Izzy's Plight
By Robin Wright
Author's Note: I'm sure most of you saw the latest episode of Digimon that was on this morning (3-24-01). Poor, poor Tai! I just had to write something about it. Then it kinda morphed into something else. So, oh well. Mostly dialogue. Enjoy. Bon sante.
"So, Sora, are you busy after Matt's concert? Cause you know, I was just wanting to know if you'd like to, you know, go and do something with me afterward?" Tai stood at the backstage entrance to the concert hall with Sora. In her arms was a small, square box full of warm cookies.
"Well, actually, Tai, I want to keep my evening open, just in case Matt isn't busy. I'd kind of like to go do something with him, instead."
What? What did she just say? She wanted to do something with Matt, instead? Tai's face immediately drooped. It felt as if he had just be smacked in the middle of the chest with an icy sledge hammer.
Crestfallen, he said, "Oh, okay, Sora."
"See you later, Tai. I'll bake you some special cookies another time, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." The door closed with a slight snap behind her.
"I'll be waiting," Tai whispered. He watched the door for a second, trying to process in his mind just exactly what had happened. Then, slowly, he turned and headed for the front entrance, where he met up with Jyou.
"Hey Tai!" he called. Tai attempted a smile and waved to him. With hands in pockets and scraping feet, he entered the line next to his tall, dark haired friend.
"So what did Sora say?" Jyou asked.
Tai looked down at his shoes and kicked a pebble, his breath lingering white and misty in the air.
"She's... busy," Tai mumbled dejectedly.
"She turned you down?"
"In harder terms, yes."
"Ouch. I'm sorry, man. What's she doing instead?"
"Waiting for Matt. Seeing if he's busy. She even baked him cookies."
"Man, that's harsh. Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?" Jyou asked sheepishly.
"Not unless you can convince Sora to take me back."
"I wish I could. It's not right, you two being broken up, and all. I'm not sure what she's got in common with Matt, really."
"Well, let's see," said Tai bitterly, "he's a rock-star, coveted by every female this side of Odiaba. I'm just your average Joe; no offense..."
"None taken."
"...And he's good looking, his hair all done just right. I'm, I'm... common. My hair's a mess, my clothes are... normal. I'm normal. She doesn't have to have anything in common with him. I think it's pretty obvious why she wants him instead."
"Aw, cut it out, Tai. I'm sure she's got some other reason. Anyway, you two broke up not too long ago. Maybe she's still upset."
"Yeah, but I'm the one who did the severing of ties. Now I realize that it was stupid. It was a stupid, stupid mistake! Now, I'm learning my lesson. She was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"That's not true. You're got other things in life that are just as good."
"Yeah..."
Jyou started to tick things off on his fingers. "You have friends, a family that cares about you. You're good in soccer and you are good looking, at least from what I hear from Mimi..."
"Mimi thinks I'm handsome?"
"Well, yeah. She told me once, when I asked her who she would have picked out of us guys, if she didn't take me."
"And I was the next one?" he asked hopefully.
"Er, um, well, no..."
"Second?"
"Uh..."
"Third?"
Jyou nodded his head. "Hey, it's better than fourth!" he attempted.
"The only one who could possibly be left is T.K., and he's five years younger than her! Man, could my ego be bruised any worse?!"
"You never know."
"You're not a lot of help, you know that?"
"I'm studying to be a doctor, not a counselor. I'm sorry, Tai. I'm just not good at this stuff. I want to give you suggestions and help you perk up, but like I said, this isn't my thing... Hey! Here comes Izzy. Maybe he can help you."
The short, red haired prodigy came down the sidewalk, his breath puffing out in a white cloud in front of his face, his cheeks rosy with winter's chill.
"What's up, guys?" he called.
"Dying," said Tai.
"Dying? What's wrong?"
Tai snorted. "Me. I'm what's wrong."
Izzy turned to Jyou, confused. "Care to fill me in on the details?"
"Tai asked Sora on a date and she turned him down."
"How's that worse than usual?" asked Izzy.
"What do you mean, 'usual?'" snapped Tai.
"Whoa, whoa! Sorry! It came out wrong."
"She said she wanted to go and do something with Matt," cut in Jyou.
Izzy nodded in understanding. "I see. Sorry, Tai. You'll get her next opportunity. I'm sure all of the bugs will be fixed in time."
Tai sighed. "I just wish that she would give me another chance."
"Maybe it's too early," said Jyou.
Tai shook his head. "No. She hates me now, I'm sure."
"No, she doesn't hate you."
"Yeah, sure. I just wish you guys were better at giving advice."
"I'd give you advice, but you know..." said Izzy.
Jyou laughed. "Come off it, Izzy. We know there's someone. After all, you didn't lose your virginity by getting turned down all of the time."
A sly grin crept across Tai's face.
"Hey, Izzy, who was she, anyway?" he asked with a smirk.
Izzy blushed and looked away. He cleared his throat and looked back up again, trying to feign manliness.
"You don't know her."
"Then it won't hurt to tell us her name, what she looked like..." said Jyou.
A few drops of sweat gathered on Izzy's brow, despite the cold air.
"We're not getting any younger, Izzy," Tai said.
Izzy pulled at his collar, clearing his throat again.
"She was, um, tall..."
"Tall! Tall is good!" exclaimed Jyou.
"And she had dark hair..." he continued.
"A raven beauty, eh?" interjected Tai.
"Her eyes were green..."
"Emeralds of desire," said Jyou.
"And she was from America..."
"An American woman," Tai quipped.
"Her name was Elisabeth," finished Izzy.
Jyou started to snicker, then broke out in gafaws. Tai and Izzy stared at him like he was nuts.
"What's so funny?" asked Izzy, angrily.
"Heh, heh, it's too cheesy. You'd think it was lame."
"So?"
"Yeah, we're up for a bad joke," said Tai.
"Naw, I was just thinking, you could call them 'Lizzy and Izzy!'"
Tai and Izzy groaned.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I asked. It was that bad." Tai said.
"Hey, you probably couldn't do any better!" said Jyou.
"And I probably couldn't do any worse," muttered Izzy.
"Have you seen her since?" asked Tai.
Izzy scraped the sole of his shoe against the pavement, sniffling in the cold, wishing for a tissue. "I've seen her here and there. I don't talk to her, though."
"How come?" said Jyou.
"I don't want to talk to her. I stay on the computer all day, trying to keep the line tied up. She calls me. I don't know what to say to her."
"It's not like you guys did much past that. I mean, she didn't get pregnant or anything, right?" asked Tai. Izzy turned away, his eyes troubled.
"You didn't get her pregnant, or anything, right?" repeated Jyou.
Izzy didn't answer.
"Izzy, you're scaring us, here. You didn't, did you?" said Tai.
Izzy turned back, his eyes fixated on the salted pavement and scratched his nose.
"She's due in seven months," he muttered.
Tai and Jyou stared at each other, their jaws hanging wide open.
"I - I don't know what to say..." mumbled Tai.
"Yeah..." said Jyou, shocked, to say the least.
"Well, now you know. The genius was an idiot. I screw up one time, and now this! I've got four months of school left! I wanted to go to college! And now, now... I have this to deal with! Not to mention her. I don't know what to say to her..."
"You should talk to her, anyway. Help her, ya know," said Tai.
"I know."
"But we're here for you, all the way, man. Have courage, I'm sure that things'll work out right," Jyou said.
"Courage!" Izzy scoffed. "That's Tai's area! It's a wonder Elisabeth took interest in me in the first place. She talked to me. I didn't have the guts. Knowledge is my forte, guys. I don't think I'll be able to do this, ya know, the father thing..."
"I hate to sound harsh or anything, but you don't seem to have much of a choice," replied Tai.
"I'm reminded of that every day," grumbled Izzy.
"Well, that's a lesson for me, at least," added Jyou.
Tai and Izzy both turned to Jyou, confused expressions on their faces.
"How so?" asked Tai.
"I'll just keep telling Mimi no."
"You mean you've never...?" asked Izzy.
"Nope."
"Why not?" Tai asked.
Jyou shrugged. "I just want to wait till I'm married. I'm too busy with medical school, anyway. The work consumes just about every waking hour of my every day. It's unusual that I was able to come to this concert, tonight. I don't usually have any time for anything but studies. I don't think things with Mimi would be the same if we did, aside from that. I mean, she's special. I want to save such a thing for a special time. I want to make it a big deal. Roses, candles, things like that. Whatever she wants. I think I'd be able to give that to her better if we were married."
"But marriage isn't going to happen soon, if I guess right," said Tai.
"Yup," replied Jyou.
"Despite my situation, I think that would drive me mad," Izzy said.
"Well, that's you. I'm reliable, not jumpy. I can hold out."
"I admire your stamina," laughed Tai.
Slowly, the line began to advance as the crowd was allowed into the concert hall. The three senior members of the Digi-destined didn't say anything more as they went inside, where the air was warm and the voices of the crowd and shuffles of many feet echoed loudly. They made their way into the main hall, searching for their seats. Soon, they located them; Section C, row 35. Not the best seats in the house, but not the nosebleed section, nonetheless. Izzy, Jyou, and Tai sat themselves down in their seats. Tai sighed and rested his head back against his seat. Jyou was slumped in his spot, a dreamy look on his face (no doubt thinking about Mimi), and Izzy looked like he felt the world was about to blow up around him.
Man, my problems are nothing compared to what Izzy's going through, thought Tai. I can't believe I was acting so selfish. Just the same, I do feel really bad about this whole thing with Sora. But what must he be going through right now! A girl he hardly knows, and she's going to have his kid. Sheesh, what a sock in the gut at eighteen. I don't think I'd be able to hold it together if I was in his place... What am I ever going to do about Sora? thought Tai.
As they were sitting there, phasing out, Sora came into the concert hall and found her seat... right next to Tai. She looked at her ticket stub again, making sure she wasn't really in that spot. But yes, she was. Seat 16, row 35, section C. Next to seat 15, row 35, section C; Tai's seat. Slowly, she made her way along the row and sat down. Tai looked up, chin in hand, and saw her sitting there, looking away.
"H-hi, Sora," he stammered. She nodded coldly in his direction.
"So, um, you and Matt going anywhere?" he asked sheepishly.
"No.".
"Oh, how come?"
"It's not your business," she snapped
"Sorry."
They sat there, facing away from each other, the air stale with settling tension. Tai's thoughts turned to Izzy and his plight. Such a smart guy, such a stupid mistake...
"Sora?"
"What, Tai? Can't I sit here in peace without you bothering me?"
"Please, don't be like this, Sora."
"I'll be any way I want to, thank-you!"
"I'm worried about Izzy..."
"Well, you can just quit whining about your problems, because..."
"Sora!"
Tai gripped her by the arm, the leather of her coat bunching under his fingers.
"Don't touch me,"she spat.
He released her. "Will you at least listen to me for a moment?" he asked.
"Why should I?"
"Because this isn't about you or me. It's about Izzy."
"What about him?"
"If you had been listening earlier, you would know that I'm worried about him."
"Why?"
"Just look at him, Sora!"
She glared at Tai for a moment, then leaned forward, her eyes resting on Izzy, who was hunched forward, head in hands, looking a little more than distraught.
"What's wrong with him?" she asked with concern.
"He met a girl. She's pregnant."
"So?"
"It's his baby."
Sora was silent for a moment, her eyes wide in shock. She then looked down at her lap and set to fiddling with a button on the front of her coat. Then, she looked in Tai's eyes and asked, "Do his parents know?"
"I don't know. Jyou and I just found out from him a little while ago."
"Who is she? Do we know her?"
"Her name's Elisabeth, from America. I gather that she's staying here in Japan for a while, at least. I want to help him, but I don't know how."
Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.
"I want to help him, too," she said.
Tai was about to say something else, but the lights were suddenly lowered and the band started to blast music from the stage. To hear each other would have been next to impossible. Tai, Sora, Jyou, and Izzy all stood and cheered for their friend on the stage, though their minds were all in different places. But ten minutes through the concert, the music hall started to shake...
To be continued...