A/N The GW characters do not belong to me. Charity, Saraki, Terra, and Kat are my friend's characters. Arti is mine.
Time of Your Life
Chapter 1
Time of your Life
~So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life~
"CHARITY!!!!!" "What!?!?!?" "You used up all the hot water!"" I'm sorry!" Duo Maxwell stuck his head out of the bathroom." But I NEED to take a shower!" "So did I." Charity walked out of her room and looked at her brother. "You might wanna get dressed." she told him. "Why?" " Just get dressed!!!!" Duo ducked back into the bathroom.
He walked out in a few minuets, dressed in only his boxers. "I said that you might want to get dressed." Charity reminded him. "Why? I can walk around in my boxers, can't I?" he walked into her room. "A few of my friends are coming over." "Any that I know?" Duo asked. "Uh....yea. You know Terra and Saraki, don't you? Well, Saraki's twin sister, Arti, is coming over with them." Charity told him. "Oh....is she cute?" 'How should I know!?!?!? I'm not that way!!!" Charity shoved Duo into the hall. "Now get dressed!" She slammed the door behind him. He shrugged and went to find some clothes.
After a while, Duo heard the doorbell ring. He looked up and thought 'Charity will get it.' In a couple of seconds it rung again. Duo slipped on a pair of jeans and went to answer the door. Just as he opened the door, the bell rung again. "Oops! Sorry." The girl at the door grinned sheepishly. 'That must be Arti...' he thought. "Hey Duo!!!" Duo realized that Terra and Saraki were standing behind Arti. "Oh. Hi. Cherry's in her room." He stepped back to let them in. As they were walking down the hall, he heard Arti say, "That's Duo? He looked sorta like a girl. Sorta cute though." "Art, you're hopeless."
Duo went and stood in his sister's door. No one seemed to notice him. Arti flopped onto Charity's bed, Charity was on the floor digging under her bed for something, and Saraki and Terra sat in some beanbag chairs. "Was my brother dressed?" Charity asked. "Sorta. He didn't have a shirt on. He looked sorta like a girl." Arti replied. "He normally has his hair braided." Charity came out from under the bed. Arti shrugged. "Hey Terra." Duo spoke up. "What?" "Is Quatre home?" "Um...." Terra thought. "Nope." "Oh...Heero and WuFei are gonna come over Charity." Duo told her. "Ok. Whatever." Duo went to call up his two friends. Neither one of them could think of anything else they had to do so they were going to come over. Just as Duo got off the phone with WuFei, he heard Blink 182 blasting in from Charity's room. "HEY! CUT THAT DOWN ARTI!" Charity shouted. "Sorry." Arti cut it down.
After a while, the girls came into the living room. They all spread out over the room. Since there was no where else to sit, Arti laid down on the floor. Duo walked in with some popcorn. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Charity's room got crowded." Terra informed him. "Oh..." They sat there in silence. "Hey Art...." "My name is Arti." "Arti.....can you go get the movie from my room?" Charity asked. "Ok, ok." She got up and walked into Charity's room. In a couple of seconds, they all heard Green Day blasting from Charity's room. "ARTI!!!!!" Charity stormed towards her room. The music was turned off. "I'm sorry!!!" Arti kept apologizing.
Just then the door bell rang. "That must be them." Duo said as Charity went to get the door. She walked back in with Heero and WuFei following her. "Wu man!" "WuWu!!" Duo and Arti stared at each other. "Oh God..." WuFei shook his head. Duo and Arti stared at each other for a while longer. "Stop it, you bakas!" WuFei glared at both of them. "Sorry WuWu." Arti said.
Charity blinked. "As you've probably already guessed, that's WuFei. And the one behind WuFei is Heero." Charity introduced Saraki to Heero. When Saraki's eyes met Heero's, she paused for a moment before a reddish tint appeared in her cheeks. "Oh.....uh......hu-hullo." she managed to say. Heero only looked at her. Their eyes remained locked for a moment. "....hello." Heero finally said. Then he turned ,walked over to Duo, and dragged Duo towards his room. WuFei shook his head and silently followed.
"Heero's not very talkitave, is he?" Arti said. "Nope." Charity replied. Saraki's eyes still lingered on the spot where Heero was standing. "Breathe Saki, breathe!" Arti waved her hand in front of her sister's face. Saraki realized she was holding her breath and she let it go. "So...ya like Hee-chan, don't ya?" Arti teased. Saraki glared at her sister. "Well you were flirting with Duo!" "WAS NOT!!!!!" "Alright, you two!" Charity warned them. "Sorry." Arti apologized. "You seem to be saying that alot today, Art." Saraki said. " Well, today's not a good day for me, Saki." Arti replyed. "Cool it, you two." Charity told them.
Later that night...
Charity, Saraki, Arti, and Terra were all spread out in Charity's room. Heero and WuFei had long since gone. "Are we staying here tonight?" Arti asked no one in particular. "I guess....if we're allowed to." Saraki replied. "It's fine with me." Charity shrugged. "Oh, cool." Arti said.
They sat there for a while longer. "I'm bored. "Arti commented. "You're always bored." Terra said. "I know. "Arti grinned sheepishly. Charity just shrugged and yawned. "Ya gettin' tired, Cherry?" Arti yawned. "Yea....Art." Charity replied. "Where are we all going to sleep?" Terra asked. Charity looked around. "Two of you could sleep in here. One of you has to sleep on the couch." she replied. Terra, Arti, and Saraki looked at each other. "I'll sleep on the couch. " Arti volunteered. "Ok then." Charity showed Arti where all the extra blankets and pillows were.
"What am I gonna sleep in?" Arti asked. "Um....couldn't you sleep in that?" Charity asked. "Yeah, I guess so." Arti shrugged. "Ok then. Good night." Charity said. "G'night. "Arti replied then walked into the living room. She sat on the couch and turned on the tv to find something to watch.
Duo walked in with a bowl of popcorn. "What are you doing in here?" he asked. "It's too crowded in Charity's room so I volunteered to sleep in here." Arti explained. Duo sat down next to her on the couch. "Oh." Arti stopped on Saturday Night Live. "Is that what you're sleeping in?" Duo asked her. She nodded. Duo sighed then got up and walked out. He returned in a moment with a pair of boxers and a big tee-shirt. He tossed them to her. "Thanks." she said. "No problem." Arti went to change.
When she got back, she sat down and looked at Duo. "What?" "We didn't get off to a very good start, so ya wanna try again?" she suggested. "Uh....sure." Duo shrugged. "Ok then. I'm Arti." she stuck out her hand. "I'm Duo." he shook it. Arti grinned. "That's better." She went back to watching SNL. He looked around then got up and left. Arti watched him go and shrugged. He came back with a pillow and some blankets and flopped down on the other couch. "Whatcha doin'?" Arti asked him as he cut off the tv. "I'm going to sleep." Duo replied. "Oh..." Arti setteled down to go to sleep.
A week later...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRA!!!" "Thank you, you guys!" "Hey, it was nothing for my favorite little sister." Quatre hugged Terra. "I'm your only little sister." she pointed out. He grinned.
Then the door bell rung at the Winner estate. Everyone paused. "Rashid will get it." Quatre told them. With that reassureance, everyone went back to what they were doing.Arti and Duo were at the snack table, Quatre, Terra, and Saraki were standing near the door and talking, Heero was typing on his laptop in a corner, WuFei was meditating in the opposite corner, and Charity had dozed off in a chair.
"HEE-CHAN!!!" Heero's head snapped up. "HEE-CHAN!!!!!" Heero quickly shut off his laptop and hid behind a curtain. His feet were visible beneth the curtian. Arti and Duo looked at each other and shrugged. "HEE-CHAN!!!! WHERE ARE YOU???" The owner of the shrill voice stepped into the room with Rashid closely behind. Relena looked around the room. "HEE-CHAN?" She paused before shrugging and walking over to Quatre.
"Happy birthday, Quatre!" She gave him a quick hug. "It's my birthday." Terra pouted. Arti and Duo walked over to where Quatre, Relena, and Terra were. "I'm inviting you and all of your friends to a grand ball and feast tomorrow." She handed Quatre the invation. "Um....I guess we could make it." Quatre smiled feebly. "Miss Relena?" Pagan hobbeled into the room. "We have to leave." he said. They heard a sigh of relef from where the curtian was. Relena shrugged. "Miss Relena, you're going to be late for your nail appointment." Pagan urged her to leave. "Oh yes. Thank you, Pagan. Good bye, everyone!" She then turned on her heel and walked out. "GOOD BYE, HEE-CHAN!!!" Heero fell out from behind the curtian. He blinked then went back to his corner. "So, are we acually going to this party thing?" Duo asked. "Well....it would be rude if we didn't go." Quatre said.
At the party...
"Curse you and your politeness, Quatre." Heero grumbeled under his breath. The boys were all wearing white suits. Saraki was wearing a red dress, Arti and Terra were wearing black dresses, Charity was wearing a light blue dress, and Kat was wearing a off-white dress.
Duo looked around and sighed. 'This is going to be boring.' he thought. "This is going to be boring. The music sucks." Arti stated as they started a slow song. "Yea." Duo agreed. He looked around. All the people were dancing exactly the same. He turned to Arti. "Wanna dance?" She grinned. "It'd be my pleasure." He led her out to the center of the floor. "Uh...I dunno how to dance." Arti told him. "Neither do I." Duo grinned.
Quatre looked out at the dance floor. Arti and Duo were dancing in the opposite direction from everybody else and, not only mangaing to step on each other's feet, they stepped on everyone else's feet as well and running into everyone. Trowa and Charity were slowly waltzing in a corner of the room. Quatre looked around. He saw Kat standing near the wall. He walked over to her. He bowed and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?" Kat smiled. "Yes." She took his hand and he led her into the dance floor.
"HEE-CHAN!" Heero quickly looked around. 'She's found me!' He spotted Saraki. He walked over to her and dragged her onto the dance floor. "Dance with me?" "Uh....sure." Saraki replied. They started dancing, until Arti and Duo bumped into them. "Sorry Saki. didn't mean to ruin your moment." Arti grinned sheepishly then they danced off. Heero grunted and they started waltzing again. Just then Relena ran up to Heero and attached her self to his arm. "Hee-chan! Dance with me!!!!" she whined. "I'm already dancing." He shook Relena off his arm. Just then Duo and Arti came dancing by and completly knocked Relena over. "You owe me one." Duo said as they danced by. Heero grunted again and started dancing away from Relena.
Arti and Duo danced over to where Trowa and Charity were. "Having fun, Charity?" Arti asked. Trowa blinked and Charity turned red. "You're starting to look Like a cherry, Cherry!" Duo said. Charity glared at both of them. "Go away!!!!" "Sorry, sorry." Arti grinned and then they danced off. Trowa just blinked.
WuFei snapped out of his meditation when he sensed someone hovering over him. He looked up to see Relena. "What do you want?" he scowled at her. "Have you seen Hee-chan?" "Women." Wufei muttered under his breath. "No. But I'm sure that the braied-baka, Duo, and that other baka, Arti, would know." WuFei grinned to himself. 'Now I can even with those bakas for calling me WuWu!!!' "Thank you." Relena sqealed and ran off to find Duo and Arti. He was getting ready to meditate again, when he noticed a girl staring at him. 'Women.'
"DUO!!!! ARTI!!!!" Relena squealed. She spotted them near the other side of the dance floor. She ran over to them and stopped them. "Have you seen my Hee-chan anywhere? WuFei said you two would know." Arti and Duo exchanged a glance. "Uh....." "Nope. But I think Quatre would know." Duo said. Arti nodded. Relena sighed and ran off to find Quatre. They shrugged.
"Have you seen Quatre anywhere?" Trowa blinked. "No." Charity growled. She was tired of being interrupted. "Are you sure?" Relena whined. Trowa pointed somewhere on the other side of the room. "Thanks." Relena ran off. "Was Quatre acully over there?" Charity asked. Trowa shrugged.
Arti and Duo collapsed on the floor of the balcony, laughing so hard tears were streaming out of thier eyes. 'That was so much fun!" Arti laughed. "Yea." Duo grinned. Arti stopped laughing to catch her breath. She turned and looked out over the gardens. She stood up to get a better view of a pond. "Isn't it beautiful the way you can see the moon and stars in the water?" she sighed. Duo stood up. He gazed at her face. "Yea." 'She's not that bad.'
~End of Chapter 1~
'To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.'
Time of Your Life
Chapter 1
Time of your Life
~So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life~
"CHARITY!!!!!" "What!?!?!?" "You used up all the hot water!"" I'm sorry!" Duo Maxwell stuck his head out of the bathroom." But I NEED to take a shower!" "So did I." Charity walked out of her room and looked at her brother. "You might wanna get dressed." she told him. "Why?" " Just get dressed!!!!" Duo ducked back into the bathroom.
He walked out in a few minuets, dressed in only his boxers. "I said that you might want to get dressed." Charity reminded him. "Why? I can walk around in my boxers, can't I?" he walked into her room. "A few of my friends are coming over." "Any that I know?" Duo asked. "Uh....yea. You know Terra and Saraki, don't you? Well, Saraki's twin sister, Arti, is coming over with them." Charity told him. "Oh....is she cute?" 'How should I know!?!?!? I'm not that way!!!" Charity shoved Duo into the hall. "Now get dressed!" She slammed the door behind him. He shrugged and went to find some clothes.
After a while, Duo heard the doorbell ring. He looked up and thought 'Charity will get it.' In a couple of seconds it rung again. Duo slipped on a pair of jeans and went to answer the door. Just as he opened the door, the bell rung again. "Oops! Sorry." The girl at the door grinned sheepishly. 'That must be Arti...' he thought. "Hey Duo!!!" Duo realized that Terra and Saraki were standing behind Arti. "Oh. Hi. Cherry's in her room." He stepped back to let them in. As they were walking down the hall, he heard Arti say, "That's Duo? He looked sorta like a girl. Sorta cute though." "Art, you're hopeless."
Duo went and stood in his sister's door. No one seemed to notice him. Arti flopped onto Charity's bed, Charity was on the floor digging under her bed for something, and Saraki and Terra sat in some beanbag chairs. "Was my brother dressed?" Charity asked. "Sorta. He didn't have a shirt on. He looked sorta like a girl." Arti replied. "He normally has his hair braided." Charity came out from under the bed. Arti shrugged. "Hey Terra." Duo spoke up. "What?" "Is Quatre home?" "Um...." Terra thought. "Nope." "Oh...Heero and WuFei are gonna come over Charity." Duo told her. "Ok. Whatever." Duo went to call up his two friends. Neither one of them could think of anything else they had to do so they were going to come over. Just as Duo got off the phone with WuFei, he heard Blink 182 blasting in from Charity's room. "HEY! CUT THAT DOWN ARTI!" Charity shouted. "Sorry." Arti cut it down.
After a while, the girls came into the living room. They all spread out over the room. Since there was no where else to sit, Arti laid down on the floor. Duo walked in with some popcorn. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Charity's room got crowded." Terra informed him. "Oh..." They sat there in silence. "Hey Art...." "My name is Arti." "Arti.....can you go get the movie from my room?" Charity asked. "Ok, ok." She got up and walked into Charity's room. In a couple of seconds, they all heard Green Day blasting from Charity's room. "ARTI!!!!!" Charity stormed towards her room. The music was turned off. "I'm sorry!!!" Arti kept apologizing.
Just then the door bell rang. "That must be them." Duo said as Charity went to get the door. She walked back in with Heero and WuFei following her. "Wu man!" "WuWu!!" Duo and Arti stared at each other. "Oh God..." WuFei shook his head. Duo and Arti stared at each other for a while longer. "Stop it, you bakas!" WuFei glared at both of them. "Sorry WuWu." Arti said.
Charity blinked. "As you've probably already guessed, that's WuFei. And the one behind WuFei is Heero." Charity introduced Saraki to Heero. When Saraki's eyes met Heero's, she paused for a moment before a reddish tint appeared in her cheeks. "Oh.....uh......hu-hullo." she managed to say. Heero only looked at her. Their eyes remained locked for a moment. "....hello." Heero finally said. Then he turned ,walked over to Duo, and dragged Duo towards his room. WuFei shook his head and silently followed.
"Heero's not very talkitave, is he?" Arti said. "Nope." Charity replied. Saraki's eyes still lingered on the spot where Heero was standing. "Breathe Saki, breathe!" Arti waved her hand in front of her sister's face. Saraki realized she was holding her breath and she let it go. "So...ya like Hee-chan, don't ya?" Arti teased. Saraki glared at her sister. "Well you were flirting with Duo!" "WAS NOT!!!!!" "Alright, you two!" Charity warned them. "Sorry." Arti apologized. "You seem to be saying that alot today, Art." Saraki said. " Well, today's not a good day for me, Saki." Arti replyed. "Cool it, you two." Charity told them.
Later that night...
Charity, Saraki, Arti, and Terra were all spread out in Charity's room. Heero and WuFei had long since gone. "Are we staying here tonight?" Arti asked no one in particular. "I guess....if we're allowed to." Saraki replied. "It's fine with me." Charity shrugged. "Oh, cool." Arti said.
They sat there for a while longer. "I'm bored. "Arti commented. "You're always bored." Terra said. "I know. "Arti grinned sheepishly. Charity just shrugged and yawned. "Ya gettin' tired, Cherry?" Arti yawned. "Yea....Art." Charity replied. "Where are we all going to sleep?" Terra asked. Charity looked around. "Two of you could sleep in here. One of you has to sleep on the couch." she replied. Terra, Arti, and Saraki looked at each other. "I'll sleep on the couch. " Arti volunteered. "Ok then." Charity showed Arti where all the extra blankets and pillows were.
"What am I gonna sleep in?" Arti asked. "Um....couldn't you sleep in that?" Charity asked. "Yeah, I guess so." Arti shrugged. "Ok then. Good night." Charity said. "G'night. "Arti replied then walked into the living room. She sat on the couch and turned on the tv to find something to watch.
Duo walked in with a bowl of popcorn. "What are you doing in here?" he asked. "It's too crowded in Charity's room so I volunteered to sleep in here." Arti explained. Duo sat down next to her on the couch. "Oh." Arti stopped on Saturday Night Live. "Is that what you're sleeping in?" Duo asked her. She nodded. Duo sighed then got up and walked out. He returned in a moment with a pair of boxers and a big tee-shirt. He tossed them to her. "Thanks." she said. "No problem." Arti went to change.
When she got back, she sat down and looked at Duo. "What?" "We didn't get off to a very good start, so ya wanna try again?" she suggested. "Uh....sure." Duo shrugged. "Ok then. I'm Arti." she stuck out her hand. "I'm Duo." he shook it. Arti grinned. "That's better." She went back to watching SNL. He looked around then got up and left. Arti watched him go and shrugged. He came back with a pillow and some blankets and flopped down on the other couch. "Whatcha doin'?" Arti asked him as he cut off the tv. "I'm going to sleep." Duo replied. "Oh..." Arti setteled down to go to sleep.
A week later...
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRA!!!" "Thank you, you guys!" "Hey, it was nothing for my favorite little sister." Quatre hugged Terra. "I'm your only little sister." she pointed out. He grinned.
Then the door bell rung at the Winner estate. Everyone paused. "Rashid will get it." Quatre told them. With that reassureance, everyone went back to what they were doing.Arti and Duo were at the snack table, Quatre, Terra, and Saraki were standing near the door and talking, Heero was typing on his laptop in a corner, WuFei was meditating in the opposite corner, and Charity had dozed off in a chair.
"HEE-CHAN!!!" Heero's head snapped up. "HEE-CHAN!!!!!" Heero quickly shut off his laptop and hid behind a curtain. His feet were visible beneth the curtian. Arti and Duo looked at each other and shrugged. "HEE-CHAN!!!! WHERE ARE YOU???" The owner of the shrill voice stepped into the room with Rashid closely behind. Relena looked around the room. "HEE-CHAN?" She paused before shrugging and walking over to Quatre.
"Happy birthday, Quatre!" She gave him a quick hug. "It's my birthday." Terra pouted. Arti and Duo walked over to where Quatre, Relena, and Terra were. "I'm inviting you and all of your friends to a grand ball and feast tomorrow." She handed Quatre the invation. "Um....I guess we could make it." Quatre smiled feebly. "Miss Relena?" Pagan hobbeled into the room. "We have to leave." he said. They heard a sigh of relef from where the curtian was. Relena shrugged. "Miss Relena, you're going to be late for your nail appointment." Pagan urged her to leave. "Oh yes. Thank you, Pagan. Good bye, everyone!" She then turned on her heel and walked out. "GOOD BYE, HEE-CHAN!!!" Heero fell out from behind the curtian. He blinked then went back to his corner. "So, are we acually going to this party thing?" Duo asked. "Well....it would be rude if we didn't go." Quatre said.
At the party...
"Curse you and your politeness, Quatre." Heero grumbeled under his breath. The boys were all wearing white suits. Saraki was wearing a red dress, Arti and Terra were wearing black dresses, Charity was wearing a light blue dress, and Kat was wearing a off-white dress.
Duo looked around and sighed. 'This is going to be boring.' he thought. "This is going to be boring. The music sucks." Arti stated as they started a slow song. "Yea." Duo agreed. He looked around. All the people were dancing exactly the same. He turned to Arti. "Wanna dance?" She grinned. "It'd be my pleasure." He led her out to the center of the floor. "Uh...I dunno how to dance." Arti told him. "Neither do I." Duo grinned.
Quatre looked out at the dance floor. Arti and Duo were dancing in the opposite direction from everybody else and, not only mangaing to step on each other's feet, they stepped on everyone else's feet as well and running into everyone. Trowa and Charity were slowly waltzing in a corner of the room. Quatre looked around. He saw Kat standing near the wall. He walked over to her. He bowed and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?" Kat smiled. "Yes." She took his hand and he led her into the dance floor.
"HEE-CHAN!" Heero quickly looked around. 'She's found me!' He spotted Saraki. He walked over to her and dragged her onto the dance floor. "Dance with me?" "Uh....sure." Saraki replied. They started dancing, until Arti and Duo bumped into them. "Sorry Saki. didn't mean to ruin your moment." Arti grinned sheepishly then they danced off. Heero grunted and they started waltzing again. Just then Relena ran up to Heero and attached her self to his arm. "Hee-chan! Dance with me!!!!" she whined. "I'm already dancing." He shook Relena off his arm. Just then Duo and Arti came dancing by and completly knocked Relena over. "You owe me one." Duo said as they danced by. Heero grunted again and started dancing away from Relena.
Arti and Duo danced over to where Trowa and Charity were. "Having fun, Charity?" Arti asked. Trowa blinked and Charity turned red. "You're starting to look Like a cherry, Cherry!" Duo said. Charity glared at both of them. "Go away!!!!" "Sorry, sorry." Arti grinned and then they danced off. Trowa just blinked.
WuFei snapped out of his meditation when he sensed someone hovering over him. He looked up to see Relena. "What do you want?" he scowled at her. "Have you seen Hee-chan?" "Women." Wufei muttered under his breath. "No. But I'm sure that the braied-baka, Duo, and that other baka, Arti, would know." WuFei grinned to himself. 'Now I can even with those bakas for calling me WuWu!!!' "Thank you." Relena sqealed and ran off to find Duo and Arti. He was getting ready to meditate again, when he noticed a girl staring at him. 'Women.'
"DUO!!!! ARTI!!!!" Relena squealed. She spotted them near the other side of the dance floor. She ran over to them and stopped them. "Have you seen my Hee-chan anywhere? WuFei said you two would know." Arti and Duo exchanged a glance. "Uh....." "Nope. But I think Quatre would know." Duo said. Arti nodded. Relena sighed and ran off to find Quatre. They shrugged.
"Have you seen Quatre anywhere?" Trowa blinked. "No." Charity growled. She was tired of being interrupted. "Are you sure?" Relena whined. Trowa pointed somewhere on the other side of the room. "Thanks." Relena ran off. "Was Quatre acully over there?" Charity asked. Trowa shrugged.
Arti and Duo collapsed on the floor of the balcony, laughing so hard tears were streaming out of thier eyes. 'That was so much fun!" Arti laughed. "Yea." Duo grinned. Arti stopped laughing to catch her breath. She turned and looked out over the gardens. She stood up to get a better view of a pond. "Isn't it beautiful the way you can see the moon and stars in the water?" she sighed. Duo stood up. He gazed at her face. "Yea." 'She's not that bad.'
~End of Chapter 1~
'To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.'