*^* Chapter 5- Solitaire *^*
Matt looked up from his homework, surprised, as TK barged in.
"Hey, where have you been?" he inquired lazily, glancing at the clock. TK was usually home a good twenty minutes before this. He didn't really expect an answer; about to go back to his Algebra-Trig, he noticed something odd about TK's face before he turned away from him.
"None of your business," TK muttered into the refrigerator, his voice muffled.
"Are you okay?" Matt said, concerned.
"I'm fine! Leave me alone!" TK blurted, whirling around. What the catch in his voice didn't tell Matt, his streaked face did.
"You've been crying," Matt stated flatly. TK began to hurry away, trying to escape into his room, but Matt stood up and caught his arm. "Hey, TK, just tell me what...oh..." TK had whirled, furious, and at this close range Matt could see the mark that still faintly purpled his check. He whistled. "Ouch... Man, you got slapped. Hard."
"Tell me something I don't know," TK said sullenly, trying to pull away.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute. Come on over here and sit down and tell me what happened. Maybe I can help."
"Pigs might fly," TK said darkly, but allowed himself to be steered to the sofa. As they sat down, Matt took stock of the miserable look on his younger brother's face and the tears streaking his cheeks.
"It was Kari, wasn't it," he said. TK sighed, and nodded. "Wow. You must have really screwed up; she's the most even-tempered girl I know."
"I didn't do anything!" TK burst out, clenching his fists. "I swear I didn't! Some toad-sucking jerk put a love note in the paper under my initials!"
"And?" Matt said, not sure why this was a problem.
"And it was to some girl called 'A.K.'"
"Which, the last time I checked, didn't stand for Kamiya Hikari. Not good. So, she slapped you?"
"In front of half the school," TK groaned, letting his face fall into his hands. "And thanks to the usual gossip, I'll bet the entire student body now thinks I'm the biggest jerk alive since Adolph Hitler croaked."
"Plus, Kari hates you?"
"Plus, Kari hates me," TK sighed. "I don't know what to do. I didn't write that note, but how do I prove it to her?"
"What makes her so sure you wrote it?" Matt said. "There's got to be more than one guy with the initials T.T. in your school."
"That's what I don't get," TK muttered. "Whoever wrote it did their homework. They used my nickname for Kari in the note. Nobody knows it but her and me...and our Digimon, of course. Or at least, I *thought* nobody knew it but us..."
"Nickname?" Matt said, curious. "Like what?"
TK blushed. "Nglwgs," he mumbled into his hands.
"What?"
"'Angel Wings'," TK said irritably, looking up. "Got a problem?"
"No..." Matt said dubiously.
"Good," TK said, dropping his face again. "Because everybody at Odaiba Middle School has been laughing at me about it all day. It's good to know there's one person on this earth who doesn't think I'm a flaming idiot, on top of being a royal jackass."
"Man...you've had it rough, haven't you?" Matt said sympathetically.
"You don't know the half of it," TK lamented. "And the worst of it is, I as good as told her I hated her right back."
"You're kidding," Matt said with a groan.
"I wish. She called me a liar, or something like that, and I blew up at her and said if I was such a liar why did she think I meant what I said when I told her I cared about her..." His voice trailed off, and his shoulders slumped. With a heavy sigh, he settled onto his side on the couch, resting his head on his arm and staring off miserably at nothing.
Matt, feeling helpless, did the only thing he could; he put his hand on his brother's shoulder and sat there, just trying to be comforting without saying a word...
"Stupid TK," Kari muttered, pulling a card off of the top of her draw pile and looking at it. Two of spades. She placed it on the three of diamonds and drew another card. She'd been playing solitaire for most of the hour that she'd been home from school. "I can't believe he could be such a jerk..." She set the card, the nine of hearts, on the ten of spades and moved a stack of cards headed with the eight of diamonds onto the row. The queen of diamonds looked up at her, a delicate fairy; the deck was a very pretty one, decorated with mythical creatures, that Tai had given her last Christmas.
Her gaze wandered up to the clock, which said three-thirty pm. *I would have been looking forward to the dance at seven,* she thought wistfully, but sighed, shaking her head. *And TK would have spent the whole time wishing he was off somewhere with his precious A.K. Why did he even bother to ask me to the stupid dance?* The thought gave her pause, and she frowned. *Come to think of it, why *did* he bother? It doesn't make sense...* She hugged herself, hoping that maybe she'd made a mistake...
But what if she had? If that was true, then she'd just humiliated TK in front of dozens of people for no reason! He'd probably never want to speak to her again... She shivered. No, she couldn't have made a mistake like that. TK was just a two-timing jerk...
"Kari? Kari, are you in there?"
Tai, home from soccer practice. Screwing up her face, Kari hunkered down on the floor of their room, silent.
"Kari, let me in. It's my room, too, and I need to change my shirt." No answer. "The door didn't lock all by itself, Kari. What, is TK over? You can go out to the living room for just a minute."
"No, he is not over!" Kari yelled. "He will never *be* over! And furthermore, if I never see his face again, it will be one time too many! Now go away!"
There was a pause outside her door, and then Tai spoke again, his voice firm but surprisingly gentle. "Kari, open the door."
Leaning against the doorframe, Tai waited. There was silence inside their room, and then the sound of soft footsteps. The door opened, and Kari's face peeked out. Her brown eyes were swollen, and it was clear that she'd been crying.
"You guys had a fight, huh?" Tai said, trying to be as consoling as possible. "Is it any of my business why?"
"No." Tai waited. "Oh, Tai, he's the biggest jerk on the face of the planet!" Kari wailed. Tai sighed inwardly.
*Here we go...*
"He's been two-timing me with some girl called A.K.! And he had the nerve to put a love note for her in the school paper! A love note! And he called her Angel Wings! He always calls me Angel Wings! I thought that name was specially mine, but he just...he just..." Her throat tightened, and she had to struggle not to cry. "I thought he cared about me. I really did."
"And maybe he does. Maybe it was a mistake."
"No! That's what I'm afraid of!" Kari sighed. "I was so mad when I saw that note, I went and walked right into his gym class and yelled at him in front of everybody...and..."
"And?" Tai prompted.
"And I slapped him," Kari said in a very small voice. Tai stared at her, and she burst out with a rush of words. "I didn't mean to, I don't know what got into me, but he said he lied to me and I was so *mad* at him and I just kind of did it and then I felt so bad but he deserved it and-"
"Wait a second," Tai interrupted. "He said he lied to you? About what?"
Kari blushed. "A while ago...he told me that he...cared about me. And then today, he said that he didn't mean it, that he lied to me..."
"And you slapped him," Tai said, with a sigh. "I can't say I blame you, but that really doesn't sound like him...or like you, in fact. You did this in front of his gym class?"
"Yeah...and the news is probably all over the school by now..." Kari sniffed. "Whoever this A.K. is, I hope she's happy."
"I don't think you can really blame her for-"
"Tai, it wasn't my fault!" Kari said, her own doubts as to that question rising up to hunch, toad-like, at the back of her throat. His worried gaze choked her. "It wasn't!" The defensive tone in her voice made her wince inwardly, and it only solidified the look on her brother's face. "Stop looking at me that way!" she wailed, getting only his gentle hand on her shoulder. Twisting away, she stomped over to the closet and grabbed a T-shirt, stomping back and throwing it at Tai. "Oh, go change into something that doesn't stink!" she yelled, and slammed the door.
Throwing herself down on the floor by her solitaire game, she grabbed the next card off of the stack with a force that bent it. "Stupid TK," she muttered, half trying to convince herself.
*If he's so stupid, then why do you feel so guilty?* a little voice whispered from the depths of her mind. Pushing it away, she turned over the card.
It was the queen of hearts.
An angel.
Kari flung the card across the room with a cry, as though it had become red-hot. It landed face-up, the flat eyes of the angel seeming to rebuke her from where it lay on the carpet. Staring at it, Kari's eyes welled up with tears; all the misery of the day and the guilt and fear in her heart came to the surface, and she buried her face in her arms and wept...
*^* *^* *^* *^* *^*
Matt looked up from his homework, surprised, as TK barged in.
"Hey, where have you been?" he inquired lazily, glancing at the clock. TK was usually home a good twenty minutes before this. He didn't really expect an answer; about to go back to his Algebra-Trig, he noticed something odd about TK's face before he turned away from him.
"None of your business," TK muttered into the refrigerator, his voice muffled.
"Are you okay?" Matt said, concerned.
"I'm fine! Leave me alone!" TK blurted, whirling around. What the catch in his voice didn't tell Matt, his streaked face did.
"You've been crying," Matt stated flatly. TK began to hurry away, trying to escape into his room, but Matt stood up and caught his arm. "Hey, TK, just tell me what...oh..." TK had whirled, furious, and at this close range Matt could see the mark that still faintly purpled his check. He whistled. "Ouch... Man, you got slapped. Hard."
"Tell me something I don't know," TK said sullenly, trying to pull away.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute. Come on over here and sit down and tell me what happened. Maybe I can help."
"Pigs might fly," TK said darkly, but allowed himself to be steered to the sofa. As they sat down, Matt took stock of the miserable look on his younger brother's face and the tears streaking his cheeks.
"It was Kari, wasn't it," he said. TK sighed, and nodded. "Wow. You must have really screwed up; she's the most even-tempered girl I know."
"I didn't do anything!" TK burst out, clenching his fists. "I swear I didn't! Some toad-sucking jerk put a love note in the paper under my initials!"
"And?" Matt said, not sure why this was a problem.
"And it was to some girl called 'A.K.'"
"Which, the last time I checked, didn't stand for Kamiya Hikari. Not good. So, she slapped you?"
"In front of half the school," TK groaned, letting his face fall into his hands. "And thanks to the usual gossip, I'll bet the entire student body now thinks I'm the biggest jerk alive since Adolph Hitler croaked."
"Plus, Kari hates you?"
"Plus, Kari hates me," TK sighed. "I don't know what to do. I didn't write that note, but how do I prove it to her?"
"What makes her so sure you wrote it?" Matt said. "There's got to be more than one guy with the initials T.T. in your school."
"That's what I don't get," TK muttered. "Whoever wrote it did their homework. They used my nickname for Kari in the note. Nobody knows it but her and me...and our Digimon, of course. Or at least, I *thought* nobody knew it but us..."
"Nickname?" Matt said, curious. "Like what?"
TK blushed. "Nglwgs," he mumbled into his hands.
"What?"
"'Angel Wings'," TK said irritably, looking up. "Got a problem?"
"No..." Matt said dubiously.
"Good," TK said, dropping his face again. "Because everybody at Odaiba Middle School has been laughing at me about it all day. It's good to know there's one person on this earth who doesn't think I'm a flaming idiot, on top of being a royal jackass."
"Man...you've had it rough, haven't you?" Matt said sympathetically.
"You don't know the half of it," TK lamented. "And the worst of it is, I as good as told her I hated her right back."
"You're kidding," Matt said with a groan.
"I wish. She called me a liar, or something like that, and I blew up at her and said if I was such a liar why did she think I meant what I said when I told her I cared about her..." His voice trailed off, and his shoulders slumped. With a heavy sigh, he settled onto his side on the couch, resting his head on his arm and staring off miserably at nothing.
Matt, feeling helpless, did the only thing he could; he put his hand on his brother's shoulder and sat there, just trying to be comforting without saying a word...
"Stupid TK," Kari muttered, pulling a card off of the top of her draw pile and looking at it. Two of spades. She placed it on the three of diamonds and drew another card. She'd been playing solitaire for most of the hour that she'd been home from school. "I can't believe he could be such a jerk..." She set the card, the nine of hearts, on the ten of spades and moved a stack of cards headed with the eight of diamonds onto the row. The queen of diamonds looked up at her, a delicate fairy; the deck was a very pretty one, decorated with mythical creatures, that Tai had given her last Christmas.
Her gaze wandered up to the clock, which said three-thirty pm. *I would have been looking forward to the dance at seven,* she thought wistfully, but sighed, shaking her head. *And TK would have spent the whole time wishing he was off somewhere with his precious A.K. Why did he even bother to ask me to the stupid dance?* The thought gave her pause, and she frowned. *Come to think of it, why *did* he bother? It doesn't make sense...* She hugged herself, hoping that maybe she'd made a mistake...
But what if she had? If that was true, then she'd just humiliated TK in front of dozens of people for no reason! He'd probably never want to speak to her again... She shivered. No, she couldn't have made a mistake like that. TK was just a two-timing jerk...
"Kari? Kari, are you in there?"
Tai, home from soccer practice. Screwing up her face, Kari hunkered down on the floor of their room, silent.
"Kari, let me in. It's my room, too, and I need to change my shirt." No answer. "The door didn't lock all by itself, Kari. What, is TK over? You can go out to the living room for just a minute."
"No, he is not over!" Kari yelled. "He will never *be* over! And furthermore, if I never see his face again, it will be one time too many! Now go away!"
There was a pause outside her door, and then Tai spoke again, his voice firm but surprisingly gentle. "Kari, open the door."
Leaning against the doorframe, Tai waited. There was silence inside their room, and then the sound of soft footsteps. The door opened, and Kari's face peeked out. Her brown eyes were swollen, and it was clear that she'd been crying.
"You guys had a fight, huh?" Tai said, trying to be as consoling as possible. "Is it any of my business why?"
"No." Tai waited. "Oh, Tai, he's the biggest jerk on the face of the planet!" Kari wailed. Tai sighed inwardly.
*Here we go...*
"He's been two-timing me with some girl called A.K.! And he had the nerve to put a love note for her in the school paper! A love note! And he called her Angel Wings! He always calls me Angel Wings! I thought that name was specially mine, but he just...he just..." Her throat tightened, and she had to struggle not to cry. "I thought he cared about me. I really did."
"And maybe he does. Maybe it was a mistake."
"No! That's what I'm afraid of!" Kari sighed. "I was so mad when I saw that note, I went and walked right into his gym class and yelled at him in front of everybody...and..."
"And?" Tai prompted.
"And I slapped him," Kari said in a very small voice. Tai stared at her, and she burst out with a rush of words. "I didn't mean to, I don't know what got into me, but he said he lied to me and I was so *mad* at him and I just kind of did it and then I felt so bad but he deserved it and-"
"Wait a second," Tai interrupted. "He said he lied to you? About what?"
Kari blushed. "A while ago...he told me that he...cared about me. And then today, he said that he didn't mean it, that he lied to me..."
"And you slapped him," Tai said, with a sigh. "I can't say I blame you, but that really doesn't sound like him...or like you, in fact. You did this in front of his gym class?"
"Yeah...and the news is probably all over the school by now..." Kari sniffed. "Whoever this A.K. is, I hope she's happy."
"I don't think you can really blame her for-"
"Tai, it wasn't my fault!" Kari said, her own doubts as to that question rising up to hunch, toad-like, at the back of her throat. His worried gaze choked her. "It wasn't!" The defensive tone in her voice made her wince inwardly, and it only solidified the look on her brother's face. "Stop looking at me that way!" she wailed, getting only his gentle hand on her shoulder. Twisting away, she stomped over to the closet and grabbed a T-shirt, stomping back and throwing it at Tai. "Oh, go change into something that doesn't stink!" she yelled, and slammed the door.
Throwing herself down on the floor by her solitaire game, she grabbed the next card off of the stack with a force that bent it. "Stupid TK," she muttered, half trying to convince herself.
*If he's so stupid, then why do you feel so guilty?* a little voice whispered from the depths of her mind. Pushing it away, she turned over the card.
It was the queen of hearts.
An angel.
Kari flung the card across the room with a cry, as though it had become red-hot. It landed face-up, the flat eyes of the angel seeming to rebuke her from where it lay on the carpet. Staring at it, Kari's eyes welled up with tears; all the misery of the day and the guilt and fear in her heart came to the surface, and she buried her face in her arms and wept...
*^* *^* *^* *^* *^*
