"Tracy, what you doing?" Rage asked, turning his face to the side and watching his sister type on his computer.
"Oh, just making some invites." she said, turning around to look at her brother. She snickered, looking at him. "Are those wrinkles from age or your pillow?" she asked. Rage sighed and buried his face in his pillow again.
"Ungh" he replied. Tracy got up and shook him. He groaned again. Tracy huffed, then grabbed the back of his muscle shirt and pulled hard. Rage yelled out as he fell out of bed, tangled in his sheets and blanket. Laughing, Tracy opened his blinds, making Rage blink at the sudden light. He hugged his pillow tightly as Tracy tried to pull it from him.
"Up! It's nearly 9 am!" she ordered, kicking Rage in the side. He jumped up and looked at the clock, which illuminated 8:59 am. "Nice boxers" she noted, turning back to the computer. Rage looked down.
"Thanks...wait, um, shower!" he ran from his room and into the bathroom. A moment later, running water was heard.
"Glad I cleaned all of his towels" she murmured, hitting the print button. Collecting her prints, she left Rage's room and sat on the couch and began placing her prints in envelopes. Rage came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.
"What are those?" he asked, standing in his doorway to his room. He stood higher to see around Tracy's hair. "Invitations?" He walked over to her and snatched one. Tracy didn't object. "A pool party? Cool! Who's invited? Girls right?" he asked. Tracy nodded.
"Some of our friends." she said, taking his invitation and placing it in its envelope.
"Oh yeah? Who?" he asked, going into his room and tossing clothes around, trying to find something clean.
"Lady, the Konsentos, the Zukins" she ticked off on her fingers. "Jenny and Johnny, Emi, Ecks, Walter, Dread Snake" Rage fell over, trying to put his pants on. He ran over to his sister, shirtless and kneeled in front of her. "...Boldo...don't try proposals on me, I'm taken" she winked. "Although, with those muscles, I guess that is how you rope all of those girls. Rage frowned.
"What were those three names...?" he asked seriously. Tracy smiled innocently.
"What three?" she asked, batting her eyes. Rage grabbed her arms and shook her.
"Don't play with me Trace. Just tell me those three people." Tracy smiled.
"Ecks, Walter and....Emi" she said, enjoying the reaction she got at 'Emi'. Rage sat leaned way back and looked at the ceiling.
"Emi..." he muttered. Tracy raised an eyebrow. Rage closed his eyes and laid on his back. "Trace, why'd you do this? You invited the three people who can make the biggest scene-" he stopped as the doorbell rang.
"Whoops, I forgot I already invited Kensento. You don't mind do you? Oh, put on a shirt, Oshare-Zukin probably came with him." Rage obeyed, and came out morbidly, like a whipped puppy, looking at the ground, dreading what may happen next. A very happy Zukin bounced in, wearing her usual skirt and her ears twitching. Kensento came in after, not as energetic. "Long transit?" Tracy asked, leading Kensento to the couch. He nodded and sat down. "How's the room you two rented?" Tracy dared to ask. Oshare-Zukin smiled.
"Its wonderful!" she giggled, blushing. Rage stared.
"Room?" he asked, then noticed the band Oshare and Kensento were wearing. He sighed and collapsed on the couch. "Oh" he muttered. Tracy took Oshare by the arm and led her out.
"I think the boys need to talk. Let me show you the nice clothes store I found here!" and they were gone. When the door clicked shut, Rage sighed, and laid down.
"What is the matter Rage-kun?" Kensento asked. Rage looked up at his blue friend, unable to really tell is he was smiling, being serious, or even his age.
"Don't call me a kid" he snapped, then held a pillow close. Kensento stared, then got up and took the pillow away.
"Rage-kun, is this another girl?" he asked. "Sit up!" he urged. Rage, sensing the seriousness in his friend's voice, he sat up and nodded. "Rage-kun, the this is why I have always worried about you: you have the hardest time with commitment." Rage nodded, then shook his head.
"Wait, in the Disco Zone-"
"This isn't the Disco Zone! Or the Puppet Zone! This is the Burning Zone. In each Zone, there is a different way of thinking of different things. Here AND in the Puppet Zone, couples last more than a few hours, they usually last for months, years, whatever." Rage looked off. "I see you finally get it my friend" he patted Rage on the shoulder. "I think I will catch up with Oshare and your sister. Tracy seems to have forgotten these invites, and they must be out by Saturday." Kensento picked up the cards and left.
Rage got up and poured himself some juice.
"Getting love advice from a man with a giant battery on his back..." he paused. "Love...?" He closed his eyes and thought of some of his past girlfriends. The ones he dumped before they could dump him, and the ones who cried. "...Emi..."
Emi brushed her hair, staring at her reflection and frowned. Her face looked more tense than it usually did. She sat back in her chair and fell backwards, remembering it was more of a stool than a chair. Walt came in and looked down at her.
"Um, we got these letters..." he muttered, looking away from Emi and tossed one to her. She giggled.
"What's wrong? Meet a girl at the sleep over?" she asked. Walt left the room quickly. Frowning, Emi got up and poked her head out the door. Walt looked up and dropped his card and ran to his room. Alarmed, Emi got there first and closed the door. Walt's face collided with her stomach and his glasses fell off. Emi stooped down to get them at the same instant Emi did. She picked them up and noticed they were bent. She looked into her brother's face to pull the truth from him.
"Walt! What happened?" she asked, dropping the glasses and examining his face. Walt's left eye was a deep purple and his nose was red. He suddenly began crying and Emi hugged him close.
"I got in a fight. It wasn't a party at all, Jared just really wanted a skateboard and he and the others ganged up on me when they wanted more stuff. I refused and there was a fight" he sobbed. Emi shushed him and rocked back and forth, holding him tight.
An hour later, after Walt calmed down and his eyes and nose treated, Emi gave Jared's mother a heated call, then slammed the phone down. He was currently eating a sandwich, content that Jared was getting his own. Emi went into her room to get her brush when she remembered the letter. She came back with it and opened it at the table.
"Oh! A pool party! Do you want to go Walt? I bet your eye will heal up by then." she tried to smile, looking back down at the card.
"I'll go." he said, enjoying his tuna. Emi smiled.
"I'll call the number and tell them we accept" she said. Walking over to the phone, she dialed the number.
"Hello?" an all too familiar voice answered.
"Um, I'd like to call about the party. My brother, Walt, and I decided to come." she said, trying to place the name.
"Alright Emi" Rage said. Emi nearly dropped the phone. "See you Saturday then" then he hung up.
Emi and Walt took the elevator to the top of the parking garage.
"I didn't know there was a pool up here!" Walt murmured softly. Emi laughed.
"Well, we have a tennis court on top of ours." she smiled, shrugging. Walt looked up at the numbers.
"Just how many floors are there?" he asked as the numbers reached 10. The elevator suddenly stopped and the doors opened.
"Ten, then the roof" Emi said, smiling. Walt stuck his tongue out at her, then stepped out. Tracy and Oshare ran (or in Oshare's case, skipped) to them.
"Welcome to the party!" they welcomed together. Emi laughed as Oshare pulled Walt forward and showed him to the men's changing room as Tracy gently shoved Emi to the women's room.
A few minutes later, Emi came out in a rainbow bikini, blushing furiously. Walt had been in the water for a few minutes, being asked about his slightly red eye. Emi laughed and sat on the edge of the pool and dipped a foot in. She heard laughing and saw Ecks with a girl.
Finally. She thought, glad that her friend thought of himself for once. She looked around.
"E-Z!" she yelled, recognizing a purple Zukin with wings. Evil (or Devil if you prefer) Zukin bounced towards her friend. Devil Zukin smiled and sat next to Emi and the two engaged in random talk about their Zones, complimenting how each sounded and promises that Emi would visit the Puppet Zone. They got up to eat, still talking and grabbed plates. The whole time, the two were together just talking. Emi was introduced to the other party goers and was a little intimidated by Dread Snake, who's sunglasses didn't allow anyone to view his eyes.
"I wonder where Rage is?" she asked Devil Zukin, then turned around right into Rage, who was heading to the pool. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Nice suit" he said, then walked past her and jumped in the pool. Emi looked at him for a moment as he, Walt and a few other guys challenged the girls to a volleyball contest. The tam was split up so half the guys were with half of the girls. Tracy, the mastermind of the party, arranged the teams, making sure she and Boldo (wink wink) were on one team and Emi and Rage were on another.