1 Disclaimer: I don't own the characters I write about. They belong to
JER and NBC.
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3 Sequel to School Daze. You may want to read that one first. ; )
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12 Chapter 1
She was having the best dream…
Senior Trip. 2001. She and Reese in the tropics.
She looked down at her attire. Coconut shells weren't exactly her style. But Reese looked awfully yummy in that palm leaf. Good enough to eat, she thought. Licking her lips as she reached out a hand to touch him. His blue eyes sparkled at her. And he leaned forward. Slowly…slowly…they were just about to kiss when…
"Damn alarm clock!" she swore. Slamming it against the wall farthest from her.
"Kay!" Jessica squealed. Barely ducking in time. That throw had some heat behind it.
"Sorry," Kay grumbled. Popping one brown eye open. "I take that back," she retracted. Seeing her kid sister looming over her with a scowl on her face. Rollers in her hair. "What are you doing wearing my brand-new shirt?" she growled. Half-rolling, half-lunging out of the twin bed.
Jessica stuck her tongue out at her and darted to the relative safety of the outside hall. "Charity borrowed mine."
"So?" Kay shrugged her shoulders. Glaring at her annoying kid sis as she darted down the hall to escape her considerable wrath. Failing to see the logic in THAT statement. "Klepto," she grumbled. Grabbing her robe from the hook on the back of the door and padding down the hall.
"Good morning, Kay," Charity smiled sweetly as she passed her on the way to the bathroom. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" she wrapped her arms around herself and started twirling around.
"Blech," Kay rolled her eyes. "Gag me, Pollyanna," she muttered under her breath as her cousin made a complete and utter fool of herself.
Yeah. That's abso-freakin-lutely right. Cousin. C-O-U-S-I-N.
Her mother and Charity's mother. Long-lost sisters.
She understood they had a lot to catch up on…
But to swoop in and take over their house like they did…
It was like a Martian Invasion, she thought. Yanking back the shower curtain and twisting the knobs.
"WHAT THE…HOLY $#!&…YOU'RE DEAD! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
BBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!
"But Jessica," Charity sniffled. Wiping at the fat tears that spilled from her pale blue eyes. "I was only in the shower for 30 minutes."
"It's okay," Jessica soothed. Rubbing Charity's back comfortingly. "Kay's just not a morning person. That's all."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Kay," Simone held a restraining hand on her friend's arm when she saw Charity and her sister pass by them in the hall.
Kay rolled her eyes at Simone. "PUH-LEAZE, Simone," she shook her head. "As if I'd even…touch a hair on their Disney-warped brains. Pollyanna and Crack-Shirley will get theirs. If I have to get up every morning at 5 a.m. for the rest of the year, they'll get theirs. Only 30 minutes! Only 30 minutes! Try an hour."
"Crack-Shirley?" Simone said in a confused voice as she followed Kay down the hall.
"The curls, Simone," Kay sighed. "They're wound up so tight, I'm surprised Jessica's voice isn't coming out sounding like Minnie Mouse's. Shirley Temple on CRACK," she finally spelled it out for her.
"Oh no! That's just awful!" a pimply-faced freshman with braces and blond pigtails gasped in horror. Bursting into tears. "Shirley Temple…a drug addict."
"Tell me we didn't use to be THAT stupid," Simone pleaded.
"Simone!" Kay shouted. "Of course we were," she lowered her voice. "That's what elementary school and parents do to you. Totally and profoundly mess you up."
"We were so lame," Simone lamented. "Why didn't somebody tell us?"
Kay ignored her. Lips twisting into a wicked smile as she read the gigantic banner draped across the new trophy case.
"WELCOME TO HARMONY HIGH, STUDENTS."
In fine print at the bottom someone had written in bold red letters… "A nicer, safer place with the departure of Harmony's own Lethal Weapon." A surprisingly good caricature of Theresa dominated the banner—tears and ruined make-up to boot.
"I so have to meet the artist," Kay grinned. "That is the most magnificent piece of art I've ever seen."
"Whatever," Simone shrugged her shoulders. "Come on, Kay. You don't want to be late for homeroom the first day, do you?"
Kay glanced down at her schedule and looked back up at Simone with an evil glint in her dark eyes. "Of course not. See you at lunch," she waved as she scurried down the hall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald! Yoohoo! Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald!" she waved a hand in front of Sheridan's face.
The goofy smile never left Sheridan's pink smudged lips.
Kay rolled her eyes. Newlyweds. Well…it HAD been almost 3 months already, but apparently the honeymoon still wasn't over. Not as far as she could tell. She had a pretty good idea where the rest of Sheridan's lipstick was.
Last week the happy couple had gotten kicked out of WAL-MART. Pity, too. It was Ms. Crane…er, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald's first trip.
"Just thought you'd like to know," she said with a nonchalant toss of her head. "I was waiting in line for confessional last week, and get this—NO, I wasn't eavesdropping 'cause Prince Charles could have heard her sobs way over in England—The Terminator and Edumb are expecting sextuplets."
"OH MY GOD!"
"Knew that would get you," she snickered. "That's one hell of a scary thought, isn't it?"
"Kay Bennett!" Sheridan held a hand to her chest. "Are you TRYING to kill me?"
"How else was I going to get your attention? Remembering the quickie you had this morning?" she teased devilishly.
Sheridan blushed scarlet and swatted her away. "My sex life is NONE of your business."
Kay laughed all the way to her desk.
"WHAT are YOU doing here? Oh God. Please…I don't know if I have the strength…" Sheridan raised her blue eyes to the stars, er…ceiling.
"You're really on top of things, aren't you?"
Sheridan blushed an even deeper hue of red.
"UGH! More information than I needed to know," she muttered under her breath. "I'm in your homeroom. You haven't even given a moment's thought to…Forget it. You got 5 minutes, or they're going to eat you alive."
The bell rang just a second later, and the day officially began.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sheridan buried her face in her hands and released a huge sigh of relief the moment the last bell of the day rang.
Hell. Pure and absolute hell.
If she couldn't take 8 hours away from Luis, how was she ever going to survive if he had to take an assignment out of town?
"Miss the ole ball and chain that bad?" Kay asked. Taking a seat on the edge of her desk.
Sheridan raised weary blue eyes to Kay's face. "Homeroom. AND last period French."
"Oh, but Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald," Kay mock-pouted. "I love you."
Sheridan rolled her eyes and rose from her seat.
Kay picked up the smallest of the three silver frames on Sheridan's desk. "The AA poster child! She's getting so big! Would you listen to me?" she cracked. "Getting…the kid had a 5 pound head-start! Is it Brandy or Champagne?"
Sheridan snatched the picture from Kay's hands. "That's my niece you're talking about. Brandy's much more…NORMAL."
"No fair," Kay grumbled. "You got the pic **I** asked for! Hey! Are you PMS-ing?" she asked when Sheridan took the picture of Hank and Gwen decked out in their leis and grass skirts from their Hawaiian honeymoon.
"Kay, my sweet," Reese called from the doorway. "Hey, Ms. Crane…I mean, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald," he corrected himself quickly. "Kay…want to grab some coffee at the Book Café?"
"Sure," Kay grinned. "We'll finish this later," she shot over her shoulder at Sheridan.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Yuck! Reese! I think I'm going to be sick!" Kay grabbed her stomach as she caught sight of Harmony's witless couple.
Theresa stared at Ethan through half slits. Her eyelids drooping from the force of her pink and purple sparkly eyeshadow. The faces of Angelica, Tommy, and Chuckie stretched across her bosom in a fearful display—they looked monstrous!
Ethan held her hand to his lips. Kissing each finger.
"Ethan! They're not dry yet!" Theresa shrieked.
Kay snickered evilly. "Do you think their brain cell hops from host to host? Kind of like a flea?" she quizzed Reese as he pulled her chair out for her.
Reese pretended to ponder it. "I think what they're experiencing now," he said. Nodding to the cherry slurpee with two straws sticking up out of it. "…is a brain freeze."
The bells at the front chimed, and Kay groaned when the Toothache Twosome put in their requisite appearance. Thank goodness for small miracles she smiled as they walked past without a second glance.
The bells chimed again, and Kay's jaw dropped to the floor.
"Dirty Old Man," she blinked her eyes. With a stroller!
All eyes turned to the front when the pudgy little blue-green eyed tot let out an ear-splitting wail.
They watched in disbelief as Julian unbuckled the baby from the contraption and thrust her at her brother. "Here. She's all yours," he said simply. Waltzing out of the Book Café as quickly as he'd came.
Kay shook her head as Theresa's brown eyes welled up with jealous tears, and she stomped off to the ladies room.
The Terminator couldn't take a bit of competition from a 3-month-old. Just another reason in a long list…
Just another day in Harmony.
Just another day in my so-called life, she thought to herself as she took a careful sip of her latte. Just another day…
2
3 Sequel to School Daze. You may want to read that one first. ; )
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 Chapter 1
She was having the best dream…
Senior Trip. 2001. She and Reese in the tropics.
She looked down at her attire. Coconut shells weren't exactly her style. But Reese looked awfully yummy in that palm leaf. Good enough to eat, she thought. Licking her lips as she reached out a hand to touch him. His blue eyes sparkled at her. And he leaned forward. Slowly…slowly…they were just about to kiss when…
"Damn alarm clock!" she swore. Slamming it against the wall farthest from her.
"Kay!" Jessica squealed. Barely ducking in time. That throw had some heat behind it.
"Sorry," Kay grumbled. Popping one brown eye open. "I take that back," she retracted. Seeing her kid sister looming over her with a scowl on her face. Rollers in her hair. "What are you doing wearing my brand-new shirt?" she growled. Half-rolling, half-lunging out of the twin bed.
Jessica stuck her tongue out at her and darted to the relative safety of the outside hall. "Charity borrowed mine."
"So?" Kay shrugged her shoulders. Glaring at her annoying kid sis as she darted down the hall to escape her considerable wrath. Failing to see the logic in THAT statement. "Klepto," she grumbled. Grabbing her robe from the hook on the back of the door and padding down the hall.
"Good morning, Kay," Charity smiled sweetly as she passed her on the way to the bathroom. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" she wrapped her arms around herself and started twirling around.
"Blech," Kay rolled her eyes. "Gag me, Pollyanna," she muttered under her breath as her cousin made a complete and utter fool of herself.
Yeah. That's abso-freakin-lutely right. Cousin. C-O-U-S-I-N.
Her mother and Charity's mother. Long-lost sisters.
She understood they had a lot to catch up on…
But to swoop in and take over their house like they did…
It was like a Martian Invasion, she thought. Yanking back the shower curtain and twisting the knobs.
"WHAT THE…HOLY $#!&…YOU'RE DEAD! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
BBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!
"But Jessica," Charity sniffled. Wiping at the fat tears that spilled from her pale blue eyes. "I was only in the shower for 30 minutes."
"It's okay," Jessica soothed. Rubbing Charity's back comfortingly. "Kay's just not a morning person. That's all."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Kay," Simone held a restraining hand on her friend's arm when she saw Charity and her sister pass by them in the hall.
Kay rolled her eyes at Simone. "PUH-LEAZE, Simone," she shook her head. "As if I'd even…touch a hair on their Disney-warped brains. Pollyanna and Crack-Shirley will get theirs. If I have to get up every morning at 5 a.m. for the rest of the year, they'll get theirs. Only 30 minutes! Only 30 minutes! Try an hour."
"Crack-Shirley?" Simone said in a confused voice as she followed Kay down the hall.
"The curls, Simone," Kay sighed. "They're wound up so tight, I'm surprised Jessica's voice isn't coming out sounding like Minnie Mouse's. Shirley Temple on CRACK," she finally spelled it out for her.
"Oh no! That's just awful!" a pimply-faced freshman with braces and blond pigtails gasped in horror. Bursting into tears. "Shirley Temple…a drug addict."
"Tell me we didn't use to be THAT stupid," Simone pleaded.
"Simone!" Kay shouted. "Of course we were," she lowered her voice. "That's what elementary school and parents do to you. Totally and profoundly mess you up."
"We were so lame," Simone lamented. "Why didn't somebody tell us?"
Kay ignored her. Lips twisting into a wicked smile as she read the gigantic banner draped across the new trophy case.
"WELCOME TO HARMONY HIGH, STUDENTS."
In fine print at the bottom someone had written in bold red letters… "A nicer, safer place with the departure of Harmony's own Lethal Weapon." A surprisingly good caricature of Theresa dominated the banner—tears and ruined make-up to boot.
"I so have to meet the artist," Kay grinned. "That is the most magnificent piece of art I've ever seen."
"Whatever," Simone shrugged her shoulders. "Come on, Kay. You don't want to be late for homeroom the first day, do you?"
Kay glanced down at her schedule and looked back up at Simone with an evil glint in her dark eyes. "Of course not. See you at lunch," she waved as she scurried down the hall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald! Yoohoo! Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald!" she waved a hand in front of Sheridan's face.
The goofy smile never left Sheridan's pink smudged lips.
Kay rolled her eyes. Newlyweds. Well…it HAD been almost 3 months already, but apparently the honeymoon still wasn't over. Not as far as she could tell. She had a pretty good idea where the rest of Sheridan's lipstick was.
Last week the happy couple had gotten kicked out of WAL-MART. Pity, too. It was Ms. Crane…er, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald's first trip.
"Just thought you'd like to know," she said with a nonchalant toss of her head. "I was waiting in line for confessional last week, and get this—NO, I wasn't eavesdropping 'cause Prince Charles could have heard her sobs way over in England—The Terminator and Edumb are expecting sextuplets."
"OH MY GOD!"
"Knew that would get you," she snickered. "That's one hell of a scary thought, isn't it?"
"Kay Bennett!" Sheridan held a hand to her chest. "Are you TRYING to kill me?"
"How else was I going to get your attention? Remembering the quickie you had this morning?" she teased devilishly.
Sheridan blushed scarlet and swatted her away. "My sex life is NONE of your business."
Kay laughed all the way to her desk.
"WHAT are YOU doing here? Oh God. Please…I don't know if I have the strength…" Sheridan raised her blue eyes to the stars, er…ceiling.
"You're really on top of things, aren't you?"
Sheridan blushed an even deeper hue of red.
"UGH! More information than I needed to know," she muttered under her breath. "I'm in your homeroom. You haven't even given a moment's thought to…Forget it. You got 5 minutes, or they're going to eat you alive."
The bell rang just a second later, and the day officially began.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sheridan buried her face in her hands and released a huge sigh of relief the moment the last bell of the day rang.
Hell. Pure and absolute hell.
If she couldn't take 8 hours away from Luis, how was she ever going to survive if he had to take an assignment out of town?
"Miss the ole ball and chain that bad?" Kay asked. Taking a seat on the edge of her desk.
Sheridan raised weary blue eyes to Kay's face. "Homeroom. AND last period French."
"Oh, but Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald," Kay mock-pouted. "I love you."
Sheridan rolled her eyes and rose from her seat.
Kay picked up the smallest of the three silver frames on Sheridan's desk. "The AA poster child! She's getting so big! Would you listen to me?" she cracked. "Getting…the kid had a 5 pound head-start! Is it Brandy or Champagne?"
Sheridan snatched the picture from Kay's hands. "That's my niece you're talking about. Brandy's much more…NORMAL."
"No fair," Kay grumbled. "You got the pic **I** asked for! Hey! Are you PMS-ing?" she asked when Sheridan took the picture of Hank and Gwen decked out in their leis and grass skirts from their Hawaiian honeymoon.
"Kay, my sweet," Reese called from the doorway. "Hey, Ms. Crane…I mean, Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald," he corrected himself quickly. "Kay…want to grab some coffee at the Book Café?"
"Sure," Kay grinned. "We'll finish this later," she shot over her shoulder at Sheridan.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Yuck! Reese! I think I'm going to be sick!" Kay grabbed her stomach as she caught sight of Harmony's witless couple.
Theresa stared at Ethan through half slits. Her eyelids drooping from the force of her pink and purple sparkly eyeshadow. The faces of Angelica, Tommy, and Chuckie stretched across her bosom in a fearful display—they looked monstrous!
Ethan held her hand to his lips. Kissing each finger.
"Ethan! They're not dry yet!" Theresa shrieked.
Kay snickered evilly. "Do you think their brain cell hops from host to host? Kind of like a flea?" she quizzed Reese as he pulled her chair out for her.
Reese pretended to ponder it. "I think what they're experiencing now," he said. Nodding to the cherry slurpee with two straws sticking up out of it. "…is a brain freeze."
The bells at the front chimed, and Kay groaned when the Toothache Twosome put in their requisite appearance. Thank goodness for small miracles she smiled as they walked past without a second glance.
The bells chimed again, and Kay's jaw dropped to the floor.
"Dirty Old Man," she blinked her eyes. With a stroller!
All eyes turned to the front when the pudgy little blue-green eyed tot let out an ear-splitting wail.
They watched in disbelief as Julian unbuckled the baby from the contraption and thrust her at her brother. "Here. She's all yours," he said simply. Waltzing out of the Book Café as quickly as he'd came.
Kay shook her head as Theresa's brown eyes welled up with jealous tears, and she stomped off to the ladies room.
The Terminator couldn't take a bit of competition from a 3-month-old. Just another reason in a long list…
Just another day in Harmony.
Just another day in my so-called life, she thought to herself as she took a careful sip of her latte. Just another day…