Vanilla

See: 6 Months

A/N: So as my Stars would know, I'm fond of writing backstories of my characters that are canon but kind of like a 'break' to the main story line. These short stories mostly contain symbolism, motifs, dramatic themes or foils in relation to the characters in the universe to allow readers more depth in their reading of the characters and the story!

I've decided to do this for Vanilla too, but more as an added information to educate Beans on infant care (HUH???? CUPPIE, WHAT?? CHILDREN???) and the how the mind of geniuses can work, simply because Vanilla is quite a rare find from the usual... well... protagonists who are stereotypically not-as-clever as that all-knowing, glasses-wearing character that feeds them (and the audience) with information. 

In the case of Vanilla, the reason why it's read so differently from the Baked series is precisely because I've decided for Vanilla to be like this and for him to be the main character; sort of similar to how Iolani Tori from FS is. 

I understand that the language is much more refined, much more difficult to get through and that I may be alienating readers who do not have English as their first language and for that, I apologize. Maybe that's why BL was so well-received. It is simple; I must admit. 

Allow me to challenge myself and the capacity of my mind for language. I hope you enjoy this one. 

Stories beginning with See will be stories about Vanilla, and Saw will be about Leroy when he was younger. 

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When Vanilla Julian White had his fifth infant check-up at a local family paediatrician, the clinic had directed him to a child intelligence specialist in a hospital an hour away in the city center.

The boy, at six-months old, had experienced the wonders of crawling for nearly a month and was in the midst of figuring out how the limbs attached to his hips worked by slapping and squeezing them every now and then. He also happened to be a very picky eater.

Alfred could barely remember when it all started—seeing his sister spoon those pre-packaged monsters in plastic re-sealable bags right into the boy's mouth only to have him leaving it open for the slimy, gooey banana-flavoured mush to drool onto his bib.

He was the kind of child who never seemed to cry and had, by some miracle, devised several ways to communicate his infant needs. While other babies and their mothers were busy attending trendy baby sign language classes featured in parenting magazines and swimming lessons for hand-eye coordination, all Vanilla's mother ever did was try to get him to eat.

And when her stringent brother had finally come round to suggesting they bring the boy for a thorough check of his wellbeing—euphemism for a visit to the child psychologist—to ensure that he was quite alright, the local doctor had referred them to a proper specialist after an hour of tests.

Being the man devoted to following instructions and a strict procedure of 'uncle-ing', Alfred did not hesitate to stick mother and son into a cab and together, made their way to the city center.

"So your paediatrician says here that your child shows signs of... word association," Dr. Marlee Windsor had been scanning a paged document through a pair of reading glasses before resting her gaze on the boy in his mother's lap. Beside, her brother appeared sceptical. "It means that he can not only read PCI level one words but also know what they actually mean."