A/N: Wow, the reviews are really coming in! I'm glad! ^_^ So, let's see...*uses the abacus that she still has* For the prologue, I got uh... 4 reviews...Then for...*plays with the beads on the abacus more* Chapter 1, I got....6...Chapter 2?...*still using abacus*......*mumbles*...blah blah blah...so the average is...about 6 or 7 reviews per chapter! @_@ So...*uses abacus again*...by the time this fic is finished, I should have at least....*switches beads around*.... 90-105 reviews! YAY!
Howdy: *crawling around under the round table* ...*head pops out* Has anyone seen my abacus? Dern thing's gone missin'!
^^;; Heh...Hey Howdy, I've got it over he--
Howdy: O_O I hope someone didn't steal it! Cuz if they did, I'll tear 'em apart! Limb from li--oh, sorry, did you say somethin', missy?
O.O Err...Yeah! I said that I uh...hope you find your abacus! Heh...eh.. ^^;;;
Howdy: Oh. Well, thanks! Wanna help me look?
Uh...M-maybe later. ^^; Right now we gotta get back to the story.
Howdy: Heke? Story?
Yeeeeeeah...the whole "Christmas Eve confession" thing, remember?
Howdy: O_O So people can see me?! HOWDY, MOM!! *waves insanely*
o.O -_-' ...*drags Howdy back into the story* Anyways, here's chapter 9. ^^
Chapter 9: Where Could Bijou Be? Party Member Lost!
"Uh, hey Hamtaro, I wasn't expectin' you so soon." Boss said, looking up from the flyer Elder Ham had left the day before. "Something wrong?" he asked, looking back down at the flyer.
"Oh, nothin' really, Boss... I just really need to talk to Bi--" Hamtaro stopped right in his tracks as Boss immediately looked up from the flyer again.
"What did you say?!" Boss snapped.
"Eh.." Hamtaro was struck nearly speechless. Then he began to cough. "Uh, sorry, Boss, I eh, *cough* have a cold, so *cough* sometimes my speech isn't very clear. What I was saying was that I *cough* really...needed to... come here and make sure everything was okay! I mean...We worked so hard on the decorations and the food--"
"Erm...Right, Hamtaro. Uh, sorry I yelled atcha. I just have a lot on my mind this holiday season, that's all."
"Heh, it's alright, Boss, I understand." Hamtaro understood, alright. He felt terrible for lying to Boss like that, but he knew that Boss would be furious if he found out about Hamtaro's feelings. He wasn't ready for Boss to find out before everyone else... He knew Boss would be upset when Hamtaro made his confession.
Boss, however, had other plans for Bijou...
[6:00 P.M.]
"Hamha, Dexter! Merry Christmas!" Hamtaro said cheerfully.
"Oh, it's a merrier one than you think, Hamtaro..." he thought to himself. "Good evening, Hamtaro. How has your December been?"
"Terrific! We've had lots of fun helping prepare for the party! Right, Boss?" he replied, turning to Boss.
"Uh..er, yeah." he said. Boss had been sitting in his chair for the past twenty minutes, while Hamtaro had been nervously pacing around the door, supposedly "anxious for the party to start", and the minute Boss laid his eyes on Dexter walking through his door, he gave him a dirty look. Lucky for him, Dexter's first gaze was laid upon Hamtaro, because he was the one who had answered the door. "Just be patient," Boss thought to himself. "They'll accept it when your own time with Bijou comes..."
Boss's thoughts were disrupted by another creaking of the clubhouse door.
"Hamtaro! Merry Christmas! I sure missed ya, buddy." said a familiar, stuffy voice.
"Hamha, Oxnard! Merry Christmas! I've missed you too!"
"Oh boy, this party is gonna be teriffic! Oh gosh, I sure wish Pepper were here," Oxy said, blushing quite faintly.
Just then, the door opened again, and in walked Pashmina and Penelope.
"Hamha, everyone!" Pashmina said.
"Ookwee! Ookwee!" Penelope's voice rang out.
"Merry Christmas, you two!" Hamtaro said excitedly.
"Alright, alright, everyone, spread out. Ya don't wanna block the doorway for all the other ham-hams, now, do ya?" Boss said, trying to keep in the holiday spirit.
"Boss is right. Let's go sit at the table and wait for awhile." Dexter said.
"Maybe we could play a game while we wait!" Pashmina said.
"Ookwee!"
"Well, I dunno about you guys, but parties always make me hungry!" Oxnard said.
"There are plenty of snacks over there!" Hamtaro said, pointing to the snack table. "Help yourself!"
One by one, more hamsters came to the party. Sandy, Maxwell, and Stan showed up together, then came Panda with Cappy. Later, Howdy, who had supposedly been in an awful fruitcake incident, arrived late.
[8:25 P.M.]
"Looks like everybody's here!" Panda said cheerfully.
"Naw, not everyone..." Boss began.
"That's right, Bijou isn't here yet!" Hamtaro said. Suddenly he was filled with terrible thoughts. Why wasn't Bijou there? The party ended at ten... Could her sprain have gotten worse? Or what if she was so upset about Hamtaro running away that she---no, Bijou wouldn't do something like that.
Boss was worried about Bijou as well. He had planned to take her to the festival before Hamtaro had the chance to take out that note, and confess to her himself. Maybe the idea of someone else loving her would take her mind off of Hamtaro...at least for a little bit.
"Boss, I think I'm gonna go to Bijou's house and see what's taking so long." Hamtaro said.
"NO!" Boss said.
Hamtaro froze for a quick three seconds, then asked "Why not, Boss?"
"Err... Hamtaro, I'll go get her. I need you to, uh..." Boss looked around and saw Howdy and Dexter arguing at the punch bowl.
"I...need you to make sure those two don't start a fight!" Boss said, pointing toward the quarreling hamsters.
"But Boss, you're a lot stronger than me." Hamtaro said.
"Well, you're pretty patient, Hamtaro, and...I don't wanna use brute force or anything. You just make sure nothing happens between any of the ham-hams, okay?"
"Uh...okay..." Hamtaro said, still confused.
"Thanks, Hamtaro. I'll be going now, but I'll be back soon!" Boss said, heading out the door.
"Bye-Q!" Hamtaro said, waving.
Boss shut the door, ran up the tunnel, and headed straight to Bijou's house.
"Hmm...I guess now would be a good time..." Hamtaro thought. He ran over to the round table, unexpectedly stood on top of it, and yelled "Ham-hams! Can I please have your undivided attention?"
All went silent. Hamtaro then walked over to the closet and pulled out the familiar looking present. Everyone was shocked.
"That's the present for Bijou!" Howdy whispered.
"But Bijou isn't here yet!" Cappy said softly.
"What could be taking so long?" Panda wondered aloud.
The ham-hams stood there, silent and confused, as Hamtaro lifted the gift upon the table. He pulled out the note and began reading.
"Ahem... Dear Ham-hams..."
**end of Chap. 9**
A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuun! Hamtaro's reading the note, but Bijou's not there to hear about it! Will Bijou get there in time? What is Boss gonna do about all this? Just what does the WHOLE note say? And will Howdy ever get his abacus back?!
Howdy: Now THAT'S the big question!
^^;;...*still hiding it behind her back* See if you can find out next chapter! In the meantime, get to sendin' those reviews!
Howdy: ;_; I won't be able to count all of 'em without my abacus...
Eh, d-dun worry, I can count 'em for ya...eheh...^^;;
Howdy: *crawling around under the round table* ...*head pops out* Has anyone seen my abacus? Dern thing's gone missin'!
^^;; Heh...Hey Howdy, I've got it over he--
Howdy: O_O I hope someone didn't steal it! Cuz if they did, I'll tear 'em apart! Limb from li--oh, sorry, did you say somethin', missy?
O.O Err...Yeah! I said that I uh...hope you find your abacus! Heh...eh.. ^^;;;
Howdy: Oh. Well, thanks! Wanna help me look?
Uh...M-maybe later. ^^; Right now we gotta get back to the story.
Howdy: Heke? Story?
Yeeeeeeah...the whole "Christmas Eve confession" thing, remember?
Howdy: O_O So people can see me?! HOWDY, MOM!! *waves insanely*
o.O -_-' ...*drags Howdy back into the story* Anyways, here's chapter 9. ^^
Chapter 9: Where Could Bijou Be? Party Member Lost!
"Uh, hey Hamtaro, I wasn't expectin' you so soon." Boss said, looking up from the flyer Elder Ham had left the day before. "Something wrong?" he asked, looking back down at the flyer.
"Oh, nothin' really, Boss... I just really need to talk to Bi--" Hamtaro stopped right in his tracks as Boss immediately looked up from the flyer again.
"What did you say?!" Boss snapped.
"Eh.." Hamtaro was struck nearly speechless. Then he began to cough. "Uh, sorry, Boss, I eh, *cough* have a cold, so *cough* sometimes my speech isn't very clear. What I was saying was that I *cough* really...needed to... come here and make sure everything was okay! I mean...We worked so hard on the decorations and the food--"
"Erm...Right, Hamtaro. Uh, sorry I yelled atcha. I just have a lot on my mind this holiday season, that's all."
"Heh, it's alright, Boss, I understand." Hamtaro understood, alright. He felt terrible for lying to Boss like that, but he knew that Boss would be furious if he found out about Hamtaro's feelings. He wasn't ready for Boss to find out before everyone else... He knew Boss would be upset when Hamtaro made his confession.
Boss, however, had other plans for Bijou...
[6:00 P.M.]
"Hamha, Dexter! Merry Christmas!" Hamtaro said cheerfully.
"Oh, it's a merrier one than you think, Hamtaro..." he thought to himself. "Good evening, Hamtaro. How has your December been?"
"Terrific! We've had lots of fun helping prepare for the party! Right, Boss?" he replied, turning to Boss.
"Uh..er, yeah." he said. Boss had been sitting in his chair for the past twenty minutes, while Hamtaro had been nervously pacing around the door, supposedly "anxious for the party to start", and the minute Boss laid his eyes on Dexter walking through his door, he gave him a dirty look. Lucky for him, Dexter's first gaze was laid upon Hamtaro, because he was the one who had answered the door. "Just be patient," Boss thought to himself. "They'll accept it when your own time with Bijou comes..."
Boss's thoughts were disrupted by another creaking of the clubhouse door.
"Hamtaro! Merry Christmas! I sure missed ya, buddy." said a familiar, stuffy voice.
"Hamha, Oxnard! Merry Christmas! I've missed you too!"
"Oh boy, this party is gonna be teriffic! Oh gosh, I sure wish Pepper were here," Oxy said, blushing quite faintly.
Just then, the door opened again, and in walked Pashmina and Penelope.
"Hamha, everyone!" Pashmina said.
"Ookwee! Ookwee!" Penelope's voice rang out.
"Merry Christmas, you two!" Hamtaro said excitedly.
"Alright, alright, everyone, spread out. Ya don't wanna block the doorway for all the other ham-hams, now, do ya?" Boss said, trying to keep in the holiday spirit.
"Boss is right. Let's go sit at the table and wait for awhile." Dexter said.
"Maybe we could play a game while we wait!" Pashmina said.
"Ookwee!"
"Well, I dunno about you guys, but parties always make me hungry!" Oxnard said.
"There are plenty of snacks over there!" Hamtaro said, pointing to the snack table. "Help yourself!"
One by one, more hamsters came to the party. Sandy, Maxwell, and Stan showed up together, then came Panda with Cappy. Later, Howdy, who had supposedly been in an awful fruitcake incident, arrived late.
[8:25 P.M.]
"Looks like everybody's here!" Panda said cheerfully.
"Naw, not everyone..." Boss began.
"That's right, Bijou isn't here yet!" Hamtaro said. Suddenly he was filled with terrible thoughts. Why wasn't Bijou there? The party ended at ten... Could her sprain have gotten worse? Or what if she was so upset about Hamtaro running away that she---no, Bijou wouldn't do something like that.
Boss was worried about Bijou as well. He had planned to take her to the festival before Hamtaro had the chance to take out that note, and confess to her himself. Maybe the idea of someone else loving her would take her mind off of Hamtaro...at least for a little bit.
"Boss, I think I'm gonna go to Bijou's house and see what's taking so long." Hamtaro said.
"NO!" Boss said.
Hamtaro froze for a quick three seconds, then asked "Why not, Boss?"
"Err... Hamtaro, I'll go get her. I need you to, uh..." Boss looked around and saw Howdy and Dexter arguing at the punch bowl.
"I...need you to make sure those two don't start a fight!" Boss said, pointing toward the quarreling hamsters.
"But Boss, you're a lot stronger than me." Hamtaro said.
"Well, you're pretty patient, Hamtaro, and...I don't wanna use brute force or anything. You just make sure nothing happens between any of the ham-hams, okay?"
"Uh...okay..." Hamtaro said, still confused.
"Thanks, Hamtaro. I'll be going now, but I'll be back soon!" Boss said, heading out the door.
"Bye-Q!" Hamtaro said, waving.
Boss shut the door, ran up the tunnel, and headed straight to Bijou's house.
"Hmm...I guess now would be a good time..." Hamtaro thought. He ran over to the round table, unexpectedly stood on top of it, and yelled "Ham-hams! Can I please have your undivided attention?"
All went silent. Hamtaro then walked over to the closet and pulled out the familiar looking present. Everyone was shocked.
"That's the present for Bijou!" Howdy whispered.
"But Bijou isn't here yet!" Cappy said softly.
"What could be taking so long?" Panda wondered aloud.
The ham-hams stood there, silent and confused, as Hamtaro lifted the gift upon the table. He pulled out the note and began reading.
"Ahem... Dear Ham-hams..."
**end of Chap. 9**
A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuun! Hamtaro's reading the note, but Bijou's not there to hear about it! Will Bijou get there in time? What is Boss gonna do about all this? Just what does the WHOLE note say? And will Howdy ever get his abacus back?!
Howdy: Now THAT'S the big question!
^^;;...*still hiding it behind her back* See if you can find out next chapter! In the meantime, get to sendin' those reviews!
Howdy: ;_; I won't be able to count all of 'em without my abacus...
Eh, d-dun worry, I can count 'em for ya...eheh...^^;;