Chapter 9: The Saturday
The rest of the week went by PAINFULLY slow for both Trini and Skull. Bulk pulled Skull along to every "training" session he held for Biff. The kid was an animal, that was for sure. The long sessions wouldn't be so bad if Bulk wouldn't occasionally have Biff use Skull as a target to release all 4 foot 3 inches of uncontrollable fury. So long as Skull's face didn't get messed up before the date, the skinny punk just took the abuse in stride.
When Saturday finally came, Trini was beat from studying for exams, Skull was just beat from his repeated beatings from that vicious child. He only had to face one more round of training before the tournament that Sunday. Biff was going to be stiff competition for the other competing children. Skull couldn't help but get constantly lost in thought, daydreaming about his date with Trini…
'"The stars are so beautiful.' Trini expressed, her eyes affixed on the heavens above as Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata filled the air.
'They're only beautiful because they twinkle in your eyes.' The smooth talker replied. Trini swooned, hands over her heart and draped herself over him.
'Oh, Skull.' She crooned, 'You're the most romantic, strong, most handsome man I've ever known!' she complimented. Skull smiled proudly.
'Yeah, I know.' He replied, running his hand through his hair. She took hold of him in a fit of passionate desperation.
'Kiss me, my love!' she declared, resting a hand on his cheek. He puckered up and leaned in-"
"SKULL!" Bulk shouted, snapping Skull out of his daydream just in time for -
THWACK! Biff delivered a solid uppercut, knocking Skull off his feet and landing hard on his back in the floor of Bulk's living room rug. Skull groaned in pain, not wanting to move.
"Yes!" Bulk celebrated, pumping his fists, "That's it, Biff! You just pull moves like that tomorrow, those geeks will never know what hit 'em!" he encouraged, giving the kid a high five. Skull groaned, counting the stars circling his head.
"Farkas! Would you and your friends like some cookies?" Mrs. Bulkmeier asked, a tray of fresh chocolate chip cookies in hand as she entered the living room.
"Ooh! Cookies!" Bulk and Biff shouted, stampeding over Skull to the cookies. Skull gasped in pain as a small converse shoe stepped squarely on his chest. The boys gathered a handful of cookies each, while Skull still lay sprawled across the moss colored carpeting.
"Eugene? Would you care for a cookie?" Bulk's mom offered. Skull raised an arm weakly as to answer 'yes, please.' She promptly shuffled over and daintily placed a cookie in his outstretched hand, not at all realizing the boy wasn't laying on the floor simply because he wanted to.
"Thanks." He replied, forcing a smile up at her.
"Thanks, mommy." Bulk thanked, planting a kiss on his mom's cheek. The plump woman smiled from her son's show of gratitude.
"You're welcome, honey. You boys need anything else before dinner? I've got a meatloaf in the oven, but if you boys wanted any snacks or juice?" she offered. The three shook their heads as Biff shoveled the cookies into his mouth like a rabid gremlin.
"I think we're okay right now, thanks, mom." Bulk replied with an innocent smile.
"Okay, just let me know." She assured as she shuffled back into the kitchen, leaving the boys to continue with training.
'I'm going to die at the hands of a monster child…Someone write my will and tell Trini what happened to me…And tell her…' Skull internally lamented as the room stopped spinning and he stared up at the white popcorn ceiling and the wicker fan spinning overhead. He shook his head and Bulk reached out a hand to pull him up back onto his feet.
"You okay, buddy?" Bulk asked, patting the smaller punk on the back.
"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." He waved off.
"Good. Good." His friend said turning to Biff, cookie crumbs all over his sticky child face. "Okay, Biff, ready? Square up!" he ordered. The tiny fireball took his stance and growled at Skull. The punk gave a sigh, dropping his shoulders as if to say, 'Really? Again?' "And…GO!" Bulk commanded. Biff screamed and lunged at Skull. The teen shut his eyes ready to embrace the ensuing torment.
~~~
Trini flipped her hair and ran her fingers through the long dark locks having just finished using her hair dryer. She smiled, eagerly prepping for the date. She wasn't usually the type of girl to use much makeup, but she decided to apply just a little, still keeping a fairly natural look. Under the sink, she pulled out her small gold sequin makeup bag and set it on the counter. The teen zipped it open and pulled out the liquid eyeliner, modest eyeshadow palette and brush, and a few tubes of lip gloss. She wasn't feeling like she really needed nor wanted foundation and powder.
As a new song to begin playing on the radio, Trini started applying her eyeshadow. The music was a solid beat with a basic, but heavy chord progression. Deep guitar, she nodded accepting the tune. The alternative band performing the song was never really her style, but she didn't mind letting the radio play on while she continued.
Well, I heard you crying loud, all the way across town
You've been searching for that someone
and it's me out on the prowl
As you sit around feeling sorry for yourself
The bronze eyeshadow really did make her eyes pop and was satisfied before moving on to the eyeliner. She carefully took the bottle and unscrewed and removed the brush applying the liquid carefully along her top lid.
Well, don't get lonely now, and dry your whining eyes
I'm just roaming for the moment
Sleazin' my backyard so don't get
So uptight you been thinking about ditching me
The eyeliner glided perfectly along the edge of her lid. Trini carefully looked over her work and smiled at herself, moving on to choose a gloss. The two of the options were shimmer glosses, the third was a clear gloss, nothing special. She looked between the tubes of shimmer gloss and decided on the peach-toned gloss. Just as she was about to put the brush to her lips,
BEEP BEEP BEE-DEE BEEP BEEP
Trini's heart stopped. She froze, staring at her own stunned expression.
No time to search the world around
'Cause you know where I'll be found
When I come around
~~~
Skull groaned, holding his arm, and trying to maintain his balance.
"H-hey, Bulk? Can we stop? We been at this for hours." Skull complained. Bulk sighed and raised his arms.
"Fine. I think we've trained enough for the tournament. How you feelin', Biff?" Bulk asked his underling excitedly.
"I'm ready to tear someone apart!" he cried, grinning ear to ear. Bulk clapped him on the shoulder. Skull rolled his eyes and groaned. He really could take any more abuse from this monster child. He caught a glimpse at the wall clock above the sofa, a panic shooting through him. It was already 5:28. He let out a quick yelp and rushed for the door.
"Skull, where you goin'? You aren't staying for meatloaf?" Bulk asked.
"I can't, Bulk, sorry. I have to get to my date...with…with my uh," he chuckled nervously, "my 'date' with my mom, helping her with the…stuff…at the place with the thing." He lied, racing out the door. "See ya, Bulky!" he called, taking off in breakneck speed to his dad's car parked on the street outside the house. As tempted as he was to slide across the hood of the car with the adrenaline pumping through him, he awkwardly ran around the front and flung himself into the driver's seat. He fumbled with the keys, finally plugging it into the ignition and speeding off toward the park.
Skull gave a sigh, more than happy to have escaped that hell. He glanced over at the duffel bag in the passenger seat and patted it reassuringly. He brought a somewhat nicer change of clothes, knowing he would get messed up by Biff's beating that afternoon.
Driving well over the speed limit, Skull managed to pull into the parking lot of Angel Grove Park just a little after 5:40. He scrambled for the duffel and fumbled backward, head over feet into the back seat to change. He threw off his clothes and put on a pair of black jeans, a light brown, vertical stripe button down dress shirt, a loosely worn dark brown tie, black suspenders around his waist, and he transferred his favorite chain adorned belt from his camouflage cargo pants to his jeans.
He spilled out of the back passenger seat door onto the asphalt but sprung back up to zip up the sides of his black leather riding boots. He hopped on one foot as he tried to zip up the last boot and run to the viewing area for the concert. It was already 5:45, no doubt Trini was already there.
Not being able to run anymore, Skull slowed to a walk along the sidewalk to catch his breath. He looked around amongst the attending crowd, but couldn't see Trini anywhere. Skull picked up his pace, moving closer to the throng of people. Most people were sitting out on towels and blankets, he thought maybe Trini would be standing so he would see her. Or she was late.
Trini did have the habit of not being incredibly punctual where their dates or meetups were concerned. Skull slapped the sides of his legs in acceptance. He didn't mind waiting, 'So long as she shows up before the last song ends.' He reasoned with himself, leaning against the nearest tree and looking around for any sign of her.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" An older man in a tuxedo announced from the stage. "I would personally like to welcome you to 'Classical Greats' here at Angel Grove Park." The crowd clapped. Skull searched around, still not seeing Trini. The man went on to explain who they were and so on, introduced the conductor, and took his leave. The conductor bowed before turning to the orchestra and began the first piece, Handel's Harp Concerto in B flat major Op.46.
When the song concluded, the audience and Skull applauded. The conductor gave a quick bow of the head and turned back to the orchestra. Skull gave a sigh instantly recognizing one of his favorite piano-centered pieces, Soler Sonata No. in F# major. Never had he heard the piece performed with such wide accompaniment by the harp and violin. In fact, it was a piece he himself had been practicing for months, but still hadn't yet perfected it despite having most of the piece memorized.
The boy's stomach gurgled loudly, indicating it was past dinnertime. Mrs. Bulkmier's meatloaf sounded really good right about then, alas, a hotdog would have to suffice. He ordered one hot dog and fries from the concession and found a new place to sit on a hill where he could get a better view of the orchestra.
Piece after piece was performed, the sun vanished some time ago. Skull surveyed the park one last time hoping Trini would be running up over the bridge, up the sidewalk, and hike up the hill toward him. His heart sank realizing she wasn't coming. It was then that the band indicated that they would be performing their final songs. Skull exhaled through his nose, crumpling up the hotdog foil into a tight ball.
The soft chords of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini began, though the band wasn't playing the entire piece. These notes indicated they were beginning at the 18th variation point, halfway through. It's gentle, flowing tune gradually built up toward its grandiose just as Skull saw someone running toward him out of the corner of his eye.
It couldn't be.
But it was! Trini was running straight for him in a lovely, pale yellow, empire-waist dress. Skull stood, a smile of relief spreading on his face. Though, as Trini got close, his joy receded, as he was ready to interrogate her. Before he could say anything or question where she'd been, Trini wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"I am so sorry, Skull." She apologized. "There was an emergency and I couldn't get away. I am so so sorry." She pleaded.
"Hey, it's okay." Skull replied hugging her back to comfort her. "I'm just glad you made it at all. I was starting to think…" he paused before letting out a chuckle, holding her tight in his arms.
"I would never leave you." Trini whispered giving him a light squeeze. As the music melded beautifully into Chopin's Etude in E major Op.10 No.3 'Tristesse'. Trini felt Skull's body nearly lift.
"I love this piece." He whispered. The teens gently pulled away still holding hands and affixed in each other's gaze. Skull carefully brushed a lock of Trini's hair behind her ear, resting his hand on the side of her face. She placed her hands on his shoulders as they leaned in close, their lips meeting in a deep and tender kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he moved his hands on her lower back to keep her close.
The moment was unlike any either had ever experienced and even after they parted they continued to hold one another, their foreheads resting against each other. They allowed themselves to take in the music and getting lost in each other as if the world had fallen away.