Wanted to give personal shoutouts to McSgwizzle and Piperamitt for rockin' with me since Poofy Pants. I really appreciate it :)
The red Volvo pulled along the elementary's curb just as the school bus turned onto the school's street. She the car and waved goodbye to her mother who returned the gesture by immediately driving off once the second the passenger door was closed. As the Volvo turn out of the school's driveway to merge with other cars, she turned to other students walking alone or chatting with friends. Blending into the crowd towards the school, she bit her bottom lip to combat the nausea steeping in her stomach's pit.
"You okay, Chlo-bird?" the indigo necklace noticed her godchild's face growing paler by the second.
Chloe inhaled raggedly through her nose, exhaling as a hiss cackled in her ears.
"Chloe! Over here!"
A shrill, Indian accent killed the static, stalling to see a tanned boy with black hair styled in a side-part cut. His plaid-yellow shirt tucked into gray pants looped with a black leather belt that matched his Oxfords, turquoise eyes aided by rounded black frames. Much scrawnier than the freckled boy that walked alongside him, only slightly paler and heavier set whose ginger hair was styled in a similar alfalfa style, a red boil blemishing most of his right cheek. Thick black rims framing dark-teal eyes, a black bowtie dressed up his olive-brown sweater vest over a white tee, navy slacks footed with matching suede Canvas sneakers.
"Good morning, Sanjay, good morning, Elmer." Chloe tightened her lips in a grin in, shoving her anxiety down to not burden them. "How are you?"
"Excellent!" Sanjay beamed, walking along Chloe's right.
"How are you, Chloe?" Elmer's nasally voice inquired from Chloe's left, wiping his stuffy nose with the back of his hand.
Chloe looked down briefly. "I'm…okay."
Not much was known about the bottom of the barrel nerds, only worthy as 'back up friends' whenever other unpopular kids wanted to pretend to have more friends. Having known each other since kindergarten, two best friends had mostly kept to themselves. Sanjay Othman and Elmer Hartman had been sitting in the audience during the Brain-A-Thon, and when Chloe gave Dimmsdale Elementary the victory over Snerd from her extensive knowledge of Terry Totter, they realized there was a fellow Terry Totter stan and were so excited that they just had to introduce themselves that Monday morning.
Since transferring to Dimmsdale Elementary, the only person that had bothered to acknowledge Chloe's existence was Alvin Jr. Of course, he had his own set of friends, so Chloe was appreciative to have others to relate to on some level.
"We took the Snogwarts House Sorting Quiz online at Elmer's house yesterday." Sanjay remarked as the group traveled up the entrance steps. "We both got Hufflesnuff!"
"Woooow…" Chloe paused for an appropriate response "…that's cool."
Reaching the top step, Elmer walked ahead to hold the door open after other students let it close behind them. "Have you taken it yet, Chloe?"
Following Sanjay inside the school, Chloe's lips tensed in hesitation; between chores, preparing dinner with her mother, homework, and studying ahead, she barely had time to read another chapter of Terry Totter and the Chalice of Fire. "Not yet."
"You'd make a great Ravenbeard! They are highly intelligent, just like you!" Sanjay complimented as Chloe gave a cumbrous grin.
As bus students continued to unload, twenty-six wheels and 100 ft of limousine rolled in front of the bus and along the school's curve, stamped with the recognizable golden emblem with a red 'B' written as a dollar sign. The front bumper close to merging onto main roads due to its length, the driver (sporting a fancy dollar sign hat) opened the door, stepping out on his way towards the very back of the limo where its young passenger resided.
The young billionaire stared dully out the tinted glass that no outsiders could look inside. A few meddlesome kids planted their dirty face and hands on the window in attempts to get a peek before they giggled in their escape from the driver shooing them away. Once the driver opened the door, Remy draped his Dior bag over one shoulder in his exit. Walking the path towards the entrance, he could see the crinkled noses of sour students, and Remy crinkled his nose back with his chin held high. They can judge his silver platter wealth all they wanted. They knew nothing about him…
"Remy, wait up!" he heard a feminine voice call out, turning to his right to see a group of much taller kids than him approach out of the sea of bus students that'd been dropped off.
Black hair silked past the base of her lavender sweater matching the lavender headband shaping her front bang, the most popular girl in school waved as she dragged her less popular best friend by the arm, blonde hair tied in a high pony accompanying the cheerleader's outfit of a white sweater with a pink 'D' over a pink pleated skirt. Following from behind were the Griffin stepbrothers, the two most popular boys in school. One with ear-length blonde hair and blue eyes, the other with a box top afro and turquoise eyes bold against dark skin. Both wearing corresponding sunglasses with lavender blazers over white tanks, black skinny jeans tucked into leather Tecovas boots.
Trixie let go of Veronica's hand, causing Veronica to trip over her pink boots face first into the grass. She squeezed Remy with an arm around his shoulders, pearly whites beaming. "OMG, Remy, guess what we all did last night!"
She was just gonna tell him anyway whether he cared or not.
"Chad's dad is Briteny Briteny's agent, and he got us backstage passes to the Briteny Briteny concert last night!" Trixie squealed, squeezing Remy tighter much to his discontent. "We all got to meet her, and I got to shake Briteny Briteny's hand! Her freaking hand!"
"And I got a kiss on the cheek!" Tad exclaimed, proudly puffing his chest. "How rad is that!?"
"Very…" was Remy's sarcastic response. He swiped Trixie's hold off him, straightening his purple wristwatch back into place.
"Of course, he's unimpressed…" Veronica stood up from the grass, dusting grass off the sweater now riddled with dirt stains. "He could buy out Brittany Brittany's whole tour if he wanted to."
"Too bad they're completely sold out!" Chad flauntingly remarked.
Best friends exited the bus in their own trio towards the school, continuing the conversation where it'd left off. "Dude, are your parents ever home?" the brace face of the trio asked, blond locks tapered in a side-part cut similar to Sanjay's. Chester McBadbat wore an olive-green coat covered in patches over his black tee, aged tears somewhat visible throughout his dark denim jeans with the soles beginning to peel off his blue sneakers.
"Of course not!" the pink-hatted boy exclaimed, slanting his brow. "They're always doing stuff without me and leaving me with a babysitter that either wants nothing to do with me or spends every waking moment torturing me!"
"That sucks, dude." Chester sighed, bitterly reminded of his own abandonment issues with the mother who'd left him and his father out to dry. "Like, why have a kid if you're not gonna care about 'em?"
"Easy; they want nothing to do with me but think they can't get rid of me, so they avoid me as much as possible…" the brunette bowed his head, shoving hands in his jean pockets. "…I'm worthless to them." His disheartened tone brought empathetic glances from his pink and green wristbands.
"Well, not totally worthless." the boy genius theorized, baby-blue sweater vest over a white tee vibrant against his mocha skin paired with gray slacks and black sneakers. "I mean, at least they don't leave you completely alone with no clothes or shelter."
After a pause, Timmy's glare met AJ's indifferent expression that had no clue how insensitive he'd come off. "Thanks, I feel so much better…NOT!"
Being one of the last to un-board the bus after waiting for other kids to exit, raven ponytails kept her chin lowered in her stroll. She kept a tight grip around her backpack straps as the engine roared away from the curb down to the end of the street, spiritually preparing for her daily battle of surviving in a secular school.
"Sooooo I don't wanna alarm you or anything…" her teal bracelet spoke up, noticing someone staring at her godchild from down the street. "…but that kinda looks like Vicky."
"What?!" Purple rims snapped to the familiar fiery-red ponytail, pink eyes fixed upon her. On strap of her backpack hung from her pear-green crop-top, low-rise black skinny-jeans with cuffs tucked into black combats.
Moral confliction jutted Tootie's lip; when a serious sin is committed by a sinner who doesn't repent and refuses to follow Jehovah's standards, Corinthians 5:11 and 2 John 9-11 states that they must be disfellowshipped. Jehovah is always watching, testing one's servitude to see who shall abide by His command not to have contact with anyone who is disfellowshipped. Both Byrne sisters knew that blood ties were no exception when one is disfellowshipped; if Tootie so much as said 'hello,' she would be putting her loyalty to God on the line.
Why must Vicky tempt her like this!?
Tearing pained eyes away, Tootie quickened her pace, distancing herself. Ponytail mutely swaying with the slight autumn breeze as she watched her little sister brisk her way inside the school without looking back, Vicky cocked her hip with a pout, expecting this reaction despite having been somehow optimistic that the outcome would've been different.
A quiet boom thundered through darkened clouds as Tootie doodled silently at her desk in the corner of the classroom, in her own bubble while the rest of her 4th grade class chattily decorated the classroom with streamers and balloons. One of her classmates was celebrating their 10th birthday, and to commemorate the double digits milestone, this student had requested to throw a party at school on the same day of her birthday after recess.
A merry occasion for worldly kids, a nightmare for a child of Jehovah.
Her bubble was popped when a redhead ran and stood in front of her desk, wearing a red and yellow striped shirt untucked over denim jeans. He waited for the doodling girl to glance momentarily from her notebook before he held a vanilla cupcake in his palm. She eyed him cautiously, unsure if he was just showing the cupcake to her or was giving an offer, but her suspicion was proven true when he withdrew the cupcake, taunting in his smirk.
"Haha, you can't have it!" he teased, sticking out his tongue. Tootie slouched her shoulders under his mocking laugh, scrunching her skirt beneath her desk.
"Winston, that's quite enough!" a nasally voice yelled, causing Winston to run back to his group of giggling friends watching from afar. Tall and slender with rounded black rims over dark-slate eyes, the 4th grade instructor walked through her students decorating different sections of the class. Brown hair styled in a bowl-cut bob, line-backer shoulder pads shaped her taffy blazer, pink plaid skirt down past her knees.
Ms. Edna Modell approached Tootie's desk, softening her once stern facials. "Just talked with Mr. Crocker; he's expecting you."
With a coy nod, Tootie gathered her notebook and pen to put inside her backpack, scooting in her chair as Ms. Modell returned to her other students.
When Tootie left the classroom and made her way down the empty halls to Mr. Crocker's class, her teal bracelet looked up at her godchild, finding the whole thing odd. "Explain to me again why you can't stay?"
Tootie shifted her backpack on her shoulders. "We are not to participate in celebrations that does not uphold Jehovah."
"…and what does that mean?"
"Celebrating a person's birthday displeases God because evil spirits have the opportunity to attack." Tootie hesitated before her next point. "…and birthday candles grant wishes with evil magic..."
The fairy godmother just had to chuckle. "You honestly believe that crap?"
This made Tootie clench her jaw. If she didn't feel hypocritical before, she certainly did now.
"Hey, look, I'm sorry." Rose didn't mean to upset her. "It just sounds so ridiculous to me."
"Of course, it does." Tootie muttered. "You'd never understand…"
Rose exhaled a groan, partially out of remorse for offending her godchild, and partially in pain from the pulse of her muscles tensing. This was not a good sign; magic buildup was already making its cursed presence known. Tootie still had not made a new wish, and the 24-hour mark was fast approaching…
Reaching classroom #44, Tootie carefully twisted the doorknob, creaking the door open. Many pairs of eyes spotlighted her arrival, a deer in multiple headlights. Long enough for the hunched-back 5th grade teacher to look away from the chalkboard.
"Oh hey, it's you." Enthusiasm lacked in Mr. Crocker's welcome. He then pointed to the extra desk closest to the door. "You can take the seat next to Turner."
Just hearing part of his name flushed her cheeks, darting eyes to the pink hatted boy seated at his desk with his chin resting on folded forearms. "Oh, great, gotta sit next to the bible thumper…" Timmy rolled his eyes in a grumble. He laid his head down facing away from her, the little girl's face falling dejectedly.
"Can you hurry it up?!" Mr. Crocker's patience wavered. "I don't have all day!"
Tootie shuddered in her brisk walk to the empty seat, averting her eyes from the stares of other students.
The pink wristband saw the little girl cower in her seat as she reached into her backpack for what she assumed was a bible, and unimpressed by her godchild's rudeness, she frowned to him whispering "That wasn't very nice."
"So?" Timmy muttered back as Mr. Crocker begrudgingly wrote out the rest of the 3-digit by 1-digit multiplication equations on the chalkboard.
"Alright…" Mr. Crocker groaned, facing the class with chalk in hand. "Chloe, can you to the board and find the product to these examples?"
AJ turned to the desk beside him when no response came, seeing Chloe's absent stare at her opened notebook void of notes.
Mr. Crocker tapped his foot. "Helloooooo?! Earth to Chloe?!"
Her blue orbs twitched ever so slightly, raising AJ's concern while students around them gossiped quietly. Recalling Chloe's episode at the Brain-A-Thon, part of him worried something serious was happening beneath the surface. But the other part considered Mr. Crocker's grumpier-than-normal mood that day. "Um…" AJ raised his hand as the smallest spasm in Chloe's tightened lip, turning to the teacher's agitated brow. "I-I can do it, Mr. Crocker."
"Whatever, just get up here."
Mr. Crocker handed the chalk in an offhanded toss that would have broken it in half on the floor if AJ hadn't caught it in time. AJ stood up, giving Chloe one more concerned glance before approaching the board.
The indigo necklace was confused when she looked up at her godchild, finding her behavior troublesome. "Chloe?" she called out, receiving no response. "Chloe!"
Blue orbs blinked in a jerk before they noticed the indigo necklace's small chuckle.
"Where'd you go, girl?"
"…w-what do you mean?"
"What chu mean what do I mean!? You like zoned out!" Susie replied, her tone lighthearted until she noticed Chloe turning too pale for comfort. "…you okay?"
"…yes." the blonde squeaked, struggling to comprehend what was reality. Mr. Crocker was working an example on the board when she felt dizzy all of the sudden. Then a split second blinked by and now AJ was at the board. She didn't even see him go up there…
Susie clued in on the tremor in Chloe's hand which still held on to her pencil. "…you sure?"
Despite swallowing her dry throat and her stomach in knots, Chloe nodded. No way did she have another one of those episodes in front of the whole class…
As AJ solved the equations on the board, the young billionaire held his chin in his palm near the back of the class with fixed eyes upon the split flash of lightning through fast-moving clouds, only mildly paying attention to the lecture. Lost in the void of last night's memories, floating in the vacuum of taboo territory. Sucked into the jumbled mind of his past self when his nanny reached inside his pants, fingers massaging inside his underwear. Longing lips near the nape of his neck, cold skin tingling hot with every stroke up and down his-
"¿Estas bien, Remy?" his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar Spanish accent of his wristwatch.
In no mood to elaborate, Remy merely shrugged.
"You seem distracted…" Juandissimo carefully observed the impassiveness in his godchild. Something just didn't sit right. "Is something bothering you?"
Remy stiffened, shifting in his chair. Juandissimo would always ask how he was doing or what was on his mind, but Remy would never know how to answer. The only other person in his life to give much of a crap was Fenwick, but Fenwick knew not to pry too much. "Not now…" Remy mumbled with dark eyes towards the dark clouds in prep for a downpour, making Juandissimo sigh drearily.
"Thaaaanks, AJ." the 5th grade teacher thanked sarcastically, retrieving his chalk when AJ finished the three examples on the board. When AJ returned to his desk, he directed his attention to the bucktooth boy. He was unusual silence that day slid him under the radar. Most teachers welcomed this behavior, but Mr. Crocker was not most teachers.
Time to make this shit job less shitty with his favorite punching bag.
"Turner!" his cynical smirk approached the boy. "What's 351 times two?"
Chin on folded arms, Timmy cocked a sullen brow. "…the heck if I know?"
"Of course, you don't, you dunce!" Mr. Crocker shouted, his mockingly screech met with a glum stare. "Knock-knock!"
"…who's there."
"F!" Out of thin air, Mr. Crock revealed the incomplete addition and subtraction homework that Timmy had turned in that morning, marked with the scarlet letter 'F.'
Only Mr. Crocker joshed at the unwarranted humiliation of a child, his boisterous laugh receiving awkward stares from most of the class. Chloe cringed at the wretched F glaring her in the face, and Remy shook his head, annoyed by this daily occurrence. Peering from her bible, Tootie sympathized with Timmy's grimace, irritation balling his fists. Mr. Crocker gave him crap every frickin' day, and this was not the day to piss him off…
Mr. Crocker's crooked-teeth cackle came to an abrupt halt when his punching bag fought back, reaching to snatch the homework out of his hand and immediately ripping it to shreds. Shocked gasps filled the room, Chester and AJ sharing worried looks from across the room before Chester turned back to the sharp glares of the pink hatted boy in front of him.
"Awwww, that hurt." Mr. Crocker responded sarcastically, curling his lips in the sliest smile. He backed away to his desk, pulling the drawer and scooping out the numerous other Fs with Timmy's name on them. Playfully tossing them into the air as he added "Good thing there's plenty more where that came from!"
A grim growl prompted Timmy to swipe his notebook into his backpack, muttering "Screw this…" as he scooted away from his desk.
"And just where do you think you're going, Turner!?" Mr. Crocker's sardonic tone questioned, his menacing smile watching along with his other students as Timmy stormed towards the door. "You can't leave without a hall pass!"
"Shut up, butthead!" Timmy glared straight ahead, twisting the knob aggressively. Stomping into the halls with a slam that shook the walls, soft 'oohs' following after.
Storming into the boy's bathroom, Timmy ran over to the nearby sink, both hands gipping either side. Blue eyes glaring at his reflection in the wall-length mirror, fumes puffed through flared nostrils.
"…you wanna talk, champ?" his green wristband asked gently, more concerned when the angered reflection to deepen the crease in its brow.
"Don't let Mr. Crocker get to you, sport…" his pink wristband consoled, her words clenching his jaw tighter.
If Sophia were here, she would have said the same thing…
A creak of the door caught his attention, his peripheral scowling at the bulky punk rock try-hard enter the bathroom. Discolored teeth crooked in his menacing smile, skin as pale as avoiding sunlight can get. A black sleeveless vest hung over a gray shirt embellished with a blue lightning bolt, multiple silver chains dangling on his dark denim. Black chucks and black nail polish, his wristbands were spiked just like his black hair in desperate need of a comb.
"Oh wow, Turner," the school bully looked down at his watch with a mocking smirk "is it time for a beating already?"
"Not now, Francis…" Timmy's dark tone warned. Seriously; what about him screamed 'make my life more crappy' today?
"But you need your dose of Vitamin Fist!" Francis mocked. "It's good for my wellbeing!"
Timmy shot his burning glower away from the mirror towards his daily tormentor. "You can shove that Vitamin Fist up your ugly butt!"
Yellow teeth's taunting smile soon faded into a threatening glare. "Who you talkin' to like that!"
"You, ya dumb flunky!" Timmy barked back, referring to Francis failing 5th grade. Twice.
The school bully cracked his knuckles, breathing heavily. While Timmy stood his ground unfazed, his godparents worried for his safety. "Remember Timmy; all you have to say is 'I wish' and we'll grant!" came Wanda's motherly reminder.
Timmy stood firm to Francis' ominous loom towards him. "Tuh! Nobody's scared of that big dummy-"
A right hook struck him square in the face, turning his world black.
Early-evening glistened in downpour, a flurry of rain flooding paved roads in shallow rivers. The Byrne family spent their rainy evening gathered in the kitchen around the dining table, bibles open in front of them. The head of the household led the reading of 1st Samuel 1-3 and 1st Peter chapter 3, sections of the bible identified as passages that explain why choosing to serve Jehovah will lead to eternal salvation.
Nicky followed along silently, listening as her husband read the passages aloud and gave his interpretations of the message in between. Tootie, on the other hand, stared into bible verses left unread.
Did she deserve salvation when a magical creature lived in her room? Did she deserve salvation when she kept said magical creature a secret? Sure, keeping a secret was different from speaking with a false tongue; however, it was still omission with the intent to deceive other people. Was it worth it either way to keep her fairy, knowing that Jehovah despised lying?
A smack to her cheek jolted her from her thoughts. "Wake up!" Jim firmly commanded to his daughter, her eyes beginning to water when she cupped her stinging cheek.
"What's going on with you, Dorothy?" Nicky gave her daughter questioning look. "Don't you want to be Jehovah's friend?"
Guilt bit her spirit Just as the red handprint bit her skin. "…I-I do."
"Then I suggest you stop daydreaming and pay attention." Jim's threatening glare warned. "Unless you want to face certain death at Armageddon!"
Tootie sunk in her chair, shuddering at the mere thought of dying a fiery death. If she deserved salvation, zoning out during family worship certainly wasn't helping her case.
After family worship was dismissed, Tootie rubbed the check that still ached as she walked up the stairs, carrying her bible in her other hand. Reaching her room where she turned the knob, desperate for an escape from reality in the solitude of her bed…
Her eyes blinked in a horrified gasp, opening the door to her fairy's torso inflating like a rapid balloon. She ran to her fairy, shutting the door abruptly. Crap, it was happening again! "Rose!"
"T-Tootie…" Rose strained, skin and muscles stretched to abnormal proportions. "…y-you have…t-to make a wish...b-before…I explode…"
Ponytails shook side to side, cradling her bible as eyes watered in distress. Her sore cheek was a harsh reminder that she was on the fast track to damnation, veiling a simple request into a sinful chore.
Arms extended outwards, Rose could barely breathe under the crushing pressure expanding her tiny body into a giant ball of magic on the verge of bursting into fairy dust. "…p-please…"
But this is exactly what Satan wanted! To practice magic, the very thing God's word condemned. Sure, she'd made wishes before, but even then, she'd put herself at a huge risk of falling directly under the power of Satan the Devil. She wanted to be Jehovah's friend…
But did Rose deserved to suffer as a resort?
"I…" Watching Rose swell larger and larger, braces bit down on her lip, tasting iron. Shutting her eyes from brimming tears, squeezing her bible to her chest. She was a child of God, and that meant to love selflessly, to do what was right. "…I-I wish my cheek stopped hurting!"
With maybe a second to spare, Rose waved her wand, and teal and yellow sparkles glittered on Tootie's cheek, easing the pain in an instant.
As soon as the wish was granted, the tension in her muscles decompressed back to normal child-like size The fairy wiped her forehead with a sigh of relief; man, that was way too close for comfort.
Peering towards the bedroom door, Rose saw her godchild squatted on the floor, teary eyes clamped in soft whimpers. Burying her face in her knees as she hugged he bible. Her heart did pity the girl; something as innocent as making wish always felt like the end of the world to her, no matter how many times she'd live to see another day unscathed. Partially why she upheld bias on organized religion. It all seemed based on instilled fear for this invisible higher power described as loving and just.
Careful not to startle her, Rose hovered to Tootie's level, keeping a comfortable distance from the whimpering child. "…thank you, Tootie." her voice was gentle. "I know it was difficult for you but…" she stalled, fiddling with her wand "…you saved me."
Moments passed before anxious eyes lifted from her knees. She may have saved Rose from exploding into fairy dust, but she conjured magic. Would Jehovah show mercy…or would he find other ways to punish her?
Only able to see out of one eye as the other swelled black and blue, the ten-year-old slave scrubbed the toilet of the hallway bath with nothing but an old toothbrush, forcing aged bristles to remove the grime and dirt caked on the rim. His teenaged master towered over him, delighted in his struggle. It always felt empowering to feel powerful, to be the one in control instead of being controlled. It's why she loved torturing-I mean-protecting and enriching precious gifts from above!
There was one last thing that would 'enrich' this whole evening. For her, that is.
Timmy was almost finished removing all the dirt when he suddenly heard a zipper unfasten, darting eyes to Vicky lowering her bottoms. "Ahh!" he covered his beaten eyes before they caught a glimpse of her pink underwear. "The heck are you doing!?"
Giggling maniacally, Vicky lowered her underwear as she bent over the toilet seat, shoving Timmy out of her way. Falling backwards, Timmy lifted himself just as a concentrated splash filled his ears. His eyes widened at the droplets of urine that intentionally missed the toilet bowl, trickling small puddles on the seat that he'd just spent thirty minutes cleaning.
Her grin curled in evil glee. "…you missed a spot."
He watched her wipe herself with toilet paper, more agitated and completely disgusted. Bombastic side eye; the absolute, frickin' nerve!
"EWW! I'm not touching that!" he yelled defiantly, wide eyes slitting in the most irritated glare.
"Actually, you are!" she threatened, pulling up black jeans over her underwear. "Or else I'll tell your parents that you disobeyed me and refused to do your chores like they asked!"
"Oh yeah?" he taunted, standing to his feet. "Make me!"
And she too stood to her feet. "You asked for it, twerp!"
She clawed his brunette shag, her wicked smile calloused to his screams of pain. She yanked him closer to the toilet, tiny arms flailed about in attempts to fight back. A foul odor cursed his nostrils, mere inches from the trickles of urine. His nails scratched at her grip, her heartless cackles fermenting more rage.
"STOP!" he screeched when his cheek felt wet pressed against the seat. "STOP IT!"
Her strong grip tugged him backwards, knocking him flat on his butt. A fretting hand scrubbed at his cheek, and as her laughter grew louder, his sneer growled in frustration.
Captive in their fishbowl in a ten-year-old's room, two goldfish with pink and green eyes heard faint laughter from down the hall, making them restless. Evil laughing from Vicky meant Timmy was down bad, but for whatever reason, he'd specifically told them to stay in the room.
"Should we do something?" Cosmo asked his wife.
"He has to wish for it first." Wanda reminded her husband.
"Oh, I hate that rule…" Cosmo pouted.
"I'm calling union meeting…" Wanda sulked.
They veered towards the bedroom door as it burst open, welcoming smiles fading at the flushed cheeks of his creased brow. The fish jolted slightly when a violent swing slammed the door in a crash, right in Vicky's smug face.
"DON'T BE SLAMMIN' DOORS LIKE YOU PAY BILLS!" the babysitter shouted from outside, prompting the boy's firm middle finger straight at the door.
Poofing into fairies, the worried glances of his godparents followed their godchild's loud stomps towards the bed, his face plopping into his blue duvet. Raging fists punched in wild windmills, stopping with a final growl muffled by the duvet.
Wanda's motherly instincts kick in, floating down to her godchild with a tender palm to his back. Massaging gentle circles as his shoulders huffed in agitated breaths. Seeing him so angry frowned her features; whatever happened out there must have been damn near unforgivable. "It'll be okay, sport…"
"No it won't…" he grunted, lifting his irritated glare before he groaned "It never is!"
"Y'know," Cosmo began, joining his wife trying to brighten the room weighted in despair. "You can do other things to Vicky that don't break Da Rules."
Wanda arched a brow at her husband, and Timmy shot a glare at his godfather, Cosmo smiling awkwardly. They've been here for how long, and they decide to tell him this now?! "…like what."
"Liiiiiiiiiike, I dunno!" Cosmo enthused. "We love kids with creative imaginations!"
Timmy's attention caught the dim rush of running water, coming from outside his room down the hall. Walking away from his godmother, Timmy opened the door to see the door to the hallway bath left open, hearing the hummed version of Chip Skylark's 'Find Your Voice' above the sloshing.
He'd just cleaned that bathroom! "C'mon, guys." he grumbled to his fairies. "Let's go."
Sharing puzzled glances, the fairies floated behind their godchild in regular form. Timmy took cautious steps until he reached the doorframe of the washroom, his fairies staying behind him. Following the trail of jeans and crop top along the tiled floor, he caught the unfavorable sight of his teenaged babysitter, her thin frame filling the sole white towel that kept her naked body modest. She took a seat on the tub's edge, crossing her legs as her wading hand tested the water's temperature.
Timmy turned away before she had a chance to notice him, brow slanted. Cosmo and Wanda observed his contemplation, and when the valve was shut off, Timmy raised stern eyes to his godparents. "I wish for one thing…"
Poking her toes for a quick feel, Vicky removed her towel with a light toss, stepping inside. She bent down gently until her body was submerged in the water's welcoming warmth. Her head cocked back against the rim exhaling a satisfied sigh, eyes falling blissfully as the steam settled in her skin.
"…gelatin!"
Out of nowhere, warm liquid solidified into a cold jiggle, snapping pink eyes open. She looked down before she scrambled to her feet, mouth agape with unspoken questions. What tha fu…was this jello?!
Peering from the bathroom door, his satisfaction weakly curved his lips, smiling for the first time the entire day. "Whipped cream!"
Vicky yelped from white cream squirting from the shower head directly onto her, coating red hair in a sticky mess. Crazy confused, her feet stumbled themselves out of the slippery tub. The fuck was going on!?
"Cherry!"
Carrying the block of gelatin that covered her whole torso, Vicky tip-toed across the bathroom floor before a giant cherry magically dropped onto her head, knocking her to the ground.
Wanda proudly twirled her wand like a gun, blowing fake smoke from the star's tip. "You always were great with deserts!" her husband complimented, and the married couple giggled in glee.
"That's great!" Timmy cheered. "Can you make her into a little chocolate shake?!"
"Ooh, may I, pookie?" Cosmo flirted, glowing his wand.
"Of course, stallion!" Wanda flirted in return, letting Cosmo do the honors.
With a wave of his wand, Cosmo transformed the teenage girl into a little chocolate…
…snake.
Timmy fixed his gaze upon the brown and spotted snake squirming and wiggle about, and Wanda slit her brow.
"He said chocolate shake, not chocolate snake!"
Slightly disappointed with himself, Cosmo frowned at his wand. "Might be time to see Spike and Thorn about a tune up…"
"No, no, it's okay." Timmy continued to watch as the snake slithered and flapped, screeching in a panic.
Time for the ultimate payback.
Calculated steps loomed towards the defenseless snake, grabbing her by the tail end. The tips of his fingers held her eye level, dark determination peering into the fear that his good eye could make out in her wide eyes. Without a second thought, his grip squeezed her body, clenching tighter to the point wherein she began coughing for air in his grasp. Each gasp for breath widened his grin, her struggle his satisfaction. Using his other hand, he squeezed the top of her neck. Estimating in his head the amount of force it would take to snap her ne-
"Timmy, what are you doing?!" his godmother snatched him from his trance, his blue glare meeting her worried pink. He looked back to the suffocating snake, his voice unusually sinister.
"Since you guys can't do it, this way, I'd be doing the world a favor…"
The snake disappeared in pink smoke, causing Timmy to direct his glare back to his godmother. "The heck you do that for!?"
"It's for your own good!" Wanda retorted, steadfast. When his nose crinkled in his grim scowl, her stance became unsettled.
Because of Timmy's rough life, Wanda feared the darkness within him. The darkness fueled by rage, strengthened by vengeance. He can be a sweet little boy but…sometimes, that little boy was so lost, and it scared her what could happen if he were to lose himself to where he could never be found again.
A dark growl escaped as Timmy stormed past his godmother out of the bathroom, ignoring Cosmo's call for him as he made his way to the stair's rails. An empty carton of Chinese takeout (purchased on the Turners' dime) sat on the coffee table next to the teenage girl fidgeting from some sort of nightmare on the couch.
Cosmo floated to his godchild, setting a fatherly hand to his shoulder. More serious than he had been in the longest time. "You don't want that type of blood on his hands…"
Grim eyes stared towards the bottom steps, staring at the same spot where the blood stain used to be. The pink hatted boy diverted his eyes, turning with his back against the rail. Drawing knees to his chest, a gritting darkness dimming what little light was left in baby-blue orbs "…I already have blood on my hands."