Now this is where the fun begins. ;)
Hello once again, readers! Hope everyone has had a great time since the last update. Please enjoy the newest chapter and have a bless day.
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Chapter 7: School of Trouble
Luke Smith—sitting in the car beside his new adoptive mother Sarah Jane Smith—felt extremely nervous. Not that he would let anyone else notice that. It was just . . . no matter how much his mother told him not to worry about school, he could not help but worry. Kids around here were so . . . normal compared to him. Besides him being created by the Bane and only being a few months old, he knew his intelligence was far above all the others as well. From all the television shows he had been watching so far to gather enough information to know how basic interactions between teenagers worked, it always seemed as though intelligence was not a main concern, nor a sot for trait in a person. Though Sarah Jane said otherwise, so perhaps it was like she and Maria Jackson—his one only friend that was the same age as he had been made to be—said and he was just overthinking it. Something which Maria said he tended to do a lot of. But was it not normal to anaylise everything to gather enough information of the world? Perhaps that was something else he should work on.
Luke looked over when he felt the vehicle begin to slow down, seeing how they were finally at the new school in Ealing. There were just so many other kids walking around outside the school, getting into the building at a casual pace as though none of them really wished to get there right away. Once Sarah Jane had parked the car on the side of the sidewalk, Luke stepped out when seeing his new mum begin to get out as well. He adjusted the large backpack on his shoulder a bit, glancing at the school briefly before going over to meet Sarah Jane on the other side.
"Now, you take care. Okay?" Sarah Jane began to say, holding his upper arms for a moment before fixing his school tie in a gesture of reassurance. A gesture he knew meant for comfort and encouragement. Was this gesture not something one usually did when they were nervous for someone else? Perhaps he was not the only that was anxious about school.
"Goodbye, mum," he said politely, hoping to give her a message to not worry and that he would indeed be okay in the end. He even gave her the usual smile one would in this sort of situation.
"Oh, I don't think so. No, Sarah Jane, that's just fine," replied his mother, sounding a bit more nervous now than before. This only confused Luke. He thought that was the usual greeting for sons and mothers. Did he say it wrong? A bit of him also felt a bit disheartened as well, but he had no time to reflect on this as he saw Maria come up beside them by this point. "Oh, hi, Maria."
Luke smiled at his friend, glad that at least there was someone he knew at this strange new place. Just then, Sarah Jane seemed to rethink something before going back into the car. She reached forward, holding his face in a kind way, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. For luck, he suppose. But then all the other school teens laughed. Some even pointed at him in a way that he knew would be considered rude. Why did that gesture of kindness get that sort of reaction? Did their mothers not do the same thing?
"Why were they laughing?" Luke asked Maria once Sarah Jane had driven off.
"First day, and your mum's kissing you goodbye?" Maria said, smirking lightly at him as though there were some untold joke she knew. This only baffled Luke even more.
"Is that bad?" he wondered curiously, trying to see the reasoning behind the humour.
"Bit embarrassing," Maria replied with a shrug. "Plus, she so wants you to call her 'mum.'"
All right, by this point, Luke knew he was completely lost. "She said she didn't."
"It's not what she said."
Luke could only feel baffled, wondering just how much more he would have to study about human behaviours to understand just what Maria was talking about. He glanced over when Maria noticed the gleaming new section of the school. It was large, with shining, glass windows that made up most of the building itself. They also saw the large satellite dishes on top of the building itself, pointing upwards towards the sky.
"It's a brand new building. There was an article about it in the paper," Luke told her after she had pointed it out. He remembered all about what he had researched on the school. Always know everything about a place before visiting. That was what Sarah Jane had told him, at least. Plus he wanted to make certain he knew all he could so he would not be left out from the other students and teachers. He wanted to fit in as much as he could, be normal and such. He just hoped it would make Sarah Jane happy in the end. It was a child's job to make their parents happy, was it not?
Luke followed alongside Maria the best he could, going with the rest of the students in the messy crowd towards the school. He tried to keep up in pace as Maria said they would have to hurry for the morning assembly. Apparently, it was normal for schools to have one after a holiday break. But suddenly, he tripped as someone bumped right into him. His bag fell off his shoulder and his papers and books spilled right out onto the ground. A few students laughed snidely at him as they passed him by. Some even stepped right on his things as they continued onward. He looked around, seeing Maria was lost in the crowd, no where in sight. He got down quickly to gather up his things, wanting to catch up with her as fast as possible.
"Well, that was so not cool of them."
Luke blinked, looking over to see a girl suddenly appear next to him, crouching down to help him pick up his things. He took in her appearance very quickly, seeing her brown hair, rich, brown eyes, freckles on her face, and possibly too skinny body. When she smiled at him, he saw a dimple form on the right side of her face, her eyes almost shining in the light as she looked at him.
"There you are," she said kindly, handing him his things as they stood up. He noticed how she was just about as tall as Maria was. So, he knew she must be about the same age as him, being fourteen or so. Though height was never an accurate measure of age. He knew this from the books he read. He looked at her uniform when noticing it looked rather untucked, with her shirt hanging out a bit, her necktie loose, and her black shoes a bit scuffed up. Strangely, she had no bag with her like all the rest of the students did.
"Thank you. I'm sorry to trouble you," Luke said quickly, hoping that he had not taken time out of her day just to help him.
"No sweat!" she said brightly, grinning at him while bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I'm happy to help. Besides, I think that might have been me that bumped into you. Sorry about that. I'm such a clutz."
"Oh, that's fine. I'm sure accidents happen often in crowded places." Luke smiled at her as well, feeling happy that someone else actually wished to communicate with him. "How do you do? I'm Luke Smith." He held out his hand, knowing that he was giving the typical greeting one would in meeting someone new. He wanted to make friends, after all. First impressions were always key in the books that explained social interactions, so he wanted to be as good as he could be in a first meeting.
"Aleena Tate," the girl responded eagerly, slapping her hand to his and giving a firm shake. "Nice meeting you, Luke."
It was at this moment he realized the way she spoke seemed rather strange than how others talked in this environment. Was this a new dialect? "You have a different accent," he remarked in observation. He suddenly felt this might be rude of him to state that so openly. But when seeing the smile on her face, he felt relieved that she did not seem to mind at all.
"Yep! I grew up in the United States for a long while, so sort of picked it up a bit," she explained, shrugging a bit. "By the way, I saw how all those ankle biters laughed at you when your mom kissed you goodbye. Don't let them get you down. I wished my old lady would have given me the same affection when she dropped me off at school. If you got a parent who loves you that much, then don't let others make you feel like it's a bad thing."
Luke nodded, feeling a bit better that not everyone wanted to laugh at him for that. He began to walk along side Aleena as they moved with the masses into the school. "Your mum never kissed you for luck?"
"Nah, she wasn't the affectionate kind of person. Wish she had been, though. It's nice to feel loved."
"I'm not so sure if Mrs. Smith is affectionate as well."
Aleena looked at him curiously. "You call your mom by her name?"
Luke shrugged a bit. "She said she didn't want me to call her 'mum.'"
"Oh?" He watched as Aleena's eyes sparked with interest. "Are you adopted by her?"
"Yes, she took me in recently."
Aleena smiled very kindly at him, looking as though she understood him even better now. "I was adopted, too. It's nice knowing that someone in the world cares enough about you to take you in, isn't it?" Luke felt even more at ease with this girl now, knowing that he was not the only adopted kid in school. But when he realized she said 'was' he wanted to question her on what she meant by that, though she continued speaking so he decided to wait to ask. "So, I'm guessing this means you're new like me, then? Darn. I was hoping someone could tell me a bit about this new building here."
"I don't think anyone knows about it yet," explained Luke. "They opened it before school was in secession. It's new to everyone here except the teachers maybe."
"Hmm." Aleena glanced back at the new building with interest, looking very thoughtful. "Suppose this means I'm going in blind, then. Ha. This should be a blast. Love not knowing what's coming." She rubbed her hands together as though eager now.
Luke stared at her, even more curious now about this strange girl. "But I thought it was always good to be prepared and know what you're going into?"
Aleena smirked lightly at him. "Yeah, but where's the fun in that? Then you'll know all that's coming your way and it won't be a gas anymore. It takes the surprise out of the day."
"So . . . it's a good thing to be surprised?"
"Most times, it is. That way life doesn't become a bore or routine. It makes life an adventure that way." Aleena gave him a happy clap on his shoulder, smiling away. "So, go enjoy being surprised! You'll never know how often you'll find yourself having a blast that way. I'll go ahead and let you be on your way now. I'm sure your girlfriend from earlier is probably wondering where you're at by now."
"Maria? Oh, yes, I should look for her." Luke glanced around the sea of students, spotting Maria rather quickly as she stood by the entrance of the school with an anxious expression. From the looks of it, Maria must have been waiting for him there once she noticed he was not beside her anymore. He hoped she had not become too worried in his absence.
"There you are. I thought maybe you might have gone inside already," Maria said once he came up to her.
"Sorry, I dropped my things, and then I was talking with Aleena," Luke said in apology, hoping Maria would not be too offended in his absence.
"Who?" Maria questioned, appearing confused now.
"Oh, sorry, Maria this is . . ." He went to introduce Maria and Aleena with each other, as custom. But when he turned, he saw that the brunette girl was no where in sight. Only other students walking around him and Maria to get inside. It was as though the strange girl had not been there at all. "She was right here with me. Didn't you see her?" Luke looked back at Maria, seeing her puzzled expression.
"No. Sorry. But come on, we have to hurry. We're going to be late." Maria grabbed his arm, dragging him into the school.
They hurried into the assembly room. It was large, with a stage that had teachers all sitting down already and staring out into the crowd of students. Many kids were already getting into their seats and settling in for the opening introduction. Maria pulled Luke over to a spot in the middle. One of the only places that had a few seats open so they could sit together. Sitting down together, Luke looked around at all the moving students, seeing how many glanced his way and gave him strange stares. Gazes that made his stomach feel a bit queasy.
"I'm feeling anxious," Luke told Maria truthfully of how he felt. It was always good to be truthful, he read.
"So am I," Maria agreed with him.
"But you've been to school before," he countered, feeling a bit confused as why she would feel anxious. She was not an experiment made by aliens. She was normal like all the others. She would not have any trouble being like all the other children.
"Not this one," she disputed, shaking her head as she stared around nervously.
"Budge up," a came voice beside them. Luke looked over and saw a boy come up to sit next to them. Both he and Maria scooted over, letting their fellow peer get an empty seat. The boy smiled at them in greeting. "You new today?"
"Yeah. Maria," replied Luke's friend.
"Clyde. New, too. Probably hang around with you till I meet some cooler people," the boy responded, smiling as though he were rather happy about something he just said. Luke was not certain what this statement or smile meant, but he leaned over and held out his hand in greeting.
"How do you do? I'm Luke Smith," he stated in the very same manner as he had before with Aleena. However, instead of smiling like Aleena had, Clyde frowned and looked bothered by something.
"Okay, that was a joke. Now I mean it," Clyde said in a grumble, but shook Luke's hand nonetheless. Luke only felt at a loss once Clyde let go of his hand and refused to meet his eye after that. He did not understand. He did the very same thing as he had done with Aleena. Why was there a completely different reaction between the two? Aleena had seemed very pleased with his introduction, while Clyde . . . did not. Perhaps there was a difference between the genders in introduction that Luke did not yet know about? Or maybe it was the difference in where Aleena had come from? He felt that maybe he should do some more study to look up what he might have done wrong.
Before long, Luke was following all the other students through the new science facility that had been built. The headmaster, Mister Blakeman himself, gave a sort of tour of the place for the children to see. Luke stared down at the pamphlet he had grabbed from one of the new rooms they had been shown through. A science club that was held during lunch time. Glancing over, he saw Clyde not too far away from him. Once he sped up, he tried showing the meeting to Clyde, hoping perhaps this would gain him a new friend with his peer. Clubs were always fun, right? But again, Clyde just shut him down, seeming to want to keep distance from him even more. It was even worse when the headmaster let out a fart and all the other children laughed.
"Why is farting funny?" he questioned Clyde, hoping that maybe getting some more insight from a peer. Even if that peer did not show much interest in him.
"It just is," Clyde said with a shrug. As though the joke was something everyone should understand.
"But it's a normal process of the human bowel," Luke countered, still baffled why something so natural and normal could be considered 'funny'.
Clyde stared at him as though he had said something beyond bizarre. "Are you for real?" Suddenly, Clyde gave a sniff, scrunching his nose a bit. "Smells weird in here."
Luke looked at him curiously. "Farts?"
"Don't know. Metal, electric."
"Like batteries." Luke agreed with him, finding it smelled just like that. He had thought it was a normal smell for schools. But if Clyde said it was not, then made it had something to do with the new wing?
The masses moved again, and Luke tried to keep up. Clyde disappeared on him. Most likely trying to stay clear as he said he would. Feeling a bit disappointed, Luke wondered if there might be anyone else he could talk with. By chance he happened to glance over and caught sight of the girl from before. He spotted her gazing around one empty laboratory, examining the different lab equipment as though she found it very peculiar. He thought that everything here was supposed to be standard for most schools, but he was wrong already today about a lot of things. So, who knew if he was wrong about this new science wing as well.
"Hello again," he called out to the girl, stepping into the room with her. Aleena turned around, blinking at him in surprise when seeing him. But she smiled in greeting all the same. Even if she had not been expecting him, it seemed she still appreciated his presence.
"Hello!" she replied, grinning widely at him. "Having a good first day so far?"
"I think so," he mumbled a bit, not really wanting to tell her how he felt on this day. But it had only just started, so he hoped it would get better. He took note of Aleena now wearing a pair of black rimmed glasses that looked rather old and large on her. She also held a small, strange device in hand that had a monitor and was beeping occasionally. "What's that?"
"Just something I've made. Helps me find hidden . . . things." she answered lightly, shrugging a bit as she did not know how to explain what it did. "It doesn't work all the time, but until I can find something better suited to investigate with, it'll do for now." She stuffed the device into her pocket, humming as she looked around the room. "This place seems rather . . . odd. Don't you think? The layout of the building is just horrible."
Luke nodded in agreement. "It smells odd more than anything."
"Yeah. Smells like they got a high-powered supercell unit hidden somewhere around here." She glanced over when seeing his puzzled gaze. She looked as though she just realized she said something bad. "Heh. Don't mind me. I'm just . . . being a ditz. Anyway, what class you got next?"
"Um . . ." Luke looked at his class list, seeing what would be his first period. "Maths. You?"
Aleena shrugged. "I suppose maths, too." She took off her glasses, placing them into a pocket as she strolled out of the room with him. "I saw you talking with that other kid. You find a new friend?" When seeing Luke's hesitate answer, she smiled kindly. "Don't sweat it, Luke. I'm sure you'll make great friends. You might not have a whole lot, but as a few good friends are better than a ton of horrid ones."
Luke stayed quiet for a moment, thinking this over. He feared this might be the wrong thing to ask, but . . . "Are we friends?" He watched as Aleena halted in step, looking at him in the same nervous way that he knew he felt about today.
"I'm not . . . a very good friend to have," she said quietly, averting her eyes to stare rather sadly down at the ground.
"Why do you say that?" He gazed at her curiously, trying to understand why she would say this. Was she just as uncertain about herself as he felt with his actions and life?
Shrugging after a moment, she began tugging on her earlobe. "Because I can't really stick around long enough to be a good friend. Because I'm horrid when it comes to interactions between people and understanding how they function. Because I'm just . . . not really a good person in general. I'm just a bad scene to be around."
Processing this for a minute, seeing how saddened she looked, Luke could only ponder what she meant by all that. But then he smiled. "I'm probably not a good friend to have, either. So, that would make us each more compatible as friends, don't you think?"
Snorting, Aleena shook her head as she chuckled quietly. Then, she grinned more brightly at him. "All right, then. Friends. For now, at least. 'Cause I'm sure you'll want me to shove off before long. Trust me." She gave him a wink before skipping forward towards where the classroom ahead.
All the while Luke could only ponder in what she meant by that.
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Throughout the day, Luke found he enjoyed having Aleena around. Even if she did not think very highly of herself, he found her very smart and very nice to him. He just felt lucky that she seemed to have all the same classes as him, going with him to every one and sitting next to him once they got in. He found it strange that she had no books to study or papers to take notes with. She even seemed not to pay attention much, staring off around the ceiling as though bored (though strangely he found her staring off as though looking at something in the air). However, whenever he would get called upon by a teacher to answer a question, it was not just him adding in new insight to the questions, expanding in answers what the teachers were looking for. It was Aleena as well, adding in beside him in what she too thought of the questions. He found her doing this more whenever a few other students began snickering at him when he went in a ramble with his answers. He blushed the first time, but when Aleena piped up and added more, he felt more relieved that he was not the only one who enjoyed studying extensive human knowledge. He thought he even saw her give hard looks with flashing white eyes to the students who snickered. Though that could have just been his imagination. Even if the other students did seem to stop snickering and stayed quiet any time he or Aleena spoke after that.
During lunch she left him to eat, saying about how she needed to look into something. From what he figured, she was most likely going to the library to study. He would have gone as well, but he did feel rather hungry. Though once he actually received a meal . . . he was not as hungry any more when seeing the mold on some of his pasta. When he went to the library—after dumping his food away—he found it empty except for the librarian. No Aleena in sight. He waited there for a while, hoping that she would show up again. But after the bell rang, he decided to head to class, hoping that maybe they would have the next period together. Fortunately, he was not alone in the next class. But it was not Aleena. Instead, it was Maria this time. He tried getting a chance to talk with her about the girl he had become friends with, but he never found the time as the rest of the school day ran by rather quickly. Before long, he found himself gathering up his bag and heading out with all the other students for the end of the day.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Maria sighed as both of them made their way out of the school. "I think I even made a few couple friends. You?"
"Yeah. One friend. But I haven't seen her since lunch," Luke replied, gazing around the student body, hoping to spot her amongst them. Still, no sign of her around.
"Is that, that girl you mentioned before?" questioned Maria curiously.
"Yes. She's been very nice to me all day," explained Luke. He felt a bit of disappointment run through him. He wished he could have said goodbye, or exchanged household phone numbers as he knew would be customary for children their age. How else would they communicate again? Well, besides having classes together, he supposed.
"Oh, look, there's your mum," Maria said, jerking Luke out of his thoughts. He glanced towards the road ahead, seeing a line of cars parked for picking up students. One of them being Sarah Jane as she waved from the driver seat. Maria went to jog towards the car, waving in return happily. Luke trailed more behind, pondering over his dilemma with what happened to Aleena. At this moment, just as before, he just happened to glance over when seeing a familiar figure walk by.
It was Aleena, with glasses back on her face and holding her strange device in hand. She seemed to be investigating around the new science building. Whatever she was looking for, it seemed she had found its location as she smiled widely and looked very excited. Interested in what she found, he hurried over to her with his curiosity running high.
"Hi, Aleena, what have you found?" he questioned, coming over beside her after pushing his way through the crowd.
"Exactly where that supercell is. Wasn't able to pick up its location earlier because of too much interference inside the school. But outside, I got exactly what I need. Though getting back inside where it's at is going to be . . . challenging. Not that I don't like a challenge now and then." She said all of this without looking at him, seeming to stare intently at the building before them. A small grin was on her face for a moment before she swiftly turned to him, looking more serious now. "There's going to be a power outage tonight. But don't worry, it won't last long. I'll make certain of that. Don't know if I can dismantle their units tonight completely. I think I'll have a better idea what I'm up against tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" he questioned, trying to understand what she was talking about. Would it be anything he and Sarah Jane could help with? It did not sound exactly normal for human environment. The smile dropped from Aleena's face as she appeared more anxious now, tugging on her earlobe.
"Sorry . . . I said too much again. I tend to do that a lot . . . Look, just forget I said anything," she said quickly, stuffing her device back into her pocket along with her glasses. "In fact, forget about me. You and I never met. Got it?" She walked around the back of the building to leave, but Luke kept up with her.
"Why would you say that? Didn't today go well?" he asked, confused and feeling that maybe he had done something wrong. Had he made another social error? Aleena stopped, turning to face him with a sad expression.
"No, you're fine, Luke. In fact, you were completely cool," she said. "It's just . . . Like I said, I'm not someone you want to be around. People get hurt around me . . . and I can never stick around long enough to really be a good friend for them." Tugging on her earlobe, she shifted on the spot. "Not only that, but I wasn't supposed to be here today. I'm supposed to be off one another mission . . . but there's been some weird things with this Coldfire Construction company and—."
"Mission? You're on a mission?" His interest peaked greatly, feeling that there was most certainly something he could do to help Aleena with if there were an important mission she was on.
Aleena winced, realizing her mistake again. "Ah, bugger. Look, forget about it, okay? Just go off, be with your mum, and have a normal life, okay? It's better that way. Don't want to ruin your chance at a normal life." She laughed as though she said something funny, but the expression on her face said otherwise.
"I don't think you'd ruin anything. My life isn't exactly normal—," he tried to counter her claim.
"It's more normal than mine," she disputed, shaking her head and slowly backing away from him. "Just forget about me, Luke Smith, all right? Enjoy your life with Sarah Jane." She turned and left quickly.
It was just after she went around the corner of the building and disappeared that Luke realized he had never mentioned his mother's name to Aleena.
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Luke sat in the car ride back home in silence. His mind wrapped around the mysterious girl he had met today. Still, it seemed Maria had not seen Aleena at all. He almost began to wonder if he had just imagined her all day. Could that happen? He wondered if he should ask Sarah Jane to run tests on his mind to make certain he was not losing mental capacities. When they got home, he saw how Maria and her dad were together, chatting up in such a strange way. Though they seemed to laugh about it all, so that must be normal for a father and daughter. Or it could just be them. He would have to observe more to see the difference. Once inside the house, Sarah Jane made him some tea and dinner to have. He sat there in silence, thinking about everything that had happened today.
"Is everything all right, Luke?" Sarah Jane asked him while they sat at the table. "You're very quiet tonight."
"Sorry. I'm just thinking," he mumbled, pushing the contents on his plate around.
"Well, if you feel like talking, I'll be in the attic," Sarah Jane replied politely, smiling at him before getting up from the dinner table and placing her plate in the sink. It was a few minutes later, after he finished his meal and washed the dishes, that he finally joined Sarah Jane in her special attic. The very same one that held the super computer Mister Smith. Glancing over, he saw Sarah Jane sitting at her desk, staring intently at her computer. She must be doing investigations again for her job. She was always doing that.
"I kept making social mistakes today," he finally decided to say, wanting to start with one of the bigger concerns he had about the day.
"Oh, hang on, I made one, too," Sarah Jane replied, clicking out of a webpage she had been viewing before turning in her chair to face him. "Driving you to school when it's just 'round the corner, kissing you goodbye. Oh, we're both new hands at this."
"'If you got a parent who loves you that much, then don't let others make you feel like it's a bad thing,'" responded Luke.
Sarah Jane stared at him curiously in question. "What?"
"It's something this girl I met said. She said how she wished her mum had done the same when she had been dropped off at school. She never got any affection from her mother and wish that she had."
Sarah Jane smiled lightly. "You met someone new? Did you make a friend?"
Luke shrugged, feeling at a loss when it came to Aleena. He felt as though he should do as Aleena said and 'forget about her' as requested. He did not wish to make Aleena troubled by not doing as asked. At the same time, however, he felt . . . drawn to her. Like he was supposed to be friends with her no matter what. "I don't know. Other than Maria and Clyde, she was nice to me all day. She helped me pick up my things when someone knocked my bag off. She even said that I was cool. But she didn't seem to want to be friends with me, even after being with me all day. Said how she wouldn't be a good friend for me and to forget about her. But she looked so sad when she said that. Why would she be sad?"
"Perhaps she's just as afraid of making new friends as you are. Is she new to school as well?" Seeing Luke nod, she smiled. "Anyone is nervous starting a new school, a new job. I've never been a mum before and look at me, a nervous wreck. She's most likely just as nervous as we are," Sarah Jane suggested, smiling kindly. "Maybe you should talk to her again at school. See how she feels during a fresh new day."
Luke felt disheartened by this suggestion. Especially when Aleena had talked as though they would not see each other again tomorrow. "But what if I say the wrong thing? What if she doesn't want to talk to me? What if I make a mistake trying to be friends with her?"
Sarah Jane stood up, holding his arms in a comforting gesture. "If she's really meant to be your friend, then I don't think she'll care about mistakes. She'll like you just the way you are. Maria does. And so do I. Remember, you saved the world the day you were born. Not many people can say that. If you can do something like that, then making new friends won't be trouble at all."
Luke frowned heavily, feeling even more uncertain now. "No one else can say that. That's the problem. Nobody else is like me. So how can I make friends with normal people when I'm so . . . abnormal?" Before Sarah Jane could say anything to this, her computer made a noise. Luke glanced at it. "What are you doing?"
"Checking up on the firm who built your new block." She steered him over to sit at the desk, getting him to see all kinds of articles and blueprints from the firm and the school construction. "Coldfire Construction."
Instantly, that name rang a bell in Luke's head. "'Coldfire Construction'?"
"Yes. Did you hear about it at school?"
Shaking his head, he held a puzzled expression as he looked at the screen. "No, that girl I told you about. She mentioned it. She said how she had been on a mission when they caught her interest with strange things that had been happening with them."
At this, Sarah Jane blinked, raising a sharp brow. "'Mission'? She said she had been on a mission?"
"Yes. She didn't say what for, though, sorry." Luke stared at the screen, reading the article quickly, scanning his eyes over the page. "She had been using this device all day, scanning the school. She also mentioned something about a 'high-powered supercell unit' and that was the reason why the school smelled."
Sarah Jane stayed very quiet for a moment as a serious expression crossed her face. "Did you happen to catch this girl's name by any chance?"
"Yes, it's Aleena. Aleena Tate." Luke turned to her, seeing the expression on her face. "Do you know her?"
"No, but . . ." Pondering for a moment, Sarah Jane straightened and held a stern face. "Luke, if you see this girl again, I want you to stay away from her. Do you understand?"
This took Luke by surprise. If he was baffled before, this only made his mind reel in the sudden change in Sarah Jane's demeanour and attitude. "But I thought you said I should talk to her and be friends? Do you know her?"
"No, but I have a feeling she's involved somehow with what's happening with all these schools. If she's dangerous, I don't want you to get hurt. In fact, perhaps I should come to school with you tomorrow and do some investigations."
Luke watched as Sarah Jane began formulating a plan of action. Just like she always seemed to do when she got involved with her investigations. Just then, the power went out. Both of them were thrown into darkness as everything shut down. The street lights outside the house also went out, making the night seem eerie. Sarah Jane came around Luke, tapping on the keyboard of her computer. She then gave a loud sigh.
"Oh, I should have saved my work," she muttered. Luke's mind raced, sitting up straight in the chair.
"It's just like she said," Luke said quickly. "Aleena mentioned there was going to be a power outage. She also said not to worry, that she was going to make sure it wouldn't last long and that she would stop it from happening again." He watched as Sarah Jane looked at a wrist watch of some kind on her, taping on it and seeing how it too was not working.
"So, you're saying this girl acted like she was trying to stop something from happening at the school?"
"More like prevent it, I think."
Humming for a moment, Sarah Jane seemed to think carefully on this. "So, this girl knows something about Coldfire Construction, and knows there's something happening at the school that's causing the power outage."
"Do you think she has anything to do with it?"
"I don't know."
Sarah Jane hummed again, thinking it over once again before speaking. "Either way, until we know how she is involved, I think it's best you stay clear of this Aleena Tate."
XxXxXxXx
What did I tell you, fun right? lol Aww things are getting mighty interesting now. At least, I hope they are. Let me know if things are interesting or not in a review if you could. If not, that's always fine. I'm just always happy to know how everyone is doing and that everything is going good. :)
Reviewers:
Isabelnecessaryonabicycle: I know. :( I really wish they could have had that. But at least Aleena always has her dad there for her. Hope you like the new chapter! Until next time!
bored411: So glad you liked it! Oooo, Ireland. Sounds like a blast. I hear the heat has been crazy over in that area though. Hope you're staying cool enough. Please take care!
FREYA ASTRID NOVA: Wow indeed. Aww, thank you so much. You're awesome. :) So happy that you like her! I'm still worried that people won't like her as much as they did with Wanda. Or just won't like her at all. But glad to see that she's good for many so far. :) The identity struggle will be an issue for our poor Aleena. Too many conflicts when it comes to being a Wanderer/Time Lord raised in a human world, I think. lol She is definitely her parent's daughter, that's for certain. Ooh? Torchwood you say? ;) Really glad to see from you again, and hope to see you soon in the next chapter. Take care!
Thank you again readers! Also Happy July 4th in the USA and Happy Canada Day from our neighbors to the north. :) And a happy holiday to anyone else who is celebrating or has celebrated this past week. Take care to all!
~Tinker~