Okay, this chapter is a little more angsty than I thought (wait til you get to the end, and you'll see what I mean), so I raised the rating. This chapter was very easy to write for me...hopefully the next chapter will be to. Again don't own any of it, though I tearfully wish I did. Enjoy!
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"Just a little more shading, and I'll be done with this stupid homework," said Gaz to no one in particular.
It was just after seven and Gaz was hard at work on her computer class project. She had been slacking off on her homework lately, and several of her teachers brought it to her attention. Worried about failing, she vowed that she would try harder in all her classes. Seated at the computer in the living room, she completed the assignment.
"Save and done. Finally, and with enough of the evening left to enjoy." Gaz wasted no time to log in and play against some online gamers.
At that moment, she heard the front door open and slam. It's Dib, she thought. Their father hardly came home before 3 a.m., if at all. He would often just stay at his lab through the night. Then again, Dib often would stay out at all hours of the night chasing stupid leads on Bigfoot, or just hanging out with his stupid, loser friends. She was used to being left on her own…so why did it bother her?
"Gaz!!!"
"What do you want?" Gaz didn't take her eyes off the screen.
"I need the computer, so get off it!"
"I was here first, Dib."
"But the fate of the world depends on me using this computer!"
"Shut up Dib! Your voice is stupid! Besides, didn't Dad buy you a brand new computer?"
"I need this one!"
To his surprise, Gaz logged off, picked up her books, and angrily stormed off. Usually she would put up a fight, not giving in easily, and she didn't give up often. And why didn't Gaz threaten his life like she usually did? Dib shrugged those thoughts off and sat at the computer. He could have used his computer, but the one in front of him had a scanner, which he needed right then. From his math book, Dib pulled out a wrinkled, scrap of paper. He had obviously tried to smooth it out as much as possible, and just figured that he should just scan the damn thing to get a clearer copy.
"Now, let's see what Zim is trying to pull…"
On the screen, a pen sketch appeared. It looked a little hurried, but quite detailed. It was of a beach, with swaying trees. There was a sky with a full moon and many stars, and water that shimmered; it looked, well, beautiful. Had Zim really drawn this? Dib thought. This was definitely very un-Zim like. He then noticed the figure by the water. It just stood there, covered in a hooded robe.
Dib slumped in his chair.
"What is this?" The figure bore no resemblance to anyone. "Was he bored enough to draw some weird picture during lunch? What happened to planning Earth's demise? Then again, I should be relieved…"
Dib printed a copy of the sketch, putting the original copy in his tattered, black binder. As he clicked the scanning program closed, he noticed a new file icon on the desktop. Must be Gaz's, he thought. Without thinking, he clicked open the file. The picture was quite good, almost three-dimensional; probably because of the way Gaz had filled the picture with the right colors. Then, Dib's mouth dropped. It was now the contents of Gaz's homework that nabbed his attention: it was identical to Zim's sketch. From the full moon to the dark stranger standing near the water, it was the same picture. He looked at the time stamp on Gaz's file. 7:10 p.m.
"How could they both have the same drawing? There's just no way they saw each other's pictures! Zim drew this during lunch; she walked away with her eyes glued to that stupid video game."
Dib printed a copy of Gaz's computer project, and then closed the file. He looked at both pieces of artwork, dumbfounded. "So they drew the same thing. Should I be worried?" Dib looked at his watch; almost 8 p.m. He would have to worry about this later. He stuck both drawings in his binder, grabbed the remote, and sat in front of the TV. "Mysterious Mysteries" was about to start.
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She stood in front of the mirror. "No one cares," she said quietly.
Two large tears rolled down Gaz's face. Suddenly, she got very angry with herself and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
"You're an idiot," she said to her reflection. "Crying does nothing."
She sat on the counter of the bathroom sink and put her head in her hands.
Suddenly, Gaz started looking around the bathroom, not quite sure what she was searching for. Her eyes finally rested upon the family's first aid kit. She pulled it out from the bottom shelf of the wicker stand. Though it looked new, it had been used a couple of times before. Once, she remembered, when Dib had fallen of a tree spying on the neighbor. He suspected that their new next-door neighbor was a Yeti. While trying to get a closer look to snap a picture, the branch he was on snapped and down he went. It wasn't such a bad fall; all he suffered was a bump on the head, but their father had been there with the ice bag. Another time, Gaz herself had scraped her knee while skateboarding just outside of the house. Her board threw her off when it hit a lifted part in the sidewalk as she sped up. Gaz had been alone, and had to hobble back inside to get to the first aid kit. She remembered sitting on the front stoop, pouring some Betadine on her bleeding knee to flush out the germs. She wrapped it up with some gauze and a bandage, pleased that she could take care of herself, but also a little sad about no one else being around to comfort her.
Gaz snapped back to the present, and gingerly opened up the kit, and spied the scissors inside. "They still should be sharp enough," she whispered, as if afraid that someone would over hear. She sat on the bathroom floor, crossed leg with scissors in hand. The blades caught the light as she held them up. She hesitated, and then slowly rolled down her left sleeve.
"Who would care?" Gaz opened the scissors wide open and positioned the blade over her bare wrist.
"No one."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXWow...OoO So what will happen? What did you think? Again, please no flames, but constructive criticism is appreciated! Hopefully I'll post my new chapter this weekend. Later...