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| >> Campfire Creative >> Other >> Other >> ID #1081460 |   |
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| [Introduction]
Hello! Welcome to my campfire. It's now open, but I don't know how long that will last. Intro:  Something weird has been going down in the little town of Hemmingston. Secrets and mysteries are swirling around the citizens and it's up to you to find out the hidden truths. For this campfire, you may be anyone you want to be, the mayor of the town, the town gardener...etc. You may choose to be a long term resident, or a newly acquired citizen. It's all up to you. No special powers, witchcraft or any alien powers or anything please. You must right in first person, which means using words like "me, I, mine...etc." YOU are your character. ONLY dedicated writers need apply! If you don't think that you will write, please do not bother joining. I'm sorry I didn't make this clear before, but three days will be given for your addition. I didn't make clear how long you get to write an addition; so sorry guys, that was my fault. Thank you. Please pick a color to make all your additions in. Thank you! Name: Calypso Thomaster (Ka-lip-so) polkadots   Age: 17 Looks: Calypso is short, but she prefers the term "fun sized" She has long brown hair, and fair skin, and has a phobia of skin cancer, so she is never without sunscreen. She is used to getting a lot of attention and has been thought of as attractive. She always dresses up, and is rarely seen out of a nice sundress and heels, if weather permits. Likes/Dislikes: She dislikes being let out of a secret and will go to some lengths to discover what she wants to know. She hates big dogs. Big dogs are very scary. She does however love small dogs, pugs especially, and owns one, named Gertie. She likes macoroni and cheese WAY too much. Personality: Calypso, called Caly by her friends, is very confident and loud. She has very few close friends, but she doesn't care. Her somewhat snobbish nature drives most people away, but Caly hardly notices. She is outgoing, and tends to be a bit overbearing. She is prone to arguements over miniscule topics and thinks nothing of them. Other: Calypso's mother was a Greek major in college and a total mythology nut, which is how she got stuck with her name. The mythological Calypso was the sea goddess who tempted the hero Odysseus on her island for seven years. Name: Mariette Lemming popcorn_ne1 Age: 17 Looks: She is tall and slender, with not many curves. She has dark hair, almost black, and wears it up out of her face often. She hates tight clothes because she thinks that they make her too skinny, so she is always seen wearing long loose dresses or long tunic-like shirts. Since she is tall, flats are the shoes she favors. Likes/Dislikes: Mariette likes cold showers in the morning and likes gardening, though she doesn't make that widely known. She likes playing soccer, she plays on her highschool team. She dislikes impudent men who are too full of themselves. She prefers quiet guys and she thinks that shyness is cute. Personality: Mariette is loud and talkitive when she wants to be, but is mostly quiet and withdrawn. She doesn't have a best friend, and she sometimes gets lonely. She has a quirky sense of humor and isn't afraid to stand out, but she just doesn't see the point. As a result, she is labeled the "shy girl" in her highschool. Other: Mariette has a very big dog by the name of Marlow, and loves her to death. She has no siblings, but she lives in an extension of her parents home which is separated by a garden planted by Mariette herself. She has her share of privacy. Name: Colin Reinir Agent-409 Age: 16 Looks: He stands at 5’11 and he’s skinny to say the least, yet muscular. Because of this, Colin’s skin seems tightly wrapped around him and you can make out nearly every muscle, as well as all his ribs. He has striking blue eyes and his dark brown hair hangs loosely about an inch off his head. Likes/Dislikes: Colin enjoys physical fighting. He likes to get his anger out in destructive ways sometimes like starting fires or getting in some other kind of trouble. He isn’t really happy with where his life is at right now, but doesn’t quite know how to change things. Personality: He doesn’t like to be underestimated. He will fight to prove himself if need be, and take risks to gain people’s trust. He can be a little argumentative while at other times cool and collected. Though on the outside he is sometimes fierce, in reality he knows it is all an act to protect himself from the world around him. Other: Colin has a fraternal twin brother named Jack. He and Jack both live with their father and the whereabouts of their mother is unknown. They just moved with their father into Hemmingston. Name: Andrea "Andy" Windrider **Jo tired & pretty stressed** Age: just turned 16 Looks: Andy is Lokata and has the many Native American characteristics. She is tall at about 5'7" and slender with soft curves in all the right places. Her long jet black hair reaches to about the middle of her back and is almost always in either a ponytail or down. Her large eyes are almost black in color. She wears the regular cowgirl clothes, jeans and t-shirts, along with her black cowboy hat. She hardly ever dresses up, but it has been known to happen on rare occasions. Even in her jeans, Andy is quite beautiful, but she truly doesn't care. Likes/Dislikes: Andy loves being outside and animals, mostly horses and dogs. She likes to work with her hands and doesn't mind getting down and dirty. She hates spoiled rich girls who squeal in terror at breaking a nail. Andy enjoys sitting outside singing or writing and watching the sunset. She also loves the mountains and hates the fact that she had to leave them. Personality: Andy is quite outgoing and out-spoken. If you ask her opioion, expect to get it. She will defintely tell you out-right what she thinks and stands up for what she believes in. She loves to have fun and laughing, but she also has a serious side when the need arises. She loves friends and being around people, but sometimes people annoy her so much that she has to go outside and be with her animals. Other: Andy just moved to Hemmingston from Montana with her parents. They moved to just outside of town, so they were able to keep a few of their horses; one of them being Andy's black stallion, Thunder. Andy also has a big Great Pyrenees puppy named King. She is an only child. Her animals are her family. Name: Jack Reinir Andante Age: 16 Looks: At 5'10, Jack is a little shorter than his twin but shares his brother's build and strength. He also shares his brother's blue eyes, but his shoulder-length hair is blond. He wears it tied back at the nab of his neck in a ponytail. He favors black clothing and rarely ventures away from the color except to wear dark red, blue, or gray. Likes/Dislikes: Jack is a geek, and he knows it. He likes playing computer games like World of Warcraft and Guildwars, reading history, politics, and philosophy, and painting. He is a martial artist--excelling in jujitsu and karate--but doesn't really have his brother's love of fighting; he regards it as an art. Personality: Jack is generally quiet, but he can be rather outspoken when he feels passionately about something. He has a slightly screwed up sense of humor: very dark and dry. He is creative and inquisitive--a true intellectual. Other: Jack is Colin's fraternal twin brother. |
 polkadots  Calypso: I hurried inside from the rain, though my two inch heels were somewhat hindering the process. I ripped them off, and holding them tightly, I continued my trek. As the thunder boomed overhead, I crossed into the sanctity of the bottom floor of my apartment. Hastily, I plattered down the hall, trying to escape from the attention of my fellow apartment-dwellers. It would not do for them to see me looking like a drowned rat in heels. Good impression thou does not make. "It better have come today," I thought to myself as I put my key in the lock and entered the room. "I did not get all wet for no reason." I had filled out and sent an application to a prestigious college in the neighboring town of Rockswell and was now enthusiastically waiting for the results. I was all for attending, but when I was evicted (the dirty scoundrels) from my old apartment, I had no choice but to move to Hemmingston. I had been lucky enough find this rather large apartment for one person, but it seems that there was very few available homes or apartments in the town. Rockswell had no vacant apartments in the whole town, even on campus (I checked) so it seemed that I would be staying in Hemmingston for a while. "It is a nice place," I thought to myself as I spread back the window curtains to admire the rainy landscape. I lived on one of the middle floors, so I had a pleasant view, though it didn't compare to the ones from the top floors. The rain gave the gently rolling hills a kind of misty eerie feel to it, very Dracula esque. Depsite the rain, I smiled sardonically to myself, anticipating my acceptance letter. "I just need to find something to do all day. Waiting for a letter is so boring!" Being relatively new to town, I had yet to make any friends. Back in my hometown, I had been very popular and I refused to let the minor set back of not knowing anybody to interfere with my first chance of indepence. This was my time to have fun! I decided to go out on the town tonight if the weather permitted. If not, some one had invented the umbrella...I would not let something as stupid as water falling from the sky defeat me! Turning my attention elsewhere, I tore open the envelope that I had gone on such great measures to obtain and--AH! Skunked again! It was a bill. A crummy camoflagued bill. I sighed and chucked it on my bed to be fretted over later. I was not in a bill paying mood. "Will that stupid acceptance letter ever come?" I thought sadly as I stared out my window towards a small house with an enormous garden. I could vaguely see someone-a girl if the long dress was any clue-out in the rain tending to some plants or dirt or something, but I didn't care enough to wonder about it. But, as I caught myself in the beginning stages of self pity, I quickly cheered myself up. Hey, tonight was going to be a night where I meet new people! "Look out Hemmingston," I thought as I pictured a smash hit outfit, "Because here comes Calypso!" popcorn_ne1 Mariette: It was wet and cold out. Not very good for my plants, I must say. As I saw that the downpour showed no signs of stopping, I hurried outside to my garden to shield the more vulnerable plants against the cold. Hey, I didn't want my time consuming cultivating to have gone to waste. My long blue dress whipped and lashed around my legs because of the wind, I could see other people running for shelter from the freezing rain. "If I was a bit smarter, I would do the same. I'm going to catch my death in this weather," I thought. Water ran into my eyes, making it hard to concentrate on covering the plants up with the black tarp, and I could hear my dog, Marlow, barking from inside. She hated to be parted from me, but the last thing I wanted was for my house to smell like wet dog. Big wet dog. Finally, as my job was completed, I rushed back inside and tried to salvage my hair and make-up because I wanted to go out tonight. But right now, I looked like a wet clown with runny make-up and black hair. After a few moments, I deemed it hopeless and concluded my efforts, stripping off my dress and preparing for a warm shower. As I passed the window, I paused to make sure that the blinds were securely fastened shut, for recently I had heard my neighbors complaining about a "peeping Tom" who had been seen peering into private windows. I knew that chances were that it was just a confused teenage punk, but the last thing I wanted was for some kid to see me undress. I didn't think that anything truely malicious could happen in a small town like Hemmingston, but it never hurts to be a little cautious. I had moved here from Los Angelos in the past few months to live with my birth-parents. I had grown up living with my aunt and her family because of the superior education opportunities, and I would come home to Hemmingston during the summer and occansionally on breaks. I wasn't as close to my parents as most offspring might be, but I wasn't complaining. I had it better than most people would; my own place (partly, I live in a extension of the parental's house that's only accesable from the outside) free meals when I want them, and I can keep a pet. It beats the living conditions in Los Angelos for sure. Even though I had been associated with the little town since infancy, I rarely stayed intown for more than a few weeks at a time and adjusting to small town life was a challenge at first. I wasn't sure just how long I was going to stay in Hemmingston, but it was until I could figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Which in other words, could mean I would be here for a while. "Ah, Marlow!" I said partly to myself, partly to my canine companion as she jumped on my bed and startled me by licking my hand. She seemed to smile (if dogs can smile) as I reached down to pet her head and she dog-sighed contentedly. That was one thing I truely enjoyed about living by myself, being able to keep a dog. I don't know what I would do with out Marlow. I hoped I wouldn't have to find out anytime soon. As I passed, I noticed that one of my cheap blinds was bent backwards, and when I tried to fix it, it broke off leaving a hand-sized gap in the coverage. "Marlow probably did something to it," I thought, only mildly concerned. It was just a small hole that you could see into from the outside. It shouldn't be too bad to leave it be for the time being. The hole was partily covered by a large bush anyway. You would have to position yourself intentionally in front of my window in order to see inside. But, the whole "peeping Tom" thing would just blow itself over in time and I had a feeling I was making too much out of it. Times were sad when you have to worry about being spied on in your own home. The very thought scared me a little. As I felt goosebumps run through my body, I gave Marlow a final farewell for now pat and stalked off to the shower to prepare my bath. I couldn't help but feeling like I wasn't alone, but hey, I had Marlow! Agent-409 Colin:I was lying on my bed in the top bunk, listening intently to the rain coming down outside. It never rained this much in my old town. It was a Monday but we weren’t enrolled in school yet since we just got into Hemmingston last Wednesday. I could barely make out voices downstairs. I figured it was just another neighbor trying to welcome our family into town. I’m sure Dad was putting on his nicest face for the neighbors, like the masks we all put on sometimes. The boxes of my life all lay piled around the room, still unpacked- not an unlikely scene. “Colin? You in here?” It was my brother Jack. “Yup…” I said putting my hands behind my head. “Good… let’s go.” He said grabbing a jacket. “It’s raining… a lot… if you haven’t noticed…” I said, not picking up on what he was wanted me to. “Colin. Get up.” Jack said, standing on his bed on the bottom bunk to look at me, “I’m serious.” “Alright.” I said, finally catching on. Dad must’ve been in one of his moods again, or fits, or whatever the hell you wanna call them, even if he was downstairs acting nice to whoever was at the door. I got up and put my shoes on, and grabbed my jacket from the chair behind the desk as Jack was popping the screen out of the window. “Where are we going?” “Away from here.” Jack said, as he climbed out onto the roof, I followed, placing the screen back in place. “Does Dad know you’re home?” I asked, and Jack shook his head ‘no’. The roof was slippery as I started to move over to the side where it was close enough to the ground to jump. I met up with Jack again on the ground. The rain drops were big, and the wind was picking up. Already I knew my jacket wasn’t going to be enough for long. Jack looked around and started walking. We were in our backyard, and had already planned our escape route on the first day we moved into this house.. We didn’t really live super close to anyone. None of the houses were as close together here as they had been from the suburbs we used to live in. There was tons of space between the houses it seemed there wasn’t even a need for fences. Some people didn’t even have them, except for small ones in the fronts. We snuck out over the fence on the side of our house and once over, we were on a street parallel with the fence we just hopped, and Jack started running. I followed. I didn’t know where we were going, but I didn’t question. We slowed down to a walk when we got to places where there were a little more people, so as not to look too suspicious of any crime we hadn’t committed. But we were lucky today; there were hardly any people out. We only saw one car the whole time. “This looks good.” Jack said, stopping. “Here?” I asked, “This is someone’s backyard Jack… we can’t just trespass into other people’s backyards.” I said, but still followed him over the small fence. “Don’t worry Colin, look- this backyard is huge and no one will find us here.” It really was a big backyard with about a million different flowers and such. Even in the storm, they were still a sight for sore eyes. I followed Jack to a back corner of the yard where there was a small tool shed. It wasn’t locked. I guess people trust other people around here not to just steal things. Or maybe we just got lucky. Once inside, we closed the door. I was still breathing kinda hard from the run over. My hair was matted down and I shook my head to try and get it to loosen up and not be so sticky. I leaned against the wall of the shed, and closed my eyes listening to the rain again. “Did you see her?” I asked Jack after a few minutes. “Who?” He asked back. “The lady in the garden.” I said. Jack was silent, so I knew he was nodding his head ‘yes.’ “You think she saw us?” I asked. “No. She was on her way in, and we were close to the ground.” “What if she comes back out?” “She won’t. It’s raining, people don’t just go out in the rain, she was probably out here when it started and just had to finish something.” Jack… always reasoning things through. “Did you see that dog? What if she lets him outside?” “I saw him… but she won’t let him out, no one likes wet dogs.” He said in a bored way. And then silence again. I was thinking over a lot of things in my head. I never liked it when we had to run away. And in this new town- what if people always saw us running everywhere in broad daylight? They might get the wrong idea, like we were thieves or something… “Why do you think they let us back with dad?” Jack asked me. “Because the government is screwed up.” I said, knowing of course it wasn’t the answer, “Honestly Jack? It’s because he’s a wonderful actor. Like us don’t you think? That’s where we get it from. We’re just like him.” “Don’t say that.” Jack said. “Don’t ever say we’re just like him- we aren’t- We’re different.” ‘Whatever lets you sleep at night Jack…’ I thought to myself. The rain was unrelenting outside, but at least it was mostly dry in here, with only a few drops coming through the wood ceiling. I pulled my legs into my chest, and put my head onto my knees. I hated the dark. “I’m sorry.” Jack said, as if reading my mind, as if he was sorry for bringing me to this place, “but we had to.” “Don’t be sorry, I know.” I said. And so we sat there, and sat there, with no where else to go, and nothing else to do. I wondered what other people were doing. How they spent their rainy days. Even though I knew school would be a total bore once we finally got there, I looked forward to it, because at least then we would have somewhere to go, and something to do. “You think it’s been long enough?” I asked Jack after another five minutes of thought. “I doubt it.” He said. “Well, it seems like the rain’s died down, you wanna just get out of here and walk around the town a bit? See what there is?” "Died down? it sounds just as bad as ever." "I just wanna get out of here... I'm tired of sitting, what do you say- yes or no?" “Sure.” Jack said, pushing the door open just a crack to make sure no one was out there. We got out of sight quickly, hoping the back fence closest to the shed, never coming within 50 feet of the house. Jack was right though, it was still raining like before, but for some reason I didn't mind it right now. “Where to?” Jack said, once we were back on a sidewalk. “Anywhere.” I told him, secretly wishing somehow we could just get away from here all together. **Jo tired & pretty stressed** Andrea: "Mom! I'm going out riding!" I yelled as I put on my jacket and grabbed my cowboy hat. "Well, the rain's died down, so I guess you can go, but if it starts pourin' and lightin' again, you find some shelter, okay?" Mom answered from the kicthen. "Okay. See ya." I ran over to the stable and before long, my horse Thunder and I were running around the pasture looking for something to explore. "Let's go see if anyone else is strange enough to be out in this rain," I told Thunder. He perked up his ears and we started to trot along the side of the fence line by the road. Before long, we saw two figures walking along the road. I pushed Thunder forward towards them and soon they came into clear view. They were two guys that looked about my age. Not that bad-looking either, I smiled to myself. "Hey." I said as I neared them. They looked at me like they had never seen anyone like me before, but then one of them looked up at me and returned my smile. I leaned over Thunder's head and the fence and extended my hand. "I'm Andrea or Andy and I just moved here." "Hi, I'm Colin and this is my brother Jack and so did we," he answered, shaking my hand. polkadots Calypso: I sighed as I emerged from my much needed shower, feeling warm down to my toes. Not wanting to get cold, I quickly changed into my "smashing outfit" I had picked earlier. It was a knee-length halter-style yellow sundress. Nothing too fancy-it was just my "meet new people outfit." I knew it made me look good(yellow brings out my eyes) and I found no reason to hide it. My dog Gertie had been asleep on the couch all day, but now woke up with a yip! I sat on the end of my bed, combing the rats out of my hair and staring out the window, when I saw two boys (well they looked like boys-it was hard to tell from this distance) walking down the road in the rain. "What retards," I thought, "Going out without even an umbrella? They must be insane." I ignored my previous efforts to get my mail in the rain, but at least I wasn't walking in the rain willingly. I was intrigued by the two figues, so I watched them further. There was no chance of them seeing me, my apartment was one of hundreds and it would be difficult to find from the outside. I pulled out my hairdryer, and began to expel the wetness from my dark locks, all the while watching the two. I saw them finally venture off the sidewalk, and they ran into the very garden I had saw the woman tending to the plants in earlier. "It can't be their house," I thought, as they ducked into a small storage house. "They wouldn't be hiding if they belonged there." I thought about picking up and calling the police on the intruders-after all, they could have come to rob the plant-lady-I would have done everyone a favor. Well, except for the two boys...but that's different if they are thieves! "But what if they aren't thieves? What if they are bloodsucking murderers who are waiting for the opportune moment to kill that lady? What if my calling the police makes them go ballistic and they only kill that lady faster? Oh my gosh!" I whispered to myself, letting my horrific childish fantasies take hold. They could be anything! They could be plotting their evil plots in that shed-making them evil plot plotters! Despite my worries, I smiled. I knew I was taking this just a tad too far. "I guess I will just wait to see what they do," I thought, keeping an eye on the storage shed. It was still raining, but the sky was now turning a pleasanter shade of gray-almost silver-and it looked like the downpour would be over soon. I kept brushing my now dry hair and pinned it up-very Elizabeth Bennet like. Sparse makeup, a little touch up here and there, mascara, lipgloss and Voula! I'm finished! Glancing back at the commandeered shed, I saw instead on the sidewalk a person on a horse. "A horse? Who rides a horse in the rain?" I thought to myself. Horses scared me almost as much as big dogs. Horses tended to be nice though, but big dogs-ack! they attack you without a moments notice sometimes! I looked at my fat pug, Gertie on the couch and was glad she only came up to half the size of my knee. The horse rider (it was too far away to tell if it was a girl or boy) rode slowly down the rode, apparently in no hurry. She wasn't anywhere near the shed, so she couldn't have seen the boys break out of the little house-like thing and re-join the road. The horse rider soon crossed paths with the two boys and they seemed to be conversing. They ended up walking down the road together. I felt a twinge of jealousy-How is it that other people could just meet each other and be at such ease? I had always been popular, but I had grown up with all my friends. So it is different meeting new people on your own than meeting people with a whole group of friends. "That's all going to change," I thought. "I'm too lonely to be without friends. Dangit, I'm too cute to be without friends!" With that being said, I grabbed a slight white jacket that barely covered my shoulders and headed to the hottest underage club in Hemmingston, The Purple Tavern. I smiled to myself on the way out, something good was going to happen tonight - I just knew it! popcorn_ne1 Mariette: I dryed my hair slowly with a wet towel before taking up the hairdryer. I was ready to go out tonight and was glad that the rain had finally stopped. It was time that I renewed some childhood friendships here. I had been disappointed to hear from my mother that my best friend growing up here had moved away the previous summer. "Oh well," I thought as I applied a dark silver eyeshadow, "You can't be expected to hang around here forever." I was a bit peeved that the dress I had opted tonight to wear was now soaking in my bathtub. I chose a dark purple dress that loosely hung to my body for my evening attire, though I now regreted my rash decision to save my plants. Most of them would have survived the cold anyway and I could have replanted the not so lucky. Oh well, what's done is done. My hair wasn't coming out straight like I wanted it too, it was frizzing a little with soft ringlets around the crown of my head and long curls cascading down my back. I sighed to myself. It didn't look bad and with this humidity from the rain, it's the best that it's going to get. I skipped grabbing a jacket, my dress was warm enough and prepared to leave. Marlow perked up her ears but settled back down on her couch when I produced a bone for her. "I'm going to find something to do in this town tonight, Marlow. I'm sick of it just being you and me." I was heading to a place called The Purple Tavern, which was supposed to be the hottest joint in town. I figured it would be, I mean it was new in town, and that in itself was a small sort of accomplishment. Checking out a new place wouldn't hurt. It would probably help me get to know people again. Who knows, maybe it would even help me shake this foreboding feeling I've got. Agent-409 Jack and I walked down the street with Andy, the girl on the horse, just talking. Well, mostly I was doing the talking; Jack wasn’t as social as I was in meeting new people. But he still said some things here and there. We all talked for awhile walking down the street. The sky had cleared up and the rain had finally stopped. It turns out, Andy had just moved here too and lived a little outside of the town. She told us about her animals, which was cool, because we didn’t have any pets. She thought it was awesome that me and Jack were twins, because she didn’t have any siblings. But she didn’t find talking about her pets so interesting and we didn’t find talking about being twins so interesting either. She was now leading her horse by the reins as she walked along side us. “So…” She said, after we had stopped talking for a few moments, “I heard of this place the other day… the uh… what was it- the Purple Tavern- that was it… apparently it’s the hottest place in town… I was thinking of going there tonight.” “Are you meaning to invite us there?” I asked. “Yeah.” She said, “I mean I don’t know anyone here my age except for you two, so it would be nice if you guys could come with me. Just so I wouldn’t have to go alone.” “Yeah.” I said. “That sounds good. We’d love to go.” “I know someone who wouldn’t love us to go…” Jack whispered seriously in my ear, but I ignored his comment. “Great. How about I’ll come by your house tonight around… seven? And we can go there together.” “Um…” I said, knowing for sure I didn’t want her coming to our house, “How about we come to yours?” “It’s a little out of the way,” She said, “and I can ask my parents if I can borrow the car tonight, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.” “How about we just meet you there?” Jack suggested, “We’ll be there by seven.” “That sounds good.” She said, “So I’ll see you two later.” She smiled, hopped back on her horse, and rode off- back towards her house, I assume. “Bye!” I called as I waved. Jack and I turned around, heading the other way back towards our own house. “I can’t believe you said we’d go.” Jack said as we were walking. “Don’t you want to meet new people?” I asked him, “It’ll be fun.” “Well you and your new girl friend can go have fun, I’ll stay at home.” Jack teased. “First of all, she isn’t my girl friend, and second, why don’t you want to go?” ”Come on Colin, you know me, I’m not as social as you are and besides, are you sure you even want to go? Dad will never agree.” Jack said, trying to get me on his side. “It’s a new town, it’s time to start a new reputation don’t you think? And about Dad- he’s been controlling our lives for too long Jack… aren’t you tired of it by now? I am.” “You know we would do something if we could Colin but, we just can’t.” “But we could- we could say something or do something, tell someone or anything.” I said, getting a little agitated. “Colin,” he said stopping to look at me, “what do you suppose we do? He’ll hurt us, he always has, and nothing changes. We call the social workers, they come, and he puts on an act like everything is fine. He never hurts us where there are visible scars or bruises and somehow he always wins. He’s an adult so they believe him over us. To them, we’re just a couple of messed up kids who like making up stories.” “I know Jack.” I said calming down a bit, “But I’ve had enough.” “He’s stronger than you. You know that don’t you?” Jack said, continuing to walk on. I didn’t say anything. Jack wasn’t for doing anything; he was fine with being passive. But I couldn’t take it anymore. It had been like this for too long, even if we weren’t with him somehow we always went back to him. It was then that I decided I would do something next time. But, foolish as I was, I didn’t know that next time would come so soon. We figured Dad was either out of the house by now or too drunk to get up, so we thought it was safe to go in through the front door. But as soon as we turned the handle, we regretted not using the window for our return. “Boys! Is that you!?” His voice came booming from the other room. “Yeah Dad…” Jack said quietly, both of us disappointed he was home. “Where the hell have you been?!” He yelled at us as he came into the entry way looking as drunk as ever. “We were out.” I said confidently. Jack turned to me and gave me a look that said ‘don’t do anything stupid.’ But it was too late for that. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that boy!” He yelled, “Come ‘ere!” He slapped me across the face hard and I recoiled a little putting my own hand to my cheek. “That’s the last time you talk back to me! Get upstairs- the both of you!” “No.” I said standing in my place, “You can’t control us anymore- I won’t let you.” “Colin don’t…” Jack said softly, “Let’s go.” “You best listen to your brother.” Our father spoke in a menacing voice. But I was too far into this now to stop and do what he wanted. Today I was confident enough to do something crazy. “No!” I yelled again as I threw a punch that landed right on the jaw of the man who stood in front of me. He was a little taken aback by my actions but stood up and threw a punch straight into my stomach. I felt it everywhere in my body as if his hand went all the way through me and came out on the other side. I fell to the ground, clutching my abdomen. “That should teach you.” He said, turning his back towards me and looking to Jack. “You would think!” I said as I jumped on my father’s back and tried to pull him to the floor, which was a stupid move on my part I must admit, because he was about four times my size. “Colin, stop it!” Jack called, “We don’t want it to happen like this! You’re going to get hurt.” I knew he was worried, and I knew he wouldn’t do anything yet. He would try to make me stop and then we’d run away or something. But that wasn’t how I saw this happening today. I didn’t say anything in response to Jack. I was trying to choke my dad from behind but he backed up into the wall slamming me into it, as this happened, my foot turned and knocked over a vase which shattered on the ground. I let go and he turned instead to choking me, my back still against the wall. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you tonight, but this is going to stop right now!” He yelled in my face as he began lifting me off the floor by just my neck. It was getting harder to breathe as my feet were barely touching the ground. He was strong, to say the least. I struggled to pull my hands up to his hands and tried to pull his away from my neck. Blackness began creeping in from the sides of my eyes as I tried as hard as ever to stay conscious. I could feel the breath in my chest just stop as my airway was clamped shut. The last thing I saw was Jack, standing behind our father with a baseball bat, before I fell to the ground in a world of blackness. Andante Jack:Before today, I never thought I’d dare attack my father. No matter how many times he hit Colin and I in the past, no matter how many martial arts classes I took, dreaming that the person I was sparring against was my father, I knew I didn’t have the guts to hit him back. Until I saw him strangling my twin brother. Colin’s face was beet red, and he couldn’t even gasp, so tight was that bastard’s grasp on his throat. I tried to grab our father and pull him away, terrified that this time he’d kill Colin, but our dad is built like a rock and it was like a mouse trying to drag an elephant. Colin’s eyes were rolling backwards in his head, and I knew that I had to do something fast, or he’d die. That was when I saw the baseball bat lying under the coffee table. I really didn’t even stop to think about what I was about to do. All I knew was my dad was killing my brother, and the bat had the potential to stop him. It wasn’t until I was swinging it toward the back of his head that I truly realized what I was doing. It is surprisingly difficult to knock someone out. I learned that the hard way that day. The wooden bat connected solidly with my father’s head with a loud SMACK, and howling, he let Colin go and reached up to grab his head. Colin sank bonelessly to the ground, and I feared I was too late, that he was already dead. But I didn’t get a chance to check, because before I could lift the bat to hit my father a second time, he rounded on me, and his face was crimson with rage. I tried to hit him with the bat as he came toward me, but he lifted his hands and grabbed it, yanking it roughly from me and throwing it to the ground beside Colin’s limp form. Then he rushed me, grasping me with one arm about the throat and shoving me backwards toward the wall on the opposite side of the living room. Things went differently then for the first time in my life. Having already reached the point where I was willing to fight back, I now simply reacted. My father was an unstoppable force, driving me toward the wall with all the weight of his anger behind him. I couldn’t stop his oncoming energy, but I could use it against him. Grabbing his hand where it grasped my throat, I peeled it away from my skin and pulled it in the direction he was already going. His balance was upset, and he fell to the ground before me, landing hard. Before he had a chance to get back up I was on him, grabbing his wrist and forcing it up between his shoulder blades. He squirmed against me a bit and cursed, but there was little he could do without risking having his shoulder dislocated. He was stronger than me, but it doesn’t matter how strong you are when your joints are being manipulated; your body will do whatever your opponent wants it to do. I wanted my father to stay on the ground, and all I had to do was apply a little pressure to his arm, and his body wouldn’t let him get up. However, now that I had him restrained, I didn’t know what to do about him. Across from me, Colin was already sitting up, grasping his head in his hands, and I knew that he would probably be okay. I couldn’t let my father go, because he would just continue attacking Colin and I, but I didn’t want to have to try to beat him senseless; the idea of hitting him made me feel sick, even then. “Let me go, you little bastard!” he screamed as I stared down at him in indecision. “Or I’ll kill you! I’ll freaking kill you!” Luckily--or rather unluckily--I didn’t have to decide what to do next. For at that moment the phone suddenly rang, and I jumped. It was only a split second, but in that moment my hands slipped a little and my father freed himself from my grasp, turned around, and tried to backhand me as hard as he could. I managed to block it--just barely--but any opportunity I had had to restrain him was now lost. He rose to his feet, far more quickly than such a large and drunk man should have been able to do. I thought then that I was about to die, but he only pointed a threatening finger at me, stomped to his bedroom, and slammed the door. I knelt beside Colin, and asked, “Are you okay?” polkadots Calypso: I was right about the rain stopping, the drops ceased to fall the moment I stepped out of the apartment building. I took it as a good omen. I was going to have a good time tonight. Upon entering The Purple Tavern, I immeadiately looked around for some one I might have seen before; walking a dog, picking up their mail, sneaking into someone's shed...but I was disappointed not recognize anyone there. Many people were dancing on the floor, and I wished I had someone to dance with. Just on cue, a slow song began to play, as if to taunt my single-ness. "I offically hate the DJ," I thought as I grabbed a seat at the bar (no alcohol; it was an underage joint.) Something needed to be done. I ordered a water and then glanced around for unsuspecting game. There was a table of guys sitting parallel to me, and when I caught the eye of one of the cute ones, I flashed a cute smile and looked away quickly. I was a master of the subtle flirting, but I had to depend on the brains of this dude to comprehend it. It was a total invitation. I didn't have to wait long, as the guy came over almost immeadiately. I looked up at him innocently, and waited for him to speak. He casually leaned over me, and ordered five cokes for his table. "Hi, I'm Mark. I don't remember having ever seen you here before, are you new to town?" He was cute, with dark eyes and hair--something that I've always loved. I was humoring him because I needed a dance partner, so I giggled, "Yeah, I just moved here about a month ago. I haven't met anyone yet." I was careful to drop a bet of "won't you help me meet people" into my voice and hoped he caught on. He did. "I'll introduce you to my friends if you agree to dance with me. I'm sure they would love to meet a hot little thing like you," Mark said, smiling at me. I knew right away that he wasn't a shy guy, he had had his share of experiences. That didn't bother me. "I would love to meet your friends," I said quickly and moved to get up. The rest of the guys at his table were pretty dang cute too. A girl in a dark purple dress sat in the chair beside me. I made a mental note to ask her where she got her dress. Mark looked back over at his friends, which was now augmented with the addition of a few girls. The thought made me frown, exspecially when I looked around and saw Mark frowning. One of the new girls, a pretty blond thing with a look on her face that could have frozen the Sahara, was walking this way. I smelled trouble. "What are you doing?" Ms. Thing yelled at Mark when she neared enough to be in yelling range. " I leave the bathroom for one moment, and when I come back you're all over another girl?" "I was just ordering drinks!" Mark said. "I didn't even talk to her!" This was an outright lie, and Ms. Thing knew it. The girl looked at me pointedly, and I decided to be on her side, "Excuse me? Do the words: 'I'm sure they would love to meet a hot little thing like you' ring a bell? Don't lie." Ignoring Mark completely, I turned to the girl apologetically, "I'm sorry, I had no idea he had a girlfriend. I really wouldn't want to get between you two on purpose." Ms. Thing seemed to have an overload. "See! SEE! The even girl you were scamming on told the truth! Do you think it would really be that hard to stop flirting with other girls? I caught you with your 'friend' that time, just like I caught you now!" I narrowed my eyes; a two timer, huh? If that's the case, Ms. Thing could have him. I wanted no part of this drama, but I didn't know how to walk away. So I stood there awkwardly. I hated being awkward. And I hated Mark causing all this drama. Mark looked at me like I was the one with the problem, and I was dangerously close to smacking those cute brown eyes right out of his head. Ms. Thing obviously had the same idea; she reached up and in typical girl style, smacked him across the face and stalked off. I stifled a laugh; it wasn't funny to Ms. Thing. Mark gave me another 'what the hell did I do' look, but I glanced at him frostily and said, " I don't like two-timers." I turned around and sipped on my water, leaving Mark to stand there, go after his girlfriend, or do whatever else he wants. There was plenty of other fish in the sea, and I wasn't going to let this put a damper on my mood. When I turned around again, Mark was gone. I couldn't care less. The girl in the purple dress was still sitting beside me, and she looked amused at all the upset. Purple-dress girl hadn't been joined by anyone yet, so I decided to talk to her. "Can you believe them?" I asked, giggling like I used to with my old girlfriends. The girl smiled uncertainly and I could tell she was shy, but she answered, "That's just Christine and Mark. They break up and get back together about once a week. It's funny. " Uh oh, I hoped she wasn't friends with those two. Realizing that I might have made a mistake, I quickly correct my error. "I'm not making fun of them--I just think that was kind of weird..." "Oh, I don't know them that well, I just met them about three weeks ago when I moved back here." "You just moved here too? I did too!" It was pretty cool to meet someone who was new to the area too. It seemed like everyone had lived here forever. "Yeah, I moved in to my own place behind my parents house until I know what I want to do with my life. I haven't met really anyone yet," the girl said, fidgeting with her long black hair. "I haven't met anyone either. I just moved here from Kentucky. My name is Calypso, but please don't call me that. I was cursed with that name when I was born, but you can call me Caly." The girl smiled, (it better have not been at my name!) and extended her hand. "My name is Mariette." Agent-409 Colin:The next think I knew, Jack was standing beside me. “Colin,” He repeated, “Are you okay?” Maybe he thought I had brain damage or something from the lack of oxygen, but I was fine. All I could do was nod my head ‘yes.’ “Good,” he said, helping me to my feet. I stumbled a little and I thought I would fall again, but Jack reached out to help me stay up.I leaned over, still holding onto my stomach where my dad had punched me, it hurt, and I was sure I would have a nasty bruise in an hour or so. “Are you going to get that?” I asked Jack, talking about the phone that was still ringing. He went over and picked it up. “Hello?” he said in a tone that would never have let anyone on to what had just happened. I stood with my back against the wall, still a little lightheaded. I looked over at Jack and he silently mouthed ‘social worker’ in my direction as he casually kept saying things like ‘yeah’ and ‘uh-huh’ and ‘yup.’ What perfect timing those people have… Ironic really. I wondered if he would say anything about dad, but I doubted he would. It was likely that dad was on the upstairs line, listening to the conversation, making sure we didn’t spill anything to whoever it was. Jack hung up the phone. “And…” I said. Jack shook his head sort of sadly and it was then I knew that they would be no help to us now, “Do you ever think about what it would be like if we never came back to live with him?” I asked quietly. “Not now Colin.” Jack said, seeming a little annoyed. “Then we should go.” I said, knowing we had to get away from here no matter where we went next. Besides, we had promised that girl we’d meet her at 7, and it was already 7:20. “We can’t.” Jack said with an edge on his voice as he motioned with his eyes up the stairs. “We have to Jack. You think he’s done with us? Because he’s not. He won’t just give up like that, chances are he’s planning something now- he’s always planning something.” I said, needing to hear my own words as much as Jack did, “I am leaving, and you’re coming with me.” And it was true- I would make him come, even if he didn’t want to. I would never leave Jack alone here with our father. After a silent creep up the stairs I made it up to my room where I changed into some nicer jeans and a plain blue button down shirt- more suitable clothes for going out. Once back downstairs, Jack and I left through the front door, knowing our dad wouldn’t stop us this time. Jack and I were silent as we walked through the houses and the town to make it to the Purple Tavern. Once there, we saw Andy standing outside, looking left and right, no doubt for us. “Andy!” I called out in a friendly tone as we got closer, knowing it was better to hide the pain now. “Hey there you two are- thought maybe you’d forgotten about me.” Andy said smiling. “No we didn’t forget, we just got a little held up at home,” I replied rather smoothly. “Hey Jack.” She said to my brother, who had not yet spoken… I gotta remember to teach that guy some social skills. “Hey Andy.” Jack said politely. “He’d rather be at home reading history.” I said to Andy and smiled at Jack. She laughed a little and Jack rolled his eyes. “Shall we go in?” I asked. She nodded. “Lighten up Jack,” I said to my brother, “We’ll have fun.” I opened the door for Andy and as Jack passed me I said quieter, “Don’t worry- we don’t have to go home tonight.” **Jo tired & pretty stressed** Andrea: I waved bye to Colin and Jack as I rode back up the road to my house. The day had been great and I knew that tonight would be even better. I rode up the driveway and quickly finished my chores. Mom called saying that dinner was ready and I headed for the kicthen. "So, how was your ride, honey?" my dad asked a little into dinner. "It was great. I met these two brothers and they were nice. Umm, in fact, I was wondering if I could borrow the car tonight cause we're planning on meeting up at this place in town tonight," I answered, hoping they would let me. "We're not even completely unpacked and our daughter's got a date, dear," Dad stated to Mom. I rolled my eyes. "It's not a date. We both just moved here so we wanted to go so we at least know someone. But that's besides the point. Can I go?" "Hmmm...I'm sure if I like you going out with some guys we've never met." "Dad!" "Of course you can go hun. Better hurry and eat up. I know how long it'll take you to get ready for your big date." "Hmph!" I huffed, finishing my casserole and climbing the stairs. King was eagerly awaiting my arrival in my room. "Miss me, boy?" I asked him. King licked me all over my face. "Take that as a yes." "Hmm...what to wear?" I usually don't worry about clothes very much, but tonight was different. I had no idea why, but it was. I settled on my jean skirt, black boots, tighter black shirt, and cowboy hat. It was 6:30 when I was finished, so I headed out the door, waved goodbye to the 'rents, and jumped in our jeep. The Purple Tavern's parking lot was already starting to fill up, but I had no problem finding a parking spot. I sat in the jeep awhile, keeping a look out for Colin and Jack. At 7:30, they finally showed up. I had moved out of my car and was standing by the entrance. "Hey! There you two are. Thought you might have forgotten about me," I said smiling. Apparently, they had been held up at home and I completely understood. Something seemed a little off with the two of them, but Colin was so friendly that I dismissed the thought almost immediately. He even held the door open for me. "Very gentleman-ly," I thought to myself smiling. "Dad would like him." Andante Jack: I was determined to enjoy myself despite the fact that under-18 clubs did not fit into my normal definition of a “good time”. I had to admit, the Purple Tavern wasn’t all that bad. The walls were jet black and the ceiling had a violet glow-in-the-dark mural depicting scenes straight out of Dante’s Inferno. Black and strobe lights barely illuminated the room, while purple neon tubing and fiber-optic lights in the floor glowed dully. A metal spiral staircase led to a grated area of seating above the dance floor. The music wasn‘t really my thing---Industrial may have a darker, rougher sound than Techno, but it’s still computer generated---but it was more my thing than Colin‘s. Luckily for us both, the music changed frequently, and a wide variety of things---some good and some like razors in my brain---played. I really wanted to go up to the catwalk-like area above the dance floor and watch people, but Colin was giving me that, Don‘t you dare be a loner look. So I sighed, and turned to Andy. “Would you like to dance, Andy?” Unfortunately, the words came out of my mouth at the exact same time they came out of Colin‘s. Wow, way to look like the stereotypical set of twins, I thought dryly as Andy looked from Colin to I in confusion. With a apologetic nod my way, she turned to Colin. “I’ll dance with you first, and then your brother, okay?” she said. It was only fair; Colin had asked slightly before me. As they wandered out to the dance floor, I went upstairs and sat down at an empty table. A quick glance around revealed that I didn’t know anyone there other than Colin and Andy. Big surprise, considering we were new to this town. Not being inclined to butt into anyone’s business, I settled down to enjoy the music---Disturbed, one of my favorite bands---and study my combat boots. popcorn_ne1 Mariette: I had to admit, Calypso was a character. She reminded me of my friends in LA, but none of them were quite as vocal as she is. I had barely been at the bar for ten minutes when I witnessed the Caly's prediciment, and I was really trying not to laugh. I had known Christine and Mark from my childhood, and they were prone to sudden bursts of emotion. I wouldn't be suprised if they were "making up" somewhere right about now. Caly ordered another water, and I followed suit. I loved her dress, but I was suprised when she inquired about mine. "I-I made it." I answered. For such a small person, Caly certainly knew how to intimidate a person; staring at you like that. She raised an quizical eyebrow at my response and I thought she was going to call me on that. I hated it when people didn't believe me. However, did she doubt my economic skills, she failed to leton as she said, "Your dress is adorable. Have you ever thought of opening a buisness? I would buy one of your dresses. " I confessed that I had indeed thought of opening my own little clothing shop, but I lacked the resources at the moment. "That's too bad. I would love to go if you ever do decide to open up. I better be the first to know though!" I laughed and sipped my water. Caly and I chatted for about fifteen more minutes, just getting to know each other better. She was from a small town in Kentucky, I was brought up in LA. It was a drastic difference, and she was curious about the big city. I was eager to recollect my experiances in LA to her, but at that moment a boy sat down in a seat not too far behind Calypso. She didn't see him sit down, but I did. I glanced over Caly's shoulder a moment, and I saw that he was not joined by anyone immeadiatly. I didn't want to re-live Calypso's little Mark and Christine affair if I could help it. I thought the boy was cute, but he didn't seem interested in anyone but his boots at the moment. I guess I glanced at the boy a little too long, because Caly said, "What are you looking at?" Then looking over her own shoulder, she answered herself. "Oh, just admiring the scenery, huh? Why don't you go over there and talk to him?" I wouldn't have minded talking to him any other time, but I didn't want Caly to think that I didn't want her as a friend. She was the closest thing to an actual friend that I had aquired in my months here in Hemmingston, and we'd only talked for about a thirty minutes! "It's ok," Calypso said, because I must have shown some sort of reluctance, "You can go over and get your flirt on with that dude over there and I'll go russel up some grub. I think I see food over there." She winked and pointed to an area that was conveniently filled with guys our age waiting in line for their orders. "Maybe someone over there will help me pay for it," she giggled as she slightly bumped me into boot-boy's direction. Calypso stalked off into the food area, drawing several eyes and I'm sure she was subtly smiling at them all. What a character! I walked over to boot-boy and sat down in the empty chair beside him. He didn't look up, so I said loudly, "The music is kind of loud in here, don't you think?" Ok, it was not my best attempt at conversation, but at least I made an effort. The boy looked up sharply and blinked in my direction. He was cute but seemed to be suprised he was spoken to. I hoped he didn't think I was crazy. My talking--to--guy--skills were a little rusty. "Are you talking to me?" He asked, glancing at me. I looked behind him at the unoccupied table, and answered, "No, I'm talking to that cute little chair over there. No, not that one, the chair on your other side." I smiled as I said this, and I hoped he was the kind of guy that took a joke. He look confused still so I held out my hand. "My name is Mariette. What's your's?" He shook my hand and quietly answered were I couldn't hear him because of the loud music. "You're going to have to speak up!" I said into his ear. " I can't hear you because of the song!" "My name is Jack!" He yelled back, "It's nice to meet you!" "Yeah, you too!" I scooted just a bit closer to him just for the sake of hearing him better and said, "Are you new here? Haven't I seen you around here before?" "No, my brother and I just moved here. This is my first time here though. It's not that bad. How about you, have you lived here long?" He asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Calypso flirting with the cashier at the food area. She was working her charm. "I just moved here too! I moved here from--" Before I could finish my sentence, a boy and a girl ran up. I mean literally ran up. I was a little upset about being cut off, but then I saw the looks on the couple's faces.The boy looked very similar to Jack and the girl had on a cowboy hat and a short jean skirt. I hoped she wasn't with Jack. Both teens wore an expression of worry and anger mixed in with a little fear that I failed to comprehend. I was usually good at reading people, and this suddeness suprised me. Before I could ponder about the girl's relationship to Jack or the other guy, the girl blurted out, "Jack, we've got a serious problem!" Agent-409 Colin: “He’s here!” I said loudly so Jack would know I was serious. “What??” Jack asked in the same loud manner, more surprised at what I had said than missing my words. “We gotta go!” I said, glancing back at the door. Our father had come here. I was surprised. The second I saw him, I knew we had to bolt out of there. I told Andrea I was really sorry and she could either stay at the Purple Tavern or trust me and come along. There wasn’t time to explain, but she had trusted me. We ran up to where Jack was seated, I was happy to notice he was chatting with a girl, and I felt awful for interrupting him. A slow song came on and it was a little quieter than the one before. I pulled Jack to his feet. I couldn’t help but notice the expression of shock and probably confusion on the face of the girl seated next to him. “Jack, we need to leave. Andy has a car, we can drive somewhere.” I said, knowing we just had to get out of there or there was going to be trouble. I knew Andy was confused and I felt bad for leaving her in the dark, but there wasn’t time now. I also knew the girl next to Jack could hear everything we were saying, but I really didn’t care. “Okay, okay.” Jack said, turning with a look of apology to the girl. “We can’t go to my house Colin,” Andy said to me, I turned to look at her, “My dad would freak if I brought you two home with no warning.” “I understand.” I said, “Hey… we’ll think of something, we just need to leave.” “You in some trouble?” The girl next to Jack finally spoke, standing up. I looked at Jack, I knew nothing about this girl, and I hoped he knew something, “You all can come back to my place- go now, ask later- I swear.” She said turning form one of us to the other. I looked at Jack and gave him a look like, ‘can we trust this girl?’ He just shrugged and sort of nodded. That was good enough for me. I glanced back down to the door where the bouncer was letting our dad in. I nodded at Jack. “Thanks.” I said to the girl, “I’m Colin by the way.” I said shaking her hand, “And this is Andy… Sorry for the sudden introductions.” She nodded politely and introduced herself as Mariette. We snuck out one of the back exits into the parking lot. We all piled into Andy’s jeep and took off. There was silence for awhile before Andy said, “So who wants to tell me what’s going on?” I looked at Jack sitting in the backseat and took a breath. “It’s nothing you guys should be worried about,” I started off, lying. Of course they should’ve been worried, earlier tonight we had practically been beaten half to death, or at least I had been- but that information would not be shared. “Our dad’s a little… protective,” I continued, “He was there just now, but… Me and Jack, we can’t go home right now. It’s been a long day and… we can’t stay there tonight. It’s just tough you know? Being in a new place and all.” “Then don’t you think you should be with your family?” Mariette answered back with a question of her own. “What? You and your parents never fight?” I asked in a tone that suggested I just meant with words and disagreements. Mariette was quiet, I must’ve struck a nerve. I hoped they believed me. I was a pretty good liar when I had to be, but hated to do it. We couldn’t tell them the truth though; it would just turn out bad now. Jack and I had just gotten here and we surely didn’t want to be shipped off to another new place. For now, we’d wait it out to see what happened. Mariette kept giving Andy directions, and I felt bad for pulling them both into this whole thing, even if they didn’t know what it was all about. When we finally arrived at our destination, I was surprised to realize it was the same house whose garden Jack and I had slipped into this morning. “Jack,” I said, about to point out the house. “Yeah.” He answered, as if reading my thoughts. We all got out of the jeep and walked up to the door of the small studio-like house. Mariette walked in through the door first, flicking on a few lights, flowed by Andy and then by Jack and I. As we came in a giant dog came running up, barking. “No, no, it’s okay Marlow.” The girl said to the large canine, patting it on the head. I backed up a little against the now shut door as the dog came up to sniff me. “Woah boy…” I said, a little unsure of the giant creature. We had never had any pets let alone massive dogs. “Actually… she’s a girl, and she won’t hurt you.” Mariette said with a smile, probably enjoying my uneasiness. “Don’t you live with your parents?” Jack asked. “They live across the way- there.” She said, pointing across the garden to a house larger than this one with the lights on. Jack nodded. I knew that made him feel better. I knew the last thing Jack wanted was for some dad to come in and start yelling for brining in strange boys. I knew it because that was the last thing I wanted too. We didn’t really trust a lot of adults- not me at least. “Can we stay here?” I asked, as I looked at some of the trinkets placed on the shelves, “Sorry, that came out wrong.” I said as I sat down on the couch next to Andy and Jack. Mariette came in from the kitchen with some glasses of water. “Look, I just met you.” She said. I nodded, knowing she would never let us stay here even if it was only one night. “I understand.” I said. “But…” She went on, “Even though I’m not exactly sure why you need a place or who you all are exactly… this is Hemmingston after all, and I can track you down if anything goes missing.” I didn’t know what to say to that. I was so thankful we had a place to stay that no words could come to me. I just sat back, feeling a little more relaxed now. “Oh my gosh!” Andy said, “is it that late already?” I glanced at the clock and saw that it read 11:45, “I better get home or my parents will start to worry.” “I’ll walk you out.” I said as she got up. “I’m so sorry,” I told her when we were standing on the front porch alone, “I never meant for this to happen.” “It’s okay,” She said, “if crazy things never happened, life would be boring right?” I smiled. “You’re so lucky you know?” I blurted out, not really censoring thoughts to speech. “How so?” She asked. “You have parents that care about you,” I said, “I mean… they worry about you and stuff.” “Well don’t yours?” she asked. “Our dad’s kind of…” I started off, “Well...no… not really.” I said answering the question. “Hey, I know you’re a good guy Colin,” she said, “And if it’s something personal, if that’s what’s up tonight… I don’t care okay? I won’t ask and you don’t have to tell me, but I’m here if you ever want to talk. Here,” she said scribbling down a number on a piece of paper, “This is my cell, you can always reach me there.” “Thanks.” I said placing the number carefuly in my pocket and smiling at her again. “I really should be going now though, it was fun tonight- well… you know.” She said. “Yeah.” I answered. She turned to leave and I almost felt as if I should’ve hugged her or something but… the moment passed and I regretted not doing anything. “Good night!” I called, and she waved, but I felt stupid. I turned and walked back into the house. Once I sat back down, Mariette looked us both over. “So… you two are brothers then?” She asked us, not really sure of what to say to the strangers now seated before her. Andante Jack:“Yeah,” Colin answered, as I stared morosely at the floor. “Twins, actually. Although I‘m older… by almost an hour.” There was a brief, awkward silence as everyone tried to think of something to say. Finally, the girl---Mariette---said, “Oh, well, that’s cool.” Again, silence descended upon us. Mariette tapped a rhythm out on her knees with her fingertips. Colin cleared his throat. I, as was my habit, stared at my boots. The tips were a little worn; I’d have to get them polished again sometime soon. “So…” Mariette said at last, and I could tell from her tone and expression that she wasn’t sure how her next question would be received. “What exactly was up with your dad over there? Why couldn’t you guys go home?” Colin’s glance my way was fast, but for a moment there that look had promised death should I reveal too much. He didn’t need to look at me like that; family business was family business. “Well,” I said slowly, “like Colin said earlier, our Dad‘s pretty protective. He didn’t want us going to the Purple Tavern tonight, but we sort of decided to go anyway. We seriously didn’t think he’d be so obsessed as to come after us. If we go home now, there‘s going to be a huge fight. I don‘t feel like being…” I paused, then amended what I was going to say, “yelled at right now. So, thanks for lending us your place.” Mariette nodded, apparently satisfied. “No problem,” she said. “I wouldn‘t want to go home either. Especially if arguments with my father resulted in…” she looked significantly at Colin, “bruises like the ones around your brother‘s neck.” I’ve never seen Colin’s face get so pale. “My father didn‘t,” he started to say, but Mariette held up a hand and cut him off. “Don‘t worry, Colin, I won‘t tell anyone. But know that you have a friend you can talk to, if you need one. And if you ever do want me to, I‘ll tell whoever needs telling…” Her eyes were narrowed into two fierce slits. “Ah… thanks,” Colin said, in a tone that suggested both relief and dismay. polkadots Calypso: After a few dances with the boys I met in the food line who had convienantly thick wallets, I was a bit partied out. I scored a few numbers (hey, I'm a player!) then left my admirers to find my companion Mariette. I was gone longer than I had expected to get food, and in the end, I had forgotten to even buy any. Upon returning to my spot, I found that it was full of couples, "getting to know" each other. I was afraid if I tapped one of the couples, who were sharing the same chair, that I might get my hand bit off, so I stood my distance and yelled, "HEY," until they noticed. One couple, seeming a little upset that they were interupted, looked up and the girl answered testily, "Don't you know, it's rude to stare." What are the odds that I would meet Ms. Thing #1 with Mark and her long lost twin Ms. Thing #2 all in the same night? The world is indeed closing in. Rolling my eyes, I smiled, "Believe me, if I ever chose to be rude by staring, I most definently would not waste that pleasure on you and your pet octupus." Hey, her boytoy did look like the seaborn creature, sucking her face like that, so why not let them know the image they were portraying? Ms. Thing #2 got up from her seat, and acting like she was going to do something, snarled, "Can I help you with anything, or do you just want to watch everyone get what you can't?" "Again, I don't sneeze out PDA's left and right to prove someone can find me attractive. All I want to know is if you saw a girl in a long purple dress leave with a boy." "Yea, I did." A boy in another chair who had emerged from the depths of his pastime to answer her question. "They left a while ago, and didn't even pay for their drinks." "Thank you very much," I said flashing a smile at the guy, who didn't seem to know how to react with his girlfriend perched on his lap and all. I was ready to go home anyway, and I guess I will meet up with Mariette and her friend some other time. "Now guys, as you were," I laughed as I grabbed my stuff and left. Though I couldn't see Ms. Thing #2, I'm sure it didn't take her long to obey my orders. © Copyright 2006 polkadots, popcorn_ne1, Agent-409, **Jo tired & pretty stressed**, Andante, (known as GROUP). All rights reserved. GROUP has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work. |
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