Chapter 4 - 'Stop' - Michaela's Story
September 7, 1999 - San Fernando Valley, California

'Stop right now, thank you very much, I need somebody with a human touch........' the radio blared.
Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. Tap tap.
I looked up from my powder compact at Tweedle-Tay, who was tapping on the steering wheel to the beat of a Spice Girls song. I rolled my eyes. "Would you stop that Tay?" I said, annoyed.
Tweedle-Tay looked puzzled. "Stop what?"
"Stop tapping along with Spice Girls songs. What are you - a ten year old girl?"
"Oh, sorry...... I didn't notice I was doing it. I guess it helps me concentrate," he said, a little embarrassed.
"Well, it stops me from concentrating," I complained.
"Let's see," Tweedle-Tay said. "You're fixing your makeup, I'm driving. Who really needs to concentrate? I think -"
A car pulled out in front of us. Our car swerved and screeched to a halt. "Fuck! Tay, can't you pay attention to the road?" I screamed.
"Not while I'm talking to you," he said under his breath.
"Didn't you even notice the 'give way' sign?" I said angrily. "Get out of the car.... I'll drive." I coated my mouth with lipstick and got out. I walked around to Tweedle-Tay's side of the car and hopped in. We fastened out seatbelts and I began to drive.
It was our first day of school. We couldn't go to the local high school in fear of being recognised so we had to go to San Fernando Valley High which was a half hour drive from our house..... on a good traffic day. I turned the radio off and put on my Garbage CD. "Burn me, break me, breaking down is easy, all I want is you....." I sang along. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Tweedle-Tay giving me a dirty look. He was so up himself sometimes. He was shocking driver, yet he insisted on doing it because - get this - he was the guy.
"Can't you go any faster?" he said impatiently.
"I'm driving faster than the speed limit already. Do you want us to get a ticket?" I groaned. I could see Tweedle-Tay mouthing along with what I was saying. He pouted. "Come on Tay, I don't want to fight with you... we don't know anyone here in the Valley, we have to, you know, get along...."
Tweedle-Tay smirked. "We know Lauren...."
I laughed. "Yeah, that'll put us on the top of everyone's social list."
"Sorry Kay...." he said.
"That's okay...." I replied, stretching the truth just a little.
"Can I drive?"
I didn't even bother answering him. I turned into the school parking lot and pulled into a parking space. I checked my reflection in the rear view mirror and we got out of the car. I smoothed down my green suede skirt and checked the bottoms of my shoes. I picked up my folder from my seat.
Tweedle-Tay smirked. "You are so obsessed with your appearance," he said, swinging a bag over his back.
"Moi?" I said, shocked. "I'm not the one who spent an hour deciding what to wear this morning, am I? Those pants are too tight," I added, looking him up and down.
Tweedle-Tay looked slightly self-conscious. "Whatever," he said, blushing.
I felt slightly guilty, but what the hell. "Let's go to registration," I said. As we walked along the lawn towards the school, I looked at the large white building. "It looks like a mental asylum," I said aloud.
Tweedle-Tay actually looked slightly afraid. He glanced warily at the ninth grade girls who were sitting on the steps drooling over Nick Carter posters. "Michaela, are these pants really too tight?" he asked nervously.
"Well, not exactly. They're not loose but...... they're just you. You know what I mean?" I said tactfully.
Tweedle-Tay said nothing and walked along with his hands in his pockets. Finally we reached the office and joined the line to get timetables. After a few minutes we reached the front of the queue. "Um, excuse me," I said. "Can we have our timetables?"
The blonde secretary looked back at us, worn out. "Sure honey, what's your name?"
"I'm Michaela and this is my brother TJ Hanson," I said.
"Hanson.... mmmmm..... just wait a second while I print them out. You're new here?" she asked. We nodded. "You'll like it here, everyone's nice. But some people are nicer than others, if you know what I mean? Here are your timetables," she said, handing us each a slip of paper.
"Thanks," I said. Tweedle-Tay and I walked outside and sat down on a bench. Tweedle-Tay was shaking. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm gonna get bashed up," he said. "You heard what that woman said, some people here aren't nice. They're going to recognise me and the guys are gonna bash me. Guys don't like Manson. And my pants are too tight and they're going to think I'm gay..."
"Well, you're not gay are you? I can certainly vouch for that," I said bitterly. "And TJ," I added emphatically. "No one remembers Manson, they haven't had as single out in a year and a half. I swear, you place so much more importance on yourself than anyone else does."
"Right," Tweedle-Tay replied, unconvinced.
"Okay," I said checking out the timetables. "We have chemistry and music together. When I have advanced math, you have intermediate. We're in the same English class. When you have biology, I have American history and when I have physics, you have visual arts. Can you see that?" I asked, showing him the timetables.
"Yeah," he replied. "And today's Tuesday, so we have chemistry first."
"Mmmmmm, in room S2. Class starts in five minutes..... we may as well go there now," I said getting up. We walked around the school looking for the science rooms. "Okay, there are two important things you should remember. Firstly, you are TJ Hanson, not Tweedle-Tay Manson. And secondly, we don't have to hang out together all day. We might, but if we don't, meet me at the car at 2:30 p.m., ok?"
"Right," Tweedle-Tay said smoothing his hair. We had come to the classroom. I opened the door and we walked in. Practically the entire class was already there but there was still a table with two seats on it. We started to head towards it when a pretty girl with shoulder-length brown hair called out to me. "Hey! Come sit here!" she called. I looked behind me, but no one else was there, so I looked regretfully at my brother and walked over to sit down.
"Sorry to bother you," the girl said, smoothing down her lilac designer dress, "but I just couldn't bare sitting with that tryhard Gwen. You didn't want to sit with your sister did you?"
"Oh no, that's my brother," I said, feeling embarrassed for Tweedle- Tay.
"Sorry," the girl giggled, "I couldn't tell...... from behind," she added hastily. "Your poor brother, Gwen's gone and sat next to him."
I turned around to see a girl with platinum blonde hair and a pink dress sitting with Tay and flicking her hair. "Dye job?" I asked.
The girl nodded. "Home dye job," she said in disgust.
"You can tell, the roots are showing," I said. Gwen's hair had a dramatic colour change from dark brown to pale blonde.
"You have nice hair, is it natural?" she asked.
"Yah-huh. My brother's hair is the same colour and he would never dye his," I explained.
"Right. I should have known. I'm Cordelia Fowler," the girl said.
"I'm Michaela. Michaela Hanson."
"And your brother?" Cordelia asked.
"TJ," I said.
"You two look really similar," she said.
"Oh, you should have seen us two years ago. We were practically identical. But now it's really just hair and eyes," I said thoughtfully.
"So where are you from?" Cordelia asked.
Shit! I had forgotten to settle that with Tweedle-Tay before hand. I may as well just tell the truth. "Oklahoma," I said.
"Really???" Cordelia was shocked. "You have such a Californian accent."
"It must be the television. You should hear TJ's accent," I explained.
"Where abouts are you living now?" Cordelia asked.
"Beverly Hills, and you?" I replied.
"Near Queens Park. Why do you come here from so far away? Did your parents think Beverly Hills High was too snobby?"
"Oh, we live by ourselves. Our parents are still in Oklahoma," I replied. As soon as I said it, I realised what I had done.
Cordelia however, did not notice a thing. If anything she looked incredibly impressed. "Mmmmm. Well, you can be my chem study partner and you can come sit with me at recess."
"Cool," I replied. "By the way, I love your dress."
The teacher cleared his throat. "Good morning year 11, and welcome to chemistry. I'm Mr. McClure and you might remember me from such classes as general science in the ninth and tenth grades. The first topic you'll be doing today is Carbon Chemistry. Well? Write that heading in your books girls and boys."

**************************

"See ya Cordelia! See ya Jenny, Victoria, Kristy, Maria!" I called out, running across the lawn to the car park. Tweedle-Tay was already sitting in the driver's seat. His arms were crossed and he was frowning. I'd taken the keys with me but he'd obviously climbed over the door. I unlocked the passenger door and climbed in. "What's wrong?" I asked.
Tweedle-Tay rolled his eyes. "It's 2:40. You have a watch, you made me wait ten minutes."
"Oh sorry Tay," I said, handing him the keys. "I was talking to my friends."
Tweedle-Tay started the car. "Well, I have friends too, but I still managed to turn up on time. Gwen wanted me to go out for milkshakes with her but I didn't."
I frowned. "Do you actually like Gwen?" I asked.
"What's not to like?" he asked. "She's a nice girl and a good friend."
"Cordelia doesn't like her, she says she's a bit of a, I don't know, tryhard?" I said carefully.
"Cordelia doesn't like Gwen? But Gwen likes Cordelia so much," Tweedle-Tay said, puzzled.
"Well, Cordelia doesn't like Gwen," I replied, in a matter-of-fact way.
"She must be a real bitch," Tweedle-Tay said, shaking his head.
"Oh, she is. Nobody likes her. That must be why she's attached herself to you so quickly," I explained.
"I was referring to Cordelia," Tay replied.
"Ooooo - catty!" I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Gwen's a nice girl, you should get to know her," Tweedle-Tay continued.
I groaned. "Isn't that Mr. McClure a weirdo?" I said, changing the subject.

************************** Meanwhile in Tulsa..............

Grubbery sat by his bedroom window. For the first time he could remember, he only had to share the room with one person, rather than two. MacArthy was out at soccer training so he had the room to himself. Grubbery opened up his journal and began to write. "Alone in the attic, my sister and I......" Poor Tweedle-Tay. Poor Michaela. He wanted to see them so much, he wanted to make sure they were okay. Grubbery wanted to have a party with Tweedle-Tay, like he did all those years ago. He wanted to get drunk on doctor pepper and scream a lot. Grubbery wanted to have fun again. Instead he was stuck in stupid little Tulsa with his evil parents and dorky brothers and sisters. He wanted to start a grunge band, like Nirvana. Maybe he'd go and find Kurt Cobain and get some advice on how to be that good...........
"MMMPop, ba du ba da ba du Pop...." Grubbery's thoughts were interrupted by a CD in the room next door. He slammed his journal down and stomped into Elizabeth, Kestrel and Mozzie's bedroom. Kestrel and Elizabeth were dancing along with the CD and giggling. "Would you please turn that crap off?" Grubbery asked.
"It's not crap," Kestrel said. "That's you singing!"
"It's much better than the stuff you play now. Why don't you play MMMPop and Here's the Love and I Will Come On You and Strange anymore, Grubbery? They are far better songs than the ones by the Smashing Beetroots," Elizabeth said, folding her arms.
"Smashing Pumpkins!" Grubbery yelled. "It was Tweedle-Tay who loved that stuff, but he's gone now, and he'll never come back! Tweedle-Tay is gone! Michaela is gone! And neither of you give a fuck! Neither of you care that it was our parents who sent them away!"
"Don't swear Grubbery. And anyway, Tweedle-Tay chose to leave," Elizabeth replied.
"Who's Michaela?" Kestrel asked.
"Who's Michaela????? She's your sister! You're telling me you don't even remember you're sister????" Grubbery screamed.
Kestrel stood silent, her lip quivering.
"You are so mentally deficient!!!" Grubbery screamed removing the CD from the player and chucking it out the window. He stormed out of the room.
"Sucked in Grubbery, 'cause we have twenty-five copies of that CD!" Elizabeth called after him.