Chapter 6
Pancakes
Time jump, to the future!
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Time had never flown by so quickly for Dustin.
One week ago he was just doing his normal thing; coasting through school, getting as much ride time at the track as he could, working his magic in the back of Storm Chargers, and then suddenly it was all over, no more school, no more homework, simply vacation.
Dustin had survived his finals somehow (thank goodness he had managed to make sense of all his subjects because he could not do summer school), aside from the fact that he had already filled out all his paperwork for the Academy, it would just be too cruel for the world to slam him back into that place of torture (paper cuts, teachers, other people, it was too much for him to bare). There had been a few moments where he had been afraid the whole Academy thing was just a hoax, he had looked it up online as soon as he had gotten home with the pamphlet, and it looked legit, but still…
But then Dustin had received his first official letter from them, an invitation he was to present on the first day (to make sure he was really him, he guessed, because this school was super selective and why did they pick him of all people?) and all he had to do after that was sneak the form onto his mother's desk and get her to sign it. She didn't ask much (though she did like the pamphlet) but she filled in the dotted line so that was alright with Dustin.
He still saw Teagan, from time to time. She would drop by the shop and chat with him for a while about anything, everything. She stopped asking questions (which was nice because he wasn't ready for that kind of a commitment yet) but she was bound and determined to keep him company. Her subjects varied from the weather, to recruitment, to Victor (as though Dustin held some special bond with that angry man simply because they were both motocross riders). She didn't talk about the sweatshirt man though, which kind of disappointed the brunette.
He may have…dropped by the skate park a couple of times, just to see if his hunch was right.
Dustin kept his distance though, hiding behind trees and wearing sunglasses. He even kept a magazine on him so he could look busy if anybody ever looked his way. They never did, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Success came on his second visit. He had beaten himself up a lot about the first time because he hadn't see sweatshirt man, and he felt a little like a creeper, but curiosity made Dustin come back, just to…to make sure he was thoroughly wrong.
He wasn't though, for there, in the distance, was red guy.
He wasn't wearing a sweatshirt today though, it was just a shirt (but it was still red, which seemed fitting because for some odd reason Dustin couldn't picture him in any other color). Dustin tried…whenever the guy decided to take a break and was just drinking water all alone, he tried to go over there, to make small talk. It just didn't…
The guy had only been sent to recruit him, so he probably didn't even like Dustin all that much, he was just doing his job and…
It never happened, Dustin never worked up the courage, though he did manage to ask Kelly if she knew him (Dustin recognized the board he used as one Storm Chargers carried, and Kelly never forgot a face) and as luck would have it, she did.
Shane…Clarke (that was it), his name was Shane.
His name was Shane, and he was tall and tan and liked red and rode skateboards and stood up for Dustin, though that may or may not be because he really wanted the mechanic to go to this academy thing. His name was Shane and he seemed like a decent human being as opposed to the human beings Dustin normally came in contact with (aside from Kelly, and he wasn't really ready to put Teagan on that list either).
Shane, it was practically a name of champions.
Dustin didn't go back to the skate park a third time. He was afraid he would get stupidly courageous and decide to make a fool of himself, thoroughly showing off his creepy stalking skills or even worse, epically failing social skills.
But he didn't forget Shane..
He hoped the other teen would be at the Academy too. Dustin had been looking forward to May 18th for that specific reason.
Ooh…see, super creepy stalker skills.
Not cool.
And he had to play it cool. He had hope for Shane (maybe, if he still dared to hope) and maybe if Dustin stuck with this defense school thing the other guy couldn't get rid of him, even if he wanted to.
Dustin really hoped he didn't want to.
So time had flown (partially, maybe, but he wasn't really crediting that to his not-obsession with Shane even thought that was really why) until it was finally the morning of the big day.
First day of training (Dustin had read it in the pamphlets, that was what they called it) at the Wind Academy. He had brought his bike home from the shop yesterday, stowing it in the storage shed (he didn't have a car, and even if he did he would probably still use his bike because the wind wooshing past you and the speed and maneuverability always made him feel so much better when he felt like he was going to die from nerves). He had set like, three different alarms (he was not going to oversleep and ruin this, he was going to get up early and make himself wake up and eat a breakfast of champions and get there with plenty of time to spare), which had been a good idea but he almost wished he had set a camera up because it had been quite a feat of will for him to pull himself out of bed and stumble around the room to turn them all off.
In hindsight, he probably should have put them all in one place, but details like that tended to escape him.
He set the alarm clocks, shouldn't that count for something?
Even if he had accidentally set one of them for PM so it hadn't gone off but he still fiddled with it for like, five minutes until he realized it wasn't the one making the buzzing sounds that were plaguing his brain.
It was still early though, (he had accounted for his inability to wake up properly). It was still dark outside when Dustin tiptoed down the stairs, taking great care to avoid the creaky floorboards as he made his way to the kitchen, not wanting to wake his sister up. His mom had already left but Liv had just gotten back from school and was spending most of her time crashing after her crazy mad finals week. He didn't know how she did it, he could barely make it through High School, he would never make it through college. At least, not the kind his mother wanted him to got to.
Now what he needed was…something sweet. But not like, too sweet, and something that had a lot of carbs, because carbs gave you the most energy and he needed something to hold him over to lunch.
He had just the thing in mind.
The perfect way to start your day, better than nasty coffee (a deceiving wench was what it was, all smelling deliciously awesome and then tasting like sludge) and less prone to making you throw up like cereal (yeah, he tried eating that once right before going for a jog, never again).
Pancakes. Delicious, wonderful, never-to-go-wrong pancakes.
And grapefruit juice, because he wanted it.
He was nervous about what was going to happen, nervous about seeing other people willingly, but the routine of making pancakes brought him some small comfort. It was enough for him to lose himself in the mixing process, for just a little while. It had taken Dustin a long time to get as good with a skillet as he was now, but after his mom and dad divorced (he was like, eight at the time) and his mom started working like a crazy, earning overtime by the bucketful (or whatever you measured overtime with, probably hours or something stupidly appropriate like that), Dustin had figured out that if he wanted to eat like, good food ever again he was going to have to cook it himself.
Honestly, he was impressed that he had only caused one minor fire during his self education, and he still denied responsibility for it because not one of the cooking shows ever told him it was a bad idea to put aluminum in a microwave, and if it was going to cause a tiny electrical storm (which would have been awesome if it wasn't so frightening) shouldn't that be something they tell you? Like, at the beginning?
Warning: your microwave will attempt to kill you should you dishonor it by allowing tinfoil in its presence. Purchase aluminum at your own risk.
You know, something like that.
The edges were bubbling so he flipped them over with expert care; he'd make some extra for Liv; put them in the oven on low so they'd still be warm whenever she woke up, probably around noon.
He allowed himself a small smile, permitting himself to feel just the tiniest bit excited about what was to come. He didn't know if today was going to be awesome, but it was going to be something, which was a little better than the hum-drum life he had built up for himself.
Even if it mentally scarred him, at least he gave the world another shot right?
Well…he would take Liv's pepper spray just in case.
No sense in being unprepared.
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Tori was surprised she had managed to get any sleep at all last night, she almost felt like she was six years old again, waiting up all night, wishing for time to pass by more quickly so it could hurry up and be Christmas. She had always loved that holiday (really, who didn't?), and maybe now wasn't quite the same, not like back then, but she still had that same restless anxiety she got before the first day of school every year, mixed in with absolute excitement.
She was going to be a ninja.
Eventually of course, given time.
Maybe she was being foolish, because ninja school didn't exactly sound like a place that easily transferred credits, but ever since Ian's demonstration she was bound and determined to go. The paperwork was completed quickly, and she had spent a good two weeks persuading her parents that yes, she really wanted to do this, yes, she remembered dropping Tae Kwon Do in favor of surfing, yes, it was legit, just look at the pamphlet…
She had managed to seal the deal by enlisting Ian's help.
As he was officially affiliated with The Wind Academy (he even had a business card to prove it, which Tori ultimately decided was something she appreciated as opposed to being creeped out by the thoroughness of the school's guise) he could clarify any doubts her parents had that made them object to her participation in the Summer session. It was a very formal affair, she had convinced her parents to invite Ian over for dinner (which had led to a very long and awkward reboot of the birds and the bees conversation, despite her protests that their relationship was strictly professional) to discuss the ins and outs of the Academy curriculum.
To show her dedication to the idea she spent a majority of the days proceeding this event cleaning with great vigor, and not just the dining room, but the bathrooms (all of them, even the upstairs ones that Ian was never going to use, if he used the bathroom at all), the kitchen, and the grand foyer. She helped her mother in every way possible cooking wise, peeling potatoes, chopping onions, shooing her little sister out of the room whenever she got in the way (Tori loved her, and her intentions were good, but this was serious business and nothing, nothing could mess it up, not even a little bit).
By the end of it her hard work paid off. Ian thoroughly charmed her parents, no hint of the nerves he possessed when he first approached her. He must have coached himself…or he was a lot better with lying than he was with the truth.
Either way she was in, her parents had given her their full blessing and signed all the forms that required their signature (Tori was still trying to determine if the Academy legitimately used the paperwork or if it was merely for the parent's benefit), and now here she was, the morning of, excitement churning nervously in her stomach, arguing with herself over what to wear.
It was stupid because she had already had this debate yesterday, just to avoid this kind of early morning snag, and it had been stupid then too because Ian had already told her they were going to receive training garbs (garbs, seriously, this school needed to update its lingo) so it wasn't like she'd be in her civies that long anyway. But still…she was a teenage girl, and she was allowed these kind of minor conflicts that were ultimately irrelevant.
And really, what did one wear that was appropriate for their first day of secret ninja training?
Did it even matter, she wasn't trying to impress anybody (except for Sensei Kanoi, more commonly known as just "Sensei" by Ian, and he was the man in charge), so why was this so freaking hard?
Sighing, Tori gave up and went back to her original outfit, refusing to have any second thoughts. Aqua had always done right by her, and she wasn't going to abandon it now over some early morning hesitations.
Problem solved, Tori quietly made her way down the stairs. Her father was already outside, trying to get a jump start on the front lawn before the weeds got organized and completely took over, and her little sister Anna was probably up and awake at her easel, (ever since she got that thing for her birthday it had been almost impossible to get her away from it), but her mom and Ceci were still getting some well deserved rest (Ceci just got back from her second year at UCSD and was taking her vacation very seriously, apparently the life of a theatre major was a thoroughly exhausting one).
She slid into the kitchen, fumbling with easy familiarity for the ingredients she needed to make her breakfast of choice.
Blueberry pancakes this time, they had just gone to the store and if Ceci felt like complaining she could wake up and make her own freaking food.
As soon as Tori began pouring the batter onto the griddle Anna made her grand entrance. Like clockwork, spattered in renegade acrylic paint (so she had finally moved on from pastels), and she smiled, waving her fingers merrily before she made a beeline for the refrigerator, securing some much needed orange juice. The routine brought some comfort to Tori, eased her nerves a little bit and she finished off the batter, loading up a clean plate high with pancakes before bringing them over to the table, where Anna sat, unapologetically perky, places set and drinks retrieved.
Tori could give this to her, she could've gotten much worse for a little sister.
They finished up their meal in silence, Tori's mind always occupied on what was waiting for her at the Wind Academy, what secrets they had in store. She smiled around her fork, lifting her eyebrows at Anna, as though they were sharing some silent secret in the early hours of the morning, and her little sister grinned back, unaware of the pure awesome Tori was going to learn.
Maybe in a couple years her sister would get recruited too. Maybe the next Ian would see great promise in Anna's aptitude for water colors or something.
Or maybe not; Tori couldn't really focus on it right now.
First day of secret ninja training, bring it on.
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To be completely honest Shane was surprised he had managed to wake himself up when his alarm clock went off, let alone remember that this also supposed to be his first day at that Academy, despite the fact that his mom had reminded him several times the night before.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go, he was all for it, though his mood had been somewhat dampened by how enthusiastic his parents had been once they discovered his interest in anything that mildly enforced some kind of discipline. Structure, his dad said, was exactly the thing Shane needed, and between him and his mom all things that could possibly be researched about the Wind Academy were checked into, including an interview they somehow managed to wrangle out of a graduated student.
Seriously, Shane's parents were freaky.
But he wasn't one to pull out of a commitment just because his parents actually supported it (that would be petty…and partially desired, but mostly petty). He was going to do this, he was going to do it well, he just…
Well, could you blame a guy for wanting to sleep in during his summer vacation?
Shane muddled through his morning routine (he really should be trying to go faster, he didn't leave himself a lot of time for delays because he was trying to get as much sleep as he could) managing to make it downstairs without damaging himself or any miscellaneous furniture, which was somewhat of a victory for him.
His parents were already gone; dad was working, and mom had to take Dana to some cheer camp or something, Shane wasn't sure, he hadn't really been paying attention.
Gah, it was too early in the morning for other people to be awake, let alone be out of the house. Still, it was nice to have the place to himself. It was quieter, and there was no one to confuse Shane's pre-nine am brain.
The best part about this whole…defense training thing was the abundance of excuses that it was going to provide for Shane. He wasn't even sure how long it was supposed to go on for (there was a calendar, but he hadn't really looked at it) but he knew he was going to take advantage of it. Extra training, study time, whatever; it was going to save him from Saturday night dinners with Porter, who liked to drop in during the Summer to catch up. In Shane's case "catching up" was more of an interrogation on the future, something he hadn't, didn't want to plan right now (he was still in high school, wasn't he supposed to be enjoying that or something?) and the only thing their conversations ever did was put Shane on edge, creating this wall of tension between himself and his parents that they always refused to address.
So he would take what he could get, and it wasn't like they could object to it, they had practically flung him into this program (they didn't even need to meet Victor, which was good because Shane wasn't too sure how persuasive the teacher's presence would have been being that he was…well, himself).
Shane had only seen the recruiter a couple times since their first meeting, once for Shane to give him a thumbs up on that Dustin kid, and another time to make sure he wasn't backing out. After that, Shane had pretty much been left to his own devices, not that he minded.
It was nice to enjoy what little free time he could get.
Victor had assured him Shane would still be able to ride but, just based on the teacher's physique (a purely informational perusal) Shane was going to guess he would be too tired for anything else which…didn't bug him as much as he thought it would.
Weird.
Shane stumbled into the kitchen, slowly completing his wake up ritual as he made his way to the refrigerator, opening up the freezer portion until he found the ego pancakes, because Dana had some kind of personal grudge against waffles, and he popped them into the toaster oven, pausing for a few minutes while he tried to remember how to get the thing started.
Turn the knob, right…something like that.
He looked at the clock, narrowing his eyes to make the blur go away.
And…shit, he had thirty minutes to get there and he wasn't entirely sure where there was. That certainly woke Shane up, giving him a jolt of energy as he ran back up the stairs, grabbing his backpack quickly and stumbling back down, jumping over the bottom five stairs to the ground.
By the time he finished shoving a water bottle into his bag and locating his directions, courtesy of Victor, the pancakes were done, and Shane grabbed them with his free hand, pulling out his keys with his other as he ran out of the house, slamming and locking the door behind him.
Right, get there (to the middle of some forest, something about the natural atmosphere helping students focus or…whatever), relatively on time, and hopefully he'd learn some defensive stuff or something. Knowing most schools though, day one would probably be as epically boring as Shane expected it to be, but at least he would get to see Victor so a little entertainment was guaranteed.
It wasn't much, but it was something.
Besides, it was school, how exciting could he expect it to be?
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Endnotes:
Superbly exciting, you just don't know it :)
Hey, I didn't push this story off another month, which I am incredibly proud of because I have this nasty habit of forgetting about it.
*sigh* Sorry…
Anywho, a triple shot of thank you, thank you, thank you to Rogue Ranger and ValkyrieNyght. Inspiration was engaged and fully activated!
So yes, this is a prequel to Any Moment, though I intended it to work as a stand alone since it's just going to focus on their friendship and team bonding and stuff of that nature (not that Any Moment didn't spend like…forever faffing about doing that).
I had the fun duty of naming siblings this chapter, something I had always managed to get out of by simply…calling them like, sister, and holy crap are there a lot of them.
That was a fun little party.
Interesting fact, Liv is short for Elizabeth (didn't know that), Ceci for Celia, Anna for Annabelle, and Dana's...well, Dana's just Dana.
I also decided to give backstory via pancakes, though there will be more, but I was reading the list and this just kind of jumped out at me.
Next chapter is the ninja one, and I'm bursting with anticipation for writing Dustin's bit.
No, I do not pick favorites, how dare you infer such a thing ;)
Until next time.