"Migi!! Migi!!" Faye practically screeched as she went through the
halls of the small house. She stopped in front of Migi's room and started
banging on the door with one fist.
Almost immediately, the door opened, to reveal an equally annoyed Migi, who was obviously gearing herself up to start shouting back at her friend.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Faye screamed in Migi's face. Migi flinched and took an involuntary step back. She was wearing her elephant pajamas. She had gone to bed the moment she had left Artemis' room without dinner, and just a couple of minutes later, Faye was barging through the tiny house as if the world were having war against mars.
Nevertheless, irritation gave way and Migi screamed back.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! YOU'RE SO LOUD!"
Faye calmed down when she heard this. She barged into the room past Migi, purposely pushing the curvy girl even if she had offered no resistance. Faye sat on the modest bed and looked at Migi, calming herself.
"You told Artemis how to escape. You WANT him to escape. How could you? You know it's really important for me to keep him here!"
"Did that- did he- he told you, didn't he!"
"Yeah, so what! That's not the point here, now is it!"
Migi looked at Faye squarely. She decided it was time to take a stand.
"What do you need him for anyway? He has to go back where he came from! You idiot! You've always been so selfish!"
Faye sprung up, her temper working itself up again.
"You! Prissy Princess! It's just that some of US have nothing to have to begin with!"
Migi stuck up her chin in indignation. "Why do you think I ran away, you lowlife! Why Artemis, of all people! He's a real person, and you're just cooping him out here!"
Faye reeled, as if she were slap. "I'm not a lowlife!" she said.
"But you're really selfish! You can't keep people in houses against their will! It's not NORMAL! Give him a break! He's not your pet dog!"
Faye suddenly calmed down. She was picturing an Artemis-dog, complete with a collar around his neck. Migi had that trait, she could make people feel like monsters. It was a political skill inherited from her mother.
"I- I'm not treating him like a dog!" Faye said, but it was half- hearted. She backed out of the room, out of a stricken Migi's sight, into the hall. She walked somewhat blindly down the hall to the room where Artemis was. Her hand sort of shook a bit as she opened the lock. She threw the door open, noticed the surprised look on his face, and just stared at him face-on.
She stared openly, and then she knew. She saw the bags under his eyes. Sh*t. she was a Christian as well.
"Artemis."
He stood up, now looking at her with a controlled expression. His protective instincts were kicking in, as much as he hated to admit it. Since he was two thirds taller than her, he put a hand on her head easily. He was awkward, but he didn't know how else to go about it. For the moment, he was just Artemis Fowl, teenage guy, not a mastermind. He couldn't stand crying girls. It reminded him of his mother.
And Faye was crying bitterly, even if she obviously was trying to hide it. She was looking at him with the top of her eyes draping over her pupils, and she kept snuffing out the sounds she was making by using the back of her hand. Artemis shrugged and looked away. Sometimes he wished he were just a normal guy who didn't need to act like he was such a hotshot.
A hand suddenly came up behind Faye, and the they saw that it was Migi. She was looking at Faye sympathetically. She came up close, and she whispered to her friend's ear:
"Faye, I know you might hate me for this, but I'm going over to the kid's house right now. It's only seven in the evening, and he ought to be awake. I don't want to keep Artemis here longer than we have to. Meanwhile, see what you can do to the machine. I think this is going to take a while. I still have to go over to the school secretary's house and ask for the address and I think he said that it was somewhere a bit far from the main roads. If I get lost, then I'll call you on your cell phone."
Faye hesitated, then nodded. Artemis felt a little rotten, just standing there, when a new crude plan was already formulating inside his head. After Migi had left, Faye gave him a faint motion of her head that signified him to follow her. He did, and she led him into a room. She had stopped crying, and now, she was holding her chin up. She had an awful lot of pride.
"Is this your room?" he asked. She didn't say anything, but he took it as a yes. It was a small, cramped room. The walls were painted completely with a swirly blend of blue and silver. Hundreds of tiny glow in the dark stars were stuck onto the walls. Two book shelves were against the right side of the wall. A large lamp loomed over a study table. Aside from that, the room was sparse. There was a tiny window, and the floor was bare. On the far side, a rolled up bed was yet unprepared.
"You guys like futons," he said.
"It's what we can afford."
Her cell phone rang. She answered it, and sounded surprised. She held the cell phone close to her ear and continued to answer the person on the other end of the line. At length, she pressed the hang up button and she looked at Artemis.
"My friend is coming over today," she said. "His name is Jowy Tindrea. I think you'll like him. He's been one of my closest friends since I was in junior high."
Artemis nodded. "Sure. The more people, the merrier it can be over here."
Faye nodded. "I'll go get some drinks for us." She gave him a suspicious look. "Don't try anything stupid, Artemis. Me and Migi are sending you home, but if you do something that I don't think I'd like, then you're stuck here, no matter how crazy you drive me if you remain."
Artemis nodded.
Faye exited. Hurriedly, Artemis went over to the machine and took a look at it. Actually, it didn't really look anything like a machine anymore. It just seemed like a pile of scraps of metal piled on top of the other. The wires were in disarray, and they were tangled up, but Artemis didn't see that as a major part of the problem. He didn't really know anything about machines, but he could try to learn.
He reached to touch the pile with a probing finger, when Faye came back. He had been studying the machine longer than he knew. Faye was carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea.
"I guess you've really taken a liking to doing exactly what I don't tell you to do," she said dryly. She made towards him, and knelt beside him on the machine.
"I guess I have to show you have to work this, in case I decide to back out on my word," she said heavily. "At least, then, I'd know that it doesn't depend entirely on myself to bring you back."
Out of her short pockets, she pulled out a wrench, and then, she started to separate the wires.
"The red wire is attached to the main circuit, and the green is on the other end. See this tin? It's wrapped around a first mother board, and."
She twisted and turned the wires and parts at an amazing speed and ease. Artemis watched, fascinated. Even if his expression was bewildered, he was taking in all that was being told to him, without missing a single word. Faye kept going on until the door bell rung. It was Jowy. He had brought a pizza. Faye left Artemis in the room as she went out to open the door.
"Hey, Faye," he said casually. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was handsome, but in a down to earth way. He held out the pizza box.
"Starving?"
Faye laughed. "Sort of. I'm sort of busy at the moment, but you're free to watch TV out here a while. I'll be out soon."
"Really? What're you doing?"
"I'm reconstructing something I made a couple of months ago."
Jowy nodded. He was also a really smart person, but he wasn't a nerd or a geek. Faye saw the look of interest on his face, and she took the cue. She took his hand, and pulled him into her room, holding the box of pizza.
Artemis, who had been kneeling in front of the machine, stood up at the sight of Jowy. Jowy was doing likewise. Faye was oblivious. She set the pizza on her bed, and started to refill Artemis' drink with iced tea.
"A friend of yours?" Jowy asked.
Faye saw that he was referring to Artemis.
"Sort of," she smiled. "I wish I could have known him longer, though."
"He's really." Jowy didn't know how to say it without sounding like he was a bisexual. But there was no other way to put it. Artemis was simply striking and handsome, raven hair and blue eyes. It was a world of diversity in looks, and Jowy had seen lots of people, but Artemis was.
"Are you and him.?" Jowy's question trailed off.
"No, no," Faye said nervously, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "He's not my boyfriend or anything. We just live together, that's all."
Jowy broke out into a sweat. He noticed that Faye was wearing short shorts and a sort of revealing t-shirt.
He started to pull on her arm. "Can I talk to you?"
Faye said: "Oh, we can do that later. Let's just eat."
But Jowy was persistent. He tugged on her right arm. Then Faye suddenly felt pressure on her left arm. She looked to see Artemis to her left. Her eyes grew wide.
"Let's go eat the pizza," Artemis said almost pleasantly to Jowy. He still held on to her arm. "She doesn't want to talk to you, she wants to eat."
Faye looked from Jowy to Artemis, and then she shook off the hands at the same time. She gave a nervous laugh, noticing the strange atmosphere.
"What is it with you two?" she asked.
She squatted on the floor, like she didn't expect an answer anyway, and then she motioned for the two to sit down. They sat down in a triangle. Faye opened the box, and offered the first pizza to Jowy. She glanced at her watch thoughtfully.
The kid's house wasn't that far away, so Migi would be back in about thirty minutes or so. Meanwhile, she was going to fix the machine as soon as possible, so that she could send Artemis back. She didn't want to bring him back where he came from, but she had little choice in the matter, and she doubted her conscience would let her rest if she'd insist on cooping Artemis up.
Sure, he was stronger than Migi and her combined, and much more cunning in some ways, but he wasn't in his own grounds, and he didn't deserve to be put through the hassle of trying to fit in and make a decent life in the 20th century. Faye shook her head. Before she got more attached to the mysterious stranger in her house, then she'd have to put him back in the book.
She gave a sigh, knowing that Artemis and Jowy were watching her in silence curiously. She looked up and met their gazes. Then she gave a smile. She had a nice smile. Her blond hair and golden eyes were a strange combination. She looked more surreal than part of the real world, but she was still pretty nonetheless. Jowy noted this with silence. Artemis seemed nonchalant, but he sort of turned a little red when he saw the smile.
"Are you actually blushing?" Jowy asked Artemis. It was so typical of one guy to point out the dilemma of the other. And it was very typical of one guy to understand why one guy was so horribly turning red.
Artemis covered up, smoothed out any facial wrinkle that might have existed, and pointed to his mouth.
"Hot pizza."
"Oh." Jowy and Faye said at the same time.
Artemis didn't say anything. Jowy seemed suspicious, but Faye was clearly accepting and she had fallen for his explanation. For all her bright ideas and plans, she was easily fooled when it came to other practical matters concerning lying.
She was too easy to deceive.
Almost immediately, the door opened, to reveal an equally annoyed Migi, who was obviously gearing herself up to start shouting back at her friend.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Faye screamed in Migi's face. Migi flinched and took an involuntary step back. She was wearing her elephant pajamas. She had gone to bed the moment she had left Artemis' room without dinner, and just a couple of minutes later, Faye was barging through the tiny house as if the world were having war against mars.
Nevertheless, irritation gave way and Migi screamed back.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! YOU'RE SO LOUD!"
Faye calmed down when she heard this. She barged into the room past Migi, purposely pushing the curvy girl even if she had offered no resistance. Faye sat on the modest bed and looked at Migi, calming herself.
"You told Artemis how to escape. You WANT him to escape. How could you? You know it's really important for me to keep him here!"
"Did that- did he- he told you, didn't he!"
"Yeah, so what! That's not the point here, now is it!"
Migi looked at Faye squarely. She decided it was time to take a stand.
"What do you need him for anyway? He has to go back where he came from! You idiot! You've always been so selfish!"
Faye sprung up, her temper working itself up again.
"You! Prissy Princess! It's just that some of US have nothing to have to begin with!"
Migi stuck up her chin in indignation. "Why do you think I ran away, you lowlife! Why Artemis, of all people! He's a real person, and you're just cooping him out here!"
Faye reeled, as if she were slap. "I'm not a lowlife!" she said.
"But you're really selfish! You can't keep people in houses against their will! It's not NORMAL! Give him a break! He's not your pet dog!"
Faye suddenly calmed down. She was picturing an Artemis-dog, complete with a collar around his neck. Migi had that trait, she could make people feel like monsters. It was a political skill inherited from her mother.
"I- I'm not treating him like a dog!" Faye said, but it was half- hearted. She backed out of the room, out of a stricken Migi's sight, into the hall. She walked somewhat blindly down the hall to the room where Artemis was. Her hand sort of shook a bit as she opened the lock. She threw the door open, noticed the surprised look on his face, and just stared at him face-on.
She stared openly, and then she knew. She saw the bags under his eyes. Sh*t. she was a Christian as well.
"Artemis."
He stood up, now looking at her with a controlled expression. His protective instincts were kicking in, as much as he hated to admit it. Since he was two thirds taller than her, he put a hand on her head easily. He was awkward, but he didn't know how else to go about it. For the moment, he was just Artemis Fowl, teenage guy, not a mastermind. He couldn't stand crying girls. It reminded him of his mother.
And Faye was crying bitterly, even if she obviously was trying to hide it. She was looking at him with the top of her eyes draping over her pupils, and she kept snuffing out the sounds she was making by using the back of her hand. Artemis shrugged and looked away. Sometimes he wished he were just a normal guy who didn't need to act like he was such a hotshot.
A hand suddenly came up behind Faye, and the they saw that it was Migi. She was looking at Faye sympathetically. She came up close, and she whispered to her friend's ear:
"Faye, I know you might hate me for this, but I'm going over to the kid's house right now. It's only seven in the evening, and he ought to be awake. I don't want to keep Artemis here longer than we have to. Meanwhile, see what you can do to the machine. I think this is going to take a while. I still have to go over to the school secretary's house and ask for the address and I think he said that it was somewhere a bit far from the main roads. If I get lost, then I'll call you on your cell phone."
Faye hesitated, then nodded. Artemis felt a little rotten, just standing there, when a new crude plan was already formulating inside his head. After Migi had left, Faye gave him a faint motion of her head that signified him to follow her. He did, and she led him into a room. She had stopped crying, and now, she was holding her chin up. She had an awful lot of pride.
"Is this your room?" he asked. She didn't say anything, but he took it as a yes. It was a small, cramped room. The walls were painted completely with a swirly blend of blue and silver. Hundreds of tiny glow in the dark stars were stuck onto the walls. Two book shelves were against the right side of the wall. A large lamp loomed over a study table. Aside from that, the room was sparse. There was a tiny window, and the floor was bare. On the far side, a rolled up bed was yet unprepared.
"You guys like futons," he said.
"It's what we can afford."
Her cell phone rang. She answered it, and sounded surprised. She held the cell phone close to her ear and continued to answer the person on the other end of the line. At length, she pressed the hang up button and she looked at Artemis.
"My friend is coming over today," she said. "His name is Jowy Tindrea. I think you'll like him. He's been one of my closest friends since I was in junior high."
Artemis nodded. "Sure. The more people, the merrier it can be over here."
Faye nodded. "I'll go get some drinks for us." She gave him a suspicious look. "Don't try anything stupid, Artemis. Me and Migi are sending you home, but if you do something that I don't think I'd like, then you're stuck here, no matter how crazy you drive me if you remain."
Artemis nodded.
Faye exited. Hurriedly, Artemis went over to the machine and took a look at it. Actually, it didn't really look anything like a machine anymore. It just seemed like a pile of scraps of metal piled on top of the other. The wires were in disarray, and they were tangled up, but Artemis didn't see that as a major part of the problem. He didn't really know anything about machines, but he could try to learn.
He reached to touch the pile with a probing finger, when Faye came back. He had been studying the machine longer than he knew. Faye was carrying a tray with three glasses of iced tea.
"I guess you've really taken a liking to doing exactly what I don't tell you to do," she said dryly. She made towards him, and knelt beside him on the machine.
"I guess I have to show you have to work this, in case I decide to back out on my word," she said heavily. "At least, then, I'd know that it doesn't depend entirely on myself to bring you back."
Out of her short pockets, she pulled out a wrench, and then, she started to separate the wires.
"The red wire is attached to the main circuit, and the green is on the other end. See this tin? It's wrapped around a first mother board, and."
She twisted and turned the wires and parts at an amazing speed and ease. Artemis watched, fascinated. Even if his expression was bewildered, he was taking in all that was being told to him, without missing a single word. Faye kept going on until the door bell rung. It was Jowy. He had brought a pizza. Faye left Artemis in the room as she went out to open the door.
"Hey, Faye," he said casually. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was handsome, but in a down to earth way. He held out the pizza box.
"Starving?"
Faye laughed. "Sort of. I'm sort of busy at the moment, but you're free to watch TV out here a while. I'll be out soon."
"Really? What're you doing?"
"I'm reconstructing something I made a couple of months ago."
Jowy nodded. He was also a really smart person, but he wasn't a nerd or a geek. Faye saw the look of interest on his face, and she took the cue. She took his hand, and pulled him into her room, holding the box of pizza.
Artemis, who had been kneeling in front of the machine, stood up at the sight of Jowy. Jowy was doing likewise. Faye was oblivious. She set the pizza on her bed, and started to refill Artemis' drink with iced tea.
"A friend of yours?" Jowy asked.
Faye saw that he was referring to Artemis.
"Sort of," she smiled. "I wish I could have known him longer, though."
"He's really." Jowy didn't know how to say it without sounding like he was a bisexual. But there was no other way to put it. Artemis was simply striking and handsome, raven hair and blue eyes. It was a world of diversity in looks, and Jowy had seen lots of people, but Artemis was.
"Are you and him.?" Jowy's question trailed off.
"No, no," Faye said nervously, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "He's not my boyfriend or anything. We just live together, that's all."
Jowy broke out into a sweat. He noticed that Faye was wearing short shorts and a sort of revealing t-shirt.
He started to pull on her arm. "Can I talk to you?"
Faye said: "Oh, we can do that later. Let's just eat."
But Jowy was persistent. He tugged on her right arm. Then Faye suddenly felt pressure on her left arm. She looked to see Artemis to her left. Her eyes grew wide.
"Let's go eat the pizza," Artemis said almost pleasantly to Jowy. He still held on to her arm. "She doesn't want to talk to you, she wants to eat."
Faye looked from Jowy to Artemis, and then she shook off the hands at the same time. She gave a nervous laugh, noticing the strange atmosphere.
"What is it with you two?" she asked.
She squatted on the floor, like she didn't expect an answer anyway, and then she motioned for the two to sit down. They sat down in a triangle. Faye opened the box, and offered the first pizza to Jowy. She glanced at her watch thoughtfully.
The kid's house wasn't that far away, so Migi would be back in about thirty minutes or so. Meanwhile, she was going to fix the machine as soon as possible, so that she could send Artemis back. She didn't want to bring him back where he came from, but she had little choice in the matter, and she doubted her conscience would let her rest if she'd insist on cooping Artemis up.
Sure, he was stronger than Migi and her combined, and much more cunning in some ways, but he wasn't in his own grounds, and he didn't deserve to be put through the hassle of trying to fit in and make a decent life in the 20th century. Faye shook her head. Before she got more attached to the mysterious stranger in her house, then she'd have to put him back in the book.
She gave a sigh, knowing that Artemis and Jowy were watching her in silence curiously. She looked up and met their gazes. Then she gave a smile. She had a nice smile. Her blond hair and golden eyes were a strange combination. She looked more surreal than part of the real world, but she was still pretty nonetheless. Jowy noted this with silence. Artemis seemed nonchalant, but he sort of turned a little red when he saw the smile.
"Are you actually blushing?" Jowy asked Artemis. It was so typical of one guy to point out the dilemma of the other. And it was very typical of one guy to understand why one guy was so horribly turning red.
Artemis covered up, smoothed out any facial wrinkle that might have existed, and pointed to his mouth.
"Hot pizza."
"Oh." Jowy and Faye said at the same time.
Artemis didn't say anything. Jowy seemed suspicious, but Faye was clearly accepting and she had fallen for his explanation. For all her bright ideas and plans, she was easily fooled when it came to other practical matters concerning lying.
She was too easy to deceive.