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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 23, 2008 15:51:59 GMT -5
Becky's temper flared at Eli's reaction. Her adrenaline was still high and if he hadn't turned away the second that he did she would've slapped his face...twin brother or not.
"Fine!" she growled after him, not caring who heard her, "Next time I'll remember to let him kick the crap out of you. I can certainly do without the twisted arm!"
She jerked her head angrily towards the few remaining spectators. "Shut up," was all she said as she pushed past them. The bell rang, screaming at her to get to class, but she ignored it. The last thing she needed was for everyone's first impression of her to be "Crying Girl"...and she was about to start sobbing any second now.
The girl's bathroom sign appeared just in time and she rushed inside. Fortunately it was deserted. Pressing her flushed face to the cool tiled walls of the bathroom, Becky let the tears fall. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid boys," she muttered over and over again.
It was five minutes before her face had returned to it's normal color. With a sigh she figured it was time to get to class and reluctantly left the bathroom. Her temper was still high, but she could probably control it. She'd have to tell the teacher that she'd left her books on the other side of campus...or something.
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 23, 2008 16:17:38 GMT -5
Eli spent the rest of his day twice as miserable as he'd been before. Until the whole fiasco with Becky, he hadn't thought that possible. Apparently, though, it was. On one hand, he was still extremely angry with her for making things so much worse for him. On the other, he knew she'd just been trying to help and he hated himself for hurting her.
In the end, he decided to apologize eventually, but maybe not right away. After all, what if she was still angry? Besides, if he apologized right away she might not even listen, or he might seem desperate. He made up a number of reasons why it was okay not to apologize just yet, and pushed the nagging feeling it gave him to the back of his mind.
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After school, Eli wandered outside to where the cross-country people were practicing. Feeling more than a little envious that Becky got to be the jock, he found a spot toward the bottom of the bleachers and worked on homework while she practiced.
Under normal circumstances, he would have left, but they'd decided to snoop around the school a little after school and he couldn't go back on that now. The first day was the best day to do this, since if they got caught they could claim that they were lost. Besides, they needed to do this for the mission and Elijah wasn't about to neglect the mission because of a stupid fight.
So, he waited, and by the time practice was over, most of his homework was done. As he closed his AP Calculus textbook, he suddenly remembered that he'd promised to help Becky that night with her homework. And, somehow, he doubted that would happen now. As hard as it was going to be for him to talk to her after everything that had happened, he figured she was probably at least twice as angry as him.
Boy, this is going to be fun, Eli thought with an inward sigh as he saw Becky passing the bleachers. He hopped down and jogged after her, his backpack bouncing up and down and slapping him in the back as he did so. "Hey," he muttered as he fell into step beside her. "Um. . ." he looked away, not sure what to say. "You, um. . . still up for. . . uh. . ." He closed his eyes momentarily and shook his head, just barely. "If you need to shower or change or whatever, I'll just wait outside," he offered, feeling like an idiot. "Then, you know. . . we can leave and all. Okay?"
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Post by Jasmine Doyle on May 24, 2008 0:15:42 GMT -5
Jasmine waved goodbye to her new friends at the bus stop, confirming their plans to go shopping that weekend. She hurried home, hoping that Adelle would be there. She flew through the door and rushed into the kitchen, "Eli and Becky will be late, they're going to check out the school." she said, sitting down at the kitchen table, her face flushed.
While she was on the bus she heard a few of the kids, lower down on the popularity list talking about "The Fight." To be honest, she really didn't care that Eli had gotten punched in the face, for the missions sake, it probably was the best thing. Though, because she knew of his history with bullies, she was quite worried about his mental state. What really bugged her was that Becky had run in and stopped Andrew. If Becky had gotten really violent, she probably could have easily taken on more than two jocks at once, but the first problem was, if this Andrew wasn't with the Ukwatakun, she probably would have knocked his head in and arroused alot of suspicion for the real Andrew to take notice of and gotten in alot of trouble as well. The second problem was, if he was actually the real Andrew, he would have figured out right away who they were. No girl, even a jock girl could beat up a big guy like him. Either way it was a lose-lose situation.
Jasmine tapped her fingers on the table, she would have to give both Rebecca and Eli a talking to when they got home.
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Post by Adelle Haynsworth on May 24, 2008 1:05:10 GMT -5
Adelle looked up from the book she'd been reading. All day, she'd been on the phone with either the campus or high-ranking officials, and it seemed that just as she finally got the chance to relax, Jasmine came in and started talking. Of course, when it came down to it, Adelle didn't really mind. Just being off campus was nice, even if she had less free time.
She took off her glasses and sighed. "It would be nice if you kids would check these things with me beforehand and not tell me right when it's happening." She shook her head and sighed again. "So, how did it go today? Have you guys found Andrew yet?"
||Ugh, short, Sorry. ><||
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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 25, 2008 21:05:19 GMT -5
Rebecca's head jerked up in surprise when she heard Eli's voice beside her. She hadn't been expecting to see him for quite a while, possibly not until they were forced into the same room by dinner. Her temper had cooled long before but some feelings of hurt still remained and she wasn't sure what to say to Eli. Fortunately, he spoke first.
She blinked and kicked herself. During all the stupid drama she'd let her mind get off the mission and had forgotten about their plans. "Oh...yeah," she looked at the concrete and forced her mind onto the task at hand, "The school's closed so no showering here, so I guess we can go." She decided he'd figure out what she meant by "go".
Turning away from the school, she started heading in the direction of house. People would wonder otherwise and they could double back after a few blocks. The tough part would be the walk there and surviving the conversation, or worse, silence that came with it.
"I keep feeling like I should say I'm sorry," she said, deciding anything was better than silence, "But I can't...because I'm not...and I'd do it again in a heart beat." She looked up, hoping Eli would let her look him in the eye. "For a second, just a second, I thought about walking on by and letting you handle the situation. But then I thought of what I'd feel like if you came home all beaten up, and realized I couldn't live with myself. If you want me to butt out and leave it to you after this, I will...but I won't regret what I did today."
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 25, 2008 21:15:59 GMT -5
Eli sighed and stared at the ground, trees, things they were walking past--anywhere but at Becky. "I. . ." he sighed and adjusted the straps on his backpack until they were perfectly even, just to give himself something to do.
"It's not like he would have beaten me up that bad or anything," he blurted. "I mean, if nothing else I could have run." He sighed, wishing he could talk about the mission out in the open. "I know you were trying to help, but. . . " Eli shook his head, not knowing what else to say. "Let's just forget it, okay? I mean, it's over now and. . ." He took a deep breath and forced the dreaded words out of his mouth, "I'm sorry. Really. . . I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." He kicked the ground. "Okay?"
He cocked his head in the direction of the school. Surprising how it had taken him a few blocks to say that little. "You ready?"
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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 25, 2008 21:59:39 GMT -5
Becky pursed her lips then nodded once at Elijah's apology. She was still a little flustered, but, pff, she'd get over it.
She looked around to see if anyone was watching. "I think so..." she said, stepping towards a shadow between two houses. There were no windows on those sides of the buildings so there was a pretty low chance of someone seeing her vanish. She stopped, took a good look at the area that surrounded her, then closed her eyes and imagined it. Her form melted into the shadow.
The effect wasn't quite invisibility...the light still bounced off of her, it just appeared in the same colors as what was behind her. Thankfully, it was nearly dusk so her shadow wasn't prominent. She had to pay close attention to keep her camoflauge matching her surroundings, but unless someone was particularly looking for her, it was highly unlikely she'd be noticed. "Eli?" she breathed in barely a whisper, wondering how she'd find him if he was totally invisible.
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 25, 2008 22:13:05 GMT -5
Eli slipped into the cloak of invisibility with hardly a thought. He started to walk off, then remembered that Becky wouldn't be able to see him. Before he had time to question himself, he grabbed her hand and gave it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze. "Let's go," he whispered. "And don't talk unless you absolutely have to, okay?"
When they reached the school again, he tried one of the side doors just in case it was unlocked. Surprisingly, it was. After double-checking to make sure no one was around, Eli pulled the door the rest of the way open and pushed Becky ahead of him before slipping inside without a sound. He leaned close to her, so close that his chest was pressed against her back and his lips were nearly touching her ear. "Walk as quietly as possible. Not a sound." With that, he took her hand again, and started walking toward the office.
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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 25, 2008 23:21:00 GMT -5
Becky shivered when Eli touched her hand. Strange, and more than a little creepy, to be able to feel someone but not to see them in the least. Her slight outline shifted as she nodded, barely letting herself breath.
It was strange walking through the streets unseen. Once they passed a man walking his dog and though the dog looked up and sniffed the air in their direction, wagging her tail at Becky, the man was oblivious to their presence.
When they reached the door of the school, Becky kicked her shoes under a bush. The shoes flew for a second, camoflauged, then returned to their normal color right before tumbling under the thick branches. She'd probably have to pick a bunch of stickers out of her laces, but the silence of her socked feet against the tile floor more than made up for it.
Her senses were screaming as the door closed behind them and she jumped at Eli's touch. His whisper drifted into her ear like a phantom breeze and she glanced back to be absolutely sure she couldn't see him. Her senses told her he was nearby, but her eyes told her she was alone. She shook away the feeling.
The hallway, though empty, was a blur of essences. Every student had left their trail, but for the most part, each was hours old. When they reached the office door she stopped and stood still for a second. Her hand swept up Eli's arm until she found his shoulder and she stepped closer. "It's empty," she said just loud enough for him to hear and slowly opened the door with the other hand. "You check the student files and I'll doctor the tutoring assignments?"
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 25, 2008 23:35:41 GMT -5
Eli nodded, then remembered Becky couldn't see him. "Okay," he whispered, and stepped into the office. He looked behind him and saw Becky's faint outline but not being able to see her suddenly made him uncomfortable. He had a strange urge to walk back over to her and grab hold of her hand again. Instead, he walked over to a filing cabinet by the secretary's desk and rummaged through it. It took him nearly five minutes to find the student files, and another two to find Andy Trindale's file. When he did, he nodded his head to himself.
"Hey, Becky," he whispered, "Come check this out." He pointed to part of the file. "He's new too. Only been here about a month longer than us." He flicked the file and shook his head. "How did a new kid end up as quarterback more than halfway through the year? And look at the letters of recommendation from his old school. They talk about him like he's the absolute best student in the whole world." Eli let out a quiet laugh at that. "This has got to be him. I mean, who else would be the perfect student and all that crap?" Under his breath he added, "And he's a big enough jerk too."
||I couldn't remember if you said how long Andy had been there, so I just made something up. I'll edit later if need be.||
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Post by Jasmine Doyle on May 25, 2008 23:40:38 GMT -5
Jasmine jumped up from her seat and headed over to the fridge, "Oh, it was a normal day. I made friends with the preps and pretended to be anorexic." she let out a snort, "I mean, what is with those girls and not eating anything." she grabbed a loaf of bread and some lunchmeat. Dropping them on the counter she went back and got a jar of mayonaise and a bottle of mustard. Quickly she slapped together two sandwiches and grabbed a bottle of SunnyD. "About Andrew, I'm not really sure yet. Eli was freaking out about being a nerd and I doubt he was really looking out for Nerd Andrew because he was busy protecting himself from the jocks. Oh and, mom, I really didn't see any other kids dressed like Eli, so either dressing like a nerd is out of style or they were all hiding out in the bathrooms." she rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah, and the bathrooms are like the social gathering places for the preps. We have toilet tours, toilet parties, and we even go the the toilet there." she stuffed a big bite of her sandwich into her mouth, "Anyways, back to Andrew." she said around the mouthful of food, "There's this jock dude, who's really hott, and he's blonde. According to my friends, he's pretty new too, but I highly doubt that he's the one we're after. Not that I won't keep my eye on him. In fact, I'll keep both of my eyes on him." she said, glancing down at her phone, she wondered if she should send him a text. She had his number memorized, of course. She glanced over at Adelle before quickly punching the bottons on her phone.
((Andrew, check your phone. xD))
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Post by Rebecca Swenson on May 26, 2008 11:56:58 GMT -5
Rebecca methodically went through all the papers on the secretary's and principal's desks, careful to replace each paper as she found it. She was about to move towards the "Pickup" filebox at the front of the office when she heard Eli's voice.
Silently she moved beside him and looked through the papers, nodding. "Jackson High School...Columbus, Ohio. When we get home we can look up the school, see if it exists and if he was ever really there. That could give us our proof," she said.
Then she turned back towards the box and started looking through the papers. Half a minute later a grin flashed across her face as she withdrew the new tutoring assignments from the pile. She grabbed a matching pencil with a good eraser, quickly located her name, and carefully erased it. "Andrew Trindale..." she mouthed silently as her finger ran down the list of AP students. Then her finger stopped and she ran it across the page to his assignment's name. She was about to copy the name down to her former tutor when she stopped short. Slowly she replaced her finger to the name next to Andrew's. The writer's essence ran through her fingers and her breath caught. "Eli..." she whispered, "What was the name of the politician that we're trying to protect, again?"
She lifted her hand from the paper and now she could see the faint eraser marks around the name as well as an almost indiscernable difference in handwriting. Her head slowly raised as she rechecked her senses to be sure they were alone. Andrew's essence was all over this paper...and it was fresh.
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Post by Elijah Channing on May 26, 2008 12:32:09 GMT -5
"I'll bet anything we won't find anything that way. They're not stupid and they'd have doctored those files, I'm sure." Eli sighed and went to put the file back. He barely looked up when she asked about the politician. "I think it was Bokhari Niziol, why?" He suddenly had this strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He quietly closed the file cabinet and walked over to where he saw her faint outline in the semi-darkness. "Becky?" He whispered, touching her shoulder. "What's going on?" He looked down at the paper, trying to figure out where she was looking and what was going on. He found the spot where she'd erased, and another erased and filled in spot on another part of the page, and sucked in a breath. "Andrew," he muttered.
Eli bit his lip and swallowed. "Hurry up doctoring that and put it back so we can go. I've suddenly got a bad feeling about this." Andrew, he thought with a start, could be anywhere. He could be spying on them for all Eli knew. "He's not in here, is he?" Eli whispered. "I mean, can you tell?"
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Post by Adelle Haynsworth on May 26, 2008 12:39:49 GMT -5
Adelle almost laughed at Jasmine's outlook on the mission. When she started talking about the one possibility for Andrew, though, Adelle stopped. "Oh no. I know that look. It's the look of any girl who's falling for a cute boy." She fixed Jasmine with a stern glare. "Jasmine, you should know better than to get emotionally involved with someone who could end up being the bad guy. You know the Ukwtakun are deceivers. Just because he's cute and he smiles at you doesn't make him Prince Charming, okay?" She paused and shook her head, obviously lost in thought. Finally, she continued. "If it will help the mission to get. . . closer to him in that way, fine. Just don't give him your heart." She smiled a sad, motherly sort of smile. "After all, even if he isn't Andrew Ivanovi, you'll be leaving after a while and your heart will still end up broken."
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Post by Noam Levin on May 26, 2008 15:08:29 GMT -5
Noam made it through the day with little incident and now stood on the football field as practice began. The coach had assured him there would be little place for him on the field as he came in so late in the year, but Noam was sure he could make a wonderful blocker for their star quarterback. Maybe Andrew wasn't the geek they thought he was after all. Noam stood in his group of new acquaintances and stretched. He had made no attempt to meet the quarterback, and all for the better- or at least Noam hoped. If something was to be started between the two of them, Noam wanted Andrew to start it, if at all possible. There would be less chance of being manipulated that way. Noam watched, as the coach so naively told him to do, as the practice began. Andrew really was as good as they had said, but there was no way a normal person could throw that far with so little time, muscle, and effort. Noam wondered if Andrew might be competition to him in a fight. Soon the assistant coach took Noam over to the training are to see how good he was at taking hits, since that's what his resume said he did in football. Now's the time to show off Noam thought. He sprinted toward the padded rack and smacked into it, actually moving the rack nearly a foot, he moved from rack to rack doing the same to each. He then proceeded to the tire course as the coach had instructed him and nimbly jumped from tire to tire. Having gone through basic, this was a cake walk. When Noam finished, he saw the assistant coach wide-eyed and staring at him, talking to the head coach. Maybe he had overdone it a little.
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