My Secret- 7. Goku's New Experience: The Telephone
Goten landed on top of his brother's desk. Gohan made a dive for him, and stopped just millimeter before crashing into his bookcase. Goten had turned around just a split second earlier, and dodged right, but he didn't realize he was standing on the edge of the desk, and he fell into the waste basket, head first.
"Gotcha!" Gohan whispered breathlessly. He took the directory out of his little brother's death grip, and flipped to the page where he had jot down the numbers.
"Gohan, help." Goten pleaded hopelessly. Gohan, reasonably, had no mercy left for Goten, and continued to punch in the numbers.
Back in Trunks' room, the ringing phone made Trunks bolt out of his bed. Who could be calling at this hour?
"Hello?" Trunks whispered into the receiver uncertainly.
"Hi, Trunks. This is Gohan."
"Gohan? What's up? You do know it's two in the morning."
---
"Goku, if this is bothering you so much, why don't you just call Vegeta now?"
Goku stared at Chichi like she had morphed into Vegeta.
"Don't look at me like that. I know I won't get any sleep at this rate, and I think I remember Bulma once telling me that Vegeta trains past midnight. He's probably taking a shower now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you positive?"
"Yes! Now let's just get this over with. Once you hear that Vegeta fought you today, you're going to sleep, right?"
"Uh huh."
She took the receiver and was about to punch in the phone numbers when she heard whispers.
"What kind of question is that?" One end said.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just wanted to make sure." The awfully familiar voice answered.
"He was here."
"All afternoon?"
"Well, not all afternoon. He left for a little while."
"He did?"
"Yeah. Said something about going to spar or something."
"Are you positive? What time did he leave? How long was he gone for?"
"I don't know! Maybe it was around four o'clock. He wasn't gone for that long though."
Now Chichi finally matched the voice with its owner.
"GOHAN!!" She screamed into the phone.
Both ends fell into dead silence.
Goten watched fearfully at his big brother, whose jaw hung all the way to the floor and his eyes protruding out of their sockets.
"Gohan, what's wrong?" He kept shaking him, but his hand had no life of its own. It just kept swinging back and forth as Goten tried to get answers. "Gohan!"
On the other hand, Trunks stared at the phone, contemplating his decisions. He knew he should hang up, but his other half wanted to hear what was going on. Actually, he was still confused as to why Gohan called him in middle of the night to ask about such a pointless question. Couldn't it have waited until morning?
"Gohan, you get off the phone right this minute!" Trunks had to hold the receiver at arm length. Sheesh, she didn't have to scream. They were in the same house!
Next to Gohan, Goten heard his mother, and he, too, felt like freezing himself to death. They were in so much trouble!
Chichi was tired of hearing silence. She dropped the phone on the bed and yanked her bedroom door wide apart. The whole house shook under the force. And it continued to shake, as Chichi stomped into the boys' room, and threw their door open.
Goku looked out the door helplessly. He took the receiver next to his ears, like he had seen Chichi done it. "Hello?"
"Goku?" There was a clear sign of relief on the other end.
"Trunks? Is that you? Wow, I can hear you."
"Yes, Goku. This is a new invention called the telephone."
"So this is a telephone. Say, what were you and Gohan talking about at this hour?"
"You got me. Gohan just called me and started asking the most irrational questions."
"Oh, I see. Hey, do you think I can talk to your dad with this thing?"
"Uh... sure, I guess. Hold on."
Trunks tiptoed out of his room and crouched next to the door that led to his parents' room. He could hear voices coming from the room, so he pressed his ears against the door.
"Trunks, what's happening?"
"Shush. I'm trying to listen."
To say Goku was confused, would have been an understatement.
---
"And he just left?"
"Yes. When I looked up, he was gone. He closed the door behind him."
"Very peculiar. Did you notice anything about him that was different?"
Bulma thought tried to recall his appearance. "No. He looked just like you."
Vegeta crossed his arms.
"Vegeta, do you think-" She was roughly silenced by his finger. She looked at him, puzzled. He wordlessly walked over to the door, and opened it in a swoosh.
"Trunks!" Bulma gasped. Vegeta growled.
"Eh heh heh heh. Sorry."
"What are you doing, still awake? You should have been asleep hours ago. And what do you have there?"
"Goku's on the phone. He wants to talk to Dad."
Vegeta stared suspiciously at Trunks for a while, and then took the phone. Bulma, meanwhile, got up and led Trunks back to bed. When she came back, closing the door carefully behind her, she heard Vegeta yell into the phone.
"How should I know? I don't have time for this! WHAT do you want?"
"Vegeta, even I know you don't have to yell to be heard over the phone."
"Arrrrrgh... just get to the point."
Bulma pressed her ear against the back of the phone to hear Goku's end of the conversation.
"Okay, okay. Calm down. I just wanted to ask you your whereabouts today."
"Why do you care?"
"Because if you weren't sparring with me this afternoon, then we have a serious problem."
"Sparring with you? No, I do not believe we saw each other this past two years."
"You aren't pulling my leg, are you?"
"I have no time for jokes. I'm going to sleep."
"WAIT! Vegeta, don't you want to hear what the serious problem is?"
"I don't think so." And he turned the cordless phone off before Bulma could snatch it out of his hand.
"Vegeta, why?"
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you want to hear Goku's concern?"
"I have no need to. I already know."
"You... do?"
Vegeta closed the bathroom door, leaving Bulma to figure out what he meant.
---
"The NERVE of those two!"
"Chichi, it's late. Sleep will calm you down."
"It's about time you come to your senses, Goku."
---
"Gohan, are you mad?" Goten was sleeping on his right side, facing his brother, but Gohan just stared at the ceiling.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
Silence.
"If I haven't delayed you, we probably won't have gotten in trouble. It's my fault we got grounded."
Gohan couldn't sleep at all, and it wasn't because of Vegeta.
---
I was smiling as I wrote this. Don't you think it's funny? Everytime I try to imagine Gohan's feeling as he feels his stomach dropping, or Trunks's startled express, I can't help but laugh. Oh well, I like writing humor once in a while, but not maintain it throughout the whole story.
As I was writing this story, I felt like I was dropping clues, but they aren't the obvious ones like those you read about in Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys. It's more like inconspicuous clues that's if you can't pay attention to the details, you'll miss them. The unveiling is almost over though. Next comes the action...
Yes, there IS another Vegeta existing in this story, and he has no ki. You'll learn why soon, although I already dropped a clue in this chapter. ^_^
P.S. Ruby, happy birthday!... one day late. There was a lot of birthdays in my life last week. On Tuesday, it was this guy in my chess class, on Wednesday, it was Danielle's, on Thursday, it was this guy in my art class, on Friday, it was Anna's birthday.
Goten landed on top of his brother's desk. Gohan made a dive for him, and stopped just millimeter before crashing into his bookcase. Goten had turned around just a split second earlier, and dodged right, but he didn't realize he was standing on the edge of the desk, and he fell into the waste basket, head first.
"Gotcha!" Gohan whispered breathlessly. He took the directory out of his little brother's death grip, and flipped to the page where he had jot down the numbers.
"Gohan, help." Goten pleaded hopelessly. Gohan, reasonably, had no mercy left for Goten, and continued to punch in the numbers.
Back in Trunks' room, the ringing phone made Trunks bolt out of his bed. Who could be calling at this hour?
"Hello?" Trunks whispered into the receiver uncertainly.
"Hi, Trunks. This is Gohan."
"Gohan? What's up? You do know it's two in the morning."
---
"Goku, if this is bothering you so much, why don't you just call Vegeta now?"
Goku stared at Chichi like she had morphed into Vegeta.
"Don't look at me like that. I know I won't get any sleep at this rate, and I think I remember Bulma once telling me that Vegeta trains past midnight. He's probably taking a shower now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Are you positive?"
"Yes! Now let's just get this over with. Once you hear that Vegeta fought you today, you're going to sleep, right?"
"Uh huh."
She took the receiver and was about to punch in the phone numbers when she heard whispers.
"What kind of question is that?" One end said.
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just wanted to make sure." The awfully familiar voice answered.
"He was here."
"All afternoon?"
"Well, not all afternoon. He left for a little while."
"He did?"
"Yeah. Said something about going to spar or something."
"Are you positive? What time did he leave? How long was he gone for?"
"I don't know! Maybe it was around four o'clock. He wasn't gone for that long though."
Now Chichi finally matched the voice with its owner.
"GOHAN!!" She screamed into the phone.
Both ends fell into dead silence.
Goten watched fearfully at his big brother, whose jaw hung all the way to the floor and his eyes protruding out of their sockets.
"Gohan, what's wrong?" He kept shaking him, but his hand had no life of its own. It just kept swinging back and forth as Goten tried to get answers. "Gohan!"
On the other hand, Trunks stared at the phone, contemplating his decisions. He knew he should hang up, but his other half wanted to hear what was going on. Actually, he was still confused as to why Gohan called him in middle of the night to ask about such a pointless question. Couldn't it have waited until morning?
"Gohan, you get off the phone right this minute!" Trunks had to hold the receiver at arm length. Sheesh, she didn't have to scream. They were in the same house!
Next to Gohan, Goten heard his mother, and he, too, felt like freezing himself to death. They were in so much trouble!
Chichi was tired of hearing silence. She dropped the phone on the bed and yanked her bedroom door wide apart. The whole house shook under the force. And it continued to shake, as Chichi stomped into the boys' room, and threw their door open.
Goku looked out the door helplessly. He took the receiver next to his ears, like he had seen Chichi done it. "Hello?"
"Goku?" There was a clear sign of relief on the other end.
"Trunks? Is that you? Wow, I can hear you."
"Yes, Goku. This is a new invention called the telephone."
"So this is a telephone. Say, what were you and Gohan talking about at this hour?"
"You got me. Gohan just called me and started asking the most irrational questions."
"Oh, I see. Hey, do you think I can talk to your dad with this thing?"
"Uh... sure, I guess. Hold on."
Trunks tiptoed out of his room and crouched next to the door that led to his parents' room. He could hear voices coming from the room, so he pressed his ears against the door.
"Trunks, what's happening?"
"Shush. I'm trying to listen."
To say Goku was confused, would have been an understatement.
---
"And he just left?"
"Yes. When I looked up, he was gone. He closed the door behind him."
"Very peculiar. Did you notice anything about him that was different?"
Bulma thought tried to recall his appearance. "No. He looked just like you."
Vegeta crossed his arms.
"Vegeta, do you think-" She was roughly silenced by his finger. She looked at him, puzzled. He wordlessly walked over to the door, and opened it in a swoosh.
"Trunks!" Bulma gasped. Vegeta growled.
"Eh heh heh heh. Sorry."
"What are you doing, still awake? You should have been asleep hours ago. And what do you have there?"
"Goku's on the phone. He wants to talk to Dad."
Vegeta stared suspiciously at Trunks for a while, and then took the phone. Bulma, meanwhile, got up and led Trunks back to bed. When she came back, closing the door carefully behind her, she heard Vegeta yell into the phone.
"How should I know? I don't have time for this! WHAT do you want?"
"Vegeta, even I know you don't have to yell to be heard over the phone."
"Arrrrrgh... just get to the point."
Bulma pressed her ear against the back of the phone to hear Goku's end of the conversation.
"Okay, okay. Calm down. I just wanted to ask you your whereabouts today."
"Why do you care?"
"Because if you weren't sparring with me this afternoon, then we have a serious problem."
"Sparring with you? No, I do not believe we saw each other this past two years."
"You aren't pulling my leg, are you?"
"I have no time for jokes. I'm going to sleep."
"WAIT! Vegeta, don't you want to hear what the serious problem is?"
"I don't think so." And he turned the cordless phone off before Bulma could snatch it out of his hand.
"Vegeta, why?"
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you want to hear Goku's concern?"
"I have no need to. I already know."
"You... do?"
Vegeta closed the bathroom door, leaving Bulma to figure out what he meant.
---
"The NERVE of those two!"
"Chichi, it's late. Sleep will calm you down."
"It's about time you come to your senses, Goku."
---
"Gohan, are you mad?" Goten was sleeping on his right side, facing his brother, but Gohan just stared at the ceiling.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry."
Silence.
"If I haven't delayed you, we probably won't have gotten in trouble. It's my fault we got grounded."
Gohan couldn't sleep at all, and it wasn't because of Vegeta.
---
I was smiling as I wrote this. Don't you think it's funny? Everytime I try to imagine Gohan's feeling as he feels his stomach dropping, or Trunks's startled express, I can't help but laugh. Oh well, I like writing humor once in a while, but not maintain it throughout the whole story.
As I was writing this story, I felt like I was dropping clues, but they aren't the obvious ones like those you read about in Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys. It's more like inconspicuous clues that's if you can't pay attention to the details, you'll miss them. The unveiling is almost over though. Next comes the action...
Yes, there IS another Vegeta existing in this story, and he has no ki. You'll learn why soon, although I already dropped a clue in this chapter. ^_^
P.S. Ruby, happy birthday!... one day late. There was a lot of birthdays in my life last week. On Tuesday, it was this guy in my chess class, on Wednesday, it was Danielle's, on Thursday, it was this guy in my art class, on Friday, it was Anna's birthday.
