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Delivery Tuck -*- Copyright 2002 by Ellen Hayes.
Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when used for satirical purposes.
This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and possibly sex. If you are legally not allowed to read materials containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading this. I am not responsible. Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish, state, and country.
All rights reserved. See the bottom for distribution rights.
Delivery Tuck
*** 22:34 18 Aug
"So, get Mike and some more of those hooligan friends of yours," which I almost protested over in reflex despite, or because of, the fact that it was marginally true. "And," Susan continued, "go talk to her for a minute. You know, be calm and all that, don't freak out-"
"You don't think that's a bad idea?" I thought it was a VERY bad idea, but she apparently didn't, because she shook her head.
"Just tell her it's okay, or something like that, and she doesn't owe you anything," Susan said.
"But... I, I mean, it's sort of handy to have her owe me a favor," I eventually admitted. "She's got a lot more social power than you'd think."
"Let her friends owe it to you, if you're going to be formal about it," Susan said. "Let her off the hook, and that way she won't feel like you're going to pop it on her some time and sc- hurt her with it."
"You think?"
"You wanna call Mike and check this out?" she asked me.
"Uh," I checked my watch. It was a little late to call for casual conversation, even about Debbie. "What about tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow would be good," she allowed. "Just don't ignore it and wait too long, because I'm gonna call Mike tomorrow and ask if you did," she grinned at me.
"Suze!"
"You didn't even listen to it until two days after she left it," Susan accused me, "and you wouldn't have done it now except I made you. I don't think you're dealing with her, and you really do need to, for you, AND for the 'random' person you didn't let get beaten up by some asshole guy," she said.
Pause.
"Oh," I said.
"And speaking of tomorrow, are you cooking over there again?" she asked me.
"Uh, what? Babys- Yeah, I was planning to, why?"
"So you'll be home about eight?"
"Uh, well, I was, uh, going out..."
"With 'him'?" she grinned.
"Yeah!" I said defensively, then stopped when all she did was grin and shake her head at me. "Why?"
"Just wondered when you were going to be home," she said. "I was thinking about staying until Wednesday morning, and then leaving about the time you do."
"That'd be okay," I said, selfishly thinking of the extra day of sleep I'd be sure to get.
"So, go to sleep," she ordered.
*** 22:40 18 Aug
"Suze?"
"Uh?"
"You really think I should talk to Debbie?"
"Yeah," she said sleepily. "Just for a couple of minutes, and just tell her it's okay, you'd have done that for anyone, and she doesn't owe you anything."
"You... you don't think she'll freak or get mad or something?"
"Tuck, you are a complete idiot," she sighed. "No, she won't. Just do it quick and then leave, preferably the entire area, and don't hang around where you can watch her either. Promise?"
"Okay," I sighed. "Why?"
"If she was that upset on the phone," Susan said like I ought to know this already, "then she might start crying again when, I mean after you talk to her, and it'll mess both of you up worse if you can see it. But you ABSOLUTLELY need to talk to her, now. And make sure she has a few friends of hers around her after you leave, right?"
"Right," I sighed. "Do I have to talk to her?"
"Yes. If you don't, I will," she threatened.
"Okay, okay," I sighed again.
Pause.
"Now, go to sleep!"
"Can I have a drink of waterrrr?" I whined back, and she reached a hand around and poked me a few times.
*** 06:00 19 Aug
"Ah!" Susan and I both said at the same time as my alarm went off. TOMORROW, I decided firmly.
*** 06:11 19 Aug
"I just don't want to go," I said into Susan's ear.
"I know," she said into mine, "but college really is better than high school, and..."
I sighed, and just hugged her a little tighter for a while.
"First Amy, now you..."
"Tuck," she chuckled into my ear, "you've got how many friends now, that even come over here for Sundays?"
"It's not the same," I said through the lump in my throat.
"I know," she said back, and squeezed me a little tighter herself.
*** 06:56 19 Aug
"Urgh," Kim mumbled as she waved.
"She's having difficulty adjusting to her new schedule," Jill translated.
"I'm sorry, Kim," I said, and patted her on the head before I sat down.
"Uhuh," Kim sighed, and smiled wearily at me for a moment.
"Hey!" Jill said, suddenly excited, "Guess what?" Before I could even realize that I was supposed to guess something, she hopped up and down and told us, "I got switched to working Saturdays and having Sundays off! That means I can play with you guys and stuff!"
"That is cool!" I said, impressed. Even Kim's eyes got wide and she smiled and nodded like it was a good thing.
*** 07:27 19 Aug
I found it hard to believe that I was actually sitting in here, taking real honest study-for-a-test-with-them notes, on FINGERnails. But, we all were, even the guys.
I really hoped I'd be able to stick with Kim and/or Jill as lab partners, though.
*** 07:52 19 Aug
There was a general rush out the door, which surprised me, especially when Kim went the same way.
"Bathroom," she said over her shoulder at me.
"Gee, Jill," I smirked as I turned to her, "don't'cha wanna go fix your makeup too? OW!"
*** 08:03 19 Aug
"Cowards," Kim sighed at us.
I looked at Jill, she looked at me, and I said, "Yep! Yellow- bellied coward, that's me."
"Mine's not actually yellow," Jill said as she looked down at hers.
"It's a simile or something," I told her.
"That's a metaphor," Kim interrupted, "you're both cowards, and Jill I am going to fry your undead ass when I catch you," she promised as she tried to shake us loose from her arms.
We were grouping up for permanent lab partners today, and neither Jill nor I wanted to take a chance on being stuck with someone else.
"Oh, the game," Jill said as she caught on, way too late I thought.
*** 08:40 19 Aug
Luckily, today looked to be mostly film or videos, or at least I hoped it would keep going the way it had gone so far. We hadn't even done anything yet, just sat around and taken notes and stuff.
"Did you bring any popcorn?" I whispered to Jill.
"Shut up," she whispered back before poking me for emphasis.
*** 09:47 19 Aug
"This is gonna be a weird year," I said to Kim and Jill just before we split up to get to our lockers before going to our other classes. Luckily, we got out five minutes earlier than usual or scheduled so we COULD get to our lockers before our other classes.
"No kidding," Kim sighed.
"I can't believe I have HOMEWORK in this shit," Jill complained. "What was I thinking?!"
I answered, "You were in love with me and-"
"No, that was you, remember?" she grinned at me, and we slapped hands before we took off in opposite directions.
*** 10:44 19 Aug
"It's gonna be a weird year," I told Mike and Sabrina as I sat down and waved at Amanda, who waved back.
"No kidding," Sabrina nodded.
"What," Mike asked, "in insert your favorite deity's name here, did you do for a two hour lab-"
"It's gonna be more like three," I sighed. "Today, films and stuff, but-" The bells rang, cutting me off.
"Next time, I guess Thursday," I continued, "we're gonna be doing stuff, and I don't even know how that's gonna turn out."
*** 11:37 19 Aug
I was going to go to my locker, to get my lunch, but there was a large crowd of people I didn't like there, including one I'd jumped eight feet to attack recently, so I decided I wasn't hungry and left for the usual spot instead.
"Tuck? Food?" Mike said. I just pointed. "Oh. Where's your lunch?" I pointed again. "You were dieting anyway, though, weren't you?"
"Shut up, Mike. I think I avoid my locker at lunchtime this year," I sighed.
*** 11:41 19 Aug
"On second thought," Mike said, "I think it would be better to split you up into two groups, play you guys alternate days-"
That got a lot of complaints, including from me, but he seemed certain on the point, and we finally gave up.
"And," he said, "character preludes are gonna be the next few days, one on one or teaming up, but anyone who acts as an extra gets freebie points to add in, and we're gonna have to do 'em after school and stuff, because it's not gonna work if we try and do it in forty-five minute chunks; we'll be running them until Christmas."
"Aw, man! I gotta work!" I whined before I could stop myself.
"It'll go until this weekend sometime, and if you or Jill don't have yours done by then," he told us, "we'll do 'em over the weekend."
"Hey, I got off Sundays!" Jill told all of us excitedly.
"That's even better," Mike grinned, "We'll set up a table off the main one and game over Sunday dinner at Tuck's."
"Uh, this is my house," I mentioned, "and MY mom is gonna be there, and did you forget-"
"You can talk her into it, can't you?" Mike smiled nastily at me. "Get Jill to help. Jill, can you cry on command, like?" Jill's face screwed up in terrible anguish and I thought she was going to start sobbing miserably right there. "Damn," Mike said admiringly, "that'll help a LOT."
"Not against MOM," I sighed.
*** 11:44 19 Aug
Mike dinged the play bell and we all got quiet, except for the munching noises. I put down the briefing sheet so I could listen.
"Amanda," Mike said. "You're excited, because your little crappy job at the 7-Eleven has gotten you enough money so you could finally get a new piece of hardware, which'll make the games you play on your computer a lot better. Video card, if you care," he said offhandedly and I nodded as Amanda shrugged. "Okay, so, it's clutched in your hand as you get off the bus and practically run home..." Everyone, including the assorted Little Brothers, were inching closer, I vaguely noticed, and I smiled a bit at the knowledge before letting go and falling back into the story.
*** 11:53 19 Aug
"I grab the Bane and try to rip it in two, if it's materialized I should be able to," George said.
"Uhh," Mike said, and flipped through cardboard GM's screens frantically. "Roll Strength plus Brawling, and-"
"I've got that martial art, Kailindo," George interrupted.
"Ripping a spirit in half is not a Jackie Chan kinda move, George," Mike said. "And you don't have any brawling, do you, just-"
"Aw man!" George complained.
"Roll anyway, you've got the extra dice for Crinos strength," Amanda pointed out, and George got much happier as he rolled.
"Difficulty seven," Mike said, a bit late, but George had rolled three successes anyway. "Not quite in two, but you rip an arm off and break the other one-"
"Yes!"
"Tuck?" Mike asked. "Your action."
"We have to go," I said to Amanda, in character. "There's more where this one came from, and we have to leave."
"But I don't wan- I mean, my parents!" she said back.
"Now!" I yelled, then turned to Mike. "I pick her up and carry her out, we don't have time for this!"
Amanda protested, "He does NOT grab me, I dodge!" She rolled some dice before Mike even said anything, so I rolled some of my own, guessing Dex plus Brawling.
"Uhmmm okay no problem Tuck, she hits you and starts screaming but not enough to stop you," Mike said.
"Put me DOWN!" Amanda screamed. "You can't just-" I put a hand over her mouth and she bit me.
Then Mike rolled some dice, and smiled.
*** 12:14 19 Aug
Mike dinged the play bell, just when we were about to hit the Black Spirals with the stolen truck, and there were screams.
"Guys!" Mike yelled back at us, and we all quieted down. "This is going really awesome, but you need to take a couple of minutes to calm down and stuff, before classes. You guys are really getting into it."
"No kidding," Amanda nodded, looking a little confused, as well as flushed with emotion. "I want to bite something."
I would have laughed, except I wanted to bite something.
*** 12:16 19 Aug
"I don't know if I should talk to you," I grinned at Kelly, who had been playing one of the Black Spirals and doing far too well at it for my tastes. I mean, he was being EVIL and all, which he was supposed to be, but he shouldn't be making it so hard for the rest of us, I sort of thought.
And, sort of, I thought exactly the opposite too.
"You're really good at this," I said as Kelly's face fell, "and we should be stomping you except you're doing too good at it. Stop playing so good so we can slaughter you!"
"For real?" he said, and I nodded. "You wish," he snarled.
"Yeah, no shit," Dan nodded, "we're gonna kill you allllll," he hissed.
"Hah! Corrupted scum of-"
"Knock it off," Mike called at us. "You guys keep that up and you'll be going frenzy in class, and you PLAYERS are not nearly awesome enough to take on the rest of the school at one time. And you don't induce Delirium either. Just chill, and save it for tomorrow."
I took some deep breaths for a while.
"Man, this is soooo cool!" Kelly said enthusiastically, sounding much less infested with rotting evil than he had been. "Um, hey, where's the nearest bathroom?"
"Bathroom?" Amanda repeated, and started packing quickly.
"Uh. Now that you mention it," I sighed, and stuffed books into my pack because now I had to go too.
"Do you have to go to the bathroom with someone else?" Bob, looking and sounding far too much like George had brought him home from the farm. "What're you scared of?" he sneered at me.
I didn't have to answer; Dan grabbed him from behind and sliced a finger across Bob's throat, then Mike said, "Something like that."
"Never leave your wingman," I added, "and that's why."
*** 12:18 19 Aug
"So what are you going to do when that truck eats your face tomorrow?" I asked as we walked towards the bathrooms, having collected some of the non-playing Pack girls too, who were chatting ahead of us.
"I'm gonna- Hey!" he complained, catching on JUST too soon. "I- you'll figure something out to counter it tonight if I tell you that!"
"Well, yeah," I grinned, "that was sort of the plan..." We laughed for a bit. "So, I mean, I guess you're liking it so far?" I confirmed.
"Yeah, man, this is so much cooler than it was back in Alaska, I mean," he continued explaining as we got to the bathrooms, finally, "it was like, even if I could find..."
If I hadn't been paying attention to the signs because I knew I'd have to watch it, I would have just followed half the Pack and sauntered into the girl's restroom without even realizing it.
I had turned away and just pushed the door open when I realized that Kelly wasn't there any more.
He was-
"Kelly!" I tried to strike a balance between screaming a warning and not attracting attention. "Not that one!"
He went into reverse immediately as he looked up at the door, and then stopped, and said, "But this is the girls..."
*** 12:19 19 Aug
There was this sort of stunned, respectful silence, as Kelly looked between me and my driver's license, and everyone else passed around Kelly's school ID card. The rest of the gamers had detected something was wrong and come over too, which I desperately needed at that point.
Not.
"Eugene WALLACE?" Kelly asked.
Apparently, that was the crack in the dam.
"I thought YOU were a girl!" Paul the freshthing accused me as the rest of them collapsed in hysterics, apparently in an attempt - five successes worth - to spread the embarrassment as far as possible.
*** 12:20 19 Aug
I didn't think it was nearly as funny as everyone else around me, but apparently to them it was, and enough to cause them to lose motor control.
The only ones who hadn't had a complete seizure, besides me and Kelly, were Mike and Jill. They had both kind of grabbed us and moved us away, and Mike was explaining, "Look, the deal is, Tuck's been having problems being mistaken for a girl on occasion, and the fact that you two were paired-"
"And isn't it absolutely, I mean the Big/Little Brother/Sister things, supposed to ALWAYS be the same sex?" Jill mentioned.
"Yeah, and I think someone had something to do with that," I said, being paranoid but also remembering that those cheerleaders had seemed AWFUL happy to see me Friday... like they were AMUSED at something.
"The point is, though," Jill said, "it's not like we're laughing so much AT you, as we are at the symmetry of it, because YOU thought TUCK was a girl-"
"But, but," Kelly protested, "When I saw you Sunday you were wearmph-"
"Sunday?" Mike asked quietly, his hand now over Kelly's mouth.
Kelly nodded.
I knew he caught- SHE, damnit! I thought. "I," I said, "was having some cosmetology practice with Kim and Jill, and I guess I didn't get it all off." I shrugged, like I didn't care that much. "On the other hand, I have enough social problems I don't want you screaming about it inside school, okay?"
Mike and I looked at each other, and he slowly took his hand off Kelly's mouth.
"But, but, I thought you were a girl because they told me I'd be paired with another girl!" Kelly protested. "And, I mean, all the other girls got Big Sisters too!"
"Uh, well," I said.
"Maybe they made a mistake with one or the other of you?" Jill suggested.
"No, it's all a computerized list," I said, having investigated the file a bit when I was here that night. "I dunno what happened, but they know I've been a guy since I started going to high sch-" I hoped Kelly wouldn't notice the subtle kick Mike delivered. "-Ool," I finished. "That wasn't a mistake, that was deliberate on someone's part."
Kelly insisted, "But, I mean... you kinda, I mean, your face and everything, it looks..."
"Not any more than you do, the other way," I said. "And, my friends know I'm a guy," Oh please don't let them laugh, "and so that's why they thought you were like ME. And the other fish, they th-"
"Fish?"
"Freshmen!" Mike, Jill, and I all said at the same time. "Shut up," I added, then continued, "They all thought I was like YOU. So..."
"It's actually kind of humorous if you look at it the right way," Mike said casually, and then started to smile a bit as we all looked back at the pile of people still rolling around on the floor as the bell rang.
"Look," Mike said and took our attention back, "I'm not gonna make fun of you, neither are the guys, and neither are the girls there, and I think the rest of us can keep the other fish in line; just don't let 'em torment you with it for the next couple of days while we work on 'em." That sounded painful; I wondered if he'd let me help.
Jill was nodding sagely. "After all, Tuck doesn't look like a typical guy, and we don't make fun of him, we hang out with him. So we won't make fun of you either."
"Let's, just, though, sort of not mention this to the world at large?" I asked, and Mike and Jill both immediately started making gestures that said this was the absolute last thing on their minds.
*** 12:26 19 Aug
Calculus seemed like an odd place to feel like you could catch your breath and relax, but that's how I felt, especially when I'd done the homework already and not everyone else had. Luckily for me, the homework was really going to be graded, like he'd said on the first day, so I was already a step up from some.
*** 14:03 19 Aug
Babysitting seemed like an ocean of sanity at this point, even if I had all of them plus a hypothetical surprise party to deal with. Plus, I thought as I retrieved my un-eaten lunch, I don't have to worry about people hanging out around their place doing the intimidation thing.
*** 15:45 19 Aug
I sighed happily. Life was so much simpler when all you had to deal with was two other kids, both of whom were smaller than you.
Maybe I was making the wrong career choice, I thought idly as I fixed various snacks; maybe I should just get employment in a lighthouse or fire watchtower, and just have things dropped off on the porch for me to pick up later.
On the other hand, engineer paid better, I was certain.
*** 16:02 19 Aug
On the gripping hand, if I brought my bathing suit from Rachel's house like I had today, I could go swimming, which would be hard to do while working if I was an engineer, and only really feasible if I was in a lighthouse, and even then I'd have to worry about being swept away in the current.
"So it's pretty good, isn't it?" I asked Stella, who was dining on the waterfront, as it were, as I stood in the pool and fed her while Ricky practiced his epileptic diving. Stella screamed agreement.
*** 16:45 19 Aug
Roast chicken, I thought, and, uh... let's see what we've got for fresh veggies... I looked, and accidentally said out loud, "Oooh, snow peas!"
*** 17:09 19 Aug
I was settling in to do my homework, keeping an eye on Ricky out the back window, when my pager went off. I looked, and it was Trav-
"Oh shit, we were going on a date tonight!" I realized in horror, then realized in further horror that I'd just said that out loud while babysitting.
Luckily, Stella did not seem to have noticed. "Ag-ag-ag-ag-ag," she said, which sounded nothing like 'shit', so perhaps I was safe.
Now all I had to worry about, was that I was in shorts and a T shirt again, which did not seem very enticing if I looked at me as a potential date.
*** 17:11 19 Aug
"Hey!" I said, happy to talk to Travis again, even if it was only over the phone at the moment.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked.
*** 17:14 19 Aug
"Spawn, or Air Force One?" I asked
"What about Event Horizon?"
I looked for it, and finally found it in the paper. "Um... nah, it just opened, it'll be more crowded. How about Spawn?"
"You don't want to see Harrison Ford?" he asked with a smile in his voice.
"Uh..." I had no idea why he was asking me this, so I wasn't quite sure how to answer. "Not really, no. He's okay, I mean, but I'd sort of rather see Spawn, if you wanted?"
*** 19:38 19 Aug
"Okay, see you guys tomorrow," I smiled, and went out to go get Travis.
As I exited, I saw Mike's car parked next to Travis' Suburban, and standing around them talking were Travis, Mike, and-
"Erk!"
"Oh Valerie!" Susan called when she saw me. "C'mere!"
I looked at Mike, who shrugged and then signed <Not bad,> which made me wonder either what had she bribed him with, or what had she threatened him with, or what drugs had she given him...
*** 19:40 19 Aug
"Because I told you, I wanted to meet him, and this gives me a chance to," she said quietly from behind Mike's car. "You're going on a date like that?"
"Susan!"
"What?" she snapped. "No, don't even start," she ordered. "Just shut the hell up, because there's nothing you can do about it at this point, because I caught him after his school, we went out for coffee and some food, with Mike there as your advocate and to chaperone, and I already know what he's like. He's pretty shy but nice," she said as her head bobbed once. "Okay, I guess. Why are you dating someone normal like that?"
"Fuck OFF!" I screamed and slashed at her, but she blocked it, warning, "Ahhht! Children!"
*** 19:43 19 Aug
"Okay!" I finally agreed, and Mike got off me, allowing me to remove myself from the lawn. If I hadn't needed to change before, I did now, unless Travis really enjoyed the dryadic bits-of-greenery look.
"She keeps thinking she can do that," Susan was saying to Travis, "and she forgets I'm the oldest and meanest."
"You're old," Mike agreed, "but not that mean."
"Hah!"
*** 19:47 19 Aug
"Okay!" Susan surrendered, and I let her out of the scissors lock.
"Are you ALWAYS like this?" Travis asked.
"Only when my family provokes me into it," I lied as I got up. "I'm really nice if they're not around."
"Comes from fighting over the toilet in the morning for years and years," Susan agreed, which stunned me. "Buried resentment combined with some anal complex interactions-"
"Don't get all froid on us," Mike said, which confused the hell out of me until I guessed what he'd said and it made more sense, a little.
*** 19:48 19 Aug
"So I just wanted to see who my little sister," and she poked me to remind me that there was a lot to discuss on that topic, "was dating, okay? Since you never mentioned him at home or anything."
"Suze, I-"
"Remember what happens when you do that?" she asked, looking serious.
I sighed. "Yeah, I know but this was diff-"
"That's what I said," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Travis asked.
"Nothing!" we said. "Don't ask," I added, "it's classified and you don't want to know anyway." Travis might have said something, but Mike was shaking his head at Travis, which apparently locked Travis up enough that he didn't talk.
"So, go have fun on your date," Susan said, "and be back by, uh, ten thirty, okay? You do still have school tomorrow."
"Yes mother darling," I snapped. "Any-"
"Don't be bitchy, it gives you wrinkles," she grinned at me.
*** 19:49 19 Aug
I was more stunned by the cooperation between Susan and Mike than I was anything else, and so I wasn't fighting hard enough to start with, and then they were handing me to Travis and I didn't want to flail around and hit him by mistake, so I stopped before I got started.
"I want her back by ten thirty, mister," Susan said sternly at Travis, "in good condition!"
"And with all the original parts," Mike added as Travis grabbed me around the waist and lifted me out of their clutches.
"I hate you both," I sighed at them, but Travis was too close for me to worry too much.
*** 19:54 19 Aug
Travis' Suburban had the virtue of good solid lockable doors, which I felt it desirable to hide behind for a while.
"Your sister's kind of nice," he said, "but I didn't think she was that weird."
"Hah!" I said bitterly. "Oh, Travis," I sighed, because I didn't want to be all bitter and angry when I was with him, and shifted in my seat so I could look at him better, because looking at him often made me feel better. "What was she doing?"
"With- The same thing your other girl friends did, when you got your hair cut," he said. "I guess she doesn't talk to them?"
"Apparently not," I replied, though Susan had had to get some information from somewhere, to catch me here and convince Mike to connive. "Just, I mean-"
"It was okay, Valerie," he said reassuringly as he squeezed my hand. "I, I mean, it seems like everyone's worried about you, though, 'cause they all seem really protective."
"I guess," I sighed. "I wish they'd be a little less protective and a little more concerned with their own business," I added, but even then I knew I was lying, slightly. If Susan had had a real problem, I don't think she would have left with Mike, and if Mike hadn't thought it was a good thing for her to be here, she wouldn't have been here. And if Mike stopped watching over me, I was going to be dead real soon, but he wouldn't.
*** 19:56 19 Aug
"Can we just go Thursday instead?" I asked Travis. "I... I didn't think I'd be this tired, and I wasn't," I insisted, "until THEY showed up. Did you eat already?" I asked him.
*** 20:18 19 Aug
He had, and I had, both my leftovers from last night and dinner with the Parkers', which sort of led to us going to his place since we couldn't really think of any place else to go. He didn't seem to be in the mood for sex, either, which was good because I definitely wasn't.
I was, however, definitely in the mood for some cuddling, and it seemed he was too, so that was okay.
Well, more than okay.
And he didn't seem to mind the dryadic look either.
*** 20:34 19 Aug
"So, but-"
"Travis, if they didn't like you, or they thought you were taking advantage of me or something, they wouldn't have just said 'Well you two have fun and be back in three hours', would they?"
"Yeah, but..." He sighed, and continued stroking my hair, which was making me mildly dizzy because it felt so nice. "I don't know what to say around them."
"HOPEfully, you won't be seeing Susan again for a while, I think she's leaving tomorrow for college. And, you know... just talk to 'em, I mean, they're not, I mean..." They were indeed that weird, in all sorts of different directions, but I didn't want to say that. "If they had a problem with you," I started over, "you'd know it, and I'd know it, and the last thing they'd let happen is me going off alone with you. So, I'm completely sure it's okay." Susan was probably going to want to lecture me for a while on something or another when I got home, but Travis didn't need to know that, so I smiled at him and rubbed his shoulder a little.
*** 22:00 19 Aug
A self-conscious change of topic, to what classes we were taking, had led to a great discussion of history and things, which I was extremely irritated to realize was going to have to stop because I had to go to Rachel's and change so I could go home so I could go to school tomorrow, et cetera. "Oh, shit," I sighed, "I don't want to leave you!"
*** 22:04 19 Aug
"Thursday, right?" Travis confirmed after the last kiss of the night.
"Right! And this time, I'll wear something nicer, and my sister should be waaaaay outta town and stuff, so maybe we can actually GO this time," I said, and he chuckled and nodded.
Then, we shared another last kiss.
*** 23:19 19 Aug
"I really like him a lot," I sighed, glancing at the door to make sure it was shut, and noticing a crate filled with a MacinClock which I had forgotten about this morning.
"Yeah, I bet-"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped at Susan.
"Because, he's a big guy, handsome, not really stupid, old enough to drive, seems like a decent person, and he's infatuated with you and likes you like you were tonight," she listed.
Pause.
Susan said pointedly, "Duh!"
"Ye- okay, yeah," I agreed faintly.
She chuckled. "So, if you two break up, let-"
"Fuck YOU," I said emphatically, which made her laugh.
"Go to sleep," she chuckled, then she got into my bed. "And you still need to talk to Debbie."
"Oh, GODS," I sighed.
*** 06:09 20 Aug
"Suze?" I asked.
"Mmmm?"
"Drop out of college, stay here," I suggested.
She woke up the rest of the way and looked at me, then smiled and sat up and hugged me. "I know," she said. "On the other hand, if I stay here too long, I think it's gonna get bad again, and I don't think you need me butting heads with you."
*** 06:25 20 Aug
"Go on, you'll be late," Susan said as she pushed me out of the hug. "I'll write, I promise."
"'Kay, I'll write back," I promised after I sniffed.
"Why weren't you two like this last year?" Mom asked.
"The drugs in the water here hadn't worn off yet," Susan snapped back, and grinned. "Have a good day, Tuck."
"Have a good day, sweetie," Mom told me, and so I got another hug from her before telling them to have a good day too, then sadly picking up my crate and turning away and leaving.
*** 06:59 20 Aug
"So we just went to, uh, her place," I explained further as we sat down, "and spent the night, I mean the evening, talking about stuff, and cuddling, and stuff. I was just too tired..."
"Dude," Jill said. "That sucks. So, uh, how did 'Tracy' feel about meeting your sister?" We'd had to temporarily modify Travis in order to talk about him here, which I had to do because they were about to explode once they heard something about it from Mike when Kim called him last night for some phone support on math.
"People have got to stop chasing her," I said, "because it's starting to freak h-h-her out. I mean, I'm getting to the point, about, where I might as well just get everyone I know into a big room and let them talk about it and talk to h-her and stuff, just to get it all over with at once."
"Well, I mean," Jill said, sounding between apologetic and argumentative, "we HAD to meet, uh, Tracy, just-"
"That's the same thing Susan thought," I interrupted. "Man, she's leaving this morning, I wish she was still here... Amy's gone, Susan's going..."
"She is okay," Kim said, sort of off the conversational path.
"Which?" Jill asked.
"Tracy? Isn't that who," Kim pointed at me. "Hmm?"
*** 07:51 20 Aug
Jill hugged me, so of course I hugged back, and then Kim hugged me too, but then we had to go to class.
*** 07:53 20 Aug
As I was digging things out of my locker, and estimating how big a backpack I was going to need to carry everything if I wanted to avoid having to visit my locker at lunch, which it seemed as though I wanted to, someone said, "Uh, hey?" Well, sort of squeaked.
I looked around, and it was a couple of freshboys. Sort of smiling at me.
I looked around quickly to find the other one, with the thing of water or the stick to hit me with or whatever their accomplice was holding, but there wasn't anyone. Then again, maybe they just want to know where a class is, or something, I realized. "Hey," I said back neutrally.
"Uh," said a different voice than the first one, "are you, like, in our pre-algebra class?"
I snorted. "Uh, no." Not unless you guys are time travelers, I thought as I went back to getting my books rearranged.
"Which class are you in?" asked the first one, sounding a bit nervous for some reason.
"AP Calc- calculus," I said, correcting myself when I realized they probably wouldn't even know what 'calc' meant. One immensely retarded jock had thought 'pre-calc' meant 'pre-calculator' last year, I guess because that's about the level of mathematics he'd been at.
"What year are you anyway?" the second one asked in surprise. "I thought girls hated math!"
"This one doesn't," I said before I caught on, and then there was nothing to do but slam my locker shut and leave before my ears caught fire. And, hopefully, before anyone but me figured out what was going on. Not that I wanted to know either, but it was too late.
*** 07:59 20 Aug
"What're you all pissed about?" George asked.
"Shut the fuck up, George," I snarled, ears still burning.
"And you gotta talk to Debbie today," Mike said. "That's the other thing Susan said last night."
"What? You talked to Tuck's SISTER last night?" George almost gasped. "YOU?! Why?!"
"You didn't want to know what that other part concerns, okay? So don't ask now," Mike said. That didn't please them.
"Why does Tuck need to talk to Debbie?" Dan asked.
"She left a voicemail for him Saturday night and he hasn't talked to her like he needs to yet," Mike said.
"Did you listen to the voicemail yet?" George accused me.
"Yes!"
"When?"
"Shut up, G-"
"This morning?"
"Monday night, okay? Susan made me listen-"
"Your sister made you listen?"
"Kiss my BUTT George!" I insisted, but he didn't, which was probably a good thing overall.
"Two days after?" Dan commented. "What did she say?"
"Nothing," I sighed.
*** 08:04 20 Aug
"So does anyone think Tuck DOESN'T need to talk to her?" Mike asked.
"Mike, this is-"
"Shut up, Tuck. Anyone?" There wasn't anyone except me.
*** 08:11 20 Aug
"When, though?" I asked as we got out of homeroom. "We're playing today, right?"
"Oh, shit," Mike sighed. "Tomorrow; we take a short break before playing, that'll give us time to set it up with Kim and the others."
"We could just skip it until the weekend?" I suggested.
"Shut up, Tuck," George grinned. "GOD I missed saying that over the summer."
"Shut up, George." He flicked me a finger. "Hah! NOT!"
*** 08:14 20 Aug
And there was still a seat open right up front, next to the wall. I chortled and took that one, and nobody disputed it so it was mine.
*** 08:42 20 Aug
The nice thing about study hall early in the day, is that one, a lot of people still weren't awake enough to throw things at me, and two, I had a chance to finish any homework I hadn't the night before. Which was good, because I hadn't finished my calculus, being too busy swimming and then dating to worry about it.
But now it was done, and I didn't have anything else to think about besides what to do in the game today.
And talking to Debbie.
I'd rather run over someone with a truck.
*** 10:44 20 Aug
"How was your date?" Sabrina grinned as I sat down next to her.
"Oooh, great," I sighed. "Does everyone know this?"
"Weren't you listening to morning announcements?" Mike asked. "They mentioned it then."
I would have instantly dismissed it except Sabrina was solemnly nodding, and I had to stare at her for quite a while before she started chuckling and shaking her head.
I made a face to indicate my displeasure, and admitted, "It went okay, but Susan came out to meet, uh, my date, she kidnapped Mike and tortured him for information, and so after she did that we were both too tired to do more than cuddle and talk until I had to go home."
The bells rang, but when they finished Sabrina said, "That's sweet anyway. Did you two really," she shifted to a conspiratorial whisper, "over the weekend did you-"
Mike hurriedly plugged his ears which attracted enough attention that we had to stop talking.
*** 11:32 20 Aug
"I, uh... no, I forgot to bring a lunch today," I shrugged.
"Tuuuuuuuck," Mike groaned.
"What?! Jeezus, I ate yesterday, twice, so it's not like I'm starving-"
"You have to watch him," Mike said to Sabrina and Amanda while ignoring me, "or he forgets to eat. Especially if he's in front of a computer." Amanda started giggling immediately.
"Weren't we going to PLAY?" I suggested.
"Which reminds me," Mike said to Sabrina, "Tuck needs to talk to Debbie, and Susan's idea-"
"Susan?" Sabrina asked.
"Tuck's-"
"Mike!" I complained.
"-sister," he continued, "she said it'd work best if we had a few of Tuck's friends on one side, had a few of Debbie's friends on the other, like you, and then kept it really short and then we left her when they got done talking so you could be supportive to Debbie."
"I hate you, Mike."
"Shut up Tuck," Mike replied offhandedly. "Sound good?" he asked Sabrina.
"Not bad," Sabrina nodded at Mike. "Tomorrow lunch?"
"Before we play," Mike nodded back.
And Amanda hadn't stopped giggling yet.
*** 11:35 20 Aug
"Do I have any free will at all?!"
Mike acted like he was thinking about it for a minute, then shook his head. "Nope, not a bit."
"Play!" George insisted. I looked around, hoping Kelly would hurry up and get here; I was looking forward to nailing his furry- HER! I told myself.
This was confusing as hell, but I'd have to adjust, because it was only fair.
*** 11:37 20 Aug
Mike dinged the play bell and immediately started, "You're all in a van heading toward some Black Spirals, possibly the same ones that were trying to get Amanda. George, Kim, and Amanda are in the back of the van, with the door open, and Tuck is driving and Book is riding shotgun. George?"
"Um, I'm keeping watch out the back door."
"Amanda? You're in back with George," Mike reminded her.
"Uh, can I get up front? And stop these lunatics?"
"Not easily - it's a delivery truck, like a U-Haul? There's no direct connection between the front and back."
"Can I climb out?"
"Not easily... and there's no way to hold on."
"Damn," she said.
"You stand there contemplating... Tucker?"
"Run 'em down!"
"Roll Dex and Driving, difficulty eight." I did, and got two successes out of four dice. "Stop cheating so blatantly," Mike said offhandedly, which we both knew wasn't true because I'd rolled them in the dice pit in front of him. "Book?"
"Can I open the window and fire at them?"
"You'd have to..." Mike thought. "You'd have to get your upper body through the window to be able to aim, are-"
"I squeeze through the window-"
Mike interrupted, "Not in Crinos form you don't, you're too big. Spend a rage point to transform instantly, or try it the hard way."
"I spend a rage point, can I shoot at them?"
"Jeez, bloodthirsty doggie," Mike said. "Yeah."
"Yeah, and those silver five-fifty-sixes oughta chew 'em up, I think," Book grinned. "Burst of fire at the furthest one, the one on my leftmost."
Mike said, "Difficulty eight, Dex plus Firearms." Book pulled two dice out of his hand and rolled the rest, coming up with a nine and a zero, which counted as ten, plus four failures which didn't count as anything. "You guys really ought to stop cheating like this," Mike said as he rolled his own dice, "it's embarrassing. Dan, number two got hit, and bad, so mark that one down to Wounded, and it's aggravated so he can't regenerate. He's lost his action as he howls in agony."
"Man!" Dan complained, shaking his head as he scribbled.
*** 11:41 20 Aug
George told Mike, "Man, strip the bodies. I go over and start seeing if there's anything left that's worth anything, like magic items-"
"Fetishes, George," Mike grinned, "they're fetishes in this system."
"Yeah, fetishes, or notes in their clothes, or anything."
"Okay..." Mike rolled some dice a few times. "Okay, the first one doesn't have anything that isn't mangled beyond repair. Maybe a couple of things had been fetishes, but they're broken up now, obviously lost their magic."
"Maybe," George says. "These guys are twisted, right? Maybe the fetishes are supposed to look like that. I'll pick 'em up and put them in a bag. Oh, and using that towel to touch them, so they don't touch my bare skin."
"Okay... Tuck?"
"I'm making sure that Amanda and Kim are okay," I said.
"Stop touching me you freak!" Amanda snapped.
"Don't call ME a freak," I shot back, "you're the same as us. Don't you get that yet?"
"Then, what's the difference between ME and THEM?" she asked, pointing at Mike's screen.
"They are Black SPIRALS," I said, "remember, we told you-"
"You told me the same thing THEY said, so what's the fucking difference?"
Mike interrupted, "As you two are arguing, George, you notice that the other 'dead' Spiral has now gotten you from behind with a klaive strike." Amidst screams of protest, and evil laughter coming from Dan, Mike rolled more dice. "You were already surprised, I rolled for your heightened senses, and your Sense Unnatural was swamped because they're all tainted even in death, you couldn't tell this one was still alive. You're wounded, as in mark down to 'Wounded' level, and roll Self-Control to keep from screaming."
"Fuck that," George said, "I want to scream."
Mike raised one eyebrow at him.
George screamed, getting a lot of people to look at us. "GET THIS THING OFF ME!" he explained further.
"I shoot the thing on George with the assault rifle as I run forward to get closer!" Book said.
"Kim?" Mike asked.
"I, uh, I'm going to grab the girl and hide behind something?"
"There's nothing to hide behind, you just grabbed Amanda, though."
"Can I pull her down?"
"Yeah, you pull her over and fall on top of her, to protect her?" Mike asked, and Kim nodded. "Amanda?"
"Can I tell who grabbed me?"
"It, uh... no," Mike smiled after looking at his dice.
"Shit!" exclaimed Kim, who had just grabbed a frightened werewolf.
"Game over, man! Game over!" - Hudson
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- ==[-------- Ellen Hayes @>--,--'--- ellen@barkingduck.net + PGP DH/DSS keyfing: 33D4 156A AE39 53E2 0313 6714 2878 56A8 61B0 9CDC + http://www.barkingduck.net/ehayes -=[1990]=- vicki .sig virus 11.4 +
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