WARNING: This story contains graphic depictions of violence and other mature or controversial themes/topics that not all audiences will find suitable. Please continue reading at your own risk.
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfadacCh7GK
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd91VBgcWEI
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwe4sIeAi9e
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8nbars1zln
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW23ZgAAypG
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRtWsj3PCX
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq66ONkgbU
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97ScVaBcau
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVpaXt1E8P
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJX6AqP2bT
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
Something
***
In the previous chapter of Something... after having his heart broken again, Ikjot was found by yet another woman—this time, one who hopped into his arms right off the bat! But she was also forceful; forceful enough to make him help her steal a time machine! And when its inventor was arrested, doing such a job became an easy task. And Ikjot ate a pebble that made him 100% extrovert! He would need it, after all, in the event that two agents would catch him and Herbertia in the act of trying to steal the time machine! Luckily though, Ikjot and Herbertia escaped the agents and arrived to the year 2005—the year that Ikjot would need to be in if he wished to correct a past mistake he made. What happens next? What awaits Ikjot's future now that he may alter the past? Find out in today's chapter... of Something!
***
Something16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUbxK6OvZS
316Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq8rA8ZBP2L
Ikjot Meets Herbertia's Friends
***
Herbertia and I walked the streets of 2005 Righteous Korrigan, contemplating our next move.
"So, what do we do now?" Herbertia asked me.
I told her, "I was thinking we could head on over to my old middle school, Our Lord's Appearance Catholic Church and School. It's where I have to go to correct some mistakes I made in this year."
"Hey, I just thought of something!" said Herbertia. "If we're in 2005, doesn't that mean we'll encounter our past selves?"
"Oh, dear!" I said. "You're right! I must find my past self and make sure he doesn't ruin things for me! I'll have to teach him my new ways and train him to be social. It's the only way things can go right this time."
"Just curious, Ikjot..." puzzled?Herbertia, "what exactly are these things you speak of?"
"You won't have to worry about your past selves; not in this time," interrupted a feminine voice from behind us.
We turned our heads as I questioned, "Who are—?" before noticing it was a young golden cat with a golden nose. She wore a long, light-burgundy dress that even covered her feet. Her blonde hair, with sharp bangs above her bored eyes, was down past her shoulders. She looked a bit shorter than us.
"Possibly a stalker, I'm sure," slyly remarked Herbertia to my question about who this girl was.
"Herbertia, be nice," I said.
"Oh, don't mind her," said the girl.
"Don't mind me?" replied an offended Herbertia. "How's about we don't mind you, princess?"
"You certainly don't seem to dress according to modern attire," I said in regards to the young girl's dress. Normally, I wouldn't have been so bold as to say something like that to anyone. But thanks to the pebble, I was pretty bold now. So... watch out.
"It is not my fault for how I look in your modern society, Ikjot," replied the girl.
"Wow; how do you know my name?" I asked her, surprised.
"Told you she was a stalker," Herbertia whispered to my ear.
"I'm not a stalker!" said the girl, a bit irritated before regaining her calm composure. "I'm an Effect."
"What now...?" asked Herbertia and I.
"Let me explain...." said the girl. "You see, an Effect is a being that comes into existence from something happening—such as a car wreck, the creation of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...." She hinted to us, "The usage of what may be the very first time machine ever created...?"
Herbertia and I shyly looked away, knowing the girl was referring to us.
"I just so happen to be an Effect myself, born from your actions," the girl continued. "And all of the things used to give rise to an Effect are the very things the Effect will have all knowledge of. In other words, I know everything there is to know about you two and the time machine."
"What about the shack the time machine was in and the doctor who created it?" I asked.
"That I don't know. You see, those elements weren't involved in my birth. It was you and Herbertia who used the time machine, and the time machine itself, that brought me into existence. So it's only logical that you're the only three things I'll have all knowledge of."
"What about our thoughts...?" Herbertia questioned with a sly smile.
"Maybe..." the girl replied, smiling slyly back at her.
"Ummmmm," I said to the girl, "this may be a dumb question, but do you have a name?"
"Yes," she replied. "1098."
"Your name is a number?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "All Effects are named after the number of Effect they are. For example, the first Effect in existence would be named 'One.' The second, 'Two.' And so on."
"Oh, I see. Interesting...."
"More like boring," said Herbertia. "I hate math!"
"Are you dumb?" puzzled 1098 to Herbertia.
Herbertia paused... and said, "What's that supposed to mean, you dress-wearing—"
"So, 1098," I said to the Effect, hoping I could quash yet another fight between someone and Herbertia, "you say it wouldn't be possible to encounter my past self in this time. How is that so?"
1098 responded, "Well, Dr. Blitz's machine worked like this: For whatever year the machine was transporting you to, your very being would adapt to the way you were at that time. In addition, however, you would replace yourself in that period of time... yet retain your knowledge from whatever year you hailed from."
"What's that even supposed to mean?" said Herbertia, scratching her head.
"Herbertia, try not to be stupid, please?" replied 1098.
Herbertia grew an unamused expression and said, "What's that supposed to mean, you horrified FREAK of nature—?!"
"Ladies, ladies!" I interrupted, trying to keep the peace. "Please, let us remember our mission."
"You mean your mission, right?" Herbertia asked me.
I looked down and said, "Well, yes... mine. But it can be yours too! I mean just think of all the stuff you'd like to fix in 2005!"
"There's nothing I need to fix though, Ikjot," Herbertia said, looking down slightly to her left with folded arms.
"Nonsense," 1098 told her with a sly smile. "Surely you'd like to fix your personality?"
"You know what, smarty-pants?" Herbertia responded to 1098, looking at her in annoyance. "I've had all I can take from you—"
"Why?" 1098 interrupted with a bored frown. "Because you're too dumb to understand anymore?"
"No. I'm just too smart to comprehend your stupidity, you dress-wearing, Southern belle-looking—"
"Southern belle-looking?! That's the best you can come up with?!"
"Um, girls?" I interrupted. "I'd love for this little chat between us to continue, but—"
"Oh, stay out of it, Ikjot!" said Herbertia. "This is between me and the stupid Effect!"
"Don't be mean to him just because you can't understand what he says," teased 1098.
"Oh, so suddenly I'm dumb as a post?!" said Herbertia.
"Well, you said it; not me!" said 1098, getting up in Herbertia's face.
"Oh, yeaaaaaaaah?" groaned Herbertia, pushing her face against 1098's.
"Girls, can we go now?" I asked, annoyed.
"Okay!" they said with smiles, much to my unamusement.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the distance, we were being watched by those agents... again.
"Looks like the boy's made another new friend," said the first agent.
"No kidding," said the second agent, "and they're both girls."
"I find it hard to believe someone ugly as him could get two chicks by his side," said the first agent, unchanging in her calm expression. "Looks like we'll have our work cut out for us if we ever wish to get him alone now."
"We won't," said the second agent, smirking. "Two girls, three girls; I don't care how many he has around. He'll be alone at some point and when he is... we strike."
The first agent nodded and said, "Affirmative."
***
Back in outer space and on the planet Ifnuar, Trerchry remained sitting by Acplait's deathbed. For that planet... it was still the same 2025 year and time period. Perhaps Dr. Blitz's machine only affected the time flow of whatever planet it was used on.
Trerchry kept her head down, saying, "I am sorry... you had to die alone, Acplait. I suppose those fools who chose not to forgive you... didn't mind this outcome." Then Trerchry smiled. "No matter.... I'm going to make all of them pay." Then Trerchry looked down at one of her hands and said with a curious scowl, "And yet... I shouldn't still be here. With me still being bound to your mind and... you... sadly being dead... I should have died with you. I have reality-bending powers, yes, but I was only ever able to affect your thoughts with that ability." Trerchry looked around Acplait's room, curiously. "I'm not able to... affect the real world too." Then Trerchry looked down at my bedsheets... and tried moving them... but her hand just faded through. She said, "Yes, just as I thought." And she looked to Acplait's face, getting close enough to kiss his lips... but that faded through him too. She gasped sadly and said, "My dear hubby... I know you could never actually feel me. But I know you didn't mind that either. Merely having my imagined company... was enough for you." Then she pulled back a bit, releasing the kiss and said, "Don't worry, sweetie.... I'm not sure why I'm still around while you aren't, but I will get to the bottom of this." And with that, Trerchry stood up and walked around Acplait's bed... to the window beside him. She moved the window latch toward herself—wait, no. She saw her hand fade through that too and said with narrowed, angered eyes, "Right.... Not real. Grrrrrrrr!" Then she looked around my room and said again, "So how do I propose getting through that portal then... if I'm not even real to use it, once it appears?" Then she looked the way of the room's window. "Perhaps I am still around... because I'm linked to your doppelgänger, Acplait... who is still alive."
***
By noon that day, Herbertia, 1098 and I were approaching our destination: Our Lord's Appearance Catholic Church and School! I couldn't believe how close I already was to fixing the problems of my past. It was most invigorating....
"I think I see it in the distance," said Herbertia, narrowing her eyes.
"Hey, you're right!" I replied, seeing that small office building attached to the bigger church behind it. "That is it! Our Lord's Appearance Catholic Church and School, here we come!"
Herbertia scoffed and said, "Please.... I don't wanna go to school."
"You don't?" I asked. "Why not?"
"Because it's BORING!" she whined.
"Wow!" 1098 remarked to Herbertia. "You think school is BORING?! Did you even go to school?!"
"Nah!" said Herbertia. "I just hung around the streets all my life...."
That "streets" term she used sparked a memory in me of Walter—a woman I'd never forget my anger for! She was going to PAY for robbing me of my goods, one way or another! I wondered if we'd encounter each other in this time.... I wondered if I'd encounter Maricela. I wondered if I'd encounter any of those backstabbers who wronged me before! But right now, the only thing on my mind was pure joy! I couldn't wait to see how things would turn out between Xandra and I... now that I was a whole new extroverted person! This was going to be great!
"Well, here we are, girls!" I told them as we made it to the front of the school's office.
"Nice door..." Herbertia said while being in awe of the door, thinking that was what we came to see.
"Come on..." I said, unamused by Herbertia and opened the door, then walked inside with her and 1098.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zzvXlmj9C
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"Ah, hello there!" greeted a lady cat of striped fur with glasses and a good lot of wrinkles, visible lip gloss and gray streaks throughout her light-orange hair. I remembered that this was Ms. Pasternak, the school's secretary who usually helped students with the enrollment process. But I wouldn't reveal that I already knew about her from my original past; that would have just been creepy of me. She wouldn't have believed I traveled through time anyway; none of these people outside of Herbertia and 1098 would have.
"Hello!" Herbertia greeted the secretary back with a smile.
"Um, hello!" I also greeted the secretary. "We're here to inquire about registration."
"Registration?" asked a female staff member, a rather round koala standing behind the secretary. She would have seemed shorter in height if Ms. Pasternak stood up. Her hair was short and blonde, and she looked just a teensy younger than Ms. Pasternak but I could still see the wrinkles in her somewhat shined, pinkish face. This was Mrs. Hingle. "Sure! We can give you three a tour, if you'd like."
"Girl, we ain't got no time for a tour," Herbertia rudely told the staff member. "Just register us—!"
I elbowed her arm, just in time to stop her from getting us kicked out.
"Ow!" Herbertia complained, rubbing her elbow—much to making 1098 laugh. "Shut up!" Herbertia told her.
I quickly went to Mrs. Hingle and whispered, "Um... you'll have to excuse my friend here. She has some sort of disorder that causes her to be rude to adults."
"Oh, I see!" she replied, then shook my hand. "I'm Mrs. Hingle." She referred to the front desk secretary. "And this is Ms. Pasternak."
"Nice to meet you!" said Ms. Pasternak while shaking my hand.
"Nice to meet you too, Ms. Pasternak!" I said while shaking hers, pretending to have not known anyone's names.
"Isn't he going to introduce us?" Herbertia whispered about me to 1098.
"And you are...?" Mrs. Hingle asked Herbertia.
"Hah! In your face!" Herbertia teased 1098, then boldly walked towards Mrs. Hingle. "She wants to meet me first." Herbertia made it to Mrs. Hingle and shook her hand. "Hello! I'm Herbertia!" Herbertia pulled out her shiny weapon. "And I have a knife that makes you do whatever I say!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Mrs. Hingle while I quickly slapped the knife from Herbertia's hand.
"Ikjot, how dare you hurt my poor knife?!" Herbertia told me before running to her knife and petting its blade. "There, there, little Dinky..." she said before hugging it. "Did the mean man hurt you with all of his angry might?"
"Dinky?" questioned 1098, noting Herbertia's weirdness for actually naming her knife.
I couldn't help but note that Mrs. Hingle and Ms. Pasternak were looking at Herbertia like she was crazy; they might've been right. I laughed nervously and told them, "Uh, like I said.... She has a... disorder."
"Uh... okay," said Mrs. Hingle. "And you are...?" she asked 1098.
"1098," replied 1098. "I am an Effect produced by the usage of Dr. Blitz's time machine by Herbertia and Ikjot."
Once again, Mrs. Hingle and Ms. Pasternak looked to each other with awkward expressions.
"So, uh... how about that tour?!" I interrupted.
***
Minutes later, Ms. Pasternak was giving us a tour of the school—starting with the library, a small room located just behind the office. "This is our library," she told us. "Lots of students can use it for studying subjects like math, science and so on."
I took this opportunity to see if I'd recognize any faces—OH SNAP, I DID! RIGHT OFF THE BAT, I KNEW EVERY STUDENT IN THE LIBRARY! Looking through the Our Lord's Appearance Catholic School yearbook over-and-over again, back in the future, really paid off. But since we were still so young, I knew she wouldn't let us just go wander through the library without her watch and start making friends.
Herbertia, however, did wander off—but not to make friends. "Cool!" said Herbertia while holding a gold rod in her hand. "Can I steal it?"
"Absolutely not!" I said before Ms. Pasternak would tell her anything. "Put that down!"
Herbertia pouted and put it back. "You're no fun!"
"You're a natural, Ikjot!" said Ms. Pasternak while patting my shoulder.
"Eh," I replied. "Couldn't let her damage school property, y'know?"
But 1098 definitely found my behavior to be quite strange—possibly because she didn't like me treating Herbertia as though she weren't a friend of mine.
But I couldn't just let Herbertia do something that could ruin my chances—I mean, our chances—of getting accepted into the school so I could set things straight with Xandra, right?
Ms. Pasternak walked us down the hall to the computer room and said, "This is where computer classes take place for students!" She showed us the inside of the room with its seven or eight rows of mounted computer screens in front of every seat. And once again, I saw so many familiar faces! This was so exciting! Though I had yet to spot Xandra or any of her friends... but still!
"Hi, big nosed guy with glasses!" greeted Herbertia to the teacher who lectured the students in that room.
"LITTLE GIRL!" the teacher angrily snapped at her. Now... his nose was rather big for a light-brown bear. He wore clear glasses and had short white hair, wearing a red long-sleeve dress shirt and white tie, accompanied by the rest of his business attire. I recognized him as Mr. Nutbrown.
Before I could tell Herbertia to behave (again), Ms. Pasternak placed her hand on Herbertia's shoulder and sternly whispered to her, "You'd better stop!"
My goodness... I felt so embarrassed! These two—well... Herbertia (not 1098 too, though her openly telling the staff ladies about herself being an Effect was kinda weird) was trying to ruin my chances of getting in this school at every turn! I was beginning to regret even bringing her along....
I guess 1098 was being quiet because she'd only speak if it were to educate me or Herbertia if we had any questions. I wouldn't have minded asking her how to make Herbertia behave.
"Hello, class!" said Ms. Pasternak to the classroom.
"Everyone, say hello to our guests!" Mr. Nutbrown told the students.
His students obeyed his command and all greeted us in response (it was indistinct, though you heard words like, "Hello!" and, "Hey," and, "What's up?")
"Now, what grades did you say you all were in again?" Ms. Pasternak asked me and the girls (Herbertia and 1098).
Hmm. Well... I was a sixth grader back in this time; but Ms. Pasternak giving me leeway to lie... meant I could say Xandra's grade and thus be in the same class with my crush! "I'm in the fifth grade," I told Ms. Pasternak.
"Hehe..." chucked Herbertia to me. "Wow, you're younger than me." She then told Ms. Pasternak, "I'm in the sixth grade!"
"Same here," said 1098.
Wow, what luck! Had I told Ms. Pasternak that I was actually in the sixth grade, I would've been in the same class with Herbertia! 1098, however, didn't seem so bad... but this still allowed my business with Xandra to stay private without those two knowing anything. Looks like I saved myself some trouble without even knowing it... and would still be as close to Xandra as possible.
"Oh, alright!" said Ms. Pasternak. "Let me show you your classrooms." She told the students, "Say bye to our guests, everyone!" And they bid us farewell before we were escorted down the opposite way of the hall. From there, Ms. Pasternak took us to the fifth grade classroom and told me, "This will be your class, Ikjot."
I looked inside, seeing all of the people I remembered from this classroom; mainly these past versions of Orabel, Wynfred, Piper, Yosef, Helena... and of course, Xandra herself. Outside of Orabel's and Piper's hairstyles being longer back then, the only other difference between them here and in the future was that they were, of course, presently children like me... along with how they were wearing the school's feminine version of its uniform: Dark-blue short-sleeved polos (with the school's name written in white text near the upper right corner), plaid skirts and brown shoes. That uniform was nearly the same for the male students; only difference was that males wore light-gray shorts. As for myself, I was going to wear long dress pants like I had done before. Home boy here refused to be sneezing all over the place from feeling chilly.
Ms. Pasternak pointed to the fifth grade class's teacher and told me, "She will be your teacher, Ikjot."
The fifth grade teacher was Mrs. Ives, a big koala with the... facial structure of a beaver? With blonde wavy hair that stopped at her T-shirt's light-blue sleeves (no, she wasn't wearing the uniform; no teacher was).
"Mrs. Ives, this is Ikjot," Ms. Pasternak told the teacher. "Ikjot, this is Mrs. Ives," Ms. Pasternak told me.
"Hello!" I said, waving to Mrs. Ives.
"Hello, Ikjot!" Mrs. Ives greeted me back with a short wave of her own. "Class," she told her students, "say hello to Ikjot!"
And her students all waved to me, with some saying, "Hi!" and, "Hey;" there were greetings of all sorts coming from each and every one of them.
But the greeting I focused on most was the one that came from Xandra who waved at me with a straight face and said, "Hey, what's up?!" I'd never forget that kind tone of voice of hers; the one that made you feel nice and welcome in her presence. This was, of course, because she hadn't been ruined by me belittling her yet... and I wasn't going to this time. My social self with the help of this pebble would ensure that I'd speak to Xandra when spoken to.
"Ikjot, would you like to tell the class a little bit about yourself?" Ms. Pasternak asked me.
Without eating that pebble, I probably would have felt a bit fearful speaking before an entire classroom—especially if I hadn't met them before (and that was virtually the case for these students, considering that in the original 2005 I never talked to them). But with that multi-colored pebble, I felt fully confident to do this greeting!
"Sure thing, Ms. Pasternak!" I told her. "My name is Ikjot!" I told the class. "My family is originally from India, but I know no Indian languages."
One of the students I recognized, Rye Klatches, chuckled and said, "You don't know any Indian languages?" Rye was a light-brown mouse with bowl-cut blonde hair. His build was just a bit taller than Graysen's yet shorter than Xandra's.
I shrugged my arms and said, "Not at all!" Then I laughed, and they laughed with me. I couldn't believe how social I was with them now in contrast to my past self! It felt like a breath of fresh air, this new me before these nostalgic faces!
"Well, class, we're heading over to the sixth grade room next door," Ms. Pasternak told Mrs. Ives' students. "Say 'bye' to our guests for now!" she said while preparing to escort Herbertia, 1098 and myself away from their room.
The fifth graders all waved and said their goodbyes to us while Ms. Pasternak went across the hall to show Herbertia and 1098 the sixth grade room. "Hello, Sister Nylah Zita!" Ms. Pasternak greeted the sixth grade teacher.
"Hello, Ms. Pasternak!" replied Sister Nylah Zita. "Ah, I see you've brought some guests!"
Ah, yes, Sister Nylah Zita; a rather short and elderly gray horse with hair white as snow yet a hotheaded personality that could have melted the ice away. Oh, but don't worry; she was meek! She promised! Couldn't one tell by the petite dress she wore with its flower patterns?
"Yes, Sister Nylah Zita!" replied Ms. Pasternak. "These will be your students."
Sister Nylah Zita laughed and said, "All three of them?"16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX6QEzipzrg
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"No!" laughed Ms. Pasternak. "Just the two girls!"
Right off the bat, I recognized every face in my old sixth grade classroom—including the face of a disgusting, impudent boy named Hobbs Sydnor... who made my life a living nightmare back in this time. He was a white mouse with red hair and such an annoying face; the type that always reminded me how lowdown he could be. Maybe even with us being in separate grades this time around, he'd still find ways to interact with and humiliate me.
I also recognized some other girl. She was the very first girl (at least at this school) who I said I liked: Ilana Symington (that girl from the future who watched as Xandra's guards beat Zane to a pulp). Really, all along, I had a crush on Xandra. But in the first version of this past, I was trying to avoid crushing on any girls in my sister's class; Xandra being one of such girls. Obviously... it didn't work. So what was the point of me resisting in the first place, right? Oh, I know—because I wanted to break the pattern of always crushing on someone in a class that wasn't my own! UGH! Again, didn't work.
"Why don't you two tell the class a little bit about yourselves?" Ms. Pasternak suggested to Herbertia and 1098.
"Oh, yes; please!" added Sister Nylah Zita. "Tell the class a little bit about yourselves."
Meanwhile, I was feeling like, Here we go again....
"Okay!" said Herbertia. "This is my knife, Dinky!" she continued while pulling out her weapon, showing it to the class.
Suddenly smiling, the students all went, "Ooooooooh!"
"Ahahaha!" I laughed nervously, seeing Sister Nylah Zita watching us with an unhappy look and folded arms.
Ms. Pasternak grabbed Herbertia's knife and stuffed it in her shirt. She then grabbed Herbertia by the arm and sternly told her, "We need to talk!"
As for me, I smacked my forehead in frustration.
***
1098 and I stood outside a room that Ms. Pasternak brought Herbertia to. "Don't worry about Herbertia," Ms. Pasternak told us. "She will be corrected."
Fearing for Herbertia's life, I gulped.
1098 on the other hand said, "Looks like the little runt is finally getting what she deserves."
"1098!" I said, ashamed of her hoping that Herbertia would get in trouble. Well, I mean... she was already in trouble, but still!
***
Seconds later, Ms. Pasternak sat before Herbertia at her desk (in her office). "Now, Herbertia..." Ms. Pasternak seriously told her, "you do realize that Our Lord's Appearance Catholic School does not tolerate violence."
Herbertia prepared to reply to Ms. Pasternak in a rude manner; but her conscience (a devilish fox) came out of nowhere beside her head. "Eh-eh-eh!" he warned her. "If you tell that lady off, Ikjot will never get in this school!"
But Herbertia's angelic fox conscience showed up on the other side of her head. "Forget about what Ikjot thinks!" she told Herbertia. "You shouldn't have to stop being your criminal self just because of some image he wants you to keep for his sake!"
"But you love Ikjot, don't you?" the devilish conscience used that against Herbertia. "If that be the case, do what you know will make him happy!"
"But if Ikjot truly loves you," argued her angelic conscience, "he'll accept you for who you are."
"Oh, yeah?" the devilish conscience begged to differ. "Well if she truly loves Ikjot, she'll do what he wants."
In the end, Herbertia realized that there was only one side she could choose.... "I'm sorry, Ms. Pasternak," she told the secretary. "I'll never take out my knife on school grounds again."
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Herbertia's angelic conscience.
"BOOYAH!" applauded her devilish conscience.
"I don't want to see it happen again.... I'm serious," Ms. Pasternak warned Herbertia. "And I will keep your knife until the end of the year."
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Herbertia.
"No weapons allowed on campus. Those are the school's rules."
Herbertia wanted to tell Ms. Pasternak off immediately; she had no respect for adults to begin with. But she also knew how disappointed I would be if she were to ruin my chances of getting into this school. So she had no choice but to oblige by Ms. Pasternak's terms—no matter how harsh they were. "Yes, ma'am..." Herbertia said in disappointment.
"Good," said Ms. Pasternak. "Now, shall we continue our tour by showing the respect Our Lord's Appearance Catholic Church and School deserves?"
"Catholic Church and School?" Herbertia asked, confused.
"Yes. This is a church and school at the same time. The church is the building next to this one."
"Ah, I see."
"Now answer my question: Shall we continue our tour by—"
"Yes-yes," Herbertia said while rolling her eyes, "we'll continue our tour by showing the respect Our Lord's Appearance Catholic Church and School deserves."
But Herbertia rolling her eyes was something Ms. Pasternak took note of. "I am really unamused by your attitude, Ms.— ...What's your last name again?"
"Jeff," said Herbertia.
"Jeff, I am really unamused by your attitude. Do you want to attend this school or not?"
"I've already told you I do!"
"You're being smart again..." Ms. Pasternak told her in quite the stern manner.
"Stop being smart," said Herbertia's devilish conscience.
Herbertia groaned for a moment.... Then she made sweet eyes and said in a sweet voice to Ms. Pasternak, "Okay... I will be a sweet little angel at this school."
"Promise?" sternly asked Ms. Pasternak.
"I cross my heart and hope to die."
Ms. Pasternak laughed. "Well, good! I'm glad to see you're going to change! Now, remember that the Lord is watching you and knows when you're telling a lie. So you might want to make sure you're telling the truth to him."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I wonder what's taking Herbertia so long in there..." said 1098. "I hope she's not getting kicked out."
"I hope not either, 1098," I said.
Ms. Pasternak opened the door and walked out with Herbertia. "Alright, you two," she told 1098 and I, "we've taken care of what we had to." She looked down to Herbertia. "Are we ready for our tour to continue?"
"Yes, we are, Ms. Pasternak," said Herbertia in a polite and obedient way.
1098 and I looked confused at each other, taking note of this sudden change in Herbertia.
***
Next, Ms. Pasternak took us to the church part of the school. "This is our church," she told us. "Mass is every Wednesday at ten a.m. for all classes."
Just for the sake of making sure I didn't seem introverted, I asked, "What are the time slots for really low grades? Like, below the kindergarten level, I mean?"
"They attend at the same time," she told me.
"Oh," I realized.
"You don't say much, do you?" Ms. Pasternak jokingly asked 1098.
1098 told her, "I only speak for the sake of Ikjot, Herbertia and the time machine's knowledge.... Oh! And I also speak for the sake of Denise and Fiona's knowledge."
Ms. Pasternak paused confusedly.... "What?" she asked 1098 in a laugh.
However, I grew curious when 1098 mentioned the names of two people I knew nothing of. Who the heck were Denise and Fiona?
"This is a very lovely church, Ms. Pasternak," complimented Herbertia.
"Oh, why thank you, Herbertia!" replied Ms. Pasternak with glee.
I was like, What the heck?! Herbertia is finally behaving?! What did that talk with Ms. Pasternak do to her...?
***
Later, Ms. Pasternak showed us around the playground. The playground was divided into four parts: A wood chips field, two grass fields... and a concrete field between the two grass fields. The wood chips field consisted of some swings, tires and clubhouses of some sort with slides. The concrete field was meant for sporting activities, particularly P.E. class. And the grass fields were just... open grass lands; one of them connected with the wood chips field. Seeing this felt so... nostalgic and exciting. I was now back to the days of getting to see Xandra's beautiful hair flow in the wind during recess. I loved this... so much, I wanted to cry over it honestly.
I was wondering if Herbertia would take this opportunity to misbehave by running out there and throwing a ball into one of the goals. But all she said (to Ms. Pasternak) was, "It's nice to know your school has recess. It allows the students to get the daily routine of exercise that all kids their age need."
My jaw dropped.... It literally dropped! What had they done to you, Herbertia?! But at least she wasn't ruining my—I mean, our chances of getting accepted into the school anymore.
***
Next was the cafeteria. By now, all classes from grades four through eight were having lunch. And once again, I saw Xandra. My heart melted inside.... It was as if I was reliving the days of her magnificent beauty. Those short and silky strands sticking out from all over her long hair; strands visible as the daylight shining through the windows. Oh, if only our tour wouldn't have started so soon, Ms. Pasternak would have shown us the playground at the time that she'd be out there, having the wind guide her gorgeous hair—
"This is the cafeteria," said Ms. Pasternak, interrupting my train of thought. Figures....
Herbertia sniffed the air and said, "The aroma of this place is magnificent; possibly due to the hard work and effort the lunch ladies—"
"And men," interrupted 1098.
"Hmm?" puzzled Herbertia.
1098 told Herbertia, "One man is working back there with the ladies, if you notice."
Herbertia realized while saying, "Oh...." She corrected the rest of her sentence, "...And one man are putting into making the food for students absolutely delightful."
Ms. Pasternak leaned down to Herbertia with a smile and placed her hand on her shoulder. "Good job!" she whispered to Herbertia.
Herbertia grew a big smile in response, knowing that she was finally doing a good job with making me happy.
***
Meanwhile in Sanne, presently in the year of 2005 as well, Marta was still a kid; her hair was shorter back then and she mostly dressed as if she were still in class... even when home from school.
Seated at the dinner table with her family—and her friend Ram who was also still a kid yet still a bit taller than her—Marta heard her mother ask, "So, dear... did you find your dream guy yet?"
Marta, who was chewing her food, paused and looked down with sadness. She looked to Ram while telling Mrs. Grey, "No...." Then a green pea pelted her right eye. "Ow!" she exclaimed while holding her eye now covered in pea juice.
Sitting next to Marta and with her fork in hand after launching that green pea... was a girl who looked a bit older than Marta; that same cream-colored fur and feline face. That hair, with its long tufts and ponytail so long and fluffed that one could have seen its ends behind her, was black like night yet could seem magnificent when shining under the moon. And her sleeveless dress of that same color didn't shine but, visually, one could have deciphered its silk texture... and seen the white stitching pattern lined down the middle, starting from the collar of her clothing. And she laughed at her little sister getting pelted by that pea.
Mrs. Grey told her, "Tiane, you clean that stuff off of Marta's face right now!"
"Yes, mom," replied Tiane, looking down with feigned sorrow. She took a napkin and smudged it on Marta's eye, only making the glop of juice even bigger—and covered her little sister's face with it. Again, Tiane laughed while Mrs. Grey said, "Tiane, that is very rude!"
It wasn't the fact of her older sister being a bully that made Marta upset, but the fact that Marta had yet to find the love of her life. She wondered, Where was he? When would he come to end her life of loneliness? Gee... this Marta person was, in a way, like the female version of me....
...
Later that night, Marta was in her room, looking out her window at the stars. In her mind, those stars were like millions of boys—all whom she found very unattractive. "Bleh!" she said with disgust.
Her mother walked in the room and said, "Marta...? Why aren't you in bed yet?"
"Oh... hi, Mom," said Marta with sadness before hopping into bed.
Mrs. Grey sat beside her youngest daughter, touching her shoulder. She said, "Marta... daughter, what troubles you?"
Marta sighed and rested her cheek on her fist. "I can't find any boy that I like...."
"Oh, there-there, Marta..." Mrs. Grey said while patting her youngest daughter's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find the guy of your dreams soon."
Marta smiled, a bit unbelieving. "That's the same thing Ram said... but it still hasn't happened."
"In time, it will. But you just have to keep looking."
Marta became unamused, looking Mrs. Grey's way. "That's what I've been doing, Mom...."
"Oh!" said her mother, getting up before she headed for the door. "Well, keep up the good work!"
After her mother closed the door behind her, Marta laid down in bed. "Yeah, right..." she told herself. "I'll never find the guy of my dreams. They're all hideous... and ugly... and they all look disgusting." She sang, "♪ Why on Earrrrth do I tryyyyy? Where are youuuuu, perfect guy? Why don't I feel love each time I meet themmmmm? ♪"
Marta got out of bed and walked back to her window. "♪ Why can't Iiiiii accept someone? ♪" She once again looked to the stars. "♪ I tell themmmmm because no one's proven to be that someone of my dreeeeeams. ♪" Looking to the stars, Marta began to envision a narration of the very words she spoke. "♪ I don't care if he's aaaaaa dimwit, don't care if he's pure couuuuurageous. All I care is as long as he's gorgeeeeeous! I'll treat him with respect and my wholeheaaaaarted kindness! Oh, prince, I'm your princess! Please come my waaaaaay! For you, I awaaaaaait! ♪" Then Marta came back to her room, kneeling before her moonlit window with her hands in prayer. "♪ Oh, prince, I'm your princess; please come my waaaaay! ♪"
And as Marta looked down... so did the bearded man watching over her from the window with his eyes of sorrow; he himself the same aura as the moon. He bowed his head with her. He'd heard her prayer... as always.
***
As for my story, we were back at the main office and our tour was finally over. We had one last thing to do before getting admitted by the school.
"Alright..." said Ms. Pasternak, searching through her papers while she asked us, "are you three related, or...?"
"No, we're from separate families," I told her.
"I am from the family of Effects," said 1098, causing me to give her an awkward look.
Ms. Pasternak paused to 1098.... "Okay," she said to her, "so the last name of your family is Effects?"
1098 replied, "No, you see—"
"Yes, that's what she means," I told Ms. Pasternak, stopping 1098 from saying anything that would make her think we were crazy. "She's not very good with the English language."
"Yes I am," 1098 replied to me. "I was born from English speaking people—namely you, Herbertia—" but I was forced to cover her mouth.
Ms. Pasternak took out three forms (one for each of us) and said, "Okay, I'm going to need you three to fill these out." She handed them to us and continued, "You will need your parents to fill out these forms and pay a deposit of five hundred dollars for each of you, just to get your tuition payments started. We will also need to meet your parents and you should be good to go! We will enjoy having you here!"
Our parents...? I thought. I knew that my parents would never fill out forms for me to go to a school they knew nothing about—since I was still so young and all. It looked like it was time for me, Herbertia and 1098 to go outside and make a plan....
"Thank you, Ms. Pasternak," said Herbertia. "We will have these applications on your desk first thing tomorrow morning!"
Herbertia led 1098 and I to the door while Ms. Pasternak told her, "Alright!" She told all three of us, "You all have a good day!" and began filling out some paperwork of her own.
"Thank you, Ms. Pasternak!" Herbertia said while opening the door for us. "You have a blessed day!"
"You too!" Ms. Pasternak replied before Herbertia closed the door behind her.
***
1098, Herbertia and I walked the streets again, discussing our plans for having parents fill out our forms and meet with the school.
"My parents will never fill out these forms," I told Herbertia.
"I'm sure if you ask them really nicely, they will," Herbertia told me.
"Trust me; they're not signing anything for a school I visited without them."
"Perhaps we should find some people to role play as our parents," suggested 1098.
"No need," said Herbertia. "I have parents who can sign for me.... Besides, that would be dishonest. We don't want to get Ikjot kicked out for your dumb plan!"
"Whatever happened to your nice side, Herbertia?" teased 1098 with a clever smile.
"Any good criminal knows how to pretend," Herbertia said with a sly smile. "I was just doing that so Ikjot could attend the school he wanted."
"Wooooow!" I said. "Thanks, Herbertia!"
"No problem!" happily said Herbertia, giving me a high-five.
"And I do agree with Herbertia on this one," I told 1098. "That is a pretty risky move."
"You want to get in the school, don't you?" 1098 told me.
"Well..." I said, realizing, "yeah. But—"
"Oh no!" panicked Herbertia. "Getting pressured to do something bad! It's the weakness of every criminal!"
"Herbertia," I said, unamused with her, "you're not going to give into this, are you?"
But all Herbertia could do was fall to the ground and suck her thumb helplessly.
I sighed with disappointment and asked 1098, "Did you have anyone in mind we could use?"
"Oh!" exclaimed Herbertia, stopping her thumb sucking as she got back up all excited. "I know this group of thugs who could get the job done—"
"Group of thugs?!" I exclaimed. "What?! Are you nuts?! We can't bring criminals to the school!"
Herbertia stood up and said, "It's okay, Ikjot. They can behave. Plus, they do everything for free!"
"Probably because they do their job in a cheap way," 1098 whispered to me.
"Maybe you're cheap, 1098," teased Herbertia.
"Funny how you only know how to fight with words and not your fists," said 1098 to Herbertia.
Herbertia rolled her hands into fists. "Wanna bet?" she challenged 1098. She repeatedly punched the air, pretending that she was in a fight with someone.
"Now, Herbertia, you have to promise me they'll behave," I begged her.
"Ikjot, they'll be the most civilized pieces of work you've ever seen," Herbertia happily told me.
"That's what I'm afraid of," I told myself, rolling my eyes.
***
The following night, Herbertia led us into the deep woods of Righteous Korrigan. Out of all the time I was homeless, I had never gone anywhere near the woods. Wherever Herbertia was taking us, I was hoping it wouldn't be some place where we'd be attacked by wild animals. I may have been an extrovert now, but my fearful side still existed.
What's worse, the two agents were right on our tail, following us everywhere we went as they promised. The first agent growled with moving a branch out of her way. "Why on Earth are they traveling through here of all places?" she told the second agent.
"I haven't the slightest clue," replied the second agent, also pushing some branches out of her way. "But we can't allow these trees to block our viewpoint of them."
The first agent nodded and said, "Right!"
Meanwhile, Herbertia, 1098 and I arrived at an old, rundown shack. "Here we are!" Herbertia told us.
"It seems pretty quiet in there," I said to her.
"That's because they're probably playing cards right now," said Herbertia.
Just then, 1098's eyes widened as she felt something on her legs. She looked down and found, to her dismay... "SNAKE!" she screamed before Herbertia quickly shushed her. "HERBERTIA, THERE'S A SNAKE ON MY FOOT FOR GOODNESS SAKE!" 1098 continued to scream it regardless.
"What's going on out here?!" asked a teen female white cat who kicked open the door and held a gun. She wore a purple shirt, darker purple sweater and had long hair of a dirty-blonde color.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGQUoNjyvP
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1098 and I shivered in fear; our teeth chattered nonstop with wide eyes... while Herbertia smiled without worry.
The teen female continued, "Oh, hey, Herbertia!" She then looked at us. "Who are your friends?"
"This is Ikjot and 1098," Herbertia told her.
"Hi, guys," the female greeted 1098 and I, then offered her hand to us for a handshake. "I'm Somer."
"Nice to meet you, Somer!" I said with a smile, shaking her hand.
"It is a pleasure," said 1098, also shaking her hand.
"So what's up, Herbertia?" Somer asked her.
"Well," Herbertia replied, "my friends and I need you to do us a favor—"
"Say no more," interrupted Somer. She turned to five other people inside the shack (three guys, two females) and said, "Hey, guys! Herbertia's come over with some friends!"
"Friends?!" asked one of the females, a teen like Somer except her hair was more of a reddish-brown, spiky and down to the shoulders of her white shirt with brown and black stripes on the sleeves. She was a polar bear. "Well, let her in!"
Somer led us inside and closed the door.
I was pretty uneasy about being inside of a shack filled with so many people I had never met before; but I guess I could have said the same thing about all the times I came across a strange woman on the streets that I had never met before as well. I mean, as long as Herbertia knew these people, I was sure I could trust them—assuming that I could trust Herbertia herself.
Somer began introducing us to the other people inside. She first took us to one of the three males and said, "This is Derick!"
"Nice to meet you," said Derick, shaking our hands while playing cards with the others. Derick wore a green checker-patterned shirt, short-sleeved and unbuttoned to show a white workout shirt beneath. His hair was sort of red, sort of brown and dangling somewhat over his eyes. He was a sheep.
"Come on, Somer," said one of the two remaining guys we had yet to know the names of. "We're all sitting at the same table. We can do the introducing."
"Fine, Julian," Somer responded to that guy, revealing his name and playfully rolling her eyes with a smile.
Julian was a rather muscular Palomino rabbit, had brown spiky hair and wore a white T-shirt. And his black jeans probably had more rips throughout than any other pair I'd seen. "Hey!" playfully said Julian before getting up and giving Somer a noogie. "I was gonna tell them my name!"
Somer laughed and said, "Yeah, right!" Then she looked to us and said, "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Julian!"
I grew angry on the inside... again. Seeing yet another happy couple while I had no romantic partner by my side made me so mad.... You could say that Herbertia and 1098 would make me rest my case on that, but how could I know that they were trustworthy? Then again... it was ultimately Xandra I wanted to be with. So should I have really felt like Herbertia or 1098 could be potential interests? I really confused myself sometimes.... "Nice to meet you, Julian!" I greeted him, perfectly hiding my envy.
"Hey!" he greeted me back.
Somer took note of 1098's quietness and told her, "Hey, 1098!" She took one of the two girls by the hand. "Would you like to meet Vicky?"
"Sure!" said 1098 before walking to Vicky and offering the girl her hand. "Nice to meet you, Vicky!"
"Nice to meet you, 1098!" said Vicky while shaking her hand. "Wow; between your name and Ikjot's, I don't know which is stranger. No offense!"
"None taken," said 1098.
"None taken," I said too.
Vicky, a cheetah, had dirty-blonde hair held back by a blue headband and down to her back. She wore a light-gray T-shirt, blue jeans and pink flip-flops. "So, 1098..." puzzled Vicky, "how do you spell your name?"
"I have no name; just a label," replied 1098.
Once again, I didn't want 1098's weirdness to ruin my rep with someone. So I immediately said, "1098 just means she doesn't believe in a name defining who she is. Rather, she believes her personality itself is perfectly capable of doing that for her."
"Far out!" applauded Vicky before giving 1098 a high-five.
"Um... sure," said 1098, feeling uneasy about me trying to make her seem like someone she wasn't.
"I'm Vanessa!" the other girl introduced herself to us. She was the polar bear with the reddish-brown hair, spiky and down to the shoulders of her white shirt with brown and black stripes on the sleeves.
"Nice to meet you, Vanessa!" I said to her.
"And I'm Mike," the third guy spoke while drinking some soda from a can (so his words weren't so clear). He was a penguin and the chillest bird with spiky brown hair you'd ever see. He had quite the belly, so it was no wonder he let his black sweater remain unbuttoned.
Julian laughed. "Mike," he told him, "if you keep drinking all of our sodas, we'll have to make you go out and get some more!"
Mike laughed and said, "You know I have no problem going out to the food store!"
Without my extroverted side, I would have never asked them what I was thinking. But thanks to the multi-colored pebble, I was once again able to do the inevitable and say, "So, how old are you guys?" From what I was taught, you never ask someone their age if they're a woman—and there were three women among them: Somer, Vicky and Vanessa. By asking them all as a whole, my offense to the women wasn't so clear... or so I hoped.
"Well," said Derick, "I'm sixteen."
"Seventeen for me!" said Mike.
"I'm fifteen," said Somer.
"I'm seventeen," said Julian.
"I'm fifteen!" said Vanessa.
"I'm sixteen," said Vicky.
"I'm twelve," I said.
Herbertia shrugged her arms and said, "Eleven years old for me." Then she suddenly realized the age I gave. "Wait, Ikjot, you... should be in my class then, shouldn't you?"
But before I'd have to think of a good excuse to give Herbertia and fast—
"I was just born today, so I'm zero," said 1098 (though regarding her physical body, she looked and sounded just as old as Herbertia). Everyone laughed, believing she was joking—which I'm glad for because otherwise they would have thought we were just weird. Still... I was glad that 1098 saved me back there.
Still laughing, Somer nudged 1098's arm and said, "You don't talk much, but you sure are funny!"
"But I really am zero years of age," said 1098.
But they all kept laughing, still believing that 1098 was joking. And from their perspectives, I couldn't blame them. I wouldn't have believed 1098 was such a being either, had I not met her the way I did.
1098 simply rolled her eyes to their reactions.
Herbertia approached me and whispered, "Hey... so you're actually a sixth grader?"
Fortunately, I thought of a good excuse. I whispered back, "I was held back a grade or two, back in this timeline."
Herbertia scratched her head and said, "But... you and I both retain our adult mentalities, Ikjot. I'm pretty sure you'd still pass that grade with your current mind, right?"
As their laughter settled, Somer told 1098 and I, "Well, in case you guys didn't know, Herbertia here did us a really good favor in the past."
I asked her, "Really? What was it?"
Herbertia looked a bit confused and thought, Is he... not going to answer me?
"We were in jail for a pretty long time," said Vanessa before taking one of Mike's cans of sodas and drinking it.
"Hey!" playfully said Mike.
"You can't hog them all for yourself!" playfully said Vanessa.
Derick said, "We got arrested for running around town, shooting out people's windows and whatnot."
What the heck?! Were they crazy?! They could have killed so many people that way!
Derick got up from his seat and walked to Herbertia. He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "But Herbertia here was so strong that she managed to bust down the jail walls confining us, setting us free to roam the world again!"
"Wooooooow," I said in awe. "You mean, Herbertia broke through brick walls with her bare hands?!"
"One hand, actually," Herbertia said while showing me her hand. Keeping her smile, she sighed and thought, Fine... I'll respect you wanting to be in a different classroom. Then she smirked, determined. But that's as far as I'm letting you get from me... you little cutie.
I asked Herbertia, "But just curious, did you help them because they were your friends from school or...?"
"Not even close!" said Somer. "Herbertia here is our—"
But Herbertia quickly interrupted Somer's words with a stern expression, stopping her from saying anything else.
"Um..." Somer continued, "Herbertia here is a good friend of ours."
I grew a curious look, wondering what they were hiding from me. Truthfully, I really wasn't a fan of dishonesty. But, aside from that, I couldn't believe how much strength Herbertia had... when considering she was merely human! And yes... we did consider ourselves "human" since we could walk on two legs and speak.
"Now, you said you needed us to do you a favor—right, Herbertia?" Somer asked her.
"That is correct," said Herbertia, nodding. "You see, we're trying to get admitted into this school, and the only way we can is if our parents fill out some forms and meet with the school."
"Actually," said 1098, "according to these forms, our parents will meet with the head of the school, Sister Yedda Tull."
"Wow, that's serious!" exclaimed Somer.
"Feeling scared; ey, Somer?" Julian playfully teased her.
"Shut up!" Somer said, playfully nudging Julian's arm.
"So, I take it you need us to fill in for your parents, right?" Vicky suggested to us.
"You hear that, Vicky?!" Derick playfully teased Vicky and nudged her arm. "We're gonna be a mommy and daddy!" Then he laughed.
Vicky also laughed and playfully told him, "Shut up!"
"Is it just me, or do they all have the same personalities?" 1098 whispered to me—and she had a good point!
"We don't have the same personalities!" said Vicky, apparently overhearing us.
I became filled with fear, hoping she wasn't going to hurt 1098 for saying that.
But 1098 wasn't scared to defend her opinion. "Yes, you do," 1098 replied with her usual bored expression. Man, this chick was bold!
"1098," Herbertia whispered to her, "don't ruin my relationship with these guys!"
"It's cool, Herbertia!" said Somer, overhearing Herbertia. "We just need to educate 1098 on who we truly are. For example, I'm the girl who just loves destroying things!" Somer then took out her gun and started shooting holes in the wall, making everyone (except 1098 and I) cheer for her.
Julian grabbed Somer's gun and said, "I'm the bad boy." He playfully held it away from Somer's reach.
At the same time, Somer jumped up and down with laughingly saying, "Give it back!" while Julian laughed as well.
Honestly, I was never a fan for the bad boy personality. It just wasn't me. Though I heard many chicks digged it—with an exception to one female who told me that they actually didn't and that it was just a common misconception.
Mike took out a soda and started drinking it while saying, "As you can see, I'm crazy about soda!"
"And I take the soda!" said Vanessa, snatching the soda from Mike's hand. "I take everything!" She then went around the room, confiscating various items from the others—including the sweater off of Somer's back!
As Vanessa walked past Vicky with taking away a cap she wore, Vicky laid back in her chair and said, "Well, I'm the carefree kind of girl. I don't care about anything."
Derick cuddled up close to Vicky and said, "Well, I'm the flirtatious one." Then he purred like a cat.
Vicky sternly told him, "Buzz off!"
Derick became unamused and walked away.
"You guys are pretty awesome!" I had no choice but to compliment them on their personalities.
Somer held me close and said, "Hey! If you're cool with us, we're cool with you, Ikjot!" She asked 1098, "You cool with us, 1098?"
"Right on..." said 1098, still bored with them, judging by her attitude.
"Awesome!" said Somer. She looked to Herbertia and asked her, "So, Herbertia, what school is it?"
"Our Lord's Appearance Catholic Church and School, if you've heard of it," Herbertia told her.
"Oh, I've heard of it!" said Somer. "A friend of mine once attended that school, but she got expelled for driving a student to committing suicide."
I paused... then I thought, What the heck?! I told Somer, "Your friend was responsible for someone killing themselves? How?"
"Oh, my friend was a real creep!" said Somer. "She was always kind to me, but I had no idea she was a little demon in disguise. We were such good friends too before I'd find out who she really was!"
"Wow, what a... terrible person," I said, looking down, stunned.
Somer sadly replied, "It is—I thought she was better than that."
Unlike me, Herbertia could see that this was a subject Somer didn't feel like talking about. She quickly changed the topic and asked, "So, Somer, will you need directions to the school?"
"You could lead us there," Somer suggested. "What time do we have to be there?"
Herbertia said, "Well, I promised Ms. Pasternak our applications would be on her desk 'first thing in the morning.' So I'm guessing that means our parents will be too. But I don't want you to get up that early. We could have you there around noon."
"Eh, don't worry about it!" Somer replied. "If you made a promise, who am I to make you seem like a liar? I'll be there at eight a.m. on the nose." She looked to Julian and the others. "That goes for all of us, right guys?"
They all cheered, agreeing with her.
"Thanks for helping us out, Somer," said Herbertia.
Somer held Herbertia close and told her, "Anything for you, Herbertia!" Somer then looked to 1098 and said, "1098, would you like me and Julian to role play as your parents?"
"Sure," plainly said 1098, not really caring.
Somer was apparently trying to bond with 1098, hoping to release her extroverted side. Little did Somer know that the reason why 1098 didn't say much was because she didn't feel the need to—unless it was to benefit the knowledge of me or Herbertia. Then again, Somer probably wouldn't believe that 1098 was something created by the actions of me, Herbertia and especially not a time machine! So I had to keep quiet about everything, otherwise Somer would've thought I was crazy, weird or both.
"I guess Mike and I will take Herbertia," said Vanessa.
"We'll take Ikjot," said Derick. "What do you think, Vicky?" he asked her.
"Suuuuuuure," said Vicky in her normal, carefree way.
"Alright, guys!" Somer told her groupies. "We'll be at the school for eight a.m. ... tomorrow! Everyone cool with that?"
"Oh, yeah!" said Julian.
"Sure!" said Vanessa, giving Somer a wink and peace sign.
Huh. They were quickly starting to seem alike again, despite that argument about them having differing personalities.
Somer looked to us and said, "So, you guys got any place to stay for the night?"
"Ikjot," 1098 told me, "remember that with you in this time, the old you of this time has vanished. In other words, you may want to go home before your parents miss you any longer. They don't even know where you are right now."
What 1098 was saying here was that by me going back to the year 2005, the old me of 2005 was replaced by the new, present me of 2005 (the me from the future; the future of Maricela, Zane's beating—errrrr, uuuuuuuum... yeah). So by me being with Herbertia and 1098 at this shack and not at home with my parents (the place where the old me would have currently been), my parents were wondering where I had been all day. But I didn't want to go back. I was finally free to roam the world without my parents being overprotective of me.
"It's cool, 1098," I told her. "I'll just find somewhere else to stay."
Somer puzzled and asked me, "Do you have enough money for a hotel, Ikjot?"
"Nope!" I told her. "I'm completely broke."
Herbertia said, "Ikjot, when I met you, you were on the streets. Are you, by any chance... homeless?"
I nodded and told Herbertia, "Yes. I could go back to my parents, but I'd rather remain just as independent as I was before I became a kid again. I'll make do of the street life from here."
"That's nonsense!" said Somer. "You can stay here with us!"
My eyes widened with shock and I replied, "What?!"
"Yeah!" happily said Julian. "It's no problem!"
"It beats living on the streets," said Derick.
"Wow!" I responded to them. "Thanks, guys!"
"No problem!" said Mike before drinking another soda. "We wouldn't let a friend of Herbertia's live on the street if we could help it."
"You have the best friends, Herbertia!" I happily told her.
"Aw, thanks!" said Herbertia with a smile, motioning pshaw! with her hand.
"So I guess you're going to stay with your parents for the night?" I asked her.
"Nah!" said Herbertia. "I moved out of my 'rents place a long time ago. I live here with Somer and my peeps now!"
"Wow!" I realized. "You're pretty independent then!"
"Yes, I am!" said Herbertia, rolling her eyes while keeping the smile.
"What about you, 1098?" I asked her.
"I don't really have a home to go to," said 1098. "And if you or Herbertia ever needed my brain power to educate you two on yourselves, it wouldn't be convenient for me to be somewhere else. So I guess I'll stay here too."
"Looks like we've got three new members to the family!" laughed Julian.
"Yeah! So guess who's got to feed them!" teased Somer to Julian, hinting he'd be the one to do it.
"Aw, man!" said Julian while he laughed with us.
***
That night, we all set Somer and her friends' table for dinner. We were eating a soup of some kind. Since I was so extroverted now, I found it easy to ask them, "What kind of soup is this?"
With his mouth full, Julian responded, "Somer found a seagull in the woods..." and swallowed his soup, "so she decided to kill it for us to eat."
I had never eaten seagull before... but it did taste good! Still, I was pretty sure the seagull was a protected bird of the Unxia state. Hopefully these guys wouldn't get caught. I guess they didn't want to risk going to any local store to get their food, because they felt society may have given them a hard time after all the crimes they'd committed. For all I knew, this little shack they resided in was the very thing protecting them from being discovered by vigilantes. They were felons, after all.
Mike reached for his can of soda, only to find that Vanessa was already drinking it. "Hey!" he playfully complained to her.
Vanessa threw the empty can to the floor and playfully told him, "Guess you should keep better watch of your stuff, Mike!"
Everyone at the table laughed. So I decided that I would too, just to fit in.
"So, Ikjot," Vanessa said while looking to me, "tell us a little bit about yourself."
"Yeah!" said Derick. "Where are you from?"
I said, "Well, I've lived in three—" and I quickly stopped myself, remembering I hadn't gone to the state of Gwen yet during this time period. "I mean, two states so far: Olifat and here in Unxiane."
"Olifat?" asked Somer before biting a piece of dear meat. "What part?" Before I could answer, she said, "Oh, here! Have some beer!" and tried handing me a can of beer.
"Um... no, thanks," I said. "I don't drink."
"Wimp!" teased Julian—since he was the smart aleck bad boy and all.
"Shut up!" playfully said Somer, nudging his arm. "It's cool, Ikjot. You don't have to drink." She then said in a tempting voice, "But beer is the only beverage we have...."
"Do we have any water?" I asked.
"Nope!" said Mike before drinking more soda. "We're nowhere near a lake!"
I paused, realizing they were closing in on me with peer pressure. "...Well..." I said, "what about juice from a fruit?"
"Sure!" said Julian before grabbing a bucket from under the table. He held it my way and said, "Here!" They laughed as he continued, "Go outside, pick an apple, juice it and drink up!"
Somer laughed, playfully knocked the bucket out of his hand and said, "Julian, that's rude!" She looked back to me and said, "It's okay, Ikjot. You don't have to drink."
As I continued to talk with Somer and her friends, I was unaware of the short conversation taking place between 1098 and Herbertia.
"So, Herbertia..." 1098 whispered to her, "do you want to tell Ikjot the truth about your family yet?"
"No way!" Herbertia whispered back to her. "He'd make fun of me, just like other people did in the past. I'll keep it a secret. Besides, I'm waiting for him to give me an answer to that question I asked him."
"Herbertia, I'm reading his mind and from what I gather, he thinks you only said that to try manipulating him into helping you steal the time machine."
"What?! No way! I really do like him! I guess I'll have to ask him again to prove it."
"Wanna do it tomorrow after the meeting and what not?"
"Sure!" Then Herbertia closely watched 1098. "As long as you don't watch us while I do it."
1098 placed her hand on Herbertia's chest and said, "I promise to give you guys your space!"
"Then it's a deal!" said Herbertia, shaking 1098's hand.
Meanwhile, little did we know that outside of the shack, some certain two people were watching us....
"Darn it!" said the first agent. "Ikjot still isn't alone!"
"Don't worry...." the second agent replied. "Ikjot will not escape us forever...." Then that second agent grew a very stern expression and said, "And he most certainly won't escape me."
How much longer can Ikjot stay by Herbertia and 1098's side before he's susceptible to the agents' grasp? And what is this "question" that Herbertia must get an answer to—specifically from Ikjot?
What about Marta? Will she find the love of her life?
Find out the answers to these questions and more... next chapter of Something!
***
In the next chapter of Something... Somer and her crew are posing as Ikjot, Herbertia and 1098's parents in order to get them enrolled in the school that Ikjot wishes to attend... all for the sake of him still chasing Xandra! Why, Ikjot? Why?!
And what's this, Marta? You're the main audience to witness Penelope bust a move and perform a song?! Well let's hear it, Penelope! The show must go on... next Something!
***
Something16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjkowImyXua
416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLREVi9xVHc
Ikjot's Fake Parents
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfs5zKLFCc
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuXtrfmbP3
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXuVgpJ6MU
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqEUEybRmc
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknh0kCIb9u
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkb84qdwa4E
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxrrHBvHEI
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdPIf3vXcw
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBBb0wrHEn
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwZijhwleo
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
© 2013 Trerchry.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJUID9UY0y
All Rights Reserved.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTnd3C25Ul
