Thank you very much, reviewers!
Ahh I love reviews
Yes
Okay yes right, thanks very much to: TheFLHurricane aka Dash, Scary Vampiress and Alias Morpheus
Hurrah!
Anyway yes on we go with Chapter Seven
With some more jack-jack action
Enjoy! Love LJ xXx
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Throw Me. Chapter Seven. Denial
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Only a few hours after getting back, Violet and Dash are sitting around the table with plates of waffles in front of them. There are dark rings around Violet's eyes and even Dash is yawning as he gobbles down some waffles. With their father having already headed out half-heartedly for work, their tiredness goes unnoticed as Helen tries to feed Jack-Jack who's putting up quite a good fight against it.
"Mom, can we come out with you and Dad again tonight?" Dash speaks up finally, spraying waffle crumbs across the table.
"Ew – Dash, can you not be totally revolting for once in your life?" Violet complains, inspecting her clean hair for bits of waffle.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Dash," Helen tells him sternly. "And you can come only if you behave today at school. You know, for once, I'd like to not have to come down and see the Principal one afternoon."
"I always behave!" Dash protests. Helen raises her eyebrows.
"Really, Dash? The tacks, the pranks and I recall one regrettable time when you put the school hamster in Mr Kropp's coffee cup."
Dash giggles to himself, despite his mother's warning glare.
"That was a great day," he murmurs, looking wistful. Violet rolls her eyes.
"Grow up," she mutters.
"Hey! Just cos you were too chicken to do anything," Dash retorts, outraged.
"No, I was just not as stupid as you."
"Chicken!"
"Just shut up, Dash – god you're so immature!"
Helen rises to her feet as Jack-Jack pushes his bowl of food off his highchair. "That's enough from both of you!"
Dash and Violet fall silent but still exchange angry glares, forgetting completely about the previous night. Helen sighs and picks up the upturned bowl from the floor.
"I'm going to go clear this up; when I get back, you two better be ready for school," she says in her 'I Mean Business' voice. Jack-Jack laughs gleefully at the small mound of baby food soaking into the carpet while his older siblings glower at each other before looking down at their plates.
With Helen in the kitchen and Vi and Dash poking bitterly at the waffles on their plates, nobody notices when Jack-Jack spontaneously turns into a white-feathered hen. He pecks curiously at the plastic of his highchair and breaks the silence with one loud cluck before promptly turning back to normal.
"That's it! Mom!" Violet yells.
"What? What did I do?" Dash's eyes widen in innocence. Helen returns to the dining room, teeth clenched.
"Dashiel, don't pester your sister. How many times do I have to tell you?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"He called me chicken again!"
"Well you are!"
To add to the chaos, Jack-Jack opens his mouth and begins to wail.
"Violet, clear the table please and just ignore your brother. Dash, stop harassing your sister and go brush your teeth." Helen shouts, above them all.
They mutter a couple of last resentments and leave the table in silence. Sighing, Helen picks up the screeching baby and attempts to soothe him, thinking nothing of the single white feather on Jack-Jack's highchair.
At lunch, Violet finds herself once again sitting amongst Tony' friends and being subjected to their conversations; she didn't really feel quite like sitting by herself again. Dylan is once again giving his own account of what happened that the Metroville bank; despite not even being there himself, it's an account that gets more elaborate every time.
"Now, that's messed up!" one of the kids of a crowd gathered stares in wonder at Dylan, Harvey and Francis. It appears they have become more popular overnight following the bank incident.
"He was like, threatening the guards and that – trying to steal some money. Totally mental, seriously," Dylan continues. The more Tony's so-called friends exaggerate the story, the angrier Violet feels herself getting.
"No way!"
"No, it's true," Francis makes a rare contribution to the conversation, unable to resist the surging crowds.
"Yeah he's always had a violent side," Harvey confides in the group of kids hanging on his every word. "I swear he once threatened me with some scissors."
It must have been feeling tired and emotionally drained as well as the betrayal from Tony's friends, because Violet gets to her feet now, eyes blazing.
"You call yourselves his friends? Look at you all, stabbing him in the back! For God's sake, he didn't do it!" she screamed at the astounded group. "And, Jesus Christ, Harvey – he was asking you for the glue – get a grip!"
She stands there, the crowd of other students just staring up at her in a silent shock; many of them barely knew Violet existed.
"You don't believe he did it?" Francis asks her finally.
"I know he didn't," Violet asserts, calmer than before and stalks off, leaving the group to gawk after her.
"Some people have difficulty accepting things," Harvey tells them wisely, shaking his head as the blue-haired figure retreats into the school building again.
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