Three Months Later
A.J. was walking home after studying with his two best friends; Timmy and Chester, at the Turner house. With him was a brown dog with a golden crown on top its head. It was just starting to get dark so A.J. and his dog picked the pace up and arrived at his house just 5 minutes before his school night curfew of 8:00 P.M. He pulled the key out to his very large house and entered as did his dog.
A.J. shouted, "Mom! Dad! Lionel and I are home!"
Lionel was the name of the dog next to A.J.
His mother came down out of the den and greeted, "Okay honey." She hugged her son and asked, "You and Lionel did eat something at Timmy's dear, didn't you?"
A.J. smiled a bit at his mom's concern, returning her hug.
He answered, "Yes ma'am. We had, well, Timmy and Chester had spaghetti and meatballs, they made me fish, because they know we don't eat red meat. And Lionel had a can of dog food."
Mrs. Johnson smiled warmly at her son. She had to admit, she never thought that the Turners would turn around.
She told her son, "It's very nice of the Turners and especially Timmy that they think enough of you to do that for you and Lionel."
A.J. got sort of melacholony as he started to say, "Yeah, it really is..."
Mrs. Johnson noticed her son's sudden change of expression and asked, concerned, "Son, is there anything wrong?"
A.J. shook his head. He didn't want his mother to worry and answered, "No, I'm just thinking of the test we have tomorrow, that's all. It's going to be hard."
Mrs. Johnson stated, "Well, do you think that Crocker might not go easy on Timmy? I mean, he is still a loony tune who thinks Dimmsdale is filled with fairies. I honestly don't understand why they keep him!"
A.J. faked a smile, while looking at Lionel, and responded, "Neither do I."
Mrs. Johnson got another concerned look at her face. A.J., she thought was not telling her everything. She looked at him in the eyes.
She asked, "Are you sure there's nothing else?"
A.J. looked without trying to meet her eyes. His mother's penetrating eyes could always pull the truth out of him. He didn't really want to admit what was really bothering him.
He replied, "No." He then added, "Listen I've got to get us ready for bed. I've got a big day tomorrow with that test. Good night Mom and I'll tell Dad good night when I see him upstairs."
And with that A.J. darted upstairs. Once he got upstairs, A.J. breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't have his mom finding out about what was going on. Not now and defiantly not yet...
It was getting close to nine o'clock and A.J. was finishing up some last minute things for tomorrow before he went to bed. Lionel was lying on the floor almost asleep. There was a knock at his bedroom door.
He stated, "Come in." That's when A.J.'s dad came in. A.J. smiled as he teased, "Thank you for knocking even though you asserted your parental authority by coming in any way."
Mr. Johnson laughed, then turned serious as he looked at his son and asked, "A.J, what's wrong?"
A.J. looked at his father and questioned, "Why do you ask that?"
His Dad pointed out, "You didn't answer my question, son."
A.J. told him, "You've talked to Mom." When his father didn't dispute it; A.J. added, "I can't keep anything from her, even when I'm quiet about it."
To that, Mr. Johnson laughed even harder and explained, "Son, I've been married to your mother for 15 years, and she can read me like a book too."
A.J. smiled. It was good to see that.
Then A.J. questioned, "What did Mom tell you exactly?"
His father answered, "Well, she said you were concerned about the way Crackerpot used to treat Timmy. Before his attitude did a strange one-eighty three months ago."
A.J. pointed out, "It's not just that, Dad. Timmy and Chester do a lot for me. Especially Timmy and I wonder if I'm there as much as I should be."
Mr. Johnson looked a bit puzzled by this comment. He knew Timmy very well. He taught A.J. how to be a kid.
He started to say, "Son, you help him to study, and we have him over and..."
A.J. interrupted, "It's not just that Dad." That's when he realized that he interrupted and apologized, "Oh sorry I didn't mean to interrupt."
His Dad shook his head and insisted, "No go on A.J., that's why I'm up here."
A.J. took a breath as he explained, "Timmy has his share of his faults, but there is one thing that he has that I don't. When push comes to shove, he's brave enough to do the right thing and he's brave enough to do potentially dangerous things to help us. We almost lost the skate park to Vicky and Timmy was the only one brave enough to go on that big ramp."
It all came out in a rush, like A.J. had waited to say this for a long time.
He added, "When we were on the Brain-A-Thon, he was willing to be disqualified and possibly suspended from school just to do the right thing by me. When he tried to get popular and it looked like that he was going to lose Chester, me and Elmer as friends, he stood up to the popular kids and said he'd rather be unpopular and be friends with us then risk losing us."
A.J. paused to catch his breath and continued, "I mean do you know how hard that was for him. He's had a thing for Trixie since kindergarten. And he gave that up for us. I don't think I could do half of what Timmy does for me," A.J. caught his breath again, "because I think I'm a coward."
Mr. Johnson was silent for a second before placing his hand on his son's shoulder and told him, "Son, I think you're being hard on yourself. You're not a coward."
A.J. looked at his Dad and pointed out, "I don't stand up as much as I should."
His Dad shook his head and stated, "There are adults that don't do that either. That doesn't make you a coward."
A.J. sighed, "Yeah, but dad when I see Francis and Remy Buxaplenty treat my friend like he's some piece of trash or a punching bag, it makes me angry, but I still don't do anything. I feel like I've failed him."
The air was quiet for a few minutes. Mr. Johnson thought carefully.
A.J.'s Dad asked, "Have you talked to Timmy about this?"
A.J. nodded and answered, "I want to but I don't know how to approach him about it."
Mr. Johnson told his son, "Timmy is one of your best friends. Just talk to him. Have Chester help you talk to him." He looked at his son and asked, "Don't you boys have that camping trip this Saturday?" A.J. nodded. His Dad smiled as he stated, "Okay, that would be as good time as any. Just think about it, okay?" A.J. nodded again, with a small smile. "Well," Mr. Johnson said, "Just think about it. It's getting late, though. We both better get to bed." Mr. Johnson stood up and told his son, "Good night son."
A.J. replied, "Good night Dad and thanks."
His Dad nodded and responded, "You're welcome, and oh and son." A.J. looked up. His father smiled at him. His father added, "There's one thing you're wrong about. You're not a coward. And I think, like Timmy, if push came to shove you would help your friends or family if you thought they were in trouble."
And with that Mr. Johnson turned off the light and left the room. A.J. sighed a bit, glad that he had gotten that off of his chest. It felt good. That's when a voice caught his attention.
"Your Dad is right. But, I know it's hard to keep this secret from them."
A.J. turned to Lionel. In a 'poof', Lionel turned from a dog into a fairy. He was an African American fairy, has brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a gray business suit, and black shoes. He also has the usual fairy necessities: a crown, a wand, and wings. Yes; A.J. Johnson, the genius of Dimmsdale, had a fairy godparent. Lionel, at one time, was a fairy lawyer and juror.
A.J. nodded in agreement and replied, "Yeah, I agree. Now I know what Timmy's been feeling all of this time."
Lionel chuckled as he responded, "Keeping a secret is never easy, kiddo."
A.J. asked, teasing, "How does he do it...?"
Lionel laughed now and answered, "Timmy has his own style."
A.J. teasingly stated, "Always blame the Internet."
Lionel told him, laughing, "This is true."
A.J. laughed as did Lionel, trying to keep as quiet as possible. After all, they didn't want A.J.'s parents to find them. They were much sharper than Timmy's ever were.
London, England
Jorgen Von Strangle walked down the streets, trying to stay hidden for the most part. He had decided to come here for his exile. It took him a while to get all of the needed paperwork to pass off as a human. He had changed his white snow hair to blonde. He kept his blue eyes and pretended to be a solder. It was enough to help him to this point. He was in the lobby at the London Examiner, waiting for his interview with the editor of the paper. Jorgen looked up at the receptionist behind the counter. She was nothing like he had ever seen before, fairy or not.
She had light yellow skin, short brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a red low cut blouse that showed her cleavage, a short gray skirt, black tights, and red dress shoes. The name on the desk read: "Nacey Cortex, receptionist". Jorgen felt his throat was dry as he tried to clear his throat, capturing her attention.
She looked up as she asked, "Yes, Mr. Von Strangle?"
Jorgen was trying not to blush and answered, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bother you, Miss Cortex. But I'm just really nervous."
Nacey smiled, Jorgen's heart flying right out of chest. There was just something about her that got him flustered.
She stated, "There is nothing to be nervous about with your amazing record of service."
Jorgen blushed modestly as he replied, "Why thank you, Miss Cortex."
Nacey told him, "My family and friends call me Nance."
Jorgen perked up at that as he questioned, "Am I your friend?"
Nacey was the one to blush now and explained, "Possible."
Jorgen smiled as someone came out of the office, waving him in. Jorgen got up from his seat, waving at Nacey, passing by her. She waved back, smiling. Jorgen entered the office. 'Maybe this was a good idea after all,' he thought.
After scoring his interview, he headed out of the office an hour later. Nacey was there, holding some files. She walked over to him, smiling. Jorgen tried not to blush still, smiling too.
He stated, "I got the job."
Nacey replied, "Congratulations, Mr. Von Strangle."
Jorgen flirted, "Please, I prefer Jorgen." He paused and added, "I start on Monday."
Nacey giggled as she responded, "I'll see you then."
Jorgen saw that she was starting to walk away. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted to learn more. He didn't know why.
That's when he asked, "Wait, won't I see you before I start?"
She teased, "Not unless you want to get your new boss mad."
Jorgen blushed in embarrassment as he questioned, "Can't we just meet for lunch or something?"
Nacey kept teasing, "I don't date co-workers."
Jorgen was flustered at this point. She was out of sight and she was absolutely beautiful. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He was glad that he had chosen this place for his exile. He might have still been hurt from the divorce with Tooth Fairy but something was telling him that he was going to make a good recovery.
Wishmaker1028: That he will indeed. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!