It's time for another round of lightning fast updates. IT is approaching, and we, 'me and my partner' want this done soon. Don't worry, next chapter'll fill the gap in the plot. But it's not IT!
This chapter's dedication: To anyone who'se ever felt that the world was too much for them to handle. I know what it's like. But don't fear, youre never trully alone. Seek, and you shall find, ask, and it shall be given. Never, ever, give up
It had been a long week for Jessica.
When she and the others returned to Davis Hall on Sunday evening, after being chased out of Daniel's ward by Kisshu on Mika's orders, the Freshman student body swarmed them. Word must have gotten around about Daniel's attack, and every girl on the third floor crowded around her. Even Sierra was hammering on her door, demanding to know exactly what had happened in the bathroom that night.
However, Jessica had some incredible friends. Regan Valkov, her fellow freshman, vocally threatened anyone who dared harass her. Niomi Jenson from downstairs, offered to 'cheer her up'. However, she smelt bizarrely of singed hair, so Jessica politely declined.
In all of the excitement of the weekend, Jessica and Bridgette forgot to finish their English homework, so they were forced to hand in half-completed summaries of the stories they were supposed to have read. That netted them a three hour detention with Atsuko-sensei, in which they helped her review thesis papers from the seniors. On the way back to the dorms, they ran into Mr. Washington and Pai, engrossed in a heated discussion of some sorts.
Tuesday brought with it a particularly nasty surprise, revealing that Ryou Shirogane was their lecturer for Biology.
Shirogane-sensei was a particularly cruel taskmaster, demanding absolute attention to himself and his slides. One upside to the lecture was watching Sierra and Katharine get put in their places by the blond man for texting each other in class. However, the one-thousand-word essay they had to complete instantly took the wind out of Jessica's sails.
Wednesday was a tad slower, Math being interrupted by a testing of the emergency sensors. Somehow, Sierra managed to corner her after the lecture.
"Alright Kangaroo Girl, spill!" Sierra demanded, forcing her up against the wall. On any other day, Jessica would have decked her full in the mouth. Being the youngest of four children, three of which were older brothers, she'd grown up knowing how to deal a decent hit. However, the past five days of minimal sleep, overwhelming work and sparse meals were taking their toll on her, and the fight ebbed out of her.
"Something happened last Saturday, and I wanna know what!" Sierra continued, shoving her face up close to Jessica's.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Jess snapped, trying to put up some sort of resistance.
"Puh-lease!" Sierra scoffed. "I know a juicy story when I see one, and you've got one. Now spill!"
Right then and there, something akin to an explosion went off, just outside the building. Sierra shrieked, loosening her grip on Jessica and giving her ample time to slip away. Sprinting across the lawn, the Australian caught sight of Niomi, hiding around the corner of the building, a smoldering, cardboard box at her feet. She flashed Jessica a quick thumbs up, to which Jessica returned a grateful smile, before running in the opposite direction.
Somewhere between Davis Hall and the Bio-Tech building, Jessica made up her mind.
She had reached her limit.
Everything was just happening too fast for her, and she could barely keep up. Upon entering her room, she threw her bag down on her bed, and reached into the back of her closet, pulling out a draw sting bag. Throwing it over her shoulders, she momentarily sat down on the bed, removing her shoes and socks, and pulling on a pair of flip flops.
Bridgette wasn't around. Jessica assumed she was up at the Student Center with the boys, as usual.
"Visiting Daniel," she muttered quietly to herself. Shaking her head, she left her room. It wasn't that she didn't care about him; it was just that everything was absolutely crazy-hectic right now. And if she didn't do something about it, she would inevitably do something she would regret. Like the time she laid out a girl in school because she made fun of Jessica's 'tomboyishness.'
Jessica's luck seemed to have changed since she managed to get away from Sierra, considering the entire campus was deserted. Not a soul was around as she made her way into the gym. A polite receptionist in the lobby directed her to the girls' locker room, and rented her out a locker. Descending two flights of stairs, Jessica entered the girls' locker room, and swiftly changed out of her clothes. She hastily pulled on her dark blue bathing suit, and slung a big, puffy white towel around her neck. Tossing her stuff into the locker, she walked quietly from the locker room. Her body language had changed sufficiently. She was no longer tense – wound like a tightened spring. Now, she was in her element, and she could relax.
The familiar smell of chlorine hit Jessica like a wall. She stood at the door to the locker room, looking at a massive, ten-lane pool. The water was clear to the bottom, presenting a distorted, but un-obstructed view of the beautifully tiled pool floor. Several dozenday beds lined the walls, identical in design and colour. Jessica tossed her towel onto one, and dropped her flip flops at the foot of it.
She walked to the far end of the pool, standing on the edge of the cement floor. Several holes in the floor were obvious supports for the removable stands used in racing. With one fluid motion, Jessica dove into the pool, her body cutting the surface with scarcely a splash. Instinct took over, and she propelled herself forward, kicking hard with her legs. Every other thought was stripped from her mind – leaving only those associated with swimming. Her mind was trained acutely to her task.
Beneath the surface of the water was an entirely different world for her. All outside noises were muffled, or muted altogether. Jessica felt weightless, free, like she was tied to no-one and burdened by nothing. It was as if she was soaring though the cool fluid, towards the other end of the pool.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone else, in the next lane over, swimming towards the edge of the pool. Her natural racer's instinct took over; she kicked her legs harder, in an attempt to beat this new challenger. Her arm reached out to touch the pool wall, just as her head broke the surface.
"Wow, you're really fast!" Jessica looked over into the other lane, and was astonished. "Ms. Konami!" she exclaimed, trying to catch her breath.
"Guilty as charged," she replied, smiling a bit. Jessica was astounded and confused. It was certainly Ms. Konami, their Bio teacher, but she almost completely opposite from how she usually was in class. She seemed relaxed, playful, as she floated on her back, spitting a fountain of water into the air, a far cry from her usual, strict self.
"So what brings you down to the pool?" Ms. Konami asked, eyes focused on the ceiling. "Planning on joining the swim team?"
"No, not really," Jessica replied, meek and quiet, feeling suddenly out of place now that her solitude had been imposed upon.
"Something on your mind?" Konami asked, catching onto Jessica's tone of voice.
"Just some self-esteem issues; nothing important."
Ms. Konami righted herself, and treaded over to Jessica.
"Self-esteem is an important thing, especially for someone your age," she argued. "What's up?" Jessica looked down, away from her teacher, and stared at her distorted reflection in the water.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with Daniel, would it?"
Jessica blinked, and looked back up at her, a mixture of surprise, suspicion and shock distorting her face. Ms. Konami winked slyly, aware of what was going through Jessica's mind.
"How 'bout some girl talk, Jess? It might help you out."
The two of them pulled themselves out of the pool, and sat down on the reclining chairs, drying themselves off.
"I've just had a long weekend, that's all, and… everything's all confused."
"Why's that?" Konami asked, lying down on the reclining lounge chair.
"Well, I just don't know if I'm really cut out for this Mew business."
Konami looked up at her, and smiled knowingly.
"If that's all you're worried about, then there's no problem."
"How can there be no problem!" Jessica demanded, standing up. "On Friday I nearly killed Bridgette, I had an emotional breakdown in the middle of the girl's bathroom, and now Daniel's up in the Medical Ward 'cause I wasn't strong enough to help him out!"
Jessica stopped shouting, panting hard, stinging tears blurring her vision. Every negative feeling she had welled up inside her had just been blurted out in front of her Biology teacher, and she quickly looked away, embarrassed. Konami sighed.
"I can tell you're having a hard time adjusting," she finally said, locking eyes with Jessica. "It's hard for everyone, their first time. You're no better or worse than Daniel, Bridgette, or anyone else in the Freshman class."
"But I'm just so useless!" Jessica cried, sitting down glumly on the edge of her chair. "Sean's this super insane genius, Matt's the sly-talking wise guy, Vash is an incredible fighter, and Daniel's always willing to help out. What's worse is that he always knows just how to do it!" Jessica sighed even harder, blinking back tears.
"Even Bridgette is unique and interesting… I'm just… in the way," she muttered bitterly. She snapped her gaze up to meet Konami's. "What can I bring to the table? What good am I?!"
"That's a question I can't answer, Jessica," Konami replied. "Back in Tokyo, back when it was just the ten of us, we were a real mess sometimes. Ame didn't really know what she was doing, Murasaki was always somewhere in la-la land, we couldn't keep Mika from beating up all the rude customers, and Jason wasn't too much help sometimes; cracking bad, raunchy jokes all the time. But we were, and still are, a team. Jason and Ame are two of the best fighters we have, Murasaki's a brilliant strategist, and Mika's always knows what to say to keep things going."
"What I'm trying to say, Jess," Konami continued. "Is that just because Daniel's a leader, or Vash and Matt can fight, doesn't make you any less important. Sooner or later, you'll find that you have your own part to play. Everyone has their own story, Jess. And when those stories intertwine, they create something incredible."
As if timed, a chime rang out through the empty room. Konami reached into her bag, lying against the chair, and held a small golden pendant to her ear.
"Looks like Daniel's story's gonna continue. He just woke up."
It was as if someone lit a firecracker underneath Jessica. She pulled on her flip flops without a second thought, and dashed towards the stairs, not even bothering to change. She ran up the hill from the gym towards the Student Center, oblivious to everything around her.
Jessica bolted up four flights of stairs, and literally slid down the hall towards Daniel's room. She caught herself on the doorframe of the room, managing to keep herself upright.
"Jess?!"
Looking up, to her utter relief, Jessica saw Daniel, sitting up on several pillows in his bed, looking worn and exhausted, but awake and well. She could see Bridgette and the guys around his bed. Jessica breathed a loud sigh of relief as she crossed to Daniel, and hugged him hard.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Daniel gasped, and she quickly let go of him, jumping back, pink-faced. "My arm's killing me, Jess! Don't squeeze so hard."
"Sorry, Dan," she replied, pulling a wet strand of hair away from her face, hardly able to fight the wide, elated smile that was spreading across her cheeks.
"I was just worried about you."
A cute little chapter, to say the least. More props out to Cherrie, my badass beta, for all the hard work she's done.
ALSO, at this point, no one's allowed to guess what IT is anymore. It'll be up by the end of the summer people, so chill out.