Title: The Best Homework Excuse Ever
Rating: PG-13. The language here is no worse than what you'd hear in a high school. If have not yet entered high school, then you shouldn't be reading this.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the Matrix trilogy, the canon characters, story or anything related. I can only wish that I did. I make no profit from this – I am merely exercising my writing skills for the reading pleasure of readers. However, I own this story. I own the character Chase, and Lady Delerith owns Ari.
Authors' notes:
Solia: Hey everyone, and sorry for the wait if anyone cared. We've finally reached chapter 19, and we're back to Chase. Just to recap on the events of the last episode – Chase and Ari received their first project, a 19-year-old Californian hottie called Jai Matthews, or Stark. After a stakeout in his apartment building, the girls have arranged to meet him at 10pm in his local park.
Delerith and I have finally finished school so we have a few months off before uni begins. There is a possibility that more fanfiction writing will result from this excessive free time, but I won't make any promises because holidays, in the past, have been the least productive time for writing.
I really hope that this chapter is enjoyed and that it was worth the extensive wait. Thanks to Arhazivory and to ShadowRess for your reviews… back in May. I really hope that we haven't lost too many loyal readers this year. We truly have been exceedingly busy and under so much stress. So hopefully there's more chapters to come for those readers who still care about this story, and also for those of you who have just started reading.
Lady Delerith: Hey all, don't worry, we're already into the next chapter, kinda. Just need a couple more nudges of inspiriation to get us going. I hope this chapters ok and suggestions and critics are always welcome. Much love, Lady D
THE BEST HOMEWORK EXCUSE EVER: Chapter 19
10:47pm, Tuesday.
"He's not coming, Chase," Ari said finally, sounding disappointed. "Ten minutes late, I can understand, but forty-five minutes late means he's either forgotten or he's not coming. I thought we had him, too."
"He's coming," Chase replied, confident. Ari sighed and slid further down the tree she was leaning against. They had chosen the cute duck-feeding lake at the nearby Walter Park playground as their meeting place for Stark because of its familiarity to nearby residents and easy accessibility. During the day it was bright, sunny and filled with laughing children on slides. At night, it played motel to countless bums (homeless people, most of them drunks and druggies) sleeping in the chipped bark underneath the jungle-gym structures and a few lowlife drug dealers preying on them, trading their third-rate substances for whatever money the homeless people had managed to collect throughout the day. Preying on those who had nothing left to lose except what was given to them. Chase was absolutely disgusted. One of the dealers, dressed in a long brown coat, was shooting glances at Chase and Ari over the shoulders of his current customer, a frizzled old man wearing ripped flannelette. If the lowlife prick even thought about bothering the girls, Chase would just snap.
"How do you know?" Ari grumbled, breathing onto her hands to warm up her fingers. It was pretty cold in the park, especially with the chilly slight wind. Chase could feel goose bumps coming up on her bare legs and wished she'd been sensible enough to not wear a miniskirt for once.
"I don't know how. I just know he's coming. He's too tempted with the ideal of the Matrix to stop now. Maybe he got caught up at home."
Ari grumbled a bit more and finally sat down at the base of the tree. Chase pulled herself up onto the brick barrier that ran along this side of the lake.
"The grass is cold," Ari complained, dragging her feet underneath herself to stand and join Chase on the brick fence. "When can we go home? I'm cold and I know you are too."
"Yeah, I am," Chase admitted, pulling her long cloak from under her and trying to cover her legs. It didn't help much. "But let's give him until 11. You don't want him to turn up and find no one, do you?"
"No, I guess not."
The flannelette old man spending his tiny money collection on drugs moved off into the shadows of some swings and his dealer slowly, casually began to make his way towards Chase and Ari.
"Great," Chase muttered furiously, folding her arms.
"We can deal with him, he's not very old," Ari answered, her hand under her coat, resting on the gun on her hip. "Do you think he's armed? I can't see anything and his coat looks too tight to keep a gun hidden under it."
As the young dealer was still at least twenty metres away, Chase responded, "Possibly. Maybe he has a knife or something we can't see."
"How old do you think he is?"
"Not very much older than us."
At this, Ari casually shifted her hand, causing her coat to slip away from her waist and revealing her weapon. Chase reached down to her boot, slowly removing the switchblade she kept there hidden for emergencies. The dealer froze, realising the danger he would be putting himself into by getting any closer. After a moment's hesitation, he began moving again, veering off in a different direction to meet other potential customers.
"Good choice," Chase muttered darkly, glaring after the dealer. "Disgusting lowlife piece of shi-"
A twig snapped underfoot, and both Chase and Ari jumped, spinning to face their surprise approacher. Chase already had her switchblade in her hand, although she didn't feel in any real danger, and Ari immediately had her hand on her gun. Chase flicked out the blade and held it out to warn whomever off.
"Whoa, I'm sorry!" the guy in the shadows said, surprised by their reaction. He stumbled back and tripped over an unearthed tree root. His face was briefly lit by the distant, weak light of a nearby lamp, and Chase recognised him then.
"It's Stark," she said, closing the switchblade and putting it back into her boot. Ari relaxed and held a hand out to the fallen young man.
"You're late," she said as he took her hand and stood. The two girls silently surveyed Jai Matthews as he dusted off his hands and eyed them. He was so cute.
"I know. I'm sorry, I had to wait for my sister to go to sleep," he explained. "She's sick."
Chase felt her heart melting. Staying back to look after his little sister…
"Fair enough," Ari responded, tilting her head and examining him again. He glanced between them, and a quirky smile broke out across his already adorable face.
"And here I was thinking you two were just some hot flatmates moving into my building," he said charmingly. Chase willed herself not to blush. "Which one of you is Ari?"
Ari raised one hand silently, and she indicated Chase. "This is Chase. She and I work together."
"Yeah, I met you in the lift," Jai (well, Stark) remembered, smiling warmly at Chase.
Chase could feel the heat rise up on her cheeks and slid slightly back into the darkness to cover her face. She couldn't help the smile creeping up on her face. He was definitely cute.
"We should probably get going, we're already overdue our curfew waiting for you." Ari slipped her hands into the pocket of her jacket and started walking in the direction of the nearest phone booth, making sure to brush against Jai. He smiled after her, and then turned his smile to Chase. She made sure to flash a quick smile in return before hurrying after Ari. She was very aware of his presence right behind her, following her. They found a working phone booth, which Ari had to break to use, and Chase and Jai waited for Ari while she made the call to Lunar. Chase leaned against the glass wall of the booth, studying the cracks in the cement beneath her feet. They looked as real as any crack in cement… and yet, they weren't real.
"What is this place?"
Chase looked up at Jai. He was very cute. She was meant to leave this for Glyph to explain.
"We're taking you to someone who can explain better than we can," she said simply. Jai frowned.
"You two promised me answers. I'm not going anywhere until you explain to me what the hell's going on. You lure me to a local park at night, saying you can help me, but you won't. You can't expect me to follow blindly, Chase."
She could tell that he wouldn't go with them if he didn't find out. But she had to be careful. Saying the wrong thing could scare him or unconsciously place him against them. She hesitated.
"Look," Jai said, thinking. "Can you just tell me… why am I different? You're like me, aren't you? You two." He indicated Ari, who was still on the phone. "You can feel it too, can't you?"
"That feeling inside that something isn't right." Chase knew the feeling well. It had plagued her childhood and early adolescence.
"And you know now, don't you?" Jai pressed. "You've found out what's not right, and that's why you're here. That's the only thing that makes us different. You're here to help the rest of us see, too."
Chase smiled.
"Then what is it? Tell me what it is that's not right. I can feel it, but it's just out of reach."
Chase could feel his frustration. She studied him for a moment, and then decided it wouldn't hurt. He was their project, after all.
"What's wrong is that it's not real," she said finally.
"Then what is this place?"
"A dream."
"Are you here to wake me up?" Jai asked, sounding slightly playful.
"It would be better for someone else to explain it all, but if you believe me then you must come with us."
"I've been waiting for this for far to long to let it slip out of my hands like this."
By now, Ari had finished the call and was leaning against the phone booth surveying Jai. Stark. Whatever.
"We need to meet up over the West side. Lunar said it's a bit far to just walk. They want us to bus it; less obvious." Chase looked down at their clothes, all leather and mini skirts and doubted they'd look normal on public transport.
"There's an hourly bus that runs past here and goes to the West side of town," Jai suggested. "I'll show you." The girls followed him to the nearest bus stop and waited.
"This reminds me too much of my old life", was all that Ari grumbled and she stretched herself over the metal bench. Chase cringed at the grime and stuck close to Jai's side.
"Dirt and grossness?" she asked.
"No, having to take busses everywhere because my parents were too busy to drive me."
Chase felt a slight pang of pity for her best friend and felt a sudden need to hug her. Ari's Matrix life had truly sucked. Unwilling to sit down on the icky bench, she leaned over and hugged Ari's shoulders. Chase pulled away and noticed Ari's smile. Her pale face was suddenly illuminated as the bus they were waiting for swung around a corner, headlights on full-beam.
"How much is the bus?" Chase asked suddenly as Jai flagged it down. Paying for transport was something she'd forgotten about. She and Ari hadn't thought about that. They glanced at each other.
"Not much. I'll pay for it," Stark said as the heavy vehicle groaned to a stop and opened its doors. "I'm guessing I won't need spare change wherever you're taking me."
"True," Ari muttered, stepping into the bus ahead of Chase. Jai paid the fares and the three of them went searching for seats. Considering it was about 11pm at night on a Tuesday, the bus was surprisingly full. A greasy middle-aged man winked at the girls as they passed. Chase spared him a disdainful look. A young woman glanced twice at Jai, obviously liking what she saw, and discreetly moved over a little, hoping he would take the seat. He didn't. Chase felt relief. The bus began moving, and all three of them grabbed the backs of seats to keep their balance.
"Sorry," Chase murmured automatically to the elderly woman whose seat she'd grabbed. The lady peered irritably up at her, before quickly assessing Chase's attire.
"Put some clothes on," she snapped. Chase stared at her. "Your mother should be ashamed, letting you out like that." The old lady glared up the aisle at Ari and Jai, who were both more moderately dressed and wearing completely black. "And letting you run around with those Goths." She shook her head. "Does she even know you're out this late, flashing your skin like a hooker and running about with kids who have probably spent all day breaking windows and worshipping the devil?"
Chase raised an eyebrow and kept walking down the aisle of the bus. It was a miniskirt, for crying out loud. And, yeah, knee-high boots. And a long jacket. So what? It wasn't like she was walking around a dodgy area unarmed and alone in the middle of the night. Besides, the way Chase dressed said nothing about her character. And wearing black did not make them all bad people.
As Jai and Ari found three seats together near the back, Chase began to remember other aspects of the Matrix she had hated without realising. The shallow, appearance-driven society that she'd always assumed was just in school, but wasn't, it was everywhere, just in different forms. Not beautiful? You're nobody. Wearing black? You're a violent and disrespectful Goth. A short skirt? Some leg showing? You're a slut.
Quite obviously, Chase thought in sarcastic amusement. She'd never had a boyfriend; never even been kissed. So, quite obviously, by wearing a short skirt, she was an absolute nymphomaniac.
She was glad that this kind of stigma didn't exist in Zion.
"You two aren't from around here," Jai said suddenly. He was sitting in the seat opposite the girls, across the aisle. "Are you English?"
Chase laughed, and Ari said, "No, we're Australian. We were Australians."
"Australian," Jai repeated, grinning. "That's hot. Have you ever seen a koala?"
Both girls nodded, amused by his delight.
"Did you have them as pets?" he asked eagerly. They laughed.
"I don't think you're allowed to keep native animals without a licence," Chase explained. "Besides, we were city girls."
"Are you sisters?" Jai asked, looking between them. Before they could answer, he added, "You don't look much alike."
"We're close friends," Ari said, and left it at that.
Within fifteen minutes, the bus had reached their destination, and they filed off. The old woman mumbled something about 'girls these days' as they were passing her. Once off the bus, and after the bus had driven off, Ari looked around.
"We're looking for an old building," she said uselessly. All of the buildings here were old. "Lunar said it's a photo developer and some empty apartments upstairs. Five storey building."
"Robin's Photography?" Jai asked. Ari nodded. "Yeah, it's in the next street over. What kind of photos are you developing?"
"Can you direct us there?" Chase said, ignoring his question. He nodded, but looked unsure. He began walking up the street. Chase fell into step with Ari.
"Which floor do we need?" she asked.
"Top one. It's been empty for years, Lunar said. No one wants to live there because people keep breaking in." She grinned. Chase understood. Most buildings with a hardline came with the problem of rebels breaking in to jack out of the Matrix.
"Is Glyph there already?" she asked, and Ari nodded.
"He's waiting," she said. "Citadel, Coyote and Specter are there, too."
Jai (Stark) turned left at the next silent intersection.
"Hardly anyone is out at night on this side of town," he explained as the girls looked around. "This is the less appealing side of the city. Just crappy little private businesses and a whole lot of fruit markets. It's always empty at night."
"You know this town pretty well," Ari commented.
"I've always lived here in LA," he said. "We've moved around a bit, after Mom's divorce from my dad and after she left her next partner and stuff."
"I don't mean to pry, Jai, but how many times has your mother married?" Chase asked hesitantly. Jai/Stark grinned, not at all offended.
"Just twice. She was married to my dad for eight years before he left her for someone else. Mom took my sister and I and moved in with her next boyfriend – he's the dad of my half-sister Chris. And after they were finished, she met Tom, married him and had Max. A little messy, but there you have it. Here's Robin's Photography." Jai stopped and gestured to the building across the road. The bottom storey was a poky little shop with bars on its dusty, dark windows, and a fire escape ladder scaled the side of the brick structure.
"Thanks, Stark," Ari said, examining the building. Chase felt a little guilty for calling Stark by the name Jai, because in the real world he was going to get called Stark, and it was her responsibility to be preparing him for that life. Ari started across the road, looking back at Chase as she did so. "Lunar said the ladder's the best bet. The shop looks too well locked for us to get in easily."
Chase didn't have to verbalise her agreement. Neither of them had yet mastered the art of turning steel bars and alarm systems into marshmallows. They suspected it was a difficult art to master, and not one they were prepared to spend much time attempting.
Jai – no, Stark – needed some convincing to climb the ladder and break into the top storey apartment, but eventually Chase was stepping through a long-broken window onto a pile of dust and dull shards of glass. The small bedroom was dusty, empty and lonely, and had probably been that way for years.
Chase and Ari crossed to the bedroom door and turned to Stark. He was standing awkwardly beside the broken window, looking around.
"Now what?" he asked. He sounded almost nervous. Chase could tell that he didn't feel comfortable now that he had nowhere to run. He wasn't afraid of the girls. He didn't like feeling trapped, and probably felt a little overwhelmed by the breaking-in and the this-is-the-end-of-the-line factors.
"There's someone waiting for you behind this door," Ari explained as Chase smiled reassuringly and tried to emit an air of confidence and calm. "He's the one we've brought you to meet. He's the one who can tell you everything."
"If you're willing to listen," Chase added. Ari nodded.
"Are you ready to go through?" she asked. Stark swallowed and lifted his head. He nodded twice and began walking forwards.
There had been no incidents so far and all was going well, so it surprised Stark when the door swung open before he even reached it. Standing on the other side was Glyph, their captain, waiting for their arrival. Stark stopped and took a defensive step backwards.
"Who's he?" he demanded of Chase, to whom he stood closest.
Smiling, Glyph stepped forward and extended his hand.
"Stark, my name is Glyph," he introduced himself. "I'm here to help you."
Looking suspicious, Stark glanced at Chase and Ari, asking them, "And he's a friend of yours?"
"We work for Glyph," Ari explained.
"We brought you to him so he could explain everything to you that we can't," Chase added. "If you're willing to listen."
Cautiously Stark shook Glyph's hand.
"Welcome, and follow me," Captain Glyph said with a smile. His casual and light air put the teenager at ease, and Stark followed the captain down the hallway to a lone door.