| Episode: | Season 1, Episode 1 – Chaos! At The Gala |
| Location: | Blake Preston’s Residence |
| Written By: | Blake Preston Charlotte Preston |
| Date: | 08/30/2026 |
| Word Count: | 1,069 |
Charlotte was still trying to wrestle with how the first gala she’d ever been to went. She sat on the edge of the bed in the room where she slept whenever she was at her father’s apartment instead of at the one she lived nearly full time with her mother. A data pad was in her lap, she sat there reading a book quietly.
Blake stood in the doorway, leaning against it with his arms crossed and his back to the frame itself. He had been watching the gala from the bar when the feed cut and everyone was trying to figure out what happened. “You okay?” He asked his daughter.
Charlotte didn’t look up, “How long have you been standing there Dad?” The preteen asked her father.
“Oh, long enough.” Blake answered softly, “May I come in?” He asked her, his eyes not leaving her. He considered the impact of what happened at the gala, and there was part of him that wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to go next year. They could go back to their normal tradition of her spending that day with him instead.
Charlotte shrugged, “Sure I guess,” She answered and pulled her legs closer to her. She laid the data pad to her left and crossed her arms while watching him getting closer. “Lemme guess, Dad… You wanna talk about what happened?”
Blake entered her room and sat down on the foot of the bed, his eyes drifting a little bit as she moved whatever she’d been reading. “Only if you wanna talk about it princess.” He said, attempting to reassure her a little bit.
Charlotte crossed her arms over her stomach, “I guess we can.” She answered. So many things had happened so quickly. Charlotte hadn’t had time to process it since it happened, she walked with her mother earlier in the morning until they were at her father’s apartment in the station. And, she’d been in her room reading ever since.
Blake nodded, “So tell me about it.”
Charlotte didn’t know where to even start. Everything had happened far faster than her brain had been able to process. “Well besides the terrifying thoughts of what kind of things that weirdo could have done to anyone in the room.” She found herself shrugging. Charlotte wanted to know why he’d done it. And, she wanted to understand too.
“Had it not been for that one girl,” She thought about the young woman, “That doctor probably wouldn’t have lived to see today.” Charlotte added. There was a piece of her that hadn’t processed what the man would have done to the rest of them.
Blake hadn’t seen the news feed, and any attempt to watch it would have ended once the bell on the front of his apartment rang indicating the presence of his daughter and ex-wife. “Girl?” He asked. When the feed came back, many of the people tried desperately to get the tele-net back on. It didn’t come back in the bar until after the fact.
“Yeah,” Charlotte said softly. “Some girl managed to get close enough to him, she stabbed him. I don’t know what was going through her mind. But, she’s not anyone in my grade I’ve never met her before in my life.”
Blake heard the other details, “Just how old is she?” He asked his daughter. He stared for a second, “The tele-net didn’t come back where I was at until after everything happened.” Blake told his young daughter.
“Oh,” Charlotte answered. “I don’t know how old she is, but she looked younger than me.” The comment was followed by a shrug of her shoulders. “She was pretty shaken and her mother came and got her immediately after. I didn’t hear much, Mom came and got both me and Paige when they evacuated the hall.”
Blake was certain it would be all over the tele-net today, if he were actively watching it. But, he wanted to avoid his daughter reliving it as much as he possibly could. Sure, he was asking her about it and trying to get her to talk about it a little bit. Blake just wanted his little girl to process what had happened.
“She’s a hero,” Blake said suddenly.
Charlotte nodded, “Yeah I guess,” She said. “Hopefully the next one I go to won’t be like this one. It was fun, but I don’t know if it was fun enough for some strange psycho to try and hurt anyone like that.”
“Oh, so you do plan on doing another one?” Blake asked, his voice nearly inaudible. He’d been hoping she would return to their tradition. By then she’d be sixteen, time was going by far too quickly for him to like.
“Yeah,” Charlotte answered him. “It was fun for the most part. Picking out a dress to wear, getting my hair done…” Her voice trailed away. “It’s okay that I did that instead right Dad?”
Blake listened to his daughter as he tried to accept what she was sitting there telling him. “Yeah,” He answered with a warm smile on his face. “We just need to find a new father and daughter tradition to do together.” He told her.
Blake didn’t know if she had bought into it, but his head was actively screaming. He didn’t want things to change, even if she was growing up right in front of his face. He wanted his little girl and their normal routine back. But, at the same time it was once every four years, it wasn’t like this was a yearly event.
Charlotte jumped up and hugged her father before retreating back to the head board of her bed. “There’s the annual arts festival at school Dad.” She told him. “And, it’s coming up soon. Maybe both Mom and you can go with me this year?”
Blake didn’t like the sound of spending time with his ex-wife, but if it meant time with his little girl he’d take it. “I’ll talk to your Mom about it okay?” He asked.
“Okay,” Charlotte answered. “Can I go back to my book?”
Blake nodded, “Yep,” He got up and started to retreat from the room. He looked over once and saw she’d started reading again. Then Blake turned and went out into the living area of the apartment and turned on the tele-net. And sure enough, the news feed was actively talking about what happened.