A/N: Hey there! Thanks for the reviews! I would've gotten this out sooner, but I've been running low on energy here. Darn ear medication makes me sleepy .Zzzzz. I hope to go a little faster 'cause I don't want to get too far behind. This story runs on an actual timeline and makes references to real-time events.
Reviewer Responses!
hope-is-4ever: Hehe, I bet you can. Thanks for showing interest. I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the slight lateness, although most of them with be this long anyway O.o (Jeez, I must be out of my mind!!!)
Fool of a Rohirrim: Yay! O I have an awesome fic! (Muahahaha, caught another sucker's attention) Hmmm, Vash, Milly, Vash, Milly... I guess you'll just have to read to find out! It should be pretty easy.
SapphireWhiteTigress: To be honest, I didn't see that coming either, but then I thought about a good friend of mine from high school. She didn't have a temper like Meryl, but she was very independent and very smart (AND she played the flute in marching band like me!). Plus, it was something I never saw anyone else do. Glad you like this story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Neko-Yuff16: WOW!!! Thanks for all the smiles!!! May all the Kuronekos you find give you good luck!!! The chapters are gonna get pretty long, so BRACE YOURSELF!!! To find out who cause the explosion, please continue...
Extra note: I changed the time in the prologue from 10:57 to 10:47. I forgot about the ten minutes between classes.
Now, go read, so I can have more to respond to! -NB-
Senior Augusta
By: Neptune Butterfly
Chapter 1: Manic Friday
Same day, 11:15a.m.
All the benches were taken thanks to the disturbance. The lab that spontaneously combusted was on the way to the cafeteria and the entrance into the courtyard, so by the time Meryl made it to the right hallway it was clogged with curious spectators. Many of them were supposed to be on the other side of campus by then. Officer Maryanne Cliff, a resident policewoman of the school, had a tough time getting students on their way. It took fifteen minutes out of her lunchtime, not to mention the ten extra minutes that came between classes.
Milly reached the cafeteria before she did, since her third period class was on the second floor where most of the speech, theatre, and math classes were. It gave her time to find Wolfwood before Meryl finally made it through the mob.
"Hey Meryl!!" The tall brunette waved madly to her across the second largest building in the school, packed as usual.
Thankfully, the junior high and grade school kids were on a separate campus. This place was a mad house with everybody excitedly talking about the so-called 'bombing' of the chemistry lab. As Meryl made her way through the maze of tables and bodies, she heard snippets of conversation about possible terrorists wanting to blow up Augusta.
None of it was true of course. They knew perfectly well who it was. "Don't they get enough of that crap from the news? It isn't funny at all!"
"What isn't?" Asked Milly. She met her friend halfway just as Meryl finished her statement.
"That the idiots in here are suggesting that the explosion was the work of terrorists!" She continued as they winded their way to the table where a scruffy looking guy sat.
"Well, that's not true. The principal would've had us evacuated if it were. The explosion wasn't even that big. It was just loud."
"You'd think he'd give it a rest now with everything that's been goin' on." Meryl set her bag down on the Milly-chosen table in front of a vacant seat. "I swear, trouble follows him wherever he goes!!"
"It sure does! Ya know, they may not be far from the truth when they say it was a terrorist that blew up the lab," said Milly in a thinking pose looking up towards the ceiling. "What do you think Mr. Wolfwood?" She lowered her view to the scruffy dark-haired guy sitting to her right.
He was laid back, arms crossed over the front of his deep blue school jacket. His same-colored tie hung loosely around his neck and a white shirt underneath had the first couple of buttons undone. Black pants, socks, and shoes completed the outfit. Milly's uniform was the same except for the blue-plaid skirt that went down to her knees.
Wolfwood chuckled. "They're right. Needle Noggin's been a terrorist since pre-school!!"
"Hey! I though I was Vash the Stampede, the Devil's Helper, the Humanoid Typhoon! Destroying all in my path! Since when have I become a terrorist?!"
They knew that voice. But that didn't mean they weren't surprised.
Meryl whipped around to face the tall gangly blonde she knew was behind her. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
Vash put a hand behind his head and laughed nervously, "Well, you know, after the first 100 times, it was kinda pointless to keep me in the office or put me in detention, so they just let me change clothes. Good thing I brought something to change into."
His friends noted his jeans and the faded red T-shirt over a white long-sleeve. He never seemed to wear anything that exposed his arms and legs, even during band practice.
"Now why does that not surprise me?" Wolfwood replied in an all-knowing voice.
The blonde sat down on the other side of the table, ignoring his friend's remark. The girls took their seats and opened their lunches.
Neither guy moved as the girl beside him began to eat. Milly raised her peanut butter and jelly sandwich to her mouth but stopped short biting it when she noticed the boys had nothing to eat. "Don't you have anything to eat Mr. Wolfwood? Mr. Vash?"
Vash shifted in his chair. "Ummm, I sorta blew my lunch up."
Meryl was drinking from a juice pouch when she stabbed herself in the gums. "OW! What did you bring? Nitro glycerin?!"
"Nooooo, the sack just happened to be on the table I was working on!!"
The short girl rolled her eyes at his carelessness and went back to her juice pouch.
Milly put on an amused smile and turned to Wolfwood. "What about you? What happened to your lunch?"
He went all dramatic. "Alas, I forgot it at home. I'd get something from the lunch line, but I'm poorer than dirt. Don't worry about me Big Girl. With God's help, I'll survive the next four and a half hours in this torture prison we call school--"
"--Here you go!" The brunette placed a green apple in one of his outstretched hands in mid-pose.
Wolfwood looked at it. "Uhhh... you sure you want me to have it?"
"Of course! My big, big sister always says you shouldn't skip meals. It's unhealthy!" She shook her finger at him.
"Really?! Thanks Angel!!" He took a huge bite out of the apple. "Mmmm, that's tasty!" Milly gave him a 'you're welcome' smile.
Vash was watching them from the other side with amusement when a bag of Doritos chips decided to block his view. "Huh?"
"Milly's right. You shouldn't skip meals."
He followed the arm to Meryl who was finishing up her sandwich acting like it wasn't a big deal. Vash accepted it gratefully. "Thanks. You didn't have to."
She could tell he was sincere still but refused eye contact. It was a bit more serious than his normal tone.
Meryl lowered her arm, and he took a closer look at the bag. "OH WOW! THEY HAVE EXTRA CHEESE!" Amazing how he can go from a semi-gentleman to a psychotic chip lover in half a second. "Man, if I had a salmon sandwich along with a Pepsi and a couple of donuts, I would be in heaven!!!"
Wolfwood thought that he was being an idiot. "Jeez, Needle Noggin, they're only chips! Don't make a scene!" Some of the other students were curiously looking at them.
Vash ignored him again and chowed down on the bag. The short girl made a face at the mess he was making. If only he could keep himself under control for longer periods of time. He wasn't half bad as a person. In fact, his ideas of how people should treat each other along with his general goofiness gave him an attractive personality. His biggest flaw was chasing girls, many of whom aren't interest in his personality one bit.
At least he was nowhere near as bad as Michael Valle. He'd been tailing Meryl since their freshman year and became even more persistent when he found out that she made the varsity cheerleading squad. Meryl never enjoyed band camp, not just because of the heat, but because of Michael and his stupid saxophone. She'd whack him with her marching flute, but his perverted head wasn't worth the expense of replacing it, even if it was a crappy instrument.
A girl with her brown hair up in a ponytail, purple eyes, and wearing the same outfit as Meryl came up to their table. "Hey Meryl!"
"Oh, hey Stefany. What's up?" The short girl gathered up her trash and put it in her sack. She also grabbed the Doritos bag from Vash, who was licking the crumbs.
He noticed Stefany after having the remains of his lunch confiscated. "HEY!! How's it goin' beautiful?!" The blonde flashed a winning smile at her.
Meryl groaned. "Give it up Vash. She's already got a boyfriend."
"WHAT?!" He quickly leaned over the empty table space in front of Meryl to clasp his hands over Stephany's looking up at her. "No way!! What happened between us!! I thought we had something!!" Wolfwood and Milly just stared.
The cheerleader yanked her hands away after a stunned second and put them on her hips. "Uh, first of all, there never has been anything between US! Second of all, I wasn't even talking to you in the first place!"
"So what is it you want?" Meryl asked as she yanked the sulking Vash back into his chair.
"We're about to start the cheer in a minute. We'll be doing it on that table over there." Stefany pointed at a table in the middle of the cafeteria.
Oh yeah, she forgot. It was a tradition to it every Friday during football season. "Alright. I'll be there in just a sec."
"Okay. I'll tell the others." Stefany took off in the direction of the chosen cheer table.
Meryl got up to throw her trash away. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys in theatre cla-VASH!!! DAMMIT!!! WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT!!!
The blonde was attempting a death grip on her to keep her from leaving. It earned him a nasty bump on his head and under his chin from being smashed against the table. "OWIE! You gonna abandon me too?" Vash whimpered.
Meryl just rolled her eyes and went to look for a trash can.
"Damn Vash, do you always have to drive her up the wall? I don't know about you but I don't enjoy watching her turn into a screaming banshee!" Wolfwood watched his friend rub his head wincing in pain, then added with an evil smile, "But then watching you get beaten up is quite entertaining!"
Vash gave him a hurt look.
"You really should quite pushing Meryl's bottles so much Mr. Vash."
"Uuuuuh, don't you mean buttons?" Corrected Wolfwood. He really liked Milly, but sometimes she was hard to make sense of.
"Of course I did!" Replied Milly.
All he could do was shake his head. 'It's no use.'
"Hey look! They're starting!" Milly pointed to a group of cheerleaders standing above the crowd.
The entire cafeteria quieted down and focused their attention on them. Some of the boys whistled and whooped. Meryl did her best to ignore the catcalls. Some of the other girls may like it, but she always thought it was a little embarrassing.
"Ready?" Stefany asked the girls. They nodded and formed a circle facing outward. In unison they began:
Cheerleaders: "ARE WE GONNA LET THEM AVENGERS WIN THE FIGHT?!!!"
Students: "HEEEEEEEEELL NO!!!"
Cheerleaders: "THEN LET THEM HEAR YA SPELL IT RIGHT!!!"
Everybody: "A--R--C-H-A!!!" All stomp, clap, or bang tables (BANG!--BANG!--BANG!-BANG!-BANG!)
"N--G--E-L-S!!!" (BANG!-BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!--BANG!-BANG!)
A R C A!!! (BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!)
N G L S!!! (BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!)
ARCHANGELS!!!
The room roared and utensils clattered on vibrating tables. All the cheerleaders jumped off just as the bell rang signaling the end of first lunch.
-----
Vash and Wolfwood said their goodbyes to Milly as they fought their way to the hall that would lead them to their English class on the fourth floor.
As they walked along the corridor, a tall light blonde with icy blue eyes came strutting their way as if he owned the world. His companion was almost as tall with lanky dark-bluish hair stylishly cut to hang over one of his yellowish green eyes giving him a sinister look. He fell a little behind the blonde as if he felt unworthy to walk alongside. Their school uniforms were neat and orderly like their owners. Both held their bags in a business-like fashion.
Wolfwood wanted to ignore them, but Vash put on a grin and waved. "Hey Knives!"
Knives had his hand on the door handle ready to exit to the courtyard when he heard his name. He turned his head toward his brother with no distinct expression on his face. After a second of acknowledging his twin's presence, he spoke to his companion who was also looking at Vash. "Let's go." And they were out the door.
Vash's arm fell to his side, his grin gone replaced with a sad longing look. Wolfwood was about to give the finger to the 'odd couple' when his friend grabbed it and yanked him towards the stairs. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"
"Ouch! Hey, stop that!" Wolfwood pulled his finger out of Vash's grasp. "I just don't understand you. Why do you let them brush you off like that?! All you're doing is feeding his already enormous ego."
He watched the blonde for a response but none came. Vash just kept walking quietly focused on the entrance to the stairwell.
"Are you even listening to me?!" The irritated Wolfwood took hold of his arm before he went up the near-empty stairs. "Vash?!"
He stared at the steps to the next floor. A long pause. "Wolfwood?"
"What?"
"Do you remember what chapter we were supposed to read?" Vash turned his head to his friend with a nervous smile on his face. "I somehow lost my reading list."
He changed the subject. Wolfwood hated it when he did that and growled in irritation knocking him up the side of the head.
"GYAH!"
"YOU IDIOT! Come on, let's go!" With that he dashed up the stairs.
"You didn't have to hit me!" Vash whined. He knew Wolfwood didn't like it, but he didn't feel like talking about Knives right now. It has always been a sensitive subject.
----- 3:05p.m.
Seventh period.
At last, the school day was almost over, and everyone was anxious to go home for the weekend. Vash walked into his theatre class and saw that Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly were already at their seats near the windows. All the desks were arranged in groups of six, since all the students were put in groups of that many. The blonde crossed the classroom over to his group, which, of course, included the girls and his best friend.
Meryl practiced fingering notes on her pencil while Milly was reading the fifth Harry Potter book. Wolfwood was laid back with his feet on Vash's seat.
"Exactly how many times are you gonna read those books?" Wolfwood asked the brunette. "Once or twice would have been enough." But Milly was so into it she didn't hear his question
Meryl looked up from here music. "Why do you care? You read all of the Lord of the Rings books AND The Hobbit at LEAST ten times!"
"Yeah, but--"
"--Hey Wolfwood, would you mind removing your feet?"
He looked over to the spiky blonde and smirked. "Only if you do me a favor."
Vash narrowed his eyes at him. "Like what?"
"Deck that jerk Legato for me after school. He tried to pull a nasty trick on us while we were leaving French class." Wolfwood was referring to him and Milly. Legato and Knives had French in the same room after them.
"Wolfwood, you know that I would never do that."
"Then at least deck Knives! I bet he was in on it!"
Vash crossed his arms and sighed. "Sorry, no can do."
His best friend glared at him for a moment then said, "Okay, then no seat."
"HEY!! You can't do that!!"
"Ooooh yes I can Needle Noggin!!"
"Would you stop calling me that?!!!"
"Why? It suits you perfectly!!"
Meryl had enough of this. She whipped up her bag from the side of her desk and held it over her head threateningly. "YOU TWO CUT IT OUT!!!"
The boys stopped their bickering. Milly looked up from her book, and everyone else in the room was now staring at them.
"Wolfwood, give Vash his seat, or I SWEAR I'll KNOCK YOUR BLOCK OFF!!!
Wolfwood's eyes went wide and did as he was told.
"Now Vash, sit your BUTT down before I FLATTEN your SPIKY HEAD!!!"
With a nervous smile, Vash plopped down in his desk.
A long dark-haired girl came jogging through the door and up to their group of desks right before the bell rang. None of them had noticed that she was running later than usual during their fight.
"Oh hey Dominique!" Milly greeted her. She noticed a patch over the girl's eye and gasped. "What happened to your eye?!"
Meryl noticed the blood seeping through the patch. "Oh my god! How on earth did you do that?!"
Dominique panted from having to running up the stairs and took her time getting herself situated while the whole group kept their eyes on her. "I'm ok. I-it was just a-an accident. I j-just came from t-the nurse's of-fice. That's why I-I was late."
That didn't satisfy the shorthaired girl. "But how did it happen? You must have spent a least a couple of class periods there with an injury like that!"
"I mean it. I'm fine. I haven't lost my eye or anything!" Dominique waved her off and smiled. "I accidentally stabbed myself with a pencil."
Wolfwood leaned over his desk to her face to get a better look. "Must have been a pretty sharp pencil!"
"Y-yeah, it was." Her tone made her sound like she didn't agree with it.
There was no more time for questions as the teacher walked in and closed the door. She immediately picked up the attendance list on her desk wasting no time calling out names.
"James Green," she called out. No answer.
Wolfwood raised his hand. "Uh, Mrs. Severem? He got a schedule change."
"Oh, ok. I guess that means we'll have an uneven number in here. Don't forget, you can call me Rem, ok?" She smiled as she got a nod from him and moved her black hair behind her shoulder before marking out the missing student.
As she continued the roll call, Vash whispered to his buddy, "Why did James change classes?"
Wolfwood looked at him as if he just asked how to spell his own name. "Why are you asking? He's nutty! Always wanting us to call him 'Chapel.'"
Meryl jumped in. "I heard he got into Theatre III."
Wolfwood blinked. "Huh? How?"
Milly decided to jump in as well. "He already took Theatre I and II."
"Yeah, he does everything Legato and Knives do," Said Dominique.
"Oh yeah. By the way Doni, could you give your brother a piece of my mind for what he did to Milly and I?"
"Mr. Wolfwood! You shouldn't ask her to do that!" It was sweet how he always defended her, but sometimes her overdid it.
"Believe me, I would if I could Nicholas, but somehow Legato always manages to turn it back onto me. It's not worth it."
"I agree with Doni," said Meryl. "You should just drop it." Wolfwood humphed and laid back in his seat again even further disgruntled. Then she added, "You can't just go around knocking people out because they decide to act stupid."
"Look who's talking."
The short girl's eyes flamed at him. "You know, you're not so smart yourself!"
"Vash Severem."
He raised up his hand. "Here!"
The group went quiet so they could hear their names.
"Dominique Sotero."
"Here."
Next came Meryl, then Milly. As Michael Valle's name was called out, Meryl looked over in his direction at the back of the room, and he flashed a smile just for her. She gave him a disgusted look.
After Wolfwood's name was called, Rem went to the black chalkboard to write today's assignment.
"You should use all that energy you use to threaten us on that hornfreak over there." Nick couldn't resist teasing Meryl a bit more.
"Watch it, or I'll start carrying out my threats." With that said, Meryl turned in her desk to focus on the board and away from him.
"And you get onto me about pushing her buttons," Commented Vash.
"Zip it Vash."
Rem put the chalk down and faced her class. "If you read ahead on your syllabus, you'll notice that the presidential debate group assignments are due in two and a half weeks from now, on the 28th."
Meryl muttered under her breath, "Dammit."
"I understand that some of you in Speech this semester are doing a similar assignment. Raise your hand if you are."
Meryl, Milly, and Dominique did so along with a few others in class.
"Good. That puts you at a slight advantage. You'll be able to use your argument to help. The difference here is you'll be able to act out instead of standing behind podiums restrained."
Murmurs of interest filled the room.
"Now, with that said, I'm asking you to be reasonable and not break out into a scene of senseless violence."
An 'AW MAN!' came from the back and others giggled.
"You have to have a reason for your actions, and the debate has to work into it. There's no need to get specific, and you can stretch the truth a bit. Think of a courtroom setting, Law and Order and such."
That perked Nick's interest. "This oughta be fun."
"Well, at least that'll cut my work in half." Meryl sighed in relief. Her plate was full enough as it is that week.
"And don't forget to go see The Crucible. It starts on the 30th at 7:00pm, and the last showing is on Oct 3 at 3:00pm. It only costs five dollars. Your paragraphs will be due the following Friday. DON'T forget to attach a program to it, or I won't grade it."
The shorthaired girl groaned. She forgot about that.
Milly put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry Meryl. I'll help ya out!"
"I have extra cheerleading practices that week, and a competition that weekend. I don't know if you can."
"Aren't Lina and Jessica in that play?" Vash asked Wolfwood.
"Yeah, and so is Alicia, Elizabeth, Layla, Ryan, Donovan, Randy, And Sean."
"Don't forget Knives," Dominique said.
"Oh...great." The last thing Nick wanted to do on a Friday night was watch that arrogant S. O. B. perform.
Rem called a student up for a demonstration of what NOT to do when speaking a dialogue in a play. All talk ceased as the first victim of the period stepped up.
----- 4:03p.m.
School ended on a high note as Vash and Wolfwood caused a laughing riot with a scene that as SUPPOSED to be from Romeo and Juliet. They were allowed to improvise the words in a duel between Romeo and Juliet's cousin, but they couldn't stop with the funny insults. Even Rem held a hand to her mouth attempting to keep her composure.
Vash talked to his aunt and teacher about dinner plans while Nick and the girls waited outside the classroom.
Meryl looked at the clock down the hall and decided it was a good time to go to her locker. "I'll be right back you guys." She walked off to the long wall of lockers located around the corner not far from the Theatre room.
After taking her flute case out of her bag and switching out books she needed for the weekend, Meryl lifted her load onto her shoulder and shut her locker door.
A face revealed itself where the door had been. Michael's face.
He leaned on his right arm propped up against the lockers, his uniform jacket undone, hair gelled up in its usual style. His dark eyes gave her a quick look over before he spoke. "Meryl, how's it goin'."
The shorthaired cheerleader wasn't impressed, more like annoyed, and she let Michael know it. "What do you want hornfreak?!"
He put his left hand on the other side of Meryl causing her to back into the wall of lockers as he hovered over her. "I told you before to call me Midvalley."
"I don't know. I'm kinda attached to hornfreak. It describes you perfectly. If you will excuse me, I have somewhere to go." Meryl made an attempt to duck out under his arm. Michael moved over and blocked her escape.
"Why the rush? You're always so busy. We never get a chance to talk." He kept blocking her each time she made another attempt to get away.
"Has it ever occurred to you that I might not WANT to talk to you?!"
Meryl might have a temper and threatened Vash and Wolfwood constantly, but she knew the limits of her own strength. They only reason why she got away with smacking or hitting them was because the boys let her.
She could try to punch or kick him where the sun don't shine. Michael was about as tall as Nick, so she would have easy access.
But she changed her mind. He might be anticipating it.
Michael smirked as if he could read her mind. "You like it, huh?"
Eww. That was even worse. He got the wrong idea when she looked down. Or he might be just messing with her head.
"Tch, don't flatter yourself." Meryl tried to find another way out of his arms.
Again he blocked. She closed her eyes in irritation ready to punch him with all her strength, not caring whether it would make much difference.
Michael moved closer. "I was wondering if you would like to go on a dri--"
"--How's it going Michael?"
Meryl opened her eyes.
It was Vash, arms crossed with his shoulder against the lockers staring straight at her captor. The smile he wore didn't look right. It made him look more pissed off than happy.
Michael let up on his hovering allowing an arm to drop freeing Meryl. She walked over to the blonde's side while both guys allowed the tension between them to grow.
"Vash... That was an impressive explosion this morning."
"Thanks..."
Obviously he wasn't up for small talk. "I was just asking Meryl if she would like to go out on a drive with me, since there's no game to worry about tonight."
Vash never took his eyes off of Michael as he straightened himself up. The sax player remained cool and confident. He knew Meryl wouldn't go. It was going to take time, but he believed that eventually she'll change her mind.
"Sorry Mr. Hornfreak, but I'm not interested." The shorthaired girl's smile was even more menacing than Vash's.
Michael shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and moved over to walk past them. "Well, if you change your mind, you know my number." He winked at Meryl.
"It's 666 right?"
Even with his back to them, they could hear him softly laughing before he turned the corner.
"Up for a drive?"
Vash was back to his goofy self again. No trace of seriousness remained. It amazed Meryl every time he did that.
"What about Milly?" She asked.
"She decided to go with Wolfwood to the orphanage. He's trying to get a job there now."
"Do they actually let orphans work there before they turn 18?" Nick always wanted to become a priest or a missionary. Nearly half of the staff working at the Augusta schools and the church were orphans.
Vash repositioned his bag on his shoulder and lead the way to the stairwell. "He will be 18 in January. I bet they have to do some training, so it probably doesn't hurt to get an early start."
-----
They stopped by Vash's locker on the first floor before heading out to the parking lot. As they past by the elementary school playground, a few of the kids waved and ran over to the fence. Many of them were yelling Vash's name and begging him to come play with them.
Officer Maryanne and a high school girl with dark shoulder length hair were on playground duty along with three teachers. They watched in amusement as the children continuously pleaded with Vash even though he already said no.
"You promised!" Said one little boy with a water squirter in his hand.
"No I didn't Tonis. Besides, I can't come play with you guys everyday."
"When are you gonna show us your instrument then?" A small girl with a freaky-looking stuffed puppy hanging out of her backpack pointed to the clarinet case he carried. The rest of the children said 'Yeah!' almost in unison.
"You'll just have to wait until next week I guess, 'kay Sandy?" Vash smiled at them as he was bombarded with a bunch of 'Awwwws.'
Meryl shook her head trying not to laugh. He was very popular with the elementary kids, and they soaked up all the rumors and stories about the Humanoid Typhoon's 'adventures.' They were mostly about him destroying something by accident or attempting to break up fights in the halls, but to these children, he was something of a superhero. If you told them that he was related to Spiderman, Batman, or Superman they would believe it.
"OH MISS MARYANNE!!!" The blonde waved frantically at the policewoman like some lovesick idiot. "When will you go out with me?!!"
All the kids within hearing distance giggled. The cheerleader beside him smacked her head.
Maryanne felt a few of her own blonde hairs pop out of her bun in embarrassment. With a crooked smile, she lifted a hand to her mouth to respond. "Maybe when you turn eighteen!!"
"AWWW MAN!!! That's next summer!!!" Vash whined. He clung to the fence looking dejected and mumbled to himself, "So not fair!"
The officer grabbed the girl beside her by the shoulders and shoved her in front. "You can go out with Layla! I'm sure she'd be more than happy to! Right?"
Layla's purplish-blue eyes connected with Vash's hopeful blue-green ones as he remained attached to the metal fence. "Uhhh, yeah, I would be, but I'm already going out with Sean. Sorry!" She finished quickly and waved her hands in defense.
Vash dropped to his knees in mock drama and let his arms fall to his side. "Damn. Shot down three times in one day."
"Well, I guess that means your out then." Meryl grabbed his right ear with one hand and his clarinet case in the other. "C'mon! You still have to take me home!" She yanked him off the ground towards the parking lot.
----- 4:26p.m.
Wolfwood stood quietly in front of Mother Brown's well-worn desk with Milly by his side. The sunlight shining through the ancient-looking windows streaked across the bare floor. Only the necessities filled the office, like every other room in the building. If it weren't for the friendly people who worked there, it would have been a cold and depressing place.
The nun went through his personal and academic records carefully before addressing him. "Nicholas, exactly what kind of job are you thinking about getting here?"
Nick stared at the young Mother's face thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm thinking maybe something in the orphanage. I also plan to become a certified priest."
Mother Brown's dark eyes shown as she smiled at him. In the few years she known this boy, she has seen his amazing ability to reach out to other children who just recently became orphaned or were outsiders with no friends.
But she sensed a darker side, a hidden rage against the world. Of course, Nick was quick to defend the helpless and himself, but perhaps it was his way of channeling that anger. Choosing to become a priest could help him stay on course and out of trouble. He would be able to continue using that energy to help instead of hurt.
"Well, you certainly are good with kids. Do you plan on becoming a Catholic priest?"
"Most likely. I was raised Catholic."
"Only because you were raised here. We do allow those of other faiths to work here." The nun gathered up Wolfwood's records and stuffed them into a folder. "Well, whatever faith you follow, you're welcome to work here."
Nick's mouth spread into a wide grin. "Thanks Mia!"
"And you need to start calling me Mother Brown if you plan on working here." She gave him a stern look while getting up out of her chair.
"Oh, uh, sorry about that Mi-Mo-...man, this is gonna be hard..." Wolfwood rubbed his neck.
Mia giggled and set the folder in a file drawer behind the desk.
"Um, Miss Brown?"
"Yes Milly?"
"Can I get a job here too?"
The nun turned around a little surprised. Milly already had her hands full with her countless cousins, nieces, and nephews. Even when she goes to college next fall, she'll still be helping out with them.
"You sure? I know that your family relies on you."
"I'm sure Mom would be okay with it. One less pair of hands won't make that much of a difference." The brunette's ever-present smile grew. Wolfwood wondered what on earth she was up to.
"Okay then. I'll have to take a look at your records as well. I can't hire either of you until you graduate high school. Both of you will also need to take First Aid and CPR classes within the next year."
-----
Both of them left the nun's office after receiving possible dates to take classes at the local hospital. They found their way downstairs to the back of the convent. There was a large abandoned lot of broken concrete with patches of grass and fences covering the backyards of old houses on the other side lining an alleyway.
Wolfwood laid back against the wall of the building and undid his school jacket while Milly sat down on the worn curb of the lot. Nick pulled out a hidden cigarette and lighter.
"Smoking's bad for you, you know."
He barely hesitated when she spoke and lit up anyway. "Yeah, well it's hard to stop once you start. And what were you trying to do in there? You rarely have time to yourself as it is. Even though you have like, what, ten older brothers and sisters, all married, they've got their work cut out for them!"
Milly bunched up her skirt underneath her legs and rested her chin on her knees. "I guess that just means some of my nieces and nephews will have to take on more responsibility."
"So, you're giving up taking care of them to take care of other people's kids."
"And kids who don't have anyone. Just like you. And I get paid for it too. We could use more money, so in a way, I'm helping my family and the orphanage."
Nick took a long drag and made an attempt at blowing smoke rings. They watched the half formed circles rise up into the cloudless sky for a minute. "You're always trying to find ways to help as many people as you can, just like Needle Noggin."
"You help a lot of people too."
"Not as many as you." The cigarette dropped onto the concrete, and he stamped it out with a sigh. "Do you want me to walk ya home?"
Milly jumped up. "You have to stay for dinner if you do!"
"Uh, I don't really feel like it. Can I pass this time?" Wolfwood searched his pockets for his shades.
"I don't think so! Mom won't take no for answer!" She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and grabbed her mellowphone case. "C'mon!" Milly linked her free arm with Nick's just as he put his sunglasses on. "If we get there early enough, we can help with dinner!" She ran across the lot dragging him along.
----- 4:45p.m.
"WOW!! Do it again!!"
Little Becky clapped her hands and jumped up and down when Neil finished showing his latest trick on his skateboard for the up-teenth time.
"Okay, one more time, then I have to go home."
Both kids were playing on the front yard and driveway while Becky's aunt Laura watched them from the side yard watering her garden. The woman's long black hair was swept up in a simple do covered with a sun hat even though many large trees of different kinds shaded much of the street and lawn. She had been out all afternoon taking care of the plants that grew around their old, white two-story house and large front porch. Her two married nephews, Will with his five-year-old and one-year-old daughters and Leo with his nine-month-old son, and her niece Meryl lived with her and her husband Daren. The house was big enough for all of them, but sometimes it felt crowded when they got together for meals.
Becky's toys littered the place, left in mid-play. Being the oldest of the three young children, she was a bit spoiled, and the more recent arrivals of Jasmine and Cameron hadn't shaken her view of being the princess of the family. In fact, she thought she came up with the idea of bringing them to the house.
She was having her fifth birthday party/sleepover with a couple of playmates from across the street later when the rest of the family came home.
Neil backed himself up on the sidewalk scribbled over with colorful chalk in preparation of his trick. Becky went in front of the huge tree trunk in the middle of the yard. Her dark brown curls, which matched her eyes, bounced on her shoulders as she plopped down, and she straightened her pink princess outfit. The boy shifted his hat while he put his skateboard in position.
A distant roar came from the end of the street, and the children looked in the direction of the sound.
Neil saw a red truck screech around the corner and gain speed as it came closer. Thinking it was going to jump the curb, he ran into the yard and grabbed Becky who got up for a better view.
Vash slammed the brakes in time before the truck left the street. Everything in the back continued to move until it hit something in its way. Poor Meryl's body attempted to keep moving as well but was restrained by her seatbelt. She yelped as it threw her back against her seat.
The blonde sat stiff in his seat and had a death-grip on the steering wheel while they took a moment to breath. Then he shifted into park, put on the emergency break, and took the keys out of the ignition.
"You okay?" Asked Vash, still breathing hard while trying to manage a grin.
"What the hell just happened?"
"Uh-huh-hehe, umm, the brake for some reason wouldn't work on that last turn, a-and somehow the accelerator got stuck for just a sec." He laughed nervously as the shorthaired girl glared.
All of her things flew out of her bag when she opened it to look for something and now littered the floor of her side of the truck.
"AND JUST HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU MANAGE THAT!!! IT DIDN'T ACCELERATE UNTIL YOU HIT THE BREAK!!!" Meryl threw off the seatbelt and grabbed the now scared driver by the collar. "YOU COULD'VE KILLED US!!!"
A knock on the driver-side window interrupted her screaming rampage.
"Um, you two okay?" Asked Neil, then he observed the scene inside. "Do you need a moment alone?"
Vash noticed a slight blush on Meryl's face before she let go of him and proceeded to clean up the mess on the floorboard. He freed himself from his seat and leapt out to walk around and help his passenger gather her things.
Becky ran up to him. "Can you do THAT again?!!" She giggled and took hold of his left arm to swing it.
Meryl rolled her eyes when she heard her niece squeal out her question. The most dangerous things always seemed to amuse her. The little girl laughed so hard she peed on herself when she saw her fall down the stairs once like some cartoon character. She ended up with a concussion and couldn't stand without getting a headache or really dizzy for the next couple of days.
"Sorry Bee, but I could only do that once."
"PLEEEEEEEEEASE!!!" Becky brought out her best puppy dog eyes.
"You heard him! He can't do that again!" Said Meryl in irritation. She had her door open, but half of her stuff hadn't been pick up yet. Vash ran over to help and Becky followed.
Laura had been startled when the truck suddenly stopped in front of her house, but she took her time putting her gardening tools and water hose away when she saw that no harm had been done. She now walked across the front yard to greet her niece.
"Vash! I'm fine! I don't need you're help!"
He grabbed her flute case and the rest of her books before Meryl could stop him. "Too bad! I'm helping anyway."
"Yeah, too bad!"
Meryl glared at the five-year-old who stuck her tongue out in return. "Want me to rip that out for ya?!" The little girl gasped, and the teenager smiled. "I can feed it to Mr. Filch's cat, so you can never get it back."
"AUNTY LAURA!!!" Becky ran off to find her great aunt.
"That wasn't very nice." Vash dumped the books into Meryl's bag. "It's her birthday."
"So!" She positioned her bag on her shoulder and snatched her flute case from him. "She thinks it's funny whenever I get hurt!" Meryl marched off around the front of the truck to the yard where her aunt was standing holding Becky in her arms.
The blonde sighed and shut the door to join them.
"Hey Vash?" Neil came up to him. "Do you have any time this weekend to help me build a ramp?"
"Maybe Sunday. We have a game tomorrow. Just come by, and I'll see what I can do."
"'Kay. Thanks man." The boy turned his attention to Laura. "Hey, Mrs. Cooper! I'm going home now!"
"Alright. Be careful now!"
"I will!" Neil got onto his skateboard and took off down the street.
Vash decided it was about time he headed home as well. "I guess I better get going too!"
Becky didn't like the idea and began to fuss. "NOOOO!!! What about my sleepover party?!!"
"I thought it was for girls only?"
"Cameron will be here, and he's a boy!"
Her aunt laughed. "Sweetie, he's a baby. He doesn't count."
"But Vash can still come, can he?!"
Meryl mouth a big 'NO' to the little girl, and she began to sulk. Her younger aunt immediately turned around and headed for the house.
Laura put the pouting Becky down and held her hand. "Take care now Vash! Don't drive too fast!"
"There's no need. I only live a few houses down. Happy Birthday Bee! I'll bring ya a surprise tomorrow 'kay?!"
She only nodded while she rubbed her eye with her small fist. Vash hopped back into is truck and took extra care driving off.
A/N: pant, pant Alright then, Kuroneko-sama says you MUST put another quarter in for another chapter. BEEEEEEEEEEP!!!