You Are Now Entering: The Nerdy Zone

[Dex Doppler]

(September 2nd. Open to Wiggins Jr. & Dex.)

Dex placed a few books on the white bookshelf his father had bought him. It had taken him all damn morning to put the stupid thing together. Insert slot A into column b? It had annoyed him to no end until he'd worked at it harder. Finally it was up and surrounding his bed like a fortress of solitude. He started laying his graphic novels into place in alphabetical order. He took the next shelf for his favorite classic scifi and Disney films. Finally, next to a plush toy of Captain Amelia he'd bought on Ebay and a few McDonald's toys from the film, Dex placed the movie his parents came from on the top shelf. He breathed in deeply.

"Okay," he said, "Now for the important stuff." He picked up his suitcase and started unpacking it. He pushed his glasses back as they slipped down the bridge of his nose. He'd left the door open so his new roommate could walk in. He was still nervous about that. Still nervous about sharing a room with someone and keeping a terribly embarrassing secret at the same time.

[Wiggins Jr.]

Wiggins Jr wheeled his suitcases in behind himself as he seatched the halls of the academy. He had no idea what to expect. All he was given was a room number. When he approached where his room should be, though, he found the door wide open. He paused and knocked for a moment, before enterring.

"Hello. Oh, I do hope I'm not intruding." He walked in, rolling his suitcases behind him. "It seems we will be compatriots from here on, residing together and such. I do hope you don't suffer from many allergies. I'm something of a botanical fanatic." He tapped his chin. "Of course, as I couldn't transport plants well, I suppose you could warn me of allergies, before I start growing anything."

He raised his eyebrows as he noticed the shelves around Dexter's bed. "I say, good fellow, whatever have you there?"

[Dex Doppler]

Dex nodded his head and turned towards the newcomer. He smiled and held out his hand. "Name's Dexter," he said, "Call me Dex." He turned over his shoulder and nodded towards his DVD, book and Treasure Planet collection on his white book shelf. He chuckled softly and rubbed back his hair. "Oh that," he mused, "That's my nerd zone. Scifi DVD's, graphic novels, comic books, you know the works." He leaned against his bookshelves with his hands in his pockets.

"Surprisingly, I'm not allergic to anything," he said, "So sure. If you don't mind dealing with y'know, crazy nerdy stuff, I don't mind you growing a garden in here. Might brighten up the place in this dank basement." His conversation with Etoile had brightened him up so he was able to have a conversation properly. He climbed up on his bed, not yet graced with his light blue sheets and dark blue comforter and pulled light yellow stars out of his pocket. He started to stick them on the ceiling.

"They glow in the dark," he explained, "Makes me feel more at home."

[Wiggins Jr.]

"How fascinating." Wiggins looked curiously as his roommate was pasting the stars on the ceiling. "I suppose you must have lived in the country, then. Somewhere where you can see the stars all night, save for when it's cloudy. I lived in a suburban area, myself."

He began unpacking his clothes into the drawers on his side of the room. As he was sorting, he couldn't help but be curious. "Well, if you don't mind me asking, exactly what is scifi and graphic novels?" His athletic family spent very little time with books, let alone fiction. In fact, most of his books revolved around horticulture and agriculture. Had the letter not mentioned the name Disney, he would have had nearly no idea on what Disney was. "It all sounds so fascinating. I do enjoy learning new things... so long as it keeps me out of trouble, that is."

After stowing his clothes, he began extracting pots and solar lamps. "I'll probably need to go into town later on and buy my own shelves, don't you think?"

[Dex Doppler]

"Well, not really," he said with a shrug, "But my real parents are from space. It makes me feel close to them." He peered up at the sticky glow in the dark stars with a sigh before folding back a few locks of hair with a hand. He turned a smile on his new roommate. Perhaps they could be friends. Dex hadn't ever had very man male friends, or female friends for that matter. The youth slide onto his butt on the bed and reached down, unfolding his sheet from his bag as he spoke.

"Scifi. Science Fiction," he said, "Sorry I forget sometimes people aren't as dorky as me. And a graphic novel's a comic book only in book form." He peered at the Watchmen title between Batman: Knightfall and Y: The Last Man. He picked up the book and handed it to Wiggins Jr. "Here, you can read that if you want. I don't mind." His smile was bright.

"Learning new things is fun, yeah," he said, standing and starting to make his bed, "But I'd suggest getting shelves yeah. Everything's so tiny in here. Might as well maximize the space, yeah?"

[Wiggins Jr.]

Wiggins flipped the book in his hands over and over again. Being unused to fiction in general, it was like some strange artifact found in ruins or a bizarre technology to be found in a laboratory. The people on the front looked outlandish, and it all seemed so dark. "What unique literature..." he spoke as he continued observing. "Most peculiar. Do you enjoy these stories? Are they anything like the classical pieces generally required for typical school's literary classes?"

Suddenly, the thin young man was hit fully with the confession from his roommate. Being still unfamiliar with Disney and having not been introduced to his real parents, how could he understand it? "You're parents... are from SPACE?!" He stared blankly for a few seconds, before chuckling to himself. "Oh ho, oh ho. Good heavens. I'm sure you mean your parents partake in astronomical studies in spacecraft. Such as that fellow who walked upon the moon or those Mars rovers. Do forgive me. I thought in all honesty, that you were insisting your parents lived in space or some such absurdity. But that's not possible. No. It couldn't be."

[Dex Doppler]

"I do enjoy them," Dexter said with a smile and a nod, "That one's a great one if you like history and dark, gritty stuff. I have the movie too if you'd like to watch that after you read the book. That is if you DO want to read the book, y'know." He smiled, moving around the fitted sheets and pulling out more blankets and sheets. He laughed. "Naw, these aren't...well...it depends. I mean they're part of the NERD required reading list, heh. But no, no school really requires it. It's just for fun." The youth turned when the other boy stated his disbelief of his alien parents.

"Uh, yeah, actually," Dex said, confused, "Haven't you ever seen Treasure Planet? My parents were Amelia and Delbert Doppler. Captain of the Galactic armada you know!" He clicked the last part with an English accent. He laughed. "So who are your parents supposed to be, my friend?"

[Wiggins Jr.]

Wiggins Jr. stood with his jaw agape. What this fellow was suggesting was plain outrageous. Galactic Armada? What was that even supposed to mean? The boy unfamiliar with the Disney company and its works was completely baffled. Especially when the question of his parents came up. Perhaps he had not been well-informed. HIs parents made it no secret that he was adopted (it wasn't as though he even looked remotely like them), but they had no idea who his original parents were or anything. Did it really make a difference. "Um, my parents are Timothy and Leota Smith," he replied simply, doubting that to be the answer this boy was looking for some reason, but certainly he couldn't have been referring to the names on the letter sent to him by the academy. He thought it was some crock joke.