you never give me your money {OPEN}

[Peter Bishop]

Chase's heels clicked as she walked down one of the busy sidewalks of Gotham City. She was off the hook today, most of the students she taught went on the field trip to Arkham Asylum, and the remaining students had a massive day of study halls. So, Chase was free to do whatever, which was awesome for her because she hadn't had a day all to herself for only god knows how long. In her recent days, she had given out so much homework that all she had been doing for the past couple of weeks was grading.

She couldn't help but be a little bit nervous. This was Gotham City afterall, one wrong turn and she could get mugged or something. Chase clutched her purse closely to herself, she did have a lot of money on her. She tried to push her paranoid thoughts to the back of her mind, this was supposed to be a day about doing something fun for herself. not being scared shitless of criminals.

Chase stopped midwalk in front of a book store, the oldness is what caught her eye. She was an english teacher as well, and she always kept an eye out for new material. Books were what kept her going at this school. She had a reputation for being a cold-hearted bitch, but she really wasn't. Well, she wasn't all the time.

She pushed open the fron door to the book shop, which jingled as she did so. It was very dimly lit, but she had no trouble finding her way around the store. Chase walked down a narrow area between to bookshelves, and examined what literature was stacked up there. A familiar title caught her eye, it was book she remembered from when she was in high school.

Chase gingerly plucked the book off of the shelf. The title red and large orange letters "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". She smiled to herself, and silently read the back of the book. She knew that her students might actually enjoy this selection, it was such a unique and classic story. Chase continued examining the literature, contemplating on actually giving her students a choice

[Peter Lockhart]

There was a new story everywhere. Around every corner, in every building, within every whisper - and Peter had every intention on being the fly on the wall in every case. These unwritten stories had his name all over them, so obviously he was going to be the first to write them. He almost always was the first to write them anyhow. There were few journalists that worked as diligently as he did, because to an extent, this was his whole life. Peter lived off the money he made from this job, and now that there were more stories then ever, he lived very well off the money he made from this job.

Today, Peter was checking out a bookstore in downtown Gotham. He spent a lot of time here at night when all the interesting events took place, but today he felt it was right to check out the bookstore that stood proudly in all of its antique-looking glory. A good journalist always went with his gut instinct. Peter looked along the shelves, peeking at the titles of the books lining them. They looked almost sad in a way, as though not many people have frequented the bookstore and gave the attention to the books that they so desired.

Peter pulled Moby Dick off the shelf and flipped through the pages. He had always hated this book, and was never quite able to place why that was. It might have something to do with the fact that one of his least favorite teachers of all time loved the book. He shoved it back on the shelf with an air of discontent and raised his eyes from the lower shelf when he heard the jingle of a new customer opening the door.

Curious as to who was inside such a dimly-lit, old-looking bookstore, Peter walked slowly up and down the few aisles of shelving until he saw a woman with a familiar-looking book in her hands. "One flew east, one flew west..." Peter quoted from the epigraph that could be found on one of the first pages of the book. He was somewhat familiar with the book, but even more familiar with the rhyme. "The name's Peter Lockhart. Journalist. You might have heard of me." Peter extended his hand to the woman - maybe she'd have the story that his instinct had led him to this bookstore for.

[Peter Bishop]

Chase couldn’t find any other good books for her class, but she was thankful on how lucky she was to find One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It had brought back so many memories of her high school; this had been the one book that stuck out from all the rest that she had read in English class. But then she couldn’t help but remember something else. Something not so pleasant, but it was about One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Chase knew there was something else that had happened because of this book, but she for some reason she couldn’t remember what had happened. Or maybe, she just didn’t want to remember.

She must have been so engulfed into her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed the man who was practically right beside her. "One flew east, one flew west..." Chase’s eyes flew up from the books she had been staring at in the last couple of minutes at the man who was standing in front of her. She forced a small smile; she never really liked talking to strangers, even though this guy looked oddly familiar for some reason. Or at least, from what she could see of him, because of how dimly lit the book store was.

And that’s when the guy introduced himself, and everything began to make sense. Chase couldn’t get through the whole day without two things: her morning cup of coffee, and reading the latest Peter Lockhart story on crime in the paper. “I’m Chase Pennington, English teacher,” she said, and nodded to him. “And of course I’ve heard of you. I can’t get through my mornings without reading your stories.” She smiled genuinely this time at Peter because of his impact on her day to day life.

But just then is when she remembered what she couldn’t before. Chase knew that once she had gotten into ninth grade and for the rest of high school, she was known to be somewhat of a bitch. And since her English class had read the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, she had developed a nickname that she had hated and that followed her throughout the rest of high school. That nickname was Nurse Ratched.

Chase was silent for a few moments before pushing the thought out of her head. That was a long time ago, and though she still was kind of a bitch, she wouldn’t let some dumb nickname bring her down. ”So, what is the famous Peter Lockhart doing in a place like this?

[Peter Lockhart]

The woman introduced herself as an English teacher, and immediately Peter got a good vibe from her. Anyone who was literate enough to be an English teacher was good in Peter’s books. Hopefully she could keep up with the bar she had already set, and would be able to keep a constant level of respect from Peter. She mentioned that she had heard of him, and she seemed to be quite the fan. It was a little more than flattering – it was a good stroking for his ego, because Peter could seldom get by without a good number of those in a week’s time. “Well, I’m glad you know what real journalism is, then. You clearly have good tastes.” Peter supplied a cocky grin and stuck his hands in his pockets. He tried to get a good look at this Chase Pennington girl, but it was rather hard because of the lack of light being supplied overhead.

The library seemed quite neglected, and Peter’s stomach twisted uneasily as it reminded him so much of the home that he had grown up in. He really hated to be reminded of his past, as his present was the only thing he wanted to focus on. Peter wasn’t particularly fond of the way he used to live – alone, with his father, and they never had that much money to begin with. Perhaps things would have been different if his mother hadn’t left – his father was pretty depressed and couldn’t do anything to his full ability. The financial troubles from Peter’s past were his main driving force to be successful. It worked, obviously. The recognition from Chase, as well as many other people on several different occasions was enough to prove that. Peter was a well-known journalist, and he developed quite an ego as he became better known. Whether people would be able to believe it or not, he used to be somewhat humble and unsure. Two qualities that you would never find within Peter now.

“So, what is the famous Peter Lockhart doing in a place like this?”[/color] It was honestly a relief whenever Peter was reminded that people knew next to nothing about his past. He didn’t want to be viewed as being weak by any means, and he worried that the financial troubles in his past would have people marking him down in horrible ways. Despite how much trouble Peter often gave other people in ways of being stubborn and incredibly full of himself, he really did worry about what others thought of him. It was important to him to always look good and make sure other people thought he was as amazing as he did. This girl was going to give him all the ego-stroking he needed for today. “Well, I can understand why it may seem strange to you to see me in such a dingy little bookstore, but believe it or not, I came here completely by choice. Almost by instinct, if you want to go that far. I’m looking for a new story, and what better place than downtown Gotham?”[/color]

[Peter Bishop]

Chase only smiled at him, realizing that even though he was a very talented journalist, he was also very cocky. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, though. He was probably the most famous journalist in Gotham at the time, so it did make sense that he would act like he was king of the world.

Anyway, Chase was also somewhat cocky and arrogant, so it was something she was used to. She didn't have very many noteworthy accomplishments though; there was only her personal accomplishments. Such as the feeling she gets when she finally finishes grading her papers, or kicking ass at being Athletic Director of South High School. More resonsibility means more money.

"By instinct? That's interesting, but smart because the most, uh, interesting things happen downtown," Chase said, chosing her words carefully. Downtown Gotham was notorious for its robberies and crimes, but she didn't want to sound like thats all she thought went on here. Surely there were other newsworthy things that happens downtown that aren't crimes, right?

"I'm only here because I have to find some more literature for my students. I teach over at South High, by the way," She explained, feeling the need to. Even though her title as an English teacher explains more than enough. Chase had a knack for over-explaining things.