Here, chapter three. I want to thank my readers, firstly… and also the fact that I have several people asking specifically for the fic to center around Iggy. He's my favorite character, of course, so that made me happy… But really, people! If you have an idea for something you'd like, like a sort of little side-story involving a character besides the ones I've already got going, or an idea for the plot, review 'em! In fact, I will MOST LIKELY use them… unless I simply hate the idea.
Disclaimer: nope.
Max couldn't believe it. Suddenly, she---and Nudge---were the most popular girls in the school! It was amazing! Sure, Max knew she had to look a bit pretty… after all, that's what Nudge and Angel were always telling her… but being the center of attention like this? Awesome!
Angel was having lots of fun as well. In a nice class, with real people! People who didn't think she was a freak and weren't trying to put her through weird tests or inject her with some sort of weird liquid. Here, she was free to express herself! She was free to let loose! To have fun!
That was why Angel was having fun. That was why she was doing the things she was doing. That was also why Angel made possibly the biggest mistake of her life.
Angel was running around. There was a big field of green, green grass just beyond the playground. Angel was playing tag with her new friends.
There were six of them. Six new friends. They were all little girls like her, and they all had wide, adorable eyes and soft pink lips. Amanda had blond hair like Angel's, only whiter, instead of golden; Rachel had soft, chocolaty brown hair, grown down past her waist and tied back in pigtails; Padma had rich, blackish-purple hair, mocha-colored skin, and deep, dark, beautiful eyes; Alexis and Alaina were identical twins, and both had shoulder-length red hair; and Caitlin had jet-black hair cut pixie-style.
The seven of them were, yes, running around in the green, green grass of the field. They were all pretending to be princesses.
"I am the fairy princess!" Amanda proclaimed, waving a glittery purple plastic wand tipped with a star; they had each gotten one from the Treasure Chest as a prize for winning a small class contest that morning during reading. It had been Angel who won the contest for them, of course; she could read best out of anyone in her grade.
"Well, I am the unicorn princess!" Rachel announced. Her wand was pink.
"I am the elf queen!" Caitlin sang, swirling her green fairy wand over her head and showering her short hair with loose glitter.
"We are the candy princesses!" Alexis and Alaina shouted simultaneously.
"I'm the flower queen!" Padma informed softly.
Angel thought for a moment. She liked the sound of all those names, but she couldn't be the same as them!
Then, she came up with a brilliant idea.
"I am the angel princess!" she shouted, leaping into the air and twirling a full four times before lightly touching back down.
Then, the seven of them started to play.
It was a very fun game. They were the seven magical royalty princess-queen beautiful lady damsels of magic. They were all sisters with wonderful powers. Angel had lots of fun; in the game, she could read minds, so she was able to 'pretend' to read the girls' minds. They were all astounded at how well she 'guessed' at what they were thinking.
That's when Angel heard the sad thoughts. At first, she thought they were just floating on the air from someone outside school; then, she realized that they were coming from the playground. When she looked back for the source of the thoughts, she saw Iggy sitting forlornly on a park bench.
Angel wondered momentarily why her Iggy sounded so sad. But she soon saw the way the other kids were watching him.
Iggy's face was turned down and slightly to the side, and Angel could see that he was trying to hide his eyes with his long bangs. However, it did not work very well. Most of the kids were playing, but it was obvious that some of them were gathered, clustered into little groups and gossiping about Iggy.
What angered Angel most was that, when they spoke, they didn't know it, but they were close enough for Iggy's enhanced ears to pick up every word they said.
Angel almost started crying; no wonder Iggy was so sad. Those people were being very mean to him. And where was Fang?
Angel couldn't find him, and she knew Gazzy was inside; Nudge was clustered amidst some girls and boys on the opposite side of the recess area, and Max was in Math. Well, Angel would just have to go over there herself and shoo the other kids away. She could make Iggy feel better; she always could.
"Where are you going, angel princess?" Rachel asked with a flourish of her fairy wand.
Angel pointed. "That boy over there. He's sad."
The other girls suddenly stopped their game, looking at each other.
"You mean the blind one?" Alaina whispered softly.
"Yes, his name is Jeff," Angel specified.
"Ooh, you don't want to go over by him." Alexis shook her head severely.
"Why not?" Angel asked, curious.
The seven of them gathered in a tight circle.
"Because," Alexis breathed. "I've heard stories about him from some of the older kids."
"Like what?" Now Angel was confused.
"Ooh, my big sister told me one," Amanda piped up. "She told me that he was crazy. She says he does all sorts of weird things, and he follows around this guy, and has schizophrenia." Amanda paused for a moment, her head cocked. "Whatever that is."
"Yeah, I heard he was in jail, like, eight times," Padma adds.
Angel didn't add to the stories the other girls began as they gossiped. She was annoyed. None of that was true! How could such terrible stories about her Iggy spread like that? She had to go over there and make him feel better. Obviously, he was hearing these things from the older-kid gossipers, and that was putting him down.
"Well, I'm going over there," Angel said stubbornly, beginning to walk away. "None of that's true, and he's very sad right now."
"If you go, you'll turn crazy and you can't be our friend any more," Amanda put in snidely. Angel stopped in her tracks, looking back at her new friends, then forward at Iggy; alone and sad, sitting woefully on that bench while everyone around him spread untrue stories that didn't even make sense. Iggy was sad. But did Angel really want to lose the only friends outside the Flock that she would probably ever make?
Angel turned back. She would talk to Iggy after school, and everything would be better.
Fang was wandering around inside the school. Lissa was waiting for him somewhere.
He knew Iggy and Angel were outside; apparently they had the same recess. So did Nudge, who was probably being flocked---ha ha, flocked---by hordes of boys and girls. Angel had probably enticed Iggy into playing some game, and he would of course comply blindly---no pun intended.
Fang was worried about Iggy. It was obvious that Iggy was nervous; after all, starting off in a new school without your sight would probably be pretty terrifying. But then there was the constant teasing that Fang new Iggy had been receiving. People just didn't like anything that was different.
Fang was also hearing weird stories about a new kid, who apparently had schizophrenia and was insane. And had been in jail several times.
He'd have to warn the rest of the Flock if a lunatic was running around the school… that couldn't be very safe. And little Angel was so small and soft-looking, she could easily be targeted for some crime. Yes, Fang would warn Max about this soon.
Right after he met Lissa.
Lissa was waiting for Fang in the library; she'd told him to meet her there during recess. Fang was quite eager, because even though she could never compare to Max in his eyes, she was still quite pretty… and a red-head. The only minus was that she was clingy, but what the heck? It's not as if Fang wasn't used to clingy. After all, he'd lived with Nudge for most of his life. And Iggy, always with a finger through his belt-loop, was no small matter either.
Fang cursed himself silently for thinking about him like that. Iggy wasn't clingy; it wasn't his fault he was blind. Nudge, on the other hand, was quite clingy… and a chatterbox.
Fang headed over to the softly waving Lissa, who was sitting at a table in almost the complete center of the room. As Fang walked over, he noticed with a touch of satisfaction that Max was looking in his direction from over by the computers. He hadn't known she would be here; it was an added bonus.
"Nick!" Lissa called softly, and Fang hurried over. "Oh, geez, I thought you wouldn't come! Why are you so late?"
"I was listening to some rumors. Checked for a second on my brother."
"Oh, you have a brother here?" Lissa asked interestedly.
Fang nodded. "Um, yeah. Well, we're not related biologically. Our parents are… missionaries, and they took us in. I've got two 'brothers' going here, and three 'sisters.'"
"Oh. Um, listen…"
"F-Nick! What're you doing here?"
It was Max, who had a strained smile pasted on her face.
"Oh, hanging out with Lissa," Fang said casually.
"Okay, well, just wanted to know where we're going to eat our lunch. Apparently the whole school eats at the same time, so we can eat with the rest of the Flock."
"Uh, sorry, but I actually just invited him to sit with me," Lissa interrupted brightly.
"Yeah, sorry, Max, I'm going to eat with Lissa," Fang nodded.
"Oh." Max did not sound happy. "Yeah. Well, go ahead. See you later."
She left with an undisguised grimace on her face.
Fang couldn't hide his smile.
"Flock?" Lissa asked him.
"Oh, just a nickname that we gave ourselves," Fang answers.
The two of them left the library holding hands.
Okay. I know that the rumor part sorta got far-fetched---I bet a lot of you were thinking "how the Hell would those stories come out of Iggy being blind?"---but I want to say this in my defense; at schools, stories get blown way out of proportion, and random stories, completely untrue and irrelevant, are invented. For instance, some of the developmentally-disabled students at our school get stories told about them "molesting teachers" and "feeling up chics" because they "don't know any better" or "think they can get away with it." Also, if someone is gay in school, they often have stories revolving about them raping little boys… which is untrue and irrelevant. People just commonly do not like differences. I just wanted to point out the severity of rumors, people… if someone is a minority, they are usually in danger of being made fun of. A simple gossiped rumor can spread out of control and completely ruin a person's life.
And let me say that if you are about to start a rumor, or hear one, don't spread it. I have a close friend who used to cut himself due to rumors and being made fun of. I also know of someone---and know, not off the news, but actually know---who committed suicide because a rumor blew up in their face.
Don't spread them, people. Rumors hurt. I hope you take that to heart.
Review, please.
