Changing Times (Nell)

OUTFIT

A flash of recognition swept across the boy’s features. Nell? Grant was impressed that Nell even recognized him at this point. He had been twelve going on thirteen when they had met up on the road. That and he looked like a grimy street urchin when he had lived with his parents in the dingy van. A full mop of mossy long brown hair, dirt on his face, and probably going around in his hemp sandals his mom had to fix up all the time. Needless to say the boy had cleaned up a bit since then. Grant was a man now. Okay, maybe not a man, but he was at least clean looking for the most part. He had regular access to a shower and free will to keep his hair short and neat. His clothes may have still looked a bit out of place and dodgy, but at least they were clean. A little beat up, but clean. And they best part of it all was that his feet were fully covered now.

Nell looked pretty similar to his memory of her. Her hair was a bit longer and she seemed to have found some stability in her life as well. Enough to provide her with clothes a bit nicer than what she had been wearing when they first met. ”Hello Nell.” He stood up and found that maybe everything wasn’t exactly as it seemed with Nell. She was…shorter than what he remembered. Last time he saw her she was only an inch or so shorter than he was. Now he felt a like giant with her. The growth spurts he had over the past few years was astounding next to the older girl. Once Nell was settled in a seat, Grant sat across from her. ”I just finished up a set here and I figured I’d spend all my hard earned money on this tea.” he nodded towards the small amp and microphone setup. $3.36 for a cup of hot water and a tea bag. Not really what anyone would call a bargain.

A full blown smile stretched across his face as he shook his head at Nell’s question. No way did he mind having her company. Thankfully she came equipped with her own drinks because Grant’s loose change wouldn’t have allowed him to be polite and offer her something from the coffee shop. The girl across from him was one of his first contacts with the outside world back in the day. The first one to actually stick around for more than an hour or two at least. Grant could remember staring wide eyed in wonder towards her as she told him stories about the modern world while his father drove the van straight into the middle of the night. One of Nell’s first story about a television station that just played music was fascinating. Radio and television playing music was a revolutionary thought for young Grant. He thought the television just had a few stations of news or whatever. ”Or do you mean Maple Hollow? Because I could ask you the same question.” Those few weeks in which Nell joined his family along the road planted the seed of normality in his head. Grant had always wondered what went on with all the other children his family drove past on their travels. Nell’s presence had opened Pandora’s Box. It was the first time he got to be around someone closer to his age.

OUTFIT

To hear the news that Nell went to the Academy warmed his heart to no end. Today just got even better. ”I live here now..all the time. Well, actually I go to the Academy.” Time certainly had made a lot of change for both of their lives. Grant’s eyes honed in on Nell’s left hand. Catching a glimpse of the bling made him scoot in a bit towards the table to get a better look. When she had first joined the traveling Belddyn’s, Grant had to admit he had a tiny bit of a crush on Nell. Maybe it was her, or just the idolization of a girl from the outside world that made him feel like that. Nothing more than a little innocent crush the young boy had at the time. A sense of joy filled him as he tore his eyes away from the ring and looked to Nell. ”What a lucky guy,” he said honestly, smiling at his first friend, ”Congratulations Nell.” He better not tell his parents though that she had, 'given in to the system.' ”Of course I remember you. You were the first person I ever got to know that wasn’t over the hill or just a buyer for my parents. You’re my friend.” On the inside Grant was a little hurt at the thought. Time was a bitch, but he couldn’t forget the happy memory.

”My parents are doing alright. They remembered to come by this winter break which was nice. Still traveling, still not married.” he explained. Grant loved his parents, but his stint with ‘the real world’ opened his eyes to a lot of wacky things his parents taught him as normal. ”Maybe about a year after you left some really strange stuff started to happen. I couldn’t understand what was going on with me. I was knocking down small stuff before my hands even touch stuff and messing up all the uh…paper stacks for my parents’ business.” He gave Nell a sheepish look before continuing on. Nell knew enough about how his family made enough cash to make it from town to town. ”I didn’t tell my parents at first because they were trying to teach me how to do all of these freaky plant things. They were pretty dead set on me doing weird voodoo magic and ‘make the seeds flourish underneath the waves of your love’ and stuff." he laughed at the memory of it all. At first Grant thought his parents were just going on with all their hippie ideas. He was shocked to learn there was some truth in is parents’ rambling. They ‘business’ wasn’t just working out because his parents were old school hippies.

”After you left I started thinking about what else was out there in the world,” Grant had traveled more than most kids his age, but in a very different sense. He wanted to see what others did. Most importantly, Grant wanted to see what normal was all about. ”I figured by the time I was eighteen I’d be able to leave and do what I want, you know? Then all this weird power stuff happened and then we rolled into Maple Hollows one day. Scouts caught wind of us and I finally got some answers to what was going on with me.” He took a small break to sip some of his tea. He felt like he was professing his current life story onto Nell, but it had been some time since he had seen her. ”Not like I had a choice at that point, but it would have been the easiest decision of my life. I get to go to school, make friends, and I get to see a TV more than just passing by other people’s livings room. I learned what a Honey Boo Boo is and I wish I could unlearn it.” he joked. ”Sorry, now I’m rambling. What about you? Where did you go after you left us?”

OUTFIT

Grant drummed his fingers against the table to try and exert some of his giddiness. Nell asked the million dollar question. ”Yup. I’m here for good. I’m hoping to go to college as well. I don’t know for what, but I’ve got my sights set on it. I want a degree, a job, a girlfriend, the whole nine yards. The American dream in Canada.” That would go over well when he told his folks. They believed Grant’s go at normalcy was just a rebellious stage in his life. Oh the irony of a boy seeking out stability being called rebellious. Grant felt a little flushed at the candid admission from his friend. He was under the impression she knew loads of people before she had run into him. It was nice to know that he wasn’t just another blip on the radar. ”You were mine too actually…” Better company than all the other people he ever met before coming to the Academy.

”Mom and Dad think this is a huge government conspiracy. Maple Hollow to them is a government run town created to contain us, mark us up, and study how all of this ‘love magic’ works. I’ve crossed sides apparently. It’s always a challenge to convince them to drop me back off after breaks.” His parents didn’t hate home for it, but they weren’t thrilled when they traveled through the town to see him once in a blue moon. They refused to stay in the town longer than it took for Grant to hassle into the van. ”I don’t think my parents understand that there is some science and all that jazz attributed to what we’ve got going on.” The whole thing confused Grant to no end. On one hand their elemental powers were past down from genetics, some bloodlines stronger than others, while his understanding of the origin of their powers was still up in the air. Grant was one of those kids who didn’t pay too much attention to the why’s and how’s of it all and just enjoyed the ride. So he had some pretty freaky powers and could control which way the wind blows every once and awhile? Well, that’s was cool with him. ”Is that really an animal?” Grant had a hard time figuring out when people joked about certain things. Maybe this little girl on TV was secretly smart for calling herself after an animal. …No she ate ketchup with butter as sauce and went to something called the Redneck Olympics.

”Maybe they’ll make a show about me one day,” he joked. Cameras following him around didn’t sound really appealing though. Grant was learning that there were some shows that would highlight almost anything though. Like bored housewives, people who hunt ducks, and something called ‘guidos’. ”In some regards it’s been tricky. I’m still behind on a lot of cultural references people talk about. Look at this,” Grant rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his rock of a phone. The thing looked like a brick that could survive a nuclear bomb being dropped on it. With Grant’s lack of a steady income he had to go on a prepaid minute system. Needless to say he was still not the easiest person to stay in contact with. ”And I don’t understand how to really use the computers at school without someone guiding me along still. I know what Google is and how to type a document once I find the Word icon.” He slid his phone back into pocket and sheepishly patted down his hair. As much as he liked to joke about it in public it was embarrassing to him.

OUTFIT

Grant shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes at the notion of it all. Looking from the outside in now, he had giving up on trying to understand what drove them to this kind of thinking in the first place. ”Yeah, they’re not too keen on conceding to anything being based off science. But magic,” he waved his hands a bit to emphases the bizarre nature of it all, ”now that is were all of the truths to life’s greatest mysteries are. According to the Belddyn’s at least.” Grant couldn’t help but frown a bit at the looks she was giving him. All things considered, Grant had a good life. Strange, but blessed. His parents were never abusive or unsupportive of him –completely- and they showered him with love. ”You’re probably right, they'll stop grumbling about it sooner or later.”Being like his parents probably would have drove Grant a little bit mad. He didn’t want to end up like them, and on a superficial level, being Wind was the first step away from that lifestyle choice in his mind. ”I’m actually glad I’m a Wind. It’s nice not to have to worry about picking sides or pissing people off. For now I can just fly under the radar while everyone sort of makes due with each other.”

Grant took a final sip of his tea. He brought the cheap china mug up to his face looking as if there was a secret stash of liquid still hiding in there. He pouted as he gave in to the fact that his tea drinking was done for the day. Maybe he could knick some from a friend in the common room when he got back. Grant sure as hell couldn’t afford another drink from Tim Horton’s anytime soon. Unless of course he put on his ‘selling hat’ and turned a few quarters out this week. ”Yeah, the Man could get a ton of ratings or whatever from me.” Grant’s use of the word ‘Man’ was said with the utmost genuine tone. It was a common word –and enemy- to the Belddyn clan. ”Washing Machines weren’t that bad for me, because my ultimate reward was clean clothes. You ever smell some of those detergents Nell? They smell like Heaven. Better than dirt and weed like the old days. Washing in a river does not even compare. It’s the telephones, and DVD players, and every ‘i’ product in the world that confuse me.”

Grant’s face lit up upon Nell’s request. Not many people asked him for his number unless they were looking for a hook up. Grant only had about three contacts in his phone that he kept, one being the school safety line. ”Yeah, it’s…uh….” Grant went through his pants pocket once more and pulled out his wallet. It had very little in it; his social security card from the states, an ID, no money, and a business card or two he picked up on the street. He pulled out a piece of paper with his number on it and read it out to Nell. Closing up the wallet he gave Nell another sheepish look. ”I haven’t really used it much myself so the number still isn’t burned into my memory.” Not that he wanted to waste his memory space on a series of numbers. Passwords and phone numbers, and PIN numbers, all of that was a waste of time when he could be cramming in some literature. ”My friend Stacy lets me watch cat videos on her iSomething. They are so cute jumping in boxes and rolling around in bed sheets. I think I want a kitten soon. Then I can just watch the cat instead of going online.” That was the real point of life though for him. Not being glued to a screen and having his brain rot away. He already was doomed from smoking.

His pointer finger lazily traced the rim of his empty cup as Nell offered an invitation to get together in the future. ”Of course. And now you have my number so it can really happen” Grant’s eye lit up with unknown wonder as Nell said a word he didn’t recognize. Felling a bit inquisitive and safe asking his friend he leaned in. ”What’s a casino?” Honestly, Grant wasn’t even sure where to begin when it came to imagining what that was. Was it like a store for clothes, or maybe food? Yeah, maybe it was a fancy word for restaurant. And Nell was behind a counter or something cooking expensive steaks and crazy sauces. ”I’ve seen people skate. And play that game with the puck,” he snapped his fingers a few times trying to bring forth a certain word from his mind. ”Hockey! That’s it-hockey. That’s a big thing in Canada,” he leaned back in his chair, proud that he knew that little fun fact. ”It looks like a lot of fun. Do you ice skate a lot?”

OUTFIT

Poor Laundromats that had to cross paths with Nell. She made it sounds like quite the horrific experience. He’d have to avoid wherever she went just to make sure he had a working machine. The world was changing too fast for Grant to even catch up it seemed. ”Seriously? There aren’t going to be anymore DVD’s?” He slumped in his chair and bit and leaned a cheek against his hand. He should probably go return that Supersize Me DVD he had saved up his change for for so long. Originally he thought it was a movie that could help him learn about pop culture like fast food, but it turned out be a very funny study on the chain McDonalds. Grant couldn’t knock it though because their dollar meal saved him so many times. The Burger King just around the corner had some pretty sweet deals that saved him from an empty stomach. All this thinking about cheeseburgers made his stomach rumble out quite loudly.

”Ohhh texting. Another thing schools should teach students.” Wither it was due to the crappiness of his phone or due to his thumbs always hitting too many keys. His texts were and questions on what the new sort of abbreviations meant. His heart fell a bit as Nell reminded him that a furry companion was far from happening. Almost like a spoiled child, he wanted to love a furry little kitten now, not wait for it. ”No, the dorms don’t let animals in. So I have to wait two years to get a kitten. Two very long years,” he joked.

Grant furrowed his brows in confusion at the notion of a casino. He was picturing a large castle now instead of a cool restaurant. Like Dracula’s castle meant to suck people dry of money instead of blood. So Nell worked at a giant building played weird games with their money…an institution he quickly decided he did not like. All that hard earned money gobbled up in a small amount of time was a terribly depressing thought. What would motivate a person to do that when the outdoors offered all sorts of fun without spending a single cent? ”So a poker game is with cards and you take money and enforce rules?” Solitaire was the extent of games he knew how to play. Grant could go hours playing with a deck by himself with little to no rules. ”This sounds like a rich people thing,” he admitted. ”Because who else could shell out that kind of money and call it fun.”

Pumping his fists in a mock boxing fight, Grant began to replay a fight he saw on the rink. ”Hockey is like boxing half the time. It’s a wonder they have teeth still.” Grant was surprised by how much he liked watching sports. There was little thought put into it as a viewer and the enjoyment level was full fledged. He caught his first Superbowl game this year on TV, elaborate commercials and all. He’d leave the actually athletic skills to the players, but he wouldn’t have a problem with filling the role of spectator. Skating, fighting, and scoring goals all at the same time seemed far out of his realm of skills. Skating just by itself though couldn’t be too hard to handle. ”With you teaching me I’ll be gliding in no time. I’m sure of it. Then we can warm ourselves with some yummy hot chocolate to fight against Jack Frost.” Grant would have liked to personally thank whoever came up with the idea of a hot chocolate drink. Sweets had been another thing he welcomed with open arms after joining the modern world.