My Way To You 111 I'm Still Standing

Ariana felt awkward as she sat on a plush, light green couch in Mrs. Dabney's small bungalow that was located by the lake in the fall section. It was a little further out from the campus but was well protected. Ariana had learned that a majority of the faculty had lived in the faculty dorms while the board of directors got their own homes in their perferred season. Hidden away from student eyes, the home owners could return home and have time for themselves but 9 times out of 10 they never really went home too often because of their duties and responsibilties.

"You haven't eaten a thing, have you." Mrs. Dabney called from the kitchen. Ariana shot up like a bolt of lightning and sat perfectly straight on the couch. "I'm okay." Ariana answered awkwardly. "Well you're eating with me. Pascal is doing some intensive boot camp training thing with the forth years and won't be back until midnight tonight. I don't want to wait and I haven't made a single portion for a very long time. It has always been two servings or more. Poor man has not eat three days worth of left overs in the fridge. I really don't want to give him another serving. Especially of what I'm planning to make right now. It tastes best fresh, well in my opinion at least." Mrs. Dabney said loudly from the kitchen, making Ariana feel that there was no way she could say no. "Can I at least help you make dinner?" Ariana asked cautiously. "Sure but it's super simple, I don't mind if you don't help but if you insist I won't say no." Mrs. Dabney replied.

Ariana quickly got up and practically ran towards the kitchen. Feeling less nervous now in a place that gave her great comfort in her past and present life, Ariana was finally able to look at the Dabney home. The bungalow had an open kitchen, dinning and living room concept. There was a giant window and ledge to sit and sunbathe in the living room. Double french doors that lead to a deck facing a beautiful backyard with a breath taking view of the lake. A slightly raised floor with a three step stair way that lead to the bedrooms and bathroom. The countertops were a light grey, the pantries were a golden oak while the walls were painted a light taupe. It gave Ariana a very modern feeling compared to everything she had seen, the only thing that gave her a small chuckle was that everything had already been baby proofed.

"What are we making?" Ariana asked as she washed then dried her hands. "Stuffed sweet potatoes." Mrs. Dabney said as she started to practically drooled. Ariana looked a little put off. She knew people loved sweet potatoes plain or with a little bit of b.u.t.ter, she was one of them but she remembered people who loved to add marsmallows to their sweet potato ca.s.seroles for the holidays. She was never brave enough to ever try it and now she had to eat them a completely separate way. Mrs. Dabney let out a small laugh. "For a foodie you look pretty scared." Mrs. Dabney teased.

"S-s-so what do we do first?" Ariana asked as she tried to divert Mrs. Dabney's attention. "Right, scrub the potatoes." Mrs. Dabney instructed as she handed Ariana a scrubber and pointed to 6 large sweet potatoes that were waiting in the sink. whe Ariana turned on the faucet, MrsDabney grabbed a large bowl. She then grabbed her ingredients and started to get to work. She mixed b.u.t.ter, brown sugar, and flour together until it was crumbly-looking. She then added cinnamon, salt, pieces of pecans, and marshmallows. Then folded the streusel mixture together with a spatula. Ariana dried her hands after she scrubbed the potatoes clean.

"What's next?" Ariana asked as she looked into the bowl. In the drawer to your right will be a metal poker. Use it and poke holes all over the potatoes." Mrs. Dabney said as she stopped mixing. Ariana did what she was told and pulled out a long metal poker. "This thing?" Ariana asked with great confusiuon. "Yes." Mrs. Dabney answered as she slightly bent forward. "Ugh! c.r.a.p! Hey sweetie can you grab me a tray from the drawer under the oven. I can't seem to... well you know." Mrs. Dabney said as she let out a small awkward laugh as she placed her right hand on her lower back. "Oh my G*d yes!" Ariana shouted with panick as she rushed over to help, forgetting to put the poker down. Mrs. Dabney laughed as she met Ariana's face. "Thank you." Mrs. Dabney said with a heartfelt smile.

Ariana, a little dumbstruck gave the tray awkwardky and walked back to the potatoes. She wanted to crawl into a hole but settled with poking potatoes. She couldn't let a pregnant lady go hungry. Mrs. Dabney started the oven and then placed the poked sweet potatoes on the tray. Ariana swore she could do better in the kitchen and be more attentive to Mrs. Dabney's condition. So when saw that Ms. Dabney was going to grab the tray and she stopped her and held out her hands. "It's hard to bend over, let me do it." Ariana said firmly but her shaking eyes betrayed her, so couldn't calm down. "Sure." Mrs. Dabney said pleasentaly as she gave Arian the tray.

Ariana turned around, slid the tray into the oven and closed the door. "Come sit down with me. The potatoes will be ready in 45 minutes." Mrs. Dabney said as she gestured Ariana to follow her. "Sit, I will be right back." Mrs. Dabney said as she stood to the side and watched a very nervous Ariana slink her way to her original spot, like a puppy caught doing something wrong. Mrs. Dabeny gave her another warm smile before leaving, she headed towards the bedrooms with a small bounce in her step.

Ariana broke out into a cold sweat. She didn't know what Mrs. Dabney wanted to do with her but she felt completley out of her element. Ariana then touched her cheek and calmed down slightly. She knew that she didn't have to fear Mrs. Dabney, she took great care of her and healed her more than once but the look she gave her previously caused her heart to practically stop. It was cold, more then cold. It was deadly and icy. A chill ran down Ariana's body and she involuntarily hugged herself.

"I'm back." Mrs. Dabney called out causing Ariana's hair to stand on end. Her heart wasn't ready for whatever punishment Mrs. Dabney was going to give her. She closed her eyes and started to tremble. "Honestly, I won't eat you silly." Mrs. Dabney said with a light laugh as she tapped Ariana's head with a book. Ariana opened her eyes slowly and saw Mrs. Dabney glowing with pride. Ariana then raised her hands slowly and grabbed the book. Mrs. Dabney let go and sat down next to Ariana, eyes sparkling with antic.i.p.ation. "Go on! Look at it." Mrs. Dabney said as she waved her index finger at the book in Ariana's hands.

Ariana looked down and her eyes almost buldged out of her head. "My book." Ariana whispered with admiration. "Nope, my book. I will lend it to you for your project but the catch is you have to do your research here. You are not allowed to take this book out of this house." Mrs. Dabney said firmly.

Ariana's eyes started to water. "Why? Why are you helping me? The look you gave me before when I told you about the book was pure hatred." Ariana cried. "What?! No! Well maybe a little. I mean I don't like that our library doesn't have a copy. I mean, it took me a long time to write the book, so yes I was a little mad but super excited at the same time! I mean knew about the book and wanted to use it." Mrs. Dabney admitted with a smirk. Ariana's tears stopped and she looked at Mrs. Dabney with shock. "What?!" She shouted causing Mrs. Dabney's smile to grow wider.

"Evans is my maiden name." Mrs. Dabney said with a wink. "If you wrote this book... why hasn't medicine advanced?! I mean I have no idea how old you are but the book was written 10 years ago!" Ariana shouted. "Ahh! Ya... well I p.i.s.sed off a lot of people with this book. Though I was keeping a low profile back in school, I almost didn't graduate. I swear these, cough, cough, cough... 'wiser' gentleman had their views set in stone. While some of the younger generation was too afraid to p.i.s.s of the older. Well at least some medicine did advance but not as much as I had hoped for." Mrs. Dabney said with a sad sigh.

"So why can't I take it with me?" Ariana asked. "Well, if they don't have this book stocked in the library then it must be a book they deemed as hazardous for young minds. I don't want you to get into more trouble then you currently are in. I mean that sleaze, cough, cough, cough... the Headmaster may give you a punishment worse then death and I will not fuel his anger. At least when you use it here I can tell the Headmaster that I gave you guidance and you would not stray from the core principles of the curriculum." Mrs. Dabney replied. "Is it okay if I ask you questions for my STEM project?" Ariana asked as her face started to glow with enthusiasm. "Sure, what is your project about?" Mrs. Dabney said as she settled herself in.

"So I had origanlly started this because of Edlyn...."

...

Ariana couldn't stop smiling as she put the potatoes back into the oven. The timer had gone off as the discussed the structure of the human inner ear and how to have a signal flow through the cochlea. "You're very ambitious for a young lady." Mrs. Dabney said before she started to hum. She grabbed the large bowl that had the topping mix, now empty she moved to wash it. "I can't believe how amazing you are! I mean I knew you were special but wow... I never thought I could find someone who could keep... keep up with me." Ariana said as her smile started to slowly disappear. "Honestly, it's genius. You will be changing a lot of lives if you can get this to work. I mean this could even help the deaf if you detach the gla.s.ses from the hearing aid." Mrs. Dabney said then continued to hum but Ariana could only hear warning bells go off in her head. Her heart was pounding like crazy and she couldn't figure out why. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"After dinner you can hand in your draft. I think Ether, oh I'm sorry. Professor Penon will be more then excited to see a theory like this. He has been dying to see the next big thing that could change society. Though he has been bugging the Headmaster for his inspiration for the new Academy." Mrs. Dabney giggled as she turned the facuet off. "Mrs. Dabney... who are you?" Ariana asked as she took a step back.

"What?! Are you starting to talk silly because you're hungry? Don't worry there is 15 minutes left before we can sit down and eat." Mrs. Dabney said with a loud laugh. "No... no I mean who are you. I have been having a weird feeling that you aren't who you say who you are." Ariana said as she took some side steps towards the living room. "Wait... hey, hey, hey. Ariana, you and I are friends right. I mean I have no idea why you're asking who I am. I mean, I have been up front with you. I wanted you to be my child's G.o.dmother and even want to help you whenever I can. I am on your side so why are you acting so weird?" Mrs. Dabney said as she moved closer to Ariana.

"No! Stop lying! Y-y-you are different from everyone else. There have been so many signs but what you just did confirms it!" Ariana shouted as she took one more step back. "Sweetie, honey, I know you are a little scared right now and you're scaring me too. What did I just do? Please just talk to me." Mrs. Dabney said in a shaky voice as she stretched out her hand to try and grab Ariana. "No! Don't touch me!" Ariana yelled as her eyes turned wild. "Okay, okay." Mrs. Dabney said as she raised her hands in defense. "No touching. I will keep my hands to myself. Just tell me what is going on." Mrs. Dabney asked as she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Your humming." Ariana answered as she looked at her bag. Her book was open on the couch, the coffee table had her pencil, sc.r.a.p pieces of paper and other notes. "My humming? Hun you know everyone hums, right?! There is nothing wrong with humming." Mrs. Dabney said a little desperately. "No there isn't." Ariana said as she turned her gaze to Mrs. Dabney. She had no choice, she didn't want to leave her project behind so she was determined to face Mrs. Dabney. It was a huge gamble but she had to confirm that Mrs. Dabney was on her side. "But you were humming 'I'm still standing' by Elton John." Ariana said as she calmed her gaze.

Mrs. Dabney paled. "I don't know what you're talking about." Mrs. Dabney said as her body started to shake. She then reached out and tried to place her hand on something to hold herself up. Ariana saw her struggle and instantly jumped to her aid. Mrs. Dabney's knees gave out just as Ariana caught her. "Mrs. Dabney, please. Please don't lie to me." Ariana pleaded as she let out a small sigh. "I-I-I-I... I f*cked up because of my habits." Mrs. Dabney said as she lowered her gaze, she couldn't look at Ariana's desperate gaze any longer.

"So you aren't Mrs. Dabney?" Ariana asked as she helped Mrs. Dabney up. She then walked her over to the couch to sit down. Ariana then quickly started to collect her things and stuffed it into her bag, if she needed to make her get away she wanted to make sure she had her project. "I am Roselyn Dabney by birth but my soul is Ashley Pine." Mrs. Dabney answered softly. Ariana lost her grip on her bag and let it fall with a thud. Her book and belongs slightly fell out but she couldn't hide the shock on her face.

"Ashley..." Ariana said as her eyes rounded in disbelief. "How?" Ariana gasped. "I can't tell you! You will look at me like some sort of monster!" Mrs. Dabney shouted as giant tears started to spill down. "I would never think you are a monster. I was just scared that someone was impersonating you and didn't know what to do. So please talk to me. Okay?" Ariana said as she sat next to Mrs. Dabney. "I can't! Even the Evans have disowned me. The only one who accepted me was Pascal and I can't handle any one else knowing the truth. Please just forget about everything! I will be out of sight soon, so bare with me just a little." Mrs. Dabney said as she laid her head back and let the tears just spill onto the couch. 

"Mrs. Dabney, no I... we..." Ariana said as she tried to consol Mrs. Dabney but couldn't think of wat to say. "Please, just stop. Leave me alone." Mrs. Dabney whispered. It broke Ariana's heart but she refused to budge. She brought this and needed to finish what she had started with Mrs. Dabney. "MY SOUL WAS SUMMONED INTO THIS BODY!" Ariana shouted as she grabbed Mrs. Dabney's hand.

Mrs. Dabney head shot right up and looked at Ariana with horror. "What?" Mrs. Dabney said as she exhailed her breathe. "This body's real mother is the jewel eyed priestess and she took this child's soul with her and put my soul in this body." Ariana admitted as she squeezed Mrs. Dabney's hand. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! I'm so... I never thought. I just thought you were like someone else I know. They reincarnated and remembered their past life but to be summoned." Mrs. Dabney said as she covered her face with her right hand. "You and I are the same.... I was summoned too." Mrs. Dabney whispered. She then raised her head and wipped the tears from her eyes. "Heh! By the way you were wrong. It's Sir Elton Jon, remember he was knighted back in the late 90's but I don't know how old you really are." Mrs. Dabney said with an awkward laugh.

Ariana couldn't help but look at Mrs. Dabney with a blank expression. Too many emotions were whirling inside her that she couldn't pick one. So her brain picked the stupidest one, she started to laugh. "I guess you're right! But I'm not that young, my soul was taken when I was 24. What about you?" Ariana asked. "Me? Let's see. I would have turned 45, it was my birthday and I had just got off work." Mrs. Dabney said with a bittersweet smile. "Let me guess doctor?" Ariana asked with a smile. "Nope, medical researcher. I wanted to uncover all the secrets of the human body and how to come up with the best medicine to cure all ailments. However I started hating my job because the government started to hide my findings and cures. There is no profit in healing the sick. You?"

"Project developer at my family's company." Ariana said with a heavy sigh. "A young lady from the modern world... Ah! You're the one who came up with the new Academy! Why the f*ck would you let that old coot take the credit?!" Mrs. Dabney asked with great shock. "Yes and it was to make sure I could protect myself here." Ariana answered. "Ah!" Mrs. Dabney shouted. "Hey, you okay?" Ariana asked as she suddenly became alarmed. "Ya, I think so-o-o-o-ah!" Mrs. Dabney screamed. "Sorry hun but I don't think I can let you leave. I will-ah! I will see if Ether can accept your project late-ah!" Mrs. Dabney said as calmly as she could but her breathing was picking up. "Baby! It's the baby!" Ariana shouted. "Ye-ah! Yes! Yes! Yes! But we have food too! Ah! You need to save the food too!"