My Ginger Maniac

Reyna Crimson Night

My father often worked late. Ya know, the normal cop job. So I wasn't exactly recognized often, if you know what I mean. The natural, "hey dad I got an A on a test!" "Good Reyna." Or, "hey dad, I just won an award for the best writing!" "That's nice Reyna." It's all the same, over and over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my dad, but he just doesn't exactly notice me.

I can't really blame him, I guess. Working in the GCPD is one hell of a job. He often doesn't come home until late, around maybe 11:00-12:00, and by then I've finished up my homework and made myself dinner, and I'm either sitting on the couch watching TV or writing, as I usually do.

Oh, did I mention, his name's Jim Gordon?

Yes yes, I know. Either no one wants to be my friend until they know who my dad is, or they DO want to be my friend once they figure out who my dad is. And either way, it sucks.

I can't really say I don't go noticed in school, but once again, the only reason I'm noticed is because of my dad, even if it's only an adoptive relationship. I was left outside, asleep, on his doorstep when I was really little, only maybe 10 years old, with a note attached to me, saying my full name. Reyna Crimson Night. I know, cool name right?? I don't remember any of that night.. Or, that week, to be honest.  I know I'd lived in an orphanage almost all of my life, but I couldn't remember why they dropped me off here.. I still can't....  Anyways, I'm never noticed for me. Never noticed for what I do, only for what my dad does. Once again, it sucks.

So I've learned to sort of just sit in the back of the classroom and ignore everyone else, until the teacher calls on me and I'm forced to answer his or her question, whatever it may be.

I'm not exactly the girl you'd expect to be Jim Gordon's daughter, either. So when I tell everyone I'm adopted, they're not surprised. He's such a goody two shoes. Like I said, I love him and all, but still. I'm nothing like him in any way, really.

Looks are definitely a no. Jim's got this cute, innocent baby face, with this golden, buzz cut hair. He doesn't have much style, considering he has to wear his GCPD uniform every day. I, on the other hand, have a.. different.. sense of style. I have icy blue eyes, blood red hair, and always wearing some form of black makeup- usually dark, heavy mascara, with a smokey eye-shadow look, with blood red makeup to match my hair. The majority of my clothes were black, and a lot of my jeans were torn. Jim says it makes me look emo, but I don't care. I'm really not emo, I just like the color black, and I just don't take care of my jeans.

Personality isn't exactly something we share, either. I sort of just kept to myself. I was a geek, so being outgoing didn't always get me far.. it never really got me far at all, to be honest. Jim did the same, but he was constantly driven by work. He was so set on his goals. I was, and am, more care free. Sure, I knew the importance of certain things and knew what tasks needed to get done, but I wasn't like him. I learned to have a little more fun with my life- work wasn't everything for me.

I kept thinking about these things and writing down a new plot for a new story in my notebook, until I heard the door lock click and the door creak open. I set the notebook down and I walked out and once I saw it was my dad, I smiled widely and ran up and hugged him.

"Hi dad. How was work?" I asked, knowing I'd only get a brief answer. He never really talked to me about his work, just troubled himself with it silently.

"Hi, Reyna." He smiled softly and kissed my forehead, ruffling my hair a bit, making it go all frizzy. "It was alright. Had to take that freak down to Arkham today." I frowned and looked up at him, fixing my hair.

"Which one? That Jerome kid?" I asked, and once I was sure my hair was at least decent, I sat down at the kitchen table, across from Jim. He nodded and rubbed his face a little.

"Yup.. He's insane. Murdering his own mother. Your own family. How could you do that?" He just shook his head and looked down at his hands. I just did the same. I couldn't imagine ever hurting Jim.. it just wasn't and isn't something I think I'm capable of doing.

I'd seen Jerome around before, I'd heard about the circus and seen it on TV, and I'd seen him walking the streets of Gotham on very rare occasion. He didn't seem like the sort of kid who could kill his own mother, but it's not like I knew him, and even still... You can never really know what someone is capable of.

"Yeah.. That's fucked up." I just shake my head and look back up. "So the day was a little rough, I'm guessing?" He nodded a little, and we sat there in silence, until he looked up at me.

"Don't you have quarterlies tomorrow?" He asked me, raising and eyebrow. Quarterlies were the test we took each semester in high school. I was a junior, even though I was already 18, because my birthday's one of those early ones, and my parents held me back a year in 7th grade, because I didn't pass some of my classes... But that's irrelevant.  October 13th. That's my birthday.  Anyways, quarterlies were sort of like a final for each quarter. It sucked, but I still had to take them. I nodded.

"Yeah. I have Astronomy, and History tomorrow." I shrugged and looked at him. "Not a big deal, those are pretty easy subjects. Not a big studying issue." I said, obviously not really caring about the two tests, even though I knew they had a major impact on my grade. Jim just shook his head.

"Well, whether it be you need to study harder or not, you definitely need sleep. You can't be sleep deprived and take a test, that's just a disaster waiting to happen." He said. "Go on." He smiled a little. I smiled back. Sure, like I said, my grades weren't always noticed by my father, but when they were, when I knew he cared, that's what felt great.

I stood up from the chair and walked over to kiss his cheek.
"Alright. Well, I'll be off to bed." I walked towards my bedroom, and once I made it there, I closed the door behind me and sighed. I really did need the rest- I was exhausted.

And, even though I didn't know it at the time, tomorrow was going to be a big day.