Why we weep
The realization and honor of a new life
written by Thomas G. Arndt
Chapter 4
Her eye's twinkles as bright as mine, they looked as I had saw then in her office with the candle light, it was as if she was seeing a new thing, it had to be the first memory when Amos and she first met, I put my hand on Priscilla's cheek and was about to kiss her again when Amos brought me back to reality, " Nae laddie ya dun have free rain und her noe. Ya have ta be wish dar boy."
This time I spoke my confusion out loud, " Ok what?"
I knew everyone had to see my confusion, he spoke like one of my Grandpa's old friends, Bali then said it as plainly as she could, " He's taking about sex dear boy, it has to be a mutual decision between the two of you, and Priscilla if you decide it's time you need to come to me, I'll have something special for you."
Well hell, now we're having the sex talk with two five hundred year old bond mates, uncomfortable wouldn't be the word that I would use, Amos then said, " Aye laddie, it not be da unwanted pregnancy dat yur not wanting, nae yea not prepared yet."
Ok I really had to ask him, " I. A kinda know about that, hey are you Scottish, you kinda sound like my Grandpa's old friends?"
" Are yea deef laddie, aye be nae Scott, I be from Erin."
Well slap me silly, what the hell does a girls name have to do with where he's from,but I do have to admit he did sound a little different then my Grandpa's friends, I was about to ask again when Bali spoke up, " Erin is another name for Ireland, so your Grandfather is from Scotland?"
So I was having a hard time understanding him, and I was glad Bali was there as I replied, " Yeah, my Momma say that they speak the Gitty ta Gow language, what ever that means."
Amos then spoke, " Aye laddie, yes old Granddae speaks da old tongue, it be da crude he speaks, und you GrandMae believes in da ancient way as well, da earth way as yea do?"
" What?"
Bali then translated, " He's asking you if your Grandmother believes in the earth ways as most native American's do?"
" Aye, it da woot I said."
I smiled at her as she crested his face with my reply, " Yeah she does, and my Momma kinda does as well, Grandpa says life has been to hard on her and she deserves to rest with her ancestors just for a little while."
Amos got a big smile on his face as he said, " Aye he's love for his wee daughter will always shine, he want her ta be seef."
Priscilla had a concerned look on her face as she said, " Jon I think Amos meant something deeper when he talked about me getting pregnant, I think there might be a problem with that."
Bali gave a very wary smile as she said, " Yes my lover, she must know the truth, you're not yet a vampyre, so it is possible to still get pregnant, the problem is that no one can ensure your change yet, as you get older it will become more and more assured. So if both of you should make the change, so if you did have children and they didn't become vampyres, you would have three things to worry about, as a young vampyre you may feed of it without wishing to do it. Two if you should make the change, you may have to watch it get old and die, and lastly if you were so lucky to have children and by some stroke of luck they did become vampyres, you two have to worry about rejecting the change. A pregnancy can be hard on both vampyres, and I truly mean both of you, you have a connection that no other vampyre can understand, except those whom have been through it, you see you can feel what she's going through as well as what she does, it is written that vampyre men have even have worse morning sickness."
Amos then crested her face with the most gentlest touches, and then she did the same with him, he then picked up her hand and kissed it, so I followed his example and kissed Priscilla's hand, she then pull his hand to her mouth and kissed his knuckles, then Amos said, " Aye wee lassie I feel da flippied flop in da nether regions."
She then took a drink from her bottle and kissed him right away, I had to feel that they were sharing more then a kiss, I felt compelled to do the same with Priscilla, then the horror hit me on being called out, oh man that meant all eye's would be on us, at the same time I felt her doing the same thing as I was. The one thing I feared most was standing in front of a group of people, I think what had happened in first grade even made it worse, she (my teacher) made me stand in front of class as she paddled me, I then said in a shaky voice, " A Bali, can Priscilla and I have one of those bottles, I have butterflies like you wouldn't believe in my stomach."
Priscilla then said with a strained look, " Butterflies, more like Bald Eagles."
" That's why I asked for two Babe, as we seem to be able to feel each other."
Bali gave us a sweet smile as she replied, " No, you're still to young, Amelia can you bring them two of the special kids bottles?"
Seconds later she was there with a bottle that looked like it had red pop in it, then she handed one to Priscilla and said, " Here Dork One."
Priscilla took it as I said, " She's not a dork, and we're connected so you could be a little more kind to her."
She handed me the second bottle and said, " Here you go Dorkier Two."
I was about to have words with her as Priscilla cut me off as she said, " Dorkier isn't even a word idiot, and you-"
Amos cut her off as he said, " Stop ya sassin grill, nae go sit yea seef down Melia."
Bali gave a little chuckle as she said, " Amelia honey, you're making Amos angry, Amos she's only a child, please honey go sit down."
" Dat grill dos burn me last wit."
It was really cool how Bali just jumped in like that, if I had to bet on a fight in between Amelia and Amos, well I'm not stupid, I would have to bet on Amos, and I mean I'm sure she would be dead wrong as in permanently dead, well it was cool except for the Bald Eagles flopping around in my stomach. I twisted off the lid on the bottle and took a big swig, it tasted like red pop except for the little extra in it, I usually preferred root beer, but what it was laced with made it a lot better, I mean it seemed to explode in my mouth. I felt giddy and happy almost immediately, with my head up in the clouds, Bali put her hand on the bottle almost as fast as I took a drink. She then said, " Go easy with that stuff young man, let it nurture your body, you're to young for two bottles of that stuff."
I then asked, " What is it? I mean it tastes great."
" Jon I think there's blood laced into these drinks," Priscilla replied.
Bali then asked her, " Did you smell it, or did you just reason it out?"
I put my lid back on, but as I did this I had to take a whiff, it smelt intoxicating, so I had to ask, " Does blood smell like that to us all the time?"
" Aye laddie," Amos said, then added, " but yea learn how ta control da lust of it, tis be bad ifen ya don't laddie."
Bali gave us both stern looks as she said, " That's why we have intensive classes in how to control your blood lust, you have to learn how to control that lust or it will cause you to do the worst, that's another reason why we just don't hand out these bottles, truly you will be allowed one bottle a week in one year. Then in your third year you'll be given a bottle of blood once a month, as you enter your fourth year we encourage you to drink blood once a week to help to learn how to control your lust, but even with all this training you still have to be careful. Think of it as the difference between a wino and a person who's never had a drink, the wino can hardly feel the effects, where as someone who's never drank gets drunk with far less liquor, they loose control, then they drink of whomever. Then the police get involved and we become pariah's, we could handle the police, but with the advent of new technology, I'm afraid we wouldn't fair well."
Priscilla then smiled as she asked, " Is that why Amelia some times looks wobbly at temple?"
Amelia then said in a hateful voice, " Hey Dork's, don't tell anyone that I'm a timid speaker, and I won't tell anyone that you're the one and only nerd goth, kay?"
Ok Amelia and I were really going to have words and as I opened my mouth yet again Priscilla cut me off, " I'd rather be a nerd goth then a slut."
It made my heart proud of how she talked to her, I had to giggle as Amos said, " Arg. Lassie-" Bali put her hand in his lap as he turned his head and continued with, " Burnt wit lassie, burnt wit."
Amelia then said, " Hey thing two, put your drink in thing ones purse we're here."
I could see that we were pulling up to a big red brick building, it looked more like an office building then a temple, But there was a woman out front that looked all the part of a High Priestess, Amos and I got out on the opposite sides of the car and helped out our ladies. She took my drink and put it in her huge purse, it was smaller then the one she carried all her writing equipment in, I had to think that it would be big enough for her writing stuff, but with her now carrying my drawing equipment it wouldn't be big enough, not that I would ever force her to carry it as mow it had all my drawing equipment in it. As we raised our head she was right in front of Bali and Amelia, her dress was off white, it was stitched with intricate patterns of flowers, what looked like flames coming from what looked like flowing water, with yellow swirls, and what looked like black star bursts. Around her neck was a necklace that was formed with small stars that ended in a crescent moon, it was all silver with red stones, Priscilla then nudged me, and I saw that all heads were bowed, my Dad said we don't bow to no man. But she was a woman wasn't she, and whom could it really hurt, so I followed suit and bowed my head, she then said, " Bali I see that you teach your children well."
Her tone sounded like she was scolding her, so I felt I had to say, " I'm sorry High Priestess, I was taken by your beauty, that is why I was late in bowing, please forgive me?"
" This one is a charmer Bali, you're forgiven young man, but what of his clothes?"
Bali then came in with, " He's a poor one, and just new, we only recognized his lack of wardrobe this very day, I have instructed his guide to take care of it on the morrow."
" Well then Bali I can forgive this for one day, so why do you receive three students instead of two?"
" We have a thing to talk about as Amos was the first to see it, and I only recognized it this very day also."
" So then we'll talk if you think it prudent."
" Yes High Priestess, Amos will you take the children to their seats."
" Aye lassie," Amos said, " da we have yur leave mistress?" There was silence then he spoke again, " Cum wit me chilon, we must get set."
I had to notice that her brown hair went down to the center of her back, really no one except for Priscilla had short hair, well as we had this short conversation all the professors had already filed in, it was as Bali had said earlier, we were now pariah's here. Before she allowed us to leave she asked, " Amelia are you for this very important day?"
Amelia had a smug look on her face as she replied, " Yes High Priestess, I'm ready to join your circle."
" Good, now go and leave us, we need to talk."
Amos then quickly snapped his fist over his left breast, Amelia did the same so I figured I had to do the same thing, my Dad was right I really hated doing all this stuff, it seemed very demeaning to me, as we entered I saw that the American flag was lower then all the rest. It made me disgusted, and then Priscilla put her arm through mine and asked in a whisper, " What's wrong?"
I shot back as low as I could manage, " It just makes me disgusted, lets talk when we're not in ear shot."
Amelia was ahead of everyone, Amos was right behind her, and we took up the rear, he sat next to her as she sat, he put his hand down on the wooden bench, she then moved to the other side of his hand. He smiled at us and said, " Aye lassie yea set next, den da young laddie."
Then he patted the seat to show where she was to sit, after she sat down I sat on her left, as Priscilla grabbed my arm, I looked at Amos and he gave me a quick nod, well I had to ask one question, " Well I guess kissing is out of the question?"
She gave me a quick peck on the lips, and it was now that I noticed all her earrings were gone, all she had on were small silver crescent moon shaped earrings, it came to me where I had seen earrings like that before, Amelia had on a pair exactly like them. I had to wonder if they were all forced to wear them, they both had on mid-thigh dresses, black, I had to see if my fears were warranted, so I turned my head to look, but my eye's locked on Bali in the door way with her head down. The two of them were talking, I could see how she was shaking her head, it was as if she was being scolded by the head mistress in an all girls Catholic school. I had only seen it on television and had to wonder if that's the way it really happened, well I had to ask Amos, " Amos why does Bali bow her head like that, I mean she's a High Priestess to, right?"
He gave me a wary look as he replied, " Aye laddie, wee Princess is dejoined, da school saved her, all yea chilon are all she cares fur now."
I leaned back and intertwined our hands, I then whispered, " I don't know what dejoined is, but it sounds pretty painful."
Priscilla leaned closer so only I could hear, " She was the High Council member, her position can only be vacated through death, to Dejoin yourself you have to almost make a pariah of yourself, that's a little hard to explain, but it had to be her decision, no one else can make that choice except for you, and it's a hard one."
I put my arm around her and said, " Well something must have really sucked then."
Amos answered as if I wanted one, " Aye laddie."
Priscilla then whispered, " I'll tell you later what I think, I think it has to do with the balance, and in a way that could be bad for us."
I felt her body shudder so I held her tighter and kissed her on the forehead, and I whispered to her very softly, " I'm here for you Babe."
Then I saw Bali sit next to Amos, Amelia then got up and they scooted down next to us, and she sat on the other side of Bali, then the brown haired woman know as Makarette floated to the front, yeah I said floated, at least that's what it looked like to me. She then moved to the middle of a stage, and had three woman standing at each position of the compass except for the most southern place, she then turned to the crowd and said, " Amelia I understand that you've been recognized by the element of earth?"
Bali then stood up and said, " As a High Priestess of learning I have recognized her, and I have taught her the ways of the circle, so she may join your circle."
Amelia then stood up with her head back, then she walked up to the southern most position and the compass was now complete. The lady whom we knew for short as Makari then turned to the north, she then invoke the element of air, then lite the candle the woman was holding, it was yellow. She then turned to the east, and I saw the red candle, so I knew it had to be fire, after she invoked this she turned to the west, and with the blue candle she invoked the element of water. She then turned to Amelia and as she was holding a green candle, I had to wonder where she had gotten it and figured it must have been sitting there, she then invoked the element of earth, she then returned to the center and invoked the element of spirit, it was a black and white candle. I had to wonder if spirit was truly and element, I mean I heard of something like this, except I think it was called the void or something like that, but I understood the black and white candle, my Grandma always said the spirit had a duality to it. It seemed really cool, and kinda wrong at the same time, of course I wouldn't tell anyone this until much later, then she stood straight and tall as she said, " As I present our gifts to the goddess we have good news, and as I called out Amelia, I also call out Bali as the new head mistress of the school of Emil Sanchez, and as the High Priestess of this same said school."
Bali had stood the entire time the circle had been cast or invoked or what ever you call it, Makari seemed to spit out the last words, and as she stood there she bowed her head and said, " As head Mistress and High Priestess I would like to call out one more thing to your attention, may I speak Makari?"
It hurt me to see her bow her head like that, Makari then replied, " My circle so recognizes the Head Mistress of our new school."
She didn't even try to add High Priestess, and Bali said, " As my bond mate and I have seen, we would like to recognize a hew bonding of two bond mates. Amos please?"
Amos then stood up, and with his head held high he said, " Aye as a bond mate, Aye da recognize da new bonding of Jonathan as a bond mate, may his bond never fade."
Ok I wasn't sure I should stand, so I did and looked at him, he then flicked his head to the High Priestess, with his head going high, well I could do this, so I turned my head and held it high, then Bali said, " And I recognize his mate as a possible High Priestess in training, may I present Priscilla?"
Priscilla then stood up, I tried to hold her hand, and she slapped it away, it hurt to see her so contrite to High Priestess. The High Priestess then said, " My circle so recognizes these two as bonded, and we welcome a new sister to the fold."
She then turned to the center and put her hands up, then she spoke, " may the goddess recognize them and give them wisdom and a long life, all is for the goddess, blessed be!"
Everyone then said, " Blessed be!"
I was kinda late in my response, I was going to sit down, but then I saw Amos shake his head, so I kept standing, well then she un-invoked all her candles, well I guess that's what you call it. She then did in the exact reverse order what she had done when she invoked them and gave each of them a drink from a giant chalice, as she did this to Amelia she came and sat next to Bali, after each of them drank they all said, " Blessed be."
And then she came to Bali and repeated the act, and she sat down, then she did the same with Amos and he sat down, then came Priscilla's turn, and as she came to me she said, " As a new bond mate you except the blessing of the goddess and serve her and protect her as you serve and protect your mate, if so say blessed be, then you may sit down young warrior."
I didn't really know about this goddess, but I was surely going to protect Priscilla so I said, " Blessed be!"
Then I sat down, and two things I knew, first would do all I could to protect Priscilla, but second now I was some kind of warrior, all I wanted to do was draw, oh yeah and love Priscilla. Ok she now moved to the center of the pews and allowed everyone to take a drink from the giant chalice, after they took a drink they split and half of them filed past us, all the adult vampyres nodded their heads to us, it was so cool, like we were royalty or something. Then as the last drank she moved back to the center and I think she finished off that really good tasting wine, then she said, " As the goddess saw fit to reveal such newness to us so you should also dwell in the goodness of her fold this night, this meeting is ended, Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again."
Everyone then said, " Merry meet and merry part, and merry meet again."
Man I had to get up on this ceremony stuff, I was a little late again. Then she placed the chalice back on the table, she then turned to us as she had done this, she then said, " I thank you for all coming, and I thank the goddess for her goodness, it is now done."
After she said this everyone then rushed us, well not just us, I mean Amelia was there also and she got just as rushed, the excitement was palatable, everyone hugged Amelia, then Priscilla and then me, I could feel how uncomfortable Priscilla was as my comfort level dropped just as fast. The first one to really talk to me was Gene, of course in his excitement he got into trouble, " Priscilla and Jon that was so fucking cool."
Which drew the attention of Makari right away, " Young man! This id the goddesses temple!"
He whipped around to meet her gaze with, " I'm sorry High Priestess, can you forgive me?"
Which brought a remark from Bali, " Would you flog a child, let his word stand as his forgiveness."
She nodded her head as I had to think, would they really flog him, Bali took him aside and said, " Thank your stars that the goddess is in a good mood tonight, go to the bus and think about what you said."
And as I said the three of us were surrounded, it was like that dream where you see the perfect Christmas present , but every time you get near it you're blocked from getting it. I could feel that Priscilla wanted to escape just like me, and I mean I could feel her literally right in my gut, and I really hate crowds, I knew she could also feel me, so we were doubly in trouble, and I knew it would only get worse unless we found an escape. Most of the professors stopped to talk to Bali, and as I saw our escape I took her hand and made our way out the door, I knew we should stay except we really couldn't take all this. I had to wonder if this is how it felt to be married, man was I wrong, I mean I wasn't really looking to get married, but I had a feeling that this had created a kinda change.
As we made it out to the bus the door suddenly opened up, Amos then poked his head out and said, " Lassie da be woot da drink be fur, yea need ta return ta give them dur chance, noe take the courage und go back."
So we froze in place, and we then turned to except anyone that wanted to hug us, but he was right so we took our bottles and took a small swig to reenforce us, I looked at the other bus and waved Gene to come out, he stuck his head out and asked, " What's up?"
I replied, " Hey Gene can you come over and help me, I mean all the crowding around her is making her very nervous, and me also."
He nodded to us, after he came over and hugged the both of us and said, " I'm so proud of you two."
Amelia then came over and gave me a huge hug and said, " Hey it's really cool for you two, but if you tell anyone what I just said I'll deign it you got it."
Then she got into the bus, and they started to file out, so we moved to the door of their bus and Gene directed traffic, he made sure no one rushed us, and like a good boyfriend I held her purse for her. As the last one got into their bus we moved over to our bus, we then sat where we had before, and Amos smile at us as he said, " Ya did well wee lassie, und ya only took a wee nip."
We looked at each other because we had forgotten about the bottles in her purse that I had just given back to her, she then pulled them out again and we both took another small drink, tapping our bottles together as we did. Then suddenly Amos jumped out and within seconds he was helping Bali in, then I helped her into her seat, and he came in and as he sat he did the tuck thing with his skirt, he took her hand and kissed it. I pulled Priscilla closer and kissed her on her cheek, she gave me a big smile and as I thought of kissing her on the lips Amos said, " Wee lassie dun ya proud, she felt all da panic and only took a wee nip, und bad yea feelin away."
I then added, " Yeah, and I had Gene help me with the crowd so she wouldn't panic, I hope that was ok?"
She smiled at me as she replied, " Well that's good for Gene, I have been given a punishment for him by Makari, he still has to serve it, but in a way he's already served some of it."
Well I had to ask, " Bali excuse me for being crude, but why do you take that kinda shit from her, I mean you used to be a Council member."
Amos then said with a stern voice, " It be minden ya own business laddie."
" I'm sorry Bali I didn't mean to pry, but I'm not sure I like her much, I mean she's a High Priestess and all, and I think she shouldn't be flaunting her power like that, so I ask you for my forgiveness?"
Bali's smile returned as she replied, " Jon I could never hold a grudge against you sweet boy, and not that she's flaunting her power, she just like to do things the proper way. The visiting High Priestess must always bow to the authority of the temple, the only one that doesn't have to bow is the High Priestess of us all, and Jon I wasn't on the council. You see the High Council wanted me to give up Amos to fulfill that job, they felt I had to be an example to all High Priestesses, I exited my position to keep Amos. They felt I turned my back on all High Priestesses for a mere man, and that I loved him to much, he was going to kill himself, then I told him that if he did I would join him soon after, so then he decided against it, and I knew I had done the right thing, now please don't worry yourself over my decision."
Priscilla then gave me a coo as she said, " You did it for the love of Amos, Bali that is so cool, see I told you she did it for the balance didn't I."
Amos then came in and said, " Aye lassie we both did it fur da love of it, und da new High und High wanted me fer her own protector, I had to reject da Council ta be wit my love as well."
I then said, " So you turned your back on them, now I feel right about some of the thing I saw that burnt me up, I mean we live in America, and I don't know where I heard this, but we are a land not behooving to no man, government, or system."
" Aye laddie pride goes da wrong way some times, yea be a far creation from da mere humans, ya must release da pride ta da wind."
Bali smiled at me and added, " Be bow to our goddess because she controls our fate, she is the one that made us the way we are, we are creations of her, so we bow to her."
I couldn't be angry at her, but I had to shake my head as I said, " I'm sorry Bali, but my Momma and Daddy made me what I am, I mean she might be the final result of my creation, but they're the ones that shaped my thought's. I love Priscilla because of how much of a free will she has, and remember we're a nation formed on rebellion, my Dad said that's what makes us powerful, again excuse me for his words, it's because we take no shit off no one."
She had a stern look on her face as she said, " Young man don't take liberties with my good nature."
" Bali I'm sorry, but if you're in the United States, all the old should be thrown away, and you should grasp at the new, I mean in a way I'm a whole new creation, have you ever seen a mark like this before, yeah some times a good intention is a bad thing, but you have to at least try."
Amos then said, " Aye laddie, but dis America has dun made a many mistake."
" Yeah, and just who is number one in the world."
Bali gave me a plastic smile as she said, ' Lets agree to disagree for right now."
" Ok Bali, out of respect for you I would say another word about it, hey and what about the flags, a just one more tirade, I mean I don't mean to be mean, but if one patriot saw that, that church would be burnt to the ground, I'm just glad it hasn't happened yet, I mean we are in Oklahoma."
Bali then rose one eye brow, and Amos looked as if he was getting angry, then Priscilla scolded me, " Jon that would be a hate crime, no one in Oklahoma is going to do that."
I put my head on her shoulder and said, " I'm sorry Priscilla, but most American's would see that as a hate crime against the United States, I know I've only been living here just over a week, but I hear it in the way they speak about football, we have our own song and a lot of other things that no other state have. I allowed my voice get weak as I continued, " I just thought they would be more patriotic then most states, please forgive me if I sound to harsh, I don't think I could live if you didn't forgive me."
She then grabbed my hair and said, " You're probably right," then she smiled at me and added, " I forgot how new you are to the state, Oklahoma's are a proud people, you can see it in all we do, I mean we were the first show me state."
Bali then asked, " Show me state?"
" We were the first state to have the concealed fire arms law, they call it the show me effect or cowboy effect."
I was a little confused as well, I thought she was saying that we were Missouri or something, and I had to ask, " And weren't you like the third or fourth state with a make my day law on the books?"
" Yeah, I think we were, even though I can't be sure on that one."
Bali then asked, " The make my day law?"
Clearly she didn't know the laws of the land as Priscilla then replied, " You can pull out your concealed fire arm and shot someone if you can prove probable cause, then you get away with it, but you can say most Oklahoma's have more sense then that, I mean if we didn't can you imagine how much like the old west it would be like."
Amelia then put her two cents in, " I hate to admit it, but thing one and thing two have a point Bali, I mean most Oklahoma's would complain first, and only reach for it if they thought they weren't being listened to."
Priscilla then said, " Thank you Amelia, but we really didn't need you help."
" I'm just saying that's all."
Bali then smiled at and said, " Young Master Jon has a point, I'll call Makari and discuss this with her tomorrow." She then sighed and added, " Well we have a lot to think about, now for a special honor given the two of you, as you've been recognized this very night will you two do me the honor of sitting at our table for dinner, Rosie hasn't had time to prepare you anything special though, but I would be proud to have you at our table."
Amos then added his to cents in, " Aye laddie und lassie, will you da ta honor fur my sweet lassie?"
I then replied, " I would be honored, what da ya say sweet lassie?"
Priscilla then put her arm through mine as she replied, " Jon I like it when you talk to me like that, but I think we should reserve it until tomorrow night, then we could do it all the proper way, plus tonight should be more about Amelia, and since we only just found and her's was already found she deserves to be before us."
Amos got a sparkle in his eye as Bali said, " That would be the proper way to do it, I can see the wisdom in what you're doing, then we dine tomorrow night."
I nodded as we came to a screeching halt, the man at the wheel then turned and said, " I'm very sorry mistress, the boys are throwing the ball around again and I almost hit one."
" That's ok Herbert, we'll go ahead and get out right here, how Amos don't go out yelling at them again, they're just boys."
He then with anger said, " Da daft boys have noe the sense bout dem."
I quickly jumped out as what Bali had said to me was a signal, and as I helped out Priscilla out I said over my shoulder, " You guys better run Amos is mad."
Gene then came back with, " Thanks Jon, we'll just do that."
With Gene's replied Amos came running around yelling, " YA DAFT BOYS GET YUR ASS BACK HUR NOE!"
Bali then yelled at Amos, " AMOS AMELIA!"
I ran around and helped her out as Amos came back saying, " Aye sweet lassie, aye be sorry Dammit!"
" AMOS YOUR LANGUAGE!"
He then got very contrite as he said, " Aye dar wee lassie, aye be seekin yur forgiveness from yea, will ya forgive ma trespass."
" Just don't do it again," she said firmly, then she relaxed a little and added. " now after you apologize to Amelia you go introduce Jon to Rosie, then come and join us for dinner."
" Aye lil lassie, I be askin fur yur forgiveness, wit ya give it ta me?" Amelia nodded her head, then he continued, " Young Jon yea be comin wit me."
" Ok Amos, hey I'm sorry I warned them, you just looked really mad."
Bali then said, " Amos is a big teddy bear, he wouldn't have done anything, plus you were just protecting your own."
Amos then smiled and gave me a wink as he said, " Aye laddie, aye be just given them a scare, but a lesser laddie woot have just stood there, ya made ya own proud, und aye woot'n have it any other way."
Well I guess that's what I was doing, or at least protecting the one cool guy I knew here, and right now that was Gene, so I guess I did my Dad proud also, I think my chest must have grown a few inches right there and then. But then I was a little deflated as Amos took me by the hand like a little girl, he led me to the kitchen and showed me Rosie, she then told me to come after dinner to do the dishes, well the deflation just kept on happening, I thought I was going to help her cook. One thing though, she gave me my plate right then, she gave me my choice of drinks, so I picked root beer, I was really happy that we were having spaghetti and meat balls, I love spaghetti and meat balls. Amos then told her of our special night, so she then took my order for that night, I then told her that both Priscilla and I would be there, and I wanted a special plate that honored her as well, except that I wanted meat on mine if she could make that for me. She smiled at me and said she could do that, then she pulled out a trap and made Priscilla a plate, with what was probably going to be her drink, and yes no meat balls, man she seemed to know exactly what all the kids would eat.
Then I went out and sat with my lovely new girlfriend, she was so happy as I put out her food for her, and I be damned to sit at the special boys table, she also made a big salad with vinegar and oil, I was a ranch kinda guy, but it was really good with spaghetti. Yes and we ate it together, we intertwined our arms and it was a little hard to eat one handed, then we did something that would be taboo at a normal school, we kissed one another right on the lips, there were a few kissing sounds, mostly from girls, strange. Well I would have to do that more often, and in between each bite we kissed, we got a few stares, but after awhile they turned to their food, plus we really didn't care, I mean the only two people we saw was one another. After we finished I said, " Babe go have fun, I have to go do the dishes, oh that's my job now, see you after I'm done, love ya Babe."
Yeah I said it, she immediately wrapped her arm's around me and gave me a deep kiss, she then whispered, " That was to last me until you get off."
I have to say that every time we kissed like that we ran out of air, and yes I know I put it out there and got no return, and it seemed it took us a few minutes to get our heads together, then I went to work on the dishes, the only fledgling that was cool with me was Gene. He came in and as he did he whispered, " Hey guy thanks for the warning, that was really cool."
I answered, " Hey no problem bud, you can do the same for me some time, hey I'm sorry about your punishment, Bali was really happy you help me with the crowd."
" Bali is a big softy, Makari probably ask for a week, she'll let me off after a dat or two."
" That's really cool, hey when do you want to leave?"
He thought for a second then said, " How about nine, then we can get a cup of coffee or something, and then we can talk in private."
I nodded my head then asked, " Hey can you make sure none of the girls tease Priscilla fro me, I mean she's bonded with a lowly dish wash if you know what I mean, they can be bad."
" Yeah dude, hey see you later if Amelia doesn't want to do a little bonding of her own," he gave me a smiled and added, " if you know what I mean?"
I nodded my head as I didn't ask the most obvious question about her bonding ritual if you know what I mean, so I wait for all the dishes to come in, I only put the dish tray in the washer as it filled up, as I waited I did the pots and pans. Rosie came in and helped me a couple of times, she also showed me how to make the mop water, she was like a mad woman, it seemed like she was everywhere at once, you see the adult dinning room was in the off shoot room of the main dinning room. She had me take them out a pot of coffee once, it was really cool of her as she didn't have to let me do anything at all, it was amazing at how hard she worked, she had to laugh at me as I took my apron off after we were done, you see my shirt was soaked. Well I had never even thought to take my good shirt off,she asked if I would do the dishes on Sunday as it was her only day off, we then mopped the floor as we backed out the door, and she said that it was only proper as the help to exit the back door. As I rounded the building Priscilla ran up to me and wrapped her arm's around me before I could stop her, well I had to push here away as I said, " Hey babe I'm all wet, I wouldn't want to get that pretty dress all wet."
We were met at the front door by Gene as he said, " Hey dude here she is in one piece, but no one said a thing."
Priscilla then asked, " Jon what did you do?"
I put my hand nervously behind my head as I replied in a shy voice, " I asked Gene to make sure no one was unkind to you, you know me being the new house dish washer and all."
" Jon I'm proud of you, and I would have stuck up for you."
" I know Babe, you're a pistol, I should have thought better of you, can you forgive me Babe?"
" Weeell just this once."
" Hey can you help me cover my windows, I mean I haven't any drapes or anything, so I figured we could use some of my sketch pad to do it."
" Your sketch pad, no Jon. We'll just use that old blanket of yours."
" Babe that's my Grandma's, it's like a piece of home along with that huge pillow."
" Sorry Jon, we'll figure it out, but not your sketch pad."
Gene then said, " Hey I have some old curtains I'm not using, my Mom gave it to me to hang on the wall, we could just hang them on your wall."
Both of us said together, " Thanks Gene."
" Hey what can I say to the two that got me out of detention."
I then asked, " Bali released you after what you did for us?"
" Just one day now, thanks guys, except I have to mend fences with Amelia now, you should of heard how she yelled at me, my room is twenty-four, we can go the back way."
We both said, " There's a back way!"
He nodded his head and then we followed him, you see if you went through where the class rooms are you come to a door, just on the other side of the door was his room, he then ran in and got his curtains, we then walked arm and arm down the hall with Priscilla in the middle. He also got a hammer and some tacks, and his room was just a little larger then ours, he had a small refrigerator, computer, his own phone, television, and one of those play stations, man I wanted to hang around in his room. We got to my room and put my key in and swung the door open to nothing, yeah that;s what I said, nothing, I had a blank stare as I said, " Ah man, I think I've been robbed."
I then went to my closet and opened it, nothing, they took everything, the school sheets and everything, my Grandma's pillow and blanket, all my new O. U. stuff, but what did I do, I laughed, I was beyond crying as all I could think of was they took my laundry, how could this happen in a kick ass vampire school. I sat down on the now empty bed, Priscilla came next to me and kissed me with as much comfort as she could manage, Gene was the intelligent one in this situation, he went straight to the window and said, " Hey man how did they get in here, I mean the door was locked and the window hasn't been touched, a Priscilla I think we should check your room, I have a funny feeling about this."
So we all got up and went to her door, she unlocked her door and swung it open, and you guest it, completely empty, Gene then said, " This better not be the girls playing a trick on you guys, if it is I'm going to yell like I've never yelled before."
I couldn't believe it, why would they hate us so much that they would empty our rooms. Could it be jealousy because of what was bestowed on us, one way I felt terror and in another I felt shear anger, well they weren't going to get away with this. I mean its one thing to play a practical joke on my, but on my girlfriend at the same time, well I just might have to crack a few skulls. I folded my arm;s and turned to Priscilla as I said, " Well if it is a practical joke they're not going to get away with it, I say we go straight to Bali."
Gene smiled and said, " Damn right dude, she'll ground everyone of them."
Priscilla then said in a quiet voice, " Jon maybe we should find out who did it first, I mean its mean so they need to be punished, but to get all the girls in trouble, well I mean Jon."
I could fell her hear rising so I put my arm around her and said, " Hey babe we'll do it the right way for you, we'll talk to the girls and see if anyone knows anything."
She put her face in me chest and started to cry, she was breaking my heart, I crested her hair and kissed her on the forehead, then I whispered, " It's all right Priscilla, we can handle this together."
Then she pulled her head back and said, " Ya, you don't understand, ya, ya see when I got here, th, they were all mean to me, sa, so I made myself an outsider, ah, all I ever wanted was ta fit in, ma, my persona is nothing but a way to hide, I, I'm nothing but a lie, ya, you showed me nothing but affection."
Gene then stepped in and said, " Hey Priscilla I've seen them all, I was the second recruit to the house, Amelia being the first, they're nothing but a bunch of scared little school girls, man I knew I should have said something before now. They act like they do because they're all scared themselves, dudet lean on Jon, he's the strongest controlled dude I've ever seen in this house, and Priscilla he's got a strong shoulder just for you."
She laughed and said, " Dudet isn't a word."
" It is for you, it'll be our word for you, and any friends that want to join us in the force."
" Ug. Star Wars analogies now, did we have to go there."
I then said, " hey babe if it works don't fix it."
Gene then said, " Hey Priscilla we have to go to Bali anyway you look at it, I mean you're going to have to get new sheets to sleep on."
Priscilla then whimpered, " B, ba, but-"
I cut her off with, " Don't worry Babe, Gene and I'll handle it, you just lean on me, ok?"
She squeezed me tighter, so I help her walk down the hall, she was half dragging and half walking with her feet, but our new group walked with as much pride that just had a terrible practical joke played on us, and the very first room in the hallway was Amelia's. She was just coming out of her room with a Scrabble game, she saw us and immediately said, " Hey thing one and two, Bali has been looking for you."
I then said, " Hey Amelia why do you have to be so hateful."
Gene then said in an angry tone, " And if you had anything to do with the practical joke played on them we're going to have some serious words."
She then sneered as she said, " Please like I would belittle myself to play a practical joke, and I'm not hateful, I just don't care about you, that's a lot different then hating you, hating you would take a lot more effort, and I just don't have the time for that."
I had to smile at this, I felt she was truly being honest, so I said, " Love you to Amelia."
She then gave me a sneer that would melt any ordinary guy as she said, " Well anyways she said if we should run into you to go to her office, now I have to teach some of the girls a vocabulary lesson."
Gene smiled at her and said, " Givem hell Amelia."
" I always do Gene, I always do, now get the hell out of here before anyone sees us talking together, you know I'm supposed to be mad at you."
" Hey Jon's going shopping tomorrow, do you want to come?"
Well I wasn't sure how I felt about that, I mean the girl always seemed to dress to the nines, then I thought well if she does come maybe I could take Priscilla. But then she came in with, " Oh come on, Bali gave you direct orders, and I don't want to run the Gene marathon through the mall, plus you're going to be driving your car, a two seater where are we all going to sit, get real Gene."
She then ran off, I had to look at Gene, he just didn't seem like a two seater kinda guy, but I had to wonder what kind of car he had so I asked, " A two seat car, what kind is it?"
He had a kind of nervous look as he replied, " It's a beamer, my uncle bought it for my last birthday, my Mom was going to kill him for buying me such a death trap, he's really cool, my Mom says I take after him, I think he thinks he has to take care of me since my Dad divorced my Mom, but he really loves my Mom."
" That's cool, my parents are divorced to, I'm the eldest of five."
" My Mom only had two, I'm the youngest, my sister is five years older then me, she's married and living in Houston, my Dad lives in New York, I use to go there every summer, then this happened to me and I haven't really seen him since then."
" Don't worry man, I'm not even sure my Dad even loves me anymore, I mean they got divorced and the only time I saw him was when he needed something from me like cleaning up his bar, and like fools my brother and I went and helped him out. Well maybe he does love us and this is the only way he know how to show us, my Momma said I shouldn't make excuses for him, but, well I can't really talk about that much, I mean it still kinda hurts a little, a-"
Priscilla came in and said in a sweet tone, " Jon, you don't have to talk about it, we understand, I mean my parents are still married and I have to wonder sometimes."
Gene then said, " Hey parents, you can't kill them and you have to love them."
We all laughed as we then continued down the short distance of the hall, as we exited the hall a voice came from the direction of Bali's office, " There you two are, do you know how hard I've been looking for you."
We all looked at Bali to see her arm's folded over what looked like a night gown, I then said, " Sorry Bali, but we seem to have a problem, it seems that someone has burglarized our rooms, but we can't figure out how they got in."
" Gene you can go now, and to whom burglarized your room that would be the professors, we moved your room to a more private location, N now give me your keys and I'll give you your new ones, then I'll show you to your new room, oh and Jonathan we took care of your drapery problem for you, now come here."
I could feel the tension lift from Priscilla as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulder's, so I took her key and present them to Bali, she then gave us two color coded keys, mine was blue and her's was pink. The ends not the keys themselves, we then followed her out the front door to a small path that went around the building to the south side of the building, at the side was a long stairway going up to what looked like the second floor. We then went up the stairs to the second floor, the first door to the out side was metal and it wasn't locked, then we went down a short hall and in the middle she stopped in front of two doors, they both had our names on them, they were halfway down the hall. She then directed us to our individual doors and she allowed us to open our doors together, as we pushed them in we suddenly realized that it was the same room, we had to stick our heads in to be sure, then we slowly entered our new room.