Chapter 28: The Invite
With Caitlin and Chad...
"Who are we waiting for?" Caitlin inquired as Chad walked around. They were at a corner of a street next to a small restaurant. He turned toward her and remarked, "Well, you'll see."
"What time are they supposed to be here?"
"At exactly noon."
"What's the time now?"
"Eleven fifty-nine."
Caitlin shrugged as she leaned up against a light post. She sighed and looked down at the ground. When she looked back up about a minute later, she suddenly saw Jake walking down the sidewalk toward the restaurant. Chad jumped up and down as he shouted, "Jake! How grand you join us!"
Jake looked up with watery, green eyes. He smiled fakely and replied, "Hey, Chad. Who...oh! I remember! I met you on the corner this morning! Your name is Cait, right?"
Caitlin glanced down at the sidewalk and whispered, "Oh, yeah. You're Jake, right? Yeah, that's right. Hehe."
Chad looked from Jake to Caitlin and said, "So...you two have already met? Grand!"
"Very...," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Absolute-telly grand...," Caitlin mumbled.
Chad nodded convincingly and walked into the restaurant. Caitlin and Jake sort of looked at each other and walked after Chad. Once they got a table, Chad looked at both of them and asked, "So, what's up, you two?"
Caitlin shrugged. "I've been with you all day."
Jake glanced down at the ground and whispered, "Not much. I think Big Friend is mad at me."
Chad tilted his head and questioned, "Why?"
"Dunno...," Jake lied as he remembered the message the nameless hamster had written on his wall. "Well...how's everything going?"
Chad leaned back in his chair and remarked, "Oh...perfect! I talked to everyone about it early this morning when the sun was rising, and everyone is SO excited about it! You don't mind to hear that I invited them, right?"
Jake shrugged. "Depends on who 'everyone' is."
"Just the usual crew."
"Okay, that's okay."
Caitlin tilted her head slightly and inquired, "What is it?"
Jake laughed shyly and replied, "Oh...I'm getting married in...uh...three days!"
"To whom?" Caitlin flashed her sapphire blue eyes.
Jake twiddled his thumbs and whispered, "This really beautiful gal...her name's Stella. She's absolutely pure, and she's got these really beautiful silver eyes. Oh, and she has the cutest voice, too. Oh, and she's really proper also. You'd be surprised how much more beautiful she is than most girls! Ha ha ha. Ha..."
Ha ha ha ha yourself, Jake. She's not pure. Caitlin smiled evilly as she thought. "Ah. I know her. She's a Bad Ham, right?"
Jake turned pale. "Uh, yeah..."
"Haha, I'm a Ham-Ham, so duh, I know her. I thought she and Mike were in a HUGE relationship. Hmm...I must be behind. I haven't seen them for a while. I heard they're around here somewhere, but I don't know where. That's just what my hubby told me. You know Boss? Yeah. He and Mike are HUGE enemies. You know Mike? He's the Bad Ham dictator. Hehe, I bet you already knew that like everyone else in history. If he still likes Stella, he's prolly out to get you. Boss says he's seen him plotting. But my hubby has short term memory loss, so how would he know?"
"Yeah..." Jake glanced down at the ground. "...He's out to get me, isn't he?"
Caitlin shrugged. "Dunno," she lied. "I just know he's out to get us. I came here for a while because my hubby's gone on a trip with his friends. Two of my friends came with me. They didn't feel like getting out today, so I got out alone. Hehe, so...is it alright if I probe into your wedding?"
"Sure." Jake nodded nervously as a sweatdrop rolled down the back of his head. "Well...you'll have to answer a few questions first."
"Akay."
"Alright...do you know the Bad Hams personally?"
"Nope. I know my hubby knows them more, though."
"Do you know Mike?"
"I know who he is, but I don't talk to him. He scares me."
"Okay... Do you know Stella?"
"Sorta... I've run into her a few times before. She's pretty nice to me. She's EVIL to my hubby, but that must be either because he's a guy or that he's a Ham-Ham. But I'm a Ham-Ham too, so the last thing wouldn't make since..."
"Do either of your two friends know the Bad Hams personally?"
"I don't believe. They're sorta like me around them."
"Do they know Mike?"
"They don't like him at all. Dilla wants to hurt him."
"Haha, I'd have to see that... Do they know Stella?"
"Maybe. I'm not sure. I think they were with me when I ran into her one time."
"Alright. You're invited to our wedding."
Caitlin smiled brightly. "Oh, I feel loved!" she shouted as she stood in her chair. Everyone in the resturaunt sort of just stared at her. She blushed as she sat back down.
Jake blushed shyly and looked down at his paws. He turned pale when he saw that he had forgotten to wipe all of the blood off of his left wrist. He glanced back at Caitlin and Chad and whispered, "Um, I've gotta go to the restroom real quick... If the waitress comes while I'm gone, I just want a Dr. Pepper." Jake jumped up and ran toward the restroom while hiding his left wrist.
Caitlin shrugged and thought, What the...? He looked at his paws, and then he said he had to go to the restroom. Hmm... Interesting.
Contiguously the waitress walked up to the table. "How are y'all doin'? I'll be serving you today. Would you all like some drinks?"
Chad nodded and pointed to where Jake had been sitting. "He would like a Dr. Pepper. I would like a Coke."
The waitress nodded and looked over at Caitlin with a look that said, "If you have to hang around him all day, I feel sorry for you." "What would you like to drink?"
Caitlin remarked, "I'd like a Shirley Temple."
"Done." The waitress then walked away from the table.
After a few minutes, Jake came back to the table. The waitress was just bringing their drinks. Once she put down their drinks on the table, she inquired, "Are y'all ready to order?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Chad nodded convincingly. "This lunch is on me. I would just like a salad."
Caitlin grinned meanly and remarked, "Me? I'd like a ribeye."
Chad's eyebrow raised when she asked for a ribeye. "How much is that?"
"About twenty bucks."
Chad sighed and nodded. "Alright."
Jake looked down and whispered, "I'd just like a hamburger."
"Done." The waitress walked away from the table again.
Jake sighed and remarked, "You probably need to know all the info and stuff for our wedding..." He pulled out an envelope and handed it to Caitlin. "This has pretty much all of the information."
Caitlin whispered, "Thanks." She opened the envelope slowly and pulled out a letter. Inside the letter, it read: "You are invited to a wedding. Congrats. It's at a small place called Hamster City Outskirts Chapel in the outskirts near the suburbs on this Saturday. You can't miss it. There is a sign next to it that says, 'Welcome to Hamster City Outskirts Chapel!' Yeah. Wear formal clothes. No duh, this is a wedding. Ha ha ha. Ha. Don't dress like this is a fricking funeral. You don't have to R.S.V.P. 'cause I don't have a home phone. I don't have enough money for electricity. If you see me before the wedding, you can tell me if you're coming. If I don't see you or you don't contact me, I suppose you're coming. Oh, and it's at noon. But I'm no good at these invite things, so I'll shut up now. -Jake."
"Hmm...it's quite confusing." Caitlin shrugged.
Jake twiddled his thumbs some more as he whispered, "There's this chapel called Hamster City Outskirts Chapel. It's not that big, but it's pretty nice, I think. Just wear formal clothes. If you think you can come, just tell me now. I'll be pretty busy for the rest of the week, so I probably won't see you until then."
Caitlin nodded. "Of course, I'll be there! So will Dilla and Natalie. We'll all be there!" I can't miss this opportunity! Good thing Mike didn't hold me back today like he did to Natsu and Megan..., she thought.
Jake smiled and blushed mildly. "Good."
Later...
"Hmm...I can't think up much more," Mike mumbled as he glanced over at Roger. Roger was organizing everything in the order it would come in.
"Too baad we do not know zee place where they are goeeng to haave eet aat...," Roger said. "Then we could plaan eexactly where we would be."
Mike nodded. "Too bad. Don't worry, I think CC can figure it out. I mean, she's good at getting things out of people, isn't she?"
"Oui," Roger replied. "You almost sound aas eef you like her more thaan you always say."
"...So?"
"...Never mind." Roger shrugged as he looked back down at the pen he was holding in his left paw.
Suddenly Mike's cellphone rang with its ringtone, which was Evening. Mike glanced over at it and answered it. "Hashaa?"
"Mike!" Caitlin's voice came from the receiver.
"CC?" Mike answered. "What's up?"
"Akay, I'm in the bathroom of this one restaurant, and you'll NEVER believe it!!!"
"Believe what?"
"...I know where the wedding's gonna be."
"...WHERE?!?!?!?!?! WHERE IS IT?!?!?!?!?!"
"It's a place called Hamster City Outskirts Chapel. You know where I'm talking about?"
"...I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THAT'S AT!!! WHEN IS IT?!?!?!?!?!"
"It's on Saturday at noon. I got an invitation, and you can see it when I get back."
"...GET BACK HERE NOW! I NEED TO SEE THIS! CC, YOU'RE DOING GREAT! THANKS TO YOU, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAVE STELLA!!!"
"Akay...can you just stop yelling into the phone?"
"...Uh, yeah, sure. Just get back here N-O-W!!!"
"I gotta finish having lunch with this crew. I'll come back as soon as I get out of this restaurant."
"...Okay. Just hurry as FAST as you can." Mike then hung up the phone.
Roger glanced at Mike and inquired, "Thaat waas Cait weeth good news?"
"Yes, Roger," Mike replied with a relieved smile. "We're not too late...yet..."
Roger smiled with relief in his eyes. "Does she know eef Stella eez alright?"
Mike glanced down at the floor. "She didn't mention Stella. I hope to God she's alright... Roger, go tell everyone else. NOW!"
Roger stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "Oui, Master Mike," he replied as he bowed and ran out of the room.
With Stella...
Stella still clung to the nameless hamster. The voiceless hamster hugged her affectionately while mouthing things that didn't come out. She whispered to the hamster, "I hope Mike's alright. I don't think there's any hope now... They won't find me in time before the wedding. What will I do, Jamie? I'm gonna be forced to marry Jake, and I won't be able to do anything... What will I do?!"
The nameless hamster glared down at the floor. He didn't reply in any way except for shrugging doubtedly. He looked back up at Stella and mouthed something else. Stella looked up at him and whispered, "Yeah... You've must've been here for a long time. I guess you're used to it by now... Hmm..."
Later...
Caitlin burst out of the restaurant as soon as she could. Chad kept on talking, and she finally got up and left, saying that she had an important appointment at the doctor's office. She left Chad and Jake alone as she ran down the sidewalks to the river and crossed it. She then ran down toward the place where the Bad Hams were staying.
Once she got there, Caitlin was alone in the front room for only a split second. Mike came running up to her with Roger following close behind. "CC! You got it?!?!?! You got it?!?!?!"
"Yea, right here," Caitlin said as she handed Mike the envelope that held the invite.
Mike eagerly ripped the invite out of the envelope and read it a few times. "Man, he's bad at wording things, isn't he? Hmm... Look at this, Roger. What do you think?"
Roger looked at it and whispered, "He eez aas baad aas moi wheen I write theengs."
"Yeah, considering you write in French half of the time and I can't read French."
"Haha, 'do not dress like thees eez a freeking foonairaal.'! Eet eez heez!"
"Hmm... You've a point," Caitlin replied.
"He doesn't even have electricity! What a wretch," Mike said.
"I already told him we were coming. Well, me, Natalie, and Dilla."
"Grand, so he's not expecting the Bad Hams?"
"Nope. He only expects us three."
"Grand!" Mike flashed his daring, brown eyes. "Well, I'll let you rest for a while, and Roger and I will organize this with Becky. Oh, Natalie and Dilla are upstairs somewhere."
Caitlin nodded as she ran up the stairs. She immediately heard Mike yell, "DON'T RUN!" Caitlin slowed her pace to a fast walk as she walked down the long hallway at the top of the stairs. When Caitlin got to the game room, which was practically like a large arcade, there was Natsu and Megan playing on the pinball machine. Caitlin crossed over and shouted, "Guess what, y'all!"
"What?" Natsu and Megan inquired as they turned around toward her.
"Akay, the enthusiastic idiot gave me an invite to the wedding! We know EVERYTHING now! We can get back Stella now! We can get revenge! We can do ANYTHING now! Aren't you two excited? Huh, huh, huh???"
"Woot," Natsu responded.
"Revenge is healthy," Megan said with a wink.
"I can't believe you survived him alone and lived long enough to get an invite out of him..."
"Akay, y'all, you PROMISE not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you right now?"
"Of course!" the two ham gals replied in unison.
"...I met Jake at noon today."
"...OH MY GOD!" Megan shouted. "YOU MET HIM?! DID YOU TELL MIKE?!"
"...No, that's why you can't tell anyone I met him. He's actually a regular looking guy. You'd expect him to be all 'big and bad', but he's just like any old regular guy. He has HUGE eyes, and he's beige with peanut butter brown spots. Jake inquired me, like, ten thousand times if I knew the Bad Hams, but that's just a well-rounded estimate. He also thinks Stella is 'pure'."
"...She's not?" Natsu asked as the color faded from her face.
"Nope. It's one of her 'darkest secrets'."
"Freaky...," Megan muttered. "I did NOT need to know that..."
"And Jake was the one who gave me the invite."
"Weird," Natsu said.