TIME & TIED: AWARENESS

ARC 1.3 - Of Her Impact

PART 18b: DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION 2

Moments later, the tune of a relatively recent song began - karaoke version. Corry tossed the microphone back and forth briefly between his hands before starting to sing...

~”I once wished to travel through time

To have such a power seemed really sublime

But I never imagined the problems I'd face

So now I'm lost in time and also in space.~

~I'm three days older than I was last night

Wondering if I put wrong what once went right

And I would hit rewind but time's being unkind,

Destinies intertwined now I'm losing my mind!”~

Tim lifted a brow. "He's pretty good," he noted.

"Interesting song selection," Luci murmured. She tried to remember which group had made it popular.

"Short stuff?" came the voice of Lee. "Hey, it is you. You're fast, I just saw you out in the hall."

Luci turned to Lee, feeling her heart rate increasing. "What?"

~”I can speak of tomorrow but not yesterday

For when history changes your past goes away

I altered one thing that was causing me strife

The tapestry tore changing everyone's life.

Maybe that's fine, maybe it's not,

Who draws the line, who calls the shot?”~

"I've never been able to make sense of this song," Carrie grumbled. "Pretty lame selection, huh Julie? Julie?"

Carrie was sure Julie had been within earshot a couple minutes ago. Where had her friend gone?

~”Is there some higher power involved around here?

I don't know if they helped or are something to fear.

I see now that these forces can't be understood

I'd return things to normal if only I could,

But the ramifications have damaged my brain

It won't be long now before I've gone insane.”~

"Tracked down where's that ringing's coming from then?" Joe inquired.

"Yeah, a cell phone," Frank said. “In Carrie Waterson's jacket."

"Well, answer it," Joe concluded. "It’s not going to voicemail, and whoever's calling, they don't seem to want to hang up on their own."

~"None of this should have happened, I know in my gut

Yet our future is hist'ry, and I've lost what's what.

We must now beware, time is not playing fair,

I would solve this crime it's just I'm...

outta time... outta time... outta time..."~

Corry concluded his song. There was a brief pause, then the silence was broken - not by applause, but by the voice of Laurie Veniti coming through the sound system.

"I've figured out where the test papers are,” she stated. "They're in the bottom drawer of Ms. Adams' desk in the math office which she keeps locked but Chartreuse heard from Katie that George said she keeps a spare key at the back of her pullout drawer in class in the event that she forgets her key ring because it apparently happened once a year ago and they had to force the drawer and it was a real pain and stuff but anyway that's where you can find the math tests!"

"That... that can't be me,” Laurie cried out from the back of the room, feeling the blood drain from her face.

"Oh, I won't find them there," Carrie's voice retorted through the speakers. "You will. You'd probably appreciate them more than me, after all, given your marks. Besides, you've come this far, why not prove yourself by going all the way?"

"What the hell?" Carrie gasped in response to hearing her own voice.

Laurie's voice returned. "But... I thought... it's been sort of fun to this point but to actually steal...?"

'That's pre-recorded,' Corry realized, shaking off his momentary paralysis. He spun to the DJ. "Turn off all your audio equipment,” he snapped.

"Oh, feeling a little chicken? Well, maybe your brother would be more willing to do this instead," Carrie concluded.

"No! Don't tell him about any of this. I'll... I'll take the papers if you really want..."

"SOMEONE TURN THAT GOD DAMN RECORDING OFF!" Corry yelled.

The power all around the stage immediately went dead. For a moment, another complete silence descended upon the room. No one seemed to know what to say. Though many looks automatically went to a couple of specific faces.

"I never cheated," Laurie murmured. Her face was a deathly white and she seemed to be in danger of hyperventilating. "That, that was over a year ago. Okay, I... I did take a copy of the test. But I never looked at it. Never, ever! I would never... never... oh God... I... I'm so sorry!"

The redhead buried her face in her hands and sprinted for the door.

"Laurie!" Corry cried out from the stage. He quickly started shoving his way through the crowd of still shocked spectators towards the back, only to find himself face to face with Carrie. As if sensing that they were in a danger zone, everyone standing nearby immediately took two steps back.

Corry's hands balled into fists. "You and Julie have crossed the line this time," he seethed at the blonde. "Don't think you’re getting away with it.”

"You think it was MY idea to be portrayed that way to the entire school?" Carrie fired back angrily. “I didn’t know that conversation had ever been recorded.”

“Then you admit it happened?" Corry barked. “Sounds like you’ll be spending a little extra time at home this term.”

Carrie's eyes narrowed. "If you're implying that some sort of suspension is coming my way, be aware that your sister sounded a LOT guiltier than I did.”

"Are you threatening me, Waterson?!"

"You're smart, you figure it out! For that matter, you were the one up at the stage, with the equipment. How do we know you're not playing innocent here? Trying to create more trouble for me and Julie?”

"How DARE you try to pin the blame back on me,” Corry shot back, face going as red as his hair. "Waterson, I'd be VERY careful about what actions you take over the next few days.”

With that, Corry shoved his way past her, charging towards the door through which Laurie had exited.

***

Carrie resisted the urge to respond to Corry’s shove with a tackle, instead taking a few deep breaths before calling out, "Julie?" She turned to look about her, finally grabbing onto the shirt of the person standing closest, decorum be damned. "Did you see where the hell Julie went??"

The kid shook his head several times, returning the expression on Carrie's face with one of abject terror. Useless. The blonde shoved him back out of the way, deciding she’d have to look for the brunette herself. Because Corry had been right about one thing: Julie had crossed the line.

Whether Julie had been the one to play that recording, or whether it had been Corry - her friend had apparently sensed what was about to happen, and made a quick exit. However, instead of offering any warning, or even returning to back Carrie up, Julie had left her high and dry. Carrie was not pleased by that. Not one bit.

The blonde stalked out of the cafeteria through a different set of doors than those used by Corry.

***

As murmurs began to spread through the crowd, Chartreuse could only stare in horror at the door through which the Veniti twins had departed. "We've failed," she realized. "The 2DEGS have totally failed. Now, it’s... war."

The steadily increasing sound of student mutterings was cut off by the sound of feedback from near the stage, power having being restored. It was followed by the voice of science teacher Larry Fisk at the microphone. "This dance," he stated, "Is over. Please clear the cafetorium as soon as possible."

***

In a dark, abandoned classroom, the brunette girl smiled to herself. She collapsed the antenna for the remote she was carrying. It sounded like everything was working out more or less as anticipated. Thus phase one was complete: the revolution at the high school had begun.

Julie found herself shivering in anticipation, but she forced herself to stay focused. There was still work to be done... so much work to be done...