*********************
Entry #114
Mom graduated from medical school today, I'm so proud of her. The ceremony
was very moving. I still feel kind of bad though, she put it aside when
I
was
born and it's only recently that she went back to finish. But what's done
is
done. Now she can begin her residency. She hasn't said where yet though.
Dad
sent flowers, but mom threw them away without even looking at the card.
I hope we stay in Saint Paul, I love the winters here. I've said it before
and I'll say it again. Ice is nice.
Cool so this is going to have Ami's perspective through journal entries.
Cool, I feel people don't use this style as often as they could. It's realy
a nice perspective if done right.
Amy Lynn Angela Anderson,
**Damn! Think her name's long enough?**
sighed as she stepped out of >the elevator onto the seventh floor of the
condo building. Here >she was, the best student in
school, honors program, band, and volunteer at the boys and girls club
mentoring young scientists, and her math teacher was still giving her
only
mid-level calculus. Where was the challenge? Trig, at the very least,
some
physics would be nice too.
Classic Ami.
"Or at least give me time in the chemistry lab," she muttered to herself.
"
**ax this quote mark **
She had been brushing her teeth yesterday morning when it suddenly
occurred to her that a nine-volt battery, xenon gas, and the cheese on
the
pizzas in
the cafeteria could be combined to create fake muscle tissue that the
human
immune system wouldn't reject.
** ? O_o ...**
She had rushed back to her room, sketched out
the formula and presented it to Mr. Carson, the chem lab teacher, he had
looked at it, turned white, told her that it was very nice, and then took
a
bottle from his desk drawer and began taking long gulps from it, his hands
shaking almost violently as they had since she had made the lab table
float
in mid-air.
Ah Gentleman Jack Daniels. My chem teacher liked that too my senior year.
Something about burning a hole in a lab table and my hand whith sodium.
She hadn't meant to make it float, but the chemical spill right before
it
had
been sort of her fault. If only Doctor Knight of Pacific Tech wasn't so
damn
good at explaining particle physics. She could almost hear his voice.
'Amy Lynn, would you like to help me probe the Universe?' Protons, quarks,
Doctor Knight explaining fusion in...intimate detail while demonstrating
how
to probe the universe on the Accelerator...Amy Lynn's mouth began to water
and she felt her knees began to buckle.
Ooooooh Someone's getting the warm squishies for the 'ol Doc.
And Doctor Knight was fairly good looking as well she supposed. If you
went
for that sort of thing.
and of course she hadn't noticed that...yeah right.
Pulling her key out of her pocket, she unlocked the front door and was
startled to see her mom packing things into boxes.
"Mom?"
"Good news dear, I found a residency, we're moving!"
*****************
Amy Lynn stared out at the scenery as her mother's convertible whisked
them
down the back road.
"Where are we going again?" she asked.
"Juuban Hollow," her mother replied. "It's where I was born."
*Groan*
"Juuban...Mom, Juuban is a Japanese word."
"I know, dear. After the Interment camps, many Japanese headed south-east
to
found their own community. The locals migrated in, and eventually the
community became a small town that merged with Garic's Hollow. The town
doctor is getting ready to retire-such a dear man-and I made arrangements
to
have my residency in Juuban Hollow. When it's over, Doctor Jackson will
retire, and I take over his practice. Not to mention my student loans
get
paid off."
Well at least it's a good explanation.
"But why? Mom, it's not even cold down here."
"You'll adjust, dear."
*****************
Juuban Hollow proved to be a single street lined sporadically with old
wooden
buildings on both sides. Only one thing caught her eye. A blond haired
girl
sitting on the roof of an old pickup truck parked by the side of the road,
a
big black Great Dane sitting on the ground next to the front wheel. For
just
a moment, Amy Lynn's eyes met those of the blonde and she felt the chill
of
recognition. Then the moment had passed and the girl and her dog were
far
behind.
hmm sounds like back home. Were did you say Juuban hollow is?
At the far end of town, her mother pulled into the driveway of a large
wooden
structure in better condition then most. A second story rose from the
back
and in the distance, she could see a hill and what looked like a mansion
atop
it. A mule was grazing on some grass near the front door and regarded
them
with curious indifference before returning to grazing.
in the south that'd be a plantation Steve. ;) **Image of several Youma
out
in thte feilds working.**
The front door opened and an elderly white-haired man dressed in a white
lab
coat and overalls over a plaid work shirt came bustling out, grinning
broadly.
"Janice!" He cried out grabbing her mom in a huge bear hug. "It's good
to
lay
these old eyes on you once again."
"Hello, Arthur," her mom replied, returning the hug. "It's good to see
you
too." She indicated Amy Lynn, who obediently came around the car. "And
this
is Amy Lynn."
Doctor Jackson hugged her as well. He smelled of apples...and some kind
of
sterilization chemicals.
I could make a couple of crude remarks here but will refrain. ;)
Her Mother handed her a twenty. "Go down to the general store, dear, buy
yourself a soda and a snack." She turned back to Doctor Jackson. "I'm
looking
forward to this, Arthur."
"Not much to look forward to, I'm afraid," Doctor Jackson replied. "Most
injuries the people prefer to treat themselves, even severed limbs.
0_o; ...What?!
"You're not going to see many patients and the few you do see are usually
Mountain Plantation where they have a little more sense then to treat
an
injury by drinking more beer."
See I told you it was a plantation. And there's nothing wrong ith beer.
It
has wonderful healing properties when drank in suficiant amounts.
They vanished inside, leaving Amy Lynn to her own devices.
0_o;
*****************
The general store lay in the middle of town, a ramshackle old building
with
a
neon open sign in the window that was half burnt out. The painted sign
on
the
front read "OKASA P General Store" in green and gold letters that had
been
faded by the sun. A tall, blonde-haired man wearing a white apron, jeans
and
an old T-shirt was sweeping the front walk and he gave her a friendly
smile
as she went past.
A Great Dane lay on the front the porch, and it's ears flicked as she
made
her way up the steps. Now that she was closer and could get a better look,
she realized that a small scar, shaped like a crescent moon adorned the
dog's
forehead. Amy Lynn held out her hand for the dog to sniff and when it
didn't
growl at her, she scratched it's head between the ears before heading
inside.
Inside was a few tables, unoccupied, shelves of groceries and a long
L-shaped
counter with faded red leather stools. Sitting at the far end, a
blonde-haired girl was perched on one of the stools, chewing on a long
blade
of grass. Behind the counter, a brown-haired girl leaned against the back
counter, arms crossed talking quietly to the blonde-haired girl. Another
brown-haired girl, perhaps twelve or thirteen was stacking cans on a floor
display.
I like this description.
"Welcome to the Okasap general store," the girl behind the counter said.
Her
voice was slightly nasal, with a New Yorkish accent. "What can I get you?"
Sailor Moon just crossed over into "My cousin Vinnie" didn't it?
"Something cold," Amy Lynn replied, taking a seat on one of the stools.
"How about a Root-Beer float?"
"Sure."
The girl grabbed a glass from under the counter, opened another cupboard,
which was revealed to be a small freezer, and took out a tub of ice cream,
which she began to spoon liberally into the mug. "So where you from?"
she
asked.
"Saint Paul, Minnesota," Amy Lynn replied. "We just arrived."
"Arrived? You're moving here?"
"Yes, my mom is a doctor. She's taking over as town doctor when the old
one
retires."
"Ah." She turned to the soda fountain and began adding root beer. "We've
been
wondering when she'd get here." She set the glass on the counter in front
of
Amy Lynn. "Go tell Mister Peters he owes my mom twenty bucks," she called
to
the girl stacking cans. "Doctor's arrived." The girl nodded and ran out.
"You bet on when my mom would get here?"
"Nope. Mister Peters did. Bets on everything, that man. Mom's the only
one
willing to take his bets." She held out her hand. "I'm Molly."
Ahh betting on the trivial. a national past time back home.
"Amy Lynn," Amy Lynn replied, shaking the offered hand.
"And that's Serena Usagi Ann Tsukino,"
Damn 'nother long 'en
Molly said, indicating the blonde as
Amy Lynn realized that it was the same girl she had seen sitting on the
roof
of the truck. "But every one calls her Bunny."
for obvious reasons.
Bunny was slender with round curves and her white shirt and raggedly
Should be Raggedy, works better.
jean shorts hugged them tightly. An old, dirt-spotted work shirt was over
the
white shirt and her feet were covered by work boots. The white shirt had
been
tied under her breasts to show off a flat midriff tight enough to bounce
a
quarter off of and her arms were leanly muscled. As Bunny turned at the
sound
of her name, her work shirt moved and Amy Lynn caught sight of the handle
of
a Machete on her far side.
Hello!
Molly, on the other hand, was shorter, but more slender. Her shoulders
were
narrow and her face freckled. Her shoulder length brown hair parted in
a
widow's peak over her forehead and she wore a light blue shirt with the
sleeves cut off and jeans under a starched white apron.
Cute.
Amy Lynn took a sip of the float and smiled. The ice cream and root beer
was
cold, and felt good as it slid down her throat.
...0_o; um...
*****************
Entry #120
We arrived in Juuban Hollow today. It's a really small place with not
much
to
do. Molly, who's mom runs the general store and her friend Bunny showed
me
around.
I lie. This place is horrible. The library's books are out of date and
there's not even any cellular service so my wireless modem won't work.
I HATE THIS PLACE!
****
Author's note:
Or if you prefer, last words before my execution by flame mail. =)
** Watches the Yakuza hitmen setting up across the treet from steve's.**
Hmm I think Ms. Takeuchi has taken care of that.
Juuban Hollow is in no particular portion of the South. Rather, it is
a sort of generic town fueled by too much Jeff Foxworthy and Country Music. I
know the reasons behind the name seem cliche, but otherwise, it seems like
a gaping plothole to have a town named like that.
I have to agree. Nice way of doing it to. I could see this happening.
Special Thanks go out to Myron Kinnison and Harold Ancell for their tips
on keeping it Southern and special thanks to Harold for supplying an
exhaustive list of names, possible backrounds for this version of the Senshi