Chapter One
Collins Town, Colorado
Collins was a drab Colorado town. It hadn't taken Farren long to realize that! The school had a good winter sports team, an embarrassing football team, and, their pride and joy, laptops for every student. Farren had to admit, that was a bit of a plus, because it meant she could read and write Harry Potter Fan-fictions while she was supposed to be doing her work, and do it at home instead. The whole school was very technology-ized, and instructions, links, worksheets, textbooks, science labs, test, quizzes, grade books, really, everything, was on the computer. The teacher's here got paid for walking around the classroom and finding people who weren't doing their work. And they didn't do a very good job at that because already today, Farren had wrote and uploaded two more chapters on her Fan-fic and read three chapters on someone else's.
But, there was something about this place. The school colors (Maroon and yellow-gold) were somewhat familiar. The oldest, abandoned part of the building seemed to hold a whispering secret. The number 27 football player reminded her, for some reason, of her father, though he looked nothing like his picture. And the older teachers constantly upon seeing her whispered profusely and stared at her penetratingly as she passed.
The bell rang and she quickly gathered her stuff and walked out of the room with her head down, keeping a low profile, like she'd done all this week, her first week here. She entered the science classroom, sat down in her seat, which was in a far right corner, closest to the door, between two other empty desks, and behind two empty desks. She figured the less people knew her the less likely it was that anyone would find out she was a foster child. Mr. Odem, the mean old world war II veteran and science teacher, gave her a nasty look, and she knew he was going to torture her, or try to, again.
On Tuesday, her first day of having him, he had made her stand up in front of the class, and tell them all about herself. Mercifully, she had managed to avoid the subject of her foster home, and this had seemed to infuriate him, for some odd reason, that she could never guess! Then, he had began to ask her millions of science questions, seeming to want to prove she was stupid, but to his disgust, she had answered every one perfectly, barely with holding a smile. Afterward, someone had told her that she had never seen him act that way to a new kid. Farren wondered why he hated her more than he hated every other kid who passes through his classroom. As quiet as she was being, you wouldn't think she would enjoy this stick that she had over his head, but she'd never let her true personality really shine through at anywhere other than The Home. In reality, she was enjoying his pathetic attempts to bring her down and break her confidence, and inside, she was sniggering profusely at her private joke.
As the class came in and sat down, Farren slid her laptop into her desk, knowing that it would be awhile until the class would need them. She could see it in Odem's eyes. And, she was right.
"Class, I have a little, well, surprise for you." The sallow skinned, greasy, gray haired, and watery-eyed man said unpleasantly. Judging by the groans, this usually meant a pop-quiz, something, Farren realized, she'd have to do now, and not later, which meant chapter fourteen of Lily and James, A love hate kinda thing, would just have to wait. Luckily, however, it was not a quiz.
"Four young British boys have recently been adopted by an American, who lives right here in Collins. Though the four are adopted brothers, they are not blood brothers, and have opted to keep their own last names. I expect you to make them very welcome to Collins Senior High, is that clear?" He said, adapting a bored, like-I-really-care-about-these-stupid-new-kids'-background type voice, which was actually rather amusing. Farren had to try hard not to laugh, because in her mind she had just got the image of a vacuum cleaner, with his head where the handle would normally be, drowning away like it had been in use way to long. She pulled out a piece of notebook paper and began to draw the image, stopping abruptly when she heard the door behind her open.
In the doorway stood four boys. Two had black hair. One's hair was extremely messy, which fit his thin face, hazel eyes, fit body, and semi-tall frame. The tallest of the group had black hair that fell mysteriously ('And cutely' Farren thought before she could stop herself) into his dark gray eyes. He was fit and more robust then the other, with an excellent smile. He didn't seem very aware of his good looks however, instead he just lounged casually against the desk and surveyed the room in a slightly haughty manner, which he soon dropped and instead grinned, looking truly happy to be there.
The next boy was slightly taller the first and slightly shorter than the latter. He had dry sand colored hair and deep denim colored eyes, which looked as thought they had seen and experienced a lot. He looked slightly too skinny, but still fit and cute, if you liked that type of guy. He smiled a bit at the group and went back to speaking softly and reassuringly to the last and slightly frightened looking member of the group.
The fourth and final boy was about Farren's height. He looked bigger boned than the others, wider but not really fatter. He had watery gray eyes and thick dirty blonde hair, that was cut short and that lie close to his head. He had a pointy, rat like nose, a nearly nonexistent chin, and high cheekbones, which all rather added to the fact that he looked like an overfed rat. He looked nervous and terrified, not at all like the calm and composed sandy haired boy, nor the I'm-just-happy-to-be-here tallest boy, nor the messy headed, grinning cheekily boy. Farren couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Boys, would you get on with the introduction please, and stop just staring around aimlessly. I have a lesson to teach you know!" Odem said nastily, leering at the boys. They leered back, even the more sensible one that reminded her of Remus Lupin. They must have been getting bad vibes from Odem (which of course, were the only kind he could send out) and even the shortest one summoned up enough bravery to stick his tongue out briefly. Farren giggled and went back to her drawing.
"I", said the tallest boy dramatically, "Am Sirius Black. Ya know, like the Dog Star? And the color?" Sirius flashed a smile, and a few girls sighed out loud.
'Wait.' Farren thought, drastically grasping at reality. 'He's joking. It's not possible that he's-'
"James Potter." The messy haired boy said casually, rumpling his already messy hair as he went and smiling brightly. "My names not nearly as symbolic as Sirius's, but, ya know, there's more to a man than his name." He wiggled his eyebrows interestingly, as four or five girls giggled at his obvious suggestion.
'Can't they tell he's joking?' Farren thought angrily. 'Besides, he can't be James Potter, one, because he's dead, and two, because he is a fictional character…isn't he?'
"I'm Remus Lupin." The sandy-headed boy said sensibly. "And please excuse them. They like to prank, poke, prod, pilfer, commit acts of piracy, induce laughs, and otherwise maraud in general more than anyone I know."
"You're a marauder too." Sirius said, smiling slyly at Remus, while still managing to look rather proud about his description.
'You're not Remus! Remus has gone through things you haven't even began to experience!' Farren thought angrily.
Remus ('he's not Remus') looked over at the last member of the group and seemed to know that he needed a little push in the right direction. "And, the brains of the operation, one true friend, all around good guy…" He announced dramatically, yet still helpfully.
"Peter Pettigrew." The last boy said smartly.
'You can't be Peter. 16-year-old fictional characters don't spring from books, go forward in time, travel to America, and use their real names. It's impossible, stupid, absurd, and would make a really good fan-fiction.' Farren thought uncertainly. She must be dreaming…
All the sudden, Farren did become very sleepy. Warmth spread over her body and she felt her lids drop slightly. She forgot all about her suspicions, she could have opened her book to a chapter completely devoted to the Marauders, and still not notice. She slumped down in her chair and stared at the boys through half-closed lids, thinking that there was something odd about them just the same.
"Ms. Alma," Odem broke through her sleepy feelings and immediately brought her back to his cold, uncomfortable classroom. "Why don't you show the boys around for a few days. Your schedules are the same, and you all ready have a few things in common. " She saw many curious faces turn towards her and she glared at him, not being able to stop the tears that welled up in her eyes, for she had a sudden pang of Anya-sickness. She glared at him, not blinking, and he turned away first.
Suddenly, she noticed movement on either side of her. She glanced to her right and was shocked to see the boy named Remus. Suspicion shivered through her, but she couldn't figure out why. She glanced to the left and saw Sirius, and in front of her sat the animatedly talking Peter and James.
"Can we sit here?" Sirius said cheerfully. She just nodded and looked back at her desk, trying to ignore the funny disbelief that was blooming in her stomach. They seemed fine enough. Sirius seemed taken aback at her lack of enthusiasm, and began to fiddle with his computer. Something told Farren that he wouldn't know how to use it, of course, but she didn't understand what was telling her that. Suddenly, she felt Remus gently touch her elbow. She jumped and turned to look at him.
He seemed to be asking with his eyes more than his mouth what was wrong. She sighed. However, something told her she should tell him, that she could be trusted, because he had experienced pain too.
'Why do I keep getting these, these, vibes about these boys and their personalities? I don't know them!' Farren thought exasperatedly to herself, but that something was still pushing at her to tell Remus, and so she did.
"I don't like Odem. He, well, made a remark about how I'm a foster kid and how you guys probably were too, except you got adopted and I never, in all my life, have in met a family who even had the slightest interest in adopting me." She saw a bit of guilt in his deep blue eyes, which looked, to her, like a dark pair of well-worn jeans. But, in his eyes she also saw some confusion. "Er, maybe you call them something else in Europe. Where something happens to your parents and they send you to an orphanage, and then the orphanage sends you to other people's home, and if they like you, they adopt you, and if there's problems, they send you back to the orphanage."
She could see the bewilderment in his eyes at this long and slightly hysterical explanation, but in his eyes was a different emotion too- deep understanding. He looked at her and softly said, "I'm sorry. I truly am." That was it. He put no frills on it, he didn't joke uncomfortably or gush his apologies, and instead he simply stated the truth. Farren felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Remus. Her mood brightened exceptionally, and she turned to Sirius and began chatting animatedly, not even noticing the confused look he was shooting over her head at Remus.
Remus suddenly started chuckling at her side. She turned and saw he was looking at her drawing of Odem as a vacuum cleaner. "Good drawing." He said, his eyes glittering handsomely. "Bad paper, with the lines and everything. You need a sketch book."
"I can't afford it. Foster kids don't get much allowance."
"He grinned and said, "Well then. We'll just have to do something about that won't we?"
Later, Farren was in a considerably better mood as she carefully balanced all her materials and led the four boys around, keeping up a running commentary as she did. Several girls gave her nasty looks and she couldn't help but grin innocently in their direction.
'37 hate me, only 53 left!' She thought to herself in her mind, not caring that she was never, ever, going to get any girl friends in Collins, because when she was around the four boys, she felt and acted more like herself than she had since she had left Texas and The Home. She thought she might have found some real friends, some people that really knew what her personality was like. As long as she learned to ignore those little urges in her stomach that were telling her that of course she liked them, because she practically all ready knew them.
'What do urges know anyway?' she thought to herself. She led them to 'World Issues Discuss and Debate Class' which most kids called simply 'Debate'. It was, without a doubt, the best class the Collins board of education had ever come up with. Mr. Hordan, the Debate class teacher, was rather short and distinctive. He had dark sandy brown hair, which had the tips died blonde from a class challenge that he had unwisely agreed to. It was the common opinion that Hordan was the best teacher, and that 'Debate' was the easiest and most pleasurable class. It was a class where being opinionated meant getting an A and where logic and high values often showed up. It was the only class in all of Collins Senior High that every student liked, and even Farren let her true personality shine through in Debate. The best thing about Debate though, was that Hordan actually taught them, not just put information on the computer for them to read over. Sure, they used the computer, but Hordan taught too.
"Hey, Hordan!" she said brightly to the professor and coach. He grinned at her and looked curiously at the four boys behind her.
"It seems you are liked Farren. How shocking!" He joked. "And what, may I ask, are you boys planning on doing when naïve Farren does realize you presence?" His voice was light and joking, but Farren heard a bit of suspiciousness and protectiveness in it. She however, knew just how to put him at ease. She joked right back.
"I know! They've just been following me around like lost dogs all day, I can't get rid of them, and when I asked Odem about them, he told me he couldn't see them! I mean, really!"
"Honestly, boys, why would you like Farren? I mean, look at all that hair. And she's so pale, and she's got that weird accent. It's mostly Texan, but it's got a west coast twinge, and a sophisticated East Coast way about it, and then-"
"It's mostly Texas!"
"And she's so short. And tiny-petit-ish, you know?" Hordan continued on as though he hadn't heard the interruption.
"I wouldn't be talking, Hordan. You're not so tall yourself!" Farren countered right back.
"Taller than you." Hordan said in a snooty tone.
"Taller than you." Farren mimicked right back.
"Oh, just tell him who we bloody well are, please!" Sirius's voice broke through. Farren burst into laughter, and Hordan and the other boys soon joined in. When Farren was calm enough, she explained their presence.
"These are new students from Europe. The same person adopted them, and they live here now. I'm showing them around." She glanced at Hordan and knew he had got the message she had been sending him. Hordan was, by common approval, the best teacher in the school, but he was also the friendliest and he seemed to have taken a special liking to Farren and her rocky life. For four days, she had ate lunch with him and spent her free hour in his room, talking to him about everything; her dreams and hopes, her college and career plans, her foster home, her Anya-sickness, everything, really. He was, without a doubt, the nicest teacher she had ever met. In her mind, her father's personality was rather like his.
"How nice to meet you," he said, smiling, "And what might your bloody names be?" He put on a fake British accent that wasn't very good, and exaggerated a bow to the boys. They introduced themselves and he got curiously sleepy, as did many members of the class who had not yet met the boys. Farren stared around at the class's odd behavior, flinching when her eyes landed on Spencer Smith.
Spencer was a nice looking boy, but that was the only nice thing about him. He had dark brown hair that was loosely wavy and that lay perfectly on his head. He had cold blue eyes and was tall and fit, from being the biggest jock, the most popular jerk, and the meanest womanizer you had ever laid eyes on. He was loud, crude, obnoxious, and rude. He was also the son of the mayor and his trophy wife, who managed his campaign and press dealings. But worst of all was the fact that he was Farren's new foster brother.
At that moment, Spencer was flashing his strait white teeth at a blonde in the front row, who was very popular, very pretty, but who also had very high morals. She sent him a warning look and turned to Hordan, who was at that moment asking them to open their computers.
Farren opened her computer and clicked on the Internet icon. She went to the address site (http://www.hordanisthebest.com/untouchables, click on the link http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0306/feature1/index.html) and then helped Peter with the computer, which he seemed to be having a lot of trouble with. Actually, all the boys were having trouble, but Peter was having the most. Hordan then began to read to them about the untouchables, adding bits and pieces of his own knowledge, like he always did. On Monday, Farren's first day, they had just finished up with a briefing of the Hindu caste system and religion. Ever since, they had been zooming in on the Untouchables, the lowest of the lows, and how they were treated. Normally, Hordan had explained to Farren, they spent three to five days on the discussion, and one to two on the debate of that topic, theory being that if they knew nothing about the topic, they wouldn't be very good debaters. However, they had spent a grand total of seven days on this subject now, but tomorrow, the debate would began.
"Now, look at the man in the picture. See how he is underfed, how his legs are non-existent below the knees, and how he looks like he has a lot of pride and disregard towards the photographer? He has been beaten by attackers, who are angry with him for buying a simple plot of land, and for working with animal skins. As you all know, Hindus are strict vegetarians, they don't even eat eggs, and to them, it is a crime to work with the skins of animals. They believe that because he is an untouchable, yet he is rising through the community, that he should be attacked. However, since this is technically illegal, they come up with other reasons to attack him. Who wants to read the article for me? Farren?" Farren began to read the article, pausing so that Hordan could add things in. Every once in a while, she herself would stop reading and give an opinion on the subject, which made many of the class-members groan. By the time the class was over, they had finished the article and discussed the pictures that went along with the story.
The bell rang loudly and Farren began to leave. Her laptop, three books, binder, and folders tottered riskily, but she managed to keep them balanced. She turned to the four boys, about to tell them about the next hour, but before she could she was swept away by her elbow. Farren felt herself be pulled out the door backwards in a rush of bodies, and she wondered who had her arm. She was pulled down another hallway, into the oldest and neglected part of the building, and pushed against the wall. She looked up into Spencer's eyes.
"Mother would not like that you have no friends, other than a bunch of nasty British rapists, and that you haven't even been spoken to me since you got here, which was really stupid of you, because I'm the only one who care enough about you to save you when one of those immigrants hurts you." His grip on her arm was exceptionally tight, his voice was low and mean, and his eyes showed anger and unremarkable jealousy.
"A, those immigrants are nicer than you are, A1, they have not yet shown any sign that they want to hurt me. B, your mother is not my mother, C, you father is not my father, and so, conclusion 1, I do not need to hang around people who your mother finds appropriate and not hang around with the ones she doesn't. Conclusion 2, you don't care about me at all, and so you could only be doing this because you like me and that's not much incentive for me to do what you want, is it? Conclusion 3, I will do as I please, because neither you, nor you family, really know what I'm like, personality and interest wise, and so I see no reason to honor your requests. Good day to you." She pulled harshly out of his grip and walked quickly down the hall, jogging once she was out of Spencer's sight, and running strait into Remus. The jolt was enough to stop her, and, in his surprise, Remus grabbed onto her shoulders and held them gently.
"You all right?" He questioned, shaking her slightly and staring into her eyes. She pulled out of his grasp too and leaned against a locker, which she later realized was hers.
"I was just having a friendly talk, with my lovely foster brother, who bloody doesn't want me to be with you four, because of his own bloody selfish reasons!" Farren breathed deeply, as the boys stared at her in a bit of shock.
"The angle has a devil side." Sirius commented dryly, which was just enough to get her started laughing. Then she broke into song.
"We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
we're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs!
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" She twirled exaggeratedly and curtsied to the boys. They burst into a fresh wave of laughter. Peter stared at her uncertainly.
"It was from one of my favorite movies. Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl. Have you ever seen it?" The boys stared at her uncertainly. "Apparently you haven't. Maybe Mrs. Smith will let you come over and watch it. Maybe even tonight!" She was becoming quite excited. "Come on, let's go borrow Hordan's phone and ask. But, it has to be all right with you adoptive parents. I'm sure they have the movie on DVD; I saw it on top of the television. And then your parents could pick you up after dinner and the movie. What's wrong?" She had realized that they weren't nearly as excited as she was.
Remus hastened to explain the situation the best he could. "Didn't your brother just say that he didn't like you around us. It wouldn't go over well with him if we suddenly appeared in you house, would it." Farren thought it sounded like he was covering up for something else, but she didn't press it.
"It wouldn't go over well with him, he wouldn't like it." Farren mimicked in a rather good accent, grinning at Remus. "All the more reason to bring you over, huh? I love getting him confused and angry." Remus grinned, his prank side coming through a bit. Farren grinned up at him happily, looking up into his eyes and felt her stomach twinge slightly. He stared in her eyes as well, his expression mirroring hers.
"We'd love to come!" James's voice brought her back to the present, and she looked away from Remus embarrassedly. Sirius watched this with great interest. Farren decided it would be best to avoid his eyes for a while too.
"Maybe you ought to call you adoptive parents." She reminded him, grateful that she could look him in the eye.
"T-They won't mind." Peter piped up.
"Well, if you say so. I'll go call Mrs. Smith. She said, knocking gently on the door of Hordan's room. He answered it and ushered her and the others inside. Hordan looked very happy to see her.
"Oh no! She's back! What am I being punished for, huh? Tell me what I've done!" He went into such a realistic fit of hysterics that Farren had to cover her mouth with her hand so as not to let him see her giggles.
"Hi to you too." She said sarcastically. " I need to use you're phone.
"And look! The dog pack is still following her around! I have to deal with all five of them. ARGGGGGHHHH!"
"Hey," Sirius said, sounding slightly offended. "Dogs they are not, sir. Sir must learn that these are good, respectable knights that sir is talking to. Now, sir may proceed in calling me a dog, good sir. This lad is a dog, sir!" His renaissance act was funny, but something about the way the others laughed made Farren suspicious. A dog? Did he mean that literally? She knew Sirius liked dogs, but why would he call himself one? That almost made it sound like he was an animagus, except for the fact that the thought was impossible and ridiculous.
"You're joking, aren't you?" She asked, looking up at Sirius and momentarily becoming distracted from the phone call.
"Of course he is, why wouldn't he be, he's joking!" James said, sharing an odd look with the others. They seemed to nod in agreement. Farren shook her head.
"No reason, it was a stupid idea, impossible really." She muttered to herself. "So, Hordan, how about that phone, huh?" Hordan nodded, and handed her the phone still giving her a rather odd look. She took the phone and avoided all of their eyes, her mind racing.
She dialed her newest number, and listened to it ring. As she did, she watched the boys and Hordan fool around in the middle of the classroom. After three rings, Mrs. Smith answered.
"Hello, Smith residence, Marsha speaking," She said crisply over the phone. Farren couldn't help but snigger quietly. This was the fifth Smith family that fostered her, but they were the only ones who answered the phone quite like that!
"Hey, Mrs. Smith. This is Farren." She said once she had controlled herself.
"Farren, sweety, hi! Is everything all right?" She actually sounded interested in Farren's going bouts. Farren was surprised, because she had never seen this personal side of her. She hastened to reassure her.
"Oh, yes everything's wonderful! I met four new friends."
"Oh, sweety, that's excellent. I'm sure they're very nice people. Who are they?"
"Well, er, you don't know them. They new here, just came in today. They're from Europe. But, see the really exciting thing is, they were once foster kids too, but somebody in Collins adopted them! But, see, they're all boys." Farren wondered what Mrs. Smith's reaction to that would be.
"Oh! Well, that's a surprise. But you say they're nice. And they treat you with respect? And they're proper young men, like my Spencer? They would be, growing up in Europe, wouldn't they?"
"Oh yes, they're very nice. And, they're very mature and intelligent. Rather clever. Their personalities kind of differ, but they all fit together well. And they are proper; of course, their orphanage was in England! They like jokes though, but they're nice jokes, and the boys are wonderful to talk to-" She stopped when she realized she was rambling an that James was mouthing the word 'liar' to her.
"Oh, well they sound like wonderful young men. We'll have to have them over some time. I wonder who adopted them? Surely I would have heard about it?"
"Well, er, that's what I wanted to ask you. If it would be all right with you, I'd like it if they rode home on the bus with me, ate dinner with us, and then watched a movie."
"Oh, dear, that would be wonderful. I'll bring them home of course it would only be proper. Sure, Farren sweety, that will be fine. See you at 3:30, all right?"
"All right, Mrs. Smith. And thank you, this means a lot to me. Bye." She hung up and turned to look at them. "She said yes."
Collins Town, Colorado
Collins was a drab Colorado town. It hadn't taken Farren long to realize that! The school had a good winter sports team, an embarrassing football team, and, their pride and joy, laptops for every student. Farren had to admit, that was a bit of a plus, because it meant she could read and write Harry Potter Fan-fictions while she was supposed to be doing her work, and do it at home instead. The whole school was very technology-ized, and instructions, links, worksheets, textbooks, science labs, test, quizzes, grade books, really, everything, was on the computer. The teacher's here got paid for walking around the classroom and finding people who weren't doing their work. And they didn't do a very good job at that because already today, Farren had wrote and uploaded two more chapters on her Fan-fic and read three chapters on someone else's.
But, there was something about this place. The school colors (Maroon and yellow-gold) were somewhat familiar. The oldest, abandoned part of the building seemed to hold a whispering secret. The number 27 football player reminded her, for some reason, of her father, though he looked nothing like his picture. And the older teachers constantly upon seeing her whispered profusely and stared at her penetratingly as she passed.
The bell rang and she quickly gathered her stuff and walked out of the room with her head down, keeping a low profile, like she'd done all this week, her first week here. She entered the science classroom, sat down in her seat, which was in a far right corner, closest to the door, between two other empty desks, and behind two empty desks. She figured the less people knew her the less likely it was that anyone would find out she was a foster child. Mr. Odem, the mean old world war II veteran and science teacher, gave her a nasty look, and she knew he was going to torture her, or try to, again.
On Tuesday, her first day of having him, he had made her stand up in front of the class, and tell them all about herself. Mercifully, she had managed to avoid the subject of her foster home, and this had seemed to infuriate him, for some odd reason, that she could never guess! Then, he had began to ask her millions of science questions, seeming to want to prove she was stupid, but to his disgust, she had answered every one perfectly, barely with holding a smile. Afterward, someone had told her that she had never seen him act that way to a new kid. Farren wondered why he hated her more than he hated every other kid who passes through his classroom. As quiet as she was being, you wouldn't think she would enjoy this stick that she had over his head, but she'd never let her true personality really shine through at anywhere other than The Home. In reality, she was enjoying his pathetic attempts to bring her down and break her confidence, and inside, she was sniggering profusely at her private joke.
As the class came in and sat down, Farren slid her laptop into her desk, knowing that it would be awhile until the class would need them. She could see it in Odem's eyes. And, she was right.
"Class, I have a little, well, surprise for you." The sallow skinned, greasy, gray haired, and watery-eyed man said unpleasantly. Judging by the groans, this usually meant a pop-quiz, something, Farren realized, she'd have to do now, and not later, which meant chapter fourteen of Lily and James, A love hate kinda thing, would just have to wait. Luckily, however, it was not a quiz.
"Four young British boys have recently been adopted by an American, who lives right here in Collins. Though the four are adopted brothers, they are not blood brothers, and have opted to keep their own last names. I expect you to make them very welcome to Collins Senior High, is that clear?" He said, adapting a bored, like-I-really-care-about-these-stupid-new-kids'-background type voice, which was actually rather amusing. Farren had to try hard not to laugh, because in her mind she had just got the image of a vacuum cleaner, with his head where the handle would normally be, drowning away like it had been in use way to long. She pulled out a piece of notebook paper and began to draw the image, stopping abruptly when she heard the door behind her open.
In the doorway stood four boys. Two had black hair. One's hair was extremely messy, which fit his thin face, hazel eyes, fit body, and semi-tall frame. The tallest of the group had black hair that fell mysteriously ('And cutely' Farren thought before she could stop herself) into his dark gray eyes. He was fit and more robust then the other, with an excellent smile. He didn't seem very aware of his good looks however, instead he just lounged casually against the desk and surveyed the room in a slightly haughty manner, which he soon dropped and instead grinned, looking truly happy to be there.
The next boy was slightly taller the first and slightly shorter than the latter. He had dry sand colored hair and deep denim colored eyes, which looked as thought they had seen and experienced a lot. He looked slightly too skinny, but still fit and cute, if you liked that type of guy. He smiled a bit at the group and went back to speaking softly and reassuringly to the last and slightly frightened looking member of the group.
The fourth and final boy was about Farren's height. He looked bigger boned than the others, wider but not really fatter. He had watery gray eyes and thick dirty blonde hair, that was cut short and that lie close to his head. He had a pointy, rat like nose, a nearly nonexistent chin, and high cheekbones, which all rather added to the fact that he looked like an overfed rat. He looked nervous and terrified, not at all like the calm and composed sandy haired boy, nor the I'm-just-happy-to-be-here tallest boy, nor the messy headed, grinning cheekily boy. Farren couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
"Boys, would you get on with the introduction please, and stop just staring around aimlessly. I have a lesson to teach you know!" Odem said nastily, leering at the boys. They leered back, even the more sensible one that reminded her of Remus Lupin. They must have been getting bad vibes from Odem (which of course, were the only kind he could send out) and even the shortest one summoned up enough bravery to stick his tongue out briefly. Farren giggled and went back to her drawing.
"I", said the tallest boy dramatically, "Am Sirius Black. Ya know, like the Dog Star? And the color?" Sirius flashed a smile, and a few girls sighed out loud.
'Wait.' Farren thought, drastically grasping at reality. 'He's joking. It's not possible that he's-'
"James Potter." The messy haired boy said casually, rumpling his already messy hair as he went and smiling brightly. "My names not nearly as symbolic as Sirius's, but, ya know, there's more to a man than his name." He wiggled his eyebrows interestingly, as four or five girls giggled at his obvious suggestion.
'Can't they tell he's joking?' Farren thought angrily. 'Besides, he can't be James Potter, one, because he's dead, and two, because he is a fictional character…isn't he?'
"I'm Remus Lupin." The sandy-headed boy said sensibly. "And please excuse them. They like to prank, poke, prod, pilfer, commit acts of piracy, induce laughs, and otherwise maraud in general more than anyone I know."
"You're a marauder too." Sirius said, smiling slyly at Remus, while still managing to look rather proud about his description.
'You're not Remus! Remus has gone through things you haven't even began to experience!' Farren thought angrily.
Remus ('he's not Remus') looked over at the last member of the group and seemed to know that he needed a little push in the right direction. "And, the brains of the operation, one true friend, all around good guy…" He announced dramatically, yet still helpfully.
"Peter Pettigrew." The last boy said smartly.
'You can't be Peter. 16-year-old fictional characters don't spring from books, go forward in time, travel to America, and use their real names. It's impossible, stupid, absurd, and would make a really good fan-fiction.' Farren thought uncertainly. She must be dreaming…
All the sudden, Farren did become very sleepy. Warmth spread over her body and she felt her lids drop slightly. She forgot all about her suspicions, she could have opened her book to a chapter completely devoted to the Marauders, and still not notice. She slumped down in her chair and stared at the boys through half-closed lids, thinking that there was something odd about them just the same.
"Ms. Alma," Odem broke through her sleepy feelings and immediately brought her back to his cold, uncomfortable classroom. "Why don't you show the boys around for a few days. Your schedules are the same, and you all ready have a few things in common. " She saw many curious faces turn towards her and she glared at him, not being able to stop the tears that welled up in her eyes, for she had a sudden pang of Anya-sickness. She glared at him, not blinking, and he turned away first.
Suddenly, she noticed movement on either side of her. She glanced to her right and was shocked to see the boy named Remus. Suspicion shivered through her, but she couldn't figure out why. She glanced to the left and saw Sirius, and in front of her sat the animatedly talking Peter and James.
"Can we sit here?" Sirius said cheerfully. She just nodded and looked back at her desk, trying to ignore the funny disbelief that was blooming in her stomach. They seemed fine enough. Sirius seemed taken aback at her lack of enthusiasm, and began to fiddle with his computer. Something told Farren that he wouldn't know how to use it, of course, but she didn't understand what was telling her that. Suddenly, she felt Remus gently touch her elbow. She jumped and turned to look at him.
He seemed to be asking with his eyes more than his mouth what was wrong. She sighed. However, something told her she should tell him, that she could be trusted, because he had experienced pain too.
'Why do I keep getting these, these, vibes about these boys and their personalities? I don't know them!' Farren thought exasperatedly to herself, but that something was still pushing at her to tell Remus, and so she did.
"I don't like Odem. He, well, made a remark about how I'm a foster kid and how you guys probably were too, except you got adopted and I never, in all my life, have in met a family who even had the slightest interest in adopting me." She saw a bit of guilt in his deep blue eyes, which looked, to her, like a dark pair of well-worn jeans. But, in his eyes she also saw some confusion. "Er, maybe you call them something else in Europe. Where something happens to your parents and they send you to an orphanage, and then the orphanage sends you to other people's home, and if they like you, they adopt you, and if there's problems, they send you back to the orphanage."
She could see the bewilderment in his eyes at this long and slightly hysterical explanation, but in his eyes was a different emotion too- deep understanding. He looked at her and softly said, "I'm sorry. I truly am." That was it. He put no frills on it, he didn't joke uncomfortably or gush his apologies, and instead he simply stated the truth. Farren felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Remus. Her mood brightened exceptionally, and she turned to Sirius and began chatting animatedly, not even noticing the confused look he was shooting over her head at Remus.
Remus suddenly started chuckling at her side. She turned and saw he was looking at her drawing of Odem as a vacuum cleaner. "Good drawing." He said, his eyes glittering handsomely. "Bad paper, with the lines and everything. You need a sketch book."
"I can't afford it. Foster kids don't get much allowance."
"He grinned and said, "Well then. We'll just have to do something about that won't we?"
Later, Farren was in a considerably better mood as she carefully balanced all her materials and led the four boys around, keeping up a running commentary as she did. Several girls gave her nasty looks and she couldn't help but grin innocently in their direction.
'37 hate me, only 53 left!' She thought to herself in her mind, not caring that she was never, ever, going to get any girl friends in Collins, because when she was around the four boys, she felt and acted more like herself than she had since she had left Texas and The Home. She thought she might have found some real friends, some people that really knew what her personality was like. As long as she learned to ignore those little urges in her stomach that were telling her that of course she liked them, because she practically all ready knew them.
'What do urges know anyway?' she thought to herself. She led them to 'World Issues Discuss and Debate Class' which most kids called simply 'Debate'. It was, without a doubt, the best class the Collins board of education had ever come up with. Mr. Hordan, the Debate class teacher, was rather short and distinctive. He had dark sandy brown hair, which had the tips died blonde from a class challenge that he had unwisely agreed to. It was the common opinion that Hordan was the best teacher, and that 'Debate' was the easiest and most pleasurable class. It was a class where being opinionated meant getting an A and where logic and high values often showed up. It was the only class in all of Collins Senior High that every student liked, and even Farren let her true personality shine through in Debate. The best thing about Debate though, was that Hordan actually taught them, not just put information on the computer for them to read over. Sure, they used the computer, but Hordan taught too.
"Hey, Hordan!" she said brightly to the professor and coach. He grinned at her and looked curiously at the four boys behind her.
"It seems you are liked Farren. How shocking!" He joked. "And what, may I ask, are you boys planning on doing when naïve Farren does realize you presence?" His voice was light and joking, but Farren heard a bit of suspiciousness and protectiveness in it. She however, knew just how to put him at ease. She joked right back.
"I know! They've just been following me around like lost dogs all day, I can't get rid of them, and when I asked Odem about them, he told me he couldn't see them! I mean, really!"
"Honestly, boys, why would you like Farren? I mean, look at all that hair. And she's so pale, and she's got that weird accent. It's mostly Texan, but it's got a west coast twinge, and a sophisticated East Coast way about it, and then-"
"It's mostly Texas!"
"And she's so short. And tiny-petit-ish, you know?" Hordan continued on as though he hadn't heard the interruption.
"I wouldn't be talking, Hordan. You're not so tall yourself!" Farren countered right back.
"Taller than you." Hordan said in a snooty tone.
"Taller than you." Farren mimicked right back.
"Oh, just tell him who we bloody well are, please!" Sirius's voice broke through. Farren burst into laughter, and Hordan and the other boys soon joined in. When Farren was calm enough, she explained their presence.
"These are new students from Europe. The same person adopted them, and they live here now. I'm showing them around." She glanced at Hordan and knew he had got the message she had been sending him. Hordan was, by common approval, the best teacher in the school, but he was also the friendliest and he seemed to have taken a special liking to Farren and her rocky life. For four days, she had ate lunch with him and spent her free hour in his room, talking to him about everything; her dreams and hopes, her college and career plans, her foster home, her Anya-sickness, everything, really. He was, without a doubt, the nicest teacher she had ever met. In her mind, her father's personality was rather like his.
"How nice to meet you," he said, smiling, "And what might your bloody names be?" He put on a fake British accent that wasn't very good, and exaggerated a bow to the boys. They introduced themselves and he got curiously sleepy, as did many members of the class who had not yet met the boys. Farren stared around at the class's odd behavior, flinching when her eyes landed on Spencer Smith.
Spencer was a nice looking boy, but that was the only nice thing about him. He had dark brown hair that was loosely wavy and that lay perfectly on his head. He had cold blue eyes and was tall and fit, from being the biggest jock, the most popular jerk, and the meanest womanizer you had ever laid eyes on. He was loud, crude, obnoxious, and rude. He was also the son of the mayor and his trophy wife, who managed his campaign and press dealings. But worst of all was the fact that he was Farren's new foster brother.
At that moment, Spencer was flashing his strait white teeth at a blonde in the front row, who was very popular, very pretty, but who also had very high morals. She sent him a warning look and turned to Hordan, who was at that moment asking them to open their computers.
Farren opened her computer and clicked on the Internet icon. She went to the address site (http://www.hordanisthebest.com/untouchables, click on the link http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0306/feature1/index.html) and then helped Peter with the computer, which he seemed to be having a lot of trouble with. Actually, all the boys were having trouble, but Peter was having the most. Hordan then began to read to them about the untouchables, adding bits and pieces of his own knowledge, like he always did. On Monday, Farren's first day, they had just finished up with a briefing of the Hindu caste system and religion. Ever since, they had been zooming in on the Untouchables, the lowest of the lows, and how they were treated. Normally, Hordan had explained to Farren, they spent three to five days on the discussion, and one to two on the debate of that topic, theory being that if they knew nothing about the topic, they wouldn't be very good debaters. However, they had spent a grand total of seven days on this subject now, but tomorrow, the debate would began.
"Now, look at the man in the picture. See how he is underfed, how his legs are non-existent below the knees, and how he looks like he has a lot of pride and disregard towards the photographer? He has been beaten by attackers, who are angry with him for buying a simple plot of land, and for working with animal skins. As you all know, Hindus are strict vegetarians, they don't even eat eggs, and to them, it is a crime to work with the skins of animals. They believe that because he is an untouchable, yet he is rising through the community, that he should be attacked. However, since this is technically illegal, they come up with other reasons to attack him. Who wants to read the article for me? Farren?" Farren began to read the article, pausing so that Hordan could add things in. Every once in a while, she herself would stop reading and give an opinion on the subject, which made many of the class-members groan. By the time the class was over, they had finished the article and discussed the pictures that went along with the story.
The bell rang loudly and Farren began to leave. Her laptop, three books, binder, and folders tottered riskily, but she managed to keep them balanced. She turned to the four boys, about to tell them about the next hour, but before she could she was swept away by her elbow. Farren felt herself be pulled out the door backwards in a rush of bodies, and she wondered who had her arm. She was pulled down another hallway, into the oldest and neglected part of the building, and pushed against the wall. She looked up into Spencer's eyes.
"Mother would not like that you have no friends, other than a bunch of nasty British rapists, and that you haven't even been spoken to me since you got here, which was really stupid of you, because I'm the only one who care enough about you to save you when one of those immigrants hurts you." His grip on her arm was exceptionally tight, his voice was low and mean, and his eyes showed anger and unremarkable jealousy.
"A, those immigrants are nicer than you are, A1, they have not yet shown any sign that they want to hurt me. B, your mother is not my mother, C, you father is not my father, and so, conclusion 1, I do not need to hang around people who your mother finds appropriate and not hang around with the ones she doesn't. Conclusion 2, you don't care about me at all, and so you could only be doing this because you like me and that's not much incentive for me to do what you want, is it? Conclusion 3, I will do as I please, because neither you, nor you family, really know what I'm like, personality and interest wise, and so I see no reason to honor your requests. Good day to you." She pulled harshly out of his grip and walked quickly down the hall, jogging once she was out of Spencer's sight, and running strait into Remus. The jolt was enough to stop her, and, in his surprise, Remus grabbed onto her shoulders and held them gently.
"You all right?" He questioned, shaking her slightly and staring into her eyes. She pulled out of his grasp too and leaned against a locker, which she later realized was hers.
"I was just having a friendly talk, with my lovely foster brother, who bloody doesn't want me to be with you four, because of his own bloody selfish reasons!" Farren breathed deeply, as the boys stared at her in a bit of shock.
"The angle has a devil side." Sirius commented dryly, which was just enough to get her started laughing. Then she broke into song.
"We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
we're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs!
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!" She twirled exaggeratedly and curtsied to the boys. They burst into a fresh wave of laughter. Peter stared at her uncertainly.
"It was from one of my favorite movies. Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl. Have you ever seen it?" The boys stared at her uncertainly. "Apparently you haven't. Maybe Mrs. Smith will let you come over and watch it. Maybe even tonight!" She was becoming quite excited. "Come on, let's go borrow Hordan's phone and ask. But, it has to be all right with you adoptive parents. I'm sure they have the movie on DVD; I saw it on top of the television. And then your parents could pick you up after dinner and the movie. What's wrong?" She had realized that they weren't nearly as excited as she was.
Remus hastened to explain the situation the best he could. "Didn't your brother just say that he didn't like you around us. It wouldn't go over well with him if we suddenly appeared in you house, would it." Farren thought it sounded like he was covering up for something else, but she didn't press it.
"It wouldn't go over well with him, he wouldn't like it." Farren mimicked in a rather good accent, grinning at Remus. "All the more reason to bring you over, huh? I love getting him confused and angry." Remus grinned, his prank side coming through a bit. Farren grinned up at him happily, looking up into his eyes and felt her stomach twinge slightly. He stared in her eyes as well, his expression mirroring hers.
"We'd love to come!" James's voice brought her back to the present, and she looked away from Remus embarrassedly. Sirius watched this with great interest. Farren decided it would be best to avoid his eyes for a while too.
"Maybe you ought to call you adoptive parents." She reminded him, grateful that she could look him in the eye.
"T-They won't mind." Peter piped up.
"Well, if you say so. I'll go call Mrs. Smith. She said, knocking gently on the door of Hordan's room. He answered it and ushered her and the others inside. Hordan looked very happy to see her.
"Oh no! She's back! What am I being punished for, huh? Tell me what I've done!" He went into such a realistic fit of hysterics that Farren had to cover her mouth with her hand so as not to let him see her giggles.
"Hi to you too." She said sarcastically. " I need to use you're phone.
"And look! The dog pack is still following her around! I have to deal with all five of them. ARGGGGGHHHH!"
"Hey," Sirius said, sounding slightly offended. "Dogs they are not, sir. Sir must learn that these are good, respectable knights that sir is talking to. Now, sir may proceed in calling me a dog, good sir. This lad is a dog, sir!" His renaissance act was funny, but something about the way the others laughed made Farren suspicious. A dog? Did he mean that literally? She knew Sirius liked dogs, but why would he call himself one? That almost made it sound like he was an animagus, except for the fact that the thought was impossible and ridiculous.
"You're joking, aren't you?" She asked, looking up at Sirius and momentarily becoming distracted from the phone call.
"Of course he is, why wouldn't he be, he's joking!" James said, sharing an odd look with the others. They seemed to nod in agreement. Farren shook her head.
"No reason, it was a stupid idea, impossible really." She muttered to herself. "So, Hordan, how about that phone, huh?" Hordan nodded, and handed her the phone still giving her a rather odd look. She took the phone and avoided all of their eyes, her mind racing.
She dialed her newest number, and listened to it ring. As she did, she watched the boys and Hordan fool around in the middle of the classroom. After three rings, Mrs. Smith answered.
"Hello, Smith residence, Marsha speaking," She said crisply over the phone. Farren couldn't help but snigger quietly. This was the fifth Smith family that fostered her, but they were the only ones who answered the phone quite like that!
"Hey, Mrs. Smith. This is Farren." She said once she had controlled herself.
"Farren, sweety, hi! Is everything all right?" She actually sounded interested in Farren's going bouts. Farren was surprised, because she had never seen this personal side of her. She hastened to reassure her.
"Oh, yes everything's wonderful! I met four new friends."
"Oh, sweety, that's excellent. I'm sure they're very nice people. Who are they?"
"Well, er, you don't know them. They new here, just came in today. They're from Europe. But, see the really exciting thing is, they were once foster kids too, but somebody in Collins adopted them! But, see, they're all boys." Farren wondered what Mrs. Smith's reaction to that would be.
"Oh! Well, that's a surprise. But you say they're nice. And they treat you with respect? And they're proper young men, like my Spencer? They would be, growing up in Europe, wouldn't they?"
"Oh yes, they're very nice. And, they're very mature and intelligent. Rather clever. Their personalities kind of differ, but they all fit together well. And they are proper; of course, their orphanage was in England! They like jokes though, but they're nice jokes, and the boys are wonderful to talk to-" She stopped when she realized she was rambling an that James was mouthing the word 'liar' to her.
"Oh, well they sound like wonderful young men. We'll have to have them over some time. I wonder who adopted them? Surely I would have heard about it?"
"Well, er, that's what I wanted to ask you. If it would be all right with you, I'd like it if they rode home on the bus with me, ate dinner with us, and then watched a movie."
"Oh, dear, that would be wonderful. I'll bring them home of course it would only be proper. Sure, Farren sweety, that will be fine. See you at 3:30, all right?"
"All right, Mrs. Smith. And thank you, this means a lot to me. Bye." She hung up and turned to look at them. "She said yes."