Awakening: Second Stage

Chapter Eleven

"Contemplation"

Saturday

Tino ran for his cabin, a water-logged Tish not far behind him. Seeing as how the girl still seemed particularly upset about being unceremoniously dunked into the lake because of his own silliness, Tino felt that the best place for him to hide out was around the company of adults. Of course, this depended on the foolish assumption that they would take his side, which was unlikely, to say the least. Nevertheless, he wouldn't know unless he tried. Besides, even if they thought Tish was right, which she probably was, at least they wouldn't let her kill him!

"Help!" Tino waved his arms frantically as he scrambled in through the cabin door, bursting in on his mother and Dixon in a slightly tender moment. "Mom! Dixon! Protect  me from Tish! She's going to.....um, am I interrupting something?"

Dixon rolled his eyes, resigning himself to the fact that the mood was gone. "Nothing terribly important." He sighed. Mrs. Tonitini whapped him on the head. "Ow!"

"Nothing terribly important?" She arched an eyebrow at her suitor.

"Can we possibly talk about this later?"

"Oh, you can bet we will."

"Great..." grimaced Dixon. "So, Tino, now that you're here, what's this about protecting you from-"

The door swung open once more, allowing the soaked girl in question to enter. Letting the door close behind her, Tish grabbed a handful of her hair and wrung it out for effect, a large puddle beginning to fall at her feet. "Tish!" Tino's mother called, getting up and trotting to the girl. "What happened to you? Did you fall into the lake?"

Tish calmly adjusted her glasses before responding. "That's an interesting choice of words. I suppose you could say I did fall in. I fell in after Tino stood up and dropped me."

"Dropped you?"

"It's a long story, Mom." Explained Tino.

"Maybe I don't want the details. I was a teenager once too, so I can imagine."

"Suffice it to say," Tish began, "Tino ruined the mood."

"I'm really sorry, Tish." Tino offered. "It was a total accident, I swear."

"Oh, I guess chasing you all the way back here proved my point."

"Uh...don't drop you into the lake."

"Something like that. I'm glad we got this little fiasco straightened out. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change into something dry." Tish crossed the room to her dresser, picking out a new outfit, then strode into the bathroom to change.

Tish resisted the urge to laugh once she was inside, she preferred to let Tino think she was still slightly annoyed. She was a tad miffed that he had managed to ruin the mood, perhaps, but she rapidly began embracing the absurdity of the situation. And absurdity had its place.

Laying her change of clothes out on the counter, Tish stripped off her wet garments, eager to rid herself of the clingy feeling. The dampness had begun to irritate her more sensitive areas. Shedding down to bare skin, she reached for a towel to help removed the damp from various nooks and crannies and joints. A part of her mentally chastised herself for being so thorough and perfect, but there was little she could do to stop herself. Perfectionist or no, this was getting down. Besides, she had decided to make peace with her perfection. Or at least, her strive to attain that state. Idiosyncrasies made up a large part of her daily routine, her very existence. Attempts to deny them only resulted in turning her all kinds of crazy, which wasn't entirely uncommon.

She could not avoid looking at herself in the mirror. There was something about the glass that she found oddly compelling. Tish blinked, realizing that it had been ages since she'd really looked at herself, especially in so pure and vulnerable a state. Fascinated, she found herself climbing up onto the bathroom counter and sink, stretching out her right leg. As she ran a finger down the length of it, her eyes darted back and forth between her flesh and its reflection. Her features felt entirely familiar, yet somehow different. Dimly, Tish thoughts turned to various disturbing films she had been subjected to over the years in health classes. The thought of those things happening to her seemed alien, yet she couldn't deny that the process might already be starting. She was growing up. She could only hope that her body would not grow and change faster than she was ready for. Not that she was dissatisfied with her body. But as she looked backwards, she could remember a time when she was so much smaller, tugging on her mother's skirts, reading classics for the first time. She smiled warmly at those fond memories, tossed about in the contrast of how nice and simple her life had been, but also the reality that she could never return to those times, save for memory. The first stage of her childhood was now over, she had to focus on what lay ahead. She laughed a bit at that thought. Looking ahead is what she had spent most of her life doing. At times, she felt as though she were thirteen going on twenty-three. High school was right around the corner, and college was rapidly approaching. There was so much for her to do, so little time. School, homework, clubs, drama, Tino...soon enough, she would even have to get a job. Adulthood loomed ever closer, heralding a time when the weekend would not be so wide open and care free. Responsibility would rear its ugly head. And so, Tish treasured the times like these, knowing that they couldn't last forever, yet savoring every day they continued to be hers.

Slowly, Tish climbed off the sink and stood in front of it once more, then she ran her hands through her hair, letting it fall limp with the moisture trapped inside. She took the towel in hand again, deciding to expedite the drying process, making sweeps that were rough and vigorous, eager to return her hair to its natural, softer state. Somewhat satisfied, Tish ran her hands down the length of her sides, pondering her appearance. Perplexed, she cautiously lifted off her glasses, leaning in close to the mirror so she could see through her near-sightedness. Sighing, she replaced the lenses over her eyes, settling the frames into place, nestling the frames in the niches of her ears. She was fair, she supposed, and smooth, but she was still nowhere nearly as attractive as Lor. By far, Lor MacQuarrie was the pretty one in their set, if a bit tomboyish. Still, Tish did not feel ugly. A bit mousy at times, yes, but by no means hopeless. She seemed to have something that Tino liked, for certain. Giggling, she wrapped the towel around herself, trying to execute seductive poses towards the mirror. All she succeeded in doing, however, was turning herself a deep shade of crimson. As though she could ever behave like that! Intrigued, she arched an eyebrow and struck a confident pose, as though daring her reflection to make a move. Tish considered herself to be the daring one in their pairing. A mental image of her jumping an unsuspecting Tino underneath the Big Tree ran through her mind. Where on earth had that come from? She shook her head, clearing it of strange ideas. Rolling her eyes, Tish decided that it might not be such a bad time for her to get dressed.

Lor stood in the bathroom of the Funville Arcade, washing her face with her hands. The cool water was surprisingly calming, she found that it granted her a relaxed feeling. Flipping her hair, she grinned at the mirror before grabbing a paper towel and dabbing her face dry. Grinning, she turned towards the camera, all smiles. "Okay, I know what you're thinking. What is with this dude and all the bathroom scenes, right? I mean, look at this! You just put up with all that junk about Tish being in the bathroom, only to cut to me...in the bathroom. Talk about obsessing! Oh well, we're here now, so we might as well make the most of it. I'm sorry if I've been a bit weird lately, but I've been feeling kind of trapped. You probably would too, if you were me. I don't want to be alone. But that's how I feel. Tino and Tish, they dropped this bomb on us, then said they were leaving for the weekend. I don't know about you, but I felt that was way harsh. It made me feel lonely and isolated. How can Carver just take it so non-chrana....chilly...cherno...how can he just act like it's no big deal.? Sometimes I just don't get him. It's definitely a big deal. What happens if they break up and don't wanna see each other anymore? It could tear apart our special friendship we all have. Or worse, what if they start to get like...you know...brr, okay, there's an image it's going to take all day to get out of my head. Aww duuude, see what you made me do?"

"Anyway, Carver seems to think I should just suck this up and stop thinking about it. And maybe he does have a point. I guess it really isn't my business what they do, right? But...they're my friends. We're supposed to look out for each other and stuff. I'm pretty confused. I'm not afraid to admit that the two of them probably make a really good couple. Even though I haven't really seen them together all couply yet. It's kind of a weird feeling. Like if they started holding hands, I'd feel two different things. Part of me would think it's totally messed up. But the other half would find that really sweet. And if you tell anyone I said that, I'll glue you to the wall. Hey, I've got an image to keep up!"

"But...I do feel a little bummed. They've been together for an entire year now. I haven't been able to make that kind of progress with Thompson yet. I can't even really call him my boyfriend, even though I'd like to. I just can't talk around him. My throat closes up and I blush like crazy, sometimes I mumble stuff. It's so embarrassing and I can't do anything to stop it. It's like I'm watching myself act like an idiot whenever I see him, but for whatever reason, I'm helpless to stop it. Just trust me when I say it's really annoying. Time like that, I usually wish I was Tish. She always knows how to talk to Thompson. Man that makes me so jealous! Tish can talk to guys better than I can, and she's never even had a crush on anyone like the rest of us. Well, unless you want to count Percy, but I don't think that artificial crushes should count. Unless...maybe she had a thing for Tino all along? But if she did, she was pretty good at hiding it. Then again, we already know she's good at hiding stuff. She managed to go the entire year without us even suspecting there was something going on. Even Tino managed to hide it, and he's got the world's worst poker face. Not to mention that he squeals. It usually isn't too hard to figure out what Tino's thinking, but he had no trouble hiding something like that. It really makes you wonder about how well you know your friends. Either he's a lot smoother than I ever gave him credit for, or I'm just missing something. Poor Tino, I should really give him the benefit of the doubt."

Smirking, Lor gripped the counter with both hands and hoisted herself up, sliding her butt on the surface and dangling her legs over the side. "Me? I'm still plotting my next move. I think I'm out from under this whole Tino and Tish thing, but I still just don't feel like my usual self. Maybe I should try playing a game of rugby with my brothers. I wonder if I can get Carver to join in? I mean, if it won't mess up his shoes or anything. You know Carver, he's pretty uptight when it comes to his kicks. Then there's Tino, who loves comic books and seems a little...well, he seems to have fears stuffed inside him. It's really kind of cute. Sometimes creepy, but cute. Sometimes we can forget he's the only one of us who comes from a broken home, so I guess that kind of thing is only natural. It couldn't have made his life any easier, even though his mom is pretty cool. A bit of a health nut, but cool. Tish is all into her books and art and stuff...is it just me, or am I the only one of our group who seems normal? There we go, that's what I like to see. Kudos to me! Anyway, where was I...Tino. Well, I guess on the puppy dog meter he rates a...whoa, wait a minute! I can't believe I almost tried to rate Tino! You guys must think you're pretty slick. Well, I'm not going to fall for that so easily. Ha!" Smiling happily, Lor slid down off the counter, making her way towards the door. "Okay, we've spent entirely too much time in the bathroom. Carver's going to think I fell in or something."

Approaching the heavy wooden door, Lor pushed it open and stepped through, returning into the darker atmosphere of Funville. Her eyes had to readjust to the lower light levels. Carver was waiting next to the door, leaning against the wall and trying to look cool. His yellow shirt seemed to absorb large quantities of light in the area, drawing people's eyes to him. "You were in there for awhile." Carver spoke, cocking an eyebrow. "You fall in?"

"No." Lor gave him a look indicating she didn't want to made fun of.

"Oh, so you just got a little of the old ring-around-the-butt."

Lor stuck her tongue out at him in response. "I'm sorry you had to wait, I was busy."

"Ah, it's okay. I'm just sorry you had to sit in a wet seat."

"Huh?" Carver motioned towards her posterior, which Lor tried in vain to see, despite the fact that she couldn't turn her head one hundred eighty degrees. Vexed, she rapped her hands against her rump several times, surprised indeed that her jeans were damp. "This sucks!"

"You didn't, you know, have an accident, did you?"

"Dude, stop, someone might be able to hear you seriously! I must've sat in some water on the sink."

"And why were you sitting on the sink?"

"Who are you, my dad? It's a woman's right to sit on the sink if she wants to!"

"Uh-huh." Carver replied sarcastically. "So tell me, is it also a woman's prerogative to walk around with wet jeans? How can you have not felt that?!"

"Thick jeans." Lor shrugged. "I didn't feel it at all. Great. Now I get to walk around looking like I've wet myself." She groaned.

"Well, on the plus side, if you do you're already showing, so no one will notice."

"Gee, thanks Carv. Where would I be without you?" Lor rolled her eyes.

"I honestly don't know, but I shudder to think of a world without Carver DesCartes."

"I'll bet you do."

"I'm serious! I watched that 'It's A Wonderful Life' movie last December. It was about this dude whose life got so bad he wished he had never been born, and then this angel came and showed him what the world would be like if he'd never been born. Man, it was terrible! This one greedy rich dude took over the whole town, and he made them all live in these crummy houses that cost a fortune. All those people this one guy had managed to help in life. And he was just an ordinary man. I figure someone like me, the whole world could fall apart!"

"Yeah." Chided Lor. "Everyone would sigh with relief at the same time, and it would like, knock the earth out of its orbit and we'd all fall into the sun or something."

"Mock me if you must, but I'm telling you, we're all important."

"Right......maybe you've had too many Chug-A-Freezes today."

"So I downed one while I was waiting on you! What's the big deal?"

"Oh c'mon! I wasn't in there that long! Now you're just being stupid about it!"

"Stupid? Hey, you try waiting out here. Then again, what's the point? Man, girls spend way too much time in the bathroom."

"Well sorry if it's not quite so simple for us!"

"You should be!" Carver yelled, then replayed the last twenty seconds of their argument. "Whoa, okay, let's chill. We're being childish. I mean, for us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. If Tish were here, she's probably yell at us for being immature."

"Like it's our fault! It's what we're good at. My responsibility is to coolness. If that makes me immature, I consider it a small price to pay."

"Let's just get our game in. I could really use a new pair of kleets!"

"Is it just me, or does that girl take a long time in the bathroom?" queried Dixon, sitting in the most comfortable chair the cabin had to offered, adjacent to Tino's mother, in a similar (but slightly harder) chair.

"In a hurry?" Miss Tonitini asked sarcastically.

"Merely an observation." Dixon reassured her.

The sentiment sent Tino's mind back to that twisted weekend he and Tish had spent trying to piece together costumers for a party to which they had been unexpectedly been invited.  They had thought that Lor and Carver did not receive an invite, and so they had gone to great lengths to hide their activity from the others. Being the artist, Tish had spent a large amount of time in the "bathroom," Tino covering for her while she covertly slipped off to work on the costumes. On hindsight, Tino wasn't sure which had been more embarrassing, the hideous costumes he and Tish had made out of odds and ends, or finding out that the entire endeavor had been a plot of Colby and Bree, designed to humiliate them for the amusement of others. The only consolation in the whole catastrophe had been that both Lor and Carver had very much been invited, and they had stood up for himself and Tish. Definitely a lesson in keeping secrets from one another, and also in who their real friends are. Sometimes, Tino found himself lying awake at night, pondering his relationship to each of his friends. He was pleased to realize that despite all their different personalities, he could not honestly say that he liked one of his friends better than another. Even given his evolved relationship with Tish, he still couldn't honestly say that she was a better person than any of the others. She was his significant other, but his friend first, and he tried to leave it at that. He considered her equal among friends and exalted among women. Tino didn't fully grasp the logistics of that situation, but it had been an issue the two of them had hammered out very early in their relationship; the effect it could have on the others was not a consequence to be taken lightly. Tino winced at the thought of hurting any of his friends, they had all been together far too long to be broken up now. The friendship was one of the few things he could truly count on in life. Everything else could come and go, but somehow, deep inside, he felt that they all would find a way to stay together.

Tish elected to present herself at that moment, now clad in purple, both top and bottom, a moderate shade which appealed to the eye but did not encourage staring. She smiled slightly as she deposited her wet articles in a plastic bag, then grabbed her brush from the table beside the bed, running it through her hair as she walked to the cushioned wicker love seat, dropping her body onto it, all the while struggling with her hair. Her face tightened each time she forced her way through a snag. Quietly, Tino stood up from his chair and crossed over to the love seat. Tish did not react to his presence, promoting Tino's mother to take a sip of her herbal tea, as if to say 'this might be interesting." Tino's mouth opened and closed several times, looking for the right thing to say, but failing miserably.

"I...I'm sorry, Tish." Tino finally got out. "I just totally freaked out back there and all thoughts of you just vanished. I didn't want you to get soaked, honest." Tish pulled the brush through her hair one last time, turning so that the back of her head now faced the boy. She passed the brush behind her expectantly. "You want me to brush your hair?"

"Even strokes, all the way through." Tish managed to find her voice. "I normally do this ritually, my own routine. This isn't very hard, but please, go gently. Don't pull too hard!"

"No prob." Tino nodded. "I'll brush it so carefully, you'll never know I did it."

"Forgive me if I'm not completely filled with confidence." Tish laughed as Tino looked the brush up and down before applying it to her head and brushing backwards. "Oww." Tish admitted as Tino pulled through a particularly nasty snag.

"Sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Alright." Miss Tonitini grinned. "It looks as though you two aren't going to kill each other after all." Tish turned to look at Tino, who in turn looked at her. Both of them started laughing at the same time. "They'll be fine. You owe me a soda, Dixon. It wasn't until long after Tino had settled into bed for the night that he realized the significance of his mother's words. She was betting on them, and he knew he wouldn't disappoint.

Awakening is back!

Thanks for reading everyone! I apologize that this took so long to get out to you, but I had to go to Otakon, and after that I was just so swamped, it took me a long time to get this one out to you. Even as I write this, I'm dead tired, so please forgive me if any parts of it are incoherent. I did a lot of daring stuff this time out, I hope you all think enough of it to try it again with me next week. 

I would tell you more, but I can't keep my eyes open. Keep reading, hopefully you'll be rewarded.

Lord Malachite

8/18/03                       

5:46 AM, EST

E-mail: ranger_writer@yahoo.com

AIM: Asukaphile26.