Author's Note: Just a quickie that I put together, procrastinating on my paper. All about Tabby's earliest experience with the X-gene, and possibly background for another Evo-related project I've been mulling over. Eh, we'll see how this goes. Points if you know who Tabby's friend is. Admittedly, if you know my Fan-obsessions, it'll be pretty quick to spot. Rated for ... Thematic issues(?) if that's what they're being called now.
Spin, spin, spin.
It's a carousel.
Spin.
Tabitha thought she was going to vomit all over her shoes. She should have stayed in like a good girl, she supposed. Still, everything had been fun. She was out after bed-time, and her best friend had promised a secret at the end of the evening. Tabitha loved secrets. They were little whispers all for her to share with everyone.
And Jenny knew the best secrets. As soon as they got out of the amusement park, Tabitha was assured that this would be the best secret ever. Until then, the corn dogs Jenny had gotten were begging to decorate the large white t-shirt of Tabitha's night dress.
"Can we stop, Jenny? I don't feel so good," Tabby protested, hoping off the revolving platform at the dark corner where two tents barricaded the merry-go-round from the rest of the world.
In a swirl of blond hair Jenny followed, falling over, and laughing.
"See, the world's still spinning, Tabby!"
She pointed heavenwards with one chubby finger. Atlantic City's light pollution and clouds didn't make the sky picturesque, but they swirled in Jennifer's mind. At least, they managed to until Tabby stamped one duct taped shoe near her head.
"Get up, stupid. There's still so much to do, and they might notice us! We're not supposed to be here, you know."
Jenny sighed, and sat up, brushing dirt from her jeans and tight little t-shirt. Tabby was such a stickler for rules. Besides, Jenny did not like to be called stupid. Still, she probably should reassure her friend. There was nothing Jenny could not do right now. She was immortal.
"Don't worry, I've got a feeling that we're the luckiest people on the world, tonight," the girl told Tabitha smugly, laughing at the word lucky.
That got Tabitha, who looked at Jenny with suspicion. If her blond, blue eyed almost-twin was feeling confident, that generally meant Tabby was in for something nasty. Or dangerous. Jenny was blithely unaware of consequences in a way that Tabby envied. Of course Tabitha knew that Jenny's dad didn't love her, and her mother forgot to do everything that Tabitha's Mom did twice over, so Jenny could do pretty much whatever she wanted. It wasn't fair, but Tabitha thought that she liked her position slightly better most days.
Jenny's eyes sparkled with mischief. "C'mon," a finger beckoned. "One more round on the carousel, and then I'll tell you a secret."
Tabitha nodded, letting Jenny pull her into the short line for the carousel. Jenny still had that roll of tickets that she had found on the ground only a few seconds after they two girls had jumped the fence. Handing one to Tabby, Jenny pocketed them again. "What do you think of my name?" she asked, all of a sudden.
"Huh?"
"Well, Tabby, it's like this boring old name, isn't it? I mean, Jennifer. Not much you can do with it, is there?" the blond girl commented, soliciting Tabitha's opinion, without caring much about the answer. "I don't think you think "oh, she must be cool," when you hear my name."
Tabitha wanted to come to Jenny's defense, as her friend. "Well, I think, "hey it's my awesome friend Jenny," when I hear it, I guess."
A sigh escaped into the night air, as both girls climbed on the big black horse with blue ribbons. "You're not getting it. I mean, you're Tabitha; no one else is Tabitha, and it's exotic. I need a cool nickname of some kind. I mean, I want people to say my name and think," she leaned closer, only 12 years old, and not quite ready to say these words out loud without embarrassment, "that I'm S-E-X-Y. Y'know? I thought about spelling it J-E-N-I, but still, Jenny's the name of a girl next door. I wanna be, I wanna be dangerous, you know?" She looked up at the stripey roof whirling overhead.
Tabitha thought about it. "You already wear make up, and have, you know. That. I'm sure people think you're much more adult, y'know?"
"Maybe," Jenny grimaced. "But I heard Greg say that he thinks I'm boring," her red mouth gained an ugly look in the blur of the merry-go-round reel. Tabitha rested her head on Jennifer's shoulder, trying to settle her stomach.
"Eh, what does he know? Davin Tavitt, now--"
"Oh, I am so over Davin," Jenny told Tabitha contemptuously. "He wasn't even good at kissing."
Tabitha sat up, her dancing eyes wide. "You've kissed a guy?"
The look that Jenny sent her way was very sly. "Yeah."
"What was it like? Tell me!"
"Not very fun," Jenny admitted. "He wouldn't stop squeezing my jugjugs. I think I still have bruises. You know, like on that video on inappropriate touching. And he kept trying to stick his tongue in my mouth. There was drool. It wasn't good. Travis is much better. He does this thing to – well, I'm not going to say. But it feels really good. I'll show you sometime, if you want. It's a little surprising at first. I couldn't believe him when he did it. He had his hands under my shirt before I could do anything. But don't tell anyone, will you? He's still dating Annalise," Jenny grinned wolfishly, knowing it would be all over the school in a few days, because Tabitha couldn't keep her mouth shut, ever. That was going to be the real test of the night, actually.
"Yeah, sure. Wow," Tabitha wondered if Jenny would change now that she'd been kissed. Didn't seem like it, and that made Tabitha smile. Jenny may like to shake things up, but she never really changed. "I don't think you've got to worry about your name," the young girl added hastily. "I mean, who cares what Greg thinks?"
"Half of the school," Jenny pointed out.
"Are we part of that half? I'm not part of it," Tabitha elbowed Jennifer in the ribs, laughing as the carousel stopped.
Jenny grinned, thinking that she was right in trusting Tabby. Tabby and Jenny, best friends forever. Twins who had been separated at birth, or something. "C'mon, I know where they keep the cash box," she said quietly to Tabby, before pushing her way off the merry-go-round, and through the crouds. Tabitha, in her pajama pants and ridiculous t-shirt followed, confused by Jennifer's reference to cash boxes. "What?"
Jenny lead the thin girl to a shadowed area between two buildings. She pointed at a padlocked door. "Just behind there is enough to make us super rich. I've been figuring it since last week."
"What? Jenny, that's stealing!"
Jennifer rolled sparkling blue eyes. "And? Have you paid for anything that we've enjoyed tonight? I certainly haven't. If people can't be bothered to lock up their stuff properly, well, you snooze you lose."
Tabitha pointed at the lock on the door. "That seems pretty well locked."
The grin that spread over Jenny's face would have put the Cheshire cat to shame. Tabitha felt as though she was spinning in a world of teeth. "That's what it looks like. But I told you, I've got a secret. Promise not to tell?"
"You're stealing, Jenny," Tabitha whispered, feeling an excited thrill down her spine.
"Yeah, I am, and I'm gonna share it with you," Jenny told her, "like good friends do. You can share it with your mom. She might be able to get her engagement ring back from Dirty Moll's. Heck, with this much, you'll never need to pawn anything ever again."
Tabitha bit her lip. With this amount of money (if Jenny's idea was sound), she could get new shoes. Nice track shoes just for gym. And Jenny could stop taking clothes from department outlets. It'd be perfect. And she wouldn't have to tell her mother where she got the money, if she was smart about it.
"It's a promise."
Jenny's grin split wider, and she lifted her hands. White light glowed just above her skin, whirling like a pinwheel. Tabitha watched, feeling part of her brain blown away by the sight. This was, this was. Magic? She wanted to poke the light ball, but it looked as though it would burn her if she touched it.
"You know what this is, Tabby?" Jenny's voice sounded gloating, terrible.
"No."
"This is what good luck looks like Tabby. Pure, distilled good luck. I'm like a walking shamrock. The lady luck. And, tonight," she reached out for the chain on the door, the white light sinking into her.
Tabitha watched enthralled, wondering how it felt. Jenny's face was rapturous, her eyes almost glowing, "we're just lucky enough that the lock is too old to survive a good yank."
Her hand jerked forcefully. Tabby watched as the hasp of the lock snapped. Jenny pulled the chain out of the doorhandles.
"You're amazing."
"I'm lucky," Jenny shrugged, elated. She felt high and free. "You should see what happens when I'm in a bad mood. Bad luck radiates, you know. Well, Tabby?"
The Atlantic City girls pushed open the door into the darkness eagerly.
It was the first night of magic, Jeni, and riches. Things didn't always go perfectly, but that was the luck of the roll, Jeni would say. Leaving it all behind was the right decision, Tabitha knew, because the dangers that came with Jeni's world just weren't worth it in the end. Still, just being with her old friend had been like a whirlwind, high, fast and marvelous in a way not the Brotherhood, X-Men or even the rise of her own magical X-gene could replicate.
Spin, spin, spin.
Life's a carousel.
The spinning of a chamber.
Spin the Routlette.
Reviews are nice. I really get a good feeling when I read them, and it's been a bad week for me.
~ MF