I don't own Touched By An Angel nor do I own American Dragon: Jake Long. Enjoy!!
"Now, what have you learned?" The thick, broad man knelt over top of the thin blonde girl.
"Not to get in your way Master," Rose whimpered trying to refrain from bursting out in tearful pain.
"And…"
"And not to let the American Dragon free again."
"Good," the Huntsman stood and marched out of her door leaving her bruised and quite battered. She was half on her bed and half on the floor.
"Now Tess? Do we enter now?" Monica, the Irish angel leaned over. She had been grasping both angels' hands next to her.
"No Miss Wings, not now. School doesn't begin until tomorrow." The elder angel replied sorrowfully.
"But why can't we help her now? She's hurt now," Gloria, the less experienced angel urged.
"Little angel what did I say?" Tess narrowed her eyes but spoke very quietly.
"We start tomorrow."
"Good, so you were listening. All in the Father's time you two, for in his time, everything does work out perfectly." And with that, all three unseen angels continued to view the girl struggle into her pajamas, finish her overdue homework, and crawl into bed for a short sleep before 'tomorrow' would begin all over again.
XXX
"Now my two precious angels, there is something you should know about this assignment. Miss Wings, do you remember when you told me how brave humans were for waking up each day and starting all over again? Not knowing what was to come?" Tess sat at a coffeehouse table with her two angels.
"Of course I do Tess. That was the day I became a caseworker," Monica smiled.
"Then this little one must be the bravest of them all. Every morning she not only wakes up to start the day over, but she wakes up into fear and terror. She is expected of greatness, and nothing less – but sometimes, at her age, it is just too hard for the baby to follow through. Every day is a chance to redeem herself in her master's eyes, but her heart belongs in another place than her shelter. With someone that she was trained to hate for her entire life. She is working as hard as she can to move towards the light, but there is too much blocking her path."
"So how are we going to help her out?" Gloria explored excitedly. "Is the goal to separate her and her 'master?"
"No. We are not going to be staying with her at all this time, very little will any of us ever enter into her home, and above all, we must remember that she with the help of God, is the only one that get her out of that place that has been her home for her whole life."
"How did she get there in the first place?" Monica sipped her cappuccino.
"Angel girl, she was kidnapped at birth. For her entire time of existence and understanding, she was lied to that her parents had died, and her master had heroically taken her in and saved her life," Tess shook her head, "And it just so happened to be her destiny to be one of them."
"What is her name?"
"Her master refers to her as Huntsgirl – Girl of the Huntsclan. Huntsgirl is tough and ruthless. She doesn't take flippancy from anyone and controls every aspect with and iron fist – as long as those she rules are below her level, and she can rein superiority over them. But everyone at school knows her as Rose, the fun lighthearted, no problems Rose."
"So she balances two personalities?" Gloria realized.
"No Gloria, she balances two different lives. It's like two people in one body," Monica corrected.
"You're both right. Her lives are beginning to intertwine, and that's where her problems with her master are beginning to erupt," Tess explained. "It's like that old saying, every rose has her thorn."
XXX
"Good morning class. Your mythology teacher, Professor Rotwood, has received an… anonymous lead on a mythological creature in his home country. Henceforth, I will be your substitute teacher for the next few weeks. My name is Monica." Monica began the class discussion. "Let's begin with attendance, shall we? Chelsea?"
"Here Miss Monica!"
"All right, Courtney?"
"Present."
"Trixie?"
"Over here!"
"Brad?"
"The Bradster's everywhere!"
"Hmm, I'll make a note of that. Jake?"
"Yo, present!"
"Arthur?"
"You can just call me Spud."
"And finally… Rose?" Monica looked around expecting a perfect attendance list, but this one girl was missing. Suddenly, the door creaked open gently and a young blonde pulled herself into the classroom.
"Sorry I'm late Professor… oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm Rose, sorry I'm late," Rose spoke with a hoarse voice as she handed Monica the pink slip.
"Don't worry about it Rose. We were just finishing attendance. I'm glad you're here," Monica greeted her with a warm loving smile placing the note down onto the desk.
"So can anyone tell me why people came up with tales of wild creatures with unnatural magical powers that can only be imagined in the creative realms of our own minds? Yes Jake?"
"What if these magical creatures really do exist? I mean, it's always possible right?" Jake stuck up for his family.
"Of course I suppose anything is really possible, but history shows us that humans from long ago came up with these inventive ideas to explain the unknown. Anything that was unfamiliar or beyond their understanding was merely solved by thinking of something that is unknown."
"I agree with Jake," Trixie spoke out, "if there's no proof that they do exist, then there's no proof that they don't."
"I think I'm going to really like this class," Monica mumbled to herself. "All right, let's try an exercise. Everyone take out a piece of scrap paper, and I want you all to draw a mythical creature that helps to explain something that is unknown to your minds. Color your drawings and write a short essay on what purpose that it serves, or what it explains, and let's have it due tomorrow."
Towards the end of class, all of the students had gotten into their drawings and the classroom was a buzz of pleasure. Monica enjoyed viewing the children getting into creativity and opening their minds to new concepts all at the same time. She was so disappointed when the bell rang, but then she remembered that she still had five other hours to instruct.
"Rose, may I talk to you for a moment before you leave?" Monica called her out just before she had made it to the doorway.
"Oh, um, sure Monica. What may I do for you?" Rose approached her desk as the last stragglers had left the classroom.
"I noticed in your teacher's attendance book, that you are tardy quite often. Is everything all right at home in the mornings?"
"Yes ma'am. Everything's fine. My, um, Uncle actually works right at home, so he doesn't own a car, and so I have to walk, and I usually get caught at the corner of Main and Elm streets from a lot of traffic."
"Well I drive every morning to school with another one of the substitutes, and a guidance counselor. We have an extra seat, and we would all love to add someone to our group."
"I'm not sure if my uncle would really like having me drive with strangers. He gets nervous about that. Plus, he doesn't like anyone coming by our home."
"Well then how about we pick you up at Main and Elm? That way you won't get stuck there, and you can pass school without the record for the most late slips?"
"I think Jake actually has that award tied in, but that sounds like fun. Thanks a lot."
"It's no problem. Like I mentioned, we've been looking for someone to join us. I'll see you tomorrow morning then?"
"Definitely. Now if you excuse me, I must get to my next class. I don't want to be late for choir. We have a sub in that class too. Our instructor is off singing for the queen. So thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow!" Rose ran off through the door in order to arrive on time.
XXX
"Good morning everyone. My name is Miss Tess. As you all are aware, your normal teacher is off to Europe, and I'll be instructing you until she returns. It is a joy to be working at the high school level. It's been quite a while since I've had the privilege to work with children your age in such a large group! I hope we can get along wonderfully," Tess introduced herself, turning around to the chalkboard to write the lesson plan for the class.
Brad laughed and leaned to the guy sitting next to him, "Push-over. Watch this." He leaned down to take a straw and piece of paper out of his backpack.
"Put the straw down, Brad," Tess ordered firmly with annoyance fluttering in her tone, without having to turn around.
"How did you?" Brad stuttered.
"I have my ways." After running through a short list for attendance, Tess began class, "Now, let's run through some warm-ups."
Overall, the class sounded fine. There was nothing extraordinary about them, but at the same time, they at least all sang in tune and with one another on the same note. There was one that stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Um, Rose, baby. Are you all right?"
"Yes ma'am," Rose replied – still with a harsh and scratchy tone. "There was just a big event at home last night. It was loud, so there was a lot of yelling. I didn't think it would affect my voice this much."
"Well, there's no point in you damaging it any further. Why don't you work on some homework during class, and I'd like to see you after class.
Rose didn't bother to hesitate getting to work. She realized that it would be another busy night, she was still a tad behind in biology, and she wanted to get a head start on that night's math. It was true that she had been shouting during her mission the previous night, but it just wasn't exactly how she had explained it to Miss Tess. The ride in the helicopter was quite noisy, and she was in charge of telling all of the other clan members where they were to be located and their prime duty. She also had to communicate to the Huntsman by shouting, because her radio had died on her – she had forgotten to insert new batteries. Another thing she had done wrong.
Immediately after the bell had rung, Rose approached Tess, "Miss Tess, you asked to see me?"
"Rose, I wanted to make sure that you take good care of those vocal cords tonight. I'm sure that you know the drills on restoring them."
"Liquids and rest?"
"Exactly. Now, I'd like you to go to the school nurse so she can give you more of a prescription. She'll be able to write you a pass for your next class."
"Oh, okay," Rose agreed, but slightly curious about why this day felt different.
XXX
"Make sure he gets plenty of rest and not too many video games this afternoon, Mrs. Smith. Get better soon Johnny," Gloria bid farewell to one of the students who had to leave early because of the stomach flu. "And you," Gloria said turning to Rose who was sitting in one of the waiting chairs, "must be Rose. Come on in. Your choir teacher, Miss Tess, called me ahead of time." She opened her office door, and had Rose take a seat on the small bed. "So it's your throat, right?"
"Yes," Rose replied roughly.
Gloria surveyed Rose's throat glands and looked down her throat, "You're definitely very red and swollen. What happened last night?"
"We were throwing a birthday party for my cousin – his sweet sixteen. You can guess how loud the music was, so I was screaming just to communicate with the person standing next to me."
"A big party on a school night?"
"It was only a couple of hours. He'll probably be celebrating a ton over the next few days."
"Well, just so you don't do any permanent damage, try and avoid too much more partying for a while, and I'm going to put down a recommendation for an over-the-counter med that will help a bit with the swelling and soreness. I really want you to get it tonight and start taking it regularly."
"I can try, I suppose. My uncle – who I live with – normally doesn't like me seeing anyone else besides our family physician, but I should be able to convince him this is a good thing."
"Well I'm glad about that," Gloria smiled. "I'd also like to ask you a few questions."
Rose's face turned bright red with anxiety – she hoped no one would notice. Gloria bothered not to mention anything, because she knew what Rose was hiding.
"I've been assisting the counseling department, and I have a list of students who may need help with tuition for college. Have you talked with your uncle about this by any chance?"
"College? It's only freshmen year."
"Yes, but many scholarships need to be planned for so you can participate in certain events throughout high school. You are planning on going to college, aren't you?"
"I honestly have never talked it over with my uncle. I just like to take life one day at a time, because you never know what the future holds."
"I agree, partly. There's no point in stressing over the future or about the past, but it's always good to have a plan, just in case we all make it through to tomorrow."
"I don't know. I'll ask my uncle tonight if he's not working to hard."
"Sounds like a plan," Gloria accepted Rose's excuse, and began writing her pass to class. "I just want to check one more thing. Could you lay down for me please?"
Rose obliged, "What's wrong?"
"I don't believe you have it, but I only want to ensure that you haven't contracted mononucleosis."
"Mono?! I can't have mono! My uncle would kill me."
After recovering from the fear Gloria had felt from hearing the truth in her statement, she assured, "Rose, I believe you that you just overused your voice, but I'm just checking your spleen to make sure it's still proper size." As Gloria went down to feel the spleen, Rose jumped. "Hmm," Gloria observed.
"Sorry, I'm just ticklish."
"So that didn't hurt you?"
"No, not at all!" Rose promised, but again, Gloria saw through the lie, and felt bad, knowing there was likely a bruise in that spot.
Once the evaluation was complete, Gloria had ruled out the idea of mono, and sent Rose on her way, but encouraged her to return in about a week for another checkup.
XXX
As Rose was walking down the busy sidewalks, she saw a number of drugstores along the way, and instead of trying to convince the Huntsman that she needed this medicine that the nurse suggested, she took the liberty to purchase it herself.
A bell above the door jingled as she entered, and she was quickly able to find the medicine and brought it up to the counter. The cashier, a young man, looked her over, and debated on whether or not to sell a minor the drugs. "Please sir, my school nurse suggested it," Rose handed him the slip of paper. The paper, Rose's scratchy voice, as well as a voice in his head telling him that it was the right thing, made him decide he would sell it to her.
She thanked him and ran the rest of the way home to make up for lost time, but she wasn't fast enough. The traffic had begun to build up at the last intersection she had to cross, and with rude drivers not letting her cross safely, she paced back and forth waiting for her opening. She peered at her watch every ten seconds to control how much time she had, but try as she might, the time refused to slow down, and it even seemed to speed up.
Rose only had three minutes to make the final half-mile dash home, and there was a small opening in traffic, even though the signal clearly stated, 'DON'T WALK.' She took her chances anyway and sprinted across the street. Her pathway stayed clear until the last second when a car made a turn and never saw her in the middle of the crossing. Rose saw the car out of the corner of her eye, and then felt someone pull her onto the sidewalk into safety.
"Thank you," Rose sighed from relief.
"Don't mention it," Andrew, the Angel of Death, smiled and walked by. He watched her race down the sidewalk and into a small building.
"You know you shouldn't be interfering with situations like that," Monica came up to his side.
"I know, but she is so innocent, and it's not her time – yet."
"Are you here to take her to the Father?" Monica worried a bit.
"Not yet, I mean I haven't been given the orders. I was told to come here and wait. It's going to go either way, Monica. She doesn't have much time unless she gets help." With that said, the signal turned to 'WALK' and Andrew safely crossed to the other side of the street leaving Monica with too many questions and no answers.
"Andrew! Help from what? From Who?" But he didn't turn around; he just kept walking right on through.