Chapter 3:
Friday, 9:00 PM
Mandy walked up to the museum alone with her unpleasant memories of the 日 clouding her consciousness. The cold night gave her an excuse to hide half of her face in her scarf and to 交叉, 十字架 her arms as if to keep herself warm, but in reality, it was to keep her emotions hidden.
She walked up to the ticket booth and the man let her in without a word. All of the employees knew her, she came often and usually 由 herself. Once she stepped inside, she felt 更多 at 首页 than she had all day. She hadn't gone 首页 yet, but she knew her father had a tracking device on her phone. She didn't even feel like talking.
It was crowded today, for some reason. As she walked through the halls to the elevator, she could feel the eyes of various different types of people either glancing at her 或者 staring. She would usually meet the eyes of those younger than her and smile, but she rarely 说 a word. It was the brief recognition that delighted the children.
Every so often, a group of teenagers would try to strike up a conversation with her, bring her to a certain part of the museum and ask her 问题 about her father. Most of the time, she could answer and have an OK time with them, but not always. If she saw anyone she knew from school, she tried to avoid them, but her evasions didn't always work. The 流行的 kids had a knack for finding her just about anywhere; a skill she despised. Although her father thought she had no 老友记 and mostly hung out with Isaac, he was only half right. It was true that Isaac was her only real friend, but she could never escape her 流行的 life to even talk to him during school hours.
She walked into the elevator, she was almost alone until a last 分钟 teenager ran in. Mandy couldn't believe it, out of the entire student body, James was the one she was stuck in an elevator with?
James was out of breath from running.
Mandy sighed. "Big crowd today." she said, as if nothing had happened at school that day.
He looked at her, obviously hiding his astonishment of her saying something casual to him.
"You could've told me to hold the door for you." Mandy said.
He was still breathing pretty hard. "Well, I don't think 你 could've heard me even if I yelled. It's pretty loud down there."
Mandy nodded. "True."
There was some silence. She'd never really talked to anyone who didn't have something to say.
"Sorry, for today. Those guys are jerks. I don't know why I let them hang around me." Mandy 说 in an unwilling confession. It's not that she didn't want to tell him the truth-because he deserved it-but she didn't want to admit her own flaws to herself.
"Yeah." James said. "But-I-I should be the one apoligizing, I'm the one who got 你 into that mess."
"Don't waste your breath, you're not gonna convince me." Mandy said, snarkily. She stopped, then cringed at herself. "Sorry, I hang with the wrong crowd too often, it's easy to pick up a bad attitude from them." she sighed heavier this time.
Her melancholy tone gave James a chill down his spine. Guilt racked his brain, but he was able to keep it hidden.
"I can't escape them." Mandy added breathlessly.
The elevator stopped and they both walked out.
"You know, 你 can break free if 你 really try." James said. Mandy glanced at him and he froze for a moment, as if her eyes could cut through his chest and into his heart. He tried to speak up. "I-I'm Isaac's friend." He lied.
"Oh, 你 are? So am I. Well, I wish I was a better friend. I hardly see him at school."
"But that's not you're fault. Isaac, 你 know he's all into sociology, he tells me that you're basically stuck because of your...fame, I guess. You're like royalty in this city, it's the fact that, well--" He stopped when he met Mandy's eyes. She was sad, and he could tell that something else was upsetting her.
"Mandy," James started over, "y-you can hang with me and Isaac in the 图书馆 and ignore those jerks. They just want to be seen with you, they don't actually care--"
"I know, James. I know. And, that's exactly what I tried to do today. I tried to step out of that boundry they've put me in. But--" Mandy stopped herself. Something caught her attension below them. They'd been aimlessly walking around the giant statue of her father and were now looking down from the 最佳, 返回页首 of the building. Mandy could see her mother's car parked across the 街, 街道 from the museum and her parents getting out. Her father started off running but stopped, probably because her mother had stopped him.
"Oh, dad." Mandy 说 under her breath.
James was watching too and he knew he had to leave soon.
"Well, I guess--no, I will be seeing 你 at school." James said, turning and walking away.
He was half way to the elevator when Mandy tried to stop him. "I don't know if I can do that--"
"I'll be seeing you, don't deny it!" James reassured her. His sudden determination made her laugh. James had never heard her laugh before and all he could do was smile and wave.
As he walked into the elevator, all he could think about was his terrible regret for tricking her. He knew what invisible crimes lied in the future and how deep into them he already was. He hated how much he liked her; how much he wanted her to have a normal life, just like how he wanted the same thing. He pitied them both, but at the time, there was nothing he could do.
-----
"Megamind, 你 can't just barge in there!" Roxanne said, running after him. "Remember the last time time 你 did that?"
Megamind stood a few feet from the building steps and turned to Roxanne. "Yeah, I was surrounded 由 a mob all 日 and I 迷失 my 最喜爱的 pair of boots, but I think my daughter is 更多 important than my making it out alive!"
Roxanne almost rolled her eyes at his dramiticizing everything. "Would 你 listen to me for two seconds! She comes here all the time! She probably just had a bad 日 and didn't want to come home. That's all."
"Is this a normal teenage girl...thing, 或者 something, because you're making it sound like that."
"I'm just saying, you're blowing this way out of proportion!"
"She should've called one of us if she wasn't going to come home!"
"She knows 你 track her everywhere she goes, so why should she?"
"Who's side are 你 on?"
"When were there sides to begin with? We're one family, and apparently, we have some problems." Roxanne 说 as she crossed her arms.
They both stared at each other for a moment, at first angry with each other, but quickly realizing that getting angry was pointless.
"We don't have problems, Roxanne. I have problems." Megamind said. "I'm sorry for overreacting."
Roxanne sighed and took his hand. "Come on, let's use the secret entrance."
so, what's up with James? What kind of future lies ahead?
Friday, 9:00 PM
Mandy walked up to the museum alone with her unpleasant memories of the 日 clouding her consciousness. The cold night gave her an excuse to hide half of her face in her scarf and to 交叉, 十字架 her arms as if to keep herself warm, but in reality, it was to keep her emotions hidden.
She walked up to the ticket booth and the man let her in without a word. All of the employees knew her, she came often and usually 由 herself. Once she stepped inside, she felt 更多 at 首页 than she had all day. She hadn't gone 首页 yet, but she knew her father had a tracking device on her phone. She didn't even feel like talking.
It was crowded today, for some reason. As she walked through the halls to the elevator, she could feel the eyes of various different types of people either glancing at her 或者 staring. She would usually meet the eyes of those younger than her and smile, but she rarely 说 a word. It was the brief recognition that delighted the children.
Every so often, a group of teenagers would try to strike up a conversation with her, bring her to a certain part of the museum and ask her 问题 about her father. Most of the time, she could answer and have an OK time with them, but not always. If she saw anyone she knew from school, she tried to avoid them, but her evasions didn't always work. The 流行的 kids had a knack for finding her just about anywhere; a skill she despised. Although her father thought she had no 老友记 and mostly hung out with Isaac, he was only half right. It was true that Isaac was her only real friend, but she could never escape her 流行的 life to even talk to him during school hours.
She walked into the elevator, she was almost alone until a last 分钟 teenager ran in. Mandy couldn't believe it, out of the entire student body, James was the one she was stuck in an elevator with?
James was out of breath from running.
Mandy sighed. "Big crowd today." she said, as if nothing had happened at school that day.
He looked at her, obviously hiding his astonishment of her saying something casual to him.
"You could've told me to hold the door for you." Mandy said.
He was still breathing pretty hard. "Well, I don't think 你 could've heard me even if I yelled. It's pretty loud down there."
Mandy nodded. "True."
There was some silence. She'd never really talked to anyone who didn't have something to say.
"Sorry, for today. Those guys are jerks. I don't know why I let them hang around me." Mandy 说 in an unwilling confession. It's not that she didn't want to tell him the truth-because he deserved it-but she didn't want to admit her own flaws to herself.
"Yeah." James said. "But-I-I should be the one apoligizing, I'm the one who got 你 into that mess."
"Don't waste your breath, you're not gonna convince me." Mandy said, snarkily. She stopped, then cringed at herself. "Sorry, I hang with the wrong crowd too often, it's easy to pick up a bad attitude from them." she sighed heavier this time.
Her melancholy tone gave James a chill down his spine. Guilt racked his brain, but he was able to keep it hidden.
"I can't escape them." Mandy added breathlessly.
The elevator stopped and they both walked out.
"You know, 你 can break free if 你 really try." James said. Mandy glanced at him and he froze for a moment, as if her eyes could cut through his chest and into his heart. He tried to speak up. "I-I'm Isaac's friend." He lied.
"Oh, 你 are? So am I. Well, I wish I was a better friend. I hardly see him at school."
"But that's not you're fault. Isaac, 你 know he's all into sociology, he tells me that you're basically stuck because of your...fame, I guess. You're like royalty in this city, it's the fact that, well--" He stopped when he met Mandy's eyes. She was sad, and he could tell that something else was upsetting her.
"Mandy," James started over, "y-you can hang with me and Isaac in the 图书馆 and ignore those jerks. They just want to be seen with you, they don't actually care--"
"I know, James. I know. And, that's exactly what I tried to do today. I tried to step out of that boundry they've put me in. But--" Mandy stopped herself. Something caught her attension below them. They'd been aimlessly walking around the giant statue of her father and were now looking down from the 最佳, 返回页首 of the building. Mandy could see her mother's car parked across the 街, 街道 from the museum and her parents getting out. Her father started off running but stopped, probably because her mother had stopped him.
"Oh, dad." Mandy 说 under her breath.
James was watching too and he knew he had to leave soon.
"Well, I guess--no, I will be seeing 你 at school." James said, turning and walking away.
He was half way to the elevator when Mandy tried to stop him. "I don't know if I can do that--"
"I'll be seeing you, don't deny it!" James reassured her. His sudden determination made her laugh. James had never heard her laugh before and all he could do was smile and wave.
As he walked into the elevator, all he could think about was his terrible regret for tricking her. He knew what invisible crimes lied in the future and how deep into them he already was. He hated how much he liked her; how much he wanted her to have a normal life, just like how he wanted the same thing. He pitied them both, but at the time, there was nothing he could do.
-----
"Megamind, 你 can't just barge in there!" Roxanne said, running after him. "Remember the last time time 你 did that?"
Megamind stood a few feet from the building steps and turned to Roxanne. "Yeah, I was surrounded 由 a mob all 日 and I 迷失 my 最喜爱的 pair of boots, but I think my daughter is 更多 important than my making it out alive!"
Roxanne almost rolled her eyes at his dramiticizing everything. "Would 你 listen to me for two seconds! She comes here all the time! She probably just had a bad 日 and didn't want to come home. That's all."
"Is this a normal teenage girl...thing, 或者 something, because you're making it sound like that."
"I'm just saying, you're blowing this way out of proportion!"
"She should've called one of us if she wasn't going to come home!"
"She knows 你 track her everywhere she goes, so why should she?"
"Who's side are 你 on?"
"When were there sides to begin with? We're one family, and apparently, we have some problems." Roxanne 说 as she crossed her arms.
They both stared at each other for a moment, at first angry with each other, but quickly realizing that getting angry was pointless.
"We don't have problems, Roxanne. I have problems." Megamind said. "I'm sorry for overreacting."
Roxanne sighed and took his hand. "Come on, let's use the secret entrance."
so, what's up with James? What kind of future lies ahead?