Chapter Two.
Feed a hangover, starve the flu.
The alarm clock trilled happily, vibrating across the bedside table, its little black hands jabbing at the midday mark. Kai groaned and rolled over, slamming his hand down on the table. He missed the clocked, but thumped the wood hard enough that the whole table tipped over with a loud crash. His brain shrieked at him to stop making noise, and finally, the clock went silent, having rung for the obligatory minute.
Sitting up slowly, Kai vowed to never, ever, drink again. He swore there was a steamroller moving slowly over his brain. He needed a shower. Then he might go over and hurt Tala for making him get so drunk.
Kai staggered to his feet and stumbled into the bathroom, peeled off his tee-shirt and boxer shorts and got into the shower. Water ran down his shoulders and over his face. His head still pounded, but that was nothing a little bit of breakfast at that nice little café in town wouldn't fix. Feed a hangover, starve the flu... Or was it the other way around? I don't care. I just want breakfast.
Drying himself off, Kai selected his usual dark jeans and black tee-shirt, then pulled on his jacket and trudged out of his room. In the ground floor living room, he could hear his parents arguing about something in the newspaper. Kai slipped as quietly as he could down the corridor and grabbed his keys, then slipped out of the front door and into the Jaguar. God, he hated that car. The seats were too squashy, and the dashboard was just so tacky, covered in all his fathers high tech little gizmos. His Ferrari back in Japan, now that was a car to be seen in.
It was a five minute drive at break neck speed up the little country lane to Tala's house. The huge iron gates, flanked by even bigger stone columns, were wide open as usual, the little intercom system blinking furiously. Kai drove past and watched the camera turn its beady little sensors on him. Behind the two way glass, Kai gave it the finger and roared off up the long drive.
Parking the car, Kai got out and locked it, grinding his teeth as it made its annoying little chirruping noise. Swinging the keys round his finger, he meandered round to the side of the manor and wandered in through the kitchen door. Regan looked up from the table and smiled, her hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing old khaki cut-offs and a white tank-top.
"Morning," she murmured, slipping out of her chair and flipping the switch on the kettle.
"Huhn," Kai grunted, flopping down in a chair and rubbing his head. "Tala up yet?"
Regan snorted derisively and gave him a flat look.
"What do you think? Nobody's up. The parents had far too much wine, and I don't know what the hell Tala drank, but whatever it was most certainly didn't like him."
"Sick?"
"As a dog. I reckon he got in about six this morning and went straight up to bed, then got up at eleven to throw up and submerged again."
Kai rolled his eyes and winced as the toaster popped up with a grating snap. Regan fished the toast out and began lathering on butter. She popped it on a plate and placed it on the table in front of him, then poured hot water into a cup of coffee granules and slowly stirred them.
"Sugar and milk?" She asked.
"Neither, thanks," he said taking a bite out of his toast. She nodded and made up his coffee, put the mug down in front of him, then flipped her magazine shut and sat back in her chair. They sat in silence for a while as Kai chomped through his toast. Finishing his last mouthful, he brushed the crumbs off his fingers and picked up his steaming mug.
"So, you all ready for your nine month holiday in Japan?" He asked, taking a sip of coffee. Regan smiled and fiddled with the corner of her magazine.
"I'm going there to study the art, you cheeky bastard" She said, stubbing at the nose of the girl on the front of the magazine. "Besides, it means I miss the first school term."
"Oh absolutely."
"And anyway, it's about time you got someone in that dojo who can actually cook," she added breezily.
Kai laughed. Despite the fact that there were two perfectly capable girls in the dojo, neither Mariah nor Hilary could cook. Neither could clean either, and the boys most certainly weren't donning aprons and dusters just for the sake of it. That was what maid services were for.
"Hey, we manage fine thank you very much."
Regan snorted.
"Oh, pur-lease. You couldn't cook tinned beans with an adult present, my dear. And Tala… well… I don't even want to think about the kind of damage he could do with a kitchen full of sharp things." She smiled and raised her eyebrows.
Kai smiled and stood up. He took his cup and plate over to the dishwasher and slid them in, slamming the door shut with a heavy clunk, and strolled back over to the table and sat down.
"I've got to warn you though, Lei is nasty. And Bryan takes some getting used to-"
"Yes, Kai sweetie, I know Bryan's a bitch, I've met him, but I'm sure I can hold my own. It's sharing a bathroom with Tala that I'm worried about."
Kai grinned, and checked his watch, surprised to see that it was already past one, and stood up.
"Right, well thanks for breakfast, but I really better had go and start packing again, but in the mean time, get your lazy shite of a brother up and tell him that if he isn't up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, my folks aren't going to drive him to the airport. That goes for you too, devushka."
Regan rolled her eyes and muttered darkly in Russian.
"Bloody hell, remind me why exactly I'm going with you two?"
"Because, Ivanhov, the alternative is Finishing School. And I know you don't want that."
Again, reviews welcome, flames ridiculed.
