Chapter 11. Recovery
"I can't get Syd or Alternate Joe to come out of their room." Skyler ran a hand through his hair and sat down next to the Annas.
"It's the same with Joleena and Other Joe." Fina sighed. "They're all too embarrassed to come out."
"They did do some weird stuff last night." Other Fred looked at Fina. "And I'm sure they're not too happy that they were touching each other and behaving like friends."
"But it wasn't that bad!" Fina frowned. "They were actually getting along."
"It'll be okay." Other Fred put his arms around Fina. "They'll come out eventually. They can't stay in their rooms forever right? They'll need food and stuff."
Skyler looked down as his phone buzzed. "Apparently they're one step ahead of you. Syd just texted me and told me to bring up some food."
Fina groaned. "This wasn't how I wanted it to go."
"I feel like I'm going to throw up again." Sydney groaned and rubbed her stomach. "How much junk food did we eat last night?"
"I really don't think it's the food that's making us sick." Alternate Joe was laying down next to her on their bed with the same pained expression on his face.
Sydney buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe that happened. I've never felt so embarrassed in my life. I hope to the gods that I don't get drug tested anytime soon."
"It really wasn't that bad."
"Are you kidding? Joleena and I were all over each other more than you and I normally are!" Sydney rolled over and hid into a pillow.
Alternate Joe laughed, earning him a glare from Sydney.
"What?"
"I'm pretty sure you are the only person in the world who get crazy high on pot and feel so strung-out with stress afterwards." Alternate Joe continued to laugh.
"I'm not that bad." Sydney pouted.
Alternate Joe bit back any more laughs and kissed her on the cheek. "You kind of are. But you also look cute when you're this embarrassed. It's almost as adorable as your 'planning something' face."
"I don't have a 'planning something' face."
"Yes, you do. You bite your lip and trace your scar on your collarbone. And your nose crinkles in that cute way-"
"I get it," Sydney cut him off. "The point is that it would have been so much better had last night not happened."
"Aw, come on. It wasn't that bad. Admit it, you were relaxed for the first time in forever! You've been way too stressed over your work lately. Maybe we need to get you high more often."
"I'll pass. Thanks." Sydney sighed and snuggled up next to him. "Though it was nice to be happy for pretty much the first time since we started this trip."
Alternate Joe smiled and put his arms around her. "See? And you know Fina didn't do it on purpose. She was just trying to help."
"Yeah, but to stay on the safe side, I think I'm going to avoid any food she makes for a while." Sydney laughed as she sat up and stretched. "I think I'm going to get some fresh air." She walked out to the balcony.
Joleena sat in a lotus position meditating while her magic crackled and sputtered around her in short, sporadic bursts. Other Joe came out of the bathroom and flopped on the bed next to her. Her magic stopped abruptly and she fell on the bed.
Joleena sighed and rubbed her temples. "Mon amour, do not shake the bed like that. You will break my concentration."
"How do you feel?" Other Joe asked rubbing the small of her back. "I heard you throwing up earlier."
"I'm fine." Joleena looked away with a small blush. "I was a little nauseous earlier, but now I am beaucoup mieux."
Other Joe placed a hand on her cheek and turned her to face him."You sure? It's okay to be a little less than perfect in front of me."
Joleena pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "I am perfect."
"No you aren't." Other Joe laughed and pinched her waist making her squeak and her magic flare up.
The dresser slid forward a few feet and almost toppled over and the nightstands on either side of the bed jumped a few feet in the air and came crashing down. Other Joe burst out laughing and after a second Joleena started laughing as well. Her laughter quickly turned into a groan though and she clutched her head with a pained expression on her face. She flopped back on the bed and covered her face with a pillow.
"I know it sucks, sweetheart," Other Joe sighed and laid down next to her. "But on the bright side maybe things between you and Sydney won't be as tense anymore."
"I doubt it," Joleena mumbled. "And San-Li will never let me live this down. Perhaps I should just stay in here for the remainder of this so called vacation."
Other Joe moved closer to her and kissed her neck. "I wouldn't object to that. We could… keep each other company."
His lips moved down to her collar bone and one finger slid under her top to caress her stomach. Joleena stiffened and jumped out of bed with a small blush. "I'm, um, going to step out onto the balcony. Maybe fresh air will make my head feel better."
"Oh, okay." Other Joe sighed.
Fina hummed quietly to herself and evenly distributed the scrambled eggs onto four plates that sat on two trays. Each plate already held two pieces of whole wheat toast and two steaming mugs of herbal tea sat beside the plates.
Other Fred watched her from the table with a small smile on his face and Alternate Fred nudged his arm with small chuckle. Kairi whispered something to him and they both laughed out loud. Other Fred rolled his eyes and took his bowl to the sink.
Skyler walked up next to Fina and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um, Fina? I think it's great that you're making them breakfast, but do you mind if I take up Sydney's and Alternate Joe's trays? I would hate for you to have to carry both trays by yourself."
"That's sweet of you to ask, but I can handle it Skyler." Fina smiled at him. "Besides I want to make sure that they know how sorry I am about what happened. Especially Sydney."
"Yeah, see... that's just it." Skyley gave her an apologetic smile. "Sydney isn't mad at you or anything, but if I know her she might not… um, trust any food you make for a while."
Fina face fell and Other Fred glared at Skyler. "What the hell is her problem? Fina said it was an accident and apologized like a hundred times already!"
Skyley put up his hands in defense and shrugged. "Whoa, take it easy. Like I said she isn't mad or anything, but she's probably going to be a lot more cautious, not that she doesn't trust you. I'm sure she knows it was an accident. Besides, wouldn't you be nervous if someone slipped random drugs in your food?"
"It's okay, Fred. Skyler does have a point." Fina sighed and gave Skyler a small smile. "As long as she and Alternate Joe eat something healthy then that's all that matters."
"Thanks, you're awesome." Skyler took one of the trays and headed up stairs.
San-Li suddenly materialized in the kitchen making the Freds jump, but Fina was completely unfazed.
"Yes?"
"Please can I take up the French Poodle's food?" San-Li asked with a large grin. "I want to see if she's still strung out!"
Fina shook her head with a small frown. "Don't tease her San-Li, she's probably still mortified."
"I know, isn't it great?" San-Li laughed. "Little miss rich and perfect, a junk food eating, high as a kite, pot head. It's like a dream come true."
Fina rolled her eyes with a small sigh. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with you."
"I do." Other Sam came up to wrap an arm around San-Li's waist and kissed her on the cheek. "Come on, we're going to hang out with Alternate Sam and Cade today."
San-Li groaned in irritation and he led her away with a small, tolerate smile. Fina picked up the remaining tray and smiled up at Other Fred.
"After I take this up do you want to hang out on the beach again?" She asked him with a smile.
"Actually..." Other Fred shrugged. "Me and Alternate Fred were planning on going to the basement and playing some pool."
"That sounds fun. Me and Fina can join you guys." Kairi smiled.
"Sorry princess, boring guy talk." Alternate Fred kissed her cheek. "We'll hang out later though."
"Oh alright," Kairi sighed and smiled at Fina. "Me and you again?"
"Sounds fun." Fina smiled back and headed up the stairs.
Sydney heard the balcony doors from Joleena and Other Joe's room open up and saw Joleena walk out onto the balcony. The two made eye contact and blushed. They awkwardly waved to each other and settled into a pregnant silence.
"So… how are you two doing? Yesterday was quite the experience," Joleena spoke from the other balcony.
Sydney sighed and leaned onto the railing. "Tell me about it. Never seems to be a dull moment here. We're a little sick. Mostly just embarrassed. You?"
"Same. I think we're going to hide in here for the rest of our stay."
"I know how you feel."
Joleena nervously laughed. "But now I feel that I'm going to have to get out. My Joe, he um… seemed a little too comfortable with us being alone together in a bedroom."
Sydney blinked. "So why are you out here and not in there with him? I'd never pass up some quality alone time with my boyfriend."
"Well, alone time together is one thing, but I think he wanted to do more than hang out. If you know what I mean."
Sydney tilted her head. "And? I don't see an issue here."
"Um, well…" Joleena blushed. "He and I… our relationship hasn't exactly… I mean…"
Sydney laughed. "You're saying you two have done, like anything? Aw, that's sort of cute. I don't think my Joe and I were ever that innocent."
"Oh!" Joleena stiffened and shifted her eyes between Sydney and the door to her and Alternate Joe's room. "You mean you two have…"
"Oh gods, yes. All the time." Sydney continue to laugh. "Look, whenever you get over whatever this intimacy issue you have is, you're going to be in for a nice surprise. I mean, I can't attest to your Joe's skills or anything, but the two should have the same size-"
"It was nice chatting with you," Joleena said quickly. "But I think I should leave now." Joleena, clearly flustered, hurriedly went back into her room.
Sydney continued to laugh as she strolled back into her room.
Alternate Joe looked up from the bed. "What's got you in such a good mood all of sudden?"
Sydney grinned. "Oh, nothing."
Before Alternate Joe could ask anything more, there was a knock on the door.
Sydney went over to answer it and found Skyler standing with a tray of food. "Food! Finally! Took you long enough." Sydney grabbed a plate and greedily munched on a piece of toast.
Skyler shook his head and stepped into the room. "You're welcome."
Sydney smiled at him and handed a plate to Alternate Joe as she sat down next to him on the bed.
"This is really good for a simple piece of toast."
"Thank you."
Everyone jumped and looked to see Fina standing in the doorway with a similar tray in her hands.
"I just wanted to make sure you guys got some good food in you, so I quickly made some easy breakfast food. I'm so sorry for last night. Think of this as an apology breakfast." Fina smiled at them.
Sydney stiffened and paused before putting a forkful of eggs in her mouth. "You made this? Oh… and you're sure you know everything that went into it this time?"
Skyler rolled his eyes. "It's fine. Besides, even if it wasn't, you already ate the toast, the damage would already be done."
"I guess…" Sydney cautiously stared at her food and set her fork down.
"Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for everything yesterday. It all got a little out of hand." Fina bowed before leaving. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check on Other Joe and Joleena."
"So how are you feeling?" Skyler turned back to them and studied Sydney.
Sydney shrugged. "A little sick, I guess. Other than that, just embarrassed."
"I'm not talking about the pot. During the fight, you haven't had a break like that in years. What happened?"
"Just lost control for a second. I'm fine. I took care of it."
Alternate Joe frowned. "Only because I showed up. I'm surprised Joleena even aggravated you that much."
Sydney turned to him. "Like I said. It's fine. I won't let it happen again."
"If you say so." Skyler sighed. "Are you two going to come out at all today or what? You can't just stay stuck in here."
"Actually, I've decided today's going to be an 'us' day." Sydney ran her hand down Joe's arm. "We really need it after yesterday's events." She gave the wall an experimental tap. "How thin do you think these walls are?"
Skyler raised an eyebrow. "All day? It's only ten in the morning."
Alternate Joe awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, Sydney. I mean, we could, but I'm going to need like some power bars or Gatorade or something."
"We were joking." Skyler crossed his arms.
"Oh." Joe looked a way with a mixture of embarrassment and disappointment on his face.
"At least come down for dinner tonight."
"We'll see. Now, goodbye." Sydney promptly pushed him out of their room and closed the door.
"Okay, San-Li," Alternate Sam said picking up a card. "Your category is science and nature and the question is true or false- 'humans only use 10% of their brains'."
"Um… true?"
"Nope." Alternate Sam shook his head. "Sorry, the answer was false. Humans use way more than ten percent."
"Are you sure?" San-Li tilted her head to the side. "That's not what I heard."
"Actually they debunked that theory a while ago," Cade spoke up. "The myth started because when scientists removed part of a mouse's brain it still performed regularly so they assumed that ninety percent of the brain wasn't necessary."
"How fascinating," San-Li mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, I read that too," Other Sam spoke up. "I read that the myth also came from the fact that when certain parts of the brain are damaged the effects can be so minimal and subtle that it made them wonder if those parts even did anything."
San-Li smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "You're so cute when you know stuff like that."
"You would know it too if you didn't listen to movie scientists and read about real scientists." He chuckled.
"Whatever, Morgan Freeman is a very convincing scientist." San-Li glanced at Cade. "Your turn, Red."
Cade sighed and started shaking the die. "Can you please not call me Red? I have a name you know."
"Nope."
Cade huffed in mild frustration and Alternate Sam lightly touched her arm. They shared a small smile and she rolled the dice. She landed on a dark blue space and Other Sam picked up a card for her.
"Okay Cade, computers and technology," he said. "Your question is 'If you need to sort a very large list of integers (billions), what efficient sorting algorithm would be your best bet? Quick Sort, Merge Sort, Counting Sort, or Heap Sort?"
Alternate Sam gave a low whistle. "That's a hard one. Good luck with that Cade."
"Well it is Ultimate Trivia Pursuit," she said with a shrug. "Okay, I'm going to use my best guess and say... Counting Sort?"
"Sorry, no." Other Sam shook his head. "It's-"
"QuickSort," San-Li interrupted with a smug smile. "It was developed in 1960 by Tony Hoare and it's still pretty commonly used to sort algorithms. Don't feel too bad about not knowing about it though. It's more of a techie thing."
"Like I said, I'd rather be out on the field that stuck to a computer all day." Cade shrugged. "Maybe that's why you're so pale. You probably miss the sun."
San-Li narrowed her eyes and reached behind her back for something. "At least this is my real hair color."
"This is my real hair color!"
"Okay you two, that's enough," Other Sam said taking something from San-Li and discreetly putting it away.
"Yeah, you two were behaving earlier,"Alternate Sam said patting, Cade's knee.
Cade pouted and looked away but San-Li sighed and leaned against Other Sam."You're right dana-sama, I'll behave."
"Good." Other Sam turned her face towards his and kissed her firmly on the lips.
San-Li gave him another kiss and stood up. "Do you mind helping me get some sodas, Re- I mean, Cade?"
Cade scoffed, but Alternate Sam elbowed her. "Alright sure."
They walked down stairs into the kitchen in silence. San-Li started whistling as she gathered some glasses together and pulled a large bowl out of the cabinet. She went over to the fridge and started rifling in it.
"Mind putting a pack of popcorn in the microwave? I'm starved." She smirked at her over her shoulder. "You do know how to use a microwave right?"
"Of course I do," Cade huffed opening the cabinet. "We did have microwaves in Australia you know."
"Sorry," San-Li chuckled. "I have no idea how deep in the bush you lived so I was just making sure."
"Sure you were," Cade mumbled. "Look San-Li, I don't know what I did to antagonize you, but I would appreciate it if you would stop messing with me so much. It's really mean."
"Who said I'm messing with you to be mean?"
Cade jumped and turned around to find San-Li standing really close to her. She tried to step away but San-Li sidestepped her and leaned even closer to her.
"Like I said earlier Cade, I tend to be a bit of a tease." San-Li gave a low seductive chuckle. "And you are really, really fun to mess with. Kinda like my Sammy."
Cade shuddered in disgust and tried to move away again. "I should head back upstairs."
San-Li blocked her in and starting playing with her hair again. "I really love the color of your hair, it's so… wild. Are you a bit wild Cade?"
"Will you just back off!?" Cade yelled in a panic and pushed her away.
San-Li fell back against the kitchen island hard and feigned a look of hurt.
"What's going on here?" Alternate Sam asked sharply suddenly appearing in the doorway with Other Sam. "Cade, why did you just push San-Li?"
"She was messing with me again!" Cade gestured angrily to San-Li. "She does it every chance she gets."
"All I did was compliment her hair," San-Li said quietly. "I was teasing her about it earlier, so I thought I should say something nice about it,"
"See Cade, she was trying to be nice." Alternate Sam sighed. "Maybe you should try doing the same?"
"She wasn't being nice, she was flirting with me!" Cade huffed indignantly.
"Cade-"
"Hold on," Other Sam spoke up and eyed San-Li suspiciously. "San-Li, be honest, were you messing with Cade again?"
"Sam," San-Li sighed sadly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "All I really did was compliment her hair. If she got the impression that I was flirting with her how is that my fault? I'm trying really, really hard to be nice just to make you happy and all I get is crap for it."
"See?" Alternate Sam said to Cade. "She really was just trying to be nice."
"Sure she was." Other Sam leaned close to San-Li's ear and whispered so the others wouldn't hear. "Whatever you're doing, cut it out. Got it?"
San-Li pouted and nodded at him. "Yes, dana-sama."
"Good." Other Sam kissed her and turned to the others. "There won't be anymore trouble I promise. San-Li's just out of practice making friends."
"Same with Cade." Alternate Sam laughed, nudging her arm.
Cade scoffed angrily and stormed back upstairs.
Alternate Sam sighed and followed Cade up the stairs.
"Cade, wait." He caught up to her put his hand on her shoulder. "You can't just run from her. You need to at least try to be her friend."
Cade stared at him with hurt in her eyes. "This isn't about San-Li. I'm upset because you didn't believe me back there! I wasn't lying. She was flat out seducing me."
"I think you think she was seducing you, but come on, don't you think that's a little ridiculous?"
Cade shook Alternate Sam's hand off of her shoulder. "No! I know she was cracking onto me to mess with my head. I have no idea why, but she hates me. Maybe she doesn't even need a reason. The Sheila is clearly insane."
"She definitely has some… chemical imbalances," Alternate Sam agreed. "But I think if you really tried-"
"No. It's bad enough that I have to watch them make-out every time they're near each other. I'm sure she's doing that on purpose to aggravate me too."
"Why would that aggravate you?" Alternate Sam gave her a quizzical look.
Cade gave him an incredulous look. "Really? You can't think of one reason why that would bother me?"
When Sam didn't respond, Cade huffed and shut herself in their bedroom. Alternate Sam tried to open the door, but it was locked. He sighed and went back downstairs.
Kairi drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter while she waited for Fina to return from giving Other Joe and Joleena their food.
She sighed. She missed spending time with her prince. She was glad that the Freds were getting along so well, but Kairi felt like they were getting along almost too well. She and Fina had barely gotten to see them this whole trip. She liked Fina and she was fun to hang out with and all, but Kairi missed going on adventures with her boyfriend.
Kairi wondered how well Fina was doing without her Fred. Kairi pursed her lips in thought. Maybe the two of them would need to get their Freds' attention somehow.
Kairi looked up when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs again. She saw Skyler enter the kitchen and glance around the room.
"Have you seen the Annas?"
Kairi pointed out to the beach. "They went outside."
"Thanks, Kairi." Skyler grinned and went outside.
Kairi frowned. Alternate Anna got to spend time with her boyfriend, even with an overprotective brother like Joe. If only her Fred was as devoted as Skyler.
Fina came back into the room and placed some plates in the sink. "So, what are we going to do today?" Fina asked as she washed the dishes.
"Do you miss your Fred?"
Fina paused and looked at Kairi over her shoulder. "Why would you ask that?"
Kairi shrugged. "The Freds just spend so much time together. It'd be nice if they spent some time with us too."
Fina smiled and turned back to the dishes in the sink. "They're just being… well, being Fred."
"I know, and I love my Fred, but I'd love it even more if I got to spend some time with him while we were here. I'm sure there are plenty of places we could all go on romantic dates."
"All go?"
"Well, yeah. Me and my Fred, and you and your Fred."
"Kairi, we've told you a hundred times, we're just friends. Nothing more."
Kairi smiled to herself. She wondered how long those two would keeping lying to each other about they really felt. She gave it a few months, a year tops. "Whatever you say."
Fina dried off the plates and put them away. "Now, what should we do?"
Kairi grinned as an idea came to her. She knew just how to get her Fred back. "How do you feel about adventures?"
