Hesitant

Molly Keith - played by alex g


Thomas Peterson - played by Tessellation

Thomas stretched his arms above his head, sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He began to mindlessly move through his morning. His actions were automatic, almost robotic, like the repeated actions of his structured morning had been programmed into his head. He dressed, slipped his belt through the loops, straightened his tie. He stepped into the kitchen and had his daily breakfast of two slices of toast with strawberry jam. Everything was in order.

As his mind began to wake, Thomas automatically began to mentally review the plan for the day. He would work on his paper until eleven. At approximately 11:05 he would leave to go to the same restaurant he went to for lunch every other day. After he returned he would have another four hours to put the finishing touches on his class paper before he was supposed to tutor. Thomas's mind strayed briefly - he wondered about the student he would be helping today - but he didn't let himself get too distracted, and his thoughts returned to his schedule. When tutoring was over he would go home to fix dinner before his evening class. He had purchased all the ingredients yesterday. Thomas finished his toast and rose as his day begun.

At 3:45, everything was going swimmingly. He lifted his suit jacket off of the hook and slipped into it, lifting his bag and heading out the door. It was time to meet Mary West, the girl whose parents had called last week. Thomas hoped she wasn't too daft. Although he always hid his irritation quite effectively, dealing with people on the lower end of the intelligence scale was never something he had much patience for. He drove to her house, and walked up to the front door. His knuckles gave the door two sharp knocks.

"Hello, Mrs. Keith, Mr. Keith," Thomas said, his naturally smooth voice filling the foyer. He shook both of their hands with a strong grasp. They greeted him warmly and led him inside.

That's when he saw Molly. She was dressed so darkly, and her expression - it was almost intimidating. He raised his eyebrow and smiled at her. "Miss Keith," Thomas said, reaching out to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you. You can call me Thomas."