Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Beyond the End ❯ Imitation to a whole new level ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Chapter Six
“Janis!” A voice said as it tackled Janis.
“Oof, hey Alyss. How's it going?” Janis said once she was able to speak again.
The girl who had just glomped Janis grinned.
“I heard you're getting the exchange student from Yugoslavia to live here with you! That's so cool. What's their name? What do they look like? Have you gotten to meet them yet?” Alyss bubbled happily, her bright blue eyes shining with excitement and her waist-length blonde hair bouncing as she jumped around her best friend. Janis sighed, grinning as she shook her head. Alyss had obviously just finished her customary morning pot of coffee. She'd calm down in a few hours…hopefully…
“His name—”
“Whoa! It's a guy?” Alyss asked incredulously, cutting off Janis.
“Yeah. Mom nearly flipped out, but I calmed her down by telling her—honestly!—that I wouldn't be providing her with grandkids for at least another six years. Anyway, his name's Livius Mymick, but he goes by Livi. I think he's about thirteen years old, has sort of long black hair and really nice green eyes,” Janis said.
“I bet his eyes are your favorite part, huh?” Alyss smirked at her friend.
“Nah, it's the fact that he's one of the sweetest people I know—besides you, of course!—and he's funny as hell. I think he may also like to imitate people, but I could be wrong. And, obviously, I've gotten to meet him.”
Hopefully that will sate Alyss' curiosity about the “exchange student” from “Yugoslavia.”
It didn't.
“Does he have any siblings?”
“He had a younger sister.”
“Had?”
“Yeah, she was killed in a car accident, along with their parents, a couple of months ago.”
A bit of a white lie can't hurt, can it?
“Oh no! How's he been holding up? Who's he living with back home? Is that why he wanted to leave?”
“You guys are talking about me, aren't you?” a male voice said from behind Janis, a slight accent to it. Janis saw Alyss's eyes widen in shock.
“You might have mentioned he was blue, Janis. It's not exactly…normal,” she whispered in Janis's ear.
“Oops…,” she whispered back before turning to face Livi and grinning broadly, “You're out of the hospital!”
“I'm almost as fast a healer as Katiana was.”
Janis walked towards Livi, dragging Alyss with her.
“She wanted to ask you a few questions. Don't worry, the whole hyperactive bit will wear off as soon as the caffeine overdose finishes going through her system.”
“And…how long does that take?”
“Well, put it this way…I've never seen her totally calm,” Janis said, grinning at Livi's sudden pained look.
“I can stay awake for eight nights in a row with no sleep!” Alyss quipped, grinning proudly.
“Isn't that bad for you?” Livi asked incredulously.
“Never said I was a health freak.”
“And yet you want to be a doctor,” Janis said, rolling her eyes.
“But you don't have white tufts growing out of your ears, Alyss! And you don't look like this,” he said, shifting into his version of a doctor, hairy ears and all. Alyss stared at him in shock.
“Janis…he takes imitation to a whole new freakin' level.”
Both Janis and Livi began to laugh.
“Anyway,” Livi said, still chortling, “You wanted to know about my home life?”
“And a bit more besides. Jeeze, how do you do that?” Alyss asked, still in a slight state of shock.
“Eh, it's just something I've picked up on over the years. Anyway, to answer the whole `what does Livi live like?' question you have, I live with my grandmother Yvonne and my cousin Raien. Raien's dad—my uncle—died a few years ago, and her mother…well, no one's seen her for years. We think she abandoned them to go and live with someone she actually loved. Raien takes after her, I think. According to Yvonne—who is also the most over-bearing person in the world—Raien's mother was nearly as violent as Raien and definitely as independent.
“Anyway, it was Yvonne's idea that I come to America for a while, just until things calm down at home. When it comes to my mental state…well, I guess that I'm recovering somewhat. I do still miss my parents, and certainly my younger sister, but I guess I'll manage somehow.”
“Is your recovery going well? Or is that why you were in the hospital?”
“My recovery is going fine. I'm just a klutz, and I cut my head open when I tripped down the stairs in Janis's house,” Livi lied smoothly, only a very faint hint of a blush giving him away.
“Oh…” Alyss said, not looking quite convinced. Before she could comment further, however, a series of high-pitched notes indicated that her cell phone was ringing. She checked the caller ID and groaned as she pressed the answer button.
“Hi mom…No, I'm at Janis's…He did what? Not again…Aw man…Alright, I'm leaving now. Bye mom…Yeah, I love you too…Bye now.”
“What happened?” Janis asked curiously.
“Carlisle,” was all Alyss said in reply, rolling her eyes slightly. Janis nodded.
“Ah,” she replied knowingly, ignoring Livi's befuddled look.
“Anyway, I'll see you guys later. I've got to go and take care of my stupid cat. It was night to meet you, Livi. Good luck, okay?” she said, hugging them both quickly before taking off at a sprint down the road and back towards her house one block down and one street over. Janis smiled at her friend's retreating back, shaking her head slightly.
“And that was Alyss Janssen, perhaps the weirdest person I know. She's psychotic, hyperactive, extra-caffeinated, and my very best friend,” Janis said, grinning widely.
“I think you would have liked Katiana. She was very similar to Alyss, only she never was introduced to this thing called caffeine. What is the stuff, anyway?”
“Erm, I'll…tell you later,” Janis said, not wanting to think about what might happen if she introduced Livi to the wonders of caffeinated substances.
“Okay, I'll wait.”
“Probably a smart move, Livi.”
“Should I be glad that Katiana was never introduced to the stuff?”
“Very much so, if she was like Alyss already.”
“Alright. I do still miss her, though.”
“Don't worry, you'll still have your memories of her to keep her alive.”
“Yeah, I know. But it's not the same, you know? The pain feels like it'll never go away, and I just feel…empty sometimes.”
“That can only be healed by time.”
“Great…more waiting.”
Janis grinned, “Well, let's keep you waiting a little less time for reading.”
With that, she took his hand (ignoring the slight spark of energy) and led him inside.