Author's Note: Yeah, after this chapter, I'm sure it'll suck. I mean, the
story. I'm at a loss, but I'm trying to make up for it. Anyways . . . hmmm
. . . oh yeah. Disclaimers. I don't own AOL, Sprite, yada yada yada. You're
smart people. I'm sure you know what I don't own. ^_^ Don't take that
offensively. And for those who figured it out, no I have never played the
first SSX, and I wish I did. It sounds very interesting, but sadly, I don't
have it. *sob sob* But, yeah, if you say so. This can be the alternate
universe to SSX. Ok, gotta stop this note, because I gotta get to bed. I'm
so tired and I've gotta get up at 5 tomorrow for school. -_-' Ciao!
The fire reflected off of Mac's eyes. Moby knew he'd hit a weak spot. The standoff was very intense. So strong, in fact, that they didn't even notice Zoe walking in. "Moby? What the heck are you doing?" she raised her eyebrows. She walked over to him and took the picture from his hand, staring at it.
"The kid 'ere had it comin'. No surprise to me." he grumbled.
Mac, still shaking, jerked the photo from Zoe's hands. "Don't touch it!"
"Didn't mean to strike a nerve. Sheesh. C'mon, babe. Everyone's waiting downstairs already. Oh, and uh, by the way. I found your key. It was down in the casino. I meant to give it to you earlier, but I was busy." she handed the key to him and lead him out the door, whispering all the while.
When he heard the door shut, Mac took a pillow and screamed as loud as he could into it, still clutching the photo in his fist.
He threw the pillow at a nearby lamp, knocking it over but not breaking it. He stood up and for a while, all Mac could do was pace the hotel room. From one room to the next, he rambled on about anything that popped into his mind.
"And then they'll do something awful. Yes, awful. On the track, make a fool out of me. I don't know how I know, all I know is that it's a certainty. Why am I talking to myself? I dunno, because I feel like it. I NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO!" A knock at the door answered his prayers. "SOMEONE TO TALK TO!" he rejoiced and rushed to the door. When he opened it, he saw Kaori, standing with her hands behind her back.
"Konnichi-wa Mac." she greeted.
He was puzzled. Wasn't she supposed to be plotting revenge against me? "Uh, care to come in? Everyone's out right now."
The Japanese girl walked inside and looked around the room. Mac shut the door and locked it, praying it would be a while until Moby returned.
"Mac, it's 9:30. I got worried. You said you would come over."
"Little argument. Say, why aren't you down at the game room with everyone else?" he snapped bitterly at her.
"I don't know what you are talking about. Why would I be in the game room? I said I'd meet you."
"Oh, so you're not going to plot revenge? Huh? Not going to try and mock me, like everyone else will. Or are you a spy for them, finding my weakness? Well, go on. Spill it. I can handle the pain."
Kaori looked hurt. "Mac, I don't know what you mean. What revenge?"
"You know, I'm not stupid. I may be the youngest here, but I'm not exactly the world's stupidest teen out there. I know what you're trying to pull."
"Maybe it's a bad time for me to come over. I still have to study. I have a test coming up." she excused before unlocking the door and walking away. Mac reached for the door and opened it up, watching her walk away sadly. He closed it softly and leaned against it, sliding down the surface and hugging his knees to his chest, his chin resting upon his knees.
Moby, Zoe, JP, Luther, Psymon, Seeiah, Marisol, Eddie, and Elise were all gathered around a huge poker table, cards in hand and chips in the middle of the table. Marisol looked at her cards one last time and put them face down. "I fold. Stupid game, never got the hang of it anyways." Luther and Eddie also folded. Psymon leaned over and glanced over Elise's shoulder at her cards. She had an ace, five, nine, ten and king. So far, so good.
"Alright, Royal Flush for the Royal Payne. I win!" Zoe cheered. Psymon's jaw dropped and he looked down at his cards. All he had were a straight in clubs.
"Girl, you've got this game bugged or something." Seeiah tossed her cards down and leaned backwards into her chair.
"Didn't we come here to do some revenge plotting?" Luther demanded.
"Before we go on, where's Brodi and Kaori?" JP wondered aloud as he took of his Fendi designer sunglasses and took another sip of his strawberry daiquiri, wiping his mouth with a nearby napkin.
"Nah, Kaori has studies tonight and Brodi . . . well . . . you know. Probably in his meditating state right about now." yawned Elise.
Psymon leaned on the palm of his hand. "Did you even tell them about this? I mean, not like I care and all. That Kaori girl is such a brat. And don't get me started on Brodi. The whole spiritual thing freaks me out."
"No, I didn't bother to tell Kaori because if I'm not mistaken, she's sort of wanting to become friends with him. So I figured I'd keep it between us nine."
"Ok, ok! Forget about them, I wanna get rid of this kid!" Moby voiced.
Zoe snorted. "Yeah, the way he was all shaken when I came to pick you up. You must have really gotten to him."
Everyone's eyes were directed to Moby. "What'd you do to him that we didn't get to be a part of?" Eddie said.
"He wouldn't give me the key and wouldn't calm down, so I threatened to burn this stupid picture of his. Dunno what it was, just two adults with a little kid. Didn't get to look at it that well." he shrugged.
"You have a lighter, and you didn't tell me?!" Psymon crowed, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Man, mine ran out a long time ago and I've been dying for a smoke now! Gimme!" he jumped across the table and reached out for Moby who was already out of his seat and backed against the wall.
"PSYMON! Down! Down boy!" Luther beckoned. Zoe took Psymon by the collar and set him back in his seat. Hesitantly, Moby sat back in his own chair and glared daggers at Psymon who was laughing maniacally.
"So, anyone have a plan?" JP requested.
"That photo of his seemed really special to him. Something with that?" Elise took another drink of her Coors Light and rolled a poker chip in her hand.
"I was thinking . . ." Seeiah faded off when she saw none other than Mac walking toward the nearby game, 'Dance Dance Revolution' and put four quarters into it. Everyone followed her gaze and either gasped or glowered.
"What's he doing here? I thought he might still be up in the room or something."
The group watched as he matched every arrow up and with great speed and agility that no one else could possible master. When the game was done, he skimmed behind his shoulder and eyed them for quite some time before sauntering off.
"Guys, why do I suddenly feel guilty about this whole thing?" Eddie muttered. No one could possibly answer, because they knew what he felt too. And they knew that Mac was on to what they were doing.
~*~*~
Mac continued to saunter about the hotel. He felt a deep pang in his chest and flashes of everybody's face glaring at him, sneering at him. It hurt him that they would be so cruel to do something like so.
His thoughts were constantly switching. From Kyle, to Kaori, to everyone, back to his picture. He lifted his head slightly and saw a computer unoccupied in the lounge. Sighing, he sat down and pulled the keyboard closer. He clicked on the America Online icon and went to the 'guest' button. When it prompted him to enter his screen name and password, he typed in 'DJSk8r17' and his password.
"Welcome! You've got mail!" the freaky AOL voice announced cheerily. Mac moved his mouse to the mailbox and opened it. Inside were a few e-mails from his friends. One from his ex-girlfriend, Myrah, congratulating him on joining the SSX. Another was from an old aquaintence from the club, just saying hi. On down the list went. He stopped scrolling when he saw Kyle's e- mail. Suddenly he felt homesick.
He double-clicked it and read it over and over again. Yo Mac! Hey, I know it's early and all to actually say if you like it up there or not, but I'm bored and decided to see how you do like it. I heard about the whole world circuit and everything. Too bad you can't work here. But, hey. Is Marisol really as cute as she is on TV? What about Moby? I always heard he was a little rude and all. Can't always believe what they say though, huh? Anyways, just wanted to say hi. I don't even know if you'll get this message. If you do, though, please write back. And since school starts in three days, I'll have a whole lot to tell you. See ya homie.
Mac rested his hands on the keyboard pad and sighed, thinking of what to write. While nothing came to him, the letter still seemed to echo inside his head. He finally figured out something. Hey Kyle. Can't talk long, but here's the scoop right now. Moby is a pain. I'm rooming with him, and he thinks he owns everything. But not to worry. I mean, I can take him in no time. And I've got school tomorrow, before practice. It starts at five, so getting everything done shouldn't be a problem. When I say that it starts at five, I mean practice, not my schooling.
Mac almost pressed the send button when he remembered what Kyle had asked about Marisol. Yeah, Marisol's hot and all, but she's not exactly what you think she is. He added.
"So, what's all this you've written?" a deep, calm voice asked. Mac jumped and turned to see Brodi towering above him, arms crossed and eyes boring into his.
"Oh, uh. Just a letter to my friend. That's all. Nothing else." he played with his fingers nervously as if Brodi were to pounce on him at any given moment.
"Relax, bro. Just a question. But I did happen to read what you're writing about Moby. If I were you, I'd stay far away from him. He's nothing but trouble if you're on his bad side. You see, Zoe and him are like this," Brodi crossed his middle and index finger to demonstrate what he was talking about. "And if Moby knows how much you hate him, not only will you have to worry about him, but Zoe as well. I know you don't want to worry about that."
"No, not really. Who else should I worry about?"
"Oh, just about everyone. JP is rude and pretty full of himself. He's very rich so he thinks he can boss people around. And Luther, his right hand man, is a force to be reckoned with. Psymon is weird. He talks to his tattoo and gets ticked easily. And, don't worry about everyone. When I said, though, just about everyone is who you should be worried about, I said it because everyone has their bad days. But also, if you think about it, somehow, one person can affect another person's thinking. Don't let it get to you though."
Mac signed off and stood up. "What about the people who are nice?"
Brodi smiled. "If we're going to talk like this, why don't we go and get something to drink also. I'll buy." he offered. Mac grinned widely, showing his teeth. They both walked to a nearby bar and sat. Brodi ordered a Piña Colada smoothie while Mac got a Sprite.
"Well, what about the people who are nice? Any of them here?"
"Actually, yes there is. Eddie is very funny. He's pretty new, besides you. He's my best friend. And, like you said, Marisol is nice. Her friend Seeiah is a sweetheart. Basically, anyone whom I didn't name when you asked who you should worry about is nice. Zoe is the exception. She's real."
Mac took his finger and traced around the top of the can. "What about Kaori? Is she nice, or is she a fake?"
Brodi seemed caught off guard by his question. "Whatdiya mean? Kaori?"
"Well, yeah. She seems fake to me. Always so happy. At least, every time I see her."
"She's naturally happy. But she's not fake. Not at all. Kaori has got to be the nicest, most down-to-earth girl here in the SSX. I've never met anyone so polite or so kind."
Mac continued to trace the can top. "How can you trust these people? I mean, how do you know if they're going to come back at you and try to get you out of the SSX?"
Brodi shrugged. "I don't. But you won't get anywhere if you don't trust anyone."
"But, what if . . . what if they hate you because you're the youngest here? And because Rahzell favors you for a split second?"
"Well then, little bro, I don't know what to tell you. Try explaining to them. They may understand."
"I doubt it. Seems hard enough trying to fit in." he confided.
The surfer took one last sip of his smoothie and stood up. "Mac, life isn't easy. People will always be intimidated and try to intimidate. You've gotta be the one to stand up and stop it. C'mon, I'll walk you back to your room." he offered.
Mac still sat hunched over his soda. "No thanks. I think I'll stay here for a while. I just wanna get some things registered in my head and everything."
"Alright. I'll catch ya later. Tomorrow at the slopes. After your schooling, right?"
Mac nodded his agreement and heard Brodi's footsteps fade away before he looked up at all. Although he got some valuable information, one thing remained. He'd have to try to make amend before anything got worse.
The fire reflected off of Mac's eyes. Moby knew he'd hit a weak spot. The standoff was very intense. So strong, in fact, that they didn't even notice Zoe walking in. "Moby? What the heck are you doing?" she raised her eyebrows. She walked over to him and took the picture from his hand, staring at it.
"The kid 'ere had it comin'. No surprise to me." he grumbled.
Mac, still shaking, jerked the photo from Zoe's hands. "Don't touch it!"
"Didn't mean to strike a nerve. Sheesh. C'mon, babe. Everyone's waiting downstairs already. Oh, and uh, by the way. I found your key. It was down in the casino. I meant to give it to you earlier, but I was busy." she handed the key to him and lead him out the door, whispering all the while.
When he heard the door shut, Mac took a pillow and screamed as loud as he could into it, still clutching the photo in his fist.
He threw the pillow at a nearby lamp, knocking it over but not breaking it. He stood up and for a while, all Mac could do was pace the hotel room. From one room to the next, he rambled on about anything that popped into his mind.
"And then they'll do something awful. Yes, awful. On the track, make a fool out of me. I don't know how I know, all I know is that it's a certainty. Why am I talking to myself? I dunno, because I feel like it. I NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO!" A knock at the door answered his prayers. "SOMEONE TO TALK TO!" he rejoiced and rushed to the door. When he opened it, he saw Kaori, standing with her hands behind her back.
"Konnichi-wa Mac." she greeted.
He was puzzled. Wasn't she supposed to be plotting revenge against me? "Uh, care to come in? Everyone's out right now."
The Japanese girl walked inside and looked around the room. Mac shut the door and locked it, praying it would be a while until Moby returned.
"Mac, it's 9:30. I got worried. You said you would come over."
"Little argument. Say, why aren't you down at the game room with everyone else?" he snapped bitterly at her.
"I don't know what you are talking about. Why would I be in the game room? I said I'd meet you."
"Oh, so you're not going to plot revenge? Huh? Not going to try and mock me, like everyone else will. Or are you a spy for them, finding my weakness? Well, go on. Spill it. I can handle the pain."
Kaori looked hurt. "Mac, I don't know what you mean. What revenge?"
"You know, I'm not stupid. I may be the youngest here, but I'm not exactly the world's stupidest teen out there. I know what you're trying to pull."
"Maybe it's a bad time for me to come over. I still have to study. I have a test coming up." she excused before unlocking the door and walking away. Mac reached for the door and opened it up, watching her walk away sadly. He closed it softly and leaned against it, sliding down the surface and hugging his knees to his chest, his chin resting upon his knees.
Moby, Zoe, JP, Luther, Psymon, Seeiah, Marisol, Eddie, and Elise were all gathered around a huge poker table, cards in hand and chips in the middle of the table. Marisol looked at her cards one last time and put them face down. "I fold. Stupid game, never got the hang of it anyways." Luther and Eddie also folded. Psymon leaned over and glanced over Elise's shoulder at her cards. She had an ace, five, nine, ten and king. So far, so good.
"Alright, Royal Flush for the Royal Payne. I win!" Zoe cheered. Psymon's jaw dropped and he looked down at his cards. All he had were a straight in clubs.
"Girl, you've got this game bugged or something." Seeiah tossed her cards down and leaned backwards into her chair.
"Didn't we come here to do some revenge plotting?" Luther demanded.
"Before we go on, where's Brodi and Kaori?" JP wondered aloud as he took of his Fendi designer sunglasses and took another sip of his strawberry daiquiri, wiping his mouth with a nearby napkin.
"Nah, Kaori has studies tonight and Brodi . . . well . . . you know. Probably in his meditating state right about now." yawned Elise.
Psymon leaned on the palm of his hand. "Did you even tell them about this? I mean, not like I care and all. That Kaori girl is such a brat. And don't get me started on Brodi. The whole spiritual thing freaks me out."
"No, I didn't bother to tell Kaori because if I'm not mistaken, she's sort of wanting to become friends with him. So I figured I'd keep it between us nine."
"Ok, ok! Forget about them, I wanna get rid of this kid!" Moby voiced.
Zoe snorted. "Yeah, the way he was all shaken when I came to pick you up. You must have really gotten to him."
Everyone's eyes were directed to Moby. "What'd you do to him that we didn't get to be a part of?" Eddie said.
"He wouldn't give me the key and wouldn't calm down, so I threatened to burn this stupid picture of his. Dunno what it was, just two adults with a little kid. Didn't get to look at it that well." he shrugged.
"You have a lighter, and you didn't tell me?!" Psymon crowed, his eyes suddenly lighting up. "Man, mine ran out a long time ago and I've been dying for a smoke now! Gimme!" he jumped across the table and reached out for Moby who was already out of his seat and backed against the wall.
"PSYMON! Down! Down boy!" Luther beckoned. Zoe took Psymon by the collar and set him back in his seat. Hesitantly, Moby sat back in his own chair and glared daggers at Psymon who was laughing maniacally.
"So, anyone have a plan?" JP requested.
"That photo of his seemed really special to him. Something with that?" Elise took another drink of her Coors Light and rolled a poker chip in her hand.
"I was thinking . . ." Seeiah faded off when she saw none other than Mac walking toward the nearby game, 'Dance Dance Revolution' and put four quarters into it. Everyone followed her gaze and either gasped or glowered.
"What's he doing here? I thought he might still be up in the room or something."
The group watched as he matched every arrow up and with great speed and agility that no one else could possible master. When the game was done, he skimmed behind his shoulder and eyed them for quite some time before sauntering off.
"Guys, why do I suddenly feel guilty about this whole thing?" Eddie muttered. No one could possibly answer, because they knew what he felt too. And they knew that Mac was on to what they were doing.
~*~*~
Mac continued to saunter about the hotel. He felt a deep pang in his chest and flashes of everybody's face glaring at him, sneering at him. It hurt him that they would be so cruel to do something like so.
His thoughts were constantly switching. From Kyle, to Kaori, to everyone, back to his picture. He lifted his head slightly and saw a computer unoccupied in the lounge. Sighing, he sat down and pulled the keyboard closer. He clicked on the America Online icon and went to the 'guest' button. When it prompted him to enter his screen name and password, he typed in 'DJSk8r17' and his password.
"Welcome! You've got mail!" the freaky AOL voice announced cheerily. Mac moved his mouse to the mailbox and opened it. Inside were a few e-mails from his friends. One from his ex-girlfriend, Myrah, congratulating him on joining the SSX. Another was from an old aquaintence from the club, just saying hi. On down the list went. He stopped scrolling when he saw Kyle's e- mail. Suddenly he felt homesick.
He double-clicked it and read it over and over again. Yo Mac! Hey, I know it's early and all to actually say if you like it up there or not, but I'm bored and decided to see how you do like it. I heard about the whole world circuit and everything. Too bad you can't work here. But, hey. Is Marisol really as cute as she is on TV? What about Moby? I always heard he was a little rude and all. Can't always believe what they say though, huh? Anyways, just wanted to say hi. I don't even know if you'll get this message. If you do, though, please write back. And since school starts in three days, I'll have a whole lot to tell you. See ya homie.
Mac rested his hands on the keyboard pad and sighed, thinking of what to write. While nothing came to him, the letter still seemed to echo inside his head. He finally figured out something. Hey Kyle. Can't talk long, but here's the scoop right now. Moby is a pain. I'm rooming with him, and he thinks he owns everything. But not to worry. I mean, I can take him in no time. And I've got school tomorrow, before practice. It starts at five, so getting everything done shouldn't be a problem. When I say that it starts at five, I mean practice, not my schooling.
Mac almost pressed the send button when he remembered what Kyle had asked about Marisol. Yeah, Marisol's hot and all, but she's not exactly what you think she is. He added.
"So, what's all this you've written?" a deep, calm voice asked. Mac jumped and turned to see Brodi towering above him, arms crossed and eyes boring into his.
"Oh, uh. Just a letter to my friend. That's all. Nothing else." he played with his fingers nervously as if Brodi were to pounce on him at any given moment.
"Relax, bro. Just a question. But I did happen to read what you're writing about Moby. If I were you, I'd stay far away from him. He's nothing but trouble if you're on his bad side. You see, Zoe and him are like this," Brodi crossed his middle and index finger to demonstrate what he was talking about. "And if Moby knows how much you hate him, not only will you have to worry about him, but Zoe as well. I know you don't want to worry about that."
"No, not really. Who else should I worry about?"
"Oh, just about everyone. JP is rude and pretty full of himself. He's very rich so he thinks he can boss people around. And Luther, his right hand man, is a force to be reckoned with. Psymon is weird. He talks to his tattoo and gets ticked easily. And, don't worry about everyone. When I said, though, just about everyone is who you should be worried about, I said it because everyone has their bad days. But also, if you think about it, somehow, one person can affect another person's thinking. Don't let it get to you though."
Mac signed off and stood up. "What about the people who are nice?"
Brodi smiled. "If we're going to talk like this, why don't we go and get something to drink also. I'll buy." he offered. Mac grinned widely, showing his teeth. They both walked to a nearby bar and sat. Brodi ordered a Piña Colada smoothie while Mac got a Sprite.
"Well, what about the people who are nice? Any of them here?"
"Actually, yes there is. Eddie is very funny. He's pretty new, besides you. He's my best friend. And, like you said, Marisol is nice. Her friend Seeiah is a sweetheart. Basically, anyone whom I didn't name when you asked who you should worry about is nice. Zoe is the exception. She's real."
Mac took his finger and traced around the top of the can. "What about Kaori? Is she nice, or is she a fake?"
Brodi seemed caught off guard by his question. "Whatdiya mean? Kaori?"
"Well, yeah. She seems fake to me. Always so happy. At least, every time I see her."
"She's naturally happy. But she's not fake. Not at all. Kaori has got to be the nicest, most down-to-earth girl here in the SSX. I've never met anyone so polite or so kind."
Mac continued to trace the can top. "How can you trust these people? I mean, how do you know if they're going to come back at you and try to get you out of the SSX?"
Brodi shrugged. "I don't. But you won't get anywhere if you don't trust anyone."
"But, what if . . . what if they hate you because you're the youngest here? And because Rahzell favors you for a split second?"
"Well then, little bro, I don't know what to tell you. Try explaining to them. They may understand."
"I doubt it. Seems hard enough trying to fit in." he confided.
The surfer took one last sip of his smoothie and stood up. "Mac, life isn't easy. People will always be intimidated and try to intimidate. You've gotta be the one to stand up and stop it. C'mon, I'll walk you back to your room." he offered.
Mac still sat hunched over his soda. "No thanks. I think I'll stay here for a while. I just wanna get some things registered in my head and everything."
"Alright. I'll catch ya later. Tomorrow at the slopes. After your schooling, right?"
Mac nodded his agreement and heard Brodi's footsteps fade away before he looked up at all. Although he got some valuable information, one thing remained. He'd have to try to make amend before anything got worse.