Girls Night Out [Part 1]

It was two p.m. By this time, everyone working should've already been back at their offices, ready to face the mundane tasks of working again after a hearty lunch. Everyone working a seven-to-five job should not be lingering at the bar. Like what this particular young woman was doing.

But the rules didn't apply to her. The reason why? She owned the bar. And the restaurant next to it. Yes, Othello Restaurant/Bar is the property of one Lauren Knightley, chef and sometime security consultant. And she was proud of it. Barely out of her twenties, she'd managed to single-handedly bring the now-famous and sought-after restaurant into the eyes and tastebuds of various food critics, all of which had given Othello very good reviews.

It wasn't all managed without a couple of bumps in the road, though. When Elle, as her friends fondly called her, finished work on the restaurant and started on the nightclub, she realized that her budget for the club wasn't enough. Sure, she had some money left, but if she didn't get a loan - and soon - the club would only be half-completed.

Too proud to ask money from her family, Elle then contacted one of her best friends, Louisa deRossi, who agreed to invest on the condition that a. Lou gets to live in the empty apartment over the nightclub, b. She gets ten percent from the bar's profit, and c. She gets a job as a bartender.

The last condition made no sense to Elle, but hey, if her investor wanted it, who was she to argue? So it was then settled, and Othello managed to rise again.

Elle snorted cynically. Still dressed in her chef's uniform - yes, she was one of the few people who like to partake personally in the managing of her restaurant, and besides, she was a very good chef - she had one eye on the calculator, the other on the money bills that were placed methodically on the bar's table top, and both hands rubbing her temples tiredly.

'Whatcha doing, Elle?'

She winced at the chipper tone her friend's voice carried as she bounded down the staircase that led from Louisa's apartment to the bar. 'Can you tone it down a little?' Elle raised an eyebrow blearily. 'I'm getting a second migraine.'

'Whoa, a second migraine.' Louisa deRossi chuckled. 'You sure you're not hungover?'

Turning around in her seat, Elle shot a glare at her friend. 'Unlike some people,' heavy sarcasm here. 'I'm very responsible. Speaking of responsible,' she took a sip of the glass of OJ. Instant painkiller. 'Did I see some guy climbing up the stairs to your apartment last night?'

Lou scowled and threw a pout. 'Elle, you know I'm not like that!'

Elle shook her head. 'I know. It's them I don't trust. Ditto for Patrick.'

'Uh-oh.' Lou knew who she was talking about. Even though Elle was the rightful owner of Othello, Lou was sometime put in charge while Elle was out doing her security consultancy, which, according to Elle, brought in a huge paycheck.

'What about Patrick?' Lou asked warily. Patrick was an old hand, a college boy who'd been promoted to tiller duty at the bar after he did a good job as a waiter in Othello's restaurant side for several months.

Elle shrugged, her hand pulling off her chef's hat and throwing it carelessly on the table top. 'Tiller's missing around fifty dollars every night. And Patrick's in charge of tiller duty.'

Lou frowned. 'You think he stole it?'

'I don't know what to think,' Elle murmured, leaning back in her chair. Her eyes were shut, and a hand was absentmindedly rubbing her neck. 'Our profit each night is around five to seven hundred. Fifty dollars a night isn't hurting us. Much. But still, I'd like to know who stole it.' Now her eyes opened, and her gaze was steely. 'And I'd like to know tonight.'

Lou bit her lip. 'And how are you going to do that?'

'Dunno,' she answered. 'I'll need to figure that one out. As well as planning the menu for next week,' Lou groaned. 'And auditoning the bands.' Lou gave another groan. 'As well as auditioning a back-up just in case something happens. And I'll have to renew the contract with the people who supply us with our fresh produce. Not to mention a chat with the fishermen, and the butcher...' At the end of this, Lou had her hands clasped over her ears, and Elle had a wry but tired smile on her face.

'Gosh,' Lou finally replied. 'I can see why you're so exhausted. Do you even sleep?'

'Couple of hours, maybe four, five a night?'

'Four a night,' Lou repeated. 'You realize you can get sick on four hours of sleep a night?' Elle didn't answer. 'C'mon, let me help you. I can audition te bands and I'll help with the contract. You talk to your produce people and plan the menu. Hell, I'll even help you deal with the Patrick thing. Alright?'

'No, not alright,' Elle spoke up. 'I appreciate the help and all, but I need to do this stuff myself. Alright?' She stood up and glanced at her watch. It was almost three. And Lou was giving her the puppy eye look. 'C'mon, Ellie.' she said, her hands clasped together. 'Pleeeeeeeeeease?'

Elle had to smile; it was that contagious. And the moment she smiled she regretted it, because a few moments later, she started laughing; it was good though, she thought to herself, to have a friend who could make her laugh every once in a while. God knows it helped keep her sane. 'Okay. You can audition the bands, but everything else I'll do myself.'

'On one condition.'

Elle cocked an eyebrow. 'I'm listening.'

Lou broke into a mischievous grin. 'You're going to chill tonight, with your friends, in your nightclub. And I'll be choosing your clothes.' She ended her sentence with a strong stance, crossing her arms over her chest, and Elle suddenly wondered what would happen if she turned it down.

A beat. Then, 'Okay.'

'Brilliant!' Lou cried, giving her friend a hug. 'Now you go and do what you chefs do, and I'll pick you up at eight. It's a date!'

Laughing all the way to the kitchen, Elle shook her head in despair. Lou had better not pick anything to embarass her tonight.

Or else.

Tagged by Louise

Have I mentioned how much I HATE tags?

1. The last person to tag you is?
Lu-lu! jkjkjk

2. What is your relationship with her/him?
Really best friends. Like, since Standard 4 till now. That's about, 7 years of friendship?

3. What are your 5 impression towards him/her? [I know you corrected the grammar and all that, Lou, but this question sounds a bit...weird. Let me know]
- Fun
- Good-humoured
- Articulate in English haha big words XD
- Brilliant artist/author
- Partner in crime oops anti-crime?

4. What was the most memorable thing he/she has ever done for you?
She gave me her friendship XD

Calling all units. Calling all unit. Number 5 is missing. Description of Number 5 is a short horizontal slash with a vertical line leading downwards, and a backward lowercase c attached to it. Suspect is considered hostile for trying to escape the TAG. If seen, please apprehend immediately.

Moving on.

6. If he/she becomes your lover, you will...
God forbid! I will change my name, change my appearance and hide out as a recluse in the mountains. Gosh. Men only. Strictly men. Women need not apply.

7. If he/she becomes your enemy, you will...
Seek immediate asylum in some distant land with heavy firepower. 'Cause Lou's scary when she's mad.

8. If he/she becomes your lover, he/she has to improve on...
Gee. What can I say?

9. If he/she becomes your enemy, the reason would be...
We've reached an impasse and had a biiiiiggg falling-out. New word of the day: impasse.

10. The most desirable things to do for him/her is...
What's this supposed to mean? Sheeesh! English.
*Ditto Lou's answer*

11. Your overall impression towards him/her is...
She's brilliant. Absolutely brill.

12. How do you think the people around you feel about you?
*scoffs* Let's see...I've got people say I'm naive, one friend said I'm a cynosure though she implied it harsher than I would like...someone said I'm self-centered...look, you guys say what you like, K? I don't care.

13. The character of you for yourself is?
I'm a perfectionist, always nit-picking on the little details. Also a stickler for English, something Lou and I share in common. I have mood-swings, and I absolutely adore songs - preferably intrumental/piano - that sound so sad they make me cry.

14. On the contrary, what do you dislike about yourself?
I don't like the fact that I speak before I think sometimes, so much so that I hurt people's feelings. And I also get sick a lot.

15. Describe the ideal you.
Free from sickness, sinuses, rich, young, healthy, successful, have a family...Is that asking for too much?

16. Say something about someone who cares for and likes you.
Gee...thanks?

17. Bra or panties?
Uh, both?

18. Chocolate or ice-cream?
Both! But actually, chocolate ice-cream doesn't really taste that nice. Unless, of course, it's Baskin Robbin's Jamaica Almond Fudge! JAF rocks.

19. 10 people to tag.
- Tim
- Erina
- Louise (no one said anything about no tags back, and I want to know what you feel about me. You could just do question 1-5 and skip the rest if you like)

The Vodka Entourage - Vodka Delight [Part 1]

Blue. It is a well-used colour. Used in expressions like "she was so blue today", meaning, of course, sadness. Or "It came like a bolt from the blue", meaning it came as a sudden surprise. Blue is also used in painting, blue for the sky, for the sea, river. Blue flowers are also very charming indeed. And blue flowers were usually looked upon favourably by young women. Especially this particular young woman.

But this bouquet of flowers did nothing to cheer this young lady up. Considering that they were sent by...

'He actually has the nerve to send me flowers!' Lauren burst out. 'Can you believe that?'

She was sitting at the table, sipping steadily out of a glass filled with vodka. Next to her, Fitz was holding the bouquet gingerly. 'Perhaps it was meant as a sign of goodwill?' he asked hesitantly. Lauren scoffed. 'Good will? Fitz, the flowers were obviously meant as a challenge.' Her tone suggested that she was patiently explaining to a five year old instead of a twenty-five year old.

'Of course,' Fitz muttered beneath his breath. If Lauren heard it, she ignored it. 'Let's face it, Elle.' He stood up. 'If Mr...Can I see the card?'

His only reply was a glare, but Lauren handed the card over anyway. Fitz's eyes scanned the card quickly. It was a red card, made of some stiff paper, but it was the handwriting that caught Fitz's eye. It was scrawled neatly, black ink on red paper. Leaning closer, Fitz frowned. He was now tempted to think that whoever it was, they wrote it with a fountain pen. Which spelt a sense of anachronism. Come on, who would write with a fountain pen nowadays?

As if hearing Fitz's silent question, Lauren looked up. 'I do,' she aswered mildly. Rolling his eyes, Fitz flopped down next to her. 'That's because you're fascinated with anything and everything. Heck, you even have an obsession with guns!'

'Correction: It's a fascination, not an obsession.' Lauren spoke, turning to him. Her low voice reminded Fitz where they were: at a posh club where they had live jazz and blues singers come in every night. The club was dimly lit, and it served it purpose as a meeting place well.

Fitz took a sip of his martini. 'And the difference being?' The second it left his mouth he mentally slapped himself. Way to get her into lecturer mode again, Fitz.

Predictably, Lauren shrugged. 'A fascination means I'm attracted to the idea of guns, of handling a gun, of shooting a gun. I have nothing against it. An obssesion, on the other hand, means that I'm having really unhealthy thoughts about guns. Like buying a gun so I can brandish it about and shoot people. Or even carrying a gun around me at all times so I can wave it and do some damage. That's an obsession.'

'Of course,' Fitz muttered. It was one of Lauren's favourite words to use when she was exasperated, and it was starting to rub off him as well. He had to stop spending so much time with her.

Conversation stopped as Lauren continued to sip her vodka. Then she spoke again. 'Did you see what he wrote?'

Fitz's attention was once again turned towards the card. '"Dear Lauren, I hope you won't be too displeased to know that I'm on board as well. Hopefully your favourite flowers can help to dispell some of the animosity. Mai la meilleure victoire de personne."' Fitz scowled. 'What the hell is "mai la meilleure victoire de personne"?'

'May the best person win,' Lauren translated fluently. 'Did you notice something else, Fitz?'

'Yeah.' Pause. 'How the hell did he know what your favourite flowers were?'

Lauren shrugged. She was focused on the pianist, a man in a blue suit with grey eyes and burnish hair. Seated at the grand piano, he played a jazzy tune that Lauren thought she recognised. Looking up, he caught her eye, and gave her a smile, dropping a wink at her. She felt herself smile at the exchange.

Then a waiter approached and handed her an envelope. Frowning, her mood changed instantly from mellow to arctic as she opened the envelope and looked at the contents. She exchanged a look with Fitz, and her expression was unreadable. Standing up, she finished her vodka with one eye on the pianist, who was looking at her, and left the club.

Little Bits and Pieces

She looked up at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts as the storm outside grew in intensity. The canvas hammock underneath her did nothing to dispell the fears she still had, nor the nightmares that plagued her. Her left arm was folded under her head, and she had covered herself with a silk quilt made for her by a friend of her mother's.

Looking to her left, she took in the sight of the canopied four poster. With its cream colored sheets and pillows with black accents, it looked extremely Parisian and inviting, but she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to sleep in that bed. She hadn't slept there for quite a while. Against the flash of lightning, it looked formal, something out of an eighteenth century novel.

Bookshelves filled the room, and she smiled. Books were her first love, her first friends. It was they that opened her mind to different countries and places, different dimensions. And it was them that kept her sane in her time of insanity.

Picking up the book that was on the broad window sill right next to the hammock, she brushed a finger over the leather covering. It had been a present from the one she loved most, knowing how she wrote down story notes in various notebooks she'd recycled from her old exercise books. She was given the best present ever - a moleskine notebook encased with a waterproof layer, with her initials stamped onto the spine.

It became too much for her, and with a final look, she cried.

Rogue Spy? NOT....

Ok people if you've been listening - I highly doubt that - do not under any circumstances play Rogue Spy is my advice to you. Take it or leave it, if you want to know it's very boring.

Or perhaps I'd logged in when everyone else - yes, everyone else - wasn't online. But it is stupid. Because I made two accounts, one Lauren Fox one Guinevere, and guess what, I tried to play some cipher thing where you had to unscramble the letters to figure out a spy-related word. The first letter of the word was highlighted with a yellow box. This was that they gave me:

[S]SL

And you tell me, what kind of word could I possibly spell out based on that? So I tembak-ed. Again, again, and again. On my third try, they said - DUNDUN! You have failed the attempt. The correct word is Ssl. [wth you ask me is that? Guess what, I don't know. 8 (] Since you could not decipher the word, you are caught by the police and will now go to jail.

Or something or other to that effect.

And my character went to jail. Which was why I created a second account to bust it out of jail. But nooo, my second charac had to get caught so I got both of them stuck in jail and after numerous times, I managed to bust myself out.

It was boring. Seriously. Don't play the game or I'll disown you forever. But, no pressure.

Rogue Spy?

Ok I just joined this online role-playing game of some sort. I Have no idea what I just did. Registered under username Lauren Fox. Look me up if you can and help me with the madness.

Something I Saw...

January:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people's flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

February:
Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

March:
Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves travelling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL:
Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people's problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

May:
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves travelling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

June:
Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills.Talk active. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

July:
Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST:
Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

September:
Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people's mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

October:
Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn't pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

November:
Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

December:
Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor.

Uh, okay.... all are quite true...except maybe the "sexy" part? And I'm ambitioua, but not that ambitious. Yes, I admit, I love attention. What's "Egotistic?" Besides that, everything else is quite true.

Gosh.........

Hello people. Sorry haven't posted anything lately. Got a bit of writer's block. Yeah. So now I'm in a bit of a fix, yeah, coz...how should I put this? Okay, my main story is about three girls, Sam, Danika and Lauren--all in their late teens, early twenties, kinda like college kids, yeah--who were recruited to join MIA [Ministry of Internal Affairs], which is a underground, covert sub-branch of the CIA. Like the female version 0f James Bond, only minus the racy innuendo and more action.

The girls form a team with Daniel and Brodie, the former their best friend from school; the latter a newbie who'd just joined their team. Later two other men--Nate and Chris--joins the team and off they go to save the day and all that.

Here's the problem:
1. I can't seem to find a suitable title for the story. I thought of "Code X--The Beginning" since Code X is the name of their team. But then I thought of just titling the book MIA since that is the agency they are working for. Or maybe even, "Of Spies and Lies". Sounds catchy huh?

2. At first Lauren's name was Taylor Ashford, but then Louise didn't like Taylor as a name (reminded her of a tailor) so I changed it to Lauren, a name I also liked very much, especially since we share the same nickname Elle. So since we changed her first name, I'm wondering if we should change her surname as well.

At first thought of making her half French (blame it on Take the Lead) and giving her the name Lauren Deschanel. But then it's a bit wordy and then I thought of Lauren Shepard, or Lauren Pierce which I've used before in the mutant story and which I think is super snappy. And then I thought of Lauren Fox, you know like Sydney Fox in Relic Hunter, but then I wanted something British and Fox sounds a little too American.

So help me, what title should I put for the story, and should I change Lauren's surname or keep it at Ashford?

All suggestions are welcomed.

Solitaire

Her blue eyes stared fixatedly at the numbers on the clock. The seconds ticked by, and the noise was loud in the silence of the room. It took her two, maybe three minutes to clearly distinguish the time. Just a little quirk she had. A little bit to do with OCD.

Her hands shuffled the deck, quickly, swiftly. The deck was in her palm, and with a soft flap, she allowed half the deck to drop to the base of her palm. Her pinky finger then pushed the deck to the thumb, allowing the remaining half still suspended between her fingers to drop. The first half was then dropped on top of the other, and she shuffled the deck again.

She knew how to play solitaire from the numerous amount of times she'd played it on the computer, but playing Klondike with a deck of cards instead was much more rewarding. Regina Spektor was playing in the background, and she picked up the remote, turning the volume up higher.

You are my sweetest downfall

I loved you first, I loved you first

Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth

I have to go, I have to go

Your hair was long when we first met.

She hated conflict. Conflict was to her like vegetable was to lion. But this happening, however pleasant it was, was killing her slowly. She placed one card, face up, in front of her. It was the King of Hearts. Next to it, she dealt six more cards, all face down in a row. On the first face-down card, she placed another, face up. The Nine of Spades. Moving on to the next one, she dealt five more cards, all face down. Then she opened another card, putting it face up next to the Nine of Spades. It was the Jack of Diamonds. Another row of face down cards on the rest of the rows, then she uncovered a card, placing it beside the Jack. She chuckled quietly. The Ace of Spades. She repeated the whole process, finally adding to her face up collection with the Seven of Clubs, Six of Clubs, and Two of Hearts.

Outside, if she strained her ears, she could still hear the loud shouts of happiness, of pleasure. Forcing herself away, she turned back to her game. She removed the Ace of Spades, placing it above the other cards, then uncovering the one below it. It was the Six of Hearts. She placed the Six on top of the Seven of Clubs, uncovering the next card. King of Diamonds. She exhaled. Okay.

The door opened, and he entered. She didn't bother looking at him, wanting to erase from her memory everything she'd heard. Grabbing the deck, she drew one card. A black queen. She placed it above the King of Hearts, drawing another card. The Ace of Hearts. She placed it next to the black ace, and placed the red two on top of it, uncovering the face down card beneath the red two. It was a Jack of Diamonds.

Samson went back to bed

Not much hair left on his head

Ate a slice of wonderbread

And went right back to bed

The history books forgot about us

And the Bible didn't mention us

No the Bible didn't mention us

Not even once

He was sitting next to her now. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't want to talk to him. Not just yet. Then he spoke. 'Shouldn't you be studying for your exam?' he asked softly, twirling a curl of her hair around his finger.

Trying not to let him see how much that simple gesture affected her, she replied, as coldly and as harsh as she could. 'It's just comprehension. There's nothing much to study for.'

'Really?' Now he was challenging her, a hint of disbelief etching his features. When she continued to ignore him, he took the cards away, forcing her to look at him. 'You heard,' he said finally. She still wouldn't look at him, but she gave a short, barely perceivable nod. He paused. 'You don't seem pleased.' he continued quietly.

Inside, her heart broke. The man she loved, the one she'd waited for so long, was getting married and he wonders why she doesn't seem happy?

'I am. I just need some time, to process everything,' she answered equally. 'You fell in love with a woman who loves you back. That's good news. You should go, enjoy her smiles. The door's that way.' Forcing a smile, she jerked her head at the doorway. A look of hurt crossed his face. 'I thought--' he shut his mouth. She knew what he was going to say. Hadn't she told him her feelings for him twice, albeit a long time ago?

'Whatever it was, it's over,' she said quietly. 'Claire is waiting for you. You should go. Enjoy yourself. Be happy.' Even as she said these words, she felt as though she would die from the agony of her breaking heart.

He stood up, smiling shyly. 'You'll still come to the wedding?' he asked hopefully. She plastered a big grin on her face. 'Absolutely.'

Smiling, he came forward, gave her a hug. She could almost lose herself in the warmth of his embrace, then he was pulling away, and leaving for his soon-to-be-wife. She watched him, watching every step he took, every step that took him away from her. She watched as he embraced his laughing bride, full of happiness, and her heart hurt.

She watched as he stepped into his car, his wife on the other side, and watched as they drove off, a group of well-wishers waving at them. Then they were gone, disappearing around the bend.

She watched, as the man she loved was taken away by the sister she admired, and just when she thought she'd lost all feeling, her heart broke all over again. Then she broke down, tears falling freely, clouding her sight.

Then she heard footsteps, and for one wild moment, she thought it was him. That he'd got back somehow, coming back just for her. And she realized it was only her friend, the one who'd seen her through the agony. 'He's gone,' she said simply.

'I know,' her friend said. 'You made the right choice, letting him go.'

She tried to make light of the situation. 'Hear ye, agony of the heart. Thy name is unrequited love.'

Her friend stepped closer. 'I know how hard it was to let him go.' Then she changed the subject. 'Are you going to the wedding?'

'No,' she said firmly. 'I can't. If I do, I'll just fall in love with him all over again, and I can't afford that. Not now. How can I choose between my sister and the man I love?'

'It was the right choice,' her friend said gently, knowing the sobs were coming soon.

'Perhaps it was,' she said silently. 'Perhaps you were right. Perhaps I should just move on. Perhaps I should just let him go. The thing is,' her voice dropped to a whisper. 'I'm not sure I can.'

Her voice grew louder. 'I'm leaving for France immediately.'

'Elle...' her friend said warningly. 'Don't do it...'

Elle gave a wry laugh. 'I can't stay, Lou. The only way for me to forget about him is to leave this place. Robbie and Claire can have Hertfordshire. I'll leave for France. I'll never come back. I'll leave for the farthest ends of the earth if only I won't have to see them again.' She glanced at the unfinished game of solitaire, and she chuckled in dismay at the irony. Regina Spektor was still singing, softly now, as the end of the song approached. Then she left her friend behind, knowing that no matter what she did, no matter what she said, she would always love him till the day she died.

You are my sweetest downfall.
I loved you first.

Zhuo Liang's Tag

Haihz. Really didn't wanna do his tag coz I've got so used to seeing my ADD test results at the top of my blog. Anyway, I want Zhuo Liang to take the test, see how much he scores.

Rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know they got tagged and to ask them to play and read your blog.

Starting time: 5.55 pm (according to my laptop clock)
Name: Elyssia Chin
Sisters: 1
Brothers: None, unfortunately.
Shoe size : Gosh, I don't know!
Height: 166 cm. That's 5 feet 5.35 inches. Gosh, I'm short!

Where do you live: Check the Yellow Pages. I'm listed. (I think)

Favourite drinks: Uh, not too sure. My mind changes regularly.

Favourite breakfast: Toast. I like toast. Say no to milk.

Have you ever been on a plane: I....think so. I don't remember.

Swam in the ocean: Yes. But I was very young. Like, 5-8 years old?

Fallen asleep in school: If catnaps count, yes. If bored to the actual point where you start snoring, then no.

Broken someone's heart: I'm....not sure. Well, they don't exactly come up to me and say, 'You broke my heart into pieces!', now, do they?

Fell off your chair: Not lately, no.

Sat by the phone all night waiting for someone to call: Yep. Just on Thursday. Was waiting for Louise to call so we could chat after so long.

Saved e-mails: I don't even check my inbox! What does that tell you?

What is your room like: Uh, quite nice. Two beds, one for me and one for sis. Huge wardrobe all filled with sis's clothes. Mine are stuffed away into drawers or hung next to the stairs. Walls are peach colored. The wall next to my bed is stuck with glow-in-the-dark stars and whatnot. Nice stereo. A nightlight. Yeah, that's about it.

What's right beside you: Handphone, books, more books.....

What is the last thing you ate: Lunch.

Ever had chicken pox: Yep.

Sore throat: Every once a month with a slight fever and cold. Guareenteed. I'm just weird like that. So much for my immune system.

Stitches: Nope.

Broken nose: You're mad! You're absolutely bloody mad! How in the name of all things good and righteous am I supposed to get my nose broken? Walk into a lamp post?

Do you believe in love at first sight: Yes. Somehow I do.

Like picnics: Yeap. Used to have lotsa them when I was a kid.

Who was the last person you danced with: Uh, very awkward topic. A boy at a friend's birthday party.

Last made you smile: Uh, have I mentioned that I'm so easily amused it's pitiful?

You last yelled at: I have no idea.

Today did you:
Talk to someone you like: Clarify. Like as in general or like like?
Kissed anyone: Nope.
Get sick: Nope.
Talked to an ex: Don't have one. Next.
Miss someone: I'll get back to you on that one.
Best feeling in the world: Zhuo Liang's right. This question sounds weird.
Do you sleep with stuffed animals: YES!!!!!XD
What's under your bed: Not sure what this question means so yeah. Skip!!!

Who do you really hate: Many, many people I won't even mention on this blog. Nah, it's just Mr. Celery.
What time is it now: 6.39 pm. I took more than half an hour on this tag, yeah?

Randoms:
Q: Is there a person who is on your mind right now:
You don't need to know that.

Q: Do you have any siblings:
Yes...refer to the beginning of the tag, please.

Q: Do you want children:
Yes...I want kids!!!!!!!!!! Just not now.

Q: Do you smile often:
Why is this tag so repetitive? I have already mentioned I'm so easily amused I'm pitiful. Fine, if you must know, yes when I'm not feeling moody.

Q: Do you like your hand-writing:
Yes?

Q: Are your toenails painted:
A question not worth asking and not worth wasting your time on. I don't like nail polish.

Q: Whose bed other than yours would you rather sleep in:
This sounds really weird and stalkerish.

Q: What colour shirt are you wearing:
White with orange stripes and blue lettering on yellow.

Q: What were you doing at 7:00pm yesterday:
Stuff.

Q: I can't wait till:
I really have no idea how to answer this one. Till I'm finally able to use a sword/cutlass and do archery like Keira Knightley? Till I finally become a pirate/thief? That would be preetty awesome. *laughs*

Q: When did you cry last:
Quite a while ago. Can't really remember.

Q: Are you a friendly person:
I don't think so, but get a second opinion from my friends. OY, Louise, Erina, am I friendly?

Q: Do you have any pets:
Yes. She died. Refer to the post below the one below this one.


Where is the person you have feelings for right now?
I wouldn't know.

Did the last person you held hands with mean anything to you now?
I don't like hand holding.

Do you sleep with the TV on?
Considering I don't have the TV in my room....

What are you doing right now?
This. Is. A. Pathetically. Pointless. Question.

Have you ever crawled through a window?
Nope. Can I?

Can you handle the truth?
Yes. But I'll most probably cry if the truth's too harsh. (Gotta copy ZL's for this)

Are you closer to your mother or father?
Dad.

Who was the last person you cried in front of?
No one.

How many people can you say you've really loved?
Again, clarify. Love as in 'I love you, you love me' Barney love or 'I love you, I want to be your soulmate' love?

Do you eat healthy?
Yes.

Today?
Not yet.

Do you still have pictures of you & your ex?
Did I mention I don't have an ex?

Have you ever cried because of something someone said to you?Unfortunately.

How often do you go to church?
Once a week.

If you're having a bad day, who are you most likely to go to?
I usually don't go to anyone.

Are you loud or quiet most of the time?
Mix of both, perhaps? I like that word. Perhaps. Sounds so vague and clear at the same time.

Are you confident?
I hardly think so. I like that word too. Hardly. Makes me feel so British.


5 things I was doing 10 years ago..(1998)...That would make me...six?
1. Uh. Whatever six year olds do.
2. Probably watching Barney. I love Barney. I still like Barney. I think.
3. And uh, eating.
4. And watching Sesame Street. Elmo's World.
5. I almost drowned my sister once. I was still using the airbands thingy to help me float. My sis came over and laughed at me and successfully removed one of them. I panicked, thought I was drowning, and I grabbed my sister and pulled her down with me. It took my aunt and uncle to separate us. She then gave me a large whack followed by, 'WHY YOU PULL ME DOWN FOR?'

5 things on my to-do list today
1. Study study study.
2. Learn how to study. Seriously I don't know. I asked my sister once and she looked at me like I was retarded.
3. Learn how to do Log from Ben.
4. Remember to wake up at six a.m. tomorrow.
5. Study study study.

5 snacks I enjoy.
1. Currently it's ice cream.
2. And nougat.
3. Apples.
4. Grapes.
5. Food.

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire
1. Save?
2. Give money to mom, dad and sis.
3. Build my dream house in Hertfordshire. Buy some horses. Get some dogs. Live life ala Lizzy Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, only complete with modern day technology.
4. Travel the world. Always had a soft spot for Paris, St. Petersburg and Hounslow. Ah yes. Own a house in Hounslow.
5. Pay Alina Andrei and Mark Edward Lewis to teach me how to weild and use a sword and bows and arrows ala Keira Knightley, both in real-life fighting and on-screen Hollywood fighting. Anyone who's seen heir videos know they're the people who choreograph Hollywood's fighting scenes including, I think, Star Wars.

5 of my bad habits
1. ADD makes me have moodswings and all that crap. I yell a lot.
2. According to Lou, I'm constantly dwelling in a fantasy world. So I like being a secret agent. Sue me. You know, Jit Sun was actually the first to take me seriously. He was like, 'Okay, let's go to court now and I'll sue you!'
3. I'm quite the procrastinator.
4. Uh, I like being the center of attention I think? Maybe conceited?
5. I like annoying people just for the fun of it.

5 places I have lived in
1. My house
2. Uh, uncle's house in Ipoh.
3. Hotel in Port Dickson
4. Mom's cousin's house in Kuantan
5. Yeah well, that's probably about it.

5 jobs I've had
*smirks* I'm glad to say I've never found a need to work. But planning on it during hols.

5 People I tag
1. Xin Wei
2. Emma my cousin
3. Louise
4. Elaine. I like her. She does all my tags.
5. Gloria. Yes, I'm sorry about Lasagna. But we managed to get beef.

ADD?

Results of your Attention Deficit Disorder Quiz

You scored a total of 93
It is highly likely that you are presently suffering from adult attention deficit disorder, according to your responses on this self-report questionnaire. You should not take this as a diagnosis of any sort, or a recommendation for treatment. However, it would be advisable and likely beneficial for you to seek further diagnosis from a trained mental health professional immediately.

S C O R I N G K E Y
If you scored You May Have
>70 & up... Adult ADHD
>50-69 Moderate ADHD
>35-49 Mild ADHD
>25-34 Borderline ADHD
>0-24 No ADHD likely.

Xin Wei & Erina were right. I do have ADHD. Another titbit to use for Taylor Ashford.

"There's an Angel on my shoulder looking after me..."

Friday. 26th of September, 2008.

It should've been a happy day. It was the beginning of a one-week holiday, two weeks after which were the end year exams. But then, my dog died.

Yes, my very adorable Angel girl. A Golden-Retriever and Cocker Spaniel mixed dog, she came to us about five years ago, given by our opposite house neighbour. That time the biggest decision we had to make was what to name the dog: Angel (sis's choice) or Frisky (mine). She had been hiding under the couch, so we each threw out our names at her. She came out when sis called Angel, probably because it rhymed with Girl. (Somehow, Malaysian speak lah).

Earlier in school today, I was being super moody (dunno why) and everyone commented, asking why I looked so sad, and I went, 'No I'm not! What made you think that?'

But today, I came home, had lunch, and Dad said that Angel had a huge gaping wound on her chest. I wasn't really that shocked. She had several lumps on her chest, and caught maggot infection for quite a while already. After lunch Dad called the vet and got me to help him get Angel to the vet's office, which was in Section 14.

We pushed the front passenger seat forward, and laid a huge plastic sheet and newspapers on the space/floor so she could sit there and not get the car dirty (she was bleeding, mind you). We had the windows down, and Angel was evidentally enjoying the ride.

Then at the vet's office, they told us she had breast cancer, and it was a call between putting her down or giving her medication, which will treat the maggot infection but not the cancer, and that she only had 6-8 months more to live.

2. 45 pm. Went back out into the lobby, Dad called Mom and Sis who were at home, and decided to put her to sleep, and then I started crying.

The vet took us to the back room (when they diagnosed her they muzzled her and put her on a metal table but she didn't bark or anything; then they put her in the back room where there were a few dogs as well) and Dad and I patted her and I was crying at the same time. They explained that they will feed her, slip her a couple of sleeping pills and give her the injection when she's asleep. And I looked at her and she looked so sad, like she know her time was almost up.

Then Dad paid the vet for putting her to sleep (RM 100) and to dispose of her body (RM 180, depending on body weight). And we took her leash, and went home, and I was crying all the way. That was almost 3 o'clock.

Showered and got ready for chemistry tuition. Then remembered that we wanted her collar (that had her license and little dog bones on it) so Dad dropped me off at tuition and went to pick up the collar. By then they'd already done it. Went back home. And the whole family cried. I couldn't stop crying.

Goodbye, sweet Angel girl. My first brush with death. But at least she's now with God in a better place. There's an Angel on my shoulder looking after me...and that Angel is you.

The Helix Assignment [Part 9]

Ok people before I start, I'm gonna put this on hiatus for a while coz of the upcoming exams, but I promise to start it again when it's done. Btw, the telekinetic thief (formerly known as Drew Quincy, currently known as Edmund Darcy, is now changing his name to.........Jack Cedric Russell. Please ignore any other versions and simply replace them with Jack Russell.)
____________________________

Hiro spat his milk out. Jen blinked as splatters of white liquid dropped onto her table while Pierce reached out a hand and pulled her plate of toast away to avoid the milk. 'Gosh, Hiro,' Aqua said, wrinkling her nose disgustedly. 'I know you're quite stunned, but there's no need to do that.' She grabbed some tissues and threw them at Hiro, who wiped the mess he made with a halfhearted gesture of "sorry".


Joye looked at Jen seriously. 'I didn't know you had a sister.'

Jen shrugged. 'She's my half-sister. I think she was about eleven years older than me. Mom doesn't really talk much about her. According to Dad, Carol was placed into boarding school in Switzerland. They haven't met since Christmas last year, which was the only time we've met personally. But she's super cool.' She shook her head in despair. 'I can't think of anyone that would do this to her. Who are these people?'


Elsa frowned. 'That's what we gonna find out.'
______________________

'Have I mention how much I hate dead bodies?' Aqua complained. Joye rolled her eyes. 'Not since two seconds ago. Gosh Aqua, what's the big deal? You're not the one touching it.'

Aqua snorted. 'Hello, remember the time we dissected Pau? It was so cute, and I wanted to keep it.'

'But you dissected it anyway, so who cares?' Elsa replied shortly. 'Besides, it's a frog! Get over it!' She heard Pierce call out her name. 'There. That's the morgue.' She pointed to a white building on her left. 'And there,' she turned ninety degrees, her hand still outstretched. Elsa followed her finger until they saw Caroline's apartment several blocks down.

'And Backstone Park, where she was found,' Pierce continued, pointing out the direction. 'And there,' she stopped suddenly. 'That's the alley where she was found, again. This time in the duffel bag.'

Elsa shrugged. 'You know what they say, divide and conquer. But problem is, there's only six of us.'

'Maybe I can help.'

Elsa recognized the voice instantly. 'Jack Russell.'


The gentleman thief smiled at her, this time wearing a sweater and jeans. 'Hello, Elsa.' He smiled at her companion. 'And you are?'

'None of your concern,' Pierce snapped back. 'So, this is the man you were after?'

Elsa inclined her head. 'Jack Russell, this is Pierce.'

'The pleasure is mine,' he said charmingly. Pierce's eyes flickered to him once. 'Unfortunately I can't say the same.'

Jack smiled. This one was cool, too cool. He had a feeling he'd enjoy ruffling her feathers. 'I've come to offer my help.'

'And why would you help us? If I remember correctly, you were against us.'

'Elsa, Elsa, ye of little faith. Can a man not change his ways once in a while?'

'Hey Pierce, what's that old adage about a leopard not changing his spots?'

Jack had to give it to her. She was tough. Pierce on the other hand, took a longer time to figure out. He decided to change direction. 'Look, Pierce, is it? The only reason why I'm helping is because in helping you, I help myself.

'The people who are doing this, they're obviously targeting mutants. Caroline Victor was the first mutant to fall. How many deaths do we need before the mutant world goes extinct? I don't know about you, but I don't want to end up Slushie like Ms Victor, God rest her soul. Are you willing to join forces? If not, I can always go solo. But sticking together in times like this fares better. So what say you?'

Elsa and Pierce exchanged looks. 'Fine,' Elsa finally spoke. Pierce hadn't said a word. Then her eyes shifted behind him, and Jack swung around as Aqua came running. Her eyes widened initially at Jack's presence, but ignored it as she turned to Elsa. 'You guys gotta come quick.'

'Why?'

'There's been another murder,' Aqua panted breathlessly. 'This time, it's a kid around our age. His name is Jonathan Hewley.'

Pierce stiffened. 'God help us,' she muttered.

The Helix Assignment [Part 8]

Joye was already seated at the table when Jen walked in, yawning. Hiro had buried his nose in a large glass of milk, while Aqua was flipping the newspaper pages idly.

'Morning?' Jen asked tentively. Aqua looked up and smiled. 'Hey. Thanks for letting us crash, by the way. This is a beautiful home.'

Jen smiled over her mug. 'Thank you. How did you guys get involved with the whole--' she waved her hand, and Aqua knew she was talking about their mutant issue.

Aqua shrugged. 'I'm not that sure. I guess it started when I was a really young kid. I was at summer camp, and they had this swimming competition.'

Joye cut in. 'And long story short, she found out she was hydrokinetic. As for me, I was born in Boston. My mum and dad got divorced when I turned six. Since then, I've been living with mum and her new boyfriend, Walter.' Joye gave a snort of disgust. 'And now they want to have a baby! Can you imagine that?'


Jen shook her head laughingly. Joye was a dramatic, that much she knew. She turned to the sole remaning member who hadn't spoken. 'And you, Hiro?'

The boy looked up at her blankly, and returned to his milk without a word. Hiro loved his milk. Besides, he couldn't speak and the only person who could act as translator wasn't up yet.

Just then, the door to the dining room opened and Elsa walked in, followed by Pierce who was already dressed in her customary redingote coat, with a red scarf wrapped around her neck, which made her look so much older than her real age. She looked around the dining table. 'Hello,' she said politely, more than anything out of habit instead of actually wanting to make conversation.

Sitting down, she refilled Hiro's glass of milk, much to his delight, and started buttering toast for both Elsa and her. Everyone raised their eyebrows at this. Had Pierce and Elsa reconciled in the middle of the night?

Aqua had continued reading the papers when she stopped on a page. '"Mystery Murder: Authorities Baffled."' The headlines caught everyone's attention as Aqua continued reading. '"Last night, a young woman was found dead several blocks from Backstone Park, near a housing area. The woman, identified as Caroline Victor, 27, from Houston, Texas, was an accountant for Wilcox Pharmaseuticals. After the post mortem, Medical Examiner D.G. Horth discovered something strange.

No one noticed the way Jen paled. Pierce inhaled sharply, sensing something from Jen, but kept silent.

'"Horth said in his report that the victim "was found with no injuries on her body, except for two small marks on her arm that appeared to be teeth marks." He also remarked that the victim did not suffer from any other cuts or bruises, and no evidence of trauma was found. However, when Victor was cut open, it was revealed that she was "totally devoid of blood", bringing forth the theory that the killer is a New-Age vampire."'

Elsa grabbed the papers and glanced through it quickly, Pierce reading it over her shoulder calmly while taking a bite of buttery toast. Everyone else was staring in stunned disbelief as Elsa picked up where Aqua had left off.

'"The mystery thickens when the body, which was left on the autopsy table in the morgue, was stolen in the middle of the night despite the presence of guard patrols. Authorities assume the body was taken away by the killer when it reappeared in a duffel bag. Upon unzipping the duffel bag, police and medical examiner alike were shocked by the contents. Sources say that Caroline Victor's body was a mass of flesh and skin. The bones, however, were missing. And again, there was no sign or evidence of a cut or tear to show how the bones were removed."'

'Yep,' Joye gave a quick, oh-yeah nod. 'Sounds like something more super than natural going on to me.'

'It is,' Pierce spoke up. 'Caroline Victor was a mutant. And Jen knows something about her,' she looked up. 'Doesn't she?'

Jen swallowed as four pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly. Then, she knew she had to tell the truth. 'Caroline Victor,' she began haltingly. 'She's my sister.'

The Helix Assignment [Part 7]

Caroline Victor walked out of the cafe warily. Sniffing the air surreptitiously, her feral nose detected two men who was following right behind her. At this point, Caroline was ready to let out a good roar of frustration. Those two men had been shadowing her for the past week, and she'd been ignoring them for the most part. But now, it was going way too out of line.

She'd have to teach them a lesson they'd never forget.

Quickening her pace, Caroline stepped jauntily onto the street. Thanks to her feral senses, she could hear the two men falling into step right behind her. Hiding a smile behind her hand, she started jogging, forcing the two men who were following her to hurry up as well.

Oh, it was just too good. How gullible.

She led them around 4 blocks of buildings and past a deserted park, finally managing to loose them at a dark alley just walking distance from the cafe they started. She figured they'd find their way back soon enough. Grinning, she skipped down the road to her house when someone blocked the road in front of her. Looking up, Caroline watched as the taller of the two men neared, his palm outstretched, his mouth open.

No one heard her scream.
_____________________________

Elsa sat up in the middle of the night again, unable to fall asleep. They were crashing in Jen Lophat's house, which was far bigger and much more private considering Jen's parents had migrated over to Canada six months back. The only reason Jen was staying was because she wanted to finish high school before going to college in Toronto.

Shaking her head, Elsa threw the covers back and got up. She walked to the door and let herself out carefully, trying not to wake Aqua, who was snoring from exhaustion.

Making her way to the kitchen, Elsa poured herself a glass of water before a dull thunk caught her attention. It sounded like leather on leather, a noise that was out of the ordinary on this silent night. Everyone else was sleeping. How could it possibly be?

Bracing herself, Elsa crept as silently as she could along the corridor, unknowingly levitating herself as she tried to be unnoticeable. Turning around a door, she found herself looking at a room that was filled with various exercising equipment. There was a state-of-the-art treadmill and weights, and the floor was padded with some sort of material. One of the walls had various weapons and swords attached to it.

There. There it was again, the dull thunk, followed by several soft, barely audible grunts. Dropping lightly to her feet, Elsa watched quietly as Pierce hit the punchbag, dealing it with a roundhouse kick before throwing another punch. Her breaths coming in pants, she steadied the punchbag before speaking. 'I told you I don't appreciate trespassers.' She sounded stern, like a teacher who had repeated herself one time too many to an overly curious student.

Elsa snorted. 'Don't flatter yourself. Don't you sleep at night?' No answer from Pierce. Well, she'd expected that. 'Wow. Would you believe the Lophats actually have a gym here?' She neared the punchbag and eyed Pierce warily, who was removing the boxing gloves from her hands. 'Where did you learn how to fight like that?'

Pierce looked up, with a glance that reminded Elsa of Pierce's earlier sentence, but she answered anyway. 'I grew up in the worst place you could ever imagine. There, you get two options: fight or flight.' She gave a dry laugh. 'Which wasn't much of an option after all. At first, I chose to run. All I earned were broken fingers and a dislocated shoulder. They kept on pushing, just pushing,' her eyes darkened. 'One day, I snapped. I fought back.'

'And?' Elsa asked. Pierce shrugged. 'I learnt how to defend myself. And you? What's your sob story? Oh, wait, let me guess. Rich family, loving parents, with dreams of going to Harvard or Oxford or whatever, getting a job in Daddy's company and whatnot until something happened to change your life forever?'

Elsa raised an eyebrow. 'I don't supposed you'll tell me how you got that?' Pierce's look of scorn was all the answer she needed. 'Well, you hit it right on the head. Yeah, I have loving parents and all that, and it was going to happen exactly as you said. Ivy League Colleges. A degree in business.' Her voice softened. 'Then Mom and Dad died in a car crash. And that's when I found out I was adopted. Been trying to figure out who my real parents are. I'm living off on my allowance from my inheritance, so I get by. But I've always wondered if they'd ever...' her voice trailed off.

Pierce sighed, and leaned forward, one hand on Elsa's arm. 'I bet they have,' she said quietly, finishing the sentence as she sent waves of comfort to Elsa, who visibly relaxed after a while. When she figured time enough had passed, she got up and headed for the door. Elsa's voice held her back with a question. 'How were your parents like?'

Pierce turned away. 'They don't deserve to be mentioned.' She gave a dry laugh as she looked back. 'Sounded bitter, didn't it?'

Elsa shrugged. 'I guess. What did they do to you that made you hate them so much?'

There was silence for a while, before Pierce spoke again. 'You know what your problem is, Elsa? You're too trusting. You're apt to like people in general, but sometimes they just turn around and betray you in a split second.'

Elsa's eyebrows raised. 'Is that why you're so cynical? You were betrayed once, weren't you? As for me, I'm a nice person. I don't like hating other people because of something wrong they did to me. I'm not spiteful. All I can do is erase the memory of whatever they did and let bygones be bygones.'

'Really?' An amused smirk played at Pierce's lips as she turned around and glanced at Elsa. It was the first time she'd noticed that Pierce's eyes were blue. 'Even to those low-life scum who made your life miserable?'

'Yes,' Elsa replied firmly. 'Even to them. I know, you're thinking that there is no true justice in the world right now, and I agree. I'm just not that vindictive.'

'Well, I am,' Pierce countered back coolly. 'I get even. I get my revenge. And if it were up to me, I'd make sure that each and everyone of them die a painful death. But that's just me. Little word of advice. Don't let anyone in too easily. It's a good way to get yourself killed.'

Elsa swung around. 'Not even friends?'

'Especially not friends,' Pierce said. 'Your most dangerous enemies are the friends you've double-crossed. They'll always come back to bite you in the behind.'

She left the gym without another word, leaving Elsa behind, wrapped in her thoughts.

Tagged By Louise Tan

The Rules
1. Each player of this game [is it even considered a game?] starts off with 15 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself.
2. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 15 weird things/habits/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly.
3. At the end, you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names.
4. No tags back. Seriously.
________________________________

1. I am super obsessed with Keira Knightley.
----> It's true, ask around. I love her in Pride & Prejudice, Domino, POTC. I have her posters and most of her shows. Heck, even my cousin had taken to cutting out posters or news on Keira which are featured in Galaxie and give them to me without question. Trust me when I say I'm obsessed and let's leave it at that. You so do not want to get me started on her. Which leads to....

2. My very unhealthy habit of reading various fanfiction just because Keira Knightley starred in the shows.
----> Also quite true. Read above. Enough said.

3. I annoy my friends enormously.
---->By a) using big, archaic words, and b) constantly asking their opinion about everything from stories to pendants and whatnots. And when they give me their answer, I annoy them even further when I go, 'But the other one looks so much nicer' or something like that, sparking a whole new argument. It gets to the point that they simply reply, 'My head hurts. I can't think,' just to get me off their backs.

4. I write stories.
----> And yes, it's a very good hobby. You know, training your wordplay and all that. But I make people around me very, very unhappy the moment I go, 'Hey! Let's make a story out of that!' It's mainly due to the fact that I change my characters' names/bio/appearances and ask for so many ideas and opinions that in the end, these people will probably go home and think, 'Oh, my God! How did I ever end up meeting that woman?'

5. Sarcasm is a terrible weapon.

----> Yes it is! Watching your victims while you're using it is a satisfying experience, if I do say so myself. *smirks*

6. I am so easily amused it's pitiful.
---> Seriously. It takes so little to make me laugh. I mean, I could be all mad and moody at someone, and all they have to do is just say one funny sentence, and I Crack Up. It's gone to the point where people laugh along with me without knowing why I'm laughing. I am VERY easily amused. And I like people who make me laugh. Funnily enough, it's usually my girl friends who achieve the highest success in this field. Very few guys I've come across manage to make me really laugh. I think Zhuo Liang and Jeremy are part of this group of guys.

7. This is the first time I got tagged. Believe it or not, but it is.

8. I am really obsessed with pirates.
---->And knights. And Robin Hood. And King Arthur. And anything that have a remote connection to bows and arrows and swords. Basically, as long as I get to use fancy weapons and kick butt, count me in.

9. I am a Jack-of-all trades.
----> I can do mostly everything and anything I put my mind to; I'm just not too good at them. My only good kick in life seems to be able to write well, reading good books, and speaking in a British-like accent which I got after watching too much Keira Knightley. Thanks to her I'm becoming very British and always ending my sentences in 'Yeah'. Refer to 1. Very unhealthy obsession. Long live the Queen!

10. Random. But I have a love/hate relationship with junk foods/sweets. I dislike Coke, Pepsi, all that whatnot, but I tolerate [underline tolerate] Miranda and F&N (strawberry, orange...). I don't like sweets--rarely eat them, but I love nougat and lollipops and CHOCOLATE! I love apples--New Zealand Rose apples.

11. I am actually quite traditional at heart.
---> Yes, I know, I don't seem that way. I'm very un-girly in certain aspects. But I always had a feeling that I'd like to settle down, have kids, bake pie...that sort of thing. But on the other hand, my gag reflex starts working up when things get mushy, be it when watching a movie or my friends and their boyfriends. I don't like mushy stuff. Scares the hell out of me.

12. I believe I'm in the category of "Walking Fashion Disaster for Girls".
----> Shopping? Hate it because I never know what to look for unless it's for books then it's a different story. Shoes? Goodness, how many pairs does a girl actually need? Handbags? I don't own one. Or rather, I do, but I never use it. It's stashed at the back of a closet somewhere. Dresses/Skirts? Let's not go there. Apart from my school uniform, I own no skirts/dresses. Erina will probably be so disappointed when she sees this. She's been trying to get me to leave my hair long and fix it nicely, bless her.

13. I am not a good person to get involved with.
----> Well, not right now, anyway. At least until I get to overcome my fear of relationships. What's wrong with that? Yeah, well, wait until you find out what happened this year. You go through the things I do and you'll start freaking out as well. I deal with relationships [friendship, love life...] better at an arm's length. Take the advice I underlined. Believe me when I tell you I run when I'm in trouble/scared/doubtful/most likely freaked out. My love life sucks.

14. I can spend ages on my laptop surfing the Internet without getting bored.
----> On the other hand, if you interrupt me in the middle of something, then I will be very annoyed. I get irritable very easily. Short fuse, big explosion. That's just me. I'm weird. Sue me. I keep wondering if anyone is going to take me seriously and bring me to court one day over these random titbits.

15. I absolutely cannot sit still.
----> Since we're on the same note, I think I might have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD]. Either that, or I have Adult Attention-Deficit Disorder. Both are quite similar, just one's for...adults. Am I even considered an adult?

P.S. Just so you don't get bored, I'm gonna C&P [cut and paste] all the symptoms of ADHD and Adult Attention-Deficit Disorder that I'm convinced I have onto this page.

1. Difficulty getting organized. [You should see my desk, it's a mess]
2. Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started. [Especially on kerja kursus]
3. Many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow through. [My stories are fine examples of this. They're all hanging in Limbo.]
4. An intolerance of boredom. [Yes, I get bored easily. I cannot tolerate boredom. I MUST find something to do. Daydreaming counts as something to do.]
5. Easy distractibility; trouble focusing attention, tendency to tune out or drift away in the middle of a page or conversation, often coupled with an inability to focus at times. [Actually it's the other way around. I can watch a show/read a book without noticing what's going on around me. It gets to the point that I look up from eating my dinner and I have no idea what my family is talking about.]
6. Often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent. [Ha ha! I'm so putting this one in!]
7. Impatient; low tolerance of frustration. [Yes, I am very impatient]
8. Changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans and the like; hot-tempered. [Maybe the bit about being hot-tempered, yeah?]
9. A tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; a tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about, alternating with attention to or disregard for actual dangers. [No I'm not a worry wart. I just have issues about being on time and being super protective and possessive of people I care about.]
10. A sense of insecurity. [Am I insecure?]
11. Mood swings, mood lability, especially when disengaged from a person or a project. [Hurrah! Mood swings! Happens frequently.]
12. Physical or cognitive restlessness. [Yes I cannot sit still. Refer to number 15.]
13. A tendency toward addictive behavior. [Yes, I do knuckle rolls and thumb flips. Very addictive once you get the hang of it. It helps me relax.]
14. Often forgetful in daily activities. [Very, very true. Still can't figure out where I misplaced my Disney CD last year.]
15. Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat. [Ha ha! Struck gold! Look at my hands during assembly in school for proof. Refer to number 12]
16. Have an anxiety disorder. OCD is very common. [Yeah, don't have OCD but I got agoraphobia. Another anxiety disorder]
____________________________
Tada! We finally finished this bloody tag! Thanks a lot, Louise. It's long, I know, I'm sorry! Okay I'll be Tagging:
1. Timothy Leong--I'm getting bored of seeing your blog just because it's the same old post! Please, update and put me out of my misery! Cheh, he probably won't see this anyway.
2. Megan Tan
3. Xin Wei
4. Uh, okay then, Gloria.
5. Who else? Ah ha! Still can't figure out. Fine, Elaine.
6. Zhuo Liang--Just because I know he'll post something funny.
7. Jonathan Yap. Same reason as number 6.
8. Min Yap. Just randomly shooting out names here.
9. Erina Tan.
10. I don't know. You pick.

Great, now I just need to tell them they got Tagged.

ATTENTION 4C PEOPLE!!!

Alright people from 4C I need your help.

Has anyone seen my scientific calculator?

Story goes like this: went to Physics lab with my calculator, somehow forgot to bring it back but thought I did. So when Ben asks if I lost mine I said No without checking.

Went back home, packed my bag for Chem tuition and find out that my calculator's missing. Last I heard, Ben said that Jit Sun now has it.

If anyone can help me ask Jit Sun or Min Yap or the guys about my calculator I'd really appreciate it since I'm currently using my very cacated secondhand calculator right now and I cannot survive Add Maths without it.

So thank very much, yeah?

The Helix Assignment [Part 6]

The school was in an uproar.

Flames licked at what remained of the exam hall, burning down steadily. Firemen called for backup while others, including teachers and students, tried to douse the flames by throwing buckets of water.

There were no casualities, unless you count a Mod Maths teacher catching his hair on fire a casuality. He kept gesturing at his burnt hair, all the while yelling and pointing at a white-blond-haired boy who was standing aside, along with five other girls, one of which stood in front of the boy in a protective manner, her dark eyes flashing menacingly.

Perhaps it would be easier if I started at the very beginning....
______________________

It all started with doodling. Yes, you heard me right. Doodling.

Being the genius that he was, Hiroki finished the Add Maths paper in little under half an hour. Bored, he decided to fill his remaining one and a half hours' time by drawing cartoons, depicting a boy (not unlike himself) with pyrokinesis (again, not unlike himself) saving the world with a partner, the ever enigmatic, but manipulative to a certain extent, woman known only as LPK. (Who might that be? U noe, sound a bit like the TV advertisement. LTK eggs, with Omega 3 plus....)

The only difference was that the cartoon alter ego was able to talk.

Hiroki usually didn't mind not talking. It was nice, he reflected absently, to be able to look someone in the eye and stare at them until they got freaked out. But sometimes, his temper usually got the better of him, and he figured that if he was able to talk, he'd be able to voice out his miseries and not have to keep them all inside until he blew the bloody school up---

'OI!'

Mr Amh Arah stepped forward and slammed a rolled-up newspaper on Hiroki's desk, jerking everyone from their thoughts. Hiroki looked at Amh Arah, who was angrily jerking his newspaper baton at Hiroki's scrap paper, which was given to each student to do their calculations. The paper was filled with drawings of all kinds.

'Boy! This is an exam standard paper! You're not supposed to doodle on it!" Amh Arah thundered.

'Ya, ya,' K. Wang chirped in, diverting everyone's attention to her. 'Exam paper cannot conteng!' she said, reverting back to her native language in her excitement. 'This is called "tidak bertanggungjawab". You don't have a good sense of moral. You tidak menunaikan janji!'

Pissed off, Hiro glared at K. Wang, some trace of his fire power reflected in his menacing eyes. K. Wang gulped and turned back to her Cosmopolitan magazine.

'I said you cannot scribble on the paper!' Amh Arah said yet again, as Pierce came to Hiroki's rescue. 'Technically, sir, he wasn't scribbling,' she said soothingly, as she focused on her telempathic abilities. 'Besides, sir, it's scrap paper. We're allowed to use it for calculations, or even--' she shot Hiro a glance. 'Doodling.'

Thanks to Pierce, Amh Arah started calming down, but he just had to feign anger to have the last word. 'If I catch you again, I'll give you F straight away!' He stalked off, muttering, 'Idiot.'

And that's when Hiro cracked. With a snarl of undisguised anger, fire shot out from his fingertips, igniting Amh Arah's hair. Styled in an afro around his head, Amh Arah's crowning glory became an instant beacon of light. The fire surrounding him kinda of make him look like a demented angel, Joye thought as she grinned from her seat.

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

One could almost imagine how freaked out Amh Arah was. Well, technically, they didn't have to imagine. Nope, they could see it all over his face, which was turning as red as a tomato.

But Hiroki wasn't finished.

Another snarl, and fire shot out again, scorching the back of K. Wang's skirt as it became her turn to scream running around the exam hall. A third burst of fire burnt the tables, and the curtains went up in flames.

Yeah, well, that's how chaos happened.

'Shit!' Elsa cried as a burning beam broke from its place on the wall. Joye immediately dived under it, bracing herself to catch the weight of the beam on her shoulders as Aqua hastened to put the fire out with jets of water. Jen stood frozen to the floor in shock as the students found out their true identity.

'Oh my god!'

'They have powers!'

'What are they?'

Joye licked her lips. They felt dry and raw. 'What do we do now?' she asked, instinctively turning to Elsa, who was the unofficial leader. Elsa shook her head, looking at the way her classmates stared at her. 'I don't know.'

Aqua took a deep breath. 'Oh, hell.'
_____________________________

Pierce couldn't breath. Everything was just too much for her to handle. And Hiro was firing everything flammable....literally. She licked her lips. The air tasted dry and stale as Aqua pulled extra moisture in the air to douse the flames as Hiro started another fire. Elsa was flying everyone she could--who did not protest---to safety.

In the end she knew it was up to her to help Hiro. As he generated another fireball, she held her hand and force the fire power away with a stare. He glanced at her with a harsh look of questioning in his eyes, as if daring her to stop him. Oh, she dare.

Pierce's blue eyes flashed as she neared Hiro, immobilizing him by her telempathy. In his mind's eye, he was tied down by ropes, pinning his arms to his sides, not allowing him to move. She watched as Hiro succumbed under her power, trying to move his arms but was unsuccessful. Finally she was close enough to lay a hand on his face. This she did, staring deep into his eyes. She saw anger and fear, along with a hint of uncertainty, as though he was trapped in a nightmare he couldn't get out from.

'Time for a little serenity,' she said quietly, a psi bolt forming in the middle of her forehead and shooting into Hiro's. Within moments his expression cleared, and the harsh energy that had previously taken hold of him began to fade. He smiled uncertainly at her. 'Pierce?' he signed.

Pierce smiled back. 'Good boy,' she whispered, ruffling his hair.

'Nice to see the reunion,' Jen noted. 'But what do we do about that?' "That" referring to the destruction Hiro had caused. At least he'd had the dencency to look guilty.

Relaxed, knowing that Hiro was fine, Pierce couldn't resist a grin. 'Leave it to me.' Her eyes turned black slowly as she spoke. 'You might want to hold on to Elsa,' she said. 'With what I'm broadcasting, you don't want to miss it.'

She spoke just in the nick of time as Elsa hurriedly locked everyone in a telepathic link, simultaneously linking herself to Pierce who started telempathically touching the minds of everyone around her, searching for any memory of Hiro's display of powers, and wiping them clean.

Pierce continued this process until she touched Amh Arah's mind, planting a new memory inside his head, a memory of him throwing a lit cigarrette away, which dropped onto a curtain and immediately caught fire. So fast you'd think someone had doused it in lighter fuel, Hiro thought. Amh Arah was standing so close to the curtain that his head caught fire while the flames spread.

Moments later, the mind-erasing stopped. Aqua caught Pierce's amusement. 'Just in case someone comes checking,' she deducted correctly.
'Now it's done,' Jen asked shakily. 'Can we get the hell outta here?'

'Right on time, as usual,' Joye commented as several loud wails sounded. The firefighters and paramedics were coming. Hiro grinned. 'Maybe we should give them something to earn their keep?' he signed by way of suggestion, Pierce acting as translator. Elsa sighed. 'Only if you keep it small.'

Hiro gave her a grave salute, and allowed a small flame to touch the curtains, which burst into flames. As they left the premises, Elsa asked aloud, looking at Pierce, who had an idea of what the question was and had turned away. 'So, was that what you did to me last time?'
____________________________

Several miles away, a TV set was broadcasting the news about an examination hall catching fire due to carelessness. Exams would be continued next week after repairs were made. The anchor continued by saying that seven students who were caught in the midst of the fire had suffered no injuries as the camera panned to the students.

Here, he paused the screen, and picked up his glass. It was full of daiquiri, and he took a sip, revelling in the taste of the alcohol as he looked at the picture of the students. Six girls and a guy, but his attention was directed to the auburn-haired girl, who was standing to one side, far enough to kept the attention away from her, but close enough to keep vigil on her friends.

With a smile, Edmund Sinclair raised his glass in a salute, and smiled. 'Clever girl.'

The Helix Assignment [Part 5]

The fourth day of exams were as bad as the first, if not worse.

While normal students were busy revising for the next tests (Add Maths, Advanced Compositions, Moral and Civics---the last two very, very useless subjects), six members of this particular class was unusually tense.

And it have nothing whatsoever to do with exams.

'Jen Lophat is a mutant?' Aghast, her voice dropped to a hiss at the last word.

Elsa was irritable. 'Yes, Aqua. She's a mutant. She's a mutant. She's a mutant. do I need to buy a tape recorder and record "She's a mutant" so you can play it again and again until it enters your thick skull?'

Joye's face was scrunched into a mask of worry as Aqua scowled. 'Does she know about us?'

'Now, yes,' Elsa winced. 'I felt compelled to invite her to join us. Open invitation. C'mon,' she added hastily, noting the looks on her friends' faces. 'I mean, she has X-Ray vision! How cool can that be?'

Yet another look was fixed firmly onto her face. Elsa sighed dramatically. 'One more thing. I have a feeling there's something wrong about Pierce.'

'What about now?' Aqua asked sarcastically. 'What, she has powers too?'

'I don't know,' Elsa confessed. 'I have a feeling she's one of us as well. But I'm all for inviting her in. You know what they say, keep your friends close, and your enemy closer.'

Joye looked skeptical. 'Oh, so now she's an enemy? And who's they?'

'Maybe not,' Aqua interjected quietly. 'But Elsa's right. She may be one of us, but I vote for keeping her. She may be a friend, fine. I just don't want her as an enemy.'
_____________________________

Hiroki looked up as Pierce knocked on his table. 'I did it, Hiro.' Her voice was full of excitement. 'They've asked me to join them. Of course, I may have helped a little in that area...' her voice trailed off as she smiled knowingly.

The white haired boy shook his head in helplessness, and started signing away rapidly. Pierce allowed him to rant, or rather, sign his rant before she continued. 'I know. I know. You think I'm getting way over my head for this, aren't you?' Hiroki nodded solemnly, before signing again. Pierce's eyes widened as she mouthed what he'd signed. '"You are very reckless and have a devil-may-care attitude which, frankly, I'm quite tired of!"' Hiroki shrugged at her indignance.

Pierce scowled. 'Well, I don't know about the Devil, Hiro, but I sure as hell DON'T BLOODY CARE!' She paced the room. 'I've been working so long on this, I can't just give it up. Naturally, I don't expect you to understand.' She lowered her voice, and Hiroki patted her shoulder sympathetically. Within seconds, her smile lit up again as she got a hit. 'Oh, yeah,' she muttered.

Hiroki raised an eyebrow. Pierce grinned at him. 'Guess what? The teachers are having another meeting.'
__________________________

'And the thing is, half the class doesn't listen to me.' Mr Amh Arah bemoaned. 'Everyone's either sleeping or talking away. I don't like this class.'

Miss K. Wang, the Moral teacher, scoffed. 'You think zat is bad? Hwah, these people ah...have no manners....no respect....In my country, we call them to "tidak menunaikan janji". Hah! Even Jelami also like dat!'

Mrs Dory, the Advanced Compositions teacher, frowned in puzzlement. 'Who is Jelami?' She leaned to her side to Mrs Chimes, the Add Maths teacher. 'Do you know who is Jelami?'

Mrs Chimes shrugged. 'I only know Jeremy, not Jelami.'

'Ah! YES, YES, it is Jelami I talking about,' K. Wang pointed at Dory and Chimes, who exchanged exasperated looks. Sometimes K. Wang's accent was too thick to understand.

'Wang is right,' Mr Caroll Morton spoke up. A tall balding man in his late fifties, he was heartily disliked by his class. 'The boys and girls'---see the condescending tone he uses? "Boys and girls." Come on man, they're SEVENTEEN---'are very naughty and dislike to pay attention in class.'

'Yes, I agree,' Madelina the biology teacher said. 'I was telling them about the WONDERFUL chromosomes in us and you know what they do? They sleep in the lab!'

'Gee, I wonder,' Mrs Chimes muttered, having a big feeling that if anyone was subject to Madelina's "Wonderful" chromosomes, they deserved to be shot. Immediately. Or shoot Madelina. Take your pick.

Man, what with Madelina's Wonderful Chromosomes, Amh Arah's talking crap all over, and K. Wang's "Jelami", it was going to be a long day. Dory and Chimes exchanged looks again, and comtemplating killing themselves for coming to this meeting.

Suicide was nothing compared to this.

The Helix Assignment [Part 4]

Jennifer Lophat glanced around her. The classroom was totally silent, which was making her more nervous than usual. The reason? It was Doomsday, the period of time Man called Armageddon. The day where good and evil fight in an everlasting battle called Ragnarok, the coming of the Apocalypse, the end of the world................

Well actually, it's the day of the Chemistry test. Easy peasy, you think, Jeni thought to herself darkly. Yeah, right. She'd failed it once before, and she'd taken it hard then. This time, she was determined not to fail again.

Which was quite a deal for her considering she understood close to nil about electrochemistry. She read the first structural question.

1. In the electrolysis of aqueous copper (II) sulphate (Cu2SO4) solution with copper plates, state what will happen at the anode and cathode.

How the hell did she know? She wasn't a bloody scientist. She knew that it might have something to do with metal deposited somewhere. Jen searched the classroom. In front of her, Lauren Knight (Pierce) scribbled away calmly. It was pretty obvious that she studied. Even if she didn't, she'd probably manage to crap out reasonable answers that would get her marks. She was British. Good English? CHECK.

Next to Pierce, Hiroki Shinosuke, the mute Japanese boy, scratched his white (well, actually, albino) hair with his pencil. Jen thought he was having problems too, but he was merely breaking down the equation in his head before writing them out. Jen let out a silent groan. God help her.

Jen skipped the first question and went to question two, letting out another small groan.

2. In the electrolysis of aqueous sodium sulphate solution (Na2SO4), with carbon electrodes, what is discharged at the anode and cathode? State your reasonings.

She snuck another look. In front of Pierce and Hiroki, Joye was frowning. [P.S. Yes I know I put Joye in as a freshman, and Aqua as a sophomore, but for technical reasons I've decided to stick them all in one class ok? It makes my life easier.] She had studied the chapter on electrochemistry but she wasn't sure if she'd made any mistakes or not.

Aqua, on the other hand, was resting her head on her arms as though she was asleep. Wait a minute, Jen leaned in closer. She was asleep. What the hell?

Time to give it a shot, Jen finally decided. Focusing on her power, her X-Ray eyes zoomed in until she was looking past Pierce's skeletal body and onto her test paper. With delight she noticed that Pierce had the answer to the first structural question.

Ans: The copper plate at the anode will dissolve to form the cations of the salt. Hence, the mass of the anode decreases and the anode becomes thinner during electrolysis. The copper plate at the cathode accept electrons to form metal. Hence the copper plate at the cathode becomes thicker.

With a grin, Jen copied the answer. Man, life rocked!
_______________________________

On the other side of the class, Elsa struggled with the chemistry test as well. Oh, bugger, she thought sullenly. She would have to be extremely lucky to ace this test. Or, she smirked to herself, extremely talented.

Emphasis on "talented".

Closing her eyes, Elsa concentrated on her telepathy powers. Her mind touched Mr. Amh Arah, the supervising teacher's mind, albeit briefly, and she was eeriely disgusted to learn that her teacher was thinking about something she'd rather not know about. Pulling her face, Elsa turned direction.

Her mind floated around, tapping into Hiroki's, easily the smartest person in class. It took her three seconds before she pulled out. Hiro's mind was full of mathematic solutions she couldn't possibly begin to decipher even if she had an eternity.

She then turned to someone else. Pierce was the next best choice. Despite that however, Elsa hesitated, remembering the shock that ran through her body last time. She didn't know how it happened but she suspected there was something wrong with Pierce.

At that moment, Mr. Amh Arah looked at his watch and spoke. 'Twenty minutes left.' Shit, Elsa cursed. She had to do it. She closed her eyes and broadened her mind, touching Pierce's consciousness.

Hello, Elsa.

It was lucky for Elsa that she was sitting so far away from the teacher. She'd almost gasped out loud, but thankfully Amh Arah didn't notice. Her classmates around her did, though, and they were giving her weird looks. Trying to cover it up, she gave a deliberate cough, and turned back to her paper.

Nice to see I haven't lost my touch, Elsa. Pierce spoke again.

Elsa's eyes swung around wildly until they locked with Pierce's steely blue ones. She gave an acknowledging nod, a hint of a smile on her lips.

What are you? Elsa shot back. Pierce looked up with concealed amusement. I feel so insulted. You're smart enough. I'd thought you'd hit on it already. Another wicked smile. Or would you like another reminder?

She hadn't finished her sentence when another electric shock ran through Elsa's body. Pierce, she gritted her teeth. If not for this test, I would get up and kill you right now.

You're quite welcome to try, was the reply. Now do the test and stop CHEATING!

The last word vibrated in Elsa's mind, until Pierce's eyes turned black, and she wiped Elsa's mind from their previous conversation. It wasn't neccesary, but it amused her. She gave another wicked smile and finished her paper, quite aware that Jen Lophat was copying her answers. Maybe she'd be next.
______________________________

Elsa shook her head, trying to figure out what happened. Unknowingly, she did a mind sweep, and stopped short in alarm.

Jen Lophat was a mutant! Horrified, Elsa snuck a look. There she was, writing steadily, with a gaze that bored through Pierce's back.

Literally, Elsa discovered in shock.

My oh my, Pierce smiled enigmatically. What happens next?

The Helix Assignment [Part 3]

Lauren Knight, aka Pierce, threw the basketball into the air. It fell through the hoop cleanly without a sound. She glanced around her. The day was fading, it was almost twilight, but she still had on her Ruby Iridium x-Metal Oakleys, her custom made sunglasses that had red tinted lenses on them. She grabbed the ball as it bounced back to her and threw it again without aiming. Another clean shot.

She knew she had a talent for sports.

Well, as long as they weren't what Pierce liked to call girly-girly...okay, let's just put it as not male-dominated sports. She liked baseball and softball--heck, she was on the freakin' varsity team. Besides, that was a good way to get rid of your anger issues. Throw the freaking ball and hope you hit someone with it!

She loved football [what Americans called 'soccer'--so she was British. Sue her!]. Back in Hounslow she was right winger and striker for the team. She even like throwing balls into hoops. [Basketball to you people out there.] To put it short, if there was any sport involving running, kicking a ball or throwing it, Pierce is your sporty girl at a glance.

But put her in a netball or volleyball team, and you'd be dead before you hit the floor.

Literally.

See, Pierce was...different. She wasn't like 99% of the population. In fact, she was probably one of the rare few people in the world who could give you one hell of a migraine mixed with the after effects of a hangover while you try your hardest to hide behind the chest of drawers to avoid being hit by anymore furniture.

Yes, that's right. You heard me. Pierce is a telempath/telekinetic all rolled into one. As much as she'll categorily deny it however, she's not above using her powers for her advantages. Okay, you're probably bored now so back to the story.

Then Pierce stopped short and smiled as a wave of emotion overtook her. Looking across the now darkening street, she watched as the Golden trio from school came past. Joye Chezelle, Elsa Moonstone, and Aqua Ryan Summers. They seemed to be in deep conversation, talking in hushed whispers as they headed back to the house they lived with their Uncle Ben.

Pierce inhaled. Elsa was definitely worried about something. Something about a man who stole some papers. Aqua was peacemaker, as usual, while Joye...well, Pierce smiled. She could use her to her benefits. Joye was already disgruntled about the fact Elsa was the alpha of the pack. A few more pushes of the right buttons, and she'd have them eating out of her hand.

As though sensing her gaze on them, Elsa swung around sharply, eyes pointing straight at Pierce. Nonchalantly, Pierce cocked her head to her left, and gave a nod, a curt sharp one, even bowing a little as she'd been taught to. All in all she felt Elsa probing into her mind. It was no use, however. A telempath like her could fend off a telepath like Elsa with no problem at all.

Just to make it clear, however, that she didn't encourage trespassers, Pierce's eyes turned black under the shield of her sunglasses as she entered Elsa's dreamscape in her mind, imagining her getting a mild electric shock.

The effects were immediate. Elsa gave a little jump as though she'd actually been shocked. Giving one last suspiscious look at Pierce, she walked away.

Pierce gave a soft smile, and disappeared under the cover of the darkness.