WRITING

When Characters Get Protective

Day 25 Preptober writing prompt challenge

Day 25: Describe the last time someone said ‘Don’t worry about me’ to your main character.

Question from the Preptober 31 Day Challenge from the Character Collective.

Knot That Hot

This question is, both horribly specific and tantalizingly open. So it will definitely be an interesting one to ask of my boys. It’s a very specific phrase, and I know, for example, Jack would take it word for word and focus on the specificity, whereas Mario might be a little bit more open to the perception and interpretation of the meaning in his memory of who it would relate to. Little things like that definition between their characters based on how they would think about answering this question, are intriguing and give me so much insight. But enough about that, onto the question. Let’s start with Jack.

Jack

Me: Jack, describe the last time someone said to you, “Don’t worry about me.”

Jack: It was about 15 years ago. It was one of the guys in my company at the the Oakland Fire Department. He was a good guy. Younger than me, he came in with the recruitment group a year after me, but he’d done the same thing as me and joined the moment he could. We had a lot in common.

There was a fire at a local school. The kids had all been evacuated and we figured we were going in there just to basically smother the bitch. Oh, sorry, can I say that?

Me: Bitch? Yeah. Pretty sure we’ve said much worse.

Jack: Good, good. By the time we got there, to the school I mean, half the place had been gutted. *laughing* The kids didn’t seem that concerned about it. Oh, his name was Stolly. Or at least, that’s what we called him. That night, we were shifting together. We left some of the junior team to look after the pipe and headed into the main part of the building. Stolly and I walked the halls and did a sweep, just to make sure the place was cleared out, you know? It was all pretty routine and everything had been taken care of. After the sweep, we were walking out, pretty nonchalant, not necessarily attentive. Let me just… as a fiery you’re always attentive but we knew it was under control.

That’s when it happened. It slipped out, I didn’t mean to say it. “I’m leaving,” I said and he tripped a little. I managed to grab him before he fell on his ass but he shoved me away. He looked at me like I’d just stabbed him in the chest. I told him I’d been accepted into my paramedic’s training.

Stolly was happy for me. He really was. I just shocked him. We’d been working together for so long and he said he couldn’t imagine the company without me. I asked him how he felt about it and that’s when he said, “Don’t worry about me.” Last time I checked, he was still working there. He hadn’t made chief but that doesn’t surprise me. I don’t think he ever wanted that, he loved his job too much.

Me: Seriously, Jack? You had me geared up that whole time for some story about the roof collapsing, or you finding a child and him saying no, don’t help me go help them, or you know, some disaster. I expected Stolly to die.

Jack: Why? That was the last time somebody said that to me. You didn’t say it had to be a bad story.

Me: No, I didn’t. Correct, but… Oh, Jack, you do my nut sometimes. Where’s Mario?

Mario

Mario: Waiting patiently because I know him well enough. I knew exactly where that was going.

Me: Warn me next time, yeah?

Mario: Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.

Me: Whatever. Mario describe the last time somebody said, “Don’t worry about me,” to you.

Mario: That was my mother. When I left the circus.

Me: Oh, shit. Are you okay with elaborating?

Mario: Of course, babe, it’s fine. There’s really not much to tell though. I told her I was leaving and joining Rainbow Circus and she got all stroppy and said something like, “Oh, no, I’ll be fine.” Like I was supposed to be worried about her. I mean, I was 16 and she was my mother. Was I supposed to worry about her? Was I supposed to make sure she was okay before myself? I thought she was the adult, they’d take care of that. Clearly I was wrong, but what can you do? The Rainbow Circus called me, and I needed to, glitter! Like the star I am.

Me: Yeah, I feel like there’s much more depth to that then you’re going into.

Jack: There is. He doesn’t need to tell you though.

Me: Whoa. Okay. Sorry?

Mario: *to Jack* Baby, baby, baby, we’ve talked about this. *to me* Don’t worry about him, he just gets all over protective.

Me: So I can see. I haven’t seen that side of him before. You guys just continue to confuse.

Jack: Sorry. That’s a soft spot. I already know what he’s going to go through when you write this book and… Look, you just need to be prepared for me protecting him, because I will.

Me: *smiling* OK Jack. I’m okay with that. That’s pretty awesome. Mario is very lucky to have you.

Mario: *tsks* Excuse me. He’s lucky to have me.

Me: *laughing* I think you are both lucky to have each other. Actually, I take that back. It’s not luck. You are both amazing and you deserve to have each other.

Jack and Mario just stopped and looked at each other for a moment and it was completely adorable. Well, that was an interesting insight. It makes sense that Jack would be a protector and it was nice to see that come out in him just now. I think it helps solidify the character a little more.

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