Part 7 - Holy HOTHOTHOT!
Toby plopped down onto the small pile of bedsheets that I had wadded together and placed in one of the corners of the living room, and with an overly exaggerated sigh, he picked up the book that I had bought earlier.
He took a glance at the cover before he quietly read the title out loud. "Trinity Blood: Reborn on the Mars?" Looking at me, I knew that he had questions, and that I was the only hope he had for answers.
Immediately, I knew what his first question was.
"It's one of two novel series that I've been collecting for a while. The company that printed them went out of business a year ago. However, the two series weren't quite popular enough for another company to even consider buying the rights and to continue printing them."
Nodding his head to show that he understood, Toby flipped open to a random page in the book. "The Jade Palace," he read after clearing his throat so that he'd have a nice clean voice.
He turned another page, and within seconds, his eyes had grown large, and his face had turned a nice shade of pink. "HOLY HOTHOTHOT!"
I went to go and stand next to him and I instantly saw what had gotten him so riled up.
Printed there in black and white was a picture depicting two female characters from the series.
One was a tall, blonde woman. The middle section of her bangs, however, dyed a red color.
The other, a shorter teenage girl. Her hair cut short, and was as red as could be. A star shaped birth mark clearly visible on her right side.
Both were obviously nude.
I watched as Toby struggled to find his next words. His mouth making the shapes for them, but yet, no sound.
Books really were his weakness, weren't they?
Or at least, this single page was.
He continued to sit there for several moments, his face resembling that of a fish out of water.
I hadn't seen him so silent before, and I was desperately wishing that I had brought my camera with me for the move, but I had left it at home, in the nightstand next to my bed. "Toby? The book didn't break you, did it?"
Slowly tearing his gaze away from the book, he shifted his vision towards me. "H...HOTHOTHOT!"
Laughing, I removed the book from his hands, "Uh, no Toby, they're not real people. Besides, one of those characters is a Nun."
With the book out of sight, Toby gradually began to speak in actual sentences again, "I think that I actually like that book! It didn't make me sneeze or anything."
Seeing through his ruse to get a hold of the book, i said, "It only happens once."
"Huh?"
"It only happens once." I looked up at him, with a smile on my face. "That whole scene, there's only one scene in the series that's like that...And, well, that WAS it."
He laughed uneasily, "I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about."
Grabbing the book, it was my turn to flip to a random page, and a few seconds later, I was imitating Toby, "HOLY HOTHOTHOT! HOLY HOTHOTHOT, BRIXTA!"
Toby stood up, and with a slightly gay tone to his voice, he said, "Oh no you didn't!" He snapped his fingers in the shape of the letter "z" as he spoke.
The imitation war was on!
He then acted as though he were holding onto something that was more precious and more valuable than diamonds. Then jumping as high as possible, he squealed, "OH MY GOD! TOBY I FOUND THIS BOOK! AND IT'S LIKE, SO GOOD!"
I nearly lost it when I heard Toby's feminine voice in person.
Getting to my feet, I gently tugged at the front of my shirt with my thumb and index finger, "Shoo gurl, my name is Toby Turner, and you know what? I swagger when I walk." I began to walk as slow and smoothly as I could.
With a raspberry, Toby brushed off my latest imitation with ease. "Beat this one." He smirked at me, and instantly, I knew that I had lost the game.
Those no good, evil, rotten...
"BARRELS!"
Toby had won the war, but that didn't matter. We both now stood where we were, our hands holding onto our sides, trying the keep the stitches in place.
With us, mockery always turned to laughter.
I had never had a friend like Toby before, and quite frankly, I found it hard to believe that I had only known him for a little over a day.
Toby made life entertaining. Fun. And I was interested in learning where my life would end up now that I'd met him.
Though it'd be equally as interesting to know how I'd end up changing his life, as well.
