Seeing James

Brittney entered a room as she gave the sign in officer her identification as she signed in to see James. She wore her hair half up and half down in a elegant bow . She straightened her hair nervous yet determined to sell James on her plan. She heard the others waiting to see their inmate as she waited impatiently. The door buzzed open as only a few were allowed in at a time. Each station had two chairs and a dividing half wall with a glass wall and a receiver attached to the wall .
Brittany came in determined to see James squirm. She purposely dressed like Kaylee with her hair and simple makeup. Even her French manicure and pastel dress was done on purpose. She wanted him to see the ghost of his past .
She sat down as she took a deep breath as she waved at James like a fan girl. James nodded at her as he sat down as he jesture to the reciever on the wall. Brittany picked it up abruptly.
" Hello. Who might you be?" Asked James in amusement at this blonde that peaked his particular interest.
" I am Gwen. I'm a huge fan . My friends said I would never get a meeting . I'm glad I did I am at awe. " Said Brittany in a valley girl voice.
James made a face of discontent at her nasally tone. She was his type, but that tone her voice was making sounded like a person struggling for air in between words. The feeling of satisfaction was being ruined by her bubbly personality and voice.
" Do you actually talk like that or is it a choice because I'm trying to figure out if your have trouble breathing between words. Or is it difficult for you to breath or are you holding your breath in?" Asked James trying to stop the butchering of his ears.
" You don't like the sound of my voice. I didn't realize it was annoying?" She said sounding offended. She thought that the valley fan girl tone was rather convincing for the present moment that it was needed to distort her actual voice .
" I'm pretty sure you do know how annoying it can be . I'm sure I'm not the only one who think it is but the way your looking at me i am the first to point it out." He said now deciding if he should just hang up or correct her speech pattern . James was playing a game like she was playing a game.
" It's a choice. Where I'm from we all talk like this." She said narrowing her eyes at James. Usually the valley voice made guys fall all over her it matched her looks. Now this guy it telling her it gets on his nerves that he had to point it out .
James let out a scoff as he had to laugh." And where is that the far end of an a helium filled balloon town. You sound like you have a sinus infection waiting to happen . Like you snorted your brain through a straw and it came out sounding like a bad chick flick movie character " he said casting insult after insult at Brittany trying to pinch a nerve in her illusion she created.
Brittany glared at James as she didn't like her talking to her like that. She was here to straighten him out not her to be straightened out by him.she glared at him wanting to give him a peice of her mind as he was not playing by her rules.
" Look this is what we are going to do .While you are in here with me can you choose to talk less like a hot air balloon and more like a person whom I don't wish to butcher my ears." He said in a demeaning tone." If not I can hang up right now and end our visitation." He added .
" Fine I can try ." Said Brittney in her sassy bratty voice . James eyebrows rose in approval as the tone change was more pleasant than the former one she pretended to have.
" Good. Gwen you said your name is ?" He asked as he watched her calculating her body language. Her air intake as she changed breathing patterns when she was dishonest. As far as James can tell she hadnt said a single honest word since she picked up the reciever .
" Yes that was it." She confirmed as her breath hitched at the lie as he took notice of it.
" Please don't lie to me. Let's agree to be honest with each other or I can go back to my cell and take you off my list." He said as he weighed his options now the game was at foot.
What Brittany didn't know request made to see certain inmates were recorded and they were informed to see if the inmate wanted to see them or not. This was to prevent disorderly conduct for extremely violent inmates. It was their way of preventing murder from happening inside the prison walls. Upset inmates we a bad day for guards.James knew her name was Brittany Veshper. He knew she was Kaylee's cousin one time she was his obsession in their small k through twelve small town school system. He remembered her punk colored tips and her trashy looking school girl look even then she was lying to herself and he knew it .
Why James allowed her on his visitation log was because he wanted to know why she wanted to see him. The curiosity was absolutely devine intervention in his perception. She already lied to him twice . That's how Kaylee ended up as quick as she did. She lied to him when he asked her if she would think of him as her friend after the group project was over and she clearly told him absolutely. I could always use a friend. Then continued to ignore him when he passed her in between classes after it was all said and done .
What turned James on wasn't their hair or entitled attitude,but there secret flaws. The perfect imperfections. Their sins the kept hidden except for the select few . When he figured out their flaw that's how he would kill them. Kaylee's flaw was her vanity . Not a hair out of place a smidge in her lip gloss an minus on a single grade . Vanity mixed with pride made her delectable. She would show her perfect vain facade to her audience and put on an act but inside she couldn't stand half the people she was around and the ones she tolerated were there to coax her ego . She wouldn't know genuine if it hit her .
Kaylee didn't expect James to actually want friendship after she said she would. The constant avoiding and ignoring his phone calls was getting on his nerves. So when he took her to the boiling room to show her his secret room she had no idea it be the last room she would ever see . James stared at Brittany as he was picking out her imperfections. Vanity wasn't her flaw like Kaylee he couldn't put his finger on it quite yet.
" Well if you know so much what is my name?" Barked Brittany with a tinge of annoyance .
James felt something spike inside of him at her demanding time. He felt himself basking in her annoyance. He didn't know why he got excited over this act but he did. But since she had some fun with him . He was going to have fun with her now .
" You look like a Tiffany, or a Jessica, even a Stephanie." He said knowing he was teasing her in his sadistic way." Perhaps even a Brittany or a Layla .somewhere along those lines . All you privileged girls seen to rotate names like a most common name roulette." He said knowing he snuck in her real name to test her reaction as her eye brows arched as he said it and then passed it by to let her reaction speak for itself.
" Stephanie. I just told you Gwen because it sounded cooler than Stephanie it's so basic." Lied Brittany as she saw James nod at the name ." He isn't going to get my real name thought Brittany as she hated he was right about the names being repeated often in her circle.
" It suits you better than Gwen. Okay Stephanie what made you come to see me today." He said trying to get the truth instead of what she claimed.
" To be honest. Curiosity ." Said Brittany as she thought of revenge in her thoughts. she knew James in school but this version of him was quicker than she remembered. He always seemed slow and back then he was a little chubby and awkward. This James was handsome, and cunning, and dare she say a little bit disarming. She thought this would be an easy screw with his mind mission but clearly she underestimated him seeing right through her.
Meanwhile Bethany and Axel came home with new proof of their legal guardianship of Caden and instead of the name nephew was replace with son. Caden was well settled in his new life and making friends and doing well in school . The pregnancy made Bethany tired a lot and Sunny and Axel spent time cooking and training . Axel suggested to Sunny ballet lessons to help Sunny's footwork for the coordinated training him and Caden had been doing . For a man Axel was very graceful in movements as Sunny stumbled and made jerky movements that looked rehearsed .
Sunny went to her first ballet lesson as came home in a rage. She threw her slippers at the wall and made a face .
" What's the matter with you?" He asked as he saw her obvious distress.
" The other girls called me a clutz and a walking hazard. I don't like ballet at all." She fussed. " They are always moving me out of the way like the balance bar has an assigned seating chart." She said like she was in the wrong not knowing what was going on.
" You said girls as in plural ." Confirmed Axel now more concerned this was a group effort .
" Yes, sir. Three of them . The same three girls . I tried introducing myself to them like momma said be polite until you need not to. But they laughed at my name and walked past me like I was in their way ." Said Sunny as sometimes she hated meeting new people and see their reactions to the mention of her name.
" Sunshine. That is ballet it's like the ring in there. the most insecure dancer will make the most secure dancer feel bad so they can seem more put together. In fighting we call it sikeing them out. To mess up their mental space so they can't concentrate on the fight. The worst place you can be in a fight is your own head. It's the same with ballet. You let them get in your head. " He explained as he slid her the chopping board and mushrooms to chop up for dinner .
" Next week you go back up in there . Ignore those girls and do something that can't do." He said." Your name is beautiful and unique don't let a bunch of immature girls ruin the name your mother thought you should have." He soothed her as she shrugged her shoulders in agreement.
" You mean I have to go back there. Please axel don't make me go back. They are horrible people." Pleaded Sunny." The instructor is mean too and she says my full name and the girls burst out laughing each time she does it." Cried sunny as she didn't like being ridiculed .
" Then they win. All they wanted was to eliminate you as their competition. I suppose they did that now you don't want to go back. I suppose we will never know ." He said handing her the onions as she twisted her face in agony . She hated cutting onions it made her eyes burn.
" I know one girl can't leap well . She can never leap and land at the same time . It's either a leap and messy landing or a messy leap and a graceful landing." Said sunny now cutting the onions as Axel scrapeing the mushrooms in the pan.
" There you go. If they can pick out your flaws you can master theirs. The best revenge is to show them you can do what they can't . " Advised Axel.
" Okay I understand the assignment now." Sunny said as her eyes began to tear up halfway through the onion she was cutting as Axel laughed and took it from her finishing up the cutting.
" It's not funny I hate cutting onions." She said wiping her eyes as they burned.
" Go put your head in the freezer it will help." Axel said with a laugh.
" Yeah . Right. I'm sure that's how a crime documentary starts." Sassed sunny questioning Axel now with his request." If you find a random frozen head in a freezer I will know they were sent by you " said Sunny as serious as she could mustard.
" Okay suit yourself ." He said shrugging as he scraped the onions in the pan as the smell of rosemary and other herbs filled the air. The babies had been making morning sickness a little rocky for Bethany so he was careful of the smells in the house. She would cook a lot of vegetables but meat made her nauseous.
Bethany was four months pregnant now and she had already began to show since there was two babies in her. Axel also started slowly setting up the room with projects for Bethany for when it was time for her to nest . He kept it neutral themed since the genders wasn't confirmed yet. Bethany wanted to wait for it to be a surprise and Axel didn't .
He would go and get one of those canopy cribs and a swinging bouncy . He bought them in pairs. He had everything in boxes in the room only thing he didn't grap was clothes and shoes. Bethany had already built the bassinets for the room and the changing table. There were zoo animals painted on the walls of monkeys and giraffes and elephants and bears and lions across the walls .
You could say he was more excited about the babies then Bethany was at times. Sometimes he would accompany Bethany to the publishing company in case she got sick while she was there. Axel and Paul started on a new campaign in mentoring underprivileged neighborhood children in fighting lessons. Paul was training Axel to be a trainer so he would have a replacement when he truly retired from the fight.
Even though he still fought his tournaments were now closer to home so he could be nearby to help Bethany and Sunny and Caden. Axel never thought he would have a family after witnessing all the trouble he witnessed with his parents and how Avery struggled to raise Caden but as he soon was becoming a first time father he wanted a family more than ever. There was a lot of things he thought he never wanted before Bethany ,but time changes people in understanding their priorities.
Axel had no asperation of a family or a concrete location for a career all he knew since age ten was the ring . The fight. The noise of a crowd. Now all he wanted to hear was the noise of his children . Axel smiled as he fed sunny and Caden as Bethany came down to eat with her glowing pregnancy as he looked at her like she was the most beautiful now then she ever was. Bethany loved Caden like her own son as well she took him to art studios and book stores and comic conventions .
While Axel was bonding with Sunny she was bonding with Caden. She thought I might as well try who knows I might have a little boy one day . She smiled at Axel and Sunny how they grew on each other and how Caden chimed in likethey grew up together like a real brother and sister. It warmed her heart to see her ever growing family thriving in front of her.
​