211
M. walked into the jam session room to find Amber and Dani talking in hushed tones. Seeing his entry, the Piano immediately dissolved into giggles and M felt himself turn red. What on earth?
"What are you gossipers talking about?" he challenged. Amber turned around sheepishly.
"Gossipers? Please. Dani was just telling me…"
"Now, Oni-girl," M. Interrupted. "I've warned you not to listen to the Piano. Anything she has to say about me are jealous lies."
"Oooo, that's rich coming from you, Openheimer!" Dani retorted, but she was still grinning at her own private joke, and he knew she wasn't really mad.
"So, what were you talking about?" he challenged again. Amber folded her arms, giving him that stern expression she tended to wear when she was thinking something over.
"Tomorrow," she finally admitted. He raised an eyebrow.
"What about tomorrow?" he challenged. "Don't tell me that you've gotten the Instruments involved in our last day together…"
"She could hardly spend the whole day with you," Dani teased. "That much Openheimer needs to be set off with some real company."
Dani had just been joking, he knew, but he felt a rush of insecurity just the same. Amber must have felt it, because her smile faded.
"It was just a joke, M," she assured, shooting Dani a quick look. "You and I are still hanging out all day tomorrow…but I may have enlisted the Dani, David, and the others for a specific part of the day…"
"What, you've planned the whole day?" he asked. "I thought we agreed…"
"You were planning the morning, and I was planning from noon on," Amber cut in, folding her arms. "I'm not planning the whole day."
"I still feel cheated," he pointed out. "We still have two tests on Friday morning."
Amber just grinned. "You should have thought about that before agreeing to the deal…."
"Sneaky Oni."
"Stupid Openheimer."
M. finally grinned, holding his hands up in defeat. "Fine. But our last test ends at 10:30 sharp, and you had better be ready for an adventure after that."
She laughed. "I was born ready," she challenged with an aloof smile. "Ask anyone."
Abstract dance? What did that even mean?
Amber exhaled nervously as she tapped her pencil against her jaw, staring at the free response question. She had even studied for this test, but there was so much of it that she still didn't understand. She finally jotted some half-put together answer and hoped that it would earn her enough points to pass. She remembered wryly how just last semester she had sworn off ever caring about these things called "grades." But then she had discovered that those who didn't earn a high enough grade had to redo the classes that were boring to begin with. It was definitely a motivator then.
The timer went off and she sagged in defeat as she trudged her test up to the front of the classroom. Give her a performance-based exam, and she could ace it without thinking. But all these words and descriptions and little bubbles all demanding to be filled in gave her a headache. For a moment, she pictured her brother taking a test like this and smiled. Theo'd be the kind of person that would be even more worried about filling in the bubble perfectly than he would be about getting the right answer.
She was walking out the door when she heard her name.
"Amber! Are you ready?"
She looked over and smiled when she saw M. waving her over from a less-crowded spot in the hallway.
"For anything," she promised, coming over. A sadness sprung up again, but she forced it down. The point of having a last day together was not so they could mope and be sad…it's so they could have fun. "What's the plan, captain?"
"Mmmm…captain, I could get used to that," he teased, and she hit him lightly with her book bag.
"See? This is why I can't be nice to you. You get too big of a head,"
"I just thought it was Oni nature."
She glowered threateningly, and he rubbed his neck.
"Alright, you win. Consider my head back down to normal size. Do you want to drop that off at your room first?" He gestured to her book-bag and Amber looked down.
"Depends. Am I going to need to arm myself against more Openheimer "charm?"
He came behind her to grab her shoulders, and started pushing her down the hall towards her room.
"That settles it. We're dropping it off."
She pulled out of his grip, laughing, but obliged his request and headed to her dorm room. The door was open a crack and she could see Dani jamming out to something on her bed as she entered.
"HOW'D THE TEST GO?"
Dani's earphones were in, and she tended to blast her music loud enough that she felt like she had to yell just to hear her own voice over it. Rather than respond vocally (which Amber had long since learned was useless— unless she screamed, her voice was no match for the Cray-Z's lead vocalist) Amber just gave her roommate a thumbs up. Dani beamed as Amber tossed her book bag into the corner.
"HAVE FUN! SEE YOU LATER FOR THE YOU-KNOW-WHAT!"
Amber laughed and waved back at her friend before going back into the hall. M. was leaning up against the wall, arms folded.
"The you-know-what? What do those crazy Instruments have planned?"
"You'll see," Amber said smugly. "Now…where to first? Knowing you…"
"Nah, you won't get it out of me that easily," M. challenged. Amber raised an eyebrow, and he grinned mischievously. "You'll see when we get there."
"'Battle of Ninjago?'"
After two bus rides and a walk across a parking lot, they had finally reached their destination: the movie theater. Amber stared up at the poster on the wall, depicting some kind of mutant space monsters and a colorful team in the center.
"Is this supposed to be my dad's ninja team?" she finally asked. M. smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah. I mean, the story is fiction, but it's based on real people. With a few artistic liberties, I'm sure…"
Amber couldn't help but laugh.
"They don't look anything like that!" she challenged. "Uncle Jay is way shorter than that guy…and did they make Aunt Nya blonde? She's not blonde."
"That's Analissa Marx; a famous actress," M. tried to explain. "Her blonde hair is her signature look!"
Amber had a hand on her chin, still analyzing the poster in front of her. "They made my Dad's hair too crazy, and they didn't make Uncle Kai's hair crazy enough."
"Are you done?" M. asked, folding his arms with his characteristic smirk. "Because if you go on like this in the movie, you'll get us kicked out."
"Mmmm….I may need a few more minutes," she said seriously, but she couldn't help but crack a smile at his dramatic groan. Amber finally turned to face him. "So…the movies?"
He shrugged. "You mentioned that you've seen some, but never in the theater. You were supposed to come with me and my mom, remember? Before everything got all…" He trailed off, and Amber's smile faded.
"Yeah, I remember. So this is our make-up movie, huh?"
"Hopefully it's good," M. said, looking up at the poster himself. "The others all either looked really stupid or were romances, and you've made it pretty clear how you feel about those…"
Amber made a face, and he turned back to her.
"But if it's gonna bother you that this is about your Dad's team, we could see something else. I really doubt they're going to be very good at sticking to the facts."
"I don't mind, M. I think it'll be good for a laugh."
He smiled then, and she could feel his relief. "Alright. We better go get our seats…"
"Lloyd looks liked he switched bodies with my Dad."
M. blinked at her random interruption, but Amber just smiled now that she had finally put a pin on why the actors looked all wrong.
"Alright, I'm done now. Let's go."
"Mutant Space Zombies? How does that even work?"
M. smiled as he drank his milkshake. Amber had barely touched hers, still going off on the movie they had just come out of.
"If they're from space, they might not be mutants or zombies. Maybe that's just how their species is…and to them, Ninjagoans look like Mutants."
"But they did want to eat people's brains, Amber," M. pointed out in as serious a voice as he could muster. "Which, of course, is what the real problem was…"
"That's just dumb. Why would anything want to eat brains?"
He couldn't help but laugh, and Amber finally dug into her milkshake. She was giving it a weird look and M. finally threw his straw wrapper at her.
"What's wrong? Haven't you seen a milkshake before?"
She stuck her tongue out at him. "I've seen one," she challenged. "And I've even eaten a few. I just never understood how they get it to stay so cold."
"It doesn't stay so cold," he pointed out. "See? Yours is already melting everywhere. You gotta be faster at eating it, Oni-girl."
"It doesn't come through the straw until it melts!" she said. "I can't drink it until it gets like this!"
He laughed again and Amber muttered under her breath as she grabbed the glass milkshake cup. After a moment, her hand started glowing.
M. raised his eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Shut up, Openheimer. When it's too cold it gives me a headache."
Eventually, Amber had basically reduced her milkshake to flavored milk, and she finally started drinking it. She got about half-way through before making a face and pushing it away.
"It's not very good all melted like that, is it?" M. chastised with a grin, and she glared at him.
"It's better," she countered. "It's just too sugary. I don't know how you Ninjagoans can eat an entire milkshake in one sitting."
She hiccupped directly after, and M. snorted in the middle of another drink of milkshake. He regretted it immediately as it came shooting out his nose however.
"UHHHH!"
He grabbed a napkin, his eyes burning. Amber was laughing hard now, and it was mixing with her hiccups. The sound just made M. laugh harder, which was incredibly painful.
"…STOP!" he managed, wiping at his nose and eyes furiously, gasping for breath.
Amber continued to laugh and hiccup until he was pretty sure that the Oni wasn't even breathing anymore. People were turning to stare at them now, and M's face was burning crimson by the time he finally got a hold of himself.
"Not a word," he finally said, leaning back in his chair as the burning finally started to subside in his nose and face. Amber bit her lip, and he could tell she really was trying to keep it together. But then she hiccupped, and they both lost it all over again.
"En Guard!"
Amber just smirked at her friend under the fencing mask.
"This is the last thing you had planned? Really?" she teased, and she could imagine the look on his face under the mask.
"I couldn't leave without soundly beating you at fencing once and for all," he pointed out, and she smiled innocently.
"Well, if creaming you is all it will take to get you to stay…" she said innocently. The match began and they immediately began sparring. She had gotten better at keeping the actual fencing rules, though she did tend to make up her own footwork now and again. She parried again and again; she didn't want to beat him too quickly. Let him have his offensive stand.
They went for a few minutes, and she could hear M's heavy breathing through the mask.
"You are trying, right?" he finally asked, and she winked before whipping into motion. It didn't take long before the Openheimer was on the ground with the point of the fencing foil in the spot between his shoulder blades.
"I'm trying," she answered smugly, and he rolled over to pull his fencing mask off. He was glaring, but he couldn't quite keep his smile off his face.
"You're a cheater," he pointed out as she reached out a hand to help him up.
"Am not…" she started, but then M. gave her a firm yank that threw off her balance and made her fall to her knees. In a moment the foil was up against her neck like a sword.
"Yield!" he ordered in a overly formal accent. "You have been bested…"
She hesitated for a moment, but M. yelled out as her eyes flashed and her hands grabbed the foil and twisted it from his grasp. It helped that these school-issued fencing weapons weren't like real swords; she could grab the blade itself without any harm. In moments the Openheimer was blinking in surprised as the point of the foil was pointed at his own throat.
"Not quite." She countered, and he shook his head.
"Now who has the big head?" he pointed out, and she pushed herself to her feet.
"I hope you enjoyed getting humiliated," Amber said, taking the foils back over to the turn-in container. "Because it's just going to keep going all day."
"Humiliated? Please… I let you win."
"Sure, Openheimer."
"You dare accuse me of trying to beat my best friend only days before leaving for two years?" He put a mock hand to his chest. "I couldn't hurt your pride like that…."
"Save it, you liar!" she laughed. "Your plans already cut into my half of the day; we have to hurry or we're going to be late!"
"Late for what?"
"Your next humiliation," she said smoothly with a wolfish grin. "Get your dancing shoes on, and meet me in the little theater."
212
M entered the theater and caught sight of the Instruments all set up in the orchestra pit. Amber was already onstage, dressed up in a Latin outfit and dance shoes.
"Hey, you didn't say anything about getting dressed up!" he challenged. He was just wearing a white T-shirt and jeans with his dance shoes, and she looked over.
"Oops."
He shook his head and came up onto the stage, walking over to her. "What is this? What are the Instruments doing here?"
Amber just smiled as she stretched. "We're dancers, M. I couldn't not plan in some dancing during our last day…"
"So that's it? We're dancing?"
"Kinda."
The doors to the theater opened, and M. looked up to see a few figures making their way down the aisles. Dani stood up from her place on the side of the stage (the piano didn't fit in the orchestra pit, apparently.)
"Introducing our esteemed panel of judges…" the brunette called loudly. As the figures made it to the front of the Theater, M couldn't help but laugh.
"Gramps," he said, and his Grandfather gave him a little wave before taking his seat. M. scanned the other "judges" and laughed again. "Your Grandfather…and somehow you roped Gerald into this," he noticed. The School's majordomo gave him a quick nod before sitting down as well, and M. shook his head as he leaned in closer to Amber. "And you invited Paul…apparently…and is that…the school Janitor?"
"We wanted to make sure that there were judges on the panel that didn't know a whole lot about dancing. You know…so you'd stand a chance."
She was grinning mischievously, and he scoffed.
"Is this a dance battle, Oni-girl?"
"You better believe it, Openheimer!" Dani answered from across the stage, her hands coming down to play a dramatic cord. He shook his head at the Oni standing across from him.
"Just couldn't help yourself, could you?"
"You scared of losing?" she challenged, and he rubbed his head.
"To you? Duh…."
"Don't sell yourself short," she said. M looked back out on the five judges and the Instruments who were all tuning in the pit.
"How exactly is this going to work?"
"They play music, we dance, they judge," Amber said simply as she pointed at the different parties.
"Yeah…but what kind of music? Which dances? What exactly are they judging?"
"I have no idea!" she admitted. "That's the fun of it!"
M. just stared at his friend, but just then Dani called out a beat like she always did.
"One! Two! One, two, three, four!"
The music started immediately; salsa music. It didn't sound quite the same being played by classical instruments, but he had to admit he was impressed with the instruments ability to at least make the genre recognizable.
He looked back over at Amber, but she was already dancing. He shook his head as he watched, not sure what he was supposed to be doing. She completed a number of steps that included a lot of the traditional hip-swaying, and then turned to face him in an obvious challenge. M. scoffed, but finally began to dance; his own moves countering those she had already demonstrated. He heard Dani booing and he turned to shoot her a glare as he danced, and she grinned wolfishly from where she was jamming out on the piano. Deciding that he must need to take it up a notch, he quickened his dance steps. Amber laughed at him, but he noticed that she was speeding up as well. He heard Dani call out some number or another from the piano, and suddenly the music changed, increasing its tempo to match the dancers. But it was no longer a salsa tune; he recognized it to be a popular jive melody. Amber changed dance forms fluidly, her legs kicking out in perfect time with the music as M. fumbled to make the switch.
"No fair!" he challenged as he managed to finally keep up with her. "You've been practicing with the instruments all week…"
"Have not!" she retorted aloofly, her feet flashing quickly, and seemingly effortlessly. He shook his head, making a decision.
Amber looked up in surprise as he grabbed her hand and whipped her into a dual-jive position. "What are you doing?" she laughed, and he didn't answer as they fell into sync. They whipped around the stage, and M. had a feeling that the Instruments were speeding up just to see if they could do it. As if jiving wasn't fast enough already…
"Dancing together ruins the whole point of a dance battle," the oni panted, but at the same time, she didn't seem eager to pull out on her own again as they whipped through the steps.
"It's not fun for me to dance alone."
She looked up at him in surprise, but he was too out of breath to say anything else so he just winked. The song continued to change as the instruments transferred to one style or another. It slowed dramatically for a tango, sped up for a tarantella, and there was an interesting bit of hip hop at one point, unique both because Amber for once didn't seem to know what she was doing and because hip hop didn't sound right coming from one piano, a cello, and two violins. But through each change, they continued to dance together. Amber frequently added her own steps, but M. countered with ones he would come up with on the spot. Some he was actually proud of…some he did just to make her laugh and misstep herself.
"Stop it!" she chided, after he added a crazed move in the middle of a cha-cha. He looked up, mock-surprised.
"Don't you remember the insane pigeon? You named it yourself, all the rage a few months ago…"
She just laughed and whipped him around, and he shook his head.
"Hey, you're supposed to let me lead!"
By the end of the dance battle, even the instruments were exhausted. M. was on his back on the stage, breathing heavily while Amber sat next to him, fanning herself with one hand. The judges panel had mixed reactions; Marty III and Lou both clapped and called for encores, while the Janitor seemed uncomfortable and Gerald and Paul both just stared forward in the expressionless way they both had.
"So, who won?" M finally called out, though he didn't make the effort to sit up.
"Miss Amber…I'm afraid that I really must get back to work," Gerald finally said, and Amber waved him off.
"Of course, Gerald. And…um….Mr. Janitor. Thank you both for coming. And you too, Paul."
The bodyguard just shrugged and stood to make his exit. With three of the judges leaving without really putting in much input, it was left to the two grandfathers who were coming up on stage now.
"Fantastic performance, you too. Really blew this old dancer away," Lou said, helping his granddaughter to her feet.
"Indeed," Marty III added. M. picked up on a stiffness in his grandfather, and he wondered suddenly if he and Lou were still at odds with each other. It made him kind of sad; they used to be such great friends. But though they didn't really talk much with each other, they both showered the two teens with praise.
"Well…isn't this just the same as always," a voice cut in. "Dancers get all the praise."
The four dancers on stage turned to see Jennifer with her nose in the air as she polished her violin. Marty III chuckled.
"You all did a fine job as well, Miss Jennifer. I must say, we need to do something to build the music chapter of this school. We have such talent in that sector."
"Don't say it unless you mean it!" Dani cut in with a chipper bounce. She embraced Amber but then immediately grimaced.
"Gross! You're all sweaty…you're going to have to shower before tonight!"
"Tonight?" M asked, and Amber looked over with a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, Openheimer. Did you think that this was the only thing I had planned for the whole evening?"
He blinked.
"Where are we going?"
"Go get showered and meet me outside in an hour," she replied cryptically. Then she smiled. "And this time…dress nice."
"Prince Theo!"
Theo winced at Tobias's voice.
"Tobias…."
"Adventuring again!"
The ambassador went to slap Theo on the back, but the heir ducked out of the way just in time. Tobias blinked in surprise. By now, Cole had come out the fortress gates and had caught up to Theo.
"Ambassador Bentworth! It seems you're still coming to visit the dragons today…" Cole pointed out.
The man with the handlebar mustache turned with his easy grin. "Indeed, Master of Earth!" Cole looked surprised, and Tobias chuckled. "I'm realizing you have racked up quite a few titles there, and I'm trying them all out. Seeing which one fits you best."
"Idiot works pretty well," Theo offered, earning a swipe from his father. He laughed as Cole caught his arm and pulled him over to give him a noogie, but Theo managed to escape in time.
"You can just call me Cole," the ninja offered dryly, and Tobias stroked in mustache in interest.
"Mmm…and you may call me Tobias. Now that we are on a first name basis, let us board this beast, eh?"
The man took a flying leap and managed to scale the side of the Earth Guardian. The Dragon growled angrily, and Cole put a comforting hand on its neck.
"Just…bear with us today," he murmured, and Theo could hear the grumbling within the large brown dragon. He felt bad for it…but all it had to do was carry them to dragon territory. They were the ones who had to make sure that nothing ate Tobias.
Theo climbed on to sit next to Tobias, who looked around with eyes as wide as a child's in a candy-shop.
"Hey, Tobias?"
He turned with a grin, and Theo cleared his throat.
"Even with the Union, Dragons can be…temperamental. Especially the red ones. I know that this is a great adventure to you, but…"
"Never fear, Theodynn," the ambassador cut in as Cole clambered up into the front of the dragon (a place Theo and Amber liked to call "the drivers seat".) Tobias continued with a soft smile. "I understand that I can be a little…much at times. My eagerness for adventure, perhaps. But I swear to you, I will be on my best, most professional behavior. I shall not waste the second chance you have given me!"
Theo nodded, wanting to believe him. Actually, the guy seemed pretty sincere; maybe he could believe him. But then the ambassador turned to face forward.
"Well then, Master Ninja Idiot, time to set off, wouldn't you say?"
Theo stifled a laugh as he heard his father groan, and then the dragon launched into the sky.
The taxi pulled up and M. couldn't help but grin.
"The Floating Temple. Last time I was here, we were still trying to get Theo out of jail."
He winced as soon as he said it, thinking it might hurt Amber's feelings, but she just nodded as she stared up at the building inexplicably floating in the sky.
"It's a good base; that's why the ninja used it as a headquarters for so long."
M smiled as he and Amber exited the taxi and headed over to where the elevator was. It wasn't a normal looking elevator; in truth, it kind of looks like something some poor shipwrecked survivor would have built on a jungle Island. But it worked well, so M didn't really complain as the small box lurched and began pulling them up into the sky.
"So, what exactly is the plan here?" M asked, pulling at his tie. It was a dark green color—a gift from his father for future fancy events that he and his grandfather would be attending over the next two years. Amber smiled, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the dance necklace she was wearing. Her clothes were formal but simple, the dark red matching the small poppy charm that bounced on the chain as she fiddled.
"Dinner," she explained.
"Dinner with who?"
He followed her through the front doors, still feeling a little intimidated by the location. This was the Floating Temple. Amber always just walked in like it was her friend's garage or something. Amber didn't have a chance to answer before M. was confronted by a loud greeting. He froze; the entryway looked in on the dining room, and there was a group of very famous individuals in there. The ninja kids he had met before…and their parents had been around after he had denounced his mother at her own debate. But he had escaped most of their attention then, now he was suddenly the center of it.
"What…" he started, and Amber grabbed his arm.
"Well, I just thought as long as you were going to be brushing elbows with famous people for the next two years, you might as well get some practice. Get all your awkwardness out now with people who already know you're a big-headed goofball."
He finally turned to glare at her. "Gee, thanks."
But Amber just grinned as the first of the group reached them.
"Hey, M. How you been?"
He looked over to see the tall redheaded teenager…Ashley, he remembered. The one who had asked him to stand up to his mother in the first place. Her hair was up in a bun with two chopstick-like hair pins keeping it in place. She was wearing a traditional kimono-like outfit in a muted blue, and a wiry teen with glasses stood at her elbow.
"Ah, so this is the famous Openheimer," the boy said with a grin, offering his hand for a handshake. "I'm Will."
"Um…good to meet you," M said, accepting the handshake. Amber was strangely stiff next to him, and Ashely's eyes flicked over to the Oni.
"Thanks for inviting us, Amber," she said with a smile, and Amber glanced up.
"Sure. I mean…wouldn't be quite the same without everybody."
Amber sounded tense too…but she also sounded like she was trying not to. M. couldn't help but wonder if there was something weird between the two of them, but he couldn't remember if Amber had mentioned anything before or not. The older teens were pushed out of the way, however, as a certain pianist barreled through.
"You guys are late!" Dani accused. "Kai and Skylor have been in three separate times asking if they can bring out the food, and Jay nearly just went to the kitchen to eat…"
"The cab got lost!" Amber cut in, but she hugged her friend regardless. M. couldn't remember the last time he had seen Dani dressed up, or if he ever had. Her long straight hair was pinned back on each side with a golden musical note pin, her dress a unique shade of purple that made her brown eyes almost greenish. Next to her, a freckled and slightly chubby boy tugged at a navy bow-tie.
"My Dad will live; this is why my mom brings snacks in her purse. To keep him in line," Colby explained with a mischievous grin. Amber was shaking her head at her roommate.
"Since when are you on a first-name basis with all my aunts and uncles?"
"Since we got here ten minutes before you. Plenty of time to get to know everyone," Dani said with a huge grin as they all walked into the dining room to take their place at the table. "Did you know that P.I.X.A.L and Zane have just released new technology that allows people to communicate with animals? Well…in theory. I guess there are a few glitches still…"
"And birds are proving to have limited and fairly inappropriate language," Zane cut in. M. looked over at where the Nindroid and his wife were sitting. The white ninja gave him a sincere smile, and the Openheimer tried to return it confidently. It didn't work very well; everyone was dressed up and it was proving to be very intimidating.
"Of course they do," a freckled man at the end of the table cut in. "They're known for their fowl language!"
There were a few laughs, and many groans. Zane just frowned like he didn't understand.
"Yes…I just mentioned they had foul language…"
"I will explain it to you later, Dad," Julian Cyrus cut in with a shake of his head. "Do not worry, it was not an intelligent joke. Nice to see you again, M. Openheimer."
The last was geared towards him, M. realized. He stammered a "likewise," and he could feel Amber silently laughing at him. He finally looked over at her smug smile. "What?" he hissed, and she snickered.
"Likewise? What century do you think we're in?"
"Oh please…" he started, but a pretty woman with red hair had just come into the room.
"Looks like our guests of honor are here," she said with a quick smile. Then she turned to call out of the room. "Bring in the first course, Kai!"
"Um…which is the first course again?" A voice called from the kitchen.
"Excuse me," Skylor said with an eye roll that was no doubt geared towards her husband as she disappeared again. M. and Amber finally reached the end of the table where the two empty chairs were. He sat quickly, looking around. Everyone was talking and laughing with each other, and he suddenly had a tight feeling in his chest. This was what it was like, he realized: to have a big extended family that all loved each other. His own family was small and pretty dysfunctional, but here there was such a sense of home and friendship. He couldn't help but suddenly feel jealous of the way that Amber had grown up.
"So, M…"
He turned to see that a pair of twins were sitting across from him and Amber, fixing him with a look that he couldn't quite place. It looked halfway between amusement and curiosity, and it made him feel uncomfortable.
"You're touring the whole realm, or just specific parts?" One of the twins asked, and he tugged at his tie.
"I think we're going all over. My grandpa's in charge of the trip, really."
"Anything specific you're looking forward to?"
He could feel Amber watching him closely now, and Dani, who happened to be sitting on his other side.
"Getting out of that school," he finally admitted with a smile. "I was starting to feel like I'd be stuck there till I died."
The twins looked surprised, but before they could say anything else a flustered looking man with crazy hair wheeled a trolley into the room laden with salads.
"Alright, let's eat already," he snapped, and everyone laughed.
213
"I haven't been this full since…ever."
Amber laughed at her friend as he basically waddled out of the door.
"They own a restaurant, you know. Their food is always really great. The only one who can really compete with them is Uncle Zane, but he doesn't cook as much ever since an incident with some chili oil."
"What?" M. asked, laughing. Amber laughed along.
"I don't know the specifics, just that chili oil got into a few of his joints and things were crazy for days. He had to pull his whole arm apart and wash each individual piece to solve the problem.
M. just stared at her for a moment, and then he scoffed.
"Nearly forgot he was a Nindroid," he mentioned, and Amber smiled.
"Yup. We're quite the motley crew."
They had left the dining room, which had dissolved into a lot of ninja joking and reminiscing. It was fun for a bit, but then Amber couldn't help but feel that claustrophobic feeling kick in. She had a better relationship with all the ninja and their kids than she had ever had…but it seemed that she still had a social clock that was demanding some separate, quiet time. When she had excused herself to get some fresh air, M. had tagged along. Now they wandered the gardens that surrounded the temple, looking at hedges and trying to find the Koi fish that meandered from lily pad to lily pad. Amber could feel it looming; the conversation both of them had been avoiding all day.
"So…" M. spoke up now, and Amber sighed as she hopped up on the bench overlooking the pond.
"So."
M. sat next to her, though he groaned. "Man, I am so stuffed," he muttered again, and she wished that the conversation could have revolved around the dinner they had just eaten. But after a moment, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Just…two more days."
M. winced, rubbing his head. "Yup."
"Are you nervous at all?"
He turned to fix her with a wry look. "Can't you tell how I'm feeling?" he pointed out, and she huffed.
"Forgive me for trying to make conversation," she said, turning to face him fully. He just smiled, but there was a sadness to it as he leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees.
"I guess I'm a little nervous. And excited. And sad….it's weird. A lot of feelings in one…and the pain from overeating isn't really helping."
"I should have warned you; Kai's dumplings tend to continue to rise in your stomach. You only eat them if nothing else is offered or if Skylor makes them because she actually knows what she's doing.
"Yeah…that would have been good to know."
They fell silent, the wind rustling their hair. One of the koi splashed the surface of the pond, and Amber pushed her hair out of her face.
"You better write, Openheimer. I'm serious; if I don't hear from you…"
"I'll write," he promised with a laugh, looking over at her. "Promise."
She met his eye for a moment before looking away to mutter, "you better."
Silence again, and then M. cleared his throat.
"I have… a weird request."
She looked up and he met her eye sheepishly.
"What?" she asked, not sure what on earth he would be asking. His feelings were all over the place too, which just confused her.
"So…Xinta carve their horns, yeah?"
"…Yeah…" she finally said cautiously. Where had that come from?
"Can…can I carve something?"
"What?"
He blushed red, and he looked away with a forced laugh. "That's probably an insensitive thing to ask, huh? I just…wanted to leave you something to remember me by."
She thought about it for a moment. "Ok." M. looked up and she met his eye as she shrugged. "Just make it small…"
He smiled again, and Amber fished a dagger out of her pocket. M. balked.
"You just carry a knife around with you?" he asked in surprise, and she frowned.
"Doesn't everyone?"
He stared at her and then laughed as he accepted the knife. "You never cease to surprise me, Oni-girl."
She wasn't sure whether she should be offended or not, but then he had pulled the sheath off the knife and whistled low.
"This is a pretty sharp pocket knife," he pointed out, and she shrugged.
"It's a dagger, not a pocket knife."
"Course it is." He looked up now, scanning her horn. "You really don't mind?" he finally asked, and she shrugged again.
"Just don't tell Dani, or I'll wake up one morning with my horns carved with the names of all the Cray-Z's. Plus a few butterflies and rainbows thrown in."
He laughed. "Deal."
M. stood up on the bench so that he would be able to come down on her horns at an angle. She stood completely still, hearing a few scratches. It didn't take very long, but it felt like forever. She had wondered right as he started if it would hurt, but she didn't feel anything. She had a sudden memory of Evynn's mind…when she had witnessed Archtivus cutting her horn off. Amber shuddered hard, and M. sat down again next to her.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah. You done?"
He smiled sheepishly as he handed her the knife again. "Yup."
She reached up to the horn, trying to feel for the etching. She finally found it and tried to figure out what it was. It was small, right at the base, and no doubt hidden by hair. "What is it?"
He just grinned. "You'll have to see if you can find it," he said, and she scoffed. Amber pushed herself to her feet, heading over to the koi pond to try to see her reflection. But at the angle she was at, she couldn't quite make out the carving.
"What is it?!" she demanded again, and M. just laughed.
"You'll have to wait and look at it later!"
She scowled at him. "Fine… if you don't tell me, you don't get your gift."
He leaned forward, immediately interested. "Gift?"
Amber folded her arms as she turned her back on him. In moments he was there, turning her around.
"What gift?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Amber…"
"What did you put on my horn?" she demanded, and he glanced down, suddenly sheepish.
"It's…just an m."
"A what?"
"An M. Like my name. So you don't forget about me."
She stared at him, and he blushed.
"What?" M. Demanded.
"I'm not going to forget you, stupid," Amber chided, but she reached up to feel the carving again. Now that she knew what it was, she could kind of feel the swooping lines of the character.
"Maybe that was a stupid thing to do, huh?" he said, and she realized M. was self-conscious. She finally smiled, letting him off the hook.
"I didn't say that I didn't like it," she pointed out, and then reached into her pocket. He watched her, suddenly intrigued. Amber couldn't help but bite her lip as she finally removed the item to hold out to him. His eyebrows raised.
"Your mood stone?" he asked, obviously surprised as he accepted it. It was an aura crystal, still dangling from a golden chain. Amber shrugged nonchalantly, and he looked up to meet her eye. "But don't you need it?"
"I know where to get another one," she explained, rubbing her arm. "Besides, I have a cooler necklace now, anyways."
His eyes flicked down to the dance necklace, and then he looked back at the crystal in his hand.
"Well…cool. Thank you."
"It won't glow or anything for you," she said, nervously overexplaining her gift. "But…I didn't think that you carried around your old medal anymore because of everything that went down with your mom, and I thought maybe you'd need a new good luck charm if you were going to go gallivanting all over the realm for years. It's literally made for people to hold when they're angry or sad or whatever, even though it won't really react to you like it did me but I just thought…"
"I'll carry it around with me, Amber. You can stop begging."
M waggled his eyebrows and Amber slugged his arm while he laughed. He sobered as he looked back down at the gift, though, and she could tell that he was honestly touched by the present.
"I really will, though. My pocket doesn't feel the same without that stupid medal in it."
She smiled in relief, and watched as he slipped the crystal and the chain into his vest pocket. But then M. checked his watch and winced.
"Man…we better head out. Dad may have let up some, but he'll have a fit if we miss curfew."
"Alright."
He turned to head back to the front of the temple, where one of the ninja would no doubt offer to drive them and Dani back to the school. And then they would lose the privacy of their goodbye, Amber realized.
"M, wait."
He turned and she felt his shock as she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Amber swallowed before speaking again, her voice soft and small.
"I don't want you to go."
She felt him sigh and then hug her back.
"Don't get emotional on me now, Oni-girl. I don't leave for a few more days."
"But you're still leaving! Who the heck am I going to dance with? Who's going to let me humiliate them at fencing without getting bent out of shape about it?"
"Hey…to be fair, I am not the one who should be humiliated by your "fencing" technique…"
"See? Where am I going to find someone who can lie to themselves so well?"
M scoffed at that, but then she could feel his sadness mixing in with her own. "I'm going to miss you too, Amber. I mean…a year ago I was just coasting through classes and avoiding thinking about my future at all. I had friends that weren't even true friends and I didn't even know the difference. But I do now."
Amber blinked in surprise as he pulled back and tugged on her horn, the way that Theo always did.
"You're my best friend," M. finally said.
Amber's eyes fill with tears and she hugged him again so that he wouldn't see them. She had worked so hard all day to not cry in front of him.
He squeezed her tightly, and she heard a tell-tale sniff that made her realize that he was probably crying too.
"Amber! M! Time to go!"
Dani's voice came out over the gardens, and Amber finally released her friend and hastily wiped at her eyes.
"We should probably head back," she said with a shaky laugh. She realized that M. was trying to casually wipe his own eyes, clearing his throat.
"Yeah. At least we had a killer of a last hang out, huh Oni-girl?"
Amber shook her head. "Don't call it that, stupid. We'll hang out again. It just may take a while."
He was quiet for a moment and then smiled. "Count on it."
20
