Here it is, the long awaited Chapter 4. I want to thank all of you who
have reviewed or emailed me to let me know how much you are enjoying
Operation: YES!!! It's so great to hear from you, and some of you have
prom stories that kept me laughing forever.
Marvelous, that's what you all are. I love every one of you.
'M' is for Money. Mommy and Daddy always fight about money.
Money is the root of all evil. See the money. The money is
green. The money is in Mommy's purse. Take the bad bad money
out of Mommy's purse and send it to P.O. Box 42, St. Louis,
Missouri. Then Mommy and Daddy will be happy.'
You have to love Shel Silverstein.
Disclaimer: If you think I own Sailor Moon, I can't help you.
Operation: YES!!!
Chapter 4 ~ Now What?
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
It is amazing just how far a simple apology can go toward
lightening a load of guilt. Too bad that I'm rather horrid at
said apologies. Still, leaving an impersonal email message on
Darien's answering machine lifted my self esteem. I had done the
right thing. I had admitted that I had been wrong. I was fairly sure
that this was a step in the direction of personal growth.
I made a note in my day planner. Hey, things like this deserve
to be recorded for the generations to come. Besides, I doubted that
Mina would believe me if I didn't write it down.
The rest of the evening was peaceful. At least, it was peaceful
after I managed to get my little brother to turn the
sound on his damn video game down. Not that I object to a little movie
every now and then, but the fact that he kept dying in the same place,
and the game kept playing the same video over and over again was
starting to get on my nerves, to be quite frank. And when I
asked him to turn it down or skip the video, he replied (in a highly
superior way) that he couldn't skip the video and that the sound
helped him concentrate. And I was tired of hearing some crazy ogre bellow
about a treasure buried under the mountain and guarded by an army of
goblins, seventy different types of booby traps and a dragon. So I
took measures and he got upset and chased me around the house till
my dad sent both of us off to do our homework.
His reaction was a bit uncalled for. All I did was unplug the
TV and kidnap the game consol.
Some people are so touchy.
But, as older sisters usual do, if only by virtue of size, I
remained triumphant. I had little homework, and that was easily remedied.
So I finished my work, grabbed a new manga and kicked back on my bed.
Life was good.
And then it turned surreal.
You see, I thought that my Prom worries were over. So I wasn't
going. I could handle that. After all, I could have gone, and chose
not too. That was my decision and I was proud of it. I had already
counted the number of times that I had insulted him, and I must
admit, I thought there was a limit to what the male ego could take.
Shows how much I know.
*~*~*~*~*Darien's POV*~*~*~*~*
It had taken a while to get the preparations in order. After all,
I am not a miracle worker...though I have been know to give a decent
impression. I pulled strings, made deals, and when all else failed, I
bribed. Hey, whatever works.
But it was still later than I would have liked when I got
everything in order. Of course, my neighbors have moved from merely
speculating that I am a nut case to being one step away from calling
the proper authorities and having me locked up.
I must admit, I looked...interesting. Not bad interesting, but
it certainly wasn't the kind of thing one saw everyday. But that was
the look I was going for. So, after loading my supplies into my car,
I headed in the direction of Serena's house. How did I know where
it was? I have connections children. A word to the wise - make
friends with the school secretaries. They are very nice people and
have such useful information at their fingertips.
Moving on.
It took a while to get to her house. I wasn't about to ask for
directions, so I just drove around in circles till I was sure I had the
right house. There would be no mistakes this time.
You may have discerned by now that I am a very determined person.
The word 'NO' has very little effect on me. And it was different now.
The stakes had changed. It was time to be charming, dashing and normal.
Operation: YES!! was about to enter its final and most critical
stage. I parked my car several blocks away from her house and walked
back. It didn't take much to convince Mrs. Tsukino to help me out.
All woman love roses and romance.
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
I had just opened my new manga when I heard the doorbell ring. My
mother or father answered it, and I listened intently for the sound of my
friend's voices. Nothing. So I shrugged and went back to my manga.
Five minutes later I heard a tap at my door.
"Come on in," I called, not looking up. My mother entered. I was
expecting some sort of order or perhaps magic laundry (you know, the
kind that seems to do itself every now and again) and was surprised
when she cleared her throat. I looked over at her.
She was holding a long stemmed red rose in her hand.
She held said rose out to me.
"Oh, Mom. What's that for?" I asked, standing up and walking
over to take the rose from her. Genuine surprise here, folks. The
thought running through my head...my mother felt sorry for me. I was
torn between feeling elated and horribly embarrassed.
She saved me the trouble.
"I didn't get it for you dear. You might want to read the note.
And don't forget your jacket."
I stared at my mother blankly. She smiled and left the room, closing
the door gently in her wake. So I stared blankly at the door for a while.
Not the most intelligent reaction, but I was all out of creative responses.
So I did the only thing I could.
The note was a attached to the rose via a sparkly ribbon of a deep red
shade. It was in one of those really nice florist envelopes, and I didn't
want to damage the card. So I opened the envelope carefully and removed the
card gently.
Said card was fairly simple. It was cream, and made of some fairly
sturdy material. It was bisected by a picture of a long stemmed red rose,
not unlike the one I held in my hand. Above the rose, it read;
*When there's love inside, I swear I'll always be strong.*
Below the rose, it said;
'Front Gate.'
I blinked. It took me all of five seconds to react. I threw open my
door and dashed down the stairs. I was halfway out the front door when I
heard my mother.
"Jacket! Be back by eleven."
Run back in, slide across floor to closet, grab jacket. Slide back to
door while putting jacket on. Grab shoes, put shoes on while hopping to door.
Open door, run outside, shut door and run to gate.
This whole production took a grand total of three minutes.
I got to the gate, and saw another rose lying on the pavement. Same
type of red ribbon, same white envelope. Coincidence? I think not. I picked
up the rose and opened the envelope, pulling the card out. Same kind of card,
same setup.
*Then there's a reason why, I'll prove to you we belong.*
'Corner.'
I still had the rose from my room in my hand, so I added the second rose
to my right hand and ran to the corner. It must have been a sight. Of course,
the way I had it figured, I had been providing an fountain of amusement for
two days. There was no real reason to stop now. So I ran to the corner, and
there was rose number three, waiting on the pavement.
Amazing that no one had stolen it.
Restores my faith in humanity.
*I'll be the wall that protects you; from the wind and the rain, from
the hurt and the pain.*
'Crown Arcade.'
I took off in the direction of downtown. I was so exhilarated by this that
I didn't even stop to think who might be sending these roses. It didn't
really matter. As far as I was concerned, this was the stuff of romance novels
and romantic movies. Things like this never happened to ordinary girls
like me, and I was way too caught up in the moment to think about anything
but getting to the Crown Arcade.
I dodged people and traffic like a crazy person, and I believe that's
exactly what the majority of those I passed believed me to be. After all,
it's not every day that you see a girl with incredibly long blond hair
(arranged in an admittedly distinct style) a striped skirt and a white
blouse with a pale pink jacket running down a busy street with three long
stemmed red roses clutched in her hand.
Which may account for why so many people just got out of my way.
But I digress.
The Crown Arcade was fairly busy when I got there. Lots of people
eating, chatting, having a good time. I tried to look normal...you know,
blend in. It didn't work. Imagine that.
Everyone's eyes swung toward me. Some wise a$$ moved his chocolate
malt away from me. You see, I found that to be insulting. I have better
things to do than crown every moron with a chocolate ice cream concoction.
Good Lord. If I made that my life's mission, I'd never sleep.
I walked over to the counter and held up the roses with a smile.
Andrew-who-worked-there smiled and held up a finger. He vanished into the
back for a second, leaving me alone in a room full of strangers who were
all staring at me. The only sounds were those emitted by the video games.
They stared at me. I ignored them.
Don't people have *anything* better to do?
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Andrew emerged with my rose and
presented it with a flourish. I took it and turned on my heel.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Andrew called.
I shot him a smile and a wink over my shoulder. He laughed as I
pushed the door open and walked down the street a ways. When I was out
of sight of the arcade, I pulled the card out of the unsealed envelope.
*Let's make it all for one, and all for love. Let the one you
hold be the one you want, the one you need.*
'Sailor V Game.'
I groaned and walked back to the arcade with a lot less enthusiasm.
I pushed the door open and walked inside, well aware of the reception I
was about to recieve. Eyes swung toward me as I plodded back inside. I
walked with my head held high to the Sailor V game and opened my mouth.
The kid playing said game looked at my hand with something akin to fear.
"You can have the game. Just don't dump anything on me!"
He vacated the game with haste. I resisted the urge to groan.
I had been intending to ask him if he could move for a moment and
a moment only. This was my purpose in opening my mouth. I had not
been intending to insult him or yell at him or scare him.
He had obviously seen my display the other day.
I was never going to live that down.
I plopped down at the consol and ran my hands under the
game. Nothing. Under the seat. There it was, taped on. I pulled
the rose free and opened the card, well aware that the whole arcade
was watching me do so.
*Cause when it's all for one it's one for all.*
'Park. The bench in the center.'
I stood and walked outside once again. It occurred to me as
the door swung shut that no one had made a sound for the duration
of my stay.
Now that, my friends, is power.
I smothered the urge to let loose with a thoroughly evil laugh,
and picked up the pace instead. It was getting colder, and later. I
glanced at a store clock on the way by. 9:25. I had and hour and 35
minutes before I was due home. I moved into a run.
The result of running was that by the time I reached the park,
I was nearly out of breath. I, fortunately, have had much practice
running around after or away from my brother for long periods of time,
so I was used to the speed. But I still had to take a few deep breaths
before picking up the rose that lay on the park bench in front of me.
This rose was white, and there was a scrap of red paper attached to it.
I lifted the rose and inhaled it's perfume while opening the note.
It was made of red construction paper and cut into the shape of
a heart. There was one word printed on the inside.
*When there's someone that should know, then just let your feelings
show, and make it all for one...*
'Please?'
Written in little hearts.
And my heart skipped a beat. I swear I nearly stopped breathing.
From behind me came the sound of footsteps, and I turned quickly, my hair
flying around me. There stood Darien Chiba, dressed to the nines in a
full out tuxedo, with six red roses in his arms.
"And all for love," he sang softly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That took long enough to post. Sorry all. Finals are the product of
all things evil. That is all I have to say on the subject.
The parts of the notes that are braced by stars are lyrics from the
song 'All For Love', the theme from one of my all time favorite movies,
'The Three Musketeers' staring Charlie Sheen and Oliver Platt. I don't
own that either. Go figure.
have reviewed or emailed me to let me know how much you are enjoying
Operation: YES!!! It's so great to hear from you, and some of you have
prom stories that kept me laughing forever.
Marvelous, that's what you all are. I love every one of you.
'M' is for Money. Mommy and Daddy always fight about money.
Money is the root of all evil. See the money. The money is
green. The money is in Mommy's purse. Take the bad bad money
out of Mommy's purse and send it to P.O. Box 42, St. Louis,
Missouri. Then Mommy and Daddy will be happy.'
You have to love Shel Silverstein.
Disclaimer: If you think I own Sailor Moon, I can't help you.
Operation: YES!!!
Chapter 4 ~ Now What?
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
It is amazing just how far a simple apology can go toward
lightening a load of guilt. Too bad that I'm rather horrid at
said apologies. Still, leaving an impersonal email message on
Darien's answering machine lifted my self esteem. I had done the
right thing. I had admitted that I had been wrong. I was fairly sure
that this was a step in the direction of personal growth.
I made a note in my day planner. Hey, things like this deserve
to be recorded for the generations to come. Besides, I doubted that
Mina would believe me if I didn't write it down.
The rest of the evening was peaceful. At least, it was peaceful
after I managed to get my little brother to turn the
sound on his damn video game down. Not that I object to a little movie
every now and then, but the fact that he kept dying in the same place,
and the game kept playing the same video over and over again was
starting to get on my nerves, to be quite frank. And when I
asked him to turn it down or skip the video, he replied (in a highly
superior way) that he couldn't skip the video and that the sound
helped him concentrate. And I was tired of hearing some crazy ogre bellow
about a treasure buried under the mountain and guarded by an army of
goblins, seventy different types of booby traps and a dragon. So I
took measures and he got upset and chased me around the house till
my dad sent both of us off to do our homework.
His reaction was a bit uncalled for. All I did was unplug the
TV and kidnap the game consol.
Some people are so touchy.
But, as older sisters usual do, if only by virtue of size, I
remained triumphant. I had little homework, and that was easily remedied.
So I finished my work, grabbed a new manga and kicked back on my bed.
Life was good.
And then it turned surreal.
You see, I thought that my Prom worries were over. So I wasn't
going. I could handle that. After all, I could have gone, and chose
not too. That was my decision and I was proud of it. I had already
counted the number of times that I had insulted him, and I must
admit, I thought there was a limit to what the male ego could take.
Shows how much I know.
*~*~*~*~*Darien's POV*~*~*~*~*
It had taken a while to get the preparations in order. After all,
I am not a miracle worker...though I have been know to give a decent
impression. I pulled strings, made deals, and when all else failed, I
bribed. Hey, whatever works.
But it was still later than I would have liked when I got
everything in order. Of course, my neighbors have moved from merely
speculating that I am a nut case to being one step away from calling
the proper authorities and having me locked up.
I must admit, I looked...interesting. Not bad interesting, but
it certainly wasn't the kind of thing one saw everyday. But that was
the look I was going for. So, after loading my supplies into my car,
I headed in the direction of Serena's house. How did I know where
it was? I have connections children. A word to the wise - make
friends with the school secretaries. They are very nice people and
have such useful information at their fingertips.
Moving on.
It took a while to get to her house. I wasn't about to ask for
directions, so I just drove around in circles till I was sure I had the
right house. There would be no mistakes this time.
You may have discerned by now that I am a very determined person.
The word 'NO' has very little effect on me. And it was different now.
The stakes had changed. It was time to be charming, dashing and normal.
Operation: YES!! was about to enter its final and most critical
stage. I parked my car several blocks away from her house and walked
back. It didn't take much to convince Mrs. Tsukino to help me out.
All woman love roses and romance.
*~*~*~*~*Serena's POV*~*~*~*~*
I had just opened my new manga when I heard the doorbell ring. My
mother or father answered it, and I listened intently for the sound of my
friend's voices. Nothing. So I shrugged and went back to my manga.
Five minutes later I heard a tap at my door.
"Come on in," I called, not looking up. My mother entered. I was
expecting some sort of order or perhaps magic laundry (you know, the
kind that seems to do itself every now and again) and was surprised
when she cleared her throat. I looked over at her.
She was holding a long stemmed red rose in her hand.
She held said rose out to me.
"Oh, Mom. What's that for?" I asked, standing up and walking
over to take the rose from her. Genuine surprise here, folks. The
thought running through my head...my mother felt sorry for me. I was
torn between feeling elated and horribly embarrassed.
She saved me the trouble.
"I didn't get it for you dear. You might want to read the note.
And don't forget your jacket."
I stared at my mother blankly. She smiled and left the room, closing
the door gently in her wake. So I stared blankly at the door for a while.
Not the most intelligent reaction, but I was all out of creative responses.
So I did the only thing I could.
The note was a attached to the rose via a sparkly ribbon of a deep red
shade. It was in one of those really nice florist envelopes, and I didn't
want to damage the card. So I opened the envelope carefully and removed the
card gently.
Said card was fairly simple. It was cream, and made of some fairly
sturdy material. It was bisected by a picture of a long stemmed red rose,
not unlike the one I held in my hand. Above the rose, it read;
*When there's love inside, I swear I'll always be strong.*
Below the rose, it said;
'Front Gate.'
I blinked. It took me all of five seconds to react. I threw open my
door and dashed down the stairs. I was halfway out the front door when I
heard my mother.
"Jacket! Be back by eleven."
Run back in, slide across floor to closet, grab jacket. Slide back to
door while putting jacket on. Grab shoes, put shoes on while hopping to door.
Open door, run outside, shut door and run to gate.
This whole production took a grand total of three minutes.
I got to the gate, and saw another rose lying on the pavement. Same
type of red ribbon, same white envelope. Coincidence? I think not. I picked
up the rose and opened the envelope, pulling the card out. Same kind of card,
same setup.
*Then there's a reason why, I'll prove to you we belong.*
'Corner.'
I still had the rose from my room in my hand, so I added the second rose
to my right hand and ran to the corner. It must have been a sight. Of course,
the way I had it figured, I had been providing an fountain of amusement for
two days. There was no real reason to stop now. So I ran to the corner, and
there was rose number three, waiting on the pavement.
Amazing that no one had stolen it.
Restores my faith in humanity.
*I'll be the wall that protects you; from the wind and the rain, from
the hurt and the pain.*
'Crown Arcade.'
I took off in the direction of downtown. I was so exhilarated by this that
I didn't even stop to think who might be sending these roses. It didn't
really matter. As far as I was concerned, this was the stuff of romance novels
and romantic movies. Things like this never happened to ordinary girls
like me, and I was way too caught up in the moment to think about anything
but getting to the Crown Arcade.
I dodged people and traffic like a crazy person, and I believe that's
exactly what the majority of those I passed believed me to be. After all,
it's not every day that you see a girl with incredibly long blond hair
(arranged in an admittedly distinct style) a striped skirt and a white
blouse with a pale pink jacket running down a busy street with three long
stemmed red roses clutched in her hand.
Which may account for why so many people just got out of my way.
But I digress.
The Crown Arcade was fairly busy when I got there. Lots of people
eating, chatting, having a good time. I tried to look normal...you know,
blend in. It didn't work. Imagine that.
Everyone's eyes swung toward me. Some wise a$$ moved his chocolate
malt away from me. You see, I found that to be insulting. I have better
things to do than crown every moron with a chocolate ice cream concoction.
Good Lord. If I made that my life's mission, I'd never sleep.
I walked over to the counter and held up the roses with a smile.
Andrew-who-worked-there smiled and held up a finger. He vanished into the
back for a second, leaving me alone in a room full of strangers who were
all staring at me. The only sounds were those emitted by the video games.
They stared at me. I ignored them.
Don't people have *anything* better to do?
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Andrew emerged with my rose and
presented it with a flourish. I took it and turned on my heel.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Andrew called.
I shot him a smile and a wink over my shoulder. He laughed as I
pushed the door open and walked down the street a ways. When I was out
of sight of the arcade, I pulled the card out of the unsealed envelope.
*Let's make it all for one, and all for love. Let the one you
hold be the one you want, the one you need.*
'Sailor V Game.'
I groaned and walked back to the arcade with a lot less enthusiasm.
I pushed the door open and walked inside, well aware of the reception I
was about to recieve. Eyes swung toward me as I plodded back inside. I
walked with my head held high to the Sailor V game and opened my mouth.
The kid playing said game looked at my hand with something akin to fear.
"You can have the game. Just don't dump anything on me!"
He vacated the game with haste. I resisted the urge to groan.
I had been intending to ask him if he could move for a moment and
a moment only. This was my purpose in opening my mouth. I had not
been intending to insult him or yell at him or scare him.
He had obviously seen my display the other day.
I was never going to live that down.
I plopped down at the consol and ran my hands under the
game. Nothing. Under the seat. There it was, taped on. I pulled
the rose free and opened the card, well aware that the whole arcade
was watching me do so.
*Cause when it's all for one it's one for all.*
'Park. The bench in the center.'
I stood and walked outside once again. It occurred to me as
the door swung shut that no one had made a sound for the duration
of my stay.
Now that, my friends, is power.
I smothered the urge to let loose with a thoroughly evil laugh,
and picked up the pace instead. It was getting colder, and later. I
glanced at a store clock on the way by. 9:25. I had and hour and 35
minutes before I was due home. I moved into a run.
The result of running was that by the time I reached the park,
I was nearly out of breath. I, fortunately, have had much practice
running around after or away from my brother for long periods of time,
so I was used to the speed. But I still had to take a few deep breaths
before picking up the rose that lay on the park bench in front of me.
This rose was white, and there was a scrap of red paper attached to it.
I lifted the rose and inhaled it's perfume while opening the note.
It was made of red construction paper and cut into the shape of
a heart. There was one word printed on the inside.
*When there's someone that should know, then just let your feelings
show, and make it all for one...*
'Please?'
Written in little hearts.
And my heart skipped a beat. I swear I nearly stopped breathing.
From behind me came the sound of footsteps, and I turned quickly, my hair
flying around me. There stood Darien Chiba, dressed to the nines in a
full out tuxedo, with six red roses in his arms.
"And all for love," he sang softly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That took long enough to post. Sorry all. Finals are the product of
all things evil. That is all I have to say on the subject.
The parts of the notes that are braced by stars are lyrics from the
song 'All For Love', the theme from one of my all time favorite movies,
'The Three Musketeers' staring Charlie Sheen and Oliver Platt. I don't
own that either. Go figure.