Yeah, yeah, I know I said that I would post immediately upon reaching the required 145 reviews, but I didn't. I'm sorry. *smacks hand* I won't do it again, I promise. I guess I had a small bout of writers block, but my friend Emily (AKA Apple) is over here and she really wants me to post. So I guess this chapter will be about Apple. Oh, and Magnet was crying at the end of the last chapter because he was so happy!! I mean, if you were him, wouldn't you be?
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The next morning found Star and Apple sitting on the beach before dawn, both of them wide-awake and unable to sleep.
"How do you think this is going to affect us in the long run?" Apple asked, leaning back on her hands and letting her hair (which was getting quite long) fall unchecked down her back. She was wearing a bright red halter top and white cotton shorts. Both were frayed. Her nails were painted red, but they were chipped. None of the girls could ever keep their nail polish on for very long on the island.
"I don't know." Star admitted, shrugging her tanned shoulders. Even Link had become golden-brown while they were there. "Probably for the better, I have to say. It's going to teach everybody to be responsible. If they're not, then Charlie could get seriously hurt or die."
"Don't say that." Apple chided, shuddering. "Nothing's going to happen to that adorable little boy. We're his godmothers, remember? I'm not going to let anything happen to him."
"See? That's exactly what I'm saying." Star pointed out. "You're not the only one who feels that way. Everybody else does too. They're going to go to all lengths to keep Charlie safe, and that's going to make them all more responsible."
"Oh." Apple fell silent. They sat there together, watching the golden sun come trailing up above the crystalline water.
"Hey Apple?" Star asked tentatively after about half an hour of silence.
"Yeah?" Apple asked, sitting up and brushing the sand off her hands.
"I want to have a baby." She said softly, turning her face away so that Apple wouldn't see her blushing.
"Than have one." Apple shrugged. "I wouldn't matter to me, as long as I got to be it's main godmother." She grinned. "No one is stopping you except you, Star."
"And Squid." Star pointed out. "What if he doesn't want to have a baby? The idea of it probably scares the crap out of him."
"So don't tell him." Apple shrugged. "I mean, do you think Minx told Magnet right before they did it that she wanted to get pregnant? No. If she had, he probably would have run as far away from her as he could. But now that he's got a baby boy, he's so ecstatic he practically floats everywhere he goes."
"Do you really think it would work?" Star asked thoughtfully. Apple nodded. Star blushed again. "You don't think I'm stupid for wanting this, do you?"
"Nope." Apple shook her head. "After seeing how happy Minx and Magnet are with Charlie, it makes me want to have a baby too."
"Are you going to?" Star asked, shaking back her long hair.
"Probably some day. But not now." Apple shook her head. "I'm not quite ready to give up the pleasures of being a teenager just yet. I will soon. As soon as they force me to grow up."
"They?" Star asked.
"Them. The police. The FBI." Apple shrugged. "They're going to find us someday, Star. We can't pretend that we'll be safe on this island forever."
"Why not?" Star demanded, somewhat sullenly. "They might not find the island. There's tons of uninhabited islands in the Caribbean. What makes you think that they'll check this one?"
"Because of the fires, the signs that we've been here," Apple shook her head. "It's stupid to hope that we'll stay here forever."
"Why?" Star demanded, starting to get angry. "Why can't we just stay here forever?"
"Because." Apple sighed heavily. "Because I learned to give up on foolish hopes a long time ago, Star." And she rose grimly to her feet and returned to their hut. Star watched her go, then slammed her hand down on the sand.
Link rolled over on her mattress, the blanket tucked under her arms nicely. Jewel was lying on the mattress across the room, her eyes closed. Her breathing was uneven, and Link knew that she was really awake.
"What do you think of Minx's baby?" Link whispered, her golden curls falling over her tanned face. She made no effort to brush it back.
"I love him to death, but I think she was stupid to go off and get pregnant." Jewel whispered back, pushing her blanket back and propping herself up on her elbows.
"I don't think she intended to get pregnant," Link came to their friend's rescue.
"I don't care if she meant to or not, Link," Jewel replied seriously. "I mean, she's been sleeping around with him almost since they met. It was bound to happen sometime. It's not like she wasn't expecting this eventually."
"Maybe so," Link admitted, also propping herself up. Her luminous eyes flashed in the sunlight that came filtering through the cracks in the hut walls. "But even so, I envy her. I want to be a mother as well."
"You'd make an amazing mother, Link." Jewel assured her, smiling slightly. "In fact, Minx will probably press the job of babysitting on you quite often."
"I won't mind," Link replied, also smiling. "Charlie seems like a perfect little angel, and I won't mind taking care of him."
"You say that now," Jewel joked. "But I'm sure you'll be singing an entirely different tune when you get to change his diapers and he spits up all over you."
"Diapers?" Link repeated suddenly. "What on earth is Minx going to do about diapers?"
"I talked to her about it last night," Jewel said, shrugging the matter off. "She's going to use an old shirt. Star had some safety pins from that black safety pin purse she bought forever ago, so Jewel is going to use those to hold the shirts on."
"The poor child," Link shuddered. "Imagine, having to grow up wearing the same couple of t-shirts as diapers. And when will we be able to get him clothes?"
"We'll have to make some out of our own clothes I guess." Jewel shrugged. She didn't sound too happy about that.
"When I have a baby," Link said firmly. "I will have it when there are lots of clothes to choose from." Then she sighed, and she began to cry.
"Link, what's wrong?" Jewel asked worriedly, jumping up and flopping down onto Link's mattress. She messed up the blankets, but Link didn't care.
"Why can't we just be normal?" She sobbed.
"What?" Jewel asked, confused.
"Ever since that day when I got caught shoplifting," Link sobbed, burying her face in her hands so that her voice came out all muffled, "Nobody has treated me the same. First I got shipped off to stupid Camp Arden, and then they turned around and sent us to Camp Greenlake! And I hated it at both places! Everyone treated me like a criminal, like I had murdered somebody or something. And then we ended up killing the Warden and Mr. Sir, and we really were criminals, Jewel, we were!" And she broke down again. She finally managed to speak again. "Then we were on run from the law, stealing money and faking names. And then we just tried to be normal, but we're not normal Jewel! We're never going to be normal! Never! And now we're stuck here forever and ever!" And she burst out into a fresh bout of crying.
"Link," Jewel tried to comfort her.
"No." Link pushed her friend away, jumped to her feet, and fled. Jewel sighed.
Somebody knocked on the door, then let herself in. It was Apple.
"What's wrong with Link?" Apple asked, sitting down on the mattress next to Jewel. "I just saw her run toward the beach, crying."
"She's upset that we're not normal." Jewel sighed, flopping backwards onto her back and resting her hands underneath her head. "I don't think she was supposed to live like this, ever."
"Yeah, Star went off this morning too." Apple sighed. She laid down next to Jewel, and they both sighed.
"We've got to think of something." Jewel murmured.
"But what?" Apple asked.
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Okay, I would have written more but I have to go get ready to go to the mall. So, sorry!! 150 reviews, and then I'll post!! Loves!!
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The next morning found Star and Apple sitting on the beach before dawn, both of them wide-awake and unable to sleep.
"How do you think this is going to affect us in the long run?" Apple asked, leaning back on her hands and letting her hair (which was getting quite long) fall unchecked down her back. She was wearing a bright red halter top and white cotton shorts. Both were frayed. Her nails were painted red, but they were chipped. None of the girls could ever keep their nail polish on for very long on the island.
"I don't know." Star admitted, shrugging her tanned shoulders. Even Link had become golden-brown while they were there. "Probably for the better, I have to say. It's going to teach everybody to be responsible. If they're not, then Charlie could get seriously hurt or die."
"Don't say that." Apple chided, shuddering. "Nothing's going to happen to that adorable little boy. We're his godmothers, remember? I'm not going to let anything happen to him."
"See? That's exactly what I'm saying." Star pointed out. "You're not the only one who feels that way. Everybody else does too. They're going to go to all lengths to keep Charlie safe, and that's going to make them all more responsible."
"Oh." Apple fell silent. They sat there together, watching the golden sun come trailing up above the crystalline water.
"Hey Apple?" Star asked tentatively after about half an hour of silence.
"Yeah?" Apple asked, sitting up and brushing the sand off her hands.
"I want to have a baby." She said softly, turning her face away so that Apple wouldn't see her blushing.
"Than have one." Apple shrugged. "I wouldn't matter to me, as long as I got to be it's main godmother." She grinned. "No one is stopping you except you, Star."
"And Squid." Star pointed out. "What if he doesn't want to have a baby? The idea of it probably scares the crap out of him."
"So don't tell him." Apple shrugged. "I mean, do you think Minx told Magnet right before they did it that she wanted to get pregnant? No. If she had, he probably would have run as far away from her as he could. But now that he's got a baby boy, he's so ecstatic he practically floats everywhere he goes."
"Do you really think it would work?" Star asked thoughtfully. Apple nodded. Star blushed again. "You don't think I'm stupid for wanting this, do you?"
"Nope." Apple shook her head. "After seeing how happy Minx and Magnet are with Charlie, it makes me want to have a baby too."
"Are you going to?" Star asked, shaking back her long hair.
"Probably some day. But not now." Apple shook her head. "I'm not quite ready to give up the pleasures of being a teenager just yet. I will soon. As soon as they force me to grow up."
"They?" Star asked.
"Them. The police. The FBI." Apple shrugged. "They're going to find us someday, Star. We can't pretend that we'll be safe on this island forever."
"Why not?" Star demanded, somewhat sullenly. "They might not find the island. There's tons of uninhabited islands in the Caribbean. What makes you think that they'll check this one?"
"Because of the fires, the signs that we've been here," Apple shook her head. "It's stupid to hope that we'll stay here forever."
"Why?" Star demanded, starting to get angry. "Why can't we just stay here forever?"
"Because." Apple sighed heavily. "Because I learned to give up on foolish hopes a long time ago, Star." And she rose grimly to her feet and returned to their hut. Star watched her go, then slammed her hand down on the sand.
Link rolled over on her mattress, the blanket tucked under her arms nicely. Jewel was lying on the mattress across the room, her eyes closed. Her breathing was uneven, and Link knew that she was really awake.
"What do you think of Minx's baby?" Link whispered, her golden curls falling over her tanned face. She made no effort to brush it back.
"I love him to death, but I think she was stupid to go off and get pregnant." Jewel whispered back, pushing her blanket back and propping herself up on her elbows.
"I don't think she intended to get pregnant," Link came to their friend's rescue.
"I don't care if she meant to or not, Link," Jewel replied seriously. "I mean, she's been sleeping around with him almost since they met. It was bound to happen sometime. It's not like she wasn't expecting this eventually."
"Maybe so," Link admitted, also propping herself up. Her luminous eyes flashed in the sunlight that came filtering through the cracks in the hut walls. "But even so, I envy her. I want to be a mother as well."
"You'd make an amazing mother, Link." Jewel assured her, smiling slightly. "In fact, Minx will probably press the job of babysitting on you quite often."
"I won't mind," Link replied, also smiling. "Charlie seems like a perfect little angel, and I won't mind taking care of him."
"You say that now," Jewel joked. "But I'm sure you'll be singing an entirely different tune when you get to change his diapers and he spits up all over you."
"Diapers?" Link repeated suddenly. "What on earth is Minx going to do about diapers?"
"I talked to her about it last night," Jewel said, shrugging the matter off. "She's going to use an old shirt. Star had some safety pins from that black safety pin purse she bought forever ago, so Jewel is going to use those to hold the shirts on."
"The poor child," Link shuddered. "Imagine, having to grow up wearing the same couple of t-shirts as diapers. And when will we be able to get him clothes?"
"We'll have to make some out of our own clothes I guess." Jewel shrugged. She didn't sound too happy about that.
"When I have a baby," Link said firmly. "I will have it when there are lots of clothes to choose from." Then she sighed, and she began to cry.
"Link, what's wrong?" Jewel asked worriedly, jumping up and flopping down onto Link's mattress. She messed up the blankets, but Link didn't care.
"Why can't we just be normal?" She sobbed.
"What?" Jewel asked, confused.
"Ever since that day when I got caught shoplifting," Link sobbed, burying her face in her hands so that her voice came out all muffled, "Nobody has treated me the same. First I got shipped off to stupid Camp Arden, and then they turned around and sent us to Camp Greenlake! And I hated it at both places! Everyone treated me like a criminal, like I had murdered somebody or something. And then we ended up killing the Warden and Mr. Sir, and we really were criminals, Jewel, we were!" And she broke down again. She finally managed to speak again. "Then we were on run from the law, stealing money and faking names. And then we just tried to be normal, but we're not normal Jewel! We're never going to be normal! Never! And now we're stuck here forever and ever!" And she burst out into a fresh bout of crying.
"Link," Jewel tried to comfort her.
"No." Link pushed her friend away, jumped to her feet, and fled. Jewel sighed.
Somebody knocked on the door, then let herself in. It was Apple.
"What's wrong with Link?" Apple asked, sitting down on the mattress next to Jewel. "I just saw her run toward the beach, crying."
"She's upset that we're not normal." Jewel sighed, flopping backwards onto her back and resting her hands underneath her head. "I don't think she was supposed to live like this, ever."
"Yeah, Star went off this morning too." Apple sighed. She laid down next to Jewel, and they both sighed.
"We've got to think of something." Jewel murmured.
"But what?" Apple asked.
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Okay, I would have written more but I have to go get ready to go to the mall. So, sorry!! 150 reviews, and then I'll post!! Loves!!