I'm a little busy these days, with writing and school. I'm currently writing a novel, called Tunnels of Sunshine. A lot of my friends think I'm insane, to attempt to write a novel when I'm not yet 13. But this is what, my fifth try? Hopefully I'll finish this one. And that is my excuse to why I haven't updated as quick as I'd like.
I had to lock up my iPod to get myself to write this chapter. I hope you're happy. Do you know how hard it is to survive without music?
And to Nathifa Femi, if you're still reading this, the thing that needs to be tweaked is voice. Voice is to me the most important thing in a story, and I can't say I have no voice, because I know I do. I just don't have much, which annoys me a lot. Ah well.
About two weeks have passed. Out of six months. That should give you an idea of how long this story will be.
Summary: Right after Holly gets a job in the LEP, she cuts her hair. Each auburn lock falling through the floor makes her think about choices, and especially their consequences. What will happen after?
Disclaimer: I don't own Artemis Fowl.
Haircut
Chapter Seven
The next week and a half passed with Holly on what she believed was the very borderline between calamity and madness. Foaly and she had become pretty good friends—well, as good friends as two can get after a week and a half. Foaly was his normal annoying self and had grown out of being awkward and exceedingly nice. Truthfully, Holly liked him better this way.
She even found herself dreaming about Trouble. Not really dreaming, just all of their interactions, playing themselves over and over again in her mind. It was as if someone had collected all of Holly's memories labeled 'Trouble', put them into a movie, then put them into perpetual motion. He was getting annoying.
Well, not Trouble exactly, she was beginning to think Trouble didn't have the ability or capacity to be annoying, but more her. She was getting annoying to herself, really. Their conversations all felt stupid, and she couldn't help thinking that she could've done better or something of the like. So one day, growing impatient without a cure to her nearly-psychosis state, she went to Foaly for help.
Not the brightest idea, perhaps, but it wasn't like she really had anyone else. Which, when she thought about it, was rather sad.
Walking into Foaly's room, she saw the centaur hunched over his computer, studying the screen and frowning slightly.
"What's going on?" she asked curiously, forgetting about her original reason that she was there for.
Startled, he turned to her, then back to his computer. "I think… it's just… it's not supposed to…"
She tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"
"This officer on Sool's squad, number five, just… disappeared. I can't find him anywhere," he exclaimed heatedly, "if only my iris-cams were done!"
Holly thought hard. "Has his team found him?"
"Are you kidding? Sool's group couldn't find water in an ocean." Holly chuckled lightly at this. She had heard many stories about how nobody liked Sool. Trouble himself had some sort of major rivalry with him.
"Then what do you have to do?"
"By law, we can't do anything about finding him until about three days later, give or take. Unless we have proof that he is in danger, of course.It wouldn't be good if he just went on a potty break or something, and everyone panicked and sent out Retrieval," the centaur explained. Holly nodded for him to continue. That made sense.
"So in the meantime, we have to find a replacement officer from Traffic to be a substitute for the three days, and then after that, get a squad to go out and find the missing officer."
Her eyes had lost their focus after the word 'Traffic'. A replacement officer? Didn't that include her? So did that mean she could possibly be chosen to be in Recon for three, glorious days? She looked up at Foaly hopefully, trying to keep her face innocent.
He whinnied in amusement, already knowing what she wanted. "I can pull a few strings with the Commander to try and get you in, since I'm irreplaceable," he added smugly, "but they're all going to be leaning towards the other guy in Traffic, Vein." (1)
Holly knew Vein. He was a good friend of Trouble's. Would Trouble possibly get mad at her for taking his friend's spotlight away? Great. Just another thing to worry about.
"I'll try, anyway." Foaly continued. "At the very least I'll get your name higher with the bosses."
She smiled as warmly as she could manage. "Thanks."
Now as she walked down the hallway, thinking about all that had happened during these two longest weeks of her life, she happened to bump into that person. No, actually, not Trouble. Vein.
He grinned at her, and then grimaced. "Aw, man, I have to pay you now!" Holly was confused for a minute, and then remembered about the bet. He had bet on a week and a half, along with the quarter guy. Vein took out various items from his pockets, acorns, house keys, and money included. He really wasn't very organized.Then he took out a mini-portable television from his pocket. "I lost whatever I actually bet," he apologized, "but you can have this. I got used to Traffic weeks ago, you need it more then I do, being a newbie."
"Uh, thanks." She didn't have the heart to tell him that she'd never get to use it, since her assigned route to guard was where all the Commanders, Majors, and Council Members drove to work.
"Oh yeah, you might want to go collect your quarters." With that parting statement, he went off. She watched as Trouble and him met in the hallway, slapped each other's shoulders good naturedly, and walked off.
Great. Just great. What if Trouble decided that it was unfair that she had gotten in to the replacement spot, and deserted her? Then all the others would too, since they only hung out with her because of him. That would be horrible.
But for that to even have a chance of happening, she told herself sternly, you have to be chosen for the spot. And who says Foaly can actually get you in, anyway?
That afternoon, as she was about to leave, Foaly came running out happily.
"I did it!" he shouted, thankfully, there wasn't enough quiet for others to hear him. "You're going to be the replacement for the next three days!" He looked extremely smug enough already, but Holly thought it couldn't help to raise his ego just a teensy-weensy bit, for the sake of being nice. (She later learned, of course, that one must NEVER, NEVER help Foaly's ego on its way up.)
"Really? Thanks!" she exclaimed, though she felt an upraising feeling as well as a down-hearted one at the same time, making her feel rather light-headed.
"Yeah, come here and we'll get the papers filled out." On the way to the paperwork room (with many contracts about many random things included), he explained more of how he had gotten her in.
"They thought it'd be a good idea, to see how you, being, well, a girl, could do under actual pressure. I think half of them wanted to have a reason to boot you out, and the other half was genuinely interested."
She tried smiling, though she was too nervous.
Exhilarated and nervous, she signed the documents with a steady hand, but a shaky mind. Nonetheless, it would've been better to have it the other way around.
END OF CHAPTER
(1)- Vein is not an OC. I make it a point not to have OC's in my stories. He's mentioned as the top Captain in the first book.
Ack, it's not much. But don't worry; I have some fun things planned out with Holly as a temporary Recon-er. Including Mulch, Trouble, and maybe even more Lili in a later chapter.
I'm laughing myself silly at a quote someone told me: "There are two kinds of people that I hate in this world: people who don't respect other people's cultures, and the Dutch." (cracks up) Paradoxes and hypocritical statements never fail to amuse me. And sarcasm.
