Sorry for the super late update. I hope you enjoy it. Any questions you have I'd be glad to answer in the next chapter.
Chapter 35
It's orientation day for the children of the cyclone, and none of them are that happy about it.
Their first stop was to the middle school, where Ralph, Sage, and Colby would be going four days from now.
"Dad," Sage whines, "promise not to make a big deal out of everything, and try, pleasepleaseplease not to be rude to my teachers and classmates. I don't need them to hate me because of you"
The team piles out of the three separate vehicles they took to get their, and Sage was begging Toby, and the rest of them, not to embarrass her, or make any big and unnecessary scenes, like they usually did. She's been with them for long enough, that it's pretty much inevitable, but maybe her little speech could get through to them enough to prevent it this time.
Everyone promised, even Walter, but Toby hadn't said anything yet. He was keeping his mouth shut, and he didn't want to make any promises he knew he probably couldn't keep.
"Daaaad" Sage begs some more, hanging and tugging on his arm. And he still didn't say anything, and was trying his very best not to, by pursing his lips together.
So she pulled out the puppy dog face, since she had no other choice, "please Daddy"
Toby glanced down at her, while they made their way across the large parking lot and to the main office. Following the crowd of other parents and their kids far ahead of them. And that was definitely a mistake.
"You're not allowed to give me that look" he grumbles.
"Come on Doc. Is you're heart really set on embarrassing Sage that bad" Happy asks, with a smirk, and coming up to stand on his other side.
Toby shakes his head, "I just didnt want to promise anything." He says.
Sage frown, and holds his hand, tightly while they make their way to the school, to get their class schedules.
As soon as they enter the premises, in view of the staff and students, she releases his hand, and walks behind him and Happy, with her shoulders hunched, and her hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands.
Colby walks beside her, with a hand on her back. While Ralph walks on her other side, glancing around at his new campus, and observing his surroundings.
Aidan keeps wandering off, so Cabe picks him up and carries him on his hip, to avoid loosing a wandering child.
Paige moves to stand next to Toby, and they lead the front of the group, while Happy and Walter fall to the back.
They all crowded into the large, and already full office, to grab the schedules, for the two seventh graders, and one eighth grader.
"Sage Curtis, Ralph Dineen, and Colby Truitt" Toby tells the receptionist, with a charming smile, leaning his arm on the counter, and tipping his hat.
She grumbles, while typing a few last things into her computer, and flipping through the stacks of papers beside her to find the three schedules he named.
They'd waited in the line for 10 minutes to get them, and now they new why it was taking forever to move through.
Toby patiently waited, with a kind smile. Tapping his foot on the ground in annoyance, and readjusting his hat on his head multiple times.
Paige placed a hand on his shoulder, and pushed him away from the counter, to avoid any unwanted snarky comments that were sure to come.
Eventually they get the schedules, and Ralph and Sage 'somehow' get the same exact classes.
Paige eyes Ralph while she compared the schedules, and he puts his hands up in defense, and pointed his finger at Sage.
Sage scoffed, and looked over at him, crossing her arms in the process. "Way to throw me under the bus, Judas"
Ralph shrugs his shoulders, with a sassy grin. While Sage rolls her eyes at him.
Colby takes his schedule from Paige, to look them over. "Me and Cabe can go check out my classes while you guys check out yours. It'll be quicker and easier that way" he says, handing a school map to Cabe so they won't get too lost. "Then we'll meet up here" he says, patting Sage on the shoulder with a grin, and whispering something in her ear no one else can hear.
"I'll take Aidan off your hands too" Cabe says, readjusting Aidan on his hip, while he bites at his fist, and mumbles some incoherent thoughts to himself.
Sage and Sylvester nod their heads, and the three head off in the opposite direction of the campus. Towards the 8th grade wing.
Sage glanced at the map for a second, and then at her classes, and started walking in a random direction.
"Come on guys." She said, wrapping her arms around herself, hugging her body, and her hood thrown up over her head.
Toby pulls down her hood, and undoes her arms. "You'll look much prettier if you let yourself be seen" he says, with a wink and smile. And pushing some hair behind her ear.
Sage scowls, and swats his hands away. "I don't want to be seen"
She wraps her arms around herself again, but leaves the hood down. Leading the rest of the team to their intended destination.
Toby sighs, shrugs his shoulders, and hangs towards the back of the group.
Happy comes up to walk beside Sage, and puts a hand on her back. "You okay? You just snapped at your Dad, and you don't usually do that unless you're really upset" she says.
Sage shrugs her away too, and walks closer to the brick walls, as kids and their parents walk beside them down the hallways. Laughing and talking with eachother.
Happy watches as Sage nervously looks at the kids passing by, and how she shrinks closer to the wall.
"Are you scared of the kids?" She tries again, but leaving her hands at her sides, as they walk.
Sage doesn't say or do anything to respond, she just keeps walking forward, picking up her pace just a bit. In hopes of ending whatever conversation was going on between them.
Happy slows down just enough so she's walking side by side with Paige, and Ralph replaces her spot, so he's standing next to Sage.
"Paige. Sage is acting weird, and I think it's because of being here, and around these kids. She won't listen to me, maybe she'll talk to you. This seems like some emotional crap, and I'm not good at this" Happy mutters.
Paige turns her head to look at her, and readjusts her purse on her arm, "why not Toby?"
Happy sighs, "Toby would just make the problem worse. He's great with this kind of stuff, but if he knows that something is bothering Sage, he'll overreact and press on the issue, until he gets the answer he wants. And if he keeps pressing, then she's never going to tell us what's wrong. And she already seems annoyed as heck at him now anyways."
Paige nods her head in understanding, "I'll talk to her back at the garage"
Happy relaxes her shoulders a bit. "Thank you...but don't tell Toby about this" she warns, pointing a threatening finger.
Paige smiles, "of course not"
Sage takes a sharp turn into a classroom, and Ralph was barely able to follow without tripping over his own feet.
Sage pulled her hood up when they came in the classroom, and stood towards the back, and away from the people already crowded in.
The teacher in the opposite corner, had a big smile on his face as he talked with the parents and students. Explaining how the school works for those who didn't know, and explaining what to expect throughout the year.
Ralph came to stand by Sage, while Toby and Paige got in line to speak with the teacher.
Happy, Sylvester, and Walter hung back just a little, and stood out of the way of anxious parents trying to make it through.
"Do we have to do this every year now" Walter asks Happy, while grimacing as a young boy, no older than three, stepped purposefully on his toes.
"Afraid so Walt" Happy says, while watching as Toby asked Paige multiple questions, that she clearly didn't understand.
"I hope Aidan's orientation isn't as crowded as this place is" Sylvester said, covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve, as a little kid sneezes, and snot sprays everywhere.
He turns away and gags into his sleeve, while Happy tries not to grin at his antics.
Toby and Paige finally reach the front of the line, and introduce themselves to the teacher.
Paige shakes his hand first, and Hands him the paperwork she needed to fill out before hand, over summer break.
"Hi, my name is Paige Dineen, and my son is over there," she points to Ralph at the back of the classroom, "Ralph Dineen"
The teacher smiles, and takes the paperwork. "I've heard a lot about Ralph, I'm really excited to have him in my class. He is quite extraordinary" he says.
Toby goes next, sticking out his hand, and giving him a firm handshake. "I'm Dr. Tobias M. Curtis, and that's my daughter over there," he points to Sage, standing beside Ralph with her hood up, and glancing around at her surroundings suspiciously, "Sage Curtis. She's a bit shy around new people, but overall she's pretty well-behaved"
"That's good to hear," he says, taking Toby's paperwork as well, "my name is Mr. Johnson. I'm the advanced math teacher for 7th graders. I'm looking forward to this year, it seems like its going to have a lot of potential"
Toby nods his head in agreement, and scans the contents of his desk, and frowns. "You seem a bit too cheery to have high anxiety. I'd advise taking a weaker per-" Paige elbows him in the side, with a sweet smile, as he yelps in pain.
"Remember what Sage said" she whispers threateningly to him, and pushing him away from the desk, and back in the direction of the group.
"I'm sorry about him. He's a little blunt, Sage, I hope, isn't quite as bad" she apologizes.
Mr. Johnson watches as Toby stumbles back towards Happy and Walter, holding his side.
Sylvester had had too much, and went outside to get some fresh air.
"It's fine. It just caught me a bit off gaurd. He's very observant" he says, with a nod of his head, as he turns his attention back to Paige.
"They all are" Paige says waving it off, with a sigh.
When she sees the confused look on his face, she explains herself a bit more. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was talking about them," she says, pointing to the five, gathered near the boards, "they're geniuses. Part of Scorpion"
Walter looks down at his feet at the little boy that still won't leave, and steps closer to Happy, and almost tripping over a desk.
Toby's whispering something in Happy's ear, and she elbows him even harder in the same spot, and he doubles over in pain.
Ralph writes something on the whiteboard with a marker, and Sage just watches Paige and her new teacher, and slowly making her ways towards them when she realizes where the conversation is heading.
Mr. Johnson nods, with wide eyes, "are Ralph and Sage geniuses too?"
Paige is about to answer, but Sage had ran up to her at some point, and pulled on her arm, to distract her before she could say anything.
"Aunt Paige, we need to go," she says, avoiding her teachers gaze, while Paige tries to push her off her arm softly.
"Okay, just a second" she says, patting Sage on the top of her head, when she doesn't let go.
She readjusts her purse on her shoulder, and gives an apologetic smile to the teacher. "I'm sorry. But I'm sure you'll figure it out after a couple days" she shakes his hand again, before walking away, and leaving him a bit awestruck and confused.
They all regather in the less crowded hallways, and Sage stops them all in their tracks to make an important announcement when she sees no one is around to over hear.
"I don't mind you guys talking about YOU being geniuses, but please don't mention anything about me. I don't want the attention" she says with a scowl.
Walter's eyes narrow, "why? You should be proud of your abilities. Don't hinder your intelligence just bec-" Sage stops him before he can go any further.
"Yes, I know. I've heard your stupid speech before!" She snaps, "I would just prefer not to be the center of attention on the first week of school. That's all I'm asking" she says, a little more calmly.
Walter looks a bit take aback by her outburst, but recovers quickly. Paige wanted to say something to her, but not in front of the whole team, so she decided to wait until they had their little talk back at the garage.
Sage's little outburst only confirmed Happy's suspicions, and she frowned at the thought of what Sage was feeling. Sylvester just nervously wrung his hands over and over. While Ralph stood beside him, with a cocked head.
Toby stepped forward, and put an arm around her shoulders, and pulling her to his side, "it's alright bug."
Sage nods her head, and is about to lean her head on his chest, but she sees someone coming down the hallway out of the corner of her eye.
She pushes him away, and spins on her heel, to March off to the next classroom.
Cabe and Colby...
"So is this your little brother" Mrs. White asks, with a little bit more enthusiasm than what was necessary.
"Uhh, no. He's my...cousin. Yeah...cousin" Colby says, looking at Aidan chewing on his hand again in Cabe's arms.
He looks back to his teacher, who's smile didn't break. "Ohh, that's wonderful. He's such a cutie" she says, reaching out to squeeze his cheek.
Aidan sees her hand moving towards him. His eyes widen, and he hides his face into Cabe's shoulder and neck, with a whimper.
"It's okay. He just gets really scared easily" Colby says, when he notices her expression.
Cabe bounces him just a bit, to try and cheer him up, but he doesn't lift his head from his shoulder.
"Okay. Well it was really nice to meet you Colby. I'm looking forward to seeing you in class" she says, waving at them, when they exit the room, and turning to the next student in line.
Once they leave, Aidan perks right up again, like nothing had happened. And Cabe readjusts him on his hip with a grunt and grumble.
"She seemed really nice." Cabe says, while Colby looks down at the map for his next class.
He chuckles under his breath. "Na. That was all an act, she's probably one of the meanest teachers in the school."
Cabe arches an eyebrow. "Don't be so dramatic kid. She can't be that bad"
Colby looks up from the maps, and starts walking. "Oh, but she can. All teachers act nice and perfect around the parents, and then on the first day of school, they morph into demons" he says dramatically.
Cabe gives a hardy laugh. "You fantasize too much kid" he says, slapping him on the back, and gripping his shoulder
"I try" he says, with a grin.
Sage and the rest of em'...
"Oh look Sage! They've got a track team here. You need to try out" Paige says excitedly, pointing at a poster on the information board outside the lunchroom.
Sage glances up at the poster, "no thanks. And besides, that's only for eighth graders, I couldn't try out even if I wanted to."
Paige looks back at the poster with a frown. "Oh...yeah. It says it right there" she mumbles to herself, as she studies the poster.
"So what's next kiddo" Toby asks, looking at the schedule in her hand.
Sage groans, and hands it to him, before marching off to their next and last class. "Spanish. I hate Spanish class" she mumbles to herself. "I always have to be nice to the Spanish teacher"
As soon as they reach the door, they are bombarded with all forms of Spanish. The signs and posters are in spanish, and even the music playing in the background is in Spanish.
The classroom is empty of any students or parents, so the teacher ran right up to them immediately, and grabbed Sage's hands, and immediately started talking slow in Spanish, and making gestures so she could understand.
¿Cómo estás hoy cariño? cuál es tu nombre? She says, speaking with a heavy accent.
Before she can respond, the teacher acts first by translating her words. "How are you doing sweetie? What's your name?"
Toby chuckles, at the thought that she thinks she has to translate for them. All of them knew Spanish, even Paige.
Sage just sighs and answers her question, speaking quickly and accurately just as she had, "Estoy haciendo muy bien. Mi nombre es Sgae y esta es mi familia. Todos entendemos español, que era algo que he aprendido desde la infancia. Esta es Ralph," she pulls Ralph's so he's standing beside her.
"También sabe algo de español, y ambos estamos a la espera de tomar esta clase" she finishes, with a smile on her face. That everyone but the teacher knew was fake.
The teacher was absolutely flabbergasted, and had to take a few steps back. She put a hand to her forehead in surprise, and looked the group over.
They all filed into her classroom, and took a look around.
Walter shook the ladies hand, "es un placer conocerte"
She shook his hand too, and spoke in English. "It's nice to meet you too"
After a couple minutes of wandering around the empty classroom and Toby interrogating the teacher, Walter gets a phone call from Cabe, asking where they were.
He gives them directions, and they meet them at the room a few minutes later.
"So how long have you been teaching at this school?" Toby asks with a raised eyebrow, while the teacher gladly spouts out answers.
Colby moves to stand directly next to Sage, who's examining a Spanish poster on the wall.
He studied it too, while asking his question. "How're you doing?"
Sage just grunts in response, and her gaze travels across the white wall.
"I'm taking that as a 'no" Colby sighs, folding his hands behind his back
He follows Sage around the room until it's time to leave, and blocks her from the view of any students in the hallway as they pass. Acting somewhat as a bodyguard.
Paige nudges Happy after seeing Colby stepping in front of her for a third time, and sending the cocky boy a scowl. "Happy. I think Colby knows what's wrong with Sage. Maybe you should ask him"
Happy shakes his head. "He won't tell us. He keeps Sage's secrets private, and let's her tell us when she's ready. Trust me...I've tried"
Paige frowns, and follows Toby and Walter back to the main entrance, to finish up anything they might've missed on the tour.
They all pile into their separate cars, and head off to the elementary school that Aidan would be attending his first year of school. Starting out in the second grade, since he did all the kindergarten and first grade work in the past couple weeks.
Sylvester wanted to give him the second grade work too, but Paige advised that it would be best if he stayed with kids in his age group, because of his interesting 'condition'.
So Sylvester agreed, and since Aidan isn't legally 'living', Sylvester and Sage had to hack him into the school as Aidan Dodd, so he'd be able to attend, without too many questions.
The elementary school is right around the corner from the Middle school so it's not a very long ride, and it only takes them a couple minutes.
The whole system is definitely not as complicated and time consuming as the other school, so they get done pretty quickly, and soon they're off to meet Aidan's teacher, on the second floor.
They're all surprised to see Sylvester take charge of the situation when they reach the room, full of kids picking their noses, and doing other things that would send a germaphobe like Sylvester on a tailspin.
He eventually gets the teacher by herself after waiting behind a nice couple. While Sage takes it upon herself to fill out the paperwork at Aidan's assigned desk, that the school requires the parents to fill out.
"Um, I think it's best that you know a few things about m-my son," Sylvester says awkwardly, like the word is foreign to him. Tripping over his words.
The teacher nods enthusiastically, "of course"
Sylvester rings his hands, as he usually does, and adjusts his glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. "He has the tendency to wander...and mumble. It's nothing he can control to a certain extent, and he's usually pretty good about keeping it to himself. And if he gets his medicine, then he's usually fine." He taps the side of his head, "he's had trouble in the past, and that's affected the way his mind and communication skills work, and he doesn't realize or understand that he's doing something wrong until it's pointed out to him directly"
Sylvester glances over at Aidan staring down at the pictured carpet at the front of the room, and the teacher follows his gaze, as he walks in circles and his mouth moves, as he steps over the children playing on the carpet.
"I think I see what you're talking about" she says, creasing her eyebrows as she watches him.
Sylvester nods again, and turns to face her again. "He's never been to school before, so he doesn't know how to behave in this type of environment," he gestures to the room around them, "so you might have to go over a few things with him, and it will very likely take him several weeks or months to adjust"
The teacher continues to nod her head, and takes what Sylvester says very seriously.
"How is he academically?" She asks.
"He's perfectly fine there. He's a genius, with an IQ of 168, and the only reason he's here is so he has the chance to socialize with children his age. He already knows most of what's going to be reviewed this year" the teachers eyes widen at the revelation.
"A-are you?" She asks.
Sylvester nods his head, and points to the team conversing behind him, "we all are...besides those three" he points to Cabe, Paige and Colby individually.
The teacher nods, and tries to call Aidan over.
"Aidan!" She calls in a sweet teacher-like voice, but he ignores her, and continues his trail around the carpet.
"Aidan. Come here please" Sylvester tries, and Aidan's head perks up, and he grins, skipping over to them like a happy deer.
"This is your teacher Ms. Harrel. Remember what we said about school and teachers" he says, placing both hands on his shoulders, as Ms. Harrel crouches down to his level.
"Hi Aidan. It's really nice to meet you" she sticks out her hand for him to shake, but he just looks at it with a cocked head.
"We're still working on that one," Sylvester says, "try a fist bump"
Ms. Harrel smiles, and does as he says, which Aidan gladly accepts with a giggle and smile.
When introductions are over he runs to stand next to Sage. Looking over her shoulder at the papers she's filling out.
"He doesn't talk much" she says.
"Yes that's something else. He doesn't talk unless it's absolutely necessary, or he's in the mood. He barely speaks to me and Sage...but he does know how to talk" he says, pulling his sleeve over his hand, to shake her hand.
"Oh! And one more thing...don't let him have any access to a school computer, unless being supervised constantly, he doesn't need to get into any trouble when we aren't around" he says.
Ms. Harrel gives a confused smile, and then awkwardly laughs, before recomposing herself, "I'll let you know if I have any problems or questions, you just need to fill in the papers at the d-" she turns to point to Aidan's desk, where the paperwork was, but stops when she sees Sage gathering the papers in a pile.
She stands and walks it over to Sylvester,and hands it over with a flick of her wrist, who then hands it off to Ms. Harrel.
She takes the papers with narrowed eyes, "you...aren't going to check and make sure the informations right" she asks, flipping through the multiple pages Sage had filled out.
"No, Sage's got it" he says, with a nod of his head, and innocent smile.
The team doesn't have time to introduce themselves to the teacher, because Sylvester rushes them out, while Aidan holds his hand, while being dragged out behind him, waving bye to his teacher.
"Way to go Sly. You handled that like a real man" Toby says, clapping him on the back, while the rest of the team praised him.
"It's not that big of a deal guys" he mutters.
"For you it is. 3 years ago, you wouldn't be able to set foot in that room" Paige says, resting a hand on his shoulder, and smiling, before giving him a hug.
Sylvester smiles back, and a shiver runs down his spine. "Do you realize how many kids in there were picking there noses, and coughing-" Sylvester continues like that for a while, and the rest of the team nods along as they all walk back to the cars.
At the garage...
As soon as the doors open to the garage, Sage pushes herself past everyone, and through the door, belining towards the back of the garage.
She pulled her hood up, and tried to cover her face as much as possible, as she sat down at the kitchen table, with her back to the team.
She pulls out her sketchbook, and hunched over it. Tracing her pencil back and forth across the paper forcefully.
Toby's about to do the Toby type thing, and run up and try to figure out what's wrong, but Paige stops him before be messes things up even more.
"I'll handle this Toby. Just hang back for a second. This is...emotional" she says, patting him on the shoulder, and pushing him in the direction of his desk.
Toby grumbles, and mumbles something about 'twitching fingers' and 'activity' which Paige ignored, and sits down across from Sage.
Sage grunts in acknowledgment, and Paige starts talking, without waiting for an invitation. Since she knows she won't be receiving one any time soon.
"It doesn't take a genius behaviorist to tell when something's wrong. And I've been around geniuses long enough to know when they're lying about how they really feel. I know saying 'I'm fine' might work on Walter or Happy, but it's certainly not going to work on me" she says, crossing her arms stubbornly, and watches as Sage's fists clench around the pencil in her hand.
Trying to hold back the offensive words lingering and hissing in her mouth.
Instead she stands from her seat with a growl, "this is my problem to deal with, and if I don't want someone knowing, then no one will know"
She says, angrily, disappearing further into the garage.
Paige sighs in defeat and hangs her head, before standing up from her seat at the table. She realizes her mission is hopeless, at least for the moment. Sage needed some one to confide in, someone that understood how she was feeling, and understood her situation.
So she trekked to Happy's desk, and waited to be acknowledged.
Happy looked up from her work briefly, before looking back down. So Paige took that as permission to talk.
"I don't think I can get Sage to talk. You need to be the one to talk to her" she says.
Happy drops the hammer she had in her hand, and it makes a loud clang as it hits the ground.
She looks up at Paige, "have you met me", she gestures to herself, "I can't even comfort Walter and he doesn't even have feelings!"
Paige sighs, and shakes her head, "that's not the point Happy. The point is that you understand Sage better than anyone in this garage. You grew up the same, and you had the same fears as her"
Happy places both hands on the table, and drops her head, "but what do I say?"
She looks up at Paige for some tips on consolation.
"Just say whatever you would need to hear" she says, before walking back to her desk.
Happy groaned loudly, and Toby looked up from his book, and gave her a look.
She waved him off, and he nodded and continued reading his book, like the good little boy he was.
As Happy got closer to the back of the garage, she could hear faint punches. Sage had apparently found the punching bag hanging in the very back of the garage.
She was hitting it with her bare hands, and her face was red from the pain and strain it was causing her.
Her hands were scraped and bruised, as she continued pummeling the bag.
When she realized her fists weren't doing any damage to the standstill object in front of her, she roared in frustration and swung around, grabbing a bat laying against some boxes near her, and swung.
She swung it at the bag, and a loud Snap and Crack echoed through the garage, as the bat split in two.
Happy ran up to the bag as quickly as she could, and Sage banged the back of both fists against it in frustration, before resting her forehead between them.
Happy moved the broken bat with her shoe, and moved herself so she was standing behind Sage.
She started massaging her shoulders a little at a time, working out the tense muscles.
She worked her way across her arms and shoulders, and up her neck.
She had to shoo away a few team members, who ran around to see what all the commotion was, from the loud bat snap. But other than that her whole focus was on Sage.
When she felt her fully relax, she started asking the questions, while continuing to massage her back and shoulders.
"What made you snap like that?"
Sage grunted, and waited for a couple seconds before answering. "People are stupid idiots"
Happy nodded in agreement, waiting for her to continue.
"I mean, every year I go to the same school, with the same people, and I see the same thing. They judge too much. Just by what they see, and I'm so sick and tired of it" she hit the bag again, angrily with her fist.
"My whole life I've had to hide my abilities, in fear of being discovered, and locked away in some stupid foster system forever. And every year I'm analyzed the same way, as a talentless, unathletic, semi-smart nobody, whose nice to everyone. And that's not the real me" she huffs.
Happy nods along, and just listens, just like she would have needed for herself in this situation..
"That's the total opposite of what I am, and it's probably the total opposite of what others are too. You only get one chance to prove yourself in school, and in society as a whole, and if you mess up once your out, and if you do it right, then you have to keep doing it until you mess up. It never ends.
Happy starts to speak, once she realizes Sage isn't going to say anything else.
"Why does this bother you so much"
Sage groans, pushing her face farther into the punching bag, clenching and unclenching her bloodied fists.
"I don't like to be judged, and I don't like it when people judge others based off of false information" she says
"I used to feel the same way" Happy says, placing her hands on Sage's shoulders, and spinning her around to face her.
Sage cocked her head, "what do you mean. You don't care what anybody thinks of you" she says.
Happy half smiles, before starting her story. "Have I ever told you about how I met Walter?"
Sage shakes her head, while Happy leads them to a set of chairs in the corner. She sits down and leans back before continuing her story.
"I payed people to be my stand ins at fabricating competitions, because I couldn't stand to be judged"
Sage's eyes widen, but she doesn't say anything.
"I grew up like you, but instead of on the street I lived in foster homes. Physical and mental abuse were often a daily occurrence for me. And in school it was usually worse."
"It wasn't common back then for girls to be into cars and machines, and I got teased a lot. I didn't start picking fights with people until highschool. That's when I just had enough of it." Happy said, crossing her arms over her stomach. Something she's been finding herself doing a lot lately.
"That sort of carried into my fear of being judged. I would ask random people off the streets to stand in for me, and I promised them a third of the money when I win, if they just stand and present for me.. Then one day I ran into Walter, randomly, and after he realized who I was, and what I've been doing, he asks me to help him start Scorpion."
Happy grabbed Sage's hand when she saw her picking at the red scabs already starting to form on her knuckles.
"Then I realized, that what those kids thought when I was younger, didn't matter. I shouldn't care about what others thought about me or what I loved, and this team helped me realize that"
Sage nodded, and hung her head. "For the first year or two after I started school, I was beat up and teased a lot. I was considered too smart, and I never put up a fight when I was thrown to the ground, but I never cried either. That seemed to only encourage them. They made a game out of it. 'Let's see who can make the little girl cry first'." She says in a mocking voice.
"It took a long time for people to accept me, and for me to realize it's not a good idea to let other people know the real me. And that's why I kept all my abilities a secret...from everyone"
Sage looks up to see Happy nodding along, and leaning back in her chair. Listening to every word she was saying.
"I would get teased and beat up at school, then go home and hide in a cold warehouse with my 'family' of crooks. I guess that's why I was so protective over Ralph during elementary school. I didn't want him to go through the same thing I did..."
"Just being around new people, and realizing that I might have to go through all that again, just brought up some bad memories that I don't want. And I think all this stress of having to go through that cruel system again, made me go nuts. That's when I started running from my problems, I-I didn't know any other way to handle the stress"
Happy smiles, and rubs her on the shoulder, while standing up.
"You know what keeps me from going nuts?" She asks with a smirk.
Sage stands up with her. "What?"
Happy grins, "Smashing things," she grabs Sage by the hand. Careful of her injuries.
Sage's eyes light up, and she's ready to run off to Happy's desk, but Happy tightens her hold on her hand, and uses her other hand to grab her arm.
"But first...your dad needs to take a look at those hands" she nods down at Sage's fists.
Sage looks down at her bruised hands in disgust. Trying to rubs the little bits of dried blood that has already stained her hands.
Happy leads her by the elbow, back towards the front of the garage, in the direction of Toby's desk.
She can see him nervously bouncing his knee, and biting at his knuckles, as he tries to focus on the book in his lap. Which obviously isn't happening.
"Hey Doc, can we have some assistance" Happy calls.
Toby's head snaps up as soon as he hears Happy's voice. He sees her leading Sage, with her head bowed, towards his desk.
His eyes trail down to find what's wrong, and they land on Sage's hands, intertwined with Happy's.
He grabs the book resting in his lap, and pretty much throws it across his desk as he gets up, and squats down in front of Sage to get a better look at her hands, and knuckles.
"It looks like you might have a minor sprain in your wrist. Several bruises..." he continues to mutter as he looks over her hands, "scrapes, minor swelling"
She grimaces when he runs his thumb gently over a certain spot above her middle finger, but she tries to keep it to herself.
Toby mutters irritably, while inspecting both hands. And marching back to his desk to grab his supplies.
He instructs Happy to get a bowl and wet washcloth to clean her hands, while he leads her to sit on the couch.
He sits at his usual spot, on the coffee table, with her hand resting on his knee, while he gets his things ready beside him.
"What'd you do this time?" He asks, with a smirk, while looking down as he works.
"Punched the bag without gloves...maybe a little too hard" she mutters, looking away from him, and towards Colby who's shaking his head at her in amusement.
"Yeah, that'll do it," he says, picking up her hand to examine it again. He raises an eyebrow and looks her in the eye, "how hard did you hit it?"
Sage shrugs, and tries to shrink back a little farther into the cushions of the couch.
Toby stops her, by pulling her by the arm. "You don't get to hide from me anymore" he says, giving a smirk.
Sage nods, but still doesn't look him in the eyes.
Before he can pry any more, Happy comes back with the bowl of clean water and cloth.
Toby thanks her, and dips the cloth in the water, and starts cleaning Sage's cuts with practiced and gentle hands.
Happy sits next to Sage on the couch, and tells her about when Toby was boxing and got himself beat up. While Toby laughs along, trying to disprove certain, embarrassing, things she was saying. Sage giggles along at some parts, while Happy and Toby banter and argue about it.
Walter's sitting at his desk, next to the couch, with curious eyes, while he watches them.
They seem so at home together...like a real family, and he's happy for them. He glances around at the rest of the cyclone.
Sylvester's reading to Aidan, who's curled up in his lap, with his head laying on his chest, while he listens to Sylvester's steady voice
Colby's trying to teach Cabe something about video games, while Cabe miserably fails at understanding. And they both laugh at his ignorance on the subject. While Cabe tells him about VCR's and grumbling about life being so much simpler without technology.
Then he sees Paige and Ralph. Ralph's doing something at his newly built desk, and Paige sits beside him in a seat she had pulled up earlier, talking to him, and combing her hands through his hair as he worked.
She looks up and sees him staring at them, and she smiles. Then goes back to whatever she was talking about with him.
He smiles to himself some more, and looks back down at his laptop, to finish his coding.
Toby finished cleaning Sage's hands, and starts wrapping them up.
Covering the knuckles and back of the hand, weaving it through her thumb and index finger to make it more secure, for her sprained wrist.
He does it to both hands, then brings them to his lips and kisses both of them dramatically.
"Walla! Princess. You are good as new" he says, with an Italian accent.
While Sage laughs, and smiles at his silly self.
She gives him a quick hug around the neck, and a kiss on the cheek, before dragging Happy over to her desk.
Toby calls out to them before they get to far, "be careful with your hands. Don't smash them on anything anymore"
Happy laughs, and Sage ignores him, giddy to get started.
Happy shows her how to hold the hammer properly, and she spreads out the bent up sheet of metal she was working on earlier. "What you need to do, is make this slab of metal, flat and straight. Just keep smashing it until you can't anymore" she instructs.
Sage nods, and brings down the hammer with a grunt, and the loud bang echoes across the garage. She grins, bringing it down again and again. Enjoying the jolt she receives up her arm every time contact is made.
Happy supervises for a couple minutes, before deciding that Sage knows what she's doing, and slumps over to the couch with a tired sigh.
Toby comes to sit next to her, and wraps his arm around her shoulder, and she doesn't protest. She just leans into his side. Ignoring the fact that the others were around to watch as they pleased.
"Why don't we go to the track before we head home. Give Sage a chance to let out some more energy she's been bottling up lately" he says, grinning down at her.
She nods, and closes her eyes. Whispering so no one else can hear.
"This baby is already tiring me out, I haven't even done anything today" she sighs, resting her hand across her abdomen while trying not to look too suspicious.
Toby raises his other hand to her forehead, feeling the heat with the back of his hand. "Have you eaten much today. Besides breakfast this morning" he asks, lowering his hand when he notices nothing abnormal.
Happy nods her head, "I ate lunch, and that's about it"
Toby nods, and stands from the couch, while Happy groans and pouts in protest.
"Be right back Hap" he runs to the kitchen, and starts digging around for some food, while she face plants into the spot he was just sitting in.
Unfortunately there's nothing much to eat, except snacks. So he grabs a jar of pickles, that Happy's been storing, and brings it over to the couch.
Happy sees the jar in his hands while he's walking back, and she reaches out with greedy hands.
She can see Paige raise her eyebrow suspiciously out of the corner of her eye, but she really doesn't care at the moment.
Toby laughs, as he screws off the cap, and hands the jar to Happy.
She picks out a small pickle, and puts the whole thing in her mouth, and leans back into the couch. "Is there any ice cream?" She asks as she chews.
Toby laughs, and leans closer so he can whisper to her. "You have the most odd cravings I've ever heard of...But no, I checked. There's isn't any in the freezer" he says.
Happy sighs, and eats another pickle, chewing silently.
Toby sits with her, and watches as the next few minutes pass in the garage.
Colby, and Ralph were able to convince Aidan and Cabe into a game of regular Jenga, since Sylvester refused letting Aidan near the 'pointy' and 'deadly' blocks in the back.
They set up the game in front of Happy and Toby, on the coffee table, and Toby laughs at Cabe every time he grunts from having to kneel down or stand up.
Cabe scowls at him, 'accidentally' kicking him in the shin before kneeling back down to the floor.
Sage continues to bang on the metal, just like Happy used to do when she was pissed or frustrated.
Walter and Paige disappear upstairs after a while, and Toby waggled his eyebrows at Walter when he makes his way down the stairs to grab something. Then receiving an eye roll in response.
Sylvester stays in his spot, trying to piece together the coding system Aidan has been working on for the past few weeks.
The clock strikes 5 and Sage collapses across their laps, in mild exhaustion. "My arm hurts, and I can't smash anything anymore"
She watches the game that's been going on for several minutes.
Cabe gave up after the first few minutes, and Colby kept knocking down the tower, so he gave up. Now it was only Ralph and Aidan.
She grabs a pickle out of the jar sitting beside them and chews on it, while Toby brushes her hair with his fingers.
At around 5:20 he pats her on the back, and helps her stand up, and off him and Happy.
He helps Happy up next, and calls out to Walter upstairs. "We're leaving Walt, see you later"
There's no response, and Toby smirks, before waving goodbye to everyone else and hopping in their new car.
Sage figures out they're not going home after about two minutes of riding, and she starts to get excited.
"Are we going to Uncle Walt, and Aunt Paige's house? The park? What about the new apartment?" Sage starts listing off potential locations they could be headed. Trying to get some kind of reaction.
Toby chuckles, and looks at her through the rearview mirror. "Cool it kiddo. You'll love it when we get there"
Sage huffs, and leans against the window, watching all the cars they pass.
They drive for a while and turn into the middle school parking lot, shared with the highschool.
"I thought you said I'd like it. And I definitely don't like being back here" she panics, looking at Happy for some support.
"Cool it," Toby says, throwing open his door, and stepping out, "we're not here for the school." He opens Sage's door, and pulls her out.
Happy gets out on her side, and slams the door. "We thought you could let off some steam...the way you're used to"
Sage looks between the two of them, "you mean.."
Toby grins, and nods, while Sage's eyes light up in excitement.
"What're we waiting for, let's go" she yells, grabbing Toby's hand.
Toby pulls her back towards him, with a laugh. "Not so fast bug. I'm gonna go get us some dinner. You and mum head to the field, I'll meet you there" he says, patting her on the head.
Sage nods and reaches out for Happy's hand, "come on mum, let's go"
She pulls Happy behind her, and let's go when they're both settled at a slow jog.
Toby smiles, and throws his hands in his pockets, walking in a random direction to find a taco stand or hot dog stand. Or anything really.
At the track...
"Wait! There's people here already" Sage says, hiding behind Happy.
Happy laughs, and pulls her out in the open. "Nah duh kid. It's a public track" she smiles.
Sage shakes her head, "but what if they laugh at me."
Happy's smile falls, and she grabs Sage by the shoulders. "What did we just talk about at the garage" she says.
Sage bows her head, "it doesn't matter what they think, because they don't matter" she mutters.
Happy nods, "exactly. And they won't laugh at you, because they'll be too busy cheering you on. Because you're awesome"
Sage debates for awhile giving a sideways glance to the field. She decides against it for the time being, and grabs Happy's hand, while watching the older boys practicing on the track.
She walks with Happy for a little longer, towards the bleachers at the side of the field. Building up her courage.
She could handle drug dealers, gun smugglers, murderers, and human traffickers. But situations like this terrified her to no end.
Eventually though, Sage let's go of Happy's hand, and takes a few steps closer to the beginning of the track.
Happy smiles as she watches Sage take tentative steps towards the field. She takes her time walking to the small stands on the side of the field.
She sits a little ways up, so she can see Sage at all angles, when she starts to run around the track.
She can see her kneeling at the beginning of the track, and she can see the older boys at the other end pointing and snickering at her.
They went to the highschool, and they were dressed up in their track uniforms. Happy glares and growls under her breath.
Sage sees them too, and her confident smile drops into a frown, and she tries her best to shake the thought away, remembering what Happy told her earlier.
She peels off her leather jacket, and tosses it into the grass beside the sanded track, then she removes her shoes and tosses them to the side along with the jacket.
She looks up, to see Happy smiling down at her, and nodding her head in encouragement.
She closes her eyes again, before stepping into the runners stance, that she's seen the runners do since she was a little girl.
She regulates her breathing like Toby had taught her, and calms herself, building up her nerve to run, in front of the kids snickering at her on the other side.
By the time she opens her eyes again Toby's up sitting with Happy, giving her a thumbs up, and smile.
She smiles back, and takes one last breath before taking off down the track.
She felt the red sand beneath her bare feet and between her toes as she ran, down and around the track. She closed her eyes and let her feet and legs guide her just like they used to.
When she opens them again, she's already halfway around, and coming up towards the obnoxious team using the field.
They stare wide eyes as she passes them in a blur.
She smirks, and runs past them, feeling the wind in her face and hair. Something she's missed quite a bit.
Her confidence grows, and she no longer cares about what the others think of her. Happy was right. They're just idiots that don't know what they're talking about.
Toby and Happy...
Toby and Happy sit in the bleachers while Sage continues to run around and around the track. Using different paces so she doesn't tire herself out too quickly.
He sees her leg bouncing, while she watches Sage, and he reaches behind him to grab her treat he bought for her.
"Guess what I got?" He sings, with a playful grin. Holding the cup of ice cream in front of her face.
The biggest grin forms on her face as she grabs the cup from him, and takes a big spoonful into her mouth.
"Aaannnd, I got some extra relish from the hot dog guy" he says, showing her the small plastic cup of chopped up pickles.
She smiles with a mouthful of ice cream, and grabs the small black cup and pours it on her ice cream.
Toby almost gags, as he watches her eat it. "You have the weirdest cravings ever. Like in the history of cravings" he says, watching her as she continues to eat the pickle sprinkled ice cream.
Happy ignores him, and leans against his shoulder, while he eats his hot dog, and they both watch Sage run.
After a few minutes of watching Sage, the teenagers from early leave, and head to their van parked in the car lot.
Happy's almost done with her ice cream, and Toby's hot dog is long gone.
"So Hap. Have you thought about names yet?" He asks, as she puts another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
"A little bit, but not much. You?"
Toby nods his head, and purses his lips. "Yeah...quite a bit. Naming the babies is probably the hardest part. So parents should start preparing possib-"
"Toby! Stop. I don't need you to recite a long article you read on Wikipedia" Happy says sarcastically.
Toby huffs, "for your information, I use a very reliable source for my information"
He can pretty much hear the roll of her eyes, and he smirks.
She doesn't say anything for a while, so he stays silent on the subject.
"What about Annette?"
He looks down at Happy laying on his shoulder. "What?"
"What do you think about he name Annette for a girl?" She asks again.
Toby shakes his head, "Nope. Had an ex named Annette...what about Caesy?"
Happy's nose wrinkles up in a grimace, " No. Childhood bully"
They trade names back and forth for boys and girls. They couldn't agree on any name.
"You know... we should name our child Quintis" Toby says, with a wide grin.
Happy sits up, and sends a hard punch right at his shoulder. "No! Your an idiot"
Toby yelps, and places his hand protectively over his shoulder where she had hit it.
"Well we can't seem to agree on any name, so I was just throwing one out there" he says, rubbing his arm.
Happy grunts and lays her head back on his shoulder. "How are we supposed to pick two names if we can't even choose one" she says with a sigh.
"Well we've only been trading ideas for," he looks down at his watch, "five minutes. It's going to take a lot longer than that to pick a name"
Happy cuddles closer to him. Glad there is no such thing as individual seats when sitting on bleachers. "The names have to be perfect" she says.
Toby kisses the top of her head, and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "Yes it does. And don't worry. Most parents don't decide on a name until they actually see the baby"
Happy nods in agreement. They lean back so their backs are leaning against the bench behind them, and they're both sitting in the crevice between the two seats.
They continue to talk about names, and Happy rolls her eyes while Toby suggests wild ideas for the bedroom.
And they continue to talk until Eventually Sage tires herself out enough for her to slow down and walk over to them for her dinner.
She breathes heavily as she falls into seat next to Toby. Who quickly grabs her dinner before she sat on it.
She leans her head on Toby's shoulder, and breathes heavily for a few seconds. While she sits snuggly between the bleachers.
He hands her his large cup of water he bought with their dinner, and she drinks almost half of it, and leans her head back against him.
"Wow. I haven't run like that in forever" she breathes, closing her eyes for a moment, while she continues to catch her breath.
"I'll say. You were running for a while." Toby says, handing her her dinner.
She gladly takes it, and licks her lips. "Thanks" then chows down.
Toby helps her up, and she continues to eat while they make their way down the bleachers. "Let's get home"