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Post by Adelle Haynsworth on May 21, 2008 19:06:18 GMT -5
Adelle looked over at Noam and shook her head. "Noam, if you don't want to call me Mom, that's fine. But it's Adelle or Mom, nothing else. I'm not your girlfriend, got that?" Even as she said this, she was blushing a little, and the corners of her mouth were turned up in a partially suppressed smile.
She turned toward Rebecca. "I couldn't sleep, and I was just laying in bed when I realized we didn't exactly have anything to eat. So I went shopping." She piled yet another omelet on a plate. Four down, one to go. "24-hour Wal-Marts are wonderful things." She glanced around the group and nodded to herself. Elijah had come back, looking slightly nerdier. That plus the glasses she gave him, he looked more how he should for the mission. "Go ahead and eat, guys. I don't want you late for school, and I can eat after you're gone if need be." With that, she cracked two eggs in the pan and started making the last omelet.
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 21, 2008 19:24:47 GMT -5
Elijah seated himself at the table without a word and started eating without waiting for the others. As it turned out, being silent wasn't so hard for him after all. He wasn't trying to be a pain about the mission, but he couldn't imagine how he could make any headway with the mission this way. Sure, Andrew would probably be nerdy too, but that didn't mean that he'd talk to Eli or even notice him.
He pulled off the glasses, which were just filled with blank pieces of glass, and set them on the table. "Why do I have to wear glasses anyway?" He asked, his voice and expression neutral. "I mean, not all smart kids wear glasses, right? Maybe I'm overdoing the whole nerd thing. Andrew might get suspicious. . ." Even as he aid this, he knew his objections would just be shot down. It wasn't at all a logical argument, and he knew it. Still, Eli had no idea how he was supposed to concentrate on anything when he had a pair of glasses he didn't even need constantly slipping down his nose.
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Post by Jasmine Doyle on May 21, 2008 19:52:00 GMT -5
Jasmine smiled sweetly across the table at Elijah, "Having a bad day, Eli?" she raised an eyebrow, "I'm not exactly happy about being princess barbie over here either." she said, glancing at Adelle, "I should have dyed my hair blonde." she stated, not really expecting a response from anyone.
"So hey, do we even know what this Andrew guy looks like? I hope he's not a total nerd, like Eli, and looks at least half decent, unlike Eli. Cause what will all my other preppy friends think of me hanging out with a nerd." she rolled her eyes, now fixing her gaze on the other male in the room, "Noam, you look like a druggie." she said, making a face at him, "Just don't talk to me at school, okay? I mean, that would look even worse than me flirting with a nerdafreak."
"We didn't really talk about this much, but am I supposed to get along with my foster siblings or do we hate each other's guts?" she asked, changing the subject as she forked a mouthful of omelet into her mouth, "Also, who's gonna look out for Becks? I mean, I'm sure she'll do great and all, but it's her first mission and you're just flinging her out there on day one. We are really underinformed on this mission." she babbled on, "I hate missions that include the Utwkawan, we never get any information on them because they are so tight."
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 21, 2008 20:04:10 GMT -5
Eli jumped up at Jasmine's comment, sending his chair sliding backwards. "Why the heck can't you all just leave me alone about this? First Rebecca starts making fun of me, and now you!" He wasn't shouting, but his voice was strained and angry, as if he might lose control at any second and fly off the handle. "I didn't pick this stupid position, and I'm not a freak, so just leave me the heck alone." He shook his head, glaring at Jasmine. Though he said nothing else to her, his eyes showed the slightest trace of hurt beneath his rather thick layer of anger.
He left his barely touched omelet on the table and stormed off, stopping only to pick up his almost-empty backpack before walking outside and slamming the door behind him. He considered running off or something, but thought better of it and just sat down on the front steps, fuming.
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Post by Jasmine Doyle on May 21, 2008 20:14:41 GMT -5
Jasmine gave a loud sigh and quickly chased after Eli, "He's okay." she shouted back into the kitchen as she pulled open the front door which had just slammed in her face, "Eli, I'm sorry." she said, sitting down next to him, half expecting him to stand up and walk away, "I didn't mean it like that, I was just teasing you. I'd never do something to hurt you on purpose. I know you better than that." she said, placing her hand on his arm, "You know me better than that, don't you?" she asked, peering into his face curiously, "Are you okay? You've been kinda weird since a few days ago." she furrowed her brow, "Yeah, since that time you had that vision in the cafeteria!" she exclaimed, "Now, tell me what this is all about, okay? You're going to worry Becks and all the others." she pulled the fake glasses off of his face, "Don't wear these." she said, stuffing them into Elijah's backpack, "Now, you have to tell me what this is all about or I'll...I'll stuff you head down the toilet." she nodded her head, "And you know that I could do it too."
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 21, 2008 21:44:54 GMT -5
Eli looked away, staring down the street as cars passed by, carrying people to wherever they were headed. Work, he figured, and school. Probably not much else. He hadn't thought much about the vision since that night, but now everything came rushing back to him and he felt the omelet in his stomach threaten to come up.
"Do you remember what I said that night?" He asked without looking at her. "You know, about turning invisible forever?" He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sometimes, that's all I want to do. Just disappear forever and run off. Never come back. I could do it to, you know. I would, only. . ." he stood and stuffed his hands into his pockets, then shook his head. "Come on, let's go before we miss the bus."
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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 21, 2008 22:14:30 GMT -5
Becky's form materialized in the shadow by the side of the house once the other two had gone. It wasn't a particularly good idea to eavesdrop -especially on senior agents- but it hadn't really been intentional. She'd taken the back door out, to get a look at the other side of the house, and when she heard the others talking it just sort of...happened.
She leaned against the house for a second to regain some strength, then shifted her backpack and followed after the others, starting to consider what she'd just heard. However, the second her feet struck the sidewalk it hit her: The game was on. The time had come for her to push Rebecca Swenson and all the Guardian's issues out of her head. She was Rebecca Weller now, ordinary girl...and somewhere there were eyes watching to catch her slightest slip-up.
She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath as she made the mental transition. She imagined herself with the history of her persona. The family ties, the strain of her parents' divorce. Her eyes opened. She glanced around once, seeing the street through Becky Weller's eyes, then broke into a run. "Hey Bro! Jaz! Wait up!"
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Post by Noam Levin on May 21, 2008 23:30:59 GMT -5
Noam shrugged as Jasmine walked out of the room after Elijah. "I hate to break cover, but I hope he's ok. Eli's one of those guys who still feels things. You guys should be nice to him for now. I have to torture him at school anyway, so he should have t least a partial haven here." His serious face turned into a short grin that he flashed at Rebecca before returning his gaze to Adelle, "OK, tootse, I'll call you whatever you like if you will still cook me breakfast."
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Post by Adelle Haynsworth on May 21, 2008 23:42:07 GMT -5
||You can "break cover" in the house. It's not like it's bugged. And wtheck? What kind of a post was that? UGH.||
Adelle shook her head, finally looking annoyed. "Go to school, Noam. You'll probably miss the bus as it is if you don't run." She started clearing the table. "And I had better not hear that you were late to or missed any of your classes. You can bet I'll be checking." She looked at him as she said this, seeming--and feeling--rather motherly. "If you take this rebel thing too far, I'll have you running laps until you puke when you get back to campus. Now go."
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Post by Jasmine Doyle on May 21, 2008 23:56:07 GMT -5
Jasmine swung her backpack over her shoulders and grabbed Eli's hand, "Come on, we'll miss the bus," she said, turning around to wave at Rebecca, "Hurry up, I think I hear it coming." she shouted, dropping Eli's hand, realizing that most siblings don't hold hands. She stuck her tongue out at Eli and started jogging towards the bus stop. She slowed down when she saw the line of kids standing there. She eyed them warrily, wondering if Andrew was in the line somewhere, she didn't notice and overly nerdy kids standing there though. "Uh, hey." she mumbled, standing at the back of the line. Although she had been on many missions, making new friends was never the highlight of the trip. Back at the guardians, you knew that everyone was on your side so you could just talk to them and they'd be resonably polite to you. She filed into the bus behind the other kids, turning around to make sure everyone was there. Suprisingly everyone was. She quickly sat down in the first open seat she came to, praying that the kid next to her wouldn't be a rapist or anything.
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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 22, 2008 0:25:30 GMT -5
Becky slowed down to a walk as she came up alongside her siblings. She settled into step alongside her twin brother, her shoulder casually brushing his as they walked. "Oh boy," she muttered as they reached the bus stop. Her eyes swept over the group of teenagers, looking at each boy the best she could without staring. It was hard to say and she didn't want to stereotype but...none of them really looked like the sort. They all seemed preoccupied with whatever they were doing and weren't particularly serious, the way she would expect a Ukwtakun agent to be.
The brakes of the bus brought her back to reality and she fell into line behind the others. The doors folded open and the kids began filing in. At the top of the steps was a heavy set driver who was yelling at some ill-behaved kids. She paused when she saw the new kids and looked them up and down once, "Lincoln?" she asked but didn't seem to wait for an answer.
Becky followed her brother down the narrow aisleway, trying not to trip over feet or whack anybody in the face with her backpack. More than a couple of eyes trailed her and her family but she tried to ignore them as she slipped into the seat beside Eli.
A preppy girl in the seat in front of her stood up just enough to look over the back of the seat, then disappeared suddenly. She heard her whisper something to her seat-mate and then there was an explosion of laughter. Becky proped her knees against the seat-back. Oh boy.
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 22, 2008 0:38:30 GMT -5
Eli slid into the seat with a sigh and stared out the window as the bus driver closed the doors and started driving away. After a moment, he remembered the mission and looked around, trying to seem as much like a scared new kid as possible. It wasn't difficult.
He saw no one in that brief glimpse that seemed as nerdy or stiff as he'd expect, but he though back to the description they'd been given of Andrew. Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, about 6'1. . .
He shook his head and looked at Becky. Leaning close to her, he whispered. "This is gonna be interesting."
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Post by Jasmine Doyle on May 22, 2008 0:55:00 GMT -5
Jasmine glanced back at Elijah and gave him "a look" which meant, 'wish me luck", and she was pretty sure he'd understand it, because she'd been giving him lots of different looks since they were little kids.
She leaned forward and tapped on the preppy girl's shoulder, "Uhm, hey." she said cheerily, "I'm Jasmine and I was wondering where you got that skirt, because it's absolutely beautiful." she exclaimed, "I just moved here yesterday and I don't know where to shop around here." she gushed on, "Do you think that maybe you could show me around this weekened? I mean, you have such an amazing sense of style and your makeup looks flawless. I know this pretty cool brand of makeup that makes your skin absolutely glow." she smiled sweetly at them, knowing that as long as she didn't post a threat to the preppy girls they wouldn't see her as an enemy, but if she groveled to much they'd just use her as their slave. She would have to be careful with that, brag enough, but not too much, kiss their feet, but yet again, not too much. Much to her pleasure the girl smiled back and nodded her head in agreement. They carried on a lively conversation about the latest fads, which Jasmine knew nothing about, and the cute boys and things that normal girls talk about. Soon enough they were arriving at Lincoln Highschool.
Jasmine decended the steps of the bus with her new friends and gave Elijah and Becky a small wave, "They're my foster siblings," she explained, as she stood next to them, "I have to go to the office with them to get my class schedule. Maybe I'll see you at lunch." she said, trying not to sound too eager, yet not too aloof. "Toodles." she waved at them, "Come on." she hissed at Elijah and Becky as her friends went on their way. "We gotta do some serious searching...for the principals office." she added, smiling at a blonde guy walking past them.
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Many hours later, Jasmine had been to a 4 classes and the bathroom 6 times. She shook her head in disgust, what was with preppy girls and their field trips to the bathroom. She pasted a smile back onto her face as she flounced out of the bathroom stall and started another round of chattering with her new friends. They headed down the hall, calling out to other friends and dissing people that they labled 'losers'. After a few minutes they reached the cafeteria and went through the long line, only picking diet foods and diet drinks. Jasmine heard her stomach growl as she passed up a large piece of pizza.
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Post by Andrew Ivanovi on May 22, 2008 1:31:07 GMT -5
Andrew Trindale stretched out across two chairs at the table, watching the people go by with only mild interest. He wore the same blue and gold football jersey that the rest of the guys at his table were wearing and regarded their animated discussion with comfortable familiarity. Occasionally he'd put in his two cents about a particular play the last NFL game, but for the most part he just kept quiet and listened.
They'd gotten word the night before that those idiots "The Guardians" had found out about their mission. No doubt they'd be trying to stop it, but it didn't bother him. The Guardians were morons, poor actors and undisciplined sentimental saps. He'd dealt with them a number of times and every single time they'd pointed themselves out to him, almost as plainly as if they'd painted "Guardian" on their shirt.
"There's that new girl..." said one of the halfbacks. Andrew's attention was instantly pricked. He turned in the indicated direction and was quickly able to identify the new face.
"I hear she just moved here," said the team captain, kicking Andrew in the leg, "Probably means she's available. Maybe that's the one for you, Andy. Not bad on the eyes...not at all."
Andrew nodded his agreement and turned the prospect over in his mind. Funny thing about popularity: being in a hot relationship seemed to be a requirement for getting into the upper circles. Didn't matter if you stayed in that relationship, you just needed it to get in.
Andrew's eyes went up and down the black haired girl's form several times, always looking away every time she looked like she might turn around. He was certainly assessing her physical appearance, but didn't neglect his mission. Any new face was a possible Guardian spy...though this one seemed pretty harmless.
Picking up another slice of pizza, Andrew returned his attention to the conversation at hand but every few minutes he'd glance towards the dark haired girl. Getting her wouldn't be an issue. She was new, still trying to climb the social ladder, and looked quite concerned with her appearance. Andrew could cater exactly to that. He knew full well that part of the reason he'd been chosen for this mission was because of his good looks -some of the best in the Ukwtakun. That and the way that he'd landed a spot as quarterback straight off, even though he was one of the tallest guys on the team, guaranteed any girlfriend of his a showy appearance and a definite social jump.
He dared another look at the girl. Yes, this would definitely be worth looking into.
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 22, 2008 9:42:37 GMT -5
||You know, I should have made the mission briefing say "DO NOT underestimate the Ukwtakun." Haha. ||
Elijah shuffled into the cafeteria with his head down and his left hand nervously fiddling with the strap of his backpack. His worry, it turned out, had not been entirely stupid. Even without the glasses--he hadn't put them on since Jasmine had stuffed them in his backpack--he had been made fun of and avoided like the plague for the entire morning. Consequently, in the span of a few hours his ego had been shrunk down farther than he thought possible. At first, he'd just told himself to ignore the other students--most of them left him alone, anyway. But some of them, mainly jocks, had even gone so far as to corner him and push him around--literally and verbally. Originally, he thought he'd be able to stick up for himself, but it had turned out that it was all he could do to just manage to slip away from them and run off to his next class. Thinking about this, Eli shuddered and grabbed a couple pieces of pizza and a soda, then slid into a seat at an empty table in a fairly deserted corner of the room.
He risked a glance upward and the first thing he saw were the jocks. Without even noticing, he slid down further into his chair and stared miserably at his plate. He hadn't seen Andrew or anyone who looked at all like Andrew was supposed to, and it was as if even the other nerds had no intention of befriending him.
The worst part of all about the day was the memories it brought up. He thought back to elementary where he was constantly tormented, and had his head shoved in the toilet literally almost every day. One time, he'd managed to lash out and bloody a kid's nose, but that had only made things worse for him in the end. Even Jasmine didn't know how bad it had been back then, and he didn't care to tell her either.
Eli took a bite of pizza--it tasted like cold , chewy cardboard--and surveyed the rest of the students again. Going on description alone, there were a few guys who looked somewhat like Andrew, but none of them were nerds. In fact, most of them were at least somewhat popular or at least surrounded by other people, and one was even a jock. No way, Eli thought, was Andrew a jock. And besides, from what he could tell, the guy was extremely popular and already had a circle of loyal "friends." If Andrew was new like them, there was pretty much no way he could already be that tight with so many people. Well, Elijah thought as he took another bite, I can cross that guy off the list, at least.
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