Author's Notes: Has it really been this long since I updated? Truth be told, I considered just letting this collection die, especially since I wouldn't mind people forgetting about some of the less-than-great stories in here, but...what the heck. Let's see if I can finally finish up the new cast so that I can get started on the two even-newer ones.

Current Interaction: B and Staci

"Yeah, and my great-great-great-great-aunt Myrtle is the one who invented tables. Before that, people ate all their meals on rocks, and everybody got fungal poisoning."

B nodded. Staci continued.

"And chairs were invented by my great-great-great-half-cousin Leo. He got the idea from..."

Over her shoulder, B saw Anne Maria look back at them and roll her eyes. B took a bite of his salad, then let his gaze wander around the rest of the resort. Brick was swimming while Dawn meditated in a pool chair; Sam, as usual, was inside with his Game Guy. They had all learned to avoid Staci by now. If only the local genius had been that smart.

"...which is how the first Canadian settlers learned to skin beavers."

She finally stopped talking, to B's intense relief. He nodded politely, the usual lazy smile on his face. He took another bite of his food, only to look up and see Staci eyeing him with a curious look on her face.

B wondered what she was on her mind. This was a rather new experience, since she normally made clear exactly what she was thinking (though B privately wondered how much thought was actually involved in the process).

"You know, you're a really good listener. Everybody else around here always interrupts right when I'm in the middle of talking."

B rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but I guess you can't really do that when you don't talk at all."

For the first time in the last half hour, B actually met Staci's gaze. On some level he was actually surprised that she noticed his silence, since it wasn't like she let anyone else have a word in either. He suddenly wondered if she would ask why he didn't talk. He considered how she might react if he pulled back his collar to show the dark scar on his neck, or how someone so talkative would respond to the thought of being permanently rendered mute.

Staci was the one to break eye contact, looking away with an expression of discomfort on her face. "...So anyway, my great-uncle Earnest once told me that..."

B let out the softest, quietest sigh, then looked back down at his food and tried to tune her out once again.

Next Interaction: Mike and Anne Maria