Chapter 17: Typhoon
"Jen… Jen… You better wake up. The Chicken festival is starting in half an hour," a voice said to me. I was still sleeping, or at the least I was wishing I was still sleeping. I pulled open my eyes and mumbled.
"I made breakfast if you want some," the voice said to me again. My eyes adjusted to the light and finally Cliff came into my view. I looked over at the clock. It was already 9:30a.m.
"Dang… how did I sleep this late?" I asked myself, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I got out of bed and went into the bathroom to change. When I came out Cliff was setting two plates at the table. I could smell bacon in the air, and it smelled wonderful.
"Care to join me? I made bacon, eggs, and toast," He said smiling at me. I knew I didn't have time, but I just couldn't refuse his smile. I felt bad enough as it was skipping out on him yesterday. I seated myself at the table across from Cliff. I was starving and almost instantly dug into my food. It tasted wonderful.
"Cliff! Where did you learn to cook so good? This tastes great!" I said to him and took another big scoop of egg into my mouth. He smiled and took a bite of his toast.
"Well after a few years of living on my own, I picked up a whole bunch of things, and cooking just happened to be one of them," he replied. I finished up my food and cleaned off my plate before returning it to the cabinet.
"That was great. A lot better than the cooking I'm use to… my own," I laughed. "Well, I better get to the festival; I don't want to be late. Are you going to go too?" I asked Cliff as I picked up my bag.
"Yeah I guess so. I have nothing better to do. You wouldn't mind if I tagged along with you? I'll be sure to cheer you and Paris on," he laughed, and also picked up his bag.
"Of course I wouldn't mind. I would love to have you there, come on let's get going," I said, and ran out to the chicken coop. Paris was resting peacefully in her nest and I gently picked her up, snuggling my face into her soft feathers. She awoke and gave out a cheerful cluck. I brought her back out and walked back towards the house. Cliff was waiting outside, and soon we were on our way.
When we arrived in the square the festival was just beginning. They ring was set up in the center, and many people along with chickens around it. There was Barley with his chicken Bentley, Popuri with Peeps, and Rick with Rascal.It was niceto see that not only competitors were there. Manna and Duke had also come to watch, and Gotz had also gotten away from his work. I was happy to see that Lillia was there, along with the company of the doctor, just incase something happened. I didn't see Kai anywhere.
"Ah Jen! Now that you have arrived we can start!" The mayor announced as we stepped into the square. "Are you ready to begin?"
"I am, and so is Paris," I said fondly looking down at my prized chicken. I brought her to the ring and set her inside.
"Our first match will be between Paris from Kanter Ranch, and Rascal from the Poultry Farm! DING DING!" and at that the match began. I cheered on Paris and the two chicken went at it. Paris jumped up and like a wild animal crowed and cooed with all her might. Might I add that Rascal was quite a wimp, and with one look at Paris, went running out of the ring.
"Go Jen!" a voice screamed from in back on the crowd. It was Kai. I saw his smiling face appear from the mass of people, and I smiled in return. I was glad that he had arrived. Just as I was going to run over and say hi, one of the flag poles broke right in half and crashed to the ground. Popuri screamed and dropped Peeps to the ground. As I looked around I noticed that the wind had picked up considerably and clouds now covered the sun.
"Jen, I think there is a storm coming in," Cliff said into my ear. I could still barely hear him for the wind was so loud. All of a sudden a bolt of lighting came down and hit the earth not too far off, and a boom of thunder followed. My hair was blowing in my face, but I could still see Kai walking toward me.
"Wow! What a storm. So sudden too. It stinks that it disrupted the whole festival, and killed all that hard work we put in," he said to me, still smiling and trying to keep a good attitude. I held Paris tightly in my arms and I could feel her small body trembling.
"TYPHOON!! TYPHOON!!" A voice screamed. It was the voice of Zack who had run in from the beach. "Everybody get back to their houses. It has just been reported that a typhoon has come in from the east and will go through the whole day. Let me repeat! EVERYONE BACK TO THEIR HOUSES!!" He screamed and ran back to the beach. An alarm sounded and I felt someone grab my arm.
"Come on Jen, let's get back to the house. These typhoons have been known to be a real danger here in Mineral Town," he said to me. I nodded my head and looked at Kai. He looked stunned. I had completely forgotten to tell him about Cliff living with me.
"Oh my Kai! Yes I forgot to tell you. Well Cliff got kicked out of the Inn, and I told him he could live with me until he found somewhere else," I told him, still sort of scared of what he was going to say. Just as Kai opened his mouth to protest, Popuri ran up screaming her head off.
"KAI!! Help me please Kai. I've lost Peeps. She ran off when I dropped her. Will you please help me find her?" she pleaded. Kai looked at me with a scowl on his face, and went off with Popuri. I knew I had hurt him, but right now I didn't have time to deal with it. Cliff grabbed my arm and we ran back to the house. The wind was now totally out of control, and rain had started to pour. The lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder boomed in the distance. I was scared. I had never experienced anything like this in my life. Where we use to live the weather was always so calm, nothing I would fear. We ran to the house and Cliff slammed the door behind us, latching the door tightly with the wooden slab.
I put Paris on the ground and she ran off to the corner where Skop lay in his doggy bed. I stood stiffly in the middle of the room. My clothes were soaked and my hair hung limply in my face. As Cliff turned around from latching the door, he looked at me.
"Jen… what's wrong?" He asked me. I didn't answer at first. I stared blankly at the window where I could see the lightning. I slowly walked over to the bed and sat down, my wet clothes dampening the blankets. I looked up at him, and my eyes began to tear. I couldn't control it anymore. I broke down. The tear slipped from my eyes.
"Cliff…. I'm scared… I'm truly scared. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, I don't know what is happening, or what to expect," I said to him. A crash of lightning blastedit's light through the open window. Cliff shut the blinds and walked over to me sitting down next to me on the bed.
"Jen, don't worry. This happens all the time in Mineral Town, and this house has been through many in it's time. Surely it can stand against at lease one more. Don't worry. It will pass," He replied and wrapped his arms around me. We were both soaking wet, and I was chilled to the bone, but right now I didn't care. I wept freely into his shoulder and clenched a bit of his coat in my hand. I could feel his fingers gently stroking through my hair. The thunder rumbled the ground beneath my feet and the wind pounded with all it's strength at the door.
"You must be freezing! Change into some dry clothes and I'll make you some cocoa," he said to me and I let go of him. I picked myself up and feebly walked into the other room the change. I looked at myself in the mirror. My hair hang like rags against my face, my eyes were red from crying. A bang of thunder filled the room and I gripped the edge of the sink, feeling almost as though I would pass out. I got a grip of myself and pulled off the wet clothes from my body.
I returned wearing a pair of Pajamas and I seated myself on the bed. Cliff walked up and handed me a cup of cocoa, steaming hot; it felt good in my hands.
"I'm going to go and bring Paris back to the chicken coop, I'll be right back." Cliff said to me. I stopped sipping my cocoa and looked up at him.
"Please Cliff… don't go. I… I… don't want to be alone. Paris can stay her, she'll be fine," I said to him, gently grabbing his arm to keep him from going. My eyes started to water again, and the sniffles soon came.
"I won't leave… don't worry," he said and sat down next to me. It was completely dark outside, but the lights were all on inside. The wind could be heard through the walls and every so often a light crash of thunder could be heard, and I started to calm down. I stared into my cup as I sipped down the sweet liquid. Suddenly a huge crash of lightning shook the house and all the lights went out. I dropped the cup from my hands and it crashed upon the ground.
"It's okay, I'm here," Cliff said quite calmly and wrapped his arms around me. I felt safe. I turned my head and hid my eyes in his chest and felt his breath move in and out of his body. The tear silently streamed from my eyes and I relaxed my body into Cliff's. Cliff was leaned up against the head board, and I was seated in his lap. I couldn't have felt more guilty knowing that I still had Kai, but the fear had consumed my thoughts. I could feel my muscles tensing, and my body shacking, but Cliff never let go.
"Thank you for being here…" I whispered to Cliff, and soon I found my eyes slowly closing and soon falling asleep with the soft rumbling thunder in the background.