Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT!
Chapter Nine
Pumpkins wear many faces
"We are also creating this musical together. That is where the partnership stops. Clear enough?" -- Lina
"Those?" Xelloss craned his neck to see what Zelgadiss was looking at.
"Oh. That's…"
"That singer guy the old lady was talking about on the hayride…David something," Zel smiled.
"Cassidy. Yes. I looked him up. What do you think? Do we look alike?"
Zel examined the picture carefully, looking up now and then to scrutinize Xelloss. "Well, besides the obvious difference in the shape and color of your hair and eyes… You appear…similar in these shots, which I assume, are his later pictures? Your face is longer, thinner cheeks, and you definitely have twenty more pounds of muscle. Evidently, he wasn't as fit as you. You have…you have… you're getting a moustache!"
Xelloss shrugged, "Oh, not much. I may even have to shave about once every six months!" He knew it meant more to Zelgadiss than to him—he actually hated the nasty stuff-- but Zel's hair follicles had been severely damaged and so were still unable to grow facial hair. He chuckled. "You…are a very exacting observer, Zelgadiss."
"Of course. I'm an analytic."
"You are also an artist. I still have the picture you did of me, the valentine—it wasn't burned up. In fact…" Xelloss' face lit up. "Would you consider doing the character designs for our musical?"
"The what?"
"Draw the characters at a couple of different angles and costume them. Us, the Slayers, but…magical. Let me tell you all about them…"
Zelgadiss listened intently, nodding at times. "All right. I'll give it a try."
"If you need ideas, Filia has good fashion-sense, when she gets her head out of the what's-hot trash. You can consult with Sylphiel when it comes to cloth. She knows a lot about fabrics. In fact… we can go see her together and visit Subaru too. I have something I need her to sew for me."
"Do I want to know?"
Xelloss smiled benignly and answered, "Let's just say…that's a secret…for now. If the she agrees to the sewing project then, you'll be the first to know. It's a good kinda thing, so don't worry."
"All right, I won't. Busy now?"
"Noooo…"
"Good. I'll get my sketch pad and start with you," Zel smiled and hurried out. He hadn't done much drawing lately, the one at the apple orchard being his first in weeks. Character designs…might be fun… Hell, it would be fun!
The following week proved uninteresting until it reached its end.
"Hello, you must be Xelloss and Lina here for your appointment with Mr. Grauscherra," the attractive young woman greeted the two kids. "I'm his assistant, Miss Sherra."
Lina looked over the new assistant principal. Young and pretty. Great, just like the man. She was dressed in a blue, military-type suit, which would have given her a severe look had her long black hair not been worn in a girlish braid. As they were ushered into the inner sanctum, Lina muttered to Zel, "How creative, Sherra and Grauscherra. Do ya think he named her or someone just paired them up like that?"
Xelloss looked sideways at Lina and smiled weakly, "Must be fate."
"Good afternoon, kids. Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? A pop perhaps?" the principal asked.
"Drink? Yeah, sure…ah, thanks!" Lina replied. "Got lemon flavored? We'll take two." Earlier she had thought his hair was blue, but it must have been the bright lights. Now his hair appeared to be jet black, but his eyes were piercing blue and oddly familiar.
Xelloss nodded his agreement with Lina's choice.
Mr. Grauscherra returned with the two pop cans, handed them over, then sat on the edge of his desk. He was slim and trim in his pale blue shirt and dark slacks. The jacket draped across the back of his desk chair, Lina noted, was expensive looking. "Actually, I have been trying to meet with all the seniors first, but when you called for this appointment, I checked your records and noticed that you both are…special cases. And you are asking for a very special working arrangement today."
Lina started to say something, but stopped when he raised a hand.
"I have read your proposal. It sounds extremely challenging. You are aware that professional theaters may take years to put together a new musical. The production detail and costs can be astronomical." He paused to take a breath then continued. "Yes, go ahead. I can see you are dying to speak for yourself."
Lina did. She explained their approach to information gathering from the community, fundraising, and time scheduling. "We already have most of the music we need and the story…writes itself, let's say. We are not afraid of hard work."
"Indeed not!" The principal turned towards Xelloss. "Your record is an interesting one. You appear to have spent a good deal of time being home-schooled, I take it? You certainly couldn't have completed all of these credits in the short space of time you have actually attended classes. Your grades aren't that impressive, although you are in honors-level classes and also at the university for two classes."
Xelloss simple nodded, "All true, Sir. I am only asking that this replace my literature class, but if I need them to graduate, I'd take the drama and dance credits as well." He was happy to gloss over the details of his school career. If Zelas hadn't thought to fill them in on his records, he was not about to do it for them.
"You are doing the choreography? Not Miss Inverse?"
"He's the dancer plus he's got a contact…that guy that did the Nutcracker here last December," Lina piped up.
"Oh. I see. I believe you can get computer lab credit as well if you do manage to use them to control the lights and sound…" Grauscherra muttered.
"Does that mean we get your approval?" Xelloss pushed.
"My concern is who will be tracking your progress? What if you don't succeed, how do you get partial credit? Those kinds of questions."
"Mr. Grauscherra," Lina interrupted. "The drama teacher will keep you posted. We're working out a checklist with him so everyone can know what's up at any time. And…" she stood up fingering her empty pop-top, "We never fail. We make a good team."
The man smiled slyly at Xelloss, "Is she your girlfriend too?"
Lina's face darkened, "With all due respect...(which ain't much) I'm doin' the talkin' here and can speak for myself, and to be perfectly clear about this…we are friends. I'm the leader of our band called the Slayers and he's the drummer. We are also creating this musical together. That is where the partnership stops. Clear enough?"
Xelloss was shaking his head back and forth trying to stop Lina from being disrespectful, insulting the man and ruining their chances to get his signature on the dotted line.
It must have looked funny, because the principal chuckled and surrendered to Lina. "Quite clear. Just working partners. I won't make that mistake again. Well, I will okay this. It sounds like a terrific project and much more work than most of our students complete in two years."
"Thank you..." Xelloss said in a low-toned voice. He meant it.
He signed the form permitting the two students to participate off-campus on a project of their own. "I will see if both music and computer credits can be added for you both and…possibly more as you delve into the financial parts. Getting backers, advertising, set building…many hats to wear, kids. Oh, and Xelloss… it was your mother who was the previous principal at this school. Am I correct?"
Xelloss was unprepared for that remark. Lina stepped up to bat for him, "Yeah, and she's dead. Don't make a big deal of it, 'kay?"
The man looked at Xelloss. An odd survey, taking in the boy's entire aspect and demeanor as if he was only seeing him for the first time. Xelloss found it terribly disconcerting, and went into protective mode without thinking. He smiled. "I'm sure you'll fill her shoes here just fine."
"That's just…" Grauscherra grew serious a moment, then flashed a politician's grin before finishing, "…what I intend to do."
The two held their postures of composure and tranquility, while the tension was so thick, Lina thought she would suffocate any minute if she didn't blow it apart. "Say! So can we go now? I don't wanna miss any of Japanese if I can help it!" she said in a loud voice.
"Why yes, the bell is about to ring. I won't keep you any longer now, but stop by next week and we'll talk some more. I'd like to get to know the both of you better," the man smiled and held open the door to his office.
"Whew!" Lina gasped when they had swiftly flown down two hallways towards their next class. "At least we got what we went in there for. What is it about principals anyway, huh! Do you think they go to some kind of class on being creepy or just get that from on-the-job training? I can just see the course offerings…'How to Make'em Squirm 101'."
"I'm certain it's in the training, that and the job just attracts warped individuals," Xelloss smiled. On the inside, he was churning. There had been a Grauscherra dynasty in the northern syndicate. Could this man be a part of it? He had to find out, but at the same time was reluctant to draw on his dubious syndicate connections. That was all in his past. A past he had buried with his parents, and he didn't want to start exhuming corpses. He was afraid of what he might uncover…
Lina noticed him looking serious for a change. He had been busily scribbling on a notepad during the interview with the new principal and her growing curiosity got the better of her. "So, what kinda notes did you take in there?" she asked, snatching at the papers.
Xelloss was lost in thought, but relying on his instincts alone, he was able to keep the notebook out of her reach. "You know, if my name were 'Yellow', then the initials of our first names would spell 'LAZY'." Xelloss handed his doodle over to Lina to see.
L A Z Y
i -m -e e
n -e -l -l
a -l- g -l
i -a ----o
a -d ---w
i
s
s
Lina, irked that it held no pearls of wisdom or deep insights, shot back, "You have too much time on your hands."
She did, however, manage to shove it under Zel's nose as they found their seats.
Shortly thereafter, a stack of tiny orange notes like butterflies appeared fluttering onto Lina's desk. Lina looked over at Filia seated to her right, eyes slitted suspiciously. Filia pointed back at Amelia who was grinning. Fine. Lina opened the note on top bearing the name 'Lina' and read it. It was an invitation to a pumpkin carving party at Amelia's house Saturday after practice. Lina nodded back at Amelia and passed the remaining few on to Zel, to her left. Let him sort out who gets what. Lina consumed the remaining time in Japanese drawing little faces, the next more evil looking than the previous. She was practicing to get just the right leers for her jack-o-lanterns. Besides, she already could count and write all the numbers in Japanese…
After class, Sylphiel put a hand on Xelloss' arm to get his attention. "Oh, Xelly?" Sylphiel asked him with girlish lilt to her voice that some boys really liked, but not him particularly.
"Yes?" He studied the pumpkin note in his hand, then stuffed it into his pants pocket.
"I have that shirt ready. You can, like, pick it up anytime."
He smiled, "Thanks, Sylphiel. How expeditious of you! Wonderful. I'll be stopping by the shrine to see Subaru later. Will you be in?"
"Uh huh. Oh, I mean, after cheerleading practice and dinner. We can practice our Japanese together, or something," she suggested.
"Oh?" he held the smile, but his voice faltered slightly.
"Maybe ice cream too. We haven't done that in a long time." She looked at him from under a fringe of mascara-covered eyelashes.
"Ah…" He was at a loss for words.
"Xelloss, we have to go now if we're going to get everything done including that short chem lab tonight," Zel interrupted.
Xelloss happily turned toward his best friend, "Everything?"
Val had asked Zel to drop him off at a dealership after school. There was a 'hog' with his name on it and he had wanted it bad. He was already out the door.
"A what?" Xelloss queried Zel on their way out to the car.
"Val is buying a motorcycle. Actually, it is more practical than that gas guzzler he has to get to school," Zel explained. "So, we do that first, then eat, then lab. Remember we just have to set it up, about fifteen minutes work and check it tomorrow morning. Ah… then go see Subaru…"
"And Sylphiel ought to be home by then…" Xelloss supplied. "From cheerleading practice. Aside from picking up guys, I can't imagine the attraction of the sport."
Zelgadiss simply shook his head in agreement.
"Well, that and the short skirts!" Xelloss giggled as Zel blushed predictably.
Lina opened the door to her house upon hearing an unfamiliar engine roaring in the driveway.
"Yo!"
"Val?" Lina stared at him on his new bike. It was shiny and silvery blue. Her eyes shone with delight and anticipation.
"Wanna ride?" he grinned, tossing her a helmet. "I need a hot-lookin' pillion in back ta go with the look."
She didn't know the term, but guessed it was somewhat derogatory toward women. Her eyes narrowed.
"Ah, c'mon…just kiddin', ya know."
"Not about the hot part," she grilled him with a scorching glare, then grinned. "You bet I wanna ride! New? Ya just get it?"
"Yeah. It's an ole beater."
"Tell me all about it." Lina knew he was dying to tell someone and she was in a generous mood.
"Custom Ironhorse Outlaw perf cruiser, 107 cu-inch single-stroke engine with a six-speed transmission and…"
"That's more than enough for now," Lina brushed off his further babbling with a flick of her wrist. "Is it fast?"
He grinned like mad, "Uh, yeah. New it costs over $30 gees, but like I said, this one's used."
"So before I get on…do something. Ya know some showoff thing," Lina wanted him to get that out of his system before risking her life at his hands. "Like…a burnout!"
"Yeah," he said. He held the front brake while racing the throttle, causing the back wheel to spin and billow smoke.
"Good enough!" she announced, strapping on the helmet. She hopped behind him and wrapped her arms around him.
"Ready?" he asked. For an answer, she tightened her grip. "Sure thing, then…"
Val roared the motor and pushed with his foot, backing out of the driveway. He rolled a ways down the block, then let loose ripping past the front of her house. The warm fall air blew past her face. It was like flying. She laughed aloud and he took her for a ride up into the hills.
"Yahooooooo!" she screamed. What a ride! Oh yeah!
To Val's credit, he didn't speed. Too much. He was careful almost to a fault, and returned Lina, breathless but otherwise unharmed to her house just as her sister was returning from work. Time to go.
"Yo, ah…Ma'am," Val smiled nervously at Luna and back to Lina. Luna, he had come to understand while living with the Cephied believers, was a very important person. Their knight. Moreover, she did it the hard away, giving up her freedom to devote her life to their causes. Someone he could respect.
Luna shook her head, "Don't worry, I won't bite. Nice bike, Val."
"Um, yeah thanks. Well, ah, I'll see ya later, Lina."
"Right!" Lina shouted then strode to her front door.
Luna broke out in a grin, "You sure that one's not hoping for a bit of the Lina action too?"
Lina glared back, "Cut it out, 'kay? Val and I go back a few years and we've never been more than friends, never will be."
Luna chuckled, "Just hassling you, little sis. Hey, carry some of this stuff. It's got your dinner in it!" Luna jammed a bag into Lina's arms then unlocked the door.
"Hello Subaru," Xelloss greeted his friend with a cheery smile.
Zelgadiss muttered his own 'hello' but stood apart. This was Xelloss' atonement for his perceived mistakes.
The small sorrowful boy nodded by way of his greeting. He motioned to Xelloss to join him in his tiny room. Xelloss had stayed in this very room himself not long after his house was destroyed. They sat side by side on the bed.
"Would you like to take a walk?" Xelloss asked. He never sat still for long.
"I would like to cut my hair," Subaru answered.
"Oh, really? Well, I know someone who does a very good job. She does mine, and I am very particular. Would you like me to arrange that?"
"If…its not too much trouble." Subaru stared down at his hands.
"Not for Filia! She loves getting her hands into guys hair!" Xelloss laughed.
They spoke together about the upcoming shrine functions. As he listened to Subaru's careless, terse speech, Zelgadiss began to dwell darkly on what was really on Subaru's mind, how he was really doing.
It was strange. Subaru did not behave the way they had expected, if anyone could assume to expect any one kind of behavior from one who had lost so much. But he was particularly weird. He was almost catatonic in his daily life, his grandmother had told them before. He was completely shut off. And yet, then again he wasn't. He still worked, doing whatever nebulous 'spiritual' thing he had done before. He talked and ate and took care of himself at least as well as he always had, though that wasn't saying much. He always was too thin and too pale, and still retained such a look of androgyny, even now! Of course he'd want to cut his hair. They'd had the same haircut, Subaru and Hokuto, and looking in the mirror must have been like having her ghost constantly haunting him there. But gone were the gaudy, unique outfits he used to wear, just as the sparkle was gone from his evergreen eyes. That had been the influence of his sister, and Hokuto, the bright, glowing, perpetually happy sprite, was gone. Subaru was only half of a whole, missing his sister. But there was something else, too, wasn't there?
Zelgadiss was not in his comfort zone thinking about this, but it occurred to him…Seishirou. The gentle, smiling veterinarian. The twenty-five-year-old man who hung out with a pair of sixteen-year-olds. The Sakurazukamori assassin, as Xelloss had identified him. They did not dare mention him, nor anything about him. Of course, what could they say? 'Gosh-darn that scoundrel what killed your sister all to heck, that bad, bad man!'? No, that wouldn't do. But there were other reasons why they dared not say his name. The very thought of the man, his disarming façade, the evil thoughts that must have always dwelt behind that care-free smile, the dire duplicity—it made Zel feel physically ill. Thinking of him, how he had trusted him, made him sick.
So what would it do to someone who was in love with him?
Zelgadiss looked at Subaru sitting listlessly on the bed, not looking at Xelloss at all as he answered questions in single words and short sentences. He hadn't just lost his beloved sister, had he? He had lost two people he cared about. Even worse, he had been betrayed by one that he trusted. And he was such a shy, retiring, ingenuous boy! Had 'Sei-chan' been the only one that he'd ever ventured to have a crush on? Somehow, it struck Zel as the case. And though he usually couldn't say much about people's love-lives, he felt pretty confident predicting that Subaru was one boy who would never have one. The only one he'd ever loved betrayed him in the most cruel and final way possible.
Zel shook it off. He was thinking too darkly. Maybe Subaru would be okay. He was only sixteen, right? He could have another sixty or seventy years ahead of him! That was too much time to spend mourning. He could recover, right?
He looked at the purple-haired boy beside him, appearing cheerful but truly desperate. The martyr. Had Xelloss ever recovered?
But Subaru wasn't Xelloss. Subaru was very lonely, and very isolated, but he was at least safe with his own mind. What held Xelloss back was that he wasn't safe alone. Maybe…
Maybe they'd both be okay?
And maybe they'd receive a miracle to accomplish that.
They set a date with Subaru to have Filia cut his hair, and Xelloss left him with some books to read. Zelgadiss waited until Xelloss had started for the car, and he had a second alone with Subaru.
"I know that you're very alone right now," he said, hoping that it would all come out right. "But it doesn't have to be like this. We're all ready to listen to you, to do anything we can. Xelloss is trying to help because he feels guilty, and because you remind him of himself in a certain period of his life. I shouldn't be telling you this, but you had no choice in our knowing about you, so…"
"He does not have to feel guilty. He had nothing to do with it," Subaru said, quietly.
Zel smiled. "I know. You know. We all know, except for him. But he's also doing this because he cares about you. We all do. So…don't give up, okay?"
Subaru looked at his feet. "I won't. I can't. Or else she would have died for nothing. Good-bye, Zelgadiss. Thank you."
Zel nodded and left. Chills still ran down his spine. His voice had been so dead and lifeless! And what he had said!
He decided not to tell Xelloss, not just yet. Not until he had thought about what he could have meant by that. 'She would have died for nothing,'…
Xelloss found Sylphiel chatting on the phone in her kitchen. Her mother looked both Zelgadiss and him over, then left them to conduct their business in private.
"Hey, I gotta go. Xelly and Zel are both here…yeah…I KNOW! They're both so cuuute! Yeah…so…bye, now!" Sylphiel hung up then turned her full attention on her two visitors. "Hi! Can we go out for ice cream again? Its so boring around here."
Wincing at the shrill 'cute' reference both boys locked eyes a moment. "Zelgadiss?" Xelloss did his best to relay a silent plea along with his cold stare that begged, 'say no for us.'
Zel smirked and nodded his acceptance.
Xelloss' eyes narrowed. Zel was supposed to indicate that they would be just too busy, shucks. But he didn't. Time to torture Xelloss, he guessed. "May I see the shirt first, please? I have the cash right here as well."
"Shirt? Oh…yeah, that. Just a sec and I'll go get it. Don't run off now!" she giggled.
"Now that's an idea…" Xelloss frowned slightly.
"What's the matter…Xelly?" Zelgadiss chuckled. "I thought you liked the attention."
"I do," Xelloss said. "Zelly, for the most part… Okay, I'm getting pickier with age,"
"More discerning. That's refreshing."
"Are we talking about wine or girls now? I'm lost," Xelloss smiled.
"We could be talking about either one. I'm equally qualified to converse on either topic," Zelgadiss said expansively.
"You don't drink wine," Xelloss pointed out.
"I do not, that is true. I also do not understand the workings of the female mind, so—you see—I can talk at great lengths about both with equal stupidity."
Xelloss laughed at Zel's act. Usually so serious, Zel rarely joked about himself.
"What's so funny? Did I miss a joke?" Sylphiel asked.
"N-No…" Xelloss giggled. "We were testing the limits of our understanding."
Sylphiel looked at the two grinning friends and shook her head, "You guys are so weird… Anyway," holding up the shirt as she spoke, "how do you like it? Is it okay? Wanna try it on?"
"Go ahead," Zel urged his reticent friend. "It will save a trip back if it doesn't suit you."
Xelloss agreed. Avoid unnecessary return visits at all costs…
He waited shortly for her to leave the room or turn away, but she didn't. "So," he mused to himself, "she's as interested in looking at guys as I am girls… or at least as curious. Hmm, I wonder if…"
"Xelloss." It wasn't a question, it was a prompt from Zel which meant 'stop spacing.'
Xelloss shrugged 'sorry', and proceeded to tear off his t-shirt and then quickly pull on the new long-sleeved knit top. It was form fitting. "Okay?" he asked both friends for an assessment.
"I bit garish for my tastes, but I guess retro suits you," Zel offered.
Sylphiel sighed, "I copied it from the photo and I couldn't tell what it would look like on you, but it really looks…good on you, ya know?"
"Thanks!" Xelloss smiled and stripped it off. "It's worth every penny. Ready to go?"
The ice cream was like a balm on his soul. He hated to admit it, even to Zelgadiss, but Sylphiel had hurt his pride more than his feelings when she had gone and acquired a (admittedly short-lived) fiancée while on vacation. And just when he thought he'd start dating her! Ah, well…It was nice to know that she was somewhat interested in him still. His interests, however, had moved on. Onward and upward.
"Yeah?" Luna opened the front door and peered out at the young man standing tall and solid on the stoop. "Oh, you. I figured it was about time for you to put in an appearance. All the others have this week."
"The others?" Gourry asked.
"Yes 'the others'…you know…Zelgadiss, Val and Xelloss…those others. Lina's male compatriots."
"Oh, them. Well, I don't know…" He searched for what to add to that, then remembered what was important. "Is she ready ta go?"
"Come in, come on…" Luna flung open the door. "Hey Lina! I'm headin' out and the blonde one is here to take ya someplace so get a move on!" Then to Gourry she said as she left, "She's awake. Just stay where you are. She'll be out in a minute." She caught his eyes with her own and added with a significant glare, "Don't even dream of going to her room, got that?"
Gourry nodded and remained fixed in place by the door, at least until he could see Luna's car drive off. "Ah…Lina? Mom said you could have breakfast at the house if you want…then we can go to Amelia's."
He knocked on her bedroom door, "Lina?"
She reassured him she was agreeable with a grunt, then flung open her door. "Ready! Breakfast you say? I can't believe that I'm up at nine o'clock AGAIN on a weekend!"
"Again?" he asked.
"Pumpkin picking last Saturday then the art museum on Sunday…" she began.
"Museum?"
"Yeah. Me an' Zel…and he drug along Xelloss too. It was for a school project," she added as she pulled on her shoes at the front door.
"Oh…" he smiled. "For school. Yeah, that's okay then…"
"What?" she wasn't certain that she'd caught his meaning.
"Don't want ta get behind, huh?" he added.
"That's right. It's going to be a busy year, but a fun one. Did I tell ya we got the okay on the musical thing?"
"Ah…no…I don't think so…" he answered.
"Yeah, we had our interview thingy with the principal and he gave us the go ahead. Have you met the guy yet?"
"Who, Xelloss? Lina, you know I know him…"
"NO! The new principal, Gourry for gods'sakes! He's calling in everyone to talk, starting with the seniors." Lina was a bit exasperated with his obtuseness at times.
"Oh yeah? But you're not a senior, are ya?"
"Well…yes and no. Xelloss and Zel have enough credits to graduate mid year, if Xelloss does his job on this musical. As it turns out, I've been taking extra classes each year, and with the extra stuff I do on the musical, I can graduate this year."
"With me?" Gourry grinned.
"Yeah, you and me…and Val too. Funny huh?" she slapped him good-naturedly on the back.
"That's great, Lina." Gourry meant that. They would be done with school together.
Then what?
Pumpkin carving party.
He stared at the orange-yellow vegetable resting at his feet, resisting the urge to give it a sharp kick and be done with it. "So, Miss Amelia," Xelloss began politely. "You've done this before, I take it? Where do we begin?"
"I already washed them all… so now you have to cut it open and take out the seeds!" Amelia laughed. "This part is really messy, that's why we're on the porch. Oh, don't cut the top of like that, Mr. Xelloss! Here, let someone else… Mr. Gourry That's a beautiful job. See, Mr. Xelloss? Look at how Mr. Gourry cut at an angle so the top is like a lid and won't fall in?"
Xelloss looked askance at Amelia, then weighed whether or not it would be worth the effort.
"Want me ta cut this one for ya?" Gourry asked him in a friendly way.
"Huh? Oh, yes, thank you. I'll just watch…" Xelloss smiled and sat back on his heels and watched disinterestedly.
Gourry hacked and carved with expert ease. "I get ta do this fer all my kid sisters and bros so I get pretty fast."
"Ah…" Xelloss answered, hiding a yawn with his hand. "Oh, my…what is all that, the seeds?"
"Yeah, gotta scoop it all out…Amelia! We need some bowls!" Gourry shouted.
"Bowls for the bowels!" Lina barked. "Heh, heh…"
Xelloss made a face then looked at the pumpkin mess in front of him awaiting his attention. His stomach turned. Bowels indeed… He simply could not compel his hands to touch the slimy, slippery seed and pulp mass.
"We outta save all these and toast 'em," Lina suggested.
"Oh, yes, roasted and salted, the seeds make the best treat!" Amelia agreed.
"Ah…so…why not let me take care of all that?" Pleased that he had found a task suited to his taste, Xelloss rapidly carried off the close-to-overflowing bowls of pulp and seeds. The kitchen opened onto this part of the patio, so he hadn't far to go. He found the cook and together, they conspired…
"Hey, you are good at that prep work," Lina smiled fetchingly up at Gourry.
"Want me ta do one for you?" he inquired. He wasn't fooled by her flirty look. He knew Lina. When there was something she wanted, she had her many ways, and this was one of them. It didn't make him mad either. He accepted Lina in all her guises and with all her faults. Perhaps, had he thought about it—which did didn't, not being one for deep introspection—those were the very qualities that drew him to her. Predictably unpredictable, cute, and convenient—she lived right down the street!
"Oh, me, too! I can't even get started!" Sylphiel cried out. "Oooh you're hands are so strong," she sighed at Gourry's elbow. "You make it look so easy. How do you get the edges so smooth?"
"Just takin' my time. Rush it and you'll over shoot and slice too deep or too far. Some sawing action here ta do the curves." Gourry explained his methodology to anyone who was listening. Then he made quick work of Lina's pumpkin. "There…ah…don't ya wanna get a better lookin' one? This one's been pretty banged up."
"What? No way! This is one'll make a great gruesome ghoul," Lina said.
"Okay…" he smiled. "Whatever you like." He settled into a rhythm, constructing plain hollowed out shells ready for the others to decorate. It was what he was good at, and so, it made him feel good.
Val looked over his shoulder at Lina's sketches, "Hey those look pretty cool. I'm gonna borrow those eyes fer this one of mine."
"Borrow all ya want. The great and terrible Lina Inverse has more sensational design ideas where that one came from!" she laughed a bit at her own arrogance.
Val drove a knife blade through the thick shell and twisted. "This is harder than it looks, huh?"
"Haven't you carved Halloween pumpkins before, Mr. Val?" Amelia asked.
"No…but I've done a lotta carvin'," he smirked.
"Hit him for me, Amelia," Lina muttered.
"Me? Oh, Mr. Val wouldn't even feel one of my attacks."
"Then just sit there and give him lots of that 'go-gettum' encouragement of yours." Lina smiled to herself and focused on digging out an eye-hole.
"I can show you how to get started, Mr. Val. And then…you can learn right along with Mr. Xelloss. I'm sure you'll do a great job!" Amelia said with unbounded enthusiasm. "Now where did he go to?"
"He's in the kitchen," Zel supplied. "I can hear his incessant chatter. Better go see who he's talking to."
"Okay!" Amelia shouted and left dutifully on a quest.
Val shook his head and shot a 'thanks' to Zel and caught Lina's eye a moment, just long enough to give her a quick twisted smile.
"Oh, he's going to miss all the fun out here. And it's his first pumpkin carving party, poor baby." Filia's remark held little sympathy, however.
Filia and Zelgadiss worked side-by-side. They were serious and absorbed. Filia was carving picture-book perfect, jack-o-lantern faces in each of the two hollowed out gourds she had prepared. She had production down to a science and might possibly complete more than ten on her own.
Zelgadiss took another tact entirely. His were fewer in number, maybe only two or three total for the day, but each was a masterpiece. He had drawn out an elaborate spider web motif onto the outer surface of one large, twisted pumpkin and now he was studiously scraping away the lines in thin strips. He had it down to a fine art. The other one was going to be a haunted house, with cracked windows and broken shingles, and a twisted tree in the yard. He also had plans for a were-wolf head with long hairs like trails of blood, and maybe a mummy with unraveling bandages if he had time.
Lina, however, was spending less time planning and more time doing. She figured that spontaneity would help create some of the most terrifying visages, and so far, she was right. She had one with six melting, tortured eyes complete with pupils, each looking in a different direction, in a sea of bumpy, oozing skin, with three moaning mouths full of jagged teeth in random places. There was another that was all sharp, triangular fang-like cuts, with evil-looking eyes and a mouthful of fangs that took up nearly the entire thing. Then there was the one with stitch-marks over a hideously disproportionate face, as if several heads had been sown together into one, the one with mouths for eyes (an homage to a comic book she read, she claimed), one with several long, snake-tongues protruding from a wide, wide grin full of tiny little razor-teeth and small, perfectly round eyes she'd made by punching a thin knife through the pumpkin flesh and turning it 360 degrees. In her wild fervor, Lina was covered in little flecks of orange pumpkin, like a slasher-film villain splashed with her victim's blood. Yes, Lina was into phantasmagorical, emphasis on the 'gore.'
But not everyone was as ghoulish as Lina. "I just can't think of anything to make," Sylphiel sighed. "You guys all seem to have such great ideas…I'm, like…you know…a blank right now."
"Do something traditional then." That was Filia's solution.
"I'm making cat faces!" Amelia said. She had just returned from the kitchen where Xelloss and the cook were busy.
"Oh, let me see," Sylphiel squealed as she scrambled over to Amelia's work area.
"Watch out," Gourry said to Zelgadiss who had been too intent on his own task to be paying attention to the others. "Cover yer ears quick!"
Zel did automatically. He trusted Gourry's judgement in certain matters that much. He reached into his pocket, withdrew his earplugs, and stuffed them in place. It wasn't a moment too soon.
"Oooooooooh! A-meeeee-lia! That is just sooo cuuuuute!" Sylphiel shrieked in a high-pitched voice. "Filia, come look at this! It the cutest kitten face ever!"
"See? You use the triangles cut out for eyes, and stick them in the top with toothpicks for ears! Then the part you cut away for the slits in the eyes becomes the inside of the ears!" Amelia showed off her ingenuity.
"Hey, that is cute. Why don't you do one like that?" Filia asked Sylphiel.
"Yeah! Would you mind if I stole your idea, Amelia?"
"Oh no, Miss Sylphiel. The more cats the better! Besides, we have dozens of these to carve so it wouldn't be right for me to keep just the one cat to myself, would it?" she smiled cheerily and added, "I've got some pipe cleaners and glitter glue and ribbons too. We could dress them up!"
That got them working with renewed enthusiasm. Filia outlined a couple of her jack-o-lantern eyes with gold glitter, but stopped at the ribbons. Lina was interested in adding some bloody red and baleful black glue to suggest dripping wounds. Val discovered that mixing the green and black made vile slime.
"Thanks," Zel nodded as he adjusted one of his earplugs in a simple gesture in Gourry's direction.
"Anytime," flashed Gourry's smile in return.
From the Authors:
Seyruun High Jinx now has a home! Ever wanted to see what the kids look like as envisioned by Kaeru Shisho? No? Well, you can anyway now that our staff photographer has been to their dimension and returned with photos! If you are interested, visit the website. Where? Please go to the author profile for Kaeru Shisho and choose the link. Hope to see you there! --KS
End Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT! Chapter Nine.