Awakening: Third Stage
Chapter Nine
"Last Dance Before An Execution"
Homecoming
Feeling nervous was not a sensation that she was accustomed to. Yet between the dress she was going with, and the variety of hairstyles she had spent the afternoon trying, she still couldn't arrive at a decision. How could she possibly feel anything but anxiety? When 4:30 arrived and she still hadn't come up with a plan, a higher power had arrived to save the day, and all was right with the world once more, sort of.
Tish Katsufrakis put down her copy of the New World Encyclopedia (Volume H) to inspect the miracle her mother had intervened to bestow upon her. Miracle, indeed, was the best word for it. "Mama, you're a fashion genius!" Tish exclaimed, twirling around in a complete circle.
"But of course! I am egg salad with hair fission!" Her mother responded in her trademark thick accent.
"I'll say!" Things were definitely looking up. Tish held her dress in front of her, admiring her new look. "Yes! The curls on the ends line up perfectly with the dress! Thank you mama!"
"Is nothing!" Now, hurrying up and go change into dress before time is running out!"
The "transformation" went quicker than Tish expected, and twenty minutes later, Tish found that she had some trouble believing that she was the young woman staring back in the mirror. Perhaps she would have to rethink her wardrobe, blue looked much better on her than she recalled. Satisfied that her outfit was ready, Tish crossed to the small dresser where she kept her accessories. She knew she had a makeup kit in one of her drawers, but she had decided to forego it. She wanted people to like her for who she was, not who she could make herself appear to be. Which brought to mind a similar decision. A small box rested near the corner of the surface, one she rarely took out, but perhaps this was a proper occasion. She had never been fond of contact lenses. They were exceedingly difficult to put in and take out, they made her eyes feel boogery, and she would sometimes forget she had them on, thinking she lost her glasses somewhere. Her glasses were not unlike an extension of herself, and she wasn't vain enough to give them up.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a ring of the doorbell. Had her date arrived already? Suddenly, the entire afternoon she had spent in frantic preparation seemed like nothing. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard her father calling down the hallway, announcing Tino's presence. "Tell him to come to my room, Papa! It's all right, I'm already dressed."
Half a minute later, Tish heard the slow tapping of footsteps down the hall while she gave her new hairdo one last look in the mirror. "Come in," Tish called as she heard the knock on her door.
"Hi Tish." Tino started. "I came to pick you up but I wasn't. . .sure. . ."
"What?" Tish asked, feeling self-conscious when she realized Tino was staring at her. "Oh, right. I clean up good, don't I?" She giggled.
"Tish, I don't think you want to be seen next to me. You look to good! All I did was put on a nice pair of pants, a jacket, and slick my hair down."
"Don't be silly, you look fine!"
"Are you sure?"
"Tino, it's fine, really. You're not hung up on appearances, remember?" She laughed.
"Right. But what about you? I've never seen you go to such effort before!"
"Much as you'd love me to placate your fragile male ego and say "I did it all for you," I actually thought I should shake things up a bit. I have to admit, I wasn't very sure about this when Carver chose this outfit for me, but now I think it's great. I wouldn't want to wear it everyday or anything, but it looks better on me than I recalled at the fashion store."
"You're beautiful, Tish. Really, I mean that."
"Thank you. Every girl needs to hear that every once in awhile. And I couldn't think of a more handsome escort." Tish smiled, straightening Tino's collar.
"I'm honored to escort you, Miss Katsufrakis."
"Well, you're certainly hitting all the right notes, Tino. So, did you hear from Lor?" Tish asked.
"Last I checked, she was supposed to be meeting Thompson at the dance. Lor was kind of bummed about this weekend because he was so busy packing for the move, Lor hasn't seen him. But she's definitely psyched about this dance."
Tish sighed. "It just doesn't seem right. I'm happy for her, but at the same time, Thompson's going to be leaving. I don't think that's really sunk in for her yet."
"She probably is going to be pretty crushed when that happens." Tino agreed. "But what can we do?"
"The only thing we can do, Tino. We have to be her friends. Carver too."
"Lor's had feelings for him for a long time now. I just hope she's able to get past it. She deserves to be happy."
"I don't know." Tish sighed again. "I mean, I know Lor. She has her passions, and Thompson is definitely one of them. And we know she isn't boy crazy, it's him specifically who she has feelings for. Once he moves, that's going to leave her with a big void, and I don't think it's something that can be filled by just anyone. She really likes him, and I empathize with that. After three years, you start to appreciate that everyone isn't as lucky as you and I."
"You feel guilty, don't you?" Tino asked.
"Maybe a little."
"So do I."
"Yeah? Well then let's do something about it. This is Lor's problem, and we have to be ready to help her. She deserves that." The corners of Tish's lips rose slightly. "Make sure you tell her how pretty she looks tonight, okay? It's important we keep her in high self-esteem."
"I can handle that." Tino confirmed. "What about Carver?"
"Oh, I think we can be sure he'll be with us. He cares about Lor too."
"Sounds good. So now what?"
"Now, as you so pleasantly put before, you have the pleasure of escorting me to the dance." She extended her arm, though it took Tino several seconds to realize that he was supposed to hook it with his own. "You know, we don't get many nights like these. You have to enjoy them while we're young."
"Well, then, I guess it's a good thing we've still got a few good years of our life left." The couple headed toward the dance with warm feelings not only for each other, but for the good friend they feared would soon need a leg up.
The rain slowed them down considerably, as they had to wait for breaks in their travel, making their way to the dance block by block.
Lor was already at the dance before Tino and Tish arrived. She was pacing back and forth, feeling self-conscious in her dress, which still felt entirely out of character for her. Carver was with her, but from the expression on Lor's face, his presence wasn't having a very soothing effect.
"Lor!" Tish called as she and Tino arrived. "You're here already! Wow, you look really good! So how are you doing?"
"Not too good." Lor said shakily. "I'm nervous about all this. I feel really different in this dress, and I'm still worried about looking stupid in front of Thompson. Plus, I'm on my fifth glass of punch, and it really isn't helping that I have to pee every ten minutes."
"Thompson's meeting you here, right?" Tino asked.
"That's what he told me. He said he'd be here at six, but it's already quarter after." Lor groaned.
"Hey, relax." Carver injected. "You said he's packing up this weekend. His family's probably got him all involved. You know that Thompson is a dependable guy, right? He'll be here."
"Thanks Carver." Lor smiled.
"Anytime. And now if you'll excuse me, I see another lovely young woman who's all alone, and definitely in need of a knight in shining armor." He trotted off in the direction of a forlorn looking redhead who looked as though she had been stood up. Tino laughed to himself. That was Carver all right, always ready to come to the aid of a pretty face or a great set of legs.
"You look beautiful, Lor." Tino reassured her.
"Carver said that too." Lor smiled. "It still feels a little weird hearing it from you guys."
"You should get used to hearing that from lots of guys, not just us."
"Okay, now you're starting to sound like an after school special."
"Sorry."
"I'll forgive you as long as you don't mention anything about 'blossoming."
Tish rolled her eyes. She was about to mention the mystical transformations of adolescence, but to the mercy of the others, Ruby and Percy came running up with exciting news.
"Hey! Did you guys hear?!" Percy asked.
"About what?"
"Chloe Montez was in the girls' room when someone burst into her stall! She was so frightened that she jumped clean off her seat." Ruby explained.
"That sounds like Chloe." Lor nodded.
"Ha! That's nothing!" Percy picked up where Ruby left off. "She fell on the floor when she was scared off her seat. She grabbed onto the toilet to help her up, and she accidentally grabbed the flusher. She pulled it so hard, a huge spurt of water shot up and hit the overhead lights. It started a small electrical fire that set off the sprinkler system in there. She got soaked by the sprinklers!"
"Poor Chloe." Tish sounded concerned. "That girl has all the worst luck."
"Yeah." Ruby agreed. "Then the janitor responded to the alarm and came in with the fire extinguisher. He didn't realize she was still in there, so she got covered with the foam."
"Is there no end to her humiliation?!" Tino wondered.
"Well, I think that's about it." Percy noted. "But I think she finally managed to top herself. I think she might have slipped out the back before anyone else could see her. Man, what a story!"
"Is she all right?" Tish asked.
"She's probably had her ego bruised a lot, but in all honesty, she's gotta be used to it by now." Ruby offered. "I know she gets a bum deal, but it's not like anyone does this stuff to her on purpose. She just has some kind of curse, I guess. By the way, nice dress." She added, to change the subject. "You too Lor."
"If anyone ever knew how to wear a formal dress, it's you, Ruby." Lor returned the compliment. "I'm in over my head here."
"This isn't usually my kind of thing either, but I like to dress up from time to time. Besides, Percy cleans up pretty good. We want to have a good picture to take home with us."
"Carver put me up to this." Tish blushed. "I still haven't completely adjusted to this look, but I think I can live with it."
Ruby chuckled. "Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it. That's what these kinds of dances are for."
"Well, if you guys don't mind, I'm going to go freshen up. The punch has caught up with me again." Lor said, walking away.
Ruby called after Lor. "Use the one on the far end of the hallway, the other one is still wet!" Lor signaled a thumbs up in response before disappearing through the double doors of the gym.
As if on cue, the lights darkened as she exited, and a new song came on, "Walkin' On Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. Tish looked over and saw Carver now dancing with the girl who had caught his eye earlier, but it was Tino who noticed the rain soaked figure who had just come into the gymnasium. "Tish! It's Thompson!"
"Huh?" Tish wondered as Tino waved at Thompson, getting his attention. "Thompson's here?" Tish followed Tino's gaze and indeed saw him approaching.
"Um, is it just me, or does he not look ready for a dance?" Ruby voiced the concern on everyone's mind.
"Tish, Tino, man am I glad I found you guys, where's Lor?" Thompson asked when he was finally within earshot.
"She's powdering her nose." Tish explained. "Thompson, um, you look kinda awful, is everything okay?"
"No, it's not. My dad got a phone call an hour ago saying a cab was on the way to our house to pick us up. There's a crisis and his boss needs him in New York and at work for a meeting on Monday morning. We have to leave right away! I convinced my dad to have the cab stop by here so I could say goodbye to Lor. I feel really bad, I know how much this meant to her!"
"She's gonna be crushed!" Tino shouted. "There has to be something we can do!"
"I wish there was." Thompson sighed deeply. "I know how unfair this is to her, but our flight leaves in an hour. I can't stay. Look, I wrote Lor a goodbye letter. I had wanted to give it to her myself next week, but I'm out of time. Can you guys give it to her for me?"
"Of course." Tish reached out and took the proffered envelope with Lor's name on it.
"Listen you guys, this wasn't the way I pictured saying goodbye to any of you, especially Lor. Take care of Lor for me, all right? I've got Lor's number and her address, so I'll be in touch. Feel free to write me too, okay? I'll send Lor my address soon. And tell Carver I said goodbye too. He'll look good on the track team this spring. Later days, right?"
"Right." Tino blinked, feeling like a deer in the headlights.
"Goodbye, Thompson." Tish said sadly.
"Keep it real on the east side." Said Percy.
"Place won't be the same without ya." Ruby smirked. "Take care."
"I will. I really have to go now. Goodbye." Thompson said sadly. He quickly made his way back to the door, then ran out. Tino heard the sound of a car pulling away quickly, presumably the cab.
"Did that really just happen?" Tino asked, finding his voice.
"It certainly was surreal." Tish blinked twice. She looked down at the envelope in her hand. "I can't give this to Lor. It'll tear her apart!"
"I don't want to do it either." Tino sighed. "I hate giving out bad news. Especially news like this."
"I'll do it." Ruby offered. "It seems like every dance I go to, I hand out bad news to somebody."
Tish shook her head. "Thanks Ruby, but you don't have to do that. We're her friends, it's our responsibility."
"Actually," Percy began, "your job is to her friends, to be there for her in her time of need. I think you should let Ruby give her the news. That way if she shoots the messenger, it won't be one of her closest friends."
"Gee, thanks Percy." Ruby chuckled. "It's okay though, really. I see Carver's already enjoying himself." She jerked her thumb out in Carver's direction. "Why don't you two go dance. I'll try and let Lor down as easy as possible. You guys can come in and be her friends afterward."
Tino looked at Tish. "What do you think?"
"I don't know." Tish responded. "On one hand, it sounds pretty good. But on the other hand, I worry about her getting news like this without any of her friends there, especially since we know."
"What if we let Ruby tell her and you and I stand next to her?" Tino asked.
"I guess it's better that than anything else."
"Works for me." Ruby accepted the plan. "Um, Percy, you might wanna go get some punch or something. This is something best handled among us girls."
"Let me know how it works out, then. And tell Lor I'm sorry for her loss. I know we're not exactly friends, but. . .this is a rough break for anyone to have to swallow." He bowed in a gentlemanly manner, then walked over to the refreshments.
"Wait, are you saying I'm one of the girls?" Tino asked. Neither Ruby nor Tish said anything for a moment, leaving an uncomfortable silence.
"Okay," Ruby explained, "so when Lor comes in, let me do the real talking. I'll make myself scarce afterwards so you guys can be there for her." Lor came back through the doors at the moment, and Ruby was suddenly faced with the realization that this might be harder than she had previously thought. "She looks so happy."
"You sure you don't want us to do this?" Tino asked.
"No, giving out bad news at dances is something of a tradition for me." She smirked. "Okay, wish me luck." Ruby smiled and turned in Lor's direction. "Hi Lor. You look really good."
"Um, thanks? You already said that though." Lor wore a puzzled expression.
"Oh, you know me. Sometimes I just have to say things twice."
"Um. . .sure." Lor obviously didn't believe Ruby, but she wasn't about to have an argument about it. "So did Thompson get here yet?" Her lips took on a longing expression.
"Funny you should say that. . ."
"It is?"
"Lor. . .I just want to say I'm sorry about this. Something's kind of come up."
"Okay, what's going on?" Lor demanded. "Tino? Tish? What's happening?"
"Lor. . ." Tish's eyes teared up a bit, and she lifted her glasses to wipe them from her eyes.
"This came for you." Ruby offered the envelope to Lor.
The blonde hesitantly took it from the girl, ripping the end open to read what was inside. One paragraph into it, Lor moved away from the others, walking back out into the hallway. Slowly, she let herself sink to the floor. Her hands shook as she resumed the reading.
Inside, Tino started to follow her, but Tish put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Clearly, this was a time that Lor would be best left alone—there was little anyone could say or do for her to make the situation any better, and that was perhaps the most frustrating element of the whole situation.
"That went well." Tino said quietly.
"I hope she's ready to talk to you guys in a little bit." Ruby exhaled. "Tell her I'm sorry for her loss. No one should have to go through what she is right now, but I guess it can't be helped. Anyway, I should get back to Percy. The big lug needs me next to him to help him look good." She smiled. "Good luck guys."
"Thanks for everything, Ruby." Tino smiled, blushing a little. "And uh, you really look good. Remind Percy of that sometime."
Ruby grinned at him. "I try to a little every day. Still don't know if I show it as well as Tish here." She laughed. "She makes you look good, y'know."
"What, this old thing?" Tish smiled.
"Yeah, that old thing. Anyway, maybe I'll catch you guys on the dance floor."
"Later Ruby!" Tish called as she and Tino watched the girl move off.
With timing usually only found in sitcoms, Carver chose that moment to return to his friends. "Man, that Gwendolyn really knows how to dance. Good looker, too."
"So what happened to her?" Tish asked.
"Turns out my shoes clash with her gloves." Carver explained. "I don't know why I didn't see that in the first place. I must be losing my touch."
"Oh yeah." Tino commented sarcastically. "I can't tell you how many girls I've turned down because our wardrobes don't match."
"Tell me about it." Carver continued, clearly failing to pick up on Tino's sarcasm. Tish wondered if years of close, personal contact with Tino had bled away Carver's ability to detect any sarcasm in his friends. "So anyway, what happened to Lor?"
"You missed the drama." Said Tish, who took a few moments to relate the ongoing saga of Lor and Thompson to Carver.
"Bummer." Carver emphasized. "And she went out into the hallway?"
"Yeah. I thought we should give her a little time to compose herself. This probably hurt her really bad, and I know Lor, she wouldn't want us to see her if she's falling apart."
"Let me go talk to her. You guys just go dance. I know this sounds a little cold, but a lot of preparation went into the evening. You shouldn't let what's happening to Lor ruin that, it's not your fault."
"How are we supposed to have a good time when Lor is so down!" Tino demanded to know.
"Try not to think about it. Look, Lor wouldn't want us all telling her how sorry we are and not having fun on her account. That will just make her feel worse. We'll all do everything we can to help her, I just think I should talk to her first. You guys are a couple, so I really doubt she'd be interested in seeing you right now. If she's angry, she might say something she doesn't mean, and that will just make everything even worse."
"He's right." Tish agreed. "As much as I hate to say it, this is probably the best way. We'll be here if you need us."
"Thanks."
"Hey Carv?" Tino stopped his friend on his way out.
"Yeah?"
"Take care of her, okay?"
"Count on it."
Carver slipped out the door to see if he could help his friend. But Tino still felt powerless. He searched for Tish's hand with his own and gave it a squeeze. "Tish? Is Lor going to be okay?"
"I don't know, Tino. I hope so. She's going through a lot right now, but she's strong."
"I'm glad we were all together when this happened. And I'm glad you're here."
"So am I, Tino. So am I."
The steady beat of rain on the roof seemed to intensify at that moment, like the call of drums in the distance. Tino couldn't help but feel at the moment that they were all being beaten down tonight by an invisible force.
Well, that was certainly fun, wasn't it? I must admit, I was tempted to keep right on going here, but I figured it's more fun to watch all of you wonder what's going to happen next. It's always good to leave your audience wanting more. Much as I'd love to tell you all, I'm sure it will just make you appreciate the next installment all the more.
So next time out? Expect some conversation with Lor, some dancing, some drama, and "the slap heard 'round the dance!"
As always, please write in to tell me how I'm doing, I love hearing from you all out there, even if you aren't happy. There's always room for improvement.
Send your questions, comments, compliments, complaints, love letters, death threats, marriage proposals, and ransom demands to:
Lord Malachite
05/21/04
12:41 AM, EST
E-mail: rangerwriteryahoo.com
AIM: Asukaphile26
