10"Riley, do you need anything else?" Jarod asked, peering over the blonde girl's shoulder to see what her guests had ordered on the screen of her till.
Riley reached over to grab a medium-sized cup lid and covered the medium Pepsi for her guests. It was the last thing that the young couple in front of her had ordered. She gave a half smile to Jarod and shook her head as she slid the pop across the counter to her awaiting customers .
"There you go. Any straws or napkins you might need are on the blue tables at the entrance of the theatres. Enjoy your show." Riley recited. She'd only said it about 80 times so far this shift. The ongoing life of a concession worker.
In case you haven't guessed, Riley Doerkson worked in the concession at a multi-plex movie theatre, and Jarod was a fellow worker. The guests that she'd just waited on were the last of the seven o'clock rush, and Riley was now busying herself by wiping off her counter, which was splattered with pop. She wasn't aware that she was being watched. Not a stalker sort of watch, just the surveying, can't-really-NOT-look-at-you kind of watch. And Jarod was doing it.
Riley was in her full working uniform: black shoes, black socks, black pants, black shirt, and her pink-highlighted blonde corn-rows were hidden under her black hat that completed the outfit. The usually content look on her clear face and happy deep blue eyes attracted looks from many. She wasn't shy, and she didn't mind the looks. Sometimes she was sure that she wanted them, and because she knew people looked at her she was always trying to be smiling or cheerful or helpful. It worked usually, and no one really hated her.
Though those at school didn't hate her, they couldn't keep from teasing her either. Doerkson? Really, what kind of last name was that? Riley had no clue why her mother actually took her father's name, but either way Riley was stuck with it. She'd been teased about it for about. . . ever, but in the past year she'd become more accustomed to being called 'Dork' finding it more complimenting then insulting, but so far no one at work knew her last name. Luckily.
Riley peered at her screen and tried to press the 'Main Menu' button, but somehow managed to miss that and hit the 'Print Receipt' button that was beside it. It was the third time that night. She looked over at the small machine connected to the till beside her as it printed the receipt, then looked at Jarod.
"Oops. Sorry." Riled smiled a bit as Jarod shook his head and unattached the receipt. Riled proceeded to wipe off her pop tower, and was distracted when the receipt with red writing on it was placed in front of her. The writing formed the word 'Hi!', and Riley rolled her eyes at Jarod before answering back; Hey, what's up?
She smiled and Jarod laughed, and then realized that they didn't really have any guest's to wait on, so she decided to sweep. Popcorn is a very picky thing. It hates its rightful place in the popper, but loves the ground, and because Riley didn't mind the job she was often the one to sweep up the mess.
"Gees Jarod. Do you really think they pay you for doing nothing?" Riley chided him as she passed him to reach the broom. He was writing a response on the receipt but looked up and laughed.
"They did yesterday!" He called after her, which made her roll her eyes again and chuckle. Jarod was a nice guy. If she got to know him better and such she thought he'd be pretty good to go out with. Not that she really needed that sort of thing right now. I mean, she was 16 and could date, but it just wasn't a really big priority.
Riley shook her head of such thoughts and started sweeping. She hadn't gotten to five sweeps of her broom when a worried voice stopped her.
"Excuse me, could I have a glass of water please?" Riley looked up to see a worried woman's face. She was holding a girl of about three who looked flushed and plain sick. Riley put the broom down and after getting a water cup she went to the tap.
"Right away. Is everything ok ma'am?" She asked as she waited for the cup to be filled. The woman felt her child's forehead.
"She's burning up. She was fine about 20 minutes ago, and the milk bottle she had didn't seem to bother her. My husband's gone to get the car and I just wanted to see if water might help." Riley nodded and handed the woman the cup. The poor child, children always were a soft spot of Riley's.
"Here you are. I hope she feels better." Riley said with a sincere and sympathetic smile.
"Me too. Thank-you dear." Riley watched as the woman went to get a straw and noticed how that child started to whimper.
Riley picked up her broom and started sweeping again. She got to Jarod's till quite fast, only being stopped once for a popcorn re-fill and once more to tell someone the time. Jarod was putting another thing of popcorn in the machine, and Riley stopped sweeping for a second. She rested her hands on the end of the broom and her chin on her hands.
"There was the cutest little girl over there that was sick and I felt so bad for her." Riley reported, and Jarod raised his eyebrows.
"Awww, you like kids too?" Jarod asked, and he smiled at Riley's confused nod. "You like cleaning, and kids. . . you'll make one man very happy one day!"
"HA!" Riley said, on a count of having nothing else to say. At least she hadn't said 'Super-cali-fraga-listic-expliali-docious.' Mary Poppins was definitely a favourite movie of hers. Really though, who complimented 'motherhood' skills?
A couple guests came and Jarod had to focus on them, so Riley finished sweeping and picked up the dustpan and broom to pick up the mess. As she finished she noticed that the garbage needed to be thrown out, so she tied up the bag and brought it to the garbage room. It was becoming a familiar room to Riley, with its horrid smell and sticky floor. She tossed the bag into the bin thing that connected to the hole in the wall, much like a garbage chute, and slammed the door shut wanting it to keep in the smell too. Which of course it. . . did, surprisingly.
Riley had been noticing that more often now. For some reason it always things that things she wanted to happen happened. Smells go away, people stop complaining, or stop mouthing off, different things like that. Riley never really understood it, but she never complained.
She exited the room and headed back for the concession when she saw Derek, one of the managers. He was looking for something in the bar, but when he glanced at Riley he nodded and smiled while starting to walk towards her.
"Riley! Just the girl I was looking for." Derek called, then stopped his walk and motioned for her to follow him.
"Hey Derek. What's going on?" She asked as she fell into step behind him.
"Well, you have a . . . package." He said hesitantly. As if it were hard to choose the right word to say.
"For real?" Riley asked. He could be lying. Jokes around here were defiantly not out-lawed.
"Oh yeah. You just wait and see for yourself." Derek said with wide innocent eyes and an honest nod as he led Riley to the back office. Nothing more passed between the two, except for a curious glance at Riley from Derek before he typed in the code and pushed the door open.
Riley blinked, confused, as a furious wailing met her years. Riles looked at Derek, widely puzzled. He ushered her in, and Riley turned the corner to see Greg, another manager, scowling at the cause of the noise and Callie, yet another manager, leaning over a car-seat, trying to calm the screaming child.
"Poor kid. Who's is it?" Riley asked Derek over the screams. She could tell that the child just wanted to be held.
" ." Derek answered bluntly. Riley raised her eyebrows.
"What?"
"That's your package. Is he your brother or something?" Derek asked, and Callie looked up at Riley, a sympathetic look on her face for the screaming child.
"I'm an only child. . ." Riley muttered, staring at the red-faced screaming infant.
"He just showed up at the back door, and he won't be quite for anything." Callie offered, stepping away from the car-seat.
Riley was about to ask why they thought the child belonged to her when she saw and envelope with her name on it stuck in between the child's left side and the car-seat.
Riley's deep blue eyes looked quickly at each of the managers, who were all looking at her to see what she'd do. She really had no idea. Some idiot was playing the worst joke ever. She was in the middle of a shift, and she'd just gotten her G2 license the week before. . . Riley loved being a January baby.
"First things first," Riley muttered. She could be confused later. Now there was a screaming baby that she had to take care of. That sounded weird.
Riley picked the child up carefully, forcefully wanting it to be quiet. Right away it shushed and settled into Riley's arms.
"Well," Callie commented, "it sure seems to belong to you."
"I'm 16. I've never even had a boyfriend yet." Riley said defensively. She glanced down at the kid anyways, all of a sudden getting the feeling that he was a boy. And she was sure of herself, but she wasn't sure how natural that feeling was.
"Tell ya what." Derek offered, confused himself, "I'll give you the rest of your shift off. Go home, relax, and take care of anything that needs to be fixed."
Riley didn't hesitate to take that offer. Five minutes later she had her uniform off and her jeans and white tank thing on with her side bad over her shoulder and the car-seat in her hands against her hip. Her pink- streaked blonde cornrowed hair was let down reaching halfway down her back. She quickly walked passed the bar and towards the back entrance.
"Riley, where ya going?" Jarod asked from behind the counter, his last word emphasizing two syllables as Riley turned towards him with a half smile and he eyed the baby. "Is it yours?"
"No! . . . kinda. . . " Riley shook her head and turned, calling over her shoulder, "I'll explain it to you when I know what's going on."
Riley quickly pushed the back doors open, then one more set before she carefully descended the steps outside and making her way towards her slightly old mustang convertible. What's that? You're asking why she has that car when she just got her license? Riley was an only grandchild, and an only child. Therefore for her 16th birthday, her parents and grandparents chipped in to get her the car. And boy she loved it.
Riley unlocked the red convertible and opened the door. She pushed the front seat forward and strapped the baby seat in the back seat the way she was supposed to, and after tossing her shoulder bag on the back seat beside the car-seat she noticed the envelope with her name on it again.
"There now. Good little guy." Riley soothed the baby as she took the envelope from beside him. She eyed him for a second with the envelope in her hands, "you're going to need a name, aren't you?"
Riley thought for a second, not knowing if it was her place to name him or not. She sighed then put the seat back and sat down. She settled in and turned the key in the ignition, the car roared to life. She let it warm up and raised the roof. Riley didn't know if too much wind was bad for babies or what, but just to be safe, she put all the windows up leaving them open only a crack.
Riley was about to pull out of her parking spot, when her curiosity got the best of her. She couldn't not open the envelope, and the small bulge in it turned out to be a small silver cell phone.
"How very Matrix of you." Riley commented, to the phone mostly.
She let the phone rest in her lap, and backed out of her parking spot. She made her way through the lot, and was about to pull onto the road when a robotic version of 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game' started chirping from the silver phone in her lap.
"Hello?" Riley asked tentatively after she'd pulled onto the road and stared at the phone complainingly before turning it on.
"Hello?" A familiar voice echoed, "Hello, Riley? Darling?"
"Mom?!" Riley couldn't believe that her mother would do this to her.
"Riley, good-"
"Mom, what have you done? Gotten me a brother?" Riley asked rapidly, slightly angered.
"No, but -Listen. Where are you honey?"
"I'm in my car coming home with a baby in the back seat! Where did you think I'd be, at the circus?" Riley couldn't keep the sarcasm from coming through. It always showed when she was frustrated especially.
"Oh Riley. Enough sarcasm." Her mother fairly pleaded.
"Sorry, but what's gotten-" Riley found it harder then usual, trying to concentrate on driving and talking at the same time.
"Wait, did you say you were coming home?" Her mother interrupted, almost desperate.
"Yeah, why?"
"Don't! Don't come home, don't call home, don't tell anyone where you live. If anyone asks, tell them one of our old addresses."
"What?" Riley said, exasperated.
"Honey, I'm serious now. I don't know when I'll see you next, or if I even will. Stay with Grant, keep moving. Go to the airport and take the first flight available, and stay away from other children!" Mrs. Doerkson said, trying to think of everything.
"Grant? Who? Why? Mom, I only have fifty bucks in my account." Riley offered as an excuse.
"Grant's the child. I've put enough money in your account, don't worry. . . oh I shouldn't have rambled. . . "
Riley slammed on the brakes and pulled off the road. She was now scared witless and close to hyperventilation. "Rambled?! You haven't said anything sane, Mom!"
"I love you. I have to go. Someone'll help you, and you won't be as confused. You can do this." Riley let out a whining cry. "Oh, and water only for you and Grant. Just water-"
Riley pressed to phone closer to her ear, then away to look at it in rapid succession. The screen was now blank, and a loud noise caused Riley to look up and notice a plane going by. She was really close to the airport, and frowned as she guessed that the plane interfered with her call.
"It's alright," Riley said in a now lost and confused voice to the baby. Grant, now. Riley stared ahead, not seeing anything, thinking of what she should do. Of course she was going to listen to her mom, but it was still all ridiculous. And it gave her no time to realize that Grant was the name she had planned on naming her first born. Not that that was going to be soon.
- - - - -
Walking down the street of London, England, no one would notice anything different, or new, or special. They would see regular people, maybe some street beggars, a good many motorcars and that of the like, but that is something you would see every day.
London people get used to seeing the same thing everyday, and the problem was that they weren't looking for anything different. If they were, they might notice one man in particular. His strut was almost overly pronounced, and his jaw was set in a fierce arrogant stance. If you thought about the way he acted, one might have come to the conclusion that he was trying to memorize the city at a glance.
Which, of course, was precisely what he was trying to do.
The way to London was easier then he thought it would have been. And he was proud of his accomplishments so far. As was he proud to be free of the clones of his homeland. For only being in this world for a week so far, he had more expectations, and had bigger things to plan. For the whole week he'd been rooming at the most exclusive hotel in London, and the payment for each night had been 'On The House'. Why? He'd wanted them to be.
Which also happened to be the reason that he had to walk out of the way of no one. The first day he hadn't Wanted the people out of his way, but having to dodge people as he walked all day memorizing the city had become quite a nuisance. It was a quickly fixed one, though.
He stopped when he saw the sign for a store that sported a small phone. At least, he'd figured that out when he'd Wanted to. Quickly, taking no more then 15 minutes, he had his own new phone, as most of the other travelers around him had. It was a communication device, and if his brothers could get through to this world to, they needed a way to get a hold of him.
The past couple days, a plan had come to his mind. He was in this world, and could become more then anything he could've hoped for at home, and he had the most brilliant idea at how to become so. He turned his mesmerizing brown eyes to the people walking around him, and smiled at one who looked like he knew his way around.
"Excuse me sir, but could I bother you to ask where the local bank might be?" He listened with extreme concentration to the instructions. Totally unaware that as he spoke, his brothers were coming through to this world, and bringing with them more then they had bargained for.
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-Lellida: You rock, and you get a bag of skittles for being my first reviewer, lol. Thanks for the tip, I went and changed it to 'mother of the next Hero.' And it was all because of you, so you should feel special!
-Moon860: No problem reading you story! And it's like The Golden Compass a lot(Which is an AMAZING book and trilogy) The whole Animae thing, the hiding in the closet, the friend she goes to being a boy. . . at least, that's what I think. But it was good. I hope you like it when you read it.
Well guys, it'll take a bit longer to get the next Chapter up because I only have half of it written, but I will be as quick as I can. Thanks, and hope you come back!