Beneath My Exterior

A Morning Person ~Andrew

"If you want to control Andrew Jr., you're gonna have to come back in person." I mutter sarcastically from my bed of tissues as I watch the wispy form of the young witch pretend to poke at the flashing buttons of the control panel. She can't physically touch them, seeing as this is only a holograph of her true self. In fact, all I can make out from her shadowy figure are her glowing purple eyes that narrow as she grins at me.

You've been awake this whole time? She asks in my head.

"Pretty much." I answer, rolling over to face her with my tissue blanket pulled to my chin. A faint yawn escapes my lips. "Though I'm knackered. You wouldn't believe what happened to me today..."

As expected, Mist perks up at the mention of what she likes to call 'Andy gossip', and leaps from the controller's chair to come to a halt beside me. Tell me! Is it your new girl friend? Did she kiss you--

"What!" I exclaim, sitting bolt upright in bed. "Seriously, Mist; I just met the girl!"

How should I know? She teases, her voice shrill in my mind. Usually they're fawning over you in the first hour!

"I'm just going to change the conversation there by saying that I saw mum today." I interrupt hastily, smiling in satisfaction when Mist's taunting fades into silence.

Wait, what?

"You heard me." I say, lying back down in bed. My bangs fall over my eyes, but I don't bother moving them. "Turns out both my parents are Nazarees, too. Mum's a yellow, dad's an orange. The perfect match."

Mist's stunned muteness is almost too comical. I've told her about my parents, sure, but neither of us could have guessed that they'd become Nazarees, let alone the apparent founders of the Underground Base. Talk about being kept in the dark.

"I know. I was pretty shocked, too." I continue, realising that she's not going to speak up any time soon. "But that wasn't even half as bad as what happened in the afternoon..."

That gets her curious. You're saying something happened that was scarier than being reunited with your mum? The disbelieving words echo in my head.

"Oh yeah." I chuckle to myself at the irony of the situation. Who would have thought that Mist's mother of all people was the principal of St Josephs, an innocent little school in the middle of Hobart? I would have thought it was impossible... that is, if I hadn't come face to face with the devil herself only hours ago.

Andrew, what happened? Mist presses now, telepathically whining like an impatient child. Well, I guess she is seven.

"You know the school I've gotten into here?" I ask, not even bothering to get an answer before continuing. "Well, the principal is kind of... er..."

Spit it out!

"...well... she's your mum."

So that's why she was pissed at dinner tonight. Mist exclaims without missing a beat and I snicker to myself, envisioning Mist's disjointed family sitting together at a dinner table eating and discussing life like regular human beings. Of course, their spread would be one hundred percent vegan, and they'd be drinking mugs of liquid chlorophyll to keep their photosynthesis abilities functioning, but it would still be a pretty amusing sight.

"I'm sure it was nothing compared to what she was like with me." I joke, remembering all too well those perfectly manicured fingers as they wrapped around my body and lifted me into the air. I still ache from the contact. "You can probably imagine how that panned out."