Mel: PLEASE SOMEONE REVIEW
Figgy: I get so lonelyyyyyyy
Chapter Two: My name's Fratley, here's my story…
Mom helps me pack my stuff into boxes and suitcases because I am now moving into Gus' house. YAY!
No more blah from my mother!
When I get there good ol' Gus helps us move everything in. Gus' house is BIG. And I mean big! There are four bedroom and two bathrooms, a huge kitchen, dining room with artificial chandeliers above the dining table, a ginormous lounge with plush whit leather sofas and a large TV, and of course the BRILL HI-FI SYSTEM!
WHEEE! I LOVE THIS PLACE!
"Gus," I say hoarsely, "I will stay here for as long as I live."
Gus chuckles at me. "Great." He says.
"How did you get so much money to spend on all this?" I ask, impressed.
"From my paintings. Oh yeah, you haven't seen my art studio." He says, and he is already running up the stairs, beckoning me to follow.
Ooh….art studio….
Compared to the rest of the house, the studio is very messy. There is a strong smell of paint and clay around the air, and all around are piles of portraits, old pots and palettes full of disused paint, long forgotten.
Looking through the drawings, there are a few of me. I laugh at them because, well, they capture my cheekiness but I look bold and strong. Gus was probably just trying to make me look better as he is in charge of painting the Royal Dragoon Knights, which is what I am part of. I don't think people would think a painting of me outgoing and mischievous (or worse, drunk) would go very well as a knight…
I look at his main easel and immediately recognize the girl in the painting.
"It's Nina!" I laugh. I look at Gus. He has oddly turned a shade of pink. Hmm…could Gus have a thing about Nina? Hmmm…
I have a look through some old paintings and find quite an old one at the bottom. It's of a girl dressed in red armor and with a winged hat perched on her head. It looks extremely like –
"Freya Crescent." I read out from the bottom. I get a surge of guilt from spotting the yellow ribbon tied on to her tail. It really makes me feel bad when I remember that I was the one who gave her the ribbon. I sigh and put the painting back down. Gus puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"She looks really young in that," I comment.
"She was," Gus informs me. "About 18 – 19, I'd say. It was before she left to…you know…look for you."
I look at Freya's eyes. They look so sad; anyone would be reduced to tears. Except Irontail Fratley (man, I love that nickname!)!
During the day we look through Gus' videos and DVDs, and sing along loudly to "Wuthering Heights" with me squeaking the high bits, Gus realises that it's time for him to get some shopping done so we go to the supermarket to get FOOD!
One of the main things we need to get is food for tonight.
"What do you want for tea tonight, Gus?" I ask. Gus shrugs.
"Don't mind," he says.
I browse through the things in the freezers.
"Beef hotpot?" I ask. Gus shakes his head.
"Yuck." He says. Ok, obvious no then.
"Sweet and sour chicken?"
"Sauce is cheap."
I am close to cracking now.
"Mama Celine's Oglop Casserole with extra Oglop Oil and Gysahl pickles for extra flavor?" I joke.
"Who put that there?" Gus says.
"Macaroni-and-cheese?" I ask through gritted teeth.
"Macaroni, me no lik-ee." Gus says.
"Well-damn it, Gus-just PICK SOMETHING!"
"How about lasagna?"
"I – fine." I say, picking two lasagnas from the freezer and plopping them into the basket.
I'd better ask Gus how his family is or something. It would be quite rude after the moaning about my mother and – oh CRAP is that NINA?
"Crap it's Nina!" I hiss and shove Gus's head into the freezer.
Nina walks up to us. "Hi Frats." She says. She then looks puzzled at Gus. "What's up with him?"
"Oh – er – had a headache." I try to explain.
Nina nods slowly, probably not convinced.
Gus emerges, face all a-blue. Nina looks at me.
"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she asks. Oh dear, I'm in trouble.
WE hide into the next aisle.
"All right, what have I done now?" I sulk. Nina blinks at me and then bursts out laughing, shaking her head.
"Oh Frats, you haven't done anything! I was just checking that it was tonight we were going down to the Pimento." The Pimento is a weird nightclub place.
"Oh…OH! Excuse me…" I dart back to Gus, utter "You're eating alone." Then dart back to Nina.
"Yeah, that's fine!" I say. Nina nods with me and walks off. In go back to Gus who is slightly miffed. I guess I was going a bit OTT with the freezer thing.
"So you've got a date with Nina." He says.
"WHAT? Not a date! Just a – getting together, mate." I say, reassuringly. Gus smiles at me. I like being an angel…
Especially when I need to help my best friends get together of YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN GUS AND NINA!
Hmmm…as we are walking down the aisle that has Valentine's stuff (such as lovey-dovey toy turtle doves cooing and fluffy-wuffy toy bunny rabbits – who in their right mind would buy THESE?) I remember that I still have not found a date for the ball. Well, 6 people have turned me down…but that's not the point! I need to find one NOW! OK, big dude up in the sky, if you really love me, the girl of my dreams that I really deserve will come down the aisle RIGHT NOW…
A very old woman with gray hair and brown teeth comes down the aisle, smiling at me as she goes past. I fake a smile back.
"Thanks." I mutter darkly under my breath, looking up. "Thanks a lot."
Gus apparently finds it hilarious that I am actually putting on AFTERSHAVE for tonight. I am doing my best to explain it is just in case I meet a really pretty girl (aka the one of my dreams) and not just for Nina. He will not stop laughing. Grrrrrrr…
Nina looks at me confused when she comes to pick me up. I have actually brushed my hair (LOCK UP YOUR DOORS, WEAR PADDE CLOTHING, THE EARTH IS ABOUT TO COLLIDE INTO THE SUN!) and experimented with some hair gel.
"Um…nice to know you've made an effort to look nice for tonight, Fratley." Nina says, unsure whether to laugh or be worried.
"Yeah, it's just for – you know – in case-"
"I get it, I get it!" Nina rolls her eyes to heaven. Noticing out of the corner of my eye I spot Gus going pink and staring at the floor.
If only I could get Nina to notice him, she always seems to be centering her attention to me, while Gus is pathetically acting as my shadow, thinking, "Hello, I am here, you know?" Poor guy.
Anyway, Nina and I arrive in The Pimento.
There is a lot of loud music everywhere, with lights flashing all sorts of colours. There are people dancing, people drinking at the bar, having a good time, blah-de-blah-de-blah…
WE get a table and looking over the crowd I spot none other than Ol' Snoddly. He seems to have a crowd of adoring fans around him.
Tempting as it is, I'm not going to start hitting people with a crowbar…shame…
"Frats, have you got a date for the ball?" Nina asks me, snapping me out of my "killing Snoddly trance".
I start banging my head on the table, and Nina has to stop me from getting my skull cracked.
"Ok, ok, looks like a no!" she laughs.
"What am I going to do, Nina?" I ask sadly. She shrugs her shoulders at me and shakes her head. Great friend you are, mate. I look back at Snoddly.
"Hey, that's your master Snoddly!" Nina says, (well done…clap-clap-clap…) (notice my sarcasm)
"Snoddly? HAH! More like Snottly!" I joke. I crack up laughing. Nina blinks at me.
"What's he done now?" she asks.
I act not bothered, "Oh, nothing, just more handsome than me, gets more girls than me, can't talk to me without twitching his nose as if I'm a bad smell, take your pick!"
Nina sighs. "At least the pay is good."
Ooh…I never thought about that…
I mean, Gus gets a decent amount of moolah from his paintings but along with my wages – KACHING! The money will start rolling in…
"Just what have you got against him, Frats? He's really cool…"
"Oh yeah, you WOULD say that, you're a GIRL…"
"…at least he didn't go on some stupid adventure that resulted in him losing his memory!" Nina remarks. We both freeze, shocked at what she has just said.
I get up fiercely. 2Right." I mutter.
"Oh no, Fratley, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to! Sorry, I am SO sorry, don't go!" she pleads, but what use is that? I'm already out the door, about to get ready to drink a lot…-
Mel: Oh darn it
Figgy: It was Nina's fault mehehe
