FINALLY! I'd apologize a gazillion times if I could remember how to by the time I got to that number. Together, this chapter would've made 30 pages. Can you see the reasoning for a time delay?
Cool Quote:
"In order to be the best, we've got to have the best. And Missy's the poo…so take a big whiff."
-Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) in "Bring it On."
A/N: Keleho! Menami Melemie kora Akili Ecretes! I got REALLY bored one day and made up my own language, Menamege. The above translation is "Hello! My name is Michelle or SecretQuill!" I've already compiled two pages of words, so if you want me to post a saying for you or you want to know something, just ask! I love making up the words, which, in a way, is kind of sad. This chapter was really long, so I split it into two chapters and just posted at once because I want to move on. All this was actually supposed to happen last chapter, so…my treat.
Disclaimer: The author has only seen half of Beyblade 2002 (VForce) and has not seen G Rev at all, so incorrect information or misspellings about characters that might appear in the context are innocently accidental. Zen Tai-Ken, Renlee Brown, Tehran Chang, Brittney Loveless, Annelise Parker, William (Will) Trenton, and David and Rochelle Llewellyn belong to me as well as any other additional character not associated with Beyblade. Kira Ocelet, Mobekai Tart, Danika Woods, Colby Peterson and Trish rightfully belong to me as well.
Italics are thoughts.
Bold letters are songs.
WATCH THIS!
Chapter 22: Reconciliation
"Monsieur's Oliver," the waiter set one plate down in front of the French boy, "Sir Robert," he opened the steaming cover, "And, of course, Senior Johnny. I hope you enjoy your meals."
As soon as Oliver bit down on his steak, his face contorted into a very disgusting look. He nevertheless swallowed the chunk and looked up,
"You call this steak? More like dying fat."
"But Monsieur! It is ze' best we can offer! Please, if there is anything…"
"Can I just cook my own meal?"
The waiter's face lit up,
"Of course! Of course!"
"Hey pal, do mine too, will you?" Johnny asked, pushing his aside, "I don't even want to try this green stuff."
"And you, Sir Robert?" One of the waiters asked nervously.
"Well, I don't care one way or the other, but one of your porks sounds great right now, Oliver."
"One pork coming up!" Oliver made his way merrily into the kitchen, "Right, now this is what I live for!"
"I do feel so sorry for him," Robert remarked.
"Why?" Johnny asked, leaning back in his chair and lifting his feet against the table.
Robert pulled a face at his manners, but did not say anything,
"Well, you can't expect him to cook for everyone everywhere, though I must say, it would do this nation a lot more good." He pushed aside his meal.
Oliver came out with some vegetables, but instead of heading over to their table, he walked right out the restaurant doors.
Johnny looked over at Robert,
"What the he-?"
He got up immediately and started to follow Oliver out.
"Pleasant service, gentlemen," Robert commented to one of the baffled waiters, handing him a meager tip and following Johnny out.
"Hey Oliver!" Johnny called.
Oliver turned surprisingly,
"Oh, hey Johnny!"
Oliver walked right up to a passing gentlemen and stopped him, holding up the delicious smelling platter,
"Sir, would you be so kind as to try this and tell me what you think?"
The man looked at him skeptically and Oliver clarified,
"I'm a certified cook and I own a chain of restaurants in France."
The man took a bite out of a spinach wrap and his face brightened considerably. He picked the whole thing up,
"Hey, kid, can I have the rest of this stuff?"
"Sure!" Oliver remarked, "Five dollars?"
The man handed him some change and another woman who had been watching them approached Oliver,
"Are you giving that food out for free?"
"Small charge," Oliver replied, "But since you've never heard of me, I'll give you a free sample. Try some of this carrot. It's one of my favorites."
She handed him some money after deciding she liked the carrots very much. Oliver turned to Johnny and Robert as more people asked for some food.
"And that, my boys, is how you give service…"
"Well, service boy, looks like you've got more customers and no more food. What are you planning to do?" Johnny raised an eyebrow at Oliver's pompous attitude.
"Go cook some more, of course. I'm sure this restaurant would like the customer attraction."
He turned back to the gathering group of people perusing through their wallets for money or asking each other for just a bite of the vegetable they had already paid and bought for.
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"Were you really mad at me?" Mobekai asked Mariah as they walked down the streets of Vienna.
The sun was setting and a clear maroon of red and purple stretched beautifully across the sky ahead.
"I still am. Kind of," she added at the way his face looked, "I still feel cheated. But I guess I'm glad I know. When I face off against you and your team, I'll be on my guard."
"I'm not upset that you're mad," he lied.
"No," she shook her head and pretended she hadn't noticed, "I don't think you are. But I wouldn't be shocked if you were."
"Do you think I'm being too…?" He tried to find the words.
"Too what?" She asked curiously.
"Clingy? Too kind to you?"
"Well, sometimes. But that's a good thing!" She exclaimed as he looked away, "Sometimes it just seems like you're trying too hard to please me."
"Sorry. I guess I'm just afraid," he wrapped an arm around her because he thought she might be cold. She noticed the irony but was too curious to make any sarcastic comments,
"Why would you be afraid?"
"Because…." Again he stopped and she pulled away from his grip so she could look into his eyes, "Because…I'm sometimes afraid you still like Ray more."
Her eyes dropped to the ground a little too suddenly and they walked side by side for a couple of minutes in silence. Mariah kept her head turned away from him. Mobekai broke the silence a few minutes later,
"Mariah, I'm sorry for bringing that up. That was so dumb of me; I should've known better than to say any-"
She cut him off and feeling harsh, snapped,
"Mobekai, I can't believe you're so insecure that even after a week of seeing me, you would still think that." She didn't feel convincing.
Mobekai looked a little surprised,
"It's not true, though, is it Mariah?"
She continued to avoid his eyes and the more silent was, the more his heart started to pound angrily.
Mobekai took her face in his hands and turned her to look at him in the eyes. He looked quite serious,
"Is it true Mariah? Do you still like Ray?"
It was true, wasn't it? She thought.
Every time she talked to Mobekai she had to catch herself because she was afraid she would call him Ray. And she enjoyed being around Mobekai in front of Ray. Am I using Mobekai to make Ray jealous? Am I really being that heartless to Mobekai? After all he's done desperately to get me to like him? And then there was also the thought that Ray wasn't even noticing. That he didn't care. And then when Mobekai figured out, she would have no one and nobody.
Her eyes danced wildly as she looked into his deep blue eyes and she looked past him to where a Bengal Tiger was being paraded on a leash down the street. She pushed his hands down from her face and entwined his hands in her own as if to reassure him,
"Do you want to go see that Tiger, Mobekai? Doesn't it remind you of home?"
She pulled on his hand as they crossed the street. His stomach sank. How come you're avoiding me, Mariah? It is true, isn't it? Even after a week. It doesn't take much effort to accuse me of being wrong, though, huh? What was so special about Ray anyway? He hated him!
*Flashback*
"I'm going to the post office because I need to mail some things to Wales. That's where Team A's going tomorrow. It's supposed to go to Boris." Trish explained to Mobekai.
He was the only one sitting in the kitchen at the time. Danika was somewhere in the back and the others were still at the dance academy.
She set a stuffy looking manilla envelope onto the kitchen counter. She looked around and then sighed before heading into the living room, where she began to stuff up pillows and look under all the tapestries.
Mobekai had been fingering something in the pocket of his jacket and asked,
"Are you looking for something?"
"I--think so; I can't find it."
It's supposed to go to Boris. Again, the overwhelming urge to get rid of this guilty burden nagged at Mobekai as he fingered the unfamiliar beyblade in his pocket. But it had been his idea to grab the beyblade and he felt angry that the credit might fall to Trish for stealing it. But was the credit worth hanging onto something that could eventually be dangerous in his possession? With Mariah's birthday today, there was no doubt Ray would put two and two together when Mobekai gave Mariah her gift. If he gave her her gift. The thought of not making up with her for a while made him feel even sicker to his stomach.
"Can you help me, Mobekai? I'm looking for a small red slip of paper. I feel like I'm trying to look for a needle in haystack."
"Sure, Trish," he croaked. Nervously fingering the manilla envelope, he opened it quietly and slipped the beyblade to the very bottom, concealed by the rest of the contents. It made the envelope rustle. Trish stood up immediately and looked his way, quite worried. He looked up and looked down quickly,
"Have you thought to actually look in this envelope?"
He saw a red paper and pulled it out, waving it at her,
"Is that it?"
"Yes!" She rushed quickly into the kitchen and he slipped it in. She grabbed the envelope before he could close it.
"You didn't see what else was in there, did you?"
Mobekai stood up and dumped a glass of milk down the drain,
"No. Why?"
She closed the envelope and disappeared into the back,
"It's none of your business."
The doorbell rang. Mobekai watched her close the bedroom door and then also moved to seclude himself to his own room. Danika pushed past him,
"Thanks for getting the door, Mobekai," she remarked sarcastically.
He closed his bedroom door and fell on his bed. Trish would deliver it safely to Tai-Ken. It was no longer his concern.
"Trish! It's for you!" Danika called.
*End Flashback*
"Mobekai?" Mariah asked, turning around, "Aren't there Tigers in India?"
"Yes, Mariah. There are lots of them," he said quite sadly, looking her in the eye.
"What's wrong?"
"You never answered my question."
A bunch of loud shouts came from the park they were passing and Mariah began to wring her hands,
"I'm not perfect, Mobekai. And,…yes, I think I am still attached to Ray."
He looked away, trying to loosen the overwhelming tightness of his throat.
"But I'm trying, Mobekai. I really am," she took his hand in hers and squeezed reassuringly, "I do like you. Isn't that what relationships are for? To get to know each other better? For only two weeks of knowing each other, I think we've gone farther than I would have imagined. You've passed Ray there. I've known him my whole life."
Mobekai turned and took her other hand in his own,
"I'll stop being clingy to you if you like the space more, Mariah. I guess I shouldn't force you to love me."
"That sounds good," she kissed him quickly on the lips, but he kissed her back immediately with more passion. She remembered the only other time he'd done this. It was in the garden in Switzerland. She was sure he couldn't have made it better. Yet, somehow, he did. His kiss made her feel loved.
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Kai looked around at the small shop, where only a few plaques hung on the wall, boasting of city, region and national awards.
"Can I help you sir?" The teller smiled kindly at him. Kai turned and his eyes widened slightly,
"I'm looking for information on someone that used to live in Balkov Abbey in Moscow,
Russia."
"Name?"
"Trish--er, just Trish."
"Year?"
Kai paused for a minute to think,
"Try 8 years ago."
"Nationality?"
"Russian, of course."
"There are no records."
"Try 10 years ago then."
"There are no records for 'Trish' for about 20 years."
"What's the last recorded entry for a Trish?"
"Trish DeVonn. She was Czech."
"Can you do physical descriptions?"
"I could. It will take a while, though."
Kai looked up at the clock. The second-hand was almost to the twelve. "You better be there at six, Kai!" "Yeah, you can't very well walk in when they do!" "I'll be there, I swear."
"That's okay; I'll go ahead and come back later, then."
He walked out of the store and took out his headphones to drown out the sound of every other noise around him. Except for a few.
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*Flashback*
"Tala, will you please stop swinging so I can talk to you?" She placed her hands on her hips and leaned on one foot, trying to look quite serious. The wind suddenly blew hard against her back and her hair flipped forward, enveloping her face. Her hands flew up as she tried to wrap large strands of her already muddy looking blonde hair behind her ear.
Tala laughed and dug his feet into the ground the next time the tire swing gravitated down.
"Oh, Lise, what's wrong?"
She spit out the remaining cluster of hair clinging to her cheek and said as angry as she could manage,
"You've been hanging around that Rachel more than you've been hanging out around me!"
"Of course! Rachel's smart! I can rip homework off her!"
"That's cheating! And I can be just as smart as Rachel! So stop hanging out around her!"
"It's not a competition, Lise. Why would you want to try and be smart? That's not cool."
"Yes, but it will come in handy one day!"
"When?" he questioned a little curiously.
"When I'm older, that's when! I'll be smart! I can be smart!"
"Sure Lise," he smothered more dirt in her hair, "After we've stopped climbing fences, digging holes and hiding in trees, then we'll stick on Grandma T's glasses and read 400 page books."
She smiled slightly.
*End Flashback*
Lise…
Tala was laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. There was something nagging him and he couldn't figure out what it was that was starting to concern him so much. It seemed like the very thought of something was devouring every other thought in his mind. And he wouldn't do anything else until he could figure out who or what it was.
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Trish was walking down the streets of Austria. Mostly, everyone had the characteristics of Austrian born men and women: big forehead, small nose and medium mouth. Except for a few here and there that noticeably stood out at tourists. Then there were the weird people: like the girl that was wearing the shark outfit, the boy who kept losing his much too large shoes, the blue haired tattoed boy sulking in the corner while he listened to a walkman, the--wait a minute. Her head stretched and as soon as two men in trenchcoats began to walk again, she could see a clear view of him.
Kai? She thought, Where are the others?
She began to push more roughly through the crowd and ran across the street without bothering to look both ways. A car slammed on it's brakes right in front of her and she jumped out of the way.
"Watch where you're going, you stupid Russian!" The man yelled.
She gave him a very choice finger in response. She started walking at a very fast pace, still keeping a mild distance between them. His head was bent low and he walked very casually, very suavely, his hands resting in his pockets as if he was thinking. She could see the outline of the shoulder blades in his back and the lower hem of his shirt rippled each time he took a step. She thought it was quite fascinating for a while until she realized who she was watching. She shook her head and tried to pretend it had never happened.
"There's the post office…" she stopped to look at the store that had snuck up across the way. Then she looked down at the package in her hands and back at Kai. He was too far ahead for her to continue. And she could see him turning the corner…heading to the White Tiger hotel.
"Arrggh!" She growled angrily, before trying to cross the street again. When she opened the door, a blast of warm, inviting wind greeted her.
"Special Delivery please," she told the bored post worker, "But I don't want it shipped out for two days. En route to Wales."
"$15.00. Your name?"
"Trish."
"Last name?"
She thought for a minute,
"Granger. Trish Granger."
"Here's your receipt. You can change your order anytime between now and then. Thanks for doing business with us."
She rubbed her hands together and pushed open the door. The sun was barely visible across the horizon and the sky now looked dark blue to purple, but a small patch of red was visible through the buildings ahead.
"It's beautiful, huh?" Someone asked her.
"Yeah, it is," she stuffed the change in her pocket and then frowned, realizing her stupidity. She spun around before reacting with shock.
Kai was leaning against the nearest shop, headphones off, but nevertheless, still looking quite confident. He looked like he'd been expecting her for a while.
"But I thought--" she turned back to the corner where she thought she'd seen him disappear and then looked back at him, "What are you doing here?"
"Funny. I was about to ask you the same thing."
"I was mailing something. But--But I just saw you--" she turned and pointed at the corner, then dropped her hand as if she felt stupid, "Never mind. So, what are you doing here?"
"Technically, I was on my way to meet my teammates; but I saw you here and figured I would just walk with you there," he raised an eyebrow.
"You're such a liar."
"Really?" He sat up straight, "Am I deaf too?"
"Sometimes."
"I would have to disagree with you there."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I can still hear car horns with headphones on, you know. And I can still see fingers."
Now it was Trish's turn to raise an eyebrow,
"Why didn't you stop and say something?"
"Why didn't you? You certainly took the liberty of following me for quite some time without saying hello. Why?"
She felt quite embarrassed that he had caught her doing this and quite incapable of knowing that she'd never be able to surprise him.
"It's none of your business."
"Oh!" he faked astonishment as they began walking down the sidewalk, "Kind of like the whole Balkov Abbey thing being none of my business. I was directly involved and yet, it didn't concern me in the least? Come on, Trish; I'm not stupid."
"Good. That would be a tragedy."
Kai rolled his eyes,
"No wonder Boris kept you a secret."
"You don't know anything about my past, Hiwatari, so I would advise you not to talk about it so freely," she snapped.
"I would know about it if you'd just tell me. What have you got to lose?"
"Everything."
"That's nice to know. Are you intending to blackmail me?" He stopped suddenly as if the thought had never occurred to him, "You don't still keep contact with Boris…or Voltaire, do you?"
She didn't answer for a few minutes and he shook his head angrily, walking forward purposely,
"I should've known better than to trust you."
"I never said anything."
"Your meaning was clear enough."
"I haven't been keeping contact with Boris or Voltaire. Boris kicked me out of the Abbey."
"Why? Because you stole Black Dranzer?"
"No," she snapped, "Boris used to depend on me, but now he's found someone else. A man by the name of Tai-Ken. He sponsors the rest of my teammates, the original Wild Cheetahs."
"What's your last name?" Kai demanded.
"Wow, that was a little out of left field."
"Just answer the question Trish."
"I don't have an answer for you because I don't know."
"You don't know your own last name?"
"I don't want you to know, okay!"
"Why not?"
"Because…Because I just don't, all right?!" Her voice raised slightly.
"Are you absolutely sure you're 17?"
"What is this, 20 questions?" she felt outrageously like a nail being hammered quickly into wood.
"Before I started walking this way, I dropped into an information specialists center. Turns out there hasn't been a Trish at Balkov Abbey for 20 years. So, I see it this way: Either you lied about your name, you're really 20 something years old, or someone dropped your name from the records. You choose."
"I told you before: Boris kicked me out of the Abbey. He just erased my name."
"Hm," he said quickly, a little angry that he still couldn't figure her out, "Do you really expect me to believe your story?"
"Sure I do. Even though I'm sure you don't."
He opened the door to the hotel lobby for her and she walked through first before turning around. It was a lot warmer inside.
"I do actually; believe your story, I mean."
She blinked once…twice…
"What?" She asked.
"I believe your story," he repeated slowly, "It's logical…for now. At least, until I can find more information to prove otherwise."
"All right. You do that."
He opened the stairwell door and waited for her to grab the door,
"Coming?" he asked.
"There are elevators, dear," Trish pointed to the lovely encasement next to them.
"Use your legs. That's what they're there for."
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"Have you ever seen a more perfect looking cake?!" Danika cried, clapping her hands ecstatically, "Kiss the cook, baby!"
Colby coughed rather loudly,
"And kiss the cooks assistant," Danika added, "And hug her assistant."
Kira raised an eyebrow,
"I'm so glad you think so highly of me."
"Oh, we love you Kira!" Danika patted her on the back.
Hilary wiped something off her cheek and poured the rest of the batter into the bowl,
"Well, the cookies'll be done by the time she gets here."
Lee pulled the oven down, before closing it again. He set the mitts down and started setting plates on the kitchen table.
"So, how are the potato's coming along?" Hilary asked him, "I should probably try and put this batter in the oven, so the faster the better."
"Erm…" Lee turned around and rubbed his hands, "We should probably just order out pizza. It would taste better anyway and-"
Colby ran the length of the kitchen and opened the oven. She grabbed some forks and pulled out what looked like round black rocks. Everyone in the kitchen looked glumly at the er-potatoes and then back at Lee for an explanation. He shrugged as if it were nothing,
"I told you I couldn't cook. I must've left them in too long."
"That's an understatement," Danika plugged her nose.
"Better stick them outside," Colby handed them to Kira, "Or the burnt smell will stink the whole place up."
"Smells like Tyson's been cooking!" a voice called. Michael, followed by the remaining three All-Stars entered the room.
"I resent that!" Tyson stated quite firmly.
"It's not far from the truth," Hilary called from the kitchen.
"Shut-up!" Tyson called back.
"Mariah's going to love this so much!" Emily grinned, setting the punchbowl down, "I just know she'll love my present. I saw her coveting it at a store. Now, how are the decorations going? No Eddy! Don't set the presents so close to the fire where they'll burn. Let me help!"
Emily ran into the living room. Michael shook his head,
"Even when she's not in the stadium, she likes to boss people around."
"There's nothing wrong with that!" Hilary defended her.
"How's it going, Kenny?" Max sat a jello salad down on the countertop. Kenny was busy at work cooking hot dogs over the stove.
"Great!" He pulled one up by the fork and Dizzi, sitting open on the table sighed dreamily,
"Gosh, I wish boiling water didn't short-circuit computers. I can smell heaven over here."
"Okay, we just put the birthday poster up," Ray stuck his head over the divider,"…and everything else is clean."
The doorknob began to shake back and forth and rustling sounded outside the hotel door.
"She's here!" Kevin cried. Everyone ducked for the nearest hiding place. Kenny reached up quickly and turned off the stove and oven. The door opened slowly. Tyson reached up and turned the lights off. The door creaked open and two figures walked in.
"Did someone forget to tell me there was a funeral?" A sarcastic voice asked aloud.
"Turn the lights back on, Tyson." That demanding deep voice was only too familiar.
The lights flipped on and everybody jumped back up anyway,
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Trish and Kai stared back in shock, but with slight amusement.
Trish began to laugh and Kai hung his head as if he couldn't believe their stupidity.
"Oh shut up and get in here," Danika pushed them forward, before closing the door,
"Okay, that was a stupid false alarm. Let's get the rest of this cleaned up and chill out for a while until the real two people actually do get here."
"I hope you put as much effort into my birthday as you are into hers," Kira told Colby.
Colby grinned and half-hugged her,
"Of course!"
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"Hello?" Rochelle opened the door just a bit, "Is there anybody here?"
The Bladebreakers room was very empty…and very messy. A rat that had been chewing on a sweater squeaked and scampered away as she crossed the main room. She looked in all the rooms,
"Tyson? Kai?"
She came out and placed her hands on her hips,
"That's odd. Are they supposed to be away?"
She walked up to the kitchen where a post-it note was attached to the fridge.
Hey Ms. Llewellyn-
Figured you'd come by. At White Tigers for this Evening for Party. Help yourself to some food and have a good night,
Hilary, and the Bladebreakers
"Bladebreakers" seemed added as an afterthought and she smiled. Yep, the Bladebreakers probably had no idea she'd written the note. She was glad Hilary was with them. It made her job so much easier with backup reinforcements.
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"I'm really hungry. Shouldn't we stop and get something to eat?" Mariah asked Mobekai.
Mobekai held the hotel door open for her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to warm her.
"Yep! That's why we're going over to your place for--"
"Mobekai. Nothing at my place interests me."
"I'll cook something for you. My treat. Besides, I still have to give you your birthday present."
"I thought you already gave it to me," she feigned surprise, trying her best to sound sappy.
"If you're talking about this, then you've been watching too many romance films,"
he leaned down and kissed her. She smiled hesitantly,
"No, you promised something better."
"Like this?" He leaned down and kissed her a little more firmly and passionately. She pulled away and licked her lips, "There you go again!"
"What?"
"You--" she wrapped an arm around his back and leaned on his shoulder, looking up into his face, "--are being way--" she reached up and kissed him on one cheek, "--too romantic."
"One of my many charms," he grinned down at her and guided her into the elevator.
"I'm not a baby," she stated firmly.
"I can tell," he laughed as they moved up in the encasement, wrapping both of his arms around her waist. She leaned back against his chest and sighed,
"I mean, I can do whatever I want without having to talk to you about it."
"I know."
"No! You're not supposed to know because I only just told you!"
The elevator stopped and they stepped out, walking down the hall.
"All right, then, I don't know. Now how much space would you like, baby girl?"
"You're so impossible!"
"That can be a good thing or a bad thing. Which do you prefer?"
They stopped outside the White Tigers team door. Mariah didn't answer, but reached up and flicked him on the nose. He caught her hand and began to tickle her underarm. She began to laugh; her hand came down instinctively, but he grinned and began to tickle her around the stomach. She curled up, laughing harder and tried to pull away, but he grabbed her around the stomach and pulled her forward into a hug. Her body shook once more with laughter and she reached up to wipe her teary eyes. He grinned and leaned his head on hers.
He held her for a few more seconds and she relaxed again in his grip.
"All right?" he asked.
"Yes," she said quietly.
She pulled the room key out and handed it to him. He slipped the key in and opened the door, waiting for her to enter first. It was extremely dark inside, which Mariah found odd because she didn't remember turning the lights out.
"Didn't I keep the lights on when we left?" She turned around to ask Mobekai.
"Yeah, I think you did."
Mariah reached over and turned the main lights on.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIAH!"
She jumped in shock at the loud noise and gaped immediately. A large banner with the words "Happy 16th Birthday Mariah!" was draped across the entryway, signed by every person she knew. And past the entryway, in the living room, her team, the Wild Cheetahs, the All-Stars and the Bladebreakers stood, watching her anticipated reaction.
"Wow…" she breathed first, "This is…for me? I can't believe you got together and…"
"Speechless?" Lee grinned at her expression.
"Yes! Well, no. Not anymore, no. Thanks! Thank you!" she couldn't stop showing her pearly whites even though she kept trying to tell herself to shut her mouth.
"We figured after this morning…" Danika said a little shiftily, "And everything, you needed a little lift…"
"Not to mention all the free food!" Gary noted kindly, stuffing a twinkie in his mouth.
"Yes, where is all that food? Oh, yes! In the kitchen! To the kitchen we go!" Tyson jumped up and dashed off into the kitchen, "Hot dogs and hamburgers and…"
Hilary rolled her eyes and hugged Mariah kindly before following him into the kitchen to make sure all the food wasn't eaten within the next twenty minutes.
Emily jumped up and handed her a package, whispering,
"Between you and me: it's that other perfume you didn't buy in France. I went back and got it after you left."
"Really?" Mariah grinned and hugged her, "Thanks Emily!"
"The rest of us got you some stuff too. They're over there in the corner, so you can open them later," Danika showed her a small pile of hand-wrapped boxes in the corner.
"Thanks!" she smiled gratefully. Everyone was gradually dispersing into their own groups. She sank into one of the couches and Mobekai sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her back and unconsciously rubbing her shoulder.
"So, did you know too?" She asked curiously.
"Yep," he nodded.
"So, was this the surprise you wanted to show me?"
"No, actually, I'll give that to you later when there's not so many people around."
"Something else?!" She asked incredulously.
"Yep. Because you're my girlfriend. And second, you're just plain special."
She blushed and hugged him,
"Thanks."
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Final Note: Now that I think about it, the birthday thing sounds really cheesy. Oh well. Sometimes people go all out for a good friend. And BTW, the first scene is coincidental with when Tala and the rest of the Demolition Boys ran into the Superiors at the end of the last chapter. In case you never figured it out. Here's one more saying in Menamege for your enjoyment:
"Aryl nada Ryami tero kokorevo!"
"Ray and Mariah Together Forever!"
BTW, Johnny is Honui (pronounced: haw-new-ee) and Tala is Latao.
Review Feedback for Chapter 21 can be found in Chapter 23. Thanks!
