DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Doctor Who, unfortunately D: I own Odie's plot, and Odie's little settlement of immigrants. I am trying to make this story as accurate as possible, but when many sources contradict themselves, according to Doctor Who, I will ALMOST always take the TV-info as the correct. And my sincerest thanks toloulouflowerpowerfor being my very first reviewer on this story :D You made me very happy, so as you asked: here is the next chapter ^^
That evening, Odie sat at her night dresser, writing. Her mum and Jerry stood on the other side of the door, peeking through the crack at her. Her eyes were completely focused on the piece of paper in front of her, and she hadn't stayed behind for the music after evening service. She had been very giddy following her friend's visit, but she had suddenly become very thoughtful during evening service. Jerry looked at her mum, whose wrinkly face was below his, as they both spied on Odie.
,,Who d'ya reckon he was, mum?" he asked, and Mum Jackson simply shook her head. She didn't know. She had asked Red who he was, but she had just told her that he, apparently, lived in a mailbox and had met Odie in the bar a few months before.
Jerry didn't like it. Odie had never behaved like that before, ever. She always stayed to sing and dance after evening service, so when she suddenly had something else to do, which took precedence, he became worried.
After the two had watched Odie for ten minutes, Mum Jackson slowly stood up and retreated into her room. Jerry looked after her, his brow tightly knit together. Why was his mum so passive!? She had been fiercely against Odie working at the bar, but when a grown white man made passes on his sister, she didn't have anything to say!? But in the end, Jerry decided to take the talk with Odie the following day. He knew his sister well enough to know, that she would definitely argue with him tonight. She didn't seem to be in a mood, where he could convince her of anything.
Quite cleverly thought of him, too. Odie was, indeed, too engrossed in her thoughts to have been inclined to listen to him. She eagerly jotted down notes, processing the huge amount of different information Theta had given her. She looked at the finished product after a very long time, in which she had been entirely focused on her task, and in the end there wasn't enough space on her limited amount of paper to capture the whole picture. She had written on both sides of the paper; jotting down in every possible angle, until there was absolutely no space left, and yet she hadn't even written down half her thoughts. She groaned.
,,I think Theta needs to help me with this next I see him. I doubt I've spelled half of these words correctly," she complained, looking doubtfully at her crude writing. She would have to practice her writing, or Theta might laugh at her next time. Odie sighed deeply, getting up from her dresser and blowing out her lamp. She tossed herself in her bed, hugging her picture of her father close to her chest.
,,Theta is important to me. Why?" she asked aloud, trying to identify the feeling inside her.
,,He is different, he intrigues me." She knitted her brow together. True enough, but that wasn't all the reason. Many people intrigued her, on a daily basis, but never had someone taken her by storm like him.
,,He is not like everyone. He is his own. He knows so much. Can he show me it all?" Close enough. She looked at the picture of her father, the faint moonlight lighting up one half of the picture. She looked at the hungry eyes, starving for the knowledge he had always wanted.
,,He's like Dad."
The following day, a storm brewed in the Jackson hut. Many of the people in the settlement awoke from the yelling.
,,I don't care what you say, you don't know him!"
Red had never heard Odie yell back at her mum, no matter what. Even when her mum had objected to her working at the bar, she had barely raised her voice. This was on an entirely different scale. Even Red's gran, who was almost deaf, could hear it.
,,An' you do!? You' seen 'im twice!"
Mum Jackson rather bad English sounded hoarse. The chemicals in the factory she had worked in had almost ruined her throat, making her once beautiful and clean voice age ten times as fast as her body.
,,I don't need to see him more to know that he ain't like that!"
,,Don't yell back at our mum-"
,,STAY OUT OF THIS, JERRY!"
Both women yelled at the man in the house, and he quickly exited the hut, clearly frightened for his life. Who knew what could happen with the two women in that mood? Red and her family approached him, as he sat on the meeting log outside the hut. He smiled hesitantly:
,,Jackson women are ferocious?" he attempted, and Red's dad patted his shoulder.
,,Right ye are, some fine Irish men got lost in those two," he commented.
It didn't take long before Odie threw open the door, marching out in anger. Her mum followed her as far as the door opening.
,,Yea, walk off! An' don' come back 'fore you see reason!" she called, making Odie turn around; her curly hair resembling a lion's mane around her dark face.
,,There is no reason in giving up on him! Why won't you listen!? Dad would've listened to me!"
,,I am not him, Odie."
,,You're part of him, mum! You told me you were two parts of one! But maybe all the good in that died with him!" Odie stormed up the hill. She didn't want to see her mum's face. Odie might as well have slapped her, and she knew it. Jerry quickly stood up, running to Mum Jackson, who looked like she'd faint where she stood. Red's mum looked at her daughter with determination in her green eyes and Red understood immediately, running after Odie without a second thought.
,,ODIE! Odie, wait for me!"
Odie couldn't hear Red. The blood rushed in her ears, evident of the adrenaline and rage that poured through her veins. She was aware of her heartbeat, and her speed picked up to match the rhythm. A pointless effort, since her heart merely sped up.
Red could see that Odie didn't plan on stopping her run anytime soon, so she just prayed that she could keep up with her. Odie's dad had been a hunter most of his life, and he had taught Odie to move freely around obstacles. She had, in a very early age, gone with her dad into the Bayou; Jerry had not wanted to, and Da Jackson hadn't been one to force his kids into what they didn't want to do. But this had also done that Odie was the fastest runner Red had ever seen – making it quite hard to chase her through New Orleans.
And sure enough; after who-knows how many corners, the purple flares of Odie's skirt was nowhere to be seen. Red breathed heavily as she squatted down, putting her index fingers to her temple. Where would Odie go when she was depressed? A lot of places were special to her, so Red would have to systematically go through them all...
No, wait. Red's eyes opened once more, blinking.
,,Odie is nothing if not punctual. The sun is nearing its highest, so she'll be there."
Odie splashed her face with the water from the bucket, breathing heavily. She couldn't enter while looking like her pet just died. She looked at her reflection in a store's window, practicing a smile.
,,You can do it, Odie. Smile!" she ordered herself. After a few tries, she managed to make it seem somewhat trustworthy, and she decided that that would have to do.
She walked a bit further down the street, opening the door with a smile plastered on her face. She smiled at Mr. Owens, already in the process of sweeping the floors, and he looked up at the sound of the bell. But he stopped himself before being able to say his greeting.
Odie could see he knew something was wrong. And he could, without a doubt, see that she knew. They looked each other in the eye a little bit, before Mr. Owens smiled a kind smile, nodding.
,,Good day, Odie. Ready to get to work?"
This simple greeting was enough. Odie could hear his resignation; his acceptance of her wish to not speak of what was wrong. And as tears silently rolled down her cheeks, she smiled the most earnest smile she had smiled all day, and nodded.
,,Ready for duty, Sir."
They worked in a companionable silence for a while; Odie manning the bar to check the contents of the bottles and replacing any broken or empty ones, while Mr. Owens completed the cleaning of the floor. But at some point, while doing just that, Mr. Owens began whistling. Odie looked behind her at the sound, and noticed that he was looking at her at the same time. She smiled, as she noticed the melody. It was a well-known children's song, and so Odie began whistling with him.
Her mood rose with the tune, which had no doubt been Mr. Owens intention.
Outside, Red looked through the small window in the door, seeing Odie's smile growing as she and her employer began dancing around the bar to the melody they whistled. She saw her laugh as the man began treating the mop as a microphone stand, and she began dancing to the song he sang quite horribly.
Red smiled slightly, scratching her scalp.
,,Oh well, I assume it won't matter if I wait to talk to her 'till evenin'," she speculated, as she turned around. The day was long, and it was less likely Odie would cause a scene when she was at work. So now, all Red needed to do was pass time until she could come to talk Odie into come back to face her mum.
That was the real problem.
Not that Odie or her Mum would still be angry. No, they calmed down relatively quickly. But that Mum Jackson was too proud to seek Odie, and Odie would be too ashamed and scared to go back. She knew she had gone over the line with what she said, but it was Red's job to make her move her ass and apologize to her mum.
Red sighed deeply, as she stopped at the street corner, looking around for something to do. She had her work cut out for her.
That evening, everyone in the bar could see that Odie wasn't in the best mood. But she was definitely better off than she had been when she came to work earlier. She was glad she worked for five more hours than the bar was open.
,,Odie?" an aging man called, and she quickly turned around from her current talk with two young men at the bar; who was trying to flirt with her, obviously. But she hadn't really paid undue notice to them, as she was definitely not in the mood for advances tonight.
,,Yes Mr. Harold?" The old man smiled a wide smile, petting Odie on her thigh. She had gotten used to the old men doing that, and she had stopped paying any notice. They were mostly harmless, and if not, she had enough friends in here to make it a death trap for any unwanted suitors.
,,Another pint, darling," he asked and Odie giggled, nodding. And when she went to the bar to get the newest order, she froze at the girl who sat at the bar waiting for her. Red smiled slightly, waving at her. Odie returned the slight smile. It was always so awkward between the two when one of them had been sad earlier; the other knew it was their responsibility to cheer them up, but mostly they could also understand the need to be sad.
,,Hi Red."
Red nodded, handing a pint to her. Odie furrowed her brow, and Red laughed at this. But Odie accepted the pint, before going to Mr. Harold with it. After that, she came to the bar and dragged Red into the backroom.
And when they got out there, Odie opened up.
,,I know I have to go back to mum, apologizing to her, but... I can't do it this time. I can't back down," Odie said hurriedly. Red giggled at the insistent look her friend had on her face, but Odie still pouted at the giggle: Here she was all serious-like, but Red just laughed!
In the end, Red wanted to know why this particular problem was where Odie wanted to draw the line. After all, it was just a man.
,,Because the reason she is worried is all wrong; she is worried that Theta is just hoping to use me and then dump me dead behind a container. It's not like that! We're friends, we've met TWO times! He's married too, and I'm just not the kinda girl to become infatuated with a guy after two meetings."
Red nodded, seeing Odie's view of the problem.
,,So why not just tell her that?"
,,Don't you think I've TRIED!?"
Red raised her hands, trying to calm Odie down.
,,There there, Odie, I'm no enemy; Stop pacing around like a caged dog." Odie didn't like the idea, but after a serious look from Red, she smacked her butt down on the bench next to Red. Red patted her knee with a smile.
,,Your mum ain't unreasonable, Odie. Explain to her what you think, WITHOUT yellin', and that nothin' she says will make you give up. If, in the end, she won't listen, you can sleepover at my place, or here!" Red said, and Odie looked at her with doubt in her eyes.
,,But what if mum will NEVER back down?" Red shrugged.
,,She's family; she has to, because she doesn't wanna lose you. But most importantly; you can't do anything else, 'cause you can't lose yourself."
Odie felt her chest tighten as Red quoted her, and she threw her arms around her friend's neck.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter :D While I attempt to figure out how to deal with the problem in the next chapter, it might be a bit longer until I update next time x) Please review if you have any constuctive criticism, praise or any ideas you could want featured in the next chapter :D I will think on everything you write, promise! Look forward to the next chapter ^^
