Gato: Next chapter. I'm not sure how long this one will be. It was originally going to be the final chapter, but we shall see.
Irie: That we shall. Time for the disclaimer?
Gato: Yes.
Irie: She will own Digimon the day the sky turns purple with like green stripes.
………………………………………
I continue to support my entire weight against the door as the conversation replays in my mind. I meant everything I said to him, but he didn't play the part I expected. I assumed he would apologize, and we would talk. I assumed everything would work out perfectly. Stupid assumptions. I can't believe I was such a moron.
But, then, I suppose that this is what was meant to occur. I've always believed that things happen for a reason. It makes it easier to shift the blame away from myself for a while. My head – excessively heavy from emotional exhaustion – collapses forward onto my knees. My eyes remain dry as I think about the past twenty four hours. For once, I don't despise the world, or myself, or mankind. Maybe this truly was meant to happen.
It's in this position and with these thoughts that I finally get the sleep I needed.
…
My mother's abrupt arrival awakes me from my slumber. Let's think about the sequence of events, shall we? I fell asleep leaning against the front door. When my mother walked in, she (obviously) opened the front door. The door pushed me forward, onto my face while my mother walked in and merely stared at me in disbelief.
"I don't know why I even bothered getting you a bed, Sora. You rarely seem to sleep in it," she jokes.
"Very funny," I mutter, clumsily standing back up.
"How was the Prom?"
"It was…" I start to say 'good' but we all know that's a horrible lie. "It was less than magical. I broke up with Tai."
My mother drops her purse onto the floor.
"Oh, Sora! I'm so sorry, sweetie. What happened? Do you want to talk about it? Are you alright?"
"Surprisingly, I think I am alright. Either that or I'm in shock."
"Come into the kitchen, and I'll make you some tea. Are you hungry, Sora?"
My mother gently leads me to the table and fills the kettle. She places a generous slice of peach pie on a plate and shoves it toward me. God, I love my mother. I slowly nibble at the pie, rejoicing for the lack of nausea in my body. After I've poked through half of the pie, I manage to tell my mother what happened (excluding the drinking, of course). When I finish my tale, I've also downed two mugs of tea.
"Sora, honey, I'm sorry. I can see where you were coming from," (Oh man, there's going to be a 'but' in this sentence. I can feel it) "but, you should also try and see things from Tai's perspective."
"Whose side are you on, Mom?" I ask moodily.
"I'm not picking a side, Sora. That isn't my job."
"Isn't it your job to tell me that I'm right?" I demand weakly. That was possibly the stupidest question ever to come from my mouth.
"It's my job to be you mother, Sora, and that means telling you my honest opinion about your actions."
"And what is your honest opinion in this case?" I ask dejectedly. I hate it when she's right.
"That you didn't give Tai a fair chance. You just lashed out at him for things that had been bothering you all throughout your relationship. You should have brought these things up as you realized them, not all at once. That does not mean," she continues quickly, interrupting me nearly formed angry comment, "that I agree with what Tai did. In fact, I'm rather appalled at his behaviour. I think that you both needed to talk about your relationship, not merely break it off."
I stare at my mother in disbelief. She just made me realize that I am a complete moron (which I'm sure all of you have realized by now). She also made me doubt my decision to dump Tai. No, I can't doubt this decision. I did what was right for me, and now I'm going to Queens and that is that.
"Either way," I say slowly, "I've decided that I'm going to Queens for university."
My mother blinks, no expression on her face. "You're sure?"
"Yes. It's what is right for me. I mean, Queens is a great school, and I worked so hard to get there. Not to mention, it will give me new opportunities for…stuff."
"Like relationships?"
Damn her.
"Can you knock before you enter my brain?" I ask quietly.
My mother grins. "I'll get right on that. Hey, now that you've decided, we have a lot of stuff to do. We have tons to buy and…oh, and I need to talk to you about something. You know Aunt Vivian?"
"Of course mom, we were at her wedding just last year. I still think it's strange that she's a model and has married a professional chef. I mean, models are constantly on diets and this guy is always going to be cooking stuff that…"
"Anyway," my mother interrupts my tangent, "her husband is Canadian, and they live in Ontario. I thought you could head out to their house for a couple of weeks right after graduation. That way you can see Queens and the province you where you will be living. If you don't like it, you have time to come back and change your mind."
I run this idea over in my mind. It works out perfectly, I get to go see my future school and I get away from Tai. Excellent.
"That's a great idea, Mom. But, is Aunt Vivian okay with that?"
"Oh yes, we talked about it as soon as you applied to Queens."
"How did you know I was going to get in?"
"I always have faith in you, honey."
I grin and glance at the clock, my eyes widening as I see the time. I have no idea what time my mother got home, but the clock reads 1:24 a.m. My mother follows my gaze and gasps.
"My goodness, look at the time. I think we both need to get some sleep. I'll be home from work around four tomorrow. We'll start shopping then, alright Sora?"
"That's perfect, Mom."
As my mom leaves, I suddenly realize that I have to inform people of my university decision. And, by people I mean Mimi and Joe. Crap, that's going to be less than fun. Especially considering the fact that Mimi and I were already planning out our two person dorm room. Double crap. Oh well, I'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be less than fun.
…
A ringing phone startles me out of my sleep. I attempt to reach for the phone, and manage to fall out of bed. The phone continues its banshee-like call. I pick myself up and grab the phone off its cradle.
"Hello?" I ask monotonously.
"Sora Takenouchi! What the hell is going on!" Mimi's shriek echoes through my room. I quickly move the phone away from my ear and wait for the screaming to end.
"Good morning to you too, Mimi. Did you sleep well?"
"Don't give me that!" she cries. "You know what, I'm coming over to your house. Bye."
Her last few words remind me so forcefully of Tai's message the previous day that I drop the phone. I stare at the object as it begins an incessant beeping. Slowly, I replace the phone and get dressed. See, I told you today was going to be less than fun. I quickly dress myself, and open the door before Mimi has a chance to knock.
"Good, you're up and dressed. Now, we need to talk."
"About what," I sigh. I was going to get a whole speech ready so that Mimi wouldn't freak out. I guess that idea took an un-harnessed leap off a bridge.
"About what!" she shrieks. "What do you…"
"Okay, Mimi, I realize that you are trying to be helpful and that you are very shocked, but everyone within a five mile radius does not need to hear this. Not to mention, I would like to make it to age twenty with my hearing ability in tact. So, please lower the decibels."
Mimi takes a slow breath and begins again. "You broke up with Tai."
It is more of a statement than a question. I nod in reply.
"Why?"
"I just couldn't be with him anymore. Yesterday, when I got home and everything, I was thinking about everything that bothered me in out relationship. The bad things outweighed the good, so what was the point of being in a relationship? I fell in love with Tai once, and he didn't return my affection. There were many times when I wondered if he even cared. It just seemed so stupid to be in such a…stagnant relationship. We weren't going anywhere, so what was the point of continuing. Besides, I was in love with him, and to him, I was just there."
"You were in love with him? You don't love him anymore?" Mimi asks, staring at me intensely.
I force myself to return her gaze. "No, I don't love him anymore. Yesterday, I fell out of love with Taichi."
"Are you sure?"
I slowly lower myself onto a sofa and think about everything – about our whole relationship. The dance at the beginning of the year and his kind words, slowly becoming less frequent and sincere. His sense of humour and laid back attitude which didn't make up for his lack of romance. The day I realized that I was in love with him, only to be quickly and harshly disillusioned.
"Yes," I whisper, "I'm sure."
Mimi hugs me silently while I try to gather the courage to tell her my next point. This one is going to be harder than defending my breakup with Tai.
"Mimi, I have to tell you something else."
"I have to tell you something too, Sora." Mimi's voice shakes. I quickly pull back and notice tears on Mimi's face.
"Mimi, what's the matter?" I stare at my friend in shock. I've never seen Mimi look so scared.
"Sora, I think I'm…I think I might be…pregnant."
"What?" I breathe. "But you and Joe…when did the two of you…you know?"
"I wasn't planning on it at all," she wails, "otherwise I would have been on the pill. The problem is that I'm two weeks late and…well, it's been almost two weeks since Kristen's pool party."
"What does the pool party have to do with anything? I remember getting an invitation to that party. I couldn't go because I had soccer practice."
"I know." Mimi sniffs and wipes at her tears with shaking hands. "They were serving drinks at the party, and I got plastered. I think it was a combination of the heat, hunger and the drinks. Anyway, I don't remember a lot about that night. What I do know is that I woke up next to Joe the next morning…and most of my clothes were gone."
"Define most."
She does and I inhale sharply. God, and I thought I had problems.
"What am I going to do?" Mimi asks helplessly.
"Wait a second, Joe is a good guy. He wouldn't take advantage of you because you were drunk."
"He had a good amount to drink too. He didn't say anything the next morning, and I didn't ask, so I have no idea if anything happened. I'm too scared to ask now."
I close my eyes and say softly, "Mimi, this is what we're going to do. We're going to buy a pregnancy test at the pharmacy and you're going to take it. If it's positive, you have to tell Joe. If it's negative, then everything is fine, right?"
Mimi nods and forcefully wipes away the last of her tears. She flashes her bright smile to cover the intense fear she feels. I give her another hug and we head out for the drug store.
…
An hour later, I wait outside my washroom door for the results. It took Mimi ages to buy the test because a few people from our school were at the store. We actually left and came back later.
Please let the test be negative, I wish for the umpteenth time. I have no idea what Mimi is feeling right now, nor do I know what I would do in her position.
The door slowly opens and Mimi exits. I grab her by the shoulders and force her to look at me.
"Well?"
"It's negative," she says in a relieved voice.
"Thank god!" I cry and wrap her in a hug.
"I have not been that scared in my entire life," Mimi says, her voice muffled against my clothes. "What would I do without you, Sora?"
Oh shit, I really do have to tell her, don't I? God damn.
"Mimi, there's something I have to tell you."
"What's wrong, Sora?"
"I…I'm going to Queens."
Mimi's smile never falters as she cries, "That's great, Sora! You're going to have so much fun, not to mention it's an incredible school."
"You don't have to pretend to be happy for me, Meems," I say dejectedly.
"I'm not pretending, Sora. I really am going to miss you, but what type of friend would I be if I held you back? Queens is an amazing school, and it's what you want."
Finally, the tears from the past two days escape, and quickly soak my face. Through my watery vision, I can see that Mimi is crying as well. My past sixteen years as Mimi's friend quickly flash through my mind and I manage to smile.
"We'll still be friends, right Meems?"
"Of course we will," she chokes. "You think we're going to stop talking just because there's an ocean separating us? You and I will be friends forever. No amount of distance will ever change that."
"Good," I say. "My mom and I are going shopping later. What to come?"
"Sure," Mimi grins, always happy to go shopping. "And we can look at clothes for graduation."
"Oh crap, I totally forgot that we need nice clothes for that. Can you believe we graduate in three days?"
"And then I never have to take another science course again!" Mimi cries happily and I giggle.
My mother opens the door and greets us cheerfully. "Hello Sora. Mimi, lovely to see you. Are you going shopping with us?"
"That I am, Ms. Takenouchi. Can you believe Sora got into Queens?"
"It's very impressive, isn't it? Would you girls like something to eat before we head out? I have some leftover lasagna in the fridge."
I suddenly realize that I haven't eaten yet.
"I'm starving," I say.
"Me too," Mimi seconds.
"Alright, come and sit down."
My mother scoops generous helpings of the aromatic food onto our dishes and we slowly eat, reminiscing about the past decade and a half. Stories range from the time I shoved a crayon up my nose to the day Mimi made her catwalk debut. It seems that all of Mimi's are less embarrassing that mine. Strange how that works.
…
The three of us wander through the mall weighed down by bags filled with school supplies and of course, clothes and shoes. Mimi insisted that we go into every store, and strangely enough, something weird has happened to us in every bit of the mall.
"Remember when you yelled at the saleslady in this store? I thought she was going to cry," I say to Mimi.
"Ach, she was useless. What good is a dress saleslady that can't tell the difference between lilac and mauve?"
My mother laughs softly and takes a dark green skirt off a rack.
"How about this for your graduation outfit, Sora?"
I study the skirt. I flows in ruffles past my knee, and I could pair it with something white or black.
"Oh, Sora, you'd look gorgeous in that."
"What's the point of buying something new for grad? It's just going to be covered by the robe."
Mimi sighs, "For the tenth time, Sora, the outfit is for the party after grad."
"Just go try it on, Sora," my mother insists and shoves the skirt, a sparkly white top and me into a dressing room. "Now, let's find something for you, Mimi. I think something pink would look lovely on you."
"Were you every a fashion designer, Ms. Takenouchi?" I hear Mimi ask as I slip on the skirt.
"Why do you ask, Mimi?" I hear my mother flip through some racks. She was a fashion designer, but had to give it up when my dad left us. It's always been a touchy subject for my mother. I change quickly in an attempt to leave the change room and stop Mimi's questions.
"You're excellent a picking out clothing. It's very impressive," Mimi says.
"Thank-you Mimi. Yes, I was a fashion designer at one point, but I had to give it up for something more stable."
"I see," Mimi muses. "Well, it's great that you can apply your talent to Sora's wardrobe. God knows she needs the help."
"I can head you!" I cry from the stall.
Mimi laughs loudly. "I was just kidding, Sora."
"Try this dress on, Mimi. It will work well with your complexion."
"It's stunning, Mrs. T. Thanks. Sora, hurry up and finish changing, I want to see you before I try on this dress."
"I'm coming," I call and step out of the change room, looking in the mirror. Wow, my mom really is good at picking out clothes.
"You look so pretty, Sora!" Mimi cries.
"Thanks," I say. "Amazing choices, Mom."
"It's easy when you have pretty girls to work with," she replies, half joking. "Now, Mimi you try that on. I want to have you home before your mother starts worrying about you. It's a school day tomorrow you know."
"Don't remind me," I groan.
…
Sure enough, Monday arrives and I meet Mimi at the doors of the school.
"Another day," she sighs.
"Hey, don't forget that we graduate on Thursday night. These next few days will be dedicated to yearbooks, good-byes and pranks."
"You've got a point," Mimi says slowly. "I'm really looking forward to the pranks. I hope someone really goes all out."
"So do I. I want them to do something to shock the entire school."
Someone laughs coldly as they shove pasts us. I don't even need to see the face the recognize Andrea.
"You what will the best thing about graduation?" I ask.
"No more Andrea," Mimi replies.
"Exactly." I laugh and open the doors to the school. My laugh dies immediately and Mimi drops her textbooks. Plastered all over the walls and lockers are posters with a picture of Mimi picking up a pregnancy test at the pharmacy. The words, 'Mimi Takawatchi, knocked-up' assail my vision.
"Shocked?" Andrea asks smugly.
Without taking even a millisecond to think, I launch myself at Andrea and tackle her to the ground. A pair of strong arms haul me off the bitch before I can land a punch. There's something too familiar about these arms.
"Let go of me, Tai."
He ignores me and picks up Mimi with one hand. He forcefully leads us into a stairwell while the majority of the school watches. To my surprise, I head people cursing at Andrea. I turn back to see her pale, drawn face as her classmates turn against her. I smirk at her predicament. That stupid slut deserves everything being said. Ha, that's what she receives for being a…
My smug thoughts are interrupted by the sudden recognition of Joe sitting on the stairs. Oh shit. He slowly stands up and turns to his girlfriend.
"Well Mimi, it looks like we need to talk."
……………………………………………………………
Gato: Okay, the next chapter will be the last one, or so I think. As you all know, I never really plan out my stories ahead of time.
Irie: Because that's my job, and everyone knows that I'm as helpful as a purple gorpflan.
Gato: What the heck is a gorpflan?
Irie: I dunno…I made up the word.
Gato: Moving on…reviewer response…
TO DarkMetalAngel of Destruction: Wooo, that's a long name. I don't think Tai's going to be leaving Japan, but it looks like Sora is. Who know what will happen? Well, I do, but that's not the point. Thanks for the review!
TO digimon-Taiora: Well, I try and keep the story as possible. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
TO NeverMore88: Thanks! And, yes, you may ask. He is a very big part of Irie's past, which is a very long and separate story. I think that someday I will write it and post it on fictionpress. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!
TO star: Oh, yes, he really is an idiot. Here's the next update. Enjoy!
TO Steve-racer: Wow, you seem to have some anger towards Tai's idiocy. Don't despair though! Everything will work out in the end! It's a romantic comedy, after all!
TO MegumiFire: Thanks so much. I'm really glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. I hoped you liked this one as well. Thanks again!
TO Mew Yukari: I've updated again. Thanks tons and tons! You're very sweet!
TO listen: No worries.
TO GTKari-123: Here's your update!
Gato: Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that. I'll work on the next on as soon as I can. After this story is done, I'm moving on to The Reprocutions of Pain, so if you read that story as well…I'll update it soon.
Irie: REVIEW!