Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT!
Chapter 13
Zel Does His Karma Good
"This outta be called the DMZ not the DMV!" -- Lina
Zelgadiss kept his word and stopped by his father's house that evening after chemistry lab. Mrs. Shearer let him in whispering as they marched to the guest room, "He's been asleep since he got into bed. I didn't have the heart to wake him to eat."
"I won't wake him," Zelgadiss promised in a quiet voice, then stepped into the room. Light from the hall shone dimly. He could just make out the prone form of his friend partially under a sheet. He tip-toed over and placed a hand on his forehead. Hot. Returning to the hall he asked for a damp washcloth and a glass of water.
"I'll open the window an inch or two and roll him over. He needs to cool down... and drink some water if he wakes up."
"Yes, I mopped at him earlier, then he turned over, poor boy. I'll take care of him, don't you worry now. You scoot on home and get yourself some rest. You don't look so well yourself."
"I've been fighting a cold all week. It's been going around at the pool, but I am improving. All right. I could use the extra sleep. Promise me something?" Zel waited for her to agree, then said, "Don't let him get up in the morning. Make him stay in bed all day. And if Lina stops by in the afternoon, don't let her stay more than a few minutes. Mostly, don't let him get up and wear himself out."
"Yes, doctor!" The housekeeper frowned, then smiled as they re-entered the front room. "Those were precisely my thoughts as well. I won't let him move out of the hallway." She folded her arms and looked askance as if she were about to tell a great secret. In a near-whisper, she added, "I took his clothes. All of them. In the laundry. He won't be going out, not without getting past me."
"There are spares in the closet."
"Got them, too. I'm well aware of what's where, young man. Now," she drew herself up and checked her watch. "It's getting late. You need your rest and I have to get the professor to his office early in the morning..."
"So Xelloss won't be guarded then?" Zel asked. "Father!" He called to Rezo who was following the sound of their voices into the room.
"You don't have to shout. My hearing is excellent. Now, what's the problem?" Rezo asked.
"I don't want Xelloss to wake up and try to escape. He needs to rest and get well. We have a gig Saturday night and another next weekend and we have no subs. What time do you need to be at the University in the morning? I go in at 7:45 for class."
Rezo nodded curtly, "I'll be ready at 7:30. Stop by the office when you go back to the high school and drop me off here. That will be a long enough day for me."
"You sure? I could pick you up after school...about four?"
"No. I prefer missing the department meeting. Eleven forty-five?"
"Fine." Zel said his good nights and left.
"You!" Mrs. Shearer shook her head at Rezo after Zel had left the house. "You haven't spoken to each other for days and when you do… What was it? Five words! Less than a minute…"
"I'd say at least forty words…" Rezo began to correct her.
Ignoring him, the woman continued, "… with that boy, your son! Neither one of you show an ounce of warmth sometimes. And he's such a good boy."
"Of course he is. He's a Greywords. Strong men, Greywords are. They don't need the delicate handling that...that one in there needs." Rezo pointed in the direction of the guest room. "Besides, he cares about his friends. I've seen him."
"But does he have a girlfriend? That's the test of whether or not you've raised a hard-hearted son. Can he share his heart with another? I never see him with a special girl or hear him tell of one."
"Not like that Xelloss boy, no. Zelgadiss is a late bloomer. He's got his mind on college, serious matters. Girls will come later, after he's made a career for himself," Rezo assured the woman.
"Humph!" She snorted in disagreement. "He's ready now. I can tell. I know better about these things. Like that other boy in there...a-lyin' there all heartsick over some silly thing. I will have to take over, I can see. I pick out two nice girls...invite them all over for...cards and some refreshments. They get to meet some good girls and go have some fun once and awhile. Not study and work all the time! They're young! They should have some fun! Oh yes...and study too, yes you are right...they need balance. Always balance. Moderation in all things! That's what Apollo's oracle said. Did you know that? Oh, well...those Greeks they knew a thing or two about life!"
And so the two very different but oddly companionable people chatted on a short while longer that evening, while Xelloss slept the sleep of an angel-- safe and cared for.
The next afternoon, Mrs. Shearer opened the front door with a friendly, "Hello, dear. You coming to check on the patient? That's nice. Come on in. I just took him a cup of my special chicken soup so I know he's awake. Been sleeping all day, poor thing..."
"Oh...yeah? But is he okay now?" Lina asked as she followed her down the hall to the guest room.
"Poor thing...Heartsick he is. Oh, yes, his temperature broke this morning, but the healing... It will take time."
Lina rolled her eyes. Heartsick, my foot! He'd better be up and ready to play a starting and closing set tomorrow!
Mrs. Shearer gave Lina a hard look. "You can't stay but a few minutes. And don't get him all worked up. He's to stay put tomorrow too. Leave the door open. I'll be by with some drinks in a moment."
Lina was not accustomed to taking orders, but agreed to the rules. She only needed a few minutes.
"Hey," she greeted the pale-faced Xelloss. He was seated upright in bed with several pillows at his back and sipping soup from a mug. His chest was bare, revealing his scars and an unhealthy sheen. She found a chair, rather than sit on the bed. She wasn't about to get close enough to catch his nasty cold...or whatever he had.
"Lina, how nice!" Xelloss set the mug on the bedside table next to an empty glass sprouting a chewed straw. "I'd get up, but she won't let me. She's taken all my clothes."
Lina looked away grumbling, "I didn't want to know that."
Changing the subject nimbly, Xelloss asked, "I've been searching for some particular songs for the musical, Want to hear a few? I have a CD I burned a few days ago in my book bag...over there."
And when she hesitated, he added, "Oh, don't worry, I took the photos out!"
Lina blushed, "Idiot..." Then to prove that she wasn't hung up about it, or anything, she opened his bag and found the disk. "This?"
"Uh, huh...and the player's at the bottom. Hope the batteries aren't dead."
Lina slipped in the CD, put on the headphones and listened. While she was skipping to the next song, Mrs. Shearer stepped in with a tray. Xelloss cleared a spot on the table, and when her hands were free, handed her back the empty mug and glass with a polite, "Thank you."
Seeing as they were remaining quiet together, the housekeeper left them alone. The young lady could stay to eat, and then she would have to go, she decided.
"Ah, Xelloss...this stuff is...ugh..." Lina moaned her dislike. "Not right. The musical needs something different. And NOT 70's pop music!"
"But it's about magic!" He whined. "'Do you believe in maaaa-gic? In a young girls' heart...how the magic can free her, whenever it starts... And its maaa-gic, when the music is groovy...Makes me feel special like an old-time movie...'"
"Stop singing!" Lina shouted, and then lowered her voice abruptly. "You'll have the old woman after me, kickin' me out for gettin' ya all ...stirred up!"
"It's a fun song. I like it." Xelloss said sulkily.
"Yeah, well I don't. It's too...Who uses words like 'groovy' now anyway? Too dated."
Undaunted, he began to sing again, "I gotta Black Magic woman..."
Only to be shot down again. "No! It's a cool song but not the right kinda...sound I'm lookin' for." She could see that he was unhappy and not to be reasoned with, and so, she dropped the topic for the moment. "We gotta concert tomorrow night. You gonna be able to play? I gotta know. 'Cause, if ya can't I gotta find someone to replace ya, and that won' be easy...if it's even possible. Have to skip your solo numbers fer sure. 'Course...we can toss in the new ones...Gourry's is close enough..."
"I'll be ready to play. I just need another day to rest and I'll be okay in the evening."
"Yeah? Yer sure, huh? Great, then...that's a load off, ya know? Hey, these are great cookies she makes, think I can get a few more?"
"You can ask, but I warn you, she'll probably send you home with them," Xellossassured her. He didn't want Lina to leave. Regardless of the fact that he knew he looked terrible and in spite of their disagreement over the music, he really craved the company--her company.
"Gotta go anyway," she said hopping up from the chair. "Take care of yourself. See ya later, then!"
"Don't go... Okay… Goodbye, Lina. I'll be ready, like I promised, tomorrow."
They opened for the Suzaku Seven just like they had all summer, but this time the crowd didn't seem to need warming up—many had come to hear to Slayers perform. The entire concert went without a hitch, but that didn't mean they didn't give a collective sigh of relief when it was over. It had been awhile since they had been in front of a live, and very vocal, audience.
"That was some fun, eh?" Lina grinned over at Gourry and Zel.
They were wiping down their guitars and settling them away carefully into their cases at the end of the evening—their usual winding down time—when a stranger appeared.
"Yep!" Gourry smiled. "Good crowd."
Zel nodded.
The stranger flitted in and amongst them, asking them questions from time to time, some rather personal.
"Um, you are… Who?" Gourry stopped the guy about to grill Lina.
"Dylan Trypich, reporter with Who's News? Ah, you know… we cover the music news and all, here's my ID. So… what would you like to do when you grow up, ah…Gourry Gabriev?" The man smiled and reached for his tape recorder.
Gourry remained calm and found the reporter's questions to be trivial. No 'in-depth' searches to guard their past from.
Sylphiel, Filia and Amelia took turns lightly chatting with the reporter all the while rushing to pack up and leave the hall. Tomohome had warned them that their fan base was growing and that they would have to face them sooner or later, tired or not, so better get their equipment packed safely before being swamped. Zelgadiss couldn't believe it would happen to them, but followed his advice anyway. The sooner he and Xelloss were home and asleep, the better.
"Zelgadiss?" Xelloss called, exhaustion apparent in his voice.
Zel focused one eye his way.
"Subaru…he really needs some company tonight. I'll have the van drop me at the shrine."
"Good idea," Zel agreed. "Might as well stay the night too. He'll appreciate the…" Zel noticed that the reporter was listening and dropped the subject.
Xelloss wandered over and draped an arm over Zel's shoulder, "Thanks."
Zel shrugged off the arm, "Sure. If you need a ride back. Call. You promised to spend some time with me studying for the chem test and the lab write-up…"
"You are so demanding," Xelloss smirked. "And funny!"
"What was that?" Xelloss turned to the reporter who had been querying Lina and sighed. His body was aching with the effort of playing drums for the last few hours. Although the flu had passed, he wasn't up to full strength. He listened seriously to the man and suffered his interrogation stoically.
Val had been helping Xelloss with his drums and now, done, was anxious to leave. He brushed off most of the reporter's questions after answering a few shallow ones. "I got no time fer chattin' I gotta get out ta the settlement."
Lina, usually loquacious to the extreme when it came to talking up the band to the press, answered the man's one-dimensional queries in a mostly scattered manner when a bunch of determined fans worked their way backstage demanding autographs. Both boys and girls in ages ranging from twelve to twenty-something mobbed the Slayers kids, cutting off the 'interview' entirely. After several minutes, the concert hall called in their meager security guard to clear the building. That had been a surprise, and a thrill!
The gig the next day went much the same-- another fan attack thrill. So thrilling, that Lina cancelled their Monday practice. There was also another reason, as Zel was to discover.
Monday at lunch…
Val had not yet made it to the lunch table by the time Xelloss and Zelgadiss took their seats. Apparently he was still in his interview with Principal Grauscherra.
Lina caught Zel's attention with a well-placed jab to the shoulder and said, "I wanna get my driver's permit today and no one can take me. You have time after school?"
Without thinking, the poor kid nodded his head automatically, then, as the information sank in he raised his eyes in despair. Oh dear gods…what was he thinking! The DMV… The lines…the waiting…the remarkably stupid, inane, mind-numbing questions—personal questions! The possibilities for Lina going ballistic were too numerous to ignore. And he, Zelgadiss the Superior Glutton for Punishment, had enlisted VOLUNTARIALLY for the mission. Oh, gods…oh joy…
He met Gourry's sympathetic blue eyes. "Ah…that's great, Zel, um… I woulda, ya know, but I got ta finish up work on that house any time we don't gotta do band stuff. I can't get outta it."
"Sure." Zel did not even try to let him off the hook.
Lina accepted the man at his word. "Great. Glad I could count on ya for this trifling thing. Won't take but ten minutes, right?"
He could not let her think that rubbish. "Off by an hour or two. Bring a book—two!-- plus all your homework…and a snack. Better pick up something now while the snack bar's still open." Zel opened his mystery sandwich and pretended to be interested in it.
"It's true," Sylphiel interceded on Zel's behalf before Lina could argue. "I spent an hour waiting for a form and then…you wouldn't believe it but…I was in the wrong line! And I had to get a paper from school proving that I was enrolled and had to go back another day!"
"Yeah, I got that. You told us about that last year. I got the address stuff and guardian stuff and everything," Lina groused. She was irritated that a huge hunk of her precious time was about to be cut out by 'the system'. "Well, I got Zel ta keep me entertained, right?"
"Perhaps you should go with Xelloss, if that is what you expect of me," Zel smirked. He knew she didn't want to go with the chaos kid. She wanted the organization man for this job.
Xelloss, however already had his own excuse, "As much as I would love to help, I have a previous engagement. Sorry." He smiled.
"Of course," Zel sighed.
"Really!" Xelloss assured him. He lowered his voice and said, "You know I wouldn't give up a chance to aid a damsel in distress, especially a Lina one."
"Oh do I?" Zel asked archly. "Even an especially incendiary object disguising itself as a girl? I don't think so. Only an absolute lunatic would agree to … Gah!"
"What did you call me?" Lina pounded him on the head with a book.
"He called himself a lunatic," Gourry smiled. "You, he called a girl."
That wasn't exactly what she thought she'd heard but she had been absorbed in eating her and Gourry's tater tots and may have misunderstood. Probably that. Gourry never lied.
"A hot girl." Xelloss giggled, much to Zel's dismay.
"Well, my fans sure think so, don't they?" Lina perked up. "That was some fun playin' those concerts last weekend, huh? Which reminds me…" She paused while Val fell into his chair with a snarl, groan, and rattle of chains. "About the musical music. We gotta make a CD of that stuff so we don't haveta play at the performances. I mean, we can't act and play, can we?"
"ACT!" Zel, Val and Gourry sputtered, growled, and choked.
"And sing and dance…" Xelloss added casually.
"WHAT!"
"How fun!" chimed in Amelia and Filia.
"Well, Zel…" Lina's ruby gaze burned through his scull. "Who would you rather have play out your part…say your lines... Swing your sword?"
"I…" he sighed knowing how lame he must sound. "…don't know…I hadn't thought about it actually."
"We gotta learn lines, Lina? Ya know, I don't memorize stuff like that fast," Gourry said. He was working hard not to break down and whine.
"Don't worry. I got ya covered!" Lina grinned and slapped him on the back triumphantly. "Now, about the music. The musical is a period piece. That means its set in the past…medieval. So I want medieval-type music. That means I need a different sound to add to our stuff. Bass is fine. Drums…fine but different. Keyboards…some synthesized strings or oboes or something. Guitar, acoustic, Zel. And then something else. Flutes, lutes…"
"…How different?" Xelloss was muttering.
"Oboe? OBOE!" Val groused.
Now everyone in the band was talking at once. At Lina. Or defending Lina. Not overly angry shouts, but concerned and confused ones. Lina barely said a thing. Her eyes darted up when a new face appeared over Zelgadiss' shoulder.
The newcomer waved shyly, "Um…Hi."
Lina nodded and made a gesture for the guy to give her a minute. She sighed and then just waited her band members out, letting their chatter run its course. Then, and only then, did Lina open her mouth to speak.
"Yes? Can't you see we're havin' a band discussion here?" she shot at the stranger waiting patiently behind Zelgadiss.
Zel jumped to see who Lina was speaking to, only to find that the strange young man had already stepped away and was rounding the table closer to where Lina was seated.
"Sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear you…" he looked to both sides smiling. The entire cafeteria had their attention riveted on the activity at Lina's table. "I mean, you weren't exactly keeping this quiet…."
"Don't they have lives?" Lina muttered, eyes narrowing. "So what's your point? I ain't got all day here."
"Neither do I—lunch is almost over." He gazed at the clock, as if gauging his time-slot. "I'm Bobby Chaplin, and I've got a band…"
"Didn't see you at the battle of the Bands contest," Lina was trying to ditch this obvious loser by being curt and snappish. It didn't work.
"Yeah, those stupid coordinators wouldn't let us in, said it was 'rock-type bands only,' that a band with too different a sound would either have an unfair advantage or disadvantage--"
"'Different'?" Lina caught on. "How different?" though she thought she knew the answer. "What kind of music do you play?"
"Folk," he grinned. "Celtic, Nordic, Israeli, Spanish, as well as RPG video game music, anime stuff, original tunes…" he pushed his curly brown hair behind his ears, and resettled his strange, floppy black hat. "You see, I play harp."
That probably did it. Lina knew that fate had drug in an unlikely-looking, but potentially perfect opportunity. The kid was loaded down with glasses and a few extra pounds, a lumpy coat, a very un-stylish vest, and pants that were cut off (with scissors, presumably) before they reached his ankles. Truthfully, he looked like a street-scamp out of a Dickens novel, if Dickens had written about gamer-nerds… But, nerd or not, he had something that he wanted… "Harp, eh? Is that so? Your name is Bobby…I don't think I know ya."
"He was in our composition class last year," Zelgadiss offered. He would not forget such an odd duck, though he never paid him any mind; he always seemed sort of trivial and tedious before, with some sort of axe to grind, always. But he played harp?
"And this year, for those of you who still go to the AP lit class," Filia added with a quick glance to first Xelloss and then Lina.
"Oh yeah? Smart guy, huh?" Lina grinned. "What other instruments are there in your band?"
"Two violins, a guitar, and a percussionist," he answered simply.
"See, he thinks of the percussionist as a musician," Xelloss said to no one in particular.
"So, you have a folk band, do you?" Lina tossed the point of discussion back into Bobby's court.
"Yeah. I've heard your band play—not entirely my thing, but I can appreciate your musicality. You guys are real musicians, unlike some of the 'bands' in Seyruun…bunch of carbon-copy anorexic Teeny-bopper dance troupes…" he grumbled. "I think we can lend you guys a 'medieval' flavor, without over-shadowing you. Besides," he looked at Lina seriously, "we can arrange a place to stay in Atlas city for recording."
Lina's smile took on a golden hue of happiness. "Tell ya what. Let's get both bands together and see what happens, say…Wednesday. You got a way to transport yourselves and your stuff to the Mayor's mansion up the hill?"
"Yes we do, and yes, Wednesday works for us, too. You won't regret it. I'm very good at composing music, and my band has been itching for gigs—do you know how hard it is for a folk band to play around here? All they want is rock, rap, and pretty faces, no one wants to hire REAL musicians who play REAL instruments…" Bobby seemed to be going off on a rant. Before he could say anything to embarrass himself, the bell for the end of lunch sounded, and the cafeteria exploded into a roar of voices and moving kids.
Xelloss did manage to close in on Bobby before the guy was lost in the exiting crowd. "Oh. Say there…Bobby, I'm—"
"Xelloss. Yeah, I know. Everyone knows you. I love interesting names, so I paid attention to you in class last year even before you guys got popular. You sure messed with the teacher's head in Comp!"
Xelloss looked surprised. He had thought he was practically invisible and unknown, or at least unknowable. "Well, I don't know about that, but…I just wanted to ask you if," he glanced around first then said in a lowered tone close by the other boy's ear, "Is your band all guys or are there some girls in your band too?"
Bobby gave him a humorous look, "Both, more or less, but I don't think you'd be terribly interested in them..." he laughed.
"I'm always interested!" Xelloss said gaily, and then broke down into giggles of his own.
"Is everyone else 'taken' in your band then?"
Xelloss shook his head, but before he could expound on one of his favorite topics, Lina yanked him in another direction saying, "We gotta meeting with the drama teacher to go over stuff then do some more musical crap. Come on!"
Xelloss smiled and answered dutifully, "Yes, Lina-dear," leaving Bobby to shake his curly head and laugh at them all.
Val meanwhile caught Zelgadiss by the elbow. "The principal dude ain't clan, I could bet ma life on it. I'll catcha later tonight and tell ya 'bout it, dude!"
Zel nodded as Val's lanky form plowed through the crowded hall in the opposite direction. "Oh, joy…"
Lina and Zel go to the DMVor 'how Zelgadiss made brownie points to improve his karma.'
"Did you take a number?" he asked Lina upon entering the overheated, cafeteria-sized office.
"A what! Oh, gotcha…" Lina stepped back to the entry to the Department of Motor Vehicles and tore off a paper stub.
"What is it?" Zel asked with little interest.
"142."
Zel glanced up at the glowing green numbers displayed beneath a badly handwritten sign which read: Currently Helping This Number. The numbers read 17. "Damn…" he muttered, taking up a seat in the crowded waiting room and waving for Lina to do the same thing. "These are the only two next to each other, if you care."
"What's your problem?" she hissed. "There's about twelve people workin' behind the counter. Won't be so bad."
"Fine," he muttered and opened up his book bag. He withdrew his fifteen pound Chemistry book and opened it to a page somewhere in the first third of the book.
Lina snorted, "Be that way," and rummaged through her backpack for one of her notepads.
It was noisy and stuffy. Before long Zelgadiss decided that he would be unable to concentrate further, and shut his book. He looked up at the clock. Fifteen minutes had passed.
"Number eighteen!" shouted a nearly hoarse and harried sounding woman from the counter area.
"Gods…" Zel grumbled and shut his eyes too. His life was wasting away minute by minute…
"You done with any of the character sketches?" Lina nudged him not so gently. "Xelloss said you'd do them."
"Oh did he? Well, yes. I have."
"Got 'em with ya? Sure you do. You carry your life's belongings in that bag everywhere you go. Don't roll your eyes and try and deny it, bozo. Just show me what ya got."
Zel didn't move.
Lina wiggled closer and smiled cutely. In her sweetest little voice she whispered, "Please? Oh please oh please?"
Sigh. Zel opened his uncovered eye and blinked. She must be desperate. Without a word he put away his chemistry text and pulled out his drawing book. He presented it to her. "Take a look."
Triumphantly, she snatched away the book and flipped to the first drawing. "Hey, that's me, isn't it? When did you do that? Oh, yeah…on that walk through the apple orchards. Pretty nice, Zel."
"Thanks."
"Whew-ee! There's that sorceress genius herself! Yeah! That's great red and black… Love the shoulder-thingies on the cape. Very…assertive, huh?"
Zel managed a tiny smile. He was terribly pleased that Lina approved. He had been reticent to show her, or anyone else, his ideas.
"Wow…you do Xelloss good, kid. Oh, and this is him...as a demon-priest for the musical, huh? Yeah, I like it. I like these a lot!" She stared long and hard enough at her quiet friend to catch his sly smile and glittering eyes. "Do more. Do some dragons or armor or swords. Yeah, do some of those for me."
Zel nodded and took back the drawing pad. He passed his time pleasantly, or must have since it seemed as if in no time he heard, "Number one-forty-one!"
"Hey, Lina, you're next so pay attention or they'll skip right past you."
She looked up at him. She looked pale, nervous.
"Number one-forty-two!"
"That's me!" Lina popped up shouting. She grabbed Zel by the wrist and dragged him along too. "I'm here ta get my permit."
"Driver permit, class A vehicle?" the man asked tonelessly.
"Naturally…That's what I wrote on the application right under your nose!" Lina pointed out. "What do ya need first—my proof of…" She was confident that she had everything in order. Zelgadiss had checked and double-checked.
He looked across the counter at the pile of papers Lina scattered for his perusal. He picked up the birth certificate and read it over. "Good for a start." He fingered each and every paper at least three times, then seemingly satisfied with what she had brought along, began entering information of the computer to his side. There just may have been a slower typist in Seyruun. If there were, Lina hoped that person would think twice before taking a job requiring that skill, or simply shoot themselves. Unless, of course, that was part of the job classification: 'type slow enough to lose a race with snails…'
"Okay, you can take your test at station 3 over there. When you are done come back to this line."
"Back to you?" Lina asked. "Just find you?"
"Yes. You'll have to wait in line if there is one. Then again, there may not be one."
"Yeah…" she muttered under her breath as she counted down the 'stations' for number 3. "What's the chance of that happening?"
Zel returned to his seat, placed his things next to Lina's on her seat and looked around. There were many crazy looking people milling around. Where did these people usually hang out? Under bridges? Some of them smelled like it and others…well, under rocks were more likely for them. One settled not far away from him, and so he started to draw…
His concentration was broken by a resounding squeal and shout, "EEE-woo-whoooo! Yes!"
Ah, Lina must have passed on her first try.
"Master of the road!" she said with satisfaction.
There was a line for her to wait in, of course.
"I did it!" she said to the man at the counter when she finally reached the front of the line.
"Hgn," he grunted, turned and started to walk away.
"Hey! Where are you going?" she yelled after him.
"Break."
"WHAT! You can't go on break! I'm nearly done! I wanna get outta here before dark!" Lina pounded her fist on the counter. Several other people nodded approvingly. They looked as if they wished they had the audacity to have a fit too.
Zelgadiss stood and stretched his back. Oh, joy… The man appeared to be stunned and unsure of what to make of Lina. The game was up. Pushing through the crowd clustered around the counter, Zel thought it was time to play his hand as well.
"You had better finish with her," Zel said in a low dangerous sounding voice. "You see she has to drive me to the hospital…quickly. It's…spreading, you know." Then Zel pushed away his concealing bangs, showing the worst of his facial scars.
Everyone retreated from the vicinity of ten feet with audible gasps.
"Ah…" the DMV worker gaped.
"It gets worse while we wait…" Zel prodded him.
That did it. The man returned to the counter, took up Lina's test and asked to see her ID all over again.
"As if I changed identities in the past few minutes…" she grumbled.
But it was only to give the papers a cursory glance, not to start an incident. "Here, take this form to the photo booth and they'll make up your permit." The man practically shoved the paper in her face then ran to the back of the room and disappeared behind a door.
"Maybe he just had to, you know…go?" Lina grinned at Zel, clipping his arm with a little jabbing punch, and then trotted over to have her picture taken. "This outta be called the DMZ not the DMV!" Lina growled to the lady creating her id card.
"Here take this. You're done…" the lady said tersely, her eyebrow twitching.
"Yeah, well…at least I'm gettin' outta this hellhole." Lina took the card and looked for Zel. She found him standing by the door, his bag over one shoulder and Lina's over the other, ready to go. She waved the card and grinned.
On the way out to the car, Zel asked to see her shiny new drivers permit. "You look like a deranged pirate," he said with a smirk.
She yanked it back and stared at it. A grin spread across her face, "Yeah, I do, don't I? Pretty cool, eh?"
"Yes, Lina. Pretty cool," Zel chuckled and unlocked his car.
"Say, can I drive it home?"
"How many hours of driving could you possibly have done without a permit?"
"Ah…not much," she answered evasively.
"Any?"
"Well…no… But, geez, Zel, how hard can it be?"
He simply shook his head and slid into the driver's seat. His karma had been good to him today. He did not want to push it now. "Get in, Lina. Let's just go…get something to eat, all right?"
"Eat? Oh, well, okay, sure. That's okay this time. But…you'll teach me how to drive sometime, right?"
He sighed and started the car. "Sometime. But not now."
"Yeah, sure. Time to eat now!" she smiled contentedly and gazed at her picture on the permit. "Gotta love her, right?"
Zel smiled, "Of course."
From the Authors: Repeat Message:
Seyruun High Jinx now has a home! Ever wanted to see what the kids look like as envisioned by Frog? 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 Thirteen.