On the 43rd floor of The Belmont Hotel, silence struck the quaint house.
Sanji was in the kitchen as usual. Cooking and spending his time smoking in the same time. He was cooking the usual Monday dinner, Beef Sirloin. Sanji couldn't wait for Nami to return, he had many new recipes and desserts under his sleeve for her. He just can't wait. He can already imagine in the airport, Nami is running towards him and giving him a big hug after a long leave, and yeah, Chester will also have the chance to hug her too… after he hugs, that is. Sanji couldn't help smiling at the thought.
While for Chester, He's busy doing all his homework. All those history, quadratic equations and chemistry were his specialty. And yet, in the same time while he was writing down the solutions of the problems, he suddenly thinks of girls screaming 'Wahh!! Chester!! Say Hi again!! I LOVE YOUU!!' Chester shook his head, clearing the image "Tsk… maybe Uncle Sanji was right… but no… I just have to concentrate… yeah. Concentrate…" Chester continued answering his homework.
Silence… until the phone broke the silence into a million pieces.
RIIING!! RIIING!!
Chester suddenly heard Sanji said: "I'LL GET IT!!"
Sanji walked over to the phone, picking up the receiver, and spoke on his gentlemanly accent. "Hello, this is Sanji speaking!!"
The person on the other line echoed. "Hello?"
Sanji's heart beated fast, as he heard the light toned voice, he already knew from the start it was a girl. But, he tried resisting his flirtyness.
"Um… are you Chester's uncle?"
"Yep! My name is Sanji, the kindest uncle in the world!!" Sanji smiled as he said this. "May I ask what is your illustrious name??" Sanji asked, flattering the girl on the other receiver.
"Tee Hee, my name is Vanessa!"
Sanji couldn't believe what he heard, he almost dropped the receiver. "EH?! I mean, yes? I-I suppose you wanted to speak to Chester, right?"
"You said it, Uncle Sanji!"
"Well, S-sure!! Hold on…" Sanji put the receiver down on the ebony table, wiping out his sweat he suddenly broke out. "THAT girl is Vanessa?! She sounds so… PRETTY!!" Sanji wanted to talk more to her, but she's Chester's girl, and he had a wife, so he had to mind his own business…
"OI!! LOVER BOY!! PHONE FOR YOU!!" Sanji called out, a few seconds later Chester came out of his room.
"What is it, Uncle?" Chester asked. Sanji just handed the receiver to him. "For me?"
Sanji nodded, and said: "It's Vanessa-chwan. Good luck!!" giving Chester a winning smile and a thumb up, then started walking into the kitchen.
Chester stared on the phone. The placed it on his ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Chester! How are you doing?"
"Whoa! Vanessa! I never expected you to call me!" Chester said, surprised.
"Well, are you busy? I'm kinda bored right now…" Chester heard a low sigh on the background.
"I'm almost done on Chemistry, but I guess I still have time…" Chester said, sitting on the chair beside the table.
"Um… do you really get the Quadratic Equations thingy? It's getting on my nerves…"
"Well, it's easy! But I can't believe a smart cookie like you can't solve such!" Chester said, smiling.
"Well… um… That's not the thing I'm actually talking about…"
"Eh? Then what is it you want to talk about?" Chester nodded.
"I just wanted to ask…"
A long silence…
Then finally: "…if you can come over to my house after school tomorrow…"
Chester froze. He'd never expected her asking him to come over like that! "Uh… what? Come over? Like… go to your house?"
"Well… yeah. Because I'll be alone for the weekend, since my mom is going over to granny since she's sick and my dad is on a business trip abroad so I was thinking I can use some… company."
"Er…"
"Please, Chester? I feel lonely here when I'm all alone…"
Chester couldn't think. But there's one solution. Like what Sanji said, THINK GIRLS!! "Well, sure! I'd like to go!" Chester said happily.
Silence…
"R-really? Um… thanks! Er… so after school, okay?"
"Yeah, sure! But I'll have to speak to my Uncle first, okay?" Chester said.
"Well, I'm sure he'll say yes, since he just said he's the kindest Uncle in the world!"
Chester laughed. "Haha! Well, I'm sure he will too… so tomorrow okay?" Chester asked, confirming
"Yeah, meet me on the front gates after school, okay? I'll meet you there."
"Okay! Is that all?" Chester asked.
"Yes… um… thanks again, Chester…"
"It's no problem at all, Vanessa, anytime…" Chester said, smiling.
"Bye!"
"Bye…"
Chester placed the phone back to its place, Sanji came out of the kitchen.
"So… how'd it go?" Sanji asked, smiling.
"Well… she was just asking me the answers for the assignment!" Chester smiled innocently.
"Don't lie! I don't remember you giving away answers just like that! Just tell me that 'She invited me over to her house tomorrow!!'" Sanji said.
Chester froze. He actually heard EVERYTHING what he and Vanessa said!! "You… YOU EAVESDROP?!? UNCLE SANJI!!! WHAT A THING TO DO!!!" Chester yelled at him angrily.
"Hahaha!! Always remember that there are two phones on this house!" Sanji laughed out loud.
Chester held his temper. "Okay… whatever. So you heard the whole thing, and will you say yes?"
Sanji thoughtfully placed his hand on his chin. "Well… you did the right thing about accepting the invitation… if you didn't, Vanessa will be feeling so lonely without anyone to be with her…" Sanji looked down. "And… you actually considered the girls feelings… so WHY THE HELL WILL I SAY NO?!?" Sanji looked at him thoughtfully, showing him a bright smile.
Chester brightened up. "Really?!"
"Of course, Chester! You can't just leave a girl lonely just like that wont you?" Sanji suddenly laughed. "And you said you'd rather stick your nose on the books, eh? HAHAHAHA!!" Sanji kept laughing.
"Well… you said to me before 'THINK GIRLS!!', right?" Chester said.
"Well, you're right. So, fine, I'll say yes for you to go to her house and…" Sanji's face turned serious. "Remember… nothing suspicious or anything Ero-Ero, okay?"
"Eh? Uncle Sanji?? You think I'll do something bad like THAT??" Chester suddenly looked at him. "I'm a good boy!!"
"I don't care, Chester. You're a sixteen year old smarty pants and I don't want to hear any call from Vanessa's mom saying that her daughter is pregnant…" Sanji gave Chester a serious glare.
"Psh. Why would I do such? We're only friends!" Chester said.
"Fine, but still, I'm warning you Chester. I've done something like that once before, and I ended up being an Ero-Ero..." Sanji said. "So I don't want that to happen to you too."
"Don't worry, Uncle Sanji! I won't do such!! I promise!" Chester flashed a bright smile.
"I trust you, Chester! Okay! Get back to your studies and tomorrow, you'll be in a house with a girl!!" Sanji smiled back, patting Chester on the back.
"Okay!!" Chester ran to his room and closed it.
Sanji just smiled, and walked back to the kitchen.
It was already 9PM. Sanji and Chester finished dinner, and back to their usual routine. Sanji was out the balcony, smoking at his hearts content. And in the same time he's thinking about Nami… beside him, two small tangerine trees planted by Nami. Sanji just took a look at its ripe tangerines and he already remembers Nami immediately.
Chester already finished his homework and now relaxing on his bed. Trying not to get too much excited about tomorrow, or he'll lose his interests of studying. So he just lay down the bed and relaxed his mind…
Once again, the house remains quiet. Until, the phone again started ringing, breaking silence like a glass.
Chester thought Sanji will go and get it, instead, he heard Sanji yell out: "OI!! LOVERBOY, GET THE PHONE!!"
Chester stood from the bed and soon rushed to the phone, then picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hello? Is this Chester?"
Upon hearing the voice, it was a girl with a very high tone, more like… a kid's voice. "Er… yeah? Why?" Chester asked.
"Nyahaha! I can't believe it! It's been such a long time!!"
Chester became curious of who's he talking to. "Um… excuse me? Who am I talking to?"
"Whoa! Don't tell me you forgot, Booster!!"
Chester nodded. "Booster?"
"C'mon! You should remember Starbucks, Booster!!"
"Starbucks?" Chester again nodded, but he knew who she was. "Ha! Stacey!! I definitely remember you!! How are you doing?"
"Here with a family now! Hehe! I was actually adopted two days after you left actually…" Then silence. "You? How are you doing with that cool, curly browed blonde guy? I bet you are having fun with him!!"
"Haha! Good answer, Starbucks! You? How are you doing with your family?" Chester asked, smiling.
"Well, the usual things I don't like about them! Being yelled at and all… hehe! But, I called just because I just kinda missed you, you know…"
"To tell you the truth, I missed you too…" Chester said with a happy sigh.
"So, why don't we two go out or something since we miss each other?"
Chester nodded. "Eh? What do you mean?"
"Well, both of us! Go out somewhere! In a mall or something!"
"I'm sorry, Starbucks. You called at the right timing, but your plans are not, I mean you just called and then this?" Chester said sadly, still remembering his plan about going over to Vanessa's.
"Chester. I thought you changed! It's me, your childhood friend and you just turned down my invitation just like that!" Chester heard a deep sigh. "Fine. I just had enough with you, Chester… you just didn't change after all this time… and I was thinking you did. But NOOO your mind is always on studying!"
"Stacey, I'm…"
"I don't need it, Chester. Good riddance…"
The next thing Chester heard is the hard slamming of the other line. Chester looked down sadly, slowly placing the phone back to its holder. Chester gave out a sigh.
"Oi, Lover boy. Who was on the line?" Sanji came from the balcony.
"It was Starbucks…" Chester said sadly.
"Eh? The coffee shop?" Sanji lifted an eyebrow, then crossed his arms. "Now what kind of trouble did you do now in a coffee shop?"
"No, Uncle Sanji. Starbucks is my childhood friend…"
"EH?! A COFFEE SHOP IS YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIEND?!"
"NO UNCLE SANJI!! STARBUCKS IS STACEY AN STACEY IS MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND!!"
"Starbucks is Stacey?"
"UNCLE SANJIIII!!! STACEY IS MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND!!! NOT STARBUCKS!!"
"Then why did you say Starbucks was your…"
"Forget it, Uncle Sanji. You still don't get English…" Chester gave in, looking down the floor.
"Haha!! I was just kidding! Now, I'll ask you. Who is Stacey? Another girl you like?" Sanji leaned on the wall behind him.
"No, Uncle Sanji. She's my friend since we were together in the orphanage where you adopted me, Uncle." Chester replied.
"Yeah and why did she call?" Sanji asked.
"Well… she misses me and she asked me out…" Chester said, sadly.
"EH?! WHAT KIND OF SITUATION IS THAT?! A GIRL ASKING A GUY OUT?!" Sanji almost slipped off the wall he was leaning on, then he turned serious. "And… what did you say?"
"I said no then she hung up…" Chester sighed.
"So? What's so wrong about that? Why the long face and all?" Sanji asked.
"Well, she was my friend and she said that I never changed since…" Chester sighed.
"Tsk! You just let your self down just like that? Don't be sad! I'm sure she'll still forgive you…" Sanji said. "But then… in the same time, I think she likes you…"
"Eh? How do you know? We're only friends!" Chester looked at him.
"Really? Then why did she call you in such a short notice? Did she tell you when you were a kid that she's gonna call you? And how did she know your number? And why did she ask you out? Huh? Answer that." Sanji said.
Chester couldn't answer. Then he said "Yeah… I guess you're right… but, HOW did you know she does?"
"It's obvious, Chester. You're a smart cookie you should identify it already… Tsk… but anyhow…" Sanji got of the wall. "It's already your curfew, go to sleep."
"Huh?" Chester glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing it's already 2 minutes past 10. "Oh… okay…" Chester got up the chair and walked to his bed, sighing.
"Oi, cheer up will you? You'll be going to Vanessa's house tomorrow right? Or you forgot?" Sanji said to Chester.
Chester suddenly looked up, looked back at Sanji and flashed him a smile. "Ehehe! I almost forgot!!"
"Attaboy. Now go to sleep." Sanji said, as he walked over to the couch.
Chester went to his room and closed the door. As he laid down, he started thinking of Vanessa and what will happen tomorrow…
Sanji quietly leaned back and smoked another bar of cigar, then suddenly he started coughing on it, and remembered something important.
"Oh shit… I forgot to water the Tangerine plant…"
So, okay, I surpassed my limit of writing 2000 words or less, but so what? I'm sure you people will like this Chapter anyway… So just read it and enjoy it. Flame all you like… Psh. Thanks anyway…
-Drake.