I'm
not creative enough to write a disclaimer. Go see somebody else's. They're
for weenies anyway, as earlier stated.
Yeah,
I know. "Another chapter already?" Truth is, I was bored, deathly so, and I
already had a start on it. So
DEAL. Heh heh.
Travis
Blink- Don't worry, I actually planned this character out (for once). I even made a character sketch (no, not a
drawing ;) You wanna see it?). She will
not be a Mary Sue. Not by any
natural means, anyway. Supernatural
means, such as tornadoes, dragons, and cannibalistic headphones, are
excluded.
A Long Journey
Chapter 2
Kurt nerved himself for what could
potentially be a damaging confrontation. The girl was kneeling, packing her bookbag for her next class, right
down the hallway.
Kurt took a long breath and
approached her. She was oblivious of
his presence until he spoke. "Uh,
I think you left this--"
She started before he stopped,
overlapping his words with hers. "I thought I told you to keep away from me." She finished packing and stood, turning to
face him.
If his hologram hadn't been active,
his blush would have turned him an interesting shade of purple. He stuttered nervously, looking at his feet
and fumbling with the book in his hands. "Uh, ja, I know. It's just,
erm, your book--" he glanced at the cover, "Night, you, uh,
left it--"
"Night? You found it?" She snatched the slim volume from his hands,
glancing at it and then at him. Calculating.
Before they could say anything, the
bell rang. Its angry sounds bounced off
the walls and burrowed into the minds of the students still in the
hallways. The girl spun around, heading
for her next class. Kurt found himself
following her all the way to his next class. She slouched to the back of the English room. As soon as she sat, the teacher announced, "We have a new
student today. With us. With us, today."
There was a huge sigh from the back,
followed by a clatter and then the girl walking up the aisle.
The teacher perched on the edge of
an empty desk in the front row. "Why
don't you tell-- uh, tell, tell us about, tell us about yourself?" The teacher was Mrs. Russell. She resembled a nervous bird and tended to
repeat things.
The girl plucked at the hem of her
oversized sweatshirt. "I'm Jane
Murrin," she said in a monotone.
Silence.
"Well." Mrs Russell wrung her hands. Jane didn't even look at her. "Tell-tell us, do you have any, any. Any hobbies? Do you have-have any
hobbies?" She finished and smiled
brightly, apparently pleased with herself.
"No."
The smile vanished.
"Well. Any-any-any hobbies? Any hobbies at-at
all?"
"Well." Jean leaned her head into her hand, throwing
her eyes skyward in a mockery of concentration. "I like playing violent video games… You know, the kind where
you shoot off the head, and it bounces around?" She glanced at the class, nodding, as if they knew exactly what
she was talking about. "I also
like… kung-fu movies. Oh! One last thing." She suddenly lost her humor, her face
becoming hard and her voice returning to a dry monotone. "I also enjoy making fun of those who
deserve it." Her eyes locked onto
Kurt's.
A full moment passed.
"Right!" Mrs. Russell clapped her hands. Jane stalked back to her seat. "Since- uh, since we're doing… We're
doing a-a-a Shakespeare unit, a unit on Shakespeare. Let's start the, uh, start the, uh. Let's start the day with-with Shakespearean insults." As she spoke, she passed papers down each
row. "All you- All you do. All you do is choose one word from each-from
each. Each column. Column." Mrs. Russell mouthed 'column' to herself quietly, then her face
split into a grin. "Jane! You can demonstrate with…" Her eyes
scanned the room, her stutter becoming less evident as she relaxed. "Kurt! Demonst- Demon- Demonstra- Demo-"
"Sure I'll do it, Mrs.
Russell!" Kurt said loudly, standing up.
They stood across from each other at
the front of the classroom.
Jane stared at the paper
blankly. "Thou…" She squinted
and almost shrugged. "Thou…
artless…base-court… apple-john…?" She trailed off uncertainly while the class snickered at her
half-hearted attempt.
Kurt puffed out his chest. He tried to speak with an English accent,
but failed terribly. "Thou…
mammering weather-bitten clotpole!"
The semblance of a smile tugged at
the corners of her mouth, but she squashed it. Brushing a clump of hair out of her eyes, she scanned the sheet. "Thou beslubbering bat-fowling
foot-licker!"
The class burst into giggles.
"You wanna piece…" Kurt
inspected the sheet for a moment before rising with a triumphant grin. "Thou cockered common-kissing bladder!"
The class was roaring, Mrs. Russell
was tittering, and Jane had an ear-to-ear smile on her face as she almost
shouted, "Thou yeasty rump-fed codpiece!"
The class broke up at this, and Mrs.
Russell waved her hands, trying to get peace. The two went back to their seats. Jane gave Kurt another calculating look, only this time, it was slightly
warmer.
Kurt followed her to her locker
after the period ended. He leaned
against the locker, trying his best to not look triumphant. "So… We're friends now?"
"Ooh, no, Kurt
Wagner." Jane stood, slinging her
bookbag over her shoulder. "Insulting each other in English class doesn't make us
friends."
Kurt's hopeful look dimmed, but he
rekindled it swiftly. "So… What
does it make us?"
Jane looked at him closely, smirking
and raising an eyebrow. "It makes
us acquaintances." She
began to walk away.
Kurt, once again, found himself
trailing her. "So, do acquaintances
go out for pizza on Friday night?"
She downright laughed. "You're quite a welcoming committee,
Wagner."
Kurt shoved past other students to
keep up with her. "Is that a
yes?"
"That's a 'I'll think about it
and don't get your hopes up'," she called over her shoulder.
"Right!" was all he had
time to say before the crowd swept them in opposite directions.
Kurt merely stood there, letting
himself be buffeted by the other students before he realized that he didn't
even know her number.
He muttered a curse and loped off to
go back home, to the Xavier Institute.
Self-discovery
is on the way; it is merely drunk and lost. Have no fear.