Breakfast
Upon reaching her floor, before she could even take out the keys, her mother angrily wrenched the door open. Chelsea stood there, looking up at her, a tad bit nervous.
"Where did you go?"
"I wanted to walk," she said lamely after a one second pause.
"6:30 in the morning? I'm not stupid"
"Can't a person get up early and not get punished?" she mumbled, and her mother glared.
"Better not be lighting anymore fires," she said to her, emphasis on fires.
"No, I'm not!" Chelsea said exasperated.
She was let back in, and ate eggs with rice for breakfast. Her mother gave her another evil look, and sat down to read a book. Chelsea kept looking up from her food so she could find an opening and make a break for it. But that didn't seem possible at the moment. In fact, her mother's eyes kept flicking up as well. She knew she was worried. Never in Chelsea's entire life, had she managed to wake up earlier than nine o'clock when there wasn't school.
"I'm going to the library okay?" she asked, once done.
"Library not open," said her mother shortly.
'Shoot,' she thought, she had forgotten that.
She walked back into her room, locking the door and taping a nickel over the pop-lock to secure it. She would have to hide...everything. Kimahri's Spirit Lance was in the closet, and Auron's Masamune was still next to her bed. Rikku's Godhand could easily fit in her desk drawer with Yuna's Nirvana and Wakka's blitzballs. Then there was Tidus' blue sword.
"Why do their weapons have to be so big?!" she moaned, and quickly began making her bed, taking garbage from her can out and tying the plastic bag.
Within twenty minutes, her room looked much more wholesome and cleaner. She was quite proud of herself, and for extra safety measures, took all her diaries and stuck them in a safe place.
"No telling what a vengeful Wakka might do," she said to herself, giggling.
She checked her watch, still two more hours to go until the library would be open and she could break out of the house. Two hours of pure torture and apprehension were awaiting her, and she sat down dejectedly for a second.
In front of her were several piles of clothes, and Chelsea carried them to her bottom drawer, carefully arranging her own clothes over theirs, and looked at her closet. The splinted hole Kimahri had punched through it was still there.
For the next hour, she worked on sanding her closet door down, and for the next, she prepared her bookbag for 'library use'. Sticking in several packets of sweet bread, and other foods, a cell phone, several phone-lists from the schools she had gone to, and her wallet.
"10 o'clock...10 o'clock!" she said excitedly, and jumped up with her bookbag over her shoulder, stepping out of her room.
"Going?" her mother asked.
"Yeah...I'll be back in three hours," she said.
"What about lunch?" her mother asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll uhh...eat out today...please?"
"You're money you waste," her mother said and let her go out.
Chelsea sprinted towards the park, and saw Yuna.
"Here," said Chelsea, giving out the food.
Rikku crinkled the plastic wrapping distastefully.
"So noisy," she said, but seemed to enjoy the bread anyhow.
They were all sitting at a secluded picnic table, and Chelsea began going through a pile of paper she had taken from her bookbag. Everyone looked interestedly at her, and she came to one yellowed sheet of paper, running her finger down it.
"Ach...should I?" she said to herself, and closed her eyes for a moment.
"Should you what?" asked Lulu.
"No...Sarah first, I can trust her," said Chelsea, completely ignoring Lulu.
She picked up her cell phone where Tidus' eyes bulged.
"We have those in Zanarkand!" he burst.
"Shoo," said Chelsea, and punched in a number, waiting as the other side rung.
"Hi, this is Chelsea. Could I please speak to Sarah? I'm really sorry it's so early, but I'll make it short-"
Wakka shuddered all over while Tidus happily explained to the others how the phone worked, and Chelsea gave them all an annoyed look while giving the sign to shut up.
"Sarah, hi...yeah, I know you haven't woken up yet. Look, this is important. You know FFX? No, it's not about my undying -ahrem- for ...you-know-who! Oh my god Sarah, just shut up for a second! Is that so? Well then you can talk to him!" snapped Chelsea and stuck the cell into Auron's ear. He took it quite well, and spoke calmly.
"Hello?"
"...who are you?" asked Sarah on the other line.
"Auron," said Auron.
"Bull," said Sarah.
Auron pushed the phone away from him, and Chelsea spoke into it again, annoyed.
"You're crazy," said Sarah.
"Fine, go to Barnes and Noble at three, I'll convince my mom to drive me there. Then you'll see. But I'm not kidding, I need help"
"Okay...but how are you going to bring them?"
"I'll think of something," she promised, and hung up.
"Not good ya?" asked Wakka.
"It's not easy telling someone that video game characters ended up in your room," said Chelsea, and sighed heavily.
"Rikku looks most like the kind of people here, could I take her with me?"
"What for?" asked Yuna.
"My friend needs proof...I don't blame her, we've never played the game although we know almost everything about it...so I need living proof," she said wryly, and Rikku got up.
"Not now," said Chelsea, she sat back down.
"If I told you you had to follow me from outside a car, without looking like you were, would you be able to do it?" she said after a second.
"Well it can't be too hard!" said Rikku
"I have three hours to spend with you," she said.
"Me? I was thinking more about him," asked Rikku, wiggling her eyebrows, and Yuna looked away since she couldn't hide a hide smile.
For the next two hours, she spent her time teaching what she could to the group, and when her time was nearly up, she took out her cell phone again, looking at the paper in her hand as she put the next number in. She looked nervous, and paced around the area while the phone rang.
"Ah, hello Ms. Gialas, this is Chelsea, a friend of Billy's from school. Could I talk to him?"
There was a pause, and Chelsea paced around some more.
"Yes, school's been busy for me...I've seen Billy around, but I'm really sorry I haven't been able to really talk to him," said Chelsea rolling her eyes as she said this.
"Oh yeah, she really feels sorry," said Wakka sarcastically.
"...Hi Billy! Ahhh, this is Chelsea, from 67. Yeah, I know, long time no see!"
"-the reason I'm calling is going to sound funny...yeah, almost three years now and we haven't talked, I know it's sounds funny already. Have you got the Beta testing of FFX? Really? Wow that's great! I've heard the pictures are totally off the chart. Yeah, FMV's are the best, and the textures are really nice. ...Could you do me a favor though? Check your memory card, I have to tell you something"
"Memory card, FFX?" asked Tidus, confused.
"It's blank! Shit, this can't be happening! That was like a hundred hours!" cussed Billy.
"Look, I think I know what's going on. But you've got to believe me, okay?" said Chelsea urgently.
"Believe what? That all my FFX memory cards have gone blank?! That my cartrige is dead?! What a BITCH! --Sorry ma!" shouted Billy.
"Billy! Just shut up! FFX just got real, I've got Yuna and co, here"
Billy snorted, "Prove it"
"You know what they sound like right? And Yuna's voice is obnoxiously high? Well eat your heart out," said Chelsea harshly and shoved the voice towards Yuna, who looked a little drawn, but Chelsea silently reassured her that she didn't think her voice was obnoxious, she of course was lying.
"H-Hello?" stammered Yuna.
"HOLY ---" came Billy's voice from the cell.
"Ow!" said Yuna, and handed the cell back to Chelsea.
"Believe me now? Okay, good, my AIM is acidbubblebath. IM me at nine tonight? Thanks a million," she said, and pressed the 'cancel' button, grinning.
"He's in," she said, and Rikku poked her.
"Yunie's voice is not annoying!"
"Rikku," said Lulu as a warning, and Rikku stopped. Yuna talked to Rikku off-side for a while, and Chelsea checked her watch again.
"I have to run, I'm coming in three hours to take Rikku"
Going back was tedious, she begged her mother to take her to Barnes and Noble in a couple more hours. Her mother, although a little wary, nodded, and Chelsea retired to her room.
"Billy...Sarah...there's got to be someone else that can help me...Aaargg, I have to make more friends!" she groaned, and lay on the bed with her bookbag still on for a second, then rolled off, and threw her bookbag to the ground.
