It was one hell of a long week.
The Kesals were starting to think there was something wrong with me. Well, there probably was, but not anything they would be able to guess. Mrs. Kesal even tried to sit me down and have a 'talk' with me. Okay, I'm seventeen years old- I think I know what sex is.
"Where are you going, Alanna?" Mrs. Kesal asked me suspiciously on Saturday.
"I'm going to a wild party to drink and sleep with random married men at three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon," I said.
That woman cannot take a joke. She wouldn't let me take the car and I had to walk to the fucking woods. Can you believe that? Did that constitute as child abuse?
I could've always called Cassie for a ride…
I laughed at my own wit. Somebody gave me a strange look and walked on the other side of the road. I ignored them.
I had it in my pocket. It fit just right, and I kept running my fingers over it, a bit nervously. This was a big step. There would be no going back after this…
But then, what would I want to go back for?
I could just see the look on the Council's face. They all thought of me like some failed experiment- well drat, throw it out and let's try again.
I don't get thrown out that easily.
(You're late,) the Andalite said bitterly when I walked into the clearing. He must've got overridden when it came to deciding whether or not to show up.
"Hardly. It's impossible to be late for your own party. And this-" I grinned wolfishly at my 'friends', "is definitely my party."
(We have decided to trust you, for now,) the tiger- Jake- said. (But take one step out of line…) He let the threat hang in the air.
But it was an empty threat. If I double crossed them while they were on board the Visser's Blade ship, they were as good as dead.
Better, if my brother had anything to say about it.
(How are you going to get us on the Blade Ship?) Cassie asked me.
Right down to business. Why? Don't you trust your old friend Alanna, Cassie? Yes, your plain, honest friend, the one who seemed just oh-so-human the past week. She can't be bad, can she?
Trust your gut, Cassie. Your head will tell you nothing.
"You'll have to morph something small and… hide on me." Ew, that didn't sound right. "I can take you to the ship."
(How do you expect to get on the ship?) Rachel said skeptically. (Visser Three knows who you are.)
"Yeah, but no one else does."
(Wouldn't he have told his guards to be on the lookout for you?) the hawk asked. Tobias- Rachel's Tobias. Pity about that- he had been kind of cute.
EEW! Did I really have that thought?
Luckily I managed to keep my look of utter distaste hidden. "No. They didn't want-" I stopped myself for a split second. How much could I tell them? "Anyone to know about me," I finished so quickly that no one would notice my hesitation.
(Who's 'they'? And who are you, even?) Marco asked. He had been uncharacteristically quiet. Oh, man! Rachel had probably told him what I had said…
"I'm nobody,' I said coldly, my patience finally leaving me. "That's all I've ever been. Come now, humans, make your choice. This is the point of no return- are you in or out?"
Immediately Phantom of the Opera popped into my head and I began to hum.
The Kesals were starting to think there was something wrong with me. Well, there probably was, but not anything they would be able to guess. Mrs. Kesal even tried to sit me down and have a 'talk' with me. Okay, I'm seventeen years old- I think I know what sex is.
"Where are you going, Alanna?" Mrs. Kesal asked me suspiciously on Saturday.
"I'm going to a wild party to drink and sleep with random married men at three o'clock on a Saturday afternoon," I said.
That woman cannot take a joke. She wouldn't let me take the car and I had to walk to the fucking woods. Can you believe that? Did that constitute as child abuse?
I could've always called Cassie for a ride…
I laughed at my own wit. Somebody gave me a strange look and walked on the other side of the road. I ignored them.
I had it in my pocket. It fit just right, and I kept running my fingers over it, a bit nervously. This was a big step. There would be no going back after this…
But then, what would I want to go back for?
I could just see the look on the Council's face. They all thought of me like some failed experiment- well drat, throw it out and let's try again.
I don't get thrown out that easily.
(You're late,) the Andalite said bitterly when I walked into the clearing. He must've got overridden when it came to deciding whether or not to show up.
"Hardly. It's impossible to be late for your own party. And this-" I grinned wolfishly at my 'friends', "is definitely my party."
(We have decided to trust you, for now,) the tiger- Jake- said. (But take one step out of line…) He let the threat hang in the air.
But it was an empty threat. If I double crossed them while they were on board the Visser's Blade ship, they were as good as dead.
Better, if my brother had anything to say about it.
(How are you going to get us on the Blade Ship?) Cassie asked me.
Right down to business. Why? Don't you trust your old friend Alanna, Cassie? Yes, your plain, honest friend, the one who seemed just oh-so-human the past week. She can't be bad, can she?
Trust your gut, Cassie. Your head will tell you nothing.
"You'll have to morph something small and… hide on me." Ew, that didn't sound right. "I can take you to the ship."
(How do you expect to get on the ship?) Rachel said skeptically. (Visser Three knows who you are.)
"Yeah, but no one else does."
(Wouldn't he have told his guards to be on the lookout for you?) the hawk asked. Tobias- Rachel's Tobias. Pity about that- he had been kind of cute.
EEW! Did I really have that thought?
Luckily I managed to keep my look of utter distaste hidden. "No. They didn't want-" I stopped myself for a split second. How much could I tell them? "Anyone to know about me," I finished so quickly that no one would notice my hesitation.
(Who's 'they'? And who are you, even?) Marco asked. He had been uncharacteristically quiet. Oh, man! Rachel had probably told him what I had said…
"I'm nobody,' I said coldly, my patience finally leaving me. "That's all I've ever been. Come now, humans, make your choice. This is the point of no return- are you in or out?"
Immediately Phantom of the Opera popped into my head and I began to hum.