Lucky Me
Chapter 084
Jack was mad at me. My parents were mad at me. I was mad at me. I was also slightly mad at Alexis.
At first I tried telling Jean and Scott it was all her idea and, thus, her fault. They zinged me with the whole 'responsible adult' line and how I needed take responsibility of the consequences for making the mistake. So their punishment? No driver's license for me because I didn't act like an adult. The punishment got harsher when I pointed out that adults got drunk all the time.
For a month I would have no contact with the outside world. No going to town, shopping (oh punishment), and limited internet and television intake. Oh, and I lost my cell and landline phone completely. That was one way to teach kids to obey, take away all their stimulating activities so they have hours upon hours to plot revenge. Smart move, big two thumbs up.
The only good thing was that it got them (temporarily) off of the George ordeal. I doubted they forgot, but the buzz was that some of the household were able to hack into the Acola police files. From what was written in the files it became absolutely clear that the police hadn't a clue about who had done it, though they had an idea as to why.
Apparently Mr. Wilder owed a large sum of money to the wrong people or something. I figured it was another cover up. I just didn't understand who covered it up.
I was sitting outside the high school, waiting for Jean to pick me up. Part of my punishment was to hardly have any human or mutant contact with anyone more than absolutely necessary for a month. That meant that until mid-November I wouldn't be allowed to interact with people freely.
"Hey, girl."
Alexis. I was well acquainted with her voice.
Remember, I was still upset with Alexis.
"What do you want from me now?"
"I guess you're mad." No, I normally gave people the cold shoulder on any given Thursday. "I can understand that."
"Then leave me alone," I warned. I was being a jerk but she wasn't the one who had to listen to Scott rant and rave about getting intoxicated.
She marched in front of me and waited for me to look up at her.
"I said I was sorry ten million times already!" Alexis folded her arms across her chest. "It's not like anything bad happened."
Flinching, I could hear his words echoing in my head when I tried that line.
"I'm not supposed to talk to you." I sighed out.
Her eyes were neon signs of pain and then understanding.
"Yeah, I'm not supposed to talk to you either." She plopped down beside me. "But is it cool? Are we cool?"
Faintly, I smiled. "It's cool. Although you do owe me for cleaning up your puke."
We sat in silence, her tensing up every time she saw a dark vehicle come down the road. After the third time, I finally asked what it was all about. Alexis laughed nervously.
"You see I didn't exactly come clean as I should have." When I questioned her, she got up and started to fiddle with her backpack strap. "They think I got drunk at your house. That you were the one to instigate it."
The knife plunged so deep in my back I thought it was going to magically appear poking out of my chest.
"What?"
"I didn't tell them that. They assumed, I just never corrected them." When she started to laugh lightly, nervously that's when I went straight to being ticked.
"What kind of friend are you?" I jumped to my feet, one hand balled into a fist about chest level. "To not tell the truth!"
"Hey! I would've gotten into more trouble had they known!" She went from cheery to following my hotheaded example. "It's not like it matters!"
"Yes, it does!" I braced myself for the fight of my friendship's lifetime. "Your parents probably think I'm some drunken jerk! When it was your idea!"
"You went along with it!"
"You suggested it!" I battled back through clenched teeth. "It's not my fault you have to cave into peer pressure. Thanks to you I am not allowed to get my license for another month!"
"Like your Miss Perfect! So I didn't tell my parents I went to a party and had a little too much, so what?" Alexis had her teeth bared like a feral animal.
"I'm probably the last person who should be saying this, but you should learn to take responsibility for your actions. I know when I had too much to drink it was my choice. I told my parents the truth and they forced fed me to accept it was my fault for what happened!" I was close to tears, and if I didn't stop I'd end up with waterfalls.
"So I didn't tell them. It doesn't matter. I'm punished now for it, why make it any worse than it already is? If you're so perfect you wouldn't have gotten in trouble in the first place! Talk about me giving in to peer pressure!" She stepped closer to me. "If they found out about what happened-!" Alexis shook her head from side to side as if in denial. "Then they'd remind me of my brother and never let me have a life!"
"Who-? What!"
"I have to go!" She turned and stormed off toward the furthest part of the pickup area. Great. My one normal friend and I lost her.
But it wasn't my fault!
And just to let her know I stuck my tongue out at her back.
That'd show her who the more mature one was!
Thursday and I was watching D-M do her physical therapy. After six weeks being laid up, I guess it got to a person. Either that or she was faking just because the therapist was cute.
I sat on an unused mat with my legs and arms crossed stemming like a teapot. My wings would have been crossed (if that was even possible) but they were sore and had been for a few weeks. Over use probably considering that Mr. Warren had renewed his flying lessons with vengeance.
"You're doing wonderfully, Daisy!" The therapist, Patrick, encouraged. It was painfully obvious that D-M was playing with the man because whenever he got close enough she'd have a 'weak' attack and end up plastered across his chest.
This was the one social interaction I was allowed to participate in. Jean reasoned it would probably hurt Daisy more for me not to show up then it would hurt me. She was probably right about that.
Chris was asleep beside me, Adrian was tossing one of the balls up and down and Bobby-Jerk (the one who drove us) appeared to be dead on his feet. Julie was lingering around here somewhere but who really cared?
After Daisy fell again and laughed nervously, which I guess guys thought was cute the therapist said they had enough for the day. We were all relieved (except for me because I knew I was going to have to scrub toilets when I got back) and collected our stuff. While Daisy was busy flirting with her help, I was sent to find Julie.
I finally heard her distinct accent coming from an office. Groaning, I sincerely hoped she wasn't trying to rob anyone.
"….nothing we can do…" I was trying to be mutant wallpaper when I realized she was in a doctor's office holding some kind of conference. Wow, was this going to give a hint into the mysteriously annoying brat from Britain?
"I heard that before," Julie sounded tired.
"How did it happen? What caused this …" I couldn't hear the rest because the P.A. system wanted Dr. Red to come back to the ER. I glared accusingly at the box. I wasn't able to hear Julie's reply either because they were really desperate for this doctor to get where he needed to be. "If you want me to help, you have to tell me the truth."
"You said you could not help."
"There might be an experimental procedure…" I pressed closer, silently wishing for them to identify what the heck they were talking about.
"Hey! Kookie!"
I yelped, knocked into the door, slammed it open, twisted my own legs, and landed with a thud on floor. Bobby-Jerk looked down at me with an amused grin.
"Grace returns!"
"Oh shut up!" I grumbled, climbing to my feet in enough time to escape being given a concussion by Julie stomping out.
"Kookie?" Julie sounded confused. Good. If she was confused then she didn't figure it out. "Where you spying on me?"
"I wasn't spying!" Big smile, little lie.
"You were lurking outside the door!" She accused, the doctor excused herself from the upcoming doom. Maybe she went to get a First Aid kit, who knew?
"A lot of people lurk outside of doors who aren't spies!"
"Like?" Julie crossed her arms and Bobby-Jerk started to slowly back away.
"Like," I looked around the hall frantically. "Salesmen." No, that didn't sound forced. "A-and peeping toms. Ask Bobby!"
"Hey! Leave me out of this!" Then he mumbled something about going to warm up the car or something like that.
The brunette girl's eyes were literally oozing with fire.
"Wotever you heard, forget about it. Don't say anything to anyone."
This was when the little voice in my head reminded me that I was her leader.
"Why should I? What could you do to stop me?"
"I will make you so lustful over Chris that it'll break your little boyfriend's heart."
I scooted back and she smiled arrogantly. Sometimes it was better to back down and hurt people later.
Maybe I could talk it out of someone else what was going on with Julie? And I knew first person to try.
One of the people who had brought the darling girl to us.
A week later was when Jean decided to hit me with something (while I was trying my hardest to avoid the George and getting drunk topic while attempting to weasel information about Julie out of her) out of the blue.
Her parents were going to come to the mansion for Thanksgiving…if the mansion wasn't blown sky high again. This was the first time, ever, that I would face her parents. Oh and just to make it fun, lets invite my Grandmother!
"Do you really want Arty corrupting them?"
Jean told me that was a bit…harsh. Of course she couldn't have stalled any longer before correcting me. I banged my head on their kitchen island. When I started to pester her, yet again, about Julie she decided to strike a deal.
"You answer one of my questions and I'll answer one of yours. Deal?" Making a sour face I added a rule that nothing directly related to George. "Fine. Did you fire a gun in Washington last time you went?"
"Yes." I said it in a not-going-to-get-another-word-outta-me way as possible. It got her to stop chopping up her onions for a moment; she shook her head and went back to the things.
"Where did you pick Julie up from?"
Jean looked at me, amazingly not cutting her fingers off as she continued to steadily dice the onions.
"An asylum in Scotland."
My jaw dropped.
"Shut up!"
That eye brow rose and the knife froze.
"If you don't believe me, ask her."
"Yeah right, like she'd tell me anything but to 'sod off'."
I picked up a stray onion chip and studied it.
"Have you tried being friendly toward her? Perhaps she just needs some encouragement."
I'd be 'friendly' with her when I grew gills and quills.
"Perhaps she just needs her butt kicked from here back to her home."
Jean only sighed.
"We have a new assignment class! Isn't this fun?" The ever perky English teacher (still scary and now very pregnant). "Since all of you are going to graduate in the spring, I have convinced Mr. Poovey to co-sponsor a new, fun adventure!" She was sickening sweet in the morning. I didn't like morning people in the morning. They were aliens and needed to be exported somewhere. Yes, I meant to say 'export'. No, I didn't know why.
"Instead of holding a career day in the gym like we have for the past few years." Which Chris told us was nothing but the armed forces trying to recruit people. "We are going to have you write reports." Collective groan. "Two of them." Louder groaning. "One that is due in two weeks and another one which is due before you graduate in the spring."
Could this get any worse?
"You will be asked to find a job sight which you can visit with for a day. And, yes, you get a day off of school for this report. One in the fall, one in spring." Collective groan turned into cheering. "But you have to find the job by the end of this week and have it cleared with or me."
I smiled and raised my hand.
"Yes, Cakie?"
My eyes rolled. Didn't anyone know my name?
"It's Kookie. And what if we already have a place?"
"Then just clear it with me after class, okay?"
I smiled. Boy oh boy, was a certain flight instructor in for a fun time!
"I know you're in there, Mr. Warren!" Okay, so convincing my English teacher was ten times easier than this. She was slightly disbelieving when I told her that I could get in with Worthington Industries. "I can hear your feathers ruffling!"
Unfortunately, Mr. Warren heard the two words 'career day' from Adrian in passing and headed for the hills (or in this case, his bedroom).
"Don't make me beg to a door!" I whined out. "I'd rather do the begging in front of someone!"
That way he had to see my face when I forced myself to cry. I was desperate.
He cracked open his door.
"Oh, Kookie, I didn't hear you out here."
Giving him my best 'liar' stare, I turned into an adorable Kookie once again.
"Mr. Warren I really, really need to spend a day with you at your company. It's for school."
The guy's eyes shut tightly, as if he was fighting off a bad thought.
"Kerry-"
"I promise to be on my best behavior! You won't even know I'm there." I clasped my hands in front of me and gave my 'puppy' expression. Oi, there went all my dignity.
"Why don't you ask Hank?"
I smiled weakly.
"I did, he thinks I'll blow something up. Something important—like myself."
He bumped his head against the door frame.
"When?"
"A week from today, next Wednesday." His eyes flew open and down to me in surprise and hope. Why hope?
"I really can't that day. I have an important lunch date with someone who is incredibly hard to get out of his office."
"You don't have to take me! I'll stay at the office and-" I shrugged, "staple things."
The pained sound reminded me of a dying cat.
"Fine. But you better keep your promise."
With a quick thank you I was about to leave when I asked who was the important date. When Mr. Warren asked why I wanted to know, I answered honestly and said 'nosey'. He seemed to do that whole weighing the options thing, finally with a sigh he answered.
"Donovan St. Loy."
