"The Dinner Party"
By: Evangeline Henri
Chapter 2: Arrival
**
"Tai, look out!" Matt shouted, trying to make
himself heard over the pulsing stereo. He flinched as a
truck came barreling at them, only to have Tai swerve at
the last minute. "Jesus, are you trying to kill us?"
"No comments from those without licenses because
they failed their driving exams," Tai growled. "Anyway,
you're just being a chicken. Ken doesn't mind my driving,
do you?" He turned around to face the back seat.
A blindfolded Ken gave a thumb's-up and a thin
smile. "Sure, Tai," he said weakly.
"Tai!" Matt screeched. "Watch the road!"
Tai whirled around. He spun the steering wheel
wildly, nearly hitting a telephone pole. He grinned. "Whoa,
that was a close one."
"Honey?" Matt looked warily out the window. "I
think you missed the street."
"Crap!" Not bothering to pull into a driveway
or parking lot, Tai made a u-turn in the middle of the
intersection. The other drivers, realizing they were dealing
with a madman, quickly got out of his way. The error corrected,
they sailed down the right street, the music burying the
cacophony of honks and curses.
"Um.... Tai? Matt?" Ken said meekly. "Can you
tell me where we're going now?"
"What?" Tai yelled. "I can't hear you!"
"Can you tell me where we're going now?"
"What?"
"WHERE ARE WE GOING?"
Matt clicked off the radio. "Sorry, dude, no can do.
We're under express orders from Davis not to tell you."
"Besides," Tai snickered. "Yolei'd beat the shit out
of us if she found out that we ruined the surprise."
"Oh," Ken said, crestfallen. "Well, I wouldn't want
to get you guys in trouble with them."
"I mean," Matt added quickly, "Davis, we could handle,
easy. But Yolei.... That girl scares me."
"I know what you mean." Ken gulped at the memory of
staring down an enraged Yolei when he had been the Kaiser.
Not one of his better days. "Can you at least remove the
blindfold?"
"I don't know." Matt thought for a moment. "Tai,
what do you think?"
"We probably shouldn't do anything that might incur
the mighty she-demon's wrath."
"Good point. But hey, we're here!"
"We are?" Tai slammed on the brakes, and the car
skidded to a halt in front of a small, up-scale restaurant.
Everyone was thrown forward. Tai, now resting against the
steering wheel, tilted his head to read the sign. Le Bel Oiseau.
"Oh, yeah. We are!"
"How do I look?" Matt ran a hand through his hair,
preening himself in the rearview mirror.
"Gorgeous," Tai murmured, surveying Matt's suit-clad
body appreciatively.
Matt smiled at him. "Here, lemme' fix your tie." He
leaned over, and carefully redid it, all the while staring at Tai.
"Thanks," Tai whispered, leaning in closer. He brushed
lips with Matt, and...
"You guys?" Ken called out. "Are you still there?"
The two boys turned around, blushing. When they saw
Ken, still blindfolded, groping around for the door handle,
they burst out laughing. "Yeah, Ken, we're still here," Tai
reassured him.
Matt hopped out of the car. Walking around to Ken's
door, he opened it. He reached for Ken's hand. "I'm right
here, Ken. I'll help you out." He pulled Ken out of the car,
catching him when he stumbled on the curb. He guided him onto
the sidewalk, where Tai grabbed his other hand. Slowly, they
brought him to the restaurant door. Winking at the doorman,
they led him inside.
"Alright, Ken," said Tai. "On the count of three, I'm
going to take off your blindfold."
Ken nodded.
"One... Two..." The maitre'd flicked the lights on.
"Three!" He pulled it off.
*****
"Surprise!"
Ken's mouth dropped open. A huge white banner had been
strung up over the dining area of a small, obviously upper-crust
bistro. "Happy anniversary, Ken!" it proclaimed in big, bright
letters. Underneath sat all the digidestined in a long banquet
table, the older group at one end, and the younger digidestined
at the other.
"T-thank you, everyone," Ken stammered. In truth, their
smiling faces made him a bit nauseous. They were all there to
see him, and his first instinct was to run home and curl up in a
corner somewhere. Did they really like him enough to throw a party
in his honor? How could he have deserved their trust? Didn't they
remember what he had done to them?
"Well, go on." Matt nudged him. Somehow, it comforted
him. "Sit down." He and Tai sat next to one another, and gestured
for him to do the same.
Ken looked back and forth between the two ends of the
table. There were two seats open, one in each half.
Intellectually, he knew that there was no question as to
where he should sit. He belonged with the younger kids; they were
the ones who really knew him. After all, they were the ones
who had seen him in his darkest hours. And they were the ones,
led by Davis, who had brought him back from that darkness. They
were his closest friends.
Sitting over there, though, would also mean sitting
near Cody. It was not to say that the two of them were still
hostile; through prodding by the others, they had come to a
mutual realm of understanding. There was still standoffishness
there, though; he still didn't feel anywhere near as comfortable
with Cody as with the others. It seemed like, out of everyone,
Cody had been the last one to forgive and the only one to not
forget at all. He always seemed ready for Ken to turn back to
evil; he seemed prepared for that as if it were an eventuality
rather than a mere possibility. Cody frightened him.
Fortunately, Kari somehow correctly read his hesitation
and instantly understood his dilemma. She stood, and came up to
him. "Ken, we'd be honored if you ate with us."
He smiled gratefully, and followed her back to the table.
"Hey, Ken," Yolei greeted cheerfully. "Here, sit at
the head of the table, next to TK and Davis."
Ken walked to his chair, and shyly took his seat.
"Everybody, this was really nice of you, but I still don't
understand what I've done to deserve it."
"Like the banner says, it's been a month since you've
joined us," said TK. "And we wanted to show you how proud of
you we all are."
"Truly a remarkable transformation," Izzy supplied
from the foot of the table.
"The party was all Davis' idea," said Sora. "He set
the whole thing up."
Ken turned to Davis, whose face had turned bright
red. He matched his hair. "Davis, I've never had anyone do
anything this nice for me."
"We're friends, Ken," Davis mumbled, playing with his
napkin and looking extremely uncomfortable.
"All of us," Cody added.
Ken glanced at him, and smiled. He looked down each
side of the table- TK, Kari, Cody, Sora, Joe and Davis, Yolei,
Mimi, Matt, Tai - and then at Izzy across from him. "All of
us," Ken repeated.
*****
***
[end chapter]
By: Evangeline Henri
Chapter 2: Arrival
**
"Tai, look out!" Matt shouted, trying to make
himself heard over the pulsing stereo. He flinched as a
truck came barreling at them, only to have Tai swerve at
the last minute. "Jesus, are you trying to kill us?"
"No comments from those without licenses because
they failed their driving exams," Tai growled. "Anyway,
you're just being a chicken. Ken doesn't mind my driving,
do you?" He turned around to face the back seat.
A blindfolded Ken gave a thumb's-up and a thin
smile. "Sure, Tai," he said weakly.
"Tai!" Matt screeched. "Watch the road!"
Tai whirled around. He spun the steering wheel
wildly, nearly hitting a telephone pole. He grinned. "Whoa,
that was a close one."
"Honey?" Matt looked warily out the window. "I
think you missed the street."
"Crap!" Not bothering to pull into a driveway
or parking lot, Tai made a u-turn in the middle of the
intersection. The other drivers, realizing they were dealing
with a madman, quickly got out of his way. The error corrected,
they sailed down the right street, the music burying the
cacophony of honks and curses.
"Um.... Tai? Matt?" Ken said meekly. "Can you
tell me where we're going now?"
"What?" Tai yelled. "I can't hear you!"
"Can you tell me where we're going now?"
"What?"
"WHERE ARE WE GOING?"
Matt clicked off the radio. "Sorry, dude, no can do.
We're under express orders from Davis not to tell you."
"Besides," Tai snickered. "Yolei'd beat the shit out
of us if she found out that we ruined the surprise."
"Oh," Ken said, crestfallen. "Well, I wouldn't want
to get you guys in trouble with them."
"I mean," Matt added quickly, "Davis, we could handle,
easy. But Yolei.... That girl scares me."
"I know what you mean." Ken gulped at the memory of
staring down an enraged Yolei when he had been the Kaiser.
Not one of his better days. "Can you at least remove the
blindfold?"
"I don't know." Matt thought for a moment. "Tai,
what do you think?"
"We probably shouldn't do anything that might incur
the mighty she-demon's wrath."
"Good point. But hey, we're here!"
"We are?" Tai slammed on the brakes, and the car
skidded to a halt in front of a small, up-scale restaurant.
Everyone was thrown forward. Tai, now resting against the
steering wheel, tilted his head to read the sign. Le Bel Oiseau.
"Oh, yeah. We are!"
"How do I look?" Matt ran a hand through his hair,
preening himself in the rearview mirror.
"Gorgeous," Tai murmured, surveying Matt's suit-clad
body appreciatively.
Matt smiled at him. "Here, lemme' fix your tie." He
leaned over, and carefully redid it, all the while staring at Tai.
"Thanks," Tai whispered, leaning in closer. He brushed
lips with Matt, and...
"You guys?" Ken called out. "Are you still there?"
The two boys turned around, blushing. When they saw
Ken, still blindfolded, groping around for the door handle,
they burst out laughing. "Yeah, Ken, we're still here," Tai
reassured him.
Matt hopped out of the car. Walking around to Ken's
door, he opened it. He reached for Ken's hand. "I'm right
here, Ken. I'll help you out." He pulled Ken out of the car,
catching him when he stumbled on the curb. He guided him onto
the sidewalk, where Tai grabbed his other hand. Slowly, they
brought him to the restaurant door. Winking at the doorman,
they led him inside.
"Alright, Ken," said Tai. "On the count of three, I'm
going to take off your blindfold."
Ken nodded.
"One... Two..." The maitre'd flicked the lights on.
"Three!" He pulled it off.
*****
"Surprise!"
Ken's mouth dropped open. A huge white banner had been
strung up over the dining area of a small, obviously upper-crust
bistro. "Happy anniversary, Ken!" it proclaimed in big, bright
letters. Underneath sat all the digidestined in a long banquet
table, the older group at one end, and the younger digidestined
at the other.
"T-thank you, everyone," Ken stammered. In truth, their
smiling faces made him a bit nauseous. They were all there to
see him, and his first instinct was to run home and curl up in a
corner somewhere. Did they really like him enough to throw a party
in his honor? How could he have deserved their trust? Didn't they
remember what he had done to them?
"Well, go on." Matt nudged him. Somehow, it comforted
him. "Sit down." He and Tai sat next to one another, and gestured
for him to do the same.
Ken looked back and forth between the two ends of the
table. There were two seats open, one in each half.
Intellectually, he knew that there was no question as to
where he should sit. He belonged with the younger kids; they were
the ones who really knew him. After all, they were the ones
who had seen him in his darkest hours. And they were the ones,
led by Davis, who had brought him back from that darkness. They
were his closest friends.
Sitting over there, though, would also mean sitting
near Cody. It was not to say that the two of them were still
hostile; through prodding by the others, they had come to a
mutual realm of understanding. There was still standoffishness
there, though; he still didn't feel anywhere near as comfortable
with Cody as with the others. It seemed like, out of everyone,
Cody had been the last one to forgive and the only one to not
forget at all. He always seemed ready for Ken to turn back to
evil; he seemed prepared for that as if it were an eventuality
rather than a mere possibility. Cody frightened him.
Fortunately, Kari somehow correctly read his hesitation
and instantly understood his dilemma. She stood, and came up to
him. "Ken, we'd be honored if you ate with us."
He smiled gratefully, and followed her back to the table.
"Hey, Ken," Yolei greeted cheerfully. "Here, sit at
the head of the table, next to TK and Davis."
Ken walked to his chair, and shyly took his seat.
"Everybody, this was really nice of you, but I still don't
understand what I've done to deserve it."
"Like the banner says, it's been a month since you've
joined us," said TK. "And we wanted to show you how proud of
you we all are."
"Truly a remarkable transformation," Izzy supplied
from the foot of the table.
"The party was all Davis' idea," said Sora. "He set
the whole thing up."
Ken turned to Davis, whose face had turned bright
red. He matched his hair. "Davis, I've never had anyone do
anything this nice for me."
"We're friends, Ken," Davis mumbled, playing with his
napkin and looking extremely uncomfortable.
"All of us," Cody added.
Ken glanced at him, and smiled. He looked down each
side of the table- TK, Kari, Cody, Sora, Joe and Davis, Yolei,
Mimi, Matt, Tai - and then at Izzy across from him. "All of
us," Ken repeated.
*****
***
[end chapter]
