"Why do my friends always take so long?" Michelle asked herself, pacing on
the school playground's bridge, "All I'd asked was that they'd come on
time. But nooooooo."
The 13-year-old looked at her watch. It read 2:15 pm.
"Maybe they got caught in traffic," offered Michael, who was sitting at the bottom of one of the slides.
Michael had known Michelle all her life. He was a year older than her, but still her height. His family and her family had been close friends for quite a few years. After all, it was Michael's mother that got Michelle's parents to meet each other.
"On a Saturday? 1 hour and fifteen minutes after the end of the average worker's lunchhour?
"It's 2:15?"
Michelle checked her watch, and replied, "No. It's 2:17."
"Maybe your watch is ahead."
Michelle went down the slide, making sure her heels came in contact with Michael's back.
"Ouch! What?!?"
"Of course my watch isn't ahead. It takes perfect time."
"To what? Uganda time?" teased the fourteen-year-old boy.
Michael was staying at Michelle's place for awhile, while his parents and sister were on a trip in the Philippines. His mother was Philipino, but his father was English. Michael didn't care to go to visit his mother's relatives, so he stayed in Canada. As his parents were missionaries, he usually stayed in Uganda. But every two years, his family would come to Canada for at least three weeks. This time, however, the Bertrand family wanted to go to the Philippines as well. So to save air fees, they let Michael stay in Canada. He would go to school with Michelle when school started, but in the tenth grade, instead of the ninth with Michelle. Cherry, Michael's sister, would go to school in the Philippines. The parents would be taking a year off from their job.
"Ha ha no. My watch is running on Canadian time," retorted Michelle. She leaned on one of the wooden supports for the playground, and asked quietly, "Is your staying here by any chance related to something about a gang in any way?"
Michael stopped playing with gravel and looked at her.
"Did my parents tell you that?"
"No..." Michelle heisitated, and said, "Your parents told my parents in the living room upstairs while I was coincidentally in the kitchen behind a closed door."
Michael chuckled, "And my parents think you're a sweet, innocent girl."
"Nothing wrong with coincidence, right?" smiled Michelle.
"Are you telling your friends...you know..." Michael raised his eyebrows.
"As long as Holly comes, and you don't back out," came his answer.
"Are those some of your friends?" asked Michael, standing up and pointing to a fairly chubby girl walking with an annoyingly perky boy across the field.
"Um..." Michelle shaded her eyes from the sun, "Yep. That's Melissa and Adam. And Geordie and Phil are running to catch up. They must have caught the bus right after them."
"Adam's the one that's your boyfriend, right?" asked Michael.
Michelle examined his face. Was it just her, or did Michael sound wistful?
"Sort of. I can't really date him since he's atheist," mumbled the girl. She caught his eyes, and said, "Be nice, ok?"
"I'll be nice to the girls, as well as Phil and Georgie, but-"
"It's Geordie."
"What?"
"His name's Geordie. Call him Georgie and he'll have a fit," she saw his confused look, and shook her head. "Just call him Geordie. I'll explain later."
"Ok..."
By now, the majority of Michelle's circle of friends had gotten to the Playscape.
"Hey," said Adam, quickly rushing up to hug Michelle, "How're you?"
"I'm fine," replied Michelle.
Adam sighed. She always answered people that way.
"You deserved it! Moe! Hey! How have you been?!" exclaimed Michelle to Melissa, being overly enthusiastic on purpose.
"Shut up on the fact that I deserved the Science award, and the Moe. Anything but the Moe," said Melissa as ominously as she could.
"Yeah, I missed you too," said Michelle, toning down the enthusiasm. She knew Melissa would never say that she missed her to her face.
"So Geordie, how did world domination go?" Michelle asked, turning to the fourteen-year-old boy.
"Meh."
"Ok, sounds great. And...oh yes...Phil..."
"Hi..." murmured Phil in a dull tone, and then suddenly pasted on a smile and said loud and enthusiastically, "HI MICHELLE! HOW'S IT GOIN'?!?!?" and then instantly went into 'blah' mode.
"It's been fine. Everyone, this is Michael," introduced Michelle, returning to her original place beside him, "He's been a family friend for pretty much all his life, and is staying at my place for a while (no cracks about a live-in boyfriend please). And now I think we should go under the Playscape."
Through all this, Michael and Michelle had been facing the other four in the group. In other words, the four missed seeing Holly's wave to Michelle from down the field several feet. And when Michelle and Michael turned, the others wondered why the originally humid, sunny day suddenly became a chilly downpour.
"Hey Holly!" yelled Michelle over the wind, "This is Michael, the friend I was telling you about!" she called, pointing to the latter.
"Hey Mike! And hey guys! Nice weather we're having, huh?" called Holly.
"Yeah!" agreed Melissa, "Beautiful!"
Melissa and the newcomer boys stared at Holly. For, while rain was whipping all around them, Holly was walking in a personal ray of sunlight, completely dry.
"Ok Humus. Cut!"
Immediately, the skies cleared.
"You never warned me that she was that strong," accused Michael.
"She didn't warn me," replied Michelle, looking at the other half of the Sisterchip.
"I'm sorry, I don't know my own power," apologized Holly in her 'Superhero' voice. "I shall try to tame it."
"You mean...she...?" Phil left the sentence unfinished.
"My yearbook quote was 'I have a wide variety of superpowers.' But that's not entirely true. I'm just like Storm."
"Cool! You can control the weather! Make sure that most snow days are during Math test days, ok Holly?" asked Geordie.
"Sorry, Geordie. I already tried begging her with History test days. It didn't work," said Michelle with mock sadness.
"So that's what you were begging for. It took you 57 minutes to give up," recalled Michael.
"Eh-he..."
"All right, all right, all right. What do we do about drying?" asked Adam. Like everyone else, (except Holly) his hair and clothes were plastered to his body.
"And this is why I wore a black shirt," said Michelle as she walked to her hidden backpack, "And now I shall surprise you all by being even more organized!"
"!!!" went her friends except Michael.
"What about it?" whispered Michael to Melissa.
"She never brings in homework! Well...almost never..." she replied.
"I bring you...towels!" cried Michelle as she brought from her backpack six big towels.
"Thanks," said Adam, and the top one levitated on its own to him.
"Eek! I mean...uh.*cough*"
"Cool..." commented Melissa, "Telekinesis."
{And telepathy,} came Adam's voice from inside all of their heads.
"Whoa! Ok, warn me next time!" exclaimed Michael.
{Ok...}
"You're lucky," said Melissa, "Your mutation is somewhat interesting. Mine's just weird."
"How?" asked Phil.
"I heal myself. And other people or animals. I found out when I cut myself while cutting vegetables. The cut disappeared, and all I had to do was wipe away the blood. And when my cat got bit, the bite healed while I stared at it. I wasn't touching it or anything," Melissa grinned, "I'm glad I could tell you guys. My family would think this was really weird, and treat me differently."
"I'm just glad we're accepting everything. I showed my sister my talent, and she really freaked out. She promised not to tell my parents ahead of time, so they won't know about it," said Holly.
"Hey guys!" yelled Phil, suddenly. He was on the Playscape bridge. "I am here..." suddenly there was a puff of blue smoke where he was standing, and Phil re-appeared behind Melissa. "And now I am here! Hey-hey!"
"Whoa!" exclaimed Melissa, "Don't do that! You don't make any sound!"
"Hey Phil, does the cloud thing smell like cigarettes?" asked typical Geordie.
"No, why?"
"Oh. Ok, 'cuz it looked like cigarette smoke," Geordie shrugged. With everyone watching, a ball of fire hovered over Geordie's right hand. With the other hand, a trail of ice came and froze the flames.
"That's neat," commented Adam.
"That's it? Just 'That's neat,' from Adam?!?" ranted Geordie after about ten seconds, "None of the rest of you even go: 'hm'?!?! Oh! How about this..."
Geordie put his left hand palm up, and carefully made a long-stemmed ice- rose. He then walked over to Holly, and on one knee said dramatically:
"Juliet, Juliet, wherefore art thou, Juliet...something, something...ah forget it! Just take the rose!"
"No thanks. The ice-rose has been done," replied Holly.
"But...but..."
"Here, pass me that?" asked Michael, reaching his hand out for the rose.
Geordie passed it to him, and he walked to where Michelle was, toweling her hair.
"Stay there," ordered Mike, "See Geordie, this is how you do it."
He went around Michelle, put an arm around her shoulders, and with the other hand, presented her the rose. "Aye me!" said Michelle as she pretended to faint.
"Show off..." grumbled Geordie and Adam, while everyone else laughed.
"Looks like I've got competition. Fine. Two can play at that game," thought Adam to himself.
The 13-year-old looked at her watch. It read 2:15 pm.
"Maybe they got caught in traffic," offered Michael, who was sitting at the bottom of one of the slides.
Michael had known Michelle all her life. He was a year older than her, but still her height. His family and her family had been close friends for quite a few years. After all, it was Michael's mother that got Michelle's parents to meet each other.
"On a Saturday? 1 hour and fifteen minutes after the end of the average worker's lunchhour?
"It's 2:15?"
Michelle checked her watch, and replied, "No. It's 2:17."
"Maybe your watch is ahead."
Michelle went down the slide, making sure her heels came in contact with Michael's back.
"Ouch! What?!?"
"Of course my watch isn't ahead. It takes perfect time."
"To what? Uganda time?" teased the fourteen-year-old boy.
Michael was staying at Michelle's place for awhile, while his parents and sister were on a trip in the Philippines. His mother was Philipino, but his father was English. Michael didn't care to go to visit his mother's relatives, so he stayed in Canada. As his parents were missionaries, he usually stayed in Uganda. But every two years, his family would come to Canada for at least three weeks. This time, however, the Bertrand family wanted to go to the Philippines as well. So to save air fees, they let Michael stay in Canada. He would go to school with Michelle when school started, but in the tenth grade, instead of the ninth with Michelle. Cherry, Michael's sister, would go to school in the Philippines. The parents would be taking a year off from their job.
"Ha ha no. My watch is running on Canadian time," retorted Michelle. She leaned on one of the wooden supports for the playground, and asked quietly, "Is your staying here by any chance related to something about a gang in any way?"
Michael stopped playing with gravel and looked at her.
"Did my parents tell you that?"
"No..." Michelle heisitated, and said, "Your parents told my parents in the living room upstairs while I was coincidentally in the kitchen behind a closed door."
Michael chuckled, "And my parents think you're a sweet, innocent girl."
"Nothing wrong with coincidence, right?" smiled Michelle.
"Are you telling your friends...you know..." Michael raised his eyebrows.
"As long as Holly comes, and you don't back out," came his answer.
"Are those some of your friends?" asked Michael, standing up and pointing to a fairly chubby girl walking with an annoyingly perky boy across the field.
"Um..." Michelle shaded her eyes from the sun, "Yep. That's Melissa and Adam. And Geordie and Phil are running to catch up. They must have caught the bus right after them."
"Adam's the one that's your boyfriend, right?" asked Michael.
Michelle examined his face. Was it just her, or did Michael sound wistful?
"Sort of. I can't really date him since he's atheist," mumbled the girl. She caught his eyes, and said, "Be nice, ok?"
"I'll be nice to the girls, as well as Phil and Georgie, but-"
"It's Geordie."
"What?"
"His name's Geordie. Call him Georgie and he'll have a fit," she saw his confused look, and shook her head. "Just call him Geordie. I'll explain later."
"Ok..."
By now, the majority of Michelle's circle of friends had gotten to the Playscape.
"Hey," said Adam, quickly rushing up to hug Michelle, "How're you?"
"I'm fine," replied Michelle.
Adam sighed. She always answered people that way.
"You deserved it! Moe! Hey! How have you been?!" exclaimed Michelle to Melissa, being overly enthusiastic on purpose.
"Shut up on the fact that I deserved the Science award, and the Moe. Anything but the Moe," said Melissa as ominously as she could.
"Yeah, I missed you too," said Michelle, toning down the enthusiasm. She knew Melissa would never say that she missed her to her face.
"So Geordie, how did world domination go?" Michelle asked, turning to the fourteen-year-old boy.
"Meh."
"Ok, sounds great. And...oh yes...Phil..."
"Hi..." murmured Phil in a dull tone, and then suddenly pasted on a smile and said loud and enthusiastically, "HI MICHELLE! HOW'S IT GOIN'?!?!?" and then instantly went into 'blah' mode.
"It's been fine. Everyone, this is Michael," introduced Michelle, returning to her original place beside him, "He's been a family friend for pretty much all his life, and is staying at my place for a while (no cracks about a live-in boyfriend please). And now I think we should go under the Playscape."
Through all this, Michael and Michelle had been facing the other four in the group. In other words, the four missed seeing Holly's wave to Michelle from down the field several feet. And when Michelle and Michael turned, the others wondered why the originally humid, sunny day suddenly became a chilly downpour.
"Hey Holly!" yelled Michelle over the wind, "This is Michael, the friend I was telling you about!" she called, pointing to the latter.
"Hey Mike! And hey guys! Nice weather we're having, huh?" called Holly.
"Yeah!" agreed Melissa, "Beautiful!"
Melissa and the newcomer boys stared at Holly. For, while rain was whipping all around them, Holly was walking in a personal ray of sunlight, completely dry.
"Ok Humus. Cut!"
Immediately, the skies cleared.
"You never warned me that she was that strong," accused Michael.
"She didn't warn me," replied Michelle, looking at the other half of the Sisterchip.
"I'm sorry, I don't know my own power," apologized Holly in her 'Superhero' voice. "I shall try to tame it."
"You mean...she...?" Phil left the sentence unfinished.
"My yearbook quote was 'I have a wide variety of superpowers.' But that's not entirely true. I'm just like Storm."
"Cool! You can control the weather! Make sure that most snow days are during Math test days, ok Holly?" asked Geordie.
"Sorry, Geordie. I already tried begging her with History test days. It didn't work," said Michelle with mock sadness.
"So that's what you were begging for. It took you 57 minutes to give up," recalled Michael.
"Eh-he..."
"All right, all right, all right. What do we do about drying?" asked Adam. Like everyone else, (except Holly) his hair and clothes were plastered to his body.
"And this is why I wore a black shirt," said Michelle as she walked to her hidden backpack, "And now I shall surprise you all by being even more organized!"
"!!!" went her friends except Michael.
"What about it?" whispered Michael to Melissa.
"She never brings in homework! Well...almost never..." she replied.
"I bring you...towels!" cried Michelle as she brought from her backpack six big towels.
"Thanks," said Adam, and the top one levitated on its own to him.
"Eek! I mean...uh.*cough*"
"Cool..." commented Melissa, "Telekinesis."
{And telepathy,} came Adam's voice from inside all of their heads.
"Whoa! Ok, warn me next time!" exclaimed Michael.
{Ok...}
"You're lucky," said Melissa, "Your mutation is somewhat interesting. Mine's just weird."
"How?" asked Phil.
"I heal myself. And other people or animals. I found out when I cut myself while cutting vegetables. The cut disappeared, and all I had to do was wipe away the blood. And when my cat got bit, the bite healed while I stared at it. I wasn't touching it or anything," Melissa grinned, "I'm glad I could tell you guys. My family would think this was really weird, and treat me differently."
"I'm just glad we're accepting everything. I showed my sister my talent, and she really freaked out. She promised not to tell my parents ahead of time, so they won't know about it," said Holly.
"Hey guys!" yelled Phil, suddenly. He was on the Playscape bridge. "I am here..." suddenly there was a puff of blue smoke where he was standing, and Phil re-appeared behind Melissa. "And now I am here! Hey-hey!"
"Whoa!" exclaimed Melissa, "Don't do that! You don't make any sound!"
"Hey Phil, does the cloud thing smell like cigarettes?" asked typical Geordie.
"No, why?"
"Oh. Ok, 'cuz it looked like cigarette smoke," Geordie shrugged. With everyone watching, a ball of fire hovered over Geordie's right hand. With the other hand, a trail of ice came and froze the flames.
"That's neat," commented Adam.
"That's it? Just 'That's neat,' from Adam?!?" ranted Geordie after about ten seconds, "None of the rest of you even go: 'hm'?!?! Oh! How about this..."
Geordie put his left hand palm up, and carefully made a long-stemmed ice- rose. He then walked over to Holly, and on one knee said dramatically:
"Juliet, Juliet, wherefore art thou, Juliet...something, something...ah forget it! Just take the rose!"
"No thanks. The ice-rose has been done," replied Holly.
"But...but..."
"Here, pass me that?" asked Michael, reaching his hand out for the rose.
Geordie passed it to him, and he walked to where Michelle was, toweling her hair.
"Stay there," ordered Mike, "See Geordie, this is how you do it."
He went around Michelle, put an arm around her shoulders, and with the other hand, presented her the rose. "Aye me!" said Michelle as she pretended to faint.
"Show off..." grumbled Geordie and Adam, while everyone else laughed.
"Looks like I've got competition. Fine. Two can play at that game," thought Adam to himself.