-------Part Two: Conflict, the Oncoming
Three days later, it was Saturday. Saturday means weekends, and weekends mean weekend vacations for KND Operatives. But unfortunately, this break was already beset with trouble when Kuki Sanban woke up sweating. "Ooooo, I feel so hot!" she said to herself as she took off her nightclothing and took a morning shower. The heat she felt was such that she felt compelled to make her usually warm shower slightly less warm, and when it came time to re-dress, she chose to not wear one of her trademark sweaters.
It was this fact which caught Numbuh Five's attention as she made pancakes, upon seeing Numbuh Three enter the kitchen. "No sweater today?" The dark-skinned one asked. "It's kinda chilly in here thanks to the air conditioner."
"Oh, that's okay. It doesn't bother me."
"You sure? I mean, ya know about your sensitivities." Yes, it was a fact that Abby knew well--Kuki wore her sweater because she had extreme sensitivity to chill. She had come down with a cold shortly following their ice cream operation, after which the Asian had promised she would always wear her sweater when in Ice Cream factories.
"It's okay. I feel really hot today for some reason."
Kuki was a bit startled that this comment was answered with a hand placed on her forehead. After a moment, Abby pulled her hand away, commenting "Girl, you burnin' up!"
As Abby walked towards the refridgerator, Kuki felt her own head. Yes, it felt slightly warm, but she failed to find anything unusual about it... but this line of thought was interrupted when Abby placed a cup of water in front of her. Abby didn't bother to explain as she continued flipping pancakes, but a drink was a drink, and Kuki guzzled it up... and was surprised at how quickly she had emptied the cup.
It was just now that she seemed to notice a dry sensation inside her mouth, in answer to which she got up and refilled her cup, drank it, and refilled it again and again. Never once did Abby stop her, but soon Nigel came into the room, still slightly drowsy, but wondering all the same "Hey Numbuh Three, why are you drinking so much water?"
"She's got a fever," Abby quickly explained. "She's probably dehydrated."
"Oh." Nigel was somewhat on the ignorant side as he sat down at the table, undisturbed. Being ten years old and furthermore unenlightened, he believed merely that fever was just when the body gets hot and that it would eventually get cold again.
Finally, Kuki guzzled one last cup of water, and sat back down just as the rest of the team arrived.
"Oh, hey Numbuh Two," Abby called, "Can ya watch these pancakes for me?"
"Umm, sure," he responded as she handed him the spatula, and then left the room. He flipped a pancake or two, wondering if they were done yet, but just as he was about to give into the urge to devour a piece of one Abby re-entered the room and stuck a thermometer in Kuki's mouth. "Hold it under yo' tongue." She commanded as she retrieved the spatula. Within moments, she turned off the stove and began setting out plates with Hoagie's help, checking the thermometer as she did so.
The boys were about willing to start helping themselves, except that as Wallabee walked by, he noticed an extremely disturbed look on Numbuh Five's face. "Hey, Numbuh Five? Somethin' wrong? Numbuh Three sick or somethin'?"
Immediately Numbuh Five handed him the thermometer, and left. He looked and read it aloud. "Wow. 105.3. I wonder if that's bad?"
------------
Abby waited patiently, holding the Uno's phone as she listened to the ring. Finally, someone on the other end picked up. "Yo, Dad, is mom there? Okay." Silence, and then "Hey Mom, I need ta ask you somethin' medical. My friend Kuki... well, this mornin' she came into the kitchen wearin' just normal light clothin', and well, you know how sensitive to cold she is. It was freezin' in there! But next thing she starts guzzlin up tons of water. I think she downed at least twenty cups, give or take. Anyway, I took her temperature just now. She ran 105.3. So I was--huh?" Abby listened in silence as her mom began talking. "Okay, I understand. Justaminute." Abby put the phone on the table, but didn't hang it up, instead she got up just as Mrs. Uno came into the room. "Oh, I was jus' about to look for you. Do you got any Tylenol or any other kinda fever-reducin' medicine?"
"Yes. Just a minute, I'll go find it."
"Thanks." With that, Abby sat back down and picked up the phone again. "They got some, they're gettin' it for me. Yea. Okay. I'll tell ya if it gets any worse. Thanks Mom. Bye." With that Abby hung up.
------------
Soon she was back up, and saw that all but two of the pancakes had been eaten. Even Numbuh Three had (as evidenced by the syrup on her lips) participated in the devouring.
"What did your mom say?" Nigel asked upon seeing her.
"Basically that she's gonna have to avoid soda for today and that she's gotta try to cool down. Besides that, if fever is all she's got, then she's fine."
"What do you mean, 'if fever is all she's got'?" Wallabee questioned.
"Eh, I'll tell ya'll later." She quickly explained, for the additional symptoms she was to watch out for were ones that shouldn't really be discussed around people who were eating. She waited until they were off her mind, and then got herself the last of the pancakes even as the others were leaving.
"Up for another movie tonight, Nigel?" Kuki asked as she and Nigel left the room.
"Sure, just name it."
"Oh, I got the perfect one!" She skipped and clapped happily, "It's called.... ooooooo..."
"That's the oddest title I've ever--" He began, until she grasped his shoulder. He looked down, and saw that she was holding her head and, seemingly, having momentary trouble staying on her feet. "Is something wrong?" He asked even as he looked towards Abby, suspecting she might have an answer.
As Abby came over, she told him "Fever delirium. Don't worry man, it's nothin' to worry--"
"NIIIIIIIIIIIGEEEEEEEEEEY!"
Nigel looked to the door in shock. Odd, I was sure I didn't have any commitments today, his brain thought as he rushed out the door and looked down, seeing Lizzie on his front lawn. "Good morning Lizzie!" He began humbly and nervously, wondering what he had done wrong this time.
She stomped her foot, "Nigel, did you forget about our date again?"
"What date?" Nigel questioned.
"We were going to go to the grand opening of Wheelo's Skating Rink, don't you remember?"
For some reason, Nigel couldn't, but he laughed nervously and ducked back into the treehouse, yelling "Right, be right down!" On his way to his room, he took a glance at Numbuh Three, and told her "Get well soon!" just before ducking into his room to search for his skates. It took awhile of digging, but he finally found them... and was surprised at how dirty they were, like he hadn't used them since he got them. Still, they fit his feet, so there was nothing to complain about.
Soon he was down and out on the lawn, and holding Lizzie's hand on the way to Wheelo's.
-------------
The Skating Rink was bustling with activity--as all good Skating Rinks are on weekends--and this temporarily dismayed Nigel Uno once he saw it. While some of the people there looked fine, many sported punk hairdos and leather jackets and other such fashions that discomforted the bald one. Worse, he noted that most of the participants here were teenagers--there were few kids to be seen.
Lizzie, however, was unperturbed. In fact, she was ecstatic as she jumped for joy and very nearly ran right into the building, not even waiting for Nigel to pay the entrance fee. Nigel, his fears repressed, grabbed Lizzie's hand, and proceeded to hand over his KND charge card, and waited as the cashier ran it through the scanner.
Multiple times.
"Is something wrong?" Nigel asked, worried.
The Cashier handed the charge card back, and said "I'm sorry sir, but it looks like this card is invalid."
"Invalid! That's--"
"--That's just the way it is. You'll have to pay in cash."
With a grumble, Nigel reached for his wallet, and counted up his allowance... yes, he had enough. So he ponied up the money, pocketed his wallet once more, and the two lovers went in, put on their skates...
...And then entered the skating grounds, where Nigel proceeded to fall down.
Lizzie turned and looked in surprise. "Is something wrong, Nigey?"
"I... I just remembered..." he slowly got up, and whispered to her "I... don't really know how to skate."
The two looked at each other for a long, silent moment (silent save for the hustle and bustle in the background), and finally Lizzie gave him a skeptical look. "You can't skate?"
"No." he squeaked.
"Dear God, Nigel, you're embarrassing me!" She exclaimed, pulling upon her pigtails until finally she turned from him, and simply began skating on her own. He stood, empty, with a feeling of rejection, until some teenagers bumped into him and knocked him back to the floor, rushing by without even bothering to apologize.
Disgusted, he got back up, and left the ring, but not the building. He looked aside, and saw some video arcade machines. They were all older titles--probably ones the owners had gotten cheap from the old skating rink that used to be in this exact same spot. Nigel walked over to one, and read the title. Galaga. That old game, Nigel thought. Well, at least it'll kill some time. Finding change, he slipped in a quarter, and very soon, his feelings were forgotten as he became consumed with nothing more than the desire to blast every remaining alien spaceship to bits...
"Nigey!" Came Lizzie's screeching voice from his right, "You should be skating with me, not playing stupid video games!" She glanced at the screen, "Yuck. How can you play crud like this?!"
"I dunno, I find it pretty fun."
Holding back another look of disgust, Lizzie stated "This place is boring. Let's go see a movie."
"But we've only been here for five minutes!" He complained, at first quite strongly, but there was something about the way she glared at him that made him feel small, unimportant, like none of his complaints mattered. Good little dog, just do what your master says... "On the other hand, it is a little dull in here. Maybe we should leave."
Lizzie smiled, and once more offered him her hand. All was happy as the two took off their skates and left the building.
"So, what do you want to see? Oh, I know! The latest Star Trek movie just came out--"
"--I hate Star Trek, remember?" she said with a look of contempt and boredom on her face. She never understood Nigel's fascination with those stupid movies and had told him so before.
"Oh? Ummm... well, maybe the newest Jackie Chan--"
"I hate that stupid Kung Fu stuff."
Nigel stopped in shock for a moment. He happened to admire some of those movies quite greatly. He would spend hours in his room just trying to imitate the stunts and techniques performed... but there was no way he was going to admit it now. His girlfriend thought he was neat, what would she think if she knew he played make-believe with Hong Kong action movies? "So, umm, what do you want to see then?"
As Lizzie neared the theatre, she eyeballed the "Now Playing" sign... and saw the one movie she most wanted to see in the whole wide world...
"Oh my God, Nigel! Look at what's playing! They made a new Happy Place movie!"
"Huh?!" This was a movie that Nigel had never heard of. The sign read Happy Place 4: Through the Jungles of Love, and depicted CGI-Rendered pink things with big grins and girly outfits. Oh my god, a baby-movie.
"Let's go see that one Nigey!" Lizzie cuddled his arm. "Please? Pretty please?"
At first Nigel was ready to argue--no way was he going to sit through another baby movie that looked even dumber than Rainbow Monkeys!...
Rainbow Monkeys... that's right. If he could sit through this kind of garbage with Kuki Sanban, then surely he can do it for his girlfriend. So Nigel took a deep breath, and walked to the ticket counter. "Two for..." he gritted his teeth, "Happy Place 4."
"You're goin' to see that?!"
Nigel looked. Within his eyesight, he saw a familiar face. It was Jerry Red, a boy from school that Nigel occasionally spoke to but usually didn't hang out with. They had a mostly teasing relationship. Jerry had also brought two friends, explaining "Man, we're goin' to see Big Action in Hong Kong, the latest action flick. That's a man's movie!"
Before Nigel could explain, Lizzie butted in. "Cool it jerks! My man Nigel can see whatever movie he wants!" Grabbing the tickets, she grabbed Nigel's arm, and began pulling him into the theatre, but stopped as she heard a comment pass her ears.
"Man, where did Nigel pick up that tub of lard?"
With that, she turned and glared angrily... and then lounged onto Jerry, who fell under the shock, and furthermore nearly passed out from the weight of Lizzie's entire body having fallen upon his stomach. But this didn't stop Lizzie, who proceeded to pound his face multiple times, until finally Nigel, with the help of Jerry's two friends, managed to pull her off.
"Is he all right?" Nigel asked in wild concern.
But in response, one of Jerry's friends looked up at him with a scowl. "Man, you're girl is a psychopath!"
Lizzie was about to start another fight, but Nigel managed to pull her inside the theatre at the last moment. And when he did so, he was sent to the floor with one of the hardest smacks he's ever felt. He got up, still reeling from the blow, holding the struck cheek in his hand... and pulling his hand back to see that he had in fact been bleeding. The sight almost made him sick, but he quickly looked up at Lizzie, who looked down upon him with another angered expression.
"Lizzie, wh-wh-why?"
"Nigey, men are supposed to stick up for their girlfriends! Next time, be a man!"
"Lizzie, he was just kidding! Besides, he's one of my friends!"
"Not anymore he isn't! Come on, let's get some napkins or something."
An hour into the movie, Nigel wasn't feeling anything in his cheek anymore. He was now holding a paper towel to it simply out of habit. Suddenly, he heard a ringing in his ears which he at first attributed to his imagination, but then he listened closer. Oh, a message, he thought, remembering the KND-Super-Duper-Secret-Hidden-In-The-Ear communications device.
"I have to go to the bathroom." He informed Lizzie in whisper, "I'll be right back." She nodded a confirmation, and he was off, but soon he found that the bathroom wasn't necessary--the hallway leading to the seats was private enough. "Come in," he stated as he tapped something in his ear.
"Numbuh One," it was Abby's voice, "Just wanted you to know that Numbuh Three has gotten worse. Mom's sayin' she might have to stay overnight."
"Worse? How does a fever get worse?!"
"Well... that's kinda weird. You see it didn't raise any... but she keeps screamin' in pain. She's gone into a total delirium, and..." Abby became silent for a moment.
"Is there somethin' else?"
"Yea... she passed out and went to sleep once. Mom told me that the whole time, she kept callin' for you."
"For me?!"
"Yea." As if to relieve the tension, Abby forced a laugh and said "You shoulda seen the look on Wallabee's face!... but yea, I think you should see her. How's your date with Lizzie goin'?"
"Horrible," he found himself involuntarily confessing without first considering his words, such was the tensity of emotion he was feeling that he couldn't find it in himself to lie. "Abby, you should've seen her! You know Jerry Red, from School? Well, she actually attacked him! Pinned him down and bloodied up his face. Then she attacked me for trying to stop the fight!"
And then there was silence, and in this silence, Nigel realized what he had confessed. For some unknown reason, the thought terrified him, and for some unknown reason, he felt compelled to lie once more. "Ha ha, just kidding! Fooled you, didn't I?"
Somehow, Abby's own tone seemed darker as she said "I'm signin' off now."
"All right. When I get back we'll go visit Numbuh Three."
"Your mom was gonna leave sometime in the next thirty minutes. I hope your date ends soon." with that, there was a distinctive click, and Abby signed off.
Nigel stood in silence for a moment, his mind totally shot by not only the news, but the events surrounding it. Damn, and here I am stuck in the middle of a date... I guess I could leave early. I'll explain it all later. Lizzie'll understand. He looked back down the hallway, towards the screen, and then towards the door to his left. This path he chose.
Walking out into the front room of the Theatre, he went for the door... and then his eye was caught on something off to the side. The theatre was host to one of those crane games that seemed to be everywhere. Nigel checked his watch. Thirty minutes, she had said. This theatre was so close to his house that he'd definitely have time to get home--it was only a fifteen-minute walk. He looked at the crane machine once more, and then into his wallet. For a moment, he was dismayed when he saw he had only one dollar remaining, the last of his allowance. But maybe a new toy will help Kuki feel better.
He walked to the machine, looking it over, calculating what toys he could win for her, and committed himself to taking chances when he inserted his dollar into the slot.
The device started, the crane centered itself, and then relinquished control over to Nigel. He grabbed the stick, calculating. Just south of where the Crane was, he saw a purple monkey-like thing which seemed cute, as well as easy to get. Perfect, he grinned as he made for it and, once positioned, pressed the button. Down went the crane... but it came up with nothing.
Drat! Just a little off. No matter, I get a second try. With that, the crane once more centered itself, and Nigel took his second shot. This time, he looked from the front as well as the sides to make sure the position was precise... and then pressed the button.
Failure. Or so he thought, but gradually his thoughts elated as he saw that the crane had made the snag! The purple monkey-thing was in it's clutches. Nigel watched with tension as the thing jiggled all the way to the drop-off point, fearing that it would fall and be lost any moment... and then, down the tube it went! Victory was his!
With a huge grin on his face, Nigel reached into the prize box and grabbed the monkey. "She'll like this!" Nigel exclaimed.
"For me?! Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"Huh?" Nigel looked aside, then back down when the monkey was whisked out of his arms in the blink of an eye, and right into Lizzie's.
"Oh, it's soo cute! I will treasure it always!" Lizzie hugged it with closed eyes and a smile that seemed somehow to lack true warmth. Then she looked at Nigel with the same mockingly sweet look. "So what do you want to do now?"
"What happened to the movie?"
"Oh, it got boring. They always do. I like them at first, but they always get boring near the end, so I leave early." With that, she yawned.
"Actually, Lizzie... it's getting late, and one of my friends is sick, so I need to head home. See you!" With that, he began to run.
"Now wait just a minute!" Lizzie demanded. "What kind of way is that to end a date? Just run off without taking me home first?" She didn't bother to comment on the time--it wasn't really very late at all. In fact it wasn't even Noon yet. But she, too, was getting bored with this date... they just seemed to lack the magic they once had. The last time she had been seriously impressed with Nigel was when he and her turned out to like the same flavor of ice cream. Ever since then.. well, Lizzie had found that Nigel seemed to be dorkier and dorkier each passing day. There was something she liked about him, but it was gradually fading. But, as they say, the grass is always greener...
"Lizzie, I'd like to walk you home, but Numbuh Three's sick and she's in the hospital and--"
"What's she sick with?"
"A fever, and--"
"A fever? Ha! Fevers cool down Nigey."
"But she became delirious and passed out and--"
"She'll be fine!" Lizzie stated, almost demanding Nigel to agree with her.
And Nigel's mind was in such a confused state, that at this statement he felt too bewildered to argue. Abby had certainly made it sound serious, but that was Abby... Lizzie was right, it was only a fever. So he smiled, and offered her his hand.
Three days later, it was Saturday. Saturday means weekends, and weekends mean weekend vacations for KND Operatives. But unfortunately, this break was already beset with trouble when Kuki Sanban woke up sweating. "Ooooo, I feel so hot!" she said to herself as she took off her nightclothing and took a morning shower. The heat she felt was such that she felt compelled to make her usually warm shower slightly less warm, and when it came time to re-dress, she chose to not wear one of her trademark sweaters.
It was this fact which caught Numbuh Five's attention as she made pancakes, upon seeing Numbuh Three enter the kitchen. "No sweater today?" The dark-skinned one asked. "It's kinda chilly in here thanks to the air conditioner."
"Oh, that's okay. It doesn't bother me."
"You sure? I mean, ya know about your sensitivities." Yes, it was a fact that Abby knew well--Kuki wore her sweater because she had extreme sensitivity to chill. She had come down with a cold shortly following their ice cream operation, after which the Asian had promised she would always wear her sweater when in Ice Cream factories.
"It's okay. I feel really hot today for some reason."
Kuki was a bit startled that this comment was answered with a hand placed on her forehead. After a moment, Abby pulled her hand away, commenting "Girl, you burnin' up!"
As Abby walked towards the refridgerator, Kuki felt her own head. Yes, it felt slightly warm, but she failed to find anything unusual about it... but this line of thought was interrupted when Abby placed a cup of water in front of her. Abby didn't bother to explain as she continued flipping pancakes, but a drink was a drink, and Kuki guzzled it up... and was surprised at how quickly she had emptied the cup.
It was just now that she seemed to notice a dry sensation inside her mouth, in answer to which she got up and refilled her cup, drank it, and refilled it again and again. Never once did Abby stop her, but soon Nigel came into the room, still slightly drowsy, but wondering all the same "Hey Numbuh Three, why are you drinking so much water?"
"She's got a fever," Abby quickly explained. "She's probably dehydrated."
"Oh." Nigel was somewhat on the ignorant side as he sat down at the table, undisturbed. Being ten years old and furthermore unenlightened, he believed merely that fever was just when the body gets hot and that it would eventually get cold again.
Finally, Kuki guzzled one last cup of water, and sat back down just as the rest of the team arrived.
"Oh, hey Numbuh Two," Abby called, "Can ya watch these pancakes for me?"
"Umm, sure," he responded as she handed him the spatula, and then left the room. He flipped a pancake or two, wondering if they were done yet, but just as he was about to give into the urge to devour a piece of one Abby re-entered the room and stuck a thermometer in Kuki's mouth. "Hold it under yo' tongue." She commanded as she retrieved the spatula. Within moments, she turned off the stove and began setting out plates with Hoagie's help, checking the thermometer as she did so.
The boys were about willing to start helping themselves, except that as Wallabee walked by, he noticed an extremely disturbed look on Numbuh Five's face. "Hey, Numbuh Five? Somethin' wrong? Numbuh Three sick or somethin'?"
Immediately Numbuh Five handed him the thermometer, and left. He looked and read it aloud. "Wow. 105.3. I wonder if that's bad?"
------------
Abby waited patiently, holding the Uno's phone as she listened to the ring. Finally, someone on the other end picked up. "Yo, Dad, is mom there? Okay." Silence, and then "Hey Mom, I need ta ask you somethin' medical. My friend Kuki... well, this mornin' she came into the kitchen wearin' just normal light clothin', and well, you know how sensitive to cold she is. It was freezin' in there! But next thing she starts guzzlin up tons of water. I think she downed at least twenty cups, give or take. Anyway, I took her temperature just now. She ran 105.3. So I was--huh?" Abby listened in silence as her mom began talking. "Okay, I understand. Justaminute." Abby put the phone on the table, but didn't hang it up, instead she got up just as Mrs. Uno came into the room. "Oh, I was jus' about to look for you. Do you got any Tylenol or any other kinda fever-reducin' medicine?"
"Yes. Just a minute, I'll go find it."
"Thanks." With that, Abby sat back down and picked up the phone again. "They got some, they're gettin' it for me. Yea. Okay. I'll tell ya if it gets any worse. Thanks Mom. Bye." With that Abby hung up.
------------
Soon she was back up, and saw that all but two of the pancakes had been eaten. Even Numbuh Three had (as evidenced by the syrup on her lips) participated in the devouring.
"What did your mom say?" Nigel asked upon seeing her.
"Basically that she's gonna have to avoid soda for today and that she's gotta try to cool down. Besides that, if fever is all she's got, then she's fine."
"What do you mean, 'if fever is all she's got'?" Wallabee questioned.
"Eh, I'll tell ya'll later." She quickly explained, for the additional symptoms she was to watch out for were ones that shouldn't really be discussed around people who were eating. She waited until they were off her mind, and then got herself the last of the pancakes even as the others were leaving.
"Up for another movie tonight, Nigel?" Kuki asked as she and Nigel left the room.
"Sure, just name it."
"Oh, I got the perfect one!" She skipped and clapped happily, "It's called.... ooooooo..."
"That's the oddest title I've ever--" He began, until she grasped his shoulder. He looked down, and saw that she was holding her head and, seemingly, having momentary trouble staying on her feet. "Is something wrong?" He asked even as he looked towards Abby, suspecting she might have an answer.
As Abby came over, she told him "Fever delirium. Don't worry man, it's nothin' to worry--"
"NIIIIIIIIIIIGEEEEEEEEEEY!"
Nigel looked to the door in shock. Odd, I was sure I didn't have any commitments today, his brain thought as he rushed out the door and looked down, seeing Lizzie on his front lawn. "Good morning Lizzie!" He began humbly and nervously, wondering what he had done wrong this time.
She stomped her foot, "Nigel, did you forget about our date again?"
"What date?" Nigel questioned.
"We were going to go to the grand opening of Wheelo's Skating Rink, don't you remember?"
For some reason, Nigel couldn't, but he laughed nervously and ducked back into the treehouse, yelling "Right, be right down!" On his way to his room, he took a glance at Numbuh Three, and told her "Get well soon!" just before ducking into his room to search for his skates. It took awhile of digging, but he finally found them... and was surprised at how dirty they were, like he hadn't used them since he got them. Still, they fit his feet, so there was nothing to complain about.
Soon he was down and out on the lawn, and holding Lizzie's hand on the way to Wheelo's.
-------------
The Skating Rink was bustling with activity--as all good Skating Rinks are on weekends--and this temporarily dismayed Nigel Uno once he saw it. While some of the people there looked fine, many sported punk hairdos and leather jackets and other such fashions that discomforted the bald one. Worse, he noted that most of the participants here were teenagers--there were few kids to be seen.
Lizzie, however, was unperturbed. In fact, she was ecstatic as she jumped for joy and very nearly ran right into the building, not even waiting for Nigel to pay the entrance fee. Nigel, his fears repressed, grabbed Lizzie's hand, and proceeded to hand over his KND charge card, and waited as the cashier ran it through the scanner.
Multiple times.
"Is something wrong?" Nigel asked, worried.
The Cashier handed the charge card back, and said "I'm sorry sir, but it looks like this card is invalid."
"Invalid! That's--"
"--That's just the way it is. You'll have to pay in cash."
With a grumble, Nigel reached for his wallet, and counted up his allowance... yes, he had enough. So he ponied up the money, pocketed his wallet once more, and the two lovers went in, put on their skates...
...And then entered the skating grounds, where Nigel proceeded to fall down.
Lizzie turned and looked in surprise. "Is something wrong, Nigey?"
"I... I just remembered..." he slowly got up, and whispered to her "I... don't really know how to skate."
The two looked at each other for a long, silent moment (silent save for the hustle and bustle in the background), and finally Lizzie gave him a skeptical look. "You can't skate?"
"No." he squeaked.
"Dear God, Nigel, you're embarrassing me!" She exclaimed, pulling upon her pigtails until finally she turned from him, and simply began skating on her own. He stood, empty, with a feeling of rejection, until some teenagers bumped into him and knocked him back to the floor, rushing by without even bothering to apologize.
Disgusted, he got back up, and left the ring, but not the building. He looked aside, and saw some video arcade machines. They were all older titles--probably ones the owners had gotten cheap from the old skating rink that used to be in this exact same spot. Nigel walked over to one, and read the title. Galaga. That old game, Nigel thought. Well, at least it'll kill some time. Finding change, he slipped in a quarter, and very soon, his feelings were forgotten as he became consumed with nothing more than the desire to blast every remaining alien spaceship to bits...
"Nigey!" Came Lizzie's screeching voice from his right, "You should be skating with me, not playing stupid video games!" She glanced at the screen, "Yuck. How can you play crud like this?!"
"I dunno, I find it pretty fun."
Holding back another look of disgust, Lizzie stated "This place is boring. Let's go see a movie."
"But we've only been here for five minutes!" He complained, at first quite strongly, but there was something about the way she glared at him that made him feel small, unimportant, like none of his complaints mattered. Good little dog, just do what your master says... "On the other hand, it is a little dull in here. Maybe we should leave."
Lizzie smiled, and once more offered him her hand. All was happy as the two took off their skates and left the building.
"So, what do you want to see? Oh, I know! The latest Star Trek movie just came out--"
"--I hate Star Trek, remember?" she said with a look of contempt and boredom on her face. She never understood Nigel's fascination with those stupid movies and had told him so before.
"Oh? Ummm... well, maybe the newest Jackie Chan--"
"I hate that stupid Kung Fu stuff."
Nigel stopped in shock for a moment. He happened to admire some of those movies quite greatly. He would spend hours in his room just trying to imitate the stunts and techniques performed... but there was no way he was going to admit it now. His girlfriend thought he was neat, what would she think if she knew he played make-believe with Hong Kong action movies? "So, umm, what do you want to see then?"
As Lizzie neared the theatre, she eyeballed the "Now Playing" sign... and saw the one movie she most wanted to see in the whole wide world...
"Oh my God, Nigel! Look at what's playing! They made a new Happy Place movie!"
"Huh?!" This was a movie that Nigel had never heard of. The sign read Happy Place 4: Through the Jungles of Love, and depicted CGI-Rendered pink things with big grins and girly outfits. Oh my god, a baby-movie.
"Let's go see that one Nigey!" Lizzie cuddled his arm. "Please? Pretty please?"
At first Nigel was ready to argue--no way was he going to sit through another baby movie that looked even dumber than Rainbow Monkeys!...
Rainbow Monkeys... that's right. If he could sit through this kind of garbage with Kuki Sanban, then surely he can do it for his girlfriend. So Nigel took a deep breath, and walked to the ticket counter. "Two for..." he gritted his teeth, "Happy Place 4."
"You're goin' to see that?!"
Nigel looked. Within his eyesight, he saw a familiar face. It was Jerry Red, a boy from school that Nigel occasionally spoke to but usually didn't hang out with. They had a mostly teasing relationship. Jerry had also brought two friends, explaining "Man, we're goin' to see Big Action in Hong Kong, the latest action flick. That's a man's movie!"
Before Nigel could explain, Lizzie butted in. "Cool it jerks! My man Nigel can see whatever movie he wants!" Grabbing the tickets, she grabbed Nigel's arm, and began pulling him into the theatre, but stopped as she heard a comment pass her ears.
"Man, where did Nigel pick up that tub of lard?"
With that, she turned and glared angrily... and then lounged onto Jerry, who fell under the shock, and furthermore nearly passed out from the weight of Lizzie's entire body having fallen upon his stomach. But this didn't stop Lizzie, who proceeded to pound his face multiple times, until finally Nigel, with the help of Jerry's two friends, managed to pull her off.
"Is he all right?" Nigel asked in wild concern.
But in response, one of Jerry's friends looked up at him with a scowl. "Man, you're girl is a psychopath!"
Lizzie was about to start another fight, but Nigel managed to pull her inside the theatre at the last moment. And when he did so, he was sent to the floor with one of the hardest smacks he's ever felt. He got up, still reeling from the blow, holding the struck cheek in his hand... and pulling his hand back to see that he had in fact been bleeding. The sight almost made him sick, but he quickly looked up at Lizzie, who looked down upon him with another angered expression.
"Lizzie, wh-wh-why?"
"Nigey, men are supposed to stick up for their girlfriends! Next time, be a man!"
"Lizzie, he was just kidding! Besides, he's one of my friends!"
"Not anymore he isn't! Come on, let's get some napkins or something."
An hour into the movie, Nigel wasn't feeling anything in his cheek anymore. He was now holding a paper towel to it simply out of habit. Suddenly, he heard a ringing in his ears which he at first attributed to his imagination, but then he listened closer. Oh, a message, he thought, remembering the KND-Super-Duper-Secret-Hidden-In-The-Ear communications device.
"I have to go to the bathroom." He informed Lizzie in whisper, "I'll be right back." She nodded a confirmation, and he was off, but soon he found that the bathroom wasn't necessary--the hallway leading to the seats was private enough. "Come in," he stated as he tapped something in his ear.
"Numbuh One," it was Abby's voice, "Just wanted you to know that Numbuh Three has gotten worse. Mom's sayin' she might have to stay overnight."
"Worse? How does a fever get worse?!"
"Well... that's kinda weird. You see it didn't raise any... but she keeps screamin' in pain. She's gone into a total delirium, and..." Abby became silent for a moment.
"Is there somethin' else?"
"Yea... she passed out and went to sleep once. Mom told me that the whole time, she kept callin' for you."
"For me?!"
"Yea." As if to relieve the tension, Abby forced a laugh and said "You shoulda seen the look on Wallabee's face!... but yea, I think you should see her. How's your date with Lizzie goin'?"
"Horrible," he found himself involuntarily confessing without first considering his words, such was the tensity of emotion he was feeling that he couldn't find it in himself to lie. "Abby, you should've seen her! You know Jerry Red, from School? Well, she actually attacked him! Pinned him down and bloodied up his face. Then she attacked me for trying to stop the fight!"
And then there was silence, and in this silence, Nigel realized what he had confessed. For some unknown reason, the thought terrified him, and for some unknown reason, he felt compelled to lie once more. "Ha ha, just kidding! Fooled you, didn't I?"
Somehow, Abby's own tone seemed darker as she said "I'm signin' off now."
"All right. When I get back we'll go visit Numbuh Three."
"Your mom was gonna leave sometime in the next thirty minutes. I hope your date ends soon." with that, there was a distinctive click, and Abby signed off.
Nigel stood in silence for a moment, his mind totally shot by not only the news, but the events surrounding it. Damn, and here I am stuck in the middle of a date... I guess I could leave early. I'll explain it all later. Lizzie'll understand. He looked back down the hallway, towards the screen, and then towards the door to his left. This path he chose.
Walking out into the front room of the Theatre, he went for the door... and then his eye was caught on something off to the side. The theatre was host to one of those crane games that seemed to be everywhere. Nigel checked his watch. Thirty minutes, she had said. This theatre was so close to his house that he'd definitely have time to get home--it was only a fifteen-minute walk. He looked at the crane machine once more, and then into his wallet. For a moment, he was dismayed when he saw he had only one dollar remaining, the last of his allowance. But maybe a new toy will help Kuki feel better.
He walked to the machine, looking it over, calculating what toys he could win for her, and committed himself to taking chances when he inserted his dollar into the slot.
The device started, the crane centered itself, and then relinquished control over to Nigel. He grabbed the stick, calculating. Just south of where the Crane was, he saw a purple monkey-like thing which seemed cute, as well as easy to get. Perfect, he grinned as he made for it and, once positioned, pressed the button. Down went the crane... but it came up with nothing.
Drat! Just a little off. No matter, I get a second try. With that, the crane once more centered itself, and Nigel took his second shot. This time, he looked from the front as well as the sides to make sure the position was precise... and then pressed the button.
Failure. Or so he thought, but gradually his thoughts elated as he saw that the crane had made the snag! The purple monkey-thing was in it's clutches. Nigel watched with tension as the thing jiggled all the way to the drop-off point, fearing that it would fall and be lost any moment... and then, down the tube it went! Victory was his!
With a huge grin on his face, Nigel reached into the prize box and grabbed the monkey. "She'll like this!" Nigel exclaimed.
"For me?! Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"Huh?" Nigel looked aside, then back down when the monkey was whisked out of his arms in the blink of an eye, and right into Lizzie's.
"Oh, it's soo cute! I will treasure it always!" Lizzie hugged it with closed eyes and a smile that seemed somehow to lack true warmth. Then she looked at Nigel with the same mockingly sweet look. "So what do you want to do now?"
"What happened to the movie?"
"Oh, it got boring. They always do. I like them at first, but they always get boring near the end, so I leave early." With that, she yawned.
"Actually, Lizzie... it's getting late, and one of my friends is sick, so I need to head home. See you!" With that, he began to run.
"Now wait just a minute!" Lizzie demanded. "What kind of way is that to end a date? Just run off without taking me home first?" She didn't bother to comment on the time--it wasn't really very late at all. In fact it wasn't even Noon yet. But she, too, was getting bored with this date... they just seemed to lack the magic they once had. The last time she had been seriously impressed with Nigel was when he and her turned out to like the same flavor of ice cream. Ever since then.. well, Lizzie had found that Nigel seemed to be dorkier and dorkier each passing day. There was something she liked about him, but it was gradually fading. But, as they say, the grass is always greener...
"Lizzie, I'd like to walk you home, but Numbuh Three's sick and she's in the hospital and--"
"What's she sick with?"
"A fever, and--"
"A fever? Ha! Fevers cool down Nigey."
"But she became delirious and passed out and--"
"She'll be fine!" Lizzie stated, almost demanding Nigel to agree with her.
And Nigel's mind was in such a confused state, that at this statement he felt too bewildered to argue. Abby had certainly made it sound serious, but that was Abby... Lizzie was right, it was only a fever. So he smiled, and offered her his hand.