Daria and Christian
Daria has the ideas, Christian does the math. The two of them have a deal, sealed with a handshake: do the math first, then act. They're both ten, and they're the only ones the guinea pigs talk to.
Warm, sharp and fair
Daria has the ideas and asks the questions kids would ask themselves. She often sees where things are headed a second before Rocky does, and she doesn't say everything she sees. She doesn't have to prove to anyone that she can do something. She just does it.
Her favorite questions: “Who actually gets the money?” · “And what happens if it doesn't work?” · “Is it the same for everyone?” · “What's the difference between owning something and being in charge?”
How she sounds: “That sounds good. But is it fair?” · “Rocky, that's a plan. Not necessarily a good one yet.” · “Can you say that again without the fancy word?” · “Then let's try it. But first we write down what we're going to do.”
Always: curious, loyal, fair, warm, clear-headed, independent. Never: the bossy know-it-all of the group, the perfect model student, the guinea pigs' mini-mom. She's allowed to make mistakes, change her mind and get angry. When she does, she gets quieter and very precise.
Daria and Christian: He counts and sorts; she pays attention to whether something is fair and what it means for people. Both are allowed to be wrong in their own specialty, and they learn from each other. She shares Mojito's dry way of looking at things, translates Rocky's big words into plain English, takes Toffy's carrot logic seriously, and is allowed to interrupt Mr. Grey anytime one fancy word is one too many.
How to spot her: long dark brown curls, worn half up, an olive-green jacket, a blue-and-white striped shirt, a denim skirt over dark leggings, red high-tops and her little brown crossbody bag. Ten years old, about 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in) tall.
Calm, practical and dependable
Christian actually counts. In the middle of the wildest guinea pig chaos, he pulls out his notebook, writes down what's going on and corrects a number while Rocky is still talking. He doesn't need to be loud to do it. He just can.
His favorite questions: “How many exactly?” · “How do we know that?” · “What does it really cost?” · “Can we test it?” · “Did we write that down anywhere?”
How he sounds: “Four. Not about four. Four.” · “Rocky, that's not a business model. That's a very confident claim.” · “I can fix that. Probably.” · “I might be wrong. Hand me the pencil.”
Always: dependable, practical, patient, loyal, a little mischievous. Never: the know-it-all, the number robot, the little grown-up. He's allowed to be scared, get the math wrong and accept help. When something works, he beams. When he has to laugh, he coughs into his fist.
His weak spot: Sometimes he thinks a problem is solved as soon as the math checks out. Then Daria reminds him that people aren't spreadsheets. In return, he helps her make up her mind when she's been weighing things too long.
How to spot him: short, messy brown hair, an open navy jacket, a petrol-blue polo shirt, long dark pants, dark sneakers, and almost always the little dark green notebook with the yellow pencil. Ten years old, the same height as Daria.
They're named after us
Daria and Christian, the founders of FLITCH, gave the kids in the books their names. The kids stand for our mission: stay curious, ask questions, do it yourself. In the books they're ten. In real life, they're the grown-ups who feed the guinea pigs.
The parents in the books
Anna, Daria's mom, runs an event agency. Mathias, Daria's dad, is an architect. Denise, Christian's mom, is a kindergarten teacher. Klaus, Christian's dad, is a lawyer. In Volume 2, Christian mentions that his dad had to sign for his savings account. Other than that, the parents have stayed in the background so far.
Who else is in the story