Jumping up and down the floor, my head is an animal
Chapter 13
Dirty Paws
"Hurry it up May! We're gonna be late to school!" Marie shouts as she bangs on the bathroom door, having grown tired of her sister taking so long in there.
"Calm down!" May's muffled voice echo through the door. A few other sounds can be heard, it's hard to determine what she's doing in there. Before Marie has a chance to press her ear closer to the door it swings open, hitting her in the face, hard. "I'm DOOONEE~!" May sings as she steps out of the bathroom.
"About time!" Marie growls, still in slight pain.
"Will you two airheads stop bickering like old buckets already?" Lee leans in from a corner, staring at her sisters. "We've gotta go already!"
"Why are you two so hyped about going back to school so soon? We've only been on vacation for four months – I need a break!" May complains as she follows her two older sisters out the trailer, their home.
"Go sleep in a bush then, see who cares." Lee says, slamming the door after them as they leave to school. "Now – let's go and check on our boyfriends, girls! I bet they've been missing us this whole time!"
At the mention of the three boys, May lights up like a candle. "Oooh! I can't wait to see my sweet, tall Ed again!" She smiles with a sigh and holds her hands to her chest, thinking about him.
"And I can't wait till I get my hands on my muffin! I'm gonna give him a big sweet kiss to make up for being away for so long." Marie grins, ignoring Lee's chuckles in the background.
"Aaaaw… I hope they haven't forgotten about us…" May's tone grows sadder, thinking about the possibility that they've been forgotten and replaced since it's been so long.
"Your man maybe, but ain't no way mine is gonna forget about me anytime soon!" Lee says, standing proud.
"Or mine! He's way too smart for that!" Marie smiles. "All it takes is one look and he immediately knows what's in store for him – he's so smart!"
They sigh in unison, thinking about the boys of their dreams. Walking to school they keep talking about them, bickering like they always do whenever they disagree with each other over anything. Their loud laughter echo down the streets as they walk, letting everyone in their surrounding know that they are indeed here; they've returned, and they are here to make themselves remembered again – though it is quite hard to forget about them once you learn about them.
The bell rings in just as they step inside the school, and they enjoy seeing the panic that spreads all around them as the other students spot them. Their grins grow bigger the more shrieks echo down the hallways, watching all the other students hurry to their respective classrooms for protection from the menacing sisters.
The whole day has been spent in fear and terror as the Eds have put their "Evade the Kankers" plan into motion. After hearing about the sisters returning this Monday, the three friends had quickly agreed to meet during the weekend to come up with different ways to protect themselves from the terrifying sisters. Many different ideas were brought up and shut down, some of them immediately; such as Eddy's idea to hire Mel as a bodyguard to keep the sisters at bay. Edd hadn't even allowed him to finish speaking before he objected loudly, the memories of the horrendous event still fresh in his mind… the sounds of human flesh being bruised, bones being cracked if not broken before hitting the cold ground to remain unmoving on… the sight once he was brave enough to open his eyes… No. As much as he fear and dislike the Kanker sisters, he really doesn't want to relive that scenario again… never again.
"So, what do you suggest we do then?" Eddy had asked.
His answer had been a very easy one, albeit a very reasonable one. Instead of pulling off the "secret agent" stuff that Ed had suggested along with the violent ideas Eddy kept bringing up, having had up over his head with enough of the Kankers, Edd had simply suggested that they'd be more aware of their surroundings; keep their guards up and signal each other whenever they suspected danger to be getting close. It hadn't been the most up voted idea that was brought up, but given the situation that they weren't living in a fantasy movie they eventually agreed to go with that one; to both Ed's and Eddy's disappointment.
And thus, they find themselves here; at school, staying close to each other, but still at a certain distance from each other so that they can keep an eye out for each other at all times. Some students gave them some weird eyes at first, but once they realized what was about to happen during the day and that they are the sisters' favorite victims, they had kept their safe distance from the Eds (unintentionally allowing them some clear view to see if the coast is clear), afraid of getting attacked by the sisters for being too close to them. Some of them started keeping an eye out for them just as the three friends.
The coast remained clear all up until the first bell rang. The same second the bell rang in, the school's entrance were thrown open with a loud bang. Edd had had some shivers running down his spine, the sound being far too familiar to be comfortable, and he had turned around towards the door immediately. From one form of PTSD to another… the moment he saw the sisters he grabbed his friends' arms and dragged them away from the hallway and to their classroom down a different hall. None of them complained, knowing very well what the reason of his panic could, and most likely would, be. After a particularly loud laughter down the hallway they were just in, all three of them bolted down the hall to get to safety – they all know that the sisters won't go to class unless they're sharing the same ones, and fortunately for them today is not the day. But they will still need to be careful; the Kankers have been gone for a little over four months, and they have a lot to catch up – both in school and in kisses.
Watching all of the students clear out the hallways bring them all to laugh out loud. It's clear that they haven't been forgotten; which means their boyfriends will still remember them, to May's great relief, but also that they more than likely already know about their presence and are cowering away in a classroom somewhere. Just the knowledge that they know what's in store for them bring the three sisters so much wonderful joy – they have so many kisses to catch up with after all!
"Alright girls!" Lee says with a big grin, revealing her blue tooth. "The little kids know that we are back in town, and so does our boyfriends. I think it's time for us to report for duty with the older kids, make sure they haven't forgotten about us either."
And with that they leave the empty hallway behind, heading over to where the older kids are, starting later than the younger ones, so there will be the chance of them having the same show one more time. As they get closer to the hallways the mood in the school change, but none of them catch up to it at first.
Standing by her locker, trying her best to keep her face straight, Mel is currently doing whatever she can to get this jock to understand that she is not interested in any shape or form. With the reputation and the proven fact amongst the students that she did indeed beat up those jocks not too long ago, you'd think the kids in this school would know better. Apparently not.
Grabbing her notepad she closes her locker and looks at the guy next to her. He's a jock for sure, so he of all people here should know what she not only is be able to but most likely would do to him one day, but he's also dress all in black from head to toe, so… she's not entirely sure what his intentions with flirting with her whilst dressed like that is, if he's just lost a bet or something like that, but… no. It is true that the first day she went to this school she dressed in much more calmer clothes, but that ever since the incident with Edd and his bullies being caught and taught a lesson, she's been getting back into her darker outfits, so it could be an attempt to get closer to her in that way. She just still fails to see the point; why even attempt?
Rolling her eyes after a few moments of the guy's nonstop talking, not listening to see if she has something to say, she shakes her head and turns around from him. He doesn't even notice she's left; he just stands leaned up to the lockers, talking to himself. Once he does notice she's already long gone down the hallway, too far away to catch up with again. She has no idea what he does after that.
She heads down the hallways and is just about to walk into the hallway to the left when she walks into someone. Grunting slightly from the impact, she takes a step back and looks at the person she walked into… and ends up looking at three girls that appear to be somewhere around Edd's age and slightly older; one with blonde straight hair, one with blue short hair and one with very curly ginger hair that covers the top of her head. She ponders for a second why they would be wandering the hallways of the High School when they clearly go to the Junior High, but she decides to ignore it for the moment and just get out of their way; and get them out of hers.
"Sorry 'bout that." She says. She's just about to go around them to get to her class when one of them, she doesn't know who, grabs her arm and pulls her in closer.
"Yeah! You better be sorry, punk!" The girl with blue hair says, pushing herself up against her. Aggressive. "Don't you know who we are?"
Raising an eyebrow, she looks the girl in the eyes. "No."
"Oooh!" The blonde girl chirps up, leaning in closer now as well. "A new arrival! Fun! We've got a chance to show her what's about!"
"What what's about?" Mel asks – they don't answer her.
"Alright girls!" The ginger one speaks, her voice filled with authority over the other two girls. "Looks like we've got a newbie here to teach a few to – so let's start up an easy one, alright." And with that she takes one step closer towards Mel. She watches as the girl reach out and grabs the front of her shirt and pulls her down to her level and closer to her face. "Now listen close here, bud! We are the Kanker sisters, and it just so happens that we rule these parts of the school."
"We are the three queens!" The blonde one chirps in.
"Yeah! So you better listen to us!" The bluenette ads.
"Exactly!" The ginger speaks again. "Usually we're not this generous with explaining ourselves to others, but we've been away for a long time, so we'll cut you some slack for this time. Just remember that we won't be so kind the next time we see each other. Understood?"
Eyes wide at their words, they soon go back to normal when she knows the amount of weight is behind them. Nothing. Leaning in closer herself, she can feel the ginger girl hesitate for a third of a second. She's not used to not being feared it would seem. That's one thing they have in common. Reaching out, Mel gently moves the curly hair out of her face, allowing herself to see her eyes. They're pretty. Making eye contact with each other, Mel grins. "Why, of course." She answers in a low, controlled voice, rid of any real emotion. The girl seem surprised, a little scared over the grin that begins creeping up on Mel's face. Her grip on Mel's shirt remains, although not as strong as it was before. As Mel stands up she nearly loose her grip, so she just takes the small hand by her chest and pulls it off gently, grin still intact. She stares for just one more second before she goes back to normal, drops her grin, and heads down the hallway, walking past the girls.
As the girl walks away from them, Lee finds herself stuck in her head, not a thought passing by. Her sisters don't seem to notice and just comment on how weird that girl was. It gives her time to recover before her sisters notice there was anything wrong with her to begin with. Lee Kanker isn't afraid of anything or anyone anyway.
She turns towards the hallway the girl came from and finds all of the students in it to be staring at them, or rather; in their direction. Frowning at their apparent chock, she snaps her finger to snap her sisters out of their discussion and focus on here and now. Walking down the hall, her sisters act as if nothing had happened at all, being their usual selves when they torment people from afar, making sure they remain remembered by everyone who sees them. All the while they talk loud and behave like their usual selves, Lee can't help but notice the expressions on the students' faces as they walk down the hall. They seem scared, surprised, but more than anything they seem concerned. Concern… that's not something the sisters usually receive from their torment victims as they patrol the many halls of the school…
An uneasy feeling start growing in her stomach and she casts one final glance behind her, to where the mysterious girl went on her merry way, where she left them. She confirmed that she understood their warnings/threats, something everyone does whenever they first encounter them, but she had done it in such a way that screamed at them – screamed at them that they should be the ones wary of her and not the other way around… and yet she seems to be the only one of the three Kanker sisters to have noticed that.
Walking out the entrance door at the High School, Marie eventually grows bored of just walking around and throwing fists and threats at people who doesn't seem to notice she's even there. With a loud growl she walks off to kick a trash bin.
"Are you okay?" May ask.
"It's no fun!" She growls and kicks the bin some more. "All the little kids where fine being scared of us like always – so aren't they?!"
Lee and May stand a few feet away, watching their sister kick the bin to the point where it falls over and its content spilling out as it hits the ground. May seems to be nothing but confused over the whole situation, which Lee is as well, though she might have some more understanding that there was something that happened when they were out of town, something they're not aware of – could it be related to the new girl? It might explain the weird way they all acted after they encountered her; like they were surprised they survived.
"Something's going on at this school, and for once it's not us." She says, drawing her sisters' attention towards her. "Something that must've happened while we were away on our vacation."
"Like what?" May asks, still confused.
"I don't know." She says. Standing with her hands on her hips, she thinks to herself what the best way to get the information about what's going on would be. She soon figures it out, and as the grin grows on her face her sisters light up in anticipation. "But I think I know someone who might know."
"Really? Who?"
"Someone who's been waiting impatiently to be reunited with us after being apart for such a long time." She says, her grin growing bigger by every word.
"Marie soon catches on. "Oh yeah! My muffin must be tearing up a storm by now!"
"And big Ed!" May fawns.
"Don't forget about my dreamboat Eddy – he's got for sure the answer to all of this. He's got his hands in everyone's pocket after all."
And with that, they head back towards the Junior High, to seek out where to go and collect their boyfriends at a perfect moment, grinning widely as they walk.
As the bell rings out their first class of the day, all three stay on high alert as they gather their things to bring back to their lockers and switch to the books required for the next class. Tugging at his beanie in a nervous habit, Edd slowly makes his way towards the door with his books in hand. His friends are right behind him – they just decided that he should be the first one out just in case the crazy sisters are waiting for them outside the door. Although, to be fair; the other kids in the classroom should've reacted in some way if they were, so it's probably fine… right?
Shaking like a leaf, he slowly approaches the door and checks the corners first before leaning out a little more to see further. The moment he lets out a sigh of relief his friends hurry up to his side to walk with him – they can be hiding after all.
Their steps are quick and panicked, for they know that the sisters have a very nasty habit and ability to hide in the dark and creep up on them when they least expect it. Feeling the sweat starting to build up and cover his back, Edd just knows that this is going to be one long day of emotional torment and horror. The question is; is it worse than when the jocks beat him up all the time? Replacing the books he's carrying to the ones he will need, he ponders on that question for a moment. Are the sisters really that bad that he would rather be attacked by jocks than having to deal with their weird habits of cuddles and kisses? He's not so sure, but then again; they have been away for quite a while now, so it could just be his memories being faded to the point where he doesn't know what he's talking about – he's forgotten all the really horrible things they've done to him and his friends. Or…?
"Hey, Double-D! Are you done daydreaming already?!" Eddy hisses as quietly, yet loudly, as he can to get his attention, clearly growing impatient. "We wouldn't want to keep the Kankers waiting, right?!"
Shivering at their name, he decides quickly that he is merely forgetful of their past terrors, and thus he hurries up to catch up with his friends. "Sorry gentlemen!" He whispers. "I got caught up in thought."
"Yeah, we noticed!" Eddy hisses. "It could've cost us our lives, you know!"
"Thoughts are bad for Ed!"
Sighing quietly, Edd lowers his gaze to the floor beneath him. Accompanied by his friends he slowly falls back into thoughts again – though he should be fine. He's got a security system of some sorts with his friends around; their loud screams should be warning enough in case the Kanker sisters happen to appear out of thin air. Let's just hope that he hears it. And with that, he dives deep into thought about how bad the Kanker sisters really are. He really can't say for sure that they are the absolute worst right now, but he cannot help but feel like his memories are failing him and that scares him. If there's one thing he fears it's losing his memories. Fortunately his body seem to remember the past terror the sisters with said name has caused him; sending shivers up and down his spine just by thinking about it – he will have to go off of that for as long as his memories seem to come up empty handed with information to prove them bad. Oh boy… this is going to be a long day, isn't it?
Song: Dirty Paws – Of Monsters and Men
I've completely forgotten how to Kanker… hopefully it's acceptable to you.
And I also might've forgotten that February only has 28 days, not 30 or 31… hehehe, so that's why I'm a little late on this one as well… hehehe… heh..
