Awakening: Third Stage
Chapter Seven
"Invisible Hand"
Saturday
The ferry made its way leisurely across the bay, a large wake trailing behind it, while the afternoon sub caught the crests of waves at the bow. Tish stood at the railing in the front port side of the little ship. Gusts of wind wafted in from the bay, blowing Tish's hair in several different directions. She absently fingered one of the purple clips in her hair, a simple yet effective mainstay that had been keeping stray strands of hair out of her eyes for years.
Tino was sitting on a bench not far away; the deck was lined with them. Silently, he watched Tish. It was in these sorts of quiet moments that he learned the most about her. One thing he had come to appreciate, that Tish was by far a young woman of quiet dignity. She possessed a great passion for what she believed in, and would always stand up for her beliefs, no matter what adversity she encountered. She did have to stand up her friends from time to time, perhaps they would never see eye to eye on everything. Her heart definitely ran deep. She was open and honest, and had a quiet beauty about her that was never overt.
Tino felt a need to go to her, ask what was weighing on her mind. Did she sometimes ponder the same things he did on his own? Did she feel the nearly imperceptible tug of the world, calling to her as it did to him? Drawn to his longtime friend and significant other, he slowly pulled himself up and crossed the distance to her. Resting his head on her left shoulder and wrapping his arms around her waist, he said nothing, silently looking out at the bay with her. A small smile formed on the girl's lips. "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?" She asked.
"We're not the most traditional couple." Tino offered. "I blame my mom."
"We're not so different, you and I." Tish confirmed. She leaned back against him, allowing Tino to support her. He had to shift his feet, be he managed to maintain his balance. See?"
"Wasn't that a little dangerous?" Tino felt a growing concern.
"I knew you wouldn't let me fall."
"How?"
"Because it's not in your nature to let one of your friends get hurt. Especially me, I hope."
"I never knew you had such trust in me."
"After all the years we've known each other, I don't see how I couldn't."
"I don't get it."
Tish turned to look at him, her face an enigma. As she looked him up and down, seemingly studying the boy, Tino felt the distinct impression that he was being measured. Feeling satisfied, Tish removed her glasses. "Look me I the eye and tell me what you see."
"I see you."
Tish placed a hand on his chin and elevated it slightly, forcing him to look her deep in the eyes. "Look closer."
"In your eyes. . .it's like. . .I feel like I'm a little kid again, gazing up at the stars. The stars in your eyes."
"You put them there."
"Do I?"
"Of course."
"You're in a mood, aren't you?" Tino chided.
"It's a romantic cruise around the bay! Well, okay, maybe it's not overly romantic. . .but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Someday I hope to go on a real one, though." Tish said in mock defiance.
"Tish, you're babbling. What's wrong?"
"Do you ever get tired of me?" She asked, sighing.
"Tired of you? Why would I?"
I'm not the only girl in Bahia
Bay. Did you know that
Dot Cardigan has a crush on you, for instance?" Tish cocked an eyebrow.
"What? Dot Cardigan? I had no idea!"
"Tino, she's been pining over you forever. Since before you and I ever started dating."
"I never knew." Tino felt embarrassed over being so clueless.
"You never were very good at picking up on signals. Back when I was trying to get you to notice me, I had considered flat out jumping you, I was feeling so frustrated."
"I guess I just had trouble seeing you outside of friendship. Until that time, you were never a girl to me. You were Tish, and Lor was Lor, and Carver was Carver. It never mattered to me whether you were a boy or a girl, or what country you came from, or what you liked to do in your spare time. The friendship all of us shares runs deeper than gender or interests." Tino insisted.
"Whatever happened to your feelings for Tasha?"
"What? Tish, I got together with you. That night we kissed each other, everything changed."
"And so you forgot about her?"
"Of course not! But it wasn't the same. All I really wanted after that was to hold you again. It wasn't an easy time for me, I felt guilty." Tino sighed.
"Because of Tasha?" Tish persisted.
"No, because of you. I was afraid I was doing something wrong, or taking advantage of you. You were. . .you still are my friend."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Absolutely! Why wouldn't I? Tish, what's up with the third degree? Are you breaking up with me?"
"No, not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. Tino, after we go to this dance, we're going to be high profile. I just wanted to make sure that we're together for the right reasons. I don't want it to be out of convenience or because it's what we've always done. I know we've been through this before, but it's important to me."
"It's okay, I understand."
"Are you sure? I'm getting a little tall, Tino. You talk about non-traditional. . ."
"Maybe I can will my muscles into a growth spurt."
Tish laughed playfully at him. "You might not grow at all if you keep eating you're mom's cooking."
"I know. My mom's not a bad cook though, really. She's just a weird cook."
"You know, Tino, between your mom's health foods and my mom's recipes from the Old Country, something really insidious could be produced."
"You think we should enter a pact to keep our moms from swapping recipes?"
"I'll let you know the next time I come over for dinner." Tish smiled. She turned back to look over the railing, and the waves rolling in from the bay.
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Lor pulled Carver to a stop in the middle of the walkway, inclining her head towards the dart toss booth. "I thought we were going to shoot air rifles." Carver reminded her.
"We will, but c'mon, I love a good dart toss. It always feels good to make those balloons pop." Lor trotted over to the game and passed a dollar to the man behind the counter, who in turn provided her with three darts. "C'mon, Carv. First one to miss loses. Deal?"
"Okay, you've got my interest. I'll bite." Carver exchanged his buck for three darts and waited his turn.
Lor snapped her wrist back in quick succession, launching all three of her darts in minimal time and never missing a balloon. "I believe that makes it your turn." She smiled wickedly.
"Man, you are good at this. Okay, here we go." Taking a different approach, Carver lined up each shot, taking careful aim before releasing his darts. Yet Carver's method proved just as effective as Lor's, and all his balloons popped. "Back at ya." Carver smirked.
"You're better at this then I expected." Lor admitted with respect as she spent another dollar on simple game. Twenty-three seconds later, there were 3 more balloons missing from the big board. Play continued in this manner for a good seven rounds, neither player yielding and each of them climbing their way up the booth's prize ladder. "This isn't getting us anywhere." Lor laughed as she took one of the largest prizes, a stuffed polar bear, away from the game. Carver selected a gray rhinoceros and both friends continued down the midway. "Okay, you were right. The air rifles it is."
"Those were some pretty wicked shots." Carver commented. "You're a heck of a dart player."
"Ah, it's all in the wrist." Lor brushed off the comment. "Of course, some of us just have natural talent."
"Right." Carver rolled his eyes as they came up on the rifle booth. "Now, here's a test of skill. One hundred bullets to knock out the star entirely. Think you're up to it?"
"I've never been one to shy away from a challenge. Um, except maybe for snake handling, I draw the line at that."
Each of them paid their dues and waited for their targets to be setup. As the signal to begin was given, Lor quickly realized that this wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded. Each bullet seemed to do a miniscule amount of damage and the rifle's aim was not pinpoint accurate. She snuck a peek over at Carver and noticed that he appeared to be doing a bit better, but it still didn't look as though it would be good enough to win. Grinning to herself, Lor squeezed the trigger hard and tried to overwhelm the paper target. She succeeded in cutting the heart out of it, but she quickly ran out of ammo, with some of the outline of her target remaining. She felt a little disappointed, she had expected this game to be a lot easier than it really was. Stepping back from the counter, Lor noticed that Carver had not yet finished, he still had a small amount of his bullets remaining. It appeared as though there were only a few lines left of his star. It was feasible that Carver could pull it off, but given the accuracy of the rifles, unlikely. Half a minute later, Lor's hunch was proven correct when Carver's gun ran dry and a few red markings on the two lower points of the star remained. Still, when compared to Lor's own target, it was no trouble to discern the winner.
"Well Carv, I guess you're a better player than I had planned on. You just took the lead!" Lor slapped him on the back.
"It's all in the, uh, trigger finger." Carver smirked through his best attempt to mock the girl.
"Right. . ." Lor sighed with sarcasm. "At least I know I can beat you at our next event."
"And what, pray tell, would that be?"
"The good ol' strength tester. I so rule at that!"
"So it all comes down to which of us is the strongest? I see. This should be interesting." Carver rubbed his palms against each other conspiratorially.
"It was your idea to challenge me." Lor shrugged
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The strength tester stood tall among the midway, bright flashing lights and loud sound effects going off every time someone picked up one of the mallets. When someone managed to hit it hard enough to send the light up to the top, the glowing ball would explode with colors and a shrill whine passed over the immediate area, designed to draw the attention of the crowd.
Lor eagerly went first once they arrived at the girl. They both agreed to limit themselves to two whacks. Lor hefted the mallet, balancing it in her hands to get a good feel before finally letting loose her first blow. She swung the oversized hammer over her shoulder, then poured all her strength into one hit, the pressure plate giving a satisfying amount of feedback. Lor watched the light travel a good distance up the bar, naming her as a "good sport" when the light hit its peak, then it fell back to the bottom. Having gotten a better feel for the system. She immediately swung again, throwing every last drop she could muster into this hit, striking a blow for womanhood. Luck and skill appeared to shine on her this evening, as this time she fell only half a foot short of the top.
"Okay, Carver, think you can beat that?" Lor deferred her post to her friend, drops of sweat appearing on her forehead.
"No." Carver admitted, but stepped up to the plate anyway. If he was destined to lose, he was going to give it his all. He tried to take a stance similar to Lor's, but his first blow came in resoundingly weak, and even his second was less than spectacular, rising only to the halfway point. Still, after all 3 events, it had ended in a tie. All in all, things could've been worse. "Okay Lor, so I guess this means you're stronger than me."
"Yeah, but don't let it get you down. It's my parents' fault for having too many kids. In my house, arguments are usually solved by whomever can punch hardest. Except of course for my mom."
"She objects?" Carver wondered.
"No, she's off limits. Without her, we wouldn't have anything to eat! She makes all the meals, that counts for a lot more than you might think."
"Well, someone has to feed that big family of yours."
"My mom thinks of us as more of an army. Still, there's always enough to go around. Unless of course you're really slow." Lor added.
"You know, all this talk of food is making me hungry."
Lor slapped her forehead. "Didn't you eat like that entire carton of ice cream last night?"
"Yeah, but that was last night." Carver persisted. "Food now!"
"Shouldn't we wait for Tino and Tish?"
"They could be gone for a long time. . ."
"Good point. Bring on the grub!"
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It was Tino who spotted Carver and Lor sitting at a table in the Star Garden. The Star Garden, was essentially a wide open area of tables with clear light bulbs running overhead. The entire garden was ringed with different food booths, enough different tastes were presented to satisfy just about anyone. Lor was eating a large bread bowl filled with New England clam chowder, while Carver was working on a platter of tacos that had probably taken a good chunk out of his weekly shoe budget, considering amusement park prices. Tino had just gotten himself several slices of fried dough in a soda, while Tish was still busy getting her dinner, steamed vegetables and a side salad.
"So how did your little competition go?" Tino asked while ripping into his dinner.
"Well," Carver began, "overall it was a tie."
"Yeah," Lor added, "except you forgot to mention the part where we proved how much stronger I am than you."
"Do you have to tell everyone?" Carver moaned.
Tino was impressed. "Whoa! Go Lor! What's your secret?!"
"I had kind of an unfair advantage. Conflicts in my house tend to get settled by brute force. Or my mom. Whichever is easier." She shrugged, taking another spoonful of chowder half of which outlined her mouth. "So what about your cruise?"
"Wasn't anything like I expected." Tino said non-chalantly.
"You guys didn't have a good time?" Lor wondered.
"I wouldn't say that." Tino replied, eating his dinner.
"Ooooooh, I get it. You had a really good time, huh? A magical time!" Carver grinned, elbowing his friend.
"I wouldn't say that either." Tino said evenly.
"Okay, I officially don't get it." Lor felt frustration growing rapidly within her.
"I guess you just needed to be there." Tino explained. "Don't worry about it. So, what do you guys say we get a little fun in on the Ferris wheel?"
"No way we're gonna skip that!" Lor grinned. "It's tradition!"
"I'm with her." Carver said around mouthfuls of pseudo-Mexican food.
Tish arrived bearing a small, steaming tray. "Did I miss anything?"
"We were just talking about going on the Ferris wheel." Indicated Carver.
"So soon after eating? We'll get sick!" Tish provided the voice of reason.
"It's only the Ferris wheel." Tino argued. "It doesn't even go fast. It's not like the Whip-A-Canoe." Tino thought he heard a strange sound come from Lor at the mention of her favorite ride.
"Perhaps…" Tish began to concede, forking different vegetables into her mouth and sipping a cup full of green tea.
"Where would we be without our mother hen?" Lor snickered.
"That's what I sometimes wonder." Tish twisted the barb back at her friend. "I suppose the Ferris wheel couldn't hurt, but I want to hit the arcade after that."
"If we have time." Carver grinned. "It's also traditional for us to get stuck on the wheel for an hour or so."
"Yeah, why is that?" Tino asked.
"Just like I guess." Lor yawned. "Come on, we don't have all day."
"We can't all eat as fast as you!" Carver complained.
"I know you can!" Lor shot back.
"Well, yeah, but my speed is being effected by quantity. It takes a long time to eat three family packs."
"Gee, I wonder why." Tish rolled her eyes.
"Just remember, we agreed no more of those beef and bean burritos for you." Tino smiled."
"Okay, now I thought that was on our list of things we promised never to talk about again!" Carver was clearly upset.
"He's right about that." Tish said. "We should be more considerate of our promises."
"Ha!" Carver countered. "Finally, a point for me."
"We all have our off days." Lor laughed.
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The Ferris wheel, as usual, got stuck when they were at the top. It was yet another tradition when traveling to Tesla Park. The infernal contraption knew exactly when the four of them got on together.
"Well, here we are again." Tino sighed.
"Yup." Lor added.
"Uh-huh." Carver agreed.
"Yep." Tish carried the motion.
"You know," Carver smiled, "at times like this, when we're all together, looking out over the ocean, just enjoying one another's company, I find myself thinking about-"
"Shoes?" Lor, Tino, and Tish said simultaneously.
"Yeah. I wonder why that is?"
"Because you're always thinking about shoes?" Lor suggested.
"Can't argue that. But seriously though, it's good to be with you guys. I'm glad we can spend time like this. Because someday, we're going to grow up, things will change, and one of us may be out of the loop. I think we should always enjoy our company while we have it.
"That was well spoken, Carver." Tish beamed.
"Thank you."
Nothing else needed to be said as the sun slowly set, accentuating the lights of Tesla Park. Being together as friends was the greatest gift that they all shared equally.
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And here we come to the end of the chapter, I hope you enjoyed yourself. I hope you're all prepared for a fun ride, because next time out, Lor has her date with Thompson. It's sure to be one for the record books.
I'm aware I kind of slowed things down with this one, took a little time to smell the roses. It's not the first time I've done that, and it probably won't be the last. But sometimes I feel it's important to do, especially considering how much I have to accomplish this stage, how crazy things will become. I want you all to be able to look back on the more simplistic pieces like this, not to mention the characters themselves.
I'm feeling pretty good about this because I managed to get it out on time without a tremendous amount of effort. Perhaps it isn't my best work, but after reading it again, I think it's pretty decent. Here's hoping you all enjoyed it. Meet me back here next time for some excitement, Lor style. As always, keep reading and reviewing!
Send all questions, comments, compliments, complaints, love letters, death threats, marriage proposals, and ransom demands to:
Lord Malachite
4/17/04
12:37 AM, EST
E-mail: ranger_writer@yahoo.com
AIM: Asukaphile26
