Part 13 ^_^
Kitty groaned. "Man, how did Kurt like, put *up* with *doing* this?"
Her back was sore. Her arms were sore. Her hands just plain ached.
The X-jet, on the other hand, was still mostly filthy, and she'd been
washing for *ages*.
A string of curses told her that Ray had arrived for yet another
punishment detail. He got them regularly for cussing, fighting or just
plain losing his temper. His typical greeting was restrained to a
simplistic, "'Sup?"
Kitty peeked over the wing. "Grime content by like, three billion
percent."
"Sounds like th' popsicle took it f'r a joyride again," said Ray. He
dumped his shirt and picked up a couple of sponges. He dunked them in
the bucket and started on the tyres. "I'm gonna get 'im fer that in my
own time. Trust me on this."
It had been the most he'd said without a single curseword. Kitty
pocked her head through the wing. Logan was nowhere in sight.
Ray was sorta staring at her. "It looks f-funky when you do that," he
said.
Kitty popped back up so she could solidify from shock. *Ray* just said
*'funky'*... _Like, has my reality check totally bounced?_ She went back
to scrubbing, lest someone accuse her of slacking. "Are you like,
feeling okay?"
"Meh," said Ray.
"It's only because like, you've said like, four sentences and you
haven't like, cussed yet."
"You like me swearin'?"
"Um." Kitty worried at some dug-in mud. How the heck had Bobby managed
to get *mud* ground into the X-jet? It boggled the mind. "Well, like...
not really? But it's like, part of like, you, you know?"
Ray muttered something that sounded remarkably like, "*Women*..."
under his breath.
After she cleared up the mud, she had to ask. "Like, how the heck do
you guys get this thing like, so dirty, anyway?"
"Emergency landing in a bog. Had a crap time getting it back out,
too."
Ray *never* said 'crap' when a bunch of other cusses would do.
"You're *sure* you're like, okay."
"More or less," he said. "Less talkin', more workin'; hey?"
Kitty increased her scrubbing speed. The sooner this was done, like,
the better. Ray was starting to totally creep her out.
Kurt flipped end over end, glad of the freedom. Even though his
beloved Amanda had been there to comfort him, being earthbound was hell.
It felt good to be tumbling again, shaking the metaphorical rust from
his joints.
He heard Hank sigh in the hallway. "I see you couldn't wait until I
gave you a clean bill of health," he said.
"You have no idea what it's like to have your wings clipped mein
herr," said Kurt. He landed on his feet. "Besides, I remember you said
something about me being fine today."
"I have to check you out, first," he said.
Kurt groaned. "I hate that camera thing. It feels wierd."
"Fibreoptic probe," corrected Hank. "This way."
Kurt visibly slumped, and began to pray under his breath that he
wasn't still earthbound. He was aching to *fly*. He only interrupted his
covert pleas in order to murmur, "I was only doing lateral
somersaults..."
{Ring ring!}
"Mine!" Amanda bolted for the 'phone, only to have Mike grab it first.
"All Our Stiffs Mortuary," he said with typical Older Brother flair.
"You kill 'em, we crate 'em."
"*MIKE*!"
Mike's eyes bugged. "What the hell do you want the spaz for? She can't
talk right now, she's sand-blasting the pimples off her face."
"GIMME THE 'PHONE YOU JERK!" _God, why did Mom have to have three boys
before she had me?_
Mike laughed. "Hey, this guy's cussing me out in another language...
Some potty-mouth."
"He's probably laying a curse on you," said Amanda. "Gypsies can do
that, you know."
"Uh," said Mike to the 'phone. "Here she is right now."
"Let me guess, liebchen," said Kurt as soon as Amanda had said 'hi'.
"You played the Romani card."
"Uh-huh," Amanda giggled. "So what were you *actually* doing?"
"Cussing him out. He's not a very supportive brother, is he?"
"I have five of them," said Amanda. "All with nothing better to do
than make my life *hell*."
"Ach, meine armer Liebling..." Kurt cooed. "How can you stand to be
near men after them?"
"Oh, I dunno," she said, absently swatting her younger brother Kyle on
the back of his head for making faces. "I guess I found one of the good
ones."
"Mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi," mocked Dave.
Amanda gave him the finger.
"I'm telling on you," said Danny.
Amanda carried the 'phone into her room and locked the door on her
brothers. "Ah. Now that we're *alone*, what's the diagnosis?"
"I got yelled at for doing a few laterals this morning, but Hank says
I'm still fine, regardless. And how are you faring? You never mentioned
your brothers to me..."
"Trust me, you're better off not knowing them. As in 'at all'. Things
are kinda tough on me with them ever since you loaned me a little
confidence, you know?"
"Ah," said Kurt. "No wonder you want to hang around with me."
"Yeah, compared to my brothers, you're a quiet pond. Restful, you
know?"
"Heh; remind me to introduce you to meine schwesters, sometime. It's a
girl-grenade."
Amanda laughed. "So, am I gonna see you at school today?"
"Probably upside-down, ja. I wouldn't want to miss a minute of mein
time with you, liebe."
"Aaaawww."
Someone picked up an extension. "'Manda picks her boogers and eats
them!"
"*DANNY*!" Amanda screamed at him. "Get off the 'phone you little
freak!"
"You should be nicer to your schwester," Kurt advised. "One day she'll
run away with me and you won't be able to torture her any more."
"Like I care," said Danny, and hung up.
"That tears it," said Amanda. "I'm pulling a sleepover at your place,
tonight."
"I'll remind the staff to short-sheet our bed," said Kurt with a
laugh. "I have to get ready, now, geliebt. Ich liebe dich."
They spent another minute kissing over the 'phone before they hung up.
_God, I thank you for Kurt. He's restored my faith in humanity in
general and males in particular._
Kurt didn't even think of anything else until he was quite done
greeting Amanda before class.
This meant he accumulated five, "Get a room"s, ten expressions of
disgust and one, "Geez, you were just together *yesterday*..." before he
came up for air.
Amanda was blushing. And giggling. "Wow."
"Just a little thankyou, liebchen, for yesterday. You made my
confinement on the ground worthwhile."
"Does that mean I can follow you home and play?" she gestured at the
overnight bag at her feet.
"But of course," Kurt grinned. "You know how I love to play with
*you*..."
The bell rang, and they both had to hurry to get to first class.
Life was good.
Life *sucked*.
Kitty cringed at her desk at the thought of her homework. Grungy
because she couldn't take a shower because *some* people had to use up
all the hot water on her. Sure, the Professor was going to upgrade the
hot water system, but that was like, weeks away.
Hubert Hughes was smiling at her, trying not to show his braces as he
did so.
_Would it be that bad to date a geek?_ she asked herself. _Like,
*duh*. *YES*..._ What was she *thinking*?
"Say, Rahne. You're a girl..."
Rahne glared at Ray. "Aye. The tits are a dead give-away."
Ray blushed. "If you want me to fuck off, just *say* so."
She sighed. "Okay. What d'ye want?"
"Um. There's this girl I kinda - noticed... Um. I want her to get her
to like me..."
"An' ye want a few friendly hints?"
"Yah. Basically." He stuck his hands in his pockets and toed at the
carpet.
"Is she anyone I know?"
Ray shrugged. "Dunno." After a moment's further fascination with the
carpet, he added. "She goes here."
"Is she lookin' at anyone else?"
"Um. She kinda split up with some asshole a little back."
"YOU LIKE *KITTY*?!"
"Hey, keep it fuckin' down!" Ray zoomed over to her and clamped his
hand on her mouth. "You want *Jubes* to hear?"
"*Aaaaah*," Rahne removed the hand from her mouth to say as much. "I
get it now. So what's it worth to ye to keep quiet, eh?"
Ray heabutted the back of Rahne's chair. "...I'm doomed..."
Kitty groaned. "Man, how did Kurt like, put *up* with *doing* this?"
Her back was sore. Her arms were sore. Her hands just plain ached.
The X-jet, on the other hand, was still mostly filthy, and she'd been
washing for *ages*.
A string of curses told her that Ray had arrived for yet another
punishment detail. He got them regularly for cussing, fighting or just
plain losing his temper. His typical greeting was restrained to a
simplistic, "'Sup?"
Kitty peeked over the wing. "Grime content by like, three billion
percent."
"Sounds like th' popsicle took it f'r a joyride again," said Ray. He
dumped his shirt and picked up a couple of sponges. He dunked them in
the bucket and started on the tyres. "I'm gonna get 'im fer that in my
own time. Trust me on this."
It had been the most he'd said without a single curseword. Kitty
pocked her head through the wing. Logan was nowhere in sight.
Ray was sorta staring at her. "It looks f-funky when you do that," he
said.
Kitty popped back up so she could solidify from shock. *Ray* just said
*'funky'*... _Like, has my reality check totally bounced?_ She went back
to scrubbing, lest someone accuse her of slacking. "Are you like,
feeling okay?"
"Meh," said Ray.
"It's only because like, you've said like, four sentences and you
haven't like, cussed yet."
"You like me swearin'?"
"Um." Kitty worried at some dug-in mud. How the heck had Bobby managed
to get *mud* ground into the X-jet? It boggled the mind. "Well, like...
not really? But it's like, part of like, you, you know?"
Ray muttered something that sounded remarkably like, "*Women*..."
under his breath.
After she cleared up the mud, she had to ask. "Like, how the heck do
you guys get this thing like, so dirty, anyway?"
"Emergency landing in a bog. Had a crap time getting it back out,
too."
Ray *never* said 'crap' when a bunch of other cusses would do.
"You're *sure* you're like, okay."
"More or less," he said. "Less talkin', more workin'; hey?"
Kitty increased her scrubbing speed. The sooner this was done, like,
the better. Ray was starting to totally creep her out.
Kurt flipped end over end, glad of the freedom. Even though his
beloved Amanda had been there to comfort him, being earthbound was hell.
It felt good to be tumbling again, shaking the metaphorical rust from
his joints.
He heard Hank sigh in the hallway. "I see you couldn't wait until I
gave you a clean bill of health," he said.
"You have no idea what it's like to have your wings clipped mein
herr," said Kurt. He landed on his feet. "Besides, I remember you said
something about me being fine today."
"I have to check you out, first," he said.
Kurt groaned. "I hate that camera thing. It feels wierd."
"Fibreoptic probe," corrected Hank. "This way."
Kurt visibly slumped, and began to pray under his breath that he
wasn't still earthbound. He was aching to *fly*. He only interrupted his
covert pleas in order to murmur, "I was only doing lateral
somersaults..."
{Ring ring!}
"Mine!" Amanda bolted for the 'phone, only to have Mike grab it first.
"All Our Stiffs Mortuary," he said with typical Older Brother flair.
"You kill 'em, we crate 'em."
"*MIKE*!"
Mike's eyes bugged. "What the hell do you want the spaz for? She can't
talk right now, she's sand-blasting the pimples off her face."
"GIMME THE 'PHONE YOU JERK!" _God, why did Mom have to have three boys
before she had me?_
Mike laughed. "Hey, this guy's cussing me out in another language...
Some potty-mouth."
"He's probably laying a curse on you," said Amanda. "Gypsies can do
that, you know."
"Uh," said Mike to the 'phone. "Here she is right now."
"Let me guess, liebchen," said Kurt as soon as Amanda had said 'hi'.
"You played the Romani card."
"Uh-huh," Amanda giggled. "So what were you *actually* doing?"
"Cussing him out. He's not a very supportive brother, is he?"
"I have five of them," said Amanda. "All with nothing better to do
than make my life *hell*."
"Ach, meine armer Liebling..." Kurt cooed. "How can you stand to be
near men after them?"
"Oh, I dunno," she said, absently swatting her younger brother Kyle on
the back of his head for making faces. "I guess I found one of the good
ones."
"Mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi mi," mocked Dave.
Amanda gave him the finger.
"I'm telling on you," said Danny.
Amanda carried the 'phone into her room and locked the door on her
brothers. "Ah. Now that we're *alone*, what's the diagnosis?"
"I got yelled at for doing a few laterals this morning, but Hank says
I'm still fine, regardless. And how are you faring? You never mentioned
your brothers to me..."
"Trust me, you're better off not knowing them. As in 'at all'. Things
are kinda tough on me with them ever since you loaned me a little
confidence, you know?"
"Ah," said Kurt. "No wonder you want to hang around with me."
"Yeah, compared to my brothers, you're a quiet pond. Restful, you
know?"
"Heh; remind me to introduce you to meine schwesters, sometime. It's a
girl-grenade."
Amanda laughed. "So, am I gonna see you at school today?"
"Probably upside-down, ja. I wouldn't want to miss a minute of mein
time with you, liebe."
"Aaaawww."
Someone picked up an extension. "'Manda picks her boogers and eats
them!"
"*DANNY*!" Amanda screamed at him. "Get off the 'phone you little
freak!"
"You should be nicer to your schwester," Kurt advised. "One day she'll
run away with me and you won't be able to torture her any more."
"Like I care," said Danny, and hung up.
"That tears it," said Amanda. "I'm pulling a sleepover at your place,
tonight."
"I'll remind the staff to short-sheet our bed," said Kurt with a
laugh. "I have to get ready, now, geliebt. Ich liebe dich."
They spent another minute kissing over the 'phone before they hung up.
_God, I thank you for Kurt. He's restored my faith in humanity in
general and males in particular._
Kurt didn't even think of anything else until he was quite done
greeting Amanda before class.
This meant he accumulated five, "Get a room"s, ten expressions of
disgust and one, "Geez, you were just together *yesterday*..." before he
came up for air.
Amanda was blushing. And giggling. "Wow."
"Just a little thankyou, liebchen, for yesterday. You made my
confinement on the ground worthwhile."
"Does that mean I can follow you home and play?" she gestured at the
overnight bag at her feet.
"But of course," Kurt grinned. "You know how I love to play with
*you*..."
The bell rang, and they both had to hurry to get to first class.
Life was good.
Life *sucked*.
Kitty cringed at her desk at the thought of her homework. Grungy
because she couldn't take a shower because *some* people had to use up
all the hot water on her. Sure, the Professor was going to upgrade the
hot water system, but that was like, weeks away.
Hubert Hughes was smiling at her, trying not to show his braces as he
did so.
_Would it be that bad to date a geek?_ she asked herself. _Like,
*duh*. *YES*..._ What was she *thinking*?
"Say, Rahne. You're a girl..."
Rahne glared at Ray. "Aye. The tits are a dead give-away."
Ray blushed. "If you want me to fuck off, just *say* so."
She sighed. "Okay. What d'ye want?"
"Um. There's this girl I kinda - noticed... Um. I want her to get her
to like me..."
"An' ye want a few friendly hints?"
"Yah. Basically." He stuck his hands in his pockets and toed at the
carpet.
"Is she anyone I know?"
Ray shrugged. "Dunno." After a moment's further fascination with the
carpet, he added. "She goes here."
"Is she lookin' at anyone else?"
"Um. She kinda split up with some asshole a little back."
"YOU LIKE *KITTY*?!"
"Hey, keep it fuckin' down!" Ray zoomed over to her and clamped his
hand on her mouth. "You want *Jubes* to hear?"
"*Aaaaah*," Rahne removed the hand from her mouth to say as much. "I
get it now. So what's it worth to ye to keep quiet, eh?"
Ray heabutted the back of Rahne's chair. "...I'm doomed..."