Hey, so sorry for taking so long to update! I was in NaNoWriMo and it took up all my time, but here is all the good stuff! Thanks for being so patient! This is the last time I will reply to reviews in the new way!
Serpent-vampfreak- I'm so glad you liked my poem! My lyrics! I so want to put them to music, but the kid I gave them to, to do that, he never did. Yeah, I totally LOVE Aggie and Cassandra, they are my characters of course, but I love them! Thank you so much for reviewing! You were the only person!
This chapter is dedicated to SERPENT-VAMPFREAK!
Standard disclaimers apply
Chapter 10
(Yami)
"Can we go the play this weekend?" Yugi asked from the couch where he was teaching Joey how to play some Spanish card game that he had been given by his grandfather. It was strange how much time that Joey had spent with us, but I found that in life it was easier to not ask too many personal questions.
"When is it?" I questioned as I peeked into the pot that had the rice cooking in it. Every time it was my turn to cook I made the same thing, rice and steamed vegetables. It was what I had eaten every night of my life ever since my parents had left me at the monastery with the monks. Sometimes the menu changed, but never very much.
"Fr-Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Aggie spoke up from her seat in the window. She was slowly getting better at speaking with everyone in the family at least, she still had problems with everyone else, but what can you do.
"I'm sure we can go, are you done with your homework?" I pulled the rice off the stove and dumped it into a bowl.
"Yeah," both Joey and Yugi chorused. Next to me the portable rang. Nodding in acknowledgement I picked up the phone.
"Hello?" I checked the vegetables with a fork.
"Is Yugi there?" Rolling my eyes I made a face at the stove. It was Grandpa Moto, he only spoke in depth to Yugi. He didn't recognize the rest of us for some reason or another, I usually just ignore the whole thing, but it annoyed me.
"Hey, Yugi, it's your grandfather," I called and he leapt up to come and get it, but Cassandra intercepted it.
"Yo," she said into the phone and I hung my head, Cassandra was the one who had the hardest time accepting the fact that he didn't like us, and she gave him shit whenever she could. "How are you doing, I was just wondering if you could schedule me a little appointment with our lawyer, he sent me a letter that said I had to set up an appointment with him through you." She paused. "Thanks bub." She tossed the phone to Yugi who began to talk animatedly to his grandfather.
"So, you find a job yet?" Joey asked and Cassandra and she looked at him for a second before she nodded. "Where?"
"At an arcade," she answered. "I work there every night; they gave me off on Friday and Saturday for the play."
"What's your character's name again?" I questioned and she turned to look at me. Cassandra had mellowed very slightly, meaning that she didn't flip at everything, just mostly everything.
"Fran." She grinned at me. "Just Fran." Without having even hearing a line from the play I knew that that had to be from it.
"I hear that the youngest Ishtar is going to be in it," I commented as I motioned for those who weren't occupied to come and eat dinner.
"Yup," Cassandra flopped down into her chair and I had to bite my lip to stop from reprimanding her. She was just doing it because it annoyed me. "He's been putting off dying his hair, but he can no longer hide from his destiny." Cassandra chuckled a little evilly.
"Dye his hair?" Aggie murmured looking to Cassandra who was piling rice onto her plate.
"Yeah, he is the lead of the play and being as such he has to dye his hair black, because that is the color of Scott's hair." She passed the bowl and pinned me with crimson depths. "Do you have an aversion to change? We have yet to have anything halfway interesting for dinner when you cook. I mean, can you not add a little spice to the rice? I mean I love rice, really I do, but it is so boring just plain."
"Cassandra, when it is your turn to cook you may do whatever you want to the rice, but since it is my turn to cook, I can make it any way I want," I told her as Yugi hung up and joined us at the island.
"Tèa's in the play!" He piled the food high and I hid a smile behind my hand as Cassandra rolled her eyes.
"Are you like in love her or something?" she demanded and Joey sprayed a mouthful of food out onto his plate and Yugi dropped his chopsticks.
"No!" He blushed bright red and Cassandra gave him a look that conveyed her doubts on that.
"Uh huh, then why are you the same shade as a lobster?" Yugi ducked his head and muttered something under his breath. "You can tell us, we're family." Cassandra threw out the ace card, the one she knew he could not avoid.
"I don't like her like that!" Yugi exclaimed his big eyes going even wider.
"Then are you gay?" Cassandra questioned and this time Joey choked as Yugi bellowed his denial. "There's nothing wrong with admitting it Yugi."
"I'm not gay! I am perfectly straight and I do not like anyone right now!" he cried and Cassandra held her hands up to show she accepted his word.
"It's ok Yugi, I believe you. I mean, you're my little brother, I know you wouldn't lie to me that would be unethical." Yugi muttered something under his breath as Cassandra grinned widely at him and Joey finally cleared his windpipe. "Do you like anyone Joey?" Joey went white, and then bright red as the spotlight was turned on him.
"Ah…no," he shoved food in his mouth and Cassandra raised an eyebrow at him.
"Riiiight, what about you Aggie?" She rounded on her sister and I observed my little sister blink at her as she thought about it.
"I don't think so," she murmured. "I haven't really had the time to get to know anyone."
"Oh yeah, you've been too busy writing songs to condescend to the level of finding a significant other." Cassandra nodded. "Have you finished your latest one yet? What's it about again? I heard you talking about it to yourself last night before I went to bed, it sounded interesting."
"Well, it's not very…" Aggie whispered and Cassandra heaved a sigh.
"Really?" Cassandra shook her head and then squinted at her set of American silverware, she was hopeless with chopsticks.
"Every shred of sanity I've sucked adds spice to the magnificent feast prepared. Isn't that how part of it goes?" Aggie stared at her in shock as she shrugged. "At least that's what it sounded like last night, oh well. Yami! Anyone in your little black book?"
"No Cassandra," I said and she gave me searching look. "What about you?"
"Nah, no one would ever look at me twice, and with good reason." She gave me a toothy grin before she stood up and cleared her dishes. "Well as much as I love all of you, work calls. I'll be back at the usual time!"
After dishes I headed off to the late night café that I worked at. It paid well for waiting on tables and making beverages for people. The best thing about it was that there was time for me to work on the little homework that I had been unable to do at home. That was what I was currently doing at the counter, when the door opened.
"Hello," I greeted as I swept my stuff off of the counter and smiled at the girl who had tumbled in.
"Hi!" She smiled beautifully as she pushed light brown colored hair out of her eyes that were a shade of light brown. "Wow, no one's here!" She came over to the counter and sat down, peeling off her coat in the process.
"No, what can I get you?" I watched her think about it for a minute before she ordered a cup of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. Breathing in the wonderful scent of the chocolate she closed her eyes and savored the smell.
"What's your name?" she asked after a few minutes.
"Yami," I answered as I turned around and started cleaning up the machine I had used to mix the cocoa to perfection. "I'm new here."
"Me too! I mean, I was born here, but I just moved back, I'm going to a boarding school. I wanted to be closer to my brother, but he doesn't know. I'm going to surprise him this weekend!" She idly stirred her drink and I leaned on the counter.
"What's your name?" I questioned.
"Serenity," she replied.
"That's a pretty name," I remarked as I mentally beat myself up, trying to figure out where I had heard the name before. I knew I had heard someone speak of a Serenity not too long ago, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Yeah, I like it, but it's a little clichéd." She shrugged and took a sip of the hot chocolate.
"Clichéd is ok, at least you won't get made fun of too much," I told her. "Now take my name, I used to get hell for it." I shook my head at the memories of public school and having to go through it named Atemu, an Egyptian name that was not only butchered by everyone, but was a good target for ridicule.
"Yami?" She gave me a look of surprise. "I like that name, it's sort of mysterious and intriguing, who would make fun of that?"
"That's not my real name," I informed her.
"Oh, is Yami just a nickname then?"
"Yeah, basically."
We spent the remainder of her time there talking about pointless things, laughing and having a fun time. She was a brilliant person, she was filled with this innocence that made you want to just reach out and hug her. Yet at the same time she seemed wiser than she should be. When she finally left she promised to come back soon and disappeared. I silently wondered to myself if she would even remember me, I mean, I was just another waiter.
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