BURNT LASAGNA, tagged NELL;

Nell noticed Jacob’s impatience as he drove home, and she watched him from the corner of her eyes as she propped her elbow against the window. She wondered what the girl—Tasha was her name, she smiled as she thought of this—was like, but already knew she’d be adorable. All kids were, at least to her. Even the incorrigible ones who got into things they shouldn’t made her into a puddle of affectionate goo. At times, she found herself wishing she had a baby sister, or more dangerously, that Tilly was still alive. But these thoughts hurt her, and so she did what she was best at. When will it all come out? Hopefully not too soon—she needed to focus on the present before dealing with the past. There was too much stress to even begin to consider taking a moment to sit down and go over the events of her past. She had things to do, school to go to, books to study, work to accomplish. And now she had a car to worry about. She didn’t think she could properly express how thankful she was for Jacob’s assistance—it was the most help she’d ever received in her life.

While opening the door for her, she noticed where Jacob’s gaze was drawn to and saw a girl staring out the window. She guessed it was Tasha, and she looked a bit mussed up. Before Nell could even lift her hand in a wave, though, the girl disappeared. Poor girl, she must have been so lonely. She followed Jacob into the house, figuring that something was up. And she discovered that something as she entered and was met with the smell of something burning. The Earth student put two and two together, and guessed that Tasha got tired of waiting for dinner. That notion was further solidified when Jacob went into the kitchen after calling for his sister.

Nell had already begun unlocking when she heard Jacob, pushing them up, letting the frigid winter chill enter and the smoke leave. Nell was surprised the smoke alarm hadn’t gone off. She had trouble with her own when simply frying bacon, and needless to say her neighbors didn’t appreciate it. She was good enough with disabling it however. Coughing a bit as she entered the kitchen, she fanned a hand in front of her face and saw that Tasha was in Jacob’s arms. Do not squeal, do not squeal… She smiled genuinely when she said, ”So I see Tasha decided to make dinner.” Then, much more seriously and with concern, she asked the girl, ”You didn’t burn yourself, did you?”

Tasha had pressed herself against the wall, and Nell looked on with affectionate eyes. When Tasha asked who Nell was—the Earth student assumed Ty was an affectionate nickname for her big brother—Jacob turned to her and she gave a smile in return to his silent words. Nell saw the red marks on Tasha's hands as he inspected then, and her eyes grew warm with worry and sympathy. She wondered if the young girl did things like this often, and it was a bit concerning. But she couldn’t blame the cutie pie.


Jacob took the liberty of introducing her as a student of the Academy, which changed the girl's demeanor completely. She approached Nell with eagerness, and Nell was surprised by her own self-control. Resist the urge. She had to physically restrain herself from hugging the poor girl by keeping her hands in her pockets. If only she had some kind of candy on her or something… Great, now she was in the process of practically melting before the little girl. Self-control, self-control…


Nell blinked a few times at the rapid speed questions, but she giggled right after and tapped her finger against her chin as if deep in thought. “Well, I'm a seventeen-year-old senior in high school and I belong to the Earth Affiliation," she said, counting on her fingers as she joined the girls first questions into one answer. Don't do it Nell...but she's too damn cute! Ah, this was so hard. Nearly impossible. But if she was capable of anything, Nell was capable of controlling herself. "Thank you, but I'm not his girlfriend. I could come over as much as you’d like so you wouldn’t be lonely, though. ” Nell mostly said it for the girl's benefit, but she sent Jacob a questioning look with her eyebrow raised, wondering if that would be appropriate.


As Jacob rifled in the cabinets, Nell kept her hands in her pockets, must not hug... Maybe she was just too touchy-feely or something, but it was truly hard to keep her hands to herself and not just pick up the girl and coo and ask to take her home. Instead, she leaned over and asked, "How old are you, Tasha?" Nell remembered Jacob telling her that his younger sister was eleven, but she still asked because she found it was a question children liked to talk about and respond to. And hopefully she could keep the girl's mind off of the burns.

Nell gave herself a mental pat on her back. She’d behaved herself well so far. She looks like she could use a cookie. Everyone loves cookies. Make sure to buy cookies. She shook her head to get these ridiculous thoughts out of her head. Children did dangerous things to her. Not like Nell usually was the most mature person—sure, she’d been forced to grow up quickly for the sake of her twin but she still had too much naiveté and corny humor to be considered that much of the adult. Life had quite literally ripped her from the umbilical cord, handed her a duffel bag, and said, “Good luck in Canada!” And now she was on her own. Still a little girl in certain ways, while handling things only an adult should be thinking of. But she turned her thoughts off of those things while she watched the adorable girl. No, it was hard to think of dark things with Tasha there before her. Maybe that’s another reason she loved children—they were filled with too much innocence to be touched by anything else. And Nell wanted to preserve this.

Jacob seemed to find it odd that he’d never seen her around before, and it was true. They probably would have met a while ago had she been in the Academy. ”I enrolled this year, actually,” she said, and she really didn’t want to elaborate from there. The Academy could have found her in America had her mother not kept her captive and her family had not cared about her wellbeing. Then a realization struck her with intense force: her family could definitely trace her here. Nell’s stomach twisted, but she kept up her smile, making sure to look at Tasha and her bright young innocence to keep her fear at bay. Her thoughts were frantic though—the Academy is the only place for elementals to learn and it would most likely be one of the first places for her family to look. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

Tasha’s smile was really making it difficult for Nell to contain herself. She laughed lightly as the girl requested a demonstration of her powers and the Earth student considered this. The cold was sure hampering her powers, but Josh had given a tip that was working out quite well for her and the temperature in the kitchen was much better than that of outside. With a mischievous smile, Nell rooted in her back pocket for a packet of seeds and tore it open. ”Well, I don’t know if I can right now…” she said as if she were really uncertain about it. But when she brought her hand in front of her, Nell held a small bouquet of pink tulips, which she found to be her favorite flower actually. ”Oh, would you look at that?” It wasn’t too impressive, more like a parlor trick, but as she was still a high schooler, it was about as much as she could do. And hey, if she couldn’t give food, she could at least give flowers.

She was glad that Jacob didn’t find it too forward of her, though she doubted visits would be often, no matter how much she adored the girl. Her life was filled to the brim, and nowadays she was working on fumes. Every time Tasha spoke, the urge to gather her up in Nell’s arms was renewed. ”April hmm? That means you’ll be showing signs if you’re getting your powers pretty soon,” Nell said encouragingly. ”Most show signs of manifesting their powers around thirteen. And I’m sure you’ll be Water just like your big brother.” Though she knew genetics had a lot to do with it, that’s not how it had worked for her. Father’s side was Thunder and mother’s side water—she was the black sheep in so many ways, and one of them is how she developed her bond with Earth. Nell wouldn’t have it any other way, actually.

When Tasha went to soak her hands, Nell ran her fingers through her hair and laughed a bit. ”Got a vase?” she asked Jacob, a bit sheepishly, looking at the tulips in her hands. Perhaps she should have thought of that before blooming them.

She was glad for Jacob’s tact. He seemed to understand that she was uncomfortable with the topic, and merely acknowledged it with a smile. His little sister, however, was not so tactful. But when the girl tilted her head, Nell couldn’t help but bend down and gather Tasha in her arms. Drawing back, she tapped her on the nose and said, ”That’s a secret!” And so she adeptly avoided the young girl’s question with a light giggle. She couldn’t blame Tasha—children were always so curious, and it was incredibly endearing. And she didn’t want to tarnish that innocence with any tales of her own childhood, whether or not she was willing to admit it. Nell could have given the abridged version that she was not allowed to go. But that might have given way to more questions. Then the Earth student would have to lie, and she hated lying even though it seemed to be what she did best nowadays. She was lying to pretty much everyone, but that was for self-preservation. You’re a terrible person, Nell.

Luckily, Jacob told her to continue soaking her hands and went to wipe off the stove, Nell’s gaze turned focused as she tried to pack away her concerns about the possibility her family could find her in the Academy. Most of them probably attended the school, though this was information she wasn’t privy to. No doubt they wouldn’t give up their search before at least checking the Academy, right? This made her stomach a bit upset, but she willed the bile down. She couldn’t be so paranoid, or she’d end up a wreck. So Nell convinced herself that she’d cross that bridge if she ever came to it. There was no use in fretting over possibilities that may never happen (even though her relatives were determined sons of bitches and the search for her back in the states had not yet ended).

Tasha would prove to be a terrific distraction. Seeing the girl’s face absolutely light up like that made Nell forget about anything else. It liked there was nothing wrong with the world, like it was filled with rainbows and unicorns and not vindictive families and broken down cars. When Tasha claimed she wanted to be Earth instead, she gave Jacob a triumphant grin to his feigned slighted expression. Nell didn’t mind questions at all, especially not when they were coming from Tasha. ”I’ve been growing flowers ever since I got my powers. As for how I do it…an Earth elemental never reveals her secrets.” Yes, more secrets, Nell was good with those kinds of things. Perhaps when she graduated, she’d be able grow flowers much the way she used to do when she was younger. ”If you turn out to be an Earth elemental, you’ll be able to do the same thing.” Nell was actually excited to see what the girl would turn out to be when her powers finally crop up.

Nell pulled out a vase from the cabinet Jacob indicated and filled it with water. Hopefully the tulips would last for a while, even with the chill outside. She placed the flowers on the counter and gave him a wide smile. ”That’s perfect!” Nell was far from picky, and since she was a guest, even if she had a problem with the food she wouldn’t say anything. She was nothing short of polite. ”Would you like me to help out with anything? I’m not an exceptionally good cook, but I’m not completely incompetent either.” Even though he may not have believed it, she’d love to help. It made her feel useful instead of just a useless, mooching guest.

Nell wished that she could tell Tasha the truth just to take the disappointed look off her face. But children shouldn’t be exposed to the kinds of things Nell had been exposed to. They shouldn’t know fear and tragedy. But she remembered what Jacob had said—they lost their parents three years ago. This girl had already known too much sadness, more than one girl should have to deal with. And Nell wondered why the world had to be like this. In her eyes, no one should have to suffer. But people did so every day. Children lost their parents and there was nothing anyone could do about it. The Earth student at least wanted to make this girl smile, and take her mind away from her dark secrets.

Jacob must have noticed something, and Tasha was immediately off telling her about this summer camp. Nell smiled, looking as if this girl was telling her the truth of the universe or something as equally captivating. She sounded so excited, it was all Nell could do not to bend over and hug her again. Truthfully, since she had never been to camp before, all the information the girl was pouring out now was completely new to her—the cheery expression wasn’t just for Tasha’s benefit. Nell truly loved to hear the girl talking about such things. ”That sounds like a lot of fun. I’ve never been to camp before, so you’ll have to tell me what it was like.”

She caught Jacob’s smile as his little sister laughed and her heart could have melted at that. This family…what have they been through, she wondered? She hadn’t even met the other girl, Em was her name, wasn’t it? Nell understood that she would not ever know, she understood how families fell apart. And even though their parents’ deaths was years ago, that sort of wound doesn’t heal quickly. She had put a band-aid on her own after killing her mother, and that was how she dealt—running away, ignoring it. At least Tasha had her big brother to hold her hand, that was all one could ask for.

Nell chuckled at the girl’s request, which Jacob postponed. ”I can show you anything you want. But big brother is right. You must be starving, right? We can wait after dinner.” She turned to Jacob then, and said, ”Wouldn’t want to destroy your yard though.” At least actual earth fared better even in horrible conditions. The real problem were the plants that couldn’t handle the snow and cold. But there were things Nell could do that didn’t involve turning the backyard into ground zero.

”You’d be surprised,” she replied. ”I’m not quite on Tasha’s level, but I’m sure my neighbors don’t appreciate the smoke alarm going off at one in the morning because I’m attempting to make stir fry. Microwaves also give me a bit of trouble.” She’d never cooked for herself before, and so her attempts were mostly less-than-stellar. Which is why she spent a lot of time eating fast food, despite her trying to stay healthy. She watched as he put the pot on the stove, and at his mention of keeping Tasha’s hands in the water, she turned her gaze to the girl with a huge grin. ”Ah, I’m sure Tasha can behave herself. She’s very mature for her age.” As usual, Nell complimented with the truth, but it would also—hopefully—encourage the girl to stay submerged until dinner was ready.

Nell laughed whole-heartedly at the girl’s flabbergasted expression. Mouth agape, she looked like an adorable version of a dead fish. ”Nope, not one,” she said cheerfully. She tried not to think of the reason why, but her past was such a part of her there was no way to ignore it. Even if her mother had been good to her, there still was the issue of money that would prevent her from being sent to camp. It sounded like something she would have enjoyed, but then again she’d have enjoyed anything other than what her childhood had been like.

Tasha seemed to have an epiphany, and she smiled fondly at the girl, ruffling her hair a bit. Jacob let her answer for herself, even though she caught him about to say something, which she supposed would have been a denial for her. ”I wish I could come, Tash, but I’ll be pretty busy in spring. I have to work and take supplementary classes for school.” All school year she’d be swamped, mostly because of the fact she’d enrolled late. She had a lot to make up for, and not to mention she had a job she needed in order to keep providing for herself. ”But I’m sure you’ll have fun.” In any other situation, she would have loved to accompany her and act as a supervisor at a camp—it was something she’d actually be good at. But life wouldn’t allow it.

The matter of the yard was cleared up with a dismissal from Jacob. ”Oh right, it’s us Earth elementals who like to keep their lawn all nice and spiffy,” she joked. If she had a lawn, she’d definitely be out there planting flowers and other vegetation every day. As an Earth student, she had quite the green thumb. ”Burnt-lasagna-patch it is then.” She laughed. Nell didn’t want to ruin his lawn, no matter how well he tended it. It’d still be rude to create a fissure in the backyard, though the prospect sounded rather humorous.

Nell’s face heated up as Jacob seemed totally confused by how things could go wrong with a microwave. Even Tasha seemed amused by this, laughed as Nell related the words, but didn’t say anything with a look from her big brother. She didn’t mind—she guessed it must have been a bit strange to have trouble with such a common household appliance. ”Uh…there was an incident with tinfoil…” Her cheeks heated up even more. ”I really didn’t know I couldn’t put that in there! And then there was also the time with the Chinese food…” She trailed off though, opting to titter and mess up the back of her hair. ”I don’t think microwaves and I are meant to get along.” No matter how much she liked to eat. Oh, irony… A girl who loved food without the skills to make such.

Nell expected Tasha to go on as she’d had so far when the Earth student commented on her maturity, but after speaking of her mother, she stopped short. It actually physically hurt Nell to see. She could feel her heart breaking as she looked at the little girl, gazing up at her brother as if he needed him to hold her hand right then. And she realized Tasha didn’t have her momma around to tell her that anymore. It must have been hard to accept for the girl, the fact that her mother was no longer there to guider her and love her. She tried to imagine how Tasha felt, since her mother was also dead, but it wasn’t the same.

Could she miss her mother? She felt like she should, because this is her mother, even though the woman had mercilessly beat her and treated her like less than a human all her life. But Nell refused to think about it, refused to acknowledge that she killed her own more, that there was a name for it. Matricide. Jacob finished what Tasha must have been saying, what their mother must have told them before. Nell bent down to hug the girl once more, but this one was so much more than her not being able to resist the cuteness. She said next to the girl's ear, ”She’s right—you don’t need to grow up too fast.” But here she was, dealing with the death of her parents which must have been a fresh wound, even though the event had passed long ago. She was pretty much forced to grow up too soon, even though her brother took care of her. Because the death of one’s parents is not something a child should have to deal with.

Jacob probably had much more to worry about than his lawn. He had two sisters to take care of, after all. But this house was pretty damn nice, better than anything she was accustomed too. Of course, she grew up in what could be considered a shack. Middle-class was a dream she couldn’t even imagine as a child. No, I’ve just recently escaped that place. It’s not even my childhood. But it was still her past, even though the abuse only ended a bit over a month ago. It’s to be put behind her, the years of growing up in the projects with her mother. One day, she would even own a house like this, perhaps even have a family. If I can think that far into the future. There was still the question of whether or not she will be found out, no matter how she tried not to think about it. It was always there in the back of her head however.

And perhaps the only thing that could distract her from these things was people like Tasha, and her energy and enthusiasm. Children made her want to do good, made her want to appear to be an amazing person in their eyes. The look Tasha was giving her only enhanced this feeling to unknown heights. Jacob still seemed astonished with her cooking skills. ”Uh, yeah,” she said awkwardly, adding on a titter. As she expected, the tin foil thing was well-known. And she guessed she should have realized that it would not mix well with a microwave. At least Tasha looked like she was going to stick up for Nell, which made the Earth student’s lips twitch up in amusement. He held out his hand, and seemed to seriously be suggest that she call him should she have doubts about what to put into her kitchen appliances.”Well…I’ve also been having trouble with my toaster,” she said mischievously. She smiled, pulled out her phone from her pocket and placed it in his outstretched so he could enter his number in her contacts. ”It’d be nice to have someone so wise in the ways of cookery to advise me...and to keep me from putting anymore tin foil in the microwave.”

She blinked at the gravity with which Tasha spoke, but couldn’t help the grin spreading across her face. And the girl was funny, too, could it get any better? Nell nodded thoughtfully. ”You know, I think you’re right, Tasha. It’ll just take some time, is all.” She could make friends well enough with others, why not household appliances? The sad thing was that Nell actually took her words seriously, to some extent, while still being aware of her joking attitude. The Earth student really just needed more real world experience. All she had to do was keep growing and learning, absorbing information like the sponge she hoped to be.

Nell didn’t know how her show of affection would be received. Especially since Jacob didn’t come forth to hug his sister. He just sat back, looking quite compose but the pain was still there. She knew how to look for those things in the eyes of others. She saw it in her own eyes when looking in the mirror at the hospital. So there was relief when Tasha returned the hug. Again, Nell thought of how she’d have liked this when she was in pain or having trouble. She would have liked some sort of reassurance, but that didn’t happen. The people who were supposed to console her, the family that was supposed to love her, merely wanted to see her in prison.

Sensing that she was an intruder to this family, she pulled back still wearing a gentle smile. ”How’s the tortellini coming along?” she asked Jacob, and if she wasn’t next to Tasha she’d be peering over his shoulder to observe his progress. ”I never really had it before, if truth be told. I grew up in a Spanish home, so there weren’t a lot of pasta dishes.” This was her way of changing the subject, and she patted herself on the back for both admitting a small detail about herself without getting uncomfortable and hopefully alleviating the atmosphere. ”Is pasta a popular British dish?” she asked with a huge grin, hoping talk of his home like this wouldn’t upset him. Her own heritage was something she found she could actually talk about without feeling incredibly awkward.