H2O
Attempted Normality II
“Okay so, Austin was enrolled here because he wanted to study fashion so he could incorporate new trends and stuff into his films. So I mean, he wasn’t like an ass kisser, but he did stay after school a lot talking to teacher and what not.” Joan gushed, even though this really wasn’t the time for her to be gushing about anything.
The three of them hadn’t been particularly close to Austin, but they had spoken to him a few times when they bumped into him in the hallway.
As Joan took a break from her incessant chattering, Yvette butted in.
“He was always running around with his camera and following people around filming them. A couple of time he almost got into a fight when he wouldn’t stop filming someone who was doing something…Less than legal.” She said, ending her statement in a whisper.
Nora frowned, “Less than legal? Like what? Drug dealing?”
Joan and Yvette shook their heads and leaned in close. “Hiring.” They whispered almost simultaneously.
Nora cocked an eyebrow and rolled her eyes, “Um…Since when was hiring someone a crime?”
Joan shook her head vigorously, “Not like hiring a housekeeper! Hiring someone to make their clothes! In this school, that is the worst thing that a student could ever do! They could get expelled and blacklisted from every fashion school in the nation if someone found out that they were doing that!”
“W-What? So why didn’t you tell the officers that when they said ‘Does anybody have an idea how he would have been set on fire?” She demanded. As a police chiefs' daughter she was a stickler for rules and honesty when it comes to the law. Her friends not so much.
“Um…Because we don’t want to be set on fire either Nora, and if you care about at all, you won’t say anything. Ever.”
Nora stabbed at the peas on her pate lazily with her fork. She was still thinking about what Joan and Yvette had said. She wanted to tell her dad, but she didn’t want them to get in trouble with whoever had killed Austin. If something had killed him at all. There was always a small chance that he had been near something flammable or his equipment had exploded and his clothes had caught fire. But then the police would have ruled it an accident, and closed the case.
“Nora.”
“Huh?” Nora asked, staring at her father like a deer in headlights.
“I’ve been calling you for nearly two minutes.” Her dad stressed and she forced herself to smile a bit.
“Two minutes isn’t a long time.” She said.
“It is when—Never mind. Is there something wrong, kiddo?”
There it was. Her chance to fess up and repeat everything that she had been told. But was she really willing to risk the safety of her two best friends?
“Nothing, just thinking about what kind of car I’m going to get when I save up enough money.” A totally believable response, she had been thinking about her form of transportation for a long time. She couldn’t always use her dad’s SUV.
Her mom let out a little squeal, and her dad quickly silenced her with an irritated look. Nora glanced between the two of them. She recognized that silent conversation. The squeal was her mom’s way of saying “I know something you don’t!” And her dad’s look said, “Honey please don’t say anything.”
“What is it?” Nora asked excitedly, her mouth splitting into a grin.
Her mom opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say anything, her dad leaned over and planted a big fat kiss on her mom’s lips.
“Wha--? Aw--Ugh!!” Nora gasped, getting up from the table quickly, dumping her plate in the sink and quickly heading up to her room, trying to ignore the high pitched giggling and low ‘hehehe’s’ going on behind her.
Upon entering her room, she started towards her computer, wanting to do a little research on Joan and Yvette’s school, but stopped herself.
“I am not a vigilante. I am a normal girl trying to finish community college, and this is a job for the authorities. Not. Me.” And with that, she undressed and went to bed.
The three of them hadn’t been particularly close to Austin, but they had spoken to him a few times when they bumped into him in the hallway.
As Joan took a break from her incessant chattering, Yvette butted in.
“He was always running around with his camera and following people around filming them. A couple of time he almost got into a fight when he wouldn’t stop filming someone who was doing something…Less than legal.” She said, ending her statement in a whisper.
Nora frowned, “Less than legal? Like what? Drug dealing?”
Joan and Yvette shook their heads and leaned in close. “Hiring.” They whispered almost simultaneously.
Nora cocked an eyebrow and rolled her eyes, “Um…Since when was hiring someone a crime?”
Joan shook her head vigorously, “Not like hiring a housekeeper! Hiring someone to make their clothes! In this school, that is the worst thing that a student could ever do! They could get expelled and blacklisted from every fashion school in the nation if someone found out that they were doing that!”
“W-What? So why didn’t you tell the officers that when they said ‘Does anybody have an idea how he would have been set on fire?” She demanded. As a police chiefs' daughter she was a stickler for rules and honesty when it comes to the law. Her friends not so much.
“Um…Because we don’t want to be set on fire either Nora, and if you care about at all, you won’t say anything. Ever.”
Nora stabbed at the peas on her pate lazily with her fork. She was still thinking about what Joan and Yvette had said. She wanted to tell her dad, but she didn’t want them to get in trouble with whoever had killed Austin. If something had killed him at all. There was always a small chance that he had been near something flammable or his equipment had exploded and his clothes had caught fire. But then the police would have ruled it an accident, and closed the case.
“Nora.”
“Huh?” Nora asked, staring at her father like a deer in headlights.
“I’ve been calling you for nearly two minutes.” Her dad stressed and she forced herself to smile a bit.
“Two minutes isn’t a long time.” She said.
“It is when—Never mind. Is there something wrong, kiddo?”
There it was. Her chance to fess up and repeat everything that she had been told. But was she really willing to risk the safety of her two best friends?
“Nothing, just thinking about what kind of car I’m going to get when I save up enough money.” A totally believable response, she had been thinking about her form of transportation for a long time. She couldn’t always use her dad’s SUV.
Her mom let out a little squeal, and her dad quickly silenced her with an irritated look. Nora glanced between the two of them. She recognized that silent conversation. The squeal was her mom’s way of saying “I know something you don’t!” And her dad’s look said, “Honey please don’t say anything.”
“What is it?” Nora asked excitedly, her mouth splitting into a grin.
Her mom opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say anything, her dad leaned over and planted a big fat kiss on her mom’s lips.
“Wha--? Aw--Ugh!!” Nora gasped, getting up from the table quickly, dumping her plate in the sink and quickly heading up to her room, trying to ignore the high pitched giggling and low ‘hehehe’s’ going on behind her.
Upon entering her room, she started towards her computer, wanting to do a little research on Joan and Yvette’s school, but stopped herself.
“I am not a vigilante. I am a normal girl trying to finish community college, and this is a job for the authorities. Not. Me.” And with that, she undressed and went to bed.