Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Section 35142018112 392025.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Section 35142018112 392025.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Anomaly detected. Section 35142018112 392025.
******
Saturday, September 17th (2:09pm)
"If I shoot myself, will it be less painful than this?" Jordan asked, tossing his green chemistry notebook across the room. His dark blue t-shirt rumpled and his khaki shorts rode up a bit as reclined on the long couch in front of the entrance to the dining room while Tim, who was on the other side of the couch, rolled his eyes and slid to the floor and sat in front of it.
Sarah, Anasi, and Cassie all looked up from the living room floor where they had been hunched over for the last hour. Around each girl were several pieces of paper, markers, pencils, and erasers. Anasi, leaning with her back against the couch, had her laptop laying open on her lap while Sarah and Cassie were agt the coffee table finishing the last of the designs on the new homecoming posters.
Anasi had been elected President and Sarah was her Vice. When they realized not very many people were interested in getting a position in student government, they started pulling at their friends. That's how Cassie became Secretary and a girl from the dance team became Treasurer.
This wasn't the only thing Anasi and Sarah dragged Cassie into. Sarah introduced her to the Debate team and Anasi showed her the wonders of Community Service. And then on her own, Cassie joined the History and Poetry club.
From what Jonathan knew, who wore a light yellow t-shirt and light gray shorts with three black stripes on the side, she was always saying hello and getting more comfortable with her place in Smallville. Everyone who met her immediately felt safe in her presence and loved interacting with her.
Jonathan stretched out on the couch closer to the window to the porch with his legs extended across the cream colored fabric, pulled his attention away from the book he was reading and looked towards her. Her golden hair and tinted complexion made her look like the human version of a warm cup of tea. He could easily understand why so many people loved being near her.
Behind her groaned Jordan, whose arms were now firmly draped over his eyes.
They weren't all supposed to show up here, but it just happened that way. When the girls needed to use Cassie's incredible office printer to make copies of the posters they were finishing, Jordan asked if he could tag along. Anasi was in his physics and chem class and he was stuck on some of the homework, so he figured he could get her help after they finished. Jonathan and Tim were near when the conversation took place and decided to tag along.
Cassie didn't mind. Or at least she didn't act like it.
It was a bit more chilly today, in the mid 70s. Despite that, some people decided to wear longer pants. Cassie wore black capri leggings and a dark red tank top while Anasi wore corduroy pants and a flowy white top. Sarah wore jean shorts, a tank top, and had a flannel wrapped around her waist.
"It's the third week. How are you already lost?" Tim asked, typing on his computer. He wore dark gray sport shorts and a black t-shirt with the Batman symbol on it.
Anasi set her laptop aside and went to pick up the notebook. As she came back to her seat reviewing his notes, she said, "The notes our teacher gives us are inconsistent. They don't flow together at all, so it's kind of like a puzzle: fitting which pieces go with which in what order. It's even worse if some information is left out."
Picking up her laptop, she walked over to the couch. After kicking Tim away from the couch and physically moving Jordan's legs down and placing his two feet on the floor, she sat down.
Sarah watched her the whole time and Jonathan and Cassie watched Sarah while Tim watched Cassie. Jordan and Anasi focused on his notes and compared them to hers. They were so focused they didn't notice how quiet it had gotten.
"How's it coming along?" Tim asked, breaking their silence. Jonathan turned back over and continued reading while Sarah gave the update.
"Pretty good. We just have to finish up designing the border and then we'll be able to print it all out." Sarah then turned to face Cassie. "Thanks again for allowing us to use your printer. I'm pretty sure if we tried to use the libraries, we'd get fined for using so much ink."
"Why can't our teacher advisor just print them?" Jonathan asked as his eyes flew across the pages. "Isn't it their job to be helping you with this stuff?"
"No. They just make sure we don't overspend the cash and oversee that we are hosting proper fundraisers." Cassie replied as she redrew another border on a separate sheet of paper.
"Proper? Wait, are there things you can't do?" Jonathan set down his book and sat up. Now he was intrigued.
"We can't do things like spin the wheel, raffles, and random number games because those are forms of gambling. We can't host any fundraisers that discriminate against a person's physical, mental, or emotional health. No door-to-door fundraising–" Sarah began listing.
"Wait, hold on–" Tim made a face of disbelief.
"That can't be right." Jonathan said.
"No door-to-door because if you're selling food, you could accidentally run into someone with a food allergy and that'd be a health violation. It also has to do with safety reasons to make sure no kid gets abducted. And people have complained about being put on the spot and don't like being pressured to pay even more for the school than they already are." Anasi said from across the couch. She pointed to something on her screen that Jordan quickly jotted down in his notebook.
"People will get offended by anything nowadays." Tim sneered.
"Those are the people that will eventually reform the school to make sure that their kids don't learn History, English, Math, or Science because gods forbid it doesn't line up with what they believe." Cassie muttered as she showed Sarah her recent border.
Gods? Jonathan blinked multiple times but didn't correct her. Maybe he wasn't thinking straight.
"I like that one. Let's use it." Sarah nodded before turning to face Jonathan. "There are a lot of requirements but even more rules to follow for fundraising. Problem is that people always want to try something new–"
"But aren't willing to step up to join the council." Cassie mumbled.
"And then you guys get slandered by the other students because they think you're lazy when in reality your hands are tied?" Tim asked, going back to whatever was on his computer. "Yeah, I've heard a similar story before."
"Did it have a good ending?" Sarah whispered.
Tim didn't look up.
Cassie noticed Sarah's nervous look and bumped her shoulder affectionately. "The universe just doesn't like Tim."
"That's not fair!"
"It is if it's true!"
6:19pm
"I was thinking maybe a nice red and black color scheme?" Sarah said, walking out Cassie's door. "I always have a red dress on me. And I really don't want to go out looking for a new one."
Jordan slung his backpack more comfortably on his shoulder as he kept his pace up behind her. "That sounds good, but I can't promise a red suit. I could just wear a red tie."
Sarah had to leave for a family dinner and Jordan felt as though his brain would literally light on fire if he continued to go over Chemistry notes. So while the two of them left in Sarah's car, Jonathan, Anasi, and Tim all lounged on Cassie's couch, finishing up their work.
Dr.Sandsmark still was not home from work.
Tim was still on the ground, but instead of sitting on the wall, he was laying on his stomach with his arms crossed over a book creating a pillow for his head. Though his eyes were closed, he was still awake.
Anasi was sitting on the couch with Cassie near the dining room while Jonathan was still sprawled out on the couch near the window, finishing his book.
"Does anybody want something to eat? I know you guys have to go home soon for dinner, but can I get anybody anything? Water, chips, cookies, soda?" Cassie asked as she stood up. After placing her laptop down, she walked over to the kitchen and pulled out four glasses.
"Water."
"Water, please"
"Can I third that?"
5 seconds later she walked back into the room with a pitcher of water and the glasses. Anasi helped her give out the cups and gratefully accepted hers when everyone else had theirs.
Tim groaned and sat up, his cheeks indented with a pattern of the pages he was relaxing on. He murmured a thank you and chugged the water down. Jonathan huffed as he sat up and took his own glass, but he couldn't find his thirst to drink.
"You've been quiet all day." Anasi said, watching him. She set her glass down and leaned forward a bit, resting her elbows on her knees. "Are you feeling ok?"
Jonathan smiled and played with the glass in his hands, watching the water hit the rim and fall back in. "Yeah, just a bit tired."
What a lie. What. A. Lie.
He was hyper as all hell. He wanted to run, jump, wrestle, burn off this crazy energy he had in his system. There was a fire in his soul that he was trying so so so hard to contain, but he felt as if he was going to hurl his intestines out if he tried to hold it in his system for too long.
He had had a few more meetings with his grandpa since the first day of school when he bent the headrest back in the family truck. In fact, he's talked more to his grandpa about his incidents with whatever was festering in his blood rather than his father. If anything, his dad was ignoring and pushing away any idea that Jonathan may even have powers.
Jonathan set his glass back on the table and leaned back onto the couch. To be fair, he hadn't brought the situation up either. But the fluctuation of his powers was still too sporadic to ask about. Yeah, he was getting stronger and his adrenaline was staying around longer, but some days he would feel surges more strongly while other days he would feel nothing.
It also didn't help that he couldn't quite figure out the pattern of when his surges would spike and when they would knock him out.
"You're always tired." Cassie commented. She criss-crossed on the couch and picked up her laptop, getting back to work. "How do we get you 'un-tired'?"
Anasi frowned. "Have you been eating enough? Sleeping enough? I have melatonin gummies if you want."
Tim poured himself more water. "It's probably just stress and overthinking. You might be physically fine, but mentally you can't turn your brain off."
"That seems like it." Jonathan said. "So what's the best way to stop overthinking?"
"You're talking to the wrong people about that." Cassie said, chuckling. She began pulling her hair back into a low ponytail as she said, "Maybe go for a walk? Start watching a new show?"
"Or do everything that you think is stressing you out?" Anasi suggested. "Get it all done at once so you don't have to worry about it anymore?"
Cassie watched his response to each of their suggestions. He tried not to watch her watch him.
She was unnerving in that way. There was a light to her, a bubbly, optimistic, loud and bright light that she looked like she bathed in. She was the sun incarnate.
But other times like now, the times where she was quiet and trying to piece information in her own head? Jonathan knew that Cassie took in more information than she acted, knew she was smarter than she looked. Knew she wasn't always the energizer bunny than she made other people think she was.
He just didn't know why.
Tim loudly gulped his water and stood up. Stretching he murmured, "Alright, this was fun, but I gotta head home. And if we keep talking about overthinking, I'm going to start overthinking my own anxiety."
Anasi and Jonathan stood as well, muttering their own excuses of having to be home before dinner.
"So you're going to print out the final copies of the flyers? We only need ten more." Anasi said, gathering her books and placing them in her bag.
"Yeah, of course," Cassie replied, putting the dishes away. "By the way, when's the community service form due? And is it $20 or $25 for the bus fees?"
"The form is due on Monday and it's $25." Anasi said with a smile. She then turned to Tim. "Can you give me a ride home?"
"Can I second that?" Jonathan piped in, as he packed his book away.
Tim nodded to both of them as he zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. As he waited for Anasi and Jonathan, he looked over at the bookshelves. Narrowing his eyes, he walked closer to them and took a closer look at the covers.
The majority of them were in Greek, a few in Latin, some in French and Spanish, and a handful in English.
"You speak Greek?" TIm asked as he ran his fingers over the spines of the books.
Cassie walked back from the kitchen and began fixing the couches. "Απταιστα."
"French?"
"À la perfection."
"Isn't latin a dead language?" Tim asked, picking up a book off the shelf. The cover looked like it had been through hell and back, its cover barely hanging on by the thread that kept it together.
Cassie picked the book out of his hands and put it back on the shelf. She glared at him and said, "Non est mortua, et quod non est tuum, ne tangas" before walking towards the front door.
Tim shrugged and began following her. "Any other languages you know?"
Cassie smirked as she opened the door. "I probably know languages you didn't even know existed."
Tim rolled his eyes as he pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the porch. "Egotistical much?"
"Don't you ever get tired of being so annoying?" Cassie pouted dramatically.
"Not when it gets such a rise out of you." He said smiling as he walked off the porch, down the steps, and to his car.
Cassie scoffed but didn't fight that point. Anasi quickly gave her a hug goodbye and took off through the door to follow him. Jonathan hung back for a moment.
He kept forgetting she was Greek. But now since she had offhandedly reminded him, it sent a trigger to when his mom was attacked in her truck the night when Wonder Girl had been over.
Lois Lane had been in a state of shock since that night and it scared Jonathan. His mother was always so bubbly and open, but now? She was more subdued and he wondered what the thing did to his mother and how he could reverse its effects. But Maybe if he had more information...
"You good?" Cassie's voice snapped him back into consciousness. Though she was smiling, her brows were furrowed and her eyes were concerned. "Maybe you do need a vacation."
Jonathan laughed and slipped on his backpack. "Nah, just overthinking again."
"About what this time?" She asked. She waved to Tim and Anasi to go. Turning back to face Jon, she said, "I'll give you a ride back. Right now, it looks like you need one on one therapy."
"Take a seat!" She shouted as she ran into the kitchen, her bare feet hitting the floor boards with a satisfying smack. She sounded like a running penguin. "I need to grab a few things."