Hullo, to all of the people who are still fallowing me. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a long time but I had some problems with this chapter, and you guys can totaly blame me for it because it was all my falt. You see I wasn't paying attention when I was transferring this chapter from the book to my computer and screwed up. I had to go back and look over it a lot and redo something. Anyways It's 8:18 on New Year's eave; hears my last entry of 2012 look forward to the new year I gradwate in June so I'm really stoked (I think I spelled that wrong, sorry) about that. I hope the new year is as good to all of you as I think it's going to be to me.
I don't own DP.
TPROV
Mrs. Talbot set me up to peel carrots for lunch. I didn't dare tell her I'd never peeled one in my life. After hacking my thumb, I got the hang of it.
We all gave Chloe a blank stare. "What?" "Have you ever cooked before at all?" Simon asked bluntly. "Of cores I have," she said crossing her arms and sticking her noise up a little higher. "Cereal, doesn't count," I pointed out. She uncrossed her arms and made s face at me.
As I peeled, my mind started to wander… into places I'd rather not visit. So I called in my best defense: turn it all into a movie.
"Don't you always," I muttered
As traumatic experiences went, the last few days were my best film fodder ever. But what genre would it be? Straight horror? Or psychological suspense? Maybe a combination of elements, surprising the viewer with-
"I could talk about movie genres all day." Chloe said smiling sheepishly. "I think we got that," I said a little too sour but oh, well.
"Peeling duty already?" a voice whispered. "What'd you do to deserve that?" This time, when I wheeled around, I didn't see a disembodied hand but a whole body. A guy, in fact, maybe a year older than me, a half foot taller and slender, with high cheekbones and dark blond hair worn in short, messy spikes. His almond-shaped brown eyes danced with amusement.
We all looked at Simon. "Wow, good description Chlo but I think you forgot to mention incredibly attractive." He said to her wriggling his brows. I gaged, "On what plant would the abnormal spices consider you attractive." He pouted and I counted reading.
"You must be Chloe."
He reached out. I jumped back. The carrot leaped from my hands and bounced off his arm. A real arm. Attached to a real guy.
Simon chuckled as Chloe's cheeks turned pink. "Give me a break," She complained. "I was on the verge of actually thinking I was crazy." Simon just shook his head and continued to laugh. "Hold on I'll get him to stop." I took a cracker from the pack I was eating and shoved it in his mouth. "Tori," Derek said with a grunt. "Just keep reading."
"I-I-"
He put a finger to his lips, then pointed at the dining room door. Beyond it, Mrs Talbot was talking to Liz.
I remember seeing you guys, Liz wrought. I was talking to Mrs. Talbot about doing my lessons in the dining room with Derek so I would have to put up with my poltergeist. Funny thing how my poltergeist was really me I mean could you have imagined… "Liz," I interrupted the scribbling pen that was flying on the paper. "You were babbling again." I told the peace of paper. Sorry, she wrote even though I really didn't mind.
"I'm not supposed to be in here," he whispered. "I'm Simon, by the way."
I was suddenly aware that he was standing between me and the exit. His smile was friendly, and he was definitely cute, but cute didn't count with a guy who had you cornered in a group home.
Simon held a hand over his heart. "Chloe," he said in a fake weary voice. "That hurts deep." Chloe just shook her head and laughed at his fake performance. But I got to give her create for that one, I thought to myself.
He backed up to the walk-in pantry, lifted a finger telling me to wait, then disappeared inside. I could hear him rooting around in the shelves. When I peeked in, he was taking down a box of graham crackers.
"Hay D your lucky you were there because I really wanted the Nutter Butters." "You're not supposed to-" Derek started. "Kidding," Simon interrupted.
A kitchen raid? I couldn't help smiling. Guess it didn't matter whether it was a group home or summer camp, guys and their stomachs didn't change. Simon pulled out an unopened sleeve of crackers. "The other one's already open," I whispered, pointing.
"Like that would have been enough for you right D?" Simon asked and Derek just grunted in response.
"Thanks, but he'll want the whole thing. Right, bro?"I followed his gaze over my shoulder, and let out a yelp.
I could help but to laugh as Derek scowled. "Don't you usually leave that impression on girls' wolf-boy?" Tori, not nice, Liz wrote. I just shrugged it off as if what she said didn't really bother me. "He didn't leave that impression on me," Chloe said quietly. Derek smiled gratefully at her as we stared at the blushing couple.
The guy standing behind me had to be six feet tall, with shoulders as wide as the door. Though he was as big as an adult, he'd never be mistaken for one. His face could be used as the "before" picture for acne cream. Dark hair hung in his eyes, lank and dull.
Derek scowled at Chloe; she gave a nervous laugh ignoring his eyes. She swallowed, "I'm sorry Der It's just a description." He sighed and I saw him squeeze her hand. "It's alright Chlo."
"I- I- I-" I swallowed. "I didn't see you there."He reached past me and took the crackers from Simon. When he started to retreat, Simon grabbed the back of his shirt.
"What," I said with a fake gasp. "You're not even going to introduce yourself." Derek mumbled something under his breath too low for me to hear but Chloe giggled.
"We're still teaching him manners," he said to me. "Derek, Chloe. Chloe, my brother, Derek.""Brother?" I said."Yeah." Derek's voice was a low rumble. "Identical twins."
I looked up from the story and glanced back and forth between Simon and Derek. "What?" Derek finely asked, and I shrugged. "Just trying to figure out how the two of you could be identical twins." Derek snorted at the comment and Simon grind stupidly at his brother.
"He's my foster brother," Simon said. "So I was just about to tell Chloe-"
"We done here?" Derek said.
Chloe shook her head, "Always blunt and to the point." She shared a look with Derek; cleared her throat and became quite again.
Simon waved him away, then rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Anyway, I was just going to say welcome-"
"Simon?" Tori's voice echoed through the kitchen.
"Speak of the devil," Simon muttered. I scowled and gave him the finger. What did I ever see in him?
"Aha. I thought I heard you." Her fingers closed around the pantry door. "You and Derek, always raiding the-"She spotted me and her eyes narrowed.
"Cat fight," Simon said, and this time it was Chloe's turn to call him out. "Simon you know what Tori did is in the past right?" He shrugged and she gave me a symptomatic look which I returned with a glare. I didn't want her sympathy.
"Tori?" Simon said.Her expression flipped from simmering to simpering. "Yes?"He jabbed a finger toward the dining room door. "Shhh!"As she babbled her apologies, I made my escape.
"Could you blame me?" Chloe said shaking her head and Derek tried to hide his smile.
After I finished the carrots, Mrs. Talbot said I could have free time until lunch and directed me to the media room. If I was hoping for a big-screen TV with surround sound and a top-of-the-line computer, I was out of luck. There was a twenty-inch TV, a cheap DVD/VCR combo, an old Xbox, and an even older computer.
"They were pretty cheap with their stuff." I said remembering that old computer and my mom had promised she would by me a brand new top of the line laptop so I wouldn't have to use it. But then again I never got that laptop she just brought the one I had from home.
One flip through the movie collection and I knew I wouldn't be spending much time here…unless I was suddenly nostalgic for the Olsen twins. The only movie rated above PG was Jurassic Park, and it was labeled "Please ask before viewing," like I had to show my school ID to prove I was over thirteen.
"Well-" I started and Chloe cut me off. "Not one word." I smiled mischievously.
I turned on the computer. It took five minutes to boot up. Windows 98. I spent another five minutes trying to remember how to use Windows. We had Macs at school and I'd finally persuade my dad to buy me an Apple laptop—complete with all the upgraded movie editing programs.
"Of course you would just but a laptop for it movie editing programs." I said shacking my head. "Apple isn't even the best type of laptop for movie editing. Now if you want good surround sound and a updated browser for editing go for the Mac 22 but the best one for a movie maker is probably one with Intel." The all stared blankly at me. "Never mind," I said with a sigh
I searched for a browser. I hoped for Firefox, but wasn't getting anything better than plain old IE. I typed in a URL and held my breath, expecting to get a "cannot connect to the Internet message." Instead, the page popped up. Guess we weren't as cut off from the outside world as I'd feared.
"With how old that computer was I'm surprised we weren't," I told myself.
I flipped through my favorite sited, killing time until I worked up the nerve to check my in-box. A few minutes check the weekend box office figures cleared my mind, then I typed in the URL to access my MSN account. The browser chugged away for a minute, then brought up a "Page cannot be displayed" message.
I hated that it made the place feel like a boarding school or something that was monitoring us around the clock. "Uh, Liz they were monitoring us around the clock," Chloe said. Oh ,well yeah…just keep reading Tori.
I tried Hotmail. Same thing. "Chloe, there you are." I turned as Mrs. Talbot walked in. "I was just…" I waved at the screen. "I wanted to check my e-mail, but I keep getting this." She walked over, glanced at the screen and sighed. "It's that Net Nanny software or whatever they use. It does more than block some Web sites I'm afraid. You can send and receive e-mail through our account. You need to use the email program that came with the computer, and get Miss Van Dop to type in the password so you can send it.
"Did you ever set up an account with Miss Van Dop?" Derek asked Chloe who was now rummaging through out small motel fridge. She turned to look at him, "No I never had time between planning the escape with you guys and hiding my meds, then there was lying to Aunt Lauren and trying to keep the nurses from seeing me talk to ghost and-" "We get it," we all coursed.
A pain, I know, but we had a problem last year with a young man accessing sites he shouldn't have and when the board of directors found out…" She shook her head. "We're punishing everyone because of one bad apple, I'm sorry to say. Now it's time for lunch."
Chloe came back with three cokes and one diet and passed them out to us. "Do you guy ever wonder if the nurses knew we were supernatural?" "I'm pretty sure they knew Chlo," Simon said. "Miss Van Dop defiantly knew but I'm not so sure about Mrs. Talbot, and Mrs. Abdo didn't have a clue I think she was a volunteer nurse." Derek told us.
I met the last housemate, Peter, over lunch. He said hello, asked how things were going, then turned his attention to his PSP as he ate. Like everything else at Lyle House, it was all very normal. Too normal. Every time someone moved, I tensed, waiting for her to start speaking in tongues or screaming about bugs crawling over his plate. No one did.
"Really Chloe," Derek said shaking his head. "Just because it was a group home didn't mean it wasn't normal." "Uh, hello; it wasn't normal. They a band of supernatural human freaks in one house to live together. How is that normal?" I tried to point out, Derek just shrugged.
The food was decent enough. A homemade casserole, chock-full of vegetables and meat. Healthy, I was sure, like the milk and whole rolls we had to go with it. For dessert we'd been promised Jell-O. Oh joy.
The Jell-O always freaked me out because they put fruit in it. "What's wrong with fruit in Jell-O?" Simon asked. It just looks unnatural to me. "Of course it does Liz," I said shacking my head. "Of course it does."
The sirens and screeching tires from Peter's game provided most of the meal's soundtrack. Rae was a no-show. Tori and Liz twittered together, too low for me to join in. Derek was too busy inhaling his food to talk.
"You really should chew your food." Chloe told Derek and he frown. "I'm a growing werewolf with a high metabolism," he said. "So sue me."
So it was left to Simon to play host. He asked what part of the city I was from. When I admitted I hadn't been in any neighborhood very long, he said they'd moved around a lot, too—him and Derek.
"Never at a school for more than a year since we were twelve," Simon said with a sigh. "I can't even remember how many schools I've been too," Chloe admitted. "Far too many to count that's for sure."
We started comparing worst-move-ever stories, and Tori jumped in about her own moving horror—from her upstairs bedroom to the basement. Simon let her ramble on for two minutes before asking what grade I was in and what school.
"So rude," I huffed under my breath. "Not really," Simon said. "You interrupted us first." I opened my mouth closed it, then continued reading.
I knew he was just being polite- including the new girl in conversation- but if Tori had been a cartoon character, smoke would have billowed from her ears.
I looked up from the book and glared at Chloe. "Oh, come on Tori," Simon said grasping my attention. "You know it's true."
I'd met girls like that. Territorial, whether it was about a hairbrush, a best friend, or a boy they had their eye on.
"I am not territorial Chloe." "Sure," she said. I lifted my chin a little higher. "I'm not. I'm nothing like Derek." The person in mention frown at me.
"Art school," she breathed. "Isn't that just fascinating. Tell me, Chloe. What do you study there? Ghost photography? Ghost writing?"I choked on a chunk of meat.
"Bitch," Simon coughed and I flunked the back of his head. "Tori if you're not going to read just hand the book over to one of us and we will," Derek growled. "Keep your boxers on wolfy."
"Oh." Tori turned doe eyes on Simon. "Didn't Chloe tell you why she's here? She sees dead people."Peter lifted his head from his game. "Really? Cool."
"Man, I hope you got in trouble for that," Simon said. I frown but didn't say anything. I had really screwed myself with that one. Chloe made a sound I looked over at her; she looked like she wanted to say something but had thought better of it.
When I looked up, Derek's fork was stopped halfway to his mouth, green eyes piercing the curtain of hair as he stared at me, his lip curled as if to say What kind of freak thinks she sees ghosts? "It's not like that. I- I- I-"
"More like that's when he started making his master plan," Chloe muttered. "What was that Derek asked. "Nothing," she said sweetly, but I had the feeling he had heard her anyways.
"There she goes." Tori sighed. "Liz, slap her back. See if you can restart her."
Simon glared at her. "Stop being such a bitch, Tori."
She froze mouth open, a still shot of humiliated horror. Derek returned to his lunch. I didn't mean it that way," Tori said, words tumbling out. "Like Peter said, it's kind of cool. If she does see ghosts, maybe she could help Liz with her, you know, poltergeist."
TORI! "Sorry Liz," I said lowering my head. I should have kept my mouth shut in the first place and maybe things would have turned out differently.
"Tori!" Liz shrieked, dropping her fork. "Here we go," Derek grumbled. Liz's eyes filled as she screeched back her chair. Tori retreated into stumbling apologies again. Simon grabbed Liz's glass before she knocked it flying.
"Just another normal day at Lyle House for the crazy kids," Simon joked. We all frown at him except for Derek who scowled; thinking it wasn't very funny.
Peter hunched over his game. Derek took advantage of the chaos to scoop up the last of the casserole.
Chloe shook her head and let out a bubbly laugh. Turning to Derek she said, "Only you."
The kitchen door flew open and Mrs. Talbot appeared, but her words were beat back by the cacophony. Rae appeared in the doorway holding a basket of laundry. "Last call," she mouthed. "Any more?"
"I think we should go back into town where we saw that BBQ place to get a bite to eat later." Simon announced. We all stared at him blankly. "What?" "Random much," Derek said to his brother and he smiled sheepishly.
No one else noticed, much less heard her. I glanced around, and realized with all the commotion no one would notice me if I left. So I did.
"I noticed," Derek pointed out. "Yeah," Simon said. "We knew you were upset." Chloe smiled uneasily while I gaged.
They knew. Everyone knew. I was a freak. A crazy girl who saw ghosts. I belonged here. Lunch churned in my stomach. I hurried up the stairs, thinking of my bed with its thin mattress that smelled of chemical vanilla, suddenly so inviting. Pull the blinds down curl up under the covers with my iPod, and try to forget- "Can I help you, Chloe?" Two steps from the top, I stopped and turned to see Miss Van Dop below. "I-I was just going to lie down for a minute. My head hurts and-"
"Oldest trick in the book," I snorted. "Like you could have come up with something better," Chloe challenged. "Oh, I know I could," I said. "You should have at least used cramps as your excuse. They would have at least ley you go lie down in the media room then." Simon gowned covering his ears with his hands.
"Then come and get a Tylenol." "I-I'm kind of tired. I don't have classes, so I thought-"
"Come down, Chloe." She waited until I was almost there then said, "At Lyle House, bedrooms are for sleeping." "I-" "I know your you're probably tired and feeling overwhelmed, but you need activity and interaction, not isolation. Rae's getting a head start on the laundry before afternoon classes. If you've finished lunch, you can go help her."
"So fun," I said sourly. Chloe made an in impatience noise and I look pointy at her. "Yes." She rolled her eyes, "Nothing."
I braced myself as I opened the basement door, expecting a descent down creaky wooden steps into a dark, damp basement, the kind of place I hated. Instead, I saw gleaming stairs , the passage brightly lit, the walls painted pale green with a flowery border. For the first time that day, I was glad of the too-bright cheeriness. The laundry room had a tile floor, an old recliner, a washer and dryer, and a bunch of cupboards and shelves. Zero "old basement" creep factor.
"What were you expecting?" Simon asked. " Bats hanging from the celling?" Chloe laughed, "More like a creepy dark and damp basement with a dirt floor and creaky stairs."
The washing machine was running, but there was no sign of Rae. I looked across the room, toward a closed door. As I walked to it, I picked up an acrid smell. Smoke? If Rae was smoking down here, I wasn't going to be the one to catch her.
Wouldn't but that past Rachel; I thought smugly to myself.
I turned to go back upstairs, and saw Rae squeezed between two towers of shelves. Her lips formed a silent oath as she shook her hand, putting out the match. I looked for a cigarette. There wasn't one—just a smoldering match.
"I knew," I gushed. "See I knew she was had matches hidden somewhere. I wasn't lying I knew it. I just knew it." Simon made a jester towage the others and mouthed 'crazy.' Which I pretended to ignore.
I heard Liz's voice again: She has this "thing" for fire. My reaction must have shown because Rae jumped forward, getting between me and the door, hands flying up. "No, no, it's not like that. I wasn't going to do anything. I don't-" She slowed, seeing she had my attention. "I don't start fires. They wouldn't let me stay here if I did. Ask anyone. I just like fire."
"You're telling me," I snorted. "Tori," Chloe said shaking her head. Be nicer, Liz wrote.
"Oh." She noticed me staring at the matchbook and pocketed it. "I, uh, noticed you didn't get lunch," I said. "Can I bring you something?" Her face brightened. "Thanks. But I'll grab an apple before class. I use any excuse to avoid eating with Queen Victoria. You saw what she's like. With me, it's food. If I take a big second helping or second or dessert, she gets her jabs in." I must have looked confused, because she waved a hand down her body.
"Here we go," Chloe muttered under her breath. Before I could even open my mouth Derek snapped, " Keep reading Tori."
"Yes, I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I don't need her as my personal dietitian." She moved to a pile of unsorted laundry. "My advice? Steer clear of her. She's like these monsters I saw in an old sci-fi film, vampires from space, only they didn't drink your blood, they sucked out all your energy."
I glared down at the words written on the pad. "You know I never Like Rae," I said. "No really," Simon said in a fake high pitched voice and I scowled.
"Lifeforce. Tobe Hooper. Psychic Vampires."
"Psychic Vampires?" Simon said questionably.
She grinned, showing a crooked canine. "Psychic Vampires. I'll have to remember that one." Earlier I'd thought I didn't belong here because I didn't feel crazy. I bet none of them did either. Maybe mental illness was like stuttering. I'd spent my life trying to convince people that just because I stammered didn't mean there was anything else wrong with me. I just had a problem that I was working hard to overcome.
Derek shook his head and let out a loud sigh. "That's what they wanted you to think." "Even when you didn't do anything wrong," Chloe said agreeing with him.
Like seeing people who weren't there. Like being attracted to fire. It didn't mean you were schizo or anything. The sooner I got over myself, the better off I'd be at Lyle House. The sooner I'd get better… and get out.
"That little charade is so old," I said. "Be good and take your med, the sooner you can get out." I shook my head, "And they believed half the time one of us pulled it."
I looked at the piles of laundry. "Can I help?" She showed me how—another thing I'd never done.
We gave her a bunch of blank stars once again. "I've always lived with housekeeper's guys, so give me a break."
Even at camp, someone did it for us. After a few minutes of working together, she said, "Does it make sense to you?" "What?" "Putting a girl in a place like this because she likes fire." "Well, if that's all…"
"It is a little stupid," Chloe said getting our attention. "What is?" Simon asked. "Some of the labels they gave us." We all agreed.
"There's more, but it's small stuff, related to the fire thing. Nothing dangerous. I don't hurt myself or anyone else." She returned to her sorting. "Do you like manga?" She asked after a minute. "Anime?" "Anime's cool. I'm not really into it, but I like Japanese movies, animated or not."
"Some Anime cool," Simon said. "But Japanese movies just don't make since to me." Chloe raised an eyebrow at him, "Maybe if you actually saw a cool Japanese movie…" "It that a challenge?" "Maybe," she said but her smile gave her away. "Can I please continue?" I asked glaring. "Please," Derek said who was pinching the bridge of his noise.
"Well, I'm into it. I watch the shows, read the books, chat on the boards, and all that. But this girl I know, she's completely into. She spends most of her allowance on the books and DVDs. She can recite dialogue from them." She caught my gaze. "So would you say she belongs here?"
"Defiantly," I muttered under my breath. I got glares in return, "I mean no."
"No. Most kids are that way about something, right? With me, it's movies. Like knowing who directed a sci-fi movie made before I was born."
"Really?" Simon asked, and Chloe nodded sheepishly. "That's cool." He said, "It's weird," I countered.
"But no one would say that makes you crazy. Just crazy about movies. Fascinated by them. Just like-" She shook the matchbox from her pocket and waggled it "—me and fire." The door at the top of the stairs clicked.
"Busted," I said. "Read Tori," Simon said obviously anxious to know what happens next.
"Girls?" Mrs. Talbot called. "Are you still down there?" Her footsteps tapped down before we could answer. As her shadow rounded the corner, I snatched the matchbook from Rae's outstretched hand and hid it under the shirt I'd been folding.
"Few, that was close," Simon said. "You're telling me," Chloe told him.
"Rae?" Mrs. Talbot said. "Your classes are starting Chloe-" "I'll finish up here, then come up." Mrs. Talbot left. I passed Rae back her matchbook and she mouthed a thanks, then followed the nurse up the stairs. And I was left alone in the basement.
"Finely done; god that took forever." I tossed the pad onto the middle of the bed. "Someone else's turn to read." "Actually," Derek said standing up and popping his back (which was disgusting). "Let's call it quits early tonight." "Why?" I asked being nosey. Derek just shrugged and shared a look with Chloe. "Oh god, excuse me while I go barf." I said as I got up and went to the bathroom. When I came back everyone had gone over to the boy's room to eat supper. Kit was supposed to bring something on his way back from dropping Chloe and Derek off down town. Hope the love birds have fun.
My next chapter is going to be a break chapter of Derek and Chloe's date or Derek going through one of his changes and Chloe being right there beside him of course but I'm not sure which one I going to do. So you guy's decide leave a review and let me know KK. See ya'll in the new year!
