eSorry about not updating to whoever likes this, I got sucked into watching Falling skies, so good :3
Also, I need some ideas for side quests to include! I'll obviously be doing the main story line primarily, which includes B.S., but just the main storyline is boring. Go ahead and give me some ideas.
The older lady rubs the stress from the bridge on her nose. The class has asked enough questions to restock a library. The lunch bell goes off and she lifts her head to give instructions for lunch. The shock on her face stuns the students when she saw that nobody left, they want to hear more about her father. One person stands and leaves for lunch, it was a girl who asked; "If your father was born in the vault, and lived in the vault, how are you here?" The teacher didn't answer the question, it would have been to hard for the teacher to explain without actually ruining everything the next chapter is.
"It's lunch time children, go eat." The teacher says nervously. No one moves. The boy in the front with countless piercings and a war hawk is the first to retaliate. "I don't know about the rest of these dick wads but I would like to hear the second chapter... If that would be okay with you, mam."
The teacher can't help but smile. Raider children are so polite, yet brutal about being polite."Fine, but get a snack ready, I don't want any of you losing any weight."
The teens tear through their backpacks and take out the snacks they intended on eating while the teacher taught, discretely. She smiles, it's their last few days until vacation, and only some of them will be returning next year. She clears her throat and from behind her desk in the far side of the room, she continues.
"I had just turned Sixteen and I had to take the G.O.A.T. While on my way, I saw the Tunnel Snakes. A three man gang led by none other, Butch. They were surrounding Amata, one of my closest friends. Luckily we haven't friend zoned each other just yet and I was hoping today I could make my mark. Amata is the Overseer's daughter which makes her really hard to get close too, but not for me, my mother and her father seemed to be good friends." She turns the page and begins the new one not soon after
"I heard them giving her hell from down the hallway, so I approached Butch. He wasn't very kind to me when I challenged his actions towards Amata. I should have seen it coming, Butch ordered his gang and himself to team up on me. I went straight for Paul, he had the biggest hands, he was also the first one to get in front of me taking his first swing to my rib cage. It connected but I grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground with a swift kick to his ribs. I heard a crack and obviously broke a few ribs.
Next was Wally Mack. He was faster than me, but thought about things a little less. He took a swing to my jaw. I leaned back then swept his feet out from under him followed by a stomp to his chin. Wont kill him, but I definitely dislocated his jaw. I turned and saw Butch with his little knife. 'You're lucky your dad died, I woulda killed him myself you little BITCH!' He charged at me, knife extended towards my gut. Not a second to soon a guard came around the corner to see me drop Butch and hold his own knife to his throat. 'Tsk Tsk Butch, you got your ass handed to you by a little weakling like...' Suddenly there is a searing pain in my back and I'm on the floor. Butch is being helped up and Amata is telling the story of what happened." She flicks to the next page and checks for questions. None, good, she wouldn't answer any anyways.
"Luckily I wasn't arrested and got to go to class. I broke Wally's jaw completely and Paul was good enough to go take the G.O.A.T. For himself. Amata looked at me and smiled, I walked up to her and she stomped on my toes 'I don't need your help you know? You nearly got killed!' I look her in the eye, I finally choke up some words. 'You could just say thank you..' She blushes a little and holds her chin. 'Fine, thank you. But next time I'll be saving you from verbal harassment!'
I look over her shoulder and see Butch getting hauled off somewhere by the guards, the entire time he glares at me. 'You've got yourself a deal.' I turned and helped Paul stand and get to class. Me and Paul always had somewhat of a friendship, but he stands by Butch like a dog. I sit him down in the front and head towards Mr. Brotch, I've got no intention of taking this test and he knows it. I convince him to set up my results so that I became the 'Vault Loyalty Inspector'. I was finally able to put my box of bobby pins to use.
I sat in the back of the room and waited for Amata to finish her test. I made silly faces at her when I caught her staring back, she nearly got blamed for cheating when she broke out into laughter. Brotch gave me a stern look and I waved at him flirtatiously. This was enough to keep him distracted and Amata to turn in her test. She received 'Shift Manager'. Paul got 'Vault Engineer' I've never seen someone in so much pain be so excited about a job. Amata wasn't so happy. She knew hers was rigged so she would become the future overseer. I wanted to make her happier so I went around the corner next to the door and waited for her to come out. The class went out one by one and she was last. She didn't notice me until I grabbed just above her hips, she yipped with laughter and I carried her back to her room." Again she turns to the next page. This time there is a question, a quiet boy in the back who has no hair and a funny looking nose has his hand up. The teacher nearly ignored him but decided not too.
"Yes Charles?" The teacher asks.
"Does the next part have sexual encounters?" He asked his question so quietly that the girl in front of him had to repeat it. The teacher thought for a minute. "No Charles, there is only ONE adult scene in this book, but it's not until later. Thank you for asking." She hesitates to continue reading, she throws in a quick detail. "There is one thing though, the style of writing seems to change at this point. My father stopped writing in past tense, but in present tense, so that we can be soaked into the book." She clears her throat and this time ignores Charles' question. She continues reading.
"I was running to her room and the guards stared as they saw their boss' daughter get carried through the vault. One of them stopped me. Good old Officer Gomez didn't want any attention being brought to us.
'Hey kids, calm down! I don't want the overseer getting his panties all tied up because his daughter is having a good time!' Amata giggled for the first time and we continued to her dad and her room. I put her down in front of her door and look her in the eyes. Hers are just like mine, a slight shade of brown. I notice her gnawing on her bottom lip. She quickly turned and opened the door. She doesn't even say goodbye and closes the door on me. I laugh and lean my forehead against the metal, I has cold sting to it. Without thinking I slam my fist into what I thought was her door. Turned out to be her window, cracking it. The door opened just as quick as my fist connect I fell forward a little bit and when I looked up I was surprised by not Amata, but her dad.
'Thank you for taking my daughter home, but you need to leave...' He says to me sternly. I just stand there for a few seconds and stare at him, speechless. 'NOW!' He screams, his voice echoes and I walk down the hall back to my room. Moms at work and it's been a long day. Might as well go to sleep." The teacher flips the page and skims ahead a few pages to find the start of the third chapter. She nods and continues reading, not looking up.
"My mother had acted suspicious the next morning. She claimed she was fine but I could tell something was bothering her. When I woke up I went to class and noticed Amata wasn't there. I slept through class and decided to go visit her at home, if she's sick she would be home alone and her dad would be at work doing overseer stuff.
I walked to her room and noticed the window had been replaced. I knocked a couple times and she answered. Her cheek had a bruise on it. She gasped and tried to close the door before I could get in, unfortunately for her I was inside already.
'What the fuck happened to you, was it Butch? I'll kill his ass if he did this to you!' She looks away. I grab her chin.
'Stop, I told you I don't need your help!' She says with tears in her eyes. 'Besides, it wasn't Butch'
'Who was it then? Just tell me, I think I deserve to know.' I refute towards her.
'My dad thought I was going to invite you inside for"adult fun" so he punished me.' the tears stream down her face and she throws herself into my chest. I didn't know what to say. All I knew is that I couldn't be seen here with her. Me and her used to crawl the the vent chambers when were younger to play in the generator room. The vents are thin, but I can fit through them. I grab her chin and lift her head so I can look at her.
'Meet me by the main battery in about ten minutes alright? It doesn't look like that got treated to well.'
She nods and goes to open the door. I grab her palm and listen. I hear a guard's radio, they know I'm here and one of the guards are here to check on her. I point to the vent and she gets the hint. I grab a chair and open the vent, she hurries herself into her room and turns on a radio to drown the noise. The vent cover slams open and I throw myself into it. She moves the chair and slides the vent cover back in place. Just in time for the guard to come in.
'Can I help you?' She asks.
'Yeah, I've been assigned to watch your room but I have to do a quick search.' He answered her with a military styled voice, can't tell who it was. He stares up into the vent and I stare back. 'Don't move' I think. He continues to walk around and checks the rest of the room and I scurry into the generator room. Jonas and Paul were in there when I fell from the wall. They both stare. I look at Paul.
'Hows the rib?' I ask.
'Been better, and yours?' He asks quietly.
'Meh, you hit me pretty hard, but not as hard as I hit you.'
We both laugh and I stop and look at Jonas.
'Jonas, get my mom down here, tell her Paul cut his finger pretty bad or something.' I demand.
'Wh...' He starts to ask as Amata walks in the room. The bruise on her face is gone, but I know it's hiding.
'Just do it Jonas!' I demand again. Amata walks up to me and I wrap my arms around her. Jonas goes to the intercom and sends for my mother. It takes doesn't take long for her to get down here. She pieced it together when she saw Amata silently crying into me.
'Paul would you mind stepping out for a minute?' She asks. He nods as a reply and walks out.
'Alright honey, whats wrong?' She talks to me for some reason.
'Amata has a bruise on her cheek and it looked pretty bad, I just wanted you to check it out.' I answer.
She smiles and shakes her head. 'You're just like your dad you know that?' I unfold Amata and my mom moves the make up from Amata's face. Shes shocked and feels her jaw bone, making sure it isn't broken. Amata whimpers a little. Shes still clinging to my back.
'Well, your jaw isn't broken but that bruise is under the skin, which means you have a busted vein.' She gives Amata her observation and all Amata can do is nod.
'Would you like a Stimpak to numb the pain?' My mom asks calmly.
'No, I'll be fine. Do you have any coverup with you though? I need to make sure no one sees, or I'll really be dead.' She replies and realizes she's said to much. My mom gives her a stern look and hands Amata her cover up.
'Do you want to stay with us for the day? I'll be making some pork and rice for dinner tonight!' My mom's offer seemed to make Amata's day. Her face brightened up and she nodded with excitement. It'll be the first time Amata ever walks into our room.
'Alright, be home at 5:30 you two, dinner should be done by then.' My mom says as she goes back to the clinic. Paul comes back in and Jonas puts him right to work.
'Thanks Jonas.' I say.
'Mhmmmm' He replies." The teacher takes a sip from her water and turns the page, continuing.
"Amata and I hung around in the generator for a while to chat. We decided that being friends is the best thing that has happened to either of us. We also agreed that we could become even better than friends. When it was time to go back home, I helped her off the floor and held her hand the entire way. I know it means nothing, but it felt great. We ate dinner and her pip-boy flashed. Her dad was calling for her to go home.
'Walk her home will you?' My mom said as I took Amata to the door. We all laughed and decided it would be best if I just walked her as far as the classroom. I opened the door and slipped my fingers in between hers. It's not a very long walk to the classroom from my room, but it's better than nothing at all. Her hair is always up, I wonder if I'll ever see it down. We reach the classroom, and I didn't realize she had been staring back at me the entire time we were walking. Mr. Brotch was just leaving when we showed up. He looked at me and dropped his key and calmly said 'Oops.' and walked away. Amata and I couldn't contain our laughter as he walked away and we walked in.
We sat on the floor, my arm around her just looking at each other. Then it catches my eye, she's gnawing on her lip and staring at mine. This makes me laugh, I must be doing the same thing.
'You're silly you know?' I ask her.
'...What, why?' she asks loudly.
'Your lips bleeding.' I say in a joking matter, but it seems it isn't a joke. Her lip is really bleeding.
'No way!' She exclaims. I wipe the blood from her lip with my thumb and show it to her. She looks at it and blushes almost instantly.
'You're the son of a doctor, cant you fix this?' She asks nervously. I nod in response and move my face close to hers. Then it happens. Her pair of moist, warm lips touch mine. I'm an amateur, I don't know about her, so I don't know when to stop, I don't care either.
There is a flash of light and we stop. Butch, in the corner, behind Brotch's desk. I wonder how he got in but I don't think. I stand up and approach him. He snickers at me.
'You know, if you hurt me, it'll be more obvious that it happened than a picture its self!' He talks to me like he owns me. Amata grabs my hand.
'Just let him show my father, I don't ca...' Butch interrupts her. 'You think this is for your father? You're DEAD wrong. Why would I work for him? This is for the entire Vault to see. "The Overseer's Daughter kissing the slum who cheated on his G.O.A.T!" I can see it now, your little father is going to drop the hammer on this PUNK here and banish him from the Vault.' He still sounds like he owns me.
He was too busy giving his little speech to notice me approaching his blade. Stealing it from his pocket he nails me in the eye with the camera. I toss the knife away and take the camera, smashing it on the floor. He takes another swing at me, this time he connects just below my belt. Amata yips with fear when he hits me in the back of my neck. I stagger back and block the next punch to my knee. I return a punch to his gut and cripple him over. While he's bent I grab the sides of his head and bring my knee to his nose. He cries out in pain and falls on his back. He holds his nose and blood gushes from under his hand. I place my foot on his neck.
'You would kill my father would you? Your mother is a drunk, your dad is dead, have you eaten today Butch? Or did your mom drink away your ration tickets once more?' I ask him as I push down with my foot. He gags for air and grips my ankle. 'Butch, you're going to stay away from Amata, and if you want to do this ALL AGAIN, I'll kill you.' He gasps for air and I lift my foot and he turns over to stand on all fours. 'Okay, okay man, you got a deal, I'll leave your girl alone.' He chokes out the words and I kick him down.
I bend to pick up the film from the camera when I notice the light bulb is missing out of its socket. Butch is turned facing me with the bulb and hits me in the cheek with it. It breaks and sprays my face with blood and glass. I yell with pain and grab his neck. I stand up, he's shorter than me so he's dangling at the mercy of my height. I tighten my grip around his neck. My face gushes blood and I wait for the color in his face to fade and drop him. I check for a pulse and it's still there. I grab the remains of the camera and Amata rushes to me." The class sits in awe. And the teacher takes the picture out from the book, the picture of the two kissing. Blood stains the corner and splashes across the center. She passes it around the room for everyone to see. They don't move, stunned by every thing that happened inside of the vault. Sharron raises her hand again.
"Go ahead Sharron." The teacher says
"I don't understand, this can't be possible, a fight inside of the Vault? A gang even? These things were prohibited, even for the teens. How did they get a camera to work? This cannot be true!" She says it faster than the teacher's comprehension.
The teacher thinks for a second, searching for a response. "Sharron, Vault 101 was one of the more advanced Vaults, and had very strict rules. In fact, Vault 101 was closed long enough for them to make scientific advances. They improved our medical systems and built MANY things. A camera, was one of the few basic things that Vault 101 got to work."
Another hand raises almost immediately after the answer.
A petite girl with a shaved head doesn't wait for the teacher to respond to her hand. "Was your father scarred by the light bulb?"
The powder haired teacher doesn't hesitate. "Yes, yes he was. But his scars healed at a point."
She places the picture back in the book and continues to read after flipping the page.
"She pulls shards of glass from my cheek and checks if there is any glass in my eye. She stands me up and we look at each other for a moment.
'You're not slum... You're a hero.' She says quietly.
'Yeah? You're m...' She stops me before I can even finish and plants another kiss on me. I wrap my hands around her. Blood getting on her face from mine. I decide I'll walk her all the way back. Blood still gushes from my face as we leave the class room. I started to get dizzy so she put my arm around her shoulder and practically dragged me to her room. Her dad answered and took me to the couch. Amata told him about Butch and what happened. He sent for guards to get Butch and lock him up, then sent for my mom. This is where I blacked out. I didn't realize it was that bad.
. I woke up in the middle of the night in the clinic Amata is at my side and the overseer and my mother are talking outside the clinic. My hand is still clinging to Amata's from when I passed out. Shes been here the entire time. Only a day in the relationship and I can already tell I love this girl. Always have though. From a childish puppy love, to a middle school crush to my high school love. I caress her hand with my thumb and she shoots her head up. Tears escape her eyes.
'Hey, whats wrong, I'm alive and I definitely don't think this was fatal...' I can barely get the words out, I feel exhausted.
'It's not that... My father doesn't want me seeing you, or being around you anymore.' She blurts it out like it was hurting her from the inside. All I can do is stare at her.
'He found the picture that Butch took, he wasn't very pleased and he doesn't want me with a trouble maker. He says you're no better than the Tunnel Snakes.' She knows I can't talk she explained the whole situation again. Apparently my mom has been trying to convince the Overseer that I'm not a trouble maker, and that I never had a father figure to teach me otherwise. I pass back out and this time I wake up in my bed, no Amata and a giant bandage on my cheek. I touch it and feel pain seer through my cheek. 'FUCK!' I exclaim and tears roll down my face. I can't even be with my only friend, I'm alone. I go to class and Amata is there, but Butch isn't. Good, Amata is safe and Butch is locked up. Brotch hands out tests and we sit in silence. I don't do the test, I get up and walk out of the class instead.
'Hey, get back here! If you fail this test you...' I interrupt his stupidity. 'I gotta use the washroom.' I don't really need to use the washroom but I go there anyways. Jonas is washing his hands, I greet him, but he doesn't even look at me. He just walks out. I look in the mirror at the white medical tape over my wounds. I hear the door open, I don't look at them, instead I turn on the water and act like I was heading back to class. I feel arms wrap around my waist.
'Amata...' I say quietly.
'Just because my dad said I can't see you, doesn't mean I wont...' She whispers it as close to my ear. I shake my head.
'No... I don't want you to get hurt for me again.' I say with my head down. I can feel the tears coming up.
'What're you saying?' She asks sadly.
'I'm saying, lets not do this. You're my greatest friend.. I couldn't have a better friend.' I scrounge for words. 'You're my only friend, and I REALLY care about you, I don't want you to get hurt. you're going to grow up and be something, when I'm older I'll be burning unbuilt bridges checking if people are loyal to the Overseer.' I feel a wet spot on my shoulder blade. I turn around and hug her. Her hands search my back and grip my shirt, she sobs into my chest. I wait for her to calm down and I give her one last kiss on the cheek. I head back to class and she follows behind me.
Later that night I was eating with my mom at dinner, apparently I broke Butch's nose in multiple spots and re-aligned his spine when I threw him down. Other than that news dinner was quiet. Amata has been trying to contact me via pip-boy all night. I just can't bring myself to do it. I went and to put my dishes up when I heard a knocking. I went to answer, my heart was in my throat, I thought it was Amata. Instead it was the Overseer. My mom answered the door like usual he came in for tea, but this time he gestured for me to sit at the table. For once he doesn't want to talk supplies with my mom, he wants to talk to me.
'I understand my daughter has strong feelings for you.. Do you feel like you can keep her safe?' I never thought I would be talking to the Overseer on such a topic.
I look him in the eye and say 'I would keep her more than just safe, I would make sure she's happy every day and looks forward to the next.'
He and my mom laugh, I can't tell if they're laughing at me or sharing a memory. 'Alright kiddo, if you can do that, I'll give you one more chance, but if you endanger her one more time... Well, lets say it wont be her taking the hits.' My mom looks at him, stunned he would even say that. I laugh at his threat.
'Get out of here so me and your mother can speak.' He says coldly. I nod and dash out the door towards Amata's room. She answers, her eyeliner is running and I throw a hug around her, we share laughs filled with tears. I hold her as tight as I can. I pick her up, this time we run to my room, and into my personal quarters. We exchange stares, but that soon becomes a kiss. The simple kiss turned into exchanging saliva via tongue. We stopped before anything went to far. She was laying on top of me, we chatted about old times, the present, I told her about what happened today with her dad and for whatever reason, we got into the topic of the future. It's Friday night and usually there is a party at Paul's room. Instead of going to the party, we decided to fall asleep.
I had a dream that night. I was in the outside world, before any bombs went off. It was happy and there was serenity. My mom lived on the second floor of Amata and mine's house. There was a little girl running around in the front yard. Color just seemed to fill the world. Then I heard the sirens, the bombs were dropping and I was holding my family under a table. The world started to shake violently. The sirens got louder and louder. I heard the whistle of a bomb. Just before it exploded I woke up.
Amata had been shaking me and the security alarms were going off. Something was happening, but I knew we were safe in my room.
'Come on, wake up, plea...' She tries to plead to me, but I just wanted to have some fun.
'I knew you'd be excited to see me, but this seems a bit excessive don't ya think?' I say.
'It's you're mom! She got out of the Vault, they killed Jonas because they think he helped her escape, they're coming for you next!' She's nearly screaming at me.
'What do you mean my mom got out? The door hasn't opened in 200 years!' I attempt to refute her, but now that I think about it, this seems possible. Jonas has barely said a word to me and my mom has been acting extremely odd. I run these things through my head, it all makes sense.
'Alright, whats the quickest and safest for us to get out?' I ask quickly to try and make up for lost time.
She wracks her brain for an answer.'My dad's office has a shortcut to the door, but you'll probably have to fight to get to his office.' She leans into me kisses my cheek. I can't help but hug her for a second.
'Before I forget, I stole my dad's pistol, take it and only use it if you need it.' She tries to shove it into my chest but I force it back to her.
I look her in the eye. 'I wont need it, keep it though, YOU may need it.'
I took picked up my bat and she ran towards her fathers, she said something about trying to stall her dad's search for me. I was just out my door and I watch a guard get mauled by Rad Roaches. Ironic how they invade while I'm escaping. That must have been Jonas' part in the plan. I start by heading towards the clinic to check Jonas' body for any clues. I'm jumped by a couple guards with batons on my way though. I broke one of their face masks with my bat and snapped the other one's neck. Not to far from there I saw Butch's mom get eaten alive by some Rad Roaches. I was nearly to the vault door when I was jumped by a couple of guards with pistols. I took a couple shots, non-vital areas though. A couple of Stimpaks took the pain right away, blood loss was the only thing worrying me. I luckily escaped them by sneaking behind some generators and stabbing them in the kidneys with Butch's old knife I had grabbed from the classroom.
I was finally nearing the vault door when I passed the holding room. I saw that Butch was still locked up. When I scanned the room a little more, I saw Amata tied to a chair and another guard about to hit her. She lit him up faster than the virtual lightning struck in the nature room. He fell to the floor and bled at her feet. Her dad was nearing her with his finger pointed towards her gun. She dropped it and he struck her down. I barged in just in time to see Amata hit the floor. I reached into my pocket and whipped my dad's old baseball at the Overseer's nose. It connects and sends him into the ground next to his daughter. I take a running start and kick him in the side of the head. He's on his back now. Amata is too dazed to realize what's going on. He cowers on his back, his face gushing blood and tears. I don't even need to talk to him to know what kind of pain he's in. I don't want to kill him, but I'll sure as hell make him wish he were dead. I walk to his feet and crush his ankles with my bat. He screams in pain so I do it to his elbows. I look at his mangled position, he tries to plea with me but I kick in his teeth.
Amata saw the whole thing, never said a word and doesn't even seem shocked. I get her up to her feet and toss Butch his knife. He's more than pleased, not only did he get his knife back but he can use it to pick the lock. Amata throws a hug around me and cries into my shoulder. I don't think she wanted her dad to look this way, but she also knows she's leaving the safety of her home, into the wild wastes. I pick her up and take her to the vault door. I go over things I have to do before I leave. Everything is in check, but one thing and I can't think of it. Then it hits me. I forgot to go to the clinic, but it's not far so it's no big deal. I place Amata down somewhere she wont be seen and head that way. I make it up to the clinic door and find two additional carcases to the one I was looking for. Officer Gomez and his robot friend are both dead. I check the bodies, a couple of Rad Roaches wouldn't take out a trained officer and a robot with a flame thrower. It's exactly what I thought it was, the robot was re-programmed to attack Jonas and when Gomez found out, he tried to stop the robot. Stanley is dead in the corner next to Jonas. Must of taken all three of them to even put a dent into the robot. I walk up to Jonas' body, I search for anything that could lead me to my mom. I find a holo tape and take his glasses. I put the glasses in my pocket and upload the tape to my pip-boy.
I get back to the vault door to find Amata surrounded by two officers. I take up my bat and swing for the back of one of their heads. It connects but the helmet just shook his head around. They both turn towards me and start waking. I get pushed into a corner across the room, near the door I came in. I hear a buzz saw spin up after a few minutes of taking a beating. One of them drops down and blood sprays everything. The next guard is engulfed in flames and brought to his knees. The next thing I know, I'm face to face with a bloody robot.
It stood there a second and states; 'Have a good day sir.' then floats away. I see Amata, untouched in the corner of the room. I slip my arms under her again and open the Vault. It screeches open and I take towards the entrance. Amata slips her arms around my neck and hides her face in my chest. I hear the door screech closed and I quickly turn around, Butch carried the Overseer back to the entrance just to close the door. He was in kahoots with the overseer the entire time. Amata and eye gaze at each other and I set her down. Her arms stay wrapped around me.
'You ready for this Amata?' I ask her quietly.
'No, I thought I would hide inside of this little cave and have you bring me food whenever I get hungry.' She responds hesitantly, but happily. I laugh at her and bring her close, we head for the final obstacle to our freedom and leave.
The old lady closes the book and sheds a small tear, it's hard to think her grandfather was a communist. She looks up at the class, all their jaws hang open and stare at her blankly.
After thinking about it for a minute she says, "We'll continue this next week class."
They all gasp and the bell goes off.