Disclaimer: not mine!
Something crazy
There was a big party at Central City High School. It was Jedda's first high school party ever and she wasn't sure she felt good about it. The music was too loud and aggressive, the dancing was ugly and she didn't know anyone except L.J. and his girlfriend Kate. Just now, they were dancing together so she was alone and bored in the corner. Moreover, people were glancing at her and whispering, which made her wonder if there was something wrong with her or her brand new pale pink dress. Actually, she had the feeling she was a piece of furniture in Mandrake's living-room.
A girl was staring at her. She forced herself to smile and said:
"Hello!"
"Hello", the girl said while people stopped whispering. "You must be Jenna?"
"It's Jedda, actually."
A boy started laughing. Jedda was feeling helpless. In Bengala, no one would have dared whispering at her! How she missed her home…
"Jedda! How original!"
"In Bengala, it's not that original, actually…"
A girl was whispering in her back. …born among jungle animals, I bet she can't even read… This was too much for Jedda. She turned back and held out her hand.
"Hello! What's your name?"
"It's Bella, of course!"
"Not of course", Jedda corrected. "There are one thousand students in this school. There's nothing wrong with not knowing your name or anybody's name."
People started whispering again. Some kids were shocked and Jedda could make out the words "disrespecting the head cheerleader". Another boy started laughing while Bella looked upset. She glared at Jedda and asked:
"You don't think I'm worth everyone knowing my name?"
"No, I think everyone is valuable!" the Phantom's daughter answered, feeling more and more lost.
"Well, I love your dress!" Bella said with a fake smile. "Most girls wouldn't dare choosing pink, it's so last year…"
"I don't understand. Do you mean some colors just stop existing according to the year?"
More people burst into laughter. Bella looked upset.
"I mean, have you even heard about fashion?" she asked.
"Yes", Jedda said. "I heard about tying people's value to the clothes they wear. Personally, I think it's silly because clothes are not what make us worthwhile but…"
More and more people were laughing. Some were wondering how a girl in her mid-teens could be that innocent and some were making fun of her but most were just happy because that bitch Bella really deserved to be stood up to. The head cheerleader suddenly got very pale.
"Who do you think you are, wild girl?" she asked. "Go back to your jungle and marry a rhinoceros!"
Jedda suddenly felt like crying. She hadn't done anything wrong except speaking her mind! Why was that girl so nasty with her?
"I've met rhinoceroses that were nicer than you", she stuttered.
And she left the room, choking tears back.
Rick Gordon hadn't left his room. L.J. had tried in vain to make him go to the party but he had insisted to stay and work on cloning a new body for his mother, who was currently a disembodied soul in a computer. He had been working on that project for days but he didn't make progress at all. Well, at least he was alone in Monitor as Kshin was at a friend's and the adult Defenders were on another planet. He had plenty of time to work.
But why on Earth couldn't he find the right method? He was a science genius so he should have worked it out by now! This was so frustrating! Rick got up after a few hours, feeling upset, and decided to go and have a drink. Then he would go back to work again.
Someone was sobbing in the kitchen. Rick opened the door and discovered Jedda, who was sitting at the table and crying in her pretty dress. He stared at her for a few seconds and then he grabbed a kitchen roll and held it out to her.
"Thanks", she said, wiping her eyes.
He shrugged and opened the fridge. Rick was not an insensitive person but crying people made him uneasy because he never knew what to say or how to react. Moreover, he didn't know much about that new girl in town. However, he felt he had to say something.
"Bad evening?"
"Well… not good. I'm not even sure about what happened! What's a 'head cheerleader'?"
"Cheerleaders are athletes who make acrobatic stuff during the matches. Why?"
"Well, I had a... some kind of a clash with one of them."
Rick nodded. He was still thinking about Dale Arden's DNA and wondering about the best way to clone it. The lack of solutions was driving him crazy.
"Some cheerleaders are nice, some are nasty", he said absent-mindedly.
"I'm going to go back to Bengala."
Rick put his glass down on the table and stared at the girl.
"What? Now?"
"I can't stand it anymore", Jedda stuttered. "It's too crazy."
"You're giving up now? Come on, we need you and your dad on the team!"
"He can manage without me. I can't stand it anymore, it's just…"
"Oh, please, don't be a crybaby. The world doesn't revolve around you being homesick!"
He had talked without thinking much. Jedda stared at him and left the room without a word. Rick sighed heavily. He was beginning to feel a bit stupid. How did that psychodrama happened?
He went back into his room and stared at his notes. The DNA sequence had to… the DNA… No, it was too complicated. He was starting to feel discouraged when someone knocked at his door.
"Hello… may I have a word?"
He turned his head. Jedda was standing in front of him. Her eyes were still red and she was wearing her usual black outfit again. Rick was feeling more and more uneasy.
"Listen", he said, "this is not a good time for…"
"Thank you."
He frowned. Thank you? That was definitely the last reaction he expected!
"What?" he said.
"Thank you", she said, sitting onto the bed without asking for his permission. "You were right. The world doesn't revolve around me being homesick. If I break down in front of a stupid cheerdealer…"
"Cheerleader", he corrected automatically.
"Cheerleader, I won't be able to stand up to Ming or any really dangerous people. You hurt me a bit but at least you were honest and I need honesty. People haven't been honest enough with me lately."
She was thinking of her father, who loved her so much that he didn't dare opposing her most of the time. Rick nodded, really surprised.
"Well… good night", he said randomly.
"I haven't finished", she said. "You just helped me and I want to help you, too. Did you notice that your dad is worried about you?"
"What?"
"You're working too much, Rick", she said. "We all know you're worried about your mom and that's normal but you won't help her by staying in your room all the time."
"Logically, that's what I have to do", he protested.
"The world is not logical. Your brains are going to explode if you don't do something completely different as soon as possible. Let me help you."
"Brains don't explode like that!"
"That's what I'm saying! You're acting too rational. You need a break so let me help you."
"Right", he said. "I'm OK with playing a game of table tennis or something like that, I guess."
"No, that's still too serious. You need to do something really crazy so your rational side will take a holiday."
I'm a nerd who never kissed a girl, I'm completely clueless about them all and this pretty girl is telling me she wants to do crazy stuff with me. What does she want? I have to wake up now...
"Crazy… how?" he asked.
"Crazy."
He stared at her. She laughed and explained:
"There was a torrent by my home in Bengala. Once in a couple of months, my friends and I used to jump from atop the rocks with our clothes on. Don't tell my father, he doesn't know."
"That's stupid!"
"That was fun. It used to distract us from the most serious problems we had."
Rick thought about. OK, maybe this girl was right. Maybe he needed a distraction, after all. There was no torrent around and he didn't feel like jumping into cold water but maybe there was another option…
"What about joyriding?" he asked.
"I don't know this word."
"You're going to love it! Get some blankets and join me in the jet hangar!"
Jedda frowned. Blankets? This was getting a bit creepy.
"Are we going to…"
"Do something crazy! Yes! Isn't it what you want?"
Jedda gave up. She found two blankets and went down to the hangar. He gestured her into one of the jets.
"I got the food! Sit down and let me drive!"
She sat down, trying not to laugh. This was getting crazy, indeed! He drove the jet into the sky and winked at her.
"Aren't they going to notice that a jet is missing?" she asked.
"I tampered with the security system. They won't notice anything! Here we are!"
Soon he landed the jet on top of a mount. They could see the lights of Central City in front of them. Rick jumped onto the ground and burst into laughter.
"Hey, is this crazy enough for you?"
She laughed in turn. This place was extraordinary, indeed. The ground was covered in soft moss and the city in front of them looked like a field of stars.
"It's beautiful", she said. "What's the name of this place?"
"The Devil's Hill. But it's just a name. I guess. Get the blankets, I get the picnic."
"The… what?"
"The food. I grabbed some randomly in the fridge. Let me see: apple juice, chocolate cake… Oh, I should have taken something crazier, I guess."
"No matter!" she giggled. "Just sit down with me."
They sat onto the blankets and ate the pieces of cake. It felt really weird, being here, just the two of them under the sky. When they had finished, they lied down side by side and stared at the reddish black sky.
"I wish I could see the stars", he said.
"I can see them! There's the Cross, just in the middle of the sky. And this is the Hydrus, the sea serpent. There's the Dove…"
"Jedda, you're naming Southern constellations! We wouldn't be able to see them even if there were no lights in town."
"I can see them, anyway. Just use your imagination."
"You're crazy."
"You need craziness in your life", she laughed. "Anyway, I believe bringing a crystal back to a human being is crazier than thinking of stars."
Rick grew somber. Jedda realized she had talked without thinking. She tried to change the subject.
"Another apple juice?"
"I want to go back home", he said, getting up.
"Rick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I'm not hurt!" he nearly shouted. "I'm fine, OK? Now let me bring you back home and we'll do as if that stupid joyriding never happened!"
He tried to walk back to the jet but she grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her.
"If you're not upset, I'm going to be upset for the two of us!"
"What?"
"Rick, there's nothing wrong with being upset! Everyone would be upset if they were you! I wish I could be upset about having lost my mom but I can't because she died when I was a baby and I don't even remember her! Don't be ashamed of having a heart!"
He stared at her for a few seconds. She sighed and hugged him. He realized that he was feeling upset, indeed, and that being hugged felt good. He started crying. A few minutes passed, and then he wiped his tears.
"Don't tell anybody you saw me cry like a baby", he stuttered.
"Don't tell anybody I don't know what a cheerleader is. Our secret, OK?"
"Everything that's happening tonight will remain our secret."
Then she kissed him. She couldn't explain why she was doing it. She just felt she had to. He was surprised at first, and then he kissed her back. They both tasted like salt and sadness and all the emotions he could hardly name and she could hardly restrain.
Then they stared into each other's faces, speechless.
"Time to go back to Monitor, I guess", he eventually said.
"Yes!" she answered. "They'll all get mad if we don't go back."
"Well… thank you."
"Thank you."
They took the blankets and went back into the jet. Rick was trying to make out what had just happened. This girl was a bit crazy, indeed, but… nice. He was starting to like her. He had never been close to a girl before but maybe things were going to change.
"We'd better hurry", he said when he had landed the jet back into the hangar. "They may…"
"Notice that blankets are missing?"
They both laughed and ran to the stairs. They had to calm down while going up. Rick was trying hard to find something to say.
"Don't worry about that cheerleader", he said suddenly.
"I'm not worried."
"I mean, there are rituals at Central City High school. The sport matches are important rituals: everyone watches and that's why some cheerleaders end up with a huge ego. Also, there are one-to-one rituals, like movies… what about going to a movie together next Saturday?"
She glanced at him and blushed slightly. Innocent as she was, Jedda had perfectly understood what he meant. The kisses on the hill were part of the craziness but a movie… this was getting different.
"A movie? You mean, the giant TV set in a dark room?"
"Yes!" he said, laughing a bit. There are many of them. I know a nice theater."
"OK. Next Saturday."
They hurried to hide the blankets and both went back to their rooms. This had been a very weird evening and both had the feeling they had been dreaming. However, when they went to bed, they both had a strange feeling of happiness. Maybe their lives were not that bad.
The end!