Chapter 5 - Trouble
This has got to be the most thoroughly evil teacher I've ever encountered.
Mr. Crider was bad. He was evil on a level that Ms. Asaji could never dream of being. For starters, this guy was probably ex Special Forces in some military group. Seriously. The guy was huge! I couldn't figure out why he was teaching math and not some phys. ed. program. The guy's arms were like tree trunks, and he apparently had neither a neck nor a forehead. He constantly wore a very straight suit to school every day.
The first day I walked in, he assigned me every assignment they had done that year, and gave me a week to do them! Then there was the way he taught. He scribbled incomprehensively on the board and his customary lecture voice was a loud bellow. The tests were worse than anything I had ever seen before. They were word problems, and hard ones at that, but they were set up so that every problem depended on the answer to the one before it. So if you missed the first question, all of the answers were wrong.
Then there was the way he handed tests back. Like he was dong now. The tests were in order of the grade, in descending order. He started out passing things back with a light smile, but by the time he got to the bottom of the stack, where mine usually resided, he had a scowl. Even if they didn't know your exact grade, everyone in the class knew the approximate score. Today my test was last. Dead last. The person who gets dead last gets to stay after school for… something. We don't know what. Nobody who goes through it talks - ever.
"Matsuki, see me after school…"
I gulped.
"Yes sir."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're late Matsuki."
"I'm sorry sir, I had to clean some things in my last class."
"I don't care! You leave someone else to do it next time!"
I was the only one left!
Somehow, I didn't think that argument would work, so I simply agreed.
"Yes, sir."
Now, Matsuki, this is what you're going to do. You're going to scrub every inch of this room, and the cafeteria. Including the kitchen!"
"Yes sir."
This is not good.
He handed me a relatively small sponge.
"And Matsuki."
"Yes sir?"
"If you breath a word about this to any of your classmates, you'll fail the semester, guaranteed. After you scub down the entire school."
"Yes sir."
It's gonna be a long night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day I made a decision.
There is no way in hell I'm ever going through that again.
I needed help. Lots of help. There were only two people I knew who could make me ace every exam in that damn class. And only one of them still knew I was alive.
Koushiro Izumi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm not sure about this, Takato."
"Why not?"
"I'm a little busy."
"Is there anthing I can do to convince you?"
"I still don't know. There's not much I really need."
"Come on, I need this! I'll do anything!."
"Hmmm."
Seeing him waver a bit, I sweetened the deal.
I hope that the show knew what it taught…
"What if I make some stuff?"
"What kind of stuff?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I am good at cooking, you know, brownies and stuff, just not most other subjects."
He looked heavenward for a moment, then stuck out his hand.
"Deal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And time passed.
My grades eventually went up again, and it seemed the more baked goods I shoved down Izzy's throat, the higher my grades went. It was a little creepy, but good as far as I could tell.
TK and Kari officially hooked up not long after I started studying with Izzy. They seemed made for each other. But then, they did have the crests of hope and light, and it was sometimes difficult to separate the two concepts in my head. Davis was extremely depressed at the announcement. For about five minutes. The he glimpsed a passing skirt and was up and running.
Ken and Yolie were still getting along oddly enough. I had expected them to break up for awhile after a particularly nasty fight, but they patched things up in short order. I guess it was simply Yolie's mood swings that caused some of those fights. Ken probably understood this as well, because he endured her ranting in relatively good humor, then apologized, causing everyone else to leave as the pendulum swung back and Yolie smothered her boyfriend in kisses.
I looked for signs of Tai and Sora hitting it off, but to my disappointment, they remained just friends. But on the other hand, neither one of them dated anyone else, so I took it as a good sign.
To my extreme shock, Matt and Jun remained together. It was more than a little creepy, and Davis kept making gagging noises, but nothing ever seemed to go wrong for them.
Mimi remained in America, but she called every once in awhile, checking on things. Joe seemed a little nervous and tense, but that was Joe for you, and besides, he was studying to be a doctor, after all.
Cody… well, let's just say that Cody and I didn't get along too well. Which is odd. I usually get along with kids younger than me. But then, as far as maturity goes, Cody was right up there with Joe mentally. Cody just seemed not to trust me. Which was fine for now, but my gut told me it would become an issue in the future.
And time passed, and I began my second year in high school, my second year in the eastern quadrant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"…so we have to go back for it."
I blinked. Attempting to be the voice of reason, TK asked another question.
"Why can't we get it tomorrow? I mean, we do have school tomorrow Davis."
"That's precisely my point! I can't walk into school with out it! She'll kill me!"
"Then you shouldn't have taken it in the first place!"
"You just don't refuse a gift from a girl, especially your girlfriend! I have to go get it before tomorrow, and I need your help! You understand how I feel, don't you Takato?"
I quickly ran through my experiences with girls. One who expressed feelings through a sock puppet, and one who, well, was Rika. Enough said.
"…No comment…"
Davis sweatdropped.
"Well, Ken knows! Wouldn't you go back if Yolie gave you something and you left it somewhere?"
TK interrupted.
"If Yolie had given Ken a ring, and I still don't see why Kristen gave you one in the first place, he probably wouldn't have dropped it at all!"
Davis ignored him and sent pleading looks at Ken. Ken sighed in defeat, and Davis concentrated on TK who resisted.
"Absolutely not! I am not breaking into the school at ten o'clock at night!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How did I get dragged in this?"
I can't believe I'm doing this… I have a good life, a home, a brother, a girlfriend. Why am I adding a potential criminal record to that?
I glanced to Takato behind me, he seemed a bit nervous, and touched a spot on his chest for a moment, but still had that cheesy grin on his face.
Davis was up ahead sneaking with exaggeration, and we were more likely to get caught for that than anything else. I sighed and looked at Ken next to me. He shrugged. We followed Davis across the grounds and up to a side door. Davis fiddle around with the lock using a bent paperclip.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Of course TK! I saw this in a movie!"
I heard Ken groan beside me as I repressed the urge to strangle Davis. Don't get me wrong, Davis is a good friend, but he tends to drag you into trouble a lot. Takato looked carefully at the door, then stood up. Davis looked worried.
"What are you doing Takato?"
Takato didn't say anything; he just reached over and turned the knob. The door swung in easily. Davis looked at it a little sheepishly.
"Oops."
I whacked Davis in the back of the head as we headed in. Ken asked about the next phase in the plan.
"So, Davis, where did you leave it?"
"I'm not sure…"
"DAVIS!"
"DAVIS!"
"DAVIS!"
He just looked at the ground and scuffed his feet. Then he perked up.
"That's right! I left it in the boy's locker room!"
I slapped my head.
"That could take hours to search, and that's if no one picked it up and took it home!"
"Sorry TK."
I sighed.
"It's all right Davis. At least it's not the school we have to search anymore."
He brightened.
"Thanks TK."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ewww.
Searching a locker room was not fun. Not in the least. Especially not for something as small as a ring. I sighed. Then I shut up.
"Did anyone else hear something?"
They all stopped. Then we heard it.
Clump, clump, clump…
Footsteps…
I was not the only one who had reached that conclusion, because the next thing I knew, we were all running for the exit onto the field. We ran for our young lives. I risked a glance behind me and heard Takato next to me.
"Shit! It's Mr. Crider!"
I'd never had the man, but from Takato's stories about the man, I didn't want to get caught by him, that's for sure. Then I tripped, and I went down, twisting my ankle in the process. Takato and TK picked me up and helped me to the temporary safe refuge behind the equipment shed. Takato glanced around the side of the shed.
"We need a plan, he'll be here in a minute!"
Davis spoke up.
"All right, someone distract him, while the other two help Ken to safety!"
Takato nodded.
"I'll go."
"Takato?"
Takato smiled at me.
"He already hates me anyways. I'll get him to follow me."
TK looked a little concerned.
"What if he doesn't follow you?"
There was an odd glint in Takato's eyes as he answered.
"I'll make him follow me."
Then he took off. We waited a minute, then cautiously stepped out. Mr. Crider and Takato were nowhere to be found.
"I hope he makes it out okay…"
"Me too. I'd hate to think of what Crider would do to him."
"Yeah, if he's caught, my parents would kick him out of our house."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I dashed out of our place of concealment. Mr. Crider, obviously aware of our numbers, headed for the shed instead of me, confident he could squeeze my name out of them.
Not today.
I picked up a small rock, and threw it at him. He whipped around and started chasing me.
I really hope I can outrun this guy…
I dashed off school property with Mr. Crider about twenty yards behind. I just prayed that it was enough. Then I hit the jackpot. I ran into a drifting fog bank and charged through. And into someone else. I got up quickly and started running again, not looking back.
That training is really paying off…
I kept running until I was out of breath and collapsed on a bench.
"Takato?"
I froze.
Then I saw TK, Ken and Davis, and relaxed.
"Hey guys."
"You get away okay?"
"You think I'd be sitting here if I hadn't?"
"What happened?"
"I ran through a fog bank back there and lost him. I kinda feel sorry for the guy I knocked over though…"
"What fog bank?"
I looked back. The fog was nowhere to be found.
That's odd.
"Well, in any case, you made it okay. Thanks Takato."
"No problem Ken."
"Hey guys! Why don't we go get something to eat. My treat!"
We all looked at Davis. He looked back a little sheepishly.
"Well, this was kinda my fault…"
I smiled.
"Thanks Davis."
So we went and ate. Ken's leg was feeling better, and now that it was over we could laugh about it. Before we left, though, TK reached in his pocket and handed something to Davis. He took it and looked at him. It was the ring.
"Where did you get this!"
"In the locker room."
"Why didn't you say anything?!"
"We were a little occupied at the time, Davis."
"Yeah. Thanks TK."
"No problem Davis. Just don't lose it again."
Davis reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim silver chain. He looped the ring around it and put the chain over his head.
"I won't."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day I walked into the cafeteria and saw something unusual. Dominic was busy scrubbing up what was obviously puke from the cafeteria floor. He saw me and glared.
"I don't know how, but this was your fault Matsuki!"
"Huh?"
"Mr. Crider told me that I had to do this for the rest of the year to avoid a criminal charge. I don't know how, But it's definitely your fault."
"How would I know anything about it?"
I bought some decent lunch instead of the school made slop, and sat down to eat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Takato. I need to see you and BlackGuilmon after your school ends.*
*Azulongmon?*
*Yes, who else would it be?*
*I'm not sure. What do you need to see me for?*
*Just be here Takato.*
With that he cut off his communication and left me staring at my locker in confusion.
I wonder if something's up… Oh well, there's Kari. There are days I hate this. Having to be close but not too close.
"Hi Takato. Watch out, Yolie's on a rampage again, apparently Ken missed their date."
"Ouch, I'd hate to be him. I told him he was asking for trouble when he went to hang out with Davis beforehand."
That was our cover story. Ken was with Davis, I was with TK. Not even the group numbers matched up.
"Yeah, well you live with him, so watch out, she might decide to interrogate you instead."
"Ah. Thanks for the warning Kari, but I think I'll be fine."
Kari gave me a weird look and left. I gave out a small chuckle. None of them could understand how I took Yolie's rants so well, almost as well as Ken. To me though, it was easy. Yolie was nothing compared to Rika. Rika had a penchant for hitting you as she yelled, and it didn't matter how fast you ran. Being cornered by Yolie was nothing in comparison.
It's funny how you miss the little things. Like Rika threatening to kill you.
This has got to be the most thoroughly evil teacher I've ever encountered.
Mr. Crider was bad. He was evil on a level that Ms. Asaji could never dream of being. For starters, this guy was probably ex Special Forces in some military group. Seriously. The guy was huge! I couldn't figure out why he was teaching math and not some phys. ed. program. The guy's arms were like tree trunks, and he apparently had neither a neck nor a forehead. He constantly wore a very straight suit to school every day.
The first day I walked in, he assigned me every assignment they had done that year, and gave me a week to do them! Then there was the way he taught. He scribbled incomprehensively on the board and his customary lecture voice was a loud bellow. The tests were worse than anything I had ever seen before. They were word problems, and hard ones at that, but they were set up so that every problem depended on the answer to the one before it. So if you missed the first question, all of the answers were wrong.
Then there was the way he handed tests back. Like he was dong now. The tests were in order of the grade, in descending order. He started out passing things back with a light smile, but by the time he got to the bottom of the stack, where mine usually resided, he had a scowl. Even if they didn't know your exact grade, everyone in the class knew the approximate score. Today my test was last. Dead last. The person who gets dead last gets to stay after school for… something. We don't know what. Nobody who goes through it talks - ever.
"Matsuki, see me after school…"
I gulped.
"Yes sir."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're late Matsuki."
"I'm sorry sir, I had to clean some things in my last class."
"I don't care! You leave someone else to do it next time!"
I was the only one left!
Somehow, I didn't think that argument would work, so I simply agreed.
"Yes, sir."
Now, Matsuki, this is what you're going to do. You're going to scrub every inch of this room, and the cafeteria. Including the kitchen!"
"Yes sir."
This is not good.
He handed me a relatively small sponge.
"And Matsuki."
"Yes sir?"
"If you breath a word about this to any of your classmates, you'll fail the semester, guaranteed. After you scub down the entire school."
"Yes sir."
It's gonna be a long night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day I made a decision.
There is no way in hell I'm ever going through that again.
I needed help. Lots of help. There were only two people I knew who could make me ace every exam in that damn class. And only one of them still knew I was alive.
Koushiro Izumi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm not sure about this, Takato."
"Why not?"
"I'm a little busy."
"Is there anthing I can do to convince you?"
"I still don't know. There's not much I really need."
"Come on, I need this! I'll do anything!."
"Hmmm."
Seeing him waver a bit, I sweetened the deal.
I hope that the show knew what it taught…
"What if I make some stuff?"
"What kind of stuff?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I am good at cooking, you know, brownies and stuff, just not most other subjects."
He looked heavenward for a moment, then stuck out his hand.
"Deal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And time passed.
My grades eventually went up again, and it seemed the more baked goods I shoved down Izzy's throat, the higher my grades went. It was a little creepy, but good as far as I could tell.
TK and Kari officially hooked up not long after I started studying with Izzy. They seemed made for each other. But then, they did have the crests of hope and light, and it was sometimes difficult to separate the two concepts in my head. Davis was extremely depressed at the announcement. For about five minutes. The he glimpsed a passing skirt and was up and running.
Ken and Yolie were still getting along oddly enough. I had expected them to break up for awhile after a particularly nasty fight, but they patched things up in short order. I guess it was simply Yolie's mood swings that caused some of those fights. Ken probably understood this as well, because he endured her ranting in relatively good humor, then apologized, causing everyone else to leave as the pendulum swung back and Yolie smothered her boyfriend in kisses.
I looked for signs of Tai and Sora hitting it off, but to my disappointment, they remained just friends. But on the other hand, neither one of them dated anyone else, so I took it as a good sign.
To my extreme shock, Matt and Jun remained together. It was more than a little creepy, and Davis kept making gagging noises, but nothing ever seemed to go wrong for them.
Mimi remained in America, but she called every once in awhile, checking on things. Joe seemed a little nervous and tense, but that was Joe for you, and besides, he was studying to be a doctor, after all.
Cody… well, let's just say that Cody and I didn't get along too well. Which is odd. I usually get along with kids younger than me. But then, as far as maturity goes, Cody was right up there with Joe mentally. Cody just seemed not to trust me. Which was fine for now, but my gut told me it would become an issue in the future.
And time passed, and I began my second year in high school, my second year in the eastern quadrant.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"…so we have to go back for it."
I blinked. Attempting to be the voice of reason, TK asked another question.
"Why can't we get it tomorrow? I mean, we do have school tomorrow Davis."
"That's precisely my point! I can't walk into school with out it! She'll kill me!"
"Then you shouldn't have taken it in the first place!"
"You just don't refuse a gift from a girl, especially your girlfriend! I have to go get it before tomorrow, and I need your help! You understand how I feel, don't you Takato?"
I quickly ran through my experiences with girls. One who expressed feelings through a sock puppet, and one who, well, was Rika. Enough said.
"…No comment…"
Davis sweatdropped.
"Well, Ken knows! Wouldn't you go back if Yolie gave you something and you left it somewhere?"
TK interrupted.
"If Yolie had given Ken a ring, and I still don't see why Kristen gave you one in the first place, he probably wouldn't have dropped it at all!"
Davis ignored him and sent pleading looks at Ken. Ken sighed in defeat, and Davis concentrated on TK who resisted.
"Absolutely not! I am not breaking into the school at ten o'clock at night!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How did I get dragged in this?"
I can't believe I'm doing this… I have a good life, a home, a brother, a girlfriend. Why am I adding a potential criminal record to that?
I glanced to Takato behind me, he seemed a bit nervous, and touched a spot on his chest for a moment, but still had that cheesy grin on his face.
Davis was up ahead sneaking with exaggeration, and we were more likely to get caught for that than anything else. I sighed and looked at Ken next to me. He shrugged. We followed Davis across the grounds and up to a side door. Davis fiddle around with the lock using a bent paperclip.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
"Of course TK! I saw this in a movie!"
I heard Ken groan beside me as I repressed the urge to strangle Davis. Don't get me wrong, Davis is a good friend, but he tends to drag you into trouble a lot. Takato looked carefully at the door, then stood up. Davis looked worried.
"What are you doing Takato?"
Takato didn't say anything; he just reached over and turned the knob. The door swung in easily. Davis looked at it a little sheepishly.
"Oops."
I whacked Davis in the back of the head as we headed in. Ken asked about the next phase in the plan.
"So, Davis, where did you leave it?"
"I'm not sure…"
"DAVIS!"
"DAVIS!"
"DAVIS!"
He just looked at the ground and scuffed his feet. Then he perked up.
"That's right! I left it in the boy's locker room!"
I slapped my head.
"That could take hours to search, and that's if no one picked it up and took it home!"
"Sorry TK."
I sighed.
"It's all right Davis. At least it's not the school we have to search anymore."
He brightened.
"Thanks TK."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ewww.
Searching a locker room was not fun. Not in the least. Especially not for something as small as a ring. I sighed. Then I shut up.
"Did anyone else hear something?"
They all stopped. Then we heard it.
Clump, clump, clump…
Footsteps…
I was not the only one who had reached that conclusion, because the next thing I knew, we were all running for the exit onto the field. We ran for our young lives. I risked a glance behind me and heard Takato next to me.
"Shit! It's Mr. Crider!"
I'd never had the man, but from Takato's stories about the man, I didn't want to get caught by him, that's for sure. Then I tripped, and I went down, twisting my ankle in the process. Takato and TK picked me up and helped me to the temporary safe refuge behind the equipment shed. Takato glanced around the side of the shed.
"We need a plan, he'll be here in a minute!"
Davis spoke up.
"All right, someone distract him, while the other two help Ken to safety!"
Takato nodded.
"I'll go."
"Takato?"
Takato smiled at me.
"He already hates me anyways. I'll get him to follow me."
TK looked a little concerned.
"What if he doesn't follow you?"
There was an odd glint in Takato's eyes as he answered.
"I'll make him follow me."
Then he took off. We waited a minute, then cautiously stepped out. Mr. Crider and Takato were nowhere to be found.
"I hope he makes it out okay…"
"Me too. I'd hate to think of what Crider would do to him."
"Yeah, if he's caught, my parents would kick him out of our house."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I dashed out of our place of concealment. Mr. Crider, obviously aware of our numbers, headed for the shed instead of me, confident he could squeeze my name out of them.
Not today.
I picked up a small rock, and threw it at him. He whipped around and started chasing me.
I really hope I can outrun this guy…
I dashed off school property with Mr. Crider about twenty yards behind. I just prayed that it was enough. Then I hit the jackpot. I ran into a drifting fog bank and charged through. And into someone else. I got up quickly and started running again, not looking back.
That training is really paying off…
I kept running until I was out of breath and collapsed on a bench.
"Takato?"
I froze.
Then I saw TK, Ken and Davis, and relaxed.
"Hey guys."
"You get away okay?"
"You think I'd be sitting here if I hadn't?"
"What happened?"
"I ran through a fog bank back there and lost him. I kinda feel sorry for the guy I knocked over though…"
"What fog bank?"
I looked back. The fog was nowhere to be found.
That's odd.
"Well, in any case, you made it okay. Thanks Takato."
"No problem Ken."
"Hey guys! Why don't we go get something to eat. My treat!"
We all looked at Davis. He looked back a little sheepishly.
"Well, this was kinda my fault…"
I smiled.
"Thanks Davis."
So we went and ate. Ken's leg was feeling better, and now that it was over we could laugh about it. Before we left, though, TK reached in his pocket and handed something to Davis. He took it and looked at him. It was the ring.
"Where did you get this!"
"In the locker room."
"Why didn't you say anything?!"
"We were a little occupied at the time, Davis."
"Yeah. Thanks TK."
"No problem Davis. Just don't lose it again."
Davis reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim silver chain. He looped the ring around it and put the chain over his head.
"I won't."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day I walked into the cafeteria and saw something unusual. Dominic was busy scrubbing up what was obviously puke from the cafeteria floor. He saw me and glared.
"I don't know how, but this was your fault Matsuki!"
"Huh?"
"Mr. Crider told me that I had to do this for the rest of the year to avoid a criminal charge. I don't know how, But it's definitely your fault."
"How would I know anything about it?"
I bought some decent lunch instead of the school made slop, and sat down to eat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Takato. I need to see you and BlackGuilmon after your school ends.*
*Azulongmon?*
*Yes, who else would it be?*
*I'm not sure. What do you need to see me for?*
*Just be here Takato.*
With that he cut off his communication and left me staring at my locker in confusion.
I wonder if something's up… Oh well, there's Kari. There are days I hate this. Having to be close but not too close.
"Hi Takato. Watch out, Yolie's on a rampage again, apparently Ken missed their date."
"Ouch, I'd hate to be him. I told him he was asking for trouble when he went to hang out with Davis beforehand."
That was our cover story. Ken was with Davis, I was with TK. Not even the group numbers matched up.
"Yeah, well you live with him, so watch out, she might decide to interrogate you instead."
"Ah. Thanks for the warning Kari, but I think I'll be fine."
Kari gave me a weird look and left. I gave out a small chuckle. None of them could understand how I took Yolie's rants so well, almost as well as Ken. To me though, it was easy. Yolie was nothing compared to Rika. Rika had a penchant for hitting you as she yelled, and it didn't matter how fast you ran. Being cornered by Yolie was nothing in comparison.
It's funny how you miss the little things. Like Rika threatening to kill you.