(((.-) Zel ||^.^|| Xelloss {{^.^}} Lina ((.^)||
Gourry ((^.^))Amelia
Seyruun High Jinx
Chapter 11
By the time Wednesday rolled around, Lina had everyone lined up to take the
Van-Amelia to the Dojo, without spilling the beans to Xelloss.
"Hello, everyone," he said smiling and carrying a can of tomato juice
to the lunchroom table, "So…what's the big secret?" He being the master of secrets himself, knew when something was being kept from him. He suspected Lina to be the instigator of
some devious plan.
Lina, who had been whispering the final details with Sylphiel, stopped. "Ahh...we're trying to guess what part in Midsummer Night's
Dream Zel is going to try out for?"
Zel knew exactly what was going on, and so simply shook his head and played
along. "They'll never guess. How about you? What parts are you interested
in?"
Xelloss smiled. "That's a secret," he winked and held up an index
finger by Zel's nose.
Zel grabbed the finger and bent it sideways.
"Ouch!" Xelloss winced painfully. "I need that for typing and
drumming and..."
"Then keep it out of my face," Zel sneered.
"So, Lina, when are try-outs again?" asked Gourry between bites.
"Monday, so we have the weekend to practice," answered Lina while
swabbing ketchup off her face. "What part do you want?"
"Umm...is there a swordsman?" he asked.
"I'll find one for you, okay?" she offered.
"Yeah, thanks. Ahh, would you like a
cookie?" he asked holding a bag from Sylphiel open in Lina's direction.
"Sure…here, Val, try one of these." Lina tossed a cookie to the
green- haired kid standing behind her. "And stop breathing down my
neck."
"Sorry, Lina, that was me. I
dropped my sweater...oh thank you Val," Filia blushed as Val hurriedly
scraped the offending article of clothing off the gray linoleum and gracefully
handed it over.
Val grunted something and moved to claim his seat between Lina and Filia. Today
Amelia was sitting to Zel's left, Xelloss was on his right.
"I haven't decided which part to try out for. I've never read the entire
play. What would you suggest, Zelgadiss?" asked Amelia batting her baby-
blues.
Zel slid one eye in Amelia's direction. Why did she have to ask him? "I
don't know."
Lina dove for the save, "I have an idea, Amelia. It will be perfect. Walk
home with me and I'll tell you all about it wink, wink ."
"Does that mean YOU have decided, Lina?" asked Xelloss. Now he knew
for certain that Lina was up to something.
"Not exactly. How about you,
Filia?" Lina asked, stacking empty
containers back into her lunch sack.
"Well, I'm thinking beautiful faerie princess," she began dreamily.
"Ahh…that's too bad for you, drummer boy," grinned Val devilishly at Xelloss. "She's got you beat.
You'll have to look for something...less beautiful."
Xelloss frowned and crossed his arms. Lina grasped Val by the hair and yanked
his head over hissing, "Cut it out. It's not funny anymore. Now apologize
or I'll…" here she moved in close to his ear and growled so that only he
could discern the words "…let him beat the shit out of you after he wins
another level in Karate, or whatever. Got it buster?"
Val nodded. Lina released her hold and continued to glare at him.
"Sorry, dude. Bad joke. Didn't mean anything by
it."
Xelloss simply smiled faintly and said, "If you want to compliment Filia,
I'm sure you can think of something...more direct."
Zel shook his head silently and turned a page in the book he was reading. He
hoped to stay out of the line of fire for a change.
Gourry was anxious about the play roles. "I'm sure there are lots of guy parts,
right? I mean I don't want to have to wear a dress in a play. I don't think any
of us want to."
Lina sighed, "I'm sure you will get a guy
part, Gourry. And Val and Xelloss and…Zel, too."
Zel flipped through his paperback copy of the script. What roles COULD he try
out for? There were the old guys, Egeus and Theseus,
but that wasn't a very flattering role…old guys...nope. Then there were lot's
of girls' names, and fairies, (…no no no no no
no no no
no no! and double no!!) the
play-within-the-players, which were equally un-flattering roles, and the Philostrate, who was a sniveling toady and very
unattractive to him.
Okay, how about the main roles? Puck…no, that was practically reserved for another purple-haired geek he knew. Oberon…a crowd of other boys had been talking about trying out for that part, so it was off-limits. Lysander? No no no. That was the sappiest, stupidest role in the play and it would guarantee him a love scene with some horrible girl. Which left him with, "Demetrius, I guess, he has attitude," he said aloud by mistake.
Amelia looked up.
"Though," he continued, "I'm far more likely
to be cast as an 'attendant to Theseus and Hippolyta'."
"No!" the little black-haired girl cried. "Don't give in to
self-doubt! If you tell yourself you can do something, you can! Always think
positively! Reach for the stars!" she shouted mantras at him.
"That's…not the way it works, Amelia," he sighed.
"Stop thinking so negatively! If you think negatively, you'll stop TRYING,
and if you don't even try, of course you'll lose! Besides, I know you can get Demetrius, because
you're a really good actor."
That was probably her repayment of his compliment of her dancing. He'd brought
it on himself. But somehow, her vote of
confidence made him feel a little better. He could get any role he wanted. It was as if she'd implanted that phrase in
his mind. That was a scary thought. He smiled inwardly- not outwardly because
he didn't want to encourage her unduly -and looked at the lines he had to
practice for try-outs.
Lina grabbed the book from his hands. "Gimme..."
He didn't even bother to resist.
She looked at the main female roles first, though she'd never admit it to
anyone. But they were just too...sappy and pathetic. Though Helena would be a
whole lot of fun if Demetrius was someone she could stand. But if it was Zel,
she couldn't do it with a straight face. Puck would be challenging, she could
pull it off. It would be better than a fairy attendant!
Lina thought to herself, "No wonder Zel was shaking his head. The
secondary parts have possibilities…there's one for Gourry...but what about Val?
He'd look great with an ass's head. No, that's his problem. What about me?"
Zel sighed, "I had hoped for a dramatic play."
Lina nodded, "Somehow you'll make this a tragedy. I know you can do it if you put your mind to it!" she spouted
the last part in an imitation of Amelia.
Gourry's face lit up. "Oh Lina, I found these at home." He leaned over and pulled a couple large
books out of his mostly empty back pack. He thumbed through one, and then,
happy to have found the right page, he pushed the book to the middle of the
table. "See if you can find me.
Fifth grade graduating class, Tesla Elementary," smiled the lanky blond.
Zel's stomach did a loop-de-loop. Filia, Amelia, and Val had moved closer for a
better view. There on a page glowed
Gourry's face with his good-natured smile. A long drape of straw- colored hair
covered one shoulder and ran out of sight at the bottom of the picture. His
bangs were neatly trimmed out of his eyes, giving a clear view of his sparkling
blues.
"I see two blondes," said Filia analytically. "Oh
Gods! That's you? Your hair is
so…long and...you're gorgeous! Lina?"
Lina did a double-take. She hadn't paid attention to the older kids, back
then. "Oh yeah, that's you huh?
Pretty cute kid," she winked his way.
Gourry grinned, "Now look at this. Lina and Zel's class.
Sylphiel, you're on another page."
Lina was the only redheaded kid. Her flaming wild hair, impish grin, and fiery
eyes popped off the page immediately. But Zel was an enigma.
"It took me awhile too, and I remembered…ah…" Gourry's voice trailed
off.
Amelia gasped.
Luckily the pictures were in color. Zel's intense blue eyes and smirky smile
hadn't changed. His shoulder length hair was glossy dark brown, and was not
used to cover up his flawless pale skin. Xelloss remained silent, a new trick
he had learned.
"You were a real knock-out, Gourry, and so were you Lina," chuckled
Val, "…but I still don't see Zel."
Amelia pointed a quivery finger at Zel's photo. "That's you, isn't it Mr.
Zelgadiss?"
Zel pushed away from the table and rushed off, unable to speak.
"Let him go," warned Lina, "He'll get over it. He always
does."
"B-But Miss Lina, he was so...beautiful. How could his grandfather not
want to help him? How could he be so cruel and unjust?" Amelia cried.
Xelloss shook his head. "Jealously, I'd guess. It makes people do the
most…despicable acts. Something Val would understand, I'm sure."
Amelia appeared ill. "When did the...when did it happen, then, Miss
Lina?"
"A year later, or so. I think he got his sixth grade photo taken,
then... shortly after that, I think. He
was 12-13 maybe, middle school. He didn't come back that year, though I visited
a lot. No one else did," answered Lina.
Gourry had opened the next book. "Your sister gave me this to look at last
summer one afternoon when I was waiting for you. I forgot to give it back. It's
your fifth grade yearbook."
Lina turned to her picture. Gotta love that confident smile.
Then she turned to Sylphiel's; with her soft gray eyes, gentle smile and miles
of silky black hair, she was lovely. She turned to find other classmates.
Lastly she turned to Zel's. Someone had surrounded it with a big heart in red
pen. Then Lina closed the book and pushed both books to Gourry.
"Thanks, Gourry, but would you continue to keep mine with you. It might
get lost at my place."
The bell rang. Time to go back to classes.
A somber Zel and a smiling Gourry watched Xelloss leave the school, then they carried their fencing gear over to Amelia's van,
threw the bags into the back and jumped in too.
"Okay, we have one hour to get to the convention center arena, find seats
and get some snacks before show time," Lina said, ticking off the
scheme. "According to Sango, this
is the first of four events leading up to the finals in spring, which is an
international competition. So this is pretty important."
"Yeah, so why didn't Xelloss invite us?" asked Filia.
"Nerves? Fear of rejection? Who knows? Let's just hope we don't spook him and make
him choke."
The arena was filling fast. Lina and friends found their seats. "Good
thing Sango recommended getting tickets ahead of time," Lina said. "She got us good ones."
Zel looked around for familiar faces. The place was packed. Then he saw them; his breath caught, his face blanched, his
eyes widened. Could it be? He was certain that those were the legs of the high
school principal. Why would that
scary lady be here, though? A man passed between them, temporarily blocking his
view. Zel faced back forward and took a sip of coffee, shuddering with the
sudden warmth.
The lights flashed. The first competitors, young girls and boys, were presented
on stage. The Master bowed, they bowed, and they worked through some opening
exercises in unison. Then, one by one each child's skill was tested, until they
all had had a turn. Then they resumed the bowing and left the stage.
This was repeated with new groups of increasing skill, from Zel's
understanding. He recognized Sango and Sano, who came out as assistants with a
beginning group. Nuriko helped with the next. They traded back and forth with
the next group, and then it was intermission break.
"I saw Sango."
"Yep, Sano too! He's really tall."
"Yeah, that was Nuriko from the Suzaku Seven helping out, right?"
"So when does Xelloss make his appearance?" asked Val bored.
"He's not a beginner so probably his time is coming up in the second
half. Maybe he helps out later,
too. How would I know?" answered
Lina.
No sooner had Lina finished her sentence, than three kids pushed their way
along the row and into the empty seats next to Zel. "Oh, hi Zel!" said a cheery Kagome,
"Come to cheer your friends along?"
Beside her sat the kid he knew from fencing, Inu, and
another boy Zel didn't recognize.
"Come here, Miroku," Kagome called.
"Meet some of my friends. This is Zel, who was and will continue to
be on the archery team. He's even recruited Xelloss, if you can believe that he
can be coerced into coming out of his shell. This is Amelia, student body
president of the freshman class. And this is Lina. And watch yourself, she's
tougher than Sango! Ha, Ha. And further down there is…Gourry, Sylphiel, Filia,
and Val on the far end. Everyone, this is Miroku, who is here to watch Sango
mostly, though he tries to keep it a big secret."
Inu
snorted and suggested rearranging the seats so that he could talk to Zel and
still be beside Kagome. This took a few minutes since Miroku seemed to
want to be close to Kagome too. This was soon settled amicably when Amelia
agreed to sit on one side of him, giving up her precious seat beside Zel. Lina
sat to his right.
Inu glared at Miroku then settled his golden eyes on
Amelia. "If he bothers you, just let me know…or better yet, Lina. She
looks like she could keep a pack of wolves at bay." Then he grinned, a fang showing.
Kagome continued to explain what was going on, "The advanced students are
next. There are a couple of Dojos present, 'ours' and
two other ones in town. The best students will continue on to the next trials
in a few months. Today there will first be skill testing, then at the very end
a little exhibition. Oh it's
starting!"
Again twelve students lined up, including Sango and Sano, and performed the
bowing, then some group exercises with the teachers from all three Dojos. The individual tests began. Six advanced students,
including Nuriko and Xelloss, entered to assist. Mostly they blocked attacks,
instead of leading any themselves. When the round was done, the twelve students
bowed and exited. The five remaining students, then executed a series of
movements in unison, a silent dance, and then broke apart into teams opposing
the masters. Kagome explained that each team represented a Dojo and that only
one would represent this city area by the end of the test.
They all looked good to Zel. One Dojo team was an older man and woman who
looked formidable. He watched Nuriko and Xelloss move with speed and fluidity
out maneuvering the older pair. Then as if on cue, the woman moved toward
Xelloss, while the man advanced upon the taller Nuriko. Nuriko took a glancing
blow to the side, which he used to catch the larger man off his footing and
flip him to the floor. Simultaneously, Xelloss blocked the woman's kick, held
her ankle, and flipped her backwards onto the wooden floor boards. Match over. Bows all around.
Both pairs took turns competing against the third team, which both team beat
with ease. Then it was over. Nuriko and Xelloss were to represent this sector
three months from now. Kagome explained that their entire Dojo would be invited
to go to the sector championships and watch or participate in the
demonstrations.
The last part of the show consisted of some fun demonstrations. Sano showed off
his strength by punching through bricks and kicking through boards. Sango
wielded a large boomerang-like weapon in a display of grace, balance and
strength. Nuriko and Xelloss, who had only used hand-to-hand combat in the
trials, now flipped nunchucks, then bo-staffs, Xelloss' personal favorite.
The crowd, which had been quiet throughout the contest phase, was cheering
excitedly during the demonstration part. By the end, the crowd was standing.
All the students and Masters returned to the stage and bowed. Then the students
filed off into the aisles to greet their families, before showering, changing
and going home.
Xelloss had not seen his friends; he had no idea that they were in the
audience. But he knew his mother was, and so, walked slowly up the aisle fiddling
with his hair band waiting for her to find him. Worn to keep his hair out of
his eyes, the band bothered him and the knot was too difficult to untie, so he
ripped it off, taking some hair with it. Zel had watched the lady with the
lovely legs out of the corner of his eyes, curious to know who she was here to
watch. His breath caught in his throat as he watched her approach Xelloss, take
the headband and untie the knot, all the while smiling and talking. Xelloss,
looking serious, nodded and looked to the door. Lina was screaming to go down
and find him, but Zel hoped it would take them a bit longer to get down to
near-stage area where Xelloss stood. The woman, clearly his mother, was the
principal of their high school. This was a secret worth keeping. Zelas
Metallium turned away and exited the center.
"Lina, he's near the stage, but you'd better hurry before he disappears
again," advised Zel.
"Yeah, gotcha…and whoever's got their hand on me better take it off
instantly…OR LOSE IT!" she shouted. Miroku smiled innocently and moved
toward Sango.
Lina's mob descended upon the unsuspecting kid like sharks on a bloody carcass.
He never knew what hit him. He was so shocked, he just stood gaping.
"Well, this is a first, Xelloss without a word to say!" laughed Gourry
slapping him on the back, "Great job out there!"
When reality sank in, the messy-haired kid looked frantically toward the door,
lest a certain someone still be in view.
"Coast is clear. She's gone," whispered Zel, "Don't worry; your
secret is safe with me." Zel winked at the visibly relieved boy.
"So what's next? You want to shower and change while we wait?" asked
Lina sidling up. "Cause we're
taking you out to celebrate; that is, unless you have other plans?"
"Ahh, er...no...no
plans, that is…ahh, that would be great, Lina. But I
don't have a change here. I'll need to go home first, okay?" stammered the
smiling kid.
Val was laughing now. "Speechless and
with messy hair, you are one scary guy, Xelloss. And I thought Sano was good. Remind me not to get ya
pissed off again." That was Val's
way of saying 'great job'.
Amelia's van dropped Xelloss at the practice room to clean up. The other's were taken to the grocery to pick up supplies. When
Lina and Co. returned, Xelloss was dressed in khakis and pale blue polo shirt,
and was busy towel-drying his hair.
"Come on open up in there. Just wrap a towel around you and let us in…this
stuff is heavy!" shouted Lina, "Oh, you're dressed already? Here,
take these sacks."
After shoving her groceries into the grinning kid's arms, Lina pushed him aside
and plowed in.
"What's all this, Lina?"
"Zel's cooking dinner. Now show
Gourry where to plug in the hot plates," Lina ordered.
"Hey, it's nothing fancy." Zel began.
Soon Zel had a huge pot of pasta sauce bubbling on one burner and salted water
boiling on the other. Filia and Amelia were tossing the salad and slicing
olives. Val was grating Parmesan cheese.
"You know this would make one hell of a weapon," said Val brandishing
the grater in one hand.
"Only for a bad-ass cook," snapped Lina, eyes gleaming.
Gourry was slathering butter on a loaf of French bread.
"Ah, Zel? Where's the garlic?" asked the
blonde.
"Just a sec." Zel picked up a few cloves,
rolled off the skins, and mashed them with the side of his knife, "There
you go. Lina, how's the dressing coming along?"
"Okay…Zel how did you do that…clove thingy? Do it again," pushed Lina.
Sylphiel was putting the final touches on the dessert preparations. "Zel,
all I need is one burner," she said.
"How about the microwave?" suggested Xelloss.
"That's a topping we can heat just before serving, right?"
"Microwave? Why yes, that will do. Thank
you," answered Sylphiel. "Ummmm, Zel, what
is that scrumptious smell?"
"Croutons. I'm frying them in butter and herbs
and…there…ready. Let them cool a little and we are ready to add them to the
salad."
Zel put Val to work draining the pasta.
"Where do ya want this?" asked Val,
"There's no serving bowl big enough."
"I'll take care of that!" and Xelloss hopped off to the main house.
"Amelia, go after him and be sure he has enough dishes and stuff to eat
with," added Lina.
"NO!" shouted Zel, remembering the 'mother' problem, "I'll
go…sorry Amelia, I didn't mean to shout in your ear. I need some other things," and he was
gone in a flash.
Zel caught up to Xelloss at the door, "Hold up, we need some other stuff,
and I volunteered to, ah...run interference."
Xelloss stood in the open door smiling. "Okay…Well, then, I guess you'll
have to meet my mother, Zelas, since she's in the kitchen."
Zelas turned as the boys walked in and held out a long fingered hand with red
polished nails. "You forget, dear, Mr. Graywords and I have already
met."
Xelloss blanched, then regained his color, head bowed. "I guess I really
haven't kept as many secrets as I'd thought," he sighed.
"Of course not, dear. You're too young to have any REAL secrets,"
Zelas said, blowing a thin stream of twisting smoke.
"They've been gone for a while," Amelia said. The salad was beginning
to look a little stressed after she tossed it for the fiftieth time.
"Yeah, if you strapped the graters to your arms you could just swing them
like that and take off a whole shitload of
skin-"
"Okay, Val, enough about the cheese-graters! You're alienating less
violent persons from the conversation!" Lina warned, referring to the
choirgirls.
"Hey, I don't have to do what you say!" he snorted, but one sidelong
look at Filia made him back down. "But I'm gonna
anyway."
The savory smell of pasta sauce and garlic butter made them salivate. They
wouldn't be able to wait for Zel and Xel much longer.
Gourry picked up his unplugged bass and strummed a few dull chords, keeping
himself occupied.
"Open the door!" came Zel's muffled voice.
"Our hands are full!"
Everyone but Lina ran to help. Zelgadiss had a worrisome stack of dishes and
cutlery in him arms. Xelloss had his arms full of candles. Big
ones, small ones, fat, thin, beeswax, paraffin, in all colors, and some quite
sculptural. He held a large tablecloth in his teeth.
"Uh, what's with the candles, man?" Val asked, an eyebrow convulsing
wildly.
"We're eating outside," Zel explained, "and we need light to eat
by. It'll be nice ambiance."
"How romantic!" Sylphiel and Filia sighed,
before they remembered who they were eating with.
"Riiight...anyway, you've got that pasta bowl,
so let's get busy so we can eat!" Lina conducted them around the kitchen.
"Please, take these dishes before I drop them," Zel begged. Amelia
flew to his side to help.
In record time, food was in dishes and being carried out in a procession to
where Xelloss had spread the cloth and arranged the candles artistically. But
they were still unlit.
"I thought I had brought matches out here, but they appear to be
lost."
"That's okay, I've gotta lighter," Val pulled a slim, silver butane
lighter from his pocket and tossed it to Xelloss.
"Thank you!" he said and then set about illuminating the night.
The bowls were passed, the food devoured.
"Zel, I gotta hand it to ya, this is a great
dinner," said Lina crunching a crouton.
"Cookin' for the old geezer has given you
a new talent worth keeping."
"Oh joy," muttered Zel, but he wasn't mad at all.
"Say, what would everyone like to drink?" asked Xelloss skipping to
the practice room door.
"Beer?" asked Val.
"Noooo. But there's soda and juice and…" began Xelloss as he
disappeared inside.
"Wine," said Zel. "From my grandfather's cache. Hey, I needed it for the
sauce and there's some left and this is a celebration," he added
defensively.
"Well I don't know…" began Filia, as Zel placed a glass in her hand
and poured another.
"What are you afraid of?" asked Val.
"Nothing.
Wine is often served at ceremonies, but…oh well, Xelloss? Are you coming
back?" called Filia.
"Yeah, yeah…I needed to drink some water myself. Whoa Zel, what's
this?" asked Xelloss, depositing hands full of bottles to the tablecloth
to take the offered glass of wine from Zel.
"A toast. Congratulations for winning the first
round of the Karate match for your Dojo, Xelloss," said Zel, releasing the
wine glass into his friend's safe keeping.
"Thanks...everyone…" Xelloss
hid his eyes in his bangs and sat down. "Shit… this is embarrassing,"
he laughed.
So did everyone else. And the dinner continued.
"I'll be just a moment," said Sylphiel excitedly running to get
dessert.
She heated the cherry and the fudge toppings in the microwave, sliced the
tender cake and carried out the slices on a platter, plus dessert plates.
Amelia hopped up to give her a hand. Sylphiel left and returned with a bowl of
steaming topping and a bowl of cool, whipped cream.
"Ooh," said the appreciative crowd.
"Okay, you're first, Xelloss. A
little of each?" she asked
"Not toooooo little," he whined, and then
flashed her his nutty grin.
"There," she smiled handing him the brimming plate and reaching to
fill the next.
"Sylphiel, this will take forever. Just put the cake on a plate and we'll
serve ourselves," suggested Lina.
"I don't think so." Sylphiel smiled slyly and slapped away Lina's
greedy hands. "Wait your turn; you'll be next, okay?"
And so the serving and eating continued for some time…
"At least let us help you carry in the dirty dishes," cried Amelia.
"After all, Mr. Zelgadiss, you did most of the cooking. It's only right we
do the cleaning."
Zel looked at the house first before answering. "Let me see if the kitchen
is…ah…free first. Please, Amelia, just give me a sec."
Lina raised an eyebrow. What was Zel being so careful about? Maybe a monster did live in that house. Maybe a terrible
deformed person that would bring humiliation down upon poor Xelloss if we all
knew…tempting, but… not tonight.
"Lina, what's so funny?" asked Gourry as he wiped out the cherry
sauce bowl with a finger.
"Oh I just had an evil thought, but it's passed now. So is the coast clear,
Zel Braveheart?"
"Ah, yes."
Amelia led the way followed by Filia, Sylphiel, Val, surprisingly, and Gourry.
Xelloss hovered anxiously around them as they washed and dried dishes.
"Honestly, Mr. Xelloss, we're not going to break anything. Go back out and
babysit Miss Lina and Mr. Zelgadiss," admonished
Amelia.
Val helped push him out the door. "Shit that guy's so weird."
"Look who's talking?" Filia said, "Just how many earrings do you wear? I count
1-2-3-4-5…" She touched his ear and
felt him tremble a tiny bit, then pulled back her hand. "A-And there's probably more I can't
see…on the other side…" she added hurriedly, blushing.
Val almost dropped the large pasta bowl he was drying. He wondered to himself-- Was she
flirting with me? A cheerleader? The most beautiful
girl in the...Whoa! Where did that shit come from?"
Gourry caught the bowl slipping from Val's hands, and noted, "I'll take
that and put it away, then we're done."
"Great timing!" announced Amelia.
"The van will be here in about 15 minutes to take everyone home.
groans Hey, it's a school night and we all still have
homework to do and need a good night's sleep!"
"What about the hotplates?" asked Xelloss.
"Keep them here for the next time, or get a real range top
installed," said Zel.
The van pulled up and took away everyone but Zel, who preferred to walk home.
"Hey, Zelgadiss?"
"Just call me Zel, okay?"
"It sounds like my nickname."
"No one calls you Xel, but they do all call me
Zel, so it's not your nickname, it's mine!"
Xelloss grinned. "Okay, if you say so… And thanks for keeping my
...secret. If the kids at school knew, I couldn't take it. I'd have to change
schools and leave my only friends."
He had dropped the silly grin, and his voice had a husky with stifled
emotion.
"Are you all right? God, Xelloss, I'm not going to give you away. But why
not talk to her...she is your mother. She obviously cares about you. Maybe she
can work…somewhere else?"
Xelloss shook his head. "She's there.
I'm there so she can keep tabs on me. Zelgadiss, there are some
things about me…I can't share."
"It's a good thing you didn't know Lina since forever. No matter how deep
a secret I've got, she's always ready to dredge it up and share it with my
friends."
"Yeah, I've noticed…like the red heart drawn around your fifth grade
graduation picture...in her book."
"What?" Zel had not seen it. He had fled the scene before looking. He
couldn't stomach images of himself before the accident, or after for that
matter.
"The one in Lina's yearbook. I assume she was the
one that put it there. You didn't know? She must have had a crush on you back
then,"
Zel shook his head. "Silly stuff, probably. We're just friends now. I'm
lucky to have that much."
"Me too," nodded the smiling boy.
**** ( ^^ ) ****
End Seyruun High Jinx Chapter 11