R.O.D. The TV Junior/Anita

[Cognitive Atrophy]

School Is Hard

Chapter 1: Welcome Home
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“Maaagggggiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee! I’m hooooome!”

Anita pushed through mountains of books to get through to the rest of the apartment. “I’m home! What are you doing?” She called out, stepping over and nearly tripping over, stacks and stacks of dusty books.

“Cleaning.” A tall soft spoken woman came out of the bedroom with a duster in her hand, “Michelle is coming back soon.” She smiled with a slight blush, excited to see her sister again. “I really… I can’t wait.” Though she was excited, this was about as enthusiastic as Maggie got about anything. It wasn’t that she wasn’t truly excited on the inside… it just never came out very loud.

“Michelle’s coming back?” Anita’s eyes sparkled as she stood there a moment before dashing off to her room, “I’ll change clothes and help you fix up this disgusting place!” She threw her backpack onto her bed and shed her shoes before shedding the rest of her school uniform. “Okay, I’ll start at this pile.” Anita came out clothed in shorts and a t-shirt, “I’ll put these in the closet.”

“No--Anita it’s--” Maggie started to warn her, but Anita had opened the closet and gotten buried in a pile of volumes. “Full…” Maggie finished with a sigh, walking over to where Anita lay covered rather cautiously. She expected Anita to burst out and then lecture her about how they had too many books. All she saw was a hand stiffly emerge from the mess. She reached over slowly and pulled her out. Anita stood there a moment. Yes… this was the calm before the storm. “I tried to tell you it was--”

“You idiot! How do you expect to live in a place that is completely trashed with books?!” Anita went on and on until she ran out of steam, “You have to take care of your books. If you love them so much, take care of them.” She grumbled, restacking the fallen books into the closet again. “This is going to take forever. There’s no way we’ll have this place cleaned up. And I’ve got homework. Maggie why didn’t you tell me she was coming sooner so that I would know?!”

“I…um… she called this morning. She said they would be here tomorrow.” Maggie replied, now seeming immune to Anita’s outbursts. She started to walk off into the kitchen when Anita grabbed her.

“Who is ‘they’?” She asked, still irritated, “I wish you would tell me things. It’s really annoying how you’re so quiet all the time and--”

“Junior is coming too. Nancy, Nenene, and Yomiko aren’t back yet and she can’t stand staying alone in that cabin anymore. She misses us.” Maggie said sadly with a sigh and Anita let go of her arm. “I miss her too. Big sis…” She sniffled and turned, sad for only another moment before she perked up, “I promise that I will have this place cleaned up for her!”

“Right.” Anita nodded, but she was a little put off that Junior was coming, “We’ll fix it up for her and that weirdo.”

Maggie smirked to herself and continued cleaning what wasn’t covered by books.

“Don’t just clean around the books. Move them and clean behind them.” Anita commanded, “We can put the books--” She looked around, “Never mind, just clean around them…” She sighed and went back to stacking and shoving books around with her feet to clear some type of path through the apartment.

Hours went by. It was dark and it had been dark for a long time. Anita and Maggie lay collapsed on the exposed part of the couch. “It doesn’t look any different.” Maggie sighed, not even bothering to lift her head. She was exhausted. “Maybe it does a little… we can see out the window now.” Anita replied, just as exhausted. “But now the refrigerator and the oven are full of books.”

“We’ll order out.” Maggie replied, reaching absentmindedly for the phone that was only a few feet away. After smacking the table a few times, she picked it up. The Chinese delivery place was on speed dial, of course.

“Order double portions. I’m starving.” Anita lifted her hand and then it fell limply back beside her.

The food arrived and they ate like monsters, falling asleep on the couch with boxes of food all around them. It was really a gruesome sight. Morning came soon enough and a knock on the door woke Anita up. “Five more minutes…”

“Anita!” A tiny voice yelled as loud as it could, “Are you sick?”

Anita flung out of the couch and spilled food everywhere, tripping and stumbling as she ran to her room, “Crap, crap, crap…” She muttered over and over, “Just a minute Hisa!” She laughed nervously, and dressed with haste. She threw a few pieces of bread in a paper bag along with an apple, holding the bag in her mouth as she pulled up her sock and put her shoes on. She finally opened the door and acted as if everything was normal. “Hi Hisa! Sorry I’m late. I overslept.”

“It’s okay.” Hisami sniffed, “It smells funny in there… you smell like sesame…”

“I fell asleep with Chinese food on my lap, okay? It happens. Don’t make a big deal.” Anita replied defensively, but felt guilty when she saw that her friend’s feelings were obviously hurt by this little outburst. “Sorry Hisa. I’m just stressed out because my sister is coming to visit today. I haven’t seen her in a long time and me and Maggie were trying to clean up the place. We ordered out and then passed out on the couch. Hehe…” Anita explained as Hisami wiped the tears from her eyes. That girl was way too sensitive. “Come on, let’s go, Hisa.” Anita hooked their arms and they headed off to school.

“Another crappy day.” Anita sighed, entering the apartment again and taking her shoes off. She didn’t notice the two extra pairs of shoes as she absent mindedly walked off and threw her backpack onto her bed. She screamed when she saw a blue haired boy going through her books. “What are you doing? Get out of my room you--”

“Sorry.” Junior replied with his head down.

“Hey… your hair is gone.” Anita relaxed, not hinting at whether or not she liked his hair. This seemed to worry him.

“You don’t like it?” He asked somewhat urgently, looking up at her worriedly.

“No, I like it! Now maybe people won’t think you are a girl.” She grinned and put her hands behind her head, “Hey, where’s Michelle?” Anita suddenly realized that she was far more excited to see her sister than the blue haired, under socialized, boy.

“She’s in the other room. They have been hugging for ten minutes. I got bored and came in here to find a book to read.” Junior sighed, but Anita laughed and ran out to meet Michelle.

“I missed you so much big sis. I’ve been trying my best to take care of Anita. I know that you would do a better job! I’m just not as strong as you…” Maggie sniffled, “I’m so glad you’re back. Anita should be home soon.” Maggie let go of Michelle and her tears were wiped away by her concerned ‘big sister’.

“I’m right here.” Anita chimed in, her voice cracking slightly, “I’m not gonna cry!” Anita yelled, running up to Michelle and burying her face into her large chest, hiding the fact that she was sobbing.

“Anita, dear, it’s alright.” Michelle hugged her tighter and tears welled up in her own eyes. “Don’t cry…”

Anita pushed away and looked up at her, “I’m not crying--it’s allergies. All the dust in here from cleaning up has gotten my eyes all itchy. It’s Maggie’s fault.” Anita tried to avert attention from her to Maggie, but Michelle knew what she was doing and hugged her again.

Junior peeked through the doorway and watched them with a small smile. He had gotten to know Michelle very well and saw her as a big sister to himself. He wondered if he was now part of this family. At least until his mother got back.

“Junior! Come on!” Michelle opened her arms, “Group hug!” She exclaimed in her usual cheerfully annoying, but endearing, tone. “You two make Junior feel welcome, now!”

Junior smiled again and joined the hug awkwardly. His face was a flush of pink. One would think that being around Michelle so much would get him used to tight hugs, but it was still awkward for him. When the group hug was over, they all stood in a circle, taking the moment in. Well, Junior was now staring at Anita.

“What?” Anita asked, not in a sharp tone, but in a tone that asked, ‘is there something on my face?’.

“Nothing. I just haven’t seen you in a long time. You look different. Taller.” He said and then Michelle chimed in, “Oh my, Anita you must have grown a whole inch!” She patted her little sister’s head and giggled, “Anita you probably have homework to do. I know it’s a special occasion that I am visiting, but that doesn’t mean you can slack on your studies. I’ll try to clean up the kitchen and find something to cook.”

“Michelle you really don’t have to--” Maggie started, but Michelle cut her off by nudging her aside and entering the kitchen.

“Oh my what’s thi--” A crash could be heard in the other room. “You put them in the oven…?”

Maggie walked in, blushing and horribly embarrassed, “We wanted to straighten up the place…”

“Oh no, I just wondered why I didn’t think of that!” Michelle laughed and Maggie’s expression lightened and she eventually let out a weak laugh. “But, we will have to put them somewhere else for now. I really don’t have any money to buy anything.”

Anita and Junior stood there, listening in on the conversation in the kitchen and laughing quietly, “It’s nice to have her back.” Anita remarked with a smile, “This place really isn’t the same without her. I bet you’ve gotten to know her pretty well, huh?”

“Yes. She is very nice.” Junior replied, “I see why she is loved … so much.”

“Sometimes she is so annoying though, right?” Anita smirked, trying to make light conversation with the boy, whom she did not have much in common with.

“I guess so.” Junior replied in monotone, “I never really noticed.”

“Hey, you know what?” Anita nudged him with her elbow, her way of showing that she felt some type of affection for the boy. “You will be going to school with me.” She grinned, “What do you think about that?”

Junior smiled, “I guess it is… exciting. I haven’t been to school with other people before.”

“You did try to shoot people there, though.” Anita remarked morbidly, but still laughed, “They don’t remember though. It was so crazy… starting over again. Hisa didn’t even recognize me.” She sighed solemnly, “But, I made sure that we became friends again. It’s not quite like old times… but maybe it will be soon.” She looked up and smiled, “Maybe you’ll make some new friends. Stay away from the girls though. I remember when they saw you before they… um… thought you were really cute. And you might want to stay away from me so they don’t think you are my boyfriend.” Anita grunted with a blush.

Junior just stared at her, thinking about how she talked way too much. “You talk a lot.”

“I do not! I resent that!” She stomped, “You just don’t talk enough!” She folded her arms and turned her back to him, but she was wearing a small smirk. “I hope you’ll fit in. Most of the kids there are blabber mouths.”

“I don’t really know much about making friends.” Junior confessed with a sigh, “You are the only person my age that I’ve been around.”

Anita unfolded her arms and turned around, “I guess you’re right. I’ll try to help you. But like I said, don’t hang around me too much. Rumors spread like wildfire in that place.”

Junior nodded and then they stood there awkwardly for around ten seconds without saying a word. Anita couldn’t take the awkwardness and made up an excuse to leave, “Well… I’ve gotta catch up on my homework. I didn’t get to do it yesterday. Now I have double.” She left Junior there standing alone.

Alone again. Michelle and Maggie were concocting something in the kitchen and Anita was busy with homework. Well, there were a lot of books. Maybe he could find something to read. He started to sort through them. Even if he didn’t find anything, at least he looked like he was doing something. But, before he picked out one, Anita came back out and held out a book for him.

“This is Nenene’s first book. You should read it.” She handed it to him and he stared at it before looking up at her again.

“Thank you.” He replied simply.

“It’s hard to find a good book through all of these. My sisters will read anything. But, this is a good one.” She smiled and then walked off into her room again.

Junior examined the book for a few moments before sitting down and cracking it open with a smile.

((There are 18 chapters to this story, by the way.))

 

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Chapter 2: The Seventh Grade
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“Alright… let’s see here. You say he’s been home schooled and this is his first time in public school?” A woman stared at a computer screen in a small office located inside the middle school.

“Yes, ma’am.” Michelle responded cheerfully, glancing at Junior who was sitting a chair next to her, embarrassed by the whole situation. “I’m his temporary guardian, Michelle Cheung.”

“Alright.” She typed her name. It seemed like she was typing more than just a name, “How old are you?”

“Oh… twenty five...” Michelle admitted with a sigh, “Junior is thirteen.”

“So will he be in seventh or eighth grade? If you aren’t sure, he’ll have to take a test.” The woman replied, finally looking up from her computer and making eye contact with Michelle. “Oh… I just realized you didn’t give me his last name.”

Junior looked at Michelle urgently. They couldn’t use the name of his mother since she had been a secret agent for so long. Junior had never been given a last name. Probably because he was planned to become someone else.

“It’s Cheung! I’m his aunt. I forgot to mention that. His mother is--in the army. You see, she was widowed so she went back to her maiden name.” Michelle grinned and the woman looked at her suspiciously. Her story seemed a little too… detailed. But, the secretary disregarded it and typed in ‘Junior Cheung’.

“I need your address, phone number, and all the stuff. Also, I’ll need his social security number.” She stopped typing again and looked them both over suspiciously, “You’re a strange looking young man.”

Junior blushed, not only at her comment, but flustered at her mentioning a social number. He had no idea what it was. “I don’t remember my social number.” His eyes widened but he felt a pinch on his arm from Michelle and that distracted him long enough to get his thoughts together and not looked so suspicious.

“It’s um…” Michelle made up a bunch of numbers, “Yes, that’s it! I remember now.” She giggled, “I’m such a blonde. I forget things! He is Anita King’s cousin. Well, Anita was adopted so … I guess it’s only by law that they are cousins.”

“Right.” The woman sighed, getting sick of dealing with the two, “I’ll print out the test and he can go into study hall or the library to take it. Just bring it back when you are done.” She took the hot paper from the printer and handed it to Junior, who looked it over.

“Okay.” He said quietly. He remembered where the library was so he stood up, only to have his hand grabbed by Michelle, who whispered, “Try to remember all of that…” She looked back to the principal’s secretary and giggled, “I just had to wish him good luck. Um… what should I do while he waits?”

“Well, it’s almost lunch time. You could go eat lunch with your sister if you like.”

“Oh that’s a great idea!” Michelle exclaimed as junior opened the door and left the room, soon followed by Michelle. Anita was waiting outside on folding chair, dangling her feet off the edge.

“So how’d it go? Are you in?” Anita asked Junior, but Michelle answered,

“He just has to take a test to see what grade he’ll be in! I hope you two can have a class together. Since you are ‘adopted cousins’ after all.” Michelle grinned, “So, while Junior takes the test, how about we go eat lunch?”

“What?! No way! You’ll embarrass me!” Anita replied, standing up. Michelle frowned, “I’m sorry Anita. I just wanted to spend some time with you and meet some of your friends…”

Anita suddenly felt guilty. “Fine. But say that you have to be at work and have to leave when I give the signal. I can’t have you telling stories about me.”

Michelle pinched her own cheek, “At least I didn’t come dressed up as a classmate.”

Anita cringed, “I am glad that no one remembers that…”

They walked off and Junior went the opposite direction, headed for the library since he remembered where it was. It was strange being there again. He sat down at a table and looked over the test. It looked relatively easy. He had always been given difficult schoolwork by Miss Wendy. This seemed like nothing.

“Hello… are you new here?” A tiny voice came from behind the desk at the front of the library. Junior looked up as Hisami approached him. “I haven’t seen you before.”

“Um… yes.” He replied and flinched as she sat down next to him, “I am.. Anita King’s cousin.” He remembered to keep that well known. “I’m Junior.”

Hisami smiled kindly and giggled, “It’s nice to meet you, Junior. I’m Hisami. I’m actually one of Anita’s good friends! I hope we can be friends too.”

Junior smiled shyly in return, “Yes.”

“What are you doing?” Hisami asked, looking over his shoulder at the papers he was writing on, “That looks hard.”

“It’s a test. I was home schooled and this is a test to see what grade I belong in.” He looked down, uncomfortable by Hisami as she peered over his shoulder. “It really isn’t that hard.” He hunched over slightly, wishing that she would move.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That was rude of me to look over like that. It’s really none of my business.” She blushed and stood up, “Well, I hope that we have classes together.” She smiled with a giggle and bowed, “Good luck on your test!”

--

“This… is amazing. He is at a college level.” The secretary read over the test in amazement, “I’ve never seen a student his age perform at such a high level. He got every question right. Even the bonus questions that no student who has taken this test has answered, much less correctly.”

Junior sat in the chair, blushing from all of this praise. Michelle looked at him and then pinched his cheek, “That’s our Junior! He’s always been so smart. So what grade should he be in?”

“I recommend a completely different school! One with advanced classes for gifted students. If there was anything higher, I would recommend that.”

“But… he would really like to be in the same classes as his cousin. He’s new to this and I think it would make it easier for him to stay with people he knows. Can he just start there?” Michelle asked, looking rather sad. She didn’t want them to be in different classes and especially different schools.

“It really depends on what this young Einstein wants to do.” The woman seemed much more fond of the two now that she knew he was incredibly smart. “What would you like to do, young man? I’m sure we could get you a full scholarship to any school you wanted to go to.”

“Well--I--” Junior blushed deeper. He was flattered by all of this praise, but what Michelle said was right. He didn’t want to be further away from the people he knew than he had to. “I would like to stay here. I want to just be… normal…”

The secretary sighed and leaned back in her chair, “If that’s what you want. Welcome to seventh grade, Junior Cheung. I hope you like it here. You’ll definitely bring our GPA up.”

“Oh thank you so much!” Michelle exclaimed, leaned over the desk and hugging the woman rather awkwardly. “Really! It means so much!” She let go of the woman and then hugged Junior, who blushed as he was forced into her large bosom. “Junior you’ll be in school with Anita! Isn’t that great?!” She squealed. Junior didn’t even bother to try and get away. He knew it was useless. He couldn’t phase through her either. No one needed to know that he had superpowers. Just like no one needed to know that Michelle, Maggie, and Anita were paper masters.

Finally Michelle let go of him and Junior caught his breath and covered his cheeks, which were burning with embarrassment.

“You can go now. Junior can sit in on one of the afternoon classes just to meet some of the teachers if he wants to.”

With that, Michelle led him out, squealing further and then whipping him around in front of her after she closed the door. “Aren’t you excited, Junior?”

“Um… yes.” He replied quietly, “But, I don’t know where to go.” He cracked open the door again, “Where is the next class?” He asked shyly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s in room 32A. It’s lab. Anita isn’t doing very well in that class… maybe you could help her out.”

“O--okay.” He closed the door and headed down the hallway, listening with a cringe as Michelle called after him. “Make sure you walk home with Anita!”

The embarrassment faded as he walked further and further away from Michelle. He always got so embarrassed around her. He understood why Anita didn’t want her eating lunch with her. So, he stood in front of the room labeled ‘32A’ before entering and then stood in the back. No one noticed him until Anita happened to look back. She simply smiled and returned to not knowing what she was doing.

It wasn’t long before the teacher saw him. “Oh who is this?” He asked, causing all of the students to turn around and stare at him. It had to be the most intimidating thing he had even been confronted with. “Why don’t you come up and introduce yourself instead of just watching back there?”

“Um… alright…” He walked through the middle of the tables and tried to ignore the comments that were being made about him… mostly by girls.

“Isn’t that Anita’s cousin?”

“He’s really cute.”

“No he’s not. What are you talking about?”

“He looks different. That’s why he’s cute. Look how shy he is! It’s adorable!”

Junior’s face flushed red as he stood in front of the class. He wondered how many times he would have to endure this on the next school day. When he was introduced at ‘Junior Cheung’ Anita started laughing, but then stopped and covered her mouth when Hisami nudged her. “It must be nice to have a relative in school with you.”

“Um… yeah.” Anita replied, not having heard this yet. “Michelle…” She said under her breath.

“What?” Hisami asked.

“Nothing.” Anita sighed, but blushed when Junior came over to her and Hisami and just stood there. “What are you doing?”

“Watching.” Junior replied simply as Anita’s face continued to become distorted and red. “Fine. But don’t get in the way.” Anita replied and turned back to the beakers.

Junior watched them and counted a lot of things wrong with what they were doing. But, each time he would start to make a suggestion, Anita cut him off and told him to mind his own business. It would have hurt his feelings, but he knew that Anita was always sort of… angry.

Eventually, the class ended. It was apparently the last class of the day. “Come on, weirdo.” Anita tugged his arm, “We have to go home now. Hisami will walk with us halfway.”

“Actually, I’m getting picked up by my mom. I have a dentist appointment.” Hisami sighed and waved as she walked down towards the pick up area. Tohru seemed to come out of nowhere and join her.

“Yeah… dentist appointment. Sure, Hisami.” Anita watched them with a grumpy expression when Hisami got on the front of Tohru’s bike and they rode off. “Kids nowadays. Dating at fourteen years old. It’s insanity, I tell you.” Anita grumbled, walking with a slight stomp as they headed home together.

“Dating?” Junior asked, seeming a little confused at the word. He had a general idea of what it meant, but he wasn’t exactly sure.

“Wow you are sheltered. Dating is when a boy and a girl who like each other hang out a lot. They kiss and hug and all that stuff.” Anita explained with a matter of fact tone. “Hold hands, blah, blah, blah. It’s disgusting if you ask me.”

Junior watched her, “Is it bad?”

“I guess not. It’s just weird that kids are dating. We should really be focused on growing up. Not on what somebody who we think it cute thinks about us. Don’t let these kids corrupt your mind, Junior.” She stopped and poked his chest. He looked down at her finger and blushed.

“You sure get embarrassed easily. You might want to get over that if you want to fit in.” Anita said, poking him hard to make him lose balance and then continuing to walk. Junior stood there for a moment before following her again.

When they reached the apartment and opened the door, Michelle came running up to them and hugged them both before they could even take their shoes off. “Michelle let go!” Anita shouted, though it was muffled by her sister’s body.

“I’m sorry.” Michelle pinched her cheek and stepped back, “How was it, Junior?”

“Fine.” He replied normally, and took his shoes off, heading towards the couch.

Michelle looked at Anita, confused, “Was everything okay?”

“Yeah, just a little embarrassing for him. I mean, the kid hasn’t been around people that much.” Anita shrugged and headed to her room, collapsing on her bed and thinking about the day.  

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Chapter 3: Two Freaks
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Anita slept like a log as usual. But, her slumber was interrupted when she rolled off the bed and onto the floor. Normally when she did that, she still slept, but a scream of surprise woke her up. “AH! What are you doing in my room?!” Anita jumped up from the floor, stepped on Junior as she did so.

“Ugh!” Junior hunched over and held his stomach, replying with a strained voice, “Michelle said I could sleep on the floor in here.”

“What?! I can’t share a room with a boy! And--stop staring at me!” Anita jumped back into bed and covered herself with her blanket, realizing that for some reason she had decided to sleep in her underwear. Her face flamed with embarrassment and Junior’s as well.

“Sorry!” Junior turned the other way and hunched over into the fetal position, trying to forget what he just saw. But, it kept coming up again and again. Why, oh why, did the moon have to be so bright tonight? “There wasn’t anywhere else for me to sleep…” He whimpered, still wincing from embarrassment and the pain that still lingered on his stomach where she had stomped on him. “Maggie and Michelle are sharing their room and Michelle thought it would be okay if I just slept on the floor.”

“Well, she’s wrong.” Anita grunted, fighting for the privacy that was so crucial at her age. Michelle obviously still didn’t get that. It might have been okay if they were under ten years old, but after that, it was just… not right. “Go sleep on the couch or something.” Anita huddled up under her blankets and tried to forget that this had happened. It gave her indigestion. “Now I have a stomachache. Thanks a lot.” She threw her covers off, put on a robe, and went in the kitchen.

“Sorry.” Junior said quietly again, but he stood up and followed her. “I can make you some tea… if you like.” He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching her start to open the fridge. “W--wait!” He flinched towards her, but Anita was buried in books for the second time in two days. He silently crept up to the mound and started to uncover her. Her head shot up and their faces collided.

“OW!” Anita exclaimed, but Junior had been thrown back onto his rump, now with a bloody nose. “W-well that’s what you get for--” She started to reply angrily again, but she got up and grabbed some paper towels, handing them to him. “I guess I have a hard forehead.”

“Yes.” Junior squinted and held the paper towels under his nose.

“Don’t do it like that. Here, I’ll show you a trick. You have no idea how many bloody noses I’ve had.” She got another paper towel and rolled it up tightly, “Here, shove this under your top lip. You will look like an idiot, but it will stop bleeding faster. Pull your lip out like this.” Anita grabbed her top lip and pulled it as far as it would go, “And put the towel under it.” She added, her voice sounding strange from the position of her lips.

Junior laughed and spewed blood from his nose again before he could take her advice.

“That’s disgusting. Gosh. I’ll do it.” Anita grumbled and sat on her knees in front of the bleeding boy. She pulled out his lip and shoved the towel under it.

“OW!” Junior exclaimed from his lip being stretched. He thought that she pulled it too hard on purpose. But, soon enough, his nose stopped bleeding.

“Now, go wash your face. It looks like you’ve been shot.” Anita turned and continued looking for something to eat. Her stomach had stopped hurting by now and she was hungry. “Michelle and Maggie might be a little upset that you got blood on all their books.” She grinned evilly to herself as she got a glass out from the cabinet and pulled out a jug of milk from the back of the fridge. She of course, had to kick books out of the way to get to it. She poured herself a hefty glass and chugged it as Junior watched in amazement. She grinned and slammed the glass on the counter, wiping her mouth proudly, “You must not have seen me chug milk at lunchtime before.”

Junior stood up, still cupping his hand under his nose, “I saw one time. But it is still… barbaric in a way.”

Anita stomped in front of him and shoved her nose in his bloodied face, “You shut up.”

Junior wasn’t paying attention to her words. Just the fact that she was so close to him. It made him nervous. “S-sorry.” He sighed and relaxed, then realizing that his nose had stopped bleeding. “Thank you, Anita.”

Anita folded her arms and turned away, “No problem.” She tried to make herself sound like she was still angry, but she wasn’t. “I’m going back to bed.” She yawned with a stretch, leaving a mess behind. She didn’t even bother to close the door of the fridge.

Junior nodded and cleaned up his face. Though, he felt that he should clean up the mess that was in a way… his fault. He always seemed to blame himself for everything. He silently stacked the books along the wall, wiping any nose blood off of them that he could. It came off the covers of the books, but not the paper. It made him feel all the more guilty, but he continued to clean up the kitchen without a word and with hardly a sound.

---

Michelle woke up and rolled out of bed with a stretch. “Ah! Another nice da--” She opened the curtains and it was raining, “Oh, poop. It’s raining. Well, flowers can’t be pretty without rain, now can they… Maggie?” She turned back to a slumbering Maggie, huddled up into as small of a ball that she could have been in. “Maggie, dear, it’s time to get up.” Michelle said happily as she rocked her shoulder slightly. No response. “Well, I’m going to make some breakfast.” She shrugged and rubbed her eyes as she stepped into the kitchen. She lifted her foot to take a step forwards but something was in the way. Something soft and warm, but heavy.

“Junior?” She asked, kneeling down, “Oh my goodness! Why are you sleeping on the floor in here?” She held his face in her palms as he slowly opened his eyes. He didn’t say a word, but his face flushed red like it did all too often. “You poor thing you must have been sleepwalking!” She hugged him into her chest, which further disoriented him.

“What are you doing, Michelle? You are traumatizing him!” Anita pulled Junior from under his arms and away from Michelle, “He’s not a girl. You can’t just shove your chest in his face! Not that I enjoy being suffocated by those things either…”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-- did I embarrass you, Junior?” Michelle furrowed her brows, feeling horribly guilty and sorry.

Junior stayed slumped over, his knees dragging the floor. The only thing holding him upright was Anita’s unusually strong arms. He blushed again, realizing that Anita was holding him. “I AM NOT A DOLL!” He flailed away from her and Michelle. Yes, for too long he had been carried, dragged around, and hugged too tightly, much like a doll. All of this attention and affection and interaction was a lot to take in for the boy, who had been so ignored most of his life by the people that were supposed to be close to him.

The three stood silently, Junior himself confused at his outburst. “I’m… going to go get dressed.” Anita broke the silence and awkwardly walked out of the room.

“Me too.” Michelle and Anita left him there in the kitchen, alone again. “I guess I’ll get a shower…”

Junior sighed as he stood there alone, looking at his feet. He didn’t understand why he felt so angry. It really didn’t matter that he was treated that way by them. He even had started to get used to it back at the cabin when Michelle was staying with him. But this time it was just… so annoying. He rubbed his eyes and washed his face in the sink. It wasn’t long before it was time to leave to go to that place that was intended for learning, though most of the kids there seemed more interested in ‘who’s going out with who’ than learning anything.

He had avoided any conflict and simply changed in the bathroom when everyone else was done in there. Anita knocked on the door lightly, now feeling a like she needed to treat him a bit nicer. Perhaps more like a human. She accused her sisters of treating him like a girl, when she wasn’t even treating him like he was a person. She started to feel guilty that she bossed him around so much and yelled at him so much… “Are you ready? I think that… Hisami ditched me again.” Anita sighed, knowing that reason had to be that idiot Tohru.

“Y-yes.” Junior replied, buttoning the last button on his jacket and opening the door. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment, but then Anita backed up a bit so that he could exit.

“I, uh, made your lunch. I hope you like peanut butter because that’s all we had.” She cracked an awkward smile and that seemed to lighten the mood a bit.

“Thank you, Anita.” He took the folded bag and they exited together after announcing that they were leaving. The two remaining sisters already had their noses in books. Junior and Anita exchanged glances at this and Junior chuckled when Anita rolled her eyes.

After walking for a few minutes, Junior broke the silence, “So why is your friend not walking with you? Is it because of… that boy?”

“How should I know?!” Anita started to get angry, but she stopped herself, “Probably.” She shook her head to keep her temper in check. She was obviously hurt that her best friend would abandon her for some boy. And such a stupid one at that. “I guess they can’t help it. They are hormonally charged.”

“You don’t seem like them. Why not?” Junior asked.

Anita laughed, “You of all people should understand. We have something in common.”

“What’s that?”

“We are both freaks. Freaks are concerned with different things than normal people. I mean… we’ve both been involved with secret groups and government agencies. We don’t have the mental capacity to worry about such little stuff.” She laughed again, “And we were both raised contrary to what you would call ‘normal’.”

“Yes.” Junior replied, thinking about this and realizing how right she was, “You are very smart, Anita.”

She chuckled with a blush, “Well, I don’t know about that. You‘re the one who understands college level problems.”

It was then that they arrived at school. They ended up in a few different classes and a few of the same ones. Anita couldn’t help but feel annoyed when Hisami tried to partner up with her for one class.

“Oh, is your boyfriend not in this one?” Anita asked in a falsely cheerful tone, “I guess I’m your second choice.”

“A-Anita… I…” Hisami’s voice shook as she tried to blink back tears. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have--left you…”
“Oh, it’s no big deal.” Anita replied sarcastically, but Hisami didn’t get it.

“Oh good! Anita that’s why you’re my friend!” She giggled and hugged her before running off to Tohru’s desk and pairing up with him.

Anita gripped a pencil in her fingers and crushed it.

“I guess they are pretty serious, huh, Anita?” One of the girls sitting behind her chimed in.

“How should I know?” Anita grumbled, pretending to ignore everything.

“I’ll pair up with you, Anita!” Natsume, the sister of a popular author of crummy romance novels, skipped up to her side. “I see you are having a bad day, so why don’t you have--”

“I don’t want your sister’s stupid book.” Anita replied, not even looking at her. She was far too depressed and annoyed to come up with any other answer.

“Fine! I was just trying to help. Work by yourself then.” Natsume turned with a ‘humph’ and worked with some other girls.

“Fine with me.” Anita remarked in monotone as the overly dramatic girl walked away. Anita did, in fact, end up working alone. And it was ‘dissect the frog’ day in science class. It made Anita sad to think that she would be killing this cute little animal. Cutting it open like it felt no pain. She looked around and then shoved the frog in her backpack and asked if she could use the restroom. She ran out of the class and headed for the door, but the student assigned as the hall monitor stopped her.

“I’m going to need to see--” They were interrupted as the frog escaped from Anita’s backpack and made them scream.

“Oh no!” Anita ran after the slippery little creature, each time being out hopped as she dove for it. “Come back little froggy! I’m trying to save you!”

Suddenly, a student came out of nowhere and cupped his hands over the frog. He looked up and blinked, “Why are you chasing this?” It was Junior.

“B-because I was going to save it from being killed. I was going to take it outside.” Anita took the little frog from his hands and held onto it tightly. “The hall monitor stopped me.”

Just then, the bells rang and let out for lunch. Anita and Junior stood there staring at each other as the halls filled with the jabbering of children headed for the cafeteria.

“I guess I can take it out now.” Anita blushed with a shrug and went out the door. It took her a while to find a good place to let it go, but she found a nice tree to set it free on right outside the library. “There you go Mr. Froggy.” She smiled with a sigh and turned around, only to be met by Junior again with two bags in his hands.

“Here’s your lunch.” He said shortly and then sat under the tree.

“Oh, thanks.” Anita took it and started to walk back towards the cafeteria to eat with Hisami. But, she then remembered that she couldn’t stand to look at the girl’s face right then. She looked back at Junior who was eating in very small and proper bites. She watched him until he looked up at her.

“What?”

“Nothing. I guess I’ll just eat out here. It has cleared up since this morning.” She sat down on the other side of the tree, leaning against the trunk like he was on the other side.

“You don’t want to eat with your friend?” Junior asked, eating his lunch rather absentmindedly.

“What happened this morning?” Anita asked, dodging his question, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk that loud. It’s not… really that bad living with us, is it?”

“No.” Junior replied, simple as usual with his answers.

“I guess if you don’t like it, you can go back to the cabin. Michelle or Maggie would have to go with you though.” She said casually, chewing on her sandwich and talking with her mouth full.

“I didn’t say that I didn’t like it.” Junior replied, again, not hinting that he was going to say anything else.

“Is it just, different?” Anita stood up and sat down next to him instead of on the opposite side of the tree.

“Yes.” He flinched slightly when she sat down, but quickly relaxed again. “Sometimes I feel…”

“Feel what?” Anita stopped eating and watched him closely. She hadn’t recalled him ever telling anyone what he felt.

“Lost.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know how to act around people. When I’m not told what to do… I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s not true. No one told you to catch that frog, and you did.” Anita smiled with a chuckle, nudging his arm slightly and getting a smile back from him. “Thanks, by the way.”

“No problem.” He replied shyly, rubbing his arm where she had nudged him. “It’s just that… everything I ever knew as normal, was not.”

“Tell me about it. I really don’t want to talk about the British library and all that stuff though. Let’s not think about it either, okay? Don’t refer back to that as being normal. You just have to learn all over again.” Anita noticed that he stopped eating and looked like he was thinking again, “What is it?”

He started to smile, “I remember, when we were outside right here and looking at the stars. Sitting here just reminded me how I…”

“How you what?!” Anita asked urgently, not exactly sure why she felt it was so urgent she get an answer a half a second sooner than if she had just waited for him to finish.

Junior jumped at her response and stared at her a moment before he continued, “How I felt like I had made a friend.”

Anita laughed, “Yup. I remember that you kept staring at me. Why were you doing that anyway?” She was somewhat curious if perhaps he… might…

“It was just strange to have someone… just… there for company. No other reason.” He smiled with the faintest of pink cheeks. “It was nice. Just like now.”

Anita smiled back and then stood up, extending her hand and helping him up as well, “Class will probably start back soon.”

With that, lunch ended and they went back to their classes. Not too much happened. Anita still got a sick feeling when she looked at Hisami or Tohru. Especially if she saw them together. When she saw that, she thought she might throw up. She didn’t mean to, but she wasn’t really paying attention to her other friends since she was mainly friends with them because Hisami was. She ended up hanging around her ‘cousin’ more and more. Her classmates would have been suspicious, but their being cousins took care of that. Anita hoped that they wouldn’t somehow find out that they weren’t cousins. Junior on the other hand, didn’t really know what to care about. Anita was the only friend he had so far and the only one he felt that he could most easily relate to. He would watch the boys, but all in all, everyone was the same. Everyone was normal except for Junior and Anita.  

[Cognitive Atrophy]

((I thought I would give myself a 7. xP Please vote! I wanna know what people think. smile

If you want to comment on a certain chapter just put 'Chapter ___': ))  

[daddylatrell]

I personally love all of the chapters!
Are you sure you aren't like a secret author spying on all of us amateurs?!?!? 4laugh
Seventh Grade is my favorite chapter! mrgreen

 

[Cognitive Atrophy]

simperson

I personally love all of the chapters!
Are you sure you aren't like a secret author spying on all of us amateurs?!?!? 4laugh
Seventh Grade is my favorite chapter! mrgreen

Aw, there are waaaaaaaay better writer's than me out there. But thank you so much! ^_^ I'll post more when I get around to it.  

[daddylatrell]

Yay!
Hahaha.
Bumperz for you girlie!

 

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Chapter 4: Fight!

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School wasn’t easy, but for a few days, it was bearable. Until the other seventh graders started getting jealous of Junior’s good grades and the fact that so many girls had a crush on him. Junior was sitting outside under the tree outside the library again for lunch. He had come to like that tree. It made him feel calm and happy. He had eaten lunch with Anita there a lot, so he was expecting her to come soon. He was minding his own business when he heard whispering… he could tell it was about him. He looked down and sighed, setting his sandwich on the napkin beside him. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like eating. Before he could think about anything else, a group of boys stood over him with their arms crossed.

“Look there’s pretty boy.” One of them grinned, “What you got there?”

Junior blinked, “A sandwich…”

“Not for long.” The boy stomped on it, flattening it in the grass. Junior intended to just ignore them, but he rolled away when one of them tried to kick him. He quickly stood up and dusted himself off. He could hardly do that before a punch was thrown at him. His reflexes took over and he began remembering how to fight slyly. He caught the punch and twisted the boy’s wrist, causing him to scream. That drew the attention of several kids around the library and they kept calling more kids. Soon there was a crowd that seemed like the entire school.

Junior again and again dodged their pathetic attempts to beat him up. Junior had killed people before… this was ridiculous. But, he was caught off guard by a kick to the upper back. He fell onto his hands and knees and then the boys ran off.

“What are you doing, you idiot?! You can’t get into fights like that!” It was in fact, Anita who had brought him to his knees. “What is wrong with you?!”

Junior, indeed, felt like an idiot. Anita had just gotten the best of him and in front of almost the whole school. The roar of laughing was almost unbearable for them both.

“You all shut up!” Anita turned and yelled. Most of them quieted down to a snicker, “Get out of here! There’s nothing to see.” Anita, infamous for her temper and abnormally strong limbs, managed to scare them all off.

Junior had turned around and now sat on the ground, gripping his chest. He coughed a few times, “You… knocked the breath out of me.” He coughed again and then caught his breath as Anita leaned down in front of him, leering at him in the eyes. He froze in terror. Not because he was afraid of her strength, for he knew that they would probably be evenly matched, it was… something else that was scary.

“Sorry, but I had to do it.” She grunted and stood straight up again. “Get up, moron.”

He did so and then coughed again, “It wasn’t my fault.”

“You didn’t phase or anything, did you?” Anita asked quietly.

“No. I’m not sure that I can reliably anymore. Ever since… I got rid of that tracking device. I don‘t want to get stuck inside a wall or a person.” Suddenly, he coughed up blood into his hands, much like he had that day when he ripped out the device from his chest. He thought he had healed from it, but her harsh kick to his back must have damaged the scar tissue that had formed.

“Junior?” Anita blinked, suddenly feeling herself worry, “Are you alright?” She leaned over and took his hands. They were covered with blood, “Come on, we have to get you home!”

“I’m fine.” Junior replied in monotone and started to walk off. Anita grabbed his arm and spun him around again.
“My sisters will take you to the hospital, come on!” She tugged him again, but he just stood there.

“I’ve healed before. I’ll heal again. I’ve been injured worse than this.” He flicked the blood off his hands and onto the grass.

“That’s him!” One of the boys from earlier came back with a teacher, “He attacked us out of nowhere! Look, he’s got blood on him! He probably attacked someone else! That girl was helping him!”

Junior and Anita both looked up and then exchanged glances. This had to be some type of joke. A few proclaimed ‘witnesses’ chimed in and defended the boy’s claims. The principal soon came out.

“I’m going to have to send you two home early as a warning. Since you are both relatively new, I’ll let it slide for now. I know it’s hard to get along with new people, but fighting is not tolerated at this institution. Anita, I sort of expected you to get into trouble… but Junior, you are a prime example of a student with so much potential and I expected better of you. If you two get into fights again, you are both losing a grade for the year and will be suspended.” The principal didn’t give either of them a chance to explain and soon walked off back into the building.

Anita sighed, “Well, I’m sick of this place anyway. You need to get home, too. Come on, idiot.”

So, they both walked home early and said not a word to each other until they got to the bottom of the stairs to the apartment. “What do you think they’ll do? I mean, I’m sure they’ve gotten a call from the principal.” Junior asked, knowing that Anita knew her sisters better than him.

“I think they’ll take our side once they hear the story. The real story, that is.” Anita began the walk up the stairs and was followed momentarily by Junior. They sighed in unison as they opened the door quietly and took their shoes off.

“I think you two need to explain something.” Michelle stepped up in front of them. Though Michelle didn’t particularly like being the disciplinarian, she knew that someone had to be… and that wouldn’t be Maggie. “I just got a call from the principal saying that you two were just in a big fight.” She put her hands on her curvy hips and eyed them with a suspicious look. “Just because you two have unusual powers doesn’t mean that--”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about! Junior was getting picked on and he defended himself. But, then I kicked him so that it would break up. That’s what really happened. Those boys that were picking on him lied to the principal.” Anita interrupted and pushed by her, suddenly angry again at the whole thing. “Kids are so stupid!” She stomped, going to her room before Michelle could tell her to do just that for interrupting her. But, Michelle knew that Anita had to be telling the truth.

Junior just stood there, unsure of what to do or say. He stared into space in the direction Anita had gone. The more he thought about what had happened, the more he wished that she wouldn’t have interfered. Although, if he had ended up sending them all onto the ground, he probably would have gotten in more trouble. Anita really did him a favor when he continued to think about it. So, he finally concluded that it was a good thing.

Junior started to walk off to his side of the room when Michelle stopped him, “Junior… if you ever need to talk about anything, you can come to me.” Michelle seemed a lot more gentle in tone with Junior. Probably because she knew that he had not even had close to a normal life. He had never been around other kids or any group of people that he wasn’t being asked to kill or track.

Junior simply nodded and headed off into his shared room. They had put up a curtain to divide the room, much like they had when they lived in the other apartment with Nenene. When he entered, Anita had her face buried in her pillows. She wasn’t crying, she was just frustrated.

“Anita.” Junior said softly, “Thank you for… um… kicking me.”

Anita sat up and gave him a strange look, “Um, sure, anytime.” She sighed with a smiled and folded her legs with her ankles in her hands, “You sure are weird.”

Junior would have taken that as some type of insult, but the way she said it made it sound like… it was good. “I know.” He replied and that make Anita laugh quietly.

“I’m just glad you didn’t get your leg stuck in someone’s stomach or something. That would be hard to explain.” She smirked and fell back onto her bed. “I was just thinking…”

“What?”

“-- that being suspended isn’t really a punishment. I mean, who likes school anyway?” She laughed and started kicking her legs out of boredom.

“That is… a good point.” Junior said with a blank face and a blush. Her skirt was getting flailed up and he had to look away. He went behind the curtain and started to change out of his uniform. Anita did the same on her side. “Are you finished?” Junior asked through the curtain when he had dressed again.

“Yeah.”

“Alright.” He came out and just stood there watching her.

“What?” Anita asked in a confused sort of way, “You really have to stop this whole ‘staring’ thing. It’s creepy.”

“Sorry.” Junior blushed and let out a deep breath.

“What’s wrong? You always seem sad.” Anita asked quietly, knowing that whatever it was, he probably wouldn’t talk about it.

“And you always seem angry.” He replied, dodging her question.

“Are you-- worried about your mom?” Anita asked and right as she did, Michelle had stopped just out of sight at the doorway, listening in.

Junior remained silent, now reminded. He actually wasn’t thinking about her until Anita said that.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” Anita nodded with a reassuring smile.

“I know. That’s not what I was thinking about until you reminded me.” Junior replied in a steady, but slightly annoyed tone.

Anita was about to continue to ask questions when Maggie yelled for Anita. The phone had rung and it was Hisami. Anita started to leave, but ran into Michelle. “You were eavesdropping! Why do my sisters have to be so nosy?!” She grunted and stomped by her all the way up to Maggie, who was holding the phone out to her.

“It’s Hisami. She sounds upset.” Maggie said with concern in her face.

Anita really didn’t feel like talking to her, but if Hisami was upset… she knew she needed to be there for her. “Okay.” Anita took the phone and ran off to her room again. Junior was sitting alone on his side of the room, just staring into space. Flashes of his life appeared in his mind when he let it wander. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard hysterical crying coming through the phone.

“Calm down, Hisa. It’s not a big deal. I don’t know why you care so much. He’s just a stupid boy.” Anita’s response caused the crying to get louder and Junior peeked through the curtains at Anita.

“It happens every day. Especially when you are fourteen. I wish you would have listened to me.” Anita continued, now seeming rather sad. “Just… come over. You need to get your mind off of it. Bring your notes from the classes I missed… okay… see you in a little while.” Anita hung up and threw the phone on her bed. “Hisa is coming over!” She announced and heard Michelle start running towards her room.

“Maggie told me she was upset! Is everything okay?” Michelle asked, overly concerned as she normally was about children.

“Yeah. That boy Tohru dumped her.” Anita said as if it were no big deal.

“Oh… the poor girl…” Michelle frowned and clasped her hands over her chest, “I’ll go make something yummy for you and her to eat.” She nodded and then left for the kitchen, moving books aside gingerly as she made room for cooking.

“Alright, whatever.” Anita sat on her bed again.

“Dumped?” Junior finally came out and approached Anita again.

“Yeah. You know the boy she was hanging out with? He decided not to be her boyfriend anymore.”

“Oh.” Junior replied, not concerned with it, really. He had only spoken to Hisami once or twice. She did seem rather sensitive. He wondered what it would be like when she got there. Perhaps Anita and Hisami would become good friends again and he would have a new friend? After he thought about it, he smiled slightly to himself.

Around twenty minutes passed and Hisami was soon at the door. Michelle let her in and hugged her in that overbearing sisterly way. “Oh Hisami! I’m so, so, sorry! We are all here for you and you can just relax and forget about that mean boy!”

Hisami usually blushed and stood there being hugged forcefully, but she hugged Michelle back, enjoying the type of affection that she didn’t get from her parents. She looked up with a sniffle and took her shoes off at the door.

“I made you some cookies! They will be ready soon.” Michelle smiled in that cheerful way she always did. “Anita is in her room. She’s sharing with Junior, so don’t let him scare you!” She giggled and twirled into the kitchen again.

“Sorry about what happened.” Maggie said quietly, being so shy, “I hope that it all works out…” Hisami nodded with a sniffle in response, but neither of them continued a further conversation.

“Anita…?” Hisami peeked into her room, “Anita!” She started crying again and was soon being hugged gently.

Anita held her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, “I told you he was no good.”

They both chuckled and sat down on her bed next to each other. Junior, ever so curious, was peeking slightly through the curtain. He had never seen a young girl cry like that. Not for such a reason. It seemed ridiculous.
Hisami happened to turn around and she jumped a little, “Oh, Junior. Michelle said you might be in here and you still scared me.”

“He does that. Don’t mind him. He just stays over there mostly. He doesn’t talk much, so if he hears you say anything, he won’t repeat it. Right?” Anita shot a look that implied death if he did not keep his mouth shut.

“Yes.” Junior nodded and disappeared behind the curtain again. Though the conversation seemed pointless between the two girls… it was interesting for some reason.

“He was my first kiss, Anita.” Hisami sniffled, “Why did he do this to me?” She started crying harder again on Anita’s shoulder.

“Hisa… come on… when you grow up, there will be someone else. Someone much more mature. And handsome.” Anita smirked, “That’s why it’s pointless to date at this age. We are all idiots.”

“You just called yourself an idiot.” Junior said quietly behind the curtain, gazing out the window.

“Who asked you?” Anita snapped and then returned to Hisami, “Anyway, come on and let’s find something to do. Wanna play a game or something?”

“Not… really…” Hisami sighed and then Anita scooted off the bed and onto her feet.

“I’ll go see if those cookies are done. Drowning your sorrows in fattening sweets always helps.” With a smirk, she left the room, leaving Hisami alone except for Junior on his side of the room behind the curtain.

Hisami couldn’t help but be curious and she pulled the curtain back, watching him look out the window. It didn’t take long for him to notice and turn around. “What?” He asked ambiguously. He was not mad but he didn’t seem incredibly interested in her company either.

“Oh! I’m sorry-- I just--” Hisami blushed and stepped back, the curtain falling back into place for a moment before Junior pulled it back and stared at her silently. “I-- uh-- I just wondered what it looked like… on your side of the room… ?”

“It’s okay.” Junior replied to Hisami’s relief, “I don’t get much privacy here. But, it’s not always a bad thing.”

Hisami nodded with a smile, “I agree! It’s nice to have people that care about you. I was… so lonely before I met Anita…”

“Then why did you ditch her for--?” Junior started, only mirroring what Anita’s response had been that day. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re right. Anita was right… It’s just that… when you are in love… nothing else really seems to matter.” Hisami furrowed her brows and looked down for a moment before looking back up to him, “You are lucky to have a cousin like Anita. Even though I know she was mad at me, she is still my friend. It’s good to have loyal people like that on your side.”

“Cousin…? Oh, yes.” Junior had momentarily forgotten his cover, but he managed to not draw attention to that fact and lead her on to something.

“Junior you are really easy to talk to. Thank you. Can I-- talk to you sometime if… I just need someone to listen? Anita isn’t that good at listening sometimes…” She trailed off, her face blushing and her hands clasped in front of her.

“I guess so.” Junior replied, evaluating her posture and demeanor to try to understand what she was talking about.

Suddenly, Hisami grabbed a blank piece of paper and wrote something on it. “Here. Just in case-- I mean-- if you want to hang out. Not like a date! Just-- I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Nothing. Just take it. You don’t have to call me-- I’m just trying to make some new friends. Yes! That’s what I was trying to say. I’m sorry for being complicated. I can never seem to think straight…” She giggled quietly in her tiny voice. Junior returned that with a weak smile as he took the paper and looked at it for a moment before putting it in his pocket.

“So…” Hisami searched her brain for something else to say, but Anita came in with a plate of cookies.

“Here they are. I barely got them away from those fiends. Michelle said she made them for you but she said she just ‘had to make sure they were okay’.” She rolled her eyes and set the plate down as she noticed Junior standing there. “What are you two talking about?” She asked casually, taking a cookie and sitting on her bed again, dangling her feet off the edge.

Hisami and Junior exchanged glances and replied in unison, “Nothing.”  

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Chapter 5: Drama
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A few days went by and Hisami finally seemed to be back to normal for the most part. Although she still felt the need to look away every time Tohru would walk past her. Today, Junior found the courage to sit with a table of boys, Tohru included. None of these boys were included in the incident a few days ago, so they didn’t mind letting him sit there as long as he didn’t bother them. He heard the subject of Hisami come up.

“Man, you are an idiot.”

“She’s so cute! You mind if I ask her out now?”

“You all shut up!” Tohru grumbled, “I just decided that I didn’t like her anymore. That’s all.”

Junior pushed his food around on the tray, not really feeling like eating at the moment. He wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation since they had been talking about it for what seemed like forever. He was in his own world.

“So Junior, what do you think of Hisami? You haven’t said anything.” One of the boys asked. Junior didn’t even know his name.

“She is nice.” He replied simply.

“Oh you are totally into her. I can tell.” Junior was elbowed by the same boy, but he ignored it and continued to stare at his plate.

“Into her?” Junior asked, causing the boys to laugh and Tohru to leave the table.

“You know… you like her. You are trying to cover it up with that spacey look.”

Junior glanced over at the table where Hisami and Anita were eating, along with a bunch of other girls. He wondered if they were talking about the same thing. It seemed to be a topic of great interest among the school. He heard things like, “They were such a cute couple.” “What a shame.”

Junior finally looked back after thinking about it. Now that they were talking about it so much, he wondered if he did like her. He wasn’t really familiar with anything they were suggesting, so how would he know if he didn’t or did feel that way?

“It doesn’t matter.” He replied, now wearing a somewhat irritated look. “Can we talk about something else?”

After bugging him about it more and getting no response from him, they finally moved on to some type of TV show. He got bored and left the table, leaving his tray there.

“You gonna eat that?”

“No.” Junior replied and retreated to his favorite tree outside the library. He heard someone approach and assumed it was Anita, but the footsteps sounded different. They weren’t confident like Anita’s. He looked up and it was Hisami.

“Hi Junior.” She said quietly and sat down next to him, “Anita said you have been really quiet for a few days…” She got no response from Junior. “Is it because-- ?”

“What?”

“I mean I just heard that… maybe you--” She blushed and hugged her knees, “Maybe that you liked me!” Hisami said in a raised voice as she usually did when she built up the courage to say something awkward. It helped her to just not think about what she was saying and say it.

Junior looked over to her, annoyed that the conversation had been overheard and apparently twisted within the lunch hour. ‘Rumors spread like wildfire…’ He remembered what Anita said last week when he first started there.

“I mean-- if you don’t-- it’s okay. I just… I thought that maybe you did… It must just be a rumor. Rumors are annoying, aren’t they?” She smiled and turned her head to meet his eyes. She soon blushed and looked away due to his subconscious staring.

“Yes.” He replied, “I know what Anita was talking about.”

“She doesn’t like me dating anyway.” Hisami giggled, “She is so protective. With how she is with you, she would probably hate both of us.”

Soon enough, Anita came stomping up, “So it’s true! Hisa, get away from him!” Anita pulled her up by the arm, “What’s wrong with you?”

Junior decided to space out again and just stare into nothing. Like he said to those boys, it didn’t matter. He felt Hisami looking at him to defend her and himself, but he said nothing. Hisami would have to say something.

“Anita, it’s not true. He doesn’t like me. He said so.” She finally answered Anita, who let her go. When she looked over towards Junior again, he was gone. “Wh--where did he go?”

“He is good at disappearing.” Anita sighed as the bell rang. Though, she headed off in a different direction than her next class. “I’m skipping class. He probably is too. Something is going on inside that head of his.”

“O-okay. I’ll tell the teacher you weren’t feeling well. I can bring you my notes if you want.” Hisami replied, thinking about how if Anita and Junior weren’t cousins that they would have to like each other.

“Thanks.” Anita replied shortly and was soon off to where she thought Junior might go. She checked the library up and down and then the roof. She found him there, sitting near the edge and looking down. He had never been one to be afraid of heights. “What are you doing up here?” Anita asked in a concerned tone as she walked up and sat next to him, “Anything you want to talk about? Is it Hisami? Did she hit on you?! She is just--”

“No.” Junior interrupted to prevent Anita from going into a rant, “She is very nice.”

Anita’s expression relaxed and turned to something that looked like worry, “You don’t… like her do you?”

Junior let out the smallest grunt of frustration, “I wouldn’t even know if I did. So, no.”

“Sorry.” Anita said, joining him in staring off into nothing. It seemed easier to talk like that. “I guess I shouldn’t believe anything that goes around this school.”

“Have you ever liked anyone?” Junior asked, glancing at her a moment, but then staring off again.

“N-no!” Anita folded her arms and legs, “No, not ever! Boys are just stupid. Oh. I mean-- not that you are stupid. You are just weird. That’s a little different.”

Junior closed his eyes with a slight smile. “You have told me that before. I am weird. Compared to everyone else. They don’t seem to like me very much. No one really talks to me like you do.”

“Well, they are missing out because you are--” Anita started, but couldn’t figure out how to finish her sentence. They both stared at each other awkwardly, Junior also unsure of how her sentence was going to end. “Never mind.” Anita said and started to stand up, but her hand was grabbed and she turned to look at Junior.

“What?” He asked, his eyes shining.

“Just-- you are a good friend.” Anita smiled, not understanding why her cheeks were warm. “Even if you aren’t like everyone else. That can be a good thing.” Suddenly, she felt warmth around her and she became paralyzed. Junior was hugging her. Of course, it was an awkward hug, but a hug nonetheless. She thought that she felt something warm on her shoulder. Junior… was crying. Though Anita felt incredibly embarrassed, she reached up and hugged him back gently. “D-don’t let anyone ever call you weird… except for me. I can because I am too. We are both freaks, remember?” Anita’s voice shook slightly as the embrace ended and they both looked at the ground, hiding the fact that they were crying. Anita moved quickly and kissed his cheek.

“Don’t tell anyone I did that or I’ll kill you.” Anita tried to make her voice sound stern and serious, but she couldn’t keep it from shaking as tears continued to stream. Junior stood there, his face aflame with redness by her actions. He nodded silently and then she walked away without another word. He sat down again and hugged his knees with a smile. He wondered if this was the feeling that they were all talking about and he wondered if Anita was feeling this way right now. All of their little moments together flooded back into his head again. The laughing and feeling of closeness to someone. The way they related to each other and understood each other. Maybe that was what all the boys and girls were talking about.

Anita couldn’t bear to walk home with him right then, so she decided to walk by herself. She knew her sisters would be mad at her… but with what happened on the roof, she couldn’t look at that boy. She got home and slung her backpack against the wall as she took her shoes off. “I’m home early. I’m not feeling well. I’m going to take a nap.” Anita said before her sisters could say anything to her at all. She collapsed on her bed with her arm hanging off the side. She wanted to sleep, but her mind wouldn’t let her. Why did she have to kiss that idiot on the cheek?! She felt like she had ruined something but was unsure of what she had ruined. Did she… like him? Why else would she do something like that? Maybe she just felt sorry for him. Or maybe…

“Anita.”

Her head shot up from her pillow and her heart raced from being snapped out of her intense thoughts. “You’re-- home.” She stuttered and then silently stared at a notebook and papers being held out to her.

“Hisami told me to give you this.” Junior said, unable to make eye contact with her either. Both of their faces were blushing from the awkwardness. They were both so unsure of how to react to anything the other did now. “I guess I’ll start on my homework.” Junior said in monotone, focusing on that instead of remembering the moment on the roof.

“Yeah… me too.” Anita nodded, but jumped when Junior pulled the curtain all the way back. “What are you doing?” She asked with a quirked brow.

“Better light.” He replied shortly and then sat on the floor, opening one of his books and starting to work. Anita did the same, but she seemed to be having more issues with it than him. Not only due to her being distracted. She couldn’t get it. Every so often, she would grunt and attack the paper with the erasing end of her pencil.

Junior finished in what seemed like five minutes. It had to have been longer, but Anita was trailing behind. “How do you do that? I’m stuck on chapter three and you’re finished through seven!”

“Sorry.” Junior replied modestly, looking at the floor and then cutting his eyes back at her as she grumbled something to herself. “Do you… need help?”

“No! I mean-- not from you-- I mean-- … yeah.” She sighed and scooted back, making room for Junior to sit next to her on the bed. He climbed up and folded his legs, picking up a piece of paper with a continuing gray smudge through all the lines. He crumpled it up as if it were nothing and threw it in the trash can behind him without looking.

“Hey-- I worked hard on that!” Anita exclaimed, but then got quiet, “Nice shot though.”

“Thank you.” Junior replied absentmindedly as he reviewed her work. It was mostly doodles on the side of the pages. Doodles of frogs in clothes and doing people things. Going shopping… watering flowers… “You like frogs a lot.”

“I don’t know why I asked you to help.” Anita growled, snatching her book back and turning away from him.

“What? I didn’t say anything. I just noticed what you did. Do you… want my help or not…?” He asked, not irritated, just confused.

Anita gave in, “Yes.” She whined and handed the book back to him, scooting so that she could see it too. It made her a little uncomfortable that she was sitting so close, but she tried to focus on what he was telling her.

“You forgot this part…” Junior continued to tutor her even though she didn’t seem to be paying attention. When he caught on to that, he set the book down. “Is something wrong?”

Anita blinked, “No! I’m just distracted.”

Junior watched her, pretty sure he knew why now. “I didn’t mean to make you feel strange. It just… meant a lot what you said to me…” He finally said quietly, looking away and closing the book. “Thank you.” He smiled weakly with a blush. He wished he hadn’t acted so dramatically before. Ever since everything with the British Library had finished, he had been getting used to a somewhat normal life. His real personality had room to grow.

“You’re welcome.” Anita replied at length, “Sorry I… well, let’s just forget about that!” She laughed nervously.

“But I--” Junior started, looking at her again with shimmering eyes, “I don’t want to.”

Anita was so embarrassed she thought she might die, “Why do you have to do that? Why do you have to say whatever pops into your mind? Can’t you just--?” Anita wanted to rant further, but Junior’s eyes locked on hers made her stop. “Can’t you just… not…” She looked at his lips and started to close her eyes. Was this it? Was this going to be her first kiss? Sure, it was with the strangest boy she had ever met, but this was big! She couldn’t mess this up.

“What are you doing?” The words shot through Anita like she was being electrocuted. Her face flamed and she turned onto her side in the fetal position.

“I’m such an idiot… stupid, stupid…” She was curled up so tightly she didn’t even feel like she had limbs anymore. She was just a ball of embarrassed teenager.
“Anita?” Junior leaned over to look at her closer, “Are you okay?”

“Go away!!!” She shouted, her voice muffled by her knees that were so securely forced into her face.

“I don’t understand. Why are you mad? Did I do something wrong?” He blinked, utterly confused to his core.

“No.” She replied, defiantly staying in her comforting position that hid her from the outside world. But, when she felt Junior get off the bed and heard him start to leave, she sat up, “Where are you going?” She asked, as if she now wanted him to stay even though only moments before she had yelled at him to go away.

“I’m going to get Michelle and Maggie.”

“Why? There is no reason for them to be involved in this!”

“In what?” Junior turned all the way around and watched her, trying to figure out anything. Anything at all. He couldn’t find any type of clue that told how she was feeling or what she was going to do next.

“Ugh! You’re so annoying.”

“Fine, then I will leave.”

“No, don’t go…”

“What is it that you want me to do?!” Junior finally snapped, much like he did when he was being hugged and dragged around like a doll last week.

“I-- just… Come sit down again.” She sighed, hanging her head low and letting her hair fall over her eyes. Junior sat next to her again, not saying a word.

“I thought that…” It took all of Anita’s strength to finish her sentence, “… you were going to kiss me…”

“Kiss you?” Junior jumped back slightly, his face showing five different emotions at the same time. “Why did you think that?”

“I don’t know…” Anita whined quietly and kept her head down.

“Did you want me to?” Junior asked, neither his facial expression or position changing.

“I don’t know!” Anita replied, irritated at herself, “I can’t believe that we are talking about this!”

“Do you want to-- kiss me?” Junior asked, his voice losing all steadiness, “If you really want to-- I-- I guess it would be okay--” His heart was pounding. The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea was. Though he felt like he could hardly move his arm, he lifted it and placed his hand on Anita’s hesitantly.

Anita looked up, her face still angry for a moment. That is, until she finally made eye contact with the boy. “Okay…”

“Okay…”

They both leaned in awkwardly, their eyes darting from one facial feature to another until they got so close that they had to close their eyes. In just a moment… just one more moment…
“Anita, phone!” Michelle sang.

Anita and Junior both lowered their heads and said nothing.  

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Chapter 6: Opposite Day

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A few more days went by and Junior and Anita couldn’t help but act strangely around each other. Junior just kept quiet, which wasn’t too out of the norm for him and neither was staring at her. But he felt different on the inside. Like, something was going to happen but he wasn’t sure what and if it was good or bad. So he only watched and listened. He said nothing to Anita for days. Anita didn’t say much to him either unless it had to do with something she needed him to do. Like, ‘get out of the way’, ‘hurry up we’re going to be late’, those type of things. Neither of them made any attempt to make conversation. It wasn’t long before Maggie and Michelle noticed.

“Maggie… do you think that something happened to them at school?” Michelle asked one day while Anita and Junior were still gone. “I’m worried. I thought Junior and Anita were getting along and starting to be friends.” She frowned and looked up from a magazine she was reading. Maggie was sitting on the floor, reading and listening.

“I don’t know, Michelle. Did you want to ask them about it?” Maggie replied, without looking up.

“Maggie.” Michelle put the magazine down and then Maggie looked up, seeing the worried look on Michelle’s face. “I’m so worried! I don’t want them to keep things from us. I don’t want to seem ignorant of their problems!”

Maggie blinked and set her book down as well, “Okay. They should be home soon. How did you want to talk to them?”

“I don’t know.” Michelle sighed and lay back on the couch, feeling her stomach start to turn, “I think I should talk to Junior and you should talk to Anita. Anita gets more emotional around you… even if it is usually just her being grumpy or bossy. I’m a talker and you are a listener. So, I should talk to the quiet one and you should talk to the loud one.” Michelle finally smiled and sat up again, “What do you think?”

“I guess that’s okay. I don’t really know Junior that well.” Maggie nodded, concerned about them both, but also dreading the moment that Anita would yell at her… she knew that she would. “I could ask Anita if she needed any homework help…”

“That’s a good idea! Just feel it out and ask what seems easiest.”

“I’ll try.” Maggie stood up, looking down at Michelle, “What are you going to do about Junior? He doesn’t really need homework help.”

“I’ll figure out something.” Michelle set her chin in her hands and stared out the window. “It’s almost three thirty. They should be home soon. Sort of think about what you are going to say… I will too.”

Maggie and Michelle nodded to each other. Michelle wasn’t too nervous about talking to Junior. He had told her a lot of things at the cabin while she was taking care of him. Maggie though always got nervous when she was forced into parenting. It felt like a responsibility she was not capable of upholding. Soon enough, the two got home, setting their shoes on the rug opposite of each other. They didn’t even announce that they were home. Maggie and Michelle sat on the couch pretending to read when they were really listening for them.

“Hey.” Anita said to them, walking past them into her room. Junior just stood there, watching Anita walk away. It made him sad seeing her like this. He missed talking to her like he had been. He looked at the floor and walked slowly into the kitchen to pretend he was looking for something to eat.

Maggie and Michelle exchanged glances and then nodded, both standing up and heading for Junior and Anita. Maggie knocked on the wall next to Anita’s room, since the door was open. Anita hadn’t bothered to change before acting like she was doing her homework.

“What?” Anita looked up with a slight tone in her voice, “What do you want?”

“Do you… need any help with your homework?” Maggie asked quietly, like she asked anything.

“Why do you care? You never help me with my homework.” Anita replied, her face tensing as she held the book closer to her face.

“I- I’m just trying to be a better big sister.” Maggie said, “Can I come in?”

Anita sighed, “Fine, but you probably wouldn’t understand this any better than me.”

Each time Anita said something like that, Maggie felt like she had been punched in the stomach. But, she had to get through that and attribute it to Anita’s age and the stress she was going through. She sat down on the bed next to her and looked over her homework. “It doesn’t seem too hard.”

“Well, it is.” Anita grumbled, folding her arms and looking down, feeling like Maggie was invading her personal space. Anita seemed to have a lot of personal space lately.

“Is there something else that’s bothering you…? It’s not your homework is it?” Maggie forced the questions out, her face burning from nervousness.

“How would you know? You don’t know anything.” Anita grunted and folded her arms tighter.

“Anita, you can tell me anything that’s bothering you. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” Maggie said, finally feeling like she was getting a little more comfortable, “Me and Michelle are worried about you.”

“The only thing you can do is leave me alone!” Anita stood up and pointed to the door. Maggie, feeling defeated, exited. She didn’t want to push her and she also didn’t want to keep getting yelled at. Michelle was definitely better at these things. Maggie just went and sat on the couch with a sad expression. She couldn’t help but compare herself to Michelle and fall short every time she would.

--

“Are you hungry?” Michelle asked Junior, “I can make something for you!”

“It’s okay.” Junior replied, not expressing any emotion whatsoever as he closed the fridge.

“Junior, you seem quieter than normal. I miss talking to you!” Michelle sat down at the small table in the corner, hoping that Junior would sit down as well. “Come on, talk!”

“I don’t feel like it, Michelle.” He sighed and turned to the doorway, “Maybe I am getting sick.”

“Oh no! Junior, I’ll make you some tea. You sit down right now!” Michelle ordered and shot up from her chair, starting some water to boil on the stove. Junior, used to orders, listened to her and sat down. Michelle soon sat down across from him again.

“I guess we will just wait for the water to boil.” Michelle said cheerfully as Junior looked down at the table.

“Okay.” He replied quietly. They both sat the silently for about twenty seconds.

“So, how is school going? I haven’t gotten any calls from the principal.” Michelle giggled, “I’m proud of you for making such good grades. But I wonder, have you made any new friends? If you ever want to have them over I can make snacks and you can watch a movie.”
“That’s okay.” Junior said, not really sure how to express what was going on because he himself was not sure. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Are you embarrassed about the books? I was planning on selling some of the ones I’ve read a lot. Then there would be room.” She smiled and nodded, but then Junior stood up and turned around.

“I don’t have any friends.” He said with a hint of annoyance, walking over to the kettle that had just started to whistle. He took it off the stove and poured the water into a cup with a bag of tea sitting in it.

“Junior…” Michelle furrowed her brows and her eyes started to water, “That’s not true! You have me and Maggie and Anita!” She fought the urge to hug the boy until he gasped for air, but she restrained herself.

Junior set the kettle back down and sipped the tea, thinking about what she said. “I guess so.” He replied, though it looked as if that weren’t enough. “No one really talks to me much.” He furrowed his brows and looked at the floor.

“Oh, Junior! I’m sorry if we haven’t been paying much attention to you! You know how we are. I get so distracted and Maggie is so quiet and Anita seems to be going through something. I’m sorry if it seems like we are ignoring you.” Her eyes started to water, thinking about how he must have felt. So alone, new to a school with no one like him.

“It’s not like that at all. Don’t worry about it. I am fine, Michelle.” With that, he left the cup of tea and went through Anita’s room to his side, not even looking at her. He simply wore a solemn look and then sat down on his sleeping bag. It was silent for the longest time. “Michelle is worried about us.” He said, not even lifting his head, but he knew Anita was still there. He hadn’t heard her move.

“Yeah… Maggie just tried to talk to me.” Anita replied, neither of them continuing the conversation for about thirty more seconds. Suddenly, Junior’s presence on the other side of the curtain was so incredibly enraging, she shot up out of bed and slung the curtain back. “I can’t think with you over there! Go sit somewhere else!”

Junior stared at her wide eyed and confused, his breath taken away. He started to stand up when Michelle entered. “What is going on in here? Anita don’t talk to him that way! You are being so rude! Junior is part of our family right now and you have to treat him like that!”

“He can’t be a part of anything because he is a freak!” Anita snapped, “Ever since he got here everything has been different! Why can’t it just be us anymore? Why does he have to be here?! He’s ruining everything! He’s ruining school, he’s ruining my life!”

“Anita you don’t mean that!” Michelle’s voice raised, which it hardly ever did, “I can’t believe you are acting so childish!”

“I’m not acting childish because it’s true! All he does is stand there and be quiet and take up room and eat our food! And if he’s so smart and good at school, why doesn’t he go live in that cabin all by himself?! I’m sure he can figure it out!” Anita was finally letting lose every emotion that she was unsure of as anger.

Junior stood there with his back turned to them, never feeling so horrible in his life. For the first time he had wished he was back with Mr. Joker and Wendy. At least he was good for something there and he felt needed. But, he turned around when he heard a slap.

Michelle stood there with her eyes watering. Anita sometimes got so rude that she just… had to be slapped for her to realize what she was saying. Words couldn’t get through to her at this point. Anita stared back at her in shock. She remembered the last time she had been slapped. It was when she was talking about Maggie… talking about her like this. This kind of talk was not even appropriate in confidence, much less right in front of the person being personally attacked.

“I want you to sit down and think about what you’ve said. Anita, I can’t believe you would even think those things. You know what you said was wrong. When you realize how sorry you are, you apologize to Junior.” Michelle managed to gather her emotions until she left the room. Tears starting to stream right when she was out of sight and Maggie met her with a hug, having heard everything.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Maggie…” Michelle sobbed quietly into Maggie’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Michelle. We both know she didn’t mean any of those things.” Maggie replied, looking back at her sister as she held onto her shoulders, pushing her back, “You are the strong one. You can’t break down. Then what am I going to do?” Maggie started to tear up as well.

“Maggie, I need to be alone.” She sniffled and went into her room, shutting the door and then collapsing onto the floor sobbing.

Anita sat still in her room, fighting tears. She knew that she had crossed a line. She held her cheek where she had been slapped and glanced in Junior’s direction. He had pulled the curtain back. “Junior…” Anita said quietly, her voice shaking slightly, “I’m-- I’m sorry.” She heard nothing in reply. He must have been mad. “Junior, I said I’m sorry!” She still got no response. Frustrated and a little concerned, she pulled back the curtain. “Junior?”

He was gone. Anita gasped and then ran off, “Michelle, Maggie!!!” Anita yelled frantically, “Junior’s gone!”

Suddenly, nothing else seemed to matter. “He must have phased out the window. Who’s knows how far he’s gotten now! Come on, we have to go!” Michelle burst out of her room and put on her shoes and her coat, “Come on, you two!” She ran out the door, followed by the others.

“Where would he go?” Michelle asked as they rushed through the city, searching with urgency.

“He likes quiet places and heights.” Anita responded quickly, “He likes to be alone when he’s stressed.”

Michelle and Maggie both felt a little surprised that Anita had noticed this much about him, “What else do you know? Anything that could help?” Michelle asked.

“I don’t know. He just likes to be far away from people. I doubt he’s in the city. Let’s go further out. Let’s go to the top of a building and Maggie can make an airplane.” Anita said, not really suggesting as much as commanding.

The other two nodded and casually walked into the tallest one they could find. They tried not to run, but it was obvious they were hiding something. People watched the suspiciously as they entered the elevator and the three sisters acted as if everything was normal. That is, until everyone else got off and they were at the top floor.

“Come on, let’s find the roof!” Anita ran out ahead, finding a door that had to lead to the roof, but it was locked. Without missing a beat, she unlocked it with paper and then ran up the stairs, her sisters behind her. Anita’s confidence and leadership always impressed them, even though sometimes it made her hot headed and difficult.

“Are you ready, Maggie?” Michelle asked as they stood there to catch their breath for a moment.

“Yeah. But I can’t make an airplane like Yomiko.” She waved her hands around with papers trailing behind them and formed some type of creature that could fly. It was a bit more noticeable than a giant paper airplane, but that didn’t really matter right now. The sisters got in, Maggie steering and Michelle and Anita looking out the sides.

“How far do you think he could have gotten?” Michelle asked, still peering out the sides. It was a little hard to see, but they looked in areas where people were scarce and there weren’t any crowds so he would be easier to pick out. They searched until it was dark, finally having to turn back. “I hope that he is okay…” Michelle worried out loud after Maggie collapsed the giant paper monster and stored it in her sleeves again.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. Junior is smart.” Maggie replied, placing a kind hand on Michelle’s shoulder. Anita frowned and looked at the stairs as she descended down to their floor ahead of the other two. She knew this was her fault.  

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Do I have any readers?  

[daddylatrell]

Well done!
They're like sooooo interesting.
I don't want you to take this to offense, because I don't know if you're into the series or not; but his reminds me so much of Vladimir Chronicles or whatever.
That teenage vampire series? 4laugh

 

[Cognitive Atrophy]

simperson

Well done!
They're like sooooo interesting.
I don't want you to take this to offense, because I don't know if you're into the series or not; but his reminds me so much of Vladimir Chronicles or whatever.
That teenage vampire series? 4laugh

Oh lord... I don't know what that is, but it sounds lame to me. lol Teenage+Vampire= not me

Hahahaha  

[daddylatrell]

Cognitive Atrophy

simperson

Well done!
They're like sooooo interesting.
I don't want you to take this to offense, because I don't know if you're into the series or not; but his reminds me so much of Vladimir Chronicles or whatever.
That teenage vampire series? 4laugh

Oh lord... I don't know what that is, but it sounds lame to me. lol Teenage+Vampire= not me

Hahahaha

I didn't like the first book that much.
I mean it was okay but it wasn't like anything new.
Post more chapters soon! :]

 

[Cognitive Atrophy]

Chapter 7: Relief
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All three sisters tossed and turned during their sleep that night. Anita kept dreaming of what she said about Junior… right in front of him. She continued to wake up and stay awake for several hours. She wondered if they should get the police involved. Her mind was racing, wondering about what he was doing and what had happened to him. She reassured herself of what Maggie said, ‘Junior is smart’. “He’ll be okay…” Anita said quietly, feeling that if she said it out loud it would help her believe it. To distract herself, she turned on her lamp and started to read. It made it a little easier to forget, but his face flashed in her mind every so often.

Eventually, she did fall asleep again. Fortunately for her, it was Saturday and there was no school, so she slept until about ten o’ clock. Slinging her legs over the side of the bed, she rubbed her eyes and quickly remembered why she got such a horrible night’s sleep. Ever hopeful, she pulled the curtain back and looked to see if he had returned. He wasn’t there. That was the probably the first time she had wished he was sitting there. She left her room, walking like a zombie. She didn’t want to eat, for once. She noticed her sisters still weren’t up, so she went into their room. They weren’t there either. She was all alone in the house. She sighed, knowing that to ease their stress, they probably went to buy more books. Angry, Anita kicked a pile of stacked books over with a loud grunt. The sound of them crashing onto the floor eased her anger. After standing there a moment, she fell onto her knees and felt her eyes water. “I’m such an idiot…” She wiped a couple of tears from her eyes, determined not to cry. Holding it in, she stood up, deciding to call Hisami.

Hisami’s mother answered, “I’m sorry, she’s at the library.”

Anita furrowed her brows, “Okay… when she gets back can you tell her to call me?”

Anita hung up the phone and then collapsed onto the couch, staring at the ceiling. She felt utterly helpless.

--

Hisami was indeed at the library. Her parents would be working most of the day. Anita had probably caught them right before they left. Hisami organized some things at the desk since she was the school librarian. But, she felt like someone was there, so she looked around curiously. Normally, she was the only one here on the weekend. The other kids were busy with their parents or each other. “Hello?” She asked, slightly nervous.

She was right about someone being there. Junior was laying on top of one of the bookcases with his arms folded over his stomach, just holding still. He didn’t really want to be found. No one cared about him, after all. The person he thought was his friend, didn’t care about him. She hated him. So, right now, he couldn’t think of anything else.

“Hellooo?” Hisami asked a little bit louder, feeling like someone was watching her, even though Junior wasn’t. He was just waiting for her to go away. Without thinking about it though, he let out a deep breath, causing Hisami to look up and see Junior‘s side. It was extremely quiet, so it was easy to hear the smallest sound. She squeaked, “Who’s up there?! How did you get up there?”

He had been found. Junior turned on his side and looked down at her, not saying a word. He didn’t need to say who it was. She had eyes, did she not?

“Junior? What are you doing here and why are you up there?” Hisami tensed and stepped back out of surprise.

“It is quiet here.” He replied simply, turning back onto his back. His solitude was ruined.

“Are you… okay?” Hisami asked hesitantly, “I’ve never seen you up there before. Is something wrong?” Suddenly, Junior turned and jumped down, landing skillfully on his feet inches from Hisami, which made her squeal. “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry.” He replied, beginning to leave to find another quiet spot. But, Hisami grabbed his hand, worried about him. She blushed from the touch, but she got over it.

“Junior, you can talk to me. We are friends.” She smiled weakly, her reassuring words causing him to turn around. “Is it… Anita?”

Junior looked down sadly and took his hand away. How could she possibly know that? Perhaps Anita had a knack for upsetting people. But, it gave him a lift that she said she was his friend. “It doesn’t matter.” He turned and tried to get away again, but Hisami was persistent. “Why do you care?” He asked in monotone, turning his head to look at her again. He wanted to phase away from her and then run off through the wall, but that wasn’t possible.

“Because I know how Anita can be. She can say things… that she doesn’t mean.” Hisami let go of his hand again, pausing as they both stared at each other at length. Looking away and then back again, she continued, “How long have you been here? Wait… how did you get in? The door was locked.”

“For a while.” Junior replied, “Someone forgot to lock the door.” He said, lying through his teeth. He had taken a chance and phased through the wall.

“Oh.” Hisami replied, letting another moment of awkwardness go by. “You must be hungry. I--I have lunch if you want some.” She went back to the desk and set a paper bag on it. “It’s okay. I don’t mind. It’s nice to have someone else here sometimes.”

Junior watched her from across the room a few moments, her smiling face finally persuading him to follow. He sat down next to her on another chair behind the desk. Hisami opened the bag and got out an apple, holding it in front of him, “I don’t really want this. You can have it.”

Junior stared at it for a moment and then took it. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was a long silence, the only thing breaking it was the subtle crunch of them eating. Junior was the first to finally say something. He couldn’t stand it anymore. Maybe Hisami would know why Anita said something like what she did and if it was true or not. “Anita hates me.” He said bluntly, setting the apple core on the desk.

Hisami blinked in surprise and looked over at him, seeing his sad face. “No she doesn’t.”

“She said so. Right in front of me.”

“Anita didn’t mean that… I’m sure.” Hisami replied, ashamed that her friend would say something like that to a boy who was obviously so sensitive.

“She said I was ruining her life!” Junior snapped, tired of being sad and deciding to be annoyed about it. He knew he hadn’t done anything wrong… right?

“She said that?”

“Yes.” Junior calmed down and sighed.
Hisami looked at her hands, now feeling sad herself. “I know she doesn’t really hate you.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“Yes I do! Anita tells me a lot what she really feels about things. Not just what she says to other people. I can tell that she cares about you a lot. I don’t know why she would say something like that unless she was trying to hide something else. I promise that she doesn’t hate you. She is probably worried about you right now.” Hisami nodded, “You should go back home. I’m sure that her sisters are worried too.”

“Thank you.” Junior finally looked up with a smile. He felt like she was telling him the truth.

“She said that you were there for here when we were fighting. That meant a lot to her.” Hisami added quietly. She turned suddenly and took his hand in both of hers, “Go home now! There isn’t anything to worry about.” They both blushed and stared for a moment, but Junior stood up, their hands parting, and left.

He thought about what had happened on the way back to the apartment, feeling guilty as he walked up the stairs. Hisami was probably right. They were worried about him, he knew it. He felt bad for making them worry, especially since he was fine and there was not anything to worry about. He opened the door after staring at it a while. It didn’t make much of a sound except for a very quiet creak.

Anita was still on the couch in her pajamas. “Did you guys buy more books?” She asked, assuming it was her sisters. When she didn’t get a response, she sat up. Junior had just shut the door and was standing there. He didn’t know what to say and Anita didn’t either. They just stared. Anita’s lip started to tremble as she fought tears again. “Where did you go, you idiot? My sisters were worried about you!” She stood up and stomped, her voice shaking now.

“You asked me to leave, so I left.” He replied, looking at his feet. “I listened.”

Anita wondered for a moment why he had come back if he had decided to leave. But, she was glad he had come back. Unable to restrain herself, she ran up to him and hugged him. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean what I said! I don’t know why I said it! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay.” He replied, comforted by the display of affection. It reminded him of the nice things she said to him when he was on the roof. Maybe that was what she really felt and not what she said when she was angry. “It’s okay.” He repeated quietly, blushing as he felt her hug get tighter. He finally reached up and hugged her back. The emotional embrace finally ended and they stood there, both trembling on the inside. Junior finally smiled and Anita smiled back weakly before turning and hiding her dampened eyes from him.

“I was-- worried about you.” She said, a little choked, “I really was. Don’t ever do that again!”

“I won’t. This is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family… I am--still learning how it works.” He looked away, slowly realizing how important these people were to him.

Anita furrowed her brows, but smiled, “I’m even still learning how it works.” She laughed and rubbed her eyes again as she made her way back to the couch. She sat down, “Where did you go?”

Junior came up and sat on the other side of the couch, “The library.”

“Oh! Why didn’t I think of that?” Anita laughed, “We looked everywhere except the library.”

Junior smiled and let out a small laugh, “Hisami found me. We talked for a while.”

“What-- did she say?” Anita looked up, her tone slightly worried about what her friend must have said about her.

Junior smiled, “She said that you didn’t mean those things.” Of course, that was the very much abbreviated story.

Anita smiled back, “I think she knows me almost as well as my sisters.”

“So it’s really true?” He asked.

Anita nodded with another smile, “Yeah.” She felt that they had just become a little bit closer and understood each other a little bit more. Junior felt the same way. After a moment, Anita yawned, “You know, none of us got any sleep because of you.” She chuckled and rested her head on the arm of the couch on her side.

“Sorry.” He replied with a blush. He was so embarrassed about the whole thing, but he was flattered that they really did worry. It meant that they cared about him.

Anita fell asleep, snoring with her mouth open, somehow. It made Junior laugh to himself. He found himself rather tired as well and ended up falling onto her lap and sleeping there.

Michelle and Maggie came back, but before they said anything, they saw the two. Maggie immediately covered Michelle’s mouth. Michelle was about to scream from the excitement of Junior being back and also from the cutest and sweetest thing she had ever seen in her life. Maggie held her back, dropping the bags she was carrying on the floor.

The sound woke both Anita and Junior up. The yawned in unison, half asleep until they realized how they were sitting.

“AH!” They both screamed and jerked away from each other, then turning to see Michelle and Maggie

“AH!” They screamed again, their faces flaming with embarrassment. Junior froze and Anita ran off to her room. Maggie and Michelle couldn’t help laughing at them, which no doubt made it worse. But, they soon stopped and Michelle ran and practically tackled Junior into a hug.

“Oh we were so, so, worried about you!” She kissed his cheeks over and over and he stood there, taking it simply because he was too embarrassed to move Maggie walked up beside Michelle, looking down at him, “We really were. Anita was too.”

Michelle pulled back, though still holding on to his shoulders, “I’m so glad that you two made up and I’m so glad you are back!” She squeezed him again, but was pulled away by an embarrassed Maggie.

“That’s enough Michelle.” She laughed weakly but then choked when Michelle turned and squeezed her the same way.

“I’m just so happy!!!” She let go of Maggie and then started twirling around, eventually tripping on books and falling into them. Junior laughed quietly at the disoriented expression on her face and Maggie as well.

“Oopsie.” Michelle giggled, not embarrassed much. She never really got embarrassed. She was one to simply laugh it off. But, she soon worried about Anita. “I should go apologize for laughing at her. You too, Junior. I’m sorry.”

Junior blushed, “It’s okay.” He wondered if having a family always required this much forgiveness. He glanced at Maggie, who was looking down and thinking deeply.

“I was worried about you too. Don’t ever think that you can’t be a part of this family. Me, Michelle, and Anita are just like you. We just made our own family.” She exchanged smiles with the boy, “It’s okay to fight sometimes because families always come back together.” She put her hand on his shoulder, a large display of affection from Maggie who was normally so reserved with everyone but her sisters.

It seemed like Junior was finally fitting in here. He was thinking about his real mother less and less though he still wondered occasionally what was becoming of her. But, he knew that if she never came back… he would be okay. He stood watching Michelle try to get Anita to come out from under her covers with a smile and a laugh. He looked forward to being here a long time.