Description
Panel One: Shot of Cal from behind, walking into the room. He's carrying a tray in his hands anmd looking towards DJ's empty desk. He thinks, "He's still out?"
Panel Two: DJ's desk. Cal's put a small alcohol warmer/bunsen burner on DJ's desk and lit it. A dark-colored mug with stars on it is on the burner's stand, over the small flame. Cal thinks, off-panel, "At least it'll be warm."
Panel Three: A wide, thin panel with multiple chibi Cals in it, doing various unpacking tasks. He's filling a bookcase with his books, then putting a family photo and a goose plushie with a ribbon around it's neck on his dresser. The next one has Cal in the bathroom, unpacking a large box labeled "Cal Skincare". Finally, he's seen spreading a small Persian-like rug on the floor next to his bed. There are a few cartoon clocks as well, showing the time progressing from about 8 o'clock to nearly eleven.
Panel Four: A closeup of Cal's hand holding his pocketwatch as he hangs it on a bronze watch stand in the shape of a goose. There's a small hook under the goose's beak, giving the illusion that it's holding the watch. The time is just past eleven. Cal says to himself, "*yawn* Oh, man. No wonder I'm tired!"
Panel Five: Cal is back at DJ's desk, turning off the alcohol lamp. "Hmm..." he thinks to himself, "I still need to talk to him about the other night."
Panel Six: Another closeup, this time of a note that Cal left on DJ's desk by the burner. "DJ," it reads, "Here's some coffee. I have counseling at 10, and I'm having lunch after that with Dr. King & some of the teachers so I can meet them. She said there was more paperwork to do, so I don't know when I'll get back. Do you have any classes tomorrow?" The note ends with, "Don't stay up too late! - Cal" There's a shiny brass lighter engraved with the monogram "CRM" on the bottom corner of the note. It's the same as the one on his watch.
Author Note
I'm imagining DJ's face when he sees all of the stuff that's in the bathroom now, and I'm cackling.
Since Cal is from a town full of geese, he would use quills as opposed to fountain pens. He's also picked up some really nice handwriting habits and styling in the various jobs he's tried and his general enjoyment of art. I'd imagine his parents would encourage calligraphy as a skill so he can write gift tags for the shop and whatnot. So he's got nice handwriting with a bit of style to it.
I've used quills, and they do handle a bit differently than metal dip pens, so it took a while to find an appropriate font that had the right amount of "Ye Olde" styling, legibility, and, well.. "Quill-y-ness" to it, but I did! I also needed something that would contrast with DJ's scibbly chicken-scratch. The bronze goose watch stand is inspired by a bunch of fun Victorian watch stands that I looked at. Animals were popular, and while I did see a few birds (mostly eagles) I didn't see ANY geese, which is a shame. I'm sure one of them must have existed somewhere!
Wear Your Masks,
-Bran
