Individual
Character's Full Name: Thaddeus Chase Townsend
Alias/ Nickname/ Codename: He’s always just gone by “Chase”, because Thaddeus is too stuffy for him. His hero-names of choice are either “Doppelganger” or “Mimic”.
Gender: Male
Age: 10
Date of Birth: 01/27/2003
Nationality/ Ethnicity: Caucasian-American
Birthplace/ Home/ Place of Origin: Syracuse, NY
Appearance
Hair Color and Style: Pale, golden blonde in color—straight and silky, yet unkempt, bangs often getting in his eyes but trimmed in the back (Human). Or, alternately, black at the roots, then quickly transitioning to a lovely off-white. Maintains the same length and texture (Natural).
Eyes: Variable, usually some degree of blue, against a white sclera (Human), or against a black sclera (Natural). Varies based off of emotion (following
this pattern of coloration).
Height: 4’4”
Build: Delicate and lean, yet juvenilely disproportionate.
Visible Mutation: His human form itself is a mutation—a deviation from what Chase would look like normally. Yet, even in his natural form, Chase most certainly is not a normal human. Besides his hair and eyes, he has a blue tongue, and his flesh is composed of these tan tendrils, much the way one might imagine muscle to look, if it were externalized.
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: Variable, based upon who he’s mimicking. Scars that Chase actually received, however, are permanent and maintained throughout all of his shifts, because it is damage received to the tendrils which compose his flesh. These consist of a knick on his right eyebrow, which corresponds to a thin, inch-long white scar, and a dark gouge in his left jaw.
Other Features: His human-form is pale and lightly-freckled. Both as a human and naturally, he has a young, immature face, and a subdued disposition. Has yet to grow into his ears, and has long, slender, bony hands and feet.
Everyday Clothing Style: In a word, minimalistic—tends to wear as little as possible without risking immodesty. Chase’s taste in clothing usually entails some sort of loose-fitting bottoms with tough material (such as jeans, cargo shorts or cargo pants), which he keeps around his slender waist with a belt, loose, lightweight shirts with low necks (with sleeves of at least t-shirt length), and light-soled shoes, either laced or slide-on. He tends to avoid formalwear, winter wear, or any type of clothing that is heavy/ restrictive. THAT IS, of course, unless he’s pretending to be someone else, in which case he’ll adopt whatever attire they were wearing.
Uniform: Not applicable
Sleepwear: Boxers and a tank top. If it’s really hot, Chase will shed the tank top, but if it’s cold or if he’s trying to be modest, he’ll put on a pair of flannel pajama bottoms.
Miscellaneous Clothing: Chase tends to cover up his eyes with sunglasses whenever he goes out now—he also lugs around a small, dirty grey Jansport. Wears a key on a chain around his neck, but this is generally hidden under his shirt. He has a fondness of hoodies, knit caps and baseball caps.
Character
Personality: Chase is a quiet kid, solemn around unfamiliar people, and habituated to slip into the background. He’s encompassed in a watchful air, and a bit of a mystery, since he tends not to engage others. If one were to engage him, though, other things would become more apparent. One such thing is that he's very intelligent-- he picks up on things that other kids his age wouldn't, which is often insinuated through his performance in school and the questions that he asks. Some teachers have attributed his relentless questions to insolence, but he simply asks a lot of questions because of his curiosity and his need-to-know.
If he's forced so speak, he tends to mumble and speak quickly. Chase is short, sweet and to-the-point, occasionally coming off as rude because he's so forthright and abrupt. Yet, he's never cruel, which gives him an air of guileless charm. He isn't boastful, and won't show-off his wits or talk about his feelings. Chase is exceedingly self-conscious, and tends to downplay his abilities reflexively.
Chase thirsts for positive attention and tends to be a perfectionist. He takes all criticism to heart, yet he isn't a crybaby. After how difficult his childhood's been, he's learned to be tough and independent, and very mellow. If you call attention to a fault in something Chase has done, he fixes it-- he doesn't lose his temper. He forgives and forgets, occasionally getting very short and maybe frustrated, but never pissed-off. (He does cry, though—only rarely, and never around anyone else.) He is, however, one of those situations in which he uses his smarts “for evil”—in other words, he’s prone to the occasional bouts of mischief or annoyingness. This is largely because he’s easily bored and easily distracted, so will often find creative ways to entertain himself.
If he takes a liking to your character, they can expect to be followed, mimicked, given gifts and barraged with questions. Chase might even allow them to touch him. (He is not touchy-feely, so to be permitted to touch him would mean that he really likes you.) If he hates your character, he'll ignore them, or simply refuse to speak to them, and keep his distance. If Chase hates your character and they keep bothering him, they can expect bruised shins—this tends to only apply to guys, as he's very nice towards women, and will never kick them. Chase is even shyer around the ladies, more vocal around guys (which still isn’t very vocal at all). Chase is slow to trust in others, but quickly loses trust, so don’t expect him to warm up to everyone who’s nice to him.
Hobbies/ Interests: games, arts and crafts, running, building things, reading, puzzles, adventures, sports, climbing things, skateboarding; vehicles, law enforcement, bugs, sharks, baseball, construction, math, science, “cool-looking mutants”
Job or Part-Time Job and Description: Third-grade student
Fears/ Phobias/ Concerns: Special Talents: Building impressive fortresses (materials of choice entail Lego’s, chairs and blankets, or wooden blocks). Eating like a horse but never putting on weight. Has a way with animals. Master of the blank, creepy stare. Old pro at hide-and-seek.
Morality
Neutral-Good: Chase is a logical child, and does what makes the most sense to him, while the question of what is “right” or “wrong” usually comes under consideration secondarily. Whatever Chase does, he can justify his behavior, but he tends to behave himself because it’s just easier. Misbehaving tends to lead to lying, and lying just overcomplicates things, so why do it? It makes no sense—unless, of course, someone Chase liked could rationalize wrongdoing on his level, or if Chase wanted someone to like him. There is always his curiosity, which often gets him into trouble. He knows what is “right” and what is “wrong”, there’s just a gap between “knowing” and “doing”
Mutations
Mutation Description: To make a long story short, Chase is a shapeshifter-- he can take the form of any human being, but by two, very different methods. However, both methods involve a degree of willpower, so he may start shifting because he subconsciously wants to do so.
The first method by which Chase can shift shapes is what he calls "free-form shifting", in which he changes shape based off of visual and auditory observations that he makes. It is generally attribute-based, good for quick changes and small gimmicks here and there. For example, if he was mimicking someone's voice, or changed the look of his hair or his nose or something small-- that would liably be free-form shapeshifting. He could hypothetically free-form shift his entire body, but he'd have to be familiar with the person to make it a convincing free-form shift, and it takes a rather long time.
The second method is much more complex, and what Chase refers to as "object-based shifting". Essentially, Chase picks up on a residue left on an article of clothing or an accessory, and uses it to change shapes. The more often someone wears the clothing, the stronger the residue. The great thing about object-based shifts are that they don't require any form of creativity-- all the input is already there, Chase just needs to get his hands on already-worn clothes or accessories. Thrift stores and the lost and found are two of Chase's favorite sources. Chances are, if Chase is walking around in a full-bodied form, he is using object-based shifting. There are also added perks to the object-based shifting.
When Chase shifts, the tendrils that compose his skin move, internalizing the definite tendrils and externalizing whatever attributes he’s trying to adopt. As his skin shifts, the other attributes follow naturally, shifting into their alternate state.
And yes, his eyes do shift colors and always have. They tend to follow a pattern akin to
this pattern of coloration. So, in a way, it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to try and judge what he’s feeling based off his eyes, as specific colors can mean any number of things, with very general trends. His eyes linger around teal, because of his disposition, but flicker with other feelings as they pass—it’s very rare for any single color to dominate, as this would require a very pure form of the emotion being experienced.
Strengths: Chase can mimic anything that is directly observable-- physical attributes, voices, mannerisms and attire. It doesn’t matter if you’re humanoid or blatantly mutant, Chase can look and sound like you quite easily. His eyes only tend to take on a single color when the emotion is pure, but otherwise are constantly-shifting. Most emotions are so constantly-shifting, it would be impossible to perceive each color that simmers to the surface.
[/b] Free-form is quicker when it comes to altering only a few attributes at a time. Depending on how drastic the change, it can span anywhere from a few moments to a half a minute, and it does not require an object to act as a catalyst. Chase's "human" form is actually a free-form transformation based off of his (formerly identical) twin brother's appearance, which Chase acquired from being around his brother so frequently. If Chase were to live with someone else, after getting very familiar with them and picking up on small things here or there, he'd eventually be able to compile it into a believable free-form transformation. Usually take about three months to perfect a visual, six months to perfect everything else, and a year to make it effortless. This also leads to his variable eye color.
Object-Based Pros: Object-based is better suited for a quicker, more believable full-formed transformation. Chase is in possession of a DNA-based capacity that is akin to psychometry, which makes this prong of his capacity possible, and gives him all of the information necessary to be someone's doppelganger that he'd glean from a year of living with them, purely from an object. It lasts longer than a free-form shift, and is easier to maintain.[/ul]
Weaknesses: Chase doesn't mimic mutations, unless they were outwardly observable. For some reason, there's just a loss in translation when he transforms into a fellow mutant. So, if he transformed into... say, a fish-man... he'd still look and sound like the fish-man, because it's directly observable. But, if fish-man was a water manipulator? Chase wouldn't be able to replicate that. His mutation is to replicate what you can see, not the abilities of others. And, let’s say that this fish-man could breathe underwater (as he is a fish), and had heightened speed and agility—Chase wouldn’t have any of that. He might have something that outwardly seems to be gills, might be built identically to the fish-man, yet wouldn’t be able to mimic their physical capacities, simply their outward appearance.
There is also the question of getting used to operating a form. Much in the way that kids who have just had growth spurts need to grow used to their new height, and are often kind of clumsy on their feet at first, Chase must grow accustomed to operating in a differently-sized body. He lacks this dilemma with his “human form”, because it’s the exact same size as he is. But, whenever he takes on a full-body form, it takes Chase a good five minutes to start operating the moving well, and days of practice to be graceful. (This changes, of course, if he isn’t taking the form of something built in a humanoid form. Inhuman forms, such as other mutants, take much more getting used to, and could take a good hour or so for him to start moving in well, and a good week to become “graceful”, depending on how drastic the shift.) It is possible to make Chase slip out of a form by knocking him unconscious, no matter his method of transformation. He also cannot “hold shape” when he sleeps, but has shapeshifted in his sleep quite frequently.
[/b] Free-form is very volatile. It's quicker to come, and quicker to go-- hence the shifting eye colors. It requires an intense amount of focus to maintain, and requires an incredible amount of creativity if Chase is just whipping something up from scratch. Also, if Chase is mimicking someone else using free-form, he receives none of the genetic assistance that object-based grants him. He has to be a very good actor, and he has to be a method actor when playing the part. Or else, he'll lose the form. (Because he's so practiced with his "human" form, it's second nature to him.) Free-form shifts, when involving one to five attributes, take moments in time. The easiest shifts are shifts in color. If he were to free-form shift into a full-body form, it would take a much longer time, perhaps three minutes, with some tweaking afterwards, and months of observing whomever he copies to make a convincing doppelganger. If Chase were to invent someone on the fly, it would take as long as his creative juices took to craft an entire person—it would hypothetically take three minutes if he had a specific likeness in mind, but would take longer if he was just making something up. Free form shifts, as mentioned before, can last only moments in time, or can be maintained for up to twelve hours, if they’re well-practiced. His only well-practiced form is his human guise, and is the only one that Chase can hold for half of a day—when in human form, he can alter up to three other attributes consciously (doesn’t include his eyes) without being too overstimulated. Free-form shifts are Chase’s bread-and-butter—he can maintain his “human form” for twelve hours each day, and can maintain other attributes (up to five) for up to three hours, every six. However, free-form shifts are usually temporary, spare his human form, so it’s rare for him to reach his limit in this category.
Object-Based Cons: Believe it or not, the genetic residue that clings to clothing eventually wears off, so Chase can only utilize articles of clothing or accessories for a short amount of time. The general rule of thumb is, once Chase has the attire more than the original owner, it becomes his, his genetic residue becomes dominant, and the clothes are effectively "blank". And, once the clothes become "blank", Chase will not be able to use it for transforming any longer-- not as an object-based shift, anyways. The ideal object is obviously person-oriented-- some article of clothing or an accessory-- something that someone wears everyday, so that the residue is strong. It can also be a small object, around which Chase can close his hand, as well. So long as it’s something that’s around a specific person quite frequently. Also, Chase must be able to fit it onto his normal body—so, no shifting into people smaller than himself, unless it’s free-form. Object-based shifts usually take about fifteen to twenty seconds, physically-- Object-based forms can be held for an hour and a half maximum, and tend to leave Chase far more exhausted than free-form shifts do because, not only is he physically playing the part, but he's also actively perceiving mental cues as well. There tends to be a sixteen hour period of cooling down in-between each object-based shift.[/ul]
Secondary Mutation Description: The second prong to his mutation is what enables his object-based shapeshifting. Through this capacity, Chase is capable of using genetic information contained in DNA, either from directly touching someone or touching a personal possession, to alter his form. The great thing about this method is that, beyond what he can actually see, Chase is actually analyzing the genotypes (genetic make-up) and phenotypes (outward, physical manifestations of genes-- including the morphology, physiology, behavior, and products of behavior) of other human beings. Thus, he doesn't only look like someone; he's their genetic and behavioral doppelganger. This is a touch-based capacity, centralized his hands and lower arms, yet it also seems to work in his head, torso, and upper arms as well.
Yet, this goes beyond what someone would look or act like-- Chase can also glean basic information from these residues, facts and pointers that make people who they are, which occasionally leads him to question as per whether or not this is wholly genetic. He also picks up on general information-- the name of an individual, age, and other essential things-- and, after prolonged exposure, he might start having psychometric recollections, in which he remembers things that have never happened to him, but to the original owner of the object he's reading.
Strengths: The perks to utilizing this, as opposed to free-form shifting, is that if he gets a hold of a personal possession, simply touches another person, or gets a hold of something containing human DNA, he could read the genetic residue that remained behind, and start taking this person's form. His appearance and voice would be just like you and, while he's still in full-control of the form, he may even start acting like the person he's imitating, if he's in the form long enough. Right down to the fingerprints, he would be your perfect match.
And, if he were to get a hold of an object of yours, or a lock of your hair, rather than straight touching you, he might start having recollections that aren't even his own. Chase can shut this off, so it isn't as though he's constantly picking up the DNA of thousands of other people every time he reaches for a doorknob, or analyzing your genetic code when he shakes your hand. And, just because he analyzes your genetic residue doesn't mean that he'll start turning into you right away, because he has enough control to stop such shifts.
Weaknesses: There are obvious downfalls to this ability, as well. If someone catches Chase on his unawares, and, say, takes his hand or arm to stop him from going somewhere, he might start reading their residue. He isn't constantly shutting out influences all of the time, so if he isn't expecting to be touched, he could start unintentionally taking one's form. When using objects, they need to be specifically one person's for one code to stand out. If he were to latch onto something publically accessible-- say, a shopping cart-- and tried to lift a code off of it, it would be too muddled with information to discern any, one originator. The best-suited objects are personal possessions, articles of clothing, or something else that is individual-specific (even the individual). His shifting is limited to humans, of either the mutant or non-mutant variety. And, as stated before, he doesn't emulate powers, because that is not in his X-Gene. His ability is to look like others, not borrow their powers—he could look like a mutant whose mutation was their appearance, can sense if someone’s a mutant or not (because that is something in your genes), but he can’t tell what their power is, and cannot copy it.
For some reason, Chase doesn't get memories in residues directly from people. He can glean genetic codes off of personal possessions, something containing a person’s DNA, or people, but he can only glean memories or general information off of inanimate, personal objects or something containing your DNA, not attached to you. This is because his capability is wholly passive, so even a non-psychic human has enough mental-skill to shut Chase out. Thus, all Chase can get from people is their genetics.
When handling an object, the information that Chase receives comes in layers. Chase always gets the genetic information first, including how the person sounds and behaves. Next, comes the general information-- their name, their age, that sort of thing-- before graduating into memories. These tend to be information-oriented, containing details that will help Chase make a more convincing “someone else”. Residues can actually wear off of objects-- the general rule of thumb is that if Chase is in possession of the object for a period of time longer than the original owner, it becomes his and his residue becomes dominant. (So, if he got his older cousin's letterman, which his cousin wore for four years, if Chase wore the coat for four years and a day, it would become his.)
Fighting Style
Explanation: Chase isn't a fighter. Conflict makes him jittery, as much as he hates to admit it, so he tends to avoid it-- emotionally, verbally, and physically. He's good at running away, because it was what he was built to do. He has no reputation to uphold, so he'll take cheap shots and run away. The only situation in which he’ll hang around is to defend a friend, but that doesn’t change the fact that he can’t fight.
Pros for Fighting Style:No man's ever lost a battle that he didn't fight in. He's hard to catch, and good at running. And, in a creepy sort of way, he's cute and defenseless looking, which means that there are some good people who will leap to his defense.
Cons for Fighting Style: Intimidation only works if people don’t know how much of a wimp you are. There won’t always be people there to defend him, and he isn’t the fastest guy on the block. And, most importantly, he can’t impress his friends and the ladies if he’s always running away and hiding.
Faction Allegiance
Unaffiliated
History of Your Character
Chase's young life wasn't particularly pleasant-- he wasn't orphaned, or the child of alcoholics, he was just born to parents who didn't like him because of his mutation. Laurence and Stella Townsend were both doctors by practice, the parents of two (initially ideantical) twin boys, Thaddeus (Chase) and Russell Townsend, and a beautiful baby girl named Abigail. They were the kind of rich folk that most people loved to hate-- stuffy, rude, arrogant, and snobbish. They were only nice to other stuffy, rich folk who shared their distaste for mutants.
Not a particularly good belief to hold, when your three-year-old son's eyes spontaneously began changing color one day and, shortly thereafter, all of his "human" skin flaked off to reveal a mutant within. No, Chase wasn't born the way he looked, but grew into it over time. Which, may have been for the better, but was probably for the worse-- you see, Laurence and Stella didn't want to live with the implications of getting rid of their toddler and shipping him off to Xavier's-- that would mean that they were bad parents, couldn't handle their own problems. So, they lived in denial of it, forcing him to hide his eyes behind sunglasses. Yet, no ammount of denial left the ever-present reminder that Chase was different-- like when he'd parrot people's voices to annoy them, or start changing the color of his hair or skin. Chase's parents were almost cruel towards him, attributing his bad behavior to his mutant status and exaggerating all that he did wrong in contrast to the things that his perfect, human siblings did.
And, none of Chase's extended family tried to better the situation-- not without avail, anyways. His relatives saw Laurence and Stella as saints for having even kept him. And, the few that did see something wrong with how they were parenting Chase couldn't build enough proof to sick CPS on them. One relative who did try to rescue Chase was his Uncle Jack (who was really his maternal second-cousin). Yet, once the Registration rolled around, he pulled a disappearing act and wasn't heard from for a very long time.
The Registration also forced Laurence and Stella to acknowledge the fact that, yes, their son was a freak. But, rather than register him and risk the bad reputation it would give their medical practice, they kept his existence a secret. While Russell was enrolled in preschool, Chase was kept at home with his infant sister and the family nanny, Miss Vivian. It was during the Registration that favoritism transitioned into neglect towards four-year-old Chase, and Chase began to act out. Yet, when acting out seemed to do more harm than good, Chase simply gave-up, and kept to himself. His parents had sent him a very clear message-- that there was something wrong with him because of his mutation, and wasn't part of the family because of it. So, for all of the wrong reasons, Chase began testing his mutational limits, and soon grew quite proficient at taking his brother's likeness. Yet, he didn't reveal this until after the Registration, when there was chatter of Russell being enrolled in kindergarten, and what would they do with Chase?
Chase revealed this newfound prong of his abilities to his parents, now loudly proclaiming that, if he looked like Russell, he could go to kindergarten like Russell too, right? Seeing no point in keeping him home, if he could hide his natural face, his parents agreed. Chase was enrolled in kindergarten for that coming Fall.
Chase became well-liked at school, with his intelligence and good-humor; his teachers adored him because he was sharp and so eager-to-please, and completely unboastful about his abilities, while the kids liked him for his keen humor, and kind nature. At school, from behind a human face, the children liked him rather well, while returning home was almost painful for Chase-- he often almost missed the bus, pressing his threshold for holding a form so that he could be around people who liked him just a while longer. Of course, there was his color-changing eyes and his ability to mimic voices, but the other kids liked him for his "funny tricks", which he often utilized to infuriate teachers.
Coming home was like waking up from a good dream, into a nightmare. Chase had grown braver in his schooling, began to question the neglect that had become such a norm in the past few years, which brought on occasional bouts of abuse. His siblings had become conditioned to be absolutely awful towards him, so Chase became even more introverted at home. (And, because he often wore himself out with holding one form all day at school, he was often forced to waltz around his house in his "natural" face, which greatly perturbed his parents.) There were also those at his school who didn't like him, mostly older kids who found his mimicry abilities and bizarre ideas simply too strange-- most of them avoided Chase, some were brave enough to befriend him, and an even smaller group took to singling him out and bullying him for his differences. There were maybe half of a dozen boys that would bully Chase, though, and his friends could usually defend him.
It wasn't until just recently when a bully crossed the line-- in this single event, Chase's capacity for object-based shapeshifting emerged, and all of the garbage that had been accumulating in his life finally came into the public eye before coming to an abrupt end. It was in March of 2011. Chase was out on the playground during lunchtime recess, and had deviated from his group of friends that usually protected him. A fifth-grade boy singled him out and pulled a box cutter on Chase, attacking him with it. He dug the blade into his cheek, and the shock over being attacked caused Chase to slip out of his human facade. In that moment before the boy could attack him once again, Chase shakily and reflexively fastened to the boy's sweater-- a sweater which he wore everyday-- and began to take his form. Why was he doing this to him?! And, Chase saw that this other boy had been instructed to do this by his older brother, an anti-mutant zealot, and that he didn't really have anything against him-- and, as Chase told the kids this, he panicked and fainted in fear. Chase opted to stagger home, unable to hold his form and too fearful of seeking help when he looked like this. He didn't even make it off-campus. He was found by a teacher, and taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Chase's wound was mended, and once he was in a stable enough condition, he returned to school with his parents, and met with the principal. The boy who'd attacked him had been expelled from the school, for assaulting a student with a knife, and bringing a knife to school. Chase wasn't "dismissed" per se, but the principal did insinuate that there were some children in the school whose parents were practicing anti-mutants, and if he continued to come to school, it would be a danger, and it was suggested that he have a police escort. Chases' parents countered that wasn't necessary, and pulled him out of school. They weren't by any means supportive of their son's actions-- that he'd essentially destroyed everything they'd done for him in one fell swoop, and possibly got their reputation soiled by revealing himself in public-- Chase retorted that he'd had a knife to his throat, and that there wasn't anything wrong with who or what he was. And, rather than continue arguing, his father struck him across the face, and informed that he’d never leave the house again, and that it would have been so much easier to let the conservatives have him. It was that single line that drove Chase to run away.
Chase left, that evening, setting his sights on New York City. He packed up a backpack-full of necessities, and slipped out unnoticed. He'd been walking for five hours, and had made it nearly seventeen miles, before he was caught. A woman spied him walking along the highway, and called the cops. A police officer picked him up and took him back into Syracuse. What got the attention of Child Protective Services wasn't Chase's tale of what his father had thought when he struck him, but the fact that he'd been hit, and that Chase had been gone (for six hours, by the time they contacted his parents), and his parents hadn't even noticed. A short yet thorough investigation had found that he was living in a neglectful and abusive setting, and it was in his better for Chase to be removed from the house. Over the past few months, he's been shuffled between foster homes while they've attempted to decide what to do with him. In just this past month, he'd grown sick of waiting for something to happen, and took it upon himself to run once again.
Roleplay
Where did you learn about this site? Google, originally.
Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who? Indeed, I do!
Gina is my first, Chase is my second.
Sample RP: The rows of picnic tables were full of chattering elementary school-children, before whom were various forms of lunch, either in the form of lunch boxes or cafeteria trays full of food. There was one particular cluster of boys, nearly half a dozen of them, talking over each other enthusiastically. One of them, a bespectacled, curlyheaded kid stood up on the bench and began flapping his hand at his friends, loudly proclaiming, "I got one, guys, I got one-- shh, I got one!"
The group gradually fell silent as the bespectabled boy got their attention, and he calmly reiterated, "I thought of another person-- are you guys ready?"
"Yeah, man-- let's hear it," a redheaded boy agreed. The kid hopped off of the bench, crinkling his nose and furrowing his brow.
He tilted his mouth into a sneer, and, increasing his voice to a shrill falsetto as he pretending to nag his friends as he said,
"Children, now pay attention to the video and follow Monsieur Moustache. Boys, stop talking and pay attention--."The raucous group of boys laughed on they picked up on who the boy was imitating, none of them daring to say it. A pudgy, pasty-faced boy declared, "It's Mrs. Whittaker!"
"Dude, Mrs. Whittaker doesn't sound like that at all," another boy chimed in, "She doesn't sound like that all."
"Come on, Matt, you're just saying that because you'r nothing but a teacher's pet."
"No man," another boy countered, "Mrs. Whittaker doesn't sound like that-- Chase, show 'em what Whittaker sounds like."
Chase, the quiet blonde-haired boy shifted uncomfortably, finishing his sip of chocolate milk before letting his gaze flick to the other boys.
"I don't know," Chase murmured shyly, "The teachers really don't like it when I do that."
"Aw, please man, they can't hear you here!" the redhead whined.
"Yeah, man, we won't tell on you."
"They don't like it 'cos it's so funny! Please do it? Please?"
Chase held up his hands to silence them, which was much more effective than when the bespectacled child had tried such a thing. They all found Chase's mimicking capacity to be good fun. And, whenever Chase was performing one of his "tricks", he was capable of silencing the rowdiest group of boys. Chase cleared his throat theatrically, and then turned to face the redhead. The kid started cackling with anticipation.
"Jeremiah, will you pay attention?!" Chase snapped, adopting a voice identical to that of a shrewd, cruel older woman,
"Don't make me give you a yellow card--!""She gives me yellow cards all the time-!" Jeremiah agreed. The boys were now laughing, but kept the volume down. Chase wasn't yet finished.
"Now, children, repeat after me-- how do you spell together?""To-get-her!" the boys at the table chimed in raucously.
"To-get-her!" Chase confirmed in the elderly woman's voice, sending his friends into a loud fit of laughter. Chase smiled along with his friends, shook his head slowly , and returned to eating.
