The French teacher was silent for awhile. " I'm sorry to hear that your mother has passed on, dear. Who did you say was taking care of you? " She glanced amusedly at Squee; the nickname was apparently not one she was familiar with.
" Squee's friend, Nny. He kills people. A lot. He killed somebody this morning, right before I left. It scared me a little, but he killed my mom, too, so I'm getting used to it. He's nice, though. I like him. He let me buy all this stuff from Hot Topic. Meet Jack and Sally! "
Mme DeFleur smiled worriedly and shook the dolls' hands. Annette smiled and pushed back a stray strand of hair.
" Well, I hope you aren't learning any...habits. "
" Well, no. He did try to give me pepper spray, though, but that didn't work out too well, so instead he gave me this. " She held up a small dagger on a key chain. (Thanks go out to Suki for letting me use this portion of a late-nite conversation we had on what Annette could be picking up from Nny. She rocks! )
Mme DeFleur's face paled. She quickly stood and turned to the class.
" Class, we have a visitor with us today. Say hello to Annette, class. "
"Bonjour, Annette!" called the class enthusiastically. Or at least as enthusiastically as a bunch of hi skoolers could be on a Monday morning.
" You may go sit down, Todd. Annette, would you like to go sit in the back with him? You could just stay in the front here and sit in the chair by the computer if you want to. What do you think?"
" I can sit at the computer if that's no trouble. "
" Go right ahead, dear. Do you want something to read? "
" No, I'm fine. I have a diary to write in. " She pulled out her journal and glanced shyly at the class. " Why are they staring at me? "
" They're not used to seeing a little girl speak fluent French. "
" Oh, okay, then. I'll just be writing, then. "
Squee looked up at Annette a few minutes later. She was completely absorbed in her writing, something that both amused and saddened the teenager. It reminded him of how he was at her age, always writing. He hoped that she wouldn't be as ridiculed as he had been.
Annette wasn't terribly frightened of the people. They were all talking very loudly in English in the halls and other classrooms besides the French one. Even some of the students in there spoke in English. But the language barrier just made it easier to think.
Sally stirred in her arms. The flurry of Annette's writing had thrown off the doll's balance, and now she was falling to the floor. A quick adjustment, and Sally rested comfortably next to Jack on the little girl's shoulders.
Dear Diary,
I'm still at Squee's skool. He is very quiet around the other students. They don't seem to like him. I wonder if they ever pick on him. I really do like this skool. Maybe I'll ask to go back tomorrow. The professor came up to me and started teaching me to say things in English. At this rate, I'll be able to talk to Nny without using an interpreter. I wonder if he'll try to learn any French. Probably not. Squee's teacher is reading over my shoulder. I'd like her to go away. I wonder if Nny's killed anyone else today. Probably. I might have to clean up the kitchen again tonight. I wonder if there's anything left to eat? I should go now. Squee says the bell is almost about to ring. Goodbye, then. I'll write more later.
-Antoinette
Annette closed the journal and looked around. A tall girl, obviously a cheerleader, approached her with a huge fake smile on her face.
"Hi, sweetie!" she cooed, her grin widening even more.
" I can't understand English. "
" Oh, I'm sorry, Annette. So you're eight years old? Todd's been talking about you. "
" Yes, I'm eight. I'm staying with Squee's friend, Nny. He's a homicidal maniac. "
" Does that mean he's gay? "
" ...No. He kills people. "
" Oh. Okay. Just making sure, cuz a gay guy isn't the best to hang out with..."
" Whatever you say, Mademoiselle. "
The bell rang, and students swarmed out the door.
" If you need anything, just talk to me, okay? I gotta go to my next class. See ya, sweetie! "
She left, and Annette stared, annoyed, after her. Squee walked up and told her it was time to go. Annette stood up, grasped his hand, and let the teenager lead her out of the room and into the halls.
The next class was, ironically, English. Annette was quickly bored when she realized that the students all spoke English, that none of the French students were in the class with Squee. The teacher tried to talk to her, but upon finding out that neither of them spoke the same language, she left the girl alone.
So Annette instead focused her thoughts on her situation and what the future might hold. It all looked pretty bleak to her, and her mind quickly wandered to other subjects. Was she going to attend skool here? How would she manage without understanding anyone? Perhaps-
A rather sinister-looking boy threw a note at Annette's head. It bounced off of her forehead, startling her out of her reverie. She glared at the note's sender and was faced by a rather small, horned teenager that had red eyes. He motioned for her to open the note, and she cautiously unfolded the paper, expecting to be faced with a lot of squiggles that meant nothing to her French mind.
Ca va, Annette? it read. Je m'appelle Pepito. Es-tu l'amie de Squee?
Annette glanced up sharply, face reddening. The boy who called himself Pepito smiled at her. It was a scary, fanged smile. Annette raised her hand and mumbled something about wanting to talk to Pepito, and the teacher, very confused, took the only word she recognized and assumed that it was Pepito she wanted to talk to. He ambled over, scarlet skin stretching farther around his mouth in that scary grin.
"Eh, ca va bien, merci," the little girl mumbled shyly. "Et toi?"
"Ca va bien aussi. Es-tu l'amie de Squee, Annette?"
"...Oui, Pepito."
" I hear you're staying with the homicidal maniac, Nny. Is that right? "
" Yes, and he's really very nice. Anti-social, but nice. He let me get all this nice stuff from a store called Hot Topic. I got Jack and Sally there, too. See? "
She held out the dolls, and Pepito nodded in approval. Annette knew she
was babbling, but she couldn't help it. This strange boy was starting to scare her a little. He listened patiently to her monologue without interrupting, but she still couldn't help but think that there was something wrong with him.
" Well, Nny certainly is an interesting character. He and my father were acquaintances for a short time, you know. He provided hell with many of its inhabitants, Nny. Very kind of him. "
" He has? Who did you say your father was? "
"Senor Diablo."
" Who's that? "
" The devil. "
" Oh. Okay. And that makes you...the... " Annette's face paled visibly.
" Yes, I am hellspawn, son of the devil, the antichrist, or any one of many other names you humans have given me. That's not a problem, is it? I hope you aren't frightened of me because of a little detail like that. "
" Um...no, Pepito, of course I'm not scared...It's just strange, is all... " She tried hard not to let her shaking show. " You know French, though? I didn't think many people here did. "
" Not many do, you're right about that. But Squee and I have known each other for a long time now, so we're taking the same classes. Besides, I know many languages already. Being the son of the devil is really pretty useful sometimes. "
Annette nodded mutely. The rest of the class was staring at the two, even Squee. The latter seemed to be more concerned with what was being said than what language was being used, exactly the opposite of the other students. The teacher just shook her head and went back to the lesson, even though, by then, no one was listening.
" So, Annette, you're a writer too? " Peptito had noticed the diary clutched in Annette's hands. " Is that a normal thing for you, or did you just start writing after you came here? "
" I've been writing for a long time, I think, but this is the first journal I've had. Nny got it for me a few weeks ago. It's pretty, see? " She held out the Emily journal, the four black cats on it seeming to watch you and Emily herself glaring out as if daring you to open the precious tome.
" Very nice, Annette. But really, you're not at all disturbed by the whole homicidal maniac thing? I mean, Nny kills people on a regular basis, and you're living in the same house as him. That doesn't scare you at all? "
" Not really. I saw him kill my mother right after I walked in the door, so not much scares me anymore. "
" Nice one, Nny. He kills a kid's mom. What did she do? "
" Said that I was his daughter and tried to make him help support me. "
" Weird. You're not really his kid, are you? "
" I don't really know. My mother said I was, but she was kind of crazy, so maybe not. "
" You sure look like Nny, though. "
" I do? "
" Well, yeah. I was a little scared when you walked in; thought for a second maybe he was back. But you're too small, so I'm not exactly sure why I thought that. At any rate, it's kind of creepy, the resemblance. "
" You should get back to your work, Pepito. I don't want to distract you. "
"Merde. Eh, pardon. Salut, Annette."
"Au revoir."
Annette breathed a sigh of relief when the antichrist finally left her alone. She was starting to get panicky, talking to anyone for so long. And he was being so nosey! A person shouldn't try to get somebody to discuss their private business. It just wasn't right. She hugged the dolls tighter to her chest and settled back to watch the students work.
Author's note: I'm getting bored again, so I've got more of that little poem I was typing out earlier:
That little bitty French girl
Has been here for eight weeks
It's kind of sad but she's
Getting used to all the shrieks
She cleans up all the blood like there's nothing happening
And that little bitty French girl has seen almost everything.
It sucks, I know, but I'm having fun. I love mutilating children's entertainment, especially stories and poems. Goddess, it's fun. Ah, Neptune's famed rain drums at the windows. Beautiful colors...needs more black, though. Anyway, Pepito was just too good to resist putting him in here. Devi should eventually show up, too, and Raven will be back soon. Just as a note, Raven in the story isn't really me, exactly. She's more of one of my other personalities. I've got fourteen of them, so I may as well use them, eh?
I'm not sure which of my alter egos she is, but rest assured that she's not going to make this a romance fic. Ugh, romance. Disgusting. It's not supposed to work that way in JtHM, you know. Nny has to remain unhappy, or at least he can't do the whole romance thing. I think he's incapable of it...
Anyway, that poem up there brings us a little ahead of schedule. Annette has only been here for a few weeks, a month, maybe. So I may or may not skip ahead. I think I'll finish up this day and maybe another one, then skip ahead. If this is getting boring, just skip the next paragraph or so.
This is the random paragraph that none of you will read because you are too bored to do so. The possum of the Grotto is a strange, mystical creature. Magical kittens live in my head. The Irkens are friends to Neptune. Sort of. You gonna make biscuits? You gonna make biscuits? You gonna make BUISCUITS??? The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. He lives under the Banyon tree. Why is the froggie staring at me, mommy? DID THE DOG SEND YOU?!?!?! Is that the magical rabbit come to save us from the wrath of the munchkins? SAVE US, OH BRAVE CRUSADER! Okay, I'm done.
Well, Annette seems to be getting along fine with everyone. I wonder how messed up her mind is. I mean, come on. One can only take so much before going insane. This could be fun...I go back to me writing now, cuz I'm a bad little Neptunian and I wasted almost a whole page with my nonsense. -Raven
" Did you have fun, Annette? "
"Oui, Squee."
Squee walked Annette up the driveway to Nny's house. All was eerily quiet, like nobody was home. But the car was still there, so unless he had gone off on foot, Nny was there. Still, though, the windows were dark.
"Nny? Are you here?" called Squee into the darkened house, fumbling for a light switch. Nothing.
Annette turned on a lamp and settled down on the couch, pulling out her journal. It really didn't bother her at all that Nny wasn't answering. He usually didn't make much noise unless he was in the basement, and even then it was sometimes silent. So while Squee hunted for the man, Annette just started writing and lost herself in the words.
"What are you shouting about?"
Nny had appeared next to Annette, blood dripping slowly to the ground. The girl didn't bother to look up and just kept writing. Nny glanced down at her journal before sitting down next to her to wait for Squee.
"Annette, I can't find-where did you come from?" Squee jumped upon noticing who was seated next to Annette.
"I was downstairs. Now what do you want?"
"I uh, just wanted to let you know that Annette's back."
"Then you've accomplished your goal. You can leave now."
Squee paused, then shrugged and turned to go.
"Salut, Annette. Salut, Nny."
"Salut, Squee," Annette mumbled, speaking for both her and Nny.
After a long time, Nny spoke.
"Are you hungry yet? It's about sunset."
Annette looked up and nodded. This was one of the first things she had learned to understand. Hunger was a basic need, after all. Nny sighed, stood, and ambled off toward the kitchen.
"Let's order pizza. I don't feel like cooking today." He didn't really expect Annette to understand him, but it had been a long time since he had really talked to anyone, so it didn't bother him.
Surprisingly, Annette spoke up. "Pepperoni."
Nny hesitated, then continued on his way. Pepperoni it was.
Annette made him refrain from killing the delivery kid. He was really pissing Nny off, too. But Annette gave him that big-eyed stare of hers, and he put the knife down. They ended up eating on the roof, watching the oblivious people go by in their little cars and strut down the streets. Annette proved to be a good companion; she never said a word and listened to Nny's monologue without complaint.
"Those humans down there, they don't care at all. They're too wrapped up in their own petty little lives to pay attention to anything else. Disgusting creatures. I hate them. They mock others out of ignorance, never stopping to consider how their victims feel. They satisfy their wretched desires, however perverted they may be. Most of them deserve to die, you know. I can see many of them walking about, living corpses destined for hell. It's only right for me to help them along, thin out their numbers for the few that are truly worthwhile. But there are so many of the disgusting ones. Sometimes, I don't know why I bother to go on. So many people out there. They're terrifying, the really ugly ones."
He trailed off. Annette nodded slowly, a look of genuine understanding gracing her delicate features. She had almost no grasp of the man's language, but hate was the same regardless of tongue. The way he spoke, the gesturing, the very aura he was giving off was enough to make his meaning clear.
"But then you get to the humans who are worthwhile. It's the sad truth that most of them will end up dead before they can really do anything for the good of the universe. The only ones that live to be old are the ones that should have had their heads smashed in with blunt objects back in hi skool. Those good people are always so weak. They can't truly do anything. And I can't even tell the good apart from the evil anymore. The voices are gone, but I'm still as broken as ever. I wonder if the crazy person knows they're insane."
More nods of understanding. Annette quietly ate her pizza, watching Nny pace the roof. He hadn't eaten much more than a few bites of food. Annette had already devoured half of the pizza and was halfway through her fifth slice.
"You don't understand a word of this, do you?"
Annette still nodded.
"Thought so. It's cold up here and very late. You should go in. Children aren't supposed to be insomniacs."
Annette just nodded.
"Go. Inside. Please?"
Annette hesitated, then got up and nodded again. "Oui, Nny."
Nny watched her scale the wall to the kitchen window and disappear. Interesting child, that one. And she had called him Nny. That was different. Usually he was Monsieur, or something weird like that. Perhaps she was getting used to him.
But there was no reason to devote precious time to thinking about such things. Nny sighed and sat down, leaning back to stare at the stars overhead. They looked brighter somehow tonight than they had in the past. Washing the world in a cold blue light. He liked the light of the stars better than the light of the sun. The sun was too bright, blinding everything and sharpening colors into visual daggers that stabbed deep into the eyes of an insomniac. The stars softened everything, blurred it into a pleasant scene that caused no discomfort.
A few moments later, there was a sound from farther down the street. Someone had screamed. Nny cocked his head, locating the source of the noise, and smiled. Music to his ears. His reverie was dissipating fast, and the familiar rush of cold adrenaline was coursing through his veins. It was time to paint the wall again.
With a grace that should only be reserved for felines, Nny dropped down to the frozen ground. He felt in his pocket for a weapon, but came up with nothing. He always had at least one dagger on him; he was getting clumsy. A swift trip to the basement was enough to nicely equip him with all the necessary tools of his trade. There ought to be enough irritants in the cafes a few blocks away to satisfy him.
Ten minutes later, a huge explosion rocked the area. Nny nonchalantly ambled back to the house, glistening with something that looked black in the starlight, but was revealed to be crimson under streetlamps. Almost all of the tools he had started with clinked softly under his coat as he walked.
It had been most satisfactory.
The seasons were slowly, inexorably turning. Annette had woken up that morning to find Nny fast asleep on the roof, a thick layer of frost blanketing him. She prodded him until he awoke, and he snapped at her to go away. He always acted like that if he slept.
Two months had gone by since that truly terrifying night when Annette's mother had died, and the chill November air was very different from the muggy September night she remembered. It never failed to fascinate her, the smooth transition of the seasons and years. The cycle was almost flawless.
"Annette? What are you still doing up here? Come in. It's cold." Nny sat down next to her on the roof. "Are you okay?"
"Beautiful."
"What? What's beautiful?" He was used to Annette's occasional utterances of English phrases, but he still hated waiting for her to explain herself.
"Sky," she mumbled. "Weather. Autumn. Cold. Beautiful."
Nny looked out at the horizon, the fiery blaze of color coming over the hills. He smiled. It was beautiful, in a strange, evanescent sort of way. He knew that in about fifteen minutes he would have to retreat inside to avoid the blast of light from the morning sky, but for now it was simply wondrous.
"Yes, Annette, it is beautiful."
" You are, too, you know, just in a strange, evanescent sort of way. Too bad you never acknowledge it. I think you could be a very good person if you tried a little. " Annette smiled at her guardian's confused expression and simply shook her head. "Tell you later. When learn English."
Nny just nodded, not bothering to voice his thoughts. The girl wouldn't ever be able to learn English enough for them to have an intelligent conversation. She was too old to learn a foreign language as well as her native one. Still, it wouldn't hurt to humor her.
"Inside now?"
"May as well. Are you going to go with Squee again today?"
The two vaulted over the edge of the roof in unison, landing in the same crouched position. Annette and Nny shared a small grin before diving through the two windows in the kitchen.
"You're getting good. You've been watching."
"Merci, Nny."
"Ca va?"
Annette hesitated, still not used to Nny's attempts at French, and answered with a simple "Bien, merci. Et toi?"
"Eh, ca va."
"You good too."
"Thank you." Nny gave a small bow. "I try. Now like I said, are you going to go with Squee to his skool today?"
"Non. Not today."
"Okay. What do you want to do today?"
"Paint."
Nny's turn to hesitate. "Good choice. You go get the paints. I'll get everything else. The kitchen or the living room?"
"Kitchen."
Nny nodded, and the two went about their tasks with a sort of excitement not usually exhibited by either of them. A few minutes later, they met in the kitchen with the supplies and cleared away everything from the ancient table to make room for art.
Annette immediately gripped a charcoal pencil in her tiny hand, sketching rapidly. It was a simplistic drawing, the shapes of two round eyes and a stitched-up gash that looked like a crooked smile quickly materializing on the paper, but she wasn't leaving it in black and white. A head, long, tangled hair, and a small, rag doll body became apparent, and she set down the pencil, favoring the gray paint.
Nny, meanwhile, had immediately started in on painting. The red eyes of...something jumped out at him from the canvas, and glistening fangs sneered evilly in a terrifying grin. The background was black, that much he knew, but the source of the light that illuminated the thing's face and arms was unknown. He paused to look at Annette's progress and was stunned to see a doll that looked eerily like the one Devi had painted, Sickness.
"Having fun, Annette?" he managed to ask at least somewhat calmly.
"Yes. Very fun."
Annette's eyes never strayed from her work. She painted even faster than she'd sketched, the black dress of the doll filled in almost as if by magic. An hour later, she sat back, the finished piece drying before her. She glanced up at Nny and smiled to see him back at work on is painting. A small clatter, and a brush fell to the floor. She picked it up and saw that Nny hadn't missed a beat.
He loves painting. Amazing that he can work like that. I wonder if all those pictures in the house are his?
"Nny, are you done?" Annette waved her hand in front of his face. "Nny?"
Suddenly, Nny sat back and breathed, then set his brushes down and looked at his creation. The partially illuminated monster glared back at him as though furious that he had managed to capture it on the canvas. He finally noticed Annette and smiled.
"What do you want to do now?" he asked, almost enthusiastic.
"Movie?"
"Fine choice. Let's go down to the independent cinema, shall we? They always show the best films."
Without bothering to clean up, the two wandered off to the movie theater a short distance away. They attracted only minimal stares from the passersby, but the few that did look were quickly dispatched with little effort in one of the many small alleyways that crisscrossed the boulevard.
Once in the theater, the two took their seats near the front and were just sitting down when a somewhat familiar voice rang out.
"Hey, lookie! It's your friend, Dev! Member? Hey, Nny!"
Nny looked up to see Tenna and Raven dragging-who else-Devi toward him and Annette. He suppressed a smile and waited fro them to sit down next to him.
"Hey, Nny. Hello, Annette. Been awhile, eh?" Raven draped herself lazily over the chair two over, smiling at the little French girl.
"Hiya, scary person!" Tenna babbled, clutching Spooky tightly. "Spooky says HI!"
"Hello, girls." Nny turned to Annette. "Do you remember Tenna and Raven from the store, Annette?"
"Yes. Tenna funny. Raven nice. Who other girl?"
"That's Devi. An old friend." Nny gave Devi a small glance. "Devi, meet Annette."
"My God." Devi's mouth hung open stupidly. "Who the hell decided you were fit to take care of a KID?"
"Eh...long story. I'm acting as the girl's guardian, as her mother died a couple months ago."
"You mean you-" Devi sighed. "How bad is she?"
"What do you mean?"
"How screwed up is she from being with you twenty-four/seven?"
"Not very. Annette, talk to Devi."
"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Devi. Ca va?"
"Oh, God, she's a FRENCH kid?"
"Oui, je suis francaise. Ca va?"
"She's asking how you are," whispered Nny.
"I know that. Bien, merci. Et toi?"
"Tres bien, merci. Nny est tres gentil et drole. Es-tu l'amie de Nny?"
"Uh, yeah, I'm his...friend. Sort of." Devi glared at Nny. "Are you okay, Annette? Nny hasn't tried to kill you or anything, has he?"
Blank stare. "Non. Why would he?"
"...Because he kills people. A lot."
Raven laughed. "Oh, right, he's a homicidal maniac, I'm sure. How could a murderer be commissioned guardian of a little girl?"
Tenna giggled. "Nny kills people a lot, but I guess he likes kids or something."
Raven's smile fell. "Are you guys kidding? Well, joke over. Come on, be serious."
" Nny killed some people on the way here. They were mean. " Annette's huge eyes looked up into Raven's, completely sincere.
"Oh. Wow. I am officially disturbed now."
"Shut up, the movie's going to start soon." Tenna turned her attention to the screen, and the others followed suit.
Annette stared intently at Devi. "You pretty eyes," she chittered. At Devi's look of surprise, she blushed and added "Green. I not see green eyes."
"Oh, uh, thanks. You, um, have pretty eyes, too."
Then the room darkened, and everyone went silent.