("It seems all the rare, exceptional writers make the readers wait and wait and WAIT!" –Hehehe....we do it to make you SUFFER! MUHAHAHAHA!!!)
Tonyboy— Yes, I understand...Christians are not judgmental people. They're very understanding, actually. I'm not trying to make Christians—or any religion—seem bad. Quite the contrary, actually, my goal is to make the point that faith helps you veer away from people like Ken Boggs, Miss Maxwell, and so on. But, I wouldn't want to turn Victoria into a Mary Sue (God forbid!)...because I simply like her too much. She, like all people, must have faults, and anger and judgement are two of them. And, it is not her fault that she has her prejudices...she has been misinformed by many people. Remember, Edward left Suburbia with the impression that he had raped a woman, committed robbery, and purposely hurt a child—which was not true. But it is also not the fault of Victoria to believe these accusations, because, as far as she knows, they are perfectly true. You can't blame Victoria for her opinions, because she simply doesn't have the right facts. She's not a bad person. She wants to help Edward all she can.
P.S. No plans for a Joyce relative, and I doubt I ever will put one in, because it might be overkill to have any more descendents from the movie. I already have descendents from the Boggs and Emerson families...I don't think I could risk a Monroe! But, I do have Miss Maxwell—who is quite possibly the next best thing :)
Over-dramatic— Didn't see THAT one coming, didya? Did I surprise you? Hehehe...excellent, excellent.
Chef13— Well, I am so glad that you like my little continuation of the fable: ) Yes, it seems hard to continue after Edward gets his hands—but, actually, it's not really that hard. Edward is still different on the inside; therefore his troubles and trials will not end immediately after becoming like "everyone else". Actually, his troubles will only just begin... For example, he is unnaturally shy, and he has trouble expressing his feelings though words (though he does it magnificently though actions and face gestures!) And this leaves him venerable. Edward can be seen as a pushover to selfish people like Ken Boggs, and sexual prey by people like Miss Maxwell (and pretty much every other woman in Urban City, except for Victoria). On top of that, his only real friend, Victoria Emerson, has serious prejudices. (sigh) Nope, the poor bugger's troubles are just starting.
All other reviewers are greatly appreciated!
Not Even Human—Edwardo the Gypsy
"How do you live with that, Edward?" Said Victoria, shaking her head and smoothing out her trenchcoat.
Edward only stared down at he dirty floor of the hallway and shrugged. He saw no use in complaining, since he was already used to Kennedy and his ways. Plus, it was bad mannered to complain about "one's own personal affairs, no matter how tiresome or terrible they are...it is just not gentlemanly to burden a lady with them..." The inventor had told him, once.
"I'm sorry, Edward, I probably should've been more polite." Victoria confessed, "Your cousin and I have a vendetta, I'm afraid..." She sighed as she pressed the red elevator button, "Dr. Boggs and I have a sour history. I never harassed him, though...he was stupid enough to hit his head on one of the wooden protest signs, and he blamed me, since I was holding it. I only dropped it though, I swear."
"I believe you." Edward said, reassuringly. And secretly he thought that Kennedy probably deserved a whack on the head.
The elevator door opened. They both stepped inside, and Edward braced himself for the ride. He hated elevators...in fact, he disliked any kind of urban transportation. It went too fast, and it made him topple over most of the time. In Suburbia, he had only just fully become used to cars.
Edward watched Victoria press the bottom floor button, and, after that, she put her hands in her pockets, calmly.
"Well, I knew I recognized you. Which protest did you go to, Edward?" Victoria said, bewildered, "Now, if I think hard about it I'll remember...I'm sure I saw you at one of them..."
To stop Victoria from thinking too hard on it, Edward lied. He was becoming more comfortable with lying now—though he knew it was very wrong. A wave of guilt washed over Ed.
"The one with the...robot." Edward said, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about.
"Oh, yes! Of course!" Victoria said, her face lighting up. She pushed up her glasses. "You're the man who got attacked weren't you, Edward? That thing—whatever it was—sliced your face open! I'm glad to see it's healed, though...That must have been completely terrifying." Edward only felt like he had made matters worse, and he slowly nodded his head."It harassed my aunt once, you know, Edward. Practically scared poor Esmeralda to death." Victoria said, bitterly, as she sighed, "He was famous for his topiaries. Can you remember? No? Well, I guess I wouldn't either...we weren't even born, when this guy was around."
Edward wished the earth would just swallow him up. If only she knew who he was!
"Well, I'm going off subject—The point is that he once did a terrifying topiary of Satan, I remember Auntie telling me it took her years to recover from seeing it in her window, poor woman."
Ed felt his chest sink with quilt—He had forgotten about the devil topiary. He had been mad; he had let go of his self-control. Edward wished he hadn't been so rude and so inconsiderate, that night, with Esmeralda—and the rest of the neighborhood. He never meant to do them harm...
There was an awkward silence.
"Well, good thing it's dead now!" Victoria said, crossing her arms.
Edward closed his eyes and tried to forget what Victoria just said. If only she knew that 'it' was standing right next to her...
It was as if all his dreams had been jarred up in a bottle and splattered on a piece of paper. Edward looked up at the colossal painting, in awe. He had to bend his neck upward just to get the full effect of it.
A painting
"Now, I don't care what Dr. Boggs will tell you, Edward." Victoria whispered, in equal awe as Ed, "But...this—this is culture. Real culture, real emotion, real society."
An art museum, culture, society, emotion...Real...That is exactly what Edward wanted; to be real, or, if he couldn't be real, he would pretend to be.
"This is done on oil canvas, which is a good choice by the painter, I think." She commented, examining the painting closely, "But, I'm surprised! It doesn't look like a typical eighteenth century painting...Look how the brush—swipes up and down like that, and then curls. It's simply beautiful, really."
Victoria seemed to know everything. Honestly, Edward felt rather idiotic. He never knew what to say about things.
It was an interesting place, the Museum, and much cleaner than Club 9 had been. Much more quiet, too, and Edward didn't feel pressured to talk too much here.
Victoria turned her head, smiled, and started walking over to another piece of art. Edward tore his eyes off the magnificent painting, and followed his companion, dazed and, slightly, refreshed by "culture".
Victoria continued smiling, admiringly, at the new painting, as if it were an old friend. She sighed, happily. "Well, what do you think of this one, Edward?"
It wasn't the prettiest painting in the gallery, and not the largest, but it held a certain charm that cheered Edward up.It was a simple painting, and it looked ridiculous compared to the others in the room. But it was a relief to rest your eyes on something small.
Edward nodded his head, "It's nice."
Victoria seemed genuinely fond of art, and Edward soon grew fond of it, too. He was already starting to notice the differences in brush strokes, the shades of colors, the shapes, the scales, and the symbolism.
The two shuffled along the assembly line of pictures, glancing here and there at a few, but one struck the ultimate attention of both of them. They both paused, reverently.
It was a painting of a slave ship being thrown around in orange-gold waves. Fish squirmed under the violent water, and you could almost feel the blaze of the scorching sun come out of the painting and onto your face. The slave ship was a dark brown and seemed to reek a certain foreboding; the ship loomed oh-so evilly in the background, like a panther waiting for its prey.
"Sometimes in life, it seems like everything and everyone is conspiring against having peace, doesn't it, Edward?" Victoria said, half to herself, half to Edward.This confused Edward, and he wondered why Victoria had said something so random.
"...Yes?" Edward answered.
These were the sort of questions his inventor used to ask him. "Ethical" questions; "Deep" questions—
She's talking about the painting... and peace, life. Oh. Now I see. Edward smiled to himself, rather proud that he figured it out and was able to comprehend it.
Victoria Emerson turned toward Edward, and looked like she was going to ask something—but she merely shook it off and smiled, in her usual polite way. Again, Victoria opened her mouth, turned back to Edward, but she shook it off again and smiled.
Curiously, Edward asked, "What is it, Victoria?"
She pushed up her glasses and sighed, "Do you have a job, Edward?"
The question startled Edward, as he had not really expected something like that. He, actually, hadn't known what to expect, but...not this; not about something so off topic. He looked at his friend, with a slightly blank stare.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I only thought that... You seem so...forgive me for saying this—you seem so dependent on your cousin." Victoria said, "I just thought that, um, you could be a bit more independent from Dr. Boggs. He's...not a man to be...relied upon."
That was true. Ken wasn't the trustworthiest person Edward had met...but then again, he hadn't thought of escaping Kennedy's influence. Edward was used to being told what to do, and doing it.
"Oh," Edward said, softly.
"I shouldn't have said that, it was impolite, and—"
"You're right." Edward interrupted. That was rude and also a faux pa. He blushed.
"Oh...Well, good! A man needs to get out there in the world and work. It's better than doing nothing and feeling sorry for yourself, in my opinion."
This was all true. Edward's last few weeks in the city had been horrible. He had felt so useless. He had almost longed for the Walters' Family come in and boss him around—just so that he could do something. He had started to feel his arms and legs start to rust, from lack of use.
But Victoria knew what she was talking about.
"You don't want to be a gypsy all your life, Edward." Victoria said, "It's good to be financially stable, not to be a parasite. Not that I'm saying you're a parasite, of course, you're the exact opposite. You just need encouragement."
It took him some time to understand what she meant, but when he did, he smiled back. "No...You're right."
Edward felt, for the first time in weeks, that he was learning something useful. He felt like he was going to be able to do something...not just to be laying around like one of Lucy's old rag dolls. He sighed and inhaled, hopefully—
"You're right." He said, nodding his head, slowly.
Victoria and Edward both agreed that another drink was in order. So, they walked over to the nearest coffee shop. Things were quite pleasant, actually, until a familiar character came in—
Miss Maxwell was a bewitching woman, no doubt about it. The devilish little siren cast her deadly spell on many a defenseless man, and rendered them rather useless and weak for the rest of their lonely lives. Perhaps it was the way she talked, or the way she walked, but she ensnared them every single time into her web of dark seduction.
Except Edward, of course. He ran away.
Miss Maxwell wore a very skimpy red dress that accented all her best features. Miss Maxwell's slim hourglass figure hovered over to an unsuspecting Mr. Hands and Miss Emerson. She tossed her glossy hair out of her shining, diamond-like eyes...and her irresistibly red lips smiled, plumply.
"Well, well, well." Colleen Maxwell cooed, putting her elegant hand on Edward's shoulder, "If it isn't the boy who'd rather run than kiss..."
Edward jolted and looked up; he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
"Excuse me?" Victoria said, frowning.
Miss Maxwell's eyes fell onto Victoria, as if she hadn't noticed her. "Who the hell is this ugly bitch, Ed?"
Edward frowned, wishing he could make Miss Maxwell leave.
Miss Maxwell laughed and squeezed Edward's shoulder, happily. She frilled her dress and made sure cleavage was showing. The dress was a magnet for the eyes of every man in the coffeehouse.
She bent down, and whispered in Edward's ear, "I still want you, Edward." She said, tracing his jaw with a sharp finger nail, "Just to let you know, honey...Let's hang out some time, kay? We'll have a fun time."
Edward felt the back of his neck get warm, his stomach tightened, and his face grew hot, with embarrassment and confusion. Miss Maxwell stroked his face a bit more, with seductive lure, and then she got up.
Miss Maxwell stooped down again and slowly kissed Edward on the cheek, alluringly, leaving a red-hot crimson print of her lips on his pale face. Victoria raised her eyebrows and sipped some of her tea, observing the kiss disapprovingly.
Edward had the strangest desire to turn his head slightly and let Miss Maxwell kiss him full on. He stopped himself. How could he be thinking that way? Miss Maxwell was a terrible, seductive, toxically vulgar young woman. But... her lips felt so warm, so silky. Part of him didn't mind the sizzling kiss on his cheek. Edward bit his tongue, trying to snap himself out of it—
Miss Colleen Maxwell wrote down her number on a napkin, smiled mockingly at Victoria, put on her sunglasses, and left Victoria and Edward alone.
"Who was that?"
Edward blushed, feeling his throat dry up, "No one."
"Oh?" She said, "Please, don't lie, Edward. She was someone. A girlfriend of yours?"
Edward felt his face become baking hot. He hardly knew what a girlfriend was in the first place, but he shook his head, knowing that he wasn't a friend of this girl—and nor did he want to be, after that night at the club.
"Oh." She sounded surprised, "Then who?"
"I...." Edward whispered, ashamed, "I don't want to talk about it, please."
Victoria raised her eyebrows and nodded, "Oh, I see now. All right, nevermind then. I won't bother you about it."
Edward nodded, thankfully. He was glad that she didn't want to go into depths about what happened with Miss Maxwell and him. Edward rubbed the smooth red paste Miss Maxwell had planted on his face with a napkin.
Victoria laced her hand through her curly, frizzy brown hair, "It's because our whole society is obsessed with sex."
Edward blushed. He didn't know what sex was exactly, but he knew lots of girls wanted to, according to Ken, "screw" him. That confused him. Honestly, some girls made him have feelings that he, frankly, didn't have a clue about. But Victoria didn't make him feel like that, and he enjoyed being around her, instead of being nervous and confused.
"Well, it's true, Edward! You don't have to be embarrassed or anything, it's just a fact. A very, very disturbing fact." Victoria said, "We just don't seem to understand decency anymore..."
She paused and looked around, "See, there, for example." She pointed to a poster on the wall, "We can't even buy a cup of coffee without seeing someone half naked."
Victoria was right. The woman on the poster was definitely half naked, with only the steams of the coffee barely covering her up. Realizing this, Edward only blushed more—really, he thought, if he blushed any more, he'd burst into flames.
"I mean, I know everyone has faults. I have my own sins. My anger is one of them—" Victoria said, sipping her tea, "I've made mistakes. I'm not trying to be hypercritical. But, look, how is this going to affect the younger generation? They're growing up around all of this...flaunted sexuality. People are being taught that physical appearance is everything—not self-control, common decency, and faith. But what happens when you get older? When you're not "beautiful" anymore... you just lose you're meaning in life."
Edward thought about what she said. Life was quick and cruel, Victoria was right—Kim had changed, and she had been so different before. So, so different.
"See? There's just no foundation...it's baseless and soulless." Victoria said, looking at Edward. "That's why we need faith."
He had never fully understood religion, theology, and spirituality. The Inventor had only just starting talking about it, before he died. Edward felt his head go dizzy from an overload of information, questions, and confusion. She was going too fast.
Edward's mind went blank. Why was he so confused?
Victoria smiled and said, "Well, I like religion, obviously. It's food for thought...it gives people meaning." She looked at Edward, and sighed, "Are you okay?"
Edward nodded, sipping his tea, "I'm just thinking."
Her smile sobered. She was looking up at the clock, and was starting to frown.
"Oh, I got to get going, Ed..." She said, putting on her gloves, "I've got to get over to IPITAE. We're having a meeting in..." She looked at the clock, and her face went pale, "...we're having our meeting right now."
Victoria Emerson muttered something under her breath. She must have really been enjoying herself; Victoria was never late for meetings. It was just that Edward was such a nice guy, so truthful, and such a good listener—she would've talked to him more, if she had the time.
Then, Victoria had an idea.
"Hey, Edward, are you doing anything after this? Maybe you could come along with me to IPITAE." She said, excitedly, "I'm sure you'd love it!"
Edward smiled, glad that he had an excuse not to go back to Kennedy. "Okay..."
"Oh, wonderful!" Victoria grinned, "Really, you'll love it, I'm sure!"
Edward was happy she was happy—but he wasn't sure what IPITAE was exactly. He asked what it was, as he threw away the paper coffee cups.
"International Protests of Inhumane Treatment of Animals and Environment." She said, confidently, "You'll be fascinated, believe me. Some of the stuff we're working on right now is just fantastic..."
"Oh..." Edward said, unsure of himself, "It sounds nice."
She nodded, eagerly, and assured him that it was 'very nice'. Off they went.
IPITAE was interesting enough, Edward guessed. It was a small building with lots people running around with papers, cell phones, coffees, and campaign advertisements. A few people were typing things, busily, on their laptops and screaming out orders to the others. It was hard not to be a little intimidated by it.
After the meeting, which had been rather long, Victoria had introduced Edward to some of her fellow workers. They were nice, but a little stressed—some of them looked like they hadn't slept in days.
"Hey, Ed, we need a guy to help us post these..." Offered a co-worker. He held up some signs. "Do you think you could lend a hand to us tomorrow, huh?"
Victoria smiled, widely, "What do you think, Edward? Do you want to come? Only if you want to, of course."
He wasn't busy tomorrow. He had all the time in the world, literally, and—He shivered. Screams, yells, blood, signs, police, anger...
Ed remembered the last protest he went to. A protest against himself...
Did he really want to go? He had a bad habit of getting into tough situations. But Victoria would protect him, no doubt. She was a good friend; she wouldn't abandon him. And plus, the protest wasn't against him.
Victoria seemed to like protests. She liked art, too, and art was good. Why couldn't a protest be good also? And, best of all, it would be an excuse not to put up with Dr. Kennedy Boggs for a whole day.
He said, politely, "I'd be happy to come."
The co-worker smiled, "There's a good boy! We always need young guys like yourself to get involved."
Edward did his best to smile, and Victoria handed him a pile of posters.
"Good choice, Edward," Victoria encouraged, "You're doing the right thing."
Finally, Edward thought, he was doing something right. Or was he?
She was blond, tall, blue-eyed, wearing tight-fitting pink and black clothes, long-legged like a flamingo—if there were two words to sum this girl up, it would be this: Airhead bimbo.
Victoria looked at Kennedy and his bimbo, repulsed. She frowned and shook her head, putting her head in her gloved hands. Edward stood behind Victoria, as he walked into Kennedy apartment.
Victoria and Edward had planned to come up to the apartment, talk about tomorrow, and then say farewell for the night. But...they hadn't expected to find Kennedy and this new girlfriend like this.
"Have you no self-control...? Chastity? Purity?" Victoria ranted, clearly enraged, "Do they mean anything to you? They should!"
"Oh, fuck off, will you?" Kennedy ranted back, just as enraged. "It's not Sunday yet, you know, preacher! Stop the sermon...."
Victoria's eyes narrowed, and so did Kennedy's—they were two time bombs, just waiting to explode. Edward and Ken's newly acquired girlfriend slowly drifted away from the two strong-willed, strong-voiced quarrelers, and watched them, worriedly, from afar.
"Well. No doubt she's not the first one you've done this with." Victoria said, gesturing towards the long-legged blond next to Edward.
Ken watched, with eagle eyes, as his girlfriend slowly—but surely—moved closer and closer to an unsuspecting Edward. Ken cursed his luck. In no time, if his girlfriend had it her way, she'd be shagging Edward senseless in the next room, and he'd be left discussing the finer points of moral with Victoria. This sucked.
"Look I don't want to fight—"Ken made an excuse to get Victoria out of his hair.
"Right." Victoria scoffed, "Suddenly, you're the peacemaker? Do you know what, Kennedy Boggs? You're full of it."
The girlfriend got close enough to Edward as she wanted, smiled at him sweetly, made sure that he saw some of her best curves, and then strutted over to Kennedy.
"Um," The girlfriend said, twisting a strand of her blonde hair with one finger, "Ya know, Ken, um...I gotta get going, babe, so, uh...call me, kay?"
"Yeah. Bye, Brit," Kennedy said, but he caught her arm, gently, and pulled her back. He kissed her, long and deep—just to spite Victoria.
Brit the Girlfriend giggled, flipped some of Ken's hair, playfully, and sashayed out the door.
Victoria snorted, and shook her head. "Unbelievable. She has no respect for herself."
"Yeah, you're just jealous." Ken laughed.
"Of her?" Victoria almost burst out laughing, "Of ...that person? Oh, sure, you caught me there...I'd love to be considered a piece of ass."
Ken laughed some more, "You know you would! C'mon, even Christians have sex drives, you know..."
Victoria sighed, and she gave Kennedy Boggs a look of pity, "Perhaps, Dr. Boggs, your whole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others."
"Bullshit." Ken snorted, "Perhaps yours is to annoy the hell out of everyone."
Victoria's face reddened, and she clenched her fists. But, instead of smashing Ken's face in, Victoria controlled her anger, prayed, counted to ten, smoothed out her trenchcoat, and then said, pleasantly:
"Good bye, Edward. See you tomorrow at the protest. I'll pray for you."
Edward looked like he didn't want to be left alone with Ken Boggs today, but Victoria didn't want to be around the man either. She wanted to leave.
"Good bye, Victoria..." Edward said, politely, as he watched her leave.
The door closed, and Ken chuckled, demonically. "Good riddance, bitch..."
"... Don't call her that." Edward said, under his breath, in his friend's defense.
You could hear a pin drop, it was so quiet. Edward never talked back. Never, ever. Kennedy talked back, and it never had the same bone-chilling effect. Edward didn't understand the slang Ken used, but he knew that "bitch" was not something to call a nice, friendly person. Victoria Emerson was not female dog.
Ken thought to himself, She's done this to Edward. I knew it. She's trouble. He tried to shrug it off, coolly.
"Jesus Christ, not you, too, Ed." Ken said, disappointedly.
Edward blushed, ashamed, "I'm sorry. I..."
"Look, I don't like her, Ed." Ken said, bluntly. "She's doing things to your head. I don't like her..."
"Why—?" Edward asked, confused. Victoria was a great friend, when Kennedy wasn't around.
"Well, for starters, she dresses like a librarian."
That, Edward thought, was not much of an excuse. Besides, Edward liked what Victoria wore. She looked more comfortable and adjusted than some other women. And, plus, Edward never knew how to react to women in scanty clothes...
"Listen, Ed, I don't think you should be around... a person like her."
"But she's a friend."
"Okay, I understand but...Victoria's not good even to be friends with, Eddie."
"Why?"
"Because..." Ken sighed, as he straightened his back and prepared for a lecture, "People like her, they, well, they mean one thing, Ed—One thing: trouble."
"...Trouble?" Edward repeated, quietly. Victoria's nice. A little scary but...not trouble... Edward thought, but he stopped himself from saying it out loud. What on earth was he talking about? Edward started to frown, and he turned his head away from Kennedy.
"C'mon, Ed, didn't you hear what she said about you?" Kennedy said, accusingly, "What was it again...'Perversion of nature'? Imagine if she ever found out about you."
Kennedy walked over to the sofa, unwrapped an old bag of chips, and started munching on them, "Just get a real girl, Ed.. Just...I don't want you seeing her again."
"He said what?" Victoria's voice shrieked over the phone, making Edward wince away from it for a second.
"He said I couldn't—"
"I know, I heard what you said, Edward, I just can't believe that ignoramus thinks he can boss you around!" Victoria fumed, her voice hissed and sizzled on the phone.
There was a pause, as Victoria caught her breath. Edward bit his lip, unnerved by Victoria's anger...he knew she wasn't angry at him—butstill, it was really quite frightening.
"Edward, come on!" Victoria said, forcefully, "Ken Boggs is living proof that man can live without a brain! Defend yourself, for goodness sakes! Tell him to bug off—you aren't a child!"
Edward was taken aback.
"He is not your mother, Edward!" She continued, "What right does he have to say that to you?"
Kennedy had every right, technically. After all, Dr. Boggs had gone through all that trouble and sacrifice to finish Edward. To go against Kennedy would be betraying him, his second inventor, and Edward never wanted to betray someone he was in so much debt to.
But, still, something inside Edward told him that Victoria had a good point...
"Edward, that's it." Victoria said, almost in a normal tone of voice, "I'm coming over."
The line clicked, and a low beep hummed inside the telephone.
Oh, my....
I hope Kennedy has life insurance.
MORE Coming...As soon as possible!