Hi, everyone! Hmmm…strange, I'd thought that I'd already uploaded chapter two the day before yesterday, so I was surprised when I didn't get any reviews for it yesterday. Then, come to find out, I had typed it up, but forgot to upload it! Man, what an idiot I am! LOL! Oh well, I hope that you enjoyed Chapter 2. Now, let's get on to Chapter 3.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed thus far. The reason that I'm not mentioning specific reviewers to thank like I sometimes do is because this story is begging so hard to get out that I'm way ahead of all of you. I already have several chapters written, but I'm only going to upload one per day, if even that. I still need your reviews though. Your reviews will still influence future chapters, and encourage me to continue with the story. If I get a dry spell sometime in this story, I'll especially need those reviews to pick me back up. So please, don't skimp on reviews just because you know that there are more chapters coming!
Anyway, enjoy the story. Oh and just a side note: I only put telepathic communications in parentheses. All other thoughts don't have them. So, don't assume that I'm being careless if you see a thought represented without parentheses around it. It just means that it's not a telepathic communication.
Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. Heck, I don't even own any FullMetal Alchemist merchandise yet! What's up with that? That's hardly fair. I once was even given $20.00 to buy a FMA T-shirt, but I had to give it back to the giver so that he could buy food. Darn! So close, and yet so far! Anyway, enjoy the story.
I finally arrived at school just as the bell rang. Hurriedly, I took off my sunglasses and gloves and put them in my locker. I wasn't too worried about people seeing my eyes here. Only my parents and best friends paid attention to my eyes. I was a bit concerned about the auto-mail though, so I stuck my right hand in my pocket and rushed to class. It was strange that I couldn't feel anything that my right arm touched, being made out of metal. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get used to that.
The teacher was already in my classroom when I came in. Great, I though, now he'll mark me down as tardy. I plopped my books down on my table and sat down.
My teacher looked up from what he was doing, and said, "A little late today, huh? Did you have a little too much fun last night and forget to get up this morning?"
The other kids in my class giggled. I blushed, shrugged, and self-consciously nodded my head. The teacher chuckled. "I understand, Miss Greene," he said to me, "I was young once myself. Since you're normally so punctual, I'll let it slide this time. Just don't make it a habit."
I smiled. "Thanks," I said.
"Don't mention it," he said, "Now get your math books out and turn to page 107."
Ugh! I thought, why did such a great teacher have to be my math teacher? I hated math, and I saw no practical use for this sixth-grade algebra. Arithmetic, sure, but not algebra.
(Have you ever considered learning alchemy?) Edward suddenly asked.
(Yeah, I'd love to learn how to do that,) I replied.
(That should give you something to shoot for then with your math,) said Edward. (Alchemy requires advanced knowledge of mathematics. Arithmetic by itself won't cut it.)
(But I'm terrible at algebra!) I complained.
(Maybe I can help you,) he said, (But I'm not going to do your work for you. You'd never learn it if I did.)
(Okay, I understand that,) I said, (So can you help me with this first problem? ab + ba bc and b3.)
(Okay,) said Edward, (The first thing you need to do is write it out so that it doesn't confuse you later. All those letters that are next to each other are actually multiplied.)
(So then should I write a x b + b x a b x c?) I asked.
(That depends. Are you still being taught to use the multiplication sign for all multiplication problems?) said Edward.
(No, actually, we've been using parentheses a lot to multiply with,) I said.
(Alright then, write out the problem with parentheses around the letters,) said Edward.
( (a)(b) + (b)(a) (b)(c) Is that correct?) I asked.
(Yes. Now, you've been told what b represents, right?) he asked.
(b3,) I said.
(Good, now put that where all the b's are now, and let me know what you have,) said Edward.
(But you already know exactly what I'm doing. You can read my mind,) I said.
(True, but I just need you to practice figuring things out on your own,) he said.
(I see. I've got (a)(3) + (3)(a) (3)(c) so far. What do I do next?) I said.
(Well, look at what you have left,) said Edward, (You have two a's and one c. It will take three time the amount of those two a's to get three times the amount of one c. But all those numbers could get confusing. Since all three groups have threes in them, you can just ignore them for the moment. What do you have when you pretend those threes aren't there?)
(a + a c,) I said.
(Right, so how many a's does it take to get one c?) said Edward.
(Two,) I said.
(So that means that c is twice the amount of a. That would also mean that c is an even number since it can be divided by two,) said Edward.
(An even number?) I said, (That helps a little. So what do I do next?)
(You'll have to just pick a number and try it to see if it works. Remember, once you find a, you'll have c as well,) said Edward.
(Okay,) I said, (I'll try two. That gives me (2)(3) + (3)(2) (3)(4). Is that correct?)
(Why don't you solve it and see what happens?) said Ed, (It's just arithmetic now.)
(Ok, let's see…six…plus…six equals…twelve! It worked!) I said.
(See? It's easy when you break it down step by step,) said Edward.
(No one's ever broken it down for me before, so it never made any sense to me,) I said, (I think that I'm starting to understand this algebra after all. Thank you so much, Edward!)
(It's no problem,) said Ed, (It's the least I can do for the person who lets me share her body without a fuss.)
I giggled audibly. My teacher looked up from his desk. "Is something the matter?" he asked.
"No," I said, blushing.
"Are you having difficulty with today's assignment?" he asked. I could understand why he asked. I was his worst math student.
"No," I shook my head, "I'm actually doing fine today." He got up anyway and came to look at my math paper.
"You really ARE doing fine!" he said, "How did you figure it out?"
"A good friend walked me through it step by step," I said.
"Wow, I'm really impressed. Your friend just made my job a lot easier. Next time you see your friend, would you thank them for me?" he said.
"I'll give him the message," I said. My teacher smiled and gave me a pat on the back, then went back to his desk.
(That's so cool that I get to have Edward Elric as my tutor,) I thought.
Edward chuckled a bit. (I don't know everything, you know. I was only fifteen when I died. That's only a few years older than you.)
(I don't care, you're still smart,) I said. Hearing that, Edward formed a smile on my face.
The day passed by normally, except that I had a constant companion that I could talk to, until P.E. I'd been dreading this all day; because there was no way I was going to be able to hide my auto-mail then.
Just in case I could get away with it, I grabbed the gloves out of my locker and put them on. I knew that there wasn't such chance that I could pull this off, but I had to try.
As soon as I set foot in the gymnasium, my gym teacher stopped me. "Hold on there," she said, "You can't wear those gloves here."
"Please, let me wear them," I said, "My hands are cold." I figured that Edward's trick might work a second time.
"They'll warm up soon enough," she said, "Now take those gloves off."
"Please, don't make me," I begged, "Just let me wear them this once."
"No, you take them off now, or I'm going to call your parents," she said.
(What do I do, Edward?) I asked.
(I think we're sunk. It looks like everything's going to come out before we're ready,) he said.
(Don't you have any ideas of what to do? You're so smart,) I said.
(Without getting you in worse trouble than you'd be in for revealing me, I have no idea what to do. I won't let you take the blame though. This is all my fault,) said Edward, (Just do what you have to do.)
"Well?" said the P.E. teacher.
I reluctantly grabbed my right glove and pulled it off. The auto-mail was now exposed.
"Oh, a remnant from your Halloween costume, I see," said my P.E. teacher, "No wonder you didn't want to take off your gloves. Take that thing off, we're wasting time."
"Please, Teacher, this isn't a glove. This is a prosthetic arm," I said, "I can't just take it off."
"Right, and I've got a bridge to sell you. If you don't take it off now, I'm calling your parents," she said.
(Edward, what do I do now?) I asked.
(It looks like it's time for the truth to come out,) he said, (I don't see any way around it.)
I sighed. This was something I had so hoped to avoid. (But I don't even know how to take it off,) I said.
(That's okay, I can do it,) Ed said.
(Is it going to hurt?) I asked.
(Extremely much, once I put the arm back on,) said Ed.
(Then keep control of me through that,) I said, (You're tougher than I am.)
(Fine, I will,) he said. I felt him take over my body. He pushed up the sleeve on my arm, and then disconnected the auto-mail. Every one standing nearby gasped. Even the teacher had gone silent, for once in her life.
"Now, can I please put my arm back on?" said Ed. Still stunned, the teacher just nodded.
(Here we go,) said Ed, (Brace yourself.)
Ed reconnected the auto-mail to my shoulder. I was suddenly in excruciating pain like I never knew existed, but I couldn't scream. Ed managed to keep his control over me the whole time. However, he was still suffering quite a bit. His jaw was clenched and he screamed through his teeth. He acted so tough that no one had a clue as to how much pain we were actually going through, until we fainted.
I woke up on a cot in the nurse's/counselor's office. My mother was standing just a few feet away from me, talking with the nurse. She was obviously distressed. (I didn't want to drag her into this,) I thought-cried.
(We had no choice, it had to come out sooner or later,) said Edward, (I'll be here for you. I won't let you take the blame.)
My mother noticed that I was awake and walked over to me. My heart pounded. What would she say?
"Sweetheart, tell me what's going on," she said. I couldn't speak. I just stared at her blankly, waiting for words that wouldn't come.
"The nurse says that your P.E. teacher saw you take off and reconnect a prosthetic arm." I remained silent.
"Several people say that they saw your hair change color as you fainted." I turned my head and looked at my hair. It was blond again!
"Your eyes are a strange color as well, and the nurse says that you're not wearing contacts, nor are you ill. Sweetheart, I'm worried about you. What's going on? Are you just pulling a stunt to be more like Edward Elric?"
I shook my head and wiped the tears out of my eyes. What would I say? What COULD I say?
"You-You wouldn't believe me," I said.
Try me," she said. So, I told her exactly what had occurred the previous night, from the initial possession to the changing of my appearance. I left out the part about Edward being the possessor, since she believed that he'd never even existed.
My mother was upset. "Kate, why won't you just tell me the truth?"
"But that IS the truth!" I cried.
"Give me one good reason why I should believe that story," she said.
"Tammie and Sheila saw it happen too," I said.
"If those other girls can confirm her story," said the nurse, "Then there might be a degree of truth to what she's saying."
"You don't mean to tell you that you believe she's been possessed by a ghost!" said my mom.
"No," said the nurse "But she might think she is, and those other girls might think so as well."
(Psychologists,) said Edward, (They think they know everything.)
The nurse went and fetched my friends, and asked them to tell her exactly what had happened to me last night. They obviously didn't want to say anything, but they must've been afraid of what would happen to me if they didn't. So, they told the story, and they didn't leave out the part about the ghost being Edward.
My mother threw up her hands in frustration. "She's just making all this up to act more like Edward Elric. She practically worships that guy. This is going too far, Katie. I'm going to ground you and I'm throwing away all your FullMetal Alchemist merchandise. Do you understand?"
(Edward, what do I do? She won't even believe me friends,) I said.
(Maybe she'll believe me,) said Edward, (I'm not going to let you take the blame.)
(But she'll just think it's me that's talking,) I said.
(I think I know of a way to convince her,) he said, (Just let me take control of your body again.)
(Okay, do whatever you must,) I said, (I doubt you can make things any worse.)
So, Edward sat up, and looked up at Mother. "Look, Mrs. Greene…"
"What did you call me, young lady?" my mother snapped back.
Edward narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm not your daughter…I am Edward."
"Will you stop with that act already?" my mom said.
Edward didn't say anything for a second and looked over at her purse. "Don't you have a broken statue in there?" he asked.
"I have a broken porcelain figuring that I was taking to get repaired today. But only my husband, Katie, and I knew about it, so that proves that you're Katie," she said.
Edward looked up at her and met her gaze. "I know about it because I share Katie's body, so we can read each other's minds. Now, if I can repair that figurine the way Edward Elric would, with alchemy, would you believe me?"
"With alchemy?" my mother said, "If you could pull that off, I'd have no choice but to believe. I'd just like to see you try." She handed him the broken figurine.
Edward carefully laid the pieces of the figurine on the ground. Then, he clapped his hands together, and proceeded to place them on the ground, just outside the area where the pieces were. Blue light ascended from the small workspace for several seconds. Suddenly…BOOM…The light was gone, and the figuring was restored.
Edward picked up the figurine and handed it to my mother. "Here you are, Ma'am," he said.
My mother had her hand across her forehead, and was completely silent for a moment. Finally, she managed to say, "It's Edward Elric!" and then she fainted.
Wow! I didn't realize that that chapter was so long until I actually typed it up. (I've been writing this story out by hand, so I have no idea how long a chapter actually is until I type it.) I hope that you enjoyed it. Please review!
Heh…I never would've guessed when I started writing this chapter that it was going to have Edward teaching a math lesson. I wish that he had been there for me when I was in seventh grade. (That was the worst year of my life, almost.) This story's basically just writing itself, and I have no idea where it's going. I keep having guesses, which most of them prove to be wrong by the time I actually get to that point. It's almost like this story has a life force of its own. (Oooh, creepy, hehe.) It's kind of nice that it's that way though. That way, I get surprised by what comes out just as much as you do, and I don't have to put much thought into the plot. The plot just "happens". Have any of you ever had a story that just wrote itself like that? This is the first one like that for me.
Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please review, and I just might be nice and upload another chapter tomorrow.