Chapter 6: Pesky Behavior
Part I: aPpArEnTly
The next day, I managed to get up by myself and it was really early. After I took a shower and got dressed, I went downstairs and saw my mom sitting at the table, talking with Rikku. She looked up and smiled brightly.
"Good morning Kairi," my mom greeted.
"Hey Kairi," Rikku said.
"Hey…" I had nearly forgotten that my mom was going to be home in the mornings now. She looked at me meaningfully, but I didn't know what to make of her strange look, so I smiled awkwardly. It was quiet and Rikku watched us expectantly.
"…Do you need a ride to school this morning Kairi?" My mom asked. I shook my head.
"No. Demyx is picking me up," I answered.
"Demyx?"
"You don't know him."
"Well. With a name like that I think I ought to meet him before he takes my daughter anywhere." I could only roll my eyes. His name wasn't as weird as Quistis (my mom's name) that's for sure.
"Whatever." I sat down, as far from the alien as possible, finding that her prying eyes made me feel unusually uncomfortable. I tried to ignore her curious gaze as I poured myself a bowl of cereal, but it was hard. Why was she looking at me that way anyway?
"Uh… could you stop staring at me mom? I feel uncomfortable…," I said.
"I don't know why. I'm only your mother Kairi."
"I know that…" Rikku sensed the tenseness in the room and piped in, "Mrs. Trepe, would it be alright if I went to school with her? That way, you know she'll be okay and you don't have to worry about Demyx trying anything. Not that he would… He's a really nice guy Mrs. Trepe. You'd like him a lot…"
"Hm. I guess so Rikku." Rikku smiled and winked at me but I didn't feel much like celebrating. Why was riding with Demyx okay when Rikku asked to do it?
After about thirty minutes passed, a car honked outside and I couldn't be more thankful for Demyx's timing than just then.
"Bye mom! See ya later," I called, and added under my breath, "I guess." Rikku and I ran out the front door to Demyx's awaiting Dodge Nitro. He smiled at me and Rikku and said, "Good morning."
"Hey."
"Hi!" Rikku jumped in the back seat and I sat in the front. I smiled at him shyly before leaning over to kiss him. To my surprise, he pulled away and I looked at him confusedly. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to me, however, he was looking past me. Following his gaze, my mouth dropped in horror when I saw my mom standing right outside the door. She knocked on the window and Demyx lowered it with the controls on his door.
"Hi. I'm Mrs. Trepe, Kairi's mother. I understand that you're Demyx correct?"
"Uh… yea…"
"It's nice to meet you. I was wondering, will you be making a habit of this?"
"Uh… I guess…"
"How long have you had your license?"
"Uh... a year…"
"So you're an experienced driver. No wrecks?"
"No…"
"And don't let there be any. Understand? My husband is a powerful man. If anything happens to my daughter, there'd be no one around to hold him accountable for any misfortune that may fall upon you… or your nice ride."
"Y…yes… ma'ma!"
"We're running late mom. Bye." I turned to Demyx and mouthed the word, "go!"
"Of course. Good bye Kairi. Rikku. … Demyx. Have a good day." No sooner had the words left her mouth did Demyx step on the accelerator and leave my mother as a small speck on my driveway. There was a tense silence, with Demyx focusing intently on the road, and then Rikku burst out in hysterics in the back seat.
----
"Get outta here! Are you serious? Wow… and I thought my mom was annoying…," Fujin claimed. We made it to school in one piece and I was happy that my friends weren't holding me responsible for Namine's actions. I was glad that they trusted me, but then again that was what good friends do. Olette was eating a hardy breakfast, three sausages, two eggs, a pancake, and milk, causing me to look at her disdainfully.
"Ew. How can you eat so much in the morning?"
"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! But anyway, I can't believe you go with Demyx! I knew it was going to happen! Are you over Sora then?" Olette said. Not by a long shot.
"…I found out that Demyx is really nice," I answered, "…yea."
"Right…," Fujin said, "… Ew! God Olette! Chew!"
"Huh? Would you guys get off my back?? If you want to go around lookin' like anorexic Barbie dolls then do it, but don't persecute me because I know how to down a meal!"
"Yea… and that's without chewing," Fujin replied. We started laughing, but Olette didn't seem to be in a joking mood. She huffed angrily, grabbed her tray, and stomped away to another table at the other end of the room. Fujin and I looked at each other.
"What a crybaby," she said.
"What's her problem?"
"I dunno man. But these mood swings are really starting to irk me!" Couldn't agree more. Maybe Olette was on that time of the month? That's the only way I could explain it. What else could it be? Sighing, I laid my head on the table, in a visible display of my exasperation and Fujin patted my shoulder. Apparently, she felt my pain.
"Hey Kairi!" I turned around to see Selphie walking towards me with a big smile. I sat up when she took a seat beside me and said, "What's up Selphie?"
"Nothin'. Look, I've been wanting to talk with you for a while now, but you're a hard one to get a hold of! What have you been up to lately?"
"Been busy."
"Well… are you too busy to talk now? Or can I talk to you… in private?" I looked at Fujin and Rikku, who shrugged indifferently and began to talk amongst each other. I looked back at Selphie and nodded slowly.
"Great! Okay, come with me real quick…," she said. We got up and I followed her into the bathroom. That damn bathroom hadn't been one of my favorite places this whole year so far. It had become a problematic scene in my life so much so that I didn't care to use the bathroom much at school anymore. And with such an infamous history, I should have known better than to have come there with my best friend…
Selphie locked the door. Not a good sign. Then she turned to me, and her expression was a little melancholic. What a paradox. Melancholy did not mesh well at all with my friend's bubbly personality… I took notice of this and then Selphie pulled herself up on the large sink, sitting with her back against the mirror and head cast downward. I prayed to God she wasn't about to reveal some type of secret to me… But what else could I have possibly been expecting? So I prayed instead that it wasn't too bad a secret. I leaned up against the wall adjacent to her and waited. My hands shook and my stomach turned.
"… What's been up with you lately Kairi? We've been so busy that we haven't talked for a while… What have I missed?" She said. Oh. She was gonna beat around the bush eh? Well, I can't say that I wasn't grateful for the small distraction. Smiling I said, "You haven't missed anything… except I go with Demyx, and Namine screwed Yuffie over and framed me for it. But I'm good."
"Wow! I didn't know you and Demyx were an item! When did this happen?"
"Yesterday."
"Congrats."
"I guess…"
"I can't believe Namine. How are you guys even living together?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her at all so far. I know my parents are thoroughly pissed at her though."
"Who's that girl you hang out with? The new one? I've never seen her before…"
"She's a daughter of one of my mother's patients. Apparently, her father isn't doing so hot but she doesn't have any other relatives so she's staying with us until further notice. Yup yup."
"When did you start hanging out with Olette and Fujin…?"
"Oh… After Hayner beat me up… A lot people started talking to me around then…"
"Hm..." We were quiet. I guess the small talk was over with now… Sighing, I asked, "What about you Selphie? What have you been so busy with that you haven't had time to talk with your best friend?" She hesitated.
"… I think I'm pregnant."
"… What the hell did you just say?" Selphie sighed and jumped off the sink. She began pacing the room, back and forth, back and forth, as though nervous. I was still trying to comprehend the words she'd just spoken. Pregnant??
"You know I've liked Tidus a long time right? Of course, you know everything about me… And yes lately I admit I've been hanging out with him more than you and that's wrong but please don't hate me. Okay, so… Me and him went out a couple of weeks back and we got a little drunk… Well, I know we did it because I woke up in his room and we were naked… I'm not sure if we used protection though…"
"… What?"
"Kairi!!!" Selphie looked at me pleadingly, "This is for real! Oh my God I'm so scared that I've been buggin' about it all week!"
"Well… I mean. Not using protection isn't a guarantee that you're… pregnant Selphie… uh… I mean. There's no way you could know from just that alone right?"
"… I'm late. It was three days before my period Kairi!"
"Oh… shit…," I whined, "Why'd you do it Selphie?? He isn't even really all that cute!"
"I know! And I told him I may be pregnant but he's blowing me off and talking with Yuna! Yuna, Kairi! Oh I can't stand it! I'm so scared…" I was scared too! What the hell??
"Oh my God Selphie! You can't be a mother! You still live at home with your own mother!! You can't even cook!"
"I know…"
"How the hell are you gonna raise a child?? Huh? Sweet mother of… Don't you know how ugly that thing's gonna be as it is his child!?"
"Hey! It's mine too!"
"Shit! Selphie! Listen, we have to know if it's for real okay? You might not even be pregnant."
"I know… That's why I went out and bought this…" She pulled a box out of her backpack and I saw that it was a pregnancy test, "I couldn't do it alone…" Selphie was so scared that her voice was shrinking and trembling. I looked at her, then at the box, then back at her. What a mess.
"Okay. I'm here. It's gonna be alright Selphie. Just go pee on the damn thing so we can figure this out… Lord have mercy…" Selphie nodded dutifully and proceeded to tear the box apart. I watched her, a million thoughts running through my mind as she pulled the cardboard to pieces. How was she going to be a mother? A mother? I thought about my mom. She was so annoying, but she loved me so much and cared for me. She had to deal with a lot of BS from both me and Namine, and she did… always forgiving us even though it was our faults. She would be putting up with our crap even when we were grown... She was gonna be a mother for the rest of her life! Selphie was an only child and just lived with her mother. She didn't know anything about caring for someone else. She got mad at me when I touched her things… how in the world was she going to be a mother?
She took the device into the urinal and I waited to hear the tell-tell tinkle that would ultimately decide my best friend's fate. After five minutes, I didn't hear a thing.
"Selphie. Come on already!" I cried.
"I'm trying! I'm too nervous…"
"Need me to go…"
"NO!" I flinched out her outburst.
"Okay…" There was another long pause and neither of us spoke, nor was there any peeing being done.
"It's no use… Look. Talk to me about something to calm me down."
"Selphie! It's bad enough that I'm in here while you're trying to pee! I don't want to talk to you!"
"Kairi!" I sighed and kicked the wall irately.
"… I kissed Sora."
"WHAT!!?"
"It happened a couple of Saturdays ago. Me and Namine got into a fight and she left me and Sora alone to go vent… Then I broke a vase and Sora helped me clean it up. I wasn't watching what I was doing and I ended up getting glass in my hand. He cleaned it and wrapped it for me, and we talked a little bit. I started crying and then he… kissed me…," I told. A smile subconsciously creased in my lips as I recalled his body against mine and his lips… But then it went away when I realized what we almost did could have led me to the same situation my friend was in now.
"… I didn't know you liked Sora Kairi! This is big! How long have you liked him?"
"…Forever… I guess I just realized it recently though… But it doesn't matter. I ruined it by letting Namine have him. Don't you know that Larxene's trying to steal him too? I can't believe the stuff my sister's caught up in…" I really couldn't. Even though she was a bitch, I had to pity her. She was my sister after all…
"I suppose so Kairi… You and Sora? That's so cute! What about her and Riku? Are they still seeing each other?"
"No," I answered, "At least I don't have to worry about that anymore…"
"I missed a lot…"
"Well, a lot happens in a month." The first bell rang and I cussed under my breath.
"Selphie!" And then I heard her peeing. After a few minutes, she came out with the stick and I looked at her expectantly.
"Well??"
"It takes five minutes."
"We're already late! Look, just leave it in here and we can come back and look at it after first hour. Okay? Don't worry. No one would touch it. I swear. Now wash your hands and lets go!" Selphie obeyed and after I made her wash her hands one more time, we left, running to our first hour classes.
When I got to my class, everyone was broken into pairs and I walked in looking confused.
"How nice of you to join us Kairi," the teacher said. I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever. What's going on?"
"Don't you remember? I assigned a project yesterday and I'm giving you all class time to work on it. Your partner has been waiting on you for a while now. Hurry up and be seated."
"Yes sir…," I said sarcastically. I went over to Garnet, who looked disappointed that I had decided to show up. I didn't care to be in her company much either. I sat as far from her as I could. Everyone seemed busy working. Riku and Rikku looked liked they were having fun working together and I smiled. Rikku was a little flirt. I'd confront her about it later. I turned to the other side of the class room and saw Sora sitting by himself. Where was Yuffie? He must have sensed my eyes on him because he looked up suddenly and caught my gaze. I blinked. His expression was totally different from yesterday. He seemed… angry? Why was he angry? Was he angry at me for getting Namine in trouble? Well, she only had herself to blame really… Was he angry at me because he honestly believed that I was behind the whole picture fiasco? How could he? Why was he angry? He turned away in a huff and my eye brows furrowed in confusion. Just when I thought the day couldn't get any worse, Mr. Cid walked in.
"Why… Cid! What are you doing here?"
"Don't mind me. I'm just observing," he answered, but his beady eyes fell on me as he said so. I looked away from him and focused on Garnet. I had to appear busy.
"Anyway… what are we doing?" I asked. The dark haired girl looked at me and snappishly replied, "You would know if you were not busy acting like a hooligan." I felt my anger rise.
"What do you mean?"
"I tried to get Mr. Vexen to switch me with someone else, but he said he would not. I do not like to be around bad students." Bad students? So you could still judge people as good or bad? No. I didn't think so. How elementary! Who was she to judge me anyway when she still acted like she suckled her momma's teat? Holding back my anger, I asked forcefully through clenched teeth, "…How… do… you… mean?"
"Well… you get bad grades Kairi. And I am not going to be the one doing all the work for this project and I say this because instead of being here yesterday during free period, you were in ISS for pulling a joke, which I found not to be very amusing at all. Poor Yuffie. But, what I am trying to say is, if you can get your act together then we will work together just fine. Otherwise, you are failing on your own." I could only stare at her in disbelief. She had me figured all wrong. And the funny thing was she really believed that stuff. That's not who I am.
"So, are you going to work?" Why didn't she speak with contractions?
"…Uh… yea."
"Good." Yea right. I was going to show her how wrong her judgment of me was. A person can only take so much of the idiotic, condemnatory views of other people. Because if you didn't do anything about it, the views would place you in a box that you would never be able to crawl out of, for fear of being seen as whom you really are. Apparently, I was seen as a lousy student, stupid, and lazy. That was not me at all.
"So… What is your project about?" I turned around slowly at the sound of Mr. Cid's voice. He hovered over me menacingly and looked on mischievously.
"Uh…," I stuttered. He seemed to be getting a kick out of his apparent intimidation over me. Jerk off.
"We are making a speech against abortion," Garnet answered. I looked at her, but she continued to smile sweetly at the principal. Mr. Cid scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Wonderful. I'll be sure to come and listen to it."
"Great. Looking forward to having you hear it!" With that said, Mr. Cid nodded and went on to pester other hard working students. I continued to look at Garnet with disbelief. She just saved me! Everyone knew that after a write up, ISS, and very angry parents that talk your way out of all of it, that the principal watches your every move just to find an excuse to give you trouble… Had Garnet not answered, Mr. Cid would have written me up for misconduct in the classroom because I didn't know what I was doing. What a bastard. Of course, Garnet went on to work, acting as though nothing happened.
"Shall we?" Ew. Just when I thought she was cool, she had to open her mouth! What was with the archaic language? Deciding to be nice, I proceeded to go over the research she gathered and then I began to put a lot of work into drafting our argument, which hopefully impressed her enough to change her mind about me just enough for me to get a little respect around here.
