Post by ral365 on May 8, 2010 22:45:25 GMT -5
Author's Note: This is a sort of afterstory from my last fanfiction, "A Gift or a Curse?" If you haven't read the first fic yet, I strongly advise you not to read this one because it CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!!! But you can still follow along if you hadn't read the original story anyway; there's enough information here for you to understand the story without reading the first one. But still, SPOILERS!!!
Edit: I noticed that I'd labeled WNN as "WWW" by mistake, so I fixed it.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Convention Suspension
A follow up from "A Gift or a Curse?"
Both Inspired by a True Story
------------------------------
I sat on a small, black arm chair in a brown office room with Ms. Richmond, the black nurse who had also become my therapist. We went through a small, white workbook with stick figures that matched the words beneath it. There was a separate page for each phrase and illustration.
"Ok, Flint, here you go. 'Put a sock in it.'"
"Be quiet."
"Good. 'You took the words right out of my mouth.'"
"I was just about to say that."
"Yes, good job. Ok, 'I need to recharge my batteries.'"
"I'm tired and I wanna go home and rest."
"By the skin of your teeth."
I gasped and covered my mouth. Mrs. Richmond chuckled. "It's ok, Flint. That one means to have just barely done something, like 'I saved the world by the skin of my teeth.' Got it now?"
I nodded. Then we glanced at a nearby wall clock. "Well, Flint, that's all the time we have today. I'll see you again this Saturday?"
"Sure, and thanks for everything."
"No problem, honey. Take care."
I went down three floors on an elevator, and soon, I was walking out the front door of a tall skyscraper. I was coming here for social skills training for my Asperger's. It had been about a week and a half since I had started getting treatment for it, and it had been helping me learn more about how to interact with people.
Later that afternoon, my cell phone rang while I was in the lab.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Flint! It's me, Sam!"
"Oh, hey, what's up?"
"Great news! Weather News Network, the company I work for in New York, is setting up a network here!!! I feel like a crazy fan girl!!!"
"Congratulations, Sam, I'm happy for you."
"Also, they're throwing a special convention this weekend, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come and visit."
"Ok. When?"
"Would this Saturday work for you? The conventions starts around 10, and they're even showing a special company-sponsored documentary on natural disasters!!!"
"Sounds like fun. I'll meet you at your apartment?"
"Ok, great!!" Sam hung up her cell phone, and screamed like a fanatic fan girl.
--------------
Sam and I walked through the turnstile, and were soon walking hand-in-hand down rows of blue tents labeled with the WNN logo on the roofs. There were a lot of adults dressed in casual clothing, and a few families who had little kids with them. I felt more and more uneasy as I started getting closer toward busy crowds, little kids running around. Hearing the babies crying made me cringe.
Sam pointed to every place she talked about. I really wanted to make her happy, but the more she talked, the more trouble I had paying attention.
"What do you wanna do first? Over there you can meet my boss, or over there I could show you what the life is like of the average weather person. Or if you haven't had lunch yet, we could get something to eat at the snack bar. It's all up to you; I'm just really excited!"
Apparently Sam didn't see the nervous look on my face.
"Well, I uhh…I'm really not sure what to do right now."
Suddenly another familiar figure dropped in.
"Ah, hello, Sam."
"Oh, hey, Patrick. Flint, this is Patrick, my co-worker. Patrick, meet the one-and-only Flint Lockwood."
I smiled sheepishly. "Hi."
Patrick smiled and we shook hands. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lockwood. How have things been since you stopped the food storm? Any more spaghetti twisters or flying meatballs we should look out for?"
"Oh no, you'll never see stuff like that again. You see, I can't make any more 'cause that'd destroy the whole town again, and I can't reprogram my since I've destroyed it, so-"
Patrick looked pretty annoyed. "Ah, that's nice. Well, it was certainly interesting meeting you two. I'll be seeing you two later…"
I felt embarrassed after I noticed my little monologue, but Patrick wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Flint, are you ok?"
"I'm just a little nervous. I'm still not used to these sort of social situations."
"Don't worry; this is gonna be fun. C'mon…"
Throughout the rest of the time I was there, Sam showed me all of the convention; a bulletin board that posted upcoming events for WNN, what her work station looked like in her new office inside the studio, behind the scenes behind the average TV weather report, right down to the snack bar and gift shop. Throughout my tour, I tried to focus on what was going on, but this new atmosphere made me feel more and more confused and uninterested. When one reporter said "It's raining cats and dogs in Cleveland," I asked him what kind of dogs or cats in rained there, thinking that maybe they had some sort of unique science thing going on, too. However, he just laughed and told me that I'd made a good joke, but I stood there looking hurt. In another instance, while Sam was explaining everything in her work station, my eyes went wide when I saw brand new sets of shiny satellites that some movers were lifting into the studio behind her, and I even had asked them what brand they were when she was still talking. I did get interested in some things in the convention, like fun science facts about weather, the sort of technology that can produce artificial tornados or storms, or seeing a talented pyrotech created a real mini tornado made out of real fire! So what made me feel uneasy in the convention eased up in what I enjoyed about it, balancing each other out in a way.
Sam saved what she thought was the best for last. The WNN was presenting a live-action documentary about famous natural disasters and the science on how they occur. There were rows and rows of outdoor benches in front of a huge, white sheet attached to some poles on the ground. After a few minutes, we took our seats, and a projector turned on. The movie first started out showing the network's logo and tagline…
"Weather News Network: Whether News Happens or Not"
The rest of the movie depicted employees from WNN explaining about famous natural disasters, and how such disasters occur. I was pretty interested in the science part of the disasters, like how a tornado is formed or what causes tsunamis and earthquakes. However, when they actually depicted the disasters in action, like live footage of Hurricane Katrina, the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan, or the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia, I covered my ears while Sam kept her bright eyes and smile glued to the screen. I also covered my eyes at seeing innocent people drown, lava flow over towns and houses, or cyclones suck up whole houses off the ground.
Finally, about forty-five minutes in, after seeing the towns and people during the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, I couldn't take it anymore. I quietly moved away from the bench, but as soon as I was far enough from Sam, I ran out of the theater, and fled to the outskirts of the convention, near an empty grass field behind some trees and bushes. As soon as I was alone, I sat on the ground and buried my face in my arms, crying.
About ten minutes later, I was found.
"Flint, I've been looking all over for…oh my gosh, are you ok?!"
"I-I uh…I uhh…"
Sam sat down beside me. "It's ok, Flint. Please tell me what's wrong."
I tried hard to keep my voice steady. "I-I had another sensory overload back there. Some of the scenes in the movie scared me, and there were too many loud noises."
Sam gave me a warm hug. "Aww, Flint I'm really sorry."
I couldn't hold in my feelings anymore, and sobbed on Sam's shoulder.
"Aww, Flint, it's ok, it's ok. We don't have to go back there."
"It's not just that. I've been feeling uneasy throughout this entire trip. I honestly didn't know it was gonna be this hard, but the way people were talking confused me, I got nervous near the crowds or loud kids, I had a hard time paying attention to a lot of the weather news stuff. I'm really sorry!"
Sam gently rubbed my back as I wept. "Ohhh, Flint, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well I know how much you love weather, and I know you don't like it when that's taken away from you, ya know, because you have Asperger's, too? So I didn't wanna let you down."
"Awwwww, Flint…"
After a moment, Sam let go. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I was so obsessed with this whole weather thing, I didn't see how upset you were. You let yourself go through all that for me."
"It's ok, Sam. You didn't mean it."
"I love how you were trying to watch out for me, but in all honesty, I don't wanna do something if it means upsetting you. I wanna show you how much I love weather, but not in ways that make you feel bad. I don't wanna do anything that really upsets you, and if you really aren't comfortable with it, that's not gonna bother me either."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm being completely honest with you; I'm not just saying this to be polite or anything. I know you have Asperger Syndrome, I understand the problems you have from it, and if they start bothering you, I wanna help. It'll help both of us learn more about how to get along with people. You will help me learn how to help you."
I felt a little confused for a moment, but then my expression eased up. "…I think I understand what you just said."
Sam smiled and gave me another hug. "It'll be ok."
After Sam comforted me, she gave me a plastic cup of water and some tissues to blow my nose and dry my eyes. By then, I finally stopped crying, and we both walked away from the convention without even going through the crowded exit gates. I gave Sam a ride home in my first Flying Car, but then I thought of a clever surprise as we drove by. I took her into my lab and opened the window. I then took out a flamethrower, attached a large fan on the ceiling, and put a pan full of gasoline on the floor. I turned the fan in reverse, set the gasoline on fire, and we both gazed in wonder as I made my very first homemade fire tornado...and it was twice as big and majestic as the one before.
The End
Edit: I noticed that I'd labeled WNN as "WWW" by mistake, so I fixed it.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Convention Suspension
A follow up from "A Gift or a Curse?"
Both Inspired by a True Story
------------------------------
I sat on a small, black arm chair in a brown office room with Ms. Richmond, the black nurse who had also become my therapist. We went through a small, white workbook with stick figures that matched the words beneath it. There was a separate page for each phrase and illustration.
"Ok, Flint, here you go. 'Put a sock in it.'"
"Be quiet."
"Good. 'You took the words right out of my mouth.'"
"I was just about to say that."
"Yes, good job. Ok, 'I need to recharge my batteries.'"
"I'm tired and I wanna go home and rest."
"By the skin of your teeth."
I gasped and covered my mouth. Mrs. Richmond chuckled. "It's ok, Flint. That one means to have just barely done something, like 'I saved the world by the skin of my teeth.' Got it now?"
I nodded. Then we glanced at a nearby wall clock. "Well, Flint, that's all the time we have today. I'll see you again this Saturday?"
"Sure, and thanks for everything."
"No problem, honey. Take care."
I went down three floors on an elevator, and soon, I was walking out the front door of a tall skyscraper. I was coming here for social skills training for my Asperger's. It had been about a week and a half since I had started getting treatment for it, and it had been helping me learn more about how to interact with people.
Later that afternoon, my cell phone rang while I was in the lab.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Flint! It's me, Sam!"
"Oh, hey, what's up?"
"Great news! Weather News Network, the company I work for in New York, is setting up a network here!!! I feel like a crazy fan girl!!!"
"Congratulations, Sam, I'm happy for you."
"Also, they're throwing a special convention this weekend, and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come and visit."
"Ok. When?"
"Would this Saturday work for you? The conventions starts around 10, and they're even showing a special company-sponsored documentary on natural disasters!!!"
"Sounds like fun. I'll meet you at your apartment?"
"Ok, great!!" Sam hung up her cell phone, and screamed like a fanatic fan girl.
--------------
Sam and I walked through the turnstile, and were soon walking hand-in-hand down rows of blue tents labeled with the WNN logo on the roofs. There were a lot of adults dressed in casual clothing, and a few families who had little kids with them. I felt more and more uneasy as I started getting closer toward busy crowds, little kids running around. Hearing the babies crying made me cringe.
Sam pointed to every place she talked about. I really wanted to make her happy, but the more she talked, the more trouble I had paying attention.
"What do you wanna do first? Over there you can meet my boss, or over there I could show you what the life is like of the average weather person. Or if you haven't had lunch yet, we could get something to eat at the snack bar. It's all up to you; I'm just really excited!"
Apparently Sam didn't see the nervous look on my face.
"Well, I uhh…I'm really not sure what to do right now."
Suddenly another familiar figure dropped in.
"Ah, hello, Sam."
"Oh, hey, Patrick. Flint, this is Patrick, my co-worker. Patrick, meet the one-and-only Flint Lockwood."
I smiled sheepishly. "Hi."
Patrick smiled and we shook hands. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lockwood. How have things been since you stopped the food storm? Any more spaghetti twisters or flying meatballs we should look out for?"
"Oh no, you'll never see stuff like that again. You see, I can't make any more 'cause that'd destroy the whole town again, and I can't reprogram my since I've destroyed it, so-"
Patrick looked pretty annoyed. "Ah, that's nice. Well, it was certainly interesting meeting you two. I'll be seeing you two later…"
I felt embarrassed after I noticed my little monologue, but Patrick wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Flint, are you ok?"
"I'm just a little nervous. I'm still not used to these sort of social situations."
"Don't worry; this is gonna be fun. C'mon…"
Throughout the rest of the time I was there, Sam showed me all of the convention; a bulletin board that posted upcoming events for WNN, what her work station looked like in her new office inside the studio, behind the scenes behind the average TV weather report, right down to the snack bar and gift shop. Throughout my tour, I tried to focus on what was going on, but this new atmosphere made me feel more and more confused and uninterested. When one reporter said "It's raining cats and dogs in Cleveland," I asked him what kind of dogs or cats in rained there, thinking that maybe they had some sort of unique science thing going on, too. However, he just laughed and told me that I'd made a good joke, but I stood there looking hurt. In another instance, while Sam was explaining everything in her work station, my eyes went wide when I saw brand new sets of shiny satellites that some movers were lifting into the studio behind her, and I even had asked them what brand they were when she was still talking. I did get interested in some things in the convention, like fun science facts about weather, the sort of technology that can produce artificial tornados or storms, or seeing a talented pyrotech created a real mini tornado made out of real fire! So what made me feel uneasy in the convention eased up in what I enjoyed about it, balancing each other out in a way.
Sam saved what she thought was the best for last. The WNN was presenting a live-action documentary about famous natural disasters and the science on how they occur. There were rows and rows of outdoor benches in front of a huge, white sheet attached to some poles on the ground. After a few minutes, we took our seats, and a projector turned on. The movie first started out showing the network's logo and tagline…
"Weather News Network: Whether News Happens or Not"
The rest of the movie depicted employees from WNN explaining about famous natural disasters, and how such disasters occur. I was pretty interested in the science part of the disasters, like how a tornado is formed or what causes tsunamis and earthquakes. However, when they actually depicted the disasters in action, like live footage of Hurricane Katrina, the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan, or the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz volcano in Colombia, I covered my ears while Sam kept her bright eyes and smile glued to the screen. I also covered my eyes at seeing innocent people drown, lava flow over towns and houses, or cyclones suck up whole houses off the ground.
Finally, about forty-five minutes in, after seeing the towns and people during the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, I couldn't take it anymore. I quietly moved away from the bench, but as soon as I was far enough from Sam, I ran out of the theater, and fled to the outskirts of the convention, near an empty grass field behind some trees and bushes. As soon as I was alone, I sat on the ground and buried my face in my arms, crying.
About ten minutes later, I was found.
"Flint, I've been looking all over for…oh my gosh, are you ok?!"
"I-I uh…I uhh…"
Sam sat down beside me. "It's ok, Flint. Please tell me what's wrong."
I tried hard to keep my voice steady. "I-I had another sensory overload back there. Some of the scenes in the movie scared me, and there were too many loud noises."
Sam gave me a warm hug. "Aww, Flint I'm really sorry."
I couldn't hold in my feelings anymore, and sobbed on Sam's shoulder.
"Aww, Flint, it's ok, it's ok. We don't have to go back there."
"It's not just that. I've been feeling uneasy throughout this entire trip. I honestly didn't know it was gonna be this hard, but the way people were talking confused me, I got nervous near the crowds or loud kids, I had a hard time paying attention to a lot of the weather news stuff. I'm really sorry!"
Sam gently rubbed my back as I wept. "Ohhh, Flint, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well I know how much you love weather, and I know you don't like it when that's taken away from you, ya know, because you have Asperger's, too? So I didn't wanna let you down."
"Awwwww, Flint…"
After a moment, Sam let go. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I was so obsessed with this whole weather thing, I didn't see how upset you were. You let yourself go through all that for me."
"It's ok, Sam. You didn't mean it."
"I love how you were trying to watch out for me, but in all honesty, I don't wanna do something if it means upsetting you. I wanna show you how much I love weather, but not in ways that make you feel bad. I don't wanna do anything that really upsets you, and if you really aren't comfortable with it, that's not gonna bother me either."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm being completely honest with you; I'm not just saying this to be polite or anything. I know you have Asperger Syndrome, I understand the problems you have from it, and if they start bothering you, I wanna help. It'll help both of us learn more about how to get along with people. You will help me learn how to help you."
I felt a little confused for a moment, but then my expression eased up. "…I think I understand what you just said."
Sam smiled and gave me another hug. "It'll be ok."
After Sam comforted me, she gave me a plastic cup of water and some tissues to blow my nose and dry my eyes. By then, I finally stopped crying, and we both walked away from the convention without even going through the crowded exit gates. I gave Sam a ride home in my first Flying Car, but then I thought of a clever surprise as we drove by. I took her into my lab and opened the window. I then took out a flamethrower, attached a large fan on the ceiling, and put a pan full of gasoline on the floor. I turned the fan in reverse, set the gasoline on fire, and we both gazed in wonder as I made my very first homemade fire tornado...and it was twice as big and majestic as the one before.
The End