Hush, Hush: Chapter 2
ZeldaQueen: In which this book starts to emulate a Stephen King novel
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 2
ZeldaQueen: We kick off this chapter with an infodump about how Nora and her mother live on the far outer edge of Nowhere, with it being about a mile or so to the nearest neighbors. We also learn that her mother works for an auction company and is often out of town on business, leaving Nora in the care of their Germanic housekeeper, Dorothea. Apparently that's getting to be a popular name in teen literature. Also, all of this coupled with Patch's stalker/rapist vibes really gives the impression that this is some slasher plot, where Nora will be in her bedroom at night and hear someone scratching on her window and when she goes to investigate, Patch will jump in and stab her with a machete.
Pleasant dreams.
Oh yeah, right. Anyway, Dorothea is doing the dishes and asks how school was. Nora tells her about the seating switch and describes how Patch is such a dark, brooding jerk. Except she also takes time to tell us how hot she thinks he is
"Only, this wasn't exactly true. I'd liked a lot of what I'd seen. Long, lean muscles down his arms, broad but relaxed shoulders, and a smile that was part playful, part seductive. I was in an uneasy alliance with myself, trying to ignore what had started to feel irresistible"
ZeldaQueen: All I will say is this - if a guy talks to someone like Patch did and inspires the same feelings and reactions that Nora had, I would not imagine that his smile would be described as playful and seductive. I would imagine it to look like a shark's grin.
Jump to nine o'clock, when Dorothea leaves. Nora is left alone, pondering her biology assignment to find out more about Patch. She realizes that she just might not have a choice but to call him after all. Oh isn't this contrived. Why doesn't she just write down things like "He has the uncanny ability to guess my personality traits" or "He somehow knows a good many personal things about me" or "He constantly makes sexual jokes that make me uncomfortable"? It would be writing down observations and it might get through the teacher's thick head. But no, she decides that she'll call him after all. She needs to keep her biology grade as an "A" to get a full scholarship to...somewhere and hopes that if Patch is a dick and won't help her out, the teacher might reconsider giving her a new partner.
So she calls up Patch, and of course he rubs her nose in the fact that she swallowed her pride and called him. After he manipulated circumstances to be that she either call him or get a bad grade. What a charming guy. Anyway, she asks if they can meet for a few minutes to finish the interview and he says no, he's at a place called Bo's Arcade, which he says is not her kind of place. Oh for the love of - of course it isn't! She asks him if they can have the interview over the phone. He hangs up on her. Lovely.
Determined not to fail her grade, Nora briefly considers making up things about Patch, before doing what I suggested and writing down a few things she's already figured out
"I scribbled Jerk on the first line. On the line beneath it I added, Smokes cigars. Will die of lung cancer. Hopefully soon. Excellent physical shape.
I immediately scribbled over the last observation until it was illegible"
ZeldaQueen: Again, the fact that he's hot clearly makes up for his horrible behavior. *rolls eyes*
So she leaves her mother a brief, vague voicemail and decides to head off to Bo's Arcade for the assignment. I have to wonder how much this thing is actually worth, because it honestly sounds like a ten-pointer by my own experiences. Hell, at my school, if you did something like that in class, half the time it was turned in when the bell rang. Anyway, she gets there and finds that there's a fifteen-dollar admission and the bouncer isn't pleased that she seems to be looking to pop in for free. She tells us how she doesn't have the money and isn't interested in paying anyway, so she impulsively ducks under the ropes and yells that if she isn't out in two minutes, she'll pay up.
She figures that she'll grab Patch and get him to finish the interview outside. Yes, because he's been so cooperative thus far, he'll go right along with that idea. She finds that he is indeed shooting pool and calls to him. He sees that the bouncer has just caught her and tells the guy that it's alright, she's with him. Apparently the word of a teenager carries a lot of weight there, because the bouncer lets Nora go.
As Nora approaches him, she first thinks that there's more animosity coming from him, before realizing that it's confidence and freedom to be himself. Yeah...great that a guy is thriving in a sleazy bar, playing pool. Oh, and she notices that there's something not safe about him. And yet, he's the love interest. Alright then!
Patch tries to feed Nora some cock-and-bull story about how he lost reception and she doesn't believe it. He tells his pool buddies to leave for a minute while he does the interview, and upon reading what Nora has written, he insists that he doesn't smoke cigars. Nora doesn't believe that.
Her first question is what his biggest dream is. She's all pleased because she knows that he'll actually have to put some thought into it. He promptly answers that his biggest dream is to kiss her, and then admits that he only said that to get her to blush. I...guess she wrote that down anyway, because she doesn't ask him the question again or demand a different answer, even though that one was clearly a big joke. Instead, she asks him where he works, and he tells her that it's at a Mexican restaurant called Borderline. This won't be used in the future at all, I'm sure. She asks him what his religion is, and I'm trying as hard as I can to grasp why this is a biology assignment. He says that he's in a cult, and then makes an unfunny joke about how they sacrifice young women and would Nora be interested in the job? Considering how he's behaved to her thus far and considering that he jokes about getting said sacrificial girl's trust before killing her, that's really not funny!
Nora starts to lose her temper and asks him how many times he failed his senior year. He tells her that he wasn't in school the previous year and that he never went to school before then. Nora thinks this is another lie because there were laws that people had to go to school. Um...homeschooling? Online classes? I guess technically those are schools, but you don't go to school in those cases. Anyway, she asks him what convinced him to go to school this year if that was the case, and he says that she did. Oh brother.
Nora isn't impressed much by that either, and Patch proceeds to take a step towards her and start going on about how "irresistible" her eyes are. He then says that she has a pretty mouth. I swear to God, I'm not exaggerating. Alright, technically he describes her mouth as "that killer curvy mouth", but it's still REALLY FREAKING CREEPY, SOMEONE LOCK THIS GUY UP!!!
I'm sorry.
Thankfully, Nora agrees with me and steps back and makes excuses to leave. I'm not giving her any points though, because "part of me responded positively to it". Hear that, girls? If a guy says that you have pretty eyes, it doesn't matter if he's been harassing you and being an overall jerk and is leaning in like he's going to shank you or something. He's complimenting your eyes, after all!
Before leaving, she comments on how he knows so much about her, specifically how to irritate and upset her. He says that she makes it easy, and she gets angry at him for provoking her again. He tells her to use the word "provoke" again, as "Your mouth looks provocative when you do". Real prize, this fellow. Nora proceeds to rant about how much she hates him, but notes that her jaw is twitching which it only does when she lies. OH MY SWEET LORD, MAKE IT STOP!
Patch says that he's glad they were partnered. No shit, I bet you love having someone to terrorize and harass! Nora says that she's doing her best to get that changed, and Patch laughs at her. He then pulls a bit of paper out of her hair, which I think is supposed to be romantic but instead comes across as BAD TOUCH! As he does this, she sees that he has a birthmark on his own wrist. She comments on how that's an unfortunate place for it, alluding to the scars on her own wrist. He makes a crude joke about her preferring it in a more intimate place, and she finally leaves.
Jump forward to night time, when Nora is in bed. We get a really creepy description of how she's felt like there's been a presence guarding her ever since her father died, so she often imagines hearing footsteps in the hallway. She hears a noise and freaks out, but nothing is there when she gets up to look.
I think we all know where this is going. Lord
Onward to: Chapter 3
Back to: Chapter 1
Return to to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 2
ZeldaQueen: We kick off this chapter with an infodump about how Nora and her mother live on the far outer edge of Nowhere, with it being about a mile or so to the nearest neighbors. We also learn that her mother works for an auction company and is often out of town on business, leaving Nora in the care of their Germanic housekeeper, Dorothea. Apparently that's getting to be a popular name in teen literature. Also, all of this coupled with Patch's stalker/rapist vibes really gives the impression that this is some slasher plot, where Nora will be in her bedroom at night and hear someone scratching on her window and when she goes to investigate, Patch will jump in and stab her with a machete.
Pleasant dreams.
Oh yeah, right. Anyway, Dorothea is doing the dishes and asks how school was. Nora tells her about the seating switch and describes how Patch is such a dark, brooding jerk. Except she also takes time to tell us how hot she thinks he is
"Only, this wasn't exactly true. I'd liked a lot of what I'd seen. Long, lean muscles down his arms, broad but relaxed shoulders, and a smile that was part playful, part seductive. I was in an uneasy alliance with myself, trying to ignore what had started to feel irresistible"
ZeldaQueen: All I will say is this - if a guy talks to someone like Patch did and inspires the same feelings and reactions that Nora had, I would not imagine that his smile would be described as playful and seductive. I would imagine it to look like a shark's grin.
Jump to nine o'clock, when Dorothea leaves. Nora is left alone, pondering her biology assignment to find out more about Patch. She realizes that she just might not have a choice but to call him after all. Oh isn't this contrived. Why doesn't she just write down things like "He has the uncanny ability to guess my personality traits" or "He somehow knows a good many personal things about me" or "He constantly makes sexual jokes that make me uncomfortable"? It would be writing down observations and it might get through the teacher's thick head. But no, she decides that she'll call him after all. She needs to keep her biology grade as an "A" to get a full scholarship to...somewhere and hopes that if Patch is a dick and won't help her out, the teacher might reconsider giving her a new partner.
So she calls up Patch, and of course he rubs her nose in the fact that she swallowed her pride and called him. After he manipulated circumstances to be that she either call him or get a bad grade. What a charming guy. Anyway, she asks if they can meet for a few minutes to finish the interview and he says no, he's at a place called Bo's Arcade, which he says is not her kind of place. Oh for the love of - of course it isn't! She asks him if they can have the interview over the phone. He hangs up on her. Lovely.
Determined not to fail her grade, Nora briefly considers making up things about Patch, before doing what I suggested and writing down a few things she's already figured out
"I scribbled Jerk on the first line. On the line beneath it I added, Smokes cigars. Will die of lung cancer. Hopefully soon. Excellent physical shape.
I immediately scribbled over the last observation until it was illegible"
ZeldaQueen: Again, the fact that he's hot clearly makes up for his horrible behavior. *rolls eyes*
So she leaves her mother a brief, vague voicemail and decides to head off to Bo's Arcade for the assignment. I have to wonder how much this thing is actually worth, because it honestly sounds like a ten-pointer by my own experiences. Hell, at my school, if you did something like that in class, half the time it was turned in when the bell rang. Anyway, she gets there and finds that there's a fifteen-dollar admission and the bouncer isn't pleased that she seems to be looking to pop in for free. She tells us how she doesn't have the money and isn't interested in paying anyway, so she impulsively ducks under the ropes and yells that if she isn't out in two minutes, she'll pay up.
She figures that she'll grab Patch and get him to finish the interview outside. Yes, because he's been so cooperative thus far, he'll go right along with that idea. She finds that he is indeed shooting pool and calls to him. He sees that the bouncer has just caught her and tells the guy that it's alright, she's with him. Apparently the word of a teenager carries a lot of weight there, because the bouncer lets Nora go.
As Nora approaches him, she first thinks that there's more animosity coming from him, before realizing that it's confidence and freedom to be himself. Yeah...great that a guy is thriving in a sleazy bar, playing pool. Oh, and she notices that there's something not safe about him. And yet, he's the love interest. Alright then!
Patch tries to feed Nora some cock-and-bull story about how he lost reception and she doesn't believe it. He tells his pool buddies to leave for a minute while he does the interview, and upon reading what Nora has written, he insists that he doesn't smoke cigars. Nora doesn't believe that.
Her first question is what his biggest dream is. She's all pleased because she knows that he'll actually have to put some thought into it. He promptly answers that his biggest dream is to kiss her, and then admits that he only said that to get her to blush. I...guess she wrote that down anyway, because she doesn't ask him the question again or demand a different answer, even though that one was clearly a big joke. Instead, she asks him where he works, and he tells her that it's at a Mexican restaurant called Borderline. This won't be used in the future at all, I'm sure. She asks him what his religion is, and I'm trying as hard as I can to grasp why this is a biology assignment. He says that he's in a cult, and then makes an unfunny joke about how they sacrifice young women and would Nora be interested in the job? Considering how he's behaved to her thus far and considering that he jokes about getting said sacrificial girl's trust before killing her, that's really not funny!
Nora starts to lose her temper and asks him how many times he failed his senior year. He tells her that he wasn't in school the previous year and that he never went to school before then. Nora thinks this is another lie because there were laws that people had to go to school. Um...homeschooling? Online classes? I guess technically those are schools, but you don't go to school in those cases. Anyway, she asks him what convinced him to go to school this year if that was the case, and he says that she did. Oh brother.
Nora isn't impressed much by that either, and Patch proceeds to take a step towards her and start going on about how "irresistible" her eyes are. He then says that she has a pretty mouth. I swear to God, I'm not exaggerating. Alright, technically he describes her mouth as "that killer curvy mouth", but it's still REALLY FREAKING CREEPY, SOMEONE LOCK THIS GUY UP!!!
I'm sorry.
Thankfully, Nora agrees with me and steps back and makes excuses to leave. I'm not giving her any points though, because "part of me responded positively to it". Hear that, girls? If a guy says that you have pretty eyes, it doesn't matter if he's been harassing you and being an overall jerk and is leaning in like he's going to shank you or something. He's complimenting your eyes, after all!
Before leaving, she comments on how he knows so much about her, specifically how to irritate and upset her. He says that she makes it easy, and she gets angry at him for provoking her again. He tells her to use the word "provoke" again, as "Your mouth looks provocative when you do". Real prize, this fellow. Nora proceeds to rant about how much she hates him, but notes that her jaw is twitching which it only does when she lies. OH MY SWEET LORD, MAKE IT STOP!
Patch says that he's glad they were partnered. No shit, I bet you love having someone to terrorize and harass! Nora says that she's doing her best to get that changed, and Patch laughs at her. He then pulls a bit of paper out of her hair, which I think is supposed to be romantic but instead comes across as BAD TOUCH! As he does this, she sees that he has a birthmark on his own wrist. She comments on how that's an unfortunate place for it, alluding to the scars on her own wrist. He makes a crude joke about her preferring it in a more intimate place, and she finally leaves.
Jump forward to night time, when Nora is in bed. We get a really creepy description of how she's felt like there's been a presence guarding her ever since her father died, so she often imagines hearing footsteps in the hallway. She hears a noise and freaks out, but nothing is there when she gets up to look.
I think we all know where this is going. Lord
Onward to: Chapter 3
Back to: Chapter 1
Return to to: Table of Contents