AN: This should be a fun little comedy/ romance
for you. Please e-mail all Comments, Questions,
Ideas, and Flames I say all e-mail is good, hehehe
to yuubou_san@yahoo.com
I'll be waiting for you minna-chan!! And the more I
get the faster I'll finish this puppy, so maybe it'll
even be done by Christmas break - wow, that would
be cool, ne? Like an extra present for ya?
I don't have much else to say, but I'm in a wacky
mood so I will tell you one fun fact that I know.
Most people who have, err, suffered, spontaneous
human combustion that's when a person bursts
into flame for no apparent reason are wearing
fuzzy slippers when they do. Just thought you
should know, just in case. And no, I do not know
anyone who has done this.
Oh, and one word - learn it, love it, live it:
TANUKI (a Japanese good luck badger)
hehehe sorry - inside joke - I fell in love w/the
little buggers.
Teaser: Determined to spread the spirit, Andrew
takes on the mission of throwing the best Christmas
party ever. Darien seems even more depressed than
usual, and Andrew is sure that a quality Christmas
party is just what he needs to snap out of his funk.
Only one problem: he's gotta find a way to get
Darien to actually go, so when Serena ends up
owing him a big favor, he decides she's the perfect
girl for the job!
*While this epic tale belongs to me, Sailor Moon
and all her chums are property of Naoko-chan.
Sniff. Sniff. My shrink makes me say that
everyday - he thinks that by saying it, one day I'll
actually believe it. Yah, I think he's pretty stupid
too. He obviously has never seen even one episode
or manga.*
Operation: Spread the Spirit
Prologue: I Make a Mess and Get into Another
by Yuubou-san
Rated: G
e-mail: yuubou_san@yahoo.com
**********The Crown Arcade**********
Andrew wiped down the arcade counter in an effort
to watch his friend nonchalantly. Darien seemed
depressed, he decided as he watched his best friend
furrow his brow at some obviously difficult passage
in his textbook (it had to be difficult if Darien
furrowed his brow at it).
"What is it Andrew?" Darien queried without
bothering to look up. He squinted his eyes again,
angry at himself for his vanity and his own refusal
to wear his reading glasses in public. He didn't
think even Andrew knew that he wore them.
"What's . . .what?" Andrew asked back. Confusion
always is the best plan in times of crisis.
"You've been staring at me for the last five
minutes."
"Uhh, no I haven't. Don't be so vain, Darien, not
everyone is as enthralled with your looks as you
are." AN: oh, yes they are! Andrew gave himself
a pat on the back for that one - he definitely got him
there.
"Ouch." Darien looked up alarmed. Am I that
transparent? Andrew gave him a smile to tell him
that he had just been joking. "Very funny,
Andrew." He stood up. "I. . .can't concentrate
here. I'm going to go back to my apartment to
study."
"Study? Darien, you really gotta kick back more.
Even Serena's friend Amy works less than you do!
Look, I'll only forgive you if you come to that
Christmas party I was telling you about. . ."
"It's not really my scene. . ."
"Oh, come on, Darien! I know you're no social
butterfly-"
"Yeah, you reserve that title."
"-BUT crawling out of your cave every now and
then can't hurt either. It'll be fun!!"
"I don't think so, I'd rather stay in my cave, thank
you very much."
Andrew shook his head. "I don't know Darien, you
shelter yourself too much. I only wish I could cheer
you up. The only person who seems to be able to
bring a smile to your face at all is Serena, and that's
usually because you're laughing at her. . ."
Meanwhile. . .
**********The Park**********
"OH. . .THE. . .GODS!!"
I squeeze my eyes shut. . .
Bad idea when you're on wheels I pop them
back open.
My life flashes before my very eyes.
Then, only one thought occupies my mind.
"Why the hell did I allow Lita to talk me into
this?!!!"
I should have known this was a bad idea from the
start. I mean, I crash into things when I'm on foot.
Adding wheels only makes you go faster, thus
rendering the crash more painful - definitely _not_
helpful. But then Lita got all starry eyed and bubbly
as she told me about her big plan and how she was
going to solve my punctuality problem. I should
have just told her right then and there that it wasn't
a problem, but merely one of the cute quirks that
make up my charming personality. But noooo, I
had to be all nice and actually give her plan a shot.
I am too good a friend, I'm telling you.
"Wheels," she said. I should have run right then.
"All you gotta do is learn how, and then you're set
for life! We have to start now, before the ground
starts icing over and snow falls. And don't worry
about falling - they have protective gear for that."
Yeah, they have protective gear for a reason - they
are necessary for even non-clutz prone people.
Besides, helmets, elbow pads, knee pads don't stop
it from hurting completely.
How did I get here, you ask?
Well, I had just completed putting on my elbow
pads, my kneepads, and my rollerblades and was
about to put on my helmet when Lita rolled up to
me.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yep," I answered. I was, however, slightly
preoccupied at the moment. I was trying to figure
out how to put the helmet on over my usual
hairstyle as I stood up. . .
. . .so I didn't see it coming.
"That's my girl!" Lita exclaimed excitedly as she
::cough:: enthusiastically slapped me on the back -
which sent me flying, as well as my helmet.
Unfortunately we flew in two separate directions -
and my helmet got to head toward the ::nice::
::safe:: blacktop where we had planned to skate,
whereas I got to go toward the very ::mean::
::scary:: street, which headed in no real direction but
down.
You know, I never really fantasized about flying -
the weightless feeling, the wind in your face, your
hair billowing behind you - it never really piqued
my interest. I guess I always figured that sort of
dream was unrealistic. The idea didn't even cross
my mind before, of course, I was hurtling down a
very steep hill at about, I don't know, 500 km/hr.
And although the feeling of flying is actually quite
pleasant - I was even contemplating getting a
motorbike after this (after I passed one - the guy
seemed a bit surprised when I waved to him) - the
most tangible thought in my head was - I don't
know how to stop. We really should have gone
over that before I even stood up from the bench.
Then it hit me - literally.
I think it was a bird.
Don't worry though, I think its okay.
Amy told me once that when one's adrenaline kicks
in (mine did about 2 seconds after takeoff)
everything seems to speed up. How did I
remember that? Oh. Yay. I really hoped that this
ride would seem FASTER. I'm really glad someone
up there is looking out for me. I really hope you
feel the sarcasm dripping down this page, because
I'm really laying it on thick.
Then I realized where exactly I was headed.
The Crown Arcade.
The doors automatically opened for me - how sweet
- and I flew right in. One very deft customer dived
out of the way, but Lizzy, who was carrying a tray
of some very delicious desserts - including two
double fudge sundaes and a thick chocolate
milkshake - hey! Don't look at me like that - flying
is very energy consuming and I was hungry!, well,
Lizzy wasn't so deft. She took a hit, and her tray
went flying. Needless to say, she wasn't wearing
protective gear, which I felt very bad about. But the
story does not end there my friends, nope, wasn't
that lucky. The flying milkshake landed on the back
of the new Sailor V game (you know - the wires part
- heh, what good luck I have) while I finally figured
out how to stop the darn wheels, slowed down to a
stop, windmilled, and then fell, and landed on top
of none other than Darien Chiba. Yes, full length.
Oh! Don't worry folks. That's not all that
happened.
I heard a spark, and then, well, hehehe, the new
Sailor V game caught on fire. I guess when the
milkshake landed on the wires, it caused some sort
of malfunction - I don't know, you'd have to ask
Amy or Melvin for the particulars (and be ready for
a _long_ story ::yawn:: you get the point.)
Anyway, in the end it was the same.
Crackle, crackle. Pop, pop.
Mina was the first to keep her head and grab the fire
extinguisher. Only, you know Mina. In the end, the
fire, thankfully, didn't spread, but everyone in the
store ::except:: Mina ended up as white as
snowmen.
"Heh, heh. . .uh, whoops?" Mina broke the stunned
silence. She slyly put the fire extinguisher down
and edged away from it.
Boy I felt awful.
I think, however, Andrew felt worse. I swear I saw
tears. He was, after all, responsible for the arcade,
and that game was pretty new. Both Darien and I
managed to scramble to our feet, but I forgot that I
was still on wheels, and well, I windmilled once
more and we landed on the floor once again.
Yes, full length. This was really getting old.
Damn rollerblades.
Before I did anything else, I took them off. I
realized that I don't mind being late - at least it
doesn't endanger lives. I'll have to remember that
the next time my friends get a plan in their heads.
Darien of course, had a snappy comment to make,
after he stopped laughing. "Hurricane Serena
strikes again! You out did yourself this time,
Meatball Head." I had an incredible urge to smack
that smirk off of his face. The only thing that
stopped me, other than the height difference, was
the fact that he was completely right. I satisfied
myself by just sticking out my tongue at him. His
smirk did drop off, however, when he saw
Andrew's expression.
Mine did too. It had turned from sad to, I don't
know how to describe it, but let me just say that it
disturbed me and made some of the littler kids cry.
The fact that it was bright red with white foamy
poke-a-dots and two glittering, angry, green eyes
sort of made it seem, well, really, really, scary. He
also had, what appeared to be two white foamy
horns on the top of his head to complete the picture.
He ran a hand through his hair which obliterated
that idea, but I was definitely more scared right now
than when I had been hurtling down that cliff of a
hill earlier.
After surveying the damage, Andrew simply looked
at me and uttered, "Serena, you owe me big time."
That's my friend Andrew. He's usually much nicer.
His family owns the arcade, and he works there to
save up for school - he wants to be a doctor. He's
gorgeous, too, - blond hair, sparkling green eyes,
normal height for a guy, and looks awfully cute in
an apron. But he's taken. sigh, all the good ones
seem to be. He has a beautiful girlfriend named
Rita, who's a year older than him. I used to have a
major crush on him, and would swoon whenever I
saw him, which was, like, everyday, seeing as the
arcade was my favorite hangout. But I got over that
a long time ago. He's ~wicked~ cool AN: hehehe
- Boston slang goes all the way!! Things I learned
over the past month; if you live in great lakes area,
substitute "supa" for wicked, if you live in Cali,
substitute "hella" for it. I guess its a cool way of
saying very. and a great listener. He's sort of
become like an older brother to me, lately, which is
why I felt really bad about what had happened. I
owed him big time, and I was determined to make it
up to him.
Lita arrived, took one look at the scene and
courageously bounded over to Mina.
"Okay, Mina. It looks like its just you and me." She
began, shouting. "Alright Nega-creep!! Where are
you? You can't turn MY friends into Abominable
Snow men and get away with it!!! Show your face,
coward! On behalf of -"
Mina clamped her hand over Lita's mouth and
loudly whispered, "Ut-I-ou!!-Er's-no-ega-onsta-
ear!"
Lita gave her a very puzzled look and let out a very
muffled, "mfhuh?"
Mina let out a cry of exasperation. Amy cut in and
repeated more clearly, "She said, cut it out, there's
no nega-monster here."
Lita's forehead wrinkled as she understood that she
almost let everyone know that she was Sailor
Jupiter. "Oh, thanks. . . Wait - then how did it snow
in here?" She gave a pointed look at Amy, the scout
of ice, who pointed at Minako, who pointed at me,
who pointed at the roller blades, and then tossed
them to her.
"Keep `em. I like being late." I told her. Then I
smiled and let her I was all right, for the time being.
"Oh. . ." was all she could muster, although her
eyebrows were raised rather high and her mouth
kept on twitching into a smile.
I could tell she was holding back laughter on behalf
of Andrew, who seemed devastated. She and the
other girls - Mina, Rei, and Amy, offered to help
clean up, and were chattering in a booth. Once we
stepped into the lounge I heard the laughter like they
were right next to me. I'm sure it would have been
really fun to watch, but living it. . .
"Look, Andrew. . .I'm really sorry. I'll pay you
back for the damage." I mentally surveyed the
damage and sucked in my breath. "Uhhh. . .you're
not going to charge interest, right? It could take a
while." My allowance was still pretty pitiful.
"Maybe I could work it off?"
Andrew grimaced. "Somehow, I think that'll make
it worse."
"Oh." I swallowed. He was right, I knew. I'd tried
helping out at the Crown before, but it inevitably
ended in something breaking, scalding, etc. In fact,
the only good memory I have of that is accidentally
dumping a sundae on Darien's pants, although,
Andrew didn't look at it the same way. I was a
clutz. This, I know, but it still hurts when people
point it out. I guess that's when I started to cry. I
wasn't being a drama queen, either. I really wanted
to atone for what I'd done, and Andrew was
effectively smashing all efforts on my part to do so,
no matter how realistically he'd been thinking.
We were in the employee's lounge, at the moment.
Before we had gone in to discuss, err, particulars,
Darien had left, muttering to himself about peace,
quiet, coffee. . .I don't know, that guy is weird. I
mean, he'll wear a black turtleneck with black
pants. Who does that, anyway?
My crying soon subsided - I don't think Andrew had
even noticed, luckily (he was used to it with me). I
glanced up and saw the brooding look on Andrew's
face. This was serious. "I'm really sorry, Andrew.
If you want. . ." I took a deep breath, ready to give
everything to atone for all past events, "I'll never
come here again, err, on purpose, so you'll never
have to worry about my clutz attacks ever again."
"No! Serena - you bring a light to this place that
everyone would miss if you stopped coming." He
winked at me, now ready to play big brother and
make me feel better. I told you he was usually a lot
nicer, didn't I? I managed a smile for him.
"I'm glad I could cheer you up." Then Andrew's
face scrunched up a bit in thought, as if the
comment had brought him back to some earlier
conversation or memory. . .
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when he got the
look.
The look that told me I was worse than dead. The
look that said, "I'm a good friend with good
intentions and a great idea." The exact same look
Lita had gotten earlier this morning. I really wanted
to shout what was going through my head at the
moment - namely "No no no no no NO!!!" but I
kept my cool, resigned to the fact that I did owe the
man big time.
"Now, Serena. You know you owe me big time. . ."
Told you so. "And I'm happy to say that I've
decided you don't have to pay me back in cash, but
you can do it in favors! One big favor, actually!
Your mission is to make sure Darien gets in the
holiday spirit, goes to the big Christmas party and
has a good time!!! If you succeed, we can call it
even, ok?"
My head fell down and I sweatdropped. Andrew
waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me
out of it. I took a deep breath when I realized I was
seriously considering going along with this plan.
With my track record, you'd think I'd learn. I mean,
Lita's plan only tried to kill me, quick and relatively
painlessly, but Andrew's plan would slowly torture
me, little by little to insanity. I immediately wished
he had asked me to go rollerblading down the hill
again!! It was much better than spending time with
your worst enemy who teased you endlessly and
always looked perfect doing it! But it was this, or,
never having any money to play Sailor V games
ever again. With that realization, the words
sputtered from my mouth (almost involuntarily.)
"Uh, uh, uh, ok. I'll do it."
"Great!" Andrew actually leaped into the air in
jubilation, fist moving up while he spun in a
complete circle. "I know we can cheer up Darien!
He never comes to any parties, but I'm sure that if
he just tried it he'd have a good time!"
"Wait, he's never gone to a party before?"
"No, I ask him to come with me every holiday, but
he always refuses. He's always been more of the
type who has a few close friends and that's it.
Which is fine, but I bet if he just gave this a try,
he'd find he'd have a better time than he'd think.
Even better, you're just the person who can make
sure that he does!! You're so cheerful, I'm sure you
can spread the spirit! I mean, look at your
relationship with Raye - you got past her barriers,
and now you two are as close as sisters!"
Andrew was getting a glazed look in his eyes, I
noticed with shock. He got all starry eyed, and I
knew I couldn't let him down.
"Yeah, it's a perfect plan Andrew." I told him
supportively as I gently squeezed his shoulder.
I turned to leave and had almost reached the door
when he added, "Yeah, oh and don't worry - I'll
help!"
I mentally groaned.
***********************
***********************
AN: What'd you think?
I'm hungry for feedback - so throw some chocolate
syrup and sprinkles on an e-mail and send it my
way. no whip cream, please.
Quickly, before I go completely crazy!!
Ja'
yuu
yuubou_san@yahoo.com
for you. Please e-mail all Comments, Questions,
Ideas, and Flames I say all e-mail is good, hehehe
to yuubou_san@yahoo.com
I'll be waiting for you minna-chan!! And the more I
get the faster I'll finish this puppy, so maybe it'll
even be done by Christmas break - wow, that would
be cool, ne? Like an extra present for ya?
I don't have much else to say, but I'm in a wacky
mood so I will tell you one fun fact that I know.
Most people who have, err, suffered, spontaneous
human combustion that's when a person bursts
into flame for no apparent reason are wearing
fuzzy slippers when they do. Just thought you
should know, just in case. And no, I do not know
anyone who has done this.
Oh, and one word - learn it, love it, live it:
TANUKI (a Japanese good luck badger)
hehehe sorry - inside joke - I fell in love w/the
little buggers.
Teaser: Determined to spread the spirit, Andrew
takes on the mission of throwing the best Christmas
party ever. Darien seems even more depressed than
usual, and Andrew is sure that a quality Christmas
party is just what he needs to snap out of his funk.
Only one problem: he's gotta find a way to get
Darien to actually go, so when Serena ends up
owing him a big favor, he decides she's the perfect
girl for the job!
*While this epic tale belongs to me, Sailor Moon
and all her chums are property of Naoko-chan.
Sniff. Sniff. My shrink makes me say that
everyday - he thinks that by saying it, one day I'll
actually believe it. Yah, I think he's pretty stupid
too. He obviously has never seen even one episode
or manga.*
Operation: Spread the Spirit
Prologue: I Make a Mess and Get into Another
by Yuubou-san
Rated: G
e-mail: yuubou_san@yahoo.com
**********The Crown Arcade**********
Andrew wiped down the arcade counter in an effort
to watch his friend nonchalantly. Darien seemed
depressed, he decided as he watched his best friend
furrow his brow at some obviously difficult passage
in his textbook (it had to be difficult if Darien
furrowed his brow at it).
"What is it Andrew?" Darien queried without
bothering to look up. He squinted his eyes again,
angry at himself for his vanity and his own refusal
to wear his reading glasses in public. He didn't
think even Andrew knew that he wore them.
"What's . . .what?" Andrew asked back. Confusion
always is the best plan in times of crisis.
"You've been staring at me for the last five
minutes."
"Uhh, no I haven't. Don't be so vain, Darien, not
everyone is as enthralled with your looks as you
are." AN: oh, yes they are! Andrew gave himself
a pat on the back for that one - he definitely got him
there.
"Ouch." Darien looked up alarmed. Am I that
transparent? Andrew gave him a smile to tell him
that he had just been joking. "Very funny,
Andrew." He stood up. "I. . .can't concentrate
here. I'm going to go back to my apartment to
study."
"Study? Darien, you really gotta kick back more.
Even Serena's friend Amy works less than you do!
Look, I'll only forgive you if you come to that
Christmas party I was telling you about. . ."
"It's not really my scene. . ."
"Oh, come on, Darien! I know you're no social
butterfly-"
"Yeah, you reserve that title."
"-BUT crawling out of your cave every now and
then can't hurt either. It'll be fun!!"
"I don't think so, I'd rather stay in my cave, thank
you very much."
Andrew shook his head. "I don't know Darien, you
shelter yourself too much. I only wish I could cheer
you up. The only person who seems to be able to
bring a smile to your face at all is Serena, and that's
usually because you're laughing at her. . ."
Meanwhile. . .
**********The Park**********
"OH. . .THE. . .GODS!!"
I squeeze my eyes shut. . .
Bad idea when you're on wheels I pop them
back open.
My life flashes before my very eyes.
Then, only one thought occupies my mind.
"Why the hell did I allow Lita to talk me into
this?!!!"
I should have known this was a bad idea from the
start. I mean, I crash into things when I'm on foot.
Adding wheels only makes you go faster, thus
rendering the crash more painful - definitely _not_
helpful. But then Lita got all starry eyed and bubbly
as she told me about her big plan and how she was
going to solve my punctuality problem. I should
have just told her right then and there that it wasn't
a problem, but merely one of the cute quirks that
make up my charming personality. But noooo, I
had to be all nice and actually give her plan a shot.
I am too good a friend, I'm telling you.
"Wheels," she said. I should have run right then.
"All you gotta do is learn how, and then you're set
for life! We have to start now, before the ground
starts icing over and snow falls. And don't worry
about falling - they have protective gear for that."
Yeah, they have protective gear for a reason - they
are necessary for even non-clutz prone people.
Besides, helmets, elbow pads, knee pads don't stop
it from hurting completely.
How did I get here, you ask?
Well, I had just completed putting on my elbow
pads, my kneepads, and my rollerblades and was
about to put on my helmet when Lita rolled up to
me.
"Ready to go?" she asked.
"Yep," I answered. I was, however, slightly
preoccupied at the moment. I was trying to figure
out how to put the helmet on over my usual
hairstyle as I stood up. . .
. . .so I didn't see it coming.
"That's my girl!" Lita exclaimed excitedly as she
::cough:: enthusiastically slapped me on the back -
which sent me flying, as well as my helmet.
Unfortunately we flew in two separate directions -
and my helmet got to head toward the ::nice::
::safe:: blacktop where we had planned to skate,
whereas I got to go toward the very ::mean::
::scary:: street, which headed in no real direction but
down.
You know, I never really fantasized about flying -
the weightless feeling, the wind in your face, your
hair billowing behind you - it never really piqued
my interest. I guess I always figured that sort of
dream was unrealistic. The idea didn't even cross
my mind before, of course, I was hurtling down a
very steep hill at about, I don't know, 500 km/hr.
And although the feeling of flying is actually quite
pleasant - I was even contemplating getting a
motorbike after this (after I passed one - the guy
seemed a bit surprised when I waved to him) - the
most tangible thought in my head was - I don't
know how to stop. We really should have gone
over that before I even stood up from the bench.
Then it hit me - literally.
I think it was a bird.
Don't worry though, I think its okay.
Amy told me once that when one's adrenaline kicks
in (mine did about 2 seconds after takeoff)
everything seems to speed up. How did I
remember that? Oh. Yay. I really hoped that this
ride would seem FASTER. I'm really glad someone
up there is looking out for me. I really hope you
feel the sarcasm dripping down this page, because
I'm really laying it on thick.
Then I realized where exactly I was headed.
The Crown Arcade.
The doors automatically opened for me - how sweet
- and I flew right in. One very deft customer dived
out of the way, but Lizzy, who was carrying a tray
of some very delicious desserts - including two
double fudge sundaes and a thick chocolate
milkshake - hey! Don't look at me like that - flying
is very energy consuming and I was hungry!, well,
Lizzy wasn't so deft. She took a hit, and her tray
went flying. Needless to say, she wasn't wearing
protective gear, which I felt very bad about. But the
story does not end there my friends, nope, wasn't
that lucky. The flying milkshake landed on the back
of the new Sailor V game (you know - the wires part
- heh, what good luck I have) while I finally figured
out how to stop the darn wheels, slowed down to a
stop, windmilled, and then fell, and landed on top
of none other than Darien Chiba. Yes, full length.
Oh! Don't worry folks. That's not all that
happened.
I heard a spark, and then, well, hehehe, the new
Sailor V game caught on fire. I guess when the
milkshake landed on the wires, it caused some sort
of malfunction - I don't know, you'd have to ask
Amy or Melvin for the particulars (and be ready for
a _long_ story ::yawn:: you get the point.)
Anyway, in the end it was the same.
Crackle, crackle. Pop, pop.
Mina was the first to keep her head and grab the fire
extinguisher. Only, you know Mina. In the end, the
fire, thankfully, didn't spread, but everyone in the
store ::except:: Mina ended up as white as
snowmen.
"Heh, heh. . .uh, whoops?" Mina broke the stunned
silence. She slyly put the fire extinguisher down
and edged away from it.
Boy I felt awful.
I think, however, Andrew felt worse. I swear I saw
tears. He was, after all, responsible for the arcade,
and that game was pretty new. Both Darien and I
managed to scramble to our feet, but I forgot that I
was still on wheels, and well, I windmilled once
more and we landed on the floor once again.
Yes, full length. This was really getting old.
Damn rollerblades.
Before I did anything else, I took them off. I
realized that I don't mind being late - at least it
doesn't endanger lives. I'll have to remember that
the next time my friends get a plan in their heads.
Darien of course, had a snappy comment to make,
after he stopped laughing. "Hurricane Serena
strikes again! You out did yourself this time,
Meatball Head." I had an incredible urge to smack
that smirk off of his face. The only thing that
stopped me, other than the height difference, was
the fact that he was completely right. I satisfied
myself by just sticking out my tongue at him. His
smirk did drop off, however, when he saw
Andrew's expression.
Mine did too. It had turned from sad to, I don't
know how to describe it, but let me just say that it
disturbed me and made some of the littler kids cry.
The fact that it was bright red with white foamy
poke-a-dots and two glittering, angry, green eyes
sort of made it seem, well, really, really, scary. He
also had, what appeared to be two white foamy
horns on the top of his head to complete the picture.
He ran a hand through his hair which obliterated
that idea, but I was definitely more scared right now
than when I had been hurtling down that cliff of a
hill earlier.
After surveying the damage, Andrew simply looked
at me and uttered, "Serena, you owe me big time."
That's my friend Andrew. He's usually much nicer.
His family owns the arcade, and he works there to
save up for school - he wants to be a doctor. He's
gorgeous, too, - blond hair, sparkling green eyes,
normal height for a guy, and looks awfully cute in
an apron. But he's taken. sigh, all the good ones
seem to be. He has a beautiful girlfriend named
Rita, who's a year older than him. I used to have a
major crush on him, and would swoon whenever I
saw him, which was, like, everyday, seeing as the
arcade was my favorite hangout. But I got over that
a long time ago. He's ~wicked~ cool AN: hehehe
- Boston slang goes all the way!! Things I learned
over the past month; if you live in great lakes area,
substitute "supa" for wicked, if you live in Cali,
substitute "hella" for it. I guess its a cool way of
saying very. and a great listener. He's sort of
become like an older brother to me, lately, which is
why I felt really bad about what had happened. I
owed him big time, and I was determined to make it
up to him.
Lita arrived, took one look at the scene and
courageously bounded over to Mina.
"Okay, Mina. It looks like its just you and me." She
began, shouting. "Alright Nega-creep!! Where are
you? You can't turn MY friends into Abominable
Snow men and get away with it!!! Show your face,
coward! On behalf of -"
Mina clamped her hand over Lita's mouth and
loudly whispered, "Ut-I-ou!!-Er's-no-ega-onsta-
ear!"
Lita gave her a very puzzled look and let out a very
muffled, "mfhuh?"
Mina let out a cry of exasperation. Amy cut in and
repeated more clearly, "She said, cut it out, there's
no nega-monster here."
Lita's forehead wrinkled as she understood that she
almost let everyone know that she was Sailor
Jupiter. "Oh, thanks. . . Wait - then how did it snow
in here?" She gave a pointed look at Amy, the scout
of ice, who pointed at Minako, who pointed at me,
who pointed at the roller blades, and then tossed
them to her.
"Keep `em. I like being late." I told her. Then I
smiled and let her I was all right, for the time being.
"Oh. . ." was all she could muster, although her
eyebrows were raised rather high and her mouth
kept on twitching into a smile.
I could tell she was holding back laughter on behalf
of Andrew, who seemed devastated. She and the
other girls - Mina, Rei, and Amy, offered to help
clean up, and were chattering in a booth. Once we
stepped into the lounge I heard the laughter like they
were right next to me. I'm sure it would have been
really fun to watch, but living it. . .
"Look, Andrew. . .I'm really sorry. I'll pay you
back for the damage." I mentally surveyed the
damage and sucked in my breath. "Uhhh. . .you're
not going to charge interest, right? It could take a
while." My allowance was still pretty pitiful.
"Maybe I could work it off?"
Andrew grimaced. "Somehow, I think that'll make
it worse."
"Oh." I swallowed. He was right, I knew. I'd tried
helping out at the Crown before, but it inevitably
ended in something breaking, scalding, etc. In fact,
the only good memory I have of that is accidentally
dumping a sundae on Darien's pants, although,
Andrew didn't look at it the same way. I was a
clutz. This, I know, but it still hurts when people
point it out. I guess that's when I started to cry. I
wasn't being a drama queen, either. I really wanted
to atone for what I'd done, and Andrew was
effectively smashing all efforts on my part to do so,
no matter how realistically he'd been thinking.
We were in the employee's lounge, at the moment.
Before we had gone in to discuss, err, particulars,
Darien had left, muttering to himself about peace,
quiet, coffee. . .I don't know, that guy is weird. I
mean, he'll wear a black turtleneck with black
pants. Who does that, anyway?
My crying soon subsided - I don't think Andrew had
even noticed, luckily (he was used to it with me). I
glanced up and saw the brooding look on Andrew's
face. This was serious. "I'm really sorry, Andrew.
If you want. . ." I took a deep breath, ready to give
everything to atone for all past events, "I'll never
come here again, err, on purpose, so you'll never
have to worry about my clutz attacks ever again."
"No! Serena - you bring a light to this place that
everyone would miss if you stopped coming." He
winked at me, now ready to play big brother and
make me feel better. I told you he was usually a lot
nicer, didn't I? I managed a smile for him.
"I'm glad I could cheer you up." Then Andrew's
face scrunched up a bit in thought, as if the
comment had brought him back to some earlier
conversation or memory. . .
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when he got the
look.
The look that told me I was worse than dead. The
look that said, "I'm a good friend with good
intentions and a great idea." The exact same look
Lita had gotten earlier this morning. I really wanted
to shout what was going through my head at the
moment - namely "No no no no no NO!!!" but I
kept my cool, resigned to the fact that I did owe the
man big time.
"Now, Serena. You know you owe me big time. . ."
Told you so. "And I'm happy to say that I've
decided you don't have to pay me back in cash, but
you can do it in favors! One big favor, actually!
Your mission is to make sure Darien gets in the
holiday spirit, goes to the big Christmas party and
has a good time!!! If you succeed, we can call it
even, ok?"
My head fell down and I sweatdropped. Andrew
waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me
out of it. I took a deep breath when I realized I was
seriously considering going along with this plan.
With my track record, you'd think I'd learn. I mean,
Lita's plan only tried to kill me, quick and relatively
painlessly, but Andrew's plan would slowly torture
me, little by little to insanity. I immediately wished
he had asked me to go rollerblading down the hill
again!! It was much better than spending time with
your worst enemy who teased you endlessly and
always looked perfect doing it! But it was this, or,
never having any money to play Sailor V games
ever again. With that realization, the words
sputtered from my mouth (almost involuntarily.)
"Uh, uh, uh, ok. I'll do it."
"Great!" Andrew actually leaped into the air in
jubilation, fist moving up while he spun in a
complete circle. "I know we can cheer up Darien!
He never comes to any parties, but I'm sure that if
he just tried it he'd have a good time!"
"Wait, he's never gone to a party before?"
"No, I ask him to come with me every holiday, but
he always refuses. He's always been more of the
type who has a few close friends and that's it.
Which is fine, but I bet if he just gave this a try,
he'd find he'd have a better time than he'd think.
Even better, you're just the person who can make
sure that he does!! You're so cheerful, I'm sure you
can spread the spirit! I mean, look at your
relationship with Raye - you got past her barriers,
and now you two are as close as sisters!"
Andrew was getting a glazed look in his eyes, I
noticed with shock. He got all starry eyed, and I
knew I couldn't let him down.
"Yeah, it's a perfect plan Andrew." I told him
supportively as I gently squeezed his shoulder.
I turned to leave and had almost reached the door
when he added, "Yeah, oh and don't worry - I'll
help!"
I mentally groaned.
***********************
***********************
AN: What'd you think?
I'm hungry for feedback - so throw some chocolate
syrup and sprinkles on an e-mail and send it my
way. no whip cream, please.
Quickly, before I go completely crazy!!
Ja'
yuu
yuubou_san@yahoo.com