Three Days Before Their Eighteenth Birthday:
***
Fay, Meggan, and Brian were helping put up decorations in the gym, flying around as they hung up colorful streamers and balloons on the bars.
Johanna poked her head in through the wall and when she saw what they were doing, she smiled and went all the way through the wall, turning solid.
"Can I help with that?" she asked. Looking down, Meggan smiled and flew down, handing Johanna a roll of purple streamers.
"Sure! You can put these around the roof while we do the sides!" she said. Nodding, Johanna phased and started to air walk with the streamers. ***
When Kurt and Johanna were old enough, they were sent to a school so that they could learn and be like everyone else in their own right. Surprisingly, the school they were sent to was a good one, and they were able to make a few really good friends without any real bully problems.
(They had one bully though, but a little visit from Brian one day fixed that problem right away. Who said adults who were strong enough to pick up trucks couldn't solve problems through might alone?)
The first four grades went well for the two, and soon it became apparent that Johanna had acquired her mother's skill with math and computers, whereas Kurt was good in gym and creative writing.
Fifth grade however...
When Johanna came home sobbing, StarPryde knew something bad had happened at school. Hugging her daughter gently, she looked over at Kurt in a questioning manner.
"What happened?" she asked. "Was it a bully or something?" Kurt shook his head, looking through his backpack for something. When he found it, he held it out to his mother. It was a book called The Diary of Anne Frank.
"Our teacher started to teach us about the Holocaust." He said. "She said that 6.5 million people were killed by Not-Sees*..."
"Nazis, honey." StarPryde said softly, looking at her daughter sadly.
"Yeah, she told us about how they tortured them and..."
"That's enough, Kurt." StarPryde said, blinking rapidly. "I know what they did." Gently, she picked up Johanna, and she carried her away to wash her face in the bathroom. Kurt tilted his head to one side, having seen tears in his mother's eyes.
"Aunt Kitty?" he asked, turning to her. "Did we have family who died in the Holocaust?" Kitty bit her bottom lip, looking over at Fay and Brian for some help with this one. When she saw that they didn't know what to say, she sighed and turned back to Kurt.
"Yes, you did." She said softly.
"Who were they?"
"We'll tell you when you're eighteen." ***
"Calm down, honey." StarPryde said, soaking a washcloth in warm water. Gently, she wiped Johanna's face clean, smiling faintly at her. "Feel any better?"
"No..." Johanna sniffled.
"Why not?"
"What if it happens again?" Johanna asked. "What if the Nazis come back and win this time?" StarPryde looked at her daughter for a while, tilting her head to one side. Slowly, she shook her head and wiped away the fresh tears as they came down her daughter's face.
"The Nazis will never come back here, honey." She said gently. "And if they do, they will never win, because evil can never win when there are good people around to fight!" Sniffling, Johanna wiped her eyes slowly.
"Do you promise?" she asked weakly. Johanna nodded, smiling kindly at her daughter.
"I promise." She agreed.
Of course, promises were made to be broken. ***
"I'm telling you, Ty. This is going to be a huge party for me and my sister!" Kurt said. "I mean; we're going to be eighteen finally!" Kurt lay on his bed, his head propped up by hand as he talked on the phone with his best friend Ty.
"Doesn't that also mean that all those questions you've been asking are going to be finally answered too?" Ty asked, shifting his phone to his other shoulder as he typed on his computer.
"Of course. I can't wait for that part!" Kurt said, his tail twirling slightly.
"I'd be excited too." Ty laughed. "I'd probably go insane if every time I asked a question I was told that I had to wait until I was eighteen!" Kurt snorted, rolling onto his back.
"You don't think that I haven't been going insane over it? I even wrote down every single question I've ever had in my life in a pad of paper!" he said. "You're coming to the party right?" he asked suddenly, sitting up. Ty snorted, rolling his eyes.
"No, I'm not." He said. "We've been friends since first grade, but just to be a real asshole, I'm not going to your eighteenth birthday party. What do you think I'm doing? Going to a pub to get drunk while my friend is learning everything he's ever wanted to learn?" Laughing, Kurt shook his head.
"You're right, Ty. What was I thinking by asking you that?" he asked. "I guess this whole thing is just making me a little giddy."
"Giddy? Jesus, Kurt. When I come over, if I see you skipping around, I will shoot you to put you out of your misery! Birthday or not!" Kurt burst into laughter, shaking his head slowly.
"I promise not to skip around, Ty! Man, if I ever did start to skip around, I'd have to kill myself!"
"Hey man, I've gotta get off the phone. I'll be at your party so don't worry about that ok?"
"Sure. See you around, Ty!" With that, Kurt hung up the phone and sighed, sitting Indian style on his bed, his tail swaying back and forth lazily.
The thing under his bed started to glow brighter, and he only noticed a second before he fell through the portal that it made, his shout of surprise cut off as the portal closed itself again.
*Another Stephen King reference...I like his books ok? *
Fay, Meggan, and Brian were helping put up decorations in the gym, flying around as they hung up colorful streamers and balloons on the bars.
Johanna poked her head in through the wall and when she saw what they were doing, she smiled and went all the way through the wall, turning solid.
"Can I help with that?" she asked. Looking down, Meggan smiled and flew down, handing Johanna a roll of purple streamers.
"Sure! You can put these around the roof while we do the sides!" she said. Nodding, Johanna phased and started to air walk with the streamers. ***
When Kurt and Johanna were old enough, they were sent to a school so that they could learn and be like everyone else in their own right. Surprisingly, the school they were sent to was a good one, and they were able to make a few really good friends without any real bully problems.
(They had one bully though, but a little visit from Brian one day fixed that problem right away. Who said adults who were strong enough to pick up trucks couldn't solve problems through might alone?)
The first four grades went well for the two, and soon it became apparent that Johanna had acquired her mother's skill with math and computers, whereas Kurt was good in gym and creative writing.
Fifth grade however...
When Johanna came home sobbing, StarPryde knew something bad had happened at school. Hugging her daughter gently, she looked over at Kurt in a questioning manner.
"What happened?" she asked. "Was it a bully or something?" Kurt shook his head, looking through his backpack for something. When he found it, he held it out to his mother. It was a book called The Diary of Anne Frank.
"Our teacher started to teach us about the Holocaust." He said. "She said that 6.5 million people were killed by Not-Sees*..."
"Nazis, honey." StarPryde said softly, looking at her daughter sadly.
"Yeah, she told us about how they tortured them and..."
"That's enough, Kurt." StarPryde said, blinking rapidly. "I know what they did." Gently, she picked up Johanna, and she carried her away to wash her face in the bathroom. Kurt tilted his head to one side, having seen tears in his mother's eyes.
"Aunt Kitty?" he asked, turning to her. "Did we have family who died in the Holocaust?" Kitty bit her bottom lip, looking over at Fay and Brian for some help with this one. When she saw that they didn't know what to say, she sighed and turned back to Kurt.
"Yes, you did." She said softly.
"Who were they?"
"We'll tell you when you're eighteen." ***
"Calm down, honey." StarPryde said, soaking a washcloth in warm water. Gently, she wiped Johanna's face clean, smiling faintly at her. "Feel any better?"
"No..." Johanna sniffled.
"Why not?"
"What if it happens again?" Johanna asked. "What if the Nazis come back and win this time?" StarPryde looked at her daughter for a while, tilting her head to one side. Slowly, she shook her head and wiped away the fresh tears as they came down her daughter's face.
"The Nazis will never come back here, honey." She said gently. "And if they do, they will never win, because evil can never win when there are good people around to fight!" Sniffling, Johanna wiped her eyes slowly.
"Do you promise?" she asked weakly. Johanna nodded, smiling kindly at her daughter.
"I promise." She agreed.
Of course, promises were made to be broken. ***
"I'm telling you, Ty. This is going to be a huge party for me and my sister!" Kurt said. "I mean; we're going to be eighteen finally!" Kurt lay on his bed, his head propped up by hand as he talked on the phone with his best friend Ty.
"Doesn't that also mean that all those questions you've been asking are going to be finally answered too?" Ty asked, shifting his phone to his other shoulder as he typed on his computer.
"Of course. I can't wait for that part!" Kurt said, his tail twirling slightly.
"I'd be excited too." Ty laughed. "I'd probably go insane if every time I asked a question I was told that I had to wait until I was eighteen!" Kurt snorted, rolling onto his back.
"You don't think that I haven't been going insane over it? I even wrote down every single question I've ever had in my life in a pad of paper!" he said. "You're coming to the party right?" he asked suddenly, sitting up. Ty snorted, rolling his eyes.
"No, I'm not." He said. "We've been friends since first grade, but just to be a real asshole, I'm not going to your eighteenth birthday party. What do you think I'm doing? Going to a pub to get drunk while my friend is learning everything he's ever wanted to learn?" Laughing, Kurt shook his head.
"You're right, Ty. What was I thinking by asking you that?" he asked. "I guess this whole thing is just making me a little giddy."
"Giddy? Jesus, Kurt. When I come over, if I see you skipping around, I will shoot you to put you out of your misery! Birthday or not!" Kurt burst into laughter, shaking his head slowly.
"I promise not to skip around, Ty! Man, if I ever did start to skip around, I'd have to kill myself!"
"Hey man, I've gotta get off the phone. I'll be at your party so don't worry about that ok?"
"Sure. See you around, Ty!" With that, Kurt hung up the phone and sighed, sitting Indian style on his bed, his tail swaying back and forth lazily.
The thing under his bed started to glow brighter, and he only noticed a second before he fell through the portal that it made, his shout of surprise cut off as the portal closed itself again.
*Another Stephen King reference...I like his books ok? *