Joseph had arrived back home and told his parents about his trip they asked him if he found what he was looking for. He of course said no. In all reality he did not accomplish the task he wanted.
So he went off to his bedroom and lied on the bed to think to himself once again. He had always been a gloomy person but now, there seemed to be an everlasting cloud of doom over his head. It was affecting everyone.
The next day, Joseph decided to go out to the café and get a little something to eat and get out of the house. He knew his little gloomy attitude was affecting his mother so he left, with princess trailing behind him.
He entered the establishment and Big Lucy seemed to light up. There were only a few customers in the store. They were old men. Big Lucy was a fairly young woman, who didn’t enjoy the company of those that only talked about their physical pain associated with age.
“Arlington right?” Big Lucy asked coming with a couple of menus. Joseph nods to her politely. “Welcome back to New Heights. Enjoy your trip?” Big Lucy asks Joseph.
“Yes we did. Jas got me a new friend. His name is Fluffy Bottoms.” Natalia said speaking up. “And who would that be?” Big Lucy asks with a big smile. “My bunny!” Natalia said taking out the stuffed animal, “Say hello to Big Lucy!” “Oh…uh, HI?” “Oh Fluffy Bottoms. You’re so risqué. You should keep that to yourself.” Natalia said. She then motions Big Lucy to come closer. “I think Fluffy Bottoms has a crush on you. You should stay back.” Natalia whispers.
Big Lucy nods…worried about the child. Joseph was just smiling at Natalia. He looks to Big Lucy. “I think we’ll both have a cinnamon roll.” Joseph said. “Egad! You’re really going to eat that around me?” Madison said flashing in. She lit up the room with her glamour and smile as she sat at the table with them.
“Make that…two slices of custard pie…for princess and one whole wheat bagel honey glazed for me. You Maddie?” Joseph said switching his order. “I’ll just have a small coffee, no sugar or cream.” Madison said sitting with the two. Big Lucy writes it down and walks off to the counter.
So what’s up madam glamour?” Joseph asks Madison. “ Well, I really came to give you a little bad news. I have to leave and head back to L.A. My mom is sick and…” Madison said. Joseph held his hand up and stopped her in the middle of her sentence. He looks at her with a questioning eye.
“Really? What’s wrong with her? This might be one of her games Madison. You know your mother, trifling.” Joseph said. Madison rolls her eyes, not at Joseph but at the true fact of her mother. “Well, Jas, it’s real and serious this time. I have to go back and find out what’s going on. I hate to leave you.” Madison told him.
“Oh, don’t worry about it Maddie. Family is important. If she is in really bad shape you need to be with her not little ol’ me.” Joseph said reassuringly, “Besides, me and princess here can do a lot of things, can’t we little girl?” “Huh? Oh, uh, Fluffy Bottoms says you’ll cramp our style. Sorry big brother.”
“Oi. Don’t pay little miss any mind. I’ll be fine Madison. It’s not like I haven’t had to go without your company before. You go to your mother.” Joseph said. “Alright Jas. I’ll see you soon.” She gives him a quick hug and Big Lucy comes with the Coffee. She takes it quickly and runs out of the café.
“What’s got her in a rush?” Big Lucy asks. “She has some business to handle.” Joseph answers. Big Lucy flicks her eyebrows up quickly and gives Joseph and Natalia their order.
“So you ever think about seeing the sights around town?” Big Lucy asks Joseph. “Not really. I don’t know where I can go. I’m sure there are all sorts of secrets to be discovered in New Heights.”
“That’s not even the first of it. There’s more to New Heights than what meets the eye. You just have to be looking for it to find it.” Big Lucy says. “There’s mystery around every corner and danger here that you would never expect…at least that is what a woman once told me. I don’t know if all that is true, but this can be a pretty interesting place.”
“I imagine so. Thank you Big Lucy.” Joseph says appreciatively. “No problem honey child. You go on and enjoy your snack.” She says walking off. Joseph looks at Natalia whispering to her rabbit. She laughs and looks at Joseph. She turns her back to him and continues her conversation.
“I gave you that! Thank you for the friendship by the way princess.” Joseph said sarcastically. They finish and leave the café. Joseph decides to head into the park. He gives Natalia a small dagger and sends her off to play in the park. He didn’t think that she would have to use it but just in case…
Then he went off and started walking on a path. He looks up into the trees and he drifts off into a memory….
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It was the year 1999, early spring. The sun was shining brightly. He and Madison were riding on a wagon as he looked up into the trees. They flew down the sidewalk. Red hair and his relatively long hair back then blew in the wind of then rushing down their imaginary freeway.
They smash into a rock and fly out of the wagon into the grass. They roll over laughing until there was a shadow looming over them both. They looked up in fear of the person there. Paul O’Connor grabs Madison by her arm.
“Let me go!” she screams. People look his direction but he does not release her. He starts to drag her away from Joseph. Madison continues to scream. People start to run to her aid as Joseph yells “let her go”. Paul was not stopping and as people tried to get him, he took them down and laid them on the ground beaten by his superior skill set.
Joseph clenches his teeth in anger and runs at Paul. He jumps on his chest and spins himself in the air his foot coming into Paul’s face, stunning him. He let’s go of Madison and slings a look at Joseph.
Joseph looks at him just as mean. Paul snatches his sword out and others watching scream. He swings at Joseph. As they watch in shock, he back bends and head butts Paul in the knee.
Paul starts to jump up and down. Joseph takes Madison’s hand and they run forward. He is flipped on the back of his head and he lies there. They both run off and the people jump Paul.
The children run behind a tree. Joseph takes Madison’s hand.
“You’re safe now Maddie. As long as you’re with me, you’re always safe.” Joseph said assuring her of his protection. She nods to him. He looks around the edge of the tree and sees Paul is gone.
He takes Madison’s hand and as they were about to run, they run right into the evil man. He brings his blade up to strike them both down and a staff stops it. Chang Fo looks at Paul disappointed. He looks at Joseph and was impressed to see Joseph didn’t need help, his dagger was at Paul’s stomach the moment the blade was coming down.
“You leave now Paul. Student & child, you leave too. You be children and play. Paul, you and I will talk…” Chang Fo said. Paul’s face cringed and he took his leave. Joseph looks at Madison with a serious face.
“We’re safe, for now.” He said to her. “We need to tell somebody!” Madison told him in a hurry. “There’s no need to. We need to protect our families. We don’t do that by telling the truth. Come on…let’s get home Maddie.” He said to her. “Okay.” She sighed….
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Joseph spins around and his staff was at the a robber’s neck. He looks him up and down.632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1a6oMg5jg
“Go before I decide to actually do something.” Joseph told him. The man runs out of Joseph’s sight. Joseph continues on his walk turning right into someone. They both fall on the ground. Joseph springs up quickly and looks at the person he had run into.
“Annie?” Joseph says. Annabelle shoots him an annoyed look and he covers his mouth. She picks up her book. “Joseph. What are you doing out here?” She asks him. “Uh, just thinking about the old days. I see your reading again. That’s a good habit.” Joseph said.
“Yeah. Sorry I hadn’t called or anything.” She said. “I wouldn’t worry my mind about it so much. I hadn’t thought to call you.” Joseph said. “How does it feel to be home?” “Like home. I should be asking you that question.” “Uh, I don’t know. It’s cozy here, but it doesn’t feel like home quite yet.” He tells her.
“It’ll come to you eventually…” Annabelle looks up and sees three girls walking towards her. She frowns and Joseph turns back to the sight. It was far too late to escape a scene now. The women all look at Annabelle and smile at her.
“How are things Driving Miss Daisy?” Marilyn asked Annabelle. “I don’t know, you tell me Marilyn.” Annabelle shot back. “Now who is this hunk of handsome here? Trying to move in on him before us Annie poo?” Marilyn says directing her attention to Joseph. Joseph raises his eyebrow to her.
“He’s grown. He can defend himself from a couple of witches. I have some water…let’s see if you melt this time.” Annabelle told them. “Try that again and I’ll sue your pathetic family for everything they have. Now, what’s your name, handsome?” Marilyn asked.
Joseph looks the blonde woman up and down. In all truth she was a pretty woman. She was built well for a Caucasian. She had real, actual hair, on her head that ran down her back and pretty striking green eyes. She was attractive…just ugly on the inside.
Added to that, blonde was not in Joseph’s taste category. Two, though never truly spoken, she and Annabelle had been the Belle’s of the town. No one could choose who was the prettiest. Joseph had heard of this, and to be honest, he knew who was, out of his own personal taste, and the true qualities.
So looking at her and her looking at him, he let out a laugh. Marilyn’s face turned a different shade of red, not anger, or shock…something very nasty. She changes back to a smile.
“I’m going to get you handsome, you just wait and see. I always get what I want. Come on girls. Let’s leave pretty boy with something to wish for and loser here…well just for being something scraped from the bottom of the barrel.” Marilyn said looking at Annabelle. The girls spin around and walk away from them both.
Joseph looks at Annabelle. Her eyes were a little watery and she looks away from him. His face softens quite quickly and to a point that none had seen in some time since he returned from his horror show at the IOSTA.
“Are you okay Annabelle?” Joseph said touching her. Se wipes her eyes and looks at him with a slight smile on her face. “I’m fine. Sometimes, it just gets to me. Don’t worry about me.” “They don’t have the right to talk about you that way. And if I don’t worry about you, who will? Annabelle…you’re….something special and they know it. Don’t let them tear you down.”
He caresses her back comforting her. She finally stops sniffling and gets her book up. She takes in a breath.
“Thank you for the pep talk. I’ll see you around Joseph.” She said leaving. Joseph decided that it was time for he and princess to leave themselves. He went after the young girl and they went home.
Joseph was in his room changing his shirt. He slipped it on all the way and he knew something was different. He spins around and smashes a person in the wall. Joseph pulls the staff back after realizing who it was that he pinned against the wall. He bit his tongue a little.
“Sorry, you came in like an assassin.” Joseph tells Syntyke. She gives him a look and sits on his bed. “No one saw you come in did they?” he asks her.
“Not even your little sister. She was a little busy talking to that bunny.” Syntyke said. “There a reason you here? I don’t like the fact that you are. You’ve put a giant bulls-eye on my house.” Joseph said putting his staff away.
“I need your help to get out of the IOSTA Joseph. They’ve come after me…well, not the organization, Paul has. I need to get out before he does me in.” Syntyke says. “What? He’d try it even if you run out.” Joseph said.
“You were trained by Chang Fo. Is there any legal way I can get out?” she asks him. “Uh, yes there is. Even Paul O’Connor would not try to come after you unless you come after him.” Joseph said.
“So why didn’t you complete it?” She asks him. “Because I want Paul to come after me. That will be his downfall. But you, you need to get out. Paul won’t stop. I can tell you how. You need to go to Paris. There you will see the man Hans Settin. He is in the center of Rome at all times.
Ask him…he will lead you to complete a test that will free you from the IOSTA, whatever it may be.” Joseph tells her.
“Thank you Joseph. I’ll come back as soon as I’m out.” She tells him about to slip out of the window. “Beware…only the darkest soul can handle the darkest pit.” Joseph said. “What’s that mean?” “You don’t know now.” Joseph said.
She slips out of the window and Joseph lies on the bed. There is smashing sound and he turns his head to see Natalia with her head through the wall. He gets up and looks at her.
“Stop showing off your training around the house. How many times do I have to tell you that. Bed.” He says quickly.
She sticks her tongue out and returns to her room…632Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx762IIodjy
