15/4/24
All you need to know is that, right now, in this one flicker of history, there's this girl. Fifteen, brown hair, brown eyes, ponytail, kind of a shy klutz, maybe. This is Jordan, Jordan Sands. Kind of important for this story. But that's just a name, but names are always important. All of time and space, everyone's important to somebody at some point. Allergies, poor eyesight, all that jazz.
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Dark night, and trying to get home, don't ask why she's out so late, she just is, carrying two bags of groceries, a bouquet sticking out of one. All according to plan. The keys were a bit tricky, though.
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Look, her family wasn't exactly well-off right now, but if things went how they were currently, and they cut down a little, they'd have power past the fifteenth.
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But the lights weren't on. Ugh, great. The breaker must've tripped. Bag onto the counter, tomatoes spilling, as she tried to pick them up, but a sound came from around her... somewhere, in the house. Maybe she was hearing things.
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"Hello?"
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She tried to open the fuse box... and there came another sound.
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As Jordan turned around, there it was, some sort of monster, conveniently the height of...
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She screamed, a camera flash in her face... and a nice, quick swing, before turning to the right, opening the switch box, and turning on the lights.
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"Hunter!" Jordan, was, in a single word.. pissed. Her brother just kept pushing her closer and closer to the edge, and it was tiring enough worrying about her future. She was only fifteen, she didn't need this... "What's your problem?"
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Her younger brother sat up. Messy brown hair, blue eyes, he'd be fourteen soon... and still at least a few inches shorter than her. At least she still had that over him.
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"Oh come on," he removed the mask from his face. "That was a good one."
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"Come on, we have to make dinner."
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At Least Twenty Minutes Later...
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Hunter was at 'his' laptop. Laptop computer, really. Not like they could afford more than two. But Jordan just used hers for her stupid homework.
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"The download.. of death.." Came from the audio receptors.
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"Did I tell you? Destruktor Four is coming out this weekend." Hunter tried to share an interest with his sister. It had been a while...
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"Yeah, you mentioned it." Jordan tried to not let out a sigh. "It's Rated R."
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"Dad said he'd take me." Hunter tried to say.
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"No, he said 'we'll see'." Jordan had to be the mature sibling as she loaded a wrap onto a plate.
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Hunter crossed his arms, pouting as he rolled his eyes. "What are we having?"
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"Tofu Stir Fry." Between the cost of food for three people, at this rate, it was their best choice. That, and at least they could all eat it.
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"Humans eat meat, Jordan." Hunter pulled the computer closer to him, as he was seated. "Just because you're vegan doesn't mean the rest of us should starve!" He whined. "It's why we have these!" He poked himself in the tooth.
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Jordan had to resist an eye-roll as Hunter moved his laptop from the table.
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"Wait, why do we have four plates?" Hunter questioned.
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"I invited Ms. Carlsburg from down the street over for dinner." Jordan kept her demeanour the same.
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"Why would you do that?" Hunter was... he hadn't moved on. How long had it been now? Four years, maybe six? It didn't matter, what mattered was that that takes time.
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"I thought it could be good for Dad," Jordan admitted. Not to mention she may have the chance to just... relax. How long had it been since she'd been a normal kid? Since they'd had a day without an argument? Ah, siblings. "Be nice to her." She pointed a finger at him.
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Jordan walked to the door, hearing a knock. There she was... pink shirt, purple overcoat, long brown hair, greenish eyes, a yellow pearl necklace around, well, her neck, and a pie in her hands.
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"Hello." Ms Carlsburg said.
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"Hi."
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Within a minute or so, the three were sitting at the table, as the siblings' father walked past the doorway, still on the phone.
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"Yeah, yeah. Just grabbing a quick bite. Yeah, thanks. Alright, yeah. Uh, bye-bye. Yeah, I'll call you back, I need to finish another call. Yeah, say hi to your wife for me." David's call ended as he looked into the kitchen, at the three sitting down. "Hello." He had probably been switching between a call on hold with one of the parents in his group and maybe a new job-
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"Hi, dad." Jordan tried to seem excited. Maybe he'd be happier today.
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"What's going on?"
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"Dad, you remember Ms Carlsburg."
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"Sure. Hey." David didn't remember her name.
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"Jacqueline." The now-named woman smiled.
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"Can we.. talk, for a minute?" David gave Jordan a look, causing her to stand up. "Jordan." Just to make sure.
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In the kitchen...
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"You can't just leave, dad." Jordan tried to argue. He had to get back into the scene eventually.
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"I have another call across town. It's a big one. A rewire job. It could be a lot of money." David was more concerned with having food on the table and a working Wi-Fi connection.
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"Ms. Carlsburg," Hunter did his best innocent voice. "I'm awfully thirsty. Do you think you could get me some soda from the fridge, pleeaaasseee?"
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"Oh, of course.. sweetie." Jacqueline tried to keep being nice.
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"I just thought it'd be good for you," Jordan explained.
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"Jordan, I appreciate the effort, but I told you, when it's time, when I'm ready, I'll find my own date." David insisted, knife in the pie, eating a piece of it.
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"Sorry to interrupt." Jacqueline came in.
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"Oh." Came from Jordan.
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"Oh. Good pie. Mmm." David couldn't hide the awkwardness.
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"Thank you. Hunter wanted some more soda." Jacqueline went for the fridge door...
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"Hmm."
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Then David shared a look with his daughter.
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Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no no.
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A fake, beating organ, spurting ketchup to act as fake blood...
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A scream..
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"Hunter!"
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Ah crap.
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The Next Day
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TAFT High School
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16/4/24
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Jordan sighed, closing her locker. When you're young, they tell you to grow up, get a job, have a kid... and that's it. But there had to be more, hidden truths, maybe something darker, something madder, something fun, something to make her feel alive.
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It was like a cycle. Make breakfast, hope dads at home, get herself and Hunter to school, go through a school day, get home, do whatever she needed to, make dinner, study, sleep, repeat. It had been like this for a while now. But she'd gotten through a few periods just fine. Now it was lunch. Had she been taking care of herself?
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Every thought was panic. What was she doing with her life? She was only fifteen and she was worrying about her future, adulthood, college! Could she even get into college? And then it would be a loop of working, trying to find a home, until she could maybe retire and enjoy what little time she had left...
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What happened to the girl she was? Before the allergies, before things all went.. bad? Sure, she'd struggled to talk to people, at least, when she didn’t know them. Sure, she was fine with just a few close friends. Heck, that was what she preferred. But that gets hard when you keep moving around. If it happened again... at least she could keep in contact with them. At least she had that. It wasn't like she hadn’t enjoyed being outside reading and doing the odd bit of sport...
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Why couldn't she have a few more years? Couldn't she have more time? She'd be ok, right? right?!
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Mom. Mom. It was hard to remember what she looked like now. A picture, a picture, she'd need to look at a picture- just a faceless body in the dream... it was something she and Hunter still had in common. They used to get along so well... things could still go right, right?
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Why couldn't she encounter the things she and Hunter knew were out there?
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Why couldn't she be who she was before? Before it all went wrong? It was like there was some sort of empty feeling that just wouldn't go away. Her hair hadn't stopped being wild since her last birthday, her eyes looked more of a bluish-brown... her teeth looked a bit sharper, and when she saw meat? She drooled. Her allergies were still there, it was a few weeks before she was out of the hospital...
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"Yo, Jordie." Came from next to her. It would be right to say that Jordan had gotten stuck in her own thoughts, a hand on her shoulder— Becca. "You in there, girl?"
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"Oh, hey guys." Jordan smiled slightly.
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"Come on, we're gonna be late." Tina tried to turn on one heel, almost stumbling. She hadn't broken in those new heels yet, but even Debbie could see she’d probably be better off without them.
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Great, among her three friends, heading for the lunch hall, with all the usual teenage stuff, like acne. It's normal, no use complaining, it'll be gone eventually, people still trying to figure themselves out...
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Two Minutes Later...
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"Jordan, he's over there. Ask him to the prom." Becca gently elbowed Jordan as they stood in the line for lunch.
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It would be right to say Jordan hadn't slept much. "..Huh? Forget it. No possible way. I'm not even sure I like guys." Jordan admitted, pushing her glasses back on, strands of hair sticking out.
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"J, you've been drooling over McCann since he
transferred from Harrison." Tina reminded.
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"I don't drool." Jordan defended. "And besides, what am I gonna say to him?"
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"Nothing. You say nothing. Look at Ashley. They've got it down. The hair flip, the lip pout, the over-giggle. It's a language all its own." Debbie pointed out.
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Jordan had to pause and wonder if that was Ashley's actual personality. They'd never seen her outside of school, and with how everyone was for two days last year... friend groups had majorly shifted, and he'd been a good bit less desirable to some girls.
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"This is not the time to be the mouse, Jordan. You're the predator, and he's your prey, a test run. The practice." Becca encouraged.
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"All right. See ya. Bye, court. Dang it. I forgot my wallet." Came from McCann's mouth. It's high school, they're allowed to experiment with their love lives... but sometimes you're just not feeling it.
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Nope. Not her and him, never gonna happen.
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Later
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"Heads up!" The kick, her worried attempt to block. "Ooh!" Another... "Aah!" And her hitting the ground.
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Seriously, she needed a way to get excused from P.E. She could be spending that time studying, researching, reading... maybe check on an online friend.
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"Come on, Sands. Get a hand up!" Came from their teacher. It was nice to have someone believe in her... if she wasn't down on the grass with the left lense of her glasses broken.
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"Your sister kind of stinks, dude." Richie said from the side of the building.
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"Yeah." Hunter didn't want to admit it, but part of him cared about his sister... and what better way to show it than getting her out of P.E?
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"Are you sure that's the bag?" Robert, or as they called him, Petey, rose her eyebrows. Why did he let a girl hang around him? Eh, she wasn't as gross as others.
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"Patience, my apprentice."
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"Ooh!" Jordan needed to get off of the pitch, she didn't know what was coming... or why she kept trying.. or if her glasses being broken would be compensated by the school.
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"Come on, Sands. Did I say you can take a break? You want to make this team, I'm gonna need a little more effort."
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She had wanted to make the team when she was younger, but it always seemed just out of reach.
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"Here we go." Hunter smiled to the rest of his quartet. "Watch this."
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As the teacher reached into the bag... an excellent reproduction of a human head, a terrified expression on both ends... it's not like someone could tell the difference in a moment like this. "Aah!"
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Jordan didn't even react as the fake head rolled over to her feet. Maybe she'd have made the team if she still had her former dedication.
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"...Dude." Came from Becca, standing next to Jordan, her attention directed to the scream, their heads turning.
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"Hey, isn't that your loser brother, Sands?" Came from Ashley. Yes, her brother was annoying, but she wouldn't say a loser... ok, maybe she would. Maybe she'd punch her in the arm for that later… wait, was Tina standing with Ashley? Since when did those two hang out?
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"Don’t even know him.”
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She was probably not making the team. At least there wasn't any dead mom jokes today. She would've punched someone.. if it wouldn't end up risking her suspension.
Later that day,
Sands House
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Ah yes, the table, bills being sorted under Jordan's hands. This was no life for a teenager.
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"Ok, so this one really needs to be paid. And, um, the rest of them can wait until the 15th."
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Tired. That's what they both were.
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"...Dad, everything's gonna be all right, isn't it?"
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"Mmm. Sure. Of course it is." David tried to be reassuring. Maybe he'd ask Carl about that electricity trick he had...
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"We need a miracle. A big, big miracle." Jordan could see that.
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"Hey, look, I don't want you guys to worry, all right? I'll figure this out. I promise."
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"Oh, and, um, there's something else that I just... yeah? What's that?" Jordan sighed. Sure, he got her out of P.E, but this wasn't good.
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"Suspended again?"
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Jordan only nodded.
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