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 Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 6:29 pm
Three cats, two toms and a female named Bessy, a perfect garden with award winning roses, a nice job as a secretary, and enough money to make life reasonably comfortable, and Gwen was finally ready for her next big project. She was almost thirty five, after all. Of course, no prince charming had come along and swept her off of her feet, but she was smarter than that. One didn't need a man to live a fulfilling life.
But one did need a child. Oh the joys a child would bring, she thought happily as she looked over her check list. The room was set up, a pretty little affair in white and sunshine yellow. She had gotten all of the child rearing books she could find at the library and read them during her lunch breaks at work, and she had looked into schools. And then she had gone looking for a child.
She had found one, actually, at the library working hard on his homework. He had been such a polite little boy! And so very good looking! She had asked him about his mother, but he had told her he didn't have one, just a father who was a physical education teacher at his school. A child with a single parent growing up so well? It was beyond her imagination. So she had asked him if he had been adopted.
He had been. And he had even been kind enough to tell her where she could get a child like him!
Well yes, she thought as she sprayed the large cabbage she had gotten from the place, she hadn't been expecting... vegetation. But he had seemed such an honest little fellow, she told herself. No doubt that a child just as honest and upstanding would come out of this cabbage! She smiled, sitting down next to the cabbage and pushing the button on her remote control.
Classic music filtered through the air. She reached over, picking up the how-to of parenting book she had been reading and checked the list again. There were educational toys waiting in the baby's room, as well as flash cards and other classical music cds.
Yes, she thought, she had heard stories of women having trouble raising a child on their own. But she wasn't one of those women, she assured herself. She was quite competent and nicely set up. She would be perfectly able to raise a child on her own.
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:52 pm
"Can I help you?" Tyler asked calmly as he caught sight of the woman looking at the school blankly. She had a sheet of paper in her hand, and he recognized it immediately. "Ma'am?"
The woman glanced up, looking a bit flustered for a moment before she shoved her glasses up her rather sharp nose, clearing her throat. "Yes, actually," she said. "I was told that daycare was free for a... special children?"
"You have a special child?" he asked, casually glancing behind her at the one remaining car in the parkinglot.
"Well, no," she said, pushing on her glasses again. "But I'm going to soon. I'm now taking care of a, ah... cabbage," she said lowly, looking left, then right. "I know it sounds crazy, but--"
"No, it's not crazy," he said. "In fact, a while back I had one of my own. Is yours in the car, then?"
"Yes, actually, it's so dreadfully cold out right now, after all," she said, looking a bit nervous. "Um, I'm sorry, but can I ask... who are you, exactly?"
He laughed, surprised. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tyler Deakon, the school custodian here. I was just cleaning up the playground before I headed home."
"Oh, well then, it's very nice to meet you, Mr. Deakon," she said, offering her hand. They shook.
"You might want to come back during the day, I'm afraid. Right now there's only a few teachers finishing up their cleaning."
"Oh, I'm afraid I can't," she admitted. "I'm saving up my days off for when my child's been... hatched."
"Ah, yeah, I guess that would be a problem," he agreed. "So you've looked over all the paperwork?" he asked. "And you realize what cabbage kids are like right?"
"Oh, yes," she said. "I met a delightful one before I adopted. His name was Antony, I believe?"
"Ah," he said. "Antony's a good example, I suppose. Nice kid. Good babysitter, too. He likes to stay with the little ones and read them stories while Shade's cleaning up the gym."
"Shade?" she repeated. "That's an... unusual name."
"Oh, he's a great guy," Tyler said. "He and Antony are usual dinner guests at my wife's and mine. They don't even complain about the lack of red meat."
"Oh, you're a vegetarian?" she asked. "It's such a healthy way of living. I've always contemplated becoming one."
"Ah, yeah," he said. "I--"
"Daddy!" two voices called at once, making her jump.
"Oh! You have twins?" she asked. Then something appeared beside Tyler, walking like an ape. It--he, she realized as she looked closer, sat down next to Tyler and grinned at her, showing large, dangerous looking teeth.
"Oh--oh my," she said, feeling a bit faint. "Is that your... your pet?"
"It's my son," Tyler said, his voice turning cold. "Chris isn't a pet."
"Oh," she said. "I see." She took a deep breath and a step back. "You know, you're right. I do believe I should come back during the day." Then she turned and almost ran to the car. There was no way in hades she was going to let her child go to a school like that!
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Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 8:06 am
Flustered, yes, flustered was a good word. She wasn't in shock. She proved this to herself as she talked to the cabbage while flipping through television channels. Children's entertainment was something she needed to look into before her child grew. She didn't want her baby watching the wrong things, after all!
"Let's see..." she said, pulling up the guide. "Cartoon network," she read. "Okay, children watch cartoons, so I'll see what's on!" She changed the channel, waiting patiently as a cartoon about toys flashed over the tv. Then the show started.
It was about slightly goofy looking people riding around on a ship--was that a pirate flag? She gasped in shock as she took in the skull and crossbones, then gasped again as the main character stretched his body. Like rubber! Well, she told herself, perhaps that wasn't so different from most cartoo--
Oh my dear, she thought as the green haired one pulled out three-yes, three deadly looking blades and sliced people up with them! "No!" she almost shouted, changing the channel. There was no way she was going to let a child of hers watch something so violent, so wrong, so--
"Okay," she said. "Breathe..." She took a few deep breaths, calming herself. "I'll just have to block that channel," she decided. "And see what else there is to watch."
She flipped through the guide again. "Oh! Disney Channel!" she said, smiling. "Disney is perfect!" She had grown up on Mickey Mouse, herself! She smiled broadly as she selected the channel, expecting something cute, such as Goofy or Donald.
Then she stopped, her eyes widening in horror at the sight of a drunken pirate chugging from an unmarked bottle. She promptly turned the TV off.
Now listen, cabbage," she told it, shaking a finger at it. "Piracy should not be glorified. It is bad! It is nothing but stealing and drinking and--and carousing! Do not let television mislead you on this!"
"Oh, dear, what am I saying? You're not even born yet," she said, flushing brightly. "Now let's go put you in the sun again, shall we?" She picked up the cabbage, grunting slightly at the weight. "And I'll look into edutainment videos that you can watch."
Inside the cabbage a little girl slept on, completely unaware of just how her new "mommy" was going to be. And a tiny little flicker of light appeared next to her hand.
"Oh dear," Gwen said. "You've gotten warmer. I hope you don't have a fever."
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:48 am
It was one of her worst fears, honestly, but she had no choice. Gwen had to leave the cabbage unattended while she was at work. It would change once the child was grown, she promised herself as she fumbled with her keys, trying to unlock the door quickly. She was on her lunch break, which was when she usually came to check in on the cabbage.
The key fell and she made an irritated little sound, leaning over to pick it up and once again take on the formidable lock. Finally she managed to get it undone, telling herself that she was being silly. There was no reason to rush. The cabbage was in a wonderful spot right next to the window so that the sun could reach it. She had even set up the auto-mister system to spray every half hour, to keep it from drying out. Things would be--
She stepped into the room, only to jerk to a halt at the sight of the cabbage cracked in two, with nothing inside. "Oh... dear," she said. "Oh dear, did they give me a defective cabbage? Perhaps I should call--"
She jerked as she heard something crash in her bedroom. "Burglars," she whispered, digging out her pepper spray from her purse and holding it in a white knuckle grip. She started forward, cat walking, or attempting to in her sturdy black pumps. Slowly she reached the half closed door, pushing it open and wincing as it made a noise.
"Stop!" she yelled, holding up the small bottle, aimed far too high for this particular thief. She stared in shock at the tiny little girl sitting on the floor next to her bed, surrounded by all of her costume jewelry. She looked up at Gwen guiltily, even though she was wearing one of her bracelets and a tiny bead necklace.
"Oh... oh dear," Gwen said. "Oh dear--" She was BEAUTIFUL! "Are you--are you my little girl?" she asked, pressing a shaking hand to her chest as her heart beat erratically.
The little girl smiled so broadly that it was almost blinding. "Mommy!" she said, getting to her feet a bit unsteadily and running over. She almost tripped on a fallen bracelet, but managed to avoid it. "Mommy!" she repeated again, throwing herself at Gwen's legs.
Gwen stared in surprise, then stopped, her eyes widening as she took in something attached to her beautiful little girl's bottom. Her baby... had a tail!
She took another step back, making the little girl look up at her in confusion. "Mommy?"
"It's nothing, baby," Gwen said, forcing a smile. Maybe surgery could remove it? Or maybe they could pass it off as a belt? Or-- "Mommy needs to make a call, baby, can you wait here?"
"Otay!" she said, toddling back to the jewelry she had been so happily pillaging. Gwen headed for the phone, intent on calling her boss and telling him that she wouldn't be able to come in for the rest of the day.
Then she called Liberty Center, arranging for her tailed baby to be enrolled. The last thing she did was realize something very important.
The baby needed a name.
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Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:47 am
Little girls liked jewelry, and the box she had gotten into was full of glass beads and semi-precious stones that weren't worth very much, so she had only gotten a little "you shouldn't get into mommy's stuff without permission" comment in punishment. Gwen was actually happy she seemed so preoccupied with the beads, especially when she proved old enough to realize that she shouldn't put things in her mouth.
At the moment the little girl was sitting in the front room, playing dressup as her mother thought furiously. "Georgina," she said, then shook her head. "No, I never really liked second cousin George... Mikeala... no, I mean, it's pretty, but somehow it just doesn't fit... How about--" She stopped, her eyes catching on a photograph of her and her father from long ago. "Pauline," she said, smiling.
"Baby?" she asked, moving back to the little girl and crouching down. "Do you like the name Pauline?"
Polly merely lifted a shiny set of beads, holding it up to the light to see how they shone. "Then Pauline it is," Gwen said. "Or Polly, for short. Polly?"
The little girl looked up. "Polly!" she repeated dutifully before promptly pulling the beads over her head. By this time she was so laden down with jewelry that Gwen had to shake her head in dry amusement. Well, she was definitely female, she thought.
"I bet you're hungry," she said. "You stay here and play while I go find us something to eat." Would she be able to eat solids? She looked old enough! She would probably need to be told how to, but Gwen was certain that it would all work out.
For a long moment Polly was happy to play with her shinies. Her tail twitched behind her, the large feathers floating in the air before landing softly on the ground. It was, to the one cat awake that early in the day, the ultimate cat toy.
Bessy pounced, batting at the gigantic feathers and rolling onto her back to play. The tail twitched again and she batted again, having the most fun she had ever had. Then it moved, sliding away from her, begging for her to give chase.
For a moment shock at the feel of tiny fangs sinking into her tail held poor Polly completely still. And then she YOWLED. She screamed so loud and angrily that it made the glass in the house shake, threatening to break.
"What is it? What is it?" Gwen demanded as she raced back into the front room. The last thing she saw was a blur of gray as Bessy ran for her life from the loud creature with the beautiful tail. "Oh, baby!" she said, heading for Polly. "It's okay! It's okay! Kitty just wanted to play!"
"I..." Polly said, wiping angrily at her tears of pain. "No. Like. Kitty!"
"Oh dear," Gwen said.
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Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:56 am
Quote: Build-a-NOT A KITTY: After taking Polly to get her tail checked Gwen takes her out to ice cream and to build-a-bear. They meet Sophia.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:40 am
Compilation nabbed from TB again^^ Quote: Demon Fire Bug Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen ---------------------------------------------------------- Aurora was busy putting her coat and things into her little cubbyhole, already looking for Chris. She was very used to being dropped off here while her mom went to work, then picked up at the end of the day. But that's okay! She had friends here! And Chris wasn't had to spot. Chris saw her almost as fast as she saw him, and he loped over, once again showing that he was starting to grow out of his baby clumsiness. His movement seemed natural, and showed that he would be a lot faster when he was bigger. "Hiya, Rory," he said as he sat down to tug his coat and gloves off. The duel voices distracted little Polly from where her mother was trying not to look traumatized by the situation. "And if anyone says, or does anything to you, you just tell your teachers, and--" "Otay otay," Polly said, tugging at the arm Gwen held. "I want go see people!" "Hi Chris," Rory said, favoring him with a smile. The little necklace he gave her was around her neck as she wore it proudly. "What we do today?" she asked before spotting someone new. Her eyes were drawn to the bright orange colors and the feather tail. And that had her distracted. "Oh! Look! A new person with a tail too!" she then said. Tails weren't that uncommon, but this tail was different! It had feathers on it! "And most importantly," Gwen said. "Be careful of dangerous looking strangers." "Otay!" Polly said, then raced towards Chris the moment she was free. Gwen almost cried then and there. Unfortunately she had no choice, she thought as she glimpsed at her watch. She had to get to work. Hopefully the caretakers would keep her little girl safe. "I Polly!" Polly announced as she got to the two, shoving her thumb at her chest. "Who you?" "I Rory! This is Chris!" she said, grinning at the new girl, though it was a shy grin. The shyness always happened with new people, though she was no less eager to meet new people. "I like your tail!" Polly grinned. "Tank you," she said. "but Kitty bit, so I no like Kitty." Obviously she was NEVER going to forget that for the rest of her LIFE. "Kitty?" Chris asked, making Polly's eyes go wide at the double voice. "Bad Kitty," Polly said. "Mmmm, well, no kitties here," Rory said with a little nod. Then, seeing as Polly was still in her outdoor clothes, she patted a cubbyhole next to hers. "You wanna put your stuff here? Then we can play!" "Okay!" Polly said cheerfully, tugging her coat and gloves off inexpertly. She wound up getting tangled in the coat and glaring at it angrily. It made Chris blink. "You is young?" he asked as he gently extracted her from the offensive material. She didn't SEEM young... but at the same time— "It okay, though," Rory said, as she helped Polly with the coat as well, directing Polly's arms out of the sleeves as Chris took it off. It was neat to meet someone younger than herself! "You'll learn!" Once the coat was off, Rory took it, folded it, and to put it in the cubby with the gloves. Polly flushed slightly. "Well... I not big like you," she told him. "But I big enough!" Chris laughed, amused by her. "We go in room now," he said as he got to all fours and led them in. "We have playtime first!" "You have pretty shiny!" Polly said, distracted by the light hitting Rory's necklace. "Chris gave me as gift!" Rory said, flushing with pleasure as her hand touched the necklace. She started to walk into the room. "Come! We play now!" she said, grinning at her new friend. "Okay!" She wanted the shiny. But--but-- She looked over at the big boy waiting for them patiently. She figured he was Chris, and he would maybe get mad if she took the shiny... Oh the dilemma... But the sight of the colorful room distracted her easily enough. "She distracted," Chris stated. Rory grinned. "She is, isn't she? I don't think we color," she said. Polly didn't look like one that wanted to sit and play. She looked to Chris. "What we play? Hide-n-seek?" "What we hide?" Polly asked, shining that brilliant smile of hers full force at Rory. She was thinking like a pirate, not that she realized that. "Shinies! We hide shinies and go find?" Rory giggled. "No, two of us hide and one looks for. But we could get something that one could hide, and the other two seek for!" It was like a whole new game to her. She wasn't even thinking her necklace as the shiny. "Oooooh," Polly said, finally catching sight of Chris's earring. She moved forward, about to take it. "Pretttttyyyyy shiny." "No, no," Chris said, gently grabbing her hand before she took the earring. "Need that shiny." "But--" "No," he said firmly. "We hide..." He looked around. "Puppy toy," he decided, heading for the small plushie and picking it up. "I hide first!" "Okay!" Rory said, deciding that her necklace was safer in her shirt, and tucked it there. "We'll cover our eyes while you hide, Chris. You tell us when done." Then she turned to Polly. "And to make sure we not cheating, I cover your eyes, and you cover mine!" she said, gently placing her hands over Polly's golden eyes. She left them cracked so that Polly could see to do the same, and see doing that. "Okay!" Polly said, covering the other girl's eyes with her hands. She was so close to the shinyyyy... it was as if it were calling to her! But no! It was Rory's and Rory was her new friend! Right? "Mmmm..." Rory was getting bored just standing there, her hands closed over Polly's eyes once Polly blinded her. "You have any shinnies?" "I got necklace and bracelet and belt!" Polly bragged. "Mommy gave them to me." She hadn't really, but she hadn't taken them away, either, so Polly considered them hers now. "Ok, is ready!" Chris said. "Cool!" Rory said, then removed her hands from Polly's eyes. "Let's go find it now!" She blinked slightly at the light. "Okay!" Polly agreed, turning to start the search. She had resisted temptation, she thought proudly. And then she saw the shiny on Chris's ear again. It was sooooo shinyyy... She almost reached for it, only to stop as she realized something. "What puppy look like?" "Um, it was about this big," Rory said, holding her hands apart in a size. "'N brown and white. But if you think what you find is it, bring it to Chris!" she then suggested proudly. "Okay!" Polly said. Chris was covering his earring with one huge hand, having figured out what she had been about to do before asking. "You go that way," he told her, pointing away from him. Rory snickered. "We after puppy, come on," she said, taking Polly's hand to pull her away from Chris and to where he might have hidden it. "Let's look for it! How ever finds it, wins!" "Okay," Polly said, starting to search for the puppy. She was very thorough, looking under everything she could pick up. Then she got to her belly to look under the stuff she couldn't. Rory was trying to look high, since Chris was tall. But he was also considerate, so she had to look low too. Everything was moved and replaced as she looked. Her tail swished around as she looked. "Found it!" Polly said from where she was under the little table. Her feathery tail was in the air, flicking back and forth happily. "I found puppy!" she said, crawling out and grinning at them both, the puppy in her hands. "Yay!" Rory said, though she was disappointed that she didn't find the puppy. "You're a good finder! We hide it again?" "I hide this time!" Polly said. "You cover eyes!" she ordered them, looking around for a place to hide it, her tail twitching happily as she did so. Chris agreeably sat down and held up hands for Rory to press her eyes against. Rory did just that, and went on her tiptoes to cover Chris's eyes. "Okay! Hide away!" she said. Her tail twitched again. This was kinda fun! For a second Polly was about to do that. Then she realized that Chris's eyes were covered and his hands were occupied so she snuck over close, being as silent as possible, and tugged his earring off. Chris jerked away from Rory quickly, turning to glower at Polly, but Polly was already racing away. "I got shiny!!" she called happily. Rory gasped as she realized what happened. "Polly! That not nice!" she said, getting up to go after Polly, and asked her to give it back. She was running better and better the more she played. And walking with Chris, you had to be fast. "Polly no put on!" Chris said, chasing after her. If it made him weak it would do horrible things to other people, right? Well, maybe? "Is shiny!" Polly said, holding it up to the light with a look of awe. "It is, but it Chris's," Rory said, a bit worriedly. She hadn't had anything taken like this from anyone before. But... maybe after she looked, she would give it back? "So, you need to give it back to him," she pointed out. "Give back," Chris said, holding out his hand. "I need shiny." "But--but--" "I show," he said, looking around for something disposable to crush. He went to the metal trashcan in the corner and lightly gripped the rim. It contorted as if it were play dough. "Shiny make that not happen." Polly's eyes were huge. "Uh huh, so shiny very impo'tant, so Chris no hurt other on accident," Rory said, adding to that. Now she smiled at Polly, since the other girl didn't know. It was okay, as long as she returned it. Polly nodded, handing over the earring to Chris. "I sorry," she said. "But was so shiny--" "Is ok," Chris said holding the earring carefully in his palm. "Rory?" he asked a little helplessly, holding the hand out to her. The last thing he wanted was to break it! "We find you something else shiny that would be okay for you to take," Rory said, taking the earring and carefully clipping it on Chris's ear. Her tongue stuck out as she did this too. Then she turned to Polly. All was forgiven. "It okay, you didn't know!" she said seriously, and grinned happily. "Okay!" Polly agreed, grinning brightly once again. "This time I really hide puppy!" she decided. "Okay! And maybe I get to find it this time!" Rory said happily. Then, in full trust of the other girl, she went to hide Chris' eyes again. See? That wasn't bad at all! And they were still friends, at the end of it all.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:24 am
One thing led to another and Polly and Gwen found themselves sitting in an office at the local Wal-mart, explaining why Polly had thought she could take the fake necklace without paying for it. Since she was a little one, though, all she got was a gentle lecture on having her mommy pay for things before she took them home.
Gwen was not happy. She refused to talk to Polly the entire way home, and it made Polly worried. She looked down at her hands, kicking her feet slightly as she wondered why her mommy was so mad. Didn't she understand how much Polly liked shinies? And shinies liked Polly! They did!
Gwen pulled into the driveway of their small home, reaching over to unbuckle the little girl from her booster seat, then get out and let her out of the car. She still didn't say a word. She grabbed the bag of food from the back and used her hip to close the car door before the two of them headed into the house.
Polly waited as Gwen put the food away in the kitchen, sitting at the table, her legs hanging well above the floor. "Mommy?" she asked hesitantly. "Are you--are you mad?"
"Yes, Polly," Gwen said. "I am. What did I tell you about taking things that don't belong to you?"
"Um, not to?" she asked. "But they were--"
"No, Polly. I said no."
"But--" She stopped. "I sowwy," she whispered. It wasn't because she thought she was wrong, it was because she was sorry she made Gwen mad.
"Well, that--that's better," Gwen said, taking a deep breath. "Now you need a bath."
"A bath?"
"That's right," Gwen said, walking over and picking up the little girl. "You're starting to stink." She carried the little girl towards the bathroom, sitting her on the toilet as she started to fill the tub. "Now take your clothes off."
"Okay!" Polly said, cheering up instantly as she shucked her clothing. She liked being naked! Clothes were too stiff and restraining.
"Now get in the tub," Gwen said, motioning Polly over.
Polly climbed slowly into the tub, sitting down in the water and looking at it curiously. Then something strange happened. The water started to steam.
"Oh dear, I didn't think I made it that hot," Gwen said, turning on the cold water to cool it down. She scrubbed the little girl down quickly, then started to wash her hair. That's when the complaining started.
"It burns!" Polly complained, trying to squirm out of reach.
"It's okay, Polly, we just have to wash--"
"It hurts my eyes!!" the little girl screamed. "It burns!! It burns!"
Gwen grabbed a cloth, wiping the soap out of Polly's eyes even as she mentally groaned. This just was so much more work than she had expected...
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:29 am
RP compilation from TB^^ Quote: Poor Little Polly Players: Trinityblue, Ice Queen ---------------------------------------------------------- Usually come playground Polly was the first out the door, heading for the jungle gym as if her life depended on her getting there first. She was wild and crazy, and had no fear whatsoever about even the scariest of the playground equipment. But for some reason Polly was dragging that day. She had brought a toy for show and tell, a gator plush that had a necklace around his neck and pirate pants, boots, and coat. It even had a plumed hat sitting on its head. She seemed quite attached to the thing, hugging it even as she slowly climbed, one handed, up the side of the jungle gym. Then she sat there, hugging the toy tightly. Aurora had noticed her friend's change with a growing concern. She was never upset for a long time! But this... this had been going on for a while now. All day in fact! And it wasn't right! That's why Rory went up the jungle gym again, braving it to speak to the usually wild girl. "Hi, Polly," she greeted, sitting just below the girl, clinging to the bar that as level with her head. "What wrong? I like your toy," she said, hoping that Polly would snap back into her normally happy self. "His name Gatorboy," she said, hugging the toy a little tighter and trying to force a smile. "He my friend." She really was in the dumps. "Hello, Gatorboy," Rory said to the toy, smiling at them both. But the smile didn't last long. She looked at her friend, a little more in concern now. "I brought you some shinies," she said, sounding more cheerful as she reached into her coat pocket, pulling out the fake jewels that were used on kid things. They were shiny to her! And pretty with all their different colors. That distracted Polly and she flashed a real smile at her friend. "For me?" she asked, reaching for them. "Tankyou!!" "Uh huh! And we can hide them, later, and go look for them!" Rory said, happy to see the smile on the other girl's face. It made things right, some how. "Otay!" she said, before offering Gatorboy to Rory. "You want play with him?" she offered generously. "He cuddly!" "He neat lookin!" Rory's face had brightened with the offer, and she took the toy, hugging on him. "He looks kinda like my mama! She green too!" "Mommy don't like him," Polly said, sobering up with the thought. "She wanted me make kitty, but I no like kitty. I like gator!" "Well, you no like kitties, right? So, of course you didn't want a kitty," Rory said, looking up at her friend. There went that happiness. Polly sighed. "Is hard," she admitted, her bottom lip trembling as she fingered the shinies that Rory had handed her. "I like shinies, and they like me, so I pick them up! And then there's lights and beeps and Mommy gets mad and people no like me," she finished. "And--and then Mommy no talk to me all way home and then--and then I no want bath but she make me take and my hair hurt and--" Rory, very bravely and with her arm wrapped around the bar, reached out and patted Polly on the leg (it being the closest place to her). "So your mommy wasn't happy with you?" she said with a small sigh. "Sometimes I do things that are bad too, and mama scolds me, and tells me why I shouldn't do what I did," she said, as if that would help explain things to Polly and make her not feel lonely. "Your mama no tell you what was wrong?" "I can't help it!" Polly wailed. "I like shinies!!" In other words Gwen had gone over and over again about the fact that she shouldn't take shinnies, but it hadn't sunk in very well. "An--and brush hurts!" It kept getting caught on her feathers and pulling! "Awwww!" the other girl replied, in deepest sympathy. She knew the evilness of brushes! "Maybe your mama should get a comb thing! They nicer," she nodded, then decided to comment to the shiny thing. "And other people no know that you 'n shinies like each other. And maybe those shinies were impo'tant to someone, like Chris'," she said. Though it didn't make her feel any better. "I sorry..... but those are for you! You can keep those shinies!" Polly nodded, still pouting. "I dun... I dun think Mommy likes me much," she said softly. It was one of those fears that had been growing inside of her, and it had finally come out. She wanted to hear that it was crazy, that she was imagining things. Mommies were supposed to love their little girls! "But.. but that's silly!" Rory said, not knowing that she was echoing Polly wants. "Mommies are suppose ta love their kids! Even if they look different!" she said, sounding both upset and defensive of this. "Chris's mommy loves him! My mama loves me! And-and-and it's just silly not too!" Polly smiled, wanting desperately to believe it. "Right!" she agreed before pulling one of the shiny necklaces over her head. "I silly," she said. As if that summed up the problem. Still, there was a faint shadow in those golden eyes of hers. It didn't look as if it was going to go away.
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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:30 am
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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:16 pm
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Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:58 am
Snow Play Ze'zee had taken Aurora to the park to play. It was good to get away from the house, get out and get some real fresh air. Currently Ze was sitting on a bench while Aurora was off in the play ground, playing in the snow. Rory was going to make a snow man. It was something she had seen others do and she wanted to try it! But, well, she didn't know how it started, so she was piling snow up, like one would sand. Occasionally she'd stop to rub her hands together and rewarm them through the gloves. "Is coooollllldddd," Christian complained as Missy led him through the snow and into the park. "Don't like cold!" "But it'll be fun, Chris!" Missy said. "You get to see Rory!" "See Rory somewhere warm!" Chris protested. "Tired of cold, want warm!" "I know, I know," Missy said, laughing at him. "You're such a baby, Chris." "Dun' like cold," Chris repeated irritably. Across the street Polly was sitting patiently on a bench as her mother finished her meal. She had already finished her own. At the sight of Chris, though, she stood, yelling happily. "Christian!!" "Hi Chris!" Rory said, abandoning her snow man to join her friend the moment she saw him. "Can't say I don't agree with him. I don't like the cold myself," Ze'zee said, grinning. The voice carried well in the park, making Rory look around for whom it belonged too. Then she saw the fire colored girl and grinned. "Look! It's Polly!" she called, waving to the other girl, even if she wasn't called for. Heck, Chris was so easy to see. "I go over there," Polly told her mom. "Look both ways before crossing the street!" Gwen said. She was so stressed out after the past few weeks of being a mother that she didn't even think about her daughter playing with freaky children. Any moment of peace was one that she was desperate to grab. Polly headed for the street, looking one way, then the other before dashing across. Chris grabbed her before she could trip over the curb, picking her up and setting her down again so she was stable. "Hiii Rory!" Polly said. She had gotten used to Chris doing that after a while at school. "Hii!" Rory grinned, coming up and throwing her arms around the other girl in a hug. She was at a stage where she would hug people she liked and wasn't shy with. "Wanna play? I trying to make a snow man!" she asked them both. "It involve snow?" Chris asked skeptically. "Ok! We play!!" Polly said cheerfully as she hugged Rory back. "We make snow man!" Then she paused. "What snowman?" "Mmm, I saw it in the yard next door! It was tall and kinda lumpy lookin and it has sticks for arms and a carrot nose!" Rory told her happilly, patting Chris on the shoulder. "You got carrot?" Chris asked, being extremely logical since, let's face it, he didn't WANT to mess with the snow more than he had to! "You got sticks?" "I find sticks!" Polly said, heading into the park to look for fallen sticks that they could use. "But is too cold to find carrot!" Chris said, intent on pointing that out. "Carrots hide during winter." "Christian," Missy said, torn between scolding and laughing at him. His fear of cold always struck her as funny, since he was so bold about everything else. "After this, I say we find a place that sells hot chocolate," Ze'zee said, rubbing her hands together. She did find it amusing as well, even if she was cold and not liking it! Rory stuck her tongue out at Chris in a playful tease. "We can find something else for the nose!" she told him brightly. "You can look for something to use or you can put together the snow!" "I look, I look," Christian said before lumbering off to see if he could find something that looked vaguely nose-like. He took his sweet time about searching, too, because he didn't want to start on the snow part of the snow man. "I found sticks!!" Polly called, holding up two. She had a larger one at her feet. "I even find one for tail!!" Because obviously, three kids with tails would make a snowman with a tail! "A tail?" Rory asked, blinking at the bigger stick. "The other one didn't have tail.. But ours can!" she said, because it only made since to her. Chris, Polly and her mama and her all had tails, after all! But poor Chris! He didn't like snow, but she wasn't going to make him touch it! If it could be helped. She then went back to piling the snow. She didn't know that you had to roll it around to get it into the right shape for a snow man. Chris was picking up rocks in a nearby garden, looking at them for a moment, and tossing them over his shoulder to discard them. None of them looked like noses to him! "What else we need?" Polly asked excitedly. "I help get snow, too?" she asked. "Uh huh! You can help! Chris wont want too, he hates snow," Rory answered, packing snow onto the snow man. "We gotta get the body built, then we can put on the arms and tail and nose! ... Shoulda told Chris to get some rocks for eyes." "Uh huh!" Polly said, getting on her knees and starting to drag the snow into a pile. There was one little problem with that, though. The snow she grabbed melted into water as soon as she touched it. "Ummm... it no like me," she said, holding up her dripping fingers. "Awwww..." Rory pouted. It looked like she was the only one putting the snow together. Then she got an idea. "Okay then! You can look for eyes!" she said. "It's an important task! The snow man needs to see!" "Okay! I go find eyes!" Polly said before racing off to the rocky area where Chris was still sitting. The boy had a stone held delicately between his thumb and his forefinger and he was looking at it closely. "It allllmossttt look like nose," he said. "Just got no nose holes. I keep looking!" Rory heard him and snickered. "Chris!! It doesn't have to have nose holes! It'll work!" Heck, she wasn't picky, really, so anything would work. Her tail gave an amused wag. "Okay, okay," he said, picking the stone up and heading over to hand it to her. "Now what I do?" he asked as he sat down. Thankfully his snow pants were nice and waterproof. Rory grinned at him. "You can help build!" she told him. "Polly can't, cuz it melts," Why, she wasn't even going to question. Just that it did was enough for her. "So, that leaves you!" Now it was her turn to tease him about something. He kept calling her little! Chris pouted, then started dragging the snow into a pile. "What snowman look like?" he asked. "Is big pile of snow?" "I found eyes!" Polly called, holding up a handful of rocks. None of them matched. "Lots of eyes!!" "Good! We can use two for eyes, and use the others for a dotted smile!" Rory said happily to Polly. Then she looked at her odd shapped snow man. "Well... it had a round head, and kinda round middle, and big bottom!" "Lemme guess," Chris said with childish dryness. "Bottom was round too?" "Do I got big butt?" Polly asked, turning to look at her bottom. Her tail flicked behind her, blocking her view. "Hey you!" she complained, grabbing for her tail. "You in way!" Chris sighed. "You is too little to have big butt," he told her seriously. "You wait till bigger to ask that." "Yes, it was kinda, and squished looking," Rory answered Chris, she didn't see it being made, after all. Then snickered again at Polly, but looked over her own shoulder. "I to little to ask if I have big butt too?" she asked, looking at her own butt. Her tail was much smaller, so it didn't block her view. "Uh huh," Chris said, thinking about the problem. "We roll snow!" he decided. "Will get bigger that way. Like... um... tape ball!" When he had played with a tape ball, they'd probably never find out. "Okay!" Polly said. Then she pouted. "It no like me." "Mmm, you can cheer us on!" Rory told Polly, so that she wouldn't be left out in the snow play so much so. "And Chris and I roll snow!" She had never thought of that, really! She rolled dough, so knew how to do that. Rolling snow couldn't be much different. With that idea in mind, she got a snow ball in her hand, she started to roll it up and around. "Was three balls?" Chris asked as he reluctantly started rolling a snowball. "All same size?" "Good job rolling! Yay! yay!" Polly said happily. She clapped her hands and stomped her feet to add to the cheering. "One big, at the bottom, one not so big and one small," Rory said, now that her mental image had the shape as balls. This was so much easier! She then grinned at Polly for all the cheering. "Okay, okay," Chris said, starting to roll his ball so it got bigger. He looked at Polly. "Why you no do snow part?" he asked curiously. "Why it no like you?" "It turn water," Polly said. "It melts?" Chris supplied. "Yeah! It melts!" she repeated. "And I get wet." "Which I told you about, Chris," Rory called, stopping as she had a good sized ball of snow. It wasn't as big as Chris' was getting, however. Then she started on a smaller one. "But didn't tell me why it melt," Chris said, looking curiously at Polly. "You is got power or something?" "I dunno," Polly said as she started lining up her stones on the ground. "Bath water get steamy, too." "Huh," Chris said. "Polly might be different, too." "Oh...." Rory said, suddenly sounding a little sad. Wisp had something special she could do, and Chris was really really strong. And now Polly could heat things up. All she was, was small. But she decided not to let this show, because Polly might get upset and there was no point in upsetting Polly! "So you heat up things up?" she asked Polly. "Guess so," Polly said. It didn't seem that interesting to her. "He need hat!" she decided before turning to look for something that vaguely looked like a hat. "I done," Chris said, standing over a huge ball of snow. "I done too!" Rory said, and tried to lift the medium sized ball of snow. She then fell on her butt. Chris sighed. "I get it," he said as he walked over, picking up the ball and placing it on his. "You do third?" "I get--" Polly stopped, mere seconds away from touching the ball of snow. "I no get it." "It's okay!" Rory said, as she was able to lift the small ball. "You can put on the arms and tail and things!" "Okay!" Polly said, running over to the limb that would make the tail. She dragged it behind her as she came back, leaving wet footsteps and a trail in the snow from the limb. "He get nice tail!" she said proudly. "Will cover up big butt." Chris let Rory put the head on, wondering if they could go somewhere warm. The whole snowman thing was utterly lost on him. "Okay!" Rory said as she took the extra rocks and made a mouth into a happy face. "You can put on the two eyes and the nose, Polly!" the other girl wasn't able to do much. "Okay!" Polly said, standing on tiptoe to put the stones in place. The nose went on upside down, but Chris was so cold that he didn't even care. "We go get cocoa now?" he asked the mothers, hopefully. Polly looked around for her own mother, noticing her still sitting across the street with a book in her hand. "I should--I should go. Bye, bye!" she said before heading to where her mother was. Rory frowned slightly, looking to where they were going. Then she waved to Polly. "Bye bye!" she called, though she wanted to keep playing. Then she looked at Chris. "See? If you had hugged her, you woulda been warm! If snow melts, then she'd gotta be warm!" Ze'zee was watching where Polly ran to, even as she spoke. "Well, I could really go some something and someplace warm right now. I'm not used to the cold at all." "Yes, that sounds very good," Missy said, watching the little redhead as well. There was a frown on her face. The woman that Polly was heading for barely looked up as the little girl crossed the street. Missy didn't like that one bit. She almost jumped as Chris slipped his hand into hers, watching the redhead as well. "Polly," he said quietly, and not very happily. "Her mommy not nice." "I.... I don't like her, very much. She not nice with Polly," Rory muttered, holding on to Ze'zee's hand. Then she looked up. "Mama! You go and adobt Polly away from her! You're a good mama!" Ze started at that, horrified that a little girl would even think that. "Aurora!" Missy took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Why don't we all go get hot chocolate now? It'll warm us all up." Chris looked at her, smiling crookedly. It was as if he knew exactly what she was doing. "Okay, I need warm." Ze'zee clamed with that statment, giving a smile to Missy. "I agree completely," she said, patting the hood on Rory's head. Rory looked confused. Why was Chris smiling like that? Maybe he was just happy to be getting warm.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:08 am
Gwen didn't know what to do. She couldn't handle it anymore, not after finding her precious cats hiding under the house in nineteen degree weather. They refused to come out, staring at her with horrified shining eyes that gleamed in the shadows and pulling farther into the hole when she tried to call them. Polly had gotten to them again.
She had been in more store offices in the past month than she had ever imagined, trying to explain why, and how, her toddler daughter had stolen earrings or a necklace, or even a wristwatch in one case from inside the counter. She hadn't even remembered going by the counter to begin with. But Polly had gotten to it again.
Polly's friends were all freaks, unnatural beings that gave Gwen the willies just to look at them. Especially that Christian boy, she thought as she looked at the glass of whiskey she was drinking. The alcohol gleamed gold in the light, just like Polly's eyes. She cursed and downed the entire shot. She couldn't handle it anymore. She was going to have to take her back.
It was night, well past ten, and it was the only time Gwen got any peace, since Polly was in bed. This used to be the time when she was curled up on her couch with her cats, reading some torrential romance novel before she went to bed, so she could dream of happily ever afters, without having to deal with all the trouble that came with them. But now, she thought as she poured herself another shot, she couldn't even manage that.
She kicked her feet up on the coffee table, downing the shotglass like a pro, and wondering just how one went about taking a child back to the nursery. What would she tell them? That the little girl scared her cats, stole things, and just looked at her in such a--such a hopeful way that it made her feel sick to her stomach. She couldn't be the mother Polly wanted. She couldn't. She just couldn't!
She took a deep breath. In the morning, she promised herself. She would take Polly back to the orphanage in the--
The trail of smoke reached her rather drunken senses first. She looked around in confusion, wondering if she had forgotten something on the stove. But she hadn't been cooking. The smell got stronger, and then, making her scream in shock, the sprinklers went off, pouring ice cold water over her. It soaked into her clothes and she stood, her hair rapidly drenched and falling out of its bun.
"Polly?" she demanded, heading drunkenly for the little girl's room. She was mentally sober, but her body was still catching up. "Polly, are you okay?"
There, sitting on the bed with the charred remains of her toy gator, was a sobbing little girl. The bedsheets were black in a circle around her, and the smoke rose from the area, showing just what--if not the how--had happened.
"Gat--Gator Boy," Polly whimpered, holding up the toy. "He got hurt."
Gwen fell to her knees and started to bawl.
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:40 am
She hadn't understood the things her mommy had said when they were talking to the man at the desk. She had been too busy looking around the place. It was sortta like one of those rooms they were taken into after the loud noise went off. But she did understand when she was led off. Away from her mommy.
"Mommy?" she asked, starting to panic.
"I'm so--sorry," Gwen said before turning her back on the little girl and walking out of the room. Away from Polly.
"Mommy?" Polly asked again. "Did I--was I bad again? I won't be--Mommy? You're coming back, right? Like school--MOMMY!!"
And then her mommy was gone. Something was different this time, she thought. Usually she was fine with her mommy leaving her behind, because she knew where she was. School was like that. Mommy went away and she played with Chris and Rory. But this wasn't school. And she found herself being led to a room filled with cribs.
It was boring. There was too much white and not nearly enough clutter, and she could practically feel the eyes of the other kids on her, watching her through the bars.
Somewhere along the way the man that had escorted her out of the room had switched places with a woman dressed in blue and white. She was trying to talk to Polly, but for some reason Polly just couldn't understand. Something was wrong, she kept repeating to herself. Mommy hadn't just left her, no. Of course she hadn't--
"Was it me?" she asked softly, tears filling her eyes. "I didn't mean to burn the bed! And--and Gator Boy got hurt and--"
She found herself placed in one of the empty cribs, her head patted gently. She didn't even notice it as she hugged the ratty, charred toy to her chest. She only noticed it when someone tried to take it from her. "No!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Gator Boy is mine!"
They stopped trying to take it. She curled into herself, hugging the toy to her chest. Mommy would come back soon, she told herself. Mommy would come back soon.
Her eyes closed slowly and her breathing evened out. Exhaustion from the stress put her to sleep as easily as that.
The sister that had led her in and put her in one of the cribs sighed, rubbing her temple slightly. Her name was Yvonne, she was a tall, somewhat skinny black woman with orange and black braids pulled up in a strict bun. She was new to the job. That, she told herself firmly, was why she was so heartbroken by this case. The poor child, she thought, her full lips. She wouldn't let go of the toy, either.
Yvonne told herself that she needed to ask the senior sisters what to do about this case. She had no idea, herself. She moved closer, looking at the toy the girl was clutching so tightly. It was an alligator dressed as a pirate...
Maybe she could find a replacement.
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:07 am
Quote: Hey, Little Girl...: A visit from the ghost of the well, Lilly, which cheers poor little Polly up.
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