The Luckiest Girl In The World

Kathy had been lying to her family for a long time. Lying about the island ("It's perfectly normal!"), lying about her friends ("Of course you'd approve of them!"), and lying about her activities ("Nothing planned for the evening but more studying!") Since she'd come back home to fight zombies, she'd only been lying more. First that she was home because it was Spring Break back at school and she hadn't wanted to go on the trip. Then that the dorms were being fumigated, which was why Raven had come out to stay with them over the weekend (and played up the potential gratitude of Raven's wealthy adopted parents). And finally, more lies to cover up all the times she was out as Banzai: studying at the library or tutoring students for the upcoming SATs, anything that could be a plausible reason to get her out of the house for hours at a time.

But those excuses wouldn't work anymore. Not with a national quarantine and a newly announced martial law. Supposedly the police would be enforcing a curfew, so she wouldn't have a reason to be out even if her parents had been inclined to let her out. From the minute that the zombies--rather, the ex-humans--had been officially confirmed, her parents' grip had been tighter and tighter on her neck. And it was time to put a stop to it.

So after asking Raven to entertain Sarah for a few, she met with her parents in the living room to come clean about everything. Well...okay. Maybe not everything. Stuff about the island, about Anders, and Dante, about Portalocity's terrifying message--those secrets she was still going to keep. But about her secret life as a superhero, about being Banzai, that needed to come out.

Kathy hadn't expected this conversation to be easy. And it wasn't. But she hadn't expected it to be difficult in this way. What was the huge issue? Were they upset their oldest daughter was some kind of mutant? That she’d been risking her life and fighting crime since sophomore year of high school? That she’d lied to them?

No. Of course not. They had...different concerns.

Were her parents for real?

( This had been brewing for a very long time )

[Some lines of dialogue lifted directly from Chapter 13, "Luckiest Girl in the World," from Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines. NFB, post: closed, but OOC is always appreciated.]

That morning, under the guise of calling her family to wish them a Happy Lunar New Year, Kathy had asked her sister, Sarah, about all-ages clubs in LA. After Sarah had spent ten minutes explaining that no one over the age of fifteen went to an all-ages club gawd, sis, seriously? Kathy'd asked if she knew about any dance clubs that weren't too keen on looking at IDs. Sarah had been so excited at the idea of her nerdy big sister wanting to go clubbing that she hadn't even questioned why Kathy was looking into places on the other side of the country from where she went to school.

Fortunately for Kathy, Sarah knew just the place. Situated in Hollywood, just a few blocks away from Paramount Pictures, was Club Risqué. It was technically meant to be 21-and-over, but the bouncers were well-known for ignoring IDs in favor of Grants. Or, better yet, Benjamins. While the age limit wasn't enforced, the dress code definitely was: dress to impress only, losers need not apply. There were rumors of the owners being a little shady, but even if that were true, there were no ties with the South Seventeens.

That was good enough for Kathy. After getting back from Selkie Peak with Edward and taking a long shower (a warm one this time!), she made a few more calls to let everyone know that they were good to go tonight.

***

Coming to LA had been the perfect choice, Kathy decided. Rather than freezing on the walk from their portal to the club and the following wait in line, they got to enjoy temperatures in the mid-50s. Maybe it was appreciation for the lack of shivering, but one of the bouncers noticed them right off and gestured them forward. They even got a break on their entrance fee; for an extra $200 he waved them all inside without even mentioning the need for identification. Once the heavily soundproofed doors were open, they could hear the loud hip-hop/dance-pop playing over the club's speakers. Even without that, the heavy beat was palpable, the floor almost vibrating with it.

A huge bar took up one section of the club, and across from it was the DJ's island. Along the walls were plenty of tables and padded booths for people to sit in, if they wanted to--or more than sit, as they could see when the brightly-colored lights would flash over them, illuminating couples making out like LA had been filled with pollen, too. More bouncers held positions inside the club, scattered in little pockets of isolation, keeping careful watch over the club-goers, occasionally touching their ears to hear information relayed through their headsets. Several doors dotted the walls, leading to the coat-check, a back room area in the bar, bathrooms, and a VIP area, where small 'champagne rooms' could be rented for the hour, or enjoyed by high-profile guests and friends of the owners. The rest of the space was dominated by the dance floor, filled with writhing bodies, while bubbles and even foam occasionally rained down to roars of approval.

"This is it!" Kathy yelled, trying to be heard above the din. So long as they stood close and shouted, they could carry on a conversation. "We ready to dance?"

[For the LA clubbers, please, and NFB! Up early for timezones and great SP]