About a week has passed since the Halloween party, and Thanksgiving vacation is closer than ever. I'm getting more and more excited to see Seiichi with every passing minute of every passing day!
Okay, maybe that sounds a little obsessive, but hey; haven't we all fallen in love at least once in our lives? You know what it's like.
However, I have been noticing something a little strange: I haven't been getting a lot of E-mails or calls from Seiichi or Yori since the party. I've been figuring it's because they're busy with school (frankly, so am I), but do they have to keep me in the dark like this?
Speaking of school, remember when I told you about Wayne wanting me to go out for the school play? Well, the tryouts were earlier today, and for some sick and twisted reason, I did it. I'm not sure what happened at the end of the day, when I knew the tryouts of South Pacific were taking place. I had told my feet it was time to go back to Kong; instead, they took my body to the auditorium. I told my body not to get involved; instead, it made me take a number, wait my turn, and read the lines from the script I had obtained. I'm not even sure what part I tried out for. Even though I had done it all, as I left the school, I couldn't help but think, "What the heck was that all about?"
And if you think it's because I'm actually getting used to living in England and being away from my best friend and my boyfriend, you're wrong. I still hate it here, and don't care if Brigitte is trying to make me feel welcome, or if Wayne is suggesting extracurricular activities for me, or even if 2D runs interference for me so Murdoc stays off my back.
All I care about is getting back to Japan and going back to the life I knew and lived by for fourteen years. I'm going back to Osaka. Back to Yori. And Seiichi. And . . . Kyuzo-san's grave . . .
Anyway, now's not the time to think about that. I've finally gotten back to Kong from school and the play tryouts, and I immediately took the lift up to my room to check my computer and cell phone.
There are no E-mails, but I'm ecstatic when I check my phone. There's a message from Seiichi! Without hesitation, I click on the message.
"I really wish you were here, akachan (baby). Listen, call me when you get this, okay? I need to talk to you. I need to hear your voice. I need you back in my arms, Noodle-oo . . . "
By the time the message is over, I'm giddy all over with excitement. Oh, why can't it be Thanksgiving now?! I hop around the room, playing the message over and over again.
"I really wish you were here, akachan . . . I really wish you were here, akachan . . . "
Just as I'm about to make it play again, my cell rings in my hand. I'm so excited, I flip it open and put it on speaker phone.
"Seiichi-kun?!" I ask excitedly.
There's a slight pause on the other end.
"Noodle . . . ?"
"Oh . . . Yori," I say. "It's you. I'm sorry. I thought it was Seiichi . . . " A thought occurs to me. "Hey, is it okay for you to be calling? Won't the evil mom-witch get mad?"
"N-no . . . " Yori mumbles on the other end. "It's okay . . . "
It's then I notice something else. Yori sounds unsure; her voice is wavering. I think she's sniffling, too. Is she crying?
"Yori?" I ask. "Is something the matter?"
"No. . ." she starts. "I mean . . . yes. Noodle, something . . . happened the other night. At the party. Oh, Seiichi was supposed to be the one to tell you, but . . . "
Horror strikes my face. "Oh no," I mutter. "It's Nariko, isn't it? She finally won. That's it, isn't it?"
"N-no . . . " Yori says. "It-it's not Nariko . . . " She starts crying harder. "Oh God, Noodle. I can't bear this. I didn't want it to happen . . . "
"What?" I ask, confused, sitting down at my desk. "Yori, what . . . " Just then, it hits me. It hits me like a ton of bricks. "It's . . . it's you, isn't it?" I ask, my voice very low.
Another pause.
"Uh huh . . . " I hear Yori say. She starts sobbing again. "Oh God, Noodle. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. Please don't be mad. Please forgive me . . . "
I say nothing. I simply push the "End" button on my cell phone, flip it shut, and place it on my desk.
Then I crash. I crash like a windshield slamming into a metal light post.
My body is shaking for a different reason now. Of course, I feel like crying, but no tears come. I'm helpless. I'm totally helpless. All I can do is hang my head and stare at my desk.
"Noodle?"
My head snaps up at the sudden sound of an intruder. I look over to see 2D standing in the doorway, his face a mixture of shock and horror.
"What?" I growl through gritted teeth, just daring him to comment.
"I. . .I was s'posed to come up an' tell ya it's time fer practice, but . . . " 2D can't continue. He hangs his head in defeat. "I'll tell Murdoc yer not feelin' well," he mumbles. He then turns to leave.
"2D!" I hear my voice suddenly say.
He stops and turns. "Yeah, luv?" he asks quietly.
I swallow the lump in my throat. "Thank you . . . " I mutter.
He gives a sheepish smile. "Don' mention it," he says. Then he's gone.
Not knowing what else to do, I stumble over to my bed and bury myself in the covers. Right after I do, I hear a clap of thunder. I look over at my window.
It's raining! It's really raining! In fact, I think this is the first time it's rained since I got here. It rained a lot in Osaka, so I've really missed the rain. Before this day, nothing would have stopped me from running out into that rain and just dancing outside, letting the drops soak me.
But now, I can't do that. I've lost all my energy. I have no reason . . . for anything. So I just lie in my bed and listen to the rain.
---
A few minutes later, the rain pounding against my window is interrupted by someone almost pounding my door off its hinges.
"OI! GET OUT 'ERE!" somebody yells.
Suddenly, my door bangs open. I don't even have to look to know it's Murdoc's demonic form stomping toward my bed. I put the covers over my head as he stops in front of me. The last thing I want right now is to have to face him.
"It's after 4:00," I hear him growl. "Why the hell aren't you downstairs?"
"I. . .do not feel well," I mumble. "Didn't 2D tell you?"
All of a sudden, I feel my shoulders being grabbed. Before I can react, my face is inches from Murdoc's.
"Yeh, Dullard tol' me," he snarls. "An' I made him pay dearly for it."
Now I feel even worse. "You hurt 2D . . . just because he told you I was sick?" I ask.
His grip on my shoulders tightens. "Now you listen to me, brat," he says, his voice lowering to a whisper. "I know you 'ate all of us, an' I know you 'ate it 'ere. But if you think you can use Face-ache to 'elp you get outta everything, you've got another damn thing comin'." I don't even flinch. "This is my band, an' what I say goes, no exceptions. An' don' get it in your 'ead that I'm afraid to hit a girl, because . . . "
Murdoc's tirade is suddenly interrupted by my cell phone ringing. I do nothing. He does nothing. We just watch my phone, the ringing overpowering the pounding of the rain.
"You gonna get that?" I hear Murdoc ask me.
I say nothing. I do nothing. I just stare at my phone with so much hatred it might actually explode. Besides, I couldn't answer it if I wanted to; Murdoc's still holding me by the shoulders.
After what seems like an eternity, my own voice tells whoever's calling me to leave a message. Then another voice fills the room.
"Hello? Noodle? Noodle-oo? Aw, come on, akachan. Please pick up. Yori just told me that she told you. God, I'm so sorry, Noodle-chan. Please don't hate me. I don't know what happened. I feel like such a scuzz-bag. I don't know what to think. Geez, maybe you should hate me . . . "
I hear Seiichi's voice pause. After a few seconds of waiting, I hear him mutter an almost inaudible goodbye, then hang up.
While the message was playing, Murdoc slowly released his grip on my shoulders. His face now bears the same expression 2D's face had. After Seiichi hangs up, he slowly turns back to me and stares at me with his mismatched eyes.
"Sweet Satan . . . " he mutters. "Dullard wasn't fibbin' . . . "
I stare at my blanket.
"Oh, f---," he mumbles (since I was brought up in a house that tolerated no swearing whatsoever, I've censored that last statement). "Noodle . . . I . . . "
"Please . . . " I mutter. "Just get out of my room . . . "
He says nothing. He just gets up and leaves my room, mumbling something under his breath. Unlike his entrance, he slowly and quietly shuts the door to my room.
When I know he's gone, I plop my head back down on my pillow and pull the covers over my head, ignoring the slight ache in my shoulders. It isn't until a few minutes pass that I realize that was probably the first time since I've gotten here that Murdoc has called me by my real name.
---
Either a few minutes or a few hours later, Russel quietly comes in with a tray that has my dinner on it. I peek out from under the covers and watch him set the tray on my bed. He's about to leave when he looks at me and sighs.
"The first time is always the hardest," he says to me. Then he leaves me alone with my food.
As I force myself to eat, I look over at the window. It's still raining. Just like my heart. But unlike the storm outside my window, the storm inside me will never cease.
I'm not sure if I can stand this anymore. Everything I relied on is dead.
Kyuzo-san is dead.
My friendship with my best friend forever is dead.
My relationship with my first-ever "boyfriend" is dead.
And now my heart is dead.
These deaths all have one thing in common: none of them will ever come back to life.