Musings of a Teenage Cynic

[Surya Barbados]

Thursday, 9:15 AM

Dad says he wants to go on a "family daytrip", you know, do some shopping, get some lunch. So far I have not been able to get out of it. I may have to kill myself.

9:28 AM

I flossed this morning and now I've got that blood taste in my mouth. Mom says it's because I don't floss everyday. Question: Can you bleed to death from a cut gum?

Surya put down her pen and slammed her worn notebook shut. SHe lay idly on the grass of one of Coruscants many parks for a moment and then reopened the writing tablet.

9:30 AM

Hook and Weasel (mom and dad, hee hee) think that I am at school. What they do not know is that I am never going to school again. Part of it is in protest; I told mom that I wanted to register as 'Surya Barbados' for school. She said my name is Curtch. I said no, I'm adopted so it's not my REAL name. SHe said it's legal. Just because something's legal, doesn't mean that it's real. Besides, 'Barbados' sounds much more exciting than 'Curtch'.

The other reason that I am never going to school again is that my boobs have grown again. It's awful, I look like I've got stolen melons up my shirt. All the boys just stare. So unless I tape them down (ouch!) I will have to become a hermit. Or a topless dancer.

9:31 AM

Question: What would it be like to kiss a boy? Also, how much do topless dancers get paid?

There was a bit of a breeze this morning and Surya shivered as the creak-creak of empty swings reached her ears. Her jet-black hair was tied loosely back from her pale face. Surya's curious eyes darted about and finally rested on a blonde woman playing with her young son.

9:32 AM

Hook and Weasel are both blondey-blonde, tanny-tan, bluey-blue eyes sort of people. I have got really pale skin and really dark hair and ugly eyes, like a witch. Still, I suppose I'd rather be a witchy-witch looking person than a blondey-blonde, tanny-tan, bluey-blue eyes one.

p.s

I wish my face was not so round and moonish.

9:40 AM

HAHAHAHAHA! A boy has just fallen off his hoverboard trying to do a fancy trick.

The fourteen year old smiled and then pushed herself into a cross-legged position. Surya was bored already, after only an hour and a half. Writing in her journal was not nearly as satisfying when there was no one about trying to stop her. She traced the impression of imprinted grass on her legs with feigned intrest and then stopped immediatly as a man walked into the park. The girl reached hastily for her pen.

9:47 AM

Strange bloke has just walked by. He may be a murderer. If I die I want my body to be preserved for scientic research. My journal should be burned and it's ashes scattered around our backyard so that my thoughts haunt our house for all eternity.

9:49 AM

He's just sat on MY bench!!!!!!!!

Surya stared with absolute horror as the character sat down on her favorite spot. It was just an ordinary bench, like the other hundreds on the planet, except that this one had a little plaque on it which read, "To Zoovi, I'm sorry we killed you, From Us." Surya had written many stories about Zoovi and Us, and regarded the seat as something... sacred.

9:53 AM

I am furious.

9:54 AM

I'm going to tell him!! I hope he's not Us or else they'll have to put another plaque on the bench, right next to Zoovi's. "To Surya..."

9:56 AM

I've given myself the willies.

With a determined set about her, Surya marched over to the man, clutching her journal in her hands, and cleared her throat.

Hem, Hem.

"Excuse me, but you're sitting on my bench."

[Jacob Nives]

The man looked up from his news spread and quirked a brow. He looked left, he looked right, apparently searching for something. After a moments thought, his gaze turned upwards to the girl.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t see your name on it, but by all means...”

The paper in his lap was folded in two and he rose to his feet. It became apparent quickly that he was tall. Very tall, and broad for that matter. Perhaps the murderer analogy had been correct, because he certainly would have been capable of wrestling someone to the ground without so much as thinking of breaking a sweat. Somehow, he managed to manage this thuggish air whilst also wearing a smile. It was unnerving.

It looked as though he was going to walk away when he, jerking a thumb back at the bench, asked (in that same aristocratic lowerclass mishmash Basic):

“Did you know Zoovi?”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya did not answer right away. Instead she opened her book and looked cryptically at the man, all the while writing very quickly in her loopy script.

10:00 AM-ish

Murderer is trying to be intimidating. If I were taller I would laugh.

She looked pointedly at him as if to say, it was you I was writing about just then, but merely flopped down onto the bench and ran a finger over the cool surfurce of the plaque. With a raised eyebrow Surya shrugged.

"Did you?"

Her pen lifted in her hand, ready to write.

[Jacob Nives]

Jacob tucked his paper beneath his arms and looked off somewhere into the mid-distance. There wasn’t anything going on there, per say, but it seemed better than staring back down into the incredulous gaze of the girl. There was something about teenagers that he had never quite understood, despite having been one himself. They had become the world’s greatest solipsists without even realizing it.

“Maybe. Hard to say.”

[Surya Barbados]

Frowning, Surya lifted her feet off the ground and lay them on the bench, spreading out so that there was no space left on the it.

10:00 AM-ish

Definetly a murderer. Have taken preventice measures. Am prepared to scream.

Note: He is also a blondey-blonde type of person. Do they multiply overnight? And if so, why are they always tall?

With a lound 'hmmph' she turned her eyes back upwards, squinting as the sun caught her gaze squarely.

"It's only hard to say if you've done it. And don't even think about my plaque because I am fully trained in the art of self-defense."

Right, she'd stab him with her pen and then swat him over the head with the diary if he tried anything funny.

10:00 AM-ish again

Ha ha ha.

[Jacob Nives]

Eyes narrowing, Jacob didn’t bother to hide his perplexed frown. As a Force user, he was continually exposed to bits and pieces of thoughts, though most where from random sources and even when he did concentrate on them it took a while to organize them into some coherent form. Right now, he was hearing some odd things.

With a smirk, he nodded down in the girl’s direction.

“What’re you writing? ... There isn’t much of a business in fiction.”

[Surya Barbados]

"I'm recording the history of a forgotten-forever-ago race of aliens from Betelguese in order to appease their gods who have currently possesed my mom and dad, turning them into unreasonable goats."

Without so much as a blink. Surya smiled sweetly and swished her pen about absently.

"Though I suppose that you make a much better living as a murderer, eh mate?"

[Jacob Nives]

“You don’t get paid well for murder. It’s usually the looting on the side that pays the bills.”

The paper slipped from under his arm, still half folded, as he began to act out reading it – more skimming the words and glancing over the pictures than actually digesting the stories detailed within. His mind wandered to gods, which undoubtedly the girl was not writing about. He had a particular disliking for religion, after some unfortunate and untoward encounters of his own.

“Good luck with those gods, by the way. Vengeful frells, deities. Never liked them myself. Religion... psht.”

[Surya Barbados]

AM

Does not like religion. I would ahve thought otherwise. Though, I suppose if you're in the business of shoot first, that you'd be bit sensitive about it.

For a murderer, he seems a bit thick. Or maybe they all are. Which doesn't explain why they get away with killing people. Unless of course, the Watch are the thick ones, which too is entirely possible.

I'm beginning to lose faith in life forms.

"Yeah well, if I don't complete the whole lineage by Tuesday they're going to make them human sacrifices and then force me to be their sex slave."

It was said with bland interest, and Surya looked cursively at her chest, clucking a bit.

"Which I suppose wouldn't be too bad except that I've always failed PE."

AM

Have distracted Murdy. Must remember to buy duct tape.

[Jacob Nives]

“I see.”

Jacob looked away. Now he was hiding his emotions. The mentions of sacrifices and sex slaves – the latter in particularly – had pulled a big mischievous grin onto his lip.

“You don’t need any help then?” he asked, casual, off-hand.

He was bored, quite frankly, and the girl seemed like a potentially entertaining afternoon in the making. In between runs and jobs, there wasn’t much time to explore the galaxies fun little idiosyncrasies, and since he was effectively on a break for a day, now was a good a time as any.

[Surya Barbados]

AM

I have just gone into 'CAHOOTS'!!!! I think I will buy a mask.

Surya put extra effort into dotting her exclamation marks, punding furiously on the page before looking quite calmly up at Nives.

"Actually, I rather fancy the idea. Of course, I'd have to find some way to explain to my teachers why I've given up physics for the physical but..."

She shrugged.

"I think I can do it quite convicingly."

Sitting up (her back was getting sore) with a little grunt, Surya cricked her neck to the right and then the left, smiling as it cracked.

"But I suppose if you haven't got any spleen-splitting on your schedule you could write a note excusing me for today. Actually, for the next four years would be preferred."

She shrugged again.

"Y'know, so they don't suspect. I've got poor penmanship."

AM

Am taking it slow. Murdy seems interested. Perhaps will get off this ruddy planet. No dishes tonight! Yay!

[Jacob Nives]

“Alright.”

The offer was too promising to refuse. He was interested in seeing where this would go, and also getting a peek at the so called lineage of the Gods. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a stylopen, clicking it on. Out of the same pocket he pulled a small notepad with some sort of business logo on the front of it. He scribbled something onto the first page before tearing it out and offering it out to the girl. It read:

To whom it may concern,

My daughter will be leaving school indefinitely. We have already arranged for a tutor to continue her education. Thank you for your time.

- Doctor, P. N. Younger, PhD, GnvQ, BaD

[Surya Barbados]

Surya grasped the note eagery and read it over quickly. Despite the fact that her father was not a doctor she grinned. While it would hardly work forever it would cause enough confusion in the school office to give her a good bit of time.

"Excellent."

She folded the note in half and then placed in among the pages of her notebook, grimacing as she stood up and discovered that her leg was asleep.

"Right, first stop my school. I can't wait to give this to that crab Miss Doyle."

Surya glanced at him expectantly.

"You'll have to come in, dad."

[Jacob Nives]

Jacob gave a little shrug and nodded ahead as if to say ‘lead the way’. A little wizardry with the Force and the teachers wouldn’t even know that the girl had ever existed. Yes, this would be fun. Daiquiri probably wouldn’t appreciate him ‘picking up strays’ again, but then again, Fascinataru was his planet and he could bring whoever he wanted home. Most of the time.

“What’s my daughters name… just incase I get asked, you know?”

[Surya Barbados]

"Unfortunately, it's Surya. The only reason I can think of that explains that horrible name is that my mother was so overwhelmed when she recieved me that dangerous levels of estrogen caused her to blurt out a bunch of nonsense, which the nurse took to be my name."

Surya shrugged, clugging along the duracrete pedwalk in her heavy boots. It wasn't far to the school and she kept pretty quiet along the way. Outwardly at least; it was too hard to write when walking along at such a fast pace.

Gads, Mom and Dad're gonna flip when they find out. But I'll be a ways away when that happens. Maybe I should spend my savings. Part of it at least. I should leave Geo a note or else he'll try sneak into my underwear drawer...

So that's how it went until they reached the dull looking school building.

YUOL AVENUE CENTER OF LEARNING FOR GIRLS

Surya grinned; she wasn't wearing her uniform. She led Nives up the 'crete steps and pushed open the creaky front door with her shoulder.

A cool, crisp voice met the two.

"Miss Curtch, you are late."

Automatically Surya turned shaking her head in denial to face the headmistress Mrs. Snol.

"No I'm not, I'm early for tomorrow. This--"

She jerked a thumb back at Jacob.

"--is my dad. I've decided to pursue a carreer in prostitution and so I won't be coming to school anymore. Education is overrated anyway."

The Snozz looks even frumpier today than usual. Also, her mouth expands when she's shocked.

[Jacob Nives]

“Excuse Surya,” Jacob apologized, giving the girl a chiding glance.

“My wife and I are moving off world… I’m being transferred to another branch of the company I work for, so Surya will be leaving with us.”

He smiled at the still somewhat stunned woman. She looked like a big Winter Celebration pudding, a rotund white-topped thing in a ruffled brown suit. Jacob wondered, if he poured spirits on her, she would go up in flames like one of the puddings.

It was as if the woman was waiting for something more, so he continued,

“To go to another school, of course. Anyway, thank you for your services over the years, Madame Principal. You’ve done a fine job.”

Nives winked and the woman, already turning red with dulled anger, flushed a little brighter. He folded his arms over his chest and smiled defiantly, looming over the pudgy woman in the friendliest way possible.

“Come on now, dear. We should be going. Our flight leaves in half an hour.”

[Surya Barbados]

With a little wave, Surya nodded obediantly.

"Sure Dad."

Then she turned and trotted out the door. She was sure that the principal was watching out the narrow slits that they called windows, but she didn't care. With a shout Surya jumped from the top step down.

"Ha! That was so great! Of course, she'll probably call our house but my 'rents are gone for at least another hour."

Finally composing herself, Surya nodded appreciatively at Nives.

"Thanks. I expected a murderer to be little weirder, but you're not so psycho."

Murdy is exhibiting companionish behavior. Have not seen any signs of homicidal rage.

[Jacob Nives]

“Us murderers are stereotyped you know. One guy goes psycho and the rest of us end up with a lifetime of terrible press and a bad rap.”

Jacob gave a sage nod. He pushed his hands into his pockets and looked expectantly down at his ‘daughter’.

“So what are you going to do with your newfound freedom then? Still want to escape?”

[Surya Barbados]

Her reply was immediate.

"Yes."

Surya knew that if she went home and her parents found out what had gone on, she wouldn't see the light of day for years. Besides, on a normal day the incentive to go home was next to zilch.

"I could get a job I guess. I can...do math."

[Jacob Nives]

“Math?”

It looked as though he’d just swallowed a wasp.

“People who do math don’t get anywhere in this galaxy. There’s no money or power in math.”

He shook his head and gave her a disapproving glance.

“No, you just got out of all obligations. You need to do something you will enjoy.”

[Surya Barbados]

For a brief moment Surya felt like a child being reasoned with by a parent. She shrugged uncomfortably.

"Well..."

The only thing that she'd found thus far that she enjoyed was writing, and only then in her journal. Like she would ever even consider letting anyone else read that!

"I dunno. I can't do nothing all day."

Murdy is trying to imply something. What?

"What is there to do that's enjoyable. I have to make a living after all."

[Jacob Nives]

“Piracy!” he exclaimed.

“Go where you want, do what you want, take what you please.”

One hand rose up as he gave his chin a thoughtful rub.

“Or perhaps a pursuit of the Force. Not the lightside though. I think that’s as far from being enjoyable as is humanly possible.”

[Surya Barbados]

If her eyes had been able to bug out, they would have. But Surya had never been especially expessional as far as it went facially.

"Piracy?"

'Murdy' did make it seem so...enticing. Years of her mothers chanting about right and wrong seemed to fade in front of the sure adventure that running off to do anything would provide. Surya raised her eyebrows.

"I guess...I could...do that. But,"

She frowned.

"How?"

She would adress the Force comment momentarily.

[Jacob Nives]

“What do you mean, how? You just get out and do it. You find a ship, you find a target and bam you raid it. It’s as easy as that. Smash and grab.”

Jacob flashed an inviting smile.

“You could just join my crew, mm?”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, it's that easy. Just a snap of the fingers and, boom!, you're set."

“You could just my crew, mm?”

The girls eyes grew disbelieving. Clutching her notebook at her hip, she looked up at Nives.

"Serious?"

[Jacob Nives]

He gave a shrug, hands rising, and stopped in his tracks.

“Why not?”

His hands fell back to his sides.

“If you want to, the offer is most certainly open.”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya couldn't take it anymore. She pulled her notebook up, flipped rapidly through the pages to the first blank space, and began to write as fast as she could.

AM

Murdy has offered to get me out of here. TO JOIN A PIRATE CREW!!!! I am very excited, mostly because mom and dad would be very upset if I say yes. Also because I would finally get to do something remotely cool and possibly fun. What's the worst that can happen? After all, it would have to be the Seven Hells combined to be worse than home.

I will say yes.

Satisfied, she nodded.

"Your offer is enticing. I feel that if I pass it up I will die a lonely old widow with nothing but regrets and a bladder disorder. Seeing as how I don't want a bladder disorder, it's medically important that I accept."

[Jacob Nives]

Jacob watched while the pen ran across the page as though it was being whipped from behind. When the answer finally came, he gave a curt nod and assured Surya:

“You won’t regret it.”

This said he turned and began walking. He was heading back towards the ‘Backstab’, and imagined that the girl would have some questions – but thought that before this, she would probably want to spend another good minute or so pouring into her notepad.

“M’name’s Jacob, by the way. Jacob Nives.”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya nodded absently.

Murdy has name; Jacob Nives. I am slightly dissapointed. I thought a pirate-murderer would have a more sinister name like, Snipes, or Chad.

Then again, my name is SURYA.

Pushing her pen into her pocket and jogging a bit to catch up with Nives' long strides, Surya looked around eagery.

"So, what do I get to do? Do I get to have a blaster? When do we leave? And where do we go first? Oh and,"

Surya took a breath.

"Who else is in your crew?"

[Jacob Nives]

“In that order… you can do whatever you want, so long as you don’t kill me. Yes, you can have a blaster if you want one, and remember the first point about killing. We’re leaving as soon as we get back to the ship. As for who else is in my crew…”

He paused and mulled over the question.

“Well, it’s a skeleton crew right now. Mostly it’s just me and occasionally a business acquaintance of mine. I usually work solo, but I’ll make an exception for you, lieutenant.”

[Surya Barbados]

Lieutenant? A sadistic grin ran across Surya's face as she clipped along beside the much taller Nives.

"Ha!"

She would've like to say something more intelligent but there really wasn't anything that summed up the heightened adrenaline feeling other than a very enthusiastic, 'ha'. Fourteen and a pirate! It was fantastic!

Surya spun around gleefully, almost smacking a passerby in the process.

"Awesome!"

Then she looked up at Jacob, a wicked grin on her face and a gleam in her eyes.

"Say, if it's a skeleton crew, who'd be able to stop me if I tried to break rule number one?"

[Jacob Nives]

Something metallic appeared in Jacob’s hand without him so much as moving it. It was cylindrical and looked heavily worn.

“Not who,” he said, lifting the object so Surya could see, “but what.”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya looked unimpressed.

"It's a piece of metal."

She eyed the device in his hands with a cheeky smirk.

"Won't do much if you'resleeping and I've got a blaster."

It was purely hypothetical. Of course.

[Jacob Nives]

“Oh really?”

Jacob passed the cylinder between both hands before tossing it up into the air … only it failed to come down. It wiggled about in the air before Nives reached out a hand and snatched it out of midair.

“I think even if I am sleeping and you do have a blaster, I’ll have the advantage.”

[Surya Barbados]

Disturbing. Really.

"Hey...What is that?"

Surya had stopped, surprised, and now ran to catch up. She never would have tried to actually kill Nives, yet, but now she was curious.

"Hey, c'mon, tell me... how does it... float, like that?"

[Jacob Nives]

Jacob gave his temple a tap with the end of the cylinder, “A magician never reveals his secret.”

On he walked, away from the school and towards the busier areas. The planetside dock was probably about ten minutes away if they walked briskly. He smirked and waved the metal cylinder back into the air.

“You don’t know what this is, do you?”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya snorted and rolled her eyes, hiding her curiousity.

"I wouldn't have asked if I did."

[Jacob Nives]

“Have you been living under a rock all your life?”

Jacob returned the snort and, deciding that actions spoke louder than words, depressed a button on the cylinder. A yellow beam of energy cut the air, originating from what, on second glance, obviously a hilt. Jacob gave it a little swish in the air and it made a loud wrrrum.

[Surya Barbados]

"Not a rock, with my moth--"

Surya trailed off as the light blade exited the cylinder. She coughed, almost stumbled and then let out a soft, 'whoa'. Even under her mother's careful eye, Surya recognized that.


"That's a...whuttzamuhcallit...one of those lightsword things!"

Her brow furrowed.

"You're not a Jedi. I thought only Jedi had those!"

[Jacob Nives]

“Lightsaber,” Jacob corrected, in a chiding tone.

“And no, I’m not a Jedi. I took it from the corpse of a Sith Lord,” he added with a modest smile.

[Surya Barbados]

"Lightsaber then."

She looked at Jacob with something between awe and suspicion in her eyes. Surya reached out and smacked him on the arm.

"Hey! How'd you find a dead Sith Lord? You didn't kill 'im, did you?"

She held out her hand, motioning to the lightsaber.

"Lemme see it."

[Jacob Nives]

The blade cut off and Jacob pushed the weapon out of sight.

“Hey, it took a lot for me to get this, alright? I’m not going to have you messing around with it and breaking it or something – and yes, I did kill him. I was hired to. Pretty easy job really,” he bragged.

“Some guy named Van-Derveld. Tell you, his wife waaasn’t pleased.”

Nives stopped – they’d arrived at the ship. A pristine looking thing, which really didn’t look fitting for a ‘pirate’. The ramp lowered to reveal a small interior – it was a one man ship, after all – although it did have beds to accommodate a few passengers.

“Meet your new home.”

[Surya Barbados]

Surya glared at Nives.

"I wouldn't break it! Contrary to popular misconception, I'm not a child!"

But she didn't say anything more, preferring to save up the more stinging blows for a release in her journal.

They'd arrived at his ship, and Surya tried her best not to look impressed. After all, her parents had never even ventured off-world for a vacation, and the closest she'd ever come to a real ship was on the holonet.

"It's...nice."

She tried not to look so curious, stepping up onto the ramp. As an afterthought, she turned around with a sneer on her lips.

"Do you want to go first, I might break something."

[Jacob Nives]

As if silently agreeing, Jacob headed up into the ship first and gave it a quick glance. With Surya following, he lead the way into the small living area which doubled up as a kitchen and bed-room, with a ‘refresher branching off at one side.

“Home sweet home,” he muttered under his breath.

“You stay in here. There’s food…” he gave a vague wave of one hand, “and a holoscreen.”

Turning, he pointed off to another door.

“Don’t go in there, or,” he pointed down at a hatch on the floor, across the room.

“There.”

[Surya Barbados]

She followed, gazing about with a satisfactory ammount of interest. But it was only when Jacob pointed out the two restricted areas that Surya's eyes sparkled. She sidled a few steps closer to the hatch, but kept her eyes on the door.

"Why?"

The girl looked at Jacob probingly.

"Is that where you keep the bodies of people you've killed?"

[Jacob Nives]

“Yes.”

Mentally, Jacob shrugged. She was less likely to wander into the bowels of the ship if she thought there were corpses pilled up in there – hopefully.

“I’m guessing you’ve traveled on a ship before… in hyperspace?”

[Surya Barbados]

Ew.

Surya made a face and unconsciously jerked back from the hatch. Glad that he'd changed the subject, Surya shook her head.

"Nope, and nope."

She smiled toothily, knowing that it would come as a surprise. Everybody had been on a ship before.

"My parents didn't believe in them. They walked everywhere, and they've never been off-planet."

[Jacob Nives]

“First time for everything.”

Jacob lifted one hand and absently brushed his chin.

“Since it is your first flight, do you want to ride shot-gun? You won’t get much of a view from in here but in the cockpit you’ll see the whole jump and star scape in widescreen.”

[Surya Barbados]

What on earth did he just say? Jump? Star scape? Cockpit?

I did not realize how deprived my childhood was until now. I hate my parents.

Of course, some of this is my fault too. After all, I'm the one in charge of what I learn and what I don't. I'm sure that this is all very simple and that I just haven't been paying attention in life. No, that can't be true. I wouldn't be able to write if I didn't.

What if a cockpit is some weird slang for...

Surya didn't even realize that she'd just been staring at Nives for a full five minutes in silence. Suddenly snapping out of whatever it was she'd been in, the girl nodded.

"Absolutely. Love to. Thrilled."

Then she stood, waiting.

"Lead the way. I love cockpits."

[Jacob Nives]

Jacob smirked, but nodded and lead on regardless. The cockpit was probably a bit of a let down. All in all, it was nothing spectacular. There was a large viewscreen that showed the outside world, and a couple of swivel-chairs in front of the expanse of buttons, levers, knobs and dials that was the control panel.

“Have a seat,” he motioned to what would have been considered ‘second-in-command’ and dropped into place in the captains seat himself.

“You’ll want to put your seat belt on, by the way,” he continued, as he began a series of apparently random flicks of switches and pushes of buttons. Somewhere along the line, however, he must have pushed something right as a dull whirring noise suddenly filled the room.

“Now, would be good,” he added, glancing back at Surya as the craft tremled and slowly began to lift off…

[Surya Barbados]

Maybe if she had been expecting something, the cockpit would have been a letdown. Surya simply took it for what it was however, her eyes lighting up at the sight of buttons. She flopped down into 'her' seat and watched Nives intently, trying to memorize the pattern in which he flicked the switches.

Big switch, green button, two left...no, wait...damn!

Surya gave up and hugged her legs to her chest, ignoring his suggestion to put on a safety belt. The teenager merely raised her eyebrows, and in a very mysterious-and-suave voice said,

"Why?"

Her question was answered as the ship took off, and her body tumbled from the chair to the floor with a crash. Surya shrieked and then sat up, trying to rise with as much dignity as possible.

"Oh."

[Jacob Nives]

“When we hit hyperspace, things will really get bumpy,” Jacob said, to no one in particular, as he grinned to himself over Surya’s amusing tumble.

“You know, kid, if you’re going to work with me… you’re going to have to have some skills. Can you do anything?”

[Surya Barbados]

Strapped in now, and holding on tightly, Surya pursed her lips.
Do anything? So far her time had been spent trying to aviod homework and chores. There hadn't been any time to learn anything useful.

"I can..."

Surya tried to make the best of it.

"I can sew, as long as someone threads the needle and does the first stitch and ties the thread when it's done...and I'm...creative! And.."

She frowned.

"I make a mean bunt cake."

[Jacob Nives]

“Cake?

…

Better than nothing.”

wrrrrrrrruuuummmmPH!

The whole craft once again shook, much more violently this time. Atmosphere had been cleared quicker than Jacob had originally though, and the Fenix had taken the leap to hyperspace with its usual grace. As quickly as the turbulence had come, however, it had once again gone. The Lupine unclasped the buckle that had held him in place, and he turned the seat to face Surya.

“I’m sure teaching you a few things about the ship and working on it won’t be hard.”

For a moment he paused, seemingly puzzled.

“… What happened to that diary of yours?”

[Surya Barbados]

In an instant Surya had reached behind her and with a little shimmy pulled the worn notebook from the waistband of her pants.

"I keep it on my person at all times."

She eyed Jacob suspiciously.

"...And just so you know, I can tell when someone's been looking at it. And I don't like that. I get very angry. And when I get angry, things get broken."

[Jacob Nives]

The Lupine raised his hands in defense, “I haven’t been peeking. Scouts honor.

So… how does it feel? To have run away? You aren’t having second thoughts, are you?”

[Surya Barbados]

In the back of her mind Surya heard Jacob's question, and waved vaguely to him as she once again penned her thoughts into her best friend.

NOTE: A cockpit is where a ship is flown. Also where my seat is.

Murdy and I are going...somewhere. I don't actually know where. Is this bad? I don't care anyways, I'm not at home and that's what counts.

One incredibly gross thing is that there are dead bodies on the ship. Mind you, I guess this will make my once-a-month easier for Murdy. After all, if you're fine with sleeping in the same vicinity as rotting people, a hemorhaging girl is nothing.

Murdy had better have superman holos and chocolate, or I will die in 12 days.

Question: If superman can stop bullets with his chest, how come he always ducks when someone throws a chair at him?

Satisfied for a moment, Surya glanced at Jacob, and then stared out the viewport.

"Does killing people make your powers of deduction decline? Of course I'm not having second thoughts. Look what I'm doin'!"

[Jacob Nives]

"Alright, alright. No need to get testy. I'm just asking. Anyway…"

Jacob pushed up to his feet, and frowned slightly.

"I'm going to go to sleep for a little while, alright? So that means, don't touch everything. Especially the things which look like they wanted to be touched. Big red buttons and such. If I wake up dead, I'll blame you."

[Surya Barbados]

Surya rolled her eyes and called after the retreating man.

"I'm not stupid y'know! I'm not going to risk my own life."

But...

Telling a teenager like Surya not to touch things was like telling a match not to lite when you struck it. Besides, Nivesey had said to not touch everything, which did not mean not to touch nothing.

Surya tried, honestly she did. She doodled in her notebook.

http://www.natywat.com/doodle.jpg


If I were at home I would be watching a holovised concert and stuffing my face with chocolate cupcakes and not gaining a pound.....

.... while I'm dreaming I met as well say that Bogan Uvuv would be over too, and trying to neck with me.

But doodling and fantasizing about the school sex god only occupied Surya for so long. Her fingers just seemed to have a life of their own. Twitching, the one holding the pencil inched forward. Surya did as well, her dark hair flopping forward and cutting off her peripheral vision. The girl bit her lip, wondering if this was a good idea.

Too late!

Surya punched a button--not a big read one, but a flat grey one--and jerked back innocently. She waited in tense silence, listening hopefully. Nothing. Surya sighed dramatically and kicked the console with a sneakered foot.

DO NOT KNOW TIME (!!!!) WILL FIND OUT

I am sad. I can't even cause a little bit of a disruption. I might as well just stretch out on the road and wait for a speeder to hit me because I can't seem to make anybody go into a homicidal rage.


I am doomed to die un-romantically, un-tragically, and un-cooley