The Paper Girl – Adopted by the Ways
A/N: 1K WORTH OF VIEWS! THANK YOU ALL! MY PRETTY LITTLE MINIONS, YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME! Am I being too dramatic? Like hell I am, this is HUGE! My first 1K worth! Thanks you all so much! Cyber-cookies and love all around! Ok, he's a chapter I've been trying to write for a week, hope you like it ^_^ I only have one more AS exam to sit next Tuesday then I'm free to WRITE, WRITE AND WRITE!
Part 13
I sit up in my bed, the family laptop switched on, being productive and spending a healthy amount of time on the Internet as I begin my homework, before I head off to eat a healthy snack and exercise.
Okay biggest bag of bullshit I've ever said. I'm lying flat in a scrunched-up duvet, my head craned up, giving me a fabulous set of double chins as I stare glassy-eyed at a gif of a cat watching a vacuum cleaner as music videos play on a different tab. Healthy amount of time my ass. I'd addicted. Damn Tumblr. And as for a healthy snack? Do strawberry Twizzlers count as fruit? And I can't believe I know the meaning of the word exercise!
I laugh for the billionth time as the cat goes skits and run behind a sofa when there's a knock on my open bedroom door and I look up to see Gerard running a comb through his dyed blond hair.
'Time to go, kiddo.' I log out of Tumblr and shut the laptop down, untangling myself from the duvet in the process, stumbling around my room like I have no knees.
'Give me a heads up, do any of your teachers spit when they talk? And are you sure I can't wear a boa, cause I've got one that's absolutely-'
'No boas, Gerard!' Lyn-Z shouts from downstairs and Gerard pouts. I give him a sympathetic smile as I run my own brush through my curly hair and tug on my black denim jacket.
'No boas, too bad. Maybe one day, Lyn-Z will let you dress yourself.' I grin and Gerard just places a hand on his hip. 'Drama queen.' I mutter and Gerard gasps, a hand on his chest.
'How dare you! For that,' Gerard runs into the run, messes my newly brushed hair up madly and pulls my hood over my head and pulls the cords.
'Dude!' I yell and see daylight once again and frown. 'Not cool. For that, I'm not telling you which teacher, if any, does spit when they talk. Or where I hid the skittles.' I laugh and run from my room and down the stairs to where Bandit was sitting at the dining room table, colouring with fat rainbow crayons.
'Look Mitch!' Bandit smiles toothily and shows me the picture she's drawn of a zebra in a rocket ship.
'Whoa! That's awesome Bee!' I smile at her and she beams.
'It's for you!' Yep, my heart melts like the softie I am.
'Aw! Thanks Bee! I'm gonna frame this in my room!' I grin but when I look up Bandit is gone; she's swinging off Gerard's arm as he uses his other hand to hold his mobile to his ear, talking away to someone. I take advantage of the moment and scribble on a piece of paper with Bandit's crayons. What? I like crayons.
'Ok, see you later, Pat.' Gerard says just as Lyn-Z comes into the room, pulling on her leather jacket.
'They're coming around in the morning, they can't make it tonight.' He says to his wife as he manages to pull on his coat despite Bandit still clinging to his left arm still.
'I'll text Jimmy later then.' I have no idea who they're talking about, not having the faintest clue who 'Pat' is. Lyn-Z smiles as she reaches behind her to switch the kitchen light off. 'Right you two, ready?' Me and Bandit nod and we follow Gerard and Lyn-Z outside and into the car on the drive. I buckle Bandit in and already she's absorbed in her Nintendo as the car starts up. Three cheers for parents evening. Not. It's not that's I'm worried about what shit my teachers are going to say about me; I'm too quite for them to have a go at me for anything – mainly because they never catch me – but because this is the first appearance I'll be making with Gerard and Lyn-Z. The whole school knows I got adopted, I mean Tara shouted it around the place enough, but nobody except her and Tommy know the details. There aren't many people in my school that are fans of Alternative Rock music, but everyone knows who's who in the music industry. This could change a lot. Also, there's ne more problem: Myra. God knows what that crazy bitch is going to try and do. If she thinks she's making an insult to Gerard, or Lyn-Z or Bandit I won't hesitate to slap her.
Lyn-Z drives us through the student/parent car park and turns the engine off, all of us climbing out and stepping up onto the sidewalk.
'I can't remember the last time I was inside a high school.' Lyn-Z says as she casts her eyes over the building and the students and parents all conversing before heading inside. I lift Bandit up and rest her on my hip as we head up the front steps into the entrance hall, the school logo is polished onto the floor, unfortunately, the school janitor couldn't do anything about the penis that was spray-painted over the mascots face. I say unfortunately... no it wasn't me, but the guy who did sits behind me in History and I high-fived him, leaving a black coat of spray pain on my hand. It is a bitch to get off.
'Look Bee!" I point at the trophy cabinet and pull faces at our reflections, making sure Bee doesn't see the dick on the floor.
'Ooh I wish I had some seriously embarrassing stories for your teachers and friends,' Gerard says with a grin. 'Though I could tell Tommy about how you walk around burping the alphabet.' Gerard giggled like – I kid you not – a teenage schoolgirl. You get used to it. I roll my eyes and show them into the assembly hall where parents evening has been set up. The poor kids who got roped into helping out hand me a map of where all the teachers were sitting, a dead and glassy look in there eyes.
'Why did that boy look so sad, Mitch?' Bandit asks.
'Because he has to go to school with your loser of a sister.' Oh, wonderful. Myra saunters past, thankfully, not stopping as she and her mother, father and her friend (Cindy or Connie, I have not got the faintest shit) and her mother. Myra leads the group and sits down in front of Mr. Carwellen, our Phys Ed teacher, who I know will got give the report properly as Myra is wearing that distracting leather skirt (or belt, since it's no bigger).
Lyn-Z comes up next to me and looks at the map over my shoulder.
'Who first, Mitch?' She asks and I look around at who's free. 'Mr. Michaels, my art teacher, he's over there.' I point and Gerard leads the way, nearly skipping in the process. The dude has had too much coffee. Only joking: there is no such thing as too much coffee.
'Mitch! I was wondering when you'd grace me with your presence.' Mr. Michaels drones on and I roll my eyes. 'You must be the Way's.' Mr. Michaels stands and shakes both their hands and smiles at Bandit. His eyes linger over Gerard and Lyn-Z longer than they would any other parent. I suppose he's trying to confirm whether it is them I've been drawing in my art folder for the past school year.
'Give us the worst.' Gerard grins and I roll my eyes. Mr. Michaels shares the same evil grin.
'Oh, well, in that case, Mitch here is the worst student in the class, always loud and late, never considerate and the worst art skills I've ever seen. Also she has terrible breath.' Gerard can't keep a straight face and nearly falls out of his seat with the laughter. Even Mr. Michaels has to stop before he bursts.
'Ok, but seriously, Mitch is actually quite talented,' I feel my face blush and I shift Bandit on my lap so my face is hidden. '...in fact I have some of her work right here! What were the chances!' Mr. Michaels grins and pulls out not one piece, no that would be too kind, he just hands over my whole freaking folder. Shit. He hands it to Gerard and Lyn-Z who begin flicking through the pages and I feel myself blush even more. All my comic drawings, all the weird images from my imagination are in there, even pictures I've sketched of bands like MCR and MSI. God help me.
'Mitch, why didn't you tell us! This is brilliant!' Gerard exclaims as he grins at a page I made dedicated to the whole killjoys theme. I made that a week before I met them too. Oh dear god. I really want to escape now, as I'm sure my face is as red as Harley Quinn's hair but this is only the first teacher. Maybe I'll be able to skip Phys Ed, cause Mr. Carwellen looks like he won't remember much after Myra's display with her skirt. Gross. Bandit shuffles on her lap and asks to go to the bathroom. I take her by the hand and lead her towards the girl's bathroom and waited by the sinks for her as she goes into a cubical.
'PEACHIE PIE!' A voice calls out and Tara bounds into the bathroom. 'I was hoping to see you tonight! You know what this means!' I didn't catch a word of what Tara says as she's jabbering at about 100mph. I do what I do best when I don't understand: I shrug with a grin and Tara rolls her eyes.
'Oh my darling doughnut, today's the day where your folks can meet mine, so maybe my Mom won't think you're such a whackpot.'
'That'll be the day.' I laugh as I help Bandit reach the sink to wash her hands.
'Hi Bandit!' Tara squeals and Bandit gives Tara a toothy smile and a high-five. 'Oh my god I love Adventure Time!' Tara squeals (Yet again) as she see's Bandit's tee-shirt and they both talk about the TV show for a total of a minute until the bathroom door opens and Myra walks in and makes eye contact with the three of us for a second before sneering and locking herself in a cubical and we bustle out. She was outnumbered so she isn't as stupid as she looks to pick a fight against us, but as soon as she meets up with her friends again we're toast.
'There's my Mom.' Tara points out Mrs. Adams, who has her usual look of disapproval when she sees me. 'Where are your folks?' Tara asks as we get back into the hall and I hoist Bandit onto my back and I spy Lyn-Z and Gerard just leaving Mr. Michaels, Gerard holding some sort of form as my teacher shakes their hands once more and they make their way over.
'Here they come now.' We walk over to Mrs. Adams as Gerard and Lyn-Z get closer and I see Lyn-Z is holding my art folder under her arm. I'd threaten to kill Mr. Michaels, but Tara would most likely bludgeon me to death before I could.
'Mom,' Tara says. 'This is Mitch's new parents, Mr. and Mrs. Way and their daughter Bandit.' It takes me a second; I've NEVER heard Gerard and Lyn-Z referred to as 'Mr. and Mrs. Way'. It's a little strange. Mrs. Adams shakes Gerard and Lyn-Z's hands and forces a smile on her face.
'It's so nice that Mitch has finally gotten a family, you know, help her out in a lot of concerning areas.' Oh here we go, it's the serial killer interest isn't it? But Mrs. Adams is stopped as a tall blur races over and Tommy, whose long fringe is over growing onto his face, squashes Tara and me into a hug but I can still see the goofy grin.
'My baby girls! How'd you not know there's free food over there!' Tommy points behind himself with his thumb and Gerard instantly turns to look at the confectionary table as Tommy's dad meets up, wheezing after chasing down his son. The three of us turn to race of, but as if connected by some sort of alien Parental mind force, Lyn-Z, Mrs. Adams and Mr. Harley hold us all back and explain they need us to take them to teachers.
'Ok, I suppose we can get History over with.' I turn to Lyn-Z and see Gerard nowhere in sight. Even Lyn-Z looks disorientated at the sudden disappearance of her husband. We both scour the hall with our eyes and find Gerard at the snack table, loading a paper plate with food. I hear Bandit giggle from my shoulders and I roll my eyes. Lyn-Z marches over and stands with her hand on her hip, looking at her husband who meekly passed her the plate of cookies. Oh Gerard. He catches my eye and grins sheepishly, his mouth stuffed with a mound of cookies he reached before Lyn-Z could take the plate. Gerard runs back over to us as I pull out the map and look for where my History teacher, Ms. Marconi, will be sitting, if she didn't disintegrate from her age. Out of the corner of my eye I see a small group of 10th graders looking at me with strange looks on their faces. There's a magazine in there hands. Oh crap. It's a music magazine. One of them is talking rapidly and is flipping through the pages pretty quick so you can hear it from here. I pretend not to notice and quickly lead Gerard and Lyn-Z to Ms. Marconi who, I can just tell, has been waiting all year to talk to someone about how much she despises me in her class.
*****
'Well, I suppose it wasn't that bad.' I mutter to Tommy as we make out way outside, where the sky had grown steadily darker with the time it took to get around all my teachers. Mr. Michaels' apparently has been singing my praises, whilst Mr. Harris, my math's teacher, spoke to Gerard and Lyn-Z (Mostly Lyn-Z since Gerard had been reunited with his plate of cookies) about my lack of attention in class and how I seem to struggle at seeing the board. The goddamn teacher recommended I get my eyes checked at the eye doctors! Like hell I will! I just hope Lyn-Z forgets what he said. There's no problem with Gerard remembering since he was too busy stopping Bandit and me pinching the cookies when we thought he wasn't looking.
The hall is always hot and stuffy so it's nice to get outside where the sky is a little less bright and there's a cooling breeze.
'I guess I'll see you tomorrow.' Tommy grins and I nod, kind of not wanting him to leave. He reaches forward and gives me an awkward hug before bounding off after his dad. Tara sneaks up behind me and gives a small wolf whistle in my ear before running off before I can hit her. Too far...oh I'll just hit her tomorrow in homeroom. I follow Gerard and Lyn-Z towards the car, smiling at Bandit, who's being carried by Lyn-Z and is flat out. Just as we reach the car, Gerard doesn't even open the door.
'Back in a second, I need the bathroom.' He says and runs off back into the school.
'What're the chances he'll get locked inside there?' Lyn-Z says with a laugh and I grin as I climb into the car next to bandit's booster seat where she's flat out.
'So...am I grounded or am I greatly loved by all?' I ask meekly as Lyn-Z climbs into the passenger seat.
'They all seem satisfied with your work, though your English teacher told u about your Of Mice and Men homework essay.'
'Oh...um...'
'Oh relax Mitch, if anything it was hilarious to see your teachers face. And despite it being completely inaccurate to the book, it was really well written so I'll let you off. Though I'll have to remember to book you an appointment with the eye doctor, just to keep your teacher off your back. You may not need glasses at all.' Lyn-Z adds when she seems the face I'm pulling in the rear-view mirror. A text comes through on Lyn-Z's phone and she is distracted as she reads and responds. Bandit is flat out next to me, her head lolling sideways. I look out of the car window as I plug my headphones in and listen to Fall Out Boy's 'Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?' I watch outside as I vaguely see Myra by the front steps getting belated by her mother: Mr. Harris and Miss. Kleitman obviously told her mother how bad she was failing Maths and English. After about five minutes I see Gerard jogging down the stone front steps and nearly running into someone on his way. I grin and roll my eyes as Gerard hastily apologizes as the man snaps at him. Gerard pulls a comically stretched face at me as he climbs into the car and I laugh.
But my laugh is cut short as the man Gerard nearly knocked into turns around, a scowl on his face but disappears once he sees me in the back seat of the car.
It's him again!
I feel the blood drain from my face as the man slowly turns on the spot on the stairs, but I don't see him for long as Gerard starts the car and drives off onto the road. I don't look back, if anything I sink down in my seat, my hands clutching my arms as I feel myself start to shake.
'Mitch, are you ok?' Lyn-Z asks as she looks into the back of the car. I barely have the energy to nod or to replace the headphone, which has fallen out of my ear as A Match Into Water begins to play. Lyn-Z places a hand on my knee and I look up to her, aware that my face must be as white as a sheet.
'You don't look too good. Straight after dinner tonight, go to bed; see how you feel in the morning. Ok?' She says with a soft smile and I nod slightly, looking out the car window as we drive past shops and restaurants and bars, lights and noise passing us, but I hear none of it and I see none of it. That guy...he knows where I go to school...he seems to know everywhere I go!
A/N: Dun dun dun! I know you all want to know who this guys is, believe me I can't wait to tell you all! But it's building up! Chapters will hold more secrets so stay tuned as we're building up now – not long to go! I hope all of you, my darling doughnuts, liked it ^_^ please vote and comment – I'll love you more if you do.
P.S. there's going to be a special guest appearance in the next chapter. I wonder if you can guess who it'll be.
Peace out peeps!