The Family Name, part 1 of 4

Michael Jones smiled at the stacks of money on his desk. He was proud of what he had accomplished over the past year and a bit. Proud of how far his name had spread, proud of how feared he was. Proud of how many times he'd gotten away from the authorities. "I sent a gang out with information on that target," said a voice from the doorway.

Mike Jones looked up to see his daughter, Mickey. "Mickey, I've been meaning to speak with you. Sit," he said, gesturing to the chair across from him.

Mickey dragged her feet across the carpet and plonked down into her seat. "I'd LOVE to get back to writing!" she moaned.

"Look, this little... business, so to speak, is going to run in the family. Your sister is both younger and not in Kollok, which means I expect you to carry on the family name."

Mickey glanced up at the father she admired so much. Everything he'd built... passed on to her? "What, so you expect me to get a boyfriend or something?" she asked.

"Yes, I do. I'm dropping your homeschooling, you're too smart anyway. You're going to public school."

"If you enrol me into school, you will get taken down somehow, right? They'll have all my information to get through to you."

"Oh no they won't. You've seen how many people work here. How many respect me. Respect you. Trust me, we'll be fine."

So enrollment and stuff, and bam, Mickey was ready to start school.

She walked through the gates of Kollok High. She doubted many kids knew her, but they knew her Dad. The richest, most dangerous man in Kollok. Sure, there was Synchroniety, the company who ran Kollok and surroundings, and probably Portland too, but Mike Jones was one of the most feared names in history. And with that fact, Mickey knew she was either going to fly through high school or trudge along slowly through high school.

Much to her surprise (and relief), she wasn't approached. She'd never been one for social interaction, which was the number one reason she was nervous for school. She knew if she got hurt, her father would be right there. But still, people are scary.

Mickey glanced down at the binder and pocket folder in her possession. She bit her lip. What if she was under educated? Why did her father decide it was a good idea to send her, an incredibly anti-social 16-year-old, to a place like this so suddenly? Without her consent? Of course, you'd never want to cross her father-

The air was knocked out of Mickey's lungs as she hit the concrete. She took a second to compose herself, looking over to the boy she'd collided with. He was scurrying to pick up his books and shove them into his bag. He then stood, offering a hand to Mickey. Mickey scooped her binder and folder into one arm, and relied on the boy to help pull her off the ground. She grabbed the boy's hand and soon found herself standing on two feet. "I'm so sorry," the boy said quickly. "I didn't see you there, and-"

"It's fine," Mickey cut in. "I should've been looking where I was going."

The boy studied Mickey's features. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah..?"

"Oh! I'm Tibby."

"I'm Mickey."

Tibby's face paled slightly. "Jones?" he whispered.

Mickey chuckled. "That's me."

"I'm SO sorry!"

"Stop being so scared."

"It's kinda hard... your Dad is head of the most dangerous mafia in the country!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say most dangerous in the country. But we don't just go around killing high school kids who did nothing to provoke us. People bump into each other all the time."

"You're right..."

"So... why were you in such a rush?"

"Um... well, I was meeting my friend somewhere... and... yeah. Bye!"

Tibby scurried away. Mickey watched him disappear behind a bush. She shook her head with a sigh before wondering where her confidence to talk to some random kid came from. A bell rang out a moment later, signifying it was time to head to first period. Mickey headed off to her homeroom.

It took Mickey a little bit to find where she was supposed to be. When she eventually slipped through the door of the classroom, the teacher nodded hello. Mickey smiled awkwardly. "Okay class," the teacher addressed the students, "we have a new student. Come up to the front, Mickey."

Mickey walked up to the front, earning a few whispers and looks of fear and anger along the way. "Tell us a bit about yourself," the teacher smiled.

"Well... I'm Mickey Jones... I'm into reading and writing, and my favourite genre is horror..." Mickey stuttered.

"Your dad's a dish!" some random kid shouted.

Mickey glared at the kid. "Talk about my dad and I'll beat you to a pulp."

"Really? I'd like to see you try."

"Okay, okay, Mickey, go sit down in the empty desk over there, between Skye and Em Pegg," the teacher said, pointing to the one empty desk in the room.

With a frown, Mickey made her way to her desk and plonked down. The Monday announcements continued.

After homeroom, Mickey had English; the subject she was most excited about. As she left the classroom, she noticed Em Pegg right behind her. Mickey stopped and turned to Em, who almost bumped into her. "What class do you have next?" Mickey asked.

"Um... I have English..." Em Pegg replied. "10th grade English."

"Can you take me there... Em Pegg, isn't it?"

"My name is Em, but a lot of people toss my last name on the end. I have a lot of names."

The two began walking through the halls to the English classroom. "How many names?" Mickey continued the conversation.

"Well, there's my real name, Emily, which my parents only use when I'm in HUGE trouble. Ur... some people call me Embeth, basically combing Emily with my middle name, Elizabeth. And then there's Em and Em Pegg. I also get called nerd and freak a lot, but..."

"School of jerks? Great."

"There are a few good eggs. But... that's it really."

A shrill bell rang out just as the pair arrived at their destination.

One double-English class later, it was break time. "Do you... mind if I hang with you?" Mickey asked Em Pegg.

"Of course not!" Em smiled in reply. "It'd be nice to not be the only girl in the group."

"Oh?"

"Yeah... my only other friends are the two... other... immature... nerds. You can tell they're freshmen."

Em Pegg lead Mickey to a quiet spot of the yard. Mickey recognised one of the boys immediately. She didn't say anything, however. The two boys seemed to be in the middle of an argument. Em cleared her throat, and the boys looked over at her. Then they saw Mickey. Tibby waved shyly, and the other boy looked petrified. "Hi again, Tibby," Mickey smiled kindly.

The stranger boy's jaw dropped slightly. Tibby grinned back at Mickey. "Hi," he greeted.

"So who's this kid?" Mickey pointed at the boy she didn't know.

"I'm Billy," the boy replied. "Are you really as mean as they all say?"

"What do they all say?"

"That your Dad kills everyone he sees, and he sends his gangs to rob stores and stuff all the time, and he murders anyone who hurts his daughter... and that you're just like him..."

Mickey frowned as the anger bubbled up inside her. "People say all that?!" she hissed.

"Yeah..."

"They're all bloody wrong! We aren't ruthless monsters! Everything done has its reasons. Every action my Dad makes has its reasons. We don't just kill people, rob stuff when we're bored. Yeah, he's mad when I'm hurt, but I've made it very clear to him that reacting in violent ways isn't how I want to handle problems. I swear that I WILL NOT HURT YOU."

"So we're safe around you?"

"Yes!"

Mickey noticed Tibby's face had gone slightly pink. But before she could say anything, a voice she'd forever hate spoke from behind her, "What's going on, Jones?"