Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT!
Chapter Ten:
As Do The Folks Doing the Carving...
Until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change, you will never change. -- Les Brown
Xelloss scooped the toasted pumpkinseeds with a slotted spoon, transferring them carefully to a waiting bowl. These were only some of the huge quantity, which he had just transferred from the hot oven sheets. The fragrance was delicious, nutty, and rich with olive oil. Lina, he knew, would love them.
"Now, sprinkle them with a little salt," advised Mrs. Andrews, the mayor's cook.
"Okay!" he agreed and set to the task.
Meanwhile on the porch, Amelia was talking to Zelgadiss. "...And so, I wanted to show everyone. The pictures should be ready by now. Mr. Xelloss took them in for me after the apple picking. Um...Mr. Zelgadiss?"
Even with the earplugs in fully, Zelgadiss could hear her voice. Faintly. If he was paying attention, which he wasn't. To be polite, though, he removed them and looked up. "Yes, Amelia?"
She sighed. How much of what she had said had he caught? "Did Mr. Xelloss or you drop off my film yet?"
"Yes, he did. And Xelloss had me stop on the way over and pick up some pictures. Go ask him if he brought them in with his backpack." Noticing that Amelia was done with him, he stuffed the earplugs back into his ears. He had already decided that the photos from the pumpkin patch would be 'just too cute' to withstand listening to their chatter. Tuning them all out, he turned his full attention to the thoroughly absorbing task in front of him: carving intricate, fine lines into his masterpiece pumpkin.
"Oh, Mr. Xelloss is really busy in the kitchen. I'll just go take a peek and save him the trouble," Amelia said gazing down at Zel's mass of wiry hair. She waited. Since Zelgadiss said nothing to stop her, she hastily hopped over to where the kids had dropped their belongings. "Oops! Sorry!" She gasped as she nearly crushed one of Val's splendidly chiseled pumpkins in her clumsy attempt to avoid squashing one of Lina's.
"Watch it!" Both Val and Lina grumbled, not even looking up from their endeavors.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry" Amelia cried out.
Luckily, Amelia regained her footing and righted herself without harming anything. It took her no time to locate Xelloss' familiar bag perched neatly off to one side. She opened it and immediately spotted an 11x14 envelope inside. The name of a photography studio was printed on the label along with his name. "This must be them. It's just like him to use the best place when the corner drugstore would have done good enough! I hope these aren't enlargements he had made..."
As she closed his bag, she called out to the others for a look. "I gottem! You have to see these pictures. There should be one of us on the hayride and one of me on a pumpkin the size of a chair!"
Xelloss picked up a large bowl of toasted pumpkin seeds to carry out of the kitchen.
"I need to take a break anyway," sighed Filia as she wiped off her hands on a towel. "Let's see what ya got there, darling."
"Me too!" Sylphiel cried out.
"Miss Lina, don't you want to see too?" Amelia called beseechingly. "I didn't order them so large, so it was his idea..."
"Yeah, yeah...coming..."
"That's one fine shot of Xelloss," Filia said in a mocking tone. "Where're the pumpkins?"
When Lina released her knife, Gourry set down his and unfolded his legs. Val exclaimed a successful finish to his creation, and then stood to join the others. Zelgadiss was the last to wander over, why look at the pictures when he'd been there? But by the time he had connected with his friends, the nature of the conversation had turned dramatically.
"That's the shirt I made for him. Amelia, I just gave it to him a few days ago, so he couldn't have worn it last week. How did you get him to pose like...oh...my...gods..." Sylphiel gasped.
"What, Miss Sylphiel? Oh, huh? I didn't take that one. Or that! Or, certainly not t-those!" Amelia's voice cracked.
"Let me see! Gimme one!" Lina demanded as she made a grab at one off the bottom of the stack. She stared open-eyed but mute at the photo in her hands. Her mouth opened to speak, but nothing came out.
"He-he's," Filia gasped, and then started to laugh nervously.
Gourry and Val had ambled over by this time to see the pictures from the trip they had missed. Gourry looked over Lina's shoulder and coughed, "What's this?"
Val caught sight of the photos in Lina's hands, then those that Filia was holding. "Hey! You shouldn't be lookin' at those! They're personal!"
Val's long arm shot out and snatched at a few photos just as Zelgadiss pushed his way into the group. Zel moved quickly when he noticed the girls' blushes and heard their surprised, convulsive catches of breath become embarrassed giggles. Zel remembered that Xelloss had told him that he needed to stop and pick up some pictures. He had had a series of professional shots taken for his latest 'project.' Oh, no... Those must be the ones he picked up, not Amelia's! What were these guys doing nosing through Xelloss' things!
"Damn it all Amelia!" Zelgadiss was furious. "What the hell did you do? You just go rummaging through Xelloss' bag and take these without asking? I didn't say it was all right! You idiot! Val, get the rest of those away from them now!"
Xelloss had entered the room carrying his bowl of seeds. He was imagining the look of barefaced greed on Lina's face when he delivered the aromatic snack to her feet. The shrieks of excitement! That cry of 'gimme!' But instead, he heard Zelgadiss' irate voice chewing out somebody. Xelloss opened his eyes and took one look at the shocked and giggling girls and caught the accusatory expression on Gourry's face and the photos in their hands...HIS photos...and he simply lost it.
Crash!
Pumpkin seeds. Glistening with olive oil and sparkling with salt crystals, the richly roasted, still-warm-from-the-oven seeds flew everywhere as the metal bowl hit the floor and bounced twice.
Boing! Boing!
Oh my...gods...no... The blood drained from his face. Afraid to face certain rejection from his friends, Xelloss panicked.
Zelgadiss continued to yell, no…scream at Amelia. Val was snatching up the photos and cursing the others as well. Gourry stood tall and erect, the looked toward where Xelloss had entered the room, following the sound of the crash to its source. He appeared bewildered. Where had Xelloss gone off too? "I'm goin' after him," he told Zel, mostly, then broke free of the crowd. Xelloss, Gourry thought, ought to be here and face them all…not let Zel take the heat.
Zel replied, "Go ahead."
With a nod, Gourry left the room, reaching the door in two long strides. Outside, he caught a movement to the side. "Hey!"
He followed Xelloss down the path to where Zel's car and Val's motorcycle were parked. When Gourry rounded on the shrubbery between them, he could not find Xelloss. "Xelloss?"
He slowed his gait and walked around until he found Xelloss slumped up against Zel's car, on the pavement, head between his knees, which were bent up to his chest with his feet flat on the ground. His face remained hidden.
Gourry moved to stand over him, not knowing what to say. "I…uh…don't wanna know…um…why ya got a bunch of naked pictures taken of yerself…or…why ya brought'em here…or…ah…whatcher gonna do with'em, but…" Gourry's uneasiness was evident. He was being truthful. He did not want to know anything. He didn't want to get in a conversation about the situation with the guy, just reassure him that things were under control back at the house. "I just want ya ta know, um…that Val's gottem all back and Zel's let…ah…everyone know to stay outta yer business. So, um…you can come back now, if ya want."
Xelloss shook his head.
"Want me ta tell Zel ta take ya home?"
Xelloss nodded his assent.
"Might be best. 'Kay…I'll go get him, then…" Gourry muttered, and then left.
When Gourry told Zelgadiss where to find his friend, Val waved them both back. "My turn. Hey, I'm gettin' good at this 'helpin' friends' stuff, right?" he chuckled. "I'll have him back fer dinner. He just needs a… some sen-si-tive re-a-sure-ance."
Zel sighed, "Do your thing…" and allowed Gourry to settle him at his carving spot to cool off. He would have to apologize later, to Amelia especially, for his outburst. What he had said was true, but he had been especially harsh. He was a private young man himself, and so, was particularly sensitive to violations to someone else's personal domain. Call it secretiveness or discreteness; he understood both aspects of Xelloss' psyche, and his own.
Xelloss looked up when the clinking, jangling noise of chains, not Zel's quiet padding footsteps, approached him. "I just want to go away," he told Val through clenched teeth.
"Yeah, well…" Val smiled. "You ever been on a motorcycle? No? So, dude, come on. This'll be a real treat fer ya then."
Surprisingly, Xelloss did follow Val to his bike. He was deeply embarrassed, but not about his own body. He had had time to glance briefly through the photos when he picked them up; just a quick scan at the counter as he was paying for them to ensure that he had been given the correct shots. He had thought they were pretty tasteful, but certainly not intended for three priestesses and (gulp) Lina to goggle over! Then there was Val. Val didn't seem to care, but then why should he? He surely had overlooked Val's indiscretions in the past. Val apparently could do the same when it came to him.
"Okay," Xelloss said. He caught the spare helmet Val tossed him.
"Better hold on."
"So…" Xelloss said as he slid onto the back close behind Val. "Ah…where?" Xelloss looked for a seat belt or something to secure himself with.
"There's a small handle…Yeah, there," Val showed him. "The other arm goes around me."
Val noted Xelloss' hesitance, then said lightly, "Just think of this as a male bonding experience."
"Sure," Xelloss giggled and adjusted his helmet one more time, then clung loosely to Val.
Val revved the motor and roared off. Xelloss nearly squeezed the breath out of him, but released his grip as he calmed a bit. They turned out of the Mayor's drive and headed up into the hills where Val had taken Lina for a ride before. Winding away from the city faster and faster, they swept past the last of the houses. Xelloss cried out for joy! He loved it! What a rush! The speed…it was like flying…freedom…the wind felt cold on his hands and face as it swept by. Val pulled off at a vista point and stopped—too soon for Xelloss' taste.
"WOW!" Xelloss grinned with excitement. "That was so cool!"
Val laughed, "Yeah, some like it, others don't. Lina does."
"I gotta get one! Do you need a special license?"
"Yeah. I'll let ya test this one, but you should get somethin' smaller. Ya know… fer a light-weight like you." Val winked at Xelloss to ensure him that he was just joking.
Xelloss smirked back.
They remained quiet awhile, content to watch the sun dip lower toward the horizon and listen to the wind whistling through the pines.
Xelloss felt Val staring at him after a bit. He sighed, "So, I bet you'd like to know about those photographs."
Val shook his head. "Shit, I'd be lyin' if I said 'no', but it ain't none of my business. It's yer call. It's just…well, I know yer not hard up for cash or anythin'…so I can't figure out why else a guy would do that."
With a moan, Xelloss collapsed onto the dry grass. "Gods… If you think I might be selling those…jeez…They must all think I'm some…depraved pervert…"
"Yer not."
"Thanks. No, I'm not." Xelloss took a deep breath. "Those were studio shots. Professional…"
"Ah…yeah…good lightin'," Val chuckled softly. He knew Xelloss was struggling here.
"Yeah… They are for an ad. I'm waiting for papers to clear, but see… I'm working with the Abused Children's Association. Some of them will be used in a poster to help raise money to stop abuse and to fund a mental hospital where the worst cases end up. I think in medical journals and thing like that… And not ALL the picture. Just from the waist up. See, with the shirt on I'm just another pretty face, but beauty is only skin deep, something along those lines. The, ah, shots were taken by a woman…"
"Oh?" Val's smile became more of a leer.
"A woman in her fifties, Val!" Xelloss laughed. "She took a series of pictures of lots of famous musicians, including identical poses of one guy in particular—some teen-idol from the past that I resemble. It goes on from there but…that's the gist of it."
Once he had had time to collect his thoughts, Zelgadiss explained to the others what he knew. "Xelloss is waiting for Mr. Cassidy to sign the agreement they voiced over the phone. He's a great guy, I guess, whose wife heads a charity for kids already. Xelloss is putting up all the money to do this. The plan is for the ads to run in certain professional papers. Sponsors will donate money to the programs to help abused children get help."
"They'll print…all that?" Sylphiel asked, confused.
Zel gave her a disgusted look. "No, obviously they cut off…they frame it appropriately. As I explained, they were just done the way that famous guy's were done. I'm sure they'll be very… sensitive and done tastefully when they appear in the paper. Now, had you waited for him to show you, you wouldn't have subjected yourselves to such a humiliating situation!"
"We are really sorry!" Amelia said through tears. "And for such a righteous cause, too! I should have guessed…"
"You should not have looked in the first place!" Zel snapped.
And so, it started again.
Val sighed, "Shit, ya had to go and be so damned noble an' all. Yer just so…good it hurts."
Xelloss smiled, "Tell that to the girls."
"Zel know 'bout the ad?"
Xelloss nodded.
"Then, by now he's told them all. They'll be all mol-i-fied by the time we get back. Maybe they'll keep their hands outta yer bags from now on."
"Ah…so…"
Val stared at him, then added, "I think it took a lotta guts to do that."
Laughing, Xelloss said, "You have no idea! And even more self-control!"
Zelgadiss was not speaking to any of the others. He had decided not to open his mouth any more. He couldn't trust that what would come out wouldn't cause even more pain and trouble that what he'd already dished out. Amelia had left her party to 'freshen up'. But, he knew that he'd made her cry. Of course, it was her fault.
Just as he was about to dive into the last remaining pumpkin, the cook stuck her head out the back door and called, "Now who's the pie-maker here? There you are!" Her dark eyes fixed on Zelgadiss. "Your friend told me all about your skills in the kitchen. How would you like to come lend me a hand. That other nice boy seems to have left already."
Zelgadiss, happy to be off on his own errand, nodded to the older woman and gladly handed over the last pumpkin to Filia before disappearing into the kitchen.
"I've sliced the apples and added a squeeze of lemon, a handful of sugar, and a dusting of cinnamon, but if I don't get to mashing on these potatoes, there'll be no dinner tonight." The cook hauled a pot of boiled potatoes over to the sink to drain.
"You'd like me to make a crust then." Simply put. That was Zel.
"Four. Two tops and two bottoms. And you can call me Mrs. Andrews. Butter or lard?"
"Ah…a bit of both…please," he answered then fell in at the cold marble slab.
Zelgadiss was most contented when busy on a venture of his own in the kitchen. He measured ingredients, cut the fat into the flour, sprinkled on the ice water, blended, and rolled out four perfect circles. "Those are ten inch pans, correct?"
"Yes they are. Oh, those do look fine. That nice Mr. Xelloss was right. You are quite the chef, aren't you?" She smiled as she checked the roast and pulled the pan out of the oven.
"I've had a lot of practice."
"And the little Missy thinks the world of you," Mrs. Andrews continued. "I thought it was Mr. Xelloss who had caught her eye. He I'd seen hanging around the place to see her, but I've never seen too much of you."
Zel's cheeks turned pink. He pretended to be absorbed in the creation of the perfect pies edges for his crusts. "Xelloss is…my brother, sort of. We share a house with Val in town, but before that, we stayed briefly here…in the coach house when out house had burned down. He may have done more socializing at that time. Xelloss is more…outgoing, you could say."
"I certainly would," The cook agreed. "But it's you who the Missy and the Mayor talk about. You've stirred things up around here quite a bit."
"I, er…wouldn't know about that. We're all in a band together."
Ignoring his weak reply, the cook pushed her point. "Yes, the little Missy has been planning something special for her birthday. Yes! Can you imagine? It's almost a month away and already she's counting on going someplace very special with a very special and, I might add, lucky young man." She turned and gave poor Zel a very hard stare. "You are planning on taking her someplace very special for her very first date, I hope!"
Zelgadiss swallowed. Oh that. Her father had given them permission, but he didn't think that he, Zelgadiss, had actually given the standard verbal agreement, you know…'Thank you Sir. I'd be happy to wait and date you daughter then Sir!' On the other hand, had he? He had been in such terror of the man at the time and a bit out of sorts from the whole DARKSTAR fiasco, he might have been said just about any stupid thing. Had he? Well…oh…well, Amelia thought to, apparently…and her father too. Oh, gods… Oh, joy… "Ah…I'm still working on the arrangements," he said to the pie in his hands.
"Well, just as long as you haven't forgotten. You know, the Mayor doesn't like his precious little darling to be hurt or disappointed!" Mrs. Andrews reminded him unnecessarily.
"No. That would be...unjust…" Zel muttered in a low voice.
"Exactly!" the cook beamed. "Lovely pies, dear. The oven's set. I'll take care of these now. You go on out and join your friends. Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes!"
Dismissed, Zel's first anxious thoughts were concerning that 'darling daughter'. Where was she now? Crying her eyes out in her room because of his callous words? Great. Just great. He's have to go and deal with that crisis first. This was not his forte! He'd never been up to her room, but he knew that he had best resolve everything before old Phil arrived home. Lina. Lina would know where to find Amelia. "Lina!" he shouted and bounded out of the kitchen to find Lina.
"Up the stairs. Third door on the right. And make it snappy. Phil's due home any minute," Lina said. "Oh, and make it sincere, Zel-bob. She feels pretty bad about the whole thing."
He was about to toss off some snide remark like, 'Too bad', but wisely reconsidered and gave her a curt nod instead. He took the stairs two at a time, counted doors and knocked on what was unmistakably Amelia's (It had a cute little sign printed in pink and decorated with flowers, which read 'Daddy's Princess Lives Here.') "Amelia?"
"Huh? M-Mr. Zelgadiss?"
He could hear the sound of shuffling pillows, then her fumbling at the doorknob. It opened a crack.
"Yes. I…came to apologize. I had no right to speak to you…so severely. I usually have better self-control than that and I…shouldn't have been so rude."
The door opened wide. "Oh. You can come in."
He hesitated a moment before stepping into her room. Had his apology been accepted then? Whoa. He'd been in girls' rooms before. Not that he'd made any kind of study of it, but most weren't any different than his own. Sylphiel's had been littered with discarded clothes, however, he understood her bathroom was loaded with bottles and hair things. He'd slept on the floor at Filia's and noticed the flocks of dragon posters and related items adding to the décor, but besides that, it had been rather ordinary. Oh, and Lina's room, of course. Lina's was pretty much like his only messier, not much, but hers had more food-related articles lying about than his room. No, he'd seen other girls' rooms, but none were…like Amelia's.
The room was huge, to begin with. Palatial. A lacey canopy-covered bed stood at one end of the room and nearby was a door to what he guessed was a walk-in closet/dressing room. Amelia led him over to a small table and a pair of chairs not far from the door. Pink. Roses. White furniture. Fluffy white rugs. Lots of stuffed animals. Neat. Definitely feminine. Definitely foreign territory for him. Was he supposed to sit? What was he doing here?
"Ah…" He was grossly uncomfortable. He felt like a crude, unpolished stone someone had dropped into the royal family's treasure box brimming with priceless gems.
"Mr. Zelgadiss, did I ever show you my collection?" Amelia asked innocently.
At first, Zel was just plain stunned, and then as he noticed that she was serious, he gave her a bemused smiled and said, "I thought that was supposed to be my line."
"Oh!" She got the mildly suggestive joke and blushed. "Mr. Zelgadiss…"
"Can't I please just be Zel?"
"Oh, I don't think so. I tried that before and it simply won't work for me. I'll try and call you Zelgadiss, like Mr. Xelloss, though!" She smiled up at his face cheerfully.
"Well, that would be better," he sighed. "So, you were saying…you have a collection…a real one up here?"
"Yes! Come here, I'll show you!"
He followed her dutifully to the furthest wall and focused on the dozens, no hundreds…thousands of tiny cups lined up on rows upon rows of narrow ledges mounted onto the wall. He'd had thought that it had been wallpaper, from a distance.
"What are these?" he asked, truly impressed with the sheer numbers.
"Sake cups!" she announced proudly. "They were my mother's well…all but a few that I have collected since…she died and I inherited them. I believe it's the largest collection in the whole world."
"Sake… Yes, your mother was Japanese, wasn't she?"
"Yes, just like yours. She was like a princess when my father met her. They were both so young and in love. They couldn't wait to marry, so they eloped and her parents were very angry. Eventually, they forgave her and started sending these to her after my mother and father moved to Seyruun. Some of these are thousands of years old."
"I imagine they are very valuable," Zel said as he cautiously inspected one of the plainer ones.
"Yes, like that one! You have a good eye for rare things…Zelgadiss."
"It was just drabber than the others. It stood out," he confessed.
"I think it has character. Even the stains on the outside…see? That's blood from the lady whose lover killed her for marrying another man. Oh and this one is stained with purple inside from a poison one man served his colleague who he believed had swindled him in their business."
"Fascinating…" Zel meant it too. "Do they all have stories?"
"I'm sure they do, but I don't know them all. My mother wrote down as many as she knew in a journal, which I've read and re-read many times. It's really all I have of her, well…that and my memories. But that's enough. I can read and read her written words and it's just like she's here in the room with me, telling me those stories in person." Amelia's smile faltered. "You don't think that's strange or too morbid, do you?"
Zel turned to his friend. "No of course not. I'd feel the same way, if I had such a journal to read. You honor her memory when you read her words and think about her."
"Yes, I thought you might feel that way. I hoped that I might share this all with you."
"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" Zel smiled faintly.
"Yes. To forgive is the right thing to do! And…I was in the wrong. I will have to apologize to Mr. Xelloss next. So you think he'll forgive me too?"
"I imagine he already has. I don't think that he left because he was mad. More likely, he was embarrassed because Filia and Sylphiel were laughing. He'll get over it." Zel looked away, his eyes focusing on the setting sun from her window. He did not want to talk about Xelloss anymore. Everyone expected him to be the authority on Xelloss as if they were afraid to approach him themselves.
"Zelgadiss?"
"Ah…yes?"
"I'm…happy that you are comfortable enough around me to speak your mind. You know…to tell me what you truly think and not 'candy coat' things for me. Mr. Xelloss does that too and I appreciate being treated like…an equal. I'm glad that you can be yourself around me. You see, I can accept you as you are. Can you do the same for me? Forgive me all my faults too?" Amelia smiled up at him sweetly, but not timidly. She was as open and honest a girl as he had ever known. Not afraid to speak her mind or admit her feelings, even around him. Plus she didn't have a cruel bone in her body.
"Of course," he muttered, blushing with the admission. How had they gone from his apologizing to this? Of course, now would be a good time to bring up the other thing on his mind.
"Ah…which reminds me…"
"Yes, Zelgadiss?"
She was trying out his name for practice, he decided. "I was wondering if you would like to…make some plans for your…"
"YES!" she cried out. Seeing that she'd assented before even hearing him out, she covered her mouth with her hands and blushed more.
Zelgadiss chuckled. Tension eased markedly in the room. "All right. I think I'd like to hear your ideas first; for your birthday, that is. The university events for that time haven't been printed yet and I was hoping to find something of interest to you…"
"Oh! I'll wait then!" she blurted out excitedly. The idea of going someplace just with Zelgadiss, and on campus too…so grown-up!
"Fine. The 'What's Happening' calendar should be out in a day or two. I'll bring it to Japanese class and we can look it over." There he had done it and it really hadn't been so very difficult after all. All it took was for Xelloss to bring a bunch of nude photographs of himself to the party…
"I can't wait until my birthday! Whatever we do, it will be so much fun!"
Her exuberance was catching. Zelgadiss smiled and ran a hand through his hair, pushing his bangs form his eyes. It didn't take much to get Amelia all worked up.
She flung her arms around him and gave him a breath-taking squeeze. "I just know it!"
Zelgadiss was not a demonstrative person when it came to showing affection. He had rarely been hugged as a child and not much more as a teenager. He didn't know how to react, and he didn't have the time to think of what to do, when their moment was interrupted.
"Zelgadiss." The voice of doom boomed.
Zel's smiled vanished as he wheeled around, detaching Amelia from his waist. Oh…shit…"S-Sir?"
"Oh DADDY! You're home! Zelgadiss just asked me to go out with him on my birthday! We're going to plan it all out later, but…it's going to be lots of fun!" she cried out as she proceeded to fall into the big man's arms. "I'm just so happy I don't know if I can eat!"
Zel's appetite had certainly gone south, but he found his voice and said, "You should have something first so your father will let you have dessert. I made the pie."
"You DID!"
Damn. Zel could envision Amelia's eyes filling with a combination of hearts and pies fluttering around with tiny pink wings.
"Come on then!" Amelia cried out. She grabbed her father's arm and Zel's both and pulled them through the hall and downstairs. "Let's hurry before Lina and Gourry eat everything!"
Zelgadiss gave in and let himself be led around by the jubilant girl. What was he to do? Right now, she was his best protection from her father.
"Yo! Anythin' left ta eat!" Val yelled as he and Xelloss stomped in fresh, but windblown from their ride back.
"Oh, hello, Mayor Phil!" Xelloss greeted the big man cordially. He gave his own hair a cursory patting down and smiled.
The mayor nodded to both young men, and then bellowed as he grinned, "There had better be, or I'll put you all to work making more…" He paused. There on the porch floor were perched dozens of freshly carved pumpkins. Faces grinning, grimacing, gnashing, and purring-- all lit by candles. Lina, Gourry, Filia, and Sylphiel stood behind and around them.
"So whaddaya think?" Lina grinned triumphantly, as if she'd made them all herself. "We figured it might be worth a dinner to ya!"
"Um…" Gourry smiled uncertainly, "We waited to eat…till ya came…"
"Well, I come home to so many surprises!" Phil looked around, gazing into all the smiling faces of his daughter's friends. He paused especially long on Zel's rather anxious one. "But this…" he swept his free arm dramatically through the air at the pumpkins, "…is the most unexpected one. They are marvelous! Stupendous! The most magnificent specimens I have ever feasted my eyes upon." He beamed.
For a few minutes, everyone spoke at once, proudly pointing out which was their creation and how they did it. You would have thought that they were all twelve showing their own dads their works of art.
"However," Phil interrupted after most of them had had their say, "Let us all feast together on whatever it is that smells so delicious. Sound good to you?"
"Damned straight!" Lina shouted. "I'll start with firsts and seconds of everything! Oh, and while we're at it, I'll tell you all about a bunch of gigs comin' up for us."
"And," Phil said over Amelia's head in a comparatively low voice to Zelgadiss, "I am looking forward to tasting that dessert most of all tonight!"
Zel shot him a quick look and sighed in relief when Phil grinned and gave him a big wink, wiggling his bushy eyebrows.
The mayor enjoyed his dinner with his daughter's dear friends. Such good kids, remarkably. Good-looking kids, all of them. He did hope a few…no...ALL of the boys would get their hair cut. Val in particular. 'Bout time he grew out of his rebellious stage. Why, even the hair of that meticulously clean Xelloss character was a bit blowsy today. And that Zelgadiss boy! But…now, hadn't Amelia told him that his hair never grew? Well, it certainly was looking longer, getting into his eyes more; that is, unless the boy was trying to hide. The older man had to smile at that thought. "Good. He should respect me," Phil thought.
Xelloss was contrite, nodding politely when required. He avoided eye contact with everyone, believing that subjecting them all to the least of him was best, from their stand point. He chewed and swallowed.
"What do you think?" Phil began, collecting all the eyes his way. "I call my barber and set you all up for some haircuts? After one of your practices…"
Gourry dropped his fork and choked on whatever he had been eating moments before. Lina slapped him on the back a few times, which didn't help, and scooped up the last of his green beans. "Don't get so worked up about it, Gourry."
Xelloss smiled and politely turned down the offer. "Filia does mine, thank you. Oh, which reminds me…Filia? Could I trouble you to come to the shrine one day this week? Subaru would like to cut his hair." He looked over Lina's head to catch Phil's eye. "Not to insult your barber, but Filia here is really an expert at cutting the…longer styles, I believe."
"Ho, ho!" chuckled the mayor. "What are you all afraid of?" Think he'll expose some secrets you boys are hiding under all that hair?"
Filia burst into peals of laughter. "Oh, my…I think one of them in particular has been a little over exposed today already!"
Xelloss struggled for his breath a moment. He rapidly regained his composure and smiled when Lina and the others laughed at her joke. Phil let it pass knowing he had been cut out of the teenage loop somewhere along the way. He did get the last word in as everyone packed up and prepared to go.
"Zelgadiss, son. I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind?" Phil called out. "No, Amelia, just him, please. You go on and help you friends collect their belongings."
Zelgadiss swallowed hard, sighed significantly, and then straightened his shoulders. He had done nothing wrong, except yell too much at Amelia, and she had already forgiven him that transgression. Keeping that fact in mind, he separated from the others and fell in with the mayor.
"Yes, Phil?"
"Ordinarily," Phil paused to clear his throat, "We restrict the entertaining of guests to the downstairs rooms. Upstairs are for private use only."
"But I was showing…Zelgadiss my sake cup collection!" Amelia pointed out.
"And I think Zelgadiss is perfectly able to speak for himself, darling daughter of mine. Now go, shoosh!" Phil turned back to the young man standing at his elbow. "Oh, she showed you her collection, did she?"
"Yes. I found it to be unexpected, but very interesting," Zel said with a slight smile. He pretended not to 'get' the euphemism and played naive. "Especially the stories accompanying some of the cups."
Phil returned the smile and nodded. "Yes… You know, her mother once showed me that same collection, well mostly the same give or take a few, back in her homeland of Japan."
"Oh?" Zel replied with interest.
"Yes," the mayor chuckled and bobbed his head and bushy eyebrows asynchronously. "Yes…and when her father caught us alone in the house, he was furious and demanded that we be engaged immediately." He stared hard down at the shorter young man. "Lucky for us, we were planning to do so anyway. In fact, we couldn't wait until the enormous wedding plans were made, so we ran off together. We eloped! Her father didn't speak to us for a very long time, which was fine by my books since it meant we were left alone for awhile. No family responsibilities to have to bear, you see. Then we moved here. I had a law office to run, you know. Poor man… He missed us then, you can be sure! As a way of demonstrating that we were forgiven, he and his wife began sending those cups to us…a few every so often. To remind of our family left behind in Japan, I suppose. So you see, that collection has a great deal of significance to me and to Amelia, understand?"
"Yes," Zel nodded. He wasn't certain of the point, however.
"You bet you do!" The big man laughed and clapped Zel good-naturedly on the back. "But now that you've seen it, don't go back up there again, understand?"
Zel nodded mutely. That he understood!
"Ha, ha…sure you do! You're a good man, Zelgadiss. You and I are going to get along just fine!" Phil stomped off chuckling to himself.
Amelia waited until her daddy had left the room, then she ran back to Zelgadiss, worry etching her features. "Is everything okay! What did he say to you?"
"I…am forgiven, I think, but he doesn't want me…no…he pretty much forbids me visit your, um…bedroom again…apparently." Zel cleared his suddenly scratchy throat.
"He's not telling you we can't…that you can't come over or anything?"
"He didn't say that."
"Whew!" Amelia let out her breath. "That's good. Come on, I'll walk you to the door. Mr. Xelloss already put your things in the car for you."
She gave Zelgadiss a blissful smile. He returned a bemused one. It was the best he could manage under the circumstances.
There, waiting outside the door, were his friends. Xelloss was talking to Filia and Sylphiel calmly as ever. Filia would stay overnight with Sylphiel at the shrine one day this week, then they could pay Subaru a call. She couldn't wait, as Xelloss had guessed correctly, to touch the boy's silky, black locks and give him a less girlish look with a good haircut. Lina and Gourry were laughing aloud about how he might look with short hair, while Val was clasping the blonde mane in pack pony-tail style and making snip, snip sounds. Looks like everyone was smiling by the end of the day. Well, that was progress, wasn't it?
From the Authors:
Seyruun High Jinx now has a home! Ever wanted to see what the kids look like as envisioned by Kaeru Shisho (Frog, anyway…rat's picture has already been up for a while)? 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 Ten.