This was written for/requested by Koko. Hi, hon!
No Copyright infringement intended for profit.
Like a House on Fire
By Jeanne Marie
Jono wasn't affected by the news. He didn't know much about the girl, after all, beyond the fact that her legal name was Candie, she "dated" one of the dishwashers at the local diner, and she'd come from a Mormon family out West (and the former two he'd only just learned). Utah would be welcoming her back tonight, though what sort of reception she'd get was in question, as well as the current topic of conversation.
Jubilee was horrified. "They still burn girls at the stake over there. Seriously. Remember Scarlet Letter? They're totally gonna wait until she has it, and then..." She drew a line across her throat with her finger. "Kkkkksh. She's got, like, seven months to live. Tops. " She shook her head regretfully. "Poor thing. I don't know what Frosty was thinking when she let her go."
Her Middle American pride obviously stung, Paige tutted. "Honestly. Where do you get these notions?" Ange winked at her and chuckled in amusement, but said nothing. "And besides, it was The Crucible. Sort of."
The mall-rat gave an outraged squawk. "They are going to whack our classmate, Paige." Jono and Ange nodded at each other, and a silent pact was formed. Someone needed to be permanently separated from her copy of Married to the Mob. "I seriously doubt that the name of the freaking story that gave them the idea in the first place really matters at this point."
"Jubilation! Don't be ridi-"
"What's going on," piped up a familiar voice, making all of them jump. Geez, Leech moved quietly for a little kid. Jono thought idly about where Artie was, but he didn't ask. It was strange though, to see one without the other. Much like finding a pepper shaker without a salt. He wondered if Leech felt the same way.
"Hey, little guy," Jubilee greeted not quite awkwardly. "Oh, we're just watching some videos. Here, pull up some floor."
Jono refrained from glaring at her, but he wanted to. Not as much as Ange, however, who showed no such restraint. "Jubes!" he hissed.
She ignored him and turned her back, leaving him to mutter Spanish curses under his breath. Those two, man. Even Paige could see it, as evidenced by the smirk on her face.
Leech's technologically altered mouth quirked slightly. He stayed where he was. "Leech saw somebody leaving."
"Just one of the new students, kid." Ange waved a dimissive hand in the air. "Don't sweat it."
New meaning baseline. As in, the kids whose arrival had forced the naturally colorful pair into the attic. Jono guessed that he'd found the one person in the place who had less reason to care about the plight of poor Candie Fremont than himself. "Oh." He nodded knowingly and took a seat on the arm of the couch.
"Yeah." Silence, punctuated by the snapping of Jubilee's gum, reigned for several long moments.
"How come?"
Jono had seen rooms on fire that took more time to clear out than this one did.