Changes

Chapter 01

No way, really, to introduce this... just read it and review. You have to review. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. Just do it. Lots of constructive criticism, please, because I KNOW I need help.

.o.O.o.

Jennifer MacKenna sat up groggily from her place on the floor. She looked around and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, She had been laying on the floor of her bedroom, wrapped in her quilt and sheets. She looked over the edge of her bed, eyes meeting with those of her cat, Alexander, who was smiling a scary, Cheshire Cat-like grin.

"Crickey," she moaned, rolling back onto her side. "I feel like someone's knocked me out with a baseball bat." She glanced at her alarm clock, which read 3:53 p.m. "Great."

Forcing her self to get up, Jennifer teeter-tottered into the hall. "I know what I feel like," she said to Alexander as she reached the bathroom. "I have a hangover." Jennifer looked downward to see what was making the bottom of her pajamas wet, and noticed sleepily that steam was billowing out from under the bathroom door. "JUSTIN!" She bellowed, banging on the door. "Justin, I feel like a drank two crates of vodka last night... THAT HAD BETTER NOT MEAN WHAT I THINK IT DOES!"

"WHFD?" came a muffled voice from within the bathroom.

"What?" Jennifer asked, loudly and angrily.

The sound of running water stopped, and Jennifer could hear the slap of wet feet coming towards the door. A tall, olive-skinned teen stuck his head out from behind the door. "I said: What?"

"I said: I feel like I won the international drinking contest last night. Do you have any idea why?" Jennifer said, watching the steam streak out the top of the bathroom door.

"Actually, I haven't got a clue why you feel like that, other than the fact that you asked Chris to hold your cup last night."

"Oh, crap." Jennifer's face fell.

"'Oh, crap,' is right," her brother agreed solemnly. "Lucky for you, you couldn't embarrass yourself because you locked yourself in your room. But..."

"But what, Jason?" Jennifer demanded. She could only imagine what it was her brother was reluctant to spill.

"Well, you couldn't get out of your room when you got sick..."

"Oh, gross. Oh, GROSS." Jennifer turned on heel and ran back down the hall. "THANKS A WHOLE LOT, JUSTIN!"

"What did I do?" Justin mumbled to himself, walking back into the bathroom to finish his shower.

Jennifer walking warily into her room, watching her feet like someone might when walking through a mind field. She knew it was here somewhere... oh, gross, there it was. Luckily for Jennifer, her room had a wooden floor, so there wouldn't be much of a stain. However, she still had to clean up her own puke.

Jennifer walked into the kitchen to be greeted by her mother, busily scrubbing away at some stubborn spill on the linoleum floor, her curly black hair hitched up into a sloppy bun. "Morning, Jennifer."

"Mmhmm," Jennifer responded, absentmindedly watching her mother scrub the floor, momentarily forgetting why she had come into the room. "Hey, Momma, I need that... mop. I got sick in my room last night."

Her mother didn't respond, but Jennifer distinctly saw her mother duck her head and grin. "Mother, it's not funny!" Jennifer said.

"I know, I know, I don't condone drinking, either, but –," Mrs. MacKenna tried unsuccessfully to suppress her giggles.

"Gah, Mother!" Jennifer snapped. "I can't believe you think this is funny! You need to tell Justin to keep better control of his friends. You let them have free reign here on Friday nights."

"Au contraire, Mademoiselle," Mrs. MacKenna said, watching Jennifer grab the mop from the kitchen closet, "I made Justin take his friends out to one of their houses after I found out they spiked your drink."

"Yeah, that'll teach them."

"There was no lasting damage."

"That's what you know."

"Chris doesn't have the resources to get anything really bad, so you should be fine... unless you broke something while you were dancing around in your pyjamas."

"I was dancing?"

"That's what Justin said. He said you were dancing to Shania Twain's 'I feel like a Woman'."

"Lord help us all."

"That's what I said. Justin said you nearly decked Matthew when he tried to change the song."

"Lovely." Jennifer marched back to her room, trailing the mop behind her. The sound of some 80's hair band was coming from Justin's loft, along with Justin's own voice. The racket was so loud that Jennifer couldn't hear the stomping about that was coming from her room

Unaware of any strange goings on, Jennifer opened the door to her room and said, "Now, where is that sick –," before falling unconscious to the ground. A tiny dart, the size and color of a lady bug, was sticking out of the back of her neck, and three figures, one normal, human sized, one huge, and one the size of a child, were examining the shot.

"Nice aim," said the tiny figure, touching the unconscious Jennifer lightly with his hand. "Well executed." The small figure was hovering off the ground.

"Thanks," said the larger figure, picking Jennifer up carefully and laying her over his shoulder. "Artemis, the others should be taking care of the mother and boy now... are they sure they have it right this time?"

"Foaly's equipped them with the most advanced memory altering technology. He assured me that, with a few letters from her every now and then, they'll not have a relapse. He made certain that there will be not be another 'Jumeau,' fiasco."

"Who was it that was taking care of her father... and friends?"

The tiny figure answered. "A girl from somewhere and a couple of the LEP agents... I think they got the girl to make sure the guys weren't too rough."

"Fine." The huge one sighed.

"Last one down, friend," the normal one patted his arm.

"Let's get back to Ireland."

"Alrighty then." The small one rubbed his hands together. "Let's go."