[d20 Modern / 4CtF] Windy City Mutants: Genesis [PG-17]

[Krizzel]

Monday, 7:00am
DuPries home, Oak Grove

Richard DuPries looked up from behind his newspaper - somehow he could read that thing, watch the local news on the small flat panel TV on the kitchen wall, and still keep track of CNN on the big TV in the living room, all while eating his breakfast. His sandy colored hair and strong jaw weren't reflected in his daughters, but his vibrant green eyes were, lively and full of intelligence behind thin-rimmed stylish glasses. Since it was his day off, he'd dressed 'down' to business casual rather than wear a suit, but there was still a tie fastened neatly around his collar.

"I suppose that would be okay, honey," he replied to Stacy, smiling and sounding rather officious as if he was the king bestowing benevolence on his subjects. As if he had any other choice but to give in to his darling daughter.

"A boy in the car? Oh, what would my mother say!" Ba exclaimed as she shuffled in from the other room, watering can in hand. The old woman was short, yet she stood with a strong, board straight posture, and the girls knew from experience that their grandmother was a bit more spry than she usually liked to appear. Her wheathered skin was still taut, her brown eyes sharp and quick, adding further evidence to the fact that though their grandmother was very old, she was still very healthy.

Ba tilted her head to the side while she set the can down on the table, as if listening, and then she nodded. "Probably she would want to know why he's not a 'nice Vietnamese boy,'" she decided, using the exasperated tone a child reserves for parroting the naggings of her parent. Ba patted Stacy fondly on the shoulder, then turned her smile on Lana. "And she'd want to know why Trac has not found one yet either, hmm?" One of Ba's ideas to keep the girls mindful of their heritage was to nickname them after the legendary sisters who led a Vietnamese rebellion against China, Trung Trac and Trung Nhi.

 

[Krizzel]

Monday, 7:10am
Reynolds residence, Oak Grove

"Hurry Lorenzo," his mom chided as he walked into the kitchen. "You don't want to be late." She turned to the microwave and opened it to take out a plate of steaming freezer waffles and breakfast links, then slid it in front of his place at the table. "Get yourself some orange juice from the 'fridge, honey," she ordered with a brief smile before frowning as she returned to the purse and briefcase she'd been rifling through as he came down the stairs.

Lorenzo's father was already gone, leaving at six as usual for his commute into downtown. There was always a good deal of work to do at the office before the market opened, but the upside was that Mr. Reynolds usually got home by five.

"So, we never got to hear about your date, Lorenzo," his mom inquired.

 

[KitanaVorr]

Monday, 7:00am
DuPries home, Oak Grove

Lana rolled her eyes while she finished her breakfast. What a surprise. All Stacy had to ever do was bat her eyes or put on that hurt expression and dad would give her anything she wanted. Well, Lana would put up with the pretty boy in the morning if she had to for Stacy's sake.

"Ba, when there's actually a boy worth dating, I'll date him," came her response as she shoved the last chopstick full of rice into her mouth. "But the boys at school...they're all so boring and brainless. You can't hold a conversation with them for five minutes before they run out of things to talk about."

 

[Krizzel]

Monday, 6:15am
Murphy apartment, Calumet Park

There was a knock on Macario's bedroom door. "Macario? It's time for school, dear!"

Footsteps creaked away on the old floor as his mom walked all the way on down to the kitchen - hardly more than a corner of the single main room of their apartment. Built back in the fifties, the Hyde Housing Projects might have been nice once, but they hadn't aged well at all. Nor had the area around them, and it had turned into one of the more run-down sections of Calumet Park, although at least the crime wasn't too bad - especially in comparison to south side proper.

Two bedrooms, a small bathroom, and the main room was all that what was left of Macario's father's money could afford. Where he was, no one seemed to know - it'd been so long, maybe he really was dead. The government pension money would go to Marcario's mom in that case, but without a death certificate it was just held in limbo somewhere. Until that changed, his mom would have to continue to work her waitressing job to make enough money for food and the rest of the bills.

 

[Krizzel]

Monday, 7:00am
DuPries home, Oak Grove

"Hmph." Ba lifted her nose haughtily but there was a hint of laughter in her eyes. "You should go to France - they have nice boys there, like your grandpa was." With a toss of her head that sent her thigh-length braid of silvery-white hair swinging from side to side, Ba strode over to the counter with a swishing of her gold-colored ao dai. A silky blue cashmere wrap the twins had given her a few years ago kept her shoulders warm. "Son," she commanded as she opened the cabinet, "you should take us to France in the summer."

Now if Stacy had her father wrapped around her little finger, then so did Ba, and she had the experience, confidence, and willingness to use it expertly. "Well Ba, I'll have to check at the office first. We might be pretty busy soon," he waffled.

"Nonsense. They owe you for your good work. And Huyen has vacation time to use," Ba assured as if it was already decided. She pulled out two bowls and then turned to the refrigerator.

"Well..." Richard tried to think of something else, but he supposed vacation did sound nice. They hadn't gotten to take one last year. "I guess they did offer to give me two weeks if I wanted..."

"Good," Ba pronounced with finality. She set a container of cooked fish and one of rice on the counter, then called "Bi Mat!" and rapped the counter with her knuckles. A ringing bell answered almost immediately as the ivory colored cat with its black tail bounded in from the family room and leaped onto the counter. She mewed demandingly, watching with large light blue eyes as Ba parceled out some pieces of fish into one of the bowls.

 

[Shalimar]

Monday, 7:00am
DuPries home, Oak Grove

"Thats not very nice Lana, most of them are nice, thoughtful and very sweet. I know for a fact that Kyle is very interested in you." Replied Stacy to her sisters comment.

"Goodmorning Ba."

Stacy rose and took her bowl to the sink. She slipped it into the dishwasher. She reached into her teddy-bear back pack and pulled out her pink Cell phone.

"Please excuse me for a minute." She says exiting the room to use the phone, trying not to be rude. She hits the speed-dial thats marked with a heart, and waits for it to ring. God isn't he just so scrumptious? I'm lucky Lana didn't want him, and that I get him for my very own. she thinks unable to stop the herself from giving a dopey grin.

"Hi Chris, its me, Stacy... I love you. I ah, asked dad if we could give you a ride, and he said yes, if you want one. So yeah... Your brother doesn't need to give you a ride. Do you want to come over? I am wearing that skirt you like..."

 

[KitanaVorr]

Monday, 7:00am
DuPries home, Oak Grove

"Kyle?! Sure he's got the body, but his brain is the size of a small pea," Lana scoffed, taking her bowl and plate to the sink to rinse before setting it in the dishwasher. Standing near her grandma, she gave her a big hug from behind and kiss on the cheek. What is it about Vietnamese grandmas that they always smelled sweet, spicey and powdery all at once. And they always felt good to hug, warm and comfy.

"Dad, its not quite France, which by the way is really really awesome if you can swing it, but can you drive me to Greek Peak to do some boarding?" Lana began to ready a pot of tea for her and grandma.

 

[Keia]

Monday, 7:10am
Reynolds residence, Oak Grove

Lorenzo opened the frig and took out the juice carton and set it by his plate, stalling for time and setting the story. “On Saturday? I went out with Becca Serra – she’s a cheerleader and in drama club. Anyway, we went to dinner and an IMax movie at the Navy Pier after I got off work. We had fun, goofed off and kinda lost track of time. I got her home late and her Dad was waiting up. But, no problems. Hey, isn’t Mr. Serra on the one bank board with Dad?”

Smoke screen, plausible story, change subject after reasonable time – now to see if ma bought it. I did go to the Pier for dinner, but them we made out and talked for hours. I did smooth it all over with her Dad. Keep eating and look thoughtful.

 

[loxmyth]

Monday, 6:15am
Murphy apartment, Calumet Park

Macario sat up for a moment before immediately lying back down again. "I'm up, I'm up," he called to his mother, though it was sort of muffled by the bed. But as usual, he didn't want to abandon the comfort of his warm bed to the frigid air in the house. Cold. Why was it always so cold? So he tried to go back to sleep. Unsuccessfully, because of what felt like a hole in his belly. He fought it for a while, but in the end, voracious appetite beat out complete sluggishness.

He pushed off the four layers of ragged blankets, covered with the saturday morning cartoon characters of his youth, and rolled off his mattress. Which was basically what his bed was, a boxspring and a mattress. He didn't mind now, though - apparently they were all the rage with the rich folks these days and they called them futons.

His small room was pretty bare: a few potted plants he had liked the look of grew on the plank that sat across the radiator below his small window, his bed, a dresser his mom had found secondhand somewhere, with half its drawers missing. He had the few pairs of clothes that still fit him in the drawers, and piled books in the open spaces. A small wardrobe held his ratty winter jacket and a suit that was a size too small for him for special occasions. And a mirror, intended for wall mounting but lacking the frame with which to do so, leaned against the far wall. A few sketchbooks were scattered around the bed; he had been drawing himself to sleep that night.

He went to examine himself in the mirror, dreading it as he always did. And immediately what he saw made him want to cry. His face was peeling again, the sheets of dead flesh hanging off his face like tissue. Rushing back to his bed, he saw that other flakes of his body had been sloughed off during the night. Swearing under his breath, he quickly stripped off the covers and the lowermost layer of blankets, and opened the window. Cold he could feel through to his bones almost paralyzed him. Quickly gathering his strength, he flagged the sheets, sending those pieces of him to rain down like powder in the back. Once he was done, he shut the window, sat down and cried. He longed for the days when all he had to hide were sticky sheets.

Quickly, he went to the shower. If his mother saw his tears, she'd suspect something. And Macario never wanted her to look at him the way she did that first day, with fear and revulsion. He'd never let that happen again.

Showering was like running through ice; and it never got warm enough for Macario, so he stayed only long enough to wash off the peeled skin and reveal his new, perfectly healthy skin beneath. That's what baffled doctors the most; the way he seemed perfectly healthy - except for the fact that his skin would fall off every now and again.

He dressed in a thick checkered shirt he called his Lumberjack jacket, and some faded jeans that had been patched in the knees. He carefully combed his finger-length hair out to a very small afro, and carefully washed around his eyes again, hoping the puffiness was out. Then he gathered his school stuff. The report he and Roz were supposed to be working on was almost done, and he had all of Dave's homework finished as well as his own. Dave Goldstein being his only friend who was somewhat popular, Macario made sure the school's all-star MVP always did well on assignments.

By the time he came down for breakfast, he could smell the oatmeal porridge that he knew would be waiting for him on the table. "Morning mummy," he greeted her brightly, "how you feeling?"

 

[Krizzel]

Monday, 6:30am
Pulaski Hospital, West Side

The parking lot was quiet as Linh Tran walked out through the emergency room doors, breath puffing into the frigid air. It was a much different scene from a few minutes before when she'd driven the ambulance up, sirens screaming, and then the organized chaos of the emergency room itself with doctors and nurses shouting ten different things at once.

A man's grandaughter had found him half-dead this morning - apparently he nearly froze to death over the weekend when the heat at the west side housing project where he lived went out. Luckily she'd been coming to take him for a doctor's appointment, and had found him with literally tens of minutes to spare. Even at that he was probably going to lose a few fingers and toes.

"Hey Tran," Mike Gardola, Linh's partner, called as he followed her out a couple minutes later, zipping his dark blue EMT jacket tight. "The doc' says Mr. Olsen's stable. He should be okay." Mike's accent colored him as a Windy City native, and his short, somewhat curly black hair, complete with matching mustache made him look the part in combination with his fair skin. He had blue eyes - and 'blue' blood too, of a sort. His father, brother, and grandfather had all been policemen or firemen - or both - and so had Mike, joining up as soon as he got out of high school. At twenty-five, he seemed to have finally settled on being an EMT, doing that for the last three years, though he still volunteered with Houseton's fire squad in his off time.

"Let's get some breakfast, huh?" he suggested as he headed for the passenger's door.