Brandon's Notebook (A TMMM Bonus Material)

Journal 22: The Birthday Girl

The look on Charlotte's face when the lights and the confetti came on and a few dozen people squealed 'happy birthday' is quite priceless.

I'd take it that she's never had a birthday party in her life. At least not one she could remember from recent history.

Ah. Just another thing I'll have to rectify because it's simply not acceptable to celebrate nothing of a day that would later turn my life around.

Amazingly enough, despite the big party and the fact that all of the people Charlotte thought had turned their backs on her after the big reveal were there, Charlotte could still outdo me in the surprise department.

She introduced me to Riley—a boy so much like her when she was about the same age. It's so easy to see why she would've been unstoppable at helping him, no matter the dangers or the consequences had I known them beforehand and presented them to her. Turning her back on him would not have been an option for her at all.

Charlotte probably doesn't know this yet but she has a mission—to save the child that she was. And she sees a little bit of this child in every person. Which means she wants to save everyone—the world, really.

And I can't blame her. I would never blame her for it.

I'd save her if I could but I can't. And I doubt that she can either. And she'll have to realize that at some point but for now—actually, I suspect it's going to be for a long while—I'll have to be by her side, doing what I can to help her.

Can't save the girl she was but I can still save the woman she is now.

- B

***

So, what do you think?

One of the pleasant surprises I've found writing Brandon's journal are these little snippets of the Maxfield family when the siblings were much younger. It shows Brandon being the big brother, how he's always had to be the leader and the protector considering the age gap between him and his younger siblings. It explains a lot why he grew up to be more of that kind of man. And in TMMM, we've heard all about Charlotte's sad, heartbreaking childhood. Here, we see glimpses of the happy Maxfield household with plenty of love to go around. 

P.S.

I chose this song because there's quite a bit of sadness to this underneath all the visuals. And no, Charlotte doesn't really need Superman or Prince Charming. But at one point she'd been just a kid. She could've used someone to love her.

♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Waiting for Superman by Daughtry ♪♪♪

She's watching the taxi driver, he pulls away

She's been locked up inside her apartment a hundred days

She says, "Yeah, he's still coming, just a little bit late.

He got stuck at the laundromat washing his cape."

She's just watching the clouds roll by and they spell her name

Like Lois Lane

And she smiles, oh the way she smiles

She's talking to angels,

Counting the stars

Making a wish on a passing car

She's dancing with strangers,

Falling apart

Waiting for Superman to pick her up

In his arms, yeah, in his arms, yeah

Waiting for Superman

She's out on the corner trying to catch a glimpse

Nothing's making sense

She's been chasing an answer, a sign lost in the abyss,

This Metropolis

She says, "Yeah, he's still coming, just a little bit late.

He got stuck at the Five and Dime saving the day."

She says, "If life was a movie, then it wouldn't end like this,

Left without a kiss."

Still, she smiles, oh, the way she smiles, yeah

She's talking to angels,

Counting the stars

Making a wish on a passing car

She's dancing with strangers,

She's falling apart

Waiting for Superman to pick her up

In his arms, yeah, in his arms, yeah

She's waiting for Superman...

...to lift her up and take her anywhere

Show her love and flying through the air

Save her now before it's too late tonight

Oh, at the speed of light

And she smiles