A lot of adults aren't as nice as Steve. Alex tries to remember to say please and thank you to people when they're good to him, to show he appreciates it. People are all the same in that they just want people to be nice to them back.
He takes the pill and washes it down with well practiced motions, nodding solemnly. "That's how my dad explained it, too. He's found a drug that can work for me when I'm older, but when a body is small, even the small dosages are too big. I'll have to wait until I'm a grown up instead." Alex had an unfortunately high level of knowledge regarding medicine from an early age. "I don't know if other painkillers would work. In my world there's a lot of people who are really addicted to those kinds of medicines. My parents are afraid to try them with me."
They have good reasons to be concerned. Children are much less able to see patterns of addiction in themselves, and Alex is friends with a number of his father's coworkers. If he asks them, they already give him aspirin basically on command. It wouldn't be impossible for him to slip into abusing other medicine and use them as a source. He's listened in on his parents talking enough to know the details of their concerns. It's scary, thinking he could end up like the addicts on TV. Certainly, it's enough to keep him from asking his dad for more medicine.
"Morphine? Isn't that really strong stuff? How come the other stuff doesn't work on you?" Worse, what will they do if that doesn't work and Steve still needs something? Alex frowns, imagining it. There's not much he can think of that tops morphine. They would need a doctor like his dad here for a consultation, but there aren't any.
His momentary worry goes away when the sunglasses are offered. "Thanks, Captain Steve. You'd make a good dad." They're a bit big, but the thought is still nice, and they help regardless. Some of the tension eases out of him as he blinks rapidly as his eyes adjust. "I don't know if I want to explore or not. It's not going to be fun if my headache doesn't go away, and if it's not fun, then what's the point?" Infallible child logic.
no subject
He takes the pill and washes it down with well practiced motions, nodding solemnly. "That's how my dad explained it, too. He's found a drug that can work for me when I'm older, but when a body is small, even the small dosages are too big. I'll have to wait until I'm a grown up instead." Alex had an unfortunately high level of knowledge regarding medicine from an early age. "I don't know if other painkillers would work. In my world there's a lot of people who are really addicted to those kinds of medicines. My parents are afraid to try them with me."
They have good reasons to be concerned. Children are much less able to see patterns of addiction in themselves, and Alex is friends with a number of his father's coworkers. If he asks them, they already give him aspirin basically on command. It wouldn't be impossible for him to slip into abusing other medicine and use them as a source. He's listened in on his parents talking enough to know the details of their concerns. It's scary, thinking he could end up like the addicts on TV. Certainly, it's enough to keep him from asking his dad for more medicine.
"Morphine? Isn't that really strong stuff? How come the other stuff doesn't work on you?" Worse, what will they do if that doesn't work and Steve still needs something? Alex frowns, imagining it. There's not much he can think of that tops morphine. They would need a doctor like his dad here for a consultation, but there aren't any.
His momentary worry goes away when the sunglasses are offered. "Thanks, Captain Steve. You'd make a good dad." They're a bit big, but the thought is still nice, and they help regardless. Some of the tension eases out of him as he blinks rapidly as his eyes adjust. "I don't know if I want to explore or not. It's not going to be fun if my headache doesn't go away, and if it's not fun, then what's the point?" Infallible child logic.