Devin

Matt slaps Devin on the shoulder, "That was a good one, man!"

Devin humbly shrugs.  He learned from a young age that comedy worked for him.  If his mom was upset he could usually get her to crack a smile with a corny knock knock joke.  When he was old enough to go to school he found if he was embarrassed in class over a bad grade he could be laughed at for a much more fun reason.  And just now, he was able to deflect attention when Matt started to ask too many questions about something that he had no desire to talk about.  "Yeah, heard a version of that on Kimmel last night.  Thought you'd appreciate that little twist."

The problem with this little talent of his was that it was getting him exactly where he didn't want to go.  Okay, maybe not exactly, but he wanted different for himself.  You see, the reason his mom was usually upset, the reason he couldn't concentrate at home, the thing he didn't want to talk about with his friends...that was his dad.  The Inspector General.  Yeah, not the most warm fuzzy encouraging guy on the planet.  Sure, he gets respect.  He has a good job, provides well for his family.  Devin has no idea if his dad has friends or what he's like to work with, but he does know that the man is absolutely no fun to live with.  Nothing is good enough.  Ever.

As a kid Devin just wanted to make his Mom happy.  Thus the jokes.  But as he got older he found it a handy tool to hide from his problems.  Now, staring across the parking lot at the problem he's spent his lifetime trying to escape he starts to wonder...

Devin waves to his friend as he jogs off toward his father, "Gotta go, catchya later."

When he climbs into the passenger seat he decides it's time for an experiment, "Hey, Dad!  How was your day?"

The Inspector does a double take.  You see, you don't talk like that to him.  It's supposed to be, "Yes, Sir.  No, Sir.  Right away, Sir."  As a sensitive child it really didn't take any effort to get him to comply with his dad's wishes. Just the slightest glare would usually whip him into shape.  High School Psych class doesn't get too in depth, but it's given him just enough information about avoidance to get him to wonder.

"Watch your manners, boy."  His dad fidgets with his phone to call  his secretary.  He spends the entire ride home making demands.

Even more interesting was that he barely looked at Devin at dinner.  He didn't speak to his son and when Devin's mom tried to engage him in conversation his father spoke over her, making sure Devin didn't get to speak.

All of his life Devin wanted to be like his dad, if for no other reason than to earn his approval.  His dad was the picture of strength.  He wanted that kind of respect when he was out in the real world.  But now he wondered if his dad was happy.  And even more, he wondered if he was on a similar path.  Were the rules and the strictness and busyness just a front for some insecurity?  Devin was scared that his comedy was a front too.  He felt like he was pushing his friends away.  Like no one really knew him  anymore.  If he kept at it, was did his future hold?