Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own anything so don't sue me.
Well, here's the second chapter. It doesn't really matter if anyone's reading this because I'm gonna continue to write it anyway. But if there is someone reading this I'd appreciate it if you would review just so I'm aware that there's someone reading it. You know, just as common courtesy.
Other mutants began to come in, forcing her out of her lounging space on the couch. She had also lost the remote, but only because it had somehow found its way from the arm of the couch into the hands of a short, brown-haired girl.
"Aww man! Not Jeopardy," complained a boy with unruly bluish black hair. " For the love of all that's holy change the channel!"
" Shut up, Jedi boy," the brunette scolded, " You had the remote on Monday and forced us to watch your favorite show. Besides, I'm not the only one who wants to watch Jeopardy. Angelique wants to watch it too. Don't ya Angel?"
This seemed highly unlikely as the dark-skinned girl she must have been talking to had her head hidden behind a book. "Mmn hm," she answered, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses.
"She doesn't care," another boy piped up.
" Sure she does, just watch," the small girl said as the first category, children's literature for 100, was picked.
'This author wrote the book Charlotte's Web,' the host read.
" Who is E.B. White," Angelique droned, not looking up from her book.
"Uh, who is E.B. White," the contestant answered.
" How does she do that?" The boy with the unruly hair cocked his head suspiciously to glimpse at the title of the book the girl was reading. " Who's the newbie," he asked, noticing Jessica for the first time.
Jessica jumped up from her seat, startled and very much aware of the ten pairs of eyes staring at her.
" Her name's Jessica you twit," Angelique stated.
" Jessica what," he asked this time addressing Jessica herself.
" None of your business," she spat as she started to sit back down. She quickly jumped back up though when she felt someone else already sitting in her spot. She spun around and glared at the offender and came face to face with a very hairy, very viscous-looking lion, or at least something that resembled one.
" Oh! I'm so sorry. I must have been in your seat. I'll just be going now," Jessica sputtered, and hurried off to find a seat at an empty table to think.
However, despite everything she couldn't get herself to focus. " Is someone sitting her," a very familiar voice asked.
"No," she said as she looked up and realized why the voice sounded so familiar. The stranger looked exactly like herself, only in different clothing. " I mean, no, you can't sit her!"
" Huh?" Jessica watched as the copy's face scrunched up in confusion. " But you said 'no' to my question which would normally mean yes, I can sit here." The copy, noticing Jessica's look of horror, looked downward at it's feet and then around to it's back and finishing it's inspection by pulling a strand of dark, black hair forward. " I'm a girl," the copy yelled. Then looking at Jessica and back at itself it added, " I'm not just any girl... I'm you!" The copy covered its face as it blushed.
The copy's hair then shortened and became a dirty shade of blond. When his hands were removed from his face, still rather red with embarrassment, they revealed blue eyes with a crooked nose set between them, as if it had been broken at one time. " I'm so sorry," he told her. " I saw you from a distance and was trying to remember if I had seen you around before. I'm, uh, not very good at controlling my shape-shifting yet. Sorry if I scared you. Name's Danny, how about you?"
" Jessica," she said, suddenly looking at the floor.
" What's wrong? Do I still have your nose or something?"
" No, I was staring is all. I know it's not polite."
" I don't mind," he said as he straddled the chair across from her. " So, what's your story?'
Jessica sat, looking down at the table. She didn't feel like talking about the horrible events that had brought her down here. It seemed like they sat in silence for an eternity before it was broken by a very loud, boisterous voice coming from behind Jessica. " Are you pestering her?"
"No!" Danny crossed his arms, a bit defensive. " We were just talking."
" Doesn't seem like you were talking. And if I know you like I think I know you YOU were doing all the talking, Danny, I'm sure of it."
" I just asked her a question."
" Well maybe you should make the questions easier," the girl said, taking a seat next to Danny and putting her feat on the table. Her shoulder length hair shone in an array of colors. Her eyes then caught Jessica's as they also contained a mixture of colors, which swirled. " Orphan or Runaway," she asked.
Jessica broke out of the daze the girl's eyes had put her in. " Huh?"
" Orphan or runaway? Question's simple enough and it doesn't go into all the messy details of your private life," she said, leaning back in her chair.
Thinking about it Jessica replied, " Both."
"Oooh, and exotic one. How'd you manage that? Oh wait, never mind you probably don't want to talk about it and we most likely would change our minds about wanting to hear about it afterward. I'm a runaway myself. So's Danny-boy here. You should ask him about it some time. I here it's a fascinating tale about truth, justice, and the American way." She smiled as she got up.
" Leaving so soon?" Danny asked.
" Yeah, my show's on and I gotta go fight someone for the remote. On second thought maybe I'll just snatch it from them. See ya!" She gave a small solute before walking off.
" And she says I talk a lot. You invite her over and she doesn't shut up until she leaves."
"Who is she," Jessica asked, her eyes still a little dazzled by the largest amount of color she had seen since she had come here.
" We call her Spectra. She won't tell anyone what her real name is. It's probably Gertrude or something."
" Oh, that's understandable," she giggled. " So, when's dinner?"
" In an hour or so. Plenty of time to waste."
Jessica took the opportunity to ask a question that had been nagging her since the TV incident. " What's up with that girl, Angelique?"
" No one warned you about the psychics did they?" Jessica shook her head. " Did she pull the name game trick on you?" Assuming it was the part when the girl had given out Jessica's name before she could do it herself, she nodded. " Showing off again. She reads minds, which is probably why she's so smart. Don't let it unnerve you. Best way is to keep up mental shields. Here I'll show you."
It took a bit of practice but by the time smells started wafting through from the kitchen she had gotten the hang of it. " Mmmmm, smell that?" Danny asked, taking a deep whiff of the air.
Jessica sniffed a bit as well, " Smells like something's burning."
" Must be a Friday then. Puck's group never can manage without turning something to charcoal."
" Is everyone so bad at cooking?"
" Nah, just them."
Dinner was served within the hour and although Jessica became caught up in a lively conversation with her new acquaintance she stopped talking to watch as Gracie poked her head around the corner of the door, still wrapped up in an afghan. The small girl darted into the kitchen and tiptoed back out with a small plate of food.
"Um, hello, Earth to Jessica?" Danny waved his hand in front of her face. "What are you thinking about?"
" Just wondering what's wrong with Gracie."
" With who," Danny asked, mouth filled with his last bite of burnt apple pie, a treat to be relished as far as he was concerned, Jessica had decided not to take any.
" With Gracie," she replied, watching him scrape his plate clean.
He licked his fork, " Once again who?"
" A little girl, brown pigtails, bows, mumbles to herself, a little jumpy. She came in her a second ago and looked like she was scared to death. Ring any bells?"
" Sorry, but no. I've heard about her, but only the rumors. You'd have to talk to one of the girls to find out what's wrong with her."
" And here I thought you'd be one of those guys who made it their business to know about everything."
" I do make it my business when it affects me."
" That's typical."
" Typical?"
" Yes, most people down here seem to care only about themselves."
" And you're saying you're not like that?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.
" No, I'm not."
" What makes you care so much about a complete stranger?"
" I don't know. I've just always been against not caring about someone you know nothing about, judging by appearances, you know? Of course, it never bothered my mother's parents."
" Obviously you weren't close."
"No, not because I didn't want to, but because they were to stubborn to see my dad as a person and not as a freak. After they found out he was a mutant they disowned my mom out of fear for things they didn't understand. I try not to blame them. I mean, it's not their fault they acted out of fear."
" You are too much," Danny chuckled.
" Why?"
" You have this big sense of justice and all, but down here it doesn't mean squat. The sooner you get it through your head to stop caring about those who don't give a rat's tail about you the happier you'll be."
" That's a stupid philosophy that you made up so you don't have to care about anyone but yourself," Jessica snapped.
" Oh is it," he asked, getting up from his seat.
" Yes."
" Do you have any real clue why we're down here and not in some mansion? It's because people up there are afraid of us. Some people don't like us hanging around their stores and those 'Friends of Humanity' are a real pain in the butt. If it weren't for them our lives would be a whole lot easier. No stupid inspectors coming to houses asking if there's a mutant in the house and then claiming to take them to some place that can 'fix' their 'problem'. I didn't leave my house because I wanted to. I left because I had to. It makes their lives a whole lot easier without having to cover up for my power going on the fritz. And had you gone to the orphanage the Friends of Humanity would have picked you up like that," he snapped his fingers. " The world above the sewers just isn't safe for mutants. And if it weren't for those stupid people you feel so sorry for we wouldn't be where we are today."
With that he stormed off, probably to clear his head. Jessica on the other hand had nothing to do but go to her own room to contemplate this new life with a few tears.
The end for now but more will come weather you like it or not. And once again please R&R I'd like to read some feedback, even if it is a flame.
Well, here's the second chapter. It doesn't really matter if anyone's reading this because I'm gonna continue to write it anyway. But if there is someone reading this I'd appreciate it if you would review just so I'm aware that there's someone reading it. You know, just as common courtesy.
Other mutants began to come in, forcing her out of her lounging space on the couch. She had also lost the remote, but only because it had somehow found its way from the arm of the couch into the hands of a short, brown-haired girl.
"Aww man! Not Jeopardy," complained a boy with unruly bluish black hair. " For the love of all that's holy change the channel!"
" Shut up, Jedi boy," the brunette scolded, " You had the remote on Monday and forced us to watch your favorite show. Besides, I'm not the only one who wants to watch Jeopardy. Angelique wants to watch it too. Don't ya Angel?"
This seemed highly unlikely as the dark-skinned girl she must have been talking to had her head hidden behind a book. "Mmn hm," she answered, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses.
"She doesn't care," another boy piped up.
" Sure she does, just watch," the small girl said as the first category, children's literature for 100, was picked.
'This author wrote the book Charlotte's Web,' the host read.
" Who is E.B. White," Angelique droned, not looking up from her book.
"Uh, who is E.B. White," the contestant answered.
" How does she do that?" The boy with the unruly hair cocked his head suspiciously to glimpse at the title of the book the girl was reading. " Who's the newbie," he asked, noticing Jessica for the first time.
Jessica jumped up from her seat, startled and very much aware of the ten pairs of eyes staring at her.
" Her name's Jessica you twit," Angelique stated.
" Jessica what," he asked this time addressing Jessica herself.
" None of your business," she spat as she started to sit back down. She quickly jumped back up though when she felt someone else already sitting in her spot. She spun around and glared at the offender and came face to face with a very hairy, very viscous-looking lion, or at least something that resembled one.
" Oh! I'm so sorry. I must have been in your seat. I'll just be going now," Jessica sputtered, and hurried off to find a seat at an empty table to think.
However, despite everything she couldn't get herself to focus. " Is someone sitting her," a very familiar voice asked.
"No," she said as she looked up and realized why the voice sounded so familiar. The stranger looked exactly like herself, only in different clothing. " I mean, no, you can't sit her!"
" Huh?" Jessica watched as the copy's face scrunched up in confusion. " But you said 'no' to my question which would normally mean yes, I can sit here." The copy, noticing Jessica's look of horror, looked downward at it's feet and then around to it's back and finishing it's inspection by pulling a strand of dark, black hair forward. " I'm a girl," the copy yelled. Then looking at Jessica and back at itself it added, " I'm not just any girl... I'm you!" The copy covered its face as it blushed.
The copy's hair then shortened and became a dirty shade of blond. When his hands were removed from his face, still rather red with embarrassment, they revealed blue eyes with a crooked nose set between them, as if it had been broken at one time. " I'm so sorry," he told her. " I saw you from a distance and was trying to remember if I had seen you around before. I'm, uh, not very good at controlling my shape-shifting yet. Sorry if I scared you. Name's Danny, how about you?"
" Jessica," she said, suddenly looking at the floor.
" What's wrong? Do I still have your nose or something?"
" No, I was staring is all. I know it's not polite."
" I don't mind," he said as he straddled the chair across from her. " So, what's your story?'
Jessica sat, looking down at the table. She didn't feel like talking about the horrible events that had brought her down here. It seemed like they sat in silence for an eternity before it was broken by a very loud, boisterous voice coming from behind Jessica. " Are you pestering her?"
"No!" Danny crossed his arms, a bit defensive. " We were just talking."
" Doesn't seem like you were talking. And if I know you like I think I know you YOU were doing all the talking, Danny, I'm sure of it."
" I just asked her a question."
" Well maybe you should make the questions easier," the girl said, taking a seat next to Danny and putting her feat on the table. Her shoulder length hair shone in an array of colors. Her eyes then caught Jessica's as they also contained a mixture of colors, which swirled. " Orphan or Runaway," she asked.
Jessica broke out of the daze the girl's eyes had put her in. " Huh?"
" Orphan or runaway? Question's simple enough and it doesn't go into all the messy details of your private life," she said, leaning back in her chair.
Thinking about it Jessica replied, " Both."
"Oooh, and exotic one. How'd you manage that? Oh wait, never mind you probably don't want to talk about it and we most likely would change our minds about wanting to hear about it afterward. I'm a runaway myself. So's Danny-boy here. You should ask him about it some time. I here it's a fascinating tale about truth, justice, and the American way." She smiled as she got up.
" Leaving so soon?" Danny asked.
" Yeah, my show's on and I gotta go fight someone for the remote. On second thought maybe I'll just snatch it from them. See ya!" She gave a small solute before walking off.
" And she says I talk a lot. You invite her over and she doesn't shut up until she leaves."
"Who is she," Jessica asked, her eyes still a little dazzled by the largest amount of color she had seen since she had come here.
" We call her Spectra. She won't tell anyone what her real name is. It's probably Gertrude or something."
" Oh, that's understandable," she giggled. " So, when's dinner?"
" In an hour or so. Plenty of time to waste."
Jessica took the opportunity to ask a question that had been nagging her since the TV incident. " What's up with that girl, Angelique?"
" No one warned you about the psychics did they?" Jessica shook her head. " Did she pull the name game trick on you?" Assuming it was the part when the girl had given out Jessica's name before she could do it herself, she nodded. " Showing off again. She reads minds, which is probably why she's so smart. Don't let it unnerve you. Best way is to keep up mental shields. Here I'll show you."
It took a bit of practice but by the time smells started wafting through from the kitchen she had gotten the hang of it. " Mmmmm, smell that?" Danny asked, taking a deep whiff of the air.
Jessica sniffed a bit as well, " Smells like something's burning."
" Must be a Friday then. Puck's group never can manage without turning something to charcoal."
" Is everyone so bad at cooking?"
" Nah, just them."
Dinner was served within the hour and although Jessica became caught up in a lively conversation with her new acquaintance she stopped talking to watch as Gracie poked her head around the corner of the door, still wrapped up in an afghan. The small girl darted into the kitchen and tiptoed back out with a small plate of food.
"Um, hello, Earth to Jessica?" Danny waved his hand in front of her face. "What are you thinking about?"
" Just wondering what's wrong with Gracie."
" With who," Danny asked, mouth filled with his last bite of burnt apple pie, a treat to be relished as far as he was concerned, Jessica had decided not to take any.
" With Gracie," she replied, watching him scrape his plate clean.
He licked his fork, " Once again who?"
" A little girl, brown pigtails, bows, mumbles to herself, a little jumpy. She came in her a second ago and looked like she was scared to death. Ring any bells?"
" Sorry, but no. I've heard about her, but only the rumors. You'd have to talk to one of the girls to find out what's wrong with her."
" And here I thought you'd be one of those guys who made it their business to know about everything."
" I do make it my business when it affects me."
" That's typical."
" Typical?"
" Yes, most people down here seem to care only about themselves."
" And you're saying you're not like that?" Danny cocked an eyebrow.
" No, I'm not."
" What makes you care so much about a complete stranger?"
" I don't know. I've just always been against not caring about someone you know nothing about, judging by appearances, you know? Of course, it never bothered my mother's parents."
" Obviously you weren't close."
"No, not because I didn't want to, but because they were to stubborn to see my dad as a person and not as a freak. After they found out he was a mutant they disowned my mom out of fear for things they didn't understand. I try not to blame them. I mean, it's not their fault they acted out of fear."
" You are too much," Danny chuckled.
" Why?"
" You have this big sense of justice and all, but down here it doesn't mean squat. The sooner you get it through your head to stop caring about those who don't give a rat's tail about you the happier you'll be."
" That's a stupid philosophy that you made up so you don't have to care about anyone but yourself," Jessica snapped.
" Oh is it," he asked, getting up from his seat.
" Yes."
" Do you have any real clue why we're down here and not in some mansion? It's because people up there are afraid of us. Some people don't like us hanging around their stores and those 'Friends of Humanity' are a real pain in the butt. If it weren't for them our lives would be a whole lot easier. No stupid inspectors coming to houses asking if there's a mutant in the house and then claiming to take them to some place that can 'fix' their 'problem'. I didn't leave my house because I wanted to. I left because I had to. It makes their lives a whole lot easier without having to cover up for my power going on the fritz. And had you gone to the orphanage the Friends of Humanity would have picked you up like that," he snapped his fingers. " The world above the sewers just isn't safe for mutants. And if it weren't for those stupid people you feel so sorry for we wouldn't be where we are today."
With that he stormed off, probably to clear his head. Jessica on the other hand had nothing to do but go to her own room to contemplate this new life with a few tears.
The end for now but more will come weather you like it or not. And once again please R&R I'd like to read some feedback, even if it is a flame.