Moments later, Jet heard Alex putting her dishes in the sink and then starting the water. He was counting how long it would take her to rinse the dishes off and leave them there for him to clean later, but the water ran for a good couple minutes before it shut off and he could hear Alex skip off to her room. She began playing but it wasn't like she was playing a full song. She'd play one or two notes and then stop for a few moments, and then play again. It sounded really awkward for about half an hour but then it gradually became more and more smooth sounding and fluent. After two full hours, Jet would've thought that she'd have given up but she was still playing. He liked the sound of this new song, it wasn't as slow as the other ones she played earlier in the night, it had more of an attitude and generally was more upbeat and bouncy sounding. When she began to hum to the playing of her instrument, that got Jet's attention and he decided to see what she was doing. It was getting late anyway so he figured he'd also to tell her to quiet down for the night. He looked in and he saw her sitting on her bed writing with one had and sipping a glass of water with the other.
"Hey, whatcha working on?" he asked her as she placed the glass on the bedside table.
"During dinner, when we were talking about my old boss at the newspaper, I remembered the time I had found enough for a cup of coffee and a newspaper and I sat down next to some old guy who was just complaining about everything but he dropped his wallet when got up to leave." She began.
"Really? I have a feeling there's more to the story." He said with a smile. She nodded happily.
"I was dirt poor so I slowly picked up the wallet and walked out. I walked around for a while before opening it to find it totally empty." She began to laugh and so did he.
"Wow, talk about your bad luck!" he chuckled.
"Yea, but the wallet was nice so I pawned it off for a couple bucks and went to a bar for a drink. While I sat there drinking, some guy about 25 or so, was telling his story about how he met this gorgeous girl at another bar and took her home that night and when he woke up, his car was gone. He seemed really upset but it was good for a laugh cause of the way he said she stole his heart."
"Well, I must say, that should make out to be a mighty interesting song!" Jet chuckled some more.
"It's about the day I stole some old guys' wallet that had no money, I pawned it off for a few extra bucks, and heard about some other guy having his car and heart stolen by a girl he met in a bar one night. Kinda makes it interesting!" she smiled. Jet stopped smiling and sort of went cold.
"Heh, Spike used to say that all the time. 'Kinda makes it interesting' was almost one of his catchphrases." Jet said with a slight hint of sadness in his voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry Jet. I didn't mean to…"
"No, that's alright. You couldn't have known." He said as he glanced at the gun on the nightstand.
"Jet, do you want me to leave?" she asked slowly. She had a feeling that she shouldn't have came aboard the ship to travel with him.
"Why would you think I want you to leave?" he asked her. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. It's just that you're upset over your partner's death and I don't know if it'd be a good idea for a person like me to be around if it happened just recently." She said as she went to go put her guitar back into its case.
"No, no, that's alright. It's been awhile since I've had anyone around here on the ship with me so it's just going to be difficult for me for maybe a few days. I never meant for it to seem like I wanted you to leave or you weren't welcome here. I actually enjoy you being around. The few hours you've been here, it's been really entertaining."
"The harmonica." Alex said aloud. Jet looked at her.
"The what?" Jet asked curiously as she attempted to change the subject.
"The harmonica. It's the perfect instrument for you."
"How does that relate to what I was saying?" he asked still curious as to what the hell she was talking about.
"Remember how you told me you wanted me to teach you how to play an instrument?"
"Yea, and?"
"The harmonica is a small instrument you can take practically anywhere and the sound it makes is different from any other instrument you've ever heard. Not to mention, it's perfect for very emotional people who can reach the emotional extremes of severe anger, sadness, and happiness. You're perfect and I think that my song would be great with a harmonica part." She said thinking out loud. Jet didn't really follow. He looked at her strangely.
"What's the name of it again? A harminica?" he said seemingly playing with the sound of the word. Alex looked up at him.
"Do you have a computer? I might be able to find some information about it and a picture or two." She asked. He led her out to the living area and showed her to a fairly modern computer. She sat there and typed a few moments before she said another word. "Eureka!"
"Find something?" he asked as he leaned in and looked at the screen.
"Yea, an almost ancient web page with audio clips and a few pictures." She said as a window popped up with a picture of a small, metallic, rectangular object with a layer of square holes.
"That's a…"
"Harmonica Jet, it's called a harmonica. Give me a sec and you can hear it." she said as she typed away some more.
"A harmonica." He said attempting to fool with the word again. He repeated it to himself quietly until he heard an amazing sound. It was sort of metallic sounding and made a noise he had never heard before.
"That's what it sounds like. Mind you, this particular tune is a blues melody, which is sort of what you should play. It comes from the soul and is based mostly on the emotion of sadness. It can be jazzed up to a brighter tone, but a harmonica is generally a blues instrument." Alex said as she swayed to the music. Jet seemed to enjoy the sound it made and how the feeling was brought out.
"I want to play that." He said as he listened more intently. He seemed to be becoming entranced by the sound of the tiny metallic object. Alex looked up at the balding man.
"You do? I didn't know if you'd like it as much as another instrument, but I guess the harmonica is a good starter." She said as the piece of music finished. She shut off the computer, got up, stretched, and yawned. Jet just smiled.
"It's getting really late, you should get some sleep. You've had a really exciting day and I'm sure you're tired out. Go to bed and I'll have a nice breakfast for you tomorrow morning." He said attempting to shoo her off to bed. She walked down the hall and into her room, closing the door behind her. No sooner did she go to sleep, Jet also had gone to his room and fell unconscious in his bed.
The next morning, falling off her bed and hitting the floor waked Alex up. It was after 10 and the ship was moving. She rubbed her head as she walked out of her room and started looking for Jet. She found him in the front of the ship in the navigations area and piloting area steering the ship wildly.
"What's going on?" she asked as she was almost knocked off her feet.
"We're under attack, I have to find a way to get them away from the ship!" he said as he pulled her down into the pilot's seat.
"I can't steer the ship! Where are you going?!" she asked as he put her hands on the steering column and ran off.
"Just keep the ship steady! I'm going out to fight them off with my smaller ship!" he said as he ran out the door and disappeared down the hall. Moments later, the status screen displayed the launching of a smaller, one-man ship to fight the handful of other similar ships. Alex continued to hold the ship steady throughout the continuous barrage of fire from the enemy.
"So much to waking up to a delicious breakfast." She thought aloud to herself as she began to attempt to maneuver the ship through the fire. Its response times were slow and it wasn't very fast, but she could handle it. she dodged missiles and machine gun fire very well.
"Alex! What do you think you're doing?!" he asked her through the headset.
"Trying not to get us killed! Do what you're going to do and I'll take care of…the ship!" she screamed back as she evaded another missile.
"The ship has a name you know!" he said sensing that she was about to call the ship by it's name but unable to because she didn't know it.
"And it would be?"
"The Bebop, now just do what you need to do to keep her in one piece!" he said as he shot the wing off of one of the ships. One by one, the enemy ships slowly disappeared from the radar and the enemy fire had ceased. Jet pulled his ship back into the hangar and hopped out to meet Alex, who had came to see him get out safely. She didn't know what to expect from him.
"Jet I…" she began before she was cut off.
"Where did you learn to fly like that?" he asked her. She turned and walked off. "I asked you a question!"
"And I'll answer it!" she said as she turned and yelled at him. He followed as she walked throught the hallways to her room. She threw open her guitar case and opened a hidden pocket, there were several pictures and papers as well as computer discs and CDs. She rummaged through the pile she had strewn out on her bed until she came up with a picture and a magazine clipping from about 20 years ago. She handed Jet the picture first. It was a picture of a little girl with her mother and her father. Her father was in a racing car and she and her mother were standing beside it.
"Hey, whatcha working on?" he asked her as she placed the glass on the bedside table.
"During dinner, when we were talking about my old boss at the newspaper, I remembered the time I had found enough for a cup of coffee and a newspaper and I sat down next to some old guy who was just complaining about everything but he dropped his wallet when got up to leave." She began.
"Really? I have a feeling there's more to the story." He said with a smile. She nodded happily.
"I was dirt poor so I slowly picked up the wallet and walked out. I walked around for a while before opening it to find it totally empty." She began to laugh and so did he.
"Wow, talk about your bad luck!" he chuckled.
"Yea, but the wallet was nice so I pawned it off for a couple bucks and went to a bar for a drink. While I sat there drinking, some guy about 25 or so, was telling his story about how he met this gorgeous girl at another bar and took her home that night and when he woke up, his car was gone. He seemed really upset but it was good for a laugh cause of the way he said she stole his heart."
"Well, I must say, that should make out to be a mighty interesting song!" Jet chuckled some more.
"It's about the day I stole some old guys' wallet that had no money, I pawned it off for a few extra bucks, and heard about some other guy having his car and heart stolen by a girl he met in a bar one night. Kinda makes it interesting!" she smiled. Jet stopped smiling and sort of went cold.
"Heh, Spike used to say that all the time. 'Kinda makes it interesting' was almost one of his catchphrases." Jet said with a slight hint of sadness in his voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry Jet. I didn't mean to…"
"No, that's alright. You couldn't have known." He said as he glanced at the gun on the nightstand.
"Jet, do you want me to leave?" she asked slowly. She had a feeling that she shouldn't have came aboard the ship to travel with him.
"Why would you think I want you to leave?" he asked her. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. It's just that you're upset over your partner's death and I don't know if it'd be a good idea for a person like me to be around if it happened just recently." She said as she went to go put her guitar back into its case.
"No, no, that's alright. It's been awhile since I've had anyone around here on the ship with me so it's just going to be difficult for me for maybe a few days. I never meant for it to seem like I wanted you to leave or you weren't welcome here. I actually enjoy you being around. The few hours you've been here, it's been really entertaining."
"The harmonica." Alex said aloud. Jet looked at her.
"The what?" Jet asked curiously as she attempted to change the subject.
"The harmonica. It's the perfect instrument for you."
"How does that relate to what I was saying?" he asked still curious as to what the hell she was talking about.
"Remember how you told me you wanted me to teach you how to play an instrument?"
"Yea, and?"
"The harmonica is a small instrument you can take practically anywhere and the sound it makes is different from any other instrument you've ever heard. Not to mention, it's perfect for very emotional people who can reach the emotional extremes of severe anger, sadness, and happiness. You're perfect and I think that my song would be great with a harmonica part." She said thinking out loud. Jet didn't really follow. He looked at her strangely.
"What's the name of it again? A harminica?" he said seemingly playing with the sound of the word. Alex looked up at him.
"Do you have a computer? I might be able to find some information about it and a picture or two." She asked. He led her out to the living area and showed her to a fairly modern computer. She sat there and typed a few moments before she said another word. "Eureka!"
"Find something?" he asked as he leaned in and looked at the screen.
"Yea, an almost ancient web page with audio clips and a few pictures." She said as a window popped up with a picture of a small, metallic, rectangular object with a layer of square holes.
"That's a…"
"Harmonica Jet, it's called a harmonica. Give me a sec and you can hear it." she said as she typed away some more.
"A harmonica." He said attempting to fool with the word again. He repeated it to himself quietly until he heard an amazing sound. It was sort of metallic sounding and made a noise he had never heard before.
"That's what it sounds like. Mind you, this particular tune is a blues melody, which is sort of what you should play. It comes from the soul and is based mostly on the emotion of sadness. It can be jazzed up to a brighter tone, but a harmonica is generally a blues instrument." Alex said as she swayed to the music. Jet seemed to enjoy the sound it made and how the feeling was brought out.
"I want to play that." He said as he listened more intently. He seemed to be becoming entranced by the sound of the tiny metallic object. Alex looked up at the balding man.
"You do? I didn't know if you'd like it as much as another instrument, but I guess the harmonica is a good starter." She said as the piece of music finished. She shut off the computer, got up, stretched, and yawned. Jet just smiled.
"It's getting really late, you should get some sleep. You've had a really exciting day and I'm sure you're tired out. Go to bed and I'll have a nice breakfast for you tomorrow morning." He said attempting to shoo her off to bed. She walked down the hall and into her room, closing the door behind her. No sooner did she go to sleep, Jet also had gone to his room and fell unconscious in his bed.
The next morning, falling off her bed and hitting the floor waked Alex up. It was after 10 and the ship was moving. She rubbed her head as she walked out of her room and started looking for Jet. She found him in the front of the ship in the navigations area and piloting area steering the ship wildly.
"What's going on?" she asked as she was almost knocked off her feet.
"We're under attack, I have to find a way to get them away from the ship!" he said as he pulled her down into the pilot's seat.
"I can't steer the ship! Where are you going?!" she asked as he put her hands on the steering column and ran off.
"Just keep the ship steady! I'm going out to fight them off with my smaller ship!" he said as he ran out the door and disappeared down the hall. Moments later, the status screen displayed the launching of a smaller, one-man ship to fight the handful of other similar ships. Alex continued to hold the ship steady throughout the continuous barrage of fire from the enemy.
"So much to waking up to a delicious breakfast." She thought aloud to herself as she began to attempt to maneuver the ship through the fire. Its response times were slow and it wasn't very fast, but she could handle it. she dodged missiles and machine gun fire very well.
"Alex! What do you think you're doing?!" he asked her through the headset.
"Trying not to get us killed! Do what you're going to do and I'll take care of…the ship!" she screamed back as she evaded another missile.
"The ship has a name you know!" he said sensing that she was about to call the ship by it's name but unable to because she didn't know it.
"And it would be?"
"The Bebop, now just do what you need to do to keep her in one piece!" he said as he shot the wing off of one of the ships. One by one, the enemy ships slowly disappeared from the radar and the enemy fire had ceased. Jet pulled his ship back into the hangar and hopped out to meet Alex, who had came to see him get out safely. She didn't know what to expect from him.
"Jet I…" she began before she was cut off.
"Where did you learn to fly like that?" he asked her. She turned and walked off. "I asked you a question!"
"And I'll answer it!" she said as she turned and yelled at him. He followed as she walked throught the hallways to her room. She threw open her guitar case and opened a hidden pocket, there were several pictures and papers as well as computer discs and CDs. She rummaged through the pile she had strewn out on her bed until she came up with a picture and a magazine clipping from about 20 years ago. She handed Jet the picture first. It was a picture of a little girl with her mother and her father. Her father was in a racing car and she and her mother were standing beside it.