Having her alarm go off so she does not oversleep, Pacifica wakes up and gets herself ready to have breakfast with her father. She dreads it, terribly, as she has not talked to him since yesterday morning and knew that her mother will not be home till tonight. It will be incredibly awkward, and she wishes more than anything to just say in her room and study the journal. But she can't, because someone will come to get her eventually.
Surprisingly, as she is getting ready, she sees that Bill is nowhere in sight. And even more surprising is that it is taking a long time for one of the maids to inform her breakfast is ready. Pacifica ends up waiting for a long time, at least a good twenty minutes, dozing in and out of a daydream. After what seems like forever, Bill flies into her room by going through one of her walls.
"Morning Paz!" he exclaims happily. "Did you sleep well?"
Pacifica rests her chin against her hand.
"Fine."
Her response is very clear cut, keeping her gaze on the door, anxious for it to open. Bill blinks.
"...You don't sound fine."
He flies closer to her.
"...You know, you can just always go to breakfast without an escort," he says, reading her mind. "It's gonna be the same whether you wait or not. I can tell you are going insane by keeping yourself cooped up in here."
Pacifica says nothing in reply. She didn't want to admit it, but he is partly right. She wants to get out and be free from her mansion's walls, to get out and have a carefree summer like most kids her age...
"...You're really hopeless, aren't you, Paz?"
Taking out his cane, Bill pokes her hard enough to get her off the bed. Pacifica yelps and falls face first.
"W-what the heck?!"
She gets to her feet and glares at Bill, who is doing all he can to suppress a laugh.
"Just go out there already and stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Bill says, blunt and harshly. "It's not that difficult. Just face up to your fears and I promise it will all be okay!"
Pacifica clutches her fists.
"What do you know?! You think I can just go down there and a new magical understanding between me and my dad will happen!? It will just be the same as yesterday, only much worse!"
"So you have no problems sneaking off in the middle of the night, you, a young girl all alone, but the moment you have to spend alone time with your dad, you get scared?"
Bill taps his fingers against her bed post, giving her a look that says something is wrong with this picture. Pacifica opens her mouth to argue, but no words come out. She stares at him for a long moment, before letting out a heavy sigh.
"...Fine. I'll go down there. Happy?"
Bill rolls his eye.
"Geez, you making it sound like I'm asking you to pull out your fingernails..."
He floats up to her and pats her head.
"Just trust me when I say that everything will be fine. Now, have fun~"
He snaps his fingers and vanishes, Pacifica waking up from her dream like trance. She lets out a heavy sigh, being alone once again, turning to face the door and staring at it. She puts her hand on the doorknob, slowly opening it. From the corner of her eye, she spots Bill's shadow, where she forces herself out of the room without any time for a second thought. Wanting to get this over with, she walks with a quick pace. On her way to the stairway, she runs into one of the maids who lets out a surprised gasp.
"Miss Northwest! You're up early."
She gives an uneasy look, one that Pacifica tries to ignore.
"I got hungry and wanted something to eat," she explains. "Did my dad send you to get me?"
"Y-yes," the maid replies. "He is waiting for you in the dining room where you breakfast has already been prepared."
She gives a respectful bow.
"Enjoy it, Miss Northwest."
The maid walks away, going passed Pacifica. So, her father did send someone to get her...
Taking a deep breath of air, she finishes her walk to the dining room, where like yesterday, he is sitting by himself and is reading the newspaper. Pacifica slowly walks up to him, swearing that she felt an invisible force pushing her along every time she drags her feet.
"...H-hi Daddy..."
At the sound of her voice, Preston Northwest jumps in his seat, quickly putting down the newspaper to look at her.
"...P-pacifica!"
His voice is hoarse, his eyes having bags underneath them like he has not slept all night. Along with a strange blacken area in between his eyebrows, trying to connect them like a unibrow, that looks like washed out marker. Pacifica cannot help but be slightly disturbed by her father's appearance, sensing right away that something is wrong.
"...Have you been waiting long for me, Daddy?"
She sits down next to him where a plate of eggs, pancakes, and bacon has been prepared for her. She begins to eat, waiting for her father to reply.
"...Pacifica..."
His voice is unusually soft, tired even.
"...Were you in your room all day yesterday?"
Pacifica swallows a bite of egg.
"...Yes. I was doing a bit of summer reading for school."
"Just reading? Nothing else?"
"I...did get on my laptop at some points, but I mostly read school stuff."
She raises an eyebrow, trying to see where her father is going with this. What is wrong with him? Why does he seem so...?
"...I talked to your mother on the phone last night," Preston Northwest finally says after an uneasy silence. "I told her what we discussed yesterday, and she feels that I'm putting too much responsibility on you. You're only thirteen years old, she says, and it is about time you started acting more like it. So..."
He pauses for a moment.
"If...you can start proving to me that you can take responsibility for your family name, I will start letting you leave the mansion on your own. You will have a curfew, mind you, and the more you can prove to me the longer I will allow you to stay out. Do I make myself clear?"
Pacifica drops her fork, her eyes wide with shock. She stares at her father, unable to believe what she just heard. Never has he been willing to negotiate with her, it has always been an order to do what he says and never question it.
Something...something has occurred to make her father start changing his mind. And she doubts it is just her mother's words.
"...Okay," Pacifica finally says, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth. "What do you want me to do, exactly?"
Even on his end, it looks like Preston Northwest is shocked by his daughter's cooperation.
"You will show your pride of being a Northwest and not be afraid to show it. That's the first thing you can do."
He takes a drink of orange juice.
"But the first big opportunity to prove yourself is during our town's Pioneer Day next week. Help your mother and I host it, and you will regain more of your freedoms and our trust back."
What trust did she lose in the first place? Pacifica does not question this out loud, but simply nods her head with her eyes darting from wall to wall.
"So how long am I allowed out of the house now?" she asks.
"Because of the disrespect from yesterday and the day before, you are only allowed out of the mansion for an hour. You will call no less than five minutes before the hour ends to be picked up, if in town. If you go 'adventuring,' or whatever you do in those woods, you comes straight back to the mansion. You will be telling me, or have one of the servants, where you will be going as well. And if I do not hear from you before your time is up, or you do not report back within your curfew, you will lose that privilege immediately. Are we clear?"
There is a short silence, Pacifica and her father having firm eye contact.
"...Yes, Daddy," she finally says. "I'll prove to you that I can handle myself."
She finishes her breakfast.
"When can I go out?"
"Any time before nightfall," Preston Northwest answers.
"And I just have one hour a day?"
"Yes."
"...Okay."
She gets up from her chair.
"...I'll see you later, Daddy. And...thanks."
With a heavy feeling in her stomach, Pacifica turns away from her father and begins to walk away.
"W-wait! Don't you want to go out now, while it isn't as hot out?"
The distressed tone in her father's voice caused her to stop. Pacifica turns to face him.
"I only have an hour to go by," she explains. "I want to think what I want to do before I waste time trying decide where I wanna go."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Dad...?"
She hesitates, the words of concern getting caught in her throat. There is an intense look in Preston Northwest's gaze as he waits for her to continue.
"...Never mind."
Before he has a chance to stop her, Pacifica speed-walks out of the dining room and goes straight to her room. Closing and locking the door behind her, she takes a moment to catch her breath.
"...Bill!" she calls out, hoping that it wasn't loud enough for any of the servants to hear. "Bill, are you here?"
"Wow, you were fast to get back here."
Pacifica blinks a couple of times before Bill finally appears.
"Why are you still here?" he questions, seemingly puzzled. "You got the freedom you wanted from your dad, go enjoy it! Go see Gideon or something!"
Pacifica narrows her eyes.
"You had something to do with my father's decision, didn't you?"
Bill blinks, as if he is trying to recall a long lost memory.
"...Maybe I did, maybe I didn't..."
He looks off towards the distance.
"I honestly can't remember. But if I did, I just wanted to help you out~"
"'Help me...'"
Pacifica stops herself. She lets out a heavy sigh as her anger ceases. There is no reason to get mad at Bill, in fact there isn't too much of a reason for her to be mad at all...
For the first time in a long time, she and her father are able to get something accomplished without getting on each others' nerves. Even if her father looked stressed and sleep deprive...maybe it is because he is finally seeing what she has been wanting him to see all this time. Maybe there is hope after all.
"So~ Is everything good?"
Bill flies up to her, waiting impatiently for an answer. Pacifica takes a moment to reply.
"...Yeah, I guess so..."
She gives a small smile.
"...And thanks, Bill. For pushing me to go out there."
"You're welcome, Paz!"
He goes up to her and hugs her head, Pacifica flinching at his touch.
"So...do I get a hug for helping you out like Gideon did?" Bill asks in a sing-song tone of voice. "I was very hurt with you not liking my other hug and drawing last night!"
Pacifica rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.
"Don't push it. And as long as you keep calling me 'Paz,' you won't be getting any hug from me!"
"But the name fits you so well!"
"Okay then. So long as you call me 'Paz,' I'll start calling you..."
She takes a moment to think.
"...Flying Dorito! Since that fits you so well."
There is a long silence.
"...Hey, that's actually pretty funny! You do have a sense of humor after all!"
Bill backs away from her, dodging the playful glare Pacifica is giving him while giggling.
"Though I have to ask," he adds, "what is a dorito? Is it some type of animal or something? And why would an animal have anything to do with ranch dressing?"
He continues to ask question upon question, most of them soon having nothing to do with doritos. Pacifica laughs.
"I guess Gideon and I will have to show you sometime," she says. "Perhaps starting today, we can introduce you to all the great things of this world. Starting with doritos."