[AN: This chapter is dedicated to Susan's face when she got to the end of "(Don't) Pull the Trigger." Have something nice to soothe your worries. Just a bit of calm before the storm– but don't worry, it'll only be a squall.][PS: Teaser time! Murdoc x Noble is not the actual romance ship planned for the story! Have fun guessing what the real ship is!]
"Okay, the middle button is select." Noble pressed the button to demonstrate. The screen went to song selection. "I navigate up and down through the song list. Side to side shows category, which are 'playlists,' 'songs,' 'genres,' 'artists,' 'videos,' 'pictures,' and 'albums.'" She cycled through the categories. "The back button takes you to the previous selected screen." She backed out to the home screen. "There are some games that were preloaded. They're the only ones I have since the downloadable ones cost money. My favorite is hexic. You wanna try?" She handed it to 2D.
He went through the tutorial and played the game a bit before losing. "Oh. This is pretty cool. 'Ow good are you at it?" He handed it back to her.
"Not very. I've never won any of the modes. Maybe if both of us play?" She played the game while 2D watched over her shoulder, occasionally pointing out the best tile to move. Every now and again they'd let out a cry of "Oh, so close!" as a bomb went off or "Oops, wrong tile," and a bit of laughter.
"What are you two doing?" Noodle walked over to them from the other room, carrying her geep game.
"Playing hexic. You wanna try? You might be able to play better than us." Noble smiled at her and scooted aside on the couch to make room for Noodle.
Noodle sat down between Noble and 2D, taking the zune from Noble when proffered and putting down her geep. She went through the tutorial and tried and failed a few times while the other two watched. She got five star tiles in place before a bomb went off.
The three of them let out a chorus of "No!" and "So close!"
"This game is hard!" Noodle handed the zune back to Noble.
"Yeah," replied Noble. "I've never gotten very far with any of the games."
"Whot else do you 'ave on there?" 2D look at her.
"Well, it came with a bunch of music and stuff on it, but I put other music on there, along with some of my videos."
"Whot videos?"
"I have some videos of drag events I did back in America."
"You did drag?" Noodle looked at Noble.
"Yeah, it was a lotta fun." Noble pulled up one of the videos and played it.
It had been taken from the a mounted camera set up to record the shows and showed Noble up on stage. She was incredibly thin, almost skeletal. She wore a vest and trousers that were a little too big on her. She had a pair of narrow, dark purple glasses. Her hair was in cornrows, coming together in a ponytail that ended at her waist, varied with chunky highlights, hanging in thin braids.
"You won't be able to hear anything without earphones," Noble said, "and it only has one jack. Sorry."
"You look a lot different," Noodle pointed out.
"Yeah." Noble smiled. "I was 13 in this video."
"What? No way!" Noodle laughed.
"Yeah, this was back in February of two-thousand one."
"You look older than that!"
"Yeah, I'm good at makeup. You couldn't even tell I was wearing any back then unless you knew I was." Noble laughed. "It comes in handy sometimes to know makeup." She thought of her eye.
"How old are you now?" Noodle was intrigued.
"I'm 18 now."
"Oh. I'm 16, so you're only two years older than me! Wow!"
2D asked, "Whot are you saying in the video?"
"Oh, I'm telling a story."
"Whot's the story?"
"Lemme see if I can remember all of it." Noble thought for a minute, then continued. "The story is called 'Brer 'Possum's Dilemma.' It's about Brer Opossum and Brer Snake."
"What's 'brer'?" Noodle asked. "Is that a name?"
"Kinda. It means 'brother' and is sorta like a title."
"'Ow does the story go?"
Murdoc walked into the room, sipping a beer. He leaned against the wall opposing them. "What are yew going on about now?"
Noble tensed up, but hid it. Her heartrate picked up. "I'm about to tell a story."
2D looked between Noble and Murdoc, not saying anything. He felt uncomfortable, twiddling his fingers.
Noble sat back, turning off the zune. "Do you want me to tell you the story with the accent or how I usually talk?"
"Try it with the accent, that'd be interesting." Murdoc sipped his beer again, blasé.
Noble settled into her story-telling mode. "Okay. Let's see…
"Back in the days when the animals could talk, there was ol' Brer Possum."
2D and Noodle laughed. Her accent was somewhat country and some of something else, but they couldn't tell what.
Noble continued:
"He was a fine fella; why, he never liked to see any critter in harm nor trouble. He was always a-helpin' out, a-doin' som'n for others."
"Ev'ry night, ol' Brer 'Possum climbed into a persimmon tree an' hung by his tail to sleep all night. An' ev'ry mornin', he'd climb down an' walk down the path to sun himself.
"Well, on this particular mornin' where ar story takes place, Brer 'Possum was a-walkin' down the path when he came across a hole in the dirt beside a bush. Now, y'see, Brer 'Possum was a kind an' gentle fella, but he was also rather nosy, so he walked over to this hole that he had come across an' took a peek. An' do you know what he saw in this particular hole?"
2D and Noodle shook their heads. They were mesmerized like children.
Noble laughed, then continued animatedly:
"Down in that hole, he saw Brer Snake, trapped under a brick layin' on his back.
"Brer 'Possum took a step back, and said to himself, ''I best git on outta here, 'cause ol' Brer Snake is mean an' evil an' lowdown, an' if I git to stayin' around him, he jist might git to bitin' me!''
"So Brer 'Possum went on down the road.
"But Brer Snake had seen Brer 'Possum, so he started a-callin' for him.
"''Help me, Brer 'Possum!'' he cried.
"Brer 'Possum stopped an' turned around. He said to himself, ''Oh my, that's ol' Brer Snake a-callin' for me. I reckon what he wants?''
"Well, ol' Brer 'Possum, bein' such a kind gent, went on back to the hole and peered down to look at Brer Snake. He said, ''Was that you a-callin' me? What do you want?''
"Brer Snake looked up an' said, ''Oh, Brer 'Possum, I've got such a dilemma. You see this brick a-layin' on my back? I've been stuck down in this hole for a mighty long time. Won't you be so kind as to get it offa my back?''
"Brer 'Possum thought, then said, ''Now, you listen here, Brer Snake. I knows you! You's mean an' evil an' low-down! If I were to git down in the hole with you an' take that brick off your back, you'd do nothin' but git to bitin' me!''
"Brer snake hissed, sayin',
Noble looked at 2D—
"''Maybe not—
Noble looked at Noodle—
"Maybe not—.
Noble looked at Murdoc—
"Maaaaaaaybe not!''"
She held Murdoc's gaze for a moment, heart pounding as she fought off her panic.
Noodle and 2D laughed at how comically she said it.
She continued:
"So Brer 'Possum thought. He though high and he thought low, and jist as he was thinkin' that he'd find no solution, he looked up into a tree an' saw a dead tree limb a-hangin' down from above. He climbed into the tree an' took down the branch, an' with that ol' branch, he pushed the brick offa Brer Snakes back. The he took off down the path.
"Brer 'Possum thought he was away from ol' Brer Snake when he heard som'n.
"''Brer 'Possum, help me!''
"An' Brer 'Possum said, ''Oh no. That's him again.''"
Noodle and 2D laughed, then Noble laughed as well. She continued.
"But Bein' so kindhearted, Brer 'Possum headed on back to see what the trouble was. He said, ''Brer Snake, was that you a-callin' me? What do you want now?''
"Brer Snake looked up and hissed, ''Oh, Brer 'Possum, I've been down here such a mighty long time, an' I've gotten a li'l bit weak, you see, an' the walls of this hole here are mighty slick. Won't you please be so kind to come on down here and lift me out?''
"Brer 'Possum thought, then said, ''Now, you wait just a minute here. If I were to git down in that hole with you to lift you outta that hole, you'd do nothin' but get to biting me!''
"Brer Snake hissed, sayin',
Noble looked at 2D—
"''Maybe not—
Noble looked at Noodle—
"Maybe not—.
Noble looked at Murdoc—
"Maaaaaaaybe not!''"
Again, she held his gaze for a pause while the two laughed, then continued.
"Brer Possum said, "I jist don't know. You're a-gon' to have to give me time to think about this.'' So ol' Brer Possum thought. An' as he thought, he jist happened to look down there in that hole an' see that ol' dead limb. So he pushed the limb underneath Brer Snake an' lifted him outa the hole an' all up in the air, and throwed him into the high grass, then Brer' Possum took off runnin' down the path.
"Well, ol' Brer 'Possum thought he was away from ol' Brer Snake when he heard som'n.
"''Help me, Brer 'Possum!''
"Brer 'Possum thought, ''Ohhhhh noooo. That's him again!''"
That made them laugh again.
Murdoc smiled. He could tell the two were really enjoying Noble's company.
Russel walked into the room. "What are you all laughing at?"
"Noble's telling a story!" Noodle hade a big grin on her face.
"What story?" Russel looked at Noble.
"Brer 'Possum's Dilemma."
"Is that one of the Uncle Remus stories?"
"Yup. They seem to like it."
"I haven't heard any of those stories since fifth grade."
"Black History Month?"
"Yeah, the only time education pays attention to us." He shook his head in distain.
"What's the rest of the story?" Noodle was eating it all up.
Noble continued:
"But again, Brer 'Possum went back, him bein' such a kindhearted gent, an' looked for Brer Snake.
"Brer Snake crawled outta the grass as slooow as he could, stretched himself out on the path, rared up, an' looked at ol' Brer 'Possum. Then he hissed, ''I was down there in that hole for so long, an' you well know that the sun don't reach down in holes that deep an' dark, so's I got mighty chilly. Do you think you might be so kind as to put me in your pocket to keep me warm an' take me with you to git some sun?''
"Brer 'Possum said, ''Now you listen here, Brer Snake. I knows you. You's mean an' evil an' lowdown, an' if I were to put you in my pocket, you'd do nothin' but git to biting me!''
"Again, Brer Snake hissed, sayin'—
Noble looked at 2D—
"''Maybe not—
Noble looked at Noodle—
"Maybe not—.
Noble looked at Murdoc—
"Maaaaaaaybe not!''"
2D and Noodle laughed again. Murdoc chuckled.
This time, Noble didn't look away as quickly as before.
Murdoc's smile faded a little. He could tell for sure now that Noble was faking her calm, that her smile was fake, but he didn't say anything.
Noble looked away again, then continued:
"Brer 'Possum said, ''No, sirree! I knows you. I am most certainly not going to put you in my pocket! I jist ain't a-going to do it.''
"But as he spoke, he got a good look at Brer Snake, layin' there a-lookin' so pitiful, an' Brer 'Possum's big ol' heart got to feelin' bad for ol' Brer Snake. ''All right,'' said Brer 'Possum. ''You sure must be cold. So jist this once, I'm gon' put you in my pocket. Jist this once.''
"So ol' Brer Snake coiled up as best he could, an' Brer 'Possum picked him up an' put him in his pocket.
"Brer Snake laid quiet and still– so quiet an' still, in fact, that Brer 'Possum even forgot he was carrying him around there in his pocket. But all of a sudden, Brer Snake crawled on outta Brer 'Possum's pocket, an' he turned an' faced Brer 'Possum and hissed.
"''I'm a-gon' bite you!''
"But Brer 'Possum said, ''Now wait jist one minute, Brer Snake. Why are you a-gon' bite me? I done took that brick offa your back, I got you outta that hole, an' I put you in my pocket to keep you warm. Why are you a-gon' bite me after all that?''
"Brer Snake hissed:"
—Noble looked Murdoc dead in the eye.
"''You knowed I was a snake before you put me in your pocket.''"
She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Now you know, when you're mindin' your own busyness an' you spot trouble, don't never trouble trouble 'til trouble troubles you."
Noble sat back again. "And that's the story."
Murdoc left.
Noble could breathe a little easier now.
"That was great!" 2D said. "Where'd you learn that?"
"My best friend growing up was Gullah. I was homeschooled, but her mother would tell the stories to us all the time, as many times as we wanted. The school would ask her to come in every February to tell stories at the elementary school. But we learned them by heart."
"What's Gullah?" Noodle asked.
"It's a creole culture that formed when African slaves were imported into America, a mix of West African and American South. Some people call it 'Geechee,' others say 'Gullah.' Both mean the same. They're mostly on the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, but my friend's grandparents moved to NC trying to find better jobs."
"Yeah?" Russel asked. "How'd that go for them?"
"Surprisingly well. They worked at my granddaddy's restaurant before it was turned into a bakery."
"A bakery?" Russel laughed. "Sounds like my kind of deal. I love to bake."
"Yeah?" Noble smiled. "I can kinda bake, but my brother can for sure. He works in a restaurant now."
"Where at?"
"Somewhere in London. I can't remember where," she lied. She changed the subject. "Hey, are you any good at video games? We can't beat this one."
"Lemme see. I might." He sat down on the couch beside 2D.
They spent the rest of the day playing games and talking about food.