Bad News
By ColdDaye
?Hey, where were you yesterday?? Trey asked. He sounded concerned and she searched his face for any sign that Perfect Tommy had broken his word. None.
She exhaled, ?Out. Needed to clear my head, you know??
?Yeah, something?s up, isn?t it?? he turned to face the Cavalier table and added, darkly, ?Gonna be a hell of a surprise when it hits.?
?What do you mean??
?They?re all mum on this. So I figure whatever it is, it?s got the heroes panicked, we?re fucked, right??
?No. They just don?t want to worry us. What good will it do if we panic? If everyone freaks out, all that hysteria. It?ll just be wasted energy that could be well spent elsewhere.?
?Elsewhere, huh?? He shook his head slowly, ?Man, I don?t get you.?
Norah shrugged. (then that?s your problem)
They were soon joined by Neal and then Samantha and ate quietly while the tension rose. Norah noticed people got more tense the more others entered and spoke in hushed tones, like they were watching each other to slip up somehow. ?So, hey, how?s classes and stuff?? she asked, a touch louder then she needed.
Neal shrugged. ?Okay. I got more random pictures and nothing to do with them. Want ?em??
?Sure,? she said. Samantha sat up slightly and Norah winced internally. ?Um,? she started, but to say something now would probably embarrass her and if Neal couldn?t figure out what was going on, it wasn?t her place to get in the middle of it. So she stopped.
?Well, mine still sucks,? Trey said. ?This guy is like artistically stupid. He doesn?t even act like he wants to be there.?
?So it just feels like a waste of time??
?Yeah.?
?I don?t think any of them want to be doing this,? Neal said.
?Why do you say that?? Samantha asked.
?Because?this is all haphazard. It could?ve been better planned, you know??
She nodded, wide eyed staring at her yogurt, looking for all the world like a?Norah didn?t know what, but it wasn?t flattering. She wanted to reach out and say something, but there was that embarrassment factor again. She sighed irritatedly.
?So, Trey, you tried talking to your guy yet?? She asked instead.
?Huh?? he looked up.
?You know, once you get to college you go to office hours and talk to your professor and that clears things up. It would give you a greater understanding of who you?re dealing with,? she said.
?Yeah, you know, unless the guy hates you. In which case you?re screwed and now he can pick you out of a crowd,? Neal added despondently.
She gave Neal a Look while Samantha giggled. ?Yeah, but I?m sure that isn?t the case here,? she turned back to Trey, ?Just talk to him, see what?s up. Why did he choose watercolor painting if it isn?t his strength??
?Or something he?s never done before in his entire life,? Trey muttered.
?So you gonna go?? she asked, ignoring his remark.
He sighed, ?Yeah, I guess. Okay.? He nodded. She smiled. Check in the box, one problem solved.
And then again, one more to be solved, she thought as she pushed open the door to the lab. She mentally braced herself. Theo was digging in the freezer, pressing some samples tentatively and putting them back. She cleared her throat politely.
He stood and turned around. ?Hey.?
?Hi.?
?We, ah, gotta talk,? he wiped his hands on his pants. ?I?m?sorry about your sister.?
She shrugged. It was a while ago. And yeah, it still hurt, but it was her hurt and he had no place to sympathize. She mentally checked another strike against him.
?So?Perfect Tommy explain everything??
?Says you?re a gun company heir. Like that?s supposed to account for your rather appalling behavior the other day,? she said. Ouch! She sounded like some bitch in a movie. Where?s this coming from?
?It?he told you about the kidnapping??
?Says you covered him when he got shot.?
?So that ? wait a second. Did he say why people were shooting in the first place??
She started to relax, by degrees (anyway, takes to much energy to be so tight) ?Not really.?
Theo pulled out a stool and swung one leg over. He looked down at his hands, not at her while he spoke, ?It was me. I was kidnapped by some people, some nasty people that decided if gun control is not the answer, then making the companies? to stop producing is. So they started with me, they kidnapped me, and held me for a while in a not so great place, and did some?bad things while they waited for my father to capitulate to their demands. He refused. Not that, you know, he didn?t love me that much, just that you can?t give in to people like that or they?ll walk all over you. So Banzai and everyone came to my rescue.
?It was just?when I saw your paper and knew you felt that way, I just thought that you were like them ? not that you are! It?s just that it brought back some bad memories. I guess, I just jumped to a stupid conclusion. I?m sorry.?
She looked at him for a long moment before saying, ?I?m sorry you made such a gross error in judgement.?
?What?!? he hopped off the stool.
She shook her head angrily, ?This - isn?t going to work.? She wanted to say something else, but she didn?t. She turned and walked out and made it halfway down the hall before she started crying, not sad tears, but angry tears. (this sucks)
Interlude: Trey and the Office Hours
Trey had asked around, and asked around some more as he had never seen Mr. Slow Motion outside of class. He wondered, briefly, if it shouldn?t be Mr. Motion. Then he wondered about saying ?Mr.? in the first place. Mentally, he shrugged.
The last person he talked to had told him to check the sky near the greenhouses, and then laughed with the guy next to him like they were having one up on ol? Trey. But he was used to crap like that. With six older brothers, you have to be.
He looked up but didn?t see any airplanes ? but wait. What was in abundance near the greenhouses? Trees. Trey got a dark foreboding feeling, like the time Cece had told him that Mr. Wiggles didn?t like soap. And then he?d been grounded for killing the stupid fish. Stupid Mr. Wiggles. Stupid trees. Stupid Junior Intern program. Stupid ?
He paused, then took a big step backwards. In the tree above perched a rather peaceful Slow Motion.
Trey considered this for a moment. There?s a guy in the tree, and he?s meditating.
Then he shrugged. Could be worse places to do it, he supposed.
?Excuse me,? he said, ?Slow Motion? Sir??
The man?s brow wrinkled slightly, then he sighed and opened his eyes, ?What??
?I was wondering, what are your office hours??
The man looked at him for a long moment. ?Excuse me??
?Your office hours. So I can talk to you in regards to the class and my perception of the teacher student relation in general.?
Slow Motion blinked. ?Ah?I don?t think I have any.?
?So when may we speak regarding ? ?
?Up here.?
?Huh??
Slow Motion grinned. ?That?s more like it. Join me up here. I ? was ? meditating. You should give it a try.?
Trey looked up at the tree then he reached up and swung himself onto a low branch and climbed up until he could perch next to the man.
?So what did you want to talk about? And don?t give the crap about teacher student whatever,? he said, holding up a hand before Trey could launch into a long worded speech.
Trey looked down at his shoes. ?Why are you teaching watercolors??
?What do you mean??
Trey shrugged, ?Your heart ain?t in it, man, anyone can see that. So why is it you? Why is watercolor painting offered in the first place??
?Well?You?re right. I was hoping for drama, that?s a bit more up my ally. But most of the acting troupe is all out doing a desert survival camp for the next couple of months, among other things. The why watercolor at all? Because everyone needs balance in their lives. You guys don?t have the freedom to leave the Institute grounds like we do, so we had to balance the science and work with free time with a structured kind of fun. So someone got the bright idea to do art classes and I got signed up through a random placement. I guess I didn?t sign up fast enough so whatever was left was mine, Big Norse?s, and some others.?
Trey considered this. Then he asked, ?Why can?t we leave the grounds??
?Too dangerous.?
?Gee, thanks for the rote answer.?
Slow Motion looked at him. ?Now, meditate with me,? he said.
?Huh??
?Just take deep breaths, clear your mind. Enjoy the life around you,? his voice trailed off and his eyes closed again. Trey looked at him in an I-can?t-believe-this, then settled back with a sigh and closed his eyes.
A minute later he squirmed. Two minutes went by. He fidgeted again. There was some stupid knobby bit sticking into his spine right there and he swore he could hear mosquitoes nearby, just because his ears didn?t like the silence. He finally opened his eyes and sat forward slightly. The movement shook his sandal partially off his foot so he amused himself with bouncing it lightly. Bounce, bounce, bounce.
Almost slip off, slide it back with his toe, then bounce, bounce, bounce.
Bounce.
Slide it back.
Bounce.
Slide it ? the wayward sandal slipped off and he heard it clock something soft before thwapping onto the ground. He bent forward to peer between the branches.
Dr. Banzai held the sandal a moment before looking up at him. He held up the sandal and raised an eyebrow. Trey grinned sheepishly and reached down for it. Banzai gave it up and then pointed up next to him. ?Slow Motion?? he mouthed.
Trey nodded. Banzai nodded back, then turned back to his path. Shaking his head he continued toward the main building.
Trey looked to the greenhouse closest to him. He could see people doing some sort of botany class, probably, moving around in fuzzy shapes inside. He heard a door close; Banzai was now inside. He leaned down on the branches so he was on his stomach and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out.
Again.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe ?
(cont.)
She turned corners until she realized she had never been in this part of the Institute before. She rubbed her sleeve over her face angrily and turned to look behind her. She turned in a full circle and realized she didn?t know which of the halls she had just come from. She squeezed her hands into fists, clenched her teeth together and then yelled, ?FUCK!?
There.
She let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Something touched her shoulder and she jumped.
?Whoa,? Billy stepped back and held out his hands in a pacifying gesture.
?Sorry,? she whispered.
?Are you okay?? he asked.
She started to nod, then changed her mind and shook her head. Then she said, ?You?re still here??
?Yeah. Like you said, I get another chance. Uh, can?t touch a computer for a long while, but they aren?t kicking me out,? he looked closely at her face, the tear tracks, the redness, ?Do you want to talk about it??
She shrugged. ?Everything is sucking right now.?
He nodded thoughtfully. ?Tell me about it. We got strike teams disappearing from places they shouldn?t have gone in the first place, dead death dwarves showing up all over the place, s?like Xan?s gone crazy?crazier, or something.?
?You know all this??
?Yeah, why shouldn?t I??
?They just won?t tell us anything. I?ve promised Perfect Tommy I?ll tell all my ?little friends? that everything?s a-okay. And Reno practically fell asleep on his feet in class.?
?I?m not surprised. Everyone?s pulling extra duty?So, um, why were you upset??
?Just stuff?My boss is an ass, and there?s nothing I can do about it. I?ll stick it out for the summer, but that?s all their getting from me. Then that?s it, kaput, I?m calling it a day.?
?A day? And that?s all who?s getting??
?Humanity in general. My highest aspiration is to become a hermit,? Norah told him seriously.
He grinned at her, ?Don?t do that!?
?Why not?? she asked, ?S?not like I?ve got anything going for me. My whole cheering section?s dead, I don?t get my so-called new friends, and everyone?s tighter than duck?s butt here about something that will greatly affect my safety. These are marks against reasons why I should continue to exist as a part of humanity. Asswipes, all of them,? she muttered.
Billy laughed, ?Who was your cheering section??
?My sister.?
He sobered quickly at that, ?Shit. I?m sorry.?
?That?s okay,? she said reflexively. (no it isn?t)
?So I guess that?s why you and Theobromos don?t get along, huh??
?I thought that whole gun thing or whatever was a secret.?
Billy blushed and looked chagrined, ?It was in his record.?
?Oh.?
They stood in silence for a minute or two.
?Do you know how I get back to my room?? Norah asked suddenly.
?Yeah, it?s that way,? he pointed to the leftmost hall.
?Oh. I just, you know, got a little turned around.?
?Ah. That happens.?
?Yeah.?
?So?I should let you go.?
?Okay.? She watched him turn and go down the middle hall, until he turned the corner and she couldn?t see him anymore. She nodded to herself, then went back down the left hall to her room.
?Guys,? she announced, ?We have got a situation here.? She dropped her tray with a clack to get their attention. Samantha stopped talking and looked up at her expectantly. Neal stopped glaring at Trey and they both glanced toward her.
She sat down and leaned in, they followed suit. ?Strike teams have been disappearing from, and I quote, ?places they shouldn?t have been in the first place?, and death dwarves have showed up dead in a few random spots. We?ve got a situation folks.?
?So?? Trey asked. ?Let the Cavaliers deal with this. They?ll probably clear it up by Tuesday.?
?Yeah,? Neal agreed, ?That is what they do.?
Samantha nodded, then she gasped dramatically and her chest heaved. That got Neal?s attention. ?Wait, why are they so tired? Like, if they do this all the time, why is this one such a hassle? It has to be different this time. We ought to be worried.?
?We are,? Trey muttered.
?What?? Neal demanded.
?Look around, man,? Trey took stock of the room and the others followed him. Everyone was leaning in close, as if afraid to let a stray snatch of conversation out of bounds, shooting furtive glances to one side and the other before speaking.
?So what do we do?? Neal asked. ?We can?t play hero, we?re kids. Besides,? he wrinkled his nose, ?That?s totally clich�.?
?Yeah,? Samantha nodded. They all looked at Norah.
She shrugged. ?I don?t know, really. I think?no, I don?t know. Report suspicious activity? Something like that??
?We don?t know what suspicious is,? Trey pointed out.
She nodded. ?Yeah. We could talk to people,? her voice trailed off.
?Talk? To who??
She thought for a moment, ?Interns, residents?pick their brains about what usually happens here, in this kind of situation. I dunno, like, bring up the comics? Something? Look for a pattern, I guess.?
?What do you mean, pattern?? Neal asked.
?Well, they?ve been enemies of Hanoi Xan since forever, really, so he?s got to have pattern. Stands to reason.?
?Yeah?the biggest badass on the planet conforms to statistics?? Trey said skeptically.
?It could happen.?
?No, wait, that?s a good idea! It would be like a fresh pair of eyes, like on TV!? Samantha sat up, smiling proudly.
??right. We can collect the information, then?pool our answers, decide where to go from there.?
?Will this actually matter? In the long run?? Neal asked Norah quietly.
?I don?t know. But if we don?t do something, we?ll all go crazy.?
He nodded. ?Yeah. I gotcha.?
That night she tossed and turned for a while, listening to the murmur in the hall, and at one point, someone?s loud laughter that was quickly hushed. She turned onto her right side and felt something crumple underneath her side. Fishing around she came up with the pamphlet.
Ah. The stupid pamphlet. She looked at it in the darkness, not making out anything besides ink on paper, before tossing it over the side.
She had more important things to worry about now.
