*After an afternoon spent in the library, Charles returns to the cabin, a back of books slung over the back of his chair. He reaches behind himself to grab the bag, toss it onto the bed for reading that night. His laptop sits closed on a small table. As he opens it up to check the network, his gaze falls upon the CD that sits next to it -- it's the CD that Jesse had given to him some time back.

He hadn't had a chance to listen to it yet. Or rather, there always seems to be a reason to so something else other than listen to it, though he had never intended to ignore it. The evening is calm enough, however, and the distance from that ridiculous conversation great enough that Charles picks up the plastic case without being overcome by the dizzying feeling of his life becoming a bizarre situation comedy. He glances at that laptop screen -- the computer has finished waking up -- and takes the CD out of the case, pops it into the optical drive.*