Chapter Eight
About four minutes after the dismissal bell sounded, Clark and the gang proceeded at their school paper's office. They informed Linda earlier at lunch to meet them there. Though 10 minutes have gone by and she's still nowhere to be found.
"We're wasting precious time here." Chloe warned them, tapping her shoes impatiently on the floor. "I thought we made it clear to her to meet us here right after dismissal?"
"Maybe she got into something." Clark proposed to them, sitting on top of a wooden table. His office table actually.
Just as Chloe was about to say something, Linda came rushing into the office door, somewhat gasping for breath. It turns out that she ran from her last period room, located at the school building annex, all the way to the school paper's office.
"Hi." She walked in, scanning the group. "Did I kept you guys waiting?"
"No. Not at all." Clark promptly butt- in, before Chloe could say a word. He has this strong feeling that she's not delighted with Linda's presence. And he couldn't be more right.
"We just came in." Pete prodded Clark's statement. He was leaning against an office cabinet when she got in.
As much as she was appalled by Clark and Pete's words to Linda, Chloe sucked it all in. She wanted to complain, tell her that they've been waiting for 'her majesty' for at least 15 minutes in the freakin' office! But she reckoned that doing that would disappoint Clark Kent. The love of her twisted and insane life.
"Oh great." Linda was lightened up by the response. "Principal Reynolds invited me in his office for a talk."
Clark jumped out of the table he was sitting on and gave Linda a quick tour of the office. "And finally," Clark unlocked the door, leading to their top secret layer in the office.
He was gonna show her, the office were they research and figure out strange occurrences and events in Smallville! Chloe wanted to object, but she was too late. Clark has led Linda into it.
The lights were off and it was total darkness everywhere. Clark flipped on the lights and finished, "The Wall of Weird."
Linda was standing in front of a wall, pinned with all sorts of newspaper and magazine clippings. Dazed, she started towards it with wide eyes. She browsed at every article. There's a guy with 12 fingers, a sighting of an aquatic monster at the nearby lake, the disappearance of so many people, unexplainable powers, and the lot.
"Chloe started the whole thing." Clark explained, marveling at the wall. Pete coughed meaningfully. "Oh and Pete helped too."
Chloe stood behind them, arms crossed over her chest. Clark showed Linda the gang's private collection! How could he!?
Linda commenced reading the clippings that intrigued her the most. Then her eyes were caught by a TIME magazine cover, that of a little girl crying. Staring at that cover alone sadden her.
"Lana." She assessed to herself.
"Everything that is on that wall, happened after the meteor shower several years ago." Chloe found herself joining in. If Clark and Pete thought that it's ok to show Linda the wall, then she guessed she's force to feel the same way.
From the corner of her eyes, Linda saw Pete pick up a newspaper article from the small table. She watched him pin the article on the wall.
"The latest weird." Pete said as he stepped back to look at it.
The article cut out reads in bold letters, "Earth Angel: The Deliverer."
Linda backed off to join Clark and the others. The phrase on the paper rang through her head.
"How can they even be sure that she's all that?" Chloe asked moving forward the wall.
"That's what we're gonna find out soon enough." Clark anchored his right arm on Pete's shoulder.
Pete dug in the black bag that he had on, in search of something.
"Damn!" He cursed, rummaging deeper into the bag. "The voice recorder's missing."
"What?" Clark queried, alarmed by the news. Pete placed the bag on the table and Clark assisted him with the digging.
"Sheesh Pete! How can we conduct the interview now?" Chloe piped in.
"I must've left it in the men's comfort room awhile ago." Pete told them, stopping.
"Let's go get it then." Clark announced, walking out of the room with Pete. "Let's hope it still there."
Chloe and Linda were the only ones left behind.
"That's so typical of Pete." Chloe commented crashing on an office chair behind the table. ""Always losing the equipment. He'll probably misplace his brain if it's detachable."
Linda snickered at that statement, strolling for Chloe's direction. She suddenly felt tensed with only she and Linda around.
"Chloe," Linda initiated, playing with her fingers. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." She replied keeping her cool. "What about?"
"Well, it's this rumor that's been going around school." Linda declared, sitting on the table comfortably. Chloe gulped as she realized that it was the same rumor that she told Clark at the cafeteria.
"I've heard that a few student's of Smallville High have this image of me as a snippy, snob, cheerleading bitch." She finished with her head bent down. "And I don't know where it came from."
Chloe felt strained and gulped even harder. She was one of the students who started that rumor! Of course Amanda White, Kathy Johnson and her other school friends helped her.
"Oh my god! She knew that it came from me!" She thought watching Linda playfully rub her fist. "And she's gonna hit me!"
"I don't have the slightest idea why those people hate me so much." Linda mumbled. Chloe knew from her voice that she's sad. "Since the news got to me, I've contemplated if I've ever stepped on anyone. And there's nothing I can think of."
"I'm trying my very best to be friendly and nice to everyone. To no avail, it doesn't seem to work." She added, tucking some strands of brown hair behind her ear. "And I'm just so tired of hearing about it."
Chloe heard her sniff a bit. Linda wiped the teardrops that almost escaped her gloomy hazel eyes. Chloe was now feeling bad for spreading that gossip. She thought about it and figured that the rumor isn't true in any angle. She never did anything to hurt her. All that Linda did was arrive in Smallville and be nothing but nice. It's not her fault that Clark admires her. She never asked for it to begin with.
"Lyn I'm sorry." Chloe expressed her regrets, embarrassed. "I was one of those who made that up."
Linda listened to Chloe attentively. She gained back her composure and glanced at her. Her eyes questioning.
"I guess I was envious of you." She confessed standing up. " You just got here in Smallville and you're already popular. Even Lana Lang had to earn that status. And you, you're an instant celebrity." "You're gorgeous, intelligent, and kind. That's all that I see and that's what unpopular kids, like most of us, crave for." Chloe imparted marching in front of Linda. "And I'm sorry for ever spreading those rumors. Can you ever forgive me?"
Linda was glad with Chloe's confessions. She isn't the type that harbors ill thoughts and anger to people.
"Apology accepted." Linda gave her a sincere smile then hugged her. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I admire you for that."
Chloe returned her smile, after the hug. It's like a weight has been lifted on her chest.
"Friends?" Linda offered, holding out a hand.
"Friends." She shook her hand, delighted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
With Linda's irresistible charm and sunshine personality, the gang was able to persuade the male head nurse at the hospital's front desk, to let them in and visit Mrs. Adler. He advised them that they only have 15 minutes to talk to her, after which he would escort them out of the hospital.
Clark, Pete and Chloe thought that 15 minutes is just enough for the whole interview. One of the nurses requested them to leave their stuff behind. Thankfully, Chloe assumed that that would happen, and she secretly told the bunch to hide the equipment under their clothing, beforehand.
Pete had his compact video camera tucked under his over sized, navy blue, windbreaker. Clark had the black professional camera over his brown jacket. Chloe was in-charge of the mini voice recorder while Linda, well, she carried a notebook and ball pen in one hand. No need to hide that stuff anyway.
"What room did he say Mrs. Adler's in?" Chloe queried as they walked in the hospital elevator. "312." Clark answered as he pressed the 3rd floor button on the elevator dial.
They scouted the left side of the floor, checking for the room numbers. The gang was unaware of the battle that was going on inside Pete's mind. He has this thing with hospitals.
The mind numbing smell of the perfectly disinfected tile floors and white walls are enough to make him feel uncomfortable and tensed. Part of him wanted to leave the place, but his professional journalistic side asks him to take it easy and go on with the plan.
"309, 310, 311.312. Oh there it is." Linda informed pointing on a door that has a golden 312 number nailed on.
Chloe pressed her right ear on the door, checking if Mrs. Adler have any visitors at that time. It was quiet. She knocked twice before twisting open the door handle. Poking, her head in, she saw the patient sitting up right on her bed, with a pair of glasses on. Mrs. Adler was reading the news.
"Yes?" The old lady said, her eyes focused on Chloe.
"Hi Mrs. Adler." Chloe greeted entering the room at last. She introduced Clark, Pete and Linda as they got in. "We're writers and columnist for the Smallville High, school newspapers. And we're kinda wondering if you could spare us a few moment of your precious time for an interview?"
"An interview." Mrs. Adler repeated, removing her glasses and placing down the papers neatly on one side of her table. "Have a seat. Have a seat."
"Thanks." They uttered altogether, finding somewhere to settle down in the room.
Chloe sat on a chair placed at the bed's left side. Pete and Clark pulled their chairs near to Mrs. Adler's right side. Noticing that Linda has nowhere to take a seat, Clark valiantly stood up and insisted for Linda to take his. Linda whispered a 'thanks' under her breath as she settled on it.
"What would you like to know?" Mrs. Adler laced her fingers together and rested it on her lap.
"We'll go straight to the point Ma'am, coz we only have 15 minutes at hand." Clark commenced, standing behind Linda. He pulled out his small pad paper and ball pen from his denim pants pocket. "What can you tell us about your rescuer? Who is she?"
Mrs. Adler's sight traveled from Chloe, to her left, transferred to Pete, to her right, to the handsome and tall, dark hair, blue eyed boy, Clark, asking her the question, then eventually securing her eyes on Linda. Her vision remained on her for some seconds. What was she about to reveal?
About four minutes after the dismissal bell sounded, Clark and the gang proceeded at their school paper's office. They informed Linda earlier at lunch to meet them there. Though 10 minutes have gone by and she's still nowhere to be found.
"We're wasting precious time here." Chloe warned them, tapping her shoes impatiently on the floor. "I thought we made it clear to her to meet us here right after dismissal?"
"Maybe she got into something." Clark proposed to them, sitting on top of a wooden table. His office table actually.
Just as Chloe was about to say something, Linda came rushing into the office door, somewhat gasping for breath. It turns out that she ran from her last period room, located at the school building annex, all the way to the school paper's office.
"Hi." She walked in, scanning the group. "Did I kept you guys waiting?"
"No. Not at all." Clark promptly butt- in, before Chloe could say a word. He has this strong feeling that she's not delighted with Linda's presence. And he couldn't be more right.
"We just came in." Pete prodded Clark's statement. He was leaning against an office cabinet when she got in.
As much as she was appalled by Clark and Pete's words to Linda, Chloe sucked it all in. She wanted to complain, tell her that they've been waiting for 'her majesty' for at least 15 minutes in the freakin' office! But she reckoned that doing that would disappoint Clark Kent. The love of her twisted and insane life.
"Oh great." Linda was lightened up by the response. "Principal Reynolds invited me in his office for a talk."
Clark jumped out of the table he was sitting on and gave Linda a quick tour of the office. "And finally," Clark unlocked the door, leading to their top secret layer in the office.
He was gonna show her, the office were they research and figure out strange occurrences and events in Smallville! Chloe wanted to object, but she was too late. Clark has led Linda into it.
The lights were off and it was total darkness everywhere. Clark flipped on the lights and finished, "The Wall of Weird."
Linda was standing in front of a wall, pinned with all sorts of newspaper and magazine clippings. Dazed, she started towards it with wide eyes. She browsed at every article. There's a guy with 12 fingers, a sighting of an aquatic monster at the nearby lake, the disappearance of so many people, unexplainable powers, and the lot.
"Chloe started the whole thing." Clark explained, marveling at the wall. Pete coughed meaningfully. "Oh and Pete helped too."
Chloe stood behind them, arms crossed over her chest. Clark showed Linda the gang's private collection! How could he!?
Linda commenced reading the clippings that intrigued her the most. Then her eyes were caught by a TIME magazine cover, that of a little girl crying. Staring at that cover alone sadden her.
"Lana." She assessed to herself.
"Everything that is on that wall, happened after the meteor shower several years ago." Chloe found herself joining in. If Clark and Pete thought that it's ok to show Linda the wall, then she guessed she's force to feel the same way.
From the corner of her eyes, Linda saw Pete pick up a newspaper article from the small table. She watched him pin the article on the wall.
"The latest weird." Pete said as he stepped back to look at it.
The article cut out reads in bold letters, "Earth Angel: The Deliverer."
Linda backed off to join Clark and the others. The phrase on the paper rang through her head.
"How can they even be sure that she's all that?" Chloe asked moving forward the wall.
"That's what we're gonna find out soon enough." Clark anchored his right arm on Pete's shoulder.
Pete dug in the black bag that he had on, in search of something.
"Damn!" He cursed, rummaging deeper into the bag. "The voice recorder's missing."
"What?" Clark queried, alarmed by the news. Pete placed the bag on the table and Clark assisted him with the digging.
"Sheesh Pete! How can we conduct the interview now?" Chloe piped in.
"I must've left it in the men's comfort room awhile ago." Pete told them, stopping.
"Let's go get it then." Clark announced, walking out of the room with Pete. "Let's hope it still there."
Chloe and Linda were the only ones left behind.
"That's so typical of Pete." Chloe commented crashing on an office chair behind the table. ""Always losing the equipment. He'll probably misplace his brain if it's detachable."
Linda snickered at that statement, strolling for Chloe's direction. She suddenly felt tensed with only she and Linda around.
"Chloe," Linda initiated, playing with her fingers. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure." She replied keeping her cool. "What about?"
"Well, it's this rumor that's been going around school." Linda declared, sitting on the table comfortably. Chloe gulped as she realized that it was the same rumor that she told Clark at the cafeteria.
"I've heard that a few student's of Smallville High have this image of me as a snippy, snob, cheerleading bitch." She finished with her head bent down. "And I don't know where it came from."
Chloe felt strained and gulped even harder. She was one of the students who started that rumor! Of course Amanda White, Kathy Johnson and her other school friends helped her.
"Oh my god! She knew that it came from me!" She thought watching Linda playfully rub her fist. "And she's gonna hit me!"
"I don't have the slightest idea why those people hate me so much." Linda mumbled. Chloe knew from her voice that she's sad. "Since the news got to me, I've contemplated if I've ever stepped on anyone. And there's nothing I can think of."
"I'm trying my very best to be friendly and nice to everyone. To no avail, it doesn't seem to work." She added, tucking some strands of brown hair behind her ear. "And I'm just so tired of hearing about it."
Chloe heard her sniff a bit. Linda wiped the teardrops that almost escaped her gloomy hazel eyes. Chloe was now feeling bad for spreading that gossip. She thought about it and figured that the rumor isn't true in any angle. She never did anything to hurt her. All that Linda did was arrive in Smallville and be nothing but nice. It's not her fault that Clark admires her. She never asked for it to begin with.
"Lyn I'm sorry." Chloe expressed her regrets, embarrassed. "I was one of those who made that up."
Linda listened to Chloe attentively. She gained back her composure and glanced at her. Her eyes questioning.
"I guess I was envious of you." She confessed standing up. " You just got here in Smallville and you're already popular. Even Lana Lang had to earn that status. And you, you're an instant celebrity." "You're gorgeous, intelligent, and kind. That's all that I see and that's what unpopular kids, like most of us, crave for." Chloe imparted marching in front of Linda. "And I'm sorry for ever spreading those rumors. Can you ever forgive me?"
Linda was glad with Chloe's confessions. She isn't the type that harbors ill thoughts and anger to people.
"Apology accepted." Linda gave her a sincere smile then hugged her. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I admire you for that."
Chloe returned her smile, after the hug. It's like a weight has been lifted on her chest.
"Friends?" Linda offered, holding out a hand.
"Friends." She shook her hand, delighted.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
With Linda's irresistible charm and sunshine personality, the gang was able to persuade the male head nurse at the hospital's front desk, to let them in and visit Mrs. Adler. He advised them that they only have 15 minutes to talk to her, after which he would escort them out of the hospital.
Clark, Pete and Chloe thought that 15 minutes is just enough for the whole interview. One of the nurses requested them to leave their stuff behind. Thankfully, Chloe assumed that that would happen, and she secretly told the bunch to hide the equipment under their clothing, beforehand.
Pete had his compact video camera tucked under his over sized, navy blue, windbreaker. Clark had the black professional camera over his brown jacket. Chloe was in-charge of the mini voice recorder while Linda, well, she carried a notebook and ball pen in one hand. No need to hide that stuff anyway.
"What room did he say Mrs. Adler's in?" Chloe queried as they walked in the hospital elevator. "312." Clark answered as he pressed the 3rd floor button on the elevator dial.
They scouted the left side of the floor, checking for the room numbers. The gang was unaware of the battle that was going on inside Pete's mind. He has this thing with hospitals.
The mind numbing smell of the perfectly disinfected tile floors and white walls are enough to make him feel uncomfortable and tensed. Part of him wanted to leave the place, but his professional journalistic side asks him to take it easy and go on with the plan.
"309, 310, 311.312. Oh there it is." Linda informed pointing on a door that has a golden 312 number nailed on.
Chloe pressed her right ear on the door, checking if Mrs. Adler have any visitors at that time. It was quiet. She knocked twice before twisting open the door handle. Poking, her head in, she saw the patient sitting up right on her bed, with a pair of glasses on. Mrs. Adler was reading the news.
"Yes?" The old lady said, her eyes focused on Chloe.
"Hi Mrs. Adler." Chloe greeted entering the room at last. She introduced Clark, Pete and Linda as they got in. "We're writers and columnist for the Smallville High, school newspapers. And we're kinda wondering if you could spare us a few moment of your precious time for an interview?"
"An interview." Mrs. Adler repeated, removing her glasses and placing down the papers neatly on one side of her table. "Have a seat. Have a seat."
"Thanks." They uttered altogether, finding somewhere to settle down in the room.
Chloe sat on a chair placed at the bed's left side. Pete and Clark pulled their chairs near to Mrs. Adler's right side. Noticing that Linda has nowhere to take a seat, Clark valiantly stood up and insisted for Linda to take his. Linda whispered a 'thanks' under her breath as she settled on it.
"What would you like to know?" Mrs. Adler laced her fingers together and rested it on her lap.
"We'll go straight to the point Ma'am, coz we only have 15 minutes at hand." Clark commenced, standing behind Linda. He pulled out his small pad paper and ball pen from his denim pants pocket. "What can you tell us about your rescuer? Who is she?"
Mrs. Adler's sight traveled from Chloe, to her left, transferred to Pete, to her right, to the handsome and tall, dark hair, blue eyed boy, Clark, asking her the question, then eventually securing her eyes on Linda. Her vision remained on her for some seconds. What was she about to reveal?