Chapter 3: Getting A Point Across
Once inside Harleen noticed to her surprise her parents' shoes near the front door. They were home a good two hours earlier than usual. This perplexed the girl and she pondered as to why they were their as she sat down to remove her shoes.
Not even five seconds after taking off her shoes Harleen heard her father calling from the living room, "Harleen, get in here." She was surprised to hear the slightly angry tone to her father's voice.
Harleen headed to the living room and saw both her parents seated on the couch together with rather rigid profiles.
"Sit," Harleen's father instructed indicating the small loveseat in the living room.
The room was a good size with ample space to walk around the furniture. Both the sofa and loveseat were from a matching set along with the light-coloured coffee table. The walls were a light beige colour like the rest of the house and this was one of the few rooms with a carpet which was a medium grey colour.
The television sat on a small stand with a cable box and DVD player attached to it. There were even a few family photos adorning the walls.
Harleen took a seat on the loveseat's dark elm coloured cushions. She then looked back over at her parents curiously as she could not think of what this could be about.
"Dear, if you could please" Her dad said as he looked over at his wife with a rather stony gaze.
"Alright," Harleen's mom answered as she squeezed his arm a little with a slightly worried expression. The woman then got up from the couch and left the room while Harleen's father proceeded to talk to her alone.
Once Harleen's mother had gone upstairs her father turned to face her again. "Where have you been young lady?" Her father questioned sounding quite irritated.
"I was at John's," Harleen responded with a confused look on her face as she could not understand her fathers' attitude.
They both heard Harleen's mother overhead as she closed the door to her parent's bedroom.
"And did I say you could go there?" He asked Harleen in a serious manner.
"Ya," Harleen replied as her voice became somewhat worried sounding at her dad's line of questioning.
"And when was this?" He inquired further in an impatient way. His face was becoming more irritated with each subsequent question.
It was at this point that Harleen heard the television go on in her parent's bedroom. She could distinctly hear slightly dramatic music and a muffled announcers voice.
"You said I could go as long as you met his parents," Harleen put forward as she wondered where this was going.
"I also remember telling you afterwards that it was no longer possible," He reminded her in a slightly patronizing tone.
"No you didn't, you said you didn't think it was possible cause you were to busy and you thought they were to busy. But I had John's number so I phoned him to see what could be arranged," Harleen began but then noticed her father's expression stiffen suddenly at the mention of her phoning John.
"When, did he give you, his number?" Harleen's father queried in an agitated manner as he put great emphasize on each word.
Harleen was beginning to realize where this conversation was going and she was planning on fully derailing it to her advantage. "The same day you talked to his parents. He handed it to me when we were standing a little ways away from you guys," she explained in a somewhat exasperated way.
"Did I give you permission to phone him?" Harleen's father asked with an alarmed expression.
Harleen gave her father a look of absurdity at this question. "Since when do I need permission to phone a friend?" She queried back in an incredulous and somewhat hurt tone. As she talked the girl made sure she was gradually talking louder and sounding more agitated.
"Well you are not to phone him again and you are not to go over to his house anymore," Harleen's father informed her in a final sort of way.
"Why not?" Harleen questioned as her voice began to take on that high pithed quality again.
"Because I said so and that's final," Harleen's father answered as though this settled the matter.
"It is certainly not final," Harleen countered as she stood up in anger.
"How dare you young lady, go to your room," Harleen's father retorted angrily as he gripped the arm of the couch.
"How dare I, how dare I what? Call you out on your own bullshit," Harleen pointed out sounding outraged at her father's behaviour. In reality she was just waiting for him to make the first move, the rest she could improvise, even if she had to do all the work herself.
"I told you to go upstairs," Harleen's father practically yelled at his daughter as he rose from the couch and angrily pointed down the hallway.
"Make me," Harleen challenged the man as she took a menacing step forward even though she was a good head shorter than him. She was now only two feet from him and had a cocky look on her face.
"Harleen do not cross that line with me," her father warned her as he to almost yelled back.
"What line? This isn't about me crossing a line. This is about you punishing me for no reason. What the hell have you got against my friend and his family?" Harleen inquired in an offended manner. Part of her really was curious as to why her father was acting this way but would be unprepared for what came next.
"I told you to go upstairs Harleen," the girls father repeated as he finally took a step towards her.
"And I asked you a question. What in the hell do you have against them? I mean they're perfectly nice people. So, what in the hell am I missing here huh. Or are you somehow jealous of them," Harleen threw out I an attempt to bait her old man.
"Jealous, who the hell would be jealous of a bunch of pompous n******," Harleen's father retorted in disgust as he grabbed his face in agitation. The girl had never seen her father like this, it looked to her as though he wanted to punch something.
Let's get this show on the road, Harleen had been waiting for something like this, though finding out her dad was racist had even caught her off guard. "What the hell did you just call them?" The girl inquired sounding both outraged and pissed off after the first few seconds of shock wore off.
"You heard me, they're a bunch of pompous n******. And I will not have you around them," Harleen's dad shot out sounding livid. As he lowered his hand, stomped his foot and had a look of rage on his face.
"The hell is wrong with you? You racist piece of shit," Harleen exclaimed as she purposely got in her dad's face. "Ugh, I'm disgusted to even be related to you," she spat back in a revolted tone as she turned away from him and held the top of her forehead. "Do you have any idea how fucking stupid you sound. What the hell dad," the girl continued as she looked back over at him with a highly upset and offset expression.
"Do not talk to me like that," Harleen's father yelled back as he advanced towards her slightly.
"I'll talk to you however I want, you racist piece of shit," Harleen bellowed back as she leaned in closer and gave her father a look of contempt. The two were now less then a foot from each other. "And there's not a damn thing you can do to stop me," the girl shouted right in the man's face causing her father to look at her in vehemence.
That's when for the first time in her life Harleen's father slapped her.
Harleen made sure to back towards the coffee table after the hit so she could pull off her next move.
Harleen's father reached towards her looking concerned and was about to say her name when the girl cut him off. "No dad, dad, what are you doing," she yelped and then threw herself over the coffee table and made sure to land on her back on the other side.
As Harleen's father watched in horror the girl proceeded to throw herself around the living room. Smashing into everything she could along the way and continuously punching herself. It was not until she backed up into the television causing it to loudly fall against the wall that Harleen heard her mothers running foot steps. She even made a point of breaking her own nose just before she heard her mother's footsteps on the stairs.
Harleen then lunged forward and grabbed her father. As she slid down him she made sure she left as much blood on him as possible, she even made a point of grabbing his hands.
Just before Harleen's mother rounded the last corner into the living room the girl threw herself back and coward away from her father who reached out for her which helped to complete the picture.
Harleen's mother stood in the entryway to the living room looking stunned. She then rushed towards the girl in attempt to help her. Instead of accepting the assistance Harleen instead coward away from her mother.
"No, don't touch me," Harleen yelped out as she curled up into a ball. "You're in this with him," Harleen lamented as her eyes began to swim with tears.
The pain was starting to set in but Harleen really did not care. She was trying to draw things out as she knew her sister would be home soon. It was her sister's night to cook dinner and she was exploiting this fact.
"Harleen please I," her mother insisted as she tried to further approach the girl.
The next sound that came was that of the door opening. Harleen's sister had arrived home and would fall to the ground at the site in front of her.
Harleen sprung on this and immediately leaped towards her sister. "Kathrynn, Kathrynn," she called desperately as she grabbed onto her sister. "Please don't let them hurt me anymore," the girl sobbed out sounding desperate.
To her credit Kathrynn immediately got out her cell phone and called the police while hugging a sobbing Harleen to herself.
"Hello, Gotham City Police Department. What's your emergency?" The operator on the other end asked politely.
"Umm, I think my parents just beat my younger sister," Kathrynn answered unsure of what else to say as this was beyond her depth.
"Are your parents still there?" The operator questioned sounding interested.
"Yes, they're in the living room which looks very, umm, messed up," Kathrynn tried explaining as Harleen continued to sob in her arms.
"We're sending two officers. Can I get the address please?" She inquired in a mechanical tone.
"Umm, it's 24 Wesley Crescent," Kathrynn replied as she hugged Harleen closer to her.
"Has this happened before?" The lady queried as she ensured the conversation was being properly recorded.
"Not that I know of. My parents aren't violent. I mean they've probably yelled at all of us at least once or twice. We've also been grounded and stuff before but this I. Our parent's have never even hit any of us. The, the living room though is really messed up," Kathrynn tried to describe as her voice trembled slightly.
"Do you know what they were arguing about?" She questioned then tried to hold in a yawn.
"No, one sec," Kathrynn responded then peered down at Harleen who was still clinging to her. "Harleen, what, why did dad do this," the older girl tried to ask but was unsure how to word her query.
"He got mad at me for going to my friends house," Harleen began to explain through her sobs.
As Harleen spoke Kathrynn lowered the phone so the operator could here her.
"I left a note and even made sure they met before hand. B-but dad got mad because he's racist and John's family's black. I was telling him off for it cause it's wrong and he just started hitting me. I tried to get away but he would shove me up against what he could. If mom hadn't come down the stairs, I, I," the girl continued as she buried her face in her sister's chest.
Upon hearing this from Harleen Kathrynn became a little stiff. The girl chanced a glance up at her sister who was now wearing an understanding expression as she looked up at her father.
At the sight of this sudden change Harleen had to calculate the situation carefully. She counted the seconds and the instant Kathrynn's gripped slackened the girl took her chance. Harleen sprang up suddenly and grabbed the cell phone as she went.
The sudden movement startled Kathrynn and Harleen managed to escape by the skin of her teeth. As she bolted towards the exit with her sister's cell phone in hand she felt relieved when she noticed she had left her shoes out, she scooped them up quickly then flung open the door.
As Harleen sprinted faster then she ever had in her life she lifted the phone to her ear.
"Hello, are you there Miss?" The operator asked sounding worried.
"I'm here, but I'm not the same girl as who started the call. I'm the one who just got beat up," Harleen answered as she continued to run down the street. The girl made sure to make several hair pin turns so as to throw off her family if they came looking for her.
Harleen knew not to go anywhere familiar so she hoped her feet took her somewhere unknown.
"Where are you now?" The operator asked as Harleen finally stopped as she felt extremely winded all of a sudden. Harleen knew this was not good and that she would have to increase her stamina.
"One sec," Harleen wheezed out in a hunched over position as she tried to catch her breath. "Umm, I appear to be in front of some kind of plaza," the girl answered finally as she straightened up to look around.
"Do you see any street signs?" The woman questioned as Harleen wandered over to one of the small stores.
"Let me see," Harleen mused as she glanced down the street.
"Take your time," the woman advised Harleen as she resumed speaking in a steadier tone.
Harleen quickly spotted a street sign and walked over to it. To the girl's relief she did not recognize the street name. "It says, Lowelant Avenue, and the number on the plaza I'm by is 90," she responded as Harleen glanced between the street sign and the plaza.
"Alright, we're sending some officers to get you. Rest assured we will not be returning you to your family," the operator informed Harleen in a confident tone.
"Thank you very much officer," Harleen replied in a stunned tone as she had been fully prepared to plead her case endlessly to make it seem as bad as possible.
Surprisingly though no one believed her father as Kathrynn and her brother thought it entirely possible of their father to do this as they already knew of his prejudices. As for Harleen's mom she was staying mute on the whole thing and seemed unable to process what had happened. Her father remained silent on the issue and Harleen only told the police that she could not live at home anymore but needed to get her stuff.
"They'll destroy it if I don't and I have some really important stuff from my grandmother," Harleen explained tearfully sounding desperate.
"Don't worry we'll send you with officers to your home right away. I'm not sure how much we can allow you to bring with you though," The officer cautioned Harleen who had a fretful look on her face. "I'll ensure you have as many bags as you can carry though," The officer reassured Harleen in a soothing voice.
"Thank you so much officer," Harleen replied trying to sound sincere.
"You're quite welcome," he told her with a friendly smile.
Upon arriving at her house Harleen immediately grabbed her I.D out of he kitchen drawer her mother kept them in. She then went up to her room and gathered up everything she needed to take with her.
At this point she was on her third journal and fourth scrap book. She also grabbed some non specific things as well as clothes and books to throw things off. The last thing she snatched up was her piggy bank which had $1930 in it plus some change. The girl had never spent her allowance or any of her gift money.
Harleen had plans to invest all of her money once she was old enough. This way she would never have to worry about money.
Once everything was done at the police station Harleen was sent to a temporary care home in the city once she made it obvious, she would not go back home.
Due to everything that had happened Harleen knew she needed to phone John and figure out things with the school.
Harleen did this after the first night in the care home as she had arrived quite late the previous evening.
"Hey John," Harleen said as the boy picked up the phone.
"Hey Harleen, what's up," John questioned in a curious tone as they had only just seen each other yesterday.
"Ummm, I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this," Harleen answered as she pondered how best to word her situation.
"Is it something serious?" John asked sounding concerned.
Harleen sighed at this question as she leaned against the wall. "Very actually, it's about school and my family," Harleen put forward as she starred up at the ceiling.
"What about them?" John inquired as he went to sit down as he had been working on something in his workshop.
"I'm not gunna be able to go to school anymore I think," Harleen explained as her voice began to quiver a little. "And it's cause of my family I'm afraid," she finished as she began to sob.
"Woah, woah, woah, are they withdrawing you for some reason?" John queried in a worried tone at Harleen's distress.
"No, but I'm not staying there anymore so it, kind a goes without saying," Harleen explained as she tried to control her sobs.
"What in the? Where are you then?" John asked sounding concerned as he got up to go and find one of his parents.
"I'm in a temporary care home they called it," Harleen told him as she slid to the floor with the payphone still in her hand.
"Why are you in one of those?" John questioned as he wandered down the hallway.
"Give me a minute," Harleen replied as she tried to get her sobbing in check. The girl counted out a good two minutes before responding properly, "it's cause of my dad. I didn't know this but he's extremely racist. He tried to punish me for going to your house. I called him out on it and what does he do, beat the shit out of me."
John paused in his attempts to find one of his parents to suddenly blurt out, "he did what." The boy sounded both furious and stunned at this news.
Harleen sighed in wariness at John's reaction. "I'm away from him now. Though like I said I won't be able to go to school anymore," Harleen pointed out to John just as another resident began to walk down the hallway.
"Not if I have anything to say about it. Harleen I'll call you back, where can I reach you?" John inquired still sounding pissed off as he resumed walking.
"It's 506-761-0432. Just say you want to speak to a resident then say my name," Harleen instructed John as the boy paused in his search to find a pen and paper in a small study.
"Will do, you said the number was 506-761-2834 correct?" John queried after finding what he needed.
"Yep, what are you going to do?" Harleen questioned in a curious tone.
"Well, I have a few ideas, though I'm not sure about any of them yet," John admitted as he resumed looking for his parents.
"Alright, I'll let you go then," Harleen said to John as she stood up and turned back towards the phone base.
"Kay, bye," John replied as he turned a corner.
"Bye," Harleen answered back then hung up the phone.
It was several hours later when John phoned her back and Harleen only had an hour left before the curfew.
"Hey, so I got some good news and some unfortunate news," John told her after saying hello.
"What's the unfortunate news?" Harleen questioned hoping it was nothing to bad.
"You're gunna have to go into foster care but my mom is willing to pay for your school fees and possibly your university, her only condition is that you keep your scores in the high nineties and apply for any available scholarships and such," John explained sounding slightly relieved but also guilty. "My mom is also going to recommend you for a foster home her friend runs. Apparently, it's really good, you'll have to share a room though," John explained as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Wow that's, thank you so much," Harleen exclaimed in surprise at this news.
John sighed a little at Harleen's easy acceptance of such terms. It seemed as if the boy believed his friend was getting the short end of the stick. "Well, I'm glad you're okay with it," John replied sounding slightly annoyed.
Harleen wondered a little at how John sounded but decided to ignore it. "Honestly, I am truly grateful for the opportunity," the girl responded in a cheery tone.
"Oh, is the home in Gotham? I plan on going to university here," Harleen asked in an earnest voice.
"It's five minutes outside of Gotham but it's quite close to the university," John answered as he leaned forward in his seat.
"That sounds reasonable," Harleen mused as she glanced up at the ceiling. "Well if that's it I'll let you go," the girl stated in a somewhat exhausted sounding tone.
"Good luck and I'll see you at school," John responded in a slightly irritated voice.
"Thanks, see you then, bye," Harleen answered back in a cheery manner.
"Bye," John replied then hung up the phone.
The transition to the foster home went smoothly and Harleen adjusted well, even managing to get her foster parents to buy her an extra-large backpack.
The children had large tubs in the basement with locks on them where they could keep important things. The items could not be dangerous and if it was something private like a diary it would not be opened. The inspections were all carried out in front of the kids.
The children were also allowed lock boxes to themselves to keep a few things with them at all times. The kids had the only key to them and like the tubs they were inspected regularly. The same no dangerous items rule applied to the lockboxes as well. The girl kept hers by at all times even going so far as to sleep with it wrapped in her arms. The key was tied around her neck at all times and she did not remove it even when showering.
Harleen was glad for the diary rule and that it extended to scrapbooks and photo albums.
Adjusting to the home was easy for Harleen and she was even given her own little study space at the end of the upstairs hallway. There was a small window beside a single small end table and cushy dinning chair. The tablet they gave her to use to research the internet was taken away each evening and given back as soon as she would head up to the space.
The only annoyance she had come across was that she could not use the printer as often as she wanted to. Unfortunately, it was older and only hooked up to the computer and she only got an few hours a week on it.
Once the closure of the school ended Harleen was again driven to and from everyday.
The first few weeks there were not bad. Harleen's foster parents were a little weirded out when she asked to have the newspaper as none of their other kids had any interest in it. Once she explained to them her career plans and how she thought current events were directly relevant to it though they made sure she got it every morning. The kids around her age were disappointed that she would not play with them.
"I'm sorry but I'm to busy with my studies," Harleen explained to them as they whined at her to come outside and play with them. The Foster mom kept having to shoo them away from her on weekends so she could do her specialized studying. The center was now making them do preparatory work for their chosen fields.
It wasn't till Harleen had been there for almost two months that the first hint of something wrong was going on. She found out from one of the younger boys that the two teenage boys were actually the foster parents' biological sons. One was seventeen and the other was fifteen.
The older of the two was quite tall and thin. He kept his blonde hair short and his face was seldom scruffy. The other son was a full head shorter but not quite as thin. His hair went just past his chin and was dyed bright red.
It was a night like any other, Harleen was just about to drift off to sleep when she heard the door click open. She thought nothing of this as the foster mom often checked on them periodically through the night. What she heard next though was light footsteps on the carpet and the sound of bedsprings being sat on. She then heard some odd rustling noises, feeling more than a little curious she opened her eyes a little and saw a shape on the bed in front of her.
It was too large to be her foster sister and the hair was too short. Then the moon came out from behind the clouds and lit up the room. That's when Harleen realized what she was seeing, the younger of the two boys was in the bed with the little girl, and was doing something very wrong to her. He soon left the room quietly; Harleen was more than a little shocked. She knew people had the capacity for such things considering her own experiences but to do it in a room with two other girls in it.
The next day Harleen's suspicions were confirmed when the girl went up to their foster mom complaining of a stomach ache.
It happened again a few days later to the other girl and went on for several weeks without anything being done even when one of the girls mentioned something about it to the mother. Instead of believing the girl she got mad at her and sent her to her room.
The foster mother even went so far as to tell the girl not to say such disgusting and blatant lies about her son.
When one of the boys came for Harleen she was ready for them, she knew by then it was both of the teenaged boys. She had seen both of them coming and going from the room by that point.
Harleen had her lockbox held tightly against her and had purposely loosened the string to the key tied around her neck. It would be the first time she would take it off since she first dawned the item.
Harleen heard the familiar click of the door and the expected footsteps. The girl had specifically slept on her side but with her torso slightly turned to the side so as to be ready to feign shifting in her sleep if need be. Her luck panned out though and she felt him sit down next to her on the side she was facing.
Harleen now gripped the key and slowly lowered it down as the boy turned to her and began to lift up her bed sheets.
Just as the cover was halfway up Harleen made her move. She gripped the handle of the lockbox tight and swung it upwards as hard as she could smacking the boy square in the face. The girl used all the force she could given the angle or her arm. It was not enough to knock the boy off the bed but he certainly reeled back and grabbed his nose in pain.
Harleen followed this up by stabbing him in the hand with her key. At this next injury he howled in pain and fell off the bed. The girl rose up advancing on him with the lockbox held tightly between her two hands.
As the boy tried to scramble away from Harleen she noticed to her delight the blood gushing from his nose.
Harleen was quite pleased that the lockboxes were not flimsy and thin. In fact, they were quite sturdy and the walls were a good centimeter thick. Unfortunately for the boy Harleen's also contained one of her journals and two scrapbooks, all of which were rather thick and heavy themselves.
Unknown to her foster family as well Harleen had begun to improve her stamina secretly. At school she had taken to jogging in place in the library as she read. This meant she needed to bring gym clothes and shoes to school but this did not bother the girl.
As Harleen advanced on him she decided mid bring down to kick him in the chin rather than finish her movement and risk getting stopped by his hands.
It worked he was caught off guard by Harleen's sudden kick and he fell over onto his back in a slight daze.
Harleen took her chance and stepped over him at the same time bringing the lockbox down square on his face. The girl made sure to pin his arms as she continued to beat him with the lockbox.
With each subsequent blow Harleen got a tiny glimpse of her work. As she watched his face go from mostly pale to black and grey in the darkness the girl's smile got wider and wider.
Her foster sisters watched in horror as Harleen continued her onslaught. The girl would not stop, could not stop that was until the door was swung open and the light clicked on. She was quickly dragged off of him and could still feel the crazed grin on her lips.
Harleen was panting and covered in sweat, she felt invigorated and ready to jump out of her skin. She noticed it was her foster mother who had grabbed her and she turned to the women and practically screeched at her, "now do you believe them." She said this while brandishing the bloody key in the direction of her foster sisters.
Harleen knew she looked crazy, new this was possibly bad. She didn't care though, what she had just done felt good, she wasn't exacting justice she was just protecting herself. If it were justice, she would have stopped at the first few blows, she would have finished when he fell off the bed. Instead someone else had to stop her, she knew if they had not, she would have killed him.
The boy whimpered in pain as Harleen glanced over at him in disgust. The girl took as much time as she could to stare at the boys marred visage.
His nose was almost flat now, his green eyes a bloody, black and blue mess. Both of them though were amazingly still intact. He then turned his head to the side and spit out three of his teeth along with a mouth full of blood.
Hiding her delight at seeing so much carnage caused by her hand Harleen turned to face her foster mother, she then got up and walked over to her bed.
Harleen sat on the bed and let out a long low sigh as she collected her thoughts.
"Your other sons been doing this as well," Harleen informed them as she glanced over at her foster father who was still standing in the doorway with a horrified look on his face.
At Harleen's words it was as though everyone came out of a trance. The foster mother moved forward clutching at her sons mangled face. The foster father immediately grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and called for an ambulance.
The boy began to sob in agony at his mother gingerly touching the sides of his face.
Harleen could tell he was going to have two black eyes as well as a mangled mouth. His nose would definitely need to be reconstructed and she had more then likely given him a concussion.
In the ten minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive Harleen felt a smug sense of satisfaction as she listened to the boy's howls of pain.
Harleen and the other girls fully explained what had been happening though it took the other two awhile to explain things as they were understandably uncomfortable. The girls all backed up each others stories and after that special locks were fitted on the doors and they were planning on setting up a specialized alarm system as well.
During this time Harleen obsessively noted everything in her journal. The damage she had done, the blood splatter patterns, the amount of blows she believed she dealt. The girl had lost count after five but knew it couldn't be over ten as he had not had time to try and buck her off or stop her in any way.
Even so Harleen and the other girls were transferred to other homes just in case.
In her new home her foster parents gave her a private room as well as a small laptop that used to be the father's.
Harleen did not care that it was somewhat slow as the house had Wi-Fi and she could research to her hearts content. She again had to do extra work to cover her tracks but this was a trivial matter to her.
The whole time Harleen told John nothing about this as she didn't think any of it mattered. The girl talked of the usual things with him and just said that things were fine in her home.
Time seemed to crawl for Harleen after this as she had no ability to go out and kill animals or set fires. In order to distract herself from this she began drafting her letters for the many scholarships, bursaries and grants she planned on applying for.
Harleen knew she would need not only a full scholarship to her chosen university but also enough income to support herself.
As Harleen allowed these things to take up all her time the year slowly crept by and before she knew it John was scheduled to move on to university himself.
After a year and a half at the center it was time for John to leave for University. Harleen couldn't understand John's disappointment at this accomplishment.
"I really don't see why you're so down lately," Harleen told John as the two walked towards the library. "I mean you get to go and study for your field, meanwhile I'm still stuck here for another year at least," she stated with a sigh sounding impatient and fed up. She even had a mildly cross look on her face.
"Well it's just, I'm going to miss this place," John explained as he held open the door to the library for Harleen. "Plus, we won't be able to hang out as much anymore," he continued with a slight sigh. The girl had been allowed to visit John's house several times since being in her foster home. During these times they would watch many more movies together.
Harleen shrugged and said, "Well we're going to be attending the same University so we can see each other more once I'm done here." She took a seat near the windows and began pulling several reference books out of her bag.
"Ya, unlike you though I'm only there for three years then I have to attend elsewhere," John said sounding a little annoyed.
"Well it's not my fault that the university only offers the introductory course for your field," Harleen stated sounding a little agitated at John's complaints.
"Sorry, it's just well, I'm going to miss being able to talk with you every day," John told Harleen as he leaned back in his chair.
"You can always phone me," Harleen told John as she read through her notes.
"Not with the schedule I have, I'm going to be to busy," John explained as he pulled out his timetable and examined it again for the hundredth time. It was beginning to tear from how often he was handling it.
"Again, not my fault," Harleen said to John as she added more notes to her work.
"You really don't care do you?" John asked her sounding more than a little upset at Harleen's lack of understanding.
Harleen paused suddenly realizing she was badly messing up this social interaction. After all John considered her a close friend. Even though the girl only saw fiends as superfluous and a bit of an obstacle, as from what she could see they often got in the way of more important things.
Harleen knew all this but also knew about the appearances she had to keep up in order to follow through with her plans. She looked at John and chose her words carefully so that she wouldn't seem callous.
"I'm sorry John, it's just that I have a lot on my plate right now as you know," Harleen explained to him sounding apologetic. "After all I have to finish the extra research study elements in order to have a more open schedule when I start," she was looking at John properly now and had set aside her books.
"Ya I remember you telling me about how you wanted to look for a job so you could sustain yourself," John stated as he recalled a conversation they had been having a month prior before class started.
"Exactly, and the only way that will work is if my schedule is more free to accommodate it," Harleen informed John as she pulled one of her books back towards her. "So right now, I need to spend this next year doing the courses I can here as preparation for my field work. That way I will have a lighter workload whilst attending there," the girl said all this while making more notes.
"Won't it be hard to get a job due to your age?" John asked Harleen sounding slightly concerned.
Harleen shook her head and answered, "not if it's an on campus one, they have age exceptions on them and since I have skills in all areas, I could do most of them."
"What were you thinking of doing?" John asked Harleen with a curious expression as he pulled several books out of his bag.
"Tutoring, not really sure which section yet though. I need to finish this stuff first though and get my acceptance confirmed before I can apply," Harleen answered quickly and then began to scan her textbook for relevant passages.
John waited till Harleen was finished reading as he knew she didn't like to be interrupted. "How much money can you make from that?" the boy questioned as he opened his book and began to scan the index.
Harleen made a few more notes before replying, "more than you think, it depends on the subject as well as how many students you're seeing. If you're really in demand you can charge extra for specialized lessons and group sessions."
"What's the starting rate?" John was looking through his bag for a pencil as he asked Harleen this.
"Anywhere between $15-$25 and hour depending on the subject," Harleen replied as she grabbed another book and opened it.
"And how many hours are you figuring you can do?" John inquired as he pulled three
pencils out of the bottom of his bag. The boy noticed to his annoyance that all of them were in need of sharpening.
"It's not a matter of how many I can do but how many clients I can get," Harleen explained as she put away two of her books. The girl then grabbed her pencil sharpener and passed it over to John who was once again rummaging through his bag.
"Well hopefully once you start making enough money you can move close to the campus for convenience sake," he stated as he took the sharpener and began to use it on the shortest pencil.
"That's the plan, I already have some money saved from when my parents used to give me an allowance, luckily I kept it all in my piggy bank and I was able to bring it with me," Harleen said as she pulled a laptop out of her bag.
"How much do you have saved up?" John asked her assuming it would be no more than a few hundred dollars. The boy then got up and walked over to the garbage can to empty the pencil sharpener.
Harleen opened her essay on her laptop before answering, "just under $2000." She said this as John resumed his seat next to her.
John looked at her with surprise before questioning her further, "how do you have that much money saved?"
"I never spent my allowance as I never really had anything I wanted to buy when I was a kid," Harleen told John though this was only half true.
Harleen had wanted some things as a kid but she could always figure out ways to get her parents to buy these things for her.
"Well, here's hoping everything works out," John responded as he handed the pencil sharpener back to Harleen.
"Ya, that's for sure," Harleen replied in a sheepish manner as she put the pencil sharpener back in her backpack.
The two then fell silent and began taking notes as they did not have much time left before the class started.
On John's last day Harleen agreed to stay with him at the center till his mom drove him home. The woman was staying late due to a budgetary meeting.
Harleen's foster parents were understanding of her wanting to spend John's last day with him. So, they readily agreed to allow the girl to stay there a bit later in order to see her friend off.
"Hard to believe I'm not going to be here tomorrow and that in two weeks I start at University," John stated as they sat outside eating what was left of their lunches.
"I'll be joining you in about a year," Harleen told John as she grabbed an apple from her lunch bag.
The center had just confirmed her last course week date. Harleen still had a lot of work to do though before leaving if she wanted things to work out properly. Soon the girl would be scheduling visits to the campus in order to meet her teachers as well as apply for the tutoring jobs she wanted.
Harleen had found out the previous week that she had been accepted into Gotham University on a full scholarship. Most of the grants and bursaries she had applied for had also gone through so she would be able to start saving even more.
Harleen had already explained to CAS and her foster parents that she wanted to be independent as soon as possible as she was very responsible with money and liked her privacy.
Both parties did the best they could to support her in this and were beginning to look through safe apartments and how the law worked in these cases.
"Ya that's true, try not to have too much fun without me," John advised Harleen teasingly.
Harleen rolled her eyes at John before replying, "Ya I'm really going to whoop it up in here while you're gone."
John chuckled a little at Harleen's comment as he continued to stare up at the sky. "Just let me know if Edward bugs you, I'll be sure to stop by and straighten him out," he informed the girl as he glanced over at her.
"I think I can handle him at this point, besides he seems to have been rather complacent since that incident a year ago," Harleen told John before taking another bite of her apple.
"That's only cause he knew he'd get it from me if he bothered you, he may get up to his antics again with me gone," John explained sounding more than a little concerned about his friend. The boy then began to eat a small chocolate cake like dessert filled with marshmallow fluff.
Harleen shrugged before getting up to toss her apple core in the trash. "Unless he tries to do something physical, I'll just ignore him," she informed John as she sat back down.
John sighed slightly before saying, "just let me know okay." He crumpled up the wrapper with his left hand as he ate the small cake with his right.
"Will do," Harleen replied just as John's mom was exiting the building along with some of her colleagues.
Some of their conversation drifted over to them as they sat in silence watching the sunset. "I still don't see why you went to all the trouble," a tall man said to John's mother as he snapped his briefcase shut.
"As I explained before I accommodated it because if I didn't, we wouldn't have been able to afford the fees on the new center," she explained to her agitated looking co-worker.
"If it were me, I would have just sent her packing, rather than deal with any possible court backlash," he told John's mother in a matter of fact tone.
"Well I somewhat share your sentiments Carl, in the end it all worked out as I got half of the tuition fee from CAS anyway, I also am not paying for any of her other costs so the expense is minimal really," she explained as they headed towards the parking lot.
Harleen wasn't very surprised at this conversation, she knew John's mother could not be any better than the rest of the world. She knew everyone was greedy and selfish, often driven by their own egotistical needs. So, it surprised her to see the look on John's face as she glanced over at him. His profile was rigid and wound up as though he was ready to spring out of his seat and his expression was that of rage.
John had paused mid chew at his mother's words, he chewed once more then swallowed slowly. "I think I need to have a little talk with my mother," John stated then got up from his seat and walked swiftly towards the parking lot.
If John had spoken with his mother Harleen never heard anything about it. John did not phone her nor did his mother call her to the office.
It had been a month since John left before anything significant happened and it was just Edward bothering Harleen again.
Edward began leaving riddles and puzzles on Harleen's desk each morning. The first day it caught her off guard but luckily for her there was no one else there yet.
Harleen appeared to all but ignore these attempts to bother her. In reality though, she had decided to beat him at his own game. The whole year passed seemingly without incident except on her last day there.
Harleen had found out Edward's last name as well as the fact that he was staying at the center. An hour before she was going to be picked up, she had left all the riddles and puzzles Edward had given to her in front of his door.
Harleen wondered what Edward's reaction would be to her doing this. It had at least helped her pass some time, though she had solved every riddle in under three minutes.
Every one of them was in a booklet and had been solved in the exact order Harleen had gotten them. The girl had even written down in the corner the day she solved it and the amount of time it took. She also left Edward a note in an envelope on top of the book.
Now Harleen waited outside for her last ride from the center. She was sitting on the steps when she heard the door open behind her. Thinking it was just one of the teachers she didn't bother to move. Next thing the girl felt though was something large and rectangular landing on her head. It fell off quickly and landed beside her, Harleen saw it was the booklet she had left outside Edwards's door.
Glancing up Harleen saw Edward standing directly behind her looking furious. "May I help you?" The girl asked him in a bored tone.
"What in the hell is this," Edward practically yelled at Harleen.
"It's all the notes you left me, I thought you might want to have them back as I have nowhere to keep them unfortunately," Harleen told Edward in a calm tone as she shrugged a little.
"Don't mock me you bitch," Edward screamed as his voice cracked, his body was still testing things out. He then threw the note Harleen had left him down onto the concrete beside her.
Before Harleen could reply her ride showed up. The girl lifted her head back up and she walked swiftly towards the car leaving Edward standing there fuming. The note she had left read for him read simply:
Dear Edward,
I may be a Harlequin, but you're not much of an Enigma.
Sincerely,
Harleen Quinzel
Harleen had to hold in her laughter at the sight of his face as they drove away.
Though that was not as satisfying as she had hoped it still helped ease her urges slightly. Seeing Edward's disbelieving and ferocious face was worth solving the simple games he had left her. Why she would not have been surprised if he had gotten all the riddles off of a search engine.
Harleen pondered at what else she could do to occupy her time while she was unable to kill animals. The girl finally decided to research how to invest and use the stock market properly. It bored her immensely but she stuck with it as she knew it would be important.
Hello Everyone,
Here's the next chapter as promised. So far it seems it doesn't show the update if I choose to edit the chapter instead of outright replacing it. So if you guys want to know what's happening with my writing and know about the revamp please follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Both are listed in my bio and at the bottom of my last two chapters.
Also, if you message me questions about the story I will be more then willing to answer and any feedback is much appreciated.
Sincerely,
RJ Meijers