'Tis me again! Anomaly is back with another chapter.
So I lied last chapter. I know I said this would be interesting, but it really isn't. Next one, I promise, will be.
Hour of Power was absolutely fantastic! He actually got to keep his power for more than an episode this time. The first half was sorta boring, but the second half was so funny. That inspired me to write more
You know what else inspired me? 2000 views! Yay! I should have a party and all of y'all are invited.
So, enjoy this short chapter (even though it's longer than last times, and it took me a month). I'll try to write more soon, but I suffer writer's block very frequently nowadays. Fortunately, it only lasts a short time when I do get it though.
Also thanks to my beta (even though she doesn't even have an account on this site, but we're besties) for making sure this isn't total crap
Bah, enough talking. Read the chapter. And don't forget to review, follow, and fav!
After a couple more days, I was starting to get more used to Mr. Pilkington. Sure, he was the same weird that he was before, but it was now it's a part of my daily schedule. In fact, I'm a bit amused by it. With every lesson, he somehow ends up telling a story and rants on and on about it. That's the one class I don't really learn anything, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
The good thing is, Cooper and Michael finished setting up that place, which happens to be a walking distance from my home and school. It's not a very conspicuous place with flashing lights and signs all around; just one of those you'll see on the side of a crowded intersection. I'm not even quite sure what the place is. I mean, I have an idea since I rehearsed what I was doing with Riele and Cooper, but I guess I'll have to wait to find out.
My mom just left work on maternity leave, which makes this the perfect opportunity to bring it up.
Right after school today, I got a text from "Jackie Nelson" with a link attached. In other words, Jace sent me a link which is probably the online ad for whatever the building is. When I clicked on the link, it took me to an extremely poorly made website with a brief ad on it. I'm not sure if this was good enough to convince my mother. I texted Jace back "Tell Cooper to step up his game before I tell my mom."
He responded with a laughing emoji and said "thats what i told him but he never listens".
I smirked right before replying. "Remember a couple weeks back when I first met you, and the next day you texted me?"
"mm hmm"
"And we had a little conversation then? About your texting?"
There was a long pause between his next reply. Probably scrolling up to previous messages. "Yes, I remember."
"Good." I loved that little annoying part of me. It made me feel superior to others in a way.
After a couple more hours, "Jackie Nelson" sent me another text with the link on it. It better be better than the first one. The website was slightly better than last time. It still looked horrible in my opinion, but I guess it'll do. Added to my bucket list is "Show Cooper how to make a decent website".
It's time to show my mom the website. I'm not so sure about it, but by the time that Cooper makes a decent website, I'll be in a rocking chair knitting a scarf.
I found my mom downstairs reading a pamphlet. It read "Your Confidentiality During Your Stay". Now, she actually has the time to read her pamphlets now that she has all the time in the world to do so. Well, she only has a couple weeks, but still.
"Hey mom," I say to her, seating myself right next to her on the couch.
She glances up from her pamphlet. "Hello Ally." I hate how adults have this formal way of talking. I'm more of an informal speaker, yet I'm a crazy grammar freak. Does that make sense? Probably not.
"So mom, there's something I want to talk to you about." She suddenly had this concerned look on her face and I knew then this was going to be similar to the Robert scenario with my dad. Only, this is actually important and if it goes wrong, Cooper may have to try to convince my mom. And if that doesn't work? I'll have to say goodbye to money.
Back to reality. I said the words that no parent ever wants to hear their child say. There were many possibilities; the birds and the bees talk or a relationship with a boy, to name a few. She looked like she was trying to hide the concern, but I can still see it. "Yes, Alia, what would you like to talk about?"
"Mom," I took a deep breath, "I want a job."
She probably just mentally exhaled because I wasn't talking about any of that stuff, but I don't think she was quite happy either. "What do you need a job for?" she asked.
"Well," I said "I'm going to college in 5 years from now, and I want to be able to pay for my college myself."
"Oh, um okay." I raised my eyebrows. She was more calm with this that I though she would be. "Good luck finding a job though."
I smile. "Don't worry mom, I've already found an ad online." I show her the crappy website that Cooper made. She quickly scanned through the ad. At this moment, I had a chance to look what Cooper put in there.
"Looking for a young individual to help maintain store, decent pay, afternoon shift, no experience required." That summarized what the whole thing was about.
My mom looked a little unenthusiastic about it. Maybe the website wasn't good enough to convince her. "Well, you should schedule an interview over there. And when you do, I'm coming with you. This is making me a little uneasy, but it's for the better good."
My mom called the number on the ad (which happens to be Cooper's phone number) and scheduled an interview with him.
The day of the interview came very quickly (maybe because it was only two days later). My mom bought me this fancy dress from the store. I hate wearing dresses so much that I would tear up all the dresses in my closet if there were no consequences to it. Unfortunately, there are plenty of consequences to that, so I can not do that. I didn't see any point in wearing the dress. I mean, Cooper already knows me, and the day that I actually got my job, I was wearing a top with leggings. For this small occasion, my mother got me a dress, a freaking dress for an interview to a job I already have.
It was a two mile drive, and having the slight "Save the Environment" side in me, I found it completely pointless to drive for two minutes for a distance that can be biked for ten or walked in 30. My mother is always wanting me to get some exercise in my daily routine, and here she is driving me there when I can walk or bike there. But no, I'm going to "Look like a gangster" if I come to my interview on a bike.
From the outside, the place didn't look like much (as I said earlier); just a small building on the side of a busy road. My mom wasn't very fazed by the look of it since it was, after all, near Allentown.
The place was called "Perfect Prints", and from what I know, it's a place where you can print business cards, posters, flyers, anything like that. The inside was just as plain as the outside; just some sample banners and a couple of printers.
At the front counter was Riele. "Hello and welcome to Perfect Prints, how may I help you?" She sounded so natural saying that it was almost like she was the stereotypical cashier you'd see on TV. Well duh, of course she's good at it; she's an actor for goodness sake. Sometimes I forgot that they were all actors.
She was trying so hard not to smirk. It was probably my dress, the cursed attention seeker. "Are you here for the interview?" she asked, still trying not to laugh.
"Yes," my mom replied. "She is."
"Great!." Riele said in that same fake-sounding voice. "I'll take you to Cooper."
My feet were aching because of the high heeled shoes I was wearing. To those of you who have never wore high heels, then let me tell you they are probably the most painful shoes in the world. She led us to the long hallway full of doors. The elevator would be the fourth one on the left, but I know she wasn't going to take us there. Instead, she took us to the 2nd door on the left and knocked on the door.
"Come in." said the voice inside. When we opened the door, Cooper was sitting in a desk with a suit and tie, laptop at his fingertips. He may not be the best technologically, but he's good at making things convincing. "Hello, you must be Alia Collins. I'm Cooper Barnes, but you can just call me Cooper." If it was just me and him, I would have probably asked "Can I call you Coop instead?" to which he would probably say no, but it would give me a good laugh. He held out his hand for me to shake and I shook it.
"Okay," he said. "Usually they have you fill out an application before your interview, but let's just have a verbal application right now. What's your full name?"
"Alia Bianca Collins." I replied. Yes, my initials are ABC, you don't need to point that out.
Cooper went on. "Date of birth?"
"October 27th, 2002."
He went on with a bunch of other questions like address and phone number, that kind of stuff.
"Highest education completed?"
"Um... seventh grade?"
"Have you had a job before?"
"Uh, no." These were stupid questions that we both knew that he knew the answers to, (except maybe my middle name). I've got to give it to him though for pulling this off very nicely. I guess when it comes to this, actors are the masters at it.
"Social Security Number?"
Um... I don't know my SSN. Luckily, that's where my mom comes in and pulls out a card and recites a series of numbers. He writes them down and asks for how to reach me and and a contact in case of an "emergency".
"List some accomplishments you are proud of."
I don't know what to make of that, so I tell him I'm been getting honor roll for a long time. He notes all this down on a piece of paper. "Okay. Now it's time for the actual interview questions. Why should I hire you?"
"You should hire me because I am a hard working individual determined to earn money to put for my college fund." I say, stating the perfect and ideal answer.
"Okay, then. You're hired." He said.
"That's it?" My mom asked. "You just hire her there and then without thinking about it, or even discussing the pay or conditions or anything?"
Uh oh, that was my mom's "I'm about to give you a lecture" tone. "Mom," I say, "Chill. I'm hired, and before he changes his mind, you should be quiet."
She was going to protest, I could tell, but the peaceful side of her mind won.
"Okay," Cooper said. "If you want to talk about conditions I'll be glad to do so. Work hours are from 3-8 on weekdays, 12-8 on weekends, and you get paid $9 an hour."
"Those work hours are way too much for a young individual like my daughter." My mom said. "I could barely work 8 hours a day without exhausting myself, and you think my 13 year old daughter can?"
Cooper kept his calm. "Ms. Collins, most of the times she will be behind the register or sweeping up somewhere, not performing work at the same level as an adult."
"Still," she said not fully convinced. She turned to me. "Alia, if you want to work here, I'm not stopping you from doing so, but you may be taking some risks, so be careful."
"Mom, I'm fine. Cooper, when does work start?"
"Right now, if you would like." My mom still isn't very happy, but she's letting me start work right now, and I'm grateful for that. That's one concern pushed to the side.
"Mom, I'll be home by 9:00 max. It takes a while to walk in a dress."
"Okay Alia. If you need anything, use a phone to call me."
"Okay, Mom." I say, irritated with her behavior.
"Bye."
"Bye, Mom." I say with boredom.
She pulled out of the parking area (if you could even call it that) and drove away in her Mazda. When she was completely out of sight, Cooper grinned and said "Nice dress."
I gritted my teeth. "Can we please go somewhere so I don't have to walk in this damn dress?"
"Right," he said, still smiling. "Let's go."
Down in the Man-Cave, it looked just like the others, as it is supposed to be.
"I did it!" said a voice. I recognized it as Michael's. "I installed another tube."
"Good job. Now work on that new weapon I wanted you to make." Cooper ordered.
"Okay." he said walking away.
Jace was by auto-snacks trying to get some lunch. "Hey Jace," I call out to him.
He turned to face me. I guess he seemed a little flabbergasted by the dress I was wearing as well. "Nice dress." He said, but he said it in a different tone than when Riele and Cooper said it. I just couldn't pick up what the difference was.
The auto-snacks machine spat out a hoagie, and he began to gobble it up. "What?" he asked, when I was giving him a disgusted look. "I haven't eaten all day." I roll my eyes. Sometimes, he had the brain of a kindergartener.
At that moment, the emergency alarm started to ring. Riele picked up. "Hello, this is Captain Man's emergency hotline, state location and emergency."
"Grande Hotel in Memphis... A group of people are stuck in the elevator and slowly the individual fibers on the cable are snapping."
By this point, we were all crowded around the speaker. "I'll send them. Hold on sir." Riele said.
I pulled out my gumball tube from my purse (because my mom made me carry a purse as well). "Time to finally get out of this stupid dress." The three of us popped a red gumball in our mouths. I chewed the cherry flavored gum and blew the bubble, changing out of that icky dress into my uniform.
We were about to leave via the secret door, when the alarm rang again. I frowned and walked to the speaker. "Captain Man's emergency hotline," I said, "please state your location and emergency."
"New Orleans, and there's an active rebellion against Trump taking place."
Crap. Two emergencies at one time. "Okay, we'll be there soon." I pressed the button and looked to Cooper. "Now what?" I said to him.
He started pacing. "How about I take the rebellion and you guys take the elevator situation."
"Sounds good." Jace said. "Meet back here when you're done or call if you need help." Jace said.
"Okay. Let's go." Cooper said, walking towards the secret door.
Making our way through the tunnels, we ran and may or may not have went through some wrong doors until we finally got to the right Man-Cave. Better get to them before they run out of oxygen... or even worse fall to their death.
"Come on," I say to Jace, who did as he was told.
