New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, and the home to millions of people who walk all kinds of life. There are New Yorkers who only live through a daily routine, but there are those in the city who live only to make their dreams come true. While most of the dreamers aim for fame and fortune, there's one girl who looks up to the stars for her dreams.
Rose Catone has lived all 17 years of her life believing in one thing, and that's that other worlds exist. Just as her astronomer parents did before her. When they were alive, they taught her many aspects of their research and theories. Such as that every story holds a window to another world, that each world is connected. and that the only thing that has managed to travel to all the worlds is a comet with the ability to travel the universes.
Every night since her parents' deaths, Rose would look up to the sky hoping that one night she would be able to see the comet that her family loved so much. Whenever she had the chance, she would also look into every story, including novels, movies, manga, anime, and anything else she could get her hands on to discover another world. She's done this so that that someday when she finds a way to use that comet's power she can leave her world for a better place.
Today however, Rose is making use of the Sunday spring weather by playing her acoustic guitar on the streets before going to work to get some extra cash. She just finished playing a rock song, which signaled for her small audience to cheer for the pale, skinny, girl wearing a light purple t-shirt, long blue jeans, and black sneakers.
A smile formed on Rose's freckled face as she bowed, and allowed her straight brown hair to fall over her shoulders. She quickly straightens up and gestures to the open guitar case that holds various kinds of tips. "Thanks everyone, as always tips are greatly appreciated. As much as I'd love to play all day, I have to go to work soon. However, I can give you one more song. Any requests from the audience? It can be anything from rock to Broadway."
The tourists look around in thought when a nine year old girl yells to her. "PLAY WAVING THROUGH A WINDOW!"
Rose widens her purple eyes at the request. "You mean the song from Dear Evan Hansen?"
"Yea, you said anything right? Then play!"
The girl's mother looks at her rude child disapprovingly. "Mia, it's not nice to demand a song like that."
Mia freezes at her mom's scolding, then looks at Rose with guilt in her eyes. "I'm sorry…"
Rose couldn't help but softly smile at the mother, daughter, pair before she warms up her guitar. "You said 'Waving through a Window' right? Lucky for us, that's one of my favorites."
Mia beams in excitement while her mom softly smiles at the teenager, who is playing the beginning of Waving Through a Window from the musical Dear Evan Hansen.
I've learned to slam on the brake~
Before I even turn the key~
Before I make the mistake~
Before I lead with the worst of me~
Give them no reason to stare~
No slipping up if you slip away~
So I've got nothing to share~
No, I got nothing to say~
She begins ignoring everything around her as she loses her smile when she remembers every time she felt alone since her parents have died. She looks up to the clear blue sky above the crowd while playing to give herself some comfort.
Step out, step out of the sun~
If you keep getting burned~
Step out, step out of the sun~
Because you've learned, because you've learned~
On the outside always looking in~
Will I ever be more than I've always been? ~
Cause I'm tap, tap, tapping on the glass~
I'm waving through a window~
I try to speak but nobody can hear~
So I wait around for an answer to appear~
While I'm watch, watch watching people pass~
I'm waving through a window, oh~
Can anybody see, is anybody waving back at me?~
The crowd could only stare in awe at how they felt her strong emotions through the song. Rose sees their stunned reactions, so she quickly puts on a smile for the crowd, and starts moving around to the rhythm.
We start with stars in our eyes~
We start believing that we belong~
But every sun doesn't rise~
And no one tells you where you went wrong~
Step out, step out of the sun~
If you keep getting burned~
Step out, step out of the sun~
Because you've learned, because you've learned~
On the outside always looking in~
Will I ever be more than I've always been? ~
Cause I'm tap, tap, tapping on the glass~
I'm waving through a window~
I try to speak but nobody can hear~
So I wait around for an answer to appear~
While I'm watch, watch watching people pass~
I'm waving through a window, oh~
Can anybody see, is anybody waving? ~
Right down the street a pale, muscular, blonde guy in his thirties who's wearing a police uniform starts smoking a cigar. He freezes when he hears Rose singing then looks over the crowds to see her performing. "Dammit Rose, just when I'm on break too…"
He steps on the cigar to put it out then starts moving through the overcrowded street towards the show.
Rose doesn't notice the unwanted company that's coming her way as she continues to build up her emotions through the song.
When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around~
Do you ever really crash or even make a sound? ~
When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around~
Do you ever really crash or even make a sound?~
When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around~
Do you ever really crash or even make a sound?~
When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around~
Do you ever really crash or even make a sound?~
Did I even make a sound?~
Did I even make a sound?~
It's like I never made a sound~
Will I ever make a sound?~
She freezes for a soft moment when that question comes to her mind before she snaps out of it. She picks up the tempo and lets her feelings out through the ending of the song.
On the outside always looking in~
Will I ever be more than I've always been? ~
Cause I'm tap, tap, tapping on the glass~
I'm waving through a window~
I try to speak but nobody can hear~
So I wait around for an answer to appear~
While I'm watch, watch watching people pass~
I'm waving through a window, oh!~
Can anybody see, is anybody waving back at me? Ooh~
Is anybody waving? ~
Waving, waving, whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh~
She plays the final chord just before the crowd applauds her and leaves their tips in the guitar case.
Mia's mom goes to put a ten dollar bill in the guitar case while Mia runs up to Rose and hands her a quarter. "You were amazing! Thank you for playing that song!"
Rose softly grins at the kid as she takes the quarter and puts it in her pocket. "My pleasure, you have good taste in music. Feel free to come by again to ask for another song."
"Yea!" Mia takes her mom's hand and waves her off while they, and the tourists, start scattering.
Rose goes to the case to collect the tips, but freezes when she sees the cop trying to get through the crowd. *I was wondering when Bobby was gonna show up today…*
She starts rushing to take the tips out of the case just when Bobby approaches her.
"Did you really have to play without a permit during my break Rose?"
She chuckles as she finishes placing her tips in the outer pocket of the case then puts the guitar inside. "I thought it would be better for us both if you would turn the other way, since you're off duty Bobby."
"Will you stop calling me that and call me Robert already?!"
She chuckles as she zips up the case then straps it onto her back. "But Bobby suits you better." She stops and furrows her eyebrows as if she's deep in thought. "Well actually, Smoker suits you best since you're practically his blonde twin."
He groans at the nickname. "Quit naming me after that anime character!"
"I'll stop if you quit interfering with my street performing."
He keeps a scowl on his face as he grabs his ticket booklet from his belt and brings out his already made ticket for her. "Not a chance, you're paying the fine this time Ro-!"
He cuts himself off when he looks up to see that she's already made a run for it. "YOU KNOW MY POLICY BOBBY! IF I DON'T GET IT, I DON'T PAY IT!"
"GET BACK HERE!"
Rose continues running through the overcrowded streets while smirking over her shoulder to see Bobby in pursuit. "OH COME ON BOBBY! YOU KNOW STREET PERFORMING PERMITS ARE A WASTE OF MONEY! YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON PLAYING FOR THE PEOPLE!"
"AMEN TO THAT SISTER!" A nearby bucket drummer raises his drum stick to her while the chase runs past him.
Bobby groans in frustration as he maneuvers through the crowds while keeping his eyes on the fleeing brunette. "You can't run forever!"
"Watch me you blonde Smoker impersonator!"
"Quit calling me that!"
"Then quit looking like the white hunter!" Rose keeps her smirk up until she looks at an electric clock, shown on one of the buildings, to see that it's 1:00 in the afternoon.
She groans in frustration while running a hand through her unruly bangs. *Shit, Naomi's gonna kill me for being late for work again… Better to focus on escaping Bobby right now!*
Rose looks around for a way to lose the cop until she sees the entrance to an underground subway station. She ran to the entrance and jumped down the stairs as quickly as she could to gain some distance.
Bobby ran down the stairs in pursuit when he saw Rose using the subway pass, that she kept in her pocket, to get through the gate. He quickly followed suit and pursued her all the way to a subway that's about to leave.
Rose made it inside just before the doors closed, causing Bobby to slam his face into them. The cop groans as he tries to open the doors but with no luck.
Rose giggles as she watches the officer struggle through the window, before she playfully bows as if she just gave him a performance. "As always Bobby, it was an honor to go through the running of the cops with you. Until we meet again old friend."
Most of the people in the nearly full subway car laughed at her antics as the train departed before Bobby could open the door.
Rose straightens up and dusts herself off as she looks around at the crowded car for a seat. She finds one next to an old lady then claims it as hers after she leans the guitar case next to the bench. When she's situated in her seat, she turns to the tan middle-aged woman sitting across from her. "Does this line go to 12th street?"
The dark haired woman nods as she looks at the guitar. "Yes, it should be the next stop from here. What exactly did you do to have a cop chasing you?"
Rose chuckles as she pats the guitar case while remembering all the chases she's been through with Bobby for the last five years. "All I did was street perform without a permit. I kind of made it into a game with that cop by making him have to chase me before he could give me a ticket. To be honest, it kind of makes street performing more fun."
A young man in his twenties who's sitting next to the woman chuckles at the explanation. "It sounds like fun. Thanks for making the ride less boring."
"No problem." Rose goes into the outer pocket of her guitar case to switch her subway pass with a One Piece manga, volume 71, and begins reading.
The old lady shifts away to get as far away from Rose as possible, while staying seated, as leans towards her husband.
The old man glares at Rose, over his wife's head before whispering to his spouse. "Kids these days, always causing trouble for people. The only thing they care about are themselves. They need to show adults some respect."
The elder woman nods as she turns to gives her a sideways glance, to see what she's reading, then looks back to her husband. "She's even reading a comic book. She should be working and studying, not playing around and causing mischief. I'd hate to imagine what her parents are like. I'm grateful I'm not her mother- OH!"
The subway suddenly stopped causing the old lady to fall off the bench, but Rose caught her by the arm before she fell to the floor. The old lady only stared in shock as Rose gently helped her back in her seat with one hand while closing the book with the other.
The train slowly moves to a stop as Rose lets go of the woman causing the senior woman to dust herself off as the train stops. "U-umm, thank you…"
Rose nods as she looks ahead with her bangs covering her eyes while putting the book back in her guitar case. She stands up while strapping the case back on and giving her only one bit of acknowledgement. "For what it's worth, I'm grateful you're not my mother too."
The two seniors could only stare as she left the train and ran out to 12th street.
She sighs as she pushes the rude couple's remarks off her back and walks down the street. *Man, those old geezers need a life. I'd better get to work before I'm even more late.*
She travels on foot a few blocks down until she reaches a small pizza restaurant and walks inside.
A tall, pale, slightly chubby nineteen year old boy behind the counter, who's wearing the same clothes that Rose is wearing, starts smiling when he sees his coworker walking in. "There you are Rose! Did Smokey chase you around the city again?"
She chuckles at the shared nickname for the blonde cop. "Yea Timothy, but as always Smoker couldn't catch me. I'm not that late am I?"
"You're fifteen minutes late…"
Rose gulps at the sound of her boss' voice when she sees a tall, skinny, pale woman in her mid forties, with her red hair in a ponytail, by the kitchen door with a soft glare on her face. "This is the third time you're late this month…"
Rose rubs the back of her head nervously. "Sorry Naomi, Bobby almost caught me this time but I managed to dodge him on Broadway by taking the subway."
Naomi groans at the excuse. "All this running for street performing… Why don't you pay for the permits again?"
Timothy quietly sighs as he runs a hand through his short brown hair. "Do you have any idea how expensive those things are mom? You could buy all of Miyazaki's movies with that kind of money."
Rose nods in agreement as she takes the volume 71 One Piece manga from her case, and hands it to her fellow anime fan. "Speaking of awesomeness, thanks again for lending me the manga. I just finished it on the subway."
He quickly nods as he takes it back from her. "No problem, I still can't believe you're now starting the Dressrosa Arc. What did you think of the ending?"
Before Rose can answer Naomi steps in. "You guys can talk about anime as much as you want while you're working. Rose, go put your stuff away then clean the tables. Timothy, please go sweep the floors while I make sure we have enough ingredients on hand."
Both teenagers nod as they went into the kitchen to get the supplies. Timothy grabs a broom from the closet then heads to the dining area while Rose places her guitar in the far corner of the room. She pulls her hair into a ponytail before grabbing a roll of paper towels and disinfectant from the closet, then goes to the dining area to wipe the tables.
"So, how did you like the start of the Dressrosa arc?" Timothy asks.
Rose couldn't help but smile as she remembered the beginning of the arc. "It was amazing! That Bartolomeo guy is hilarious, I think later in the arc he'll either be a great ally or an annoying enemy. I can't believe Luffy has both a prince pirate and a giant old guy wanting to kill him for stupid reasons like being related to Garp and stealing attention. Those dwarves in Green Bit are absolutely adorable, and I can't believe Doflamingo tricked the whole world into thinking that he quit the shichibukai!"
He happily nods to her before he starts thinking of all the awesome characters in the story. "I know right?! The story just keeps getting more interesting, and the guys just keep getting hotter!"
She couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's admiration for the guys, and agree with him. "The guys are definitely awesome. Out of all the anime worlds I've looked into, that one has to be the most insane one."
Timothy couldn't agree more, but it's hard for him to hold back on the spoilers. "I just wish you'd catch up already.."
"Sorry, balancing everything during the school year makes it tough on me to keep up with the updates. Just hang on for a few more weeks. As soon as I get off from school and martial arts club for the summer I'll catch up on everything."
"That's good to hear; you need a break from martial arts club." He wears a small frown when he remembers all the bruises and scratches he's seen on his friend since their friendship began two years ago.
Once he finished sweeping, he adjusted his glasses to see that now's no different, because her arms are covered in new and fading scratches along with a couple of bruises. "Don't the teachers at your school's club stop your sparring matches when they get rough or something? You're always getting hurt."
Rose jolts at the reminder of her marks then looks down at her scratches and bruises nervously. "Y-yea they do, but the fights are still rough…"
She starts smiling to ease the tension. "Relax; you should see the other guys. The best is when their pride is shattered from losing a fight to a five and a half foot tall scrawny girl."
Timothy couldn't help but smirk at the thought. "Oh, I can see the look on their faces right now and it looks beautiful."
She nods as she finishes wiping down the tables. "Nothing's more beautiful than a good fight."
"Especially a good anime fight."
She chuckles before she throws away the used paper towels then takes the disinfectant, broom, and the remaining roll of paper towels. "All too true, I'll go put these away."
She walks into the kitchen while Naomi follows in to get some pepperoni sticks from the freezer to slice. "You're still gonna let my son believe that all those scrapes and bruises were just from your school's club, and not also from your foster family?"
Rose widens her purple eyes at the question before she sighs. "There's no point in correcting him. Besides, you know how emotional he gets when he hears about that kind of stuff. I don't want him worrying about me."
Naomi shakes her head as she goes to the meat slicer and starts cutting the pepperoni. "You can't stop him from worrying about his friends. I still don't understand why you put up with that foster dad and his daughters."
Rose sighs as she goes into the closet to put the cleaning supplies away. "You know how bad foster families can be. I'm lucky I only get hit by this one. Besides, the location is perfect. Just on the outskirts of the city where I can stargaze without too much light interference, but still able to call the city home until I accomplish my goal."
She starts smiling at the thought of seeing the comet as she unconsciously pulls her necklace out from under her shirt. She gently holds onto her parents' only memento that's hanging from the silver chain: a rhombus shaped crystal where two colors are split down the middle, black on the left, but red on the right side of the gem.
"I know you want to follow your parents' footsteps in studying that comet, but you can do that after being relocated. Even if that means you have to leave the city."
She snaps out of her thoughts by Naomi's voice before letting go of the necklace so it shows over her shirt. She keeps a smile on her face as she walks out of the closet. "Sorry, but leaving the city is out of the question until I find a way to leave this world. Besides, with less than a year left in the system anyway, there's no point in relocating. Once I turn eighteen, I'll happily leave and get an apartment with the money I saved up."
Naomi looks at her softly as she finishes slicing the meat when Timothy walks into the kitchen.
"Guys, two large families just walked in. I need help with the orders."
Rose and Naomi nod as they head out to the dining area, and neither spoke about the subject for the rest of the dinner rush.
Once the last customer left the restaurant, the three workers worked to close up the shop. Rose was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, while Timothy counts the available inventory in the freezer, and Naomi counts up the cash in the dining area.
Timothy finishes writing up the inventory, then runs out of the freezer while he rubs his arms to warm himself up. "Alright, finished!"
Rose chuckles as she washes the last plate, and puts it on the rack to dry. She looks at the clock on the wall to see that it's 7:00 then pulls her straight, brown, hair out her ponytail to let if fall just below her shoulders. "Yea, I'm done too. I'd better get going."
"Off stargazing again?"
"Yup, and I swear tonight's the night. After calculating the timing from the last known sightings, I'm confident that the Timore comet's coming to this world tonight!"
He grins in excitement. "That's awesome! Wait, you didn't figure out a way to leave yet did you?!"
She shakes her head. "Not yet, but I'll be a step closer to understanding the comet tonight."
"I'm glad for you."
"Thanks squeaks, I'll see you tomorrow."
He nods while chuckling at the nickname he earned for his high pitch voice. "See ya, I'll get my next volume of One Piece ready for you. You'd better be ready for even more awesome twists in Dressrosa."
"Can't wait." She straps the guitar case onto her back then walks out of the kitchen.
Before she reaches the door, Naomi walks up to her with a small pile of cash in her hand. "Here's your payment for the week."
Rose takes the cash with a grin and counts it over before nodding. "Thank you."
She nods then quietly sighs at her stubbornness to deal with her foster family. "No problem, but please try to listen. You shouldn't be relying on the comet as your way out. You need to live your life in this world."
Rose softly frowns from the farewell speech as she opens the door. "No promises boss, I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Naomi waves her off, then when Rose is out the door, she sighs. *I wish she'd listen to me... I'm glad she has hope in something with this other world insanity, but she needs a better grip on reality... Hopefully she can settle with learning more about the comet if it really does exist...*
She stares at the door softly for a moment before grabbing her stuff and closing up shop with Timothy.
Rose walked out of the subway station on the outskirts of New York then walked a few streets down to an old, rundown, apartment building that's been her foster home since she was ten years old.
She places her payment from work into the outer pocket of the guitar case, where she stored her tips from street performing, then walks inside and goes up to the fourth floor. *Once I put the money and guitar away, I'll head to the rooftop for the rest of the night.*
She walks into the apartment then stops at the living room to see her two foster sisters turn to her from the couch.
A skinny, tan, eighteen year old girl, with short curly blonde hair, and blue eyes, huffs before she turns back to the TV. "Oh it's just you Rosie; I thought daddy came back from work."
The blonde's identical twin sister follows her sister's example and goes back to watching Jersey Shore. "If you didn't eat, you're going to have to make yourself something."
"That's fine Marie, I already ate." Rose walks past the room then stops to overhear Marie snickering.
"Man, can you believe what Rosie wears as a uniform? She looks like a street rat right Laura?"
"Yea Marie, even that necklace doesn't make her look better. It's like she's trying to be a beggar more than a pizza girl. Hahaha!"
Rose clenches her fists at their laughter, but forces herself to go into her small brown bedroom that holds only a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet door. *They're not worth it tonight. Just put the money and guitar away then get out of here…*
She takes off the guitar case then sets it by the dresser then goes under her bed to grab her grey lock box she uses to store her money. However, when she pulls it out she freezes when she sees that the box has been forcibly opened, and all the money she stored inside was gone.
She frantically searches under the bed to see if any of the money was there but there was nothing under there. "You gotta be kidding me… Everything was in there…"
She gets out from under the bed, grabs the lock box, furiously storms out of the room to where her foster sisters are, and walks in front of the TV.
Marie looks at her in irritation. "What do you think you're doing? Move out of the way."
Rose glares at them as she shows them her lock box. "Not until you guys tell me where my fucking money is!"
Laura tilts her head in thought. "Your money? Oh, you mean the money you left for us and dad as thanks for taking care of you. We used our share for prom shopping, but I'm not sure what dad did with his."
Rose started to feel nauseous at what she just heard. "You guys did what? I WAS GOING TO USE THAT MONEY TO GET MY OWN PLACE!"
Marie snickers at her fury. "With only like ten grand you couldn't have afforded much anyway. I bet you were using that excuse as a cover to waste it on your Chinese cartoon obsess-!"
She was cut off by Rose who threw the lock box at her face. "FOR THE LAST TIME ANIME IS JAPANESE! IF YOU'RE GONNA INSULT ME THEN DO IT RIGHT YOU BITCH!"
The lock box falls onto Marie's lap before she tosses it to the side, gets up and lunges at Rose, but she kicked her side before she could touch her. Marie growls as she tackles her to the floor while using her long nails to claw at her arms. Rose punches her in the nose to get her off of her and gets up.
Marie lays down while cradling her bleeding nose while Laura ran up to Rose, and continued Marie's work in clawing at Rose. Laura managed to scratch up Roses left side of her neck, and her right cheek before Rose fought back by kneeing her in the gut, then grabbed her by the shirt to punch her in the face, and give her a broken nose to match her sister's.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING ROSE?!" The three girls freeze then turn to the door to see a tall, muscular, blue eyed man in his fifties wearing a security guard's uniform storming into the room.
Marie and Laura immediately rush to their father's side with tears in their eyes as they held their noses to try to stop the bleeding. "Rosie attacked us again daddy!"
Rose clenches her fists while ignoring the pain from the scratches. "You guys are the ones who started it by stealing my money! Laura said you took some of it too Rick, where is it?!"
"I already used it, and even if I still had it, do you really think I'd give it to the savage that harmed my daughters?" Rick turned his attention to Marie and Laura. "How are you two feeling?"
Laura keeps crying while holding onto her bleeding nose. "My nose hurts really bad daddy! What are we going to do about prom?!"
Marie lets go of her nose to see that she's not bleeding anymore and points to her bruised face. "We can't go to prom with our faces like this!"
The girls keep crying causing Rick to pull his girls into a hug before glaring at Rose. "You're not going to get away with this bitch! I expect you to pay for the damages and to apologize for hurting my daughters."
"There's no way I'm apologizing to any of you, and you'd really think I'd give you more money after you stole from me?!"
Rick lets go of his girls and walks up to her with clenched fists. He goes to punch her in the face, but she dodges and punches his nose then kicked his side. Rick staggers back then charges at her and punches her in the gut before she could react.
She dry hacks before trying to punch him again but he grabs the arm and twists it behind her back while grabbing the other arm before she can fight back. "Don't think you can beat me in a fight just because you can throw some punches! You were paid today from that pizza job right? That should be enough to cover the damages. As for your apology, I suggest you think about it when you spend the night out of my apartment!"
Rose grits her teeth while struggling to get out of his hold, but Rick was too strong. He pulls her out of the living room then throws her out without an ounce of regret.
Rose gets up just when Rick slams the door in her face. She tries to open the door to get back in but Rick already locked her out. She froze when she heard the twins laughing from the opposite side.
Marie was the first to recover from laughing. "Did you see the look on her face when you kicked her out? Thank you for taking care of her daddy, we didn't know what that monster would have done if you didn't show up."
Rick groans. "I can only imagine. It looks like the last of her money will be enough to cover up the bruises, so you should be ok for prom. Keeping Rose out of the apartment during prom night is probably best."
Laura hums in agreement. "I wish that girl would join us in the real world already. If she had a clue then she would understand how important a beautiful girl's face is for prom. Guess because her dead crazy parents gave her those dumb ideas about a world travelling comet, there's no more hope for her."
Rose clenches her teeth in fury of their words before she punches the door with all her might!
Before anyone can react to the noise she goes up the stairs to the roof of the building where the cloudless twilight sky was waiting for her.
She looks at the almost fully set sun and sighs in relief. *Good, the sun didn't finish setting yet. There's still a chance I can see the Timore comet tonight.*
She walks over by the opposite side of the roof where a large brown tarp is bunched up by the railing. She lifts the tarp to reveal a small first aid kit, a telescope along with a stand, a sleeping bag, a notebook, a timer, and an old digital camera.
She immediately takes out the first aid kit then uses the antibiotic cream to start treating her new scratches.
She cringes as she applies the cream on her arms, cheek and neck then applies bandages on the wounds. *Damn, did their nail polish get in my blood stream or something? Why does the Neosporin always hurt? As long as it does the job then it's fine. Rick seems to be getting weaker though, his punches are usually worse than that. Glad I got a good punch on his ugly face.*
She chuckles before her smile starts fading at her new financial situation. They never stole her money before, so she thought it would be safe in a lock box, but that's not an option anymore...
The brunette hugs her knees with one arm and holds onto her crystal necklace with her free hand to help her get some comfort. *Dammit, there's no way I can make up all the money before I turn eighteen… Why can't they leave me alone?!*
She clenches onto the crystal tighter while tears start filling her eyes, but before they could fall she wipes them off, let's go of the crystal, then stands up with a determined look on her face. *I can't cry now, that'll just satisfy those jerks more!*
She goes to the railing, where the view of the distant Manhattan Skyline can be seen miles away from here, then takes a deep breath before she shouts out her frustrations. "MARIE, LAURA, AND RICK ARE OTAKU HATING ASSHOLES!"
She calms herself down then chuckles at her shouting. "That felt good." *I'll figure something out about the money, but for now I'm gonna enjoy tonight.*
She looks up to see a few stars beginning to come out onto the cloudless night sky, so she turns around, and goes to the opposite side of the roof to set up the telescope stand. Once it's set, she places the telescope on, and uses it to look at the stars in the sky. *Ok, things are looking good. Glad there aren't any clouds tonight or I could've lost my chance. I should get some of tonight's details in the notebook now.*
She looks towards the moon to see the crescent moon out then writes out the astronomical facts in her journal. *Ok, tonight's lunar phase is a waxing crescent. It doesn't look like there's anything else out of the ordinary for tonight yet. I'd better get the camera and timer ready.*
She places the notebook down then grabs her timer, and camera to be ready to use at any moment. She barely has time to think when a blue light shines down on her from above!
She looks up with wide eyes to see the light is from a large blue comet that's flying across the sky. "Holy shit, it's here!"
The smile on Rose's freckled face couldn't be bigger as she starts the timer with one hand, and takes pictures of the flying comet with the other. After taking ten pictures, she uses her telescope to get a better view of the comet until it suddenly vanished from view as if it was never there.
Rose stopped the timer, placed the camera down and started writing in her notebook again. *So that was the Timore comet! It was so beautiful! It looks like it traveled here for only three and a half minutes. It didn't even leave a gas trail behind like normal comets would. This is big!*
Rose finishes jotting down her notes then softly smiles at the night sky. "Looks like I'm another step closer now, huh mom and dad?"
She caresses her necklace in her hand, while she stares at the sky for a moment before she sighs to herself. "The only question now is how can I use its energy the next time it comes around? Haha, who knows? Maybe making a wish could work."
She chuckles before continuing her joke as she keeps her focus on where the comet was. "Now that would be funny, maybe the next time I see it I'll tell it. 'I wish to go to the anime world! If I can choose which one then I want to go to the One Piece world!' Hahaha!"
She finishes laughing then quietly sighs as she releases her necklace. "If only it were that easy. Now that I've seen the comet for myself I'll get started on finding ways to use it tomorrow."
She puts away everything, but the sleeping bag which she unravels, and wraps herself inside. She gives one last look at the stars before falling asleep. However, during all that excitement, she missed the faint blue glow that her crystal necklace has gained since the comet came. While she was fast asleep, the crystal's new light began to envelope around her. Once it reached her entire body and clothes, she vanished into thin air with only the empty sleeping bag left behin.
A seven year old Rose sits in the principal's office of her elementary school with bandages on her arms and face while an old man, who is sitting at his desk, gives her a disapproving look. "Why must you always cause trouble for others? This is the sixth fight you were called in for."
Rose groans as she crosses her arms over her chest. "It's not my fault the other kids won't shut up."
The principal's eyes, that are hidden behind his glasses, narrow at the cheeky brat. "It's kids like you that gives schools a bad reputation, and should be placed in-!"
He was cut off when he heard the door knocking then a woman in her thirties, with her blonde hair in a ponytail, walks in. "Sorry to interrupt Principal. Mason, but Rose's parents are here."
"Very good, bring them in."
She nods as she leads her parents into the room, while the child lowers her head to avoid their gaze.
Principal Mason smiles at the couple as if he wasn't just insulting their daughter. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm Principal Thomas Mason, but you can call me Thomas."
A woman in her late thirties with long black hair, pale skin and purple eyes nods with a smile. "I'm Rose's mother, Teresa."
A pale man in his late thirties with shaggy brown hair, pale skin with freckles decorating his cheeks, and brown eyes hidden behind eyeglasses, shakes his hand. "I'm her father, Joe. What exactly happened?"
The administrator tiredly sighs before he looks to the troublesome child with a disapproving scowl. "To put it bluntly, your daughter has been getting into too many fights. Leaving alone the fact that it's unsightly for a girl to be fighting, she's been beating up kids left and right and giving them nosebleeds."
Rose lifts her head at the claim and glares at him. "It wasn't left and right! Just the ones who were insulting my parents!"
Joe and Teresa widen their eyes at this while Thomas huffs. "Violence is never the answer young lady. You should have learned that by now."
Teresa scowls at the principal's demeaning tone towards her daughter. "Have the kids that bothered her been called here?"
He shakes his head. "Of course not! They weren't the ones throwing punches like a brute. If you two don't mind, I'd like to discuss her punishment with you as well as a way to solve her violence problem."
Joe furrows his eyebrows in anger before he turns to his wife and daughter. "Would you two wait outside? This will be over in a bit."
Teresa sighs in exasperation as she takes her daughter by the hand and brings her out of the office. "Try not to scare the old man to death hon."
"No promises…"
Thomas looks at the family in confusion until the door was shut. Joe ignores his confusion as he take his glasses off, and give him a glare that nearly gives him a heart attack.
The demonic smirk that began to grow on Joe's face, after he saw the principal's reaction, only served to frighten the old man more. "Now then, what was that about my daughter having a violence problem?"
While Joe was scaring the life out of the old man in the office, Rose waited outside the room with her mother and turned to her with guilt in her eyes. "I'm sorry mom, I didn't think they were going to call you guys out of your lecture…"
Teresa quietly sighs at her daughter's concern for her and Joe's teaching jobs at New York University, before she ruffles her hair. "It doesn't matter if we had classes or not, we'd still come. So, those kids were insulting our research again?"
She nods as she stares at the floor sadly. "They kept calling the three of us crazy for believing in other worlds and I snapped…"
Teresa looks at her softly before she pulls her into a hug. "I know it's hard, but your father and I won't give up researching the Timore Comet just because some people don't believe us. Once we figure out how to use the comet to leave this world, we'll find a better place. Until then please bear with it, their words only hurt if you let them."
Rose nods as she hugs her mother back when the door to the principal's office opened to Joe smiling, as if nothing happened, with his glasses back on. "Are you two ready to go? Rose, you're being sent home early today, but tomorrow you can come back. Thomas said that he'll make sure the kids don't insult us anymore."
Both girls looked over Joe to see Thomas trembling in his chair and on the brink of tears.
Teresa face palms at her husband's antics. "I told you not to scare him too much… Oh well, at least it didn't end too badly."
Joe nods while he picks his daughter up, and the three of them leave the school. He looks down at Rose while he keeps her in his arms. "How are you feeling?"
She looks up at him with a soft look on her freckled face and wraps her arms around his neck. "I'm feeling better. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
He shakes his head. "It's no trouble at all. I'm glad I can use my glare of death on that jerk. That look on his face was priceless."
Rose giggles at the memory of her principal's fright from her father's glare, and makes both of her parents to smile.
Teresa sees a park coming up then turns to Rose. "Since the three of us are off school now, how about we play in the park for a bit?"
Rose eagerly nods, so Joe puts her down, and the three of them run off to begin playing the day away.
Rose smiles from the happy memory in her sleep, but it fades when a cool breeze hits her. She starts to shiver, but when she tried to curl herself up in her sleeping bag, the only thing she grabbed was the air.
She slowly opened her eyes then quickly sat up, and looked around to see that she was no longer on the rooftop of her foster home, but on the deck of a boat in the middle of the day!
"What the hell?!" She stood up and looked out to see that the boat was docked on a jungle island. She looks down at herself to see that she's wearing her non glowing necklace, her clothes, and the bandages that she placed on herself yesterday. *Ok, it doesn't look like I was kidnapped, but where the hell am I?!*
She looks around frantically for anyone on board, but she's the only one on deck. She finally understands what happened when she sees the goat figurehead on the front of the ship, and immediately recognizes it. "HOLY SHIT, I'M ON THE GOING MERRY!"
Her look of shock immediately changed to pure excitement as she danced for joy then froze to pinch one of her bandaged arms. When she feels pain from the pinch she cringes, but that doesn't take the enormous smile off her face. *It's not a dream! I can't believe it! Wait, how did this happen?! Please don't tell me a wish to the Timore Comet was all that it took, because that's just too easy...*
She shakes her head to snap herself out of it then starts focusing on her situation. *If this is really the Straw Hats' ship then what arc are we in? I'm sure everyone's on the island or else they would have noticed me…*
She looks at Merry's figurehead in thought and starts to calculate what time period she could be in. *Ok, since Merry's here that means we're somewhere before Water Seven, but after Syrup Village… I think we're on the Grand Line, because I don't recall them visiting a jungle in East Blue...*
She looks around in thought then freezes when she looks up and sees a pterodactyl flying above the island!
Once she sees the dinosaur, she immediately knows where she is and rakes her hands through her brown hair. "Holy crap, this is Little Garden! Really awesome that I can meet Vivi and Carue, but REALLY bad that I'm trespassing on the ship at a time when I could be mistaken for a Baroque Works agent!"
She takes a deep breath to calm herself down while she paces the deck. "Ok, I got two options here: Leave the ship and face the dinosaurs in hopes of befriending the crew. Or I could stay here where it's safe for now and try to convince them that I'm not an enemy when they get back… I'm gonna be facing someone's wrath, but do I want the wrath of the dinosaurs or the Straw Hats?"
She stops and looks at the island blankly for a split second before she gets ready to leave the ship. *Dinosaurs it is, maybe if I'm lucky I can meet one of the giants too!*
She grins in excitement as she climbs down the rope ladder, and runs off into the heart of Little Garden to see what her new life has in store for her.
TO BE CONTINUED