Pointless debates??? We're just twiddling out thumbs while we wait, we'd forget more if we didn't! Some of these discussions
I chose all the nicest choices with Nika
- I'm certain most evil/heartless choices will backfire in a story about healing. But by the context of the dinner with the Benz's, he manages to defuse the Zara situation, and by the end of the night has turned it around. THe subsequent scene with Zara on the street court, her being eager to have Nika around, show that Nika can bite his tongue. He specifically mentions he's there to support Noji when he almost drops Zara in the pool. The locker room thing he takes the hit to prevent too much resentment. There's heaps of times he masks purely to fit the social expectations, and he's rusty, not used to being out in people's faces. Yet, he manages at the book club again. And he knows not to play with private toys he doesn't own, unlike the girls. So yeah, I'd say that he knows when to be polite, and he also knows when to push it. The earlier stuff is a direct result of him not socialising - he's disconnected. By Ch5 he's stressed still by people, bt he's remembered how to respond, how to interact to a fair extent.
Vanessa is also trying to suss him out, but uses Zara as a proxy, tries to get her angry at Nika almost constantly. Sibling rivalry is a thing, but even still. Vanessa might be intelligent, but she seems the odd one out of the Benz's, Nick an Zara both act like solid people even in Zara's case when she's angry. Vanessa for all her intelligence is really obvious in the way she tries to trigger everyone, even Noji. Nick calls her out on it as well, not just Zara. Also her ego makes her think she's special, the way she smiled when she said:
va "Not that I'm not used to being stared at... I mean, look at me.
She's way too into herself.
Regards, Amber, as a psych, she knows exactly what she's doing. Remember that she's giving Stefanie relationship advice on the phone. It seems to me that her professional warmth and empathy go maybe too far - Nika notices it at the bookclub when he realises why she's introducing herself to him - she is perhaps very considerate and it gets misread. But she also has pierced nipples, so, a wild child as well. Bella's got an example of how to live large and calm down later right at home. I think as we find out more about Amber's other daughter we'll get a better idea of this.
Considering Bella stole back the teddy, I'm wondering if it was her sisters, and she sees AMber giving it away as AMber becoming resigned to her sister never waking, while Bella still hopes.
Absolutely she does know. Noji would've spoken about them at least, just like you already know that one of Nick's kids is very unique. There's also a case to be made that Vanessa already knows what she needs to know, and is just toying with Nika to prove her superiority, or to make him nervous enough to make a mistake.
"You know the answer":
$ VaInt = True
scene ad706 with dssa
va "*whisper* I do indeed."
Or she just needs people to acknowledge she's better, just like Zara does, and sets people up to prove how she's outmanoeuvred them.
