Welcome to my second character interview. This time I sat down with Shawn Dooley (SD). For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Dooley, he is Elysabeth’s roommate and has been her best friend for the past eight years.
We met in the quad between his classes, and I’m thankful he was able to fit me in at all. The life of a math major gets busy.
I hope you enjoy getting to know Shawn a bit better.
Rachel de la Fuente (RdlF): Shawn, thanks for taking some time to talk to me. I really appreciate it.
SD: No problem. Lys mentioned she’ll be speaking to you, so I figured I might as well do it, too.
RdlF: You two are such good friends. How did you meet?
SD: She asked me about making games for my calculator on our first day of high school.
RdlF: That sounds interesting. Are you a big gamer?
SD: Not really, not anymore. I have a few favorites. Lys and I will have game nights every once in a while. As our class load has increased, we haven’t had as many opportunities.
RdlF: How are your classes going? Any regrets about pursuing a course in math?
SD: It’s intense, but I love it. Everything makes sense, you know? It’s logical.
RdlF: I can see where that would be appealing. With such intense study, what do you do to relax?
SD: Whatever Lys wants. [he laughs] I’d probably be a hermit these days if it wasn’t for her. I used to go out more often, but I just haven’t felt the urge recently.
RdlF: Speaking of going out, is there anyone special in your life?
SD: No, lately I’ve experienced a sharp decline in my interest to date. Maybe it’s my classes. They’ve definitely been getting harder.
RdlF: Better to focus on your studies, I suppose.
SD: Yeah, that’s true. I wouldn’t want to get distracted and screw up now.
RdlF: So do you and Lys share a lot of interests?
SD: Oddly, not really. But she gets so absorbed in things, and is so enthusiastic about stuff, that you can’t help getting sucked in. Like I’m not really into Harry Potter, but she’s convinced me I’m a Ravenclaw, nothing really surprising there.
RdlF: Is there anything you introduced Lys to?
SD: She swears I’ve introduced her to a lot of music. My tastes are really varied.
RdlF: What’s something you two don’t share? I’m not looking for secrets, just hobbies or interests.
SD: I really like history. The Renaissance, the revolutions, what I consider the golden era of royalty. It’s fascinating. But it isn’t really her cup of tea. No matter how hard she tried to keep up with stuff with me, I could tell she wasn’t feeling it.
RdlF: It’s nice that she tried.
SD: Yeah, I appreciated the effort.
RdlF: I’m going to change tracks a bit now. What’s your best memory?
SD: That’s hard. I don’t think I have a single best memory so much as a collective set that’s my favorite. Growing up, around Christmas, decorating the tree involved sharing fun stories and memories. And Lys and I have kept that going since we moved in together. It’s nice to reminisce.
RdlF: That sounds really lovely. Keeping on a positive note, what do you like most about yourself?
SD: My brain. It may be a silly thing to say, but I like being smart.
RdlF: Is there anything you wish you could change?
SD: I always wanted to be better looking when I was growing up, and if an opportunity fell into my lap, I probably wouldn’t turn it down, but these days I’m pretty happy with how I look.
RdlF: I’m happy for you. That’s a good place to be. What kinds of plans do you have for your future. I don’t mean in terms of work. Do you want to get married? Have kids?
SD: That’s not really a question I get asked a lot. I’ve never really given much thought to marriage, but I definitely want to find a life-partner. If part of that partnership is marriage, that’s cool. A kid or two would probably be nice as well, but I have no idea if I’d be a good dad. I’d probably want to start with a dog and go from there.
RdlF: I’ve had many people tell me a pet is nothing like a child.
SD: Maybe not, but it’s still being responsible for someone other than yourself. Specifically, someone that is wholly dependent on you for survival.
RdlF: So are you a dog person?
SD: I’m an animal person. But it seems like dogs are more needy, so it would be a better preparation for kids.
RdlF: That’s fair. Choosing one living and one dead person, who do you most admire?
SD: I feel like it might be a little cliche for a math major, but… wait, there are a lot more people walking around. [checks watch] Damn [standing] I have to go. I’ve got to get across campus in five minutes. [starts running] Sorry!!
Despite the interview being cut short, I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Shawn. If you want to know who Shawn most admires, sign up for my newsletter, I’ll be including the answer in the next issue. And if you want to know more about Shawn, make sure to pick up The Most Special Chosen when it’s released on March 3, 2018.
