In the night, a single girl shook a spray paint can- aggravated. All out. She looked at the underpass she'd tagged, or well...nearly tagged. An incomplete piece of art. Loey's brow furrowed. The biggest of pet peeves. "It's fine" she whispered to herself, tossing the useless canisters into the bushes. "I'll have to run home and finish it, quick. It's fine" she repeated. Maybe if I keep saying that, it'll be true.
Loey gripped her skateboard and set off. Her feet felt like they could fly. Launching had to be her favorite part of riding. The slim sense of comfort she'd built up inside flipped when the sound of sirens hit the block.
She swallowed hard, pedalled faster.
Maybe I won't come back and finish it. Too sketchy.
Maybe they aren't looking for me, maybe they're looking for someone else? Unlikely.
Some old ninny probably saw her through a window and called the police. Just as Loey readied to turn onto her street, she had to skrrrt to an abrupt stop and she fell face first off her board. A cop car sat in the cross section parked horizontally, completely blocking off the street. The douchebag had a shit eating grin on his face, but that was all she got out of the blurry world considering it was one helluva tumble. Pavement; meet cheekbone.
"We had you picked for a lad, bollocks! Now I owe me next paycheck to Barb's. Thanks kid." The fucker sounded like he was eating something.
Bozo with a bagel in his mouth cuffed Loey and took her downtown. Cut to three weeks later: the court reached the decision to give her community service. Only because it was her first offense. The judge specifically stated that he was 'not a fan of her uglying up the town for fun.'
She now stood in the orange jumpsuit from hell with a fag between her lips and frown on her face. The mirror in front of her was being occupied by another girl. Loey's eyes avoided the spot because she couldn't stand to see the comb being ripped through this strangers roots over and over again.
The scraped together ponytail made Loey wanna light up right in the locker room. Nobody likes an indoor smoker, she reminded herself.
"You sharin' with the class, sweetheart?" A curly haired prick snatched the cigarette right from her lips and Loey felt her anger flare. She inhaled through her nose, in and out, willing herself to stay calm. Fuck it. Let the tosser keep it. I have a whole pack.
She looked past the douchebag trying to fit her fag behind his ear, admiring the way the other male styled his jumpsuit. He had it unzipped and around his waist to show off his muscles. That's a good idea. She really hated how the outfit bunch up at her armpits and chest because they weren't exactly designed for 'big titties.'
Loey whirled around and unzipped her front- specifically not wanting to see the irish fellas reaction to her tattoo or her breasts. Her blue crop top underneath kept her shoulders and chest covered, but it revealed just a few inches of midriff, exposing the tiny seal drawn next to her bellybutton.
"You pull it off better way than I do" The 6 foot tall, dark skinned, Adonis with style said, clearly attempting to be sexy. He shot her a passing grin as he walked out of the locker room.
"Aye! No flirting yet, mate! We haven't called dibs" Prick hollered from behind.
"Prick" Alisha echoed Loey's own thoughts.
She was the only person in the group that Loey knew, from college. They hooked up with some of the same dudes. A lot of Loey's ex boyfriend's were Alisha's one night flings. I always did have a thing for the wounded. She's looking well fit though, her green eyes quite obviously lingered on her old friends exposed bra.
While the others exited- Alisha lingered.
"Haven't seen you in awhile" She mumbled, her eyes unfocused as she applied mascara.
What's this about? Loey wondered.
"You still dating Rudy?"
Oh. She stopped running her fingers through her curls and swallowed with disdain. Her gaze shooting to the floor and her mood plummeting.
"No. I walked in on him fucking my mum" Loey answered without emotion.
"This is it. This is your chance to do something positive. Give something back. You can help people. Really make a difference in people's lives."
Loey couldn't help but snort, thinking back to the night of her arrest. Yeah that's what I'll be doing here. As if. Picking up piss and shit doesn't make fuck all of a difference.
When she walked out last of the group from the locker room, everyone had already lined up against the railing. Loey made a beeline in an attempt to stand next to the quietest bloke on the end, but instead- Irish boy had other plans. He'd made a valiant effort and almost had her a headlock, wrestling with her childishly on for all to see. At first.
She stopped putting up a fight and wound up under his arm. Her cheeks burned like tomato's and she wanted to crawl into a hole, but there was no denying the butterflies in her stomach. I like the way he smells. God I'm a fucking dolt. A honest to god dipshit.
The girl with no hairline made a horse toothed expression at the two from Loey's right. Yep. A hole. I want to crawl into a hole and die.
"There are people out there who think you're scum. You have an opportunity to show them that they're wrong."
"But what if they're right?" The prick wrapped around her said with a comical expression "No offense. I'm thinkin some people are just born criminals."
Prick motioned with his hands not-very-subtly towards a less than impressive thug type.
"You lookin' to get stabbed?"
"Don't look at me when you say that" Loey couldn't help the grate of her own voice, loud and irritated, earning a grin from the athletic player. She cringed and leaned to spit into the water uncaring.
"See my point there?" Curly pressed further into her side.
A phone went off and Alisha being Alisha, she answered it; twirling a finger around her highlighted curls.
So is this it then? Chaos? Loey relented to the forced affection of this guy who's name she didn't even know, and hid her face in his jumpsuit clad shoulder. Clearly he was keen on making some sort of moronic community service claim on her.
"Doesn't matter what you've done in the past."
"Hey? Doing my community service. Boring as fuck."
Tony, AKA clipboard and bullshit: the social worker, grew annoyed. "Excuse me. I'm still talking here."
Alisha wasn't having it. Loey snorted.
"Wot'? I thought you'd finished."
Sometimes I wish I could just step out of my body. Being around so many people sucked the life out of her, having to keep up with all the different energies going on. From the cokehead pissed off at her new boytoy to Tony's lost ass.
"You see my mouth still moving...that means I'm still talking."
"Yeah well, you could've been yawning…..ooor chewin'."
"Or miming. " Loey mumbled.
It took way too long for them all to amble over and start actually working, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Killing time is kind of the only thing to do when it comes to 200 hours. Painting benches isn't the most thrilling activity. But with a brush and a bucket of her own, Loey gets away from the affectionate shit for brains known as Nathan. She didn't want to have feelings for someone and get her heart broken. He looked like the sort.
"I don't think you're weird. I think they're weird. Neither of 'em know me but they both hit on me?" Loey confessed to her new companion decidedly expressing her slight discomfort, and also making the quiet bloke feel a bit better. Nathan kept referring to him as 'weird kid.' No matter how many times she socked his arm.
"I'm Loey" she introduced, offering him a handshake.
Gary, the gangbanger wannabe, got up and threw all of his shit suddenly. He was in front of them so they both cringed back.
"Aw man! There's paint on my cap!"
Good the fucking thing was ugly, she thought.
Everyone shared a laugh as the fit-throwing bitch ran into a shopping cart- leaving them to fall into a peaceful chatter.
"-This is a network for young offenders. We should be swapping tips, brainstorming'" Nathan spoke to Kelly, the chav, from the side "come on what did you do?"
Her eavesdropping was interrupted as the 'weird kid' finally took her outstretched hand.
"I'm Simon."
Her interest sparked and her focus recentered, she smiled brightly. Glad to have made a friend not in it for her knickers.
"What about you, WEIRD KID?"
The handshake dropped and Simon's glimpse of hope disappeared, a light scuffed out, and a new frown on his face. He looked like he'd seen some shit. Loey wondered if his ex fucked his mum as well.
"Don't take this the wrong way or anything- but you look like a panty sniffer" Nathan pretended to sniff imaginary knickers.
She choked on her saliva, and spit off to the side. A bad habit of hers. She was shocked that he'd be so rude so openly.
"I'm not a panty sniffer" Simon said, which clearly he wasn't, he just looked like a mommas boy or something, not a complete creep "I'm not a pervert."
Oh my god.
Nathan then began making these disgusting jerk-off noises, for some reason just needing to keep pissing people off. It was rather unattractive so Loey blatantly stared at him, wanting to memorize the moment and deter those screwy butterflies.
"I tried to burn someone's house down" Simon said with a whole lotta pent up aggression.
Loey had the feeling they were seeing the same facial expression Simon wore when he decided to do such a thing. He looked like he wanted to hit Nathan's house next. She snorted at the thought and dropped a hand compassionately on his shoulder.
"People suck everywhere; you must have had a good reason" she reasoned- beginning to paint "I've done worse, mate."
He didn't ask her to elaborate but he gave her a real smile. Loey removed her hand and gave him one just as bright back.
"Aw look at ya, best buds! Tell us why you're here then, love." Nathan pretty much demanded, hands on his hips.
She swallowed and tried not to tense up. How do I say this?
"I was caught tagging" Loey kept things short.
What she should have said was 'I got busted graffitiing the whole damn town.'
She shrugged her shoulders and wiped some paint off on her chin, completely forgetting about the stitching above the spot.
"Mhm and what about that pretty little scratch?" the irish thorn in her side sauntered closer. Simon became noticeably more uncomfortable, but he and Kelly held curious looks on their faces. They wanted to know too.
Its not as if I have some interesting past. Just a whole lotta skeletons.
"Got an abusive lover we oughta' know about?"
Loey had to outright laugh at that. Nathan really was his own brand of vulgar. She could see his little ego being stroked by her amused reaction but she didn't care. Rude as ever, Nathan IS proper funny.
"I ate shit trying to skateboard away from the police. Tragic really."
Nathan snorted then, trying to hide his reaction in his elbow.
"Amazing. Magnificent really" Tony announced with a less than pleased look on his face "its painting benches? How'd you lot manage to screw that up?" Simon and Loey both stared blankly at the part of the bench that Gary fucked up. They didn't reply. She bit her lip. She felt like something was coming. A random chill in the air made the brunette stand and pull her jumpsuit all the way up. Loey ignored Nathan's flirty whistles.
A piece of iceberg sized hale dropped straight out of the sky- crushing a windshield. Thunder.
"That's my car!" Tony hollered next- a look of horror on his face.
Loey bumped Simon's shoulder and was about to laugh when another chunk of hale hit the garbage bins a little too close for comfort. Is this normal? She wondered, eyes darting all around. They both dropped to their knees and ducked at first but there was a look of conflict on his face. He paused...and then decidedly wrapped an arm around her.
"Jesus!" Curtis shouted as the storm kicked off.
All of the offenders sprinted for the community center, only to find it locked for some ungodly fucking reason. Loey clutched Simon's arm in a death grip only to be ripped away by the increasing winds.
That was when the lightning hit.
Authors Note
I decided to end the first chapter here so that you, the reader, get to help me decide what Loey's power should be. And if she should romance Nathan or Simon. I could have her get the ability of force fields which she would later advance and be able to use energy bursts like Violet in the Incredibles. I could give her a hulk type power where when she gets too stressed, she becomes strong and fast and blacks out. I could give her intuition, rendering Future Simon useless and saving a lot of time for everyone. I could give her the ability to take away the 4 senses. What do you think?