Phantom of the Summerhouse
A/N: Hi Everybody! It's-a-me FreeMind Annette!... Ahem, sorry for the Super Mario impression there earlier. I couldn't get that New Super Mario Bros. game off of my head ever since my friend let me play with it. That aside, I'd like to present PHANTOM OF THE SUMMERHOUSE, chapter 8! (raises a big red velvet curtain, unveiling the latest chapter) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I'm tired of this, so I assume you all know it already. (falls asleep in the middle of Phantom's lair) ZZZZZzzzzzz...
Day 6: Arts and Craps
It was a cool summer night; the red oak grandfather clock at the living room inside read ten o'clock. At this hour, Erik, Christine, and Raoul, the unlikely trio living under the same roof of the summerhouse would be snug in their beds, happily drifting into dreamland until morning beckons them to depart with their sweet slumber. However, this was not the case for this particular night, for some reason they were still awake.
In the kitchen, where they can be found, there was a strong heavy air of awkward silence looming over the trio. Seated at the edge of their seats, everyone gave each other long, uneasy stares, hoping that someone would break the tormenting silence.
"… So is anyone going to go ahead? Or do I have to harass you first!" Erik tried to start a conversation, annoying Raoul to give in.
"Could both of you please hurry up and draw one." Christine stretched out her arm in the middle of the table, which had three identical pieces of straw held in her clenched fist. "We're not getting anything done with all of us just sitting here and gawking at each other."
"A-alright already!" Raoul finally gave in to the pressure. He reached out his trembling hand for one of the straws.
"… Damn! I got a long straw!" Raoul grunted.
"Hah! No more berry picking for us!" Erik sneered. "Anyway, that aside… Christine go on ahead and pick one first before I do."
"Okay!" Christine took a deep breath and began to mumble to herself, which surprisingly sounds like an 'Ennie-Minnie-Mini-Mo', as her free hand starts to point at the last two straws back and forth.
"… Mo!" Christine picked the left straw and drew it out.
"Aw shucks, I got a long one too!" Christine was disappointed by her choice, and her ill luck. "I guess this means that…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Erik jumped out of his seat, nearly bouncing up and down the kitchen, bursting with joy. "Yeah! Yes, yes, yes! It's me!"
"Of all the men and women put together in this world, he has got to be the worst one to win at a time like this." Raoul rested his forehead in the palm of his hand.
"Oh yeah! Who's the king? I am!" Erik exclaimed as he proceeds to do what appears to be his happy dance (A/N: Who knew that Erik had one in the first place? XD!), which appears to be cross between the chicken dance and the Macarena.
Christine couldn't help but turn her attention at the unusually happy phantom, with a couple beads of sweat coming down her face. "Well… now that we're done drawing lots, it's time for the winner to decide what we should do for the entire day tomorrow! So Erik, what's it going to be!"
"… Hmmm… let me think…" Erik pondered, stroking his chin with his hand.
"What's to think… you're only going to say: 'let's play kick the can!'" Raoul blurted out, mocking Erik's voice.
"Shut your mouth! I'm trying to think here!" Erik snapped and went back to his deep thinking. "… I've got it! Let's do arts and crafts tomorrow!"
"Yay, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Christine clasped her hand together with satisfaction.
"What! Arts and crafts, no way." Raoul protested. "Why can't we just go hiking or do something outdoors!"
Erik grabbed Raoul's shoulder from behind and turned him around, forcing a hostile eye contact. "Look you, we've already done your stupid berry picking yesterday… now it's my turn to pick what we are going to do… got it!" Erik sharply glared daggers towards Raoul, showing that he really won't take no for an answer.
"Plus Erik won fair and square." Christine added. "I don't see why we shouldn't."
Raoul let out a big sigh. "… Oh alright, Erik you win, I give up. We're doing arts and crafts tomorrow."
"Yes!" Erik happily whispered to himself.
"Let's head to bed now, we have a long day ahead of us."
Christine yawned. "Agreed, I'm getting really sleepy from all of this."
o-o-o-o-o-o
The next day, the trio are sitting at the kitchen table again, filled with a wide variety of arts and crafts supplies instead of food. Virtually everything you need to create a work of art are all laid out on the table… from beads to yarns, you name it, and you can be sure that it's there.
"This is a lot more fun than I imagined it would be." Christine said, whilst stringing a couple of beads into small piece of hemp rope. "I never get a chance to do these at the Opera Populaire before."
Erik smiled from hearing Christine's comment, as he continued to create his mysterious handmade masterpiece… rather secretly.
"How bout you Raoul, are you enjoying arts and crafts so far?"
Raoul mumbled and groaned at the piece of yarn and knitting needle in his hands for a couple of seconds before he realized that Christine just asked him a question. "Huh, what… yeah sure I'm having fun… now if I could only get this string to link up with this other piece of string… oh dang it I missed a stitch, now I have to repeat the entire row again!"
"What are you knitting Raoul?" Christine rested her head on his shoulder to get a better view.
"I'm making a scarf." Raoul answered. "Just like the one you had when you were young, and once I'm done, I'll give it to you as a present."
"What, how dare you steal my idea!" Erik lifted his head and broke his intense concentration on his craft, glaring at Raoul with anger. "That's my idea! I'm supposed to give my special work of art to Christine as a present, not you and your prissy little scarf!"
"You never said a thing about giving Christine anything until now, so technically TECHNICALLY I did not steal your idea."
"… Damn it, I hate it when you're right!" Erik quickly turned around, with his back facing towards Raoul, as he continued working on his craft, much more secretly than before. "But I'm not telling anyone what I'm going to give to Christine until it is completely finished."
"Yeah sure whatever floats your crazy boat." Raoul said in a rather cynical tone.
It's quite hard to point a finger in it, Christine thought to herself, but I get this feeling that both Erik and Raoul are somewhat having fun, even though they don't seem to show it very well whenever they're together.
Well, at least they're not breaking out into senseless fights that often anymore, and I'm happy to see some signs of diminishing hostility. Christine smiled with much optimism as she continued to finish her craftwork.
-o-o-o-o-
Later that night, Erik, Christine and Raoul had finally finished working on their arts and crafts, sitting on the sofa in the living room, ready to show off the fruits of their labour.
"I hope you like what I made for you, Christine." Raoul handed over a tiny piece of pink cloth with a couple of simple hems and seams.
"Oh that's so sweet Raoul," Christine said, "But don't you think this is a little too small for a scarf?"
Raoul let out a loud nervous laugh, his hand scratching his long blonde locks. "Yes, it was supposed to be a scarf, but I kept screwing up on the knitting that I had to downsize it into a handkerchief."
Erik sarcastically clapped. "Wow, a hankie as a gift? That has got to be the best present I had ever seen! Whoop de do!"
"Shut up! Not everyone is a God's gift to arts and crafts!"
"How bout you Erik, what did you make?" Christine asked, with a curious look in her eyes. "Can we see it?"
"Of course you can!" Erik happily replied, his voice and facial expression suddenly perked up with joy as he turned around and faced towards Christine. "I have it here right now, but first you must close your eyes!"
"Okay!" Christine quickly complied and covered her eyes with her hands. "I'm ready when you are!"
"Yeah, let's see what's this present Erik is so proud of." Raoul crossed his arms and leaned back on the sofa, watching.
Erik held out his arm from behind the sofa, reaching for his hidden present, and gently laid it on Christine's lap. "Alright, you can open your eyes now!"
Christine swiftly moved her hands away from her face, astonished by what she has seen, she squealed— "It's so… CUTE!"
"… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSE TO BE!" Raoul blurted out.
"Don't you know a teddy bear when you see one?" Erik grimaced.
"I know that it's a teddy bear," Raoul retorted, "but why the hell is it wearing a black tuxedo and a mask?"
"Duh, it's me; only in a cute mini teddy bear form. Complete with beady emerald eyes, a little button nose, a fluffy bunny-like tail, and a miniature paper-mache rose with a black ribbon tied to its stem."
"This is supposed to be cute…?" Raoul uttered as he kept staring at the little Phantom teddy bear in a rather odd and confused manner.
"Well I like it! I like both of your gifts!" Christine exclaimed as she leaned over and gave both of them a big warm hug. "Thank you very much!"
"Aww, you're very welcome." Raoul blushed.
"…" Erik didn't say a word, but the slight curl at the corner of his mouth easily revealed his inner bliss.
"Oh, and don't think I forgot about you guys!" Christine turned around and fervently fished something out of her skirt pocket. "I made a gift for you two!"
"What it is?" Erik and Raoul asked in a rather anxious tone.
"This!" Christine handed out a hemp bracelet with decorative beads stringed all over the rope.
"A hemp bracelet, this is wonderful." Raoul said. "Hey, check it out, my bracelet says 'LOVE AND PEACE'!" (A/N: Trigun anime is stuck on my head while I was writing this! XD!)
"… Wow, it even has my name on it, I like it." Erik grinned, as he looked at the hemp bracelet tied on his left wrist, thinking: Never in my life has anyone ever given me a present before, big or small… This warm sense of happiness from the bottom of my heart must be how one feels when you've been given a gift from the one you love the most… Christine, this bracelet will never part with my wrist, and I shall treasure it forevermore.
"Really! You really really like it! Oh, I'm so happy I could just give you guys a BIG hug!" Christine took a big leap and gave Erik and Raoul another, but an even bigger hug than before.
"Aahhh you're choking me!"
"Oh, I'm sorry Erik." Christine loosened her hold on them. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine." Erik jokingly laughed. "I was just pulling your leg, that's all."
"Then let's continue where we stopped," Christine shouted, "group hug!"
Christine gave Erik and Raoul the biggest and longest hug she's ever given (A/N: Aahhh, so much warm fuzzies around the air). Then they all went to bed afterward, ready for the next day, whatever crazy things life throws at them.
