Versus 3: Eclipse
All That You Buy, Beg, Borrow or Steal-
Good old Marron. Who ever would have guessed that the person Bra tried to avoid most would be the person who would give her the best advice? Sure, she may not have meant it the way Bra took it, but it definitely beat giving up. Besides, giving up wasn't something Bra was known for. And even Marron remembered that about her.
Now it was on to the planning. She could easily get out of the house as long as her mother was preoccupied. Her father didn't give her much grief about sneaking out, so that was okay. But what about Nick? There had to be a way to keep him out of her affairs. They would likely study into the night, but today it was important for her to get out early. So what could she do to convince him to give her the night off? Especially after he went to all the trouble to get Goten's lesson plan this morning?
Bra soared above the clouds as she thought things through. According to the position of the sun in the sky, it was a little after 3:00. She would have to get home soon before her mother began to worry. Then again, her mother was probably in her lab, fiddling with some sort of new device.
She landed outside the door and before she could reach into her pocket and pull out the house key, the door swung open.
There stood Bulma with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face. "Young lady, where have you been! Your school called and said that you missed 5 classes!" she screamed.
That's right! She'd forgotten all about the school calling when you were absent. Bra frowned, but remained silent.
"I asked you a question, missy! Where-were-you-all-day?" Bulma continued furiously.
Bra just looked at her and wouldn't answer.
"You've been hanging out with Goten, haven't you? Ever since you two got back into contact with each other, you've been different. And now that you're a couple, it's worse," Bulma said. "I never would have thought you'd go so far as to skip school."
That pretty much pissed Bra off. She wanted to cry, but her pride wouldn't let her. She just ground her teeth and said, "For your information, he broke up with me."
The expression on her mother's face quickly changed from infuriated to saddened. "Oh, Bra. I didn't know. I'm so sorry."
"Just leave me alone," Bra said, looking away and folding her arms across her chest.
"But why? Why did he break?" Bulma began. She was about to walk over and put her arms around her daughter, but Bra gave her a threatening look.
"Stay away from me," Bra hissed, backing away from her mother.
Bulma looked hurt. "Bra, I'm sorry things are going badly for you, but that's really no reason to be angry with me." She walked over and put her hand on Bra's shoulder. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you."
Bra looked at her mother's hand on her shoulder. This woman was truly brave. If Bra would have been feeling just a hair more violent, she would have reduced the woman to little more than the crud on the bottom of her shoe. Her mother had really lucked out on this one. Instead, Bra looked at her mother's kind and sincere face. Was this what her father had fallen for? This kind yet stern, intelligent yet somehow foolish set of eyes before her? This woman with all the pride and bravery of a lion, yet the physical fortitude of a candied yam? Maybe. Bra smiled to herself. Maybe her parents' relationship wasn't as odd as it seemed.
Bulma looked at Bra strangely. "Are you okay, honey?"
"I'm fine. I'll talk to you about it sometime," Bra found herself saying. She touched the hand her mother had put on her shoulder, then went to her bedroom.
The atmosphere of her room seemed different for some reason. She looked around to see if someone was there. No one. Then she caught sight of an envelop lying on her bed. She sure hoped it wasn't another invitation to a fashion show.
When she turned the letter face-up, she saw that her name was written on it in Goten's handwriting. It was a letter from Goten! She hurriedly tore it open and began to read:
& - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & -
Dearest Bra,
There are many things I'd like to express to you, yet I can't seem to find the words. I know that I've hurt you, and for that I am sorry. But I will not apologize for why I came to the decision that we should not be together. Like I told you, you are still young and there are things in life you have yet to experience. I don't want to take those experiences away from you. Right now you should just live. Live life for all it's worth. I can't say that it'll be easy. I can't say it'll go smoothly. I can't say that one day someone else won't come along and steal your heart away. That's a risk I'm willing to take if it'll make you happy and allow you the experiences you may have otherwise missed out on. So, once you get to the halfway point, I'll be waiting there. And I'm hoping we can make it to the finish line together.
All of my love,
Goten
& - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & -
The tears that had eluded her for so long finally came. She hated to see this letter. It truly made everything final. Heart-broken, she held the papers to her chest. Papers? More than one? She turned to the second piece of paper:
& - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & -
Strength, Kindness, Beauty, Intelligence
Confidence, Grace, Humor, Perseverance
Voice, Smile
Scent, Style
That's why I'm crazy on you.
& - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & - & -
She could barely make out the words for all the tears in her eyes. It was a goofy, yet sweet poem that bled the name Goten. Only Goten would have written something like that and actually sent it to someone. It made her feel all warm inside.
And while the letter seemed to be a sweet farewell, she still had all intentions of 'being friends' with Goten. If she didn't at least have him as a friend, then how would she live?
She sighed and sat on her bed, still holding the letter from Goten. The amount of damage that this breakup was causing her was well beyond compare. There was no amount of physical pain she had ever endured that could even come close to her present suffering. Not with her strenuous training spells. Not with the fight she had with her father. Nothing came close.
Suddenly there came a tapping at her door. Bra had a feeling the person on the other side was her mother, so she was really in no hurry to answer it. She slowly put Goten's letter in her desk drawer, dried the tears from her face and made her way to the door. She sighed heavily and opened it. "I know I said that I would talk about it, but I really need more time," she said, not even looking up at the visitor.
"Um, actually, I thought that I was supposed to do all the talking," a male voice commented.
Bra looked up at the person at her door. It was Nick. He was sure here early. Her mother told her that he didn't get off from work until 5:00. He stood there smiling at her and holding his history book. Boy, she'd never noticed how big that history book of his was until now. Everything about every point in history had to be in that one book. "Oh... Hey."
Nick looked at her closely and his smile slowly faded. "Are you okay? I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
Bra looked away. "No, you didn't." She turned around to pick up her history book. She wanted to change the subject quickly. She didn't want him to ask any questions. He seemed like the type to pry, but not really. She didn't really know what to make of this guy. She'd only known him for a couple of days. Maybe she should just make some small talk. "So, how has your day been?" She hugged her book to her chest and turned back to him.
Nick leaned against the entrance to her room with his book in one hand and the other hand in his pocket. "Pretty good." He looked out into the hall in both directions, then looked back at Bra. "Actually, that's why I'm back earlier than usual. I wanted to take you someplace."
What? He wanted to take her someplace? What was he talking about? Where did he want to take her? Why did he all of a sudden want to go somewhere with her? "Um..., I'm grounded, remember?"
Nick smiled again. "I know." He turned and headed toward his room.
She didn't know what to say. Not only did it seem like he was going against the rules of her household, but he had also pulled one of her favorite techniques. He'd half explained something, then walked away. Now she was interested. She followed him to where they would be studying.
She found herself standing in the doorway of the guest room. She watched as Nick took his seat at the desk that was set up for their study session.
Nick looked back at her. "You're probably not the type to do this sort of thing."
Bra looked at him strangely. Starting a conversation like that made her somewhat nervous. She wasn't sure what this guy was getting at. Then again, that type of statement got under her skin because it seemed he was underestimating her. And as she'd stated so many times in the past, she hated being underestimated. She walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Explain," was all she said.
Nick leaned back in his chair and teetered on the back legs of it. "Well, Eroder's got a show tonight and I told you that I'd take you to one sometime."
"You got a Monday night gig? That's gotta be real exciting," Bra asked sarcastically.
Nick laughed a little. "I understand why it would seem strange. But you'd be surprised how many college students and night dwellers are looking for something to do on a Monday night."
"I guess," Bra said. She still couldn't believe this nonsense. "So, when did you have time to go get this Monday night gig? During your lunch break?"
"Oh, right. Your mom thinks I work all day. Well, actually I do, but not in the way she thinks," Nick explained. He sighed. "She doesn't know I'm in a band. I don't think she'd take me very seriously as a tutor if she found out that I play guitar and sing part-time."
Bra sat in the seat next to Nick and lay her book on the desk.
"You see, I work at the college from 8:00 to 1:00. Then there's lunch. And after that, the guys and I have band practice till 6:00," Nick continued. "I know I'm deceiving your mother. It's really not fair for her to take me into her home when I haven't told her all there is to know about me, but I love helping people, I love geology and I love this band." He looked at Bra. "Will you keep this between us?"
Bra wasn't sure what to say. Letting her mother in on this was a sure-fire way to get this man out of her life forever. But Nick seemed so dedicated to the cause. She kinda felt sorry for him for some reason.
"Please?" Nick asked.
There was something there-Bra wasn't sure what-that made her agree to it. Maybe it was the fact that it went against her mother. Maybe it was the fact that this was the life of a band they were talking about. Maybe it was the fact that Nick had a look on his face that reminded her of something or someone. All she knew was that she had agreed before she knew it.
"You're alright, Ms. Bra," Nick said. "Thank you. I owe you big for this."
Hmmmmmmm... That little statement gave Bra an idea. "Well, since I'm doing a favor for you, maybe you can do a favor for me." She didn't want to tell a perfect stranger everything about her situation, but getting him to cover for her when she made her great escapes would definitely give her an advantage whenever she wanted to go out and see Goten. "I have some very important things to handle during certain nights. I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a couple of nights off so I can do this stuff."
Nick frowned. "I don't know. I'm already taking a big risk taking you to the show tonight... But I guess it couldn't hurt."
Maybe this guy was more of a rebel than she previously assumed.
"Now, if I plan on getting you out of the house, I'm gonna have to do a little speed tutoring. It IS what I'm being paid for after all," Nick reminded her.
Bra nodded. She looked forward to what the night may bring. Though she was a huge music fan, she had never attended a concert. As much as she would have liked to, she simply couldn't deal with the crowds. But this was the perfect opportunity to get used to the atmosphere AND to see if Nick was worthy of his instrument of choice.
End All That You Buy, Beg, Borrow or Steal-
Yet another episode is up and out. Hope you enjoyed it. I know. There's not much in it TO enjoy, but I'm sure it's all coming down to something. What that something is, I just don't know yet.
I rant and I rave: That letter from Goten was kinda cheesy, don't you think? Maybe he's the insane one. I know if I were him, I wouldn't send this girl, who I know has a bad temper, a letter like that. She could come back and slice me into little pieces in my sleep. And to tell the truth, if I were Bra, I'd probably go and do it. What your stand on this?
Anyway, thanks for reading this episode of Eclipse and thanks for the past reviews. Whether they are good or bad, they really help out a lot, so don't back down if you see something you don't like. Let me know.