience with it. Instead, she just looked at him with head tipped and curiosity in cornflower. "You're not shy."