2009-11-21: Too Famous

Starring:

Charlotte_V4icon.pngJamie_V4icon.png

Date: November 21, 2009

Summary:

Charlotte discusses the consequences of the video with Jamie. Takes place right after Video Fallout.


"Too Famous"

Jamie's Room, Orphanage, Germany

Now Charlotte has to go and see Jamie. Jamie s the one that will have to be moved, now that her face is a super star and that anyone in the village might recognize her. Even if htey remember her being here, it could all go bad. Charlotte doesn't want to do this job, but it seems she must. So she knocks, tapping lightly on the door to the shared room that belongs, in part, to Jamie.

Jamie's alone in the room at the moment. One of the other girls she shares with is having a bath, the others off playing or watching TV. Jamie sits on her bunk, feet dangling over the edge as she calls, "Come in!"

Charlotte does come in, looking very grave indeed. "Jamie," she says slowly, closing teh door behind her. "How are you? Are you alright? Eating well? Being treated well?" She asks, wanting to get the conversation off the ground as amicably as she possibly can.

Jamie hops down to the floor on seeing who it is, (she never uses the bunkbed's ladder), her face filled with the nervous/guilty look almost all kids get when they know they're in trouble. She nods quickly to the questions though, "I'm fine, and everybody's been really nice."

"That's good," charlotte says, making sure the door si closed securely behind her. "Jamie…you know you did a very silly thing, don't you?" She can tell, by looking at Jamie's face, that the girl is aware of the wrong she has committed. "You put a lot of people in danger, none so much as yourself."

Jamie shakes her head quickly. She knows she did wrong, but seems to be objecting to the danger part. "No I didn't. It's silly to keep things secret. 'Cause nobody'll ever know they're doing stuff to us if they don't know we exist."

Charlotte sighs, perching on the edge of the bed. "There are politicians working to make that happen, in their own way. But Jamie, there is a great danger. They're calling you a terrorist, your face will be known in all places of civilization." She's trying to let the girl down easy, to explain it slowly. "If anyone recognizes you, even remembers seeing you around here…..do you understand what I'm saying?"

There's a flash of pure happiness as Charlotte says that she'll be known everywhere. She's never made a secret of wanting to be famous, she just doesn't really understand that being famous for some things is better than others. Her face falls quickly, though, as Charlotte goes on. "Oh… they'll know I'm here, and come here and get everybody. I… I didn't think of that," she adds in an incredibly soft voice.

Charlotte nods slowly, happy that she didn't have to say it bluntly. "Yes, that's exactly right. And anywhere we do move you, if anyone ever sees you, you'll be arrested. They can't try you in court, I don't think, so they'll just….do what they've done with so many other people." She pats the bed beside her for Jamie to sit. "Anywhere you show your face now, there is a great danger." She still is trying to be consoling. "But we won't let anything bad happen to you, okay?"

Jamie sits down where Charlotte indicates, biting her lip as she nods a bit. She grins then, though, far too stubborn to give up, "Well, I'll be safe anyway, know you'll make sure of that. Find Saul, and he can look after me too. And it's not like I can't go outside ever again. I can go out without showing my face."

She doesn't really seem to understand how hard this will be. "I can move you, yes. But it will be…apart from everyone here. Now who is Saul?"

Jamie nods quickly and says, "I know. So everybody here's safe." She answers then, "Saul's… sort of my foster-dad, I guess. He was looking after me, before I got captured. I think they got him too, dunno for sure, might've dreamed seeing him there. I thought he'd find me by now, after everybody's been rescued, but maybe he hasn't run into anybody who's seen me."

"Well, how about this - I'll find Saul for you, and we can move you someplace else. Perhaps Paris, have you ever been there? I have a friend who runs an orphanage there, he would be more than able to help, I'm sure. And I'm sure he wouldn't mind having Saul stay with him as well as yourself."

Jamie nods quickly and says, "His last name's Chavez." She grins and says, "That'll be great!" She leans over to hug Charlotte a moment, and says, "Thanks." She then answers the earlier question, "Never been to Paris. But I've seen it on TV. They have a big tower there."

Charlotte returns the hug with a nod. "Just…no more going to town, alright? And no more going on TV, certainly not. Even in Paris you'll still be in great danger, but we're going to keep you safe. But we need your help to do that, alright?"

Jamie nods emphatically to that and says, "I never went to town anyway. Except once, with some of the older kids. Nobody we found talked English, so it was boring." Then she nods quickly and says, "I'm not scared. Not scared of anything but guns, for me. Just don't want nobody else hurt." She's exaggurating on her lack of fear somewhat, of course.

Charlotte nods understandingly. "I'm pretty afraid of guns myself. But you just have to keep your head down until all of this is over, and you won't have to worry about a single gun, okay?" She gives Jamie a hopeful, boosting smile.

Jamie smiles back, nodding quickly to that and says, "Ok!" Then she adds, "Hope this is over before too long." She hops to her feet then and says, "I'll get ready to go, while you find Saul. I… don't really got much to pack," she adds, looking around. "Should I have a bath before we go, maybe?"

"Get dressed, relax." She says, nodding to Jamie. "I'll have to go and find your step-father first, so it might be a day at most. But make sure you're packed, alright?" She smiles, giving Jamie a kiss on the head. "Thank you for being so understanding in all of this."

Jamie blinks at that and says, "Why wouldn't I be? Staying in one place for a long time is *weird*. In the circus, we never stayed in one place for more than a couple weeks." She adds then, "Hope you find him soon. Kinda been worried."

Charlotte nods with a smile. "I know how that is, Jamie. My mother and I never had a lot of money, we moved all the time, soemtimes a few times a year, to different states, different towns. I've spent my entire life moving around. It's perfectly natural to want to stay on the move." Charlotte does.

Jamie nods quickly to that and says, "Yeah! Feels weird staying still. Never get to see new places, and everybody starts to know all your routines and you gotta come up with new stuff all the time to keep people impressed."

Charlotte laughs. "Exactly! It was one thing I loved about moving. You could always simply be yourself and you were interesting, everything you said was new and everything everyoen else said to you was new. People who have stayed in one place their entire lives, I can't imagine not getting bored with each other that way." It's the first time Charlotte's ever sounded like her mother, and she doesn't even realize it. "But then agian….I have always wished for that sort of connection, a lifelong bond."

Jamie smiles brightly and nods quickly. Then she giggles a little, "I think you'd really like being in a circus then. Always going new places, meeting new people, but you got a whole circus for a family that goes with you. It's the best!"

"It does sound nice. And did you have animals? They'd have been like pets!" Oddly enoguh, the idea of such a family really does appeal to Charlotte in an immensely strong way. A moving family. Pets. Fun and games and happiness all teh time.

Jamie nods quickly, with a bright smile, "We had a lots of animals! Horses especially, but other things too, like monkeys, even an elephant, but only for riding. Dad said the ways to make an elephant do tricks was too mean, hurting them to do it. We didn't have any bears or tigers, either, for the same reason."

"Well bears and tigers could be very dangerous things," Charlotte points out with a little nod. A circus, what a strange life that would be. Still, the woman comes back to reality, giving Jamie a pat on the arm. "Go ahead and pack, and we'll see if we can't get you moved and situated soon."

Jamie nods quickly to that with a smile and says, "Ok. I don't really got much to pack, so it won't take long."

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