ILBA - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Issi, did you get your system?” Jane asked, and when I nodded she patted the chair next to her. “Then come and sit down, Lulu still needs to take a turn.”

I sprinted across the room and climbed into the chair, eager to see what Lulu would get. Once I was seated Teddy leaned over towards me. “May I see what class you got?” she asked.

“I dunno how to do that though,” I told her. The strange screen had disappeared as soon as I’d been distracted, and wasn’t sure how to get it back.

“It’s simple, just think of the window, and say ‘System’” Jane said from my other side.

I glanced between the pair for a minute, then concentrated really hard on the window. “System,” I murmured.

I squeaked in surprise as the floating blue box just popped into existence in front of me. It looked similar to before, but instead of a conversation, it just showed information.

[Introductory System

Isabella Sophia Claire

Primary Class: Stuffy Shuffler

Skills: Animate Stuffy (Level 1)

Bonuses: N/A

Achievements: N/A]

“I dunno what it means though,” I said disappointedly.

“May I?” Teddy asked, leaning over my shoulder.

“You can see it?” I asked.

“Family members can view each other’s System windows, other people need to have permission. It’s alway polite to ask someone before you manipulate someone else's window,” Jane explained.

I nodded shyly, and Teddy reached over and touched the class. A smaller screen popped up:

[Stuffy Shuffler (Introductory Class): Allows limited control of stuffed animals. Evolves into puppeteer or gadgeteer]

It took me a minute to work through all the words. “I can make Mr Frog dance?!?!?!” I squealed.

“In the long run, but you’ll have to pay close attention in school if you want to learn,” Jane told me seriously. 

I nodded as hard as I could, which caused the window to fade. It was good that it did, because I’d nearly missed Lulu getting her system. It didn’t look like she was doing anything, just standing there, but after a couple seconds she let out a small ‘Eep’ and immediately ran over to her mom.

Angaline lifted her daughter up, and the two whispered back and forth for a moment.

“Is everything okay?” Jane asked with concern.

“Yes, Lulu was just a little surprised by her class. Did you want to share it sweety?”

Lulu buried herself deeper into her mother’s jacket and mumbled something, but I missed what she said. Apparently Teddy did to, because she leaned forward. “Pardon?”

“She said ‘Lamb’,” Angaline said, brushing Lulu’s hair aside a little, revealing a tiny horn. 

“Animal traits, cool!” I yelled, which just made Lulu blush harder and dig further into her mother’s coat.

“You might think it’s cool, but it means we have to go talk to a counselor before we leave to see if she’s ok with the change, or if it should be reset,” Angaline said as she calmly patted Lulu on the back. “Transformation isn’t for everyone.”

“I think it suits her,” Teddy said, which resulted in her getting smacked in the back of the head by Jane. 

“But no one wants to influence her one way or the other, it’s her choice whether she wants to keep the chance until her system upgrade,” Jane clarified.

“Right, that’s what I meant,” Teddy added.

“Yes, well, you’ll have to excuse us. This is unexpected, but we should still be able to drop by your house for dinner when we’re done. We’ll see you later,” Angaline said calmly.

“Bye-bye Lulu, good luck!” I called as my friend was carried from the room. She waved back over her mother’s shoulder.

“Well, that was exciting. Shall we head home?” Teddy asked as she popped to her feet.

“No, you need to head back to the office and help Sharron so she can make it to dinner,” Jane snapped. “Don’t try to skip out and use Issi as an excuse.”

The smaller woman slumped, “Fine…. See you at home squirt,” she said, patting me on the head as she passed.

“That’s it? All done?” I asked as Jane stood up and brushed off her dress.

“That’s it. I know it wasn’t super exciting, but now that you’ve got a system you and Lulu can enter school and learn how to use it. You might even make some new friends!” she said as she took my hand.

“I have plenty of friends!” I pouted. “Lulu, Senior Duckington, and now Sir Froggington,” I said, holding up my new stuffy. 

“Yes, but you can always make more,” Jane replied with a smile as we made our way back down the hallway and out of the building. The sun was still high in the sky, and it was warm as we made our way back through the park. “Is there anything you want to do before dinner? We have a little time before the others get out of school,” she asked.

I looked around the area, thinking about it, when I spotted something. “Talk to the pigeons,” I replied seriously.

Of course the pigeons didn’t want to talk to me, they never really did, but I still tried for a while. I even bribed them with some popcorn that Jane purchased. They still didn’t talk to me.

I was so disappointed that Jane had to carry me back to the car. “I’m sure they’ll talk to you one day,” she said lightly as she strapped me into my seat. “But we have to go home, Alan and Jennifer will be home soon.” 

“They’ll talk to me one day,” I confirmed with a small nod. 

Bright river wasn’t exactly a huge town, but it was a decent size. It took about five minutes for us to get from the center of town to our house on the outskirts. 

I loved our house, it was an old farm house which had been maintained and upgraded over time. It had enough space for everyone to have their own room, even though there was so many of us. At the back of the house there was a huge backyard to play in, even if the workshop took up some of the space.

As soon as Jane pulled into the driveway I pulled off my belt, after struggling for a few seconds, and jumped out.

“Don’t make a mess! Everyone’s coming in a couple hours,” Jane called from the driverseat.

I didn’t answer as I rushed in the main door. Alan was slumped over the kitchen counter, eating cornflakes like he usually did when he got home. “Don’t make a mess! Company’s coming!” I told him as I walked by. The eight year old just grunted, which was about as much as I normally got out of him.

Behind him, sitting at the table was Jennifer, working on one of her projects. I placed my new frog on the table before pulling myself up onto a chair, then rested my chin upon it while watching.

“Hey shorty, how’d it go today?” she asked without looking up.

“I’m a Stuffy Shuffler,” I announced proudly.

Jennifer stopped fiddling with her contraption for a moment and looked up. “A what?”

“Stuffy shuffler? Teddy says it’s like a puppeteer… I can move stuffies!” I explained, as I grabbed my frog's arms and flipped them around to demonstrate. 

“That’s a new one,” Jeniffer muttered as she brushed her long brown hair out of her face. She was only ten, but she acted much older. I didn’t know if she got that from Jane, she certainly didn’t get it from Teddy, but I admired her for it.

When Jane stepped in a minute later she frowned. “Make sure you clean up after yourselves, everyone is coming over tonight,” she grumbled. “We’ll be in the backyard for a barbeque, but we still need to keep the main area clean.”

“I told them!” I reported, as I swiveled in my seat and threw my arms over the back of the chair.

“Telling you all to clean up, and it actually happening are two different things,” Jane grumbled. “Jeni, can you please pull some chairs out of the shed before everyone arrives?” 

“Oh, me too!” I volunteered. 

“They may be a little big for you to move,” Jane said, patting my head as she walked by. “But you could help by supervising everything. If everything goes well, Angaline and Lulu should be by soon. Maybe you can wait for them?”

“Can do!” I saluted, pulling my stuffy from the table and running back to the front room. I launched myself onto the window seat and watched the driveway for movement. I knew that Jane was just trying to keep me occupied, but I didn’t care. Today had been exciting, and I couldn’t wait until Lulu arrived so we could talk about it. Today was great, but tonight would be amazing.

I smiled and pressed my face against the window. Everyone would be arriving soon.