Salamander
- 2 years ago
- 21
- 0
Mandy
I did my homework while I waited for Gwen to get home. I considered my options. I could say nothing, and let her think everything was alright, then she might, or might not, find out the truth later. Or, I could tell her now and face the consequences, but at least I wouldn't be lying to her.
I decided I owed it to her be honest. She was taking care of me, and if I started keeping things from her it would probably hurt her in the long run. I carefully thought about what to say to her, as I didn't want to upset her too much. I took a break from homework and watched some TV on the screen. There was nothing good on, but it was something to take my mind off my problems.
She came in a short while later looking frazzled. I almost backed out, not wanting to burden her any more.
"Gwen, can we talk?" I asked.
"Sure, Mandy. What is it?" she replied.
I decided I might as well get it all out in the open. I detailed how I had been hiding myself at school and been found out. Then I went into the details of the attack by Stacy, the resulting lack of action by the school, and then the fight with Trisha. By the end of it I was a little teary. Going over the events brought back the fear and anger associated with them.
Gwen came over and hugged me close. "Mrs Thomas warned me you might get bullied, but I had no idea they were so powerless to do anything," Gwen said. "I've got a good mind to go down there and talk to her tomorrow, give her a piece of my mind on not protecting you."
"She wants to, I can feel it, but I'm not sure she can. I'm not sure that there is anything you can do to make it right. But I wanted you to know, just in case they try and fit me up with something, and because I didn't want to be keeping things from you."
Gwen smiled and hugged me close, "Come on, let's make some dinner, we'll have spaghetti bolognese."
"Again!" I exclaimed, wiping the tears out of my eyes.
"I thought you liked spaghetti bolognese?" Gwen asked, looking a little put out.
"I do, but nearly every day for 3 weeks running can be a little tiring," I said with a smile.
"Well unfortunately, it's one of the only things I know how to cook, so unless you want to learn to make the dinner, you're stuck with it," she said, sticking her tongue out.
"Hmm I might just do that," I mused.
It would be a way to pull my weight a bit more, if I learned how to cook. I knew how to burn toast, but not much more than that. We made dinner, and then sat watching the telly. Gwen put her arm around me, holding me close, and pretty soon I had dozed off, tired from all the days action. Happy and safe in my sister's arms.
Salamander 2 part 2 By EMW Tuesday, 27th of November, 2035 Mandy I woke early to get ready, though to be honest I hadn't slept all that well, so it was more giving up on sleeping than waking up early. After I dressed in my uniform and had some breakfast, I was a bundle of nerves waiting for D to come by so we could walk in together. When she did turn up, Gwen gave me a big hug and whispered in...
Mandy After all the excitement of the kidnapping and rescue, things calmed down a bit. The wheels of bureaucracy turned slowly, but eventually Gwen was made my legal guardian. We stayed with D and Joyce till Gwen felt we should try and find a place of our own, so we wouldn't overstay our welcome. It was a bit of a shock for both of us, to suddenly find we were poor. We had grown up in a relatively well off family, and while we weren't trust fund wasters who didn't know the value of...
Gwen The head teacher returned from getting Mandy set up with her tests. It was still odd to think of her like that; not as my brother, Mort, but my sister, Mandy. She acted mostly the same as before, but there were differences in ways both obvious and subtle. After what had happened with our parents, I resolved to do the best I could to care for her, even if it meant giving up some of the things I wanted to do. I would see to it that Mandy had the happy loving home Mort never did. We were...
Mandy After my sister left for work, I was still a little perturbed. It wasn't just the anxiety from the stone-throwing incident. That had sparked something in my mind, some idea that I couldn't put my finger on. In the meantime I did what little washing up there was to do in the flat's small kitchen, tidied up a bit, and then sat down on the sofa-bed to think. I tried to work back through the events of the day to put together what had sparked this idea, and maybe work out what it was my...
D When I got home, Tish was over, having a chat with Mum. It was really great to see her. I know both Mum and I missed having her and her sister around since they moved out. It had been really nice to have someone who had become such a good friend living with us, and her sister was really nice too. It had been great with the four of us together. When it was just Mum and I it could be a bit lonely. I loved my Mum with all my heart, but she could be very closed off sometimes. Having Tish and...
Mandy I woke early to get ready, though to be honest I hadn't slept all that well, so it was more giving up on sleeping than waking up early. After I dressed in my uniform and had some breakfast, I was a bundle of nerves waiting for D to come by so we could walk in together. When she did turn up, Gwen gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear, "I'm sure it will be fine, have a nice day at school." I was quite quiet on the walk in, steeling myself for the trial of being the new girl....
Four We watched the girl as she walked home from school with her large friend. She was a complication, but one that we could handle. The girl's disguise had temporarily confused us, but we soon learnt her tricks. One had been right to caution us. Though she looked relatively harmless, she was tricky and full of deception. Her appearance was demonic, a sure sign of her dark nature. That she hid it, showed she knew she needed to blend in so that others would trust her. We watched her as best...
Mandy I woke for school the next day sure that someone was playing with the clocks, as it seemed like only a few minutes since I had gone to sleep. I got ready and had a large breakfast, hoping the extra food would give me the energy to maintain my disguise longer. The day before had been very draining. Keeping my mask on for most of the school day was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I got my stuff together and with a quick goodbye, was out the door, waiting when D showed up a few...
Four I watched as the two drunks we had set up, set the girl off. We had every piece of measuring equipment we could, trained on her from our van parked across the street. When she flipped on her stealth field, we analysed it in every spectrum we could. "IR?" I asked "No good." Four replied. "UV?" "Nothing." "How about the light intensifiers? Do they amplify the distortion?" "Hmm, barely. If she moves, maybe we can get something, but it's not much use as you can barely see...
Thursday, 29th of November, 2035 Gwen I saw Mandy off in the morning. She almost didn't want to go back to school, and to be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted her back in that place myself. I was extremely worried by what she had told me about what was happening at her school. She had been there for only two days and it sounded like she had been attacked twice. She had also a good deal of animosity from various camps because of her disguising herself. I could understand her concern about...
Mandy I wasn't very keen to go into school on Thursday. I didn't feel very safe and it had kept me up a lot of the night worrying about it. In the time I did sleep, I had several nightmares. I woke up a few times in a cold sweat terrified, with images of Stacy coming at me with various weapons burned into my brain. In the end, I went at Gwen's insistence that this was exactly what these bullies wanted, for me to give up. I met with D and we walked in to school, I was quite apprehensive,...
D I got home fairly quickly it had been an interesting day. Tish'd had some trouble, but she had gratifyingly bounced back from it in both cases. She had also been set to try out for the club, which would be great. I hoped that she decided to join, as the team spirit would probably help her confidence no end, plus, she would be a great addition to the team. I was just going to find Mum, when the door bell rang. "I'll get it," I called out. I opened the door to find Tish standing there....
Friday, 30th of November, 2035 (Mandy) Friday morning came and I woke relatively refreshed. I got myself ready, grabbed a quick breakfast, said good bye to Gwen, and was off. I met D at the end of the road and we walked to school. "Do you fancy doing something at the weekend," asked D. "Sure, what did you have in mind?" I replied. "We could go shopping." "I don't have any money," I said with a shrug. "We don't need to buy anything, just browse." "I suppose," I said, not...
Saturday 1st to Sunday 2nd December, 2035 (Mandy) I woke up, saw the clock and immediately panicked. I was late for school! After the few terror filled seconds it took my brain to spin up and remind me that today was Saturday, I calmed down a bit. "Hey sleepy head, I didn't wake you up did I?" said Gwen, wandering in from the small kitchen. "Do you want a cup of Coffee?" "Yes please," I said rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Gwen disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared a few...
(Four) We watched the demon with its slaves, the large hybrid body guard, and the seemingly normal girl whose function we weren't sure of, a spy of some kind maybe. Five and I followed hand in hand, posing as a couple out shopping. The large number of people made blending in easy, not even the beasts demonic powers could pick us out in all this noise. The demon made the pretense of being a real girl out shopping with friends, it was obvious even to me looking at her that she had no...
(Mandy) I woke up relatively early on Sunday. Gwen had to work today so I would have to fend for myself. I decided to try out the recipe book and cook dinner for her when she got back. I checked the fridge for ingredients, there was very little, a few bits and pieces but not enough to do anything I fancied. I had some money left over from what Gwen had given me yesterday. I looked through the recipe list for something that looked easy and didn't require too many fancy ingredients. I...
(Four) The man sat at the bar still wearing his cheap uniform, frankly I disliked him on sight but he would be useful so I suppressed my distaste. I moved up to the bar a meter or so down from him, trying not to scratch at my face for fear of disturbing my disguise. Personal contact was risky so I did what I could to mitigate the risk. The ex guard was pretty drunk and quite loud, it would make my job easier. Since half the pub could hear the guys ranting it wouldn't be a stretch to seem...
(Mandy) It was time to start on dinner, the pie would take me about an hour to cook. I got all the ingredients I would need ready to go and began preparing them. First I set the oven so it would be hot when I needed it. Next I had to wash and peel some potatoes, Joyce had shown me how to do this the other day so I was soon off and running. I decided to get all the chopping done there and then, to save time later, so I did the onions and the carrots too. Pretty soon I had a pot of quartered...
Monday, 3rd of December, 2035 (Mandy) I woke bright and early in the morning and got myself ready to go. I made sure to dig out my gym kit for the mystery club this evening. I grabbed some breakfast and when D showed up, said goodbye to Gwen and headed off. "I cooked a pie yesterday," I said. "Cool! What kind?" D asked. "It was shepherds pie." "Nice, was it tasty?" "Yeah, I was dead chuffed with the result. Gwen seemed to really enjoy it too. There was a bit of an incident at...
(Four) I turned off the news broadcast sickened. The demon had obviously goaded the good god fearing students till they attacked her with her body guard placed to prevent any serious damage. She was now using that publicity to eliminate her enemies and even try to install a more favourable environment for its kind at the school. I had no doubt if it succeeded the souls of the innocents there would be at grave risk. The way she had played the media was masterful. Knowing her own face would...
Tuesday, 4th of December, 2035 (Mandy) I woke up the next day feeling pretty good. A quick check revealed that all the bruising was now faded to nothing and I had none of the soreness I'd had the previous day. I seemed to be all healed up. Sleeping lots, and getting a large quantity of food down me, must have given my regenerative abilities what they needed to repair my body. I leapt out of bed and began to get ready. Gwen came in from her room getting up herself, "Hey you should be in...
Wednesday, 5th of December, 2035 (Mandy) I woke up feeling refreshed, the tiredness and aching of my muscles gone. I got myself ready for the day ahead and then wolfed down my breakfast. I packed my bag and was out the door as soon as D turned up. For some reason I felt very happy to be going back to school, I was practically skipping along. Maybe it was because I knew at least one of my enemies was no longer there to torment me, but it was also the fact that I could see my friends...
(Four) I contacted the security guard. The demon had taken out one of its enemies and somehow portrayed itself as some poor helpless victim but it showed no sign of injury now. Seeing how it dealt with a fully grown man would be informative. "Good evening friend, the day has arrived. Are you prepared?" I asked. "You bet, I've been itching for payback to that freak," he replied. "Very well this evening will be when your opportunity presents itself. I will contact you with further...
(Mandy) French was as good as could be expected, I was less of a distraction than previous lessons. My return was already old news with probably a host of additional rumours, by lunch time I was sure I would hear that I had returned from the dead or something similar. Next came Maths, I took my seat at the back and waited for the lesson to start. I saw Alice turn and look at me a few times then stand up and come back towards me. I tensed reading myself for an attack, but what she said...
(Four) I rang the number of the security guard as soon as the girl arrived at her workplace, I wasn't sure what the girl intended in this place. It didn't seem to be useful to her mission but she had proven to be a master strategist thus far so there could have been some move she was using here that I couldn't see. I briefly wondered if she was planning on poisoning people but that didn't seem like her style, she used others to do her dirty work, she wouldn't expose herself in that...
(Mandy) Work had been tough but when Joan had come over to tell me to clear off I sensed she was happy with me. I tidied up and headed out wanting to be home. My tummy rumbled, all the work had made me hungry. I changed back into my clothes and then headed out the back door into the evening, not really paying attention. The first clue that something was wrong was when a large shadow fell across me. A large man stood at the entrance to the alleyway silhouetted in the light from the...
(Four) Finding the security cameras in the alley way had been quite a time saver, no need to set up our own just tap the existing circuit. Less for anyone to find in any subsequent investigation if the idiot guard talked. I watched the playback with interest. I was a little disappointed that the girl didn't go toe to toe with the guard herself, something she was clearly capable of. Still watching her maneuver and outwit the fool was reward enough. It took several passes with image...
(Mandy) As we got through the door of D's house I was promptly grabbed and relentlessly hugged by Gwen. Then she covered me with kisses as well just to make doubly sure. "Oh let me get a look at you, are you alright? I was worried when you told me what happened, I can't believe you got attacked again!" she said hugging me once more. "I think I'm going to have to lock you away somewhere. It's not safe for you out there." "I'm fine Gwen," I said hugging her, back. "Well come...
Thursday, 6th of December, 2035 (Mandy) Thursday came to call and the usual morning scramble took place. I nearly forgot my PE kit which wouldn't have amused D or Miss Adams, but Gwen handily reminded me. I packed a towel but I suspected I could do without again, feeling confident I had the drying trick down now. After a hurried breakfast eaten only because Gwen insisted that it was the most important meal of the day, I met D and headed to school. On the way D checked that I had my Gym...
Friday, 7th of December, 2035 (Mandy) Friday at last. I was looking forward to the weekend for a bit of a rest, a chance to put my feet up and relax. The week had been tiring and a little nerve racking. Unfortunately it wasn't the weekend yet, I still had a day's worth of lessons and work before I could let my hair down. I got ready for school, then had a nice breakfast with Gwen. She wished me a pleasant day and I ran off to meet D. She greeted me with a lopsided smile, "So how are...
(Four) I watched the fight with interest. The bodyguard the girl had was increasingly a problem. She needed to be dealt with. I watched our target go deeper into the school and prepared to leave, taking a moment to observe the gang of boys picking themselves up. I swung the parabolic mic in their direction just out of curiosity. "Damn that D!" shouted one boy. "She's too strong Flint maybe we should just forget that Amanda chick. Plus you know Winston has a thing for her too," another...
(Mandy) We got into registration a short while after the debacle at the gate, I got a few friendly hellos from various people. The three of us sat down at the back and chatted while we were waiting. "Have you seen that the new film with Brad Jones is out," Jane said excitedly, "he is such a hunk!" "Yeah pretty easy on the eyes," grinned D, "We should go see it, maybe Sunday. What d'ya reckon Tish?" "OK I guess," I said half heartedly. "What, you don't like Brad Jones!" Jane...
(Mandy) It was the usual struggle to get up and about come Monday. It seemed like after the weekend getting up was even harder than it usually was. I loaded my PE kit in with my normal school stuff ready for the club this evening. I had my breakfast a cup of tea and was off as soon as D knocked on the door. Once I was out in the air I began to feel more awake and happy, another day out and about with my friends and then as a treat at the end the club where I could cut loose and use my...
(Four) The gamble with the gang of boys really had paid off wonderfully. It had meant following them around for a few days to keep them on a short leash, and therefore not gaining anything new on the demon. But it paid off big time. Not only was the big beast bodyguard now out of the picture for a good while, if not permanently, but we had caught some great footage of the target fighting. I was quite surprised the bodyguard survived at all. Usually a HEFW shredded anything it was pointed...
Tuesday 11th to Wednesday 12th, of December, 2035 (Mandy) When we got home I wanted to phone Jane to tell her what had happened but it was quite late and Gwen insisted I rest. I was very tired both from the emotional strain of the day but also the amount of energy I had used in my fire-storm. I still didn't sleep well I had many nightmares about D. In some she died due to the gang, in others I caused her death by fire and her ghost berated me for my carelessness. Sometimes it was me...
(Four) The tension was incredible, One had called us back together again for a meeting and it was clear to me that our time had come. We knew the demons tricks, we had cleared the way taking out its bodyguard, we had documented its abilities, we even knew its true form. Most people in the room felt the same way and there was a murmur of excitement as there always was when the hunt was finally approaching. The knights were always meticulous in our planning and preparation and never struck...
(Mandy) Wednesday came and Gwen walked me to school again, I wondered how long she was going to do that. I didn't mind her company so it was OK. We met Jane at the gate and then Gwen waved me goodbye promising to meet me there at home time. Jane and I walked up to our classroom together. "I saw D yesterday," said Jane. "Yeah I saw your flowers they were lovely," I replied. "It was so hard to see her like that, she's always been so strong to see her in that bed with all those...
(Gwen) We were stood outside Mandy's workplace, she thrust her coat and bag into my hands and dashed into the building before I could stop her. She might be fireproof but there are other dangers in burning buildings besides fire. I knew I could do nothing but wait and hope she made it out all right. Pretty soon the professionals turned up fire fighters with all their specialist gear, police to control the crowd, and a ambulance, it seemed like they were covering all bases. It seemed like...
(Mandy) I came to tied up with something over my head. "Ah the demon stirs," a voice said. The bag over my head was pulled off abruptly I blinked due to the sudden bright light. As my eyes adapted I saw I was sat in a clearing in what looked like a forest. A few vans and other vehicles surrounded the clearing with their headlights blazing, one of them was the phony ambulance that had grabbed me at the restaurant. I saw a group of people standing around, they were all dressed in strange...
Epilogue "You can go in now Mr Smith," said the attractive young personal assistant. I stood grabbed my briefcase and made my way into the office, I disliked going to see the boss. It made me nervous, maybe it was the whole secrecy thing and the fact that who ever they were they were an order of magnitude more powerful than I was. "You wanted to see me Boss," I said. "Yes Mr Smith take a seat," said an electronic voice emitted from a speaker on the wall. I felt the tingle of a scan...
I was too shocked to speak. The doctor was muttering, that there was nothing to worry about, and other semi comforting nonsense. I barely heard him. "But ... I ... How!?" I stammered. The doctor gave me a sympathetic look, "Despite what your father believes, there is nothing supernatural about MORFS. The fact that your family has been relatively unaffected by the disease was no guarantee this would always be the case. All it takes is the right infection to trigger the syndrome. The fact...
I don't know how long I ran, for I just wanted to get as far away as possible. Eventually a combination of fatigue, and probably blood loss, brought me to a stop. I found a small wooded area in a small park, and hid in the bushes, and I must have passed out. I woke up in the dark, with a horrible pain in what remained of my left hand. I looked at the bloody stump in horror. I knew it needed at the very least, bandaging, if not surgery, but I could not get help in the village. Dr Benson...
I was on my way back from picking up a book for my mum. I hated this part of town it had become something of a enclave for anti-MORFS elements, and it was not somewhere someone with obvious physical differences was made welcome. In better times, it had been a prosperous retail district, till larger shopping centres opened up on the other side of town, drawing trade away, and causing it to become run down and populated by more unsavoury types. But some of the old shops still remained, not...
I came to in a comfy bed. At first, I thought I must be hallucinating. When the feeling didn't go away, I wondered where I was. Still, I was comfy and no one was attacking me, so I rested for a bit. After a few weeks of sleeping rough, it was wonderful to be in a soft comfy bed. A short while later the door opened, and the girl who had saved me from the group of men earlier stuck her head round the door. She looked at me quizzically for a bit then asked, "Are you awake?" She paused "I...
I was sitting in the waiting room when I saw Mort return from her appointment. She was a strange young thing, but not unsurprisingly so, given her recent history. She seemed uncomfortable with the world around her, and was always very jumpy. She seemed very ill at ease with hybrids. Not having grown up around them probably played a big part in that. She was also uncomfortable in her own skin, her movements clumsy, due to her change. Still, even given the fundamentalist brainwashing she had...
I had just dealt with the last patient of the morning, and was tidying up ready for heading home for some lunch, when I noticed a change of status notification on my computer for one of my patient's files. I took a quick look and found that it was Mortimer Wilson's file. I was quite pleased to see that young Mortimer had been to a specialist centre for a checkup. Though I had done what I could, the local climate was unfavourable to those who had suffered MORFS, so no local specialised care...
We got back from the doctor's a short while later, and I relayed Sarah and Anna's discovery's. D suggested I practice grabbing things with my tongue, since this could prove to be a useful skill in attaining snacks quickly, and with stealth. Joyce rolled her eyes at this and went to make some tea. D set out some objects to practice on, and reluctantly, I tried to grab them with my tongue. It took some time to work out how to use my tongue consciously, and I quickly discovered there were...
D, Jane, and myself walked into town together. It was a reasonable way, taking an hour or so, but it was a nice day, so I didn't mind the walk. When we got into the centre of the shopping district it was fairly busy. It seemed to be the evening rush of people hitting the shops after work. This made me a bit nervous, but being with D and Jane reassured me a little. There were one or two people other people about who had been obviously affected by MORFS, and no one seemed to be...
I was just coming into the lounge when I heard my sister on her phone. She was talking to someone called Anne, which was odd, as none of her friends were called Anne. Plus, she seemed unusually pleased to get this call. She had been moping since she'd helped the freak demon that had possessed Mort escape. If it hadn't been for her, Dad would have blown that monster's head clean off. I decided to follow her, to see what the silly cow was up to. She headed outside through the front door, so...
After speaking to my sister, I felt quite elated. D, Jane, and I started out on our shopping trip with gusto. First, we needed to get things like underwear, which took a bit of the shine off my happiness. Still, it was a necessary evil, so I tried to suppress my embarrassment. Since we had no idea of my sizes, beyond a general shorter than D, taller than Jane, I had to be measured. The lady in the shop was more than happy to help out with that. A short while later we knew my statistics, and...
The next few days went by pretty quickly. I spent a lot of time with D and Jane, the three of us becoming good friends. I practised my abilities some more, as my hand slowly regrew. I was soon at the point of having stubs where my fingers should be. While D and Jane were at school I stayed with Joyce. I had a few more conversations with Gwen, who was getting more and more keen to meet up. After much discussion with Joyce and D, I agreed, and we set a time and a place which was public and...
It happened so fast. One moment Mort and her sister were there talking, the next they were gone, and a van was speeding off into the distance. I tried to run after them but they were too quick. I franticly wrote down the van's number plate, only just getting it before it vanished from sight. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I called mum. By this point, I was in a bit of a panic. "Mum! Mort has been kidnapped! She was with her sister, then a van got them both. I couldn't do anything," I...
When I came to, I wished I hadn't. I was tied up in an old cellar in an old brick building with thick walls and high ceilings. A small skylight set into a tall shaft the only illumination. The way in and out of the room was blocked by a large wooden door. Even if I could get free, I doubted anyone could escape here without help. I heard voices outside the door, and then the sound of a key entering the lock. I went slack, and pretended to still be unconscious. "So this is the monster that...
I got home in record time, and found that Sarah was already there, talking on the phone to someone. When she saw me, she gave me a reassuring squeeze of the hand, then went back to the phone. I found my way in to the kitchen, to find mum making tea. She handed me a cuppa, giving me a worried look. I took a drink of tea, and feeling a bit better, told mum what Officer Williams had said. "Don't worry too much Dear. Everyone is working on finding her and getting her back safe," Mum tried to...
I came to a while later. Things had gotten worse again. I could hear Gwen shouting. I was chained to something a post in the ground, surrounded by piles of wood. With a sinking sensation, I realised I was on a bonfire, chained to a post in the centre. I looked up and saw several men holding my sister. In front of them were my father and mother. My father was holding a lit torch. Father was spouting some religious scripture, while mother looked on with a righteous look on her face. I heard my...
A little about me, I'm just your average white boy, 6 foot tall with long brown hair that reaches my shoulders and dark brown eyes that almost look black. Cream white skin and an average body, not too toned but not flabby. I sport an average 6 inch cut member and have only played with my hole using my fingers so im still pretty tight, but to the story at hand. My friend John's parents were going to be out of town for the weekend and he wanted to throw a huge party. As his best friend i...
Well, that was that. The last log- the huge campfire seemed to rise to the sky, or at least to the Zip-line, our goal. We had toiled for ages, it seemed, over those logs. We were both misfits in a summer camp full of Jocks- twelve year old theater kids who loved the outdoors. It seemed that everyone else in that place thought that I was a dyke because of my love for camping, and everyone thought Stevie was ‘gay’, put into nicer terms then they did back then, because he loved acting and singing....
We sat in the back of the plane, next to a blonde German businesswoman who looked like a Barbie doll dressed up like a librarian, complete with her hair pulled back in a bun and glasses. She typed furiously on a laptop. Edward elbowed me and gestured at her, waggling his eyebrows. I let him sit next to her, so at least her typing would be safe from any violent seizure of mine. Then I leaned over Edward and said to her, "Hello, I'm Eric." She looked at me, confused. "Hello. My name...