This Chapter was supposed to be released last week. However, my last computer broke down. Now I'm on a new one. So I deeply apologize for the week long delay.
River of Life is another song piece from the Octopath Traveler OST.
Chapter Ten - River of Life.
"Let's go eat first, I'm hungry and starved," Bebe complained.
I felt a growl in my stomach. I clutched my stomach with my right hand, and I could feel it rather empty. Damn. Needless to say, I've been physically exerting myself endlessly for the past few hours, and at this point, I could use a good break and a good night's rest. "Yeah, I gotta agree with Bebe on this one."
"Where should we eat?" Kyle asked. "We should choose someplace where everyone will enjoy."
"Don't mind me, I don't really give a shit," Chris spoke cooly in his usual soft tone.
"I'm tired, and at this point, I'm willing to eat anywhere." Huh, didn't think Wendy would be this agreeable, especially given how she previously pushed for a more vegetarian diet. Then again, Cartman did expose the chemicals inside said food.
"I mean, we did pass by a Red Robin at the mall..." Huh, apparantly Kathy noticed something I did not at the Middle Park Mall.
"I'm down for that," Tyler said.
"Me too," Ellen added.
To be honest, I don't really have a problem with Red Robin. I just want to eat because I'm so hungry, damnit. "Okay, all in favor of Red Robin?" Everybody raised their hand at my question. "I guess we're that hungry we'll go anywhere, huh? Well..." I turned to Kathy now. "You said its at the mall?"
"Yep!" Kathy replied. "Right this way!"
Therefore, the eight of us, alongside Ellen's wolf, began to walk towards the mall. The streets were rather empty right now, as children weren't roaming anymore. Then again, were getting close to 7 PM, and although the sun still shone brightly in the sky, thanks to approaching summer, it was likely that the other children in Middle Park were settling down for the day. Then again, in South Park, we didn't do that, and there's not much evidence that the children in Middle Park were unlike the children in South Park.
"I gotta say, Bebe, I really underestimated your leadership and diplomacy skills," Kyle complimented.
"Oh I'm not that amazing, I only learn from who I think is the best here at giving speeches." Bebe shrugged her shoulders, but then smiled slyly at Kyle. Bebe isn't as limited in life skills as some people may suggest, though subtlety isn't exactly her strong suit.
"I mean, I wouldn't consider myself the best at giving speeches." Kyle smiled slightly, his cheeks going pink for barely a split second before maintaining emotion once more.
"You gotta admit though," I countered, letting out my left palm towards Kyle, "out of everyone here, you're consistently the best at it." I'm not wrong. I have my moments and I have given speeches to the crowd before, but of all my friends, Kyle is not only consistent at his quality, but also delivers it the most often.
"Tell me, Kyle: how do you do it?" Bebe practically stared in awe at Kyle as she repositioned herself such that she was now walking side-by-side with Kyle, to his left. "How do you manage to get by with your cheesy 'I learned something today' speeches, I mean no offense and all, but they are pretty cheesy."
"Well, for starters, when I do it, it's usually to a crowd of adults...and you know how gullible and dumb they can be." Bebe only wore a rather blank expression on her face, and I'm surprised Kyle even admitted this out loud. "Th-that's not to say, of course, that I'm bullshitting, because I'm not. I'm just saying that every day is a good learning experience, and as dumb as the adults can be, they at least are willing to learn something. That's more to say than our own peers."
"Yeah, the kids at our school can be quite stubborn." Bebe isn't wrong here, the kids at our school practically need to get smacked in the face (sometimes literally) before they begin learning any life lessons. "It's either their way or the high way, putting it as nicely as I can."
"Yeah, but to be fair, it's really tough being a kid in this town. Like - with parents and adults and 'role models' we have in this town..."
Bebe raised a brow inquisitively at Kyle. "Are you saying all adults are dumb? Even my parents and yours?"
Kyle shook his head. "No, no, what I'm saying is: take all the problems kids start in this town and adults solve said problems, and compare them to the vice versa situation."
"Well when Paris Hilton came to town, us girls started acting like stupid spoiled whores..." Bebe then frowned, glancing down at her feet. "...a trend I'm the direct progenitor of."
"Look, we all make mistakes, but you know..." Kyle's voice trailed off and then he fell into a brief silence. "It's not like I'm completely absolved from everything that's happened. There's plenty of stuff me and Stan kinda caused as well."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Bebe didn't need any examples of such.
"I understand that not everyone is very fond of my lessons. Hell, even the others in our class give me shit about it quite often." This is true. Aside from myself, the only other people who have been consistently supportive of Kyle's speeches are Kenny, Butters, Bebe, and Wendy. Everyone else has at least four times this year given Kyle shit about it.
Bebe tilted her head at Kyle as we walked along the streets. "Well, Kyle, you have to understand why we're the way we are."
Kyle only slight nodded. "Explain," he said softly.
"You see," Bebe started as she began to gesture with her hands. "it makes complete sense why we act the way we do. We're always stubborn, we act older than we are. And I'm not the only kid in school who figured this one out either." That train of thought has been drilled into me many times recently, and now that I think about it, Bebe's kinda right. We do sort of act like we're about twenty when in reality we're no older than ten.
I groaned. "Dude, our parents are so fucking retarded. My dad especially. Good lord, the amount of times he personally embarrassed me in front of all of you..." I honestly don't even know where to begin with that. I swear I'm gonna be so scarred for life when I grow older.
"Yeah your dad's a disaster, Stan," Bebe agreed.
"It kinda makes sense when you think about it," Kyle nodded back at us. "We grew up too fast because the adults are manchildren, but what can we really do? It's why I try to protect Ike all the time - the world isn't a good place, and especially this town."
"I kinda wish I wasn't an only child." Bebe frowned and sighed, putting her hands into her pockets. "But that's besides the point. My question is this: how can you possibly remain so optimistic and continue to lead people and try to guide them morally, despite knowing how much shit you get, even from the others at school?"
"I don't do it just for myself, and I don't do it to seek approval from others." Kyle pointed to himself with his thumb. "Because I'm certain, Bebe, that someone out there is willing to listen to what I say so that they can be guided into doing the right thing. Yes, people will give you shit and roast you for it, but you have to understand that at the end of the day, so long as your intent is pure and you're doing it out of charity and not trying to look good, at least one person out there will listen to you."
Bebe took her hands out of her pockets and smiled at Kyle. "You know, you're a good guy. I'm surprised you of all people haven't gotten a girlfriend yet." I grimaced at Bebe's words; she is not one to mince them. I understand she isn't trying to roast Kyle here, but couldn't she realize that Kyle could have taken offense to what she just said and what she might imply?
But fortunately, Kyle simply chuckled, evidence that he didn't think much of it. "Things don't work out, not with Rebecca, not with Leslie, not with Heidi. But it's whatever, we're only ten years old. I'm in no rush at all." I'm impressed, Kyle is handling this very maturely.
"Yeah, it's not something you'd want to rush anyways," I said nonchalantly.
"Indeed," Bebe nodded.
But Kathy drew us out of our thoughts, much to Bebe's annoyance. "Alright lovebirds, settle down now, we're here." She pointed down into the distance. We were at the edge of the parking lot of the Middle Park Mall, where the last battle between the sexes took place not too long ago today. A little bit to the right was the front entrance, and just left of that was indeed Red Robin.
"Lovebirds?!" Bebe's cheeks flushed red briefly as she turned on Kathy. "Shut up Kathy!" Sure, she tried to sound angry and tough, but make no mistake: even I can sense the embarrassment in Bebe's voice as it cracked. Kyle also narrowed his eyes in embarrassment as well.
Kathy and Ellen both glanced at each other before putting their hands over their mouths, giggling. Wendy also did the same, though her giggles were softer and she didn't look at anyone in particular. "It's cute," Ellen grinned.
Bebe rolled her eyes as she turned to address the three other girls. "You three are so annoying. I'll get you all back next Pleases and Sparkles meeting."
Chris casually flicked a quarter into the air and caught the coin as it fell back into his right palm. "Revenge plots, revenge plots."
Tyler groaned, shaking his head. "Fuck, I'm hungry. Let's get in there and do this."
"Y-yeah, I agree with Tyler." Kyle's voice was cracking, and I could tell that he was starting to catch on to Bebe's advances. Honestly, I can sort of see the two of them together, and not just because of how Kyle is my best friend, Bebe is Wendy's best friend, and Wendy and I are dating.
I could feel the ends of my mouth lift into a smirk. "I guess Bebe isn't the only one feeling embarrassed here." Like an evildoer, I eyed Kyle. Sorry Kyle, but I'm gonna have to throw you under the bus this time.
As we walked to Red Robin, Chris rubbed his chin with his left hand as he examined Kyle closely, the two of us noting Kyle's cheeks reddening with a blush. "Interesting how Kyle, who loves giving speeches, is more quiet than I am right now."
I smirked even more. "Yeah, Chris, interesting isn't it?"
"Shut up, Stan. Shut up, Chris." Kyle grumbled as he shook his head profusely.
"Yeah, shut up you two, let Kyle think about Bebe in peace." Tyler cackled maniacally as he held his hands out, looking into the sky. Kyle, as a result, smacked Tyler in the back of his head. "Ow! That's rude, man. I never see you slap Cartman like this." Tyler stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry at Kyle.
"Don't look so flustered, you two," Wendy laughed.
"I hate you all," Kyle and Bebe both said in unison. "That is all." Uncanny that they can both synergize like this.
When we finally got to the front door of Red Robin, I opened it and held it open for the rest of our party to walk inside, so therefore I was the last one in. We came up to the front desk and a young woman no older than twenty smiled at us. "Hello, welcome to Red Robin."
As if by instinct, the rest of the party moved over to the side as Kyle walked up to the receptionist. "Table for eight, please."
The woman pointed at the wolf that followed Ellen. "Is that wolf with you guys?"
"Yeah, he belongs to me," Ellen replied. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite."
The woman just shrugged. "If you say so..." She glanced down on her desk before looking back up at us. "Actually, we do have one big table for you all available. It's all the way there." She pointed towards the left side, and in the front left corner of the establishment relative to where we entered was indeed a large, round, wooden table that could well seat twelve people. "Go ahead and have a seat, and the waiter will come for you."
Kyle nodded. "Thank you."
We took our seats at the table. Going clockwise, it was myself, then Wendy, then Chris, then Kathy, then Tyler, then Ellen, then Kyle, then Bebe (therefore I ended up sitting between Wendy and Bebe). Ellen's wolf just sat nearby, though still close to our table. There were already menus on the table, so I opened it up. There were a lot of options you'd typically expect. We didn't really talk much when the waiter came by. We did all end up ordering sodas, Wendy and I both ended up ordering Cokes, and after the drinks were served was when it all began.
Tyler was the first to start the conversation, and his first words, as important as they were to what could portend in the future, still made me uncomfortable due to the dark omens implied for us. "So tell me about Mitch Connor. Cartman's persona. What do you guys know about it?"
"Where do I begin?" Kyle frowned. It was clear he didn't want to think about this any more than I wanted to. "You remember when Cartman gave a speech on Mexican culture, and did an offensive skit to the judges with a hand puppet he named Jennifer Lopez?"
"I think the better question is: who in our class doesn't remember Cartman doing that?" Kathy asked.
"Especially when he had the real Jennifer Lopez summoned to South Park," Chris added.
"Those were dark times." Ellen shook her head.
"I remember that and him ruining Ben Affleck's life," Tyler nodded. "But I just remember you guys only briefly bringing it up about Mitch Connor apparently trying to become town mayor, and I gotta say: I don't remember much of that."
Bebe nodded. "Yeah I don't know much about that either, just about Mitch Connor trying to drug the town with cat pee, and then apparently his dad fucked his mom."
Kyle shook his head at Bebe. "No, I'm pretty sure Cartman said the other way: his mom fucked his dad."
I laughed. "Does it matter? His 'dad fucking his mom' and his 'mom fucking his dad' are both literally the same thing."
"I mean, you are right Stan, they aren't mutually exclusive, and in fact the same thing," Kyle added.
"But it could depend on who is getting penetrated, I guess?" Wendy said. "So technically, they could be mutually exclusive based on-"
Bebe narrowed her eyes at Wendy. "Wendy, that's disgusting."
"Why am I not surprised you clowns can manage to turn this into a topic for dinner?" Tyler scoffed. "Nerds."
"You guys are embarrassing." Chris sunk his face into his own scarf as he glanced around at our surroundings. I could see the other children in this establishment staring at us, likely put off by our conversation.
"Yeah, maybe Chris is right. Anyways..." Bebe turned from Chris to Wendy, who had her hands on the table twiddling her thumbs. "Didn't you post something on Instagram about some grand plan of his?"
"Actually I have it still on my phone." Wendy took out her phone, began to play around with it for a few moments, before showing it to everyone at the table. The picture was taken in some rather dark room, but Douchebag just barely in the corner was next to the television screen taking the photo. As for the screen itself, it read as follows:
MITCH CONNOR'S PLAN FOR SUCCE$$:
1. Escalate Crime In The City
2. Blame Crime On Mayor
3. Run For Mayor
4. Get Tons Of Followers
5. Clone New Kid Into Genetic Mutant
6. Win Election
7. Make Everyday Christmas
"I do sort of remember that, but it's still a shitty memory, probably because I was never in their superhero thing." Tyler shook his head.
"I wasn't too focused on that either," Chris admitted.
"Wait, Cartman didn't let you two in to play superheroes?" Kyle faced Chris and Tyler, awaiting their answer.
"No, of course not, he's a fucking asshole who thought I wasn't cool enough," Tyler scoffed.
"Didn't let me in either," Chris added. To be fair, he didn't really let in half the boys in our class to play superheroes, and he certainly didn't let in any girls from my class. The only reason Wendy got away with it was because she was already working on her own as Call Girl beforehand.
"My memory is probably foggy," Wendy admitted as she retracted her phone, "but what basically happened was Mitch Connor...or Cartman I should say, let cheesing become a real problem in this town in exchange for the police kidnapping black people to sacrifice to some dark God. It's super fucked up."
"And then there was some time travel bullshit." Bebe, Chris, Tyler, Ellen, and Kathy peered over at Kyle, their faces contorting with confusion. "It's too confusing to really go into detail, trust me." Honestly, I too hate time travel plots. They never make sense and are just annoying to try to follow.
"So now that Cartman has Douchebag with him, do you think he's trying to use him?" Bebe asked.
Then it hit me. After Wendy showed the image, I remember that the fourth step was about getting tons of followers. And what better way is there to acquire quick and easy followers than to use the one kid whose sole special power is to acquire followers faster than a wildfire can burn a dead forest? "That's it! Of course, why didn't I think about it before?!"
Kyle glanced over at me. "What do you mean?"
"Guys, think about it!" I began to scan each and every one of our party. "We know that Douchebag is born with the ability to acquire fast followers on Facebook and Instagram with barely an once of effort, right?!"
"So if Cartman is being Mitch Connor again, and if Cartman has Douchebag with him again..." Kyle started.
"...that means that he's trying to use Douchebag to make some sort of army somehow." Wendy briefly brightened for a moment, but then frowned, seemingly lost. "But we don't know what sort of followers he's after."
"We can't really prove anything anyways," Bebe added. "No one will ever listen to us."
"Even then, we don't know his true intent still," Kathy added.
"If we get that Lasso of Truth though, we could find out," Ellen said.
I looked over at Ellen and gave her a quick nod. "Which is why we need to beat him there and find it before he does. Dustin did mention it's in North Park." I shuddered. If it's anything like I remember of it last time, I'm certain the Harry Potter kids, especially Harry Potter himself, won't be too thrilled to see us. I just hope he's not too much of a thorn in our side this time.
Just then, the waiter came with all of our food. As predicted, we all ordered some form of burgers and french fries. Mine happened to have one patty and one slice of cheddar cheese with lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions above the cheese in that order. The burgers themselves weren't too small either, with about the radius of one and a half inches. Ellen's wolf was given a slice of medium-rare steak.
As I bit into the burger, the others chatted. Apparently, Ellen was staring towards the front door. "Aw, that's cute." I followed her staring before eventually setting my eyes upon a couple no older than second grade.
A boy and a girl approached each other. If this was hours ago, they would be throwing insults and threats at each other. But here, that's exactly what they didn't do. Instead, they walked up to each other. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but their expressions on their faces showed both were rather sorrowful before hugging each other briefly. "I guess we did do good work," I replied.
"Shit, we actually did something right for once?" Tyler said, obviously in his trying-to-be-funny-and-sarcastic manner.
"Yes, Tyler," Wendy replied. "Yes we did."
"Guess that's a direct result of your speech earlier to Leven and Winter, is it now?" Bebe said to Kyle.
"I'd hardly call myself the sole cause of that, but as I said before: people are willing to listen if you give them the time and mean every word you say," Kyle replied. "I suppose I just influenced them to take action - though I couldn't have done it without you guys backing me up."
"Glad to hear it," Kathy replied.
"I kinda wish we didn't have to beat them up," Ellen muttered apologetically.
I ate up the last of my burger, then went to work on the french fries, dipping one into the ketchup and biting down on it. "That is life for you, Ellen. Sometimes you gotta do what you wanna do. Don't let nothin' get in your way - chase your dream every day! True, girl you know it's-"
But Wendy swiftly spoke to interrupt me. "Oh no, Stan, you are not singing that shit song again." She narrowed her eyes at me. I wasn't trying to. Or maybe I was. Perhaps a little bit of both?
"Yeah, I don't think going around beating people up is the popular thing to do," Kyle said. He glanced over at Tyler. "No offense, Tyler." Tyler only responded with a scowl. Therefore, Kyle continued. "You know, it kinda makes sense, we live in a pretty shitty town."
"Yeah," Tyler nodded. "South Park ain't great. When I was younger, I'd fight others all the time. Those bullies were the only one there for me when I was down. They were the ones who influenced me into revenge on everyone via bullying. And I was stupid enough to go through with it. So please...spare me your speeches and sympathy." He glared darkly at Kyle.
"I wasn't going to give a speech, I was just saying you had your reasons to do what you did, and regardless of whether or not it was right or wrong, it was your way to try to deal with the crap in this town." Kyle then turned to Ellen. "I've never seen you give any sort of speech, besides ones assigned by Mr. Garrison."
"You already explained it just now Kyle: people will give you crap about it," Ellen replied. "We're too stubborn, and the adults are too stupid. I'd rather survive nicely."
"So you'd rather keep silent and just float by life like a ghost, Ellen?" Kyle then divided his attention between Tyler and Ellen. "Sure, you're surviving, but are you really living?" After hearing that, the couple both frowned deeply and only stared at their near-empty plates of food.
"Kyle, I really don't think it's nice to call people out like that." Based on my past experiences, I'd much rather leave people be. I'm not certain I'll like the path this conversation may head down.
"No, he's right." I was surprised to hear Kathy of all people come to Kyle's defense. "We ain't great people, and we did things to deal with our own troubles, whether for good or not. You know me, don't really like being alone if you know what I mean. It's why I joined the Pleases and Sparkles club, then sorta convinced Ellen to join."
"Don't you guys just bully other girls at school?" Chris turned to Kathy. "Well, I'm in no position to talk, really, seeing as the boys in our class...but I don't know, I never liked these large groups, not really us boys either. Sure, I can slip by undetected...but you know..." All the boys in our class do collaborate from time to time, though often times when we're twenty boys together, it's to cause trouble, and usually it's Cartman with some stupid idea while Kyle is contesting said stupid idea. That said, when us boys do these things, although many of the other boys (including myself) have at least something to throw out, Chris is usually never in the spotlight nor providing any input, instead opting to sit at the sidelines and scowling quietly.
"You gotta do what you gotta do to not be lonely in this town." Kathy sighed. "It is what it is, Chris. Though I do feel bad about those lists. Especially the one about the boys' looks." She turned to Kyle. "For the record, I never put you in last place."
Bebe shook her head furiously. "That was a mistake on my part...I still don't want to remember that," she said softly. I can understand why Bebe felt awkward about this, since the list was her fault after all.
"If all you guys ever do is try to fit in, we'll never get anywhere," Kyle replied.
"Our parents are literal manchildren though," Wendy argued. "Take my dad for example: he's been out drinking at the bar constantly." She turned to me. "I won't hold this against you, Stan, but I think your dad has a pretty bad influence on mine."
I shrugged my shoulders. "He does that to everyone."
"You guys are missing my point though." Kyle put both of his arms on the table. "And I'm not going into another rant about Terrance and Phillip here. But what I am saying is this: our parents are all more-or-less complete retards, right?" We all nodded without any argument. "We're children, we're supposed to be protected, but too often our parents aren't even giving us that adequate protection we need, right?" We all nodded. "If our lives are this bad, why do we continue to torment our own? Or alternatively, why do we keep letting others torment our own?"
I don't really want to say anything about bullying because the last time I addressed bullying to the other kids at school, it failed spectacularly. "I guess it's just easier to lay low or take it out on others than attack the problem head on."
"Especially when your parents don't even try to listen to you," Bebe replied.
"Or the police force in this town who would rather kidnap and assault black people," Wendy added.
Kyle nodded. He put his elbows on the table as he rubbed his chin with both hands. "I look at all of us here at the table. And sure, I guess all the kids in our class, ourselves included, are the 'cool kids' if you know what I mean. But that means we have a responsibility in this town: to help each other improve so that we might influence those younger than us and prove that we can rise above the shittiness of our past generations."
"We're a family, whether you like it or not," I added. "Sure, we have our differences, but we gotta be there for each other, and right now, they need us."
"Yeah," Kyle agreed. "I...I suppose I killed the mood here tonight."
We were all silent. Nobody looked at each other. Nobody held each other nor held hands. We were all staring down at our plates. We could now hear the other children in this restaurant chatting casually. Some were gossiping. Others were making bets or being rather loud and rude. Heck, towards the other side, two groups of boys were throwing insults at each other, as if they were rivals.
Bebe was finally the first to speak up. "I'm...I'm glad we had this conversation."
Kyle narrowed his eyes at Bebe. "What."
"If you really care about us that much, then I suppose I'll take it," Tyler nodded.
"We do have our flaws," Ellen started.
"But we can help each other overcome the challenges," Wendy added.
"Besides, I think we know what challenge we've yet to face," Kathy stated.
"The fatass himself," Chris mused.
I turned to Kyle. "See, Kyle? It's like what you said: all of us in Mr. Garrison's class are a family. Well...maybe not Cartman, but the rest of us, yeah."
Kyle beamed. "I...I appreciate you all, really."
"Good, well it's time to get moving." Bebe snapped her fingers.
Chris narrowed his eyes at Bebe. "We didn't even pay the bills."
"Yeah, I don't think we can get away with dine-and-dashing," Wendy added.
Bebe laughed. "I'm kidding, you guys!"
After we paid the food and left the establishment, we finally made way towards the motel. By the time we reached the motel, it was now 8:20 PM. There was one small office building that we went inside. Inside was a man, likely in his early twenties, sitting at the front desk. When we approached, he waved to us.
"Oh hello, you must be the eight children that a 'Dustin Fields' was talking about." Damn. Apparently, Dustin wasn't kidding when he said he'd make arrangements for us.
"Yep, that's us," I replied.
"I got two rooms for four people each." The man then handed us all keycards. "Here are your keys to the rooms. Anyways, have a good evening."
"Thanks!" I replied.
The motel was two stories tall, and both rooms were adjacent to each other, rooms 221 and 222. I looked over at the rest of the party as we headed up the stairs. "Well, I suppose the boys take 221 and girls take 222?"
"Yeah," the rest of the others nodded.
As the others filed into their respective rooms, Ellen's wolf decided to park itself outside just underneath the window of room 222. I'm impressed the wolf has made it this far. But then a tap on my right shoulder drew me out of my thoughts. I swiftly turned to face that person, and it turned out to be none other than Wendy. "You said you wanted to talk, right?"
I could feel a lump form in my throat. "Y-yeah..." I knew it was going to be a serious talk, and I could feel the sweat coming from my pores and my own lungs constricting. I never liked these serious talks, as these talks generally brought ill trepidations.
Wendy glanced down at Ellen's wolf. "I think the wolf here wants to sleep. We can talk in the parking lot if you want."
"S-sure," I replied.
We headed downstairs to make our way over to the parking lot, and I braced myself, expecting the worst to come.
That's the end of this chapter, folks. What could possibly happen now? Find out next time.
