Blending In
7



"Okay, here's the car door. Watch your head getting in."
Tonkeshin stuck a hand out. He located the car door and followed it to the opening before ducking into the passenger seat. Scents of new leather surrounded him. He buckled up, folded his cane and settled it in his lap. "Where's my suitcase going?"
Greg scraped a few things around, "In the trunk."
The trunk squeaked open and the car jiggled. WHUMPH! This time the vehicle shook. Greg came around and another door opened. Weight settled in the driver's seat and the door crashed shut. Rattling keys clicked into the ignition. An engine purred to life, making the car vibrate gently. Wisps of gasoline wafted through the open window.
Tonk pulled his door shut as Greg was buckling his seat belt. He trailed a hand across the dashboard and discovered Greg's exotic bobble dancer - grass skirt, lei and all. He gave it a flick, letting its round middle bump against his palm.
"I see your little dancer made it to the new car."
"Heh!" Greg elbowed him in the ribs, "I wouldn't dare go anywhere without her."
"Gregory B. Coffee, you are the most perverted human being I know." Tonkeshin burst out laughing. "What does your wife think of that thing?"
"Linda loves it. She's the one who bought it for me."
"Figures. I suppose it's to remind you she can move in a similar manner, right?"
Tonk heard Greg cough a laugh. The car shifted into gear and pulled out onto the road.
"I just had a thought. . ."
"Don't hurt yourself now."
He elbowed Greg's ribs and grinned, flashing his fangs. "What are we going to do once we get on the plane? I didn't think to put my cards into the suitcase. Just my walkman with the songs I downloaded and a book to read. The rest is clothes and extra capsule space for souvenirs, as you know."
Greg was quiet for a few moments. Probably concentrating on the road. He spoke up when the car halted at what Tonkeshin presumed to be a stoplight. "I brought a deck of my dad's cards, he has a million of 'em. But there's always stewardesses to harass and peanuts to toss at people."
"Tossing nuts? Of all the childish. . .good grief." Tonk laughed. Laughing helped him get over the nervous disorientation of being driven around. Almost all the familiar landmarks he encountered while traveling on foot were either faint or absent. He had no idea where he was at the moment, but he didn't mention that to Greg. He just stared straight ahead and kept his ears open.
"Answer me one question," Greg started.
"Yeah?"
"You can fly on your own. So why the heck do you get airsick in airplanes? Last time we went on that flight to North City, you were sick all through takeoff. It doesn't make sense."
Tonkeshin shuddered at that. He faced Greg's voice and replied, "Because when I fly, I'm moving and in control. Inside a plane, I'm sitting stationary while the vehicle is flying. I'm fine once everything goes back to horizontal. I guess it's just my brain thinks it's sitting still and my body knows its moving, so everything gets confused. I hate it, but I'll live."
Greg shifted in his seat. The leather creaked under his weight and the car started moving again. "Just don't puke on my new shirt, okay?"
"Sure thing."
Greg's window rolled down. Then it rolled back up, dials clicked and the air conditioner came on. "Aren't you getting hot in that turtleneck? I'm wearing short sleeves and I'm going to be dripping soon. Argh! Damn heat."
Tonk smirked. Aside from a little sweat cooling his brow, he wasn't at all uncomfortable in the muggy air. "I have a higher body-temperature than you. Namek was a warm planet with three suns. Eighty six degrees is cool to me. Try a hundred and twenty sometime, that was about the average temperature all the time."
"I'm never taking a vacation there. Ever. How could you stand it?" The turn signal clicked to life and the car swung gently left.
"Drinking a lot of water. Swimming. Running really, really, really fast so the wind cooled me off." He laughed at the last part, wondering if Greg fell for it.
Silence.
Laughter bubbled up.
"Yeah, right! Whatever you say, green man."

Tonkeshin wasn't sorry to climb out of the car. His knees probably popped thirty times once he straightened. The asphalt beneath his feet reflected the sun's heat like a solar panel. "Mmh! They just don't make cars for tall guys, do they?"
"Not for tall guys who are all legs like you." Greg shuffled around behind the car, fiddling with the luggage in the trunk. His footsteps came up from the left, "Suitcase coming at you."
Tonk let gravity unfold his cane and allowed the tip to slant against the ground. He accepted the suitcase in his left hand. With his right hand he gripped his cane gently, index finger sliding down the length of the handle. It was hard to tell how crowded it was over the roar of jet engines preparing for takeoff.
"How crowded is it? Should I choke up on the cane a little?"
"Relax, buddy." Greg grunted and slammed the trunk, "I'll tell you when it gets tight. We have plenty of time, an hour, before our flight is scheduled to take off. Really, Tonk, we're not going to miss the plane.
Sighing, Tonkeshin pushed his sunglasses up on his nose and faced the sound of jet engines. Excitement made everything move too slow. Only two things stood between him and the Tournament now - a plane flight and seven days. He wanted to be there already!
For a brief instant Tonkeshin imagined the cheers from all around. The excitement of stepping into the arena. Fighting a worthy opponent amidst clamoring drums. Of standing victorious, pumping his arms in the air.
"Earth to Tonkeshin, do you copy?"
He startled from his thoughts. "What?"
Greg's voice came back into focus. He was chuckling, "C'mon, space case, we're heading in. It's not far, I got us in the second row. We only have to cross one road and we'll be inside."
"Right." Tonkeshin dutifully stepped forward. He swung his cane like always, except he kept the tip in constant contact with the ground to check the terrain. It wasn't long before it bounced right across a speed bump, which he easily stepped over. More scraping sounds from the uneven asphalt. The tip dropped off an edge.
"Car on the right." Greg halted.
"Got it." Tonk stopped and pulled his cane in.
The car breezed by. They resumed walking. Four steps later, Tonkeshin heard the swish of automatic doors. Cool air blasted him. Voices created a dull roar like ocean waves crashing. He switched from swishing his cane to tapping it, but he had to tap a little harder than usual so the sound would reach him off the smooth, polished floor.
Heh, he mused to himself, I could probably slide for miles on this in my socks.
Greg placed a hand on Tonkeshin's arm to get his attention. Tonkeshin didn't face him, but tilted his head a little to show he was listening.
Greg spoke, "We're heading for gate twenty-four B, it's straight ahead. Take note of what's around you, just in case we get separated and you have to board without me. I'm going to go check us in."
"No problem." Tonk nodded, making his antennae sway. He was actually surprised, the airport wasn't as tumultuous as he thought it would be. It made him feel like everyone stopped in their tracks to stare at him. At least people didn't come from all directions to question him about his news report.
Greg hustled away. Tonkeshin was about to continue forward when someone blasted across his path with a luggage cart. The impact almost knocked the cane right out of his hand! He scowled in rude the person's general direction and continued on his merry way.
A potted plant beside a metal pillar. Chairs on the left. Decorative tiles gave way to carpet between the two landmarks. The gate would be straight ahead from there. That was all the information Tonkeshin needed, he wasn't going anywhere until Greg came back. Now he could focus on other things.
Like the different smells of perfume, cologne and shampoo bustling past him. The world became a sea of scents, sounds and different materials accidentally bumping him as people swooped by. Jet engines whined outside from planes landing and taking off, creating vibrations in his breastbone.
Tonk put his suitcase down between his feet and reached out to touch the plant in front of him. It was fake. No wonder it had no scent.
A small hand tapped his arm. An equally tiny, female child's voice spoke up, "Hey mister, what's that long stick for?"
Turning around, Tonkeshin knelt down to be less imposing and smiled. The child was obviously very young, "It's called a cane. I'm blind, which means I can't see anything because my eyes don't work. So I move this cane around in front of me so I won't run into a wall or fall off a curb."
"Do you have eyes?" Asked the little voice, now curious.
Tonk removed his sunglasses and looked towards the child. "Yep, I sure do. I can even cross them and make a funny face like this. . ." He made his eyes cross and stuck his tongue out, arousing a giggle from the little girl.
Silence. Another giggle. Warmth moved past his face, suggesting the girl was probably moving her hand around in front of his face to see if he really couldn't see her.
"I just stuck my tongue out. Hehe!"
"I bet it's a funny tongue, too." Tonkeshin grinned toothily.
"Maize, come here. Don't bother that man!" An older female voice broke in, startling a gasp from the little girl. The woman spoke again from closer, "I'm terribly sorry, sir, sometimes my daughter gets a little too curious."
Tonk straightened and smiled, donning his shades again. "It's no problem, she just wanted to know what my cane was and what I used it for. I thought I'd explain it so she could understand - "
Greg approached from the right, "Um, Tonk? Who are you talking to?"
He choked his voice off and felt heat climbing into his cheeks. His palm turned sticky moist against the handle of his cane. How foolish he must've looked, talking to empty air! Embarrassment almost glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "A little girl asked me about my cane. Her mother came along and took her away. . .I didn't hear them go. Silly me."
"Tch," Greg snorted contemptuously, "well that girl's mother obviously knows nothing about courtesy."
He went on, "Anyway, c'mon, the woman up front said we can pre-board so there won't be much hassle later. I'm putting our stuff through customs, you go through the metal detector and get on the plane. I'll find you once I have our luggage in order."
Tonk whacked Greg's leg gently with his cane, "Mind telling me which way to go?"
"Straight ahead, dummy. Take a right at the desk and the people there will take care of you."
He laughed, "Oh, right. Duh."
"See ya soon." Greg headed off one way and Tonkeshin strode ahead. He walked a little slower than usual, giving people plenty of time to avoid his cane.
The metal detector wasn't too bad this time. Except the darn thing kept beeping after he removed his keys, his belt with its metal buckle and the metal note-taking slate with its tiny stylus. It took all that for him to realize the metal in his cane was setting it off. Tonkeshin held up the offending metal object and everyone laughed.
Everything he took off was briskly returned.
Tonk never thought he'd look forward to stepping through the narrow hatch and entering the plane. No hassle? Yeah, right!
It felt cool inside the actual cabin. Tonk knew right away that nobody else was on board yet, except maybe for the pilot. The whole area smelled like disinfectant mixed with new carpeting. Probably a new plane or something, or the people were just really good at cleaning up after every flight.
Tonkeshin headed for the back to locate the bathroom. Just in case he had a major problem. Then he headed for the aisle seat in the last row and sat down, folding his cane up and taking off his sunglasses. He immediately felt the back of the seat in front of him, searching out the puke bag. He yanked it free once he found it. Relief made him sigh.
Okay, okay. . .I'll be fine as long as I keep this in reach.
All became quiet.
He stared blankly ahead, waiting. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. He finally heard another noise up front.
Greg huffed and puffed his way forward. Tonkeshin stood up immediately to help him store their luggage in the compartment above, but not before he took out his braille book. He'd save the walkman for boring hours in the hotel room when he couldn't sleep.
"Whew!" Greg's large stomach bumped into Tonkeshin's arm. He sidled into his seat. Tonk could hear the seat groan in protest. "I never thought I'd get this stuff on here. Big men like me should NOT have to drag heavy luggage around."
"Don't be such a crybaby. You only weigh three-sixty or so. That's not bad compared to most."
"Humph."
Tonk wilted into his seat and sighed. At least these seats gave him proper leg room. He rested his head against the back of the seat. Voices up front suggested more people boarding.
"So who was this Piccolo you said you met?" Asked Greg after he caught his breath.
"He's another Namek like me, he said he had a long history that he didn't want to get into." He turned to Greg's breathing and flashed a fangy grin, "And he's even taller than I am. You think I'm big, wait till you see him! He's at least seven feet, I know because his voice came from higher up."
Seats around him shifted. Three people sat down in front of him. Four clumped together on the seats at his right.
He went on, "So, what kind of people do you see boarding?"
"Mm, let's see. . ." Greg inhaled slowly. "I see two tall black men with big afros getting seated up front. A pale woman with a baby coming up the aisle. Uh, an elderly couple holding hands, aww, and a woman bigger than I am trying to squeeze into two front seats. And. . .oh no. . ."
Tonkeshin blinked. "What? What's wrong? Who do you see?"
Greg shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Greg! Who is it?!"
"Carol."

Author's note: Well, there goes another chapter. I know I'm mean to leave it hanging like that. evil smirk I love cliffhangers, they keep the imagination running wild until the next part comes out.

Thank you to everyone who's been sending me reviews. You're like icing on the cake. Believe it or not I didn't think my fic would interest anybody other than me. Boy was I surprised! grin