Well, everyone, it's been a while, hasn't it? Eh, heh...
*Dodges knives thrown at her.*
HEY!
Well, okay, I deserved that... But STILL!
Anyway, this update is longer - to appease the rumbling in your writerly BELLIES - and I hope it lives up to standards.
Now that Summer Vacation has started - My graduation into Highschool is on Monday, but the last day was on Friday - I'm hopping to update a bit more, when I can. I DO, however, have and Animation Class that I am taking - on campus - at a local college soon - it's a week long - so if I disappear for a week, Don't be TOO alarmed...
Though I tend to disappear enough as is...
ALSO, I will only be responding to 'Question' reviews for now on - save for a few (unforseen at the moment) exceptions - instead of responding to all of you.
But, I must say, those muffins were DELISOUS! I swear, I'm drowning in muffiny goodness...
Anyway To;
Monday78:
I have... Certain plans for Mr. Johnny C... Rest assured, he WILL show up, maybe soon, maybe later, not so sure yet...
Gir'sdoomsongofdoom:
Same thing I said to Monday.
Oh, and P.S. Here is the link to what Sasha and Casey look like. (Finally got off of my lazy butt and made it! ._."')
(artlifeandcookies(DOT)blogspot(DOT)com(SLASH)2012(SLASH)06(SLASH)seriously-characters(DOT)html
Enjoy the chap!
…
I yawned, and continued moving my hand across the page in front of me, the chemical fumes of the 'marker' I was using reaching my nose and making me grimace. My legs were crossed in order to keep the giant sketchbook propped up. Sharpie smell filled the air...
I grimaced again, or rather, the grimace I'd been wearing since leaving the house today worsened. Next to me, Sasha's head bobbed slightly as she tried to stay awake, eyes almost closed.
We were both once again in the office of the Skool, sitting in the same chairs as yesterday, too... Only NOW, it was Seven or so in the morning, and I had still not gotten any orange juice, making me even more grumpy than I usually was in the morning... Not good...
Can you tell that I'm irritable? Yeah? Good. Be wary. Go away. Do whatever, just don't tick me off!
I stared listlessly at the image that was quickly forming before me, but I caught a whiff of the Sharpie and my grimace deepened into a scowl. I'd been dreaming last night, having nightmares, and normally, I was completely fine with it! Loved nightmares, actually! They were inspiring! Loved a good fright!
Just not when they kept me up all night...
They had been... Odd, to say the least. There had been, at first, a white room. A VERY white room... And then black trees had started to form slowly on the walls, as if ink had spilled and was dripping upwards instead of downwards... And after that it was just all flashing images and an overwhelming sense of fear and sadness and... And somehow, joy.
By now, the dream had almost totally faded, but I could remember a few snippets of it, so, as soon as I had found a place to sit, I'd pulled out my Sharpie – there was no time for pencils! – and started to draw. I would've sat on the floor, but Sash had dragged me up here – onto the chair – arguing that it was better for my back, and myself in general, then promptly fell asleep.
She wasn't used to the early morning time we now had to get up at – Five ('Cause we both took FOREVER getting ready). Her internal clock was still set to 'It's summer now, let me flipping sleep in, alright?' and not 'Holy crow, it's school now, time to get up and LEARN stuff! Shoot! Go. Go. Go!'.
The day hadn't really sunk in yet, for either of us... Especially with more of that Sharpie smell drifting up to meet my nose. Gods I hated that smell! Yuck!
Just as I finished my drawing, Sasha yawned, and apparently bored of waiting for the 'guide' that would be taking us to our new classes and stuff – or just needing something to wake her up – she looked over at what I was doing.
Well, it certainly woke her up.
"What's that?" She asked quietly as I recapped my Sharpie and shoved it back into my bag, along with the colored ones I'd set on the chair next to me – I'd used them too.
Instead of answering her verbally – too tired to do so – I simply handed it to her, stifling a yawn. She took it, and after staring at it wide eyed for about a good minute, she handed it back to me with a weird look on her face, half confused, half put-off.
"What?" I half yawned, half asked, raising an eyebrow at her as I looked the picture over a bit, slightly disappointed by it. It wasn't nearly as vivid as the dream had been, but alas... This was what I could remember of it... And what I could recreate with my limited skills...
"That's... A creepy picture..." She said slowly. "What are you going to do with it?"
And indeed it was a creepy picture. I'd drawn a dripping black border around the whole of the page, and in the center, there were a number of different pictures/scenes from my dream.
There was a forest of towering black trees with a white face peaking out of it, a hand stretching out of the forest and surrounding the whole of the rest of the pictures. A burning landscape, a falling tower, a bloody hand, someone, a girl – who's face was rather underdeveloped since I couldn't remember it well enough to draw it – crying, dusty clouds and cruddy looking buildings, two hands being held in that of a handshake, burning red eyes, a crow, blood, a group of shadow people hugging, an ocean, an island, a large image that looked like a space-ship of some kind and many, many stars... It had all been done in black and red, with a splash of blue here and there, and it really was terribly creepy.
And yet... Some of it... The shadow people, the crow... The hands... It made me happy.
"Show it to the class because I don't feel like talking today and this successfully describes my innermost feelings, apparently... Why?" I asked nonchalantly, smirking to myself and trying to brush away the nightmare... And the vague buzzing in my head... After shock from the nightmare, I suspected.
Sasha stared at me in shock. "First off, why? This is a chance to make good first impressions! And secondly, you know that that's just gonna freak you-know-who out!"
I snorted. "I was kidding!" I said quickly, waving a hand at her. "And oh yes... I know it would... I know..." I grinned.
Sasha grinned back and snickered. "Okay, sure you were kidding..."
I stuck my tongue out at her. "I'm no idiot!" I snapped, then hunched my shoulders slightly, looking down at my sketchbook as I closed it and fiddled with the edges of the cover. "And like I'd show anyone my drawings... I only showed you this one because you saw me drawing it in the first place... And I'm tired." I pouted slightly.
Truthfully, if I personally knew someone, I didn't like them seeing my art. Over the internet, where no one really knew anyone personally – for the most part – it was fine. Otherwise, I felt rather embarrassed.
I had a slight fear of face-to-face confrontation over my art, okay? Just leave it. Leeeaaaavvveeee iiiitttt!
Before either of us could continue our conversation, however, the door opened with a gentle squeak. A man walked in, one that both Sash and I instantly recognized, and I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from calling out his name excitedly.
The man – who was wearing a vest, black glasses, and had slightly flattened hair – caught sight of the two of us and grinned, already stretching out a hand for us to shake even as he crossed the room. "Hey there! I'm Mr. Elliot!" The glasses-clad man said as Sasha and I stood, both slightly shocked yet incredibly excited at the sight of him.
This was really the first official I.Z. character we had met, after all.
Sasha was the first to break out of our 'omg-it's-an-actual-I.Z.-character!' trance, simply because she was more of a morning person than I was. "Hello!" She said cheerfully, hopping our of her chair. She took the smiling teacher's hand and shook it as I stood, putting my back pack back on but still holding onto my sketchpad. "I'm Sasha!" She introduced herself. "And this is Casey, she's a little grumpy at the moment, though..." She added with a cheeky grin.
I elbowed her a little as I joined her, sending her a glare for a split second, ignoring her yelp. I then turned to Mr. Elliot, all smiles. This was Mr. Elliot, after all... He was an original I.Z. character.
"Morning." I greeted him, giving him a hand shake.
Mr. Elliot's smile flickered a little – if only slightly – when he saw the sketchbook tucked under my arm – turning curious. "Well, what's that?" He asked, tipping his head a little and pointing at it.
I looked down at my sketchbook for a moment, raising an eyebrow, before looking back up at the tall cartoon-man that stood before my friend and I. "My sketchbook." I answered plainly, smirking a little. Oh, if only he could see all the I.Z. art I had buried in there... Ooh, that reminded me, gotta make sure that no one got a hold of it... And I'd also have to be careful about opening it to a new page...
Mr. Elliot blinked before suddenly returning to his oh so wonderfully cheerful self. "Well anyway," - Gosh, I could practically see the horrible morning joy oozing out of him! - "Like I said, I'm Mr. Elliot, I'll be giving you a quick tour of our absolutely wonderful – and clean – Skool for the next half-hour or so. Then, as soon as I'm informed as to what it is, I'll take you to your new classroom to meet our new classmates! How's that sound?"
In the middle of his long winded – and flipping overly-cheerful – speech, he's crouched down to our level, balancing on his heels with his arms resting on his knees. Now, he grinned at us, eyes practically shut in happiness as he switched his gaze from Sash, to me, then back to Sash, obviously finding her more 'morning-friendly'.
"Awesome!" Sasha cheered enthusiastically, obviously happy to have found another morning person. She probably hoped that Mr. Elliot would lighten me up a bit.
Well, little ol' doom and gloom morning-me wasn't going to have that. Nope! I wasn't going to be completely happy until I got some orange juice into my system and/or vented my slight anger at, well, everything.
I was 'vewy gwumpy', as Sash had said earlier this morning and on the way to Skool.
"Adequate." I said. My tired gloominess didn't even phase Mr. Elliot, however, and he stood back up straight. smiling.
"Alrighty, then! Follow me, kids!" Mr. Elliot practically sang, starting for the door.
Mentally, I imagined beating Mr. Elliot's head in with my sketchbook, his cartoony blood splattering onto my face as I grinned psychotically – like Johnny C.
I was not a morning person and I did not like being called a 'kid'. I was not a kid. My grip tightened on my sketchbook at the mere thought of being called a 'kid' – kid meaning someone who didn't understand. Who was ignorant – and I wondered at my sudden anger in the back of my mind.
And before you jump to conclusions, of course, I didn't beat his head in. I needed him for the tour after all...
I honestly felt like killing myself.
No, really, death would be better at this point. Better than spending another second with the cheerful morning monster that was Mr. Elliot.
The WHOLE time he gave us the tour, he was practically spewing morning joy. Honestly, if it wasn't morning, I probably wouldn't have minded one bit, but this much cheerfulness this early in the morning... *Shudder* It was just a flat out unnatural occurrence to my system, and I wasn't handling it all too well.
Well, at least it was over now. (Thank you every God known to man!)
We had been getting a very informative and thorough – not to mention cheerful – lecture/tour of the Skool, and Mr. Elliot had just stopped to talk about a random machine in the Boiler Room – which was an uncomfortably hot Boiler Room – when we had heard the bell ring, and the footsteps of hundreds of kids going to class. With a disappointed; 'Oh, Too bad... I was just getting to the very best part!' From Mr. Elliot, we'd made our way back up the spiral staircase.
I couldn't help but let out a little sigh of relief – the tension in my shoulders disappearing – when we left the Boiler Room. It wasn't that I was afraid of the dark or anything. No. I actually was relatively calm – if not a bit jumpy and hyper aware – in the dark, and it wasn't that the Boiler Room reminded me of that one scene in that 'Freddy' movie – which it was actually modeled after, according to Zim Wiki.
It was just...
Okay, so, the show had been canceled roughly ten years ago, which meant I was four-ish when it was still on. Well little, tiny, four-year-old me had one day, randomly, decided to watch TV, and what else happened to be on? Invader Zim – Dark Harvest.
I was terrified, but I LOVED it! I sat there on the floor, giggling yet terrified, feeling hilarity, yet panic. The show was just coming to a close, when my mother walked in.
Needless to say, she FREAKED. She thought that a show like that would mess with my head – it didn't! … Okay, it did, but only a little bit – and turned it off. After that, we both completely forgot about it until about a year ago, when I happened to chance upon it again.
Mom, of course, hated it. Thought it was stupid, really, and dad thought it was... Sorta okay... It made me sad that they never wanted to watch it with me...
"Hey?" Sasha suddenly asked as we reached the – now emptied of children – hall. "What's up? You got that Distant Look on your face again."
Ah, yes. The Distant Look. A famous look among the two of us. It's the look I got when I was either lost and dead to the world and out of it... There was another Distant Look, one where we were concentrating, and we both had a form of each... We wore them so often, we'd somewhat trained ourselves into recognizing them...
"Hmm?" I asked, blinking at her. "Oh, nothing... Just remembering D.H." I said, smiling a bit.
Sasha looked confused, and it took her a second to get it, but then she smiled. "Epic episode, right?" She asked.
I smirked a bit, hardly noticing the slightly curious look Mr. Elliot sent back at us, the barest trace of a smile on his face, as if he was happy that we were being friendly.
...Actually, he wasn't all that bad – Mr. Elliot, once you got past all the 'cheerful'. He could grow on me, given enough time... And orange juice.
Seriously. I needed some orange juice.
Like, now.
NOW.
"Totally." I said with a nod. We reached the office again – the secretary was missing – and Mr. Elliot told us (Cheerfully, of course) to go sit in our chairs, and then grabbed a phone off of the secretary's desk (The woman was probably on yet another 'break') and started dialing.
There was a faint clicking noise as the call connected, and I heard the muffled 'Hello?' from the person who had answered. The only way I knew he (as it sounded) said 'hello' was because of the familiar ring of the words.
"Hello! This is Mr. Elliot, I was just wondering if you had assigned our two newest students to their classroom yet?" The happy teacher asked. There was the quiet sound of someone answering, and for a split second I saw that, ever so slightly, Mr. Elliot's smile decreased, more so than when he'd seen my anti-morning attitude.
Oh, yeah... Now I knew for certain which class we were going to get... How could I not? This WAS how it worked when two random people got teleported into another (cartoon or comic) universe/dimension, right? Their lives just seemed to intertwine with the main characters'.
At least... That's how it worked in the stories... Heh... Yeah...
Lets hope that's how it works here, too, eh?
"Well that's just great!" Mr. Elliot cheered, his voice still just as joy-filled as ever, despite his expression. "I'll give her," – Sasha and I exchanged an excited glance – "A call and let her know!" He then hung up and began to dial again, as he did, he glanced back at us. "Guess what, kiddies?" I twitched at the word 'kiddies'. "According to the Principle Overlord," – hmm, funny. He didn't seem to think saying that weird... – "You get to be in Ms. Bitters' class! Isn't that great?"
Just as we opened out mouths to tell him that, yes, that WAS great, the phone clicked again and there was a loud and annoyed 'What?' from the other end.
I'd recognize that scathing voice anywhere.
"Hello?" Mr Elliot said. "This is Mr. Elliot! The Principle has informed me that the two new students – Sasha and Casey – are going to be in your classroom! Isn't that neat!"
A loud screeching shriek was the teacher's reply. The only words I could make out were a lot of 'You ROTTEN, little!' and 'How DARE you?', 'You will PAY!' and then it got a little more quiet as Mr. Elliot started trying to talk some sense into the demon lady I was sure was on the other end.
"Ms. Bitters, please... No! No, I don't think that! … But it's his ORDERS, you know I can't...!" He gave a pleasant laugh. "Oh, no, no, Ms. Bitters, organs go on the inside!"
"She'd better leave his organs alone..." I muttered as Mr. Elliot continued trying to calm down Ms. Bitters. I crossed my arms a little grumpily, going Distant for a moment. "Their mine anyway... I wanna do some experiments and find out where he's keeping all that happy..."
"... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaattttt?" Sasha asked, one eye narrowing as she leaned away from me. "Whhaaaaaaaat? That... That was just creepy, Cas..."
I blushed. "S-Shut up! I was being random!" I muttered. So much for that... The ONE time I try to let go a little like Sash does. The ONE time!
Sasha blinked, then grinned. "Awwwww! I'm so prrroouuuuddd!" She suddenly leaned over the arms of the chairs and hugged my head. "My wittle Cassy ish gwowing uppp!" She squealed. "What a wonderfully insane person you've become!"
"Ah, SASHA!" I snapped, pushing her away as she started to make baby noises at me, giggling. "Stop it!" I snapped. "You know I don't like being touched..."
An apologetic look fitted onto Sasha's face for a moment before she snickered. "Well then STOP being random and creepy! That's my thing!"
I glared at her. "No, creepy is my thing... Your just insane..." I argued.
"Can we just agree that I'm weird, insane, creepy, and random, and that you're creepy, slightly more sane, weird, and just a little random?" Sasha asked.
I grinned. "Sure." I said, just as Mr. Elliot walked over to us, having ended his conversation with Ms. Bitters.
"Well, let's go, shall we? I'll lead you right to your classroom." He said, sounding as if a demon lady hadn't just screamed bloody murder at him via a telephone. He started walking towards the door, but I stood and held up my free hand, the other still being preoccupied by my sketchbook, since I'd refused to put it back in my bag... It was rather unnerving looking at something that was bigger on the inside like that...
Meh, I'd get used to it...
"Actually, Mr. Elliot." I said as Sasha hopped off of her chair, her creepy-ish grin still plastered on her face. "If it's alright with you, we'll go in on our own." Seeing the confused – and to my surprise, slightly hurt – look he sent at me and Sash, I elaborated. "You see, this 'Ms. Bitters' person, seems like she's kinda mad at you at the moment, sooo, maybe it would be the best if you stayed here?" I offered hopefully, raising an eyebrow.
Mr. Elliot seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well... I do like having all my limbs attached, and all my organs inside me where they're supposed to be... But you don't know where her classroom is!" He sent us a familiar 'Teacher' kind of look.
"Yeah we do!" Sasha suddenly piped up, tucking her hands behind her back and giving Mr. Eliot a deceitfully 'cute' look. "You pointed it out to us when we were going to see the Taxidermy room, remember?"
I grinned. Clever...
"Oh! Well, then I guess it's okay, then!" Mr. Elliot said, suddenly brightening. He started herding us towards the door. "Better get going! Class has been in session for a few minutes already, don't wanna get Ms. Bitters any more angry than she already is!" He shoved us gently through the door.
We turned around and saw him starting to close the door, waving and smiling. "M-Mr. Elliot!" I suddenly said.
Mr. Elliot paused and Sash gave me an odd look. "Yes, Casey?" He asked politely.
I smiled, then, on some random impulse, said; "Thank you very much for the tour, sir."
Mr. Elliot blinked at me for a moment – I was sure that Sasha was doing so too – and then beamed. And it wasn't the 'cheerful' one he'd been wearing all day, either... It was rather genuine.
"Thank you, Casey... Now off to class!" And just like that, he closed the door in our faces.
We stood there for a moment, I staring at the door, and Sasha giving me an oddly appreciative – pleased at least – look. We looked at each other for a second, then the door. Each other. Door. Each other. Door. Each other...
"Race ya!" We said in union, and darted off down the hall, laughing a little. Oh, man... This was gonna be fun!
It took us only a few minutes to reach the odd 'cul-de-sac' hall that Ms. Bitters' classroom was a part of, and when we reached it, we both slowed to a walk, suddenly unsure. Well, at least I was unsure... I wasn't certain on what Sasha was feeling... She was at the least nervous... I mean, I hoped she was... It wasn't like I knew or anything, ha! Nope.
I mean, come on! Did we REALLY want to do this? Were we REALLY going to burst into the main casts lives and just be ACCEPTED? WHO were WE kidding? What, did we think that we'd suddenly become 'main characters' ourselves and that Zim and Dib would suddenly find us interesting? Pay attention to us? Revolve around us?
HA! PLEASE! What was so wrong with us that we'd assume that? We'd just fade in and away with the background characters and ride in the back seat. Ha, we'd probably sit in the back of the room, too! Totally unnoticed by everyone.
I frowned at my own angry thoughts. Gosh I was moody today, wasn't I? Must be lack of orange juice. If Sasha could hear my thoughts right now she'd probably laugh at me. I was being overly dramatic, wasn't I? Ehh, whatever...
Sash and I stopped before a door that had no words on it, but we both knew was Ms. Bitters' door. I crossed my arms and shifted my weight onto one hip, holding my sketchbook against my chest and tipping my head, and Sasha stared up at it with huge eyes. I glared at it a moment, one eyebrow raised, thinking. It looked taller now that I was so cartoon-short, didn't it? Yeah... It did. Hm.
"I like staring at doors." Sasha stated abruptly – and randomly – and I glanced over at her out of the corner of my eye. "But this one's dirty."
Good to see Sasha wasn't too nervous to be random.
Aka – normal.
Or rather, abnormal to others...
I sighed. "Sooo, what? Are we just gonna barge in? Do something dramatic? Sing a song?" I paused as Sasha glanced over at me, then turned my head to look at her. "I am not singing." I said shortly, eyes narrowing.
Sasha grinned at me, before regaining her nervous look and staring back at the door. "I donno..." She mumbled. "I mean, should we casually stroll in and try not to be noticed? Knock? Go for a big entrance? This is a really big moment in our lives you know – my life. We're meeting the cast of Invader Zim, and two of the main characters – the two most awesome characters, three if you count Ms. Bitters – and I don't wanna do it wrong... Maybe we should sing..."
'Sing'? Nu-uh. No thanks.
I uncrossed my arms, one hand still holding onto my sketchbook, raised my right foot, and slammed it right into the door with a loud bang, sending it flying open and crashing into the wall it was hinged on. It hit with a loud 'SLAM!' that shook the whole room.
I do not sing for the amusement of others.
I strode in rather calmly, my nose slightly upturned and Sasha quickly followed at my left, an absolutely shocked – yet slightly amused – look on her face. "What is with you and kicking DOORS?" She half hissed, half yelled. Before I could turn around and give her a smartypants answer, however, I was rudely interrupted by a horrified scream of terror.
How rude.
"I told you! I TOLD you there'd be MORE! I TOLD YOU!" Someone shrieked. Sasha and I blinked and looked over at the pale glasses-wearing kid who was pressing himself against the opposite wall, shaking and pointing at us in horror. "He called for MORE! I TOLD YOU he would! I TOLD YOU!"
It was Dib... And he looked exactly like he did in the series – raven black scythe-spiked hair, glasses, the whole deal – and also... Absolutely horrified, unlike the rest of the class – including one green skinned weirdo – who all just looked rather shocked and a bit creeped out.
I re-crossed my arms, still holding my sketchpad, but before I could say something that would undoubtedly freak him out even more and perhaps even give him permanent mental scarring, I was – yet again – interrupted. That did not help my mood at all. First I don't get any orange juice, secondly I get an overly-cheerful and early tour of the whole – huge – Skool, and third, I kept being interrupted!
GOSH! This was just ANNOYING! Would YOU like being interrupted when YOU were a grumpy demon? NO. No you would NOT!
Ahem, but I digress.
"Dib! You horrible screaming doomed child! Silence! Or do I need to get the muzzle again?" A horrible, evil, and ancient voice that made both Sasha and I grin hissed.
I turned my head slightly to see none other than the white-haired demon lady that was Ms. Bitters. She looked even more decrepit and evil in person, and she was sending a glare at Dib that would have singed the hair off of Bigfoot, given the chance. She leaned over her desk menacingly, her body as snake and shadow-like as always.
Dib – though still staring at us with wide caramel-colored eyes – got the universal 'Oh snap!' look, and scrambled to get from his spot by the window to his desk. He sent Sasha and I an evil glare that we both returned with smiles and waves.
Well, Sash smiled brightly and waved energetically, while I, on the other hand, tipped my head downwards slightly and grinned, raising a free hand to wiggle my fingers a little in a half wave.
I didn't do it because I didn't like him. No. On the contrary, I liked Dib a lot. He was one of my favorite characters and I could sympathize a lot with him... I simply liked freaking him out. Why?
Well, for one thing – his expressions. They were GREAT! Jhonen and the other writers/artists did a really good job getting his personality across. For another – his reactions! He tended to freak out over EVERYTHING – at least at the start of the series – and get really, really excited over things... Little things... And it was just so hilarious!
I smirked at the slightly freaked out look he gained as Ms. Bitters continued, now turning her attention – and face – onto us, a displeased scowl on said face. She obviously hadn't been expecting more students, nor been wanting them.
"Now," she hissed, sounding oddly calm, yet still retaining her croaking-scratchy tone of voice. "These two horribly doomed children's names are... Ehh, Sasha Lee and Casey Blazer." She said, using the two fake last names we'd created, both names used based on our own history, likes, dislikes, whatever.
They were personal names, and I'm not going to bother explaining them to you.
There was a collective and robotic 'Hello, Sasha and Casey' from everyone in the class, save for Dib and Zim. Dib was still glaring at us, and Zim seemed too superior – yet still rather freaked out – to care, which was obvious in the way he held up his 'nose' at us.
"If you have anything to say, say it now, because after this moment, no one will ever pay attention to you two little doomed children ever again, because that is just how horribly doomed you are!" Ms. Bitters continued, before sitting back in her seat, looking as grumpy as ever.
Wonder how well that's gonna work out for you, eh, Bitters? I thought suddenly, smirking ever so slightly.
I was interrupted from my thoughts as Sasha suddenly raised a hand and started waving it 'spazztacularly' at the class, grinning. "Heeeey!" She said, sounding even more sunny than Mr. Elliot had been. She grinned with her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she continued waving her hand at mind numbing speeds, not seeming like she was going to stop any time soon.
Quickly growing annoyed, I darted my free hand up and out and grabbed her arm, halting it. Sasha blinked and looked at me blankly. I raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her and nodded ever so slightly towards the weirded out class, letting go of her. Really? I thought at her. You're that ADHD? Sheesh.
"Oh, yeeeeaaah!" Sash said, and looked at the class, now back on task. "Hi everyone!" She remarked cheerfully.
A few of the girls – Zita and Avi by the look of it, though my memory wasn't usually this good – snickered and I sent a glare – that they missed – their way. Jerks... I thought at them, growling nearly inaudibly, not missing the suspicious look I was getting from Dib, but choosing to ignore it. If they flipping mess with Sash, there will be heck to pay...
I was very protective of Sasha – not that she couldn't protect herself. She could. God knew she could. But like I said, I was protective dang it! And if a couple of girls – Invader Zim-cannon or not – decided to bully her, hurt her, tease her, or be, in any way, mean to her, I would not hesitate to flay them... With a straw.
You may have noticed – I sure as heck had – that the lack of orange juice my brain was dealing with, was making me a tid bit violent... Well, more violent than usual, but I've gotten off topic.
"My name is Sasha, but my friends call me Sash! Well... Casey does... ANYWAY, I like animals and music and cookies and drawing and writing and sporks and horror movies and gym and 'A 1000 Ways to Die'" - she got a couple of freaked out looks at that - "the show 'Supernatural' and Evanescence and other music like that – Linkin Park for example – and scaring the CRUD outta people!" She giggled, almost shrilly, and I saw Dib and – surprisingly – Zim's eyes narrow slightly at her.
Uh-oh, they might not have those shows and artists here – even ZIM had realized that. The shock of that realization nearly showed on my face. Thankfully, I managed to hold it in, and mentally shrugged it off. So what if they didn't have the same shows and music here and nobody knew about it? TONS of bands and shows go unnoticed by the greater population... Just look at Invader Zim for example!
"The only thing you REALLY need to know about me," Sasha continued, tone as cheerful as ever. "Is that I am not a good person to tick off. If you get me mad, I will either bite you, or cut you with a rusty object... Or, probably, use a spork of some kind, since those are my weapons of choice."
She completely missed the looks of horror and total 'weirded-outed-ness' she was getting from everyone – especially Zim and Dib (The two most sane people in Invader Zim, probably) – and continued, in the sweetest voice that I had EVER hear her use.
"I really like sporks! They're the best weapon that I have ever used!" She smiled sweetly at the class, giggling and holding her hands together in front of her in a 'cutesy' pose, eyes flashing.
Face, once again – meet palm.
I shook my head slightly. Ohh, Sash... Gotta love that girl...
As the whole class gave Sasha a look of utmost disbelief – Dib's being the most accusatory, and Zim's being the most shocked (Though he was probably thinking about how he could use a spork) – Ms. Bitters spoke.
"Your cheerfulness disgusts me." She croaked out.
"Yeeaaahh... It tends to do that..." Sasha said, nodding as I lowered my hand looking at her out of the corner of my eye, smirking slightly.
Ms. Bitters glared at her for a moment, before switching her gaze onto me, making me jump. Crud! I'd hoped that I'd fly under the radar. CRAB! "You!" She snapped, pointing a boney finger at me. "Speak now or shut up."
I blinked at her, before I let out a half sigh, half groan, and looked pleadingly at Sasha. I really didn't want to doooo thiiiisssss. And it wasn't because I was as nervous as heck – which I was – or because I didn't know what to say – which I didn't – nor because I felt that I would faint at any moment – which I did – OR because I didn't know what to do, at all... Wait, no. It was that last one.
Seriously! What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to freak out? Act super cool – no, that's Mary-Sue-ish, bleh. In the fan-fics, people usually either freaked out, or acted overly cool and collected... But what about me? What was I supposed to do? I was neither of those things!
Sasha snarkily imitated my earlier nod, which was so not cool! I was the snarker here! Not her! I was the Snark Shark! Me! Not her, me! MMMMEEEEEE!
Guh... Sorry.
With another sigh, I turned to the class, deciding to just wing it. "'Ello," I started, raising a hand. "I'm-"
"Hey!" Some random kid – I donno who, which was weird, 'cause I'd once Wiki-ed all the kids in Ms. Bitters' class – half shouted. He was blond and wearing a red beanie-like cap – CARL! THAT was his name! Carl!
"You British, dude?" He called, then turned towards Dib, smirking. "Looks like you've got a real alien, huh, Dib?" He quipped, and the classroom erupted into laughter, save for Dib – who was glaring at the kid angrily – and Sash and I. I got the distinct impression that Dib had once mentioned the fabled 'British people are aliens' theory to the class, or had accused somebody with an accent of being an alien.
My eye twitched a little at being interrupted, but I let it slide. "Contrary to popular belief..." I started quietly, and the class quieted down, looking at me again... Which I half preferred that they didn't do. "The British are not alie – well..." I cut myself off, tipping my head to the side slightly and holding up a finger. "That's arguable – what with the Doctor and all..." I added quietly, ignoring the suddenly attentive looks from the two 'main characters' I was getting. I could say anything I wanted to!
I shook my head. "But anyway, no, I am not British, I just really like them."
"So where are you from?" Another kid, one with a pale, round head and bleach blonde hair – Melvin! – called, and there were a couple of curious mutters.
"Wisconsin." I said...
At the same exact time Sasha said; "We're foreign exchange students."
Oh fudge.
"I wasn't aware that Wisconsin was a foreign country!" Dib called out, looking... Rather pleased with himself.
FUDGE!
Sasha and I exchanged a glance and then my head snapped back towards the class, a sudden calm look to it.
Okay, Cas... Time to tell a story.
I mentally cracked my knuckles, took a deep breath, then opened my mouth and spoke.
"Don't tell me you haven't heard!" I drawled, hating myself for the tone I was using. GOD, I sounded like Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter! BLEEEEEEEEHHHH! Gross...
That got a confused look out of Dib, and the rest of the the class. "Heard what?" He asked slowly.
I gave him what I hoped was a shocked look, then suddenly – after an appropriate pause – quietly 'ahhh'-ed to myself. "Oh, but of course you wouldn't know..." I said, my voice sounding fake, even to myself. Oh well, I'd dug this hole, and I was gonna stick with it until it caved in on itself.
"Know what?" Dib snapped, not sounding fooled at all and rather impatient.
Ahh, enough stalling, story time... Let's play the 'how long can I flipping keep this up?' game, everyone!
"Well, you see," I said, using my lecture/Dib-lecture voice. "We – Wisconsin – got so flipping sick of arguing with," I forced my voice into a hiss of loathing, surprised at my own acting skills. "California over which of us were the REAL dairy state of the U.S., so very sick, that we seceded!" I crossed my arms over my sketchbook and chest as there came a interested murmur from the class...
Except from Dib.
"Really?" He snapped, glaring at his classmates. "You're REALLY going to BELIEVE this?" He snapped, waving his arms a little.
"Quiet Dib!" A random kid snapped, and he sank lower into his seat, sending me a 'DEATH GLARE'. I just sent him the lightest of smirks, secretly amazed at the idiocy of this world's children.
"Yeah," I continued. "SO, we left the U.S." I made a nostalgic sighing noise and glanced over at Sasha, who – catching on – looked at the ceiling with a longing sort of look of her very own. "We became Wisconsinonia," I continued, my voice starting to get a 'revolution' kind of a ring to it. "And it was GLORIOUS! Our flag was beautiful – I can imagine it now, billowing and snapping in the wind... There were no wars! No hunger! No gangs! No crime! The hobos, they were FREE again! FREE, I say!" I lifted my 'REVOLUTIONARY FIST OF REVOLUTION' into the air, shaking it slightly and grinning up towards the ceiling.
Dib and Ms. Bitters snorted at almost exactly the same time, and I lowered my head slightly.
"Then it all went horribly wrong..." I continued, tone now deathly quiet. "War DID come... And with it, it brought famine... Death... Sickness... Radioactive SEAGULLS!" I threw a hand over my forehead as the class – or at least the idiots of the class – gasped. I glanced at Dib, who was muttering to himself – not buying it – then at Zim, who had raised an 'eyebrow' at me – also not buying it... Maybe... I donno, he looked like he was at least considering my story...
I lowered my hand, and looked over the class, at their attentive faces, then at Ms. Bitters, and her lack of expression, and then, finally, at Sasha.
Our eyes met.
She failed at suppressing a smirk...
I smirked too...
Oh, God...
Too... Too much...
"BWA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAA!" I shrieked – so did Sash, though shriller – and clutched at my middle, ignoring the sudden jolt that ran through the class – even the little yelp from Zim – at mine and Sasha's sudden laughter.
"Oh-Oh my God." I said, holding up a hand. "I-I'm sorry, I – I – I... AH HA!" I took a big gulp of air, before straightening out, gasping. I looked over the confused class – smirking slightly when I saw Dib clutching his desk, nail digging into it – and grinned, giggling and pointing a thumb back at Sasha. "We're full of it." I admitted, shrugging a little.
"I KNEW it!" Dib shrieked at the same time a disappointed murmur rumbled through the classroom and we received about a million glares. I raised an eyebrow at him – he had one foot up on his desk and was pointing at us oh so dramatically– then, right on cue...
"DIB!" Ms. Bitters snapped. "Sit DOWN, or you will be going 'DOWN' to the underground classroom!" She hissed.
Looking like a kicked dog, Dib slowly sat back down – Zim snickering in the background – pouted and crossed his arms. "But they're aliens!" He muttered to himself, too quiet for anyone to hear.
Or so he thought.
Yeah, that's right, I've got LASER-BEAM HEARING, everyone... Apparently. I don't know, all I know is that my head was itchy again and that I heard him... Whatev.
"So, anyway," I said, pointing at Sasha. "She's Sasha," I pointed a thumb at my chest. "And I'm Casey." I smiled a bit darkly. "We're kinda insane..." I grinned at Dib's 'look', before continuing. "So, be prepared or whatever. ANYWAY, I'm usually preeeettyy quiet – unless I get excited or freak out – so don't mind me. I like drawing and music and writing, and uhh, reading, learning, science, social studies, Doctor who – oh GOD I love that show! – EXPERAMENTS GONE HORRIBLYWRONG, horror films, comedy, HORRIBLE ACCEDENTS – not really, though – blah, blah, blah, I really don't wanna talk right now and I haven't had any orange juice so I'm GRUMPY, so don't MESS WITH ME, or TOUCH ME, or my BELONINGS, like my SKETCHPAD, or I'll CUT you. Do that and we'll all get along just fiiinnnneee..." I said, using a lot of emphases-es. I crossed my arms over my sketchpad and looked over at Ms. Bitters. "Can we sit down now?" I asked pleadingly.
"Meh, sure." Ms. Bitters said with a careless shrug. "Now, where to put you..."
Sasha and I knew what that meant, and we each took a half step back. Ms. Bitters cast her 'evil' gaze over the class, and every student her eyes rested on seemed to shudder and clutch onto their desks a little tighter. Once or twice she looked at Zim and Dib – how I knew she did, what with her blank glasses and all, is beyond me – and then...
"You two!" Bitters suddenly hissed, pointing two fingers – a warped 'peace' sign – at the boy and girl who sat in between Zim and Dib. My mind easily brought me their names ; Brian and Aki – I liked Aki, sorta. "You will be transferred to the underground classroom!"
Aki and Brian had a split second to look completely shocked, before their seats – not to mention they themselves – dropped into a hole in the ground that appeared out of nowhere.
Lots of things seemed to appear out of nowhere here.
The two kid's screams echoing slightly in the air, Sasha and I exchanged looks of shock and slight nervousness and – admitably – excitement, and scampered to our new desks. Sasha took the one next to Dib's – Aki's – and I took Brian's sending Zim a nervous sort of half grin as I sat down, glancing at the floor. My stomach made an odd flip-flop at the fading sounds of the kid's screams.
Cartoon or not, that was just cruel... And creepy... And sad.
I tapped the floor slightly with my foot as I set my sketchbook on my desk, as if that could counsel poor Brian. I looked over at Zim, who just STARED at me, looking freaked out, so I looked over at Sasha, who was grinning broadly under Dib's suspicious glare. She looked over at me, grinned a little wider, before holding her hands together on the desk top. She looked up at Ms. Bitters attentively and I followed her example.
"As I was saying before I was interrupted," she said as I leaned back in my chair slightly, crossing my arms over my stomach in my usual 'relaxed' pose, not at all fazed by the pointed glare she sent at Sash and I. "Thanks to the concentrated stupidity located on this planet, the increased gravitational pull caused by said stupidity will eventually cause the whole planet, and whole universe to implode in on itself, so, in short, you're all just doomed... Doomed... Doomed..."
"True, that..." I muttered as Ms. Bitters went into her 'Doom' loop. What was with her, anyway? Why was she always putting people down, making others depressed...? What had happened to her to make her like th-?
'Keep them down. Make them drown Put them down before they put you down. Crush their spirits before they crush yours. Don't let them win, never let them win. Keep them down. Make them drown. Put them down before they–'
"Ah!" I gasped, slapping my hand onto the back of my head. "Owch!" I scratched and poked the spot on my head that had suddenly flared up all tingly-like... Like pins and needles or something, but in my head.
But wait, did I... Did I really just HEAR that? Where... Where had that come from...?
I shook my head. I'm self narrating again... I'm such an idiot... I thought, smirking at my own stupidity, though it was slightly more nervous than my usual smirk.
"You okay?" Sasha whispered, tipping her head at me. I gave her a nod, figuring it was just something random, me self narrating again, like I'd just thought – stupid me – and Sasha gave me a shrug, before turning her gaze onto Ms. Bitters.
I then noticed Dib.
He had a small notebook out and was scribbling in it furiously. He glanced up at me, then blinked, as if surprised. The 'surprise' disappeared, however, replaced with a slightly angry, slightly furious look. He mouthed the words 'I know what you are!' at me, before smirking victoriously, obviously expecting a surprised/scared response.
Oh, I had a response, alright, and it was quietly blowing a raspberry at him, crossing my eyes.
Dib recoiled with a disgusted look on his face as I smirked at him, exchanging a humored look with Sasha. It wasn't like I HATED Dib or anything. No, on the contrary. I thought he was thoroughly AWESOME, and would love to be his friend...
But that didn't mean I couldn't tease him.
No, nothing could stop me from teasing him or somebody I wanted to tease. Unless, of course, I hurt their feelings... I didn't necessarily want to do THAT.
For a minute or two, Sasha and I just sat in silence with the rest of the class, not quite sure as to what to do. We were in INVADER ZIM for Pete's sake, but we weren't gonna FREAK OUT like idiots, and it was class time now. Bitters would yell at us if we tried to talk with anyone too much, but I REALLY wanted to DO something – like talk. To Zim, or Dib.
Sasha and I glanced at each other – she looked as torn as I felt – not quite sure what to do. Normally – in the real world – we'd just write or draw during 'work time' at school after we'd gotten our actual work done, but there wasn't really any 'work' here, and nothing overly interesting was being taught... So we were a little overwhelmed with all of our new free time we suddenly had.
Plus, you know, having your favorite cartoon characters within 'complete and total fangirl break down hug-fest' range made you just a LITTLE nervous and jumpy... And jittery.
"... I'm... gonna write or something..." I said, swinging my backpack onto my lap and tucking my sketchbook inside before I started digging around, trying to ignore the bigger-on-the-inside-ness of it.
"Same." Sasha admitted, taking off her own backpack to dig through it as well. She paused as I pulled one of my notebooks out – a random one, I was feeling spontaneous today – and leaned towards me. "I'm gonna be really random and insane from here on out, so don't be alarmed." She whispered.
I covered my mouth to cut off the loud 'HA!' I was about to utter, and grinned. "Just be careful." I warned. "Don't say anything suspicious."
Sasha gave me her 'EVIL GRIN'. "No promises..." She trilled, before she sat back up, starting to write as if Dib WASN'T looking at her suspiciously and as if she hadn't just predicted the apocalypse.
I rubbed at my forehead. We were doomed... DOOMED.
…
Then again, what did I care?
I took my hand away from my face and caught Dib's 'evil eye'. I simply stuck my tongue out at him again – though lacking in raspberry this time – set my notebook down, slipped my backpack back on, and opened to my latest page in my book.
"Hmm..." I hummed to myself, speaking too quietly for my words to make much sense, I'm sure. "Nancy... I haven't written in your story in a while..." I murmured at the black notebook that I'd chosen. I began to write from the paragraph I'd stopped at. I'd actually managed to get halfway down the next page, when the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my head got itchy again. I turned my head slightly, SWEARING I heard it creak – I'd been hunched over the notebook like I had some sort of old-person back problem, so it wasn't THAT far fetched – and sat up, blinking at the freen 'boy' that was giving me his signature 'one-eye-squinted-other-wide-open' look.
Someone was suspicious.
I wonder who?
…
I'd be ashamed of myself if I were you, and you didn't guess Zim.
SHAME! SHAME onto you who guessed wrong! Go sit in the corner!
…
Uhh, anyway...
I was, honestly, still a little – okay, VERY – grumpy about having had no orange juice, but my body was starting to adapt – and my brain and soul starting to accept – that I PROBABLY wouldn't be getting any anytime soon, and I mean, come on! This was Zim! I wasn't going to pass up the chance to say 'Hi!' and introduce myself!
I wasn't an IDIOT!
So, I twisted around in my seat to face him, and stuck my hand out. "Hello! I'm Casey!" I said in my most pleasant voice, which wasn't that hard, actually.
Truth be told, I'd been – the whole time I was in this class room – suppressing my inner 'Fangirl', and attempting not to launch myself into full on 'Fangirl Mode'. One reason I WASN'T in said mode, was probably my lack of energy and orange juice.
Lucky for the cast... REALLY lucky...
Also, 'fan-spazzing' right now could result in blowing our – INGENIOUS! – cover, so I simply refused to let myself do it.
Zim paused, his eyes widening. He gave my hand a look of utmost disgust – as if it was covered in toxic sludge or something. "ZIM does not shake hands," his whole body seemed to twitch dramatically. "With filthy pig smellies." Zim said rather loudly – attracting the fleeting attention of a few students - and turned away, apparently deciding to ignore me, like I was some sort of unwanted speck of dirt he'd seen while hosting a fancy dinner party, and was trying desperately not to snuff out in front of 'the company' at his party.
Ouch. That... That hurt... Like, a lot... I wasn't as good at blocking things like that as Sasha was, and this was coming from someone I admired a lot too... It, stung...
Then again... What else had I expected? Friendliness? HA! Nope. Not from ZIM.
"O... Kay." I said quietly, turning back to facing forward in my seat. I stared at my open notebook for a moment, feeling hurt. But, I felt eyes on me, and turned to see both Sasha and Dib looking at me. Sasha's look was half sympathetic and half amused – which didn't really help – and Dib's was half snide, half confused – which REALLY didn't help. Apparently, he didn't know WHAT to think of my rejection...
My face smoldered, and after a muted "Shut up." from me – even though no one was speaking, I looked back down at my open notebook, hands in my lap and shoulders slumped. I let out a quiet sigh as a feeling of awkwardness and sadness started creeping up on me.
This, was not going how I had planned.
Hope you liked it!
_"'