[color=lightgray][center][i][b]Introducing Eloise Anderson, one of the OG members of Q's Midnight Society[/b][/i][/center]
[right][sub][@LovelyComplex] [@BrutalBx][/sub]
[sub]Timestamp: Monday, Around 1:30 PM[/sub]
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[indent][indent]Eloise “Lolly” Anderson, a.k.a. Echo from the Midnight Society, b.k.a Lydia Anderson’s little sister, c.k.a the one that watched Q’s head get blown to smithereens, was in her gaming chair playing Valorant. She mained Neon who was a total badass. Filipino, just like her. High energy and fun, just like her, at least when she did leave the house and had a social life with Q, Dal, Dean, Oz, Aves, Rosie, and Violet. Now she spends her days gaming all day, everyday. She spent a good year playing League with Marco Brady. Lately though, he hasn’t been as free, which is sad. It sucked when people in her life started having lives. 

No matter! Lolly didn’t need any of that! Lolly had everything she needed right here in her bedroom like this TapSiLog plate her Nay fixed for her. On the character sheet screen, having finished a game and loading up for her next, Lolly quickly shoveled the Tapa in her mouth and picked her character. Her love. Her wife. Neon. Lolly liked to consider herself the best gamer that Edenridge had to offer but she didn’t play to win. She played to make friends. Friends with little expectation to ever meet her or want her to visit. There was no need for her to stray away from the nest. Her safehouse. 

As for her room, it wasn't disastrous like the rest of the house. Her Nay was a hoarder so making your way to her room was a challenge in itself, but her room itself was comfy, warm, and clean. Smelt good as hell too, tropical and fruity. Just like a nice summer holiday in the Philippines. She loved her room. 

Her bed was perfectly made with the softest of blankets and cloud-like pillows. If she did sleep, that would be an amazing place to crash, but she didn’t. If she passed out, it usually was on the chair she was sitting on, this very moment. She had a mini fridge and a microwave and she had energy drinks and bad snacks galore. In terms of decor, it was a cross between her filipino culture — like baskets and frames made out of Raffia palm fiber, or her Mother of Pearl Shells Night Lamp since her country had an abundance in marine life — and geek memorabilia. She was a major geek and a smartass nerd at that. 

That was beside the point. 

Framed right above her computer were signed autographs from her idols. Like one from Spike Langley! Her and her friends even got a picture with him. One of the last pictures of the Midnight Society together. Couple years back Q took her, Dal, and Dean to Boston Comic Con. Meeting Spike was so cool. Nerdgasm aside, Lolly was content with her little piece of heaven she named her Castle in the Sky. If people wanted to see her, they knew to just come inside. Nine out of ten times she was NOT going to open the door. 

Rolling her shoulders, only half ignoring the person in her room sitting on her bed, Lolly prepared for her next game, while explaining it to the other woman, [color=e7b13e]“Do you game Mrs. Shannon? If so, what games? This game you’re either on a bomber team, THE ENEMY, or defending the sites. Defenders win if you kill the foes, blast them, or if you defuse the spike, while attackers, obvi, kill the enemy or KA-BOOM!”[/color]  The game cued up and she went in, ready to attack, she was ENEMY NUMBER 1. 

[color=7484B4]“Games were never really my thing.”[/color]

Shannon very rarely did house calls. She wasn’t against it by any means but the idea of a patient coming to her office was there for a reason. It wasn’t for her benefit, it was for theirs. It was supposed to be a neutral space, free of any worry, doubts, anger or pain that someone may be suffering. It was like Switzerland, a place for those who just need some free ground to talk about what troubles them. It was the perfect place for Shannon to conduct her business. Lolly was one one of a few special cases on her files that needed the mother of two to leave her office. 

The practice, which sat on Silver Oak Way, was once her husband's childhood home. Will was the oldest of four, son of local legends Wayne Ramsey and his wife Gail. Wayne was famous in town for his actions during the Camp Eden Massacre of 1974. He barely spoke English but had managed to secure himself a place as a counselor at the newly opened camp. When the Hangman attacked, it was Wayne who protected the children. He fought off the serial killer and held his ground at the mess hall until the authorities arrived. This one, selfless act set the tone for his future. The town accepted him and in return he accepted the town. Wayne funded much of the Southside for a long time before moving away with his wife and passing the reins to the Gonzalez family. The house was Wayne’s wedding gift to Shannon and Will. 

Shannon herself grew up on the Southside. Her parents didn’t have a lot. Well they didn’t really have anything. When it became apparent that she had a high IQ, the Ling family's dreams rested very much upon Shannon’s shoulders. She was a mathlete, a chess club champion, a Clover at one point and she was sought after by many of Eden’s most eligible. But Shannon only ever had eyes for one boy, Sly James. They dated for a long time and the way it ended was still a blade in her side all those years later. Still, she loved Will. God she loved him. 

[color=7484B4]“How have you been since our last session. Lolly?”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“PLANT THE BOMB! COME ON GUYS!”[/color] Lolly yelled at her teammates before muting her mic and responding to her therapist, never taking her eyes away from the screen, [color=e7b13e]“Nothin’ new boss. I’m vibin’. Survivin’. Full on thrivin’.”[/color] Lolly gritted her teeth when she saw one of her teammates get shot down. [color=e7b13e]“Bastards,”[/color] She muttered under her breath. [color=e7b13e]“One second!”[/color] She glanced over at Shannon, before quickly bringing mayhem upon the field. Die. Die. Die. 

Hehehe. 

She was a boss bitch. Worship her losers!  There was no one who could take her and Neon down. With most of the good team gone, she had one more problem to deal with. [color=e7b13e]“Actually, that isn’t true. One of my friends hasn't been on a lot. I miss him. Did you know while he was recovering, ‘cuz the shooting messed him up, that he spent a whole year, just gaming with me? God, what a life. What a dream. I guess now he has better things to do.”[/color] The last part came off bitter because she knew that Marco was getting better, he was moving forward, she was not. [color=e7b13e]“Like get a BOYFRIEND.”[/color] Yepp, she was totally bitter.

Shannon sat on the bed taking notes. It wasn’t unusual for Lolly not to make immediate social contact with her. This was nothing new. Much of the young girl's issues could be tackled by social interaction; this was realistically the best medication and therapy she could have. Even now, as they sat in the unGodly hot bedroom, Lolly was online talking to people, lost in a fantasy world with her online friends. Of course, Shannon would prefer interaction with others in a more live action setting but this was progress from where she had previously been.

The shooting at Edenridge High had provided Shannon Ramsey with a list of many new clients. Most of them were there that day, either watching Charlie Decker’s rampage or suffering through wounds he had inflicted upon them. Lolly was one of the former. She had watched as Quinton Woods met up with Charlie in the hallway, words were exchanged and Quinton was blasted in the face with a shotgun. Needless to say he died instantly. Lolly Anderson watched the whole thing. When Roddy Callahan, who had ran into the school in an attempt to help, guided her out of the building B, she was covered in Quinton’s blood. In so many ways, even to this day, she still was.

[color=7484B4]“And what about you?”[/color] She asked. [color=7484B4]“Have you been researching like I asked to see what else you might be willing to do outside these four walls? There’s a lot of opportunities out there for strong ass Asian girls like us.”[/color]

As if the gods were timed to benefit Shannon, or she had talked to Lolly’s mother (plotting an experiment), the electricity of the house turned off, forcing Eloise’s computer to shut down. [color=e7b13e]“W-what! No, no, no! I was JUST about to win.”[/color] Getting up from her seat, she rushed to the window to see the weather, [color=e7b13e]“It hasn’t even started raining yet! Why are we having an outage? NAY! NAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! THE LIGHTS TURNED THE FU-- FUDGE OFF!”[/color] 

[color=7484B4]“Lolly?”[/color] Shannon tilted her head and offered up a warm, comforting smile to the young girl. She reached out her hand. [color=7484B4]“It’s gonna be ok. Come here, we’ll talk until the power is back on and then I’ll leave you to your game. Sound like a plan?”[/color] This would be a first. Lolly Anderson without any gaming stimuli. This would be a true test of Mrs Ramsey’s abilities as a therapist. [color=7484B4]“So, how about this? Ask me a question. Any question you want about anything and I’ll give you a God’s honest answer? Then I’ll do the same.”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“Oh… well…”[/color] Eloise’s demeanor changed drastically, no longer having her PC to distract her. The once outspoken gamer girl was now a shell of a person, her purpose non-existent. Video games covered up her pain easily but without them? It was clear she didn’t know how to act or what to do with herself. Now she was in the dark, only the light coming from the window to guide her, with her therapist. 

Hesitant, Lolly stood at the window looking at Shannon and the hand she offered. Maybe she wouldn’t ask about the past? It was a risk to trust her but maybe that’s what Q would’ve wanted her to do. He did love Mei and this was her mother. Sucking her lips inward, Lolly shuffled closer to Shannon and grabbed her hand. When she did so, she was pulled beside the older woman and found herself sitting beside her, like friends would if they stood up all night talking about anything and everything. 

Making a popping sound with her lips, Lolly held the woman’s hand in both of hers and stared at it.  [color=e7b13e]“A question…”[/color] She said out loud, trying to gather all the thoughts she had of Mrs. Ramsey and if she wanted to know anything about her. She hadn’t needed to do this since… well, since Dallas introduced Q, Dean, Avery, and the rest of the Swerve Arcana crew to her. To make friends you have to show you care and that you want to know more about them beyond what was on the surface. On the surface, Mrs. Ramsey seemed to have it all together. She was such a strong woman. Confident too. On the surface, she seemed happy. With a lovely KICKASS husband (Will was cool, she liked him. He was a NINJA), a good paying job, and stupidly hot daughters. 

Reagan was like a dominatrix fetish while Mei was a hot-goth-girl-wet-dream. She might’ve not attended Edenridge High, and being on the school grounds during the shooting was pure bad luck on her part, but she knew faces. When you’ve lived here all your life you start to know names. Plus, she has the internet! It’s easy to look up intel when you have the internet on your side. 

[color=e7b13e]“I guess,”[/color] Lolly started playing with Shannon’s hand, like it was an item you fidget with when you’re nervous,  [color=e7b13e]“How did you become so… perfect? My mom is a mess, she’s made me scared of the world… my dad’s a mess, he isn't always there, if that makes sense. Like he’s here. Physically. But a lot of times it’s like I’m talking to a ghost? Lydia tells me he’s gotten better since her mama died, but it still is hard to talk to him. And like, Lydia tries. She really does. But I know she’s so sad. She lost her mom, her best friend, she hasn’t told many people but… she lost a baby too. She’s just really sad but she always tries to take care of us. I don’t know. You seem happy, there must be a secret. What’s yours?”[/color]  

Shannon’s dark eyes fell upon Lolly’s hands as they played with her own. She had seen this sort of behaviour in kids with ADHD, ADD or even just hyperactivity. It was a comforting gesture for them, so she allowed it to continue. She didn’t really mind, [color=7484B4]“Perfect? I’m so far from perfect, Lolly, it’s not even funny,”[/color] The therapist offered up her youthful smile to the young girl. She wanted her to know that she was her friend as well as her doctor. [color=7484B4]“But, I can tell you how I keep myself together.”[/color] The older woman had to compartmentalise the part about Lydia having an abortion. She had not told her that! Still, it wasn’t her place to bring it up when they were together, Lyds would tell her in her own time, 

[color=7484B4]“My mother was a Southsider. Bit of a mess actually. She met my Dad, who could barely speak a lick of English when he found his way to Eden from Beijing. If anything it was a marriage of convenience to start but eventually, love did blossom. You know I didn’t speak English until I was ten? My father insisted I speak only Mandarin but my mother, who was of Irish descent, used to teach me English on the side. It became clear to me, as a Southsider that less was expected of me, that I would just be another statistic. I HATED that. The very idea offended me. I always wanted more.”[/color]

Shannon took Lolly’s hand in between her own and held them gently, motherly. [color=7484B4]“So I worked my ass off. I had a boyfriend, total dreamboat, still is but we went our different ways. I focused solely on my education, which I know, Asian stereotype but it was just the way it was. I saw all these kids around fighting drugs and poverty and violence and I needed to help but I also needed to be better. I had to be better.”[/color] She glanced out of the window at her home, her town. Despite all the years of schooling and education, she would never leave. She hadn’t finished yet. [color=7484B4]“When I got my PHD, I came back, set up shop and decided to try and better the people I cared about. The kids. Like you, Lolly. I want to make you better and give you a chance that so many of my friends and family never got. So, how do I keep myself together? What’s my secret? You are. My kids are. Helping you. No matter what happens elsewhere in my life, the good and the bad. What makes me perfect, is making you feel better.”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“So you’re either telling me to have kids, which is wild because I’m a kid myself, become a therapist like you, which is also wild because I shouldn’t be telling people how to live their life when I don’t ever want to leave my room, or that… helping others helps make you feel better, which could do the same for me?”[/color] This was a lot for Eloise to process. She didn’t want to be a mother! Her mother could barely be a mother. The world would end if people came to her for advice like they went to Mrs. Ramsey, or hell, Avery! Some people were built differently. [color=e7b13e]“I will say RIGHT NOW. I’ve never even DATED before! So the kids is a no go. Operation FAIL.”[/color] 

Letting out a soft giggle, Shannon’s smile widened. She really liked Lolly. She reminded her a lot of herself when she was her age. Except by that point in her life, Shannon was a stone cold bitch slapping the taste out of the mouths of anyone that looked at her funny. You could take the girl out of the Southside…[color=7484B4]”No honey, I’m not telling you to have kids or anything of that sort. My point is that we all need something that drives us. That pushes us. That grabs us and drags us kicking and screaming into the light even if we think we don’t want it to. For me, that’s therapy. For you, it could be games. Writing. An outlet for your feelings but also something that helps build you up,”[/color] She gestured to the surrounding nerd shrine that encased the two raven-haired women. [color=7484B4]“And for the record, I was a total dweeb when I was your age. Small towns like this, not big fans of the little yellow girl with an accent. Took me a while to get into the dating game.”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“Is that your question?”[/color] Lolly gazed up at the motherly figure, not sure if this was her asking what she was going to do to make herself better or not, or if she was simply stating what helped her. [color=e7b13e]“We both know games help, to a point. And I imagine writing would do the same. All my hobbies would help, to a point. But they’re also part of the problem,”[/color] The Filipino girl earnestly admitted. 

[color=7484B4]"My question, Eloise…"[/color] She used the young girl's full name for emphasis as any good mother would. [color=7484B4]"…not thinking about Lydia or your parents. What would make you happy? What my little love, do you want?”[/color]

Woof. That was a loaded question. [color=e7b13e]“I don’t really have a purpose, Mrs. Shannon. Like… everything I do is like clockwork. At least when—”[/color] Eloise looked away from her therapist, biting the inside of her cheek in hopes that she wouldn’t get sad at the mention of his name,  [color=e7b13e]“—At least when… Q… was alive, I had a family and I had adventures. Dal comes to see me occasionally, she’s my best friend, but I have a hard time seeing Dean. He was so close to Q and I’m sure when he heard how, how things went, I can only imagine. I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I don’t know where I want to go but I do know what I miss. I miss my family and I miss our adventures.”[/color] 

There it was. Adventures. Shannon couldn’t bring back Quinton Woods and she couldn’t guarantee that her friends would be the same. They had all gone through so much pain, much like her own youngest. Mei, for all her bravado and all her gutter talk, was still absolutely terrified. Waking up every night to her screaming Charlie’s name, clutching at the fresh scar on her neck as it wept puss and blood. It broke Shannon’s heart. Yet the one thing Mei could never lose was her adventurous spirit. [color=7484B4]”Then I think I have your next homework assignment. Before our next session, Lolly, I want you to go on an adventure. I want you to leave these four walls, talk to a stranger and see what happens. Feel the wind on your face, the rain in your hands….”[/color] The woman’s lips parted as she smiled a little more, remembering something Mei had once told her about Q’s little club, his society. [color=7484B4]”I submit for the approval of the Midnight Society, the Tale of Eloise the Adventurer”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“I…”[/color] Lolly thought about Shannon’s words and all the people she missed, all the adventures of her past and how reliant she was on everyone else to start something. Very unlike her DnD character named after one of her role models. Oz the Changeling. Oz was a risk taker. They got into a lot of trouble and a lot of messes but at least they [i]lived[/i]. [color=e7b13e]“I can do that. Yeah, I’ll go all Indiana Jones in this piece. Edenridge won’t know what hit ‘em!”[/color] 

[color=7484B4]”Then I guess our time is up for this week.”[/color] Almost supernaturally, the paper all of a sudden returned. Shannon let her eyes adjust a little to the light before standing up and brushing a loose strand of hair behind Lolly’s ear. [color=7484B4]”Onwards to adventure, little love.”[/color]

[color=e7b13e]“You too, Mrs. Shannon! Adventure isn’t just for kids like me, even if you do have therapy. I’d love to hear about one of your adventures next time too.”[/color] Lolly proudly stood up, feeling accomplished that she survived this session. And as if the gods were back in her favor, the electricity turned on! But instead of jumping to her computer, she went to her bulletboard and took off the picture of her Swerve family. The Midnight Society. Maybe going outside again wouldn’t be so bad. 
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