Heaven & Earth – Chapter 1
2006-Mar-17, Friday 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
msmoon
Drained
Ok. Here’s another story post. It’s the first chapter of that Heaven & Earth story (the last story post on that was a prologue). So here. Too tired to dress it up =.=
Fandom: City of Heroes (MMORPG)
Title: Heaven & Earth
Chapter: Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell...Uh, Highschool
Rating: PG+
Warnings: Language here and there.
Wordcount: 3,300
Disclaimers: I don’t own the rights to City of Heroes. The nice people at Play NCSoft do. But all my CoH characters are mine. All concepts of the races that I use are copyrighted to me, and I will be quite upset if you try to use them. So do us all a favor and don't. Thanks.
Leila panted heavily as she ran to school. Her heavy book bag thudded against her back noisily with every hurried footfall. Normal people might get aggravated with that, but Leila didn’t have time to get aggravated right now! Once she got to her first class she’d punish the back pack. She swatted at her messy bangs as they fell into her face. Her dirty, dish-water blond hair usually was placed in a neat, tight bun right behind her head; however, today in her haste, she hadn’t tightened the bun enough, and it was falling quickly into her hazel eyes. Normally, that wouldn’t really bother her, but as she ran it would get stuck right underneath the rim of her glasses. So annoying!
“Hey!” she looked over her shoulder to see that she’d just past some very confused looking Hellions.
“Sorry! No time now! Later!” she shouted back. She barely heard one of them laughing raucously, no doubt from the sheer absurdity of the entire situation. Hellions were well known for shaking down citizens and giving low-level heroes a run for their money. They were great practice when going into the Hero business, one might say. Normally she wouldn’t have hesitated to skid to a stop, and give them a good thrashing...as Atomicaa of course. Atomicaa was her alter ego, her hero personality. And she hated that she was going to do nothing about it, but right now her education was more pressing.
Three more blocks of solid running, and she was finally at school, though that didn’t assure any measure of safety. Paragon High was a mini version of the city; there were villains, pedestrians, and heroes all getting their first shot of real life. Racing through the halls, she pivoted at a corner and practically launched herself towards the classroom doorway.
Of course, the problem came when she realized the room was much closer than she’d calculated. She had a strange habit of her mind shouting useless facts at her while her body froze when such surprises came. She almost laughed when her brain spit out ‘A body in motion tends to stay in motion.’ as she went sailing into the room. She tensed up, expecting to crash into something hard or fall on the floor.
But she was blocked by something...something that was firm yet soft...and there was a strong arm across her back. She peeked up to find herself looking up at the underside of an impressive set of breasts. Her arms were securely wrapped around this girl’s waste, the girl locking her in place with one strong arm.
“Miss. Masters, I’m sure everyone is eager to welcome our newest student, but could you please refrain from attack her in your zealousness?” Mrs. Stevens said tersely. The rest of the class chuckled.
Leila sprung away from the new girl embarrassed. “I’m so sorry!” she apologized, then turned to the teacher. “The power went out in my neighborhood last night, and my alarm didn’t go off, and I worked late so I was more tired than usual this morning—”
“That’s all right, Miss. Masters.” The teacher said. Leila easily recognized the look of pity in the teacher’s eyes. She should probably detest that look, but she’d learned to use other people’s pity to her advantage. “As an apology, you will be responsible for Miss. Phobos here.” She said motioning to the girl Leila has run into. “Please make sure she knows everything she needs to know.” Mrs. Stevens said evenly with a small smile. Mrs. Stevens was one of the teachers that didn’t really relate well to Leila because of Leila’s lack of interest in socialization. That meant she was always encouraging her to be more social.
“Sure, no problem.” Leila said nodding. She knew it was better than some other activities the teacher could suggest as punishment.
Leila let her book sack fall unceremoniously next to her desk (part of the punishment she’d mentioned earlier), and sat down. The new girl set her things on the desk to Leila’s left and went to the front of the class.
“Everyone, this is Calla Phobos. She is new, so be nice whenever you see her.” Mrs. Stevens announced motioning to the new girl. Calla wasn’t like most of the other 16 year-old girls. She was very tall with broad shoulders and a solid-looking frame. Her thick black hair reached just below her waist, and deep violet eyes portrayed only an unconcerned air about her. Her skin was an even olive color, which set off her all black attire very well. Though her black jeans were baggy with silver chains all over them, her top was very tight, which showed off her chiseled torso. Calla gave a street-nod to everyone, and plopped herself down in her desk. Leila half cringed. She hoped this girl wasn’t the silent, tough-girl with something to prove type.
“All right now! Let’s get started.” The teacher said.
“So, uh, what’s your next class?” Leila asked once Life Skills was over.
“Language Arts with Mr. Li.” Calla responded evenly as she looked at her schedule paper. Leila was shocked at how deep her voice was. She could all most feel the sound reverberating through her skull.
“Oh, uh, that’s my next class too.” She said rising and leading the way out. “And after that?”
“Gym.”
“Hm. I have Mr. Sanato’s Algebra 1.” She said making a face.
“It’s no big deal. I think I can find a huge gym room full of sweaty cheer leaders by myself.” Calla responded with a shrug.
Leila giggled. “You don’t seem like the cheerleader type...” she observed.
“No, but I can always smell ‘em a mile away.” Calla said with a grin. “So what’s Mr. Li like?”
“Kind of strict in his standards, but he believes that all writing is ‘expressing the creativity of the soul’.”
“Wow. Sounds like he’s said that a few times.”
“You’ve no idea.” She said with a shake of her head. “If your writing is good, he gives you good marks, but he is a bit anal about grammar and the correct use of terms. However…there’ve been a few times when I turned in something that was a really good paper, but not so good with grammar, and he overlooked the grammar because the paper was so good.” She elaborated. “So, what do you have for 4th period?”
“World Geography A.”
“Oh, good, me too.”
“5th is Chemistry A”
“That’s when I have gym.”
“6th is Algebra 1.” Calla went on.
“I have French 1 A then.”
“And 7th is German 1 A.”
“...You’re taking German?” Leila asked giving the girl a once-over.
“I thought it might be something valuable to have...in case I run into any 5th Column Nazi creeps, I can call them cock-bites in their own language.”
Leila stared at the girl wide-eyed for a minute, then turned beet red and laughed.
“What about you for 7th?” Calla asked with a smile.
“Huh? Oh, Chemistry A with Ms. Hebert.”
“I’m sorry.” Calla replied sarcastically.
“I’m not.” Leila said with a smile. “I like Chemistry.”
Calla stared for a moment then shrugged. “Suppose someone has to.” She announced rotating her shoulders as if she had a cramp she needed to work out. “The only thing I really want to know...”
“Yeah?”
“When do you have lunch?”
Leila smiled politely. “After 3rd period.”
Calla nodded. “Same here. Good. I’ll look for you.”
Leila smiled. Calla may not look like a good friend, but she seemed quite tolerant of Leila’s weirdness...or maybe she just wanted to make sure she had someone to show her around and explain things to her...either way, time would tell.
Ariel plopped down at the lunch table and winced.
“Ow!” she groaned petulantly. “Note to self: Do not flop on uncomfortable chairs.” She glanced over at Akira. “What’s so bloody interesting?” she groused flinging her strawberry blond hair out of her face.
Akira hadn’t taken her eyes off her objective. “Mission, remember?”
“Oh, mission, shmishion.” That certainly earned her a death glare from her ‘friend’.
“Don’t say that.” She scolded hotly, her fierce brown eyes snapping. “We’ve been entrusted with a mission by Lord Kaze. Normally girls our age don’t have this opportunity. Never within our order at least.” With that said, she returned to her reconnaissance.
Ariel gave her a withering stare. “Kir? It’s bloody high school. That, in itself, makes it a mission.”
Akira just rolled her eyes. The two girls had very little in common really. Akira was Japanese in every sense of the word: very smart (both academically and in appearance), slender, with medium length black hair that was so fine it bounced and flipped at every turn of her head. She dressed modestly but very well for a girl her age.
Ariel on the other hand was born and raised in Texas. She had long, wavy, strawberry blond hair and beautiful green eyes. Her fair skin was dusted with freckles here and there, and she was only an inch taller than Akira at five foot five. However, they were in the same order, and that meant they were stuck with each other.
Their ‘conversation’ was interrupted when Tierra, Kenneth, and Kathryn came over with their lunches. Tiera was an imposing sight. She was almost six foot tall and very well muscled. At five foot eleven she scared off most guys her own age. Her long, dark brown hair was kept in a permanent pony-tail (at least no one ever saw it down). Kenneth and Kathryn were twins. Both had mouse-brown hair, though Kenneth’s was cut neatly short, and Kathryn’s dangled onto her shoulders. Kathryn was five foot four and slender (the type that would be blown away in a hurricane); thankfully, the twins’ similarities ended there. Kenneth was six foot two and muscled.
“How’s it going?” Kathryn asked.
“You mean the mission or the mission?” Ariel asked sarcastically. Kathryn exchanged a confused look with her brother before Akira intervened.
“Ignore her. Our target is over there. She’s in the company of another girl.” She answered.
“Do we know who?” Tierra asked.
“Leila Masters, sixteen, five foot three, small, timid, high scholastic achievements.” Akira rattled off, still not taking her eyes off her ‘mission’.
“Not to mention a terrible sense of fashion do’s and don’ts.” Ariel added looking over Leila’s clothes. The tiny girl was wearing baggy army-green pants and a faded back shirt that was at least three sizes too big.
“That doesn’t sound like someone she’d hang around with...” Kathryn said between sipping her Hi-C. “Wonder what she’s up to.”
“Maybe she just made friends with her or something.” Kenneth suggested. He took a bite of his sandwich, chewed, and swallowed before he realized they were all staring at him. “...Though highly unlikely...” he continued. “It is entirely possible that it’s just a coincidence.”
“There’s no such thing.” Ariel reminded quickly. “Fate can be subtle, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t exist.”
“That’s awfully zen.” Tierra observed. “A quote?”
“Observation.” Ariel drawled faking a smug grin.
Akira sighed. “Either way, it just means there’s another person we’ll have to watch.”
“Kira, we’ve only got 20 more minutes.” Ariel reminded. “You might want to stop watching and eat.”
Akira blinked. “Oh, goodness...”
“Don’t worry. We all have periods with her. She can’t go anywhere in this school without us knowing.” Ariel reminded. “Hello...” she said, mostly speaking to herself. “Who’s that joining them?”
“How was your gym class?” Leila asked hoping to keep conversation going.
Calla swallowed the bite she’d taken and nodded. “Ok. I think the teacher thinks I’m gonna be some power-house competitor and help this school out with some extra curricular sports activity or something though.”
“Oh? You don’t intend to?”
Calla shook her head. “Nah. I can play sports fine, but they’re not really my thing.” She announced easily. “What about you? You like sports?”
Leila chuckled with a dry humor. “Uh, no. I’m not very athletic. Volleyball is my best sport, and I do enjoy playing it, but everyone here’s way too competitive for me to actually consider doing it seriously.”
“I hear ya.” Calla said. “Sports are supposed to be fun, after all. Otherwise, who’d want to play them?”
“Exactly!” Leila said with a giggle.
“Excuse me?” The two looked up as a girl approached their table.
“Yeah?” Calla asked.
“So, did you find the gym?” She asked. Her glossy red hair seemed to dance even under the florescent lighting. Or maybe it was just her smile.
“Oh, yeah. I did, thanks.”
“I know you too, don’t I?” The girl asked looking to Leila.
“Uh, yeah, we both have Language Arts together...”
“That’s right! I saw you two sitting next to each other.” She said pointing between the two as realization dawned on her. “I’m Gilianna, by the way. Gilianna Driscol.”
“Calla Phobos, as you know.”
“And I’m Leila—”
“Like the song?” Gilianna asked with a grin. The two girls looked at her confused. “You know...Leila! You’ve got me on my knees! Leila!” she sang out with a smile.
Leila stared for a moment then laughed shaking her head. “God, I hope not!”
Gilianna giggled. “Do you mind if I join you?” she asked.
“Not at all.” Leila said with a smile. She hardly talked to anyone at school ever. Today was becoming better and better. “Oh, you don’t mind, do you, Calla?” she asked.
“Nah. The more the merrier.”
“Great.” Gilianna said sitting down. “So, where’s your next class, Calla?”
“World Geography A.” Calla announced.
“With Mr. Trenton?” Gilianna asked. Calla only nodded. “God bless you, you poor thing.” She murmured shaking her head.
“Another strict teacher?” Calla asked, directing her question to Leila.
“Uh...well he can be. You just have to know your stuff is all.”
“Know your stuff?” Gilianna asked. “He requires that everyone know the capitol of every country in the world, and you have to be able to ramble them off on queue anytime he calls on you.”
“...yeah, but...it’s not that hard.” Leila said, feeling a bit bad. She realized Gilianna must not be very into the whole learning process. She’d guessed that might be the case as the girl was known for her social contacts more than her academics...
“It is for me.” Gilianna said her amber eyes taking on a self-disappointed look. “I just can’t keep them all in my head. Can’t think of a way to relate the capitols to their countries.”
“I don’t suck at geography in general...” Calla said. “But then I’ve traveled some in my childhood.”
“Oh really?” Gilianna said interested. “I’ve always wanted to travel. If only to be able to connect something to the countries and their capitols.”
“I use strange ways to connect them. Like whenever I see India, I think ‘they need a new deli’.”
Leila laughed. “I get it. New Deli is the capitol of India.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s clever.” Gilianna announced. “Why didn’t I think of something like that?”
“My older brother used to go through the capitols with me when I was a lot younger...” Calla said. “Don’t you think you could get your parents to help you out with that?”
Gilianna rolled her eyes shaking her head. “Oh, no. My dad’s splitsvill and my mom doesn’t have the time or energy to care.”
“Huh. Well, then I guess it’s up to us to help you out with that.” Calla said as if it were nothing to consider.
“Really?” Gilianna asked hopefully.
Calla shrugged. “Why not?” She looked over at Leila. “Would you mind? I mean, we’d probably have to do it on our own time after school, and you did say you had a job.”
Leila thought it over for a few seconds and nodded. “I can work my own hours, so it wouldn’t be a problem…besides...it’s not like I have that many friends vying for my time.”
“Well, you do now.” Calla announced in that strange non-emotional tone that somehow made the comment seem weird.
“Really?” this time it was Leila’s turn to look hopeful.
“Why not? Everyone around here seems scared of me.” Calla observed.
“Yeah!” Gilianna said. “And no one here really cares about me. I go home and have a TV waiting for me. That’s it. Besides...” she looked between the other two. “At least with you two, I’m pretty sure you’re not being my friends for any other reason than because you want to be my friends. You seem like an honest pair.”
Leila smiled as she thought it over. “All right. We’ll meet after school then?”
“Absolutely.” Gilianna said, Calla only nodded.
“What’s your next class, Gilianna?” Calla asked.
“Ung.” Gilianna groaned. “Gym.” She announced. “After that it’s Chem. then Life Skills and then German.”
“So, we have 5th and 7th period together.” Calla announced.
“You and I have 2nd and 3rd period together too.” Leila said with a nod as she thought it over.
“We all have 2nd together.” Gilianna reminded.
“Too true.” Calla said. She looked at her watch and scowled. “And we’ve only got 10 minutes left of lunch.”
“Verdammen Sie*.” Gilianna swore under her breath.
“Do you not like gym?” Leila asked.
“I love sports, I just hate the company.” Gilianna grumbled, digging into her lunch.
Leila made a sympathetic face. Then she noticed something odd at a near-by table. “Hey, Calla? Is it just me or are those people staring at us?”
Calla looked up and the other people all feigned looking elsewhere. “I dunno.” She said, though her eyes narrowed. “Maybe they think Gilianna looks funny or something.” She joked.
Gilianna pretended to glare at her. “That’s the last time I bring chicken noodle soup for lunch.” She announced.
Leila scampered up to Calla and Gilianna who were waiting for her near her last class.
“Sorry.” She apologized struggling to keep her book sack on her back. “Teacher needed to speak to me.”
“You aren’t in trouble, are you?” Gilianna asked slightly concerned.
“No, nothing like that.” Leila assured.
“Contrary to your experience, Gill, sometimes teachers talk to their students to encourage them.” Calla joked.
“Funny.” Gilianna said with a smirk. “So, where are we heading?”
“Well, it needs to be a quiet place where we won’t be bothered.” Leila said.
“My apartment is huge, but people are always calling for my mom.” Gilianna announced grouchily.
“My apartment’s tiny and usually quiet, but the neighborhood isn’t the greatest...” Leila said, uneasy about admitting it.
“So either my place or the local grave yard.”
The two other girls chuckled until they realized Call was serious.
“You’re serious?” Gilianna asked.
Calla shrugged. “No one hangs out in a graveyard, and the only time you have to worry about other people is if there’s a funeral.”
Leila blinked and nodded as she considered that. “True...”
“But we can go ahead and go to my place, if you like. Keep the graveyard in reserve till my brother starts being a pain.”
“You sure?” Gilianna asked.
“Yeah, I just have to make a call.” She said pulling out her cell phone.
“Cool.” Leila said with a shrug.
“So, uh, you live alone?” Gilianna asked.
“Yeah.”
“Did you move out of your parents place or something?”
“Uh, no. My parents died when the Rikti invaded.”
“Oh!...Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“I know...it’s ok.” Silence prevailed for a while. Finally Calla returned.
“He should be here soon.” She said look towards the street.
“Who should be here soon?” Leila asked. Just as they hit the sidewalk, a limo pulled up right in front of them.
“...You have a limo?” Gilianna asked slightly stunned.
“My brother got it for me for this month. At least while we live so far away, and while I’m still unfamiliar with the town and all.” Calla said with a shrug. “He’s always afraid someone will jump me.”
“Hey, in Paragon that’s a realistic fear.” Gilianna reminded.
“Yeah, but in my case, I may just kill the poor bastard and then where would we be?” Calla said with a grin before disappearing into the limo. Gilianna and Leila looked at each other then shrugged and jumped in as well.
Verdammen Sie – German for ‘Damn’ ...I think.
Ok, love to hang, gotta go, bye.