Second Chapter. Sorry it took so long. I had to get time and my sisters! I think my ears will stop bleeding soon. And I talk to Eric all the time. I'll finish chapter 3 over my 10 days out of town so yeah. I'm leaving in 10 days but anyway. 2 people reviewed and I thank them both but I want you all to know that I have very little time on the computer until I get one put in my room. (soon hopefully) so don't complain about my updating! GRRR! Anyway... Love you all... R&R. and please message me if you want Danny Phantom up! It would help me so much. Well. g2g. ttyl I guess.
Dance, Dance, Revolution
I woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. Mom was cooking breakfast and Dad was probably reading the newspaper, drinking coffee. Maybe it had all been a dream. I opened my eyes and realized I wasn't in my room. It all had been real then? Who was cooking breakfast? I walked down the hall of Jacob's house and into the kitchen to see who was cooking. As I pushed the door open, I hoped it wasn't one of my brothers.
As you can guess, my luck hasn't been real good lately. My house burned down, lost my parents, had to move, twice, lost my boyfriend, lost my friends, had a cruddy birthday. Yeah, my luck sucks. So, lucky me, guess who was cooking breakfast this morning. No. It was a woman, looking about 20 or 21. She had a reddish-brown color hair about shoulder length. She had a slim figure and was humming show tunes. I shuddered and tears appeared in my eyes. Jacob had a girlfriend. He was trying to replace Mom. "Jake?" I squeaked. "Alex! You're awake." He put down his newspaper. "Why are you crying?" "Nu-nothing, just stubbed my toe." "Are you okay?" I nodded. "Oh…kay. Alex, this is my-" "Girlfriend?" She turned around shocked and I was that she had blue eyes. (Not Téa!) He started to laugh. "No." He finally choked out. "This is Lauren. She's my BEST friend and she was my co-worker. I can't cook so she makes me breakfast every now and then." "Oh. I'm so sorry." "Common mistake." She said and went back to cooking. Another addition to my bad luck. Eric peaked over his section of the newspaper. "You're such a dork." If I had a dime for all the times I heard that… The doorbell rang. "Another friend?" "I wasn't' expecting anyone." I ran to the front door. Who could it be? Joey! I put on my happy smile and opened the door. "Hello?" It was a mailman. Dang. "Package for Camryn Darling," "She's not here, but I'm Alex Darling." "Sign here." He sighed, as if he did this every time he delivered something. "Here." He picked up a huge box and placed it in my arms. "Thanks." I couldn't see over the package so I assumed he'd left and used my foot to close the door. I set the package down and the doorbell rang again. "Hello?" I said answering it again. "Good morning!" I heard in a voice I recognized. "Joey!" I screamed and hugged him. "I thought you guys could use a little moral support and we could go to enroll you later." "Awesome. You want something to eat?" I took his hand and led him inside. "You even halfta ask?" I laughed, then picked up the box that I couldn't see over. "Who's that from?" "Dunno, no return address." "Why don't you open it?" "It's addressed to my mom, so, I think my brothers should have a day in what's in it." "Okay. I'll carry it for you." "Okay." When he held it, he could barley see over the top of it. "You good?" "Yup." "Okay." He followed me back down the hall. "Hey guys! Joey's here!" Eric and Jacob looked over their newspapers and said, "We know." in unison. "OHHHHH! Bacon and eggs!" "Would you like a plate?" "Yes please!" He handed me the box and took a seat at the table. "Thanks, Joey." I set the box on the floor. "Hey, what's that?" "A box for Mom." They both set their papers down and walked over to where I was standing. "Should we open it?" Eric asked. Jacob walked over to the counter and got a sharp knife. They opened it and inside on the top, I found a letter. I read it aloud:
Camryn and Danny,
Samson and I just got back from our vacation in the Caribbean. It was great! You should go sometime. We'll take care of the kids, if needed.
Well. We got everyone a souvenir, you just gotta dig for them, Samson went a little crazy with the peanuts.
"There's something in there." I stated. Eric dug and found a classical CD for Jacob, a funny t-shirt for himself, and a snow globe for me. Mom got a pretty necklace and Dad got a model rocket set. I smiled when I remembered this. Dad always wanted to be an astronaut. He never got a chance because he married Mom, then, Jacob was born. "Hey! There's more to the letter!"
Also, Alex's birthday present is at the very bottom. Be careful, it's fragile.
Well, we send our love. Tell Alex Happy Birthday and we're sorry we couldn't make it.
Love,
Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
Maci and Samson
"My birthday present?" I put the letter down and dug to the bottom of the box to find a nicely wrapped box with a card. Grandma always sent money and the receipt, just in case. This year, I found $20 and no receipt. Shoving the money in my pocket and not bothering to read the card, I ripped open the wrapping. Jacob handed me the knife and I killed the tape. Inside, I found a key ring. "What a lame gift." I took my snow globe and began to walk out of the kitchen. "Wait Alex. Aren't you gonna read the card? "Why?" "Remember what I got for my 16th birthday?" I thought a minute, then got excited. "You're first car!" "Wait, why didn't I get a car?" "You crashed both Mom and Dad's during you first week with a license." "Oh yeah." I opened the card and started to read.
Alex,
Your grandfather and I are very sorry we couldn't make it to your Sweet 16. If I know you, you took the money, opened your gift, then figured out what Jacob got for his birthday.
She's good.
Yes we got you a car, but we picked it out. Sorry if you really hate it. Eric's probably jealous though. He'll get over it.
Anyway, all you have to do is go to Domino Motors and viola! Just show them your driver's license and you'll be riding home in your new car. There's something else in the box if you hate the car, and if you don't, keep it anyway.
Love you,
Grandma and Grandpa
"I got a new car!" I squealed. "And the car dealership's right here in Domino!" "Kewl." Joey said finishing his eggs. "Let's go get it!" "Wait a sec." I dug further in the box to find a plain silver chain. "Now what about Mom and Dad's gifts?" "You guys can have 'em. I don't want either." So I got Mom's necklace and Jacob got the model spaceship. And Eric got to clean up the mess. "Aww, guys! Come on!" I walked down the hall, but heard Joey offer to help. That was his mistake.
"You ready to go Joey?" I asked, fiddling with my keys. "One sec." Still cleaning. Well, I guess through all the excitement, or sorrow, I forgot to tell you about myself. Let's start…with my hair! It's royal purple and I have shamrock green eyes. I'm 5'6 ½" and weigh 128 lbs (approx.) My birthday is August 8, 1990 so I'm 16 years old.(364 days before I was born!) My full name is Alex Sora Darling. My parents are Danny and Camryn Darling. They changed their last name from Fenton I think. (That might be bad for me later!) My mother's maiden name was Derva (Camryn Trisha Derva.) (Vader-Derva. Anyone see the similarities?) I have an Uncle on my mom's side and an Aunt on my dad's. My uncle's not married and my aunt got married to Joey's dad and had a son (I wonder!) and a daughter. They divorced when he started drinking. Grandma and Grandpa Derva were the one's who sent the gifts. Grandma and Grandpa Fenton died. Don't ask me how. (ask me, the author, well, kinda.) Dad never talked about it. Oh! I also like to draw, dance, and sing. I take after my mom! (I'll past my Danny Phantom one if you want. It explains a lot!) I think that's about it…yup.
"Joey!" I wined. "I'm coming." He appeared in front of me. "You got any money?" "I'm not giving you any money!" "No! For your uniform!" "Oh. How much?" "I dunno. Let's ask Lauren." "Okay?" He sensed my confusion. "Her younger sister goes to school with us." "Oh."
On entering the kitchen, "Hey Lauren, how much are girls' uniforms?" "About $80." "Jacob?" "Yeah?" "I need a uniform." "Oh crap." "Please Jacob! I really wanna go to school with Joey!" "You are…just…to…irresistible!" He pretend fainted. "Jacob!" "Oh fine." He gave me his credit card. "Three outfits, four maximum and lunch. Anything else, you're dead." "Thank you!" I gave him a big hug. As I was leaving, he asked, "Do you know my pin number?" "Yeah." I knew I had him baffled. "Let's go get my car, Joey!" "Do we have to walk?" "Yes! It's good for you." "You're a mean cousin. Tell me this dealership isn't across town!" "It's Domino Motors." "That's only a few blocks North!" "Party pooper." "Let's go." "You're creepy when you're happy, ya know?" "I am?" "Yes, you are." "My friends don't seem to mind…" "You have friends?" He stopped for a moment as I kept walking. "Yes! I do!" He pan to catch up. "You should meet some of them, they can be really…awesome." "Joey, I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I already had to leave a guy in Osaka. What I need are friend." "My friends are your friends." "Thanks."
"Why hello. How can I help you?" A salesman asked us. "Um. Yeah. I'm Alex Darling. I'm here to pick up my car." "One second. let me get the manager." He ran inside and came out later with a tall man. "Hello. Are you Alex Darling?" (That just sounds weird.) "Um, yeah." "May I see some ID?" I gave him my driver's license." "I think we're set then. This way." He led us across the lot. "All the paper work's done, full tank of gas, no problems, and it's all paid for. Oh! I should get the keys." He ran inside and we looked at the different cars on the lot. I pointed to one over in the corner. "I hope that's not it." It was an old rusty pickup. "I can't exactly drive a stick." "You probably don't want that one either!" He pointed to the one next to it. "It probably looks so bad they had to cover it up." The salesman came back with a set of keys. "This way." He led us toward the truck. "No, no, please, no!" I whispered. We passed it up and stopped in front of the other car. "I hate my grandma." "Why? This is a great car!" He took off the cover to reveal an '03 platinum mustang convertible. "I LOVE my grandma!" "Dude." Joey grabbed my arm "Trade me grandparents!" "No! They don't need another grandson!" "So that explains it! That's why that lady was so persistent." "I guess so. This is so kewl." I ran my fingers along the hood, tracing it with my fingertips. I got in and he handed me the keys. It started up so smoothly. "Ready to go?" He asked through the window. "One sec." I put on the parking break and put the top down. Joey finished gawking and got in next to me. I slipped my sunglasses on and we buckled up. "Lemmie see your license again." He looked it over. "And yours, young man?" "You really think he's gonna drive my car?" "No, just a formality. Awesome. You're free to go!" "Smack the back of this car and you die!" I warned and pulled out.
"So what should we do first Joey? Enroll?" I put my hair up at a stoplight. "That sounds good." "Awesome. Lead the way." (Enrollment is so boring. I'm skipping over it.)
I ended up in all of Joey's classes so I didn't get lost. We then went to the mall and picked up four uniforms, and lemmas tell ya, not the prettiest things. Pink pleaded skirt that didn't even go mid-thigh, blue jacket, and pink undershirt. "Oh the price I pay…" "What do you mean? Jacob paid for those!" "I think they don't give females justice." "Whatever." "Joey Wheeler! You EVER look at me that way, you die!" "Okay!" "So what do you want for lunch?" "Something cheap and fast." "McDonald's it is!"
At lunch, I changed, well took off my skirt and shirt really and wore some jean shorts and spaghetti strap yellow top. Then changed into my tennis shoes. "Whoa! Where ya goin' in that get up?" "Unlike you, I need exercise everyday." "Oh, hey, you still dance?" "Yeah. A little" "I know a way you can get some exercise."
He led me to an arcade. We stood outside of the sliding doors as I mentally kicked myself for listening to my cousin. "DDR…DDR!" I screamed at him. "Last time a played DDR I stopped dancing for two months!" "That was what, two years ago? You'll do great! Besides, I know your opponent." "Hey Joey!" Came a cheery female voice. "Lauren?" "Not quite…" "Hi Joey. Who's your friend?" "Téa, this is Alex, Alex, Téa. Alex just moved here from Tokyo. She's going to our school." "Oh, kewl." She glanced around the parking lot and spotted my car. "Whoa! Who's car is that?" "Mine." I answered. "Are you like rich or something? I haven't seen something like that since I ran into Kaiba last week!" "My birthday was two days ago. It's a birthday present." My voice barley above a whisper. "Wow. I want your parents." "No, you don't. Joey, I'm going inside." He nodded.
Joey
"What?" Joey shook his head. "What?" "Her parents just died two days ago." "Then who?" "Her grandparents." "Oh." "Hey! We came here to play DDR. Let's just forget about it." "Okay!" she smiled.
Alex
I stood behind the beginners playing on the DDR machine. Not bad, for beginners. Joey came up and stood next to me. "Pretty good, aren't they?" "Tell me you don't really believe that." "For beginners, they're okay." "She's right Joey." Téa appeared next to him. "Besides, I've been coaching them." When the level was over, the two boys turned around to see here. "Hey Téa!" They shouted. "Hey Dominic, hey Kirk. You guys are doing better!" "Thanks!" A few people had started to stare. "Are you here to play DDR?" "Yeah, actually." People started to wander over. "Who against!" "We're gonna go get some tokens." I said and dragged Joey to a coin machine. "What…Are you okay?" "Yeah. As soon as I'm done mentally kicking myself, I'll be ready to play, hoping I don't break my ankle." I put in my $20 and coins came poring out. "Here." I put a handful of tokens in his hands. "Let's see…" I started to do math in my head. I turned around to see a crowd surrounding the DDR machine. I almost dropped all the tokens I was holding. "Joey!" "What?" "You didn't tell me…" "Téa's pretty popular. People come to watch her dance. Kinda freaky." "I can't do this." "Yes, you can! You used to do this all the time!" "Yeah, before I broke my ankle and when I was 14!" "Come on! It'll be fun!" "Yeah, sure." She took 4 tokens from my hands. "Here." She held out her purse for me to put the rest in. "Thanks." She put the tokens in and the familiar voice that haunted some of my nightmares was heard over the speakers. "Dance, Dance, Revolution!" It said, as if mocking me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, remembering that day, the day just like this, only it wasn't Téa next to me, instead, it was Johnny Steps. "Clean match, right Téa?" "Defiantly."
Okay first match, refreshers coarse. Air…easy, but good song. I did great and I started to loosen up a bit. Before I knew it, it had gotten so easy, Téa and I started a conversation. "So, what's your relation to Joey?" She asked me. "Cousins. His mom and my dad were brother and sister. Grandma and Grandpa Fenton passed away before I was born though." "Oh. I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said anything." "No, it's kewl, you didn't know." "So…how is your last name Darling?" "How'd you know that?" "Jacob, my sister. I help sometimes." "Oh, well we don't exactly know why they did it. So I couldn't really tell you." "Man you're good!" "Thanks, you too." "Thanks."
After some more fancy footwork, we made it to the final stage, Masters, hardest song, this could get ugly. And I knew all too well what the song was. Johnny had tripped me on it. I took a swig of water and started to ask Téa a question before we began. "Hey Téa?" "Yeah." "You heard of Johnny Steps?" "I dunno, let's ask the fans!" There was a loud "booooo!" from the crowd. "Really? Well he stole my title as the dance queen and broke my ankle!" "Really? Where we you dance queen?" "Osaka. Anyone heard of me?" There were a few claps. "Maybe a few of you will remember after my song. This is the one I use to win every game, but I haven't danced to it in two years. Can a girl have some love?" The crowd cheered. "Shall we get started?" They cheered again and we dumped some water on our faces and pushed the start buttons. "Everyone back-up about 10 feet please!" They did and it started, and my mind was reeling. I had continued to take gymnastics. The thing is, at the end of the song, there's about 8 seconds where I use a few gymnastics to wow the crowd. Whether my ankle and mind had healed properly to do it is another story. And I had to land perfectly of I could hurt myself. I've only failed it once, but once is all it takes.
The end was approaching fast and I just let my body flow. It know the routine very well. And there it was, I did a one handed cartwheel over the back then the last part of a round off back over to land perfectly on the left and right buttons. I just stood there, breathing heavily, stunned I had done that. "I did it." I whispered. I heard the crowd cheer as I looked at the screen. I had won. Next thing I knew, I was squealing and jumping up and down. I hugged Téa. "I did it." was all I could think about. It didn't matter that I beat Téa (coughyesitdidcough) or that I regained my title. All I cared about at that moment, was that I got my groove back. I could dance again! I let go of Téa and jumped to hug Joey around the neck and he swung me in a circle. "Hey! We're not done!" Téa said. "You beat me fair and square. Get back up here!" I got back up on the platform. "What's up?" "Well, along with your new title, you get a tiara and a crown. The tiara's for you, the crown is for your king. Most boys here suck ay DDR so the crown usually goes to their boyfriend, but you don't have one, so, we give both. Give it to your next boyfriend." "It's so weird out here. All I got in Osaka was my name on the wall." Everyone laughed. "I'm the new princess!" Téa yelled. (Yeah I know, cheesy) "I'm done with attention for one day. I love you all though and I'll be back!" I stepped off my throne and Téa followed me. "Hey Joey. We should call Yugi and Tristin." "Yeah. You have 64 tokens. Spend then with your friends." "But they're yours." "How much money did you put in there?" "A 20." "Whoa." "It's okay Joey. One title's good enough for my." We gave him the rest of the tokens and walked outside. "Hey Téa, you want some ice cream?" "Sure!" I pulled out my purple phone and called Jacob.
Maybe my luck has changed. Maybe….