Author's Note- Sorry that i'm not taking your adivce melon, but i just can't bear (spell?) to deprive the people of a good story. Tee Hee Hee. For all of you who don't know what i'm talking about i know melon and we had an interesting phone converstaion earlier, so now you know what i'm talking about. Oh, yeah i forgot i do NOT own any of these charaters or even some of the dialogue. The characters and the conversations taken directly from the show belong the the writers of Smallville, NOT me.
Through Lana's Eyes
Chapter 4
X-Ray
The next day after the girls had finished running, they went into the locker room. While they walked through the gym the boys were climbing the ropes. Lana looked over to see Clark staring right at her. She smiled and he turned and talked to Pete. Just before she looked away she saw Clark put his hand to his head like it hurt.
"Come on, Lana." someone said and she turned and headed into the locker room. She walked into the locker room and over to the showers. She took a quick shower to wash the sweat off her face, more than anything else. When she got out of the shower she walked over to her locker, took off the towel she was wearing, and started to get dressed. As she was putting her shirt on she felt as if there was someone watching her, but when she turned around she only saw the wall. 'That's weird. I could have sworn that someone was looking at me.'
When she got home, Nell asked her to help clean out the garage. So, she went out there to see what she could do. Half an hour later Nell came out of the house with her friend Tina. 'Where was she today; I didn't see her at school.'
"Lana, you have a visitor." Nell said.
"Hey, Lana." Tina said.
"Tina, I didn't see you at school today. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. My mom's not feeling well. But she's better so. So you quit cheerleading and Nell banishes you to the garage." 'That's one way to look at it.'
"She's got clutter issues. I'm trying to help resolve them."
"Has she forgiven you for quitting the squad?"
"Not yet."
"Well, at least now you have some more time for your unpopular friends." 'She's got friends; that makes her popular."
"Tina, you're not unpopular. Besides, what happened to the girl who didn't care what people thought about her?"
"She went to high school." They laughed.
"At least your mom doesn't try to run your life."
"You know, you're lucky that Nell cares about you. I mean, if something were to happen to my mom I don't know anybody who would take me in. I'd probably be shipped off to a foster home or something." 'I'm not lucky. My parents are dead and I'm living with my aunt. That doesn't sound lucky to me.'
"Thanks for that burst of cheer."
"Well, What do you want me to say? You have the perfect life."
"You want it? You can have it." 'Then you'll see it's not so perfect after all.'
"I'd settle for the outfit. Wouldn't it be cool if we were sisters? If anything happened to my mom do you think Nell would adopt me?" 'Why is she thinking about things like that. Her mom's fine."
"Tina, nothing's gonna happen to your mom." Tina gave her a funny look and said,
"I just remembered I have to go pick up some asprin for my mom. See you at school."
"See you." After she had cleaned out a couple more boxes, Lana saw one that was covered in dust. She blew some of the dust off the top and opened the box. The first thing she saw was pom-pom with the Smallville High's colors. She sighed as her eyes filled with tears, she reached in and pulled out a snow globe, it had an angel inside. She shook it and watched the snow fall around it. 'I miss you mom.' She took out the pom-pom and boots, smiling. She remembered seeing pictures of her mother in this very outfit. Next she pulled out the skirt, carefully dusting it off. Then she saw a red velvet book. 'I wonder what this is.' She opened it and saw that it was a diary. She flipped through the pages, reading just bits and pieces, but each thing she read contradicted what Nell had told her. 'Why did she lie to me?' she wondered, her eyes now shedding tears. She wiped them away and went to find Nell. It didn't take long; Nell was in the kitchen putting the icing on a cake. She stomped up the steps and slammed the door. Nell turned to see her coming in.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked. 'You lied to me!'
"You lied to me about my mother." She put the diary on the counter and stormed up the stairs. Later after she had calmed down she grabbed her coat and went for a walk. By the time she felt like going home it was getting dark out. When she walked up the stairs she saw Nell sitting on the porch.
"Lana, I didn't lie to you." 'What else do you call keeping secrets from someone?' "I told you your mother would have been proud of you, and she would've. She loved you." 'That's not what you lied to me about.'
"You told me a fairy tale about a woman who led the perfect life. But that life was a lie. You said she loved cheerleading. She hated it, but was afraid to quit. She didn't even want to stay in Smallville. She wanted to see the world."
"Should I have told you your mother was unhappy?"
"I would have liked the truth."
"I told you what I thought you could handle. Your mother was like any other teenager. She had her ups and her downs."
"I feel like I spent my entire life trying to measure up to a Laura Lang who didn't exist."
"You're reading the diary of a seventeen year-old girl. It's a snapshot. It's one time in her life."
"It's like I wrote this myself."
"The truth is, your mother was the brightest, most beautiful girl in her class." 'Am I supposed to believe you this time?' "Did you know she was picked to give the graduation speech?" Lana shook her head. "I guess the diary ended before that happened. You should have hear the speech she gave that day."
"What did she say?" asked Lana. 'I guess Nell knows some about her.'
"Everything that had been bubbling up inside her for eighteen years. She said she felt suffocated in Smallville."
"Do you have a copy?" 'I'd like to read the whole thing.'
"No. But, I'll never forget the first line. 'I never made a difference here, but maybe my children can.'" She looked up at Nell with tears in her eyes, hoping that she would say more, but Nell just walked inside. 'Wait a minute, I know where I can get a copy; The Torch. It prints the graduation speech every year.'
The next day before she went to school, Lana swore she would go to newspaper office that day. After breakfast she got a ride to school with Whitney. They walked into school together, and as they walked into the main hallway, someone called,
"Lana!" They both looked up and saw Tina.
"I swear, that girl's got you LoJacked." Whitney whispered to her under his breath.
"How do you like the sweater?"
"It's great. I've got one just like it." 'I was wearing it when you came over."
"I know. I got it at the same store. I've been going on a shopping spree. Look, I even found this emerald necklace in the antique store."
"Why am I not surprised?" asked Whitney skeptically. "See you at lunch." he said, he turned and walked down the hall. The two of them walked in the other direction.
"Hey, are you okay? I stopped by your house earlier and Nell said you weren't in the best mood, so. . ."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." 'I also don't want to talk about it right now.'
"Good, because I need a favor."
"My mom's moving to Metropolis full-time, but, see she doesn't want to pull me out of school. So I was thinking I could move in with you and Nell."
"For how long?" 'This isn't exactly the best time for someone to come live with us. I mean with all this stuff about my mom.'
"I don't know. A couple months. I mean, my mom would pay you guys. Trust me money is not a problem. Just name your price. I could even get a horse. We could go riding together. I mean, wouldn't that be cool." 'That's a little too much to process all at once.'
"Yeah. Just give me some time to think about it. Are you sure your mom's okay with this?" 'Nell would pull me out of school if she was going to move.'
"Of course. She knows that we're best friends. It was here idea."
"Just let me run it by Nell first. She's kind of particular . . ."
"Nell loves me. I don't understand. I thought you'd be happy. I mean, people even say the we look alike. We could be sisters." 'She's overreacting.'
"I'm just not sure it's such a good idea." 'At least, not right now anyways."
"Oh, okay, I see. So it was all a lie? You were just pretending to like me, then when I come to you in my hour of need, you're just gonna blow me off?" 'That's a little over the top."
"Tina, calm down."
"No! You should have said yes, Lana. It would have been perfect." 'What was that about? She really needs to calm down.'
After school Lana went down to the newspaper office. When she walked in Chloe was sitting at her computer typing.
"Pete, you throw that rubber spider again and I'm going for my staple gun."
"Mind if I come in?"
"The girl who writes for the pom-pom parade is, on surprise, out with mono."
"This week's editorial?"
"My semiannual 'Where are our priorities?' rant."
"For, what it's worth, I really like what you've done with the paper this year." 'Maybe she won't answer me with sarcasm this time.'
"Well, that puts you in the majority of one. I'm sorry about the pom-pom crack. Once I hit take-no-prisoners mode, it's hard to shut it off."
"Actually, I admire it. You know who you are, and you go for it."
"Well, I appreciate the compliment. However, I know you haven't come down to this hole to give me a pep talk."
"The Torch prints the graduation speech every year, right?"
"Having transcribed last year's snore fest, that's an unfortunate yes. What year?"
"1977."
"That's P.C." 'What?'
"P.C.?"
"Pre-computer. When disco ruled the earth. Anything we have before then is gonna be H.C."
"Hard copy."
"You catch on fast. Let's see. 77, here we go. 'Saturday Night Fever' was their prom theme. Styx won the group of the century, and. . . Wow. Someone got in the administration's collective face."
"'Due to the controversial nature of this year's graduation address the editor have elected no to run the text in this issue of the Torch.'"
"Meaning, ironically, it's probably the only one worth reading. You know, maybe I could track something down for you. Do you know who gave the speech?"
"Yeah, my mother." Silently Chloe put the paper back in the drawer and went back to her desk. "See you later." she said as she walked out of the office. 'Why do people always freeze when I mention them?'
Later that night she decided to go for a run, and she just ended up at the Kent's house. She walked down the driveway and saw Clark sitting on the porch railing. He looked up and stared intently at her.
"Clark, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Sorry, it's nothing. I wasn't sure it was you." 'What does he mean by that?'
"This is a bad time." She made a gesture as if she was going to leave.
"No." He got up, and she walked over and leaned on the railing next to him.
"I was out jogging, didn't wanna go home, just kind of ended up here."
" You and Nell are still fighting."
"How'd you know?"
"Just perceptive, I guess." he smiled. 'He's cute when he smiles.'
"Found my mother's diary. Discovered that a lot of the things that I've been feeling, she felt too."
"That's great. Isn't it?" 'In a way.'
"It's great and it's frustrating and it's scary. Like she could see right through me. You ever feel like that?"
"More than you know." 'I wonder what he means by that.'
"When I was reading her words it's like she was talking to me. And then she was gone."
"Well, you're lucky you got at least that." 'That's right. He's adopted too, only he never knew his biological parents.'
"Have you ever tried to find your parents? Your biological parents, I mean?"
"Not really. I figure they're a million years away from my life now." That's a sad way to look at it.'
"If you could ask them a question, what would you ask?"
"What happened? Why'd they let me go?" How do I make sense of all the strangeness in my life?" 'That makes sense.'
"I guess neither of us will ever get a straight answer."
"I hope you find what you're looking for." 'Thanks.' Just then they heard Mrs. Kent calling from inside,
"Clark, have you seen Lana? Nell's looking for her."
"Yeah, mom. She's out here."
"Hi, Mrs. Kent. Can you tell her I'll be back soon."
The next night she decided to go visit her parents. When she got there she knelt down in front of their stone and started to pour out all her feelings.
"I found your journal, Mom. The one you kept in high school? Suddenly all these conversations don't seem so one-sided. Tried to find your graduation speech, but they didn't print it. Every time I get closer to you something pulls me away."
"Lana." she turned to see Whitney walking towards her.
"Whitney, what are you doing here?"
"Your aunt said you went riding. I just followed the path."
"Just talking to my parents."
"They're dead Lana. You have this great life, and you can't even see it. You have no right to be unhappy. They're not coming back, Lana. Deal with it."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you don't deserve your life." Whitney turn into Tina. "I do." 'What the heck was that?' Tina reached over and started choking her. She tried to fight her off, but Tina was too strong. She fell over and the world went black.
The next thing she knew she woke up and started coughing. She looked around and saw a skeleton laying next to her. She screamed and pushed it down beside her feet so she didn't have to look at it. 'Oh my God, Tina was Whitney. Who else was she? I hope she wasn't Clark the other night. That would have been really embarrassing.' She reached up and tried to push the top of the stone casket off. She kept struggling until she didn't have enough energy to push on it anymore. 'So much for living a long life.' she thought. She closed her eyes with the hope that when she woke up she wouldn't be with her parents.
When she opened her eyes she saw Clark sitting next to her. She looked around; she was laying on the couch in her house, and Tina was no where to be seen.
"Clark," she whispered.
"Lana. How are you feeling?" he asked as he got up and sat down on the couch next to her.
"My head hurts, and my neck is stiff. But I think I'm alright." she said as she sat up to make room for him.
"I was worried that we almost lost you for a while. You scared everyone."
"I think I was the one who was most scared. It was horrible." she shivered just remembering what had happened. To her surprise Clark put his arm around her shoulders and gave her half a hug. She leaned against him feeling safe.
"I'll go tell your aunt that you're awake." He got up off the couch and walked down the hall. A few seconds later he came back with Nell. She sat down next to Lana and gave her a tight hug.
"Now I know this is the last thing you want to think about right now, but there are some police outside that would like to ask you both some questions. When they went outside she told three different officers the same story. She had gone to the graveyard, Tina had showed up looking like her boyfriend, strangled her and apparently put her in a crypt; and the next thing she remembered was waking up inside. After they had been outside for half an hour she saw Chloe walking over. As she heard her talking to Clark she wondered where Whitney was. 'It's nice of her to come by and see him just because their friends. I thought Whitney would be here by now apologizing for not being there, or not being able to do anything like he did after that thing with Greg. Maybe Nell didn't want him to worry or something like that.' She looked up to see Chloe coming over to her.
"Lana. I did some digging." she pulled a tape out of her bag. Lana looked at the tape; the label said "Graduation Address 1977."
"Oh my God, how did you find this?"
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you and I think you've had enough trauma for one night." Chloe looked around at the police cars.
"Chloe, thank you." 'You have no idea how much this means to me."
"No problem." Chloe smiled, turned, and walked away.
"Just as the Kents were leaving Whitney came running over and wrapped his arms around her. 'Now I feel totally safe.' He gave her a kiss on the cheek. He put his arm around her waist and together they walked up the path. Once they were inside he gave her a hug, a gentle kiss, and another hug. Then they walked hand-in-hand into the kitchen where Nell gave each of them some coffee. Later after Whitney had left she went out to the truck to listen to the tape Chloe had given her. As she was walking out it started to rain. 'The sound of rain will go good with this. I don't know why, but I know it will.' She put in the tape and braced her self for the wave of emotion she knew would come over her when she heard her mother's voice.
"As principal of Smallville High, I would like to introduce the valedictorian of the class of 1977, Miss Laura Potter." she heard cheering as her mother apparently stood up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, graduating senior, good evening. Those familiar words open every graduation address at Smallville High," Lana reached up, took off her necklace and held it tightly in her hand. "and I use them deliberately because the rest of my speech will not be so reassuring. I never made a difference here, but maybe my children can. When I first came to Smallville High, I was full of hope. I thought the world was gonna be. . ." Lana let her tear fall, she hadn't cried for her parents in so long and there was no reason why she couldn't now. 'I miss you mom.' She leaned against the truck door listening to the rain long after the tape stopped.