Vinegar 13, Cola 7: Civilized
Title: Civilized
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Vinegar 13 (keep off of grass), cola 7 (anything less would be uncivilized), My Treat (Summer has her own way of learning The Rules), malt (Kaity's easter egg: Leonard: For god's sake, do I have to hold up a sarcasm sign every time I open my mouth? // Sheldon: You have a sarcasm sign?), pocky chain.
Word Count: 504
Rating: PG.
Summary: Summer knows the rules.
Notes: The bunny hop! And last vinegar, woot.
Summer knows the rules.
To start with, you don't say things that other people aren't interested in. If you do, people will think you're stupid or gauche. Gauche is French. It means left, or wrong. Summer used to be gauche a lot, but not so much anymore.
She's learned. She doesn't say things that other people aren't interested in anymore. Summer is bad at knowing what other people are interested in, though, so most of the time she just doesn't talk. She listens, instead.
She's learned a lot from listening. Not all of it is things she wanted to know.
--
Summer knows the rules.
If you hear things you shouldn't have heard, you shouldn't repeat them. She learned this one the hard way. She told Gina something that Ivy said to Aaron, and both Ivy and Gina got really mad at her for it. She still doesn't understand why, but she doesn't repeat things anymore.
It's hard sometimes. Like once she heard Mama crying on the phone to Aunt Cecily, and she wanted really bad to tell somebody about it but she couldn't, because she wasn't supposed to be listening.
It's worse when she sees things she shouldn't have, though.
--
Summer knows the rules.
Sometimes you see things you don't want to see. The one Summer remembers most vividly is Mama and Papa having a fight. The very next day they weren't mad at each other anymore, so she knows they made it up, but she tries very hard not to remember them yelling at each other, making ugly faces and saying mean things. It makes her shiver.
And she couldn't tell anyone about it because she supposed to be asleep. Ivy and Aaron weren't even home.
She went back to her room and hugged the cat all night, sleepless.
--
Summer knows the rules.
People smell bad. She lives in New York City so lots of things smell bad, but people especially. It makes her wrinkle her nose and sometimes cover her face with a scarf. The bad part is that it smells mostly bad in summer so she can't wear the scarf without being hot.
She's not allowed to cover her nose, because that's rude. She did it on the subway once and people glared at her. Lars explained that covering her nose makes them think they smell bad.
Which they do. But she's not supposed to share that.
--
Summer knows the rules.
You don't get too close to people. She's always been good about that, because Summer doesn't like being touched. She's sensitive, her mama says. She just thinks that she doesn't like being touched.
But sometimes you have to let people touch you. When you get lost and then your mama finds you, you have to let her hug you. When your sister comes in dancing, you have to let her spin you around.
Summer gets used to it. After a while, she likes it.
They touch her because they love her. There's nothing wrong with love.
--
Summer knows the rules.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Vinegar 13 (keep off of grass), cola 7 (anything less would be uncivilized), My Treat (Summer has her own way of learning The Rules), malt (Kaity's easter egg: Leonard: For god's sake, do I have to hold up a sarcasm sign every time I open my mouth? // Sheldon: You have a sarcasm sign?), pocky chain.
Word Count: 504
Rating: PG.
Summary: Summer knows the rules.
Notes: The bunny hop! And last vinegar, woot.
Summer knows the rules.
To start with, you don't say things that other people aren't interested in. If you do, people will think you're stupid or gauche. Gauche is French. It means left, or wrong. Summer used to be gauche a lot, but not so much anymore.
She's learned. She doesn't say things that other people aren't interested in anymore. Summer is bad at knowing what other people are interested in, though, so most of the time she just doesn't talk. She listens, instead.
She's learned a lot from listening. Not all of it is things she wanted to know.
--
Summer knows the rules.
If you hear things you shouldn't have heard, you shouldn't repeat them. She learned this one the hard way. She told Gina something that Ivy said to Aaron, and both Ivy and Gina got really mad at her for it. She still doesn't understand why, but she doesn't repeat things anymore.
It's hard sometimes. Like once she heard Mama crying on the phone to Aunt Cecily, and she wanted really bad to tell somebody about it but she couldn't, because she wasn't supposed to be listening.
It's worse when she sees things she shouldn't have, though.
--
Summer knows the rules.
Sometimes you see things you don't want to see. The one Summer remembers most vividly is Mama and Papa having a fight. The very next day they weren't mad at each other anymore, so she knows they made it up, but she tries very hard not to remember them yelling at each other, making ugly faces and saying mean things. It makes her shiver.
And she couldn't tell anyone about it because she supposed to be asleep. Ivy and Aaron weren't even home.
She went back to her room and hugged the cat all night, sleepless.
--
Summer knows the rules.
People smell bad. She lives in New York City so lots of things smell bad, but people especially. It makes her wrinkle her nose and sometimes cover her face with a scarf. The bad part is that it smells mostly bad in summer so she can't wear the scarf without being hot.
She's not allowed to cover her nose, because that's rude. She did it on the subway once and people glared at her. Lars explained that covering her nose makes them think they smell bad.
Which they do. But she's not supposed to share that.
--
Summer knows the rules.
You don't get too close to people. She's always been good about that, because Summer doesn't like being touched. She's sensitive, her mama says. She just thinks that she doesn't like being touched.
But sometimes you have to let people touch you. When you get lost and then your mama finds you, you have to let her hug you. When your sister comes in dancing, you have to let her spin you around.
Summer gets used to it. After a while, she likes it.
They touch her because they love her. There's nothing wrong with love.
--
Summer knows the rules.