Bad Girl, Good Boy

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

It had been a long time since Harmony had accidentally injured Tomer. Of course, she still claimed it was his own fault, but she rarely said it aloud anymore. At first she had hated Dr. N for his stupid idea of a "punishment". Along with cleaning up the stairwell and serving detention, she had been forced to help Tomer get around and deal with his stupid wheelchair. But after a while, she hadn't really looked on that part as punishment. Sure Dr. N was still a lame jerk. And sure Tomer could be a bit lame and definitely needed to grow a backbone, but he wasn't really all that bad.

Once you got past the goody-two-shoes, perfect student lame-o crap of course.

So even though Harmony had been free from being forced to associate with Tomer for months now, she still stopped by his place on a regular basic. But now instead of just helping him out, which she still did sometimes but mostly out of frustration that he was taking too long to do it to himself, she had decided he needed a tutor in being cool.

"Yo, T!" she yelled out, banging on the door a few times before letting herself in. "You'd better be dressed when I get in there." It was an on-going joke of her. After all Tomer was usually up, dressed, and started in on his classwork before she even rolled over in the morning.

[Tomer Berelowitz]

While Tomer had appreciated Sean's efforts to let he and Harmony understand each other via pseudo-companionship, he'd also been incredibly nervous and half afraid about it. Harmony was not the kind of kid he hung out with. She was exactly how they'd met, the kind of kid who picked on him. But as they got to know each other, he could see how much bark she was to how much bite. The ratio wasn't exactly one he was comfortable with, but Harmony could keep most of her bite-y self tucked away when they were together. Tomer didn't know if she considered them friends, but he understood they tolerated each other and that was something that didn't happen often.

She also had a habit of showing up unannounced. Loudly.

The banging on his door made both him and Clover jump, but luckily the bunny was in his cage at the moment, though he scooted into the little box fort Tomer had set up for him on the cage's ground floor.

Turning in his desk chair, he gave her a small slightly exasperated smile. "Morning Harmony. Remember I told you when you're loud it scares Clover?"

He didn't bother to say 'come in' because she had. The weather was still just a little chilly (it was Vermont), but it was nice enough outside that Tomer had switched to short sleeved shirts. Today the shirt was a green polo with his usual jeans and sneakers. Various stages of final projects littered his desk, and a box full of shredded newspaper lay near his bed - one of Clover's favorite playthings.

"What's up?"

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony flopped herself down on Tomer’s bed after she strolled in. Over the past few months, harmony had spent a lot of time chilling out in Tomer’s dorm. After all, it was easier to hang here on Tomer’s bad days so he wouldn’t have to move around too much.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Harmony said with an overdramatic sigh. “Maybe your bunny just needs to grow a backbone too.”

Still, she rolled off the bed and onto floor, crouching down to peer into the box fort that Clover was hiding in. “Come on out, ya lil fuzzy wimp,” she said, softer than her usual voice. “It’s just me.”

She turned back to Tomer at his question, giving him a grin. “I was just wondering if you finished that stupid quiz for history?” she asked. Because of course, she had yet to even start it.

“Also I got ahold of some smoke bombs, so we’re gonna have some fun after class today,” she added, still grinning.

[Tomer Berelowitz]

His bed had managed to stay nicely made for over two hours this time. Impressive. A smile tugged up one side of Tomer's mouth. "He can't. He's a prey animal. He's hardwired to run from danger."

The softer voice saw a tiny brown nose wiggle out of the darkness, and a moment later Clover's fuzzy head followed, and he hopped out and went back to chewing his timothy hay at the back of his cage. Tomer rolled his eyes just a little. Clover couldn't tell what she was saying, just her tone. It wouldn't kill her to say something nice for a change. Clover wouldn't tell.

Brown eyebrows rose. "I finished it yesterday." Tomer had the good habit of doing his homework every afternoon after a short nap, unless it was a larger project meant to last weeks or a month. "Have you even read yours?"

As a meek child, Tomer had never been one for pranking. But that didn't mean he couldn't think strategically. He found the flaw in Harmony's plans right away, and this time was no different. (Also, where was she getting all this stuff? As far as he knew there was no Zonko's Joke Shop in Pilot Ridge. Or Vermont. Or the Eastern Seaboard.)

Sighing, he said, "You should really consult me before you waste your money. One." He held up a finger. "Smoke bombs create the illusion of fire." Another finger, and more for each point. "Two. They also smell like burning. Three. If the fire department ends up being called, or like, a bomb squad, you will be mowing the school lawns till next year." He looked at her skeptically. "I bet you didn't even have any good ideas for where to set them off. Like in the bathrooms. They'll think someone's smoking in there. See? But. You should've chosen stink bombs. No one will call the authorities over a bad smell, and it would be easier for people to think of boys first because apparently 90% of us never fully evolved and think that kind of thing is funny. And, you could tape them to the undersides of some of the staff cars." The fingers folded back except for one, which pointed now. "Except... Dr. Neville's."

That was something of a rule between them. Tomer had explained that Dr. Neville was his uncle's boyfriend, and that uncle was in charge of him while he was up north at school. It wasn't that he was worried he'd get in trouble via Sean and Uncle Josh (he thought his parents might not believe it) but he was worried about his uncle. A stink bomb under Sean's car would mean Uncle Josh would probably get some smell on him, and it wouldn't go over well in court. Things of that sort.

"Where were you going to put them?"

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony rolled her eyes at Tomer's explanation. Sometimes it got a bit annoying that Tomer had the answer for everything, or so it seemed. Sure, Harmony could answer any question, but her idea of answering was to provide some of sarcastic remark or lie. She still was convinced sometimes that Tomer had some sort of Jeopardy mind power. "Well that's pretty lame if ya ask me," Harmony said. "If I had a pet it'd be something that could stand up for itself. Like...a shark."

"What we have to read something first? I thought it was just a worksheet," she sighed dramatically and gave a groan. "Don't these teacher's have anything better to do than make our lives miserable. I don't supposed you'd wanna help me with mine?" Because having a know-it-all friend should have benefits, right? Of course Tomer's version of helping with her homework and her version were very different, but he had dragged her through an assignment or two. Just who the experience was worse for was hard to tell.

Harmony rolled her eyes again as Tomer counted off on his fingers. Still she couldn't help but grin when he came up with the suggestion for stink bombs. Maybe she was rubbing off on him a little. It would be good for the little squirt. "See, this is why I keep you around," she said, plopping herself back down on the bed. "You've got some pretty great ideas in that freakin' huge brain of yours. You just need the right encouragement." Still she was a little annoyed that he was so dismissive of her smoke bomb ideas.

"I didn't say I was gonna set them off in the school bozo," she said, crossing her arms and pouting a bit. She paused for a bit, racking her brain for a good place where she could claim to have planned for them that would stand up against Tomer's argument. "But since you're the one with all the great ideas, maybe we should roll them into the boys bathroom."

And she could find a way to get stink bombs for next time. Of course Tomer saying Dr. N was off limits only made her want to prank him even more. Perhaps that would have to be a solo adventure.

"Just because you're in love with Dr. N doesn't mean I can give him a bit of a surprise on my own. It's not like he'd ever think a good two shoes like you would pull anything like that." Harmony continued. Which was also a great reason to have Tomer around. What teacher was going to think that he was up to no good? Plus you couldn't punish a crippled kid, right?

[Tomer Berelowitz]

Tomer very much wanted to point out that sharks didn't stand just to see what she'd do, but he held his tongue. He also wasn't going to mention that there were certain small breeds of sharks one could keep as pets. He owed the staff at Hammel that much, and Sean much more. Clover, who didn't understand the slight made to his species, hopped out of his box to get a drink of water.

"There's always something to read," Tomer said. "What else would they base a quiz or worksheet on?" He smiled a little at her request for help. Or, "help". Harmony's idea of help was him telling her the answers with minimal bullying, because she could totally answer them if she wanted to but who had the time? It was all stupid anyway. Tomer's idea of help was having her actually read and then answer the questions. "I'll help you. Not let you copy."

He rolled his eyes back at her. "Where else would you set them off and not get the police on you, bozo?"

At Hammel, it would be school security. Outside of it, police. Not that Tomer thought Harmony was in any way daunted by the idea of being caught by the local force. Like him, her uncle lived in town and bore the brunt of any trouble. Unlike him, Mr. Muller was likely much more frustrated by his niece's antics than Uncle Josh was with his nephew's baffling introversion.

Boys' bathroom wasn't a bad idea, but Tomer knew if he thought about it he could come up with someplace better. Meaning someplace that wouldn't get the school up in arms.

Her next words made him bark a laugh. Seriously, how could she forget?

"Harmony. He's a telepath. I wouldn't have to say anything. No one would."

And honestly, he thought getting into actual trouble would delight his parents.

Chewing on his lower lip, he said, "Why not set them off in a tree? That would look cool, and people would wonder why it wasn't burning. Or bushes, maybe. Not as cool visually but still not bad. Or maybe put them down a sewer grate."

If he'd been less embarrassed about using his chair, he might've suggested she set one off and stick it on the back of it so he could wheel it around trailing smoke like planes in the sky trailed.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony rolled her eyes. Of course there was something stupid she had to read. She let out a groan, in case Tomer had any doubt about how she felt about this assignment, or homework in general. "Awh come on man. It'd be so much easier to just let me copy it," Harmony said, although when the time came she wouldn't actually pressure Tomer. She'd learned that lesson the hard way. Still it wouldn't hurt to ask, right? Maybe one of these times Tomer would just go with it.

"Pssh, I ain't scared of no cop," Harmony countered. Although she had to grin at the bozo. Most people calling her names made her want to jump down their throat. But when Tomer did it, she felt something more like pride.

"Oh...yeah..." Harmony said, sighing heavily. "How lame is that, though? It should be like...illegal...or something for a teacher to pry into your head. Totally not fair." Seriously, how was a kid supposed to have any fun when the teachers were worse than Big Brother?

"A sewer grate..." Harmony said picturing the possibilities. She was sure there was something like that out in the parking lot at Hammel. And maybe some idiot teacher would freak and think their car was on fire. If she was lucky. "That's great!" She jumped up and slapped Tomer on the shoulder, grinning.

"See what awesome things we can accomplish with your big brain?" She asked grinning. "If only you'd spend less time on stupid worksheets, we could run this place!"

[Tomer Berelowitz]

His eyes rolled. "Of course it is. But if I make you do your own work, you learn something and then when they test us on it you know enough to pass, and if you pass you move into the next grade, and eventually you graduate and leave here, right?"

Harmony did not make her disdain of Hammel a secret. Some aspects Tomer privately agreed with; he didn't like being away from his family and friends, at a new school, living in a dorm. But he was lucky Hammel existed to get him out of things like his manifestation of blowing out a wall of his school and training him up to not do that anymore. Harmony would no doubt think knocking a giant hole in a brick wall was really cool, so he hoped she'd never find that out.

"You should be," he said bluntly. "They can do lots worse things to you than the Hammel teachers. Stuff that'll really mess your life up once you're out of here. They might even say you need to stay longer 'cause you're so much trouble."

He smiled a little at her remark. He'd had the same thought (briefly) when he'd found out Sean was a telepath, and what that meant. Later he'd discovered it was as much a curse as a boon, and didn't envy the man one bit. One thing he didn't like about the braces (fine, more than one, but the one that bugged him at that very moment) was that it was so hard to shrug it wasn't worth trying. "You could say it's not fair that you can move places other people can't. I'm just glad it's someone as nice as S... Dr. Neville and not someone mean."

Luckily the suggestion was taken well. Harmony obviously hadn't caught on yet, but most of Tomer's suggestions regarding her "pranks" revolved around making less of a headache for the Hammel staff, Sean in particular. Even if it was foisting the trouble off on the police. He winced a little at the slap. Not that it hurt, but that the impact made more of that arm go numb as he absorbed the energy.

That got a laugh. "Why would I want to run Hammel? God, Harmony. You think of the weirdest things." Exhaling, he said, "So when are you doing this? After class?"

Really, if she wanted max attention, she ought to do it before, but he wasn't going to say that. It would likely dawn on her eventually without his help. She wasn't even fourteen yet.

Looking back at his books, homework neatly tucked into the day's folders and ready to be packed into his bag, he asked, "Did you do any of your homework?"

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony glared at Tomer for a moment before her face melted into a grin and she reached out to ruffle his hair. She hated it when he was right. And boy was he right a lot. "Well when ya put it like that..." Harmony said with a sigh. "Man I can't wait to get away from this freak show." And it was true that bad grades would only serve to keep her here. Though Harmony also had the belief that maybe if she was horrible enough her teachers would pass her just to get rid of her.

"You're still gonna help...really help...me right?" Harmony asked. Because she really was lost in whatever the heck they were supposed to be learning at the moment in pretty much all of her classes. It wasn't that she was dumb. When she put her brain to it she could actually learn. It was just so much of a pain. Especially when there were far better things she could be using her time for.

Harmony laughed. "I bet they want to get rid of me just as much as I wanna leave." She grinned with pride at the idea.

"Doc N? Nice?" Harmony asked, cocking her head to one side. "Are we talking about the same geezer?" She stuck out her tongue and laughed. If and when Harmony did finally figure out Tomer's reason for having a bit of a soft spot for the old doctor, who knew what she would do.

"I think you'd be great for it. You've got that whole nerd thing going on. But I'm teaching you how to be cool about it. So you'd be great." She really did mean it. Tomer was like the smartest person she'd ever met.

"Um..." Harmony said, glancing at the piles of papers and books on Tomer's desk. "What did we have to do?" She had opened a textbook the night before, but closed it again after reading the first line of the chapter. "I started some of it." She shrugged. It was good enough for her. It should be good enough for the teachers.

[Tomer Berelowitz]

"Yeah, I'll really help," he said, and his 'really' meant 'in the right way' and not 'actually', as hers did. It wasn't like Tomer loved homework so much he wanted to do it twice. Especially when it would be incredibly obvious to anyone familiar with Harmony's normal level of schoolwork participation what had happened if they saw a cribbed sheet.

He smiled a little. "Maybe. But there was that one kid, a pyro who set stuff on fire all the time? He didn't leave till he was almost 21. Doesn't matter, they'll keep you here."

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, he said with a snort, "You just say that because you think it'd be fun bossing people around."

Like Dr. Neville. God, that would be horrible and weird. Harmony telling Sean what to do. Or worse, him. Also, while it was flattering that Tomer was the smartest person Harmony knew... her circle of acquaintances was not exactly brimming with intellectuals.

If she was asking what the assignment was, then... yeah. Tomer sighed silently to himself. Digging out his history things, he pulled the worksheet, which had not been all that bad, to show her which one it was. "This sheet, to go with the last part of chapter seven."

Okay, time for some protips, or they were going to be here till lunch. "Read the worksheet first. Then when you read the chapter you'll know what to look for."

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

"What?" Harmony said, her face somehow a mix of shock, horror, and disgust. "But when I'm 18 I'm an adult! they can't tell me what to do then...right?" Her voice cracked a bit at the end. This idiotic school was starting to look more and more like a prison. How could they keep her against her will? Wasn't that like...illegal in America?

Harmony grinned. Of course it was fun to boss people around. It was one of the few joys in life. And she was doing her best to open Tomer's eyes to such joys.

She would have love to be able to boss Dr. Neville around. Maybe even if it meant having to stick around this lame school.

"Oh. This," Harmony said looking at the filled out worksheet. She vaguely remembered tossing it on the pile of crumpled paper that was her desk. She tried to memorize as many of the answers as she could off of Tomer's paper, but chances were she wouldn't recall a single one when she tried to fill out her own. Her brain just didn't care to store such unimportant information.

"I have to read the worksheet and the chapter?" Harmony asked, sighing dramatically. "Ugh. Sooo lame. Do these teachers thing I have nothing better to do?"

[Tomer Berelowitz]

Even after almost a year in his braces, Tomer tried to shrug. It was still automatic, even if he couldn't do it. So he spread his hands too, sort of the way Sean did sometimes. "The school's job is helping metas control their powers. If you've graduated but haven't done that, it's their whole job to keep you here till you do."

He had to grin when she sighed. Harmony could make the biggest deal out of the smallest things. Tomer bet if she just did her homework more regularly it wouldn't seem like so much. But try telling her that. "Yeah. Poor little you. C'mon, Harmony. Most of the answers aren't very long, and the chapter isn't long either. You could do it three times over before class. If you stopped whining, anyway."

Patting his desk, he replaced all his own papers and books back into his backpack, and flicked on his desk lamp. "C'mere. I'll help you. Sit down and... here, here's a pencil."

Because why would Harmony have necessary school supplies on her. That would be lame.

"See, look, the first thing they want is a date..."

[FIN]