Hello beautiful people of the Internet, thank you for visiting my story! So to recap, last chapter Tavros said goodbye to Rufioh and threw his ashes to the wind, setting his spirit free. Additionally, Kurloz decided to visit his beloved brother to reminisce on the past. PFFFFT! As if! No, sad things happened and Gamzee got involuntarily drugged. Now we see how this will affect things. Was it just to freak you, my dear readers, out? Or will Gamzee fall of the wagon, straight onto an endless field of illegal narcotics? I don't know. Oh wait, I do! Anyway, enough of this pointless garbage; enjoy the story!*
Meeting an Old Friend: Chapter 10
"Oh, hey Doc," Gamzee whispers into the phone, sitting on the edge of the bed. Looking at the clock on his mobile, he sighs heavily and rubs his bloodshot his eyes. Why did Mr. Egbert need to call at 5:30 in the morning? Although Gamzee wants nothing more than to return to bed, he begrudgingly turns all of his attention back to the phone, listening intently to the medical professional on the other end.
"Okay, so, today two of our daycare operators here at the hospital quit. Considering your previous history with taking care of children, Mr. Zahaak wanted you to consider taking their place. Will you do it?" The teen looked incredulously at the device in his hand and processed the information. Although his father had a vast amount of money, Gamzee knew he would receive none of it after graduation. Mr. Makara and his youngest son maintained a strained relationship, to say the least. A job would definitely help in the long run, especially at a hospital where the pay often stayed well above minimum wage.
"Sure mother- um, Mr. Egbert," Gamzee responds excitedly, smiling, his gaze shifting to his sleeping boyfriend. Tavros, as if on cue, snores softly which elicits a few chuckles from the older boy. What a cute motherfucker, he thinks, laughing softly and shaking his head. Suddenly, Gamzee realizes if he leaves to go work at the hospital, his boyfriend would have no one to spend time with. "Wait, doc, you said two caretakers quit, right?"
"Yes, that is what I said," the doctor replies slowly, unsure of what Gamzee means by asking this question.
"So, do you think Tavros could be one as well?" the boy asks hopefully. After all the time they spend together, he could not imagine having to remain apart for an entire work day.
"Sorry Gamzee, but this position has been filled already," the doctor answers, causing the boy to frown. However, before Gamzee can turn down the offer the doctor continues, "However, if he can, we would like him to come anyway." Feeling quite relieved, the just awoken boy grins broadly and exhales softly. "You see, he does not have any experience with children so hiring him could look bad on our part for when inspectors come. Actually, your previous drug addiction almost made us dismiss you as a candidate for the job. However, Mr. Zahaak may eventually hire him if he comes with you and acts as a sort of model for the injured kids at the hospital daycare."
For the rest of the conversation the doctor explains what the job should entail. Dr. Egbert relays some important details such as the children's age range of five to twelve, and half of which have sicknesses, a good number life-threatening. Additionally, the physician mentioned having to fill out paperwork, but the hospital has already added most of the information because of the data collected from insurance cards.
Finally, after the doctor finishes informing him of his responsibilities, the teen shuts his phone, and throws on some clothing. Now wearing a plain V-neck black t-shirt and dark jeans, Gamzee walks around the bed and shake his lover awake. Tavros awakes with a jump from is deep sleep and sits up suddenly, bringing about a loud laugh from the older teen. "Tavbabe, guess who just got a motherfucking job!" Gamzee exclaims, causing Tavros jaw to drop. "Equius's dad wants me to watch the little motherfuckers at the hospital!"
"Wait, uh, no offense, but you are going to work, like at a real job?" Tavros knows Gamzee once held a job at a daycare of some sort, but he never expected his boyfriend to do something this serious. The hospital daycare takes care of children with serious diseases and need special attention, so a reliable, well trained professional should have taken the job, not that Tavros did not feel proud his boyfriend got into such a great career field.
"I know right, who would have motherucking known?" Gamzee replies rushing to the closet. Pulling out Tavros's prosthetic legs and a mass jumbled pile of clothing, the older teen hurried to the younger boy and dressed him as quickly as possible. As he attaches the legs, Gamzee continues on, rambling excitedly, "And you get to come and chill with the tiny motherfuckers too! Dr. Egbert said they can all up and motherfucking hire you after you get some experience with them Ain't that bitchtits?" Grinning a ridiculous amount, the teen finishes putting on Tavros's clothes and pulls him of the bed and into a hug.
Tavros also begins smiling uncontrollably at the jovial mood of his boyfriend, especially after the horrible previous day. Perhaps the drugs in Gamzee's system did not affect the teen as much as it seemed the other day. The idea that his boyfriend could go beyond his history of addiction made Tavros to feel incredibly happy, almost enough to ignore the fact that it is only six in the morning.
"Oh, and the doc said to get there at seven, so come the motherfuck on, let's go!" Tavros gasped as Gamzee pulled him along while giggling childishly, quite a feat considering the extra weight added by the prosthetic legs. The two proceeded to leave the building hand in hand, and jumped in the car. Gamzee looked over at Tavros and grinned, chuckling as his purple eyes lit with enthusiasm.
The two drove on to the hospital discussing the minor details of the job and reached the building in record time; arriving fifteen minutes before necessary. Before even entering the building, Tavros gets tackle-hugged by an over-excited, squealing Roxy. Laughing, Tavros returns the embrace and watches as Jade too comes bounding out of the building. Exchanging pleasantries, the four people walk through the halls, the girls leading them to the daycare center.
Once there Roxy opens the door, revealing a colorfully painted room. The shapes of little hands of various colors cover the entirety of the left wall, names written under the cute design. Additionally, happy scenes litter the room, all clearly made by previous young residents, adding an endearing quality to the scene. The children themselves litter the toy-blanketed ground, playing with each other.
In contrast to the adorable scene, coughing and sleeping children fill the simple medical beds which line the walls of the room. Frowns cover the faces of the two boys as they notice a five-year old hacking violently. However, the two teens and the nurse watch as a young man of about twenty, wearing round shades, a white shirt with red sleeves, and jeans gives the kid a medicine which seems to calm him down, if not completely ceasing the coughs.
The young man comes over to the group and kisses Jade on the cheek with a smile, much to the surprise of the two boys. "Hey, Jade. What's up with these guys?" the stranger asks, looking over at the two teens with mild interest.
"Well, the one with the messed up hair, Gamzee- I told you about him- will work as a caretaker as well," Jade replies bubbly, grinning at the glasses-wearing teen. "Tavros, Gamzee's boyfriend, will help out and, if all goes well, he will work here too!"
"Oh yeah, Egderp said something about new employees or whatever. Cool," he then walks away, and returns to the obnoxiously loud group of children. Perplexed by the seemingly bi-polar moods of the older caretaker looks at the nurses, Tavros gives the two nurses a confused look.
"Sorry about that," Jade says, giggling, "He is actually so cool once he warms up to you. Until then, he will be weird and aloof like that." The two teens nod and turn their gaze back to the shouting children, the noise in the room rapidly increasing in volume.
"Dave, we're bored!" A little girl cries, other boys and girls around her screaming and nodding in agreement. Dave begins chuckling and says something to the children, although too quietly to be heard by Gamzee and Tavros. Around Dave, the youngsters gather expectantly except for those too ill to bother. Dave sets a dock station on one of the kiddie-tables and inserts an IPod. A few button clicks later, the device begins playing a simple beat, and Dave surprises the two newcomers by starting a rap.
"Stop flapping your mouths,
And listen real good,
Uncle Dave is dropping beats in,
Mr. Z's neighborhood.
Those dumb fairy tales,
Don't hold a candle,
To what I'm using to get you,
To put on your big-kid sandals.
And if ya' wanna hear a REAL story
Mother goose get's fired
Cuz this one's got gangstas
And romance desired
Cinderella's a pimp
You surely can't miss
Those gold chains on her neck
Got her ready for this
She's got the clothes
The bling
The swag
The sing-song
Tunes to make you mad
With giggly cheers,"
Impressed with the man, Tavros, Gamzee, Jade and Roxy move toward the crowd of children, and start making their way through the crowd. Dave acknowledges the people with a subtle nod and smirks mischievously, pointing to the older of the two boys.
"Now my bro Gamzee here,
Gonna start rappin' ya' to tears!"
Gamzee, as usual, just smiles and goes with the flow and shrugs. Stepping up to the front of the crowd, children watching expectantly as he clears his throat. Never hearing Gamzee rap before, Tavros winces and desperately hopes his boyfriend does not make a fool of himself on the first day of the job. Speaking of which, this activity might not give off the best impression if the boss decided to show up. However, Tavros expects the incredibly busy Mr. Zahaak to not to show himself at the daycare at this time; such an event would probably be as improbable as a pumpkin appearing out of thin air.
"This wicked story starts,
With a blondie in blue,
She be singin' while washing,
The dirty floor for you.
That's when her big sisters,
Start wrecking her shit,
Callin' her to mop,
And wash,
Then to split."
The children, excitedly giggling as the teen starts shouting even louder, pleased with the rapping done by the newbie. On the other hand, Dave, Tavros, Jade and Roxy stare dumbfounded as Gamzee continues.
"One night that girl,
Ditchin' the sleepin' coon,
Tried to go to the ball,
To meet a prince soon,
The sis got an idea and ripped the chains off her neck,
The rats cried out in distress!"
Chuckling, Gamzee grabs Tavros by the arm and pulls him up into the middle of the mob. Tavros stares open-mouthed, understanding what his boyfriend wants. Spluttering "ers" and "uhs," he stands there looking rather foolish in front of the children. Laughing, Gamzee prompts the younger teen by starting another verse.
"But merciful messiahs be praised…" Tavros, looking at all the hopeful faces of the little tikes, sighs and uncertainly starts rapping.
"Uh, yeah,
The girl got new digs,
Her whole night was saved." Still standing with his boyfriend, Gamzee encourages Tavros to continue while nodding fervently. The younger boy, looking at the pleased faces of the kids surrounding him, smirks and musters as much confidence as he can.
"Then, uh, she went to the ball,
And like a song from Skrillex,
Um, she danced and smiled,
And kind of, er, hit it,
Off with the…prince,
Then came midnight,
Uh, then her swag, uh, wore off,
She was, um, sore to the sight." Not sure where he meant to go with this, he looks at his two companions and silently pleads for them to continue. Understanding Tavros's dilemma, Dave starts up once again.
"Don't worry kids,
The gal is fine,
She left behind her good sneaker,
As a sign,
Before she was out-of-time.
The wicked prince used the shoe,
And searched the entire ghetto,
Through and through,
To find Mrs. Cinderelly,
So they could get married, but no." Dave nods to Gamzee. Expecting this, the teen smiles and takes the spotlight once again without missing a beat.
"That sis be wantin' the prince,
So she tried to fit inside,
Her foot was just too big
And both sistas just wanted to cry.
By the end of the day,
Cinderella got her reward,
A prince,
Money,
Her sisters out the door."
Turning his gaze to Tavros, Gamzee smiles and nods his head. Only a little more sure of himself this time around, Tavros inhales and finishes off the story, "This just shows that, uh,
Fairy tales stories do come true,
And, uh,
Sometimes, to get the guy,
All you gotta do is be you!"
Sighing heavily, Tavros shuts off the IPod and smiles timidly at the crowd of delighted children. All throughout the room the kids clap their hands, even the severely ill ones in their beds. The three teens soak up the attention and do over-dramatic bows until the youngsters decide to start playing with their toys, now having lost interest in the three performers.
"Tavros, Gamzee, I didn't know you rapped," Roxy exclaims, smiling giddily, "you two did so good!" Jade, nodding her head feverishly, agrees with the older nurse and grins at the two boys. Putting her hand on Tavros's shoulder reassuring Roxy continues with an excited smile, "Tavros, you keep that kind of interaction with the kids up and you will a job here for sure!"
"I have to say, nurse Lalonde, I must agree," a raspy voice begins, drawing the group's attention. Now looking towards the door, Tavros sees a man with pin-straight hair and blue eyes waiting in the doorway. He wears a royal blue button-up dress shirt and black slacks. However, the part of the man's outfit most noted by the teens, is the name tag which reads "Mr. Zahaak". "It seems quite clear to me that you are good with the children, so I think I may reconsider the postponement of your hiring." But then he looks again around the room, noticing the peaceful atmosphere (at least for a room full of kids) and changes his mind, "Actually, consider yourself an official caretaker here the hospital. Good luck Tavros, and good job"
*So, I realize that is perhaps the worst way I could have POSSIBLY ended this chapter. It seems rushed and lazily written, I am sorry. However, I hope you enjoyed the newest update and thank xEmistuckx for basically 99.999999999% of the rap. They are really talented and deserve a cyber-hug. Anyway, thanks for reading! :]*