The Ultimate Storybook (2)

(Sorry Heather, didn't get your post until after I posted.)

That's okay, others can either write posts following the last meeting about heading home or time spent at home and then everyone should eventually reach the same day.

*Hehe>-^*

Jess rubbed her head as Shy helped her up.

"Thanks." she mumbled and walked off, trying to figure out how she was going to get home.

"Hum...." she hummed. Her parents were very strict and yet there she was, with them not there. Figures.

She walked out into the bright, sunny day. Why was she here again? Oh ya. Because her parents thought it best for her to let her feelings out to other teens. All her feelings were usually centered around them! It made her so mad some times she just thought it would be easier to kill her self.

Yet others enjoyed her company. They would be happy to hear her silly little stories and they liked the fact theat she could be so hyper one minute and the next listening and very controlled. It was like a fire cracker running out of fuss.

She squinted as the sun shinned right in her face. She looked around. The boy named James was following one of the adults that had been at the meeting. At least he had a ride.

"Ugh!" she breathed out. She started walking in the direction of her expensive house. It would take her two hours. The sun was on its way down the sky and it would probable be dark by the time she got home.

Shy
~~~
Shy kicked the wall hard when he saw Mr. Morgan pull up in his shiny 'champagne' colored SUV. The man stopped in front of the building and motioned for him to get in. Shy dragged his feet so it took extra long for him to get to the car.
As soon as he climbed in the front seat, Mr. Morgan asked him,
"So how'd it go?"
Shy shrugged.
"Meet anybody new?"
Another shrug.
"Honestly, Shylah James! If you won't talk to anyone, how are we supposed to help you?"
Shrug.
The ride was spent in silence.
They pulled up at the house and Shy got out.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Shylah James. And try to keep that temper in check please, okay?"
Shrug.
The car sped off almost angrily, it seemed.
Shy had wondered why the Gray's (his newest foster family) didn't take him to the meetings themselves. As he walked up to the house, he realised why. One five-year-old FK was screaming at Mrs. Gray as she stood on the porch trying to calm him, a seventeen year old FK and the Gray's teenage daughter were making out underneath the porch steps (something that was strictly unallowed) two other FK's were trying to make tree house out of the wood from the gazebo walls, and the Gray's six year old son was holding an FK baby upside down, about to drop her.
Shylah ran over to the boy, taking the baby out of his hands quickly and cradling it to his chest.
"Good Lord kid! Don't you know that's dangerous? You coulda killed her!" The boy glared at him, and then ran over to his mom.
"Mommmmmmmieeeeeeeee!" he shrieked. "Shylah yelled at me! And he hit me too!" he whined, scrubbing at his cheek so it would seem like he'd been hit. When Mrs. Gray pulled the hand away, the boy's cheek was tomato red.
"SHYLAH JAMES!" she screamed. Sighing, Shylah trudged over to her.
"Go to your room this instant young man!" she shrieked. "And give me that baby," she said, taking the little girl from Shy's arms. "You'll drop her. Now shoo!"
Turning on his heel, Shy ran into his house, taking the steps two at a time. He ran into his room, slamming the door and locking it. Alex, the screaming five-year-old who Shy shared a room with, was already sleeping. Shy collapsed on his bed, pulled out his MP3 player and put it on a song by Lifehouse. After about an hour, he fell asleep, headphones still in his ears.
~~~
Filler. Hope this is okay. I think I'm caught up now. Thank you guys!
-Elise

"Were have you been?" Jess's mother asked, standing at the top of the stairs.

Ugh! NOt agian!

"Walking home." she answered simple.

"You missed your piano lesson. Now you get to spend all day tommorow after school working with Miss Green." her mother said sturnly as she walked away from the top of the stairs.

"What about dinner?" she called.

"Miss? Your dinner is cold. Would you lie me ot heat it up?" the butler asked.

"No thanks, Dametry." she said politly.

He was so kind and she sprecated it.

She ste her dinner in sulitude as she thought of times she could run away.

Tonight. After school, just before James picks me up to drag me to piano lessons. Tommorow. The next day when they think I'm at that stupid meeting... Jess's mind droned on as the night ticked later and later untill Dametry came in.

"Miss. It's quite late. I suggest going ot bed." he prompted.

"Yes. Sorry for keeping you up."

"No problem miss."

Tex walked home alone. It wasn't that he was some Weird kid that hated the world...or had a bad dad, It was just that he was the kind of guy that liked to think of something while alone.

Tex opened the door to his house and saw that no one was around.
" Goody." he whispered and walked to the TV. He took out a recorded Video and putted it into the VCR. He looked around the house as the video rewinded and finally sat on the couch. The video began to play.

A few minutes later, Tex watch began to go off.
" I'm going to be late!" He hissed and ran to the TV. It was right between when Mamby and June were going to the cotton River when he pulled it out.
He threw the video behind the TV and headed out.

Tex entered the bowling alley and he sighed.
If anyone ever went into his room while their away, if anyone ever saw what was in the video files in his computer, they would be suprised to find the new popular Japanese TV kid series, 56 angels, in those files.

Yawning, Michelle opened the pale front door of her small three room house. Her mother had picked her up from the meeting, but had went into the house through the side door, which led to her room. Entering the living room, Michelle dropped her stuff on the the almost-red recliner and fumbled for her keys on her purse. She always kept them on the strap of her purse, because she had a bad habit of losing things.

Finally, she found the key she was looking for and went down the short hallway adjoining her room, the bathroom, and her brother's room. Michelle unlocked her door and stepped inside, dropping her puse onto her bed. Looking around, she noticed a small peice of paper lying on the floor, that had most likely fell from the door when she opened it. Written on the page in her mother's handwriting was:

Michelle,
someone responded to your babysitting ad in the newspaper. A lady called, Mrs. Gray? and would like you to help babysit for her. I'll give you the address if you're interested.

Love, Mom.

"It's about time!" She said to herself as she closed the door behind her, going to her mother's room. After speaking to her mom, she left the house and headed off to Mrs. Gray's house. She was eager to start her new job, if Mrs. Gray liked her.

Shy
~~~
"Shylah James! Get down here this minute!" Shy was woken from his nap by Mrs. Gray's screeching. Sighing, he ran downstairs to see what she wanted.
"Shylah James, I'm leavin' soon to go to a meetin'. Now, I'd normally leave you or Jackie," this was the Gray's teenage daughter. "Or Michael," said daughter's earlier make-out partner, "Here to watch the li'l ones, but Jackie's got dance practice and Michael's dad has visitation tonight. So I called a girl named...Michelle-her ad was in the paper- to come help you with Alex, Benny, Brice, Lanthony and Gracie."
Shy groaned inwardly. It was probably the same Michelle that had been at the meeting. Sighing, he nodded at Mrs. Gray, who was still expecting an answer.
"Oh! There she is now!" Mrs. Gray exclaimed when she heard a knock on the door. She rushed to answer it. The door swung open and...
Yep. Same Michelle.
Shy barely heard Mrs. Gray giving the girl instructions before a loud scream came from upstairs. He sighed-it was Alex. The little boy had nightmares a lot, probably from past abuse, but Shy didn't know. Though he would never admit it, the little boy reminded him a lot of Jason. Pushing those painful thoughts from his mind, be ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
He ran into his and Alex's room, and dropped to his knees next to the bed. Alex was sitting up, eyes wide, little face streaked with tears. Without a word, Shy pulled the little one close to him, knowing that words would be futile. He held him for a while, shushing him.
Honestly he thought. Why in the world does Mrs. Gray make him go to bed at 5:00? She knows he'll just wake up screaming.
He shook his head at the stupidity of the woman.
"Hush now, Alex. You'll make yourself sick cryin' so much," he said. For a while now, Shy had been the only one able to calm down Alex. That was really the only reason he was staying in this home. Because he didn't know what the little boy would do when he was gone.
He sat on the bed, rocking Alex to sleep again, until he felt a presence behind him.
He turned, coming face to face with Michelle.
She jumped slightly at his sudden movement.
"Shh," he whispered, because Alex was now asleep. Putting the baby down gently, he stood and walked over to Michelle.
"Hey," he said, putting out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Shylah."
~~~~

Hope this is okay!
-Elise

**wow. I'm really slow.**
Dawn-

She walked out of the meeting. It had been unproductive as usual, with the workers trying to help everyone deal with their problems. Dawn hadn't spoken at all. She still didn't understand why she was going, but her parents had insisted. She'd tried to argue to no avail. There wasn't anything wrong with her--unless one counted being super-smart as "something wrong." It sure got her into trouble with bullies a lot. Dawn sighed as she opened the door to her house.

"Mom, I'm home!" she shouted.

"Alright, Dawn! Dinner's on the table and I'm in the laundry room!" came her mother's muffled voice from downstairs.

Dawn walked into the kitchen and sighed again. "Pizza. Of course. I guess Mom was too busy to make dinner again. At least it's sausage, my favorite." She ate the final two slices quickly and neatly, then grabbed her backpack and headed up to her room.

Once inside, she released her hair from the braided bun she usually kept it in to avoid more teasing. Once free, it fell in blond waves nearly to her knees. Dawn pulled it back into a ponytail and sighed in relief. A ponytail was much more comfortable than the bun.

She switched on her Celtic Woman CD and flopped down at her desk. Pulling out her TI-86SE graphing calculator and textbook, she started working on her AP Calculus homework.

**I'm really sort of lost.**

Tony sighed as he looked out upon the setting sun. Today he decided to skip the stupid meeting. He didn't need it, he knew that, but everyone else thought other wise. He cursed under his breath and took another bite of apple. He figited trying to sit comfortibly on a rock. The sun casted a glare on his face while he was trying to move making him fall. I am such an idiot.

"Are you okay?"

Tony looked up to see the girl from the other night, but he had trouble recalling her name, "Yeah I'm okay." he said getting to his feet brushing himself off.

"You weren't at the meeting, why?"

"Oh, that, I don't want to go any more. I don't need it. The only reason i should be there is to help people, not to be helped."

"Sure." She said sarcasticly and started walking off.

"I'm serious," he called after her catching up, "I've had my share of troubles, but there gone now." She looked at him with interest. "it's true my expiriances have left there scars, but now it's my turn to help others. I feel I could do more than those stupid teachers. At least I've gone through the pain." He realized he had rabbled on, "Sorry, just some babble." He waved it off as best he could. Then he realized something, "Where are you going?"

(Sorry, haven't been able to get to a computer)
**********************************************

She turned and started to walk slowly, giving him the chance to follow if he pleased. She enjoyed walking, which was why she had not asked her mother to take her to the Gray's residence. It wasn't her first time babysitting, but she was nervous about meeting the family. Michelle wondered if they would like her......

"Hey. I said where are you going?" He caught up with her and matched her pace, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Oh, sorry." She hadn't realized she had dazed off in her thoughts, "I just got a job babysitting for....the Gray's?" She shrugged, and continued walking towards the adress her mother had given her.

"Oh, ok. Well, I'll catch you later, ok?" He smiled as he waved and ran off. Waving back, Michelle walked up the short drive-way to the Gray's house, rang the doorbell and waited. A woman who introduced herself as Mrs. Gray immediately gave her instructions, when Michelle noticed the boy from class. Right at that moment, a child's shriek came from upstairs, and he rushed to comfort him or her.

"Hey...." She whispered as she shook his hand, "Michelle. I'm here to help you guys out. Come on, lets let him sleep."

Shy
~~~
Shy stepped out of the room, closing the door as quietly as possible. Michelle had started into the kitchen, so he followed her.

"Where are the others?" she asked me, leaning up against the sink.

"Gracie-she's the baby, only ten months-is asleep. She's the youngest, and Alex's next, so they always sleep. Benny and Brice-they're eight, and twins-are at a soccer practice, they walk home, the feild's a street over. Lanthony's six, and he's upstairs, possibly sleeping. He shares a room with the twins." Shy said.

"Oh." she said. "So what do we do?"

"Benny and Brice should be home in about five minutes, so I guess we should prepare for the tsunami."

She giggled a bit, making Shy smile too.

"Are they really that bad?" she said.

Shy gave her a solemn nod. "Yes they are that bad. And worse. They're monsters who feed on your energy and sanity like vampires feed on blood." he said, in a dark, sreious tone.

She laughed again, though looked slightly worried.

Just then, the door swung open, and two twin terrors stepped into the house.
~~~

Lol. Amber, I hope you don't mind me manipulating your character. If it's too much, I'll revise the post.

"I see." Michelle said as the two small, grimy youngsters fled into the house. Both were stained from the waist down in small patches of green, apparently from the playing on the soccer field. The two ran full force into the living room, throwing their stuff down on the floor as if it was a usual habit.

Michelle and Shyla stepped into the living room behind, and Michelle cleared her throat loudly. "Hey guys!" Immediately, they stopped their reign of terror on the now trash-strewn living area. Now staring at her, they glanced at Shyla, wondering why there was this stranger in their house.

"Umm...Ben, Brice, this is Michelle. Kinda like a babysitter, she's gonna be here sometimes, helping us out around the house." Shyla spoke to them, then hardened his tone, "And yes, she can tell you what to do." The two boys huffed and rolled their eyes.

"Aww, come on now. Don't be so tough," She nudged Shyla playfully, "How bout....we go out and play some soccer?" Benny and Brice jumped and whooped excitedly. "Let's go outside then."

~Shy~

Shy smiled as the boys followed Michelle outside like little puppy dogs. They played around with the soccer ball for a bit, and then Lanthony and Alex came downstairs and joined the game. It was Benny, Lanthony and Michelle (who called themselves the Yellow Bumblebees) against Shy, Brice and Alex (also known as the Pink Elephants). The Bumblebees won by a landslide. Finally, it got dark, and they had to go inside.

"You're pretty good," Shy said to Michelle as he flipped the switch for the fan and joined the others at the couch.

"Thanks." she said, and they turned their attention to the bright yellow sponge on TV, which was currently running around and chasing jellyfish with a very flimsy net.

They watched TV for about an two hours, Shylah and Michelle getting bored after about 15 minutes, but the younger ones staying enraptured the whole time.

Pretty soon, the door swung open, and a girl with jeans too tight to be comfortable, and a shirt too low to be decent stepped in.

"Jackie, your mom sayed to-"

"Shut up, stupid!" the girl screeched as she ran up the stairs, cell phone held to her ear in a vice grip.

"Well, I tried," Shylah said, with a sarcastic sigh. "I was gonna tell her that her mom said she could go get that new phone she's been wanting. But, I guess she doesn't want it that bad."

Michelle giggled at him, and he grinned.

Lanthony and Alex both chose that moment to unceremoniously slump against Michelle, one kid on each side so she was pinned.

Shylah laughed, and picked up Alex. Michelle did the same with Lanthony. Shy glanced at the clock. 8:00

"Okay everybody! Bed. Now." he said. Benny and Brice groaned, but they put up no fuss. Obviously, they were tired too.
The two babysitters got everyone in bed just as two cars pulled up outside. One was Michale and his social worker, and the other Mrs. Gray.

"Well, I guess I'll see you." Shy said after Mrs. Gray had come and paid Michelle.

"Yeah. See ya tomorrow at the meeting, right?" she said, stepping out the door and onto the sidewalk.

Shy grimaced. "Yeah." he said.

She smiled. "Okay. Well...bye." She said, waving as she ran down the driveway.
~~~

(I'll start at the meeting, so that way everyone can jump back in.)
******************************************

Yawning, she outstretched her fingers, hands, and arms, a little tired from her new babysitting job as she sat at the white table in the meeting room, pulling her gaze away from the scratchy table top. The room must have recently been cleaned, for the floors had a bright shiny, glossy color. The chairs had been pulled into a wide circle, so that everyone speaking could be seen and heard.

As of normal routine, she tapped her fingers patiently, and slid her mp3 player out of her bag. It took her minute to select the song she wanted, but finally, she was happy with a little Queen. She wondered, again, if Tony was going to show up, considering what he had told her last night on the way to Shyla's.

Shyla...