Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT!
Chapter 41 Valentine's Day
It felt like, if I had been a puppy, he would have drowned me to protect the breeding line." -- Val, on his stepfather Gaav.
Val had made it clear to Lina that he was not going to work or practice on his birthday.
Not this year.
Not after all the trouble he had gone to, risking his hard-nosed reputation and everything, and particularly the embarrassment when he had to break down and ask Xelloss for suggestions. And what was all the excitement about? Well, Val's birthday was his namesake, Valentine's Day, and he was taking Filia out-- in an impressive manner. Every time he thought about it, Val smiled. Two years ago, he'd known Lina and Nahga, some, not enough to call them friends. He had a few dance partners, drug-induced, hung-over dates, but nothing meaningful. No close friends. He had never had a girlfriend, not a real one, until now. And Filia was one high-quality girlfriend. She was gorgeous, not like one of those undernourished, artificial-looking models, but strong and tanned with a rosy glow on her cheeks from plenty of outdoor activity. She was happy, healthy, wholesome, and a bit of a spoiled, stuck-up, meddler.
But, could she give mas-sa-ges! Love those clan healin' arts.
However, oddly or not, she wasn't one to tolerate much physical contact herself– a little hand holding, an occasional cuddle on the couch, a goodnight kiss. She didn't like him hanging on her and extreme public shows of affection were out, completely. Idolization from afar was acceptable. Sometimes it made him feel like she just wore him to accessorize her attire– a lean, mean adornment. But then, when it was just the two of them, it was nice. She talked and he talked and they really connected. Oh, he realized that it might not be 'true love' or lead to anything permanent, but it was a real relationship with a girl who accepted him as is and had no expectations that he would become something he was not.
Whatever that was.
Had his family survived, had he been the youngest son of five in a clan leader's family, what kind of man would he be today? Growing up as part of the privileged elite, in a loving environment, sounded like light years apart from his actual life. Better, easier for certain. But, he wouldn't have come to Seyruun, met Filia, been in the band...known Lina, who had started it all.
Yeah, Lina.
After meeting her, his whole life took on new meaning and he began his ascent from the gutter.
Lina, whatta girl.
Val smiled at those memories. It didn't hurt anymore to look back, mostly because when he looked forward, the prospects were brighter than ever. He put the finishing touches on his journal entry, closed it, and wondered what to do next.
Zelgadiss.
He'd find him and see if he'd read it.
Zel would un-der-stand
Zel paused his computer game, mid attack, and pulled out his cell phone. "Yes? Luna?" he gasped her name involuntarily. "We just got in this afternoon. Xelloss ...is in the shower, I believe. Me? All right, what? I have been trying to stop the whole wedding thing but I'm running out of alternatives. Yes, just one and it's...not a great one, believe me. All right, but again, I warn you, it's pretty lame..."
When he got off the phone, his face was paler than usual, the scars standing out starkly. He passed on eating. That could wait. He exited his computer game and ran through the steps he planned to execute next while waiting for new programs to load. Search, search, search...there had to be another way to cancel that contract and stop his best friend from ruining his life in a forced marriage.
He hadn't made any headway, when he heard Val calling for him outside his door.
"Yo, Zel! You in your room? Gotta minute or two?"
"Yes, come in." Zel minimized the internet, clearing the screen before Val could see the databases of syndicate-related information. "What's that, more poetry?"
"This? Nah, better'n that. It's my journal. Ya know, like our mu-tu-al shrink sug-ges-ted?
"Oh, of course, I knew you'd been writing in it. How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Real good. In fact, it's put some stuff in per-spec-tive. It took awhile, ta get into it. At first I was stuck tryin' to write about stuff I couldn't get outta my head right, like when I was real little. I had this dream in the caves, when I was all sick and all, about bein' there as a kid."
"Yeah? Think it was true?"
"Some, but when I try an' write it down, it goes all..."
"Insubstantial on you?" Zel suggested.
"Somethin' like that. So I just moved on and wrote about what I wanted to. Somethin' more recent and all."
"Good idea."
"Yeah, it worked anyway and now I've got a few pages."
"Congratulations," Zel added. He didn't know what else to say. Val was standing there waiting for him to say more, but what? "Was there something in particular you came to see me about?"
"Yeah, I thought you'd..." Val hesitated. Asking for a favor from a friend was difficult. All his pretentiousness got in the way at times.
He wants me to read it. Zel realized that he could read Val's body language pretty well. "Would you mind if I read it?" Zel asked. He found it a lot easier to swallow his pride around Val since they'd become house-mates. "I'd consider it to be an honor."
Val snorted, "I dunno 'bout all that..."
Zel continued to press his point. "Reading something personal about someone gives you insights into their inner workings. I might learn something you might not want me to know. I feel privileged that you'd trust me with that knowledge, that's all."
"Oh, yeah, well, that's right, I guess I do. So...it ain't long or nothin'. And um, sorry 'bout the bad language, but it was a different me back then. At least, I think I've changed."
Zel took the thin book in his hand and mentally weighed it. "We all have, even in the short time we've been in the band together. It's all right; I think we've all become better people, for the most part."
Val nodded. "Sure, um... I'm headin' out to the settlement then. I'll be back Sunday night as usual."
"All right. Happy birthday tomorrow. Oh, and stop by Xelloss'. He wanted to say goodbye."
"Okay. Later, dude," Val said and left the room, closing the door behind him on the way out.
Zel opened the volume and was taken aback. It was entirely hand-written in a cursive so neat and even that he had to flip through the entire thing just to see if it continued that way through to the end. It did. He smiled in thought, Who would have guessed that Val had such fine penmanship?
Excerpts from Val's Journal:
"Get the fk outta the way, asshole!" I growled at the kid.
Sure, he was probably only fourteen years old. I wouldn't even be surprised if it was his first time here at the skate park. But, for some reason it pissed me off way more than usual that some little dweeb, just blindly wandering around with his head up his butt, had caused me to wipeout right after I just landed a perfect move. But, I'd been in a shitty mood all day.
We both ended up on our asses, sprawled out over the concrete. He looked up at me in fear and surprise, like he was just about to piss his pants, or go cry to his mommy, or something. I just gave him an evil look, shook my head in disappointment, and slammed my board back on the ground as I prepared to take off again.
"Yo, Val!" I heard, as someone called out my name from behind.
"What?" I snapped, turning angrily. Sounded like a girl but, who knows.
"Whoa...take it easy boss! That's Gourry Gabriev's little brother! If he finds out you've been raggin' on him, you're gonna get your ass kicked, dude."
"Fk off, Jillas. I'll let you know when I need your social advice." I yanked off my headband in frustration, grabbed my board and my backpack, and stormed out the gate. I plopped down angrily on a bench in the shade of a large tree, grabbed a bottle of water out of my pack, and downed it slowly. Who the hell was Gourry Gabriev?
Don't get me wrong...I was feeling pretty bad about hassling the kid, and then getting all in Jillas' face. He was a pretty cool guy, and he was right. I probably did have a major ass-kicking comin' my way after what I did to that Gabriev guy's little brother. Gee, I can't wait until he finds out...sigh.
The truth is, I really was pretty angry, but it had nothing to do with what had just happened at the skate park. I'd been pissed at the world a lot lately...maybe I was just getting' cranky from not having enough sleep. But really, I knew I was just angry with myself, and taking it out on a helpless little kid and a guy who was the closest thing to a friend I really had. How pathetic is that? I was just getting so tired of this whole act of mine. I hated the fact that I felt l like I had to go around pretending to be someone I wasn't just to survive, ya know? Sometimes, I got so frustrated with my stupid life, that I felt like I might just explode. But, when I saw myself bullying that poor kid, I just totally lost it. I was so tired of myself and my sorry little act, that it just made me feel sick to my stomach all of a sudden. Gods, I wish I could just be myself, for once...but that just didn't seem possible right now. Gotta be tough or get the crap beat outta me. It's either this stupid act, or, well...bad things happen at home.
I just sat there on the bench, staring off into space and stewing in my own anger and self-loathing for a while. I felt like some kind of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde a lot back then (Oh and yeah, I read that story, not just the moo-vee.) At times I'd be just pissed off at the world, and at other times I'd feel really depressed and disappointed in myself because of it. Ultimately, I realized I had to do something about this whole hard-ass act-- about not really being free to be myself in front of the world. I could see that my own frustration at having to put on this tough guy' act had caused me to become the one thing that I was trying to avoid, a heartless bully, and that just made me want to throw up. Literally, I mean, how fked up was that? I could feel the pressure just slowly building inside me, and I'd know some day I was really gonna lose control. I had to figure out how I was gonna keep it together here...!
I was just beginning my second year at Seyruun High School. I only had a few years left in this shit-hole place, and I was determined to survive them any way I knew how. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point, and I could practically taste my freedom. I was eventually gonna get out of this rut I'd run myself into, and then I would finally be free. I could start a new life in another town or maybe work part-time and go to design school or be in a cool rock band and tour the world, who knew? But move out anyway, far away from Gaav and the house of horrors. Then, I promised myself, I could finally just be me-- if I still knew who the hell I really was by that point.
But not yet. I had to keep up the bullshit act until I graduated, if I graduated, didn't I? I just didn't see how I was gonna make it out unless I did. I mean, if the hard-asses I lived with really knew how smart and…sensitive… I was or about my poetry, well, it scared the hell out of me to think about it. What they did to me was bad enough, until I got tough enough to fight them off.
I looked out at all the different dudes (and a few chicks) skating and standing around shootin' the shit in the skate park. They all respected me, and they all left me alone. But, not a single one of them really knew me. Not a single one of them cared what happened to me today, tomorrow, or next year. Well, maybe Jillas did. Another dude, Gravos, too-- not a skater. Sometimes he tried to be a friend, but I never gave him the chance ta get too close. I mean, if someone got to know me too well, I knew my cover would be blown for sure. No, friends were definitely an unacceptable threat to me. I had always made sure never to allow that to happen.
Yeah, I thought to myself sadly, I did a really good job of that. But, it sure did get fkin' lonely around here sometimes. Gods, how did I turn into such a prick?
Eventually I remembered just why I was here. Today was Friday after all, and I always headed to the skate park on Fridays, just to de-compress from the pressures of the week at school and home and totally lose myself in that amazing feeling of flying through the air on my board, bustin' some moves. It's about the only time I could really let some of the pressure out, and I knew that a good hard skating session was the best thing to mellow my attitude any day. I decided that I couldn't let anything get in the way of my weekly therapy' session here. But, I promised myself not to lose my temper again -- I thought that I'd already done enough damage for one day.
Why Friday and not Saturday or any other day? Well, this truly hot chick called Lina Inverse would show up there to observe us. She don't skate or nothing, just watches and yells at us at times. She'd shout out stuff like 'Cool moves' or 'dumbass'. Encouraging stuff. She was really hot, but totally unapproachable sometimes. She hadn't put in an appearance yet, so I decided to stick around longer.
As I was finishing up my skating workout, I stopped for a minute to wipe the sweat off my face and body with my loose t-shirt. As I tossed it down next to my backpack, I felt the sensation of being watched, somehow. My eyes scanned around looking for the source of that eerie feeling, but I couldn't place it just yet.
I took a few slow cruises around the concrete to cool off. The sensation of the cooler air moving across my bare skin always felt sooooo good. I never went shirtless to show off my body or anything (I had something to show off...buncha knife marks and bruises, yeah, right!), I just loved that sensation...that sense of freedom. I took my time and tied my hair outta my face again.
On my second slow pass around the park, I finally saw her. I noticed her looking at me, and I smiled inwardly to myself. I don't know exactly why, but I just did. She was sitting on a park bench under a tree, watching us. Occasionally, she would pick up her soda for a drink or go for her bag of chips. Something in my gut told me I had to go talk to her that day and not let the opportunity pass me by. Maybe, I was just being naturally curious.
I gathered up my stuff, passed through the gate, and casually skated along the sidewalk, slowly circling around to where she was sitting. When I reached her, she was writing in her notebook. She was turning the page and writing more. So she was a writer, eh? I stood there for a moment, like I was lost in another world. I just had this sense that something...I dunno, uh...important (?) was about to happen. I felt all the anger and frustration of the afternoon wash away from me. For some reason, I felt almost, well, glad this was happening. Pretty weird, I'll admit.
She didn't notice me right away, so I took the chance to study her a little bit. She was maybe a foot and a half, almost, shorter than me, and probably a year or two younger by the looks of her face. A freshman, or younger, I bet. She was really thin, but not in an unhealthy looking way. Just not… built, ya know? Her long hair was flying' around and glowed red. Where it stuck to her pale skin it looked like blood. From what I could see, she was an unusually cute kid. Better looking' out in the sun than when I'd run into her at night going' to raves. I figured she was a wild thing, being with Nahga and all, but she wouldn't give me a second look after discoverin' that I was selling dope. How could I explain that I had no choice in the matter! It was either that or… well, home life sucked. I already had a record of minor thievery and loitering, nothing' too big yet, but…that would come…if I didn't get outta that place soon. I figured I'd really blown it with her. She'd never dance with me again, much less become a friend. Nah, the only way that would happen would be in my dreams, baby.
Yeah she was real sexy sitting' there, but, she just didn't seem to carry herself in a way that brought it out. Her whole body language lacked... definition lets say. I dunno, she just had all this self-confidence and attitude that shouted 'hands off, buster! I'm one tough little girl who likes to have fun.' But here she was in the park, writing a story or something…
When she eventually detected my presence standing near her, she dropped her pen and notebook and jumped a little in surprise. I barely noticed her reaction, because when I finally saw her big, fire-engine red eyes staring at me, I totally lost it for a second. They just looked real dark and dangerous. Instantly, memories of some stupid nightmare flooded through my head. For some reason, all I could see in those huge eyes of hers was the same look of fearlessness and anger that haunted me almost every night in my dreams, and for a moment she was looking at me again, reminding me of the last time I ever spoke to her outside some club. It shocked me a little. Ok, well, it shocked me a whole lot.
I'm not sure exactly, it was just something about her. She had that look, that innocence, that sweetness overlaid by a tough-as-nails exterior. Something inside me told me, demanded really, that I just had to talk to her. It was like having a chance to re-live your dream and make it happen for the better. Yeah, I could make her my friend for real, not just in a dream. She was right in front of my eyes, but for real this time. Did that make sense?
As she sat there looking at me in confusion and getting' madder all the time, my mind was racing. What am I gonna do here? I gotta think of something to say...lemme see...I pulled off my headband slowly, to give myself a chance to think. Gods, she looked so beautiful…and mad at me. I hated that thought. I really didn't want her to be mad at me. I wanted to make her feel a little more at ease here.
"Whoa, dudette, sorry to sneak up on you like that," I said, trying to give her my best casual smile. "You just seemed so totally into what you were doing, I didn't want to ruin your little moment."
She sat there staring at me. Gods, it seemed almost like she couldn't even hear me. My heart sank a little bit.
Shit! Why was she so angry with me?
"Please," I thought to myself, "just please don't yell and tell me shove off," I begged. And I can assure you, Val Gaav ain't one ta beg for anything!
Zel looked at his watch. It was getting late and his head was pounding. The journal was intriguing and he wanted to finish it that night, but... Friday had been cram-packed with too many problems, too many duties, too, too much; it was time for bed and to sleep them away. He got up and finished in the bathroom and then went to check on Xelloss, who he found roaming the house.
"Hey, I'm going to bed. I've got a headache and there's stuff to do tomorrow." Zel waited for a response.
"Okay, guess I will too then. 'Night."
"If you want, you can help me plant peas. February isn't too early."
Xelloss smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, sounds romantic enough for me."
Zel mock-punched him and stole off to his room.
It was Saturday morning. The sun was trying to break through the overcast sky, but the weather report promised it would win before sundown. All in all, it might hold off until Monday.
"So, where are we going again?" Filia asked her friend as he struggled over a few boulders wearing a heavy a backpack.
He planted his feet firmly on the ground, and then extended an arm to give her a hand up. "Some... place."
Filia clambered up the final rock face, and then settled heavily beside Val, her breath coming in misty gasps. "Gods, it's cold. My hands are numb!"
"Least it's not raining," he grunted.
"How much further? You know, we have to go back, too."
Val looked her over, and then grinned. "Yer as bad as Xelloss."
"Whaaaaa...t?"
Protecting himself as she pummeled his side, he expanded, "Take him on a walk around the block and he's whining 'bout somethin'... 'It's raining... Is this a poisonous bug? I think it is! My contacts hurt... The wind's messing up my hair!'"
Filia was laughing. Val's imitation was good.
"Place is right here, by the way," he pointed out.
"I've lived on this settlement longer than you, and I've never been up here. I didn't even know there was a... oh, wow...whatta view!" Filia shielded her eyes with a hand and looked out onto the clan village below. "I bet that's the Draconian cult lands over there...that green spot with the stone buildings. Seyruun...too hazy, but I bet if we came up here on a clear day we could see it!"
"Okay, it's a date," Val said near to her ear. He had moved closer while her attention was on the magnificent vista. Gently, he brushed a few strands of loose hair off her lips, and tucked them behind the same ear. Golden hair. "There's more."
Feeling his warmth leave her side was a signal to Filia that Val had moved on. Only a few feet more and a small hut popped into sight. A thin plume of smoke made a wispy-looking cloud trailing over the roof. "What's this?" she wondered aloud.
Val grinned. "Surprised ya, didn't I?"
Her face changed expression from awe to suspicion instantly. "What have you got in mind, Val-ee-um?"
It wasn't his favorite nickname. "Nothin' like yer thinkin'. Come on inside and I tell ya about this place."
Once again, he pulled off the unexpected. "Oh, my gods! Val! It's beautiful! China, crystal-- How did you get all this up here?"
He closed the door to the cold outside and smiled, "It's...ah...a secret."
She blinked. No. No, Val didn't just quote Xelloss, did he? The bizarreness of that tickled her to laughter again. Xelloss was such an oddball, such a geek, and Val was...the coolest, toughest punk in town.
"I'll take yer coat," he offered. His was already off, so he draped them both over a couple hooks by the door. "I need ta check the fire. You can look around. It's just the one room. Bathroom's...ah... a lean-to shack out and around the side."
"Rustic," she noted.
He stirred up the embers and added another log to the fire. "Uh-huh."
She circled the room, admiring the heavy log framing, the worn plank floor, and the sparse furnishings: a heavy wooden dining table and two rough-hewn chairs, a narrow blanket-covered cot in the corner, a shelf or two, a dusty cupboard, a crate. "Where did the flowers come from?" Roses were not in bloom anywhere in town in winter.
"I ordered them and had them delivered."
"Here? Florists make deliveries up here?"
He gave her a funny look which became a smirk. "Yeah, they fly it in."
Okay, now she understood that he was just pulling her leg. "You are just so funny. It's your birthday so I'll forgive you, though."
"Yeah, so sit down and I'll deal with lunch."
She watched him fill a cast iron kettle with water from a bucket and hang it on a hook over the fire. "Where'd you get the water?"
"There's a spring not far off. Nice place, huh? Huntin' cottage. This has been in use for hundreds of years. Folks hunted the forests...there once were thick ones about but they were cut down long time back to build...Seyruun, I guess. Then shepherds could stay up here in summer to watch over their sheep. That was all before the clan got it and way long before your clan moved here-- what, a couple summers back, right?"
"Right, but this place looks awfully good for being empty that long, don't you think so? It's like, you know, lived in." Filia said.
Val measured the loose-leaf tea into two tiny tea balls, one for each dainty cup. Next, he started pulling boxes and plastic containers of foodstuffs out of his backpack.
"That looks good," Filia said admiring the Middle Eastern wheat berry salad.
"Pitas would be better toasted," Val muttered.
"I'll tend to that," she offered. The fireplace tongs would do! While she was gripping the flat breads and turning them over the coals at the edge of the fire, the water began to rumble in the pot. "Water's boiling."
They continued in the familiar comradely comfort of two people who knew each other well, preparing a simple, tasty, and as it turned out, elegant luncheon with tea and birthday cupcakes, packed two to a Chinese takeout box. Filia sang him the traditional 'Happy Birthday' song and then presented him with a small box covered with pressed flowers and tied neatly with colored twine.
"The problem with having your birthday on a popular holiday is finding the right presents. Two seems too much, but one cheats you. So, anyway...open up," she urged him.
"Um, sure." Inside was a pendant on a heavy chain. It was gold, he could tell. The pendant was a match to hers, signifying the Cephied hierarchy including the division of the Ancient clan with that of the Golden one, all the way down to some of their recognizable ancestors, supposedly. "Filia, this is..."
"You like it? Milgasia thought it was time you had one, too, but I wanted to be the one to give it to you. There's a ceremony that goes with it that you're supposed to suffer through when you turn thirteen. I convinced him that you'd probably never go through with that anyway so he let me have it. Happy day to you, Val. You are now an official member of the Cephied Clan; that is, if you want to be. I guess you can just keep this until you decide."
He didn't know what to say. He hadn't given it much thought, making it all official and all. He wasn't much of a joiner. This was different. He knew that this was a serious life-decision he was making. Much like marriage, it was a commitment. Well, he'd committed to Lina and the band and he'd stuck with his 'brothers' and to his friends and that had brought him nothing but good. What did he have to lose? With the clan he'd have a home forever with people to work for and with for the rest of his life. As long as it didn't bind him too strongly, forbidding him to live where he wanted part time, or attend a art school far away for awhile, or travel with the band or to see his Ancient clan territory...
"I think I want to do that, Filia. I just got a few questions. I mean, I don't mind havin' to help out and do stuff for the com-mu-ni-ty, but I got a few other things I wanna do fer myself."
"I know Milgasia will be as happy as me to hear that. I'm certain you'll have lots of freedom, Val, but to be sure yourself, go ahead and talk to him. He'll clear up everything for you." Filia smiled.
"It makes you happy, huh?" He set down his cup and slid off his chair and around the table to be closer to her.
She blushed and nodded. That won her a kiss.
"Come here and let me thank you more for the present."
He drew her to the bed, which was far more like an outdoor lawn chair than bed, only it was even harder. "It's like a couch," he insisted.
It was odd to her to be so very close to him. They never had much privacy out on the settlement. There was always someone around, and the stables smelled too much to spend a great deal of time there, she thought. Sure, her parents would go out and leave them in charge of Quinny, but they usually just rented videos and snuggled on the couch to watch. Often other kids would drop by to share stories or just to get a look at the two rising stars. That and he was simply too aggressive for her tastes. Give him an inch and he'd run a marathon...
And now they were alone, really alone in a secluded hut on a hill, miles from anyone. He was strong and tenacious. A sudden fear seized her. "Val...?"
He had pulled her down on his chest. He enjoyed the heavy feel of her squishy body on his and stroked her sleek hair like he might a cat. The worried tone in her single word question gave him pause. "Somethin' wrong?"
"You're not thinking that you are entitled to more birthday presents?" she asked feigning a lot more courage than she felt.
"I was thinkin' more Valentine's Day. It's a day for lovers, ya know?"
"Uh, huh, but if I say 'stop' you do it or you won't get a second chance. I'm not teasing you here. It's not going as far as..."
"As I want?" he chuckled into her hair. "I know. I just wanna kiss ya without watchin' my back or feelin' guilty."
He sat up dragging her with him, and then carefully raised her chin so their eyes met. "Hey, I won't do a thing, then. I'll just sit here and let you do...it...all. 'Course, if you start havin' too much fun, I might join in, but...you give me the word an' I'll stop."
She saw his uncertainty; he was relinquishing his control of the situation to her. Good. She gave him a hard shove, pushing him back down on the bed, and then she started to tickle him. She knew just where to start, thanks to Xelloss who had discovered his secret last summer. When he had cleaned and changed a fevered Val outside the Ancient clan temple, he'd found a few spots he'd had to avoid touching. She started with the back of one of his bent knees by pulling it straight at the ankle and holding it at an angle.
"Hey! Ahhhhh! No fair!" he roared.
It took a couple more touches before they were wrestling for supremacy on the unstable cot. He managed to sit up and she pounded him down, but this time he took her with him and they landed forcefully. They could hear the wooden frame creak, and then begin to give way when a substantial thud sounded beneath them.
"What was that?" she whispered into his ear.
"I dunno. It was under us, I think. Get up."
She rolled off, but was afraid to put her feet on the floor. "Maybe it's a dead body."
"Wasn't that big, Fil, unless it was a dead 'coon. Not more than 'bout ten...fifteen pounds," he estimated as he left her on the wobbly cot and bent down oh his hands and knees to search beneath the bed.
"Anythin'—anything?" gasping her correction fearfully.
"I see a box." He reached under the cot and dragged out a solid steel box, scraping the floor and leaving a dust-free trail.
"What's in it?"
Val looked it over, turning it over and around. "Candy," he grinned up at her. "I used my x-ray vision."
Filia smacked him on the top of the head, bending a few spikes permanently. "You (smack) have (smack) been (smack) spending (smack) like...way too (smack, smack) time (smack) with Xelly-bean (sma--)"
The last one he stopped. "You gotta hair pin in that bag of yours?"
"Hair pin? What millennium do you think this is?"
"Nail file? Somethin' ta jimmy this lock?"
"Oh, yeah...here."
To her joy (hurry, hurry, open, open) and concern (he sure opened that fast!) he expertly picked the lock and pried off the lid.
Zel awoke to Beast's whimpers. What time was it, he wondered? Xelloss must have already been up and gone over to Rezo's to get the dog. He looked at his watch. It wasn't even eight yet. Well, Zel wasn't getting up. Beast could play with Xelloss for a few more hours. He was about to close his eyes and go back to sleep, when they fell upon Val's journal.
All right... He found the bookmark from the night before and continued where he'd left off.
I was lost pretty deep in thought as I cruised slowly towards home on my board later that afternoon.
After our initial awkward little moment, I had at least succeeded in communicating (just barely!) with her. Now, I was even more curious than before. There was just something about her that seemed to trigger long forgotten feelings in me. Between that and those stupid dreams, I was kinda forced to think about not having a real quality girlfriend; and I realized how much I missed having any kind of quality friends, and how much it hurt to admit that.
As painful as it was to admit my longings, I couldn't deny that there was something good about that kid. It was like she had a little piece of all that was alive and beautiful inside her. At least, for whatever reason, she sure seemed to trigger a lot of those needy feelings in me.
So, back to what happened… In spite of the less-than-friendly look she was giving me, I had suggested that she come back to the skate park tomorrow so she could watch all the skaters, since that seemed like what she wanted to do and she'd arrived too late this day to catch most of them. Then, guess what? She smiled. She also seemed most interested in me being there. Hmmm, part of me was thinking it might be easier to just blow it off and not show up tomorrow, and avoid any more of these painful and awkward feelings. But, I realized I had to be there. Left on her own, those idiots would probably eat her alive, which seems really funny now 'cause of course I now know that Lina could have taken care of herself just fine. It was the aggressive skaters who I shoulda been worried about! No, I told myself, I had come back.
Hell, part of me really wanted to come back to see her again, and I knew it, I just didn't want to admit how excited I was getting.
All of these strange thoughts were bouncing around in my head as I arrived home and walked in the back door. Gaav was standing in the kitchen and he gave me an odd look.
"Where the fk have ya been, you worthless piece of crap? You know ya gotta job to do!" he roared at me as usual.
My mom used to treat me pretty good, even though we didn't have many chances to be close as I needed after she married Gaav. I really loved my mom. She was like my best friend until I was in third or fourth grade, when she finally gave up the fight and died. I wanted to die with her, but that didn't happen. I wasn't even told how she died or allowed to see her body. I vowed then to be a tough punk so no one could hurt me. I'd do all the hurting from then on. Nothing was worth working against Gaav ta get, at any time. But, especially after she died, a crime-free life just stopped being worth the fight. At times I kinda missed that...her hugs and caring…but it just feels all empty and fulla hurt now. I have too much to hide, and I just can't risk letting my feelings show around the house.
"Don't matter, I'm home now, right, and yeah, I know about the job goin' down," I replied, trying to end that conversation as soon as it started.
He just looked at me and gave me a kick, "Sit down and shuddup. Eat this before ya go."
My stepfather certainly thought that it might be fatal somehow to share how your feelings with someone. One of these days I'd figure it out, I'd find someone I'd actually want to share my feelings with, and life will never be the same again. Ah…that was part of my dreams. I also knew that he hated and feared something about me. I always felt that I was superior, that my real dad had been important and that I'd been something good and special. For that, he treated me like the rest of the shit punk kids he brought home, or worse.
"Oh," I said without much enthusiasm. Great. Another quality family moment' with dad.
I don't know what it was about my stepfather...but he always treated me funny. Like he never really trusted me, or something. He's always looking at me suspiciously like he thought I was an impostor, because clearly, I wasn't a true Gaav Gangster'. I wasn't red-headed and hairy, I wasn't stupid, and I wasn't an outspoken bigot, so, I guess he must have been right. The other boys he drug off the streets and trained and forced me to share my room with appeared true to the gene pool, but I seemed to be such a disappointment to him. I didn't even look like him, but then I knew I was adopted. I looked more like my mother.
Needless to say, we never were close.
When I was younger, I was always too gangly and uncoordinated to be much of an athlete. I tried to play soccer, but it was clear from the beginning that it was a waste of everyone's time, and no one had time to spare with me. My step-father kept saying I was just too much of a sissy and a momma's boy, but I think I was just a different breed of man. I think my abilities on a skateboard showed I was not completely un-athletic at this point. But, my step-father could only see it then as a sign of weakness which could play no part in the Gaav family business. It felt like, if I had been a puppy, he would have drowned me to protect the breeding line.
So, as I got older, I tried different things. I liked basketball, but I was just growing' too fast to be coordinated. Football? Get serious. Eventually he gave up on me, and left me alone. Thank the gods.
But, after my stepfather finally gave up on me, I was looked upon with great suspicion. Whenever he wanted to brag to his friends, he'd be quick to mention his juvenile delinquent street-boys who'd bring in the bucks (which was lucky for them too, because they were all as dumb as posts, as far as I could tell...) But, for some reason he never mentioned his other son who made honor roll every year, until I got ta high school, and who wanted to be a musician or an artist. No, I never used the "M-word" or the "A-word" around Gaav. That woulda been like…being a fag. Shit, if he had known where my interests lay—going to a top-notch music or design school-- he'da broken both my arms…repeatedly.
He'd made me stop piano lessons as soon as I showed signs of being good, and he never found out that I just kept at it, using the one at school. I made it to chorus backup at the high school, and for one year, I was in the jazz ensemble there. I tried to get a band going once or twice, but without a keyboard of my own it was tough. Then I stole one. I hid it with a friend of mine, a dude named Sano. Later, I picked up a battered amp and learned to fix it. I had to do something to keep my dreams alive.
I know my mom woulda been cool about it, the going to art school or music school, that is. She'da been really supportive when I told her what I was hoping to do. But, you know...she just up and died and left me for Gaav ta form in his own image before I was old enough to know what a future was.
Thanks, ma.
I did everything I could to assure Lina that I was safe and basically a good guy deep down inside. I really hated the idea that someone like her would actually despise me. It made me sick inside to even think about it. Like I was some kind of hateful bully or something? Gods, what a joke! I spent more than enough time hiding from the bullies in Junior High myself to make that thought really repulsive to me. I realized that for the first time, my well-practiced hard-ass skater-punk persona wasn't working out great.
Okay, so things were all working out really great. I mean, I met a pretty cool girl who I was immediately attracted to. Then, I somehow manage to out myself to her accidentally that I was still a drug dealer. She seemed to be understanding about it and all, but she still wanted me to basically just go away and leave her alone and just pretend I didn't even know her or like her or anything.
I tried hard and after a few weeks of summer I made some progress. I could talk to her once and awhile, you know… 'grace her presence'. I also managed to make good with that Gourry Gabriev guy, who ended up being the nicest guy on the planet that I'd ever meet. Unfortunately, I could tell he had his eye on Lina as well, and he had everything going for him that I didn't. But I couldn't not like the guy.
See, it turned out that day I'd seen Lina under her tree, she was waiting to see him, Gourry. He hadn't been showing up like she'd expected. Then one day, he did.
"Hey, Lina!"
I can't say I was too happy to hear a dude's voice being all familiar with her. I turned around and saw this dude half a foot taller than me, and I was six foot at the time, and with at least twenty more pounds of muscle standing out on him. Shit. If anyone could damage my face, this was the guy. Oh, yeah, I recognized him, though he and some other dude, his older bro I guessed, usually hung out in other places, I'd seen him at this park. Not a real skate park. One we'd kinda coursed out ourselves outa dirt an' stuff.
"Gourry! 'bout time! Where have you been?" Lina hollered back.
"I got my 'ppendis cut out. Wanna see?"
"Not really..."
He already had his t-shirt yanked up to show the top half of a long ragged scar on his abdomen. "Mom wouldn't let me come 'cause the muscles needed ta heal, then we took a vacation to see Grandma. Grandpa died, you know, an' she's all alone. Then we..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. You've been elsewhere. So, ah..." Lina noticed he and I were looking each other over, me to see if there was any hope of me getting out of there alive, and him, it turned out, to try to recall my name.
"You," Gourry said.
"That's Val, a skater here. Good for a tall guy."
Thanks, Lina, for the introduction. Now the dude has a name and a face to put together. But I was wrong about Gourry, just like I was wrong about all you guys, each one of you. You, meaning the Slayers, turned out to be the closest friends...and family too, that a guy could ever wish for.
Gourry's face lit up with a smile like sunshine. "Val, yeah, I know you. Hey, ah, my little brother Joey..."
Okay, here it comes...
"I sent him back to 'polgize to ya. I told him ta stay outa the way of the skaters. He could kill someone someday, getting' in the way. He never looks where he's goin', always walkin' 'round in a trance or somethin'."
"What?" Apologize...to me? "Nah, he was okay. I was in a shitty mood that day and well, I got madder than what he deserved. Forgive an' forget, right?"
Another warm smile. "Yeah, ah...thanks, man. I'll tell him. He's been 'fraid to come 'round. He's only twelve, ya know."
I musta blushed at that. I thought he was fourteen at least, he was so tall. "I don't usually jump on little kids..."
Lina was getting bored with all this. "So, you hungry or somethin'? I need a drink."
"Yeah!" Gourry turned his attention fully on her. I knew he'd completely forgotten I even existed. "The Jiffy Dairy's got a new ice cream machine, ya know, the kind that's makes the little swirly on top?"
"Sounds good. You can get me one too!" she shouted and off she went, with Gourry panting at her side like a lost puppy who'd found his owner at last and wasn't going to lose sight of her at any cost.
So, maybe he hadn't completely forgotten about me. Maybe he saw me as competition with her. That made me smile.
We three ran into each other off and on all summer, sometimes they included me in their eat-a-thons, mostly not.
Then school started and somehow I'd signed up to do an acting class thing—though I don't remember actually asking for the class-- so I got to see her, Lina, for that sometimes. And, the more I talked to her, the more I liked her...but, now I was not supposed to talk to her at all! Her rules. Yup. This was working out just fine. I think I was beginning understand now why the moth can never manage to resist the attraction of that stupid flame...something Xelloss used to complain to me about, but that came much, much later.
Only I could manage to get things that messed up in such a short time. I don't know why I ever bothered.
Then a day later, I made my decision. I was not going to blow it again! I immediately realized two things. First, I realized just how important it was to me, all of a sudden, to find a way to keep Lina in my life, for some reason. Second, I realized I was totally clueless just how to do that. I'd never had any relationships in my life before...not even a really close, best-friend type relationship. But she had these other friends hangin' around. Some chicks, two geeks, one a fag on top of it (that was what I thought, but I was wrong about him too), and that Gourry Gabriev fellow.
Gourry… I wished he was my brother. And the two geeks, well, they actually DID become my brothers, in a way. I love them both like they were. Didja read that? Yeah, I wrote that. You're the best of the best. And I am sorry for all the bad things I said to you back then. I'd take them back, if I could. You and Xelloss are the smartest dudes I've ever known...that there are, and I know you'll beat the syndicate and find your own 'true happiness' in the end. And, Zel, whether it's your 'little princess' or some other chick-of-your-choice, if I can write the word 'love' and feel it and find it, so can you. I know you have it in you.
Anyway, so I've been trying to 'improve myself'. And, in time, they all became my closest friends and family. Yeah, like a dream come true, huh? And it's been getting better ever since. I know there'll never be a Lina and Me, but I feel lucky to be counted among her closest friends, which in the long run is more important. Yeah, I got my eye on one of those other friends of hers and it'll take a miracle to make her respect the likes of me, but then…looking back on my life, I think magic's on my side.
"Zel-gaaaaaaa-diss!"
Zel snapped the journal shut and sat up. "What?"
"I made you breakfast, but I'm not stupid enough to bring it to your room, and the weather looks promising for our picnic in the park. So if you want to plant the peas, you'd better get a move on."
Zel smiled. "Be right there." Oh, gods...I wonder what kind of a mess he made in the kitchen!
This time Lina, Sylphiel and Gourry would be joining them- themincluded Kiki and Amelia-- for a small Valentine party. Zel hoped that this would contain the confrontational and romantic sparks.
"What sme-ells?"
"Everything," Zel answered his best friend as he hoed a furrow in one of the raised beds.
"Not that bad. Something about that ground you are digging in stinks."
"Oh, manure."
Xelloss straightened up and frowned. "It does too smell. There is nothing wrong with my nose."
Zel leaned on the hoe and chuckled. "Manure. Part steer, part chicken. I dug it in a week ago and its fragrance is what your sensitive nose has detected."
"Manure. Animal crap. You dug that into there? And you weren't going to tell me? You were just going to let me put my hands in the dirt and plant seeds and not know what I was touching? I trusted you!" Xelloss couldn't believe it.
Zel was equally incredulous. "Xelloss, it isn't raw; the manure was composted. It's safe to handle. Wash your hands when you're done."
Xelloss made a face of disgust.
Zel sighed. "There are gloves in the bucket. Wear those." He tore off the top of the seed envelope and poured a few seeds in his hand.
"Okay," Xelloss decided.
"Start at the other end of the row and we'll meet in the center. Peas need to go about two and one-half inches deep and about an inch apart. Watch how I do it. See, this finger to this knuckle is about the right depth. I drop some seeds in the furrow and poke them down to the depth of my knuckle, then move on to the next seed. Don't worry about the closeness, too close is better. Some won't germinate anyway, bugs get others, and I'll just thin them later. All set to try it yourself?"
"Yep! Looks easy. Ugh...the smell the smell... It's hard to hold on to these with gloves on."
"That's why I don't wear them."
"I could take them off and use a...stick. Got one. Okay. Drop. Poke."
Zelgadiss was already at the halfway point. He waited for Xelloss to catch up.
"Good. That's over. Now we can..." Xelloss prepared to walk off to the house.
"I have two more rows to plant," Zel said. "If you do those, I can plant the onions."
"Okay," Xelloss sighed. He was happy to help, but happier to be done with it.
After a few minutes Xelloss asked, "Are the onions it? Done?"
Zelgadiss joined him with a box of tiny seedlings in his hand. "I'd like to set out these and sprinkle a few radishes around. These are lettuces. Different kinds."
"I'll do radishes. Give me the package. I can read the instructions." Xelloss scanned the back, then satisfied that he could handle it alone set off to the other end of the bed. "Anywhere in particular?"
"About a third of the package over that end. They come up fast and will be picked before we plant carrots and cucumbers later."
"Okay, but why not plant those now, too?"
"It's too cold. Some plants tolerate the cold damp conditions; others want to wait until spring warmth is guaranteed. Come here. See, in this bed I tossed fennel, dill, cilantro, parsley, and chive seeds a few weeks ago. They all seem to be weedy enough to sort themselves out and get growing whenever they feel like it without any coddling. I'll thin them out and add a few other things later."
The two dove into their endeavors and finished quickly in a few minutes. Zel collected his tools and bucket of small items, including the gloves Xelloss had discarded, and set them inside the small storage shed.
Xelloss smiled. "When did you learn all this? It's not like you've ever done this before; Joey did the planting at the old house."
Zel returned a smile of his own. "Reading, but you'll have to ask Lina about the garden we grew one summer. She wanted watermelons and pumpkins, big ones naturally, and I wanted corn and strawberries. We did all that in her backyard. No, ask her. She'll tell it better. All right, I say it is done for the day. Time to pick up our order at the deli."
"I don't suppose I have time for a shower, do I?" Xelloss asked as he shook his dirty hands in the air.
"No. We'll wash up and go. Think about it. Lina will be there. Waiting. Waiting for us to bring lunch. Waiting. Anticipating our imminent arrival."
"Gotcha. Wash up and go. No time to waste lest our fearless leader go hungry for a few minutes and so devour the most replaceable part of our band."
"Hey, we need those backup singers!" Zel said as he dried his hands on a sad-looking towel. "We have to do some laundry too. I'll start the washer and you collect...towels, yeah, and underwear. Remind me, if I forget later, to move them to the drier."
"Singers? Oh, I was thinking of the bass player. Okay, towels and underwear. Val's stuff is by the door, or the only things I'm willing to touch, so I'll get that too."
"Xelloss," Zel warned him. "I thought you and Gourry were friends again."
"Friends? Of course we are! Always have been. Just a bit of friendly competition in the past."
"Not always friendly competition, as I recall," Zel reminded him. "Although I'm glad to hear that you consider that the 'battle for Lina' is over." He said that, then re-thought what it was that Xelloss had really meant. That damned engagement again! "Ah, sorry, Xelloss. I'm really sorry."
"About what?"
"That I haven't found a way out of that engagement for you yet; that is, one that I can live with myself after I've done it."
"I won't ask you to shoot me again," Xelloss said, figuring that that was what Zelgadiss was referring to. "I promise. It was unfair. I was...kinda nuts that night."
"Just that night?" Zel smirked, grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.
"Yeah, just then. I'm doing pretty well off all my medication, right? I think I'm leveling off or something. I don't zone out so much."
"You did before?" Zel chuckled as he noticed that Xelloss did not like his teasing. "This is fun, being you. I think I can be just as annoying as you ever were. Here, you drive!"
Xelloss caught the keys midair and danced around to the driver's side of the car. "Okay! But I absolutely refuse to buy and use one of your personal schedulers...or get one of those nerdy pocket shields to store it in."
As the engine roared to action, Zel commented, "I don't wear one of those. Most of my shirts don't have chest pockets. I never dressed like a nerd...not like you did."
"I was, to quote Filia, 'preppy,' not nerdy. Now I'm cool. This reminds me, I need to go clothes shopping. I've grown! I thought I was done growing, but I measured myself at the spa, and there it was. Can't say I felt it out at the settlement. Do you know that I was the shortest man...no, male, above the age of about twelve in the whole place? Even most of the women were my height or taller. Not that that stopped the twins..."
Xelloss proceeded to tell Zelgadiss about his exploits until his cell phone buzzed for his attention. He slapped Zel's hand away and answered it, "Heeeel-loooo? Filia! Happy Valentine's Day! You have what? Oh, my... Okay, I'll shut up. Tell him 'very good'! We'll make a fine white-collar criminal out of him someday! Ha, ha! Okay, bye now!"
He explained to Zel what was going on in the few minutes it took to reach the delicatessen and park the car. There, Mrs. Shearer, the deli's owner and Rezo's live-in housekeeper, handed over a huge stack of cartons filled with sandwiches, salads, drinks, and one of her famous cheesecakes, pre-sliced.
"Isn't it too cold outside for picnics? Do you have a dry place to go if it starts raining? You remember that cold you got the last time you were soaked to the skin chasing that wild Lina child around? At least you've got her out of your system, now. I saw that dear young thing you're marrying this morning. She was visiting her aunt and uncle in the shop and stopped in to say hello. Lovely girl. Such a good choice. I approve. And I think you're at a fine age to settle down. Young is good. You need to be young to chase around children. Now, Zelgadiss, we have to find you someone just as good. You'll want to be married too, now that your brother is. You'll have more in common that way, plus your children would be best of friends...Okay, that is all of the order, and since it is Valentine's Day and my special boys are meeting their special girls, I added a few special touches to those extras you ordered, so here, take this box too. There now, go and have a good time."
"Thank you, Mrs. Shearer. We'll have a good time."
"Yes, thanks. Bye," Zelgadiss added before following Xelloss out the door.
"Whew!" Xelloss sighed with a smile. "Did you clear the place with your single-status still intact?"
"Yes, but I think she's babysitting all our kids tonight," Zel said jokingly.
"We have kids?"
"Several each, but only in her imagination."
"Good, you had me worried there that I'd missed some family secret along the way. Speaking of way...here we are at the park. We are meeting them...where?"
"Bandstand, you told me." Zel looked over all the cartons stacked on the limited floor space and back seat. "Let's go find them first. They should help us carry all these."
"I agree wholeheartedly!" Xelloss said and marched off in search of Lina...and the others.
"So?" Filia leaned over his left shoulder to look at the box's contents. "Just a book?"
"Yeah, looks that way," Val replied. He turned a page and scanned then the next, then the next. "Whoa..." and then he let out a whoop "Way ta go, dude! Xelloss, I love ya man!"
"Oh, gods..." Filia sat back. "What does that nutcase have to do with all this?"
"What this?" Val waved the book. "Nothin'. 'Snot his, but he was hopin ta find it." To answer some of her unasked questions, Val continued. "When he was workin' with Luna out at the settlement, he came across some, to use his words 'disturbing information concerning a leak of clan information to the syndicate'. I guess he fixed some firewalls on the main database and all. It was Luna and him that located this place from the info they found, but they couldn't find any e-vee-dence. But we have."
"We have? What's it say? Whose is it?"
"I dunno who, but someone's been spyin' on our clan from up here. They been...look-it...times people goin' in and out...exit and entrances to the settlement..."
"I see entries with your name! Oh, Val! They have you pinpointed!"
Val slammed the book onto the floor with a curse. "Gotta get this to Xelloss to de-code right away."
"I'll clean up and pack."
Val nodded then flipped over the cot to examine the damage. "Lookit this. See how the mattress was cut out so's this would fit right up inside?" He had closed and relocked the box, empty, and now had replaced it into its hidey-hole. The cracking sound had come from the wooden slat, which had held it in place, as it gave way. "I can fix this up so's it don't look like we disturbed it, then when whoever it belongs to comes looking for it, maybe he'll..."
"Or she will..."
"Yeah, maybe they will think they left it elsewhere."
"So, why not just take it with us and get the fingerprints identified?"
"Well, I was tellin' ya that I was hopin' they'd just figure they'd left it someplace else and buy us a little time. I dunno if it'll work, but if it is a clan person, the fingerprints won't be on the po-lice records. They don't got them."
"No, but the clan does," Filia declared. "And Xelloss or Luna will know where they are stored."
Val ripped off the just-repaired-slat and dug out the box. "Screw the dude..." He clamored to his feet and stuffed the book and box into his pack. "Leave the trash..."
"No way! We shall abide by the rules of the wilderness: 'Take only picture, leave only footprints!'" Filia unwrapped a plastic-like recyclable garbage bag from the bottom of her purse and started filling it with whatever Val refused to carry back down.
Together they put out the fire, reset the bed and chairs, and tossed the water. When they were done and Filia was satisfied with the condition of the cottage, he followed her out the door and slammed it shut. She was cradling the moderate-sized sack in preparation for the long hard climb back home, and looking a bit too proud and long-suffering at the same time.
"Here, give me that," he said gruffly as he took off his back pack and opened the top.
"I can carry it," she assured him. She didn't need a man to help now; she could do it all herself.
"Yeah, but it wouldn't be safe. You need yer hands to hold on."
"I'll scramble fine."
"Not on the rocks. That I'm sure you'd mess up and break somethin', but what I meant is ya gotta hold onta me with both hands 'cause the ride's gonna be fast and dangerous."
She was so confused, but understood the moment they passed up the lean-to and she saw his motorcycle parked on the narrow path in back. "Where did this come from? How'd it- it get here?"
"I rode it up the trail. Trail's in back and it goes to a road down to the settlement. That's how I got stuff like flowers and wood and all up here. I was even here way early this mornin' to get the fire goin' then walked down to getcher."
Ignoring his heroic feats to impress her, Filia decided to say instead, "Then...I didn't have to spend all morning rock climbing to get here? I could have slept in and just ridden here?" Filia was warming to a fight.
"Hey, babe," he said coolly, dashing her flames out with a wet kiss. "Exercise is good for the appetite and I wanted you good and hungry."
"Ah...oh...well...yeah..." she blushed and took up the extra helmet. She wasn't certain if there wasn't a hidden meaning to his intentions now.
"Now, I mean it. Hold on tight like yer life was at stake; 'cause we're gonna take some switchbacks a-bove the speeeed limit!" he warned her with a gravelly chuckle, and then revved the motor.
He was joking however. Oh, she held on tight all the way, but he drove safely and soberly. He wasn't about to harm his girl. It took them ten minutes to get down the mountain and another ten to reach her house. She quickly explained to her parents the need to hurry back to Seyruun, grabbed a change of clothes, kissed her brother goodbye, and hurried out to the waiting young man.
"That was record quick. We're gonna stop at my place to change ve-hi-cles."
Five more minutes clicked by and they were in the Suburban, Seyruun bound.
Filia withdrew her cell phone and punched a number. "Xelloss, yeah it's me. No, well, okay...happy Valentine's Day to you, too. Listen...LISTEN to me, you idiot! Val and I are on our way back. We should be at your house in...What? Okay, the park in about forty-five..."
"Half an hour," Val barked.
"Minutes or less. We got this book-- found it. It's got stuff... Yeah, you got the idea. Okay, bye." Filia put the phone away. "Well, even if the spy is up there right now and figured out that we have this, he can't get down and catch up to us, right?"
"No, but an ac-com-plice might."
They exchanged worried glances.
Filia put in a CD and sat back to listen, watchful for unusual cars or vans. Val drove in silent concentration, his eyes scanning the road ahead and every so often checking the rear view mirror for someone following them. For the longest time, it seemed, nothing out of the ordinary was going to occur.
"That one's movin' fast."
"Where?" Filia asked leaning forward.
"Other direction. Black sedan on a connector road. Looks like its going to merge behind us."
"Oh," Filia moaned with disappointment, "I was just thinking we were safe now that we were so close to Seyruun."
"I'm speeding up. Maybe we can outrun 'im and get into town first. Call McGywn."
Filia tried, but no luck. "He's on vacation, wouldn't you know. Some detective kid will get back to me later. Lotta good that will do if we're in a wreck by then."
"Ah shit!" Val swore and hammered the seat beside him. "Cops."
He pulled over and waited for the officer to show up, pulling out his wallet, ID, and car registration in preparation for the inevitable requests. One look in the face of the law and his anger threaten to become explosive.
"Val, what is it? Calm down," Filia whispered urgently.
Val, however, rolled down the window as the officer's hand signals pantomimed and shook his head. Then he waited, eyes narrowed.
"In a hurry today? May I see your driver's license?" the be-spectacled patrolman asked.
Val grunted and handed it over. There it was-- the black sedan slowing slightly, then speeding past. "That car! It has syndicate op'ratives chasin' us!" he pointed out.
The man didn't bother to look up. "That's a first. Registration?"
As Val turned over the requested papers out the window, he strained to keep the mysterious car in view.
"But it's true!" Filia yelped. "Just get a hold of Detective McGywn and ask, where ever he is...He'll tell you we know what we're talking about! Hey, are you deaf or just..."
Val's hand smacked over her mouth. "Don't say nothin', it'll only make things worse. 'Sides, McGywn's Chief of Police now."
The patrolman looked them over suspiciously. "Would you get out of the car slowly keeping your hands in the air at all times?"
"What?" Filia gasped. "We don't have time for this..."
Val stopped her with a penetrating stare. "Don't be stupid. When ya get stopped by cops. Ya listen ta what they say, com-ply what they say, no ar-gu-ments, no smart-assin' either. That's the law. Ya only make it a lot worse for yerself. Believe me, Fil, I know."
His cell phone buzzed and Filia reached for it in the back seat.
"No!" he said under his breath. "Leave it and get out, now."
"But..." She began, but Val's expression left room for no doubts. "Fine..."
"What's taking them, I wonder?" Amelia asked no one in particular. "It usually doesn't take more than an hour to get to the settlement from here."
"Delays are a bad sign," Zel agreed. He pulled out his cell phone and buzzed Val. "No answer. I'll try Filia, then."
But she wasn't answering either.
"Now I'm worried. Tell Lina to go ahead and eat. I'm calling McGywn. He might be able to trace a patrolman for information."
Amelia nodded and scampered off toward Lina and the others, but she didn't get far. Lina caught up with her halfway. "Xelloss is about to lose a hand if he doesn't let me get lunch. Okay, I'm gonna call Zangalus while were waiting and see if he's okay for doing Gaav in the musical. Orange wigs aren't hard to come by and he's tall enough, especially if he wears big boots. His part's pretty small and comes up later anyway." She punched in his number and waited to speak to him.
Meanwhile, Zel had received the same bad news Filia had miles away. "Vacation? How can I reach him then? Oh...no I don't want to talk to anyone else. Well, thanks..." He sighed and looked to Amelia for ideas. "Now what?"
"Oh! He's Mr. Zangalus' father, right? Miss Lina's got him on the line!"
"That's great, thanks. Lina! Let me talk to him!" Zel sped to her side and flicked the phone out of her hand.
"Zel!"
Turning his back on Lina, Zel was able to just barely hear the voice on the other end. "What? Doesn't matter, this is Zel. Is your dad home? It's an emergency!"
At the word 'emergency' Lina stiffened and backed off. "What's going on?"
While Amelia filled her in, Zel continued to converse in peace.
"Val Agares, eh? I coulda sworn I've brought you in dozens of times, but looks like I'm not finding any record on you. Of course, this driver's license could be a fake..."
Val folded his arms and said nothing. For once he was guilty of speeding only. He knew if he kept his composure and cooperated, he might get off with just a ticket and minor delay. All the while, that car hadn't returned. He wondered if it was pulled off at the side waiting for them...
Filia wisely copied Val. She'd never been in trouble with the police and was upset, nearly in tears, while at the same time frightened about the mystery car, stolen boxes, and evil brewing in the clan. She wanted to go back to the car and answer her cell phone, too.
"So?" Lina looked up to Zelgadiss as he returned her cell phone.
He plopped down at the picnic table beside her and plucked a grape from the stem. "McGywn's calling around. He'll let us know what he finds out. In the meantime, go ahead and eat." That's when he noticed that everyone had already started. "Oh."
"I'm saving a box lunch for Val and Filia," Xelloss told him. "But I can't promise I'll save any of that cheesecake."
"Okay, while we are waiting, I wanna go over a few notes I've got here for the musical. First of all, when I checked the script, I found that we need more folks involved. I just confirmed Zangalus to play Gaav and later himself. He even told me he's goat this huge black trench coat and oversized boots... What, Xelloss?"
"He was wearing a yellow-gold one."
Lina glared at him. "Is that so? Well, it's gonna be black for the musical because I don't want him to stand out more than me, get that? Okay, next, Sylphiel did me the favor of contacting Martina, who agrees to play herself and will stay out of the way the rest of the time, right?"
"I think she'll be, like, too nervous getting her own lines straight and not, you know, tripping on the sets to get in your way," Sylphiel answered. "Also, she's outnumbered by us. We'll keep her out of your hair."
"Good. Xelloss, you get your two buddies on board yet?" Lina knocked on his head. "Hello! Anybody home in there?"
"Lina? Ah, yes," Xelloss pulled out of his stupor. "Miwan is very excited to play H.M. Phibrizzo. He's happy to be a bad guy, he says, because he's always been cast in girl's parts. Um, when you meet him, you'll understand why."
Lina cut him off when her cell phone buzzed. "Yeah? Bobby! Oh, right. So, can you guys handle the lighting job? Sound? Zel's on the tech stuff and can fill you in later. Xelloss has props, but he'll be thrilled to hand that off to...who? Well, you pick who. Then for stage hands, one in charge and the others...yeah, right. Got it covered. Thanks, Bob, later! Bye!" She looked up. "Catch that? We got Bobby's band on lights, sound, and stage hands. Zolf and Rodimus can help advise, but for the performances, I want them heading security."
Amelia raised her hand to be heard. "You told me you needed a tall blonde female to play Ms. Zelas. I tried to get a hold of Miss Bunny, but she's just too busy with her own band. However...my sister overheard me calling and... Nahga insists she can do it with a wig!"
Amelia was anxious to please Lina, and although she believed Nahga could do the part, she knew her overbearing personality could exhaust Lina's patience. It was touch and go.
"Nahga wants to?" Lina asked. "Great! She has the persona to pull off witch-bitch. I'll put her on Martina-watch as well and combat that problem. Great job there, Amelia. Next..."
"And John agrees to play Dark Star," Xelloss inserted without pause.
"I'll bet," Lina grinned his way. "That guy's been dyin' for an excuse to get his hands on you."
"Very funny, Lina," Xelloss said with a pouty face. "He's got his hands and attention busy elsewhere."
"Sorry, just kidding. Okay, where was I?" Lina scanned her notes.
"Didn't you say Jillas and Gravos are gonna play themselves?" Gourry prompted her as he read her notes from over her shoulder.
"Yeah, that's right. Val did the footwork on that one for me. That was my last point for now." Lina sank her teeth into a slice of cheesecake. She licked a drop of liquid ruby cherry topping off her fingertips. She closed her eyes in complete enjoyment of the flavor. When they opened, her eyes met a pair of deep purple ones. Before she could say anything, Xelloss had looked away, leaving her with his starving look emblazoned on her mind. It was as if he was unable to feed off everyone's bad vibes anymore. He had no heart for practical jokes, or jokes of any kind, at least when she was around.
The moment was interrupted by Zel's ringing cell phone. "Hello? Val, at last! What happened? Speeding ticket? Oh, well, that is too bad. Now you don't have to worry about keeping up that perfectly clean record." He winced at a string of profanity directed at him. "No, thank you, Val, that would be quite impossible for me to do to myself. I'll be going now...Ten minutes? We'll wait. No, but Xelloss saved some food for you. Don't mention it. Bye." With a sigh, he summarized. "They think they were about to be pursued, but were pulled over by a patrolman who didn't like Val and gave him a hard time, I get that sense from his touchy at-ti-tuuuude."
Lina smiled. Zel was beginning to sound like his old self more and more. Kiki and Amelia laughed at his imitation. Xelloss was off alone pacing, picking up stones and tossing them. "I'm going to the swings," he announced and set off.
"Poor Xelloss," Kiki sighed.
"Poor Xelloss! It's your life getting screwed up, too!" Lina snapped.
"But he suffers so. He feels things more and he keeps getting these threatening letters!" Kiki explained.
"He's still getting them?" Lina hadn't heard. He hadn't shared that information. In fact, she was feeling that he was leaving her out of the loop lately.
"Qui! Two last week! He's very sad, I think. Then, he and your sister have been very busy. They have discovered a secret, but he said that now he's even more confused. I told him I think the problem is that ah...like if you dropped a stack of puzzles on the floor and mixed them up. You know the pieces fit together, but there's more than one problem to solve and the problems may not even be linked! He was not happy to think of it that way."
Sylphiel needed a change of mood. She was gladdened by the sounds and sight of their two missing friends joining them.
"And I wanted my day to myself...and Fil here," Val was grousing. "But here I am...back with the band..."
"And a ticket! Let's not forget that!" Zel added with a smirk.
"Grrrrr. You...are be-gin-ning...to get on my nerves, dude," Val warned complete with a throaty growl.
Filia launched into a brief, colorful explanation of what they had endured at the whims of the vigilant Seyruun patrol.
"But why did you expect someone to be after you, that's what I don't understand?" Amelia asked.
"I want Xelloss to hear this. Where'd he go?"-- Val's turn.
"I'll go after him," Zel offered with a sigh meaning 'as always.'
But Lina stopped him in his tracks. "No, I will. Val, you and Filia eat. This won't take long if it's me."
Lina ran along the path from the bandstand, where they were the only picnickers in the park, to the swings. Oh, she remembered the last time she was here very clearly. She had brought Xelloss along to see for herself where her friend Hokuto (Subaru's twin sister) had been murdered. She'd ended up in his arms in hysterics, then it rained and they'd...no, Xelloss had carried her partway, anyway, to shelter under the bandstand's gazebo. She had treated him very badly after that. The moment Gourry showed up in his pickup, she took off, leaving Xelloss to make his own way back to Rezo's. Lina recalled stopping in to see him later; he'd come down with a cold, he'd said, but Mrs. Shearer had told her that he was heartsick– a broken heart. Well, it wasn't her fault. She didn't ask him to fall in love with her! There he was. Swinging, barely, dragging his toe in the damp sand. Well, it will all be over soon anyway. He'll be married and... That will be that, Lina thought to herself. "Hey, Xelloss! Val's back! He wants to see you, pronto!"
"Lina? Oh, okay."
"Oh, here they come now. Lina! Xelloss! Hurry!"
"Okay, Sylphiel, what's so exciting?" Lina found a seat.
"Zel says there's a special Valentine's Day treat for us all!"
"Great," Lina sighed and rubbed her temples. "Valentine's Day, right. Happy birthday, Val."
"Don't mention it..."
"Remember last year? We'd made cards for each other...Xelloss and Zel were sick. We took them soup... I still have my cards. Zel drew those incredible pictures of us."
"I have mine, too. It's on my bulletin board to inspire me to work harder," Amelia said earnestly trying to catch Zel's attention.
Zel hid his face with his bangs and pretended to have dropped something on the ground to avoid the conversation.
"That was before. Valentine's Day we sang at our first job, that dance. Right Val?" Lina smiled at his grimace.
"Right. Seems a lot longer than a year. You sure that was only last year?"
Amelia was both slightly disappointed and hurt by Zelgadiss' rude neglect. She has been expecting a little more from him this Valentine's Day, like a card at least! "What's that you're wearing, Mr. Val?"
At Amelia's question, Xelloss drew nearer to get a closer look. "A clan pendant? Is that yours?"
"It's new! It's significant, isn't it, Mr. Val?"
"Welllllllll?" Xelloss added in a silky voice.
"Yeah, it's mine, if I wanna keep it," Val sneaked a peak down at Filia. Her soft blonde hair framed her pretty face, her smile widened until it included her light blue eyes. "It would mean I join up, which...I'm thinkin' 'bout...seriously."
"That would be wonderful, Val," Sylphiel said as her eyes lost focus. "It's good to belong someplace... and to someone." Her eyes flicked up to Gourry and away just a fast.
Val and Filia downed their sandwiches and cheesecake slices while Lina tried to snoop out the surprise treat Zel was hiding. He ended up out running her, carrying the bag out of sight.
Sylphiel looked at Filia, who was smiling at Val, and Amelia, who was talking to Kiki and sneaking furtive little glances up at Xelloss or following Zel's progress around the park. Filia was the only one having a good time, the only one with a real boyfriend. She wished the day was over.
Zelgadiss returned then Lina, panting and laughing at their silliness. "Time to open the box!"
"Speakin' of boxes," Val began. "Xelloss, you need ta take a look at what I found."
"We found," Filia corrected in echo.
"I'm still waiting for McGywn to get back to me, although, now that you're here it's immaterial," Zel muttered.
"OPEN THE BOX!" Lina screamed.
Zel untied the cord holding on the lid, and looked it. "Ah, enough for everyone."
"What? What!" everyone asked.
Zelgadiss smiled. This was fun. He withdrew the first box-within-a-box and read the label, "To Lina," and tossed it to her unceremoniously.
She caught it and tore it open simultaneously, while Zel explained, "Gourry and Val pitched in for these as well, the ideas especially."
"SLUGS!" Lina screeched in a high-pitched wail.
Gourry caught the box as it slipped from her hand. "Gummy ones. Here, you have to dig through them to the bottom for the best part."
Xelloss passed a box to Sylphiel, wishing her a "Happy Valentine's Day!" He also handed one to Kiki, with a kiss, "Happy Valentine's Day, Kiki."
Zel held out the last one to Amelia, but she wouldn't reach for it. She was making him come closer. He walked up to her, grabbed her by the wrist and pressed it into her hand. "Hope you like it," he muttered, eyes lowered.
Filia looked at Zel and demanded, "Kiss her and give me mine!"
Val shook his head. "I didn't think you an' me would be here so I got yers." He took an envelope from his rear pant's pocket, creased and worn, and held it out of her reach. "Don't I get a kiss first?"
Embarrassed, Filia gave him a little peck, very little, on the cheek, "Depends what's inside..."
Zelgadiss, sporting his customary blush, waited for Amelia. "Ah, open it," he urged her.
Lina and Sylphiel had seen what was inside, and waited for the others to open theirs before saying anything, but they were all smiling with pleasure.
"Oh, Zelgadiss!" Amelia flung her arms around his neck. "Tickets to TMR! I thought his concerts were over a long time ago!"
He returned a little squeeze and freed his neck. "They were, but then he announced that he would be doing a special concert..."
"WHAT!" came the chorus of girlish squeals.
"Xelloss agreed to be the promoter and back another performance here in Seyruun," Zel began.
"It'll be in the papers tomorrow," Gourry said. "We wanted you to know first. And, um, you get ta met him, too."
And suddenly, the Slayers boys were forgotten as the Slayers girls began a frenzied exploration of what they would wear, or say, to this most charming young man from Japan. It had been the best Valentine's Day ever, they agreed.
From the Authors: Where are the pictures?
Seyruun High Jinx has a home. Please go to the author profile for Kaeru Shisho and choose the link. You will find the pictures under Seyruun High Jinx NEXT. Pictures for each of the other stories are associated with their links.--KS
End Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT! Chapter 41.