After I shot it with a few of my railgun needles, the blackish Boomer in front of me twitched for a moment, spewing orange fluids out of its chest and mouth before crumpling to the asphalt. I grinned and stood back, admiring my handiwork for a moment before scanning the area for any more that might've slipped away.
"Priss, on your left!" Linna yelled over the comm.
"I hear ya," I answered, turning in that direction just in time to see another Boomer heading my way. It opened its mouth and growled before firing its mouth cannon at me. I ducked the beam, then ran at it and decked it in the stomach with my Knuckle Bomber. While it was reeling, I dived between its legs, then stood up and delivered a roundhouse kick to the thing's back with my Leg Bombers. The Boomer howled in pain – if it could feel it, anyway – and turned to face me, its eyes glowing red.
"C'mon, fight. You're making this too easy," I wisecracked, grinning as I braced myself for the Boomer's next attack. It responded by diving at me, but I easily jumped out of the way and over the Boomer. I didn't even give it a chance to recover before I landed on its back and gave it the finishing blow, slamming my Knuckle Bomber into the back of its neck. It twitched, then went still.
I snorted and stood up once I was sure that it was dead. Something about these Boomers that had gone rogue lately bugged me, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was. I forgot about that for the moment and used my jumpjets to jet up to the top of a nearby building to see if any of the others were having trouble fighting the Boomers they'd come up against. Unfortunately, nobody needed help; I just stood there and watched as Linna did flips around the Boomer she was fighting, and with a holler, she did a spin and sent her ribbons cutting through the Boomer, and it fell to the ground in five pieces. I turned my head slightly to the right and saw Sylia finishing up as well.
"That's it," Sylia said when I leapt down from my perch. "That's all of them."
"Not quite," Linna said, chuckling when the sound of Nene screaming became audible. "I think Nene's having trouble still."
Strangely enough, not long after Linna had said that, the sound of gunshots was heard, followed by another of Nene's high-pitched yelps, and then, a cheer. "I got it!" she exclaimed.
"Good for you," Linna said. A few moments later, our friend in the red-and-pink hardsuit appeared, looking a little beat-up but otherwise ok.
"That thing just didn't want to die," Nene panted, trying to wipe the fluids off of her suit. "It was tough."
"I dunno," I said. "The ones I fought were easy enough."
"Yeah, same here," Linna agreed.
"Let's get out of here," Sylia interrupted, beckoning us to go when the sound of police sirens could be heard.
Once we got back to Sylia's building, I decided not to hang around; I just changed back into my normal clothes and headed home. Something about that battle still was nagging me in the back of my mind, but damn, what was it? I tried to not think about it as I walked in the door, took off my clothes, and stepped into the hot shower, but still…I could tell that something wasn't right. The battles these past few weeks…they hadn't really been much of a challenge at all. Hell, I hardly broke a sweat fighting those Boomers, and even Nene had killed a few, but whether she was getting better or the Boomers were getting lazy, I couldn't tell.
That's it, I thought, my face hardening in thought as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. The Boomers have been too easy! They're not half as tough as they were when Yume was around. And somehow, I doubt that's a coincidence… Did it mean anything? My gut feeling said yes, and I could feel my stomach start to turn at the thought.
After I stepped out of the shower and dried my hair, I got into my nightshirt and panties, then crawled lazily into bed. Madigan must be up to something, I thought. Must be…
-----
I didn't sleep well that night at all. When I woke up, I felt like I had just gone to bed and not slept a wink. I grumbled and got dressed, had two or three cups of coffee for breakfast, and then headed out to the Silky Doll. I just couldn't shake this feeling I had that something wasn't right. Maybe I was reading too much into this; maybe Genom was finally giving up. Ha, yeah right…like they would give up that easily. Just because Yume had gone to Genom Tower and stirred things up a bit didn't mean that they were gonna lay down and die, though in a way, it would've been interesting, seeing that huge corporation brought down by a seventeen-year-old. I had to chuckle at the thought, and then I started feeling sick again at remembering that my own daughter had nearly gotten herself killed, and for what? Sure, I bet she felt like she had avenged Michiko, but now I was sure that Genom would be gung-ho to pay that favor right back.
Once I got to Sylia's building, I parked my bike in the parking garage, then walked the short distance to the Silky Doll. I walked inside and pretended to act like any other customer, looking at the various kinds of lingerie, and once the few customers that were in the store had left, I walked over to Sylia.
"Hey," I said.
"What brings you here, Priss?" Sylia asked.
"I need to talk to you about something. It's bugging the hell outta me."
"All right. Come back here." She motioned her head towards a back room, and then we both headed in there, first making sure that none of the other employees like Heather were in there.
After she locked the door, Sylia lit a cigarette and took a puff from it. "So what was on your mind?" she inquired.
"Just this feeling that's been nagging at me for a few weeks now."
"Relating to the Madigan situation?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"I know you, Priss. You've probably noticed the same things I have, about the Boomers that have been sent out lately."
"Yeah, exactly. Just seems like they're getting easier to kill every time." I smirked and added, "When Nene starts being able to kill 'em, doesn't that say something?"
"Well, there's no doubting that Genom has been lax in what kind of Boomers they've sent out. Linna told me last night that she's noticed it too. And Nene's just excited that she doesn't need anyone else's help."
"Think it means anything?"
"Yes, I do." She took another puff from her cigarette and tapped her foot. "I believe that Madigan may be trying to have us let our guard down."
"By sending out wimpy-ass Boomers?"
"In part. But there's more to it than that. We can't let our guard down, even when the Boomers we fight seem to be easy to defeat. Madigan's going to expect us to be lackluster when we're overconfident in our ability, and that is probably when she is going to strike."
"I thought she was after Yume," I said.
"She is, but Yumeko is not the only Knight Saber. She is only one of five. There is still the other four to deal with, the veterans, if you will. Madigan knows we're protecting her, and so if we're out of the way, we cannot protect her anymore."
I sighed and scratched my head. "Makes sense…" I mumbled.
"Case in point, we just can't afford to let our guard down at any time, no matter what the reason. We need to be aware. Don't get too confident and think that the 'easy' Boomers are all that are going to be sent out."
"I gotcha. No cracks in the armor, so to speak."
"Yes."
"When do you suppose she might make her move?"
"I don't know. But that doesn't mean that we don't have to be careful."
"Damn, I hate this," I mumbled. I held out my hand and pointed at her cigarette. "Can I borrow that for a sec?" She handed it to me, and I took a quick puff and handed it back to her. "Thanks."
"Don't get yourself worked up, Priss," she warned me. "That won't help us take care of Madigan."
"I know that!" I snapped. "But Yume's my daughter. I want her to be safe!"
"You're her mother, it's instinct. And the rest of us want her to be safe too. But worrying isn't going to help matters any."
I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, there was a knock at the door. "Are you in there, Sylia?" Nene asked.
"Yes, with Priss," Sylia replied.
"Ok. This customer needs some help with a bra, and she wanted you to help her instead of me."
"All right, I'm coming." She put out her cigarette, then unlocked the door and let me leave first. After we headed back into the main section of the shop, she went to help the customer while Nene dragged me off to the side.
"Priss, I want to tell you something!" she whispered excitedly.
"I know you're happy about killing Boomers by yourself. We all know," I joked.
"Not that, not that. I was talking with Sylia this morning about Yumeko, and I have some good news!"
"Like what?" I inquired.
"Well, it's going to be Christmas in a few weeks. Every year for Christmas, Tyler takes Irodia and Mikhaila to Minnesota for a Christmas celebration with his family. Irodia always wants me to go with her, but I'm always busy, especially now, since the Sabers have started up again. But I've worked it out with Sylia so that I can head over to the States for a week or so."
"So…you're gonna be able to see Yume?"
"Yup! But unfortunately, you can't come along."
"I know," I said in a low voice. "It would look weird having me over there."
"Yeah, everybody recognizes you as Priss of Priss and the Replicants, so that wouldn't work out at all. But don't worry, I'll be sure to let you know how she's doing when I get back."
"When are you leaving?"
"The 20th. I'll be back on the 28th. Hopefully no big Boomer incidents will occur while I'm gone."
"I think we'll manage," I said dryly.
"You look kind of worried. Are you ok?" she asked.
"It's been almost three months since Yume left, but…I'm already seeing a change in her. In each vidletter I get, it's like she has a bigger and bigger shell around her. In the first one, she was close to crying almost the whole time, but in the one I got last week, she's hardly emotional at all. And she's been more reluctant to open up about what's been going on in her life over there."
"I don't think it's anything to worry about," Nene said, smiling. "Maybe she's just too busy living a normal life to think much of anything over here."
I shook my head. "I don't think that's it. I know what she's doing. She's trying to…to cut herself off from everything emotionally, so it doesn't hurt anymore. She's trying to pretend none of it ever happened, or is at least trying not to think about it. The summit was traumatic enough, and not just for her, but…I think Michiko's murder finally put her over the edge."
"Priss…she was right there when the police found her body. You sure she'd try to pretend that Michiko's still alive?" I nodded.
"She was Yume's best friend…it must be awful to think that her best friend is dead. She's gonna try to cope however she sees fit, and I guess cutting her emotions off is her coping mechanism."
Nene thought for a moment. "Well…if she has done that, then she's really taking after her mom in more than one way."
I grumbled. "She's been through more in this past year than most people go through in a lifetime, and she's still a teenager! She's seventeen! She's not supposed to be going through ANY of this! The biggest thing she's supposed to be worrying about is training for the Olympic trials!" I took a deep breath to try to calm myself down; it didn't work.
"If it's any consolation, I'll talk to Yumeko when I get the chance, ok?" Nene assured me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't try acting like a therapist or psychologist or anything, though. She won't go for it."
She grinned. "I'm her 'aunt,' I'm sure I can tell her without sounding that way."
"One thing, though. Just try to call her Rocío when you're not alone with her, ok? As far as we know, Irodia's the only one who knows that's not her real name." I chuckled.
"I know. And I'm sure if I do start to call her Yumeko in person, Irodia would hit me on the shoulder to let me know," she laughed.
"Nene, I appreciate all this. Thanks."
She smiled gently, then said, "I should probably get back to work now."
"Yeah, go on. I was just going to leave, anyway."
I waved bye to Sylia and Nene, then headed out the door and to the parking garage. I slipped on my helmet, and after I started up the bike, pulled out, and drove down the street, I could feel the emotions starting to build up. I swallowed deeply and took a breath; God, I missed my daughter so much! I hoped that she wasn't doing the exact same damn thing I'd done at her age, but with the way I'd seen her act in her recent vidletters, it seemed it was true.
I started humming a tune to get my thoughts off of what Yume could be doing to herself, and off the top of my head, I started mumbling a few lines:
Yume mire, yume mire, (Dreaming, dreaming,)
anata to ashita o yume miteiru. (I'm dreaming of a tomorrow with you.)
Aishiteru to itteru (Telling you that I love you,)
sore dake hoshii ne. (that's all I want.)
I smiled and revved up the bike some more as I sped down the street. I would have to remember to write down those words and make a song out of them; I was sure Yume would appreciate it.
-----
"Good, good," Kenneth said, grinning as I finished up part two of the long form. "You're coming along very well, Rocío. Now show me part three."
"I don't know it very well," I said, shyly returning the grin. "That lady-weaves-shuttle sequence is kind of confusing still."
"Yes, I know. Just remember to put your left foot in front of you before starting that sequence. It will come naturally to you."
"Ok, I'll try."
"Get into the infinity stance, and begin."
I got into the starting stance, then took a step to the side, took a breath as I raised my arms in front of me, then let it out and slowly lowered my arms. I did the 'embrace tiger, return to mountain' move, then the 'grasp sparrow's tail' sequence, which was how all three parts that I'd learned started out.
"Uh, what's next…" I mumbled to myself, freezing after I did the 'single whip' move.
"Part the wild horse's mane," Kenneth hinted.
"Oh, right!"
I did a sweeping motion in front of me with my arm, from right to left, then did 'lion plays with the ball,' which is like standing on one foot while holding a pretend ball between your hands. I did three more sets of 'wild horse's mane' and 'lion plays with the ball' before moving on to the next sequences. And once I got to the 'lady weaves shuttle' sequence, I made sure to put my left foot in front first, and sure enough, the three moves in that sequence that came afterwards came naturally.
After doing the 'wave hands like clouds' sequence – slowly stepping to the left while basically moving my arms in large circles – it was time for the 'snake creeps down' sequence. Finishing the clouds sequence, I crouched down, my left leg stretched out in front of me with my right leg bent underneath my body. I was supposed to slide up to my feet and balance on my left leg while holding my bent right leg up in front of me, with my right elbow on top of it, but when I slid up to my feet to balance, I ended up losing my balance, and I fell on my butt.
"Ow!" I yelled, wincing as I put a hand to my leg.
"Your leg still doesn't want to do that, huh?" Kenneth asked.
"Yeah." I rubbed my leg.
"Well, at least this time you were able to lift your right leg a little bit before falling. Last time, you didn't even get THAT far."
"I wish it would get better though."
"Give it time. The muscles still have to learn all those moves. They're still healing up from that gunshot wound they received."
"Maybe, but I still wish they'd heal faster," I groaned, standing up. Eight and a half months since the Boomer summit, and my leg was still giving me trouble. Ugh…I knew it would be hard work getting my leg up to speed again – those months of therapy with Linna certainly proved it – but that was just up to normal speed. To get it up to Olympic-level speed would take a hell of a lot more work, and knowing that annoyed the hell out of me. The trials are in five and a half more months, I thought. I gotta pick up the pace here!
"Your body isn't going to care if you want to go to the Olympics," Kenneth pointed out, as if he could read my mind. "It knows better than to rush itself. It knows to take its sweet time. And you should know that, too. If you're not relaxed and you just want to hurry, your body is actually going to heal slower than it normally would if you would just learn to take your time."
"I know," I sighed. "Doesn't stop it from being annoying, though."
He chuckled. "I know." He looked at his watch and said, "Well, it's time to get out of here, anyway. Just practice part three, and if you mess up, just keep going. Your body will learn eventually." He picked up his duffel bag and patted me on the shoulder. "See you Monday, Rocío."
"See ya, Kenneth."
After he left, I jogged over to my duffel bag, picked it up, and headed into the locker room to change into my gymnastics leotard. I knew that for the trials, the judges would be looking at not only perfection of the moves, but originality as well. There was a new move that I'd been thinking about trying out, but it was only recently that I had been able to practice on the uneven bars again, so I hadn't been able to try it out. Until now.
"Yo! Rocío!" I heard a voice call out when I returned to the gym, clad in my leotard.
"Huh?" I looked around for a moment, then saw a guy at the front doors of the gym, waving at me. "Greg?"
"Hi." He jogged over to me. "Xania said you'd be over here doing your tai chi."
"I just finished up. I was just going to try out some moves on the uneven bars."
"Ah, so that explains the hot outfit," he cracked, grinning. I couldn't help but blush.
"So what do you want?" I inquired, tying my hair back in a ponytail.
"I was just gonna watch."
"And…?" I had a feeling there was more to it than that.
"Well…I was gonna ask if you wanted to go grab a burger or something."
"Uh…" I just stood there and blinked, dumbfounded. Was he asking me out on a DATE? I didn't know what to say. "Are you asking me out?" I finally asked, feeling my face and my ears turn bright red.
"If you say I am, then I am," he replied, smiling. "You know, you're beet-red right now."
I tried to cover up my cheeks with my hands, but it was no use. "No one's ever…asked me out before. Usually they just start out with the I-want-you-in-my-bed shit." Greg just laughed.
"Nah, I'm not that kind of guy. I know most girls don't go for that, especially you. I saw what went on between you and Rob."
"Would you not mention Rob?" I asked, disgusted just by the mention of his name. "I had no say in what happened then. I was drunk. It was a stupid move on my part."
"Hey, I know how it gets sometimes." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Sometimes it feels like the world is against you, and you just wanna forget about it all, so why NOT get drunk? That's why there's so many alcoholics in the world."
"And I don't intend on becoming one of them. That party was the first time I'd ever had more than one sip of booze, and I intend on making it the last time." I frowned; all those nasty memories were coming back now. "Could you just leave before I get even more pissed? I'd rather have just forgotten that any of that ever happened!"
"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, throwing his hands up in front of him as if in surrender. "So can we go out for burgers once you're done?"
"I would have to think about it," I said flatly. "Let's see what kind of a mood I'm in in about fifteen minutes and we'll see."
"Can I watch?"
"From the doors, yes."
He nodded acknowledgment and shuffled over to the doors, then folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the window. "This ok?" he called.
"Yeah, that's fine," I called back. "I'm gonna practice a little bit on the balance beam first before doing the bars." Greg just nodded and grinned. I stifled a grimace as I walked over to the end of the balance beam. Him suddenly showing all this interest in me unnerved me a little bit, though I tried not to show it. After all, Boh had been interested too, but I didn't realize just how much until he'd stuck his knife in my gut. Missed all the signs because I was too busy concentrating on my therapy and other things…
Ugh, that's ridiculous, I thought. I met him a few days after I first got here. No way could Genom have known I was coming here. I shook my head to get those thoughts out of my head; I was probably being paranoid, but like Mom would say, a healthy case of paranoia never hurt. I backed up a few feet, then ran and jumped onto the balance beam, wobbling a little bit before getting some sense of balance. I slowly walked to the end of the beam, then turned around and walked to the other end, just to get a feel for the beam. Turning around again, I raised my hands up, then threw them in front of me, grasped the beam, and did a front-handspring. I landed on my feet ok, but it was a very wobbly landing. I frowned, turned around, and repeated the move, and this time wasn't much better. I cursed under my breath and tried a back-handspring, and for some reason, my landing wasn't as wobbly.
After a few minutes on the beam, I hopped down and headed over to the uneven bars. I stood back, cracked my knuckles, then spat into my hands and rubbed them together. Ok, let's see how this goes, I thought, gulping as I gazed intently at the bars. I hadn't been on the bars since before the Boomer summit…God knew how rusty I might've been. I was hoping I wasn't TOO rusty. I was also hoping that my leg would be able to handle it; as much as I hated to think of it as a handicap, it might've become just that.
Only one way to find out, I thought as I ran to the bars, then jumped up and grabbed the lower bar and swung myself around it. After going around it twice, I did a flip and grabbed the higher bar. I spun around it, then threw my legs up between my arms, my left leg tightening at the move, then did a backward flip and grabbed the bar again. Ok, passed the first test. Now I wonder if I can do that new move I've been wanting to try out…
I did a twist in mid-air after letting go of the high bar, then grabbed the low bar, did a few more twists, and went back up to the higher bar. I spun around it once, then pressed my feet against the bar, still grasping it tightly. I was going to try to do a few twists in mid-air while jumping backwards, and was gonna try to grab onto the lower bar while doing so. I pushed off the bar with my feet, then let go and went into a backwards flip. I figured I could do three of those before needing to grab the bar.
God, was I wrong.
After the third flip, I reached with both hands to grab the bar, but my body was too low. All I could do now was do a free-fall. All I could think before I hit the ground was, Oh shit.
And then, a very loud snap as I landed on my arm.
I screamed in pain and lay sprawled out on the mat, gently grabbing my arm while biting my lip to keep from yelling any more. In seconds, Greg was at my side, along with several other girls who had seen me fall. "You ok?" I heard him ask.
I slowly opened one eye and gazed up at him, still grimacing and holding my upper arm. "I broke my arm, what do you think?" I groaned.
"I'll go call a doctor," one of the girls said, running off.
"Just hold still, ok?" the other girl asked, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Don't move your arm."
"I know that," I snapped, trying to resist the urge to sit up.
"You really missed the bar," Greg said, grinning sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Too many flips, it looked like."
"I was trying out a new move…guess I miscalculated how many flips I'd be able to do." I winced again at the pain, which was shooting up through my shoulder. "Damn, I forgot how much a broken arm hurt!"
"More than a splinter, less than an amputation," he quipped.
"I've had worse." I nodded towards the leg sleeve on my leg, which was covering up the scar there.
"Maybe, but you still have a broken arm right now."
"Ambulance is coming," the girl who'd left said, running back to us.
"Good," the second girl said. She looked at me and said, "Not much longer, ok?"
"Yeah, yeah," I groaned, rolling my eyes. I guess THIS would teach me to try out new moves early on in my training! Only good thing I could think of at the moment was that at least this had happened during training, and not during the trials or the Olympics themselves. Next time, do TWO flips, not THREE, I screamed in my head, chiding myself. Three's too many. Two next time!
-----
It wasn't long before the ambulance came and took me to the hospital. The medics took me in to get x-rays done, and they showed exactly what I already knew: I had a fracture of the right humerus. The doctor noted that I had a healed fracture just a few inches above the spot that had been broken, and I just grinned to myself. That 'old' injury he saw was from when one of the Boomers at Genom Tower had kicked me, just a few months earlier.
I ended up getting a full cast, from my shoulder all the way to my hand. I was told that it would take a week to heal up. I just shrugged. "It's nothing," I said. "I've had worse." I lifted up my shirt and pointed to the scars on my stomach.
"Not new to pain, huh?" the doctor quipped. "They don't look like any injuries you'd get from gymnastics."
"I've been in a few fights."
The docs ended up calling Irodia, but Greg talked with her on the phone briefly and said for her not to come to the hospital. "She's fine. I'll give her a ride back to your place," he said, then paused. "Yeah. Yeah, she's gotta wear a cast for a week. …No, no, don't worry. Her head's still intact."
"Depends on what your definition of that is," I quipped.
He just grinned and kept talking to Irodia. "Yeah. Uh-huh, they just finished up. Ok. Bye." He hung up. "She sure freaked out when she heard you fell."
"Even if I DID land on my head, I don't think any damage woulda been done," I said cheekily. "And yeah, Irodia does tend to overreact a little bit."
"A little?" he joked. "She acted like you'd broken your neck." I just laughed.
"Yeah, that sounds like her, all right."
Once the docs said we could go, Greg led me outside and to his truck. He held open the door so I could get in, and once I was in, he shut the door and went over to his side and climbed in, starting it up.
"So…" he started to say.
"So what?" I asked.
Greg smirked. "Some first date, huh? Usually girls don't get broken bones till the third date."
"Hey!" I playfully smacked him on the arm and laughed again. "Don't take it personally. We can still go out for burgers sometime."
"Like when?"
I thought for a moment. "Well…how about in a week, when I can actually hold a burger again?" I joked.
"Heh, ok. Hope that heals up ok."
"I broke this arm a few months ago, and it healed up alright then. It'll be fine."
"How'd you break it last time?" he asked as we got onto the highway.
"Um…my dad pushed me down the stairs." Greg grimaced.
"Ouch. Well, um, sorry to say, but you don't look like the type who'd let anybody push you around, even your dad."
"Well…he…he was a very intimidating guy, kinda like those big Boomers that go nuts in Tokyo every so often."
"Well gee, if my dad was like one of them, I'd be scared too," he agreed. "Do you think he'll figure out that you're here?"
I took a breath. "I hope not. But I guess if he does, then I'll just have to kick his sorry ass, now won't I?"
"No need to do that with your new Spitdevil," he pointed out, getting an evil grin on his face. "I'm sure he'd back off once seeing that thing."
"How did you know what kind of gun I got?" I inquired.
"Xania told me."
I raised an eyebrow. "I coulda sworn that you two broke up."
"We did, but we're still friendly with each other."
How friendly? I thought to myself, grimacing at the thought. "Well, that's good, I suppose."
We kept talking the whole way back to Irodia's house, mostly about normal things like school, and what we were going to do over Christmas break. I said that me and Irodia's family were going to go to Minnesota, and Greg said he and his family were going to go skiing in Vail. "You ever ski before?" he asked.
"No, can't say I have," I said, shaking my head. "I was always too busy with my gymnastics, and besides, those resorts are always crowded."
"Maybe I can teach you sometime," he suggested.
I cleared my throat. "Well…California's kind of a bad place to learn to ski, isn't it? Lack of snow and all…"
"You could come with me to Vail when you have the time."
I had to think about it for a moment. Did I REALLY trust this guy enough to be alone with him? I could feel myself pale, and I finally just shook my head. "No…no, I can't. I don't…"
"Don't trust me?"
"You're nice and all, but I…I'd rather not."
When we got to a red light at an intersection, Greg put a hand on my shoulder. "Rocío, I'm not a creep like Rob is. I'm not gonna try and fill you up with booze, then try to get you in bed. I'd love to just have someone to hang out with, y'know?"
"Yeah, I do. But…I've never trusted guys in general. You're…you're different from the ones I've known. It's a nice invitation, to go skiing with you, but…I'll decline."
"That's ok, it was a hypothetical invitation anyway," he said, grinning as the traffic light turned green and we headed down the street again. "I think you'd look hot in a skiing outfit though."
"What, didn't get enough of seeing me in that leotard?" I inquired jokingly.
"I wouldn't mind seeing you in that again," he admitted. "Hope I didn't distract you during your workout though."
"No, you didn't. Like you said, I just did one too many flips, that's all. Just need to practice more."
I told Greg to turn at a few streets, and before long, we were pulling up into the driveway of Irodia's house. I started to get out, but Greg told me to stay put while he got out and opened the door for me. "You know, you're a real ham," I said as I got out of the truck.
"Yeah, I know I am," he said, grinning.
"Thanks for the ride, Greg. Hopefully I won't need to ask you for one again."
"Oh, we'll see." He closed the door and walked me up to the door, but before I could open the door, Greg gently grabbed my cast, took out a marker, and started writing a number on it. "Here's my phone number in case you do need another ride," he joked.
"Again, I hope I won't need another one."
"Well, if you don't need a ride anywhere, you can still call. You're welcome to anytime."
"Thanks."
He turned to head down the walkway to his truck, but stopped and turned around. "Oh, I forgot to give you something…"
"Like what?"
Greg walked up to me, then put a hand on my cheek and looked me in the eyes. I could feel my heart start to pound. Was he going to give me a kiss? Would I LET him give me one? I was in shock; my feet refused to move. He leaned in closer, and all I could do was stand there and watch him, trying to see what he was going to do.
It wasn't a kiss he was going to give me. I knew it the moment he got that evil grin on his face. I laughed and started to pull away, but he grabbed me and gave me a noogie, just like what Xania would sometimes do. "Hey, no fair!" I giggled, managing to pull away from him. "What was that for?"
"I felt like it," he said, smirking. "You seem just like a little sister to me. Seemed like the appropriate thing to do."
"A little sister. Ha!"
"I bid you adieu now, m'lady," he said, grinning again as he bowed before heading to his truck and driving off.
Instead of heading inside, I stood there on the porch and watched him drive away, rubbing my sore head while grinning at the same time. He said I was like a little sister…hmph. What a big brother he'd make. And yet…I could still sense that he had some feelings for me that weren't quite what a brother and sister would feel for each other. He's getting a crush on me! I thought, looking down at the phone number he'd written on my cast. He doesn't know what he's getting into. Imagine having a Knight Saber as a girlfriend. He's nuts to be falling for somebody like me. He can't handle me.
It didn't make sense, this guy who was honestly worried about my well-being. It didn't seem like an act; it seemed like genuine concern. And it unnerved me, to say the least. Greg DOES care, I thought. But why? Who would want to care about ME? What does he see in me? Aw hell, why do I care what he sees? It's not like I have the same feelings for him! Just because he's not a bastard like the other guys I've known doesn't mean I'm gonna fall for him! Nope, he's just a nice guy. That's all there is to it.
-----
The week of school I had after I broke my arm was kind of interesting. The moment Xania, Juliana, and Sara saw me, they immediately wanted to know what happened, and I told them. Sara thought that to cheer me up, she'd draw a little picture on my cast. She took out a red marker and drew two hearts and colored them in, then wrote "Get better soon!" underneath.
"I know what it's like to be stuck in a cast for a while," she said. "It's no fun."
"Imagine having a cast fifty years ago," I replied. "People back then had to be stuck in 'em for six weeks instead of just one week or a few days."
"I'd go nuts from all the itching!" she said, squirming at the thought. "Sounds like it'd be torture!"
"No, being stuck with a leg brace for four months is torture."
Sara wasn't the only one who saw my cast as an empty canvas needing to be filled. Not long afterward, Xania approached me with a black marker in hand, and practically pinned me down so she could draw on it, too. She drew a smiley face with sunglasses and spiky black hair, and was making a peace sign.
"Why does that not surprise me?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"It shouldn't. This is me you're talking about here," Xania joked. She looked down and signed her name underneath the drawing, then looked down towards my wrist and saw the phone number written there. "Hey, that's Greg's number!"
"Yeah, it is," I said. "So?"
She laughed. "He likes you! I knew it! You call him yet?"
"Why would I? I told him I'd only call him if I needed another ride home, which I doubt I will."
"Another?"
"He gave me a ride home from the hospital after I got the cast on."
Xania just snickered.
"What's so funny?" I demanded.
"Typical of him to help out a girl in need," she said, grinning. "So hard to find a chivalrous guy these days. And speaking of chivalrous, did he give you a kiss to make you feel all better? Or stick his hands up your shirt to make you feel even more better?"
"No and no," I said nonchalantly. "He gave me a noogie."
"A noogie?" She raised an eyebrow. "He never gave ME a noogie."
"He said he sees me more as a little sister."
"Riiiight. A little sister, mm-hmm. And by next month you two will be making out in the back of his truck."
"I have no feelings for him," I snapped. "I see him as nothing more than a friend."
"C'mon, Rosho, any time you're seen with him, people aren't gonna see him as a 'guy friend' of yours. They'll be callin' him your boyfriend or lover or the like. Girls aren't friends with guys without being at least a LITTLE attracted to them!"
"Well, I'm not attracted to him. Sorry to disappoint you."
Fortunately, Xania let up on the teasing, and I was allowed to get on with my day, but because of the cast on my arm, I wasn't able to write very well. I had to ask other kids to copy their notes for me. And in gym class, the teacher didn't want me to participate in any contact sports, but I managed to have him let me play soccer, since it didn't require me to use my arms.
By the time Saturday rolled around, my cast was covered in drawings and get-well messages. Looking at it kinda gave me a warm feeling inside; it was nice to know that people actually cared about me. And so, when the doctor was about to remove the cast, I asked him if I could keep it, and he said I could. "Usually it's the younger kids who want to keep their cast," he said, "but I see a few older kids who want to, too."
"Well, when you're thousands of miles from home, it's nice to know that somebody you're with cares," I mumbled.
"I know."
Once I got the cast off and took it home, I went and put it on an empty shelf in my bedroom closet for safekeeping. I stood there and looked at it for a moment, reading all of the messages that were scrawled on it. And then I sighed. People here cared about me…not everybody did, but at least a few did. But they weren't my family. Mom was my family. Linna, Nene, and Sylia were my family – they were my 'aunts'! And I couldn't even talk to them unless it was via vidletter! They were on the other side of the Pacific, and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't give them a hug, or go shopping with them, or laugh with them. But I knew that if I missed their voices, all I had to do was pick out one of the vidletters they'd sent me and watch it again.
But it just wasn't the same, somehow. And hearing those recorded voices made me feel even more lonely inside, and it hurt. I want to come home, I thought with more desperation than ever. Please, let it be soon!
-----
A week later, semester finals decided to rear their ugly head. All the kids at school seemed freaked out, wondering if they were going to survive, and I just had to laugh. The term finals at Kihi were way harder than these were; I had to grin at the thought of what their reaction would be to those. Admittedly, I did squirm at the thought of doing one of my finals, the math final – math was never my favorite subject. But when the day came that I had to take it, I just walked into the room, took deep breaths, and didn't look at the paper until I absolutely had to. And then, I looked it over, and breathed a sigh of relief; most of them were multiple-choice questions! Mrs. Sasaki had never given those kinds of tests; she said that real life was never multiple-choice, and so a test shouldn't be, either; kids should figure out the answers themselves. I just shrugged and happily went through the test. One multiple-choice test can't hurt, I thought.
After finals week, there was winter break, which I wasn't used to, since Christmas wasn't an official holiday in Japan, but that never stopped people from celebrating it, even if they didn't know the meaning behind it.
"You need to pack a suitcase, Rocío," Irodia said, walking into my room. "We're going to be leaving tomorrow."
"Where're we going?" I asked.
"Minnesota. Didn't I tell you? We go there every year to celebrate Christmas with Tyler's family."
"Sounds familiar. Guess I forgot," I replied, smiling shyly.
"Well, get going!" she said, slapping me on the shoulder. "And make sure to pack lots of warm clothes. Most of the time it's below zero."
"Are we gonna stay in a hotel or what?"
"No. Tyler's father owns a very large log cabin. Everyone stays there. It's usually three people to a room."
"How many are gonna be there?" I asked, squirming at the thought. She sure made it sound like a big crowd was going to be showing up.
"Tyler's mother and father, his grandparents, his two brothers, and their families."
"Sounds like a family affair. You sure I'm allowed to tag along?"
Irodia bent down and looked me in the eye. "You're a family guest, Yumeko," she said in a low voice. "If they reject you, I'll be the first one out the door."
I chuckled. "Gee, now I feel tons better," I joked.
At my request, Irodia helped me pack my suitcase, and the more she described Minnesota, the more awful she made the winter seem there; she said it was nothing compared to wintertime in Tokyo. "Goodness, you have hardly any sweaters at all," she remarked after going through my dresser drawers. "We may have to go shopping for you!"
"No, I'm ok with just my sweatshirts."
"Wearing those baggy things will let in all of that cold air. If you wear sweaters, none of that cold air will creep in; they're more snug."
"And itchier too," I mumbled.
"Oh, by the way, your report card came in the mail today," she suddenly said, as if she had just remembered. "And Mikhaila's too."
"Did I pass?" I asked dryly.
"Yes, every single class." She paused, then asked, "How do you explain the D-plus in your history class?"
"Simple: it's an American history class, not Japanese history," I said flatly, tossing a pair of boots into an open suitcase.
"It's a world history class, not just American."
"Yeah, but it's from an American perspective. The damn teacher and textbook try to glorify everything that the Americans contributed to. It makes me sick! They make the African slave trade sound like it was just part of business back then, like shipping spices from China. The African people aren't products, they're human beings!" I tossed several pairs of jeans into the suitcase and went on. "I even skipped ahead in the book to the A-bomb tests, and they tried to make the test-bombing of the Bikini Atolls seem like it was in the best interest of the world, when we ALL know the only people it was in the best interest of were the people up in the Senate and the Oval Office, thinking that Russia had their trigger finger on the button to blow the whole US to kingdom come when in fact it turned out that both the Russians AND the officials in Washington just had their heads up their asses the whole damn time. I think maybe they were just looking for the next big powers to take down after bitch-slapping Germany and Japan. Russia wanted to be the sole superpower, but saw the US as a threat, and vice versa. It's just sick! It's just like Genom seeing the Sabers as a threat, and the Sabers see Genom as a threat. The only difference is that Genom wants to blow the KS up, but the KS, all they wanna do is keep Genom in check, that's all. They're not looking to take them down. It's like the KS and Genom are having their own Cold War, in a way, 'cept it's a little more one-sided." I finally stopped and took a breath.
"And you think it's going to come to a head soon?" Irodia asked in a low voice.
"Well, the US and Russia's Cold War went on for forty-five years. I don't think the one between the Sabers and Genom is gonna last quite that long. Right now it stands at twenty-four, and…and I have a feeling it'll be ending soon." I fidgeted. "The Cold War ended when the USSR got broken up. I'm just hoping that the Knight Sabers aren't going to become a broken-up USSR of sorts…"
"Whatever happens, I'm sure that the Knight Sabers will pull through somehow," Irodia assured me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You and they have been through a lot, and I'm sure they've been through things that neither of us has any clue about."
"Yeah, probably," I admitted. "But…if something happens to them because of the situation with me…I'm…I'm never going to forgive myself. It'll be all my fault."
"Whatever happens in Tokyo is out of your control. Don't feel responsible over their actions." She perked up. "Anyway, you're on winter break now! You're supposed to relax! Now tomorrow, when we leave for Minnesota, I don't want to see you sulking over anything, ok? Just relax and have fun, enjoy yourself! That's what a winter BREAK is for, to take a BREAK!"
"Or break my brain worrying," I quipped.