A/N: Discontinued. How's your progress on The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe? Thinking of buying it yourself? Watch the old commercials for it.

8 years later...

Alice rode her way up and down the streets of Motorville with her bike. She was on the morning paper route. Alice liked delivering newspaper. It helped improve her aim for baseball. She narrowed her eyes. Throw! Her mind called out. The newspaper flew… right on the doorstep. Another perfect shot, she told herself. That'll teach those boys that girls knew a thing or two about baseball. Her anger at those stupid boys was still very fresh. She then threw another newspaper. Instead of it landing perfectly on the front doorstep it landed right on Mr. Genghis's nose.

"Sorry, Mr. Genghis, sir," Alice addressed the aging dog. She added emphasis on the Mr. part. It was the only way of calling him without upsetting him. The prideful com padre of Motorville's own retired Olympian barked back indignantly. At least he didn't chase me, Alice thought. All those medals were probably going to break his neck. I need to control my anger issues.

"Hey, Bella," Alice called to her shy friend. In one fluid motion Alice stopped her bike, and then threw another newspaper, that landed perfectly, next to what was the Cartwrights house. "What are ya doing at the Cartwright's house? No one lives there anymore. Are you waiting for Ms. Leila?"

Jessabella blushed, then added, "N-nothing really. I'm just here to clean it since Ms. Leila's busy." The brunette looked around to the back of the house.

"Bella, there's got to be a better reason to snoop around here than to do that," Alice implored sincerely. "I'm pretty sure your legal guardian would come by here any time. I'll ask you again, why are you here?"

At that time Alice used her negotiator voice that her dad used when teaching students.

"Fine, I thought I saw something… Well someone," she replied softly. Alice raised an eyebrow. Then she realized something.

"Is it Ethan and his dumb crew again? I swear if those dummies try to break an entry to this place I'll just go down to the field myself and then throw head-shots with my…"

"Um, Alice?" Jessabella asked cautiously. She didn't want to mess with her angry friend. She also thought that her friend should take a chill pill. "It wasn't Ethan or any of the other guys," she trailed off.

"...Maybe I just imagined it," she whispered more to herself.

"Well, come on. Tell me! I don't want to be left in suspense here!" Alice asked impatiently.

"... It was a little girl... She had green hair, and she wore a white night dress," then she hastily added for fear of being told she was crazy if the boys heard. "Like I said I might've just imagined it!"

Weird, Alice thought. She felt like she might have known the girl. Then she shook her head, "She probably just wanted to wander away from her folks. Or maybe you saw a tree…" She halted her train of thought and checked her wristwatch the yelled urgently, "Bella, we have to go! It's 7:47! We don't want to miss the first bell!" With that the two girls mounted their bikes and and rode off to school.

Bbriiiiiinggg! Bbriiiiiingggg! the school bell rung. It was followed by the panting of two 7th grade girls. The two then dismounted and locked their bikes onto the school's fence. Alice sighed in relief, they made it! The homeroom teachers were leading students in the building, that included Alice's dad. It was a pleasant May day. The sun was shining, children had brought their catcher's mitt, baseballs were still thrown in the air. It was almost summer break so students were starting to have the last month itch. Alice was one of the many students infected. Her side effects include; more disregard on the rules, not studying well enough for tests (well who does?), and getting every bit more angrier at Ethan and his crew. The baseball rivalry between them only added more rule transgressions for Alice.

Her dad then caught her eye and waved as he led his group of 8th graders into the building. He came earlier than Alice. He always did. Though before he left he always cooked her breakfast and gave her lunch. Then Alice was left to her own devices. A privilege she enjoyed. Though Alice didn't wave back. It was embarrassing enough to have your dad as a teacher in the school. She didn't want to be called a "teacher's pet".

A cluster of three girls pulled up to Alice and Bella. They were laughing nonstop. They finally composed their deposition when they reached the two best friends. "Hey, Allie," Katelyn acknowledged with enthusiasm. "We were thinking-"

"Actually we were all thinking-," Karyn cut off.

"That we…-"

"Hope you kick Ethan's butt today in in baseball!" Camie blurted out.

"Ummmm," Alice said in an uneasy tone. She knew that they were only wishing her well because of Karyn's crush on Ethan. A while back she figured that Karyn liked/s Ethan and is using herself as a pawn to take him down because he won't notice her. How did Alice know this? Well, with a Dad as a teacher Alice learned to become very observant other classmates' affairs. It helps her know what's going on in her school. She doesn't want to get in them, of course. It's totally bogus. "I'll try, gals," she added a bit more confidently.

"No! You won't try,-" Camie admonished.

"-You'll do," Karyn clarified.

"Anyways, do us a solid and kick Ethan's butt for us," Katelyn ordered in a sugar laced voice . "...Oh, and hello, Jessie-Bella." After finally noticing Jessabella, the three B.F.F.s hobbled back to their spot in line.

Alice glanced back at Bella who turned a bright red when she was acknowledged by the girls. "That was odd," Bella noticed.

"Definitely," Alice concluded.

"Why would they come to talk to us about baseball?"

"I think it's pretty obvious, Bella," Alice added in her critical-thinking-mode, "They want 'revenge', or something close to that."

"Revenge? Why?" Bella raised an eyebrow questionably.

"They're only talking to us because Karyn wants revenge on Ethan for not noticing her. You know, her little crush?"

"So they're using you, to embarrass Ethan for them," Bella concluded disappointingly.

"Basically. Let's just ignore them. I don't want to get into drama. Boy or girl drama. Oh, and look, the teacher's finally here."

Then a ruffled looking woman in a pencil skirt and a disarranged white button down walked to the class's line. Her papers were sticking out of her binder. Besides her disorganized appearance the teacher still stood with dignity towards her class. "Good morning class," she said with false enthusiasm.

"Good morning Ms. Monique!" the class replied back with the same tone. Ms. Monique motioned for her class to follow her into the building. She was a young and new. This made the students she teaches not listen or respect her. From her point of view Alice noticed that she might not had enough coffee to start the day. Well, she's really in for it today. Ms. Monique tried to flatten her jet black, ruffled hair as she led her class into the building.

Bbriiiiiiiiiiing! Briiiiiiiiiiiing! "You, may pass," Ms. Monique ordered. The class then exited the classroom to their first period.

Alice walked down the hallway with her class. First period was mathematics class. She lined up promptly in the girls' line. Then she remembered something. "Hey, Bella," she asked her friend behind her, "isn't Mrs. Eden absent? I think we have a sub." At those six words the class murmured in question.

"I think we have a sub!"

"I hope it's a good one."

"I swear if it's that Harrietta lady!"

"She even doesn't even talk about math!"

"She put me in the corner!"

"She doesn't let us call her by her first name!"

"-Sshhh," one of the students interjected the chaos.

The door to the math room swung open with a creeak. All heads were turned, transfixed on the door. A barely audible, "Come in," came from inside the classroom. The class walked in. Their worries then turned to sighs of relief, and to some, giggles of laughter. Much to Alice dismay the substitute… was her dad.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, NO!" came Alice's worry. Some of the students snickered at her comments. She tried to ignore the class's reaction. She got herself settled in her seat. She noticed that some of classmates were being sneaky by not sitting in their normal seats. Her class is very nice to substitutes like that.

"Good morning 7A!" her dad, no, she meant Mr. Oliver said.

"Good morning Mr. Oliver!" the class said enthusiastically. A special few, including Ethan, Marvin, and Duncan yelled, "GOOD MORNING, ALICE'S DAD!" instead of the mainstream. Alice growled and sent Ethan him an I'm-going-to-strangle-you look. To this, Ethan just rolled his eyes innocently. This, Alice thought, is a recipe for disaster.

The class happiness mocked Alice's misery. Her father, Mr. Oliver she chastised herself, was widely known as that fun grammar teacher in 8th grade. All the 8th graders who had him as a teacher were considered "lucky" and were envied by their friends who didn't. They bragged that he gives less work. He lets them sit wherever they want. They said that he gives them free writes every Friday that could be as serious or as silly as they want. They also enjoyed the fact that he joined in on the free writes and told his stories. Alice felt the opposite. Though many of her classmates wanted him as a teacher next year, Alice begged for the exact opposite. She would never hear the end of it. There was no way that this was going to happen next year. Ethan, Duncan and Marvin giggled again.

"Ethan, Duncan, Marvin, I think that Mr. Oliver would suffice. I also think that you three should sit properly," then he added with a playful wink. "Giggling like schoolgirls is no way to impress a lady."

"OOOOOOh!" the class yelled in awe.

"You just got teacher burned!" one of the students yelled.

Of course, Dad had to act like this when she was around. Isn't it obvious that she doesn't need protecting. I'm thirteen! For crying out loud! Well not thirteen just yet. Alice brain raged on, doesn't he understand. The more he tries to defend me, the more vulnerable I look!

Mr. Oliver then motioned of the class to silence by raising his hand up. With the respect he got from the 8th graders, the class quickly obliged. "As most of you know, the 8th graders are on a graduation tour in downtown Motorville. They only needed two teachers to chaperone with all the parents volunteering," he casually leaned on the teacher's desk. "This arrangement worked perfectly since Mrs. Eden is absent. With the shortage of substitute teachers, I decided to step up and take her classes. I am eligible to teach a math class, it's in the job description. Now, first order of business, I'm going to check if everyone in in their actual seats."

"Awwww," was the class's disappointed response.

"Fine, I'll let you sit wherever you want. As long as you all behave like 8th graders. You all will be one in a short time," said smirking.

Scattered applause was the response from the class. Then they perked up. Alice wanted to know how this class would go. They also wanted to be dad's favorite for next year. From what Alice could see this what not the normal behavior that her class uses for substitutes.

"Let's start with reviewing the basics again," that statement was followed by a couple of murmurs. Students usually forget what happen in the beginning of school. "What is, the Pythagorean theorem?"

Alice knew the answer of that of course. Everyone who wasn't a total airhead to forget would know. The class was staring at her now. She usually would have her hand raised and jumping up and down her seat by now. Though she didn't move a muscle. Her class was getting suspicious. They knew if even Alice wouldn't recite, the teacher will just have to use the jar. The jar contained all the names of the students in one class. Each class had one jar in every classroom. Alice eyed her dad as he slowly grabbed the jar labeled 7A.

He grabbed the jar and stirred the paper in it around. The class was tense. They were on the edge of their seats. Alice hoped darkly that certain enemies will fall off of their seats. Though she continued on with her death grip on her desk. Like the rest of the class, she was hoping that she wasn't the lucky person that was called. There was noooo way she was going to answer a question for her dad, in front of the whole class. Yeah Dad, dream on.

Finally he grabbed a small piece of paper and read it.

"Jessabella," he announced. Alice looked to her shy friend. Bella was turning bright red. You can do it. Trust your instincts. Alice mouthed. Take a deep breath. Alice didn't know whether Bella heard her pointers or not but Bella nodded back. Alice was glad that her father had a lot of patience.

After several tense moments Jessabella finally said, "May I ask a friend?" Alice's heart sank. If Bella asks a friend, she'll pick her. If Dad picks for Bella, she'll also get picked. Either way, she was doomed.

"Sure," Mr. Oliver said patiently. He grabbed the jar again and grabbed a name. "Duncan? Would you like to help Jessabella."

"Umm. N-no sir," Duncan squeaked, loss for words. "I-I mean, I don't know sir." Everyone gasped at the humiliation of the usually arrogant boy. Nice job McFly.

"Ethan?" Dad asked, "Would you like to help?"

"I-I don't know, s-sir," he said reluctantly "but I think Alice would like to help."

The class then redirected their attention to Alice. They knew that she knew the answer. It was just the matter of her reputation. Will she "save" the class or will she save herself. She sighed. Her father's eyes were also on her. She had the entire classroom's full attention. The pressure sure did hurt. Why me? Alice thought. She was tempted to say psyche I don't know! Instead she took a deep breath and said,

"The Pythagorean theorem is a relationship of a right triangle's three sides. The relation states that the hypotenuse can be determined by using the equation: a^2+ b^2= c^2. The letters stand for side lengths. C is the hypotenuse... And I think that's it," she declared. Though it wasn't the usual prideful declaration. She was shaking now. The whole class was judging her. My life sucks, she concluded.

"Thank you, Alice," Dad said formally, breaking the tense atmosphere "and now class, I need two paper passers."

The enthusiasm came back to the class. All of the class volunteered. They were bobbing up and down in their seats, calling, and making noises that suggested that they needed the ambulance. All, but Alice. After picking two paper passers her father turned to caught her eye. She glanced away. She looked over to Ethan and his crew who were spreading rumors that, nerd [Alice] over there, cheated by getting the answers from "Daddy Dearest". Liars.

Alice received her worksheet and started working. Oh where, oh where has her life gone? ... Downhill she answered herself.

Alice lumbered down the hallway. It was lunch time. Second and third period had gone better than the first. She occasionally heard cheering, and speeches from the math room. She thought of the "fun" they were having. The class was all lined up again and Ms. Monique was getting ready to lead them to lunch. Ethan was trying to show off his new Walkman. Alice had to scoff.

The 26-year-old teacher motioned the class forwards. None of them were listening. All of them, including Alice. Then, much to her dismay, her dad walked towards Ms. Monique.

"Hey guys," Ethan said encouragingly, "I think Alice's dad has the hots for Ms. Monique." The class laughed, even Karyn forgot her anger and joined in. Alice growled. Though she couldn't anything. Her dad was right there. She also didn't want to break the code of conduct by beating up Ethan.

Noticing Alice's anger Ethan smiled as if he was sharing a joke, "Oh come on, Allie. You should be happy, you'll have a new Mom." Some of the class thought that Ethan's comments went much too far. Those who did, didn't dare say a word.

Alice got ready to lunge in for an attack. "Allie, don't do it! They're not worth it!" Bella cried.

"Children, what is going on?" Ms. Monique interjected before anyone could make their move.

"Ms. Monique," now it was Dad's turn to interject. Though, under that calm façade, Alice thought she saw a touch of anger. "May I borrow Alice for a moment?"

"Sure," Dad's respect apparently extended to the teachers. Ms. Monique obliged and dismissed Alice to her dad. Boy, am I screwed, Alice thought. She turned her head miserably to see some of her classmates laughing and gossiping. "Maybe he's telling her about the proposal," Marvin added.

Alice decided to just walk away and not look back.

Alice was in Dad's classroom now. His real one. The one where he taught eighth grade. Back when Alice was seven, Dad decided to take teaching as a second job. He stilled worked at Uncle Phil's car company. He would get back on the job by summer. Alice's anger was still fresh though. It seemed like nothing could control it.

"Allie, sweetie," her dad called in a painfully sincere voice, "are you hungry?"

Alice stared at her dad. She tried to study his emotions. She always seemed to know when someone was lying. Whether that may be a small gut feeling or an outright I know you're lying. Her dad seemed to be hiding something. Though her anger clouded her mind. "No... I'm not. Why did you have to just show up like that!" her control was slipping with every word.

"Alice, I was just substituting. It was a last minute effort. I didn't know until now," Alice didn't look at Dad, she kept staring at the window. "Alice," he was crouching now "It's not a big deal. You just had to answer a question, that's all"

That's all! That's ALL! "Don't you get it, Dad, I don't need helping. I don't need you embarrassing me. Thanks to you, Ethan is just going to tell the whole school that Little Allie is a stubborn little know-it-all that has no friends! Little Allie tries to be cool by playing baseball with the boys but we just go easy on her! Poor Little Allie..." she had to catch her breath through her anger, "has to have her dad do all her dirty work for her! Poor Little Allie's MOM left her!"

Alice felt that she was on the verge of tears. "Alice, Alice look at me. Look at me" her dad ordered. Alice looked at her dad. Hot tears started to flow from her eyes. She just ignored them.

He pressed a necklace in her palms. It actually wasn't a necklace, it was a ring. It was hung on a silver string. The ring was sandy gold. Though the jewel, was the most beautiful thing about it. It was a helix faceted teardrop. Alice thought it was shaped like those fancy Christmas tree light bulbs. It glowed with inner light that reflected off like a prism. It shone in rainbow colors like the aurora borealis. It seemed... magical. The crystal seemed to hypnotize Alice with its glow.

"It, was your mother's," Dad said in a hushed voice. His earnest eyes were looking at Alice with wistfulness and grief. Alice was astonished. Did her mother really love her? Was her childhood dream, just a wish? She looked back at her father with matching blue, wistful eyes. "She wanted you to have when you turned thirteen, to remember her. Trust me ,Alice, she would never try to leave you," her dad continued. "Happy, advance birthday, Alice, from myself and your mother."

Alice sensed truth in her dad's words. Though she did sense that her dad was hiding something from her. She stared at the beautiful necklace again. At least she had something of her mom's. Though why now? There were no pictures of her or mentions. If there were, her dad might've hid them from her. Why, around the time of her thirteenth birthday? Dad could've told her earlier. "Th-thank you," she finally mustered.

"Don't thank me, Allie. Thank your mother," he rose. He went back to business. "I hear you guys also have a field trip coming up. To the history museum."

"Let me guess," Alice said finally breaking out of her trance, "you want to volunteer?"

To Alice's pleasant surprise, Oliver shook his head, "No, I used used up my free time on substituting for Mrs. Eden." The pieces formed together in Alice's mind, so that's why he skipped the 8th grade field trip. He didn't have to go with her.

"Allie, sweetie, you seem awfully happy about this," Dad chuckled. Alice lowered her head guiltily. "I know, you don't want good ol' Dad interfering."

"Yeah, Dad," she glanced up at the clock, "I guess I'm missing recess." She sighed heavily. There was no way now that she would play baseball. "And 'ol Dad, come on people sometimes think you're younger than Ms. Monique." She was worried on the rumors of her dad and and Ms. Monique. She knew it was silly, she was just... concerned.

"Come on, Allie. I'm 37. Cut your old man some slack," he said jokingly. "Also, another reason of why I brought you here is to talk about the fellas you play ball with." To this, Alice raised her eyebrow.

"Whaddaya mean, old man?"

"I mean that you shouldn't play baseball with boys. From what you told me, especially with Ethan. What about the girls like, Bella?"

Sensing genuine concern in his joking voice Alice answered, "What about, Esther? The girl in your stories. She was the only girl in the troupe. I'm just trusting my instincts. And she sure proved to the boys that girls know how to kick butt!"

"Jeepers Allie! Burning me with my own words! Then again, it is something I would expect from you," Dad said in a false offended voice.

Alice crossed her arms, "I'm just doing what she did. The boys don't think girls can't play baseball, especially a little one. I'm just defying the odds, like she did."

"Well, I'm impressed, Allie. So you have been listening to my stories after all!"

Alice rolled her eyes and laughed. Her dad joined in. Maybe, just maybe, her day will turn up after all.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Jessabella was walking with her lunch tray. She contemplated on the little girl she saw at the back of the Cartwright's house. She thought she heard the little thing murmur a name. She didn't think she recognized it though. She pulled her caramel brown hair into a bun. She had gotten a hall pass to go to Mr. Oliver's classroom. Her thoughts drifted again. Why did she have green hair? Was she glowing? She'll ask Ms. Leila later. Like Mr. Oliver, she too was an orphan. Ms. Leila also took her in. She would play with Allie when she was young.

Jessabella stopped at the door frame of Mr. Oliver's classroom. She peeked in. It seemed normal enough. Though she felt the same sensation that she felt when she thought she saw the girl. It felt... magical.

She turned away, she might've just imagined it.

IM_tempA/N: (15.5.22) Which calculator game should I play next? Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Kirby's Dream Land, or Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru? Also, don't worry if your story's not good. This story's shit and I still posted it. Be unapologetic. At least you'll have something to laugh about later.