I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I have been completely overwhelmed with school and work. I won't be able to upload new chapters very often, but I will not be abandoning this story any time soon! I want to thank everyone who has read my story and especially the ones who favorited it and are following it! 3
Autumn begins to put her plan into action with the aid of her helpful nature and the start of a friendship with Lianne Cartman. Jade reluctantly goes to the McCormick home so they can work on their school project with Wendy. In the process, she meets Stuart and Karen McCormick, learns Karen has a guardian angel, and that Kenny perfectly remembered the previous night.
Jade stared blankly at the face belonging to the body that opened the door. The tall adult body donned a messy turquoise shirt – stained – and atop the head of oily brown hair set a red trucker's hat. Over the mouth, slightly parted, sat a horseshoe mustache. After a few moments of silence, Jade knew she was going to have to be the one to speak first. She politely introduced herself and stated the reason for her appearance. The man's expression softened, much to Jade's surprise, as he moved aside and welcomed her inside the house. She hesitated a moment before stepping into the home. The man called for his son before heading into the kitchen for a beer.
Jade stood awkwardly by the front door, peering around the living room. There was barely any furniture in the room; the furniture that did exist was ancient and nearly falling apart. There were stains in the carpet and the ceiling; paint and wallpaper had begun to chip and peel away. A dark shadow scurried into the kitchen and under the counter where a hole in the wall was apparent. Jade shifted her weight uncomfortably. A few seconds later, the boy in orange made an appearance, walking down the hallway into the living room with his sister, Karen, by his side. A tug on his sleeve caused Kenny to look down at his younger sister. She bashfully looked at the stranger in their house and then back to her brother.
"Is that her?" she asked, with big, round eyes. The older brother nodded and patted her on the back. Karen smiled and shyly strode up to Jade. "Tell Mysterion 'hello' for me, okay?" The young girl turned back to her brother. "Bye, Ken!" She gave Kenny a quick hug before running out the door, off to a friend's house. A look of great confusion was plastered on Jade's face. Turning to the boy in orange, she wondered out loud, "Mysterion? Who's Mysterion?" He just shrugged and responded, "her guardian angel." Jade was about to say more when Kenny cut her off. "To what do I owe this visit?"
Jade motioned behind her in the direction of her house. "My mom expects for Autumn and me to not waste valuable time. I told her about our art project, so I figured it would be a good time to actually work on it." Kenny nodded and told Jade to hold on a second. He went to retrieve his school bag and headed into the kitchen where he informed his parents he would be back later. Before anyone could say anything, the two teenagers were out of the house.
The two walked in a comfortable silence, both knowing their next destination to be Wendy Testaburger's home. The blonde girl suddenly felt like she was being watched, but tried to ignore it. When she could not stand the feeling any longer, she glanced at Kenny out of the corner of her eye. As she expected, he was staring at her. Now a little uncomfortable, the girl gave him a look that asked, 'Can I help you with something?' Kenny blinked a few times. "Huh. You actually do have green in your hair," he commented, returning his gaze in front of him, saying nothing more. Jade felt her stomach sink. He did remember the previous night after all. Now, it was going to be difficult for her to not feel awkward or emotional about what she witnessed. The two walked in silence again: Kenny, because he's a guy of few words; Jade because she found herself back at last night.
Humming a cheerful tune, Autumn Smiles skipped up to the Cartman residence. She smoothed out her hair, straightened out her blouse, and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and the smell of freshly baked cookies flooded into the girl's nostrils. A cheerful woman in a turquoise shirt and red pants smiled sweetly at Autumn.
"Hello there! My name is Autumn Smiles! My family just moved here and to get to know people, I've been going house-to-house seeing if anyone needs any assistance!" The girl grinned her signature smile, her fingers entwined between her back. "I go to school with your son," she continued, "and he said you could use some help around the house!" Eric Cartman did not really say that, but Autumn felt that it would be convincing enough. As she suspected, Lianne Cartman welcomed the girl into their home.
"Oh, well aren't you darling! I would love some company! Oh," the mother scuffled into the kitchen, returning a second later holding out a plate with chocolate chip cookies piled on top. "Would you like some cookies? It would be best to have one before my little Poopsiekins gobbles them all up." Autumn gratefully took a cookie from the top, internally snickering at the mother's pet name for her son. The two women sat down in the living room and began telling each other about themselves. Autumn wondered how it was possible for such a crude boy to come from such a kindhearted woman. Lianne seemed to be a key example of what makes a perfect mother. The girltalk continued on, followed by laughter once they were comfortable enough with each other. A voice outside of the front door caused their conversation to cease.
A few thumping steps trailed up to the door. Then, a moment of silence before a voice rang out exclaiming excitement for the baked treats. "Poopsiekins" had arrived home after spending the night and most of the morning at Stan Marsh's house. If only he knew there was a bigger surprise than cookies waiting for him inside. Autumn braced herself, anxious to see the boy's reaction to her presence. A new smiled crawled onto her face – a twisted grin.
The doorknob rotated and the heavy-set boy came bursting into the house. Blinded by hunger for the sugary delights, he did not even notice the hippy girl sitting across from his mother in the living room. Not until two and a half cookies had traveled down his gullet did he realize that something was not right. Eric stopped dead in his tracks, nearly spewing the half-chewed cookie in his mouth. "No, no, no! No way in hell! Meeem, why is there a dirty hippie in our house?" If he still had Insecurity installed, his alarm would be going off like no tomorrow. The young brunette grinned and waved enthusiastically at the distressed boy.
"Mommy is finally going to have some help around the house! Isn't that wonderful, sweetie?" Lianne got her answer just by looking at her son's gaping mouth and wide eyes. Eric could not believe what he was hearing. Now he knew for sure that the hippy was out to get him. It was so like that neo-hippie to pull something like that; if you do not believe in what they do, they will go to extreme lengths to prove themselves right. He was not going to stand for this. With a "fuck you, hippie!" and a "Poopsiekins! Language!" in response, he stormed to his room and locked himself in.
"Oh, dear. I am sorry about that. He has a quick temper, you see. I even hired a dog whisperer to help me once." Mrs. Cartman smiled, embarrassed. Autumn chuckled and gave the mother a reassuring smile. "Don't you worry, Mrs. Cartman. I'm very good with people. If nothing else, he will at least pick up on my manners!" The two women picked back up on their previous conversation while Eric sat in his room, trying to figure out Autumn's incentive to befriending his mother. It was obvious that she was planning something. If anyone could tell, it was him. No way in hell would she be able to beat him at his own game. A mad grin came across his round face as his own idea came to him. From then on out, there would be war, and he knew just how he would win the victory.