Dates, Senseless Teddy Bear Violence, and Drama
Chapter 7
It had been a couple of days after Atobe's party. The girls were sitting at home enjoying a meal cooked by Steph and Britt, when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," shouted Britt. She got up from the table and opened the door. Atobe was there with a bouquet of flowers and a smile on his face.
"Is Mallory home?" asked Atobe.
"HEY MAL, THE SELF-CENTERED ANNOYING PRINCESS IS HERE TO SEE YOU!" shouted Britt from the doorway. Atobe was about to respond to Britt's insult, but held his tongue when he saw Mallory coming to the door.
"Thanks Britt, I will take it from here," said Mal.
"Okay, buchou, but if you need anything just ask," said Britt as she skipped back to the kitchen, leaving Mallory and Atobe alone.
"So Atobe-san, what can I do for you?" asked Mal.
"Ore-sama wanted to invite you to see a ballet show with him on Saturday. Oh, and these flowers are for you," said Atobe.
"I would love to go, but I already have plans," replied Mal.
"And what kind of plan is more important than plans with me?" questioned Atobe irritably.
"I am… that is… Britt needs help with her homework, and… we have this big project for school we have to do together," replied Mal.
"But you can do it on Sunday instead," said Atobe, who was determined to not be turned down.
"Sunday we are going to go and clean the whole house from top to bottom," said Mal. Atobe was skeptical about the information Mallory was giving him, but chose not to question her.
"Fine, well, if you have time on Saturday or Sunday, just give me a call," said Atobe. He left his digits with Mal and walked back to where his groovy limousine waited. When the limo had left, Mallory closed the door and sighed with relief. She returned to the kitchen to see Britt looking a little down.
"Britt, you've been looking a bit gloomy all day, what's wrong?" asked Mallory.
"She got mixed up and now has a huge problem," replied Steph.
"What happened?" asked Mallory.
"I'm so dumb. I asked Oishi to find out what was wrong with Eiji during the party. He never told me, but then Eiji asked me if I wanted to go to the fair with him on Saturday. I said 'yes'," said Britt.
"I don't see the problem; you like Eiji, right?" said Mal.
"Yes, I do but…" replied Britt.
"Ha ha, she finally admits she likes Eiji!" laughed Karley.
"Don't interrupt me! So anyway, while I was out getting groceries, I ran into Kajimoto-kun. He also asked if I was busy on Saturday; I said I wasn't, stupidly forgetting about my date with Eiji, and I agreed to go to the fair with him on the same day!" cried Britt.
"So Ochibi-chan has two dates on the same day. How dumb can you get?" said Karley.
"Why don't you break up the date with one of them?" asked Steph.
"Because I like them both, and I can't go with both of them because they hate each other and I don't know why. I don't want to Kajimoto-kun mad at me, and I don't want to make Eiji even madder," said Britt.
"You should have done what I did. I'm going over to Ryoma's house so he can help with my Japanese; then for lunch I'm going to Taka's sushi place to eat. After that, I'm returning a book for Fuji to his brother Yuuta at St. Rudolph. You need to keep everything at different times," said Steph.
"Steph you're such a tease, keeping three guys at bay." Karley said.
"Or she's a slutty ho-bag," Mal added.
"Feedback from you is not needed, thank you," Steph snapped.
"I'm so glad that I like only one boy and I don't have anymore going after me," replied Karley. The door rang after Karley finished her sentence. Britt went and answered the door and came back with a huge bouquet of flowers.
"Look at all these flowers! My guess it's the self-centered annoying princess that sent them," said Britt.
"You need to stop calling him that," said Mal.
"I don't have to if he still acts like a jerk," replied Britt.
"It says these flowers are to Karley from a secret admirer, oooooooooo," said Steph slyly.
"You don't think it would be from Kaidoh?" asked Mal.
"He would never do such a thing; He's waaay too shy," replied Britt.
"Well, the card said that Karley can meet him on Saturday," said Steph.
"Boy, are we busy on Saturday. I'm meeting with Tezuka to work on tennis with him," said Mal.
"So…we're not cleaning the whole house? It was all a big lie?" asked Steph sadly. The girls just shook their heads with frustration.
"If you really want to, you have fun with that," Britt said.
"Maybe you can get your boyfriends to clean with you, ho-bag," Mal added.
"Once again, your feedback is not necessary."
SaturdaySteph's Day (no she didn't clean the house tear)
Steph was cheerfully walking through town, on her way to Ryoma's house. Ryoma had strangely agreed to help Steph with her poor Japanese skills, on a Saturday. Maybe he had nothing better to do. She had offered to help with his English, but…Ryoma pretty much rocked at English too. In a few minutes, Steph arrived at Ryoma's house; Ryoma's incredibly big house. She walked up to the front door and knocked; about a minute later, Ryoma finally answered the door.
"Good morning, Ryoma," Steph said happily.
"Yo," he replied. Ryoma looked tired, or bored, or maybe excited, Steph didn't know. It was like trying to describe the feelings of a brick wall. Ryoma led Steph into the living room where they were going to study. A scary looking man was in the room, reading the newspaper.
Must be Ryoma's dad, Steph thought
"Oi, Seishun, when's that cute girl coming over?" Ryoma's dad said, his eyes still fixed on the newspaper.
"She's here already, so you have to leave the room. We're doing homework and you bother my concentration," Ryoma said bluntly.
"Ohhhh, what are you two studying eh?" Ryoma's dad asked with a grin. Steph blushed faintly.
"You'll be studying my fist if you don't buzz off, you pervert," Ryoma said with disgust.
"Hey, that's no way to talk to your dad, Seishun. But I'll leave if you want, hehe, have fun," Ryoma's dad said, and slowly got up and walked out of the room. Ryoma sighed.
"Sorry, my dad's an idiot," Ryoma said, "Anyways, let's start."
The two sat down and Ryoma started teaching Steph how to conjugate certain verbs into past, present, and future tenses. Ryoma's teaching was a lot easier to understand than the Japanese teacher at school. Probably because it was so boring that Steph daydreamed the whole class time, but even while Ryoma was talking, Steph began to drift away into la-la land.
sighs Ryoma's sooooooo good-looking. He's a bit cold sometimes, but I think deep down, if a certain person confided in him, he'd show so much more feelings. He's smart, athletic, determined, not to mention he delivers ownage to anyone in tennis. I know it's mean to keep three guys strung to me, but I just want to see which one of them is right for me. Maybe they all like me, maybe none of them like me, and maybe just one does, I can only know for sure if I get to know each of them one at a time. Shit, it would suck if none of them liked me, hahahaha.
"Hey, Steph, Steph, come back down to Earth," Ryoma said.
"Oops, sorry, I kinda drifted off, hehe," Steph said awkwardly.
"Kinda? You've got drool running down your face" Ryoma smirked, closing one of his books. As Steph rushed to wipe the drool off her face, a loud meow came from under the couch, making her jump.
"Ahh, Karupin, come on out," Ryoma cooed, his face softening. He grabbed a fluffy cat toy nearby and shook it under the couch. A big furry Himalayan cat popped out from under the couch and batted at the toy with its paws.
"Awwww, he's so cute!" Steph said, petting Karupin's soft fur as he purred. So, Ryoma's got a major soft spot for his cat.
"Hey, it's 12:30," Ryoma said.
"So?"
"So…didn't you have to be somewhere at 11:30?"
"….AWWW SHIT!" Steph shoved her books into her backpack and sped towards the door. "ThanksRyomaforhelpingmebutIgottagoI'llseeyouatschoolkaybye!"
She slammed the door shut and sprinted away, leaving a bewildered, yet slightly amused Ryoma sitting in the living room, pulling on his cat's ears.
"Mada mada dane," he said, simply shaking his head. Karupin bit Ryoma's hand.
Britt's Day
"Okay, I can do this. I need to try to keep everything under control, and maybe there will be no fighting today," said Britt pacing back and forth near a fountain. This was where Eiji and Kajimoto were to meet Britt, at the same time. Britt was wearing a pair of jeans, because she didn't want to wear a dress just in class, also she was wearing a black shirt with a red rose in the center of the shirt. "You'd think I would have remembered if the meeting spot was the same, but no, I'm so dumb. Maybe if I leave now, I can start cleaning the house and be done by Monday."
Britt was about to leave, but then she heard the two boys' voices shouting her name. Britt hoped she could just pull off this day without too much fighting. Britt put on a smile and turned to face the two unhappy boys.
"Hey you guys, I'm glad you are both here at the same time. That means we don't have to wait in case one of you was late," said Britt.
"What's going on?" asked Kajimoto.
"Well you see, I didn't want to go to the fair with one person, because two is such a couple, but three is a party," said Britt nervously. It seem like the two boys bought the explanation, but were not too happy about the setup. 'I'm glad that worked. Who knew that watching Phil of the Future with my sister would pay off.' thought Britt.
"Well, shall we get going?" asked Kajimoto.
"Yes, we shall," replied Britt. She grabbed Eiji and Kajimoto's hand and headed to the entrance of the fair. 'I wonder how the other girls are doing.' thought Britt.
"Nyahhhh! Look Britt, let's go on the 'Scrambler!'" shouted Eiji, who started to drag Britt towards the ride.
"Okay, okay, Eiji, we can go on the Scrambler," said Britt with a laugh at the hyper cat-like boy's reaction to the ride.
Britt sat in the middle with the boys on the outside. The ride started to go and faster and faster. She was getting squished on both sides of her, but she didn't care, because she was laughing and having fun. After the ride, they went on the merry-go-round. Britt had to convince Kajimoto to come on, but he finally did. After the ride, they walked around looking at different booths. Later, they went to the Haunted House.
"Now don't get scared, Britt," said Kajimoto.
"Me get scared? Never!" Britt said confidently. Britt walked through the house with Eiji as Eiji laughed at the not so scary things that popped out of the darkness.
"Hey, where is Kajimoto?" Britt asked.
"Don't know, maybe the cardboard vampire got him," Eiji said sarcastically.
"Haha."
Eiji and Britt were walking through a spooky graveyard, suddenly something jumped out in front of Britt.
"BOOOOOO!" shouted the ghost. Britt shrieked and ran behind a white-faced Eiji for protection.
"Eiji, help me!" screamed Britt then she heard laughing coming from the ghost.
"HAHAHA! That was great!" said the ghost. It took off its mask and revealed Kajimoto.
"I can't believe that you tried to scare Britt!" said Eiji angrily.
"Hey, it was just for fun; don't get so uptight!" Kajimoto snapped back. He and Eiji started to fight with each other.
"STOP IT!" shouted Britt. She went and hit Kajimoto on the shoulder, "Don't you ever ever do anything like that again."
"Okay, I'm sorry Britt, I thought it was a funny idea to scare you," said Kajimoto.
"No, its okay, let's just go to the Fun House or something," said Britt.
"Yeah, the Fun House!" said Eiji happily, which was kind of scary seeing as how pissed off he was a few seconds before.
"Your face is a fun house," Kajimoto said.
"OMG U WANNA START SOMETIN!" Eiji shouted. Britt shook her head.
"Let's just go now, please."
The three went into the Fun House, and Eiji and Britt had a great time playing with the wacky mirrors. Kajimoto went into the maze and got lost until he followed the voice of Eiji laughing at him for being stupid and getting lost. After about 20 minutes of insanity in the Fun House, the three got out.
"I'm getting hungry. I think we should get something to eat," suggested Britt. The boys agreed. They found the food court and sat down. Before Eiji or Kajimoto could ask what Britt wanted to eat, she was in line ordering. After getting her food, Britt returned to the table.
"Britt, I could have bought you something to eat," said Eiji.
"No I was-" started Kajimoto, but Britt cut him off.
"No, that's okay. Anyways, that was Mallory's money," laughed Britt. Eiji and Kajimoto laughed a little before ordering some food. 'That was close. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I wish I knew why they didn't like each other so much.' thought Britt.
After eating, Britt went to the bathroom and upon returning, she saw that Kajimoto was there by himself.
"Where did Eiji go?" asked Britt worriedly that he might have been angry and left.
"He had to take care of something at home quickly. He said he will be back later, maybe, but we should go on with out him," said Kajimoto. Britt was a little unsure, but she followed Kajimoto, who lead her through the crowd towards the Ferris wheel. Britt did not notice the satisfied grin Kajimoto had on his face. 'It was easier than I thought to get rid of Eiji. Too bad he went to the bathroom at the same time as Britt. Now I can have my date with just Britt and only Britt.' thought Kajimoto.
Karley's Day
Karley sat waiting outside of the school gates of Seigaku, waiting for her secret date.
"This is where the note said I should be; I hope whoever wrote this didn't forget," Karley said. She began to ponder who would've sent her flowers.
"Maybe Mizuki? No, ick. Ummm…Kabaji? No, not without Atobe's consent. Then again, he likes my sister, so…eh..no. Dan? No. Sanada? Don't think so. Shinji? Hmm….Scoople?" While Karley was deep in thought, she didn't notice the orange-haired boy sneaking up behind her. (oh how romantic.)
"Guess who!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Karley screamed and fell over. She stared up at the boy with wide eyes. "Wait. Scoople can't be my date, he's in America,"
"…..What?"
"Oh! Hi Sengoku! What are you doing here? Are you my…secret date?"
"You bet! The moment I saw you at Atobe's party, I knew I had to date such a cute girl! I'm just so lucky this week!" Sengoku said with a huge grin. Karley was looking at a butterfly.
"Eh? Hey, are you listening!" Sengoku shouted.
"What? Did you say something? Hey! Let's go do something then!" Karley said. Sengoku sighed, She's…kinda flaky.
"Okay, what do you want to do?" Sengoku asked.
"I dunno, you're the one who wrote the note. Didn't you think of anything?" Karley said.
"Well, no. I can't just decide right away."
"Well, that's stupid. Let's go do karaoke." Karley snatched Sengoku's hand and ran. Where? Well…hopefully in the direction of a karaoke place. After about 8 minutes of running past the same few buildings, Sengoku finally realized….
"Karley, do you know where you are going?"
"….Ummm…no?"
"Jeez, come on. I know where to go," Sengoku took over and led Karley in the right direction. They got to the karaoke bar and looked for songs to sing. Karley sang "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, which sorta frightened Sengoku, but he kept it to himself. Overall, they both had a good time, and even sang a few duets together. After that, they both decided to head to the arcade.
Steph…again
Steph made the final sprint and yanked open the door to Taka-san's restaurant. She was gasping for breath and fell onto the floor.
"Are you all right, young lady?" an elderly woman asked worriedly.
"I'm sorry I'm late Taka-san!" Steph shouted, even though Takashi was in the back room at the time. His dad looked down at Steph with confusion.
"Wow, Takashi has a date! He never told me that! He's in the back room stocking fish, but I'll tell him you're here," his dad said. Steph was able to pull herself up and sat down at one of the tables, still out of breath.
"Boy, I should start running with Kaidoh or something. I'm out of shape," Steph panted. A minute later, Takashi came out with a plate of sushi, and Steph regained her composure.
"I'm really sorry I'm late, Taka-san. Britt got her hand stuck in a… vending machine because it wouldn't give her the juice she bought," Steph lied.
"Don't worry about it. Britt sure has a lot of trouble with vending machines; is she okay?" Taka-san asked.
"Yeah, she's fine; Britt's a trooper," Steph replied, staring hungrily at the sushi plate, "That looks so tasty, did you make them?"
"Some of them I did, yeah," Taka-san said, fidgeting and blushing, "Anyway, I hope there's enough for you. I'll go get some tea." Steph smiled and shoved a piece of sushi into her mouth.
"Hey, Takashi! You shouldn't eat your lunch out where customers could be sitting!" Taka-san's dad shouted, "Take it in the back or into your bedroom!" There was an awkward silence as his dad said 'into your bedroom!' Takashi looked mortified and his face was deep red. Steph couldn't get her mind out of the gutter.
"Ummm…well..okay…sorry Dad…" Taka-san said nervously, "Sorry, Steph, where did you..want to…to..go?"
"Well, we might get in the way of your dad preparing food if we eat in the back room, so..I really don't mind- " Steph began.
"My bedroom! ..Sorry, that's…that's okay…I mean…I've never had a girl in my…" Taka-san said uneasily. The two slowly made their way to the bedroom. "It's kinda small..if that's okay,"
"It's fine, at least there's a table where we can eat. Hey, where's your bed or your futon?" Steph asked.
"My..futon is rolled up in the closet; it gets in the way when I have to get ready for school. Why do you..want to know?" Taka-san asked.
"I..I just was..curious that's all…" Steph said blushing. Shit, this is so awkward. "Oh, you have green tea!" Steph poured some tea and grabbed some ebi, attempting to ease the uncomfortable tension. Fortunately, Taka-san became less nervous and not so fidgety, the perfect time to start conversation.
"So, Taka-san, are you going to be a sushi chef like your dad when you get older?" Steph asked.
"Yeah, but I hope to become the best sushi chef in Japan," Taka-san said with a smile.
"Wow, are you going to get your own cooking show on TV?"
"I..don't think so, I'd get too nervous. I just want to have my own restaurant one day; that's why I'm giving up tennis next year so I can focus more on improving my skills. Tennis really isn't for me anyway; I'm not as good as the other guys."
"Don't say that; you're really good, you're one of the Regulars! But I do admire you for working so hard to help your family business."
"Thanks, Steph. That's…really nice.."
"Takashi! It's 3:00! Quit messing around with your date and get down here!" Taka-san's dad shouted.
"DAD! We're…we're not…"
"Your dad sure is discreet about everything…SHIT! It's 3:00! Damn, I had to be somewhere at 2:00!" Steph shouted, "Bye, Taka-san! I'll see you later!"
Mallory's Day
Mallory went and played tennis with Tezuka at the park. Nothing happened, besides Atobe tried to follow her and got lost. He spent several hours driving around in the limo and got pissed off and left.
Britt again
Kajimoto was in the process of leading Britt to the Ferris wheel. After waiting in an enormous line, they got into a seat. Finally, the wheel began moving.
"This is nice, you and I on the ride together, with nothing to bother us," Kajimoto slowly moved his arm over Britt's shoulder, but she wasn't really paying attention.
"You know that one orange-haired guy on my team? Jeez, why can't I remember my own teammate's name? Well, anyway, he's really a robot!" he said, trying to get her attention in anyway possible. It didn't work.
"I'M GAY!"
"Well, that's a shame, why are you with me then?" Britt said, finally paying attention to his outburst, "I don't have a problem hanging out with gay guys, but…"
"I'm not really gay. I just wanted you to listen to me."
"Well, aren't you a needy person. I'm kidding." Suddenly, the ride ended and the two got off of the ride. Britt and Kajimoto went to the booths, and Kajimoto suggested that he get some ice cream for the two of them. Britt sat under a tree to wait, when she heard a familiar voice.
"Nyahh! Britt, there you are!"
"Hi Eiji, did you get your family thing all taken care of?"
"What? What family thing? I was in the bathroom!"
"Kajimoto said you had to go home for some reason."
"Really?" Eiji said stiffly, "Well, Kajimoto said that we should go to the petting zoo and he'll meet us there later,"
Naïvely, Britt said, "Okay! Let's go!" Eiji and Britt went to the petting zoo together. Eiji rode a llama and the two watched the turtles fight each other. Britt petted some cats and held a rabbit. Then, Eiji went over to the dart game stand and won Britt a stuffed bear. They were having a great time, but little did they know, their great time would soon end!
Karley again
Karley and Sengoku went to the arcade to play some games. Karley won most of the games they played.
"Jeez, you're luckier than I am at these games," Sengoku said with a laugh.
"That's because I rock," Karley said, "Now it's time to DDDDUEL!"
"….What?"
"Umm, nothing?" Sengoku decided not to ponder any further as they both left the arcade. As the two left the arcade, Inui left the grocery store and saw the two leave. Intrigued, he pulled out his cell phone and called Momoshiro.
"Inui-sempai? What's up?" Momo said.
"Momoshiro, Kaidoh's girlfriend is with another guy. It's so amusing."
"WHAT! Mamushi is gonna let hell break loose! I should call him now, hold on!" Momo put Inui on hold and called Kaidoh. Kaidoh was out running when his phone rang.
"What do you want?" Kaidoh hissed
"Mamushi! Your girlfriend is with that Lucky dude from Yamabuki!"
"What? What girlfriend?"
"Oh don't be so modest! Karley-san you idiot! Inui-sempai saw them both coming from the arcade!" Momo put Kaidoh on three-way calling with Inui.
"Fshhhh…I don't care. She's not my girlfriend."
"They're heading down a dark alley now,"
"WHAT! Tell me where they are!" Inui directed Kaidoh to where the two were headed. Momo got bored of sitting on the other line waiting.
"Ring ring ring ring ring, Banana Phone," he began to sing repeatedly.
"Please stop, Momoshiro." Inui said.
"Fine…I'm a hippopotamus and I've got noodles on my back, noodles on my back, noodles on my back..," Momo sang. Inui began to get annoyed with the underclassmen's horrible voice and hung up.
"Sengoku, where are we going? This alley is scary," Karley said nervously.
"Don't worry, you're with me!" Sengoku said. Kaidoh made it to the alley and sprinted after them.
"Fshhhhh…bastard! You don't lead somebody down a dark alleyway, especially a girl, stupid!" Kaidoh shouted as he ran.
"Eh! Who said that?" Sengoku said, confused. Kaidoh caught up to the two.
"What do you think you're doing!" Kaidoh hissed.
"I was taking my cute date to get something to eat at that wannabe McDonald's place," Sengoku replied.
"Hi Kaidoh!" Karley said cheerfully.
"Fshhh…why would you follow this guy into an alley? Are you stupid or something?" Kaidoh said.
"Yes." Karley said. Kaidoh just stared at her, dumbfounded.
"What a girl…come on Karley, let's go," Sengoku said, pulling on her arm.
"No way! Not after you almost endangered her! Get away from this guy!" Kaidoh grabbed her other hand, and the two pulled Karley back and forth. Inui sat behind a garbage can in the alleyway, scribbling furiously in his notebook, undetected. Suddenly, it began to downpour, and Karley ran home because she had a white shirt on, leaving Kaidoh and Sengoku to continue bickering.
Steph again
The clock on the front of the St. Rudolph junior high school read 3:25 PM. Steph was on her way to the school when she realized she had forgotten the physics book she had to return to Syuusuke's brother, Yuuta, at home.
"Why am I so stupid? I can't believe after all this time, I didn't even realize I forgot that stupid book. Yuuta's probably really ticked off, dammit," Steph said miserably. Steph took out the slip of paper Syuusuke gave to her, listing the building and the room number of Yuuta's dorm. After a few minutes, she found the room and knocked on the door. No one answered, and Steph began to worry; she had no idea where to look for Yuuta if he wasn't there.
"Maybe he's asleep?" Steph wondered. She recognized the dark-haired boy wearing a red ribbon around his head as one of the school's tennis players. "Excuse me! Do you know where I can find Yuuta Fuji? I need to return his physics book!"
"Yuuta's probably either on the tennis courts, or he's in the weight room working out," the boy said, "I was just on my way down to the courts; I can't remember where Mizuki said to meet today, so you can follow me if you want." Steph nodded and the two headed to the weight room first. Yuuta wasn't there, but some of the team members were lifting weights.
"Whew! That's right, we have optional practice today. I could've gotten into trouble if I was late, hehe..," the boy said to Steph.
"Atsushi! Who's the cute girl, da ne? Is she your new girlfriend, da ne?"
Steph remembered Yanagisawa from the party and his obnoxious use of 'da ne' after every sentence. She really didn't want to converse with him, but she was standing next to his doubles partner.
"She's not my girlfriend stupid; she's looking for Yuuta-kun. You know where he is?" Atsushi said.
"Yeah, he's on the courts practicing serves, da ne."
"Why do you say 'da ne' after every sentence?" Steph asked.
"I don't do that after every sentence, da ne!" Yanagisawa replied.
"Umm..yeah you do," Steph said.
"Do not, da ne!"
Steph had enough and went outside to the tennis courts where she saw Yuuta, sure enough, practicing serves. She didn't want to bother him, and sat to wait until he was done. She read some of the physics book, but got incredibly bored after reading the first three pages. She then watched Yuuta and became captivated with how each of his muscles moved when he served. Finally, he was done and picked up the balls scattered on the court. Mizuki was observing on the sideline, wearing a tacky lacy purple shirt, twirling a piece of his curly dark hair.
"Yuuta, you need to bring your racket more over the ball. That way, you'll get more topspin and you-."
"HEY YUUTA! I have your physics book from your brother!" Steph shouted. The two turned to face Steph with surprise. Steph waved and grinned like a moron.
"Wha? Why are you here?" Yuuta shouted, red with embarrassment. Mizuki chuckled softly.
"Didn't you hear me? I brought your physics book!" Steph repeated, running over to the two boys, "Your brother had it!"
"Tschhh, so like Aniki to take my stuff without asking," Yuuta grumbled, "Thanks for bringing it back, anyway; sorry you had to come all the way out here."
"Oh it was no trouble at all! I've never seen this school before, it's so new looking!"
"Yes it's quite nice. Yuuta, why don't you show her around the school, since practice is over," Mizuki said.
"But..but..well…I guess I can."
"Have fun Yuuta-kun!" Mizuki said as the two left. Yuuta gave Steph a tour of the school as Steph gasped excitedly at everything. They had left the gymnasium when it suddenly began to storm outside.
"I didn't know it was supposed to storm today," Steph said, "I should probably go home."
"What? No, you can't go home right now, not in this weather!" Yuuta said.
"I guess I can wait it out."
"Well, I showed you the whole school, pretty much. I guess we can..go back to my room if you want."
Oh bollocks, not this again, Steph thought, but she nodded. The two went back to Yuuta's room to find Atsushi and Yanagisawa staring at the microwave in the room.
"No way! You have a kitchen in your room! What are you two staring at?" Steph said.
"We're boiling water," Atsushi said.
"To make curry rice, da ne," Yanagisawa added.
"You guys are stupid! You don't boil water in a microwave; use the stove!" Yuuta said. He grabbed the bowl out of the microwave and put it on the stove.
"What! You're gonna break the bowl! Honestly, can't men cook in Japan besides Taka-san?" Steph cried. She put the bowl into a pot, and then decided to make the whole thing for them.
"Wow, now I wish I had taken that Foods class last year, da ne," Yanagisawa said.
"Maybe you can stay here and cook for us everyday," Atsushi said. Steph laughed nervously and suddenly Mizuki burst into the room.
"Come to St. Rudolph and be our lunch lady! Just sign this form!"
"Go away!" Steph shouted.
"Little Brother! I brought you raspberry pie!" Yuuta's sister said out of nowhere.
"Nee-san! When did you get here!"
"GASP! You have a GIRL in your room! My little brother's growing up! Quick, everyone out so they can be alone!" She pulled the three boys out of the room, causing Atsushi to choke on his rice.
"No! I don't need anymore awkward moments with boys today!" Steph cried.
"What?" Yuuta said, confused. And again, Steph was alone…with a boy…with the same element of awkwardness and guttermindedness..if that's a word.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Yuuta asked.
"Hey! Can we play your video games?" Steph said.
"Umm, sure. I didn't really think girls were into that,"
"Jeez, where have you been?" Steph and Yuuta played several games; Yuuta kicked Steph's ass at Halo, but other than that, they were evenly matched. It started to get dark and it was still storming hard outside, and Steph got a bit worried and called home.
"Steph? Where are you?" It was Mallory.
"I'm at-"
"OMG I had the best time with Tezuka today. I-"
"Don't care! I'm at St. Rudolph's in Yuuta's room. I don't know when I'll be home since it's storming outside."
"In…his room! Did you…do anything!"
"Sick no!"
"Is Britt with you?"
"No, why would she be? She's with Cat Boy and Kajimoto at the fair isn't she?"
"Yeah, but it's really late and I thought she'd be back by now since it's raining and Karley came home, mumbling something about Kaidoh and butterflies and Scoople."
"I'm sure she'll be home soon or she'll call. Kay, well bye." Steph hung up the phone.
"Everything all right?" Yuuta asked.
"Yeah, don't worry. Hey, umm…will..I have to…sleep here..do you think?"
"Oh jeez..I forgot about that. (yeah right) Well, my roommate is gone for the weekend, so you can have his bed if you're comfortable."
"No I want your bed; it's on the top."
"What? Fine." Disregarding the whole pajama issue, Steph slept in Yuuta's bed with her regular clothes on, inhaling the scent of Yuuta's bedsheets and pillow.
Britt again
Britt, Eiji, and the teddy bear were relaxing on a bench underneath a tree after visiting the petting zoo.
"Thanks for the teddy bear, Eiji, you're so sweet," Britt said with a smile.
"Anytime Britt, nyahh. Hey, Britt, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," Eiji started to say when Kajimoto approached the three on the bench.
"There you are, Britt. I've been looking all over for you. Where did you go?" Kajimoto said angrily.
"Eiji said you would meet up with us after we went to the petting zoo," Britt said. Eiji looked sick.
"I never said that! What are you trying to pull, Cat-Boy!"
"Nyahh, you hypocrite! You told Britt I had to go home so you could steal her while I was in the bathroom!"
"It doesn't matter anyway, you guys, let's go do something else!" Britt said nervously.
"No! I've had enough of sharing you with this immature baka!" Kajimoto said.
"Well, the feeling's mutual, nyah!" Eiji snapped back.
"And that 'nyah' is really irritating!"
"Your face is irritating!"
"It's better than yours! You and that stupid bandaid!"
Eiji and Kajimoto were at each others' throats, while Britt sat back in despair. Her whole day, her whole plan to keep peace was ruined. To make the matters worse, it began to rain on the fairgrounds. Britt couldn't take it anymore and threw her bear down in frustration and sadness. She ran away as far as her legs could take her, accidentally running into somebody.
"I'm sorry!" Britt said, her eyes welling up with tears. She was about to take off again when the person gently grabbed her arm.
"Britt! What's wrong!" It was Oishi's voice she heard.
"Oishi it's horrible! I was on my date with Eiji and Kajimoto and it was okay at first and.." Oishi really couldn't understand Britt in her words of disarray.
"Okay, relax Britt! Come with me to my house. You can't stand in the rain, you might catch a cold!" They made it to the house and Oishi let Britt take a bath to warm up. After her bath, she relaxed a little and went to sit down by the fireplace. Oishi brought Britt some tea and sat down next to her.
"Now then, tell me everything that happened today." Britt explained her day the best she could, to the meeting at the tree to the senseless violation of the teddy bear. Oishi sat back, nodding his head until she was finished.
"Well, that's quite a..situation."
"I know…I don't know what to do! If I knew why they were fighting so much, I could find a way to set things right," Britt said.
"Well, I would obviously assume that Eiji likes you, and he doesn't like Kajimoto because Kajimoto also likes you," Oishi said.
"How did you know?"
"Well…that's what he told me."
"And you didn't tell me!"
"Well, I thought it was obvious. Eiji's an obvious person."
"Well, it wasn't obvious to me! I'm naïve and stupid!"
"The only solution I can see is that you have to choose one of them to date. You can't date them both, or they're going to fight over you. Eventually, they'll get really mad at you too and it'll be this huge fiasco."
"It's already a huge fiasco! How do I choose?"
"You've got to follow your heart, Britt. Be true to yourself."
"Wow, thanks Oishi, that's deep."
"I know. I heard it on a soap opera. Well, since it's still storming out, do you want to spend the night here?"
"Sure, I'll sleep on the couch. It adds more dramatic effect."
"What dramatic effect?"
"…ummm….night!" Britt instantly fell asleep and Oishi called her house to tell Mallory that Britt was staying over.
"Okay…so she's being a ho-bag like Steph?"
"What?"
"Never mind. It's okay. Have a nice night!" Mallory hung up. Oishi stared down at the phone and hung up as well.
"Poor child."
End of chapter
Disclamer: We don't own Phil of the Future or Prince of Tennis even though we want to!
Please REVIEW for the Teddy Bear sake!
