Crystal and Julian - Fake it Like it's Not

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After having the bandages changed on his injured hand, Julian receives a lesson on fake-smiles-turned-real from Princess Crystal.



"Your wounds are healing as they should," Crystal told Julian, his bandages off, examining the second and third degree burns. "With your powers back to normal, I do not expect further injuries of this sort to occur again.. Some scarring can be expected, as these are serious burns, but as long as you continue with the proper treatments you can look forward to your hand looking almost as good as new."

It wasn't what he wanted to hear. Julian glanced down at his hand which was about to be rewrapped and winced. The initial injury and the pain killers had helped, but it still hurt. "The shrapnel is all out, right? I mean, I'm not going to find Tab-key under my skin or something, right?"

Crystal laughed. "You do not have to worry about that, Julian. The doctors here are very good; they would not allow such a misfortune to occur."

"That's good," he said with a slight sigh of relief. "Though that would certainly be a conversation starter."

"What, having a key from a keyboard pressing through your skin? I suppose it would be, yes, but I doubt that it would be comfortable at all. Not worth it at all, I believe. There are definitely better ways to begin and continue conversations than by discussing something poking through the skin of your hand, are there not?" Crystal continued wrapping Julian's injured hand. "In most situations, you should want people to be interested in what you are saying, not horrified. Although, if someone did have a key showing through their skin, it could be something to base a conversation on, but the other party should notice it first. At that point, they would have shown interest, and by telling the story that interest would be returned."

Julian grinned it slightly, "True as that may be- it was just a joke. I'm glad there won't be much permanent damage though." Watching carefully as Crystal taped the end of the gauze down, Julian flexed his hand gingerly under the wrappings. "I don't suppose you know if I'll need physical therapy for this."

"I do not believe that you will need physical therapy," Crystal told Julian, "you just need to be sure not to abuse your hand while it is still healing. Well, you are done with the services of the medlab for today! May I ask you something, though? I am curious... why did you fake a smile at me last week?"

The question caught him off guard, but Julian managed to stammer out an answer, "I wasn't sure what to say and was trying to excuse myself graciously."

Crystal nodded. "I suppose what I am trying to find out is why you felt that there was even a need for such a smile, whether or not there was something you were trying to gain with it. Were you attempting to put one of us at ease? I am still not sure, did I make you uncomfortable and that was your way of reacting, or was there some other reason you did not simply talk or maybe nod in response instead of faking a smile?"

His brow furrowed slightly as he brought his hand back toward himself. "I honestly don't remember it that clearly, but, why is it important?"

"First, as I said, I was wondering if I had somehow said something that made you uncomfortable," Crystal explained. "Secondly, how to explain... less is more, perhaps? From your reaction that night, it appeared that you did not expect anyone to see through the smile, so perhaps that answers my question right there. If no one would know, why not smile? Smiling is nice and friendly, yes? From my standpoint, however, if there is not a need for such a smile, why should one go through the trouble of it?"

"Well," he began, scratching the back of his head and trying to think of what to say. "I don't remember it too clearly, but...I wasn't too happy to have my hand all burned and I'd just come from seeing Nathan in here. So I guess I was a little distracted or something." He shrugged, "And yeah, no one around here seems to be able to see through it. Which is why you surprised me, Princess." Now he was genuinely smiling, slightly amused that he was sitting in a high tech medlab with royalty wrapping up his hand...it was like something out of one of Doreen's comics.

Crystal smiled a bit. "That explains it, then, I think. You were unhappy and distracted, and not truly trying with that smile. It was not at all a genuine one, how could it be, when you were not in the mood to smile at all? I will understand if this seems odd to you at first, but in order to give a proper fake smile, it must be real. In order to convince others that your smile is real and meaningful, you must first convince yourself of that fact." She decided to see what Julian made of that before explaining further.

He thought about it for a moment and gave a nod, "I guess that makes sense. It's like acting, right?"

Crystal nodded. "Yes, Julian. When people act, they can call up real emotions in order to portray them properly. In that way, while they are still playing a part, they show a true feeling to the audience. In the same way, if you wish to have people think that you are genuinely happy or interested in what they are saying, even if your world appears to be crashing down around you and you would rather watch paint dry than listen to what is being said, you must try to think of something that would honestly make you happy and cause you to smile. It takes time and thought, but the end product will be a good one."

Understanding what she was saying, Julian made a mental note to learn to fake-it better for the next time. Two thoughts struck him, the first being if Manuel- another scion- could see through him like Crystal could. The second, "What do you think about when you have to get through something?"

"First, I would say that it is best to avoid thinking of the situation as something you must somehow 'get through.' I try to see the best in the situation, and look for something honest to say if I can. Should people be admiring what is obviously a hideous piece of clothing, I try to see if there is anything positive about it. Perhaps, despite the ugly color and shape, it includes beautiful embroidery? I would then choose to speak about that, rather than declaring how wonderful the fit of the cloth looks on the wearer. In that way, the statement which has been made is real and genuine and there is no need for it to come off as fake."

Not able to imagine a situation in which he'd be reduced to admiring embroidery, Julian simply nodded, as the point of her lesson was still sound. "That seems pretty common sense, but it's one of those things that you really don't think about until someone says something." He winced slightly as his hand involuntarily flexed under the gauze.

"This seems to be the case many times, does it not?" Crystal mused out loud. "People often need something called to their attention before they give in any thought. You are probably more than ready to leave the comfort of the medlab, yes? I believe that is enough on the topic of smiling for the day, unless you have any other questions for me now?"

"No," he gave her a weak smile then looked down at the snow white gauze around his hand. "No more questions," he slid off the edge of the table, "Thanks for changing the bandages, I'll see you around and," Julian paused in midstep toward the door, "I think I owe you a cup of hot chocolate for your acting lesson." With a wink he was gone, out the door and off to meditate.