The Game of Life
By theladyknight
Disclaimer: Digmon—not mine!
A/N: Here's chapter 12! Hope you guys all enjoy it and remember to review…
I Lurv Digimon: Hey! Glad to hear from you again! You were mentioning some of your reviews got cut off. If you did save them and want me to read them, e-mail me at theladyknight06(at)hotmail(dot)com...the link won't show up if I write in any other way. I love hearing what you have to say!
Yuki-chan: Thanks for the nice words!
Yamatoishida27: Thanks for all the reviews…
.I.Am.Lirin.: I found a website with Japanese names and randomly threw two together!
Scorpion05: Yeah, I know how that goes too. I'm a junior, but I'm getting swamped by all this mail from different colleges.
A Hopeless Romantic: Sometime in one of the later chapters, most likely the last chapter…
r1za-cam1le: She was talking to herself but at the same time just kind of wondering out loud about why he didn't finish his statement. You know, kind of like when you just say, "Oh my God…" or something along those lines?
RW Grimm: Whose Line is it Anyway would've been really funny to have them do, but I chose a bit of a different one. Hopefully it didn't turn out too ugly…
And thanks to: Mrs. Ishida-to-you, Indigowolf, Atomic Toaster, DraugDae, shadowcat, sorato-takari, Inconnu, princessstphanie, Kuroi Black Nightingale, Cherryblossom Sky, blondie121147, Darkladyxion959, Sakura Arielle, sora's-evil-twin, money makes me smile, thegreatwhitewolf, Ballet Kitty, Only Secret, sapphire dragons,and KoumiLoccness.
Chapter 12: Day Three, Family Feud
My charcoal pencil glided across the paper. The sky was now very detailed, fluffy clouds filling up space from one edge of the soft canvas to the other. I turned in my chair to crack my back. A sigh escaped my lips. I'd been working at this nonstop since the period started, much closer to finishing then I thought I could be.
I rolled back the sleeves of my uniform top. Pausing, my hands searched for another charcoal pencil, as the one I was using started to grow dull on the end. My last day of classes is in exactly one week. There's still so much more for me to do with this portrait but hardly anytime to finish.
A dark shadow suddenly invaded my light source. "Sor, you officially have fifteen hours and fifteen minutes to ask Yamato out."
Mimi stood before me, arms folded, eyes burning in eager anticipation. "How do you know I haven't already asked him?"
She smirked. "I accidentally bumped into him in the hall. When I asked if you'd talked to him about something important, he shook his head, just a little bit confused."
"My ass you accidentally ran into him."
Mimi let out a laugh. "Minor details don't really matter, do they? The bottom line is that you didn't ask him yet. If you don't do it in the remaining time, Kari and I will have a blast telling Yamato for you."
"Don't worry," I glared up at her, "I'll tell him."
She sat down next to me, pulling out her canvas to make it look like she was busy. Apparently she'd been sitting across the room from me, waiting for the opportune moment near the end of class for her confrontation. "You know what happens if you don't."
I was silent for a minute. I really have got to do this. There's no turning back. Yama's going to find out one way or another. I'd much rather have him hear it form me than the other two.
But at the same time, old fears shoot back into my mind. What if he doesn't like me? What if we were sending each other mixed signals? What if… "Mimi, is it really okay to breech that line between friendship and love?"
"Well, silly, you and Tai tried to. I'd definitely classify that as crossing the lines of friendship."
I sighed. "But that's different."
"How is it different?" She calmly asked.
"Taichi and I are too close to each other in a brother-sisterly way. It was too weird, too awkward, too unwelcome even. I thought there just might be some sort of attraction there—I've always said Tai's a cutie—but it just didn't flow."
"But with Yamato…"
"But Yama," I tried to rationalize, tried to deny it. "It's different between the two of us. Our relationship has always been a bit ambiguous. I've never doubted there was chemistry between the two of us, but neither of us has ever acted on it."
Mimi put her hands on her hips. "Now's the time to act, Sora! If no one ever went after what they wanted, wouldn't our world be a boring place? Call me a monkey's uncle if he doesn't return the feelings." She wouldn't say something like that unless she was truly positive about the topic of discussion.
Slowly, I began cleaning up my mess as the bell rang. "Thanks for the pep talk, Meems. When did you get to be so damn smart?"
The girl couldn't stop a knowing smile from finding her lips. "Since I started dating Koushiro…"
"Why are our desks arranged like this?" Taichi asked when my classmates and I walked into the Child Development room.
"I'm glad you asked," Ms. Greene's smiling face entered our line of vision. "The desks will stay like this for today and tomorrow's classes in honor of the game we'll be playing. The final game we'll be playing."
"Awe," no one was happy about that, "what game are we playing?" Someone asked.
She continued to smile. "It's a popular one. This game is a TV show and board game."
People aimlessly began throwing around suggestions. However, Ms. Greene silenced us after a minute of guessing.
"The game we're going to be playing…Family Feud!" (Not mine!)
"Family Feud?" Koushiro's voice echoed. "Now that's a prodigious idea! I can think of so many…" He started rambling off, causing Ms. Greene to chuckle lightly.
"I'm glad you agree with me. We're going to get right down to business, as we're going to try and complete the game in two days. I'm going to outline the next week and a half for you, though, before I launch into an explanation about the game. If you've been paying attention to what I've been saying, you'll obviously know what we are going to be doing today and tomorrow. Friday is going to be spent reviewing the different things we've accomplished over the course of the semester, setting us up for the final thing we are going to do this year. Monday and Tuesday we will be working on our last "project" and Wednesday, the senior's last day," her announcement was cut off amidst a stream of cheers, "we'll be presenting these projects. And questions before I continue?"
Yama raised his hand. "What kind of projects?"
"They're not really projects, per say," Ms. Greene explained, "but they aren't just busy work and stuff like that. It's kind of a surprise you all will have to wait and see."
Seeing that no one else had any objections or concerns, our teacher began describing today's game. "As there are twenty four of you in this class—all of you being here too—I've divided you up into four teams of six. Two teams will face each other today, and two more will go tomorrow. I'll start with a description of the teams. As the teams on the actual show are related—hence the name—I tried to pair you and your spouse up with two other pairs that share some sort of common trait with the two of you."
She began reading off the list. Group number one had half artistic people and half jocks. Group two consisted of students who had black hair. "What group will we be in?" Yamato's warm breath tickled my ear, and I let out a sigh. "What?"
I shook my head, choosing not to answer his second question. Ms. Greene read off group three, Koushiro and Gwen being placed in it—a group of half seniors and the other half juniors. That left…"Woah," I couldn't stop myself.
Our teacher beamed at me. "This group was the easiest to put together because, for the most part, it's made up of family ties. Yamato and Takeru are related. Taichi and Hikari are related. And as the spouses of the two older boys, Sora and Mimi fit right in."
Our team did make sense. No one around the room had any objections to our group getting paired together, and I wasn't complaining. "Gather with your teams in one of the groups of six desks. You'll need to brainstorm ideas for a team name. As time is of the essence, report back to me in five minutes with your team name. I'll explain the rest of the rules then."
We all separated into the four corners of the room where the different clumps of desks were situated, our group traveling to the far corner. I noticed Hikari lagging a bit behind, head lowered down, seemingly a bit depressed. "What's the matter?"
"We're stuck with Tai. There's no way we can win."
"Yeah, that's always a reason to feel depressed, but I have a feeling that's not what's causing you to feel down and bummed out."
"Truthfully?" She sighed.
"Truthfully," I answered, "I won't tell anyone."
Hikari paused. "It's Takeru. He and I are having some problems. I think it's this whole marriage and kids thing. Our jump from friendship to something more seems to have centered on this class, and I think the problem generated from there. It's like, because of this class, we're basing everything on always being around each other and being a "family." Sora, I really like Takeru; I always have. It's just…I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship like this at my age."
I gave her a sympathetic smile, understanding where she was coming from. "Talk it out with him. Maybe the two of you should take a bit of a break till you get a little bit older or at least until the stress of this game is gone. It's hard to make that transition from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. Just sit down with him and talk it out, figure out what you're going to do. You don't want to end up hating each other in the end. I'm sure you'll find an answer though, Kari. I can tell you and Takeru both care about each other a lot. The answer will come."
Her head slowly lifted and face gave a glimmer of a grin. "Thanks, Sora. Maybe you should listen to your own advice." The girl checked her watch. "You only have thirteen hours left."
We had now reached the others. Plopping down in the lone free chair, fate demanding I sit next to the source of my own internal conflict, I lowered my head to the table. This is all so confusing now. I've already convinced myself I have to go through with it. But just talking Hikari through that resurfaces my own anxieties.
Can the jump from friendship to love be that hard? What if our relationship is too stressful? What if it turns out to be like Taichi's and mine—strictly platonic? What if we end up hating each other, ruining our friendship? What if…
"Sor, Taichi came up with a name."
I raised my head off the desk, eyes catching his powerful gaze. "Do I really want to hear it?" I weakly asked, listening to the others all shake their heads and begin to debate this name.
"You okay?" His voice was full of concern and affection. "You seem a little jumpy."
"I'm…I'm fine, Yama. Don't worry about me."
"You sure?"
I nodded. "I'll be alright. So what name did Taichi suggest?"
He rolled his azure eyes. "Taichi's Team because there's 'alliteration'."
"Wow, I didn't know Tai had that big of a vocabulary."
"You learn something new everyday."
Our brunette friend banged his hand on the table. "Takaishidami!" He triumphantly declared. "It's perfect. The name contains my last name, Takeru's, and Yamato's, signifying the three groups on our winning team."
Mimi put her hands over her face. "Well, does anyone else have an idea?"
…Silence…
"So, what did your team decide to call yourselves?" Ms. Greene asked, walking over to our group after gathering the other groups' names.
"We are Takaishidami!" Guess who said that. "And I'm team leader."
That topic was questionable, but in my current state of mind, I didn't feel like questioning Taichi's authority. "Okay, everyone. It's time to get this game underway. I'll explain the rules. I surveyed one hundred kids, randomly chosen across the school, on a couple different topics. They gave answers to each question, and I marked down the answers on a chart. Basically I was searching for duplicate answers, and from the answers I got, put together the game board. But I used only duplicate answers, not including some of the lesser chosen answers."
"I'm really confused." Mimi answered. "Could you give an example?"
"Of course. Let's pretend one of the questions was name your favorite color. The students all gave me an answer, and I recorded the frequency of each response. For example, let's say red appeared fifty of the times. I would mark that down as the number one answer because it was the most popular. And the point value of that answer would be the same as the number of people who chose it, fifty. Then, let's say thirty people chose blue. That would be the number two answer. That continues on until I get to the final answers that were duplicated. Let's say green got six votes. That would be one of the bottom answers. And we'll pretend the other remaining choices all got one vote each. None of them would be included on the game board. Though I asked one hundred people, in the end, you are virtually only getting points from around eighty to ninety."
Gwen raised a hand. "I'm still a bit confused. I can't say I've ever played the game or seen the show. Could you explain the rules too?"
Ms. Greene nodded. "Can I have two volunteers?"
Taichi's hand shot up along with Gwen's. "I may as well try it out to understand it," She replied, taking a stand.
"Okay, you'll gather here in the middle." She had set up a table in between the groups of desks. On each side there was a buzzer. "I surveyed one hundred kids…name the most popular favorite color…" She paused. "On that note, the two people, one representative from each team, would attempt to think of an answer. When you have one, you will hit the buzzer. The first person to do so will give me the answer. If it is the number one answer, your team will be able to choose if you want to figure out all the answers, or pass it to the other team to play. If, though, you don't give the number one answer or one that's on the game board, the other player has a chance to go for it."
Her eyes looked around the room to make sure everyone was following. "The team that ends up playing then goes down the line with each person telling me an answer. If you get an answer that's on the board, good for you! If not, your team gets a strike against you. Three strikes and the other team gets a chance to steal the points by getting one right. If they can't get one, the first team captures the points. You either get the points from the board by stealing them or by getting all the answers. You all will come to understand this as we go, okay."
We nodded. Some were still confused, while others, including myself, had a pretty good idea of what we had to do: get our question right. (A/N: I apologize if you guys don't understand what's going on…it was hard to explain. You'll probably be able to pick it up as the game goes on…)
"You all are working on teams, but when it's your turn to answer a question, there will be no help from anyone else. I think we're ready to get started. We need two groups to volunteer to go first." No one raised their hands or made any motion to respond. "All right then. Taichi, how about your group against Gwen's? If no one else will volunteer, I'll just choose."
She pulled out a dry erase board in which she had labeled the numbers 1-6. Tai and Gwen were the first two up, each standing on a side opposite the other, hand positioned over the buzzer. "I interviewed one hundred students…give me the name of your favorite sport."
BUZZ!
Gwen was first. She gave a triumphant grin. "Soccer."
"Survey says…forty-two points! It's the number one answer. Gwen, would your team The Chunky Penguins like to play or pass this round?"
"We'll play," she answered, after checking with her teammates for their reactions. While Gwen sat down, congratulated by her teammates, Taichi threw his body into the seat next to me.
"I can't believe she beat me in naming my own favorite sport. Jeez, I have a feeling this is not going to be our game…"
Unfortunately, Taichi didn't know how right he was. Our team could only watch as the group Koushiro and Gwen were in ran the table. They just couldn't miss at all. Their group won game one out of the three total games with ninety-two points.
Game two didn't fare much better. Takeru did win the face off question thing, "Name your favorite holiday," but we couldn't really get anything positive going. Yamato and I each provided answers that ended up on the board, but Mimi blew it by choosing "Ground Hog Day." The other team got a chance to steal, and, go figure, won.
It was clutch time, the final game. Quite honestly, I wasn't going to be too angry if we lost. I just didn't want us to be embarrassed the way we had been. "Sora, go answer the question." Hikari pleaded. "If we don't want to be laughed at, we need to win the first question."
I gulped, giving her a nod. No pressure or anything. Oh, great…I have to go up against Koushiro the super genius. This won't be good.
Ms. Greene smiled at us. "Okay you two, it's the final round. In this round, point values are tripled. Basically, the winning team is the team that captures this round. Right now, The Chunky Penguins are ahead of Takaishidami by a score of 178 to none. Along with more points, though, comes higher stakes. You can only get two strikes against you this round. Tread carefully. There are only five answers up this time. Here's the question."
I placed my hand over the buzzer, listening carefully. "I surveyed one hundred students…tell me, if you had the day off today, what would you be doing?"
BUZZ!
"Sora?"
Crap. I was so concerned about buzzing in that I really didn't have an answer. My hand had aimlessly found the button, hitting it, worrying about being the first one to ring in. "Um…" What would I be doing? "…sleep?"
Ms. Greene paused dramatically. "Congratulations, that's the number one answer. With the triple score that answer is worth 108 points." She paused again as people around the room muttered their surprise. "Would you like to play or pass?"
I looked at Hikari. "Play," she mouthed.
"We'll play."
"Okay, then. Yamato, do you have an answer."
His head was rested against his right arm, facing my direction. He gave me a large smile. "Hang out with friends."
"Survey says…that's the number two answer worth sixty points." Yama and I exchanged high-fives. Come on Takeru…
"Study?" He questioned.
Study?
Ms. Greene hit the bell in her hand that signified when a wrong answer was given. "I'm sorry. Studying is not on the list. You have one strike left."
Takeru winced at his answer, but we all tried to stay positive. It was Hikari's turn. "How about watching TV or using the computer?"
"At fifty four points, that's the number three answer."
Two more left. We might just get this…except…except it's Mimi's turn. Come on, Mimi.
"Well, I'd go shopping." She answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Now that I think about it, it really is.
"Yes. Shopping is the number four answer." Mimi gave a victory shout and motioned for Tai to get the last one right. "Okay, Taichi. It comes down to you. If you had the day off today…what would you do?"
He stared off into space, appearing to have heard her but was off in his own little bubble. The seconds ticked by. Everyone was silent, waiting for his answer. My team was praying it was right while the other was hoping he said something stupid.
"Ms. Greene? If I had the day off today, I would be eating!" He proclaimed boldly.
I should have seen it coming. I really should have seen it coming. It really doesn't surprise me that Taichi came up with that answer. After all, it is true for him. Takeru was slowly hitting his head on the table, probably pretty upset he himself hadn't thought of a better answer. Hikari was shaking her head back and forth. Yamato leaned over towards me, and I could only give a frustrated sigh. "We tried."
"Yeah, too bad we couldn't have come out victorious."
"I can't believe you, Taichi!" Mimi was beside herself. "You had one chance to redeem yourself and save the game for us, but you blew it! This is so embarrassing." Her pink hair covered her face as she buried her head in her arms.
The other team was all looking excited, apparently knowing the right answer. Well, we always have the chance to get the points if they miss it. I looked expectantly at Ms. Greene, ready to hear the familiar ding of the bell signifying that we had lost.
But the bell sound never came. "Surprisingly, a few others seem to agree with you. Answer number five is indeed eating, and finishes up the board with eighteen points."
We looked from face to face. We won?
"We won?" Yamato asked.
"We won!" Mimi cried. "Oh yeah, baby! We won!" Everyone faced her, and she turned red. "I'm sorry, heh, I just got caught up in the moment."
Ms. Greene couldn't hide her laughter. "Don't worry, Mimi. It happens to the best of us. So, by a large margin, team Takaishidami defeats The Chunky Penguins. Now, before this game is over, Taichi's team will need to select two people to answer questions in a rapid fire round. Normally in the actual game, the winning team does this to see how much money they can win. We'll take the two rapid fire scores from today's winning team and tomorrow's and compare them. The highest score means that team is exempt from any homework over the weekend."
"That's awesome! Guys we have to win!" Hikari exclaimed.
"I agree," her brother answered. "Alright, Yama you're up in this round."
I smiled. "Hikari, you should go too. I think you'll do really well."
Hikari gave me a quizzical look. "Are you sure?"
"Of course. I depending on you for no homework." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, I don't want Taichi or Mimi out there." I whispered as she and Yamato headed for the middle of the room.
"Okay, Yamato you'll be first. Hikari, I need you to go outside and wait in the hall so you don't hear any of the answers he gives. I'm going to ask Yamato a series of five questions. He only has to give one answer, and I won't be telling him whether or not it was an actual answer I got. He'll right away move onto the next question, as he only has twenty seconds to do this."
Hikari headed out into the hallway as Ms. Greene set her digital watch. "Are you ready, Yamato?" He simply nodded. "Name the most popular pet."
"Dog."
"A food you'd eat at a barbeque."
"Hamburgers."
"A color girls paint their toenails."
He gave her an odd look. "Blue?"
I couldn't help but smile. The expression on his face was adorable.
"What guys give girls on Valentine's Day."
"Flowers."
"Name a green fruit."
"Grapes."
Ms. Greene smiled and her watch beeped the end. "All right, Yamato. You got done. Let's see your scores…"
Ten minutes later both Yama and Hikari were done. They'd faired reasonably well, Yamato getting seventy points and the younger teen claiming eighty five. "The game is over for today, everyone. I'd like to thank you all for your cooperation."
"Why are you getting your coat, Ms. Greene?" Mimi asked. "We've still got another fifteen minutes left."
"I have a doctor's appointment." She explained. "Mr. Minamoto will be in here as a sub." We all groaned. He was the chemistry teacher and not very popular among the students or faculty. I learned absolutely nothing from him last year. It was horrible; everyone failed his tests but yet passed with A's and B's. Explain that one for me. "I know, but folks, I don't get to choose the sub. I want you all to quietly journal about your job shadowing experiences. That way you won't have any homework overnight. I'll be back later today when you come to pick up your children."
"Ms. Greene?"
"Hello, Mr. Minamoto. I was just explaining what I have for them to do. They'll be journaling…"
"…in a quiet atmosphere, I assume." He held up a stack of detention slips. Mr. Minamoto is also famous for slapping detentions on people just for breathing.
"I don't really care whether or not they talk." Ms. Greene answered with a wave of her hand before she left.
"You heard her, students. Get to work. And no talking."
"But…"
"Mr. Yagami," Taichi gulped, "don't you have a soccer game tonight?"
"Yes, sir."
"Is it safe to say you'd rather be on the field then in detention?"
Tai nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll get right to work." He pulled out his notebook and began to frantically write in it, never lifting his head. I looked over in Mr. Minamoto's direction and saw him smirking at me.
"Aren't we lucky to get the devil again?" Yama murmured in my ear.
I fought back a laugh. "You're telling me…I hated him last year and…"
"Takenouchi, Ishida, would you like to spend the evening in detention too? What part of the words Do Not Talk do your little minds not register?"
"Sorry, sir," We both answered, pulling out our notebooks as well.
Checking my watch, my head fell. We still have another ten minutes left with him. I randomly began to write stuff down in my notebook about my job shadow. Something made me pause though. It was something Ayami had said:
"Good luck with everything, especially the thing with Yamato. I'm pulling for you…"
I'm running out of time. I've got to tell him soon, or else…well, duh; I think I'm pretty aware of the consequences. She told me to trust my heart, go out on a limb and just let him know. Okay, Takenouchi, it's now or never…
Yama…
...Yes...
I had torn out a piece of paper from my notebook, quietly, hoping the evil chemistry teacher hadn't heard. I'd get yelled at if he did, and my plan would be out the window. Or the whole entire class would read the note. I can't let him see this.
Are…are you doing anything Friday night?
He studied me over before writing his response.
...Not that I'm aware of. Why do you ask?...
Come on Sora; you can do this!
Do you wanna go out and, I don't know, get something to eat, go to a movie or something…
I couldn't read the expression on his face, and he had the note hidden behind a book so Mr. Minamoto wouldn't see it.
...The two of us or the whole group?...
The two of us.
His face bore an amused smile.
...Are you asking me out, Sora Takenouchi?...
I gulped. He didn't want to. He's getting a kick out of this.
Maybe…
Yama winked at me, crumbling the paper into a ball. What was I thinking doing this? It's going to ruin or friendship and…
"If you are asking me out, then I'd say I'm free and would love to go out with you this weekend. Because I think I feel something more for you then friendship." He whispered in my ear, face turning a light pink, as Mr. Minamoto turned his back to grab a Kleenex from the bookshelf.
My cheeks tinted red and a smile overtook my features. He does! "Well, then, I guess I am asking you out." I didn't need to tell him that I liked him. He could pretty much infer it.
He offered me an irresistible grin. "Then I'm definitely free to go out with you this weekend, but given the devil is trying to cast us into hell," Mr. Minamoto flashed us a glare, returning to his seat, "We'll work out the details later."
Yamato got back to his work, giving me a smile before he continued to write in his journal/notebook. I couldn't believe it. I'm still in shock. I successfully asked one of my best friends out on a date…and, wow…I just don't know what to think anymore. It seemed so easy, like it somehow should've been harder. Or maybe it was this easy all along, and all Yamato and I needed was a push in the right direction. Thank you Hikari and Mimi. This is still so unbelievable, but one thing's for sure: I can't wait until Friday night…
A/N: Please review! Now I've got to get to school and finish Trigonometry and English homework…