Butterflywings32— ....(slaps Kennedy Boggs and beats him with a stick) Torturing Ken is fun! (sees human rights inspectors and throws stick away) Anyhooters... thank you for the nice review! I really appreciated it, thank you. Victoria is a good friend to Edward, and I am still debating with myself how she'll react....and, yes, Edward is certainly a sexy, sexy perversion of nature. (drools)
AlanisJunkie— Yay! Thank you! You enjoy my story! (throws confetti and dances)
Chef13— (smiles wickedly and cracks whip...Ken whimpers) Yes, well, Ken will be...taken care of, I assure you. Oh, and thank you for writing Kennedy's eulogy...
Kennedy: What eulogy? Why do you have a coffin in the backyard?...Holy hell, is that a funeral?
Me: ... (grins) You'll see.
Over-dramatic-05—(tears in eyes) Poor Eddie... Thank you, I am glad that I was able to get a somber note across. I can't make his transition into "normal city life" all too easy for him, but I do think Victoria is a great help to him (when she's not talking about "Scissorhands"). For all Victoria knows, she's comforting Edward, not hurting him. If only she knew...
Cathy— No offence could possibly be taken by an inquiring mind! A Mary Sue is a nickname for an extremely superficial, fake character. For example, if I made Victoria out to be a ravishingly beautiful eighteen-year-old girl, with no character flaws, perfectly fashionable clothes, and a hot body—that would be a prime example of a Mary Sue. "Practically perfect in every way." Might be another way to put it—But Victoria is none of those things. She's my attempt at a normal young woman. She's not perfect, she's terribly flawed, and she's no super model. She doesn't mean any harm, but sometimes her frankness can bring the wrong message across. I bet she even cares about Kennedy's situation a little—Yes, things are never as they seem. Even Esmeralda wasn't as she seemed—she was the only one besides Kim to show her true first impressions of Edward. She didn't cover up her emotions with a smile, but she instead let Edward know how she felt about him head-on. It can be interpreted as a cruel welcoming...but at least it was an honest one. The neighborhood basically put on a show of kindness—as Tim Burton so correctly put it "It's all face value", and because of this, their rejection of him at the end caused all the more pain for Ed.
Carla— Sorry! I've had my hands tied lately...and my writings have been starved for a while. But I am so glad you like the story!
Tonyboy—I am happy you liked it, Tony! And, no worries, Edward's going to get a LOT of practice for speaking up for himself. It's nice hearing "take your time". From some reviewers, I usually hear "hurry up!" or "what's taking you so long?!"—that's just not the way I work. I take my time. I am very grateful for them telling me how much they like the story, but I am not a speedy writer. So that's why it's so nice hearing "take your time". Thank you!
Not Even Human—Money, Police, and Fast Food
Kennedy Boggs got up late that day...Late for work again, and feeling a major hangover. He groggily lifted himself out of bed, and collapsed on the floor. Wobbly, he got himself off the wooden, trash littered floor, and sighed.
Edward was already up, as always. Ed probably had been up for at least four hours by now... Curse him, thought Kennedy, wrathfully, as he prepared breakfast for himself. Kennedy spied on Edward and saw that he was reading a book. Curse him again! Dr. Boggs' mind snarled, hatefully. Edward was becoming more human than Kennedy was... curse him...
Really, he didn't necessarily want Ed to be cursed. It was just that Ken's life had been so hard lately—Isabel breaking up with him, the new job, the taxes, the cell phone bills, the hangover, and, a new problem, Victoria Emerson. At least, Victoria was out of the picture now.
Ken grumbled a sharp, "Morning."
"Good morning, Ken." Edward replied, absentmindedly, as he flipped through a novel.
After a long pause, Dr. Kennedy Boggs asked, tiredly:
"What you got there?"
No answer...only the smooth sound of a page turning.
"Hey, Ed..." Ken pushed, louder, "What you got there?"
Edward sat up on the couch and turned his attention to Kennedy, "A book."
"You into that kind of stuff now?" Ken said, narrowing his eyes. Ed never gave a damn about books before...Victoria. Victoria must have done that to him, of course.
Ed nodded, put his nose in the book, and lazily sank down into the couch. Ken sighed, Edward's mouth was shut—just the way it should be. He had to admit, it was scary the way Edward, a machine, could develop opinions and habits so quickly. Sometimes, it actually frightened Dr. Boggs.
Ken lethargically went off to his room, dressed, brushed his teeth, tied his tie, and when was setting off for work—someone knocked on the door. He looked through the peephole, and saw a bubbled version of Victoria's face glaring at him. Dr. Boggs hissed, frustratedly.
He turned, angrily, on Edward, "I thought you said you called her!"
Edward frowned, "I did."
"Then," Ken growled, "Why is she outside my door?"
Edward was starting to dislike Ken more than ever. Besides, Dr. Boggs was trying to take away his one friend away from him. Why couldn't he have a friend? Edward felt a zap of anger rush through him.
Edward got up from the sofa, and looked out the peephole.
Ken yelled, "See? See! God...this woman doesn't know when to stop!"
Then, Edward had an idea—Why not disobey Ken, just once? It would give him a "taste of his own medicine", as Molly Walters would've put it.
Ken's face morphed into terror, as he saw Edward unlock the door. Dr. Boggs was paralyzed. Did Edward know what Victoria would do? ...Then, horror-struck, Ken realized that Edward did know what Miss Emerson would do, and that was exactly why Ed was unlocking the door!
She stormed in, looking like a lioness let out of her cage.
Victoria roared, "Dr. Boggs, who do you think you are?"
Ken shrieked, "You, get off my property!"
Dr. Boggs looked like a coward, a tiny mouse, trapped in Victoria's malevolent gaze. Edward had just betrayed him, and Victoria's anger was in full force. She began to circle him, like a vulture would circle its dead prey.
"It's partially Edward's property, too!" Victoria argued, pulling herself up to her full height, "And—!"
Ken found his voice again. "Well, Edward wants you to leave!"
"How dare you put words in Edward's mouth!" She screamed, "You are an oppressive, abusive man who picks on innocent people like him for personal gain!"
"Well, you're a heinous bitch! Is that any better?" Ken fumed, wanting to strangle her.
Edward wished he hadn't opened the door. He had let two very angry people be together, which, as he knew, never turned out well. They were screaming, insulting, and spitting at each other now.
"Instead of being born again, Dr. Boggs, why don't you just grow up?" Victoria Emerson spat.
"Listen," Ken spat back, cruelly, "Get out of my house or—."
"No you listen, Dr. Boggs—Stop bossing Edward around like he's some kind of little child." Victoria hissed, "I am sick of the way you push him around!"
Ken stood there, glaring at Victoria. He looked like he was going to explode. Victoria smoothed out her wrinkled trenchcoat, pushed up her glasses, and sniffed, defiantly. "...You make me sick, physically sick..." She said, softly, "You're a sick, sick man, Ken Boggs. You need help."
Kennedy mumbled, "Pfft! You Christians are so obnoxious..."
"That's very offensive!" Victoria said, crossing her arms.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kennedy mocked, "...Well, can I ask you something, Vikki?"
She shot a look at him, and hissed, quietly, "Victoria, please."
"Whatever." Ken Boggs snarled, "Can I ask a question?"
Ed silently rooted for Victoria in this battle of the wits. He only wished Victoria would win; Edward knew that he would never be clever or bold enough to defend himself like this.
Ken Boggs growled, "You know, Victoria, I probably know way more about religion than you."
Victoria looked him up and down, "Okay, explain the theory of transubstantiation."
Kennedy blankly stared into nothing. He was dumbfounded but grew very angry, with the realization that he didn't know a thing about religion. Victoria's face split into a wide, wild grin. She had won.
"That's probably some Christian bullshit." He yelled, his eye twitching.
"No, it's a Catholic term, actually." She said, smoothly.
Ken exploded, "They're all the same!"
"No they're not. You obviously don't know a thing about religion." Victoria said, "Don't call me a hypocrite, when you claim to be religiously learned and yet don't know the basics. I've studied other religions, too, Dr. Boggs. I've done my homework. You're the one making me uncomfortable with my lifestyle. You're the one who is small minded."
"You people are always pointing the fingers, aren't you?"
"Someone has to do it, Dr. Boggs."
Kennedy snorted and shook his head... He felt his hangover throb, his leg ached, and he was late for a business meeting. Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that he'd lost this battle.
"It's too early in the morning for this bullshit..." Kennedy slicked out his brown hair. "Get out of my house, both of you."
Victoria and Edward exchanged a triumphant look. Miss Emerson beamed, and Edward looked on, proudly. Kennedy felt like punching Edward in the face— Edward not only betrayed him, but also was proud of betraying him! The damn traitor...
"Get help, Dr. Boggs." Victoria said, almost concerned, as she walked out with Ed. "Get help."
Dr. Boggs' eyes flamed with hatred, "Any more advice, Your Holiness?"
Victoria stopped at the doorway, and she looked back at Ken, pityingly. She sighed and nodded her head, sorrowfully. "Yes, in fact, here it is—"Victoria whispered, "Be more like Edward."
"What do we want?"
"Justice!"
"When do we want it?"
"Now!"
The mantra repeated over and over again, until the words meshed together. People walked in circles around a concrete building, waving signs, giving speeches, and linking arms in protest. It was strangely uplifting and very scary at the same time.
Edward wasn't sure he could do this. He felt like turning around and... he couldn't go back. He didn't want to go back. Kennedy would kill him, probably. But, then again, Edward did not want to go forward into a screaming crowd either.
"Victoria?" Edward said.
"Yeah, Edward?" Victoria sounded excited, "What's up?"
Edward glanced at the crowd in front of them, then to Victoria, and then to the large protest sign he was holding.
"Oh, don't get worried, Ed! It's not dangerous. Just stick around me, and—" She looked at Edward, "And—remember if one of those pesky TV anchor women start asking questions about why we're protesting the company...you say..."
"...that it is connected with TechMet?" Edward recited, quietly, while Victoria nodded her head, "It gives growth hormones to animal farms...and that its foods spread E. coli?"
He felt rather out of breath, as he rarely said such a long sentence, even though the sentence was broken.
"Perfect, Edward. Perfect." Victoria encouraged, "That's all you need to say. C'mon...don't worry. It should be fun."
Before Edward could stall more, Victoria pulled him right into the crowd. It was weird, but Edward didn't find this all that fun. He was scared, but Victoria was going to stay by him. He knew that. People were packed all around the building, making it hard to follow Victoria. He grabbed onto the loose belt of her trenchcoat and tried to let that guide him.
Victoria yelled behind her, "Raise your sign, Edward! Rise! The CEO's coming! Hurry!"
What was a CEO? That didn't matter. Edward slowly raised his protest sign in the air, to join the hundreds of other ones. A few well-built, well-dressed men circled by policemen tunneled through the crowd. And then Victoria did something: She stopped in front of the gentlemen.
"Stop selling these things to children!" She screamed, "Why are you targeting your products to children, when it gives them diseases? Last year spread to over—!"
"I thought there was a restraining order!" One of the CEOs yelled to a cop, "The protestors can't be crowding the streets like this! I'm calling more cops."
Before Victoria could finish her rant, a policeman shoved her aside as the CEOs and businessmen squirmed into the building. The building's doors were then tightly locked and the protestors simmered down a bit. Victoria Emerson lowered her sign and, sadly, looked up at Edward.
"They don't get it!" She said, loudly, "They never get it!"
She shook her head and sighed, frustratedly. Edward didn't really know how to comfort her in this situation, but he did his best to gently pat her on the back.
"Thanks, Edward, it's just...it's so hard trying to get these people to understand, you know?" Victoria said, looking up at a concerned Edward, "They never listen to reason and—!"
Sirens, blue and red lights, and men in light blue suits and checkered hats immediately invaded the mob. Police....Edward became paralyzed with fear.
"Police!" Some people yelled. Some people ran away, frightened to be caught, and others instead went directly up to the officers and tried to state their case.
Victoria's eyes widened as she saw the police come closer around the protestors. She grabbed Edward's hand and led him in the opposite direction. He had no objections of getting out of there as soon as possible.
"We'd better leave, Edward." She said, as they quickly walked their way out, "Things tend to fall apart after the police arrive."
He nodded his head, and they both ran out, the mob screaming and the sirens shrieking behind them.
Victoria slunk down in a coffeehouse seat and sulked. Edward sat across a sorrowful Victoria and gave her a cup of tea.
"Well, that was disappointing."
"No...It wasn't that bad." Edward said, shaking his head, "I...had fun."
Victoria laughed, and shook her head. "Don't lie, Edward...It was terrible. We didn't even get a TV interview. I was a disaster."
Edward said, "...It was a little."
Victoria looked down at the cup and shook her head.
"Thanks for the tea, Edward." She mumbled, tiredly.
Honestly, Edward thought she needed something to calm her down, and tea usually did the trick. He smiled to let her know she was welcome. There was a short silence as Victoria sipped her tea.
"Money. It's all about the money." She said, shaking her head.
No credit, no record of jobs you've held, no savings, no personal investment, no social security number. You may as well not even exist. There is no collateral. A bank teller had once told him and Peg Boggs.
Yeah, it was all about the money. Edward knew that all too well.
"I mean...they go put animals in cages so small that they become deformed. When they start to grow, their bodies grow into the shape of the cage. Farm cows basically live in a closed, dark world the whole lives. They never see a blade of grass. Cows get fed cow...I mean, that's why we have mad cow disease. It's horrendous. It's...just not right." Victoria said, "And it's not doing us any good...we become sick from the diseases these cows get when they live in those conditions. They put these poor animals through hell, just to save a few bucks..."
Edward never knew that. He felt guilty for ever eating meat...those poor animals, they never did anything to get such a life. It was heart breaking to think that their soul purpose in life was to be fattened, slaughtered, and then sent to the dinner table. Now he knew why Victoria was so sad.
"Well, I can't mope about it...it's not going to change anytime soon." She said, drinking the tea. "Changing the subject," she did her best to sound cheerful, "Are you still looking for a job, Edward?"
Still looking? He hadn't even started...Edward had forgotten about her suggestion to get out of the house and work.
He nodded his head, and Victoria sighed.
"Edward, listen...Kennedy's bossing you around. And I think he's discouraging your independence from him. Now, I don't know the whole story, but I think he's a very abusive man towards you." Victoria looked Edward straight in the eye, "It's not right. You can think for yourself, and Ken needs to know that."
"...I know, but..."
"Oh, Edward, you know he's horrible to you. The only way out is to get a job and hopefully escape him."
Edward knew she was right, if he didn't get away from Kennedy soon...who knew what could happen? He promised to find a job both to himself and Victoria.
Kennedy was gone when Edward arrived at the apartment. This was wonderful for Edward. He didn't have to listen to Dr. Boggs scold him tonight. He had been dreading coming home to the apartment, especially after that morning.
He took off his jacket and shoes, and enjoyed being alone. He didn't bother turning on the television...in fact he completely ignored it. He instead got one of the novel Victoria had given him and set it aside to be read.
There were bottles of beer still on the counter, stale food, and a few empty cartons of teriyaki chicken. Edward sighed, got out a garbage bag, and cleaned the kitchen. He was always cleaning up after Ken, and he was really getting tired of it.
Edward went outside, threw the trash away, and came back up to the apartment. It was much cleaner now and the air didn't stink anymore.
Ed got his the book, sank down in the leather coach, and peacefully began to read.
More coming... Once again, thank you for all your nice reviews and comments, they're all wonderful and encouraging!