Author Note

I owe some of my loyal readers an explanation as well as an apology. I failed to keep up with my self-imposed yet very much promiised rate of one chapter per week. This is something I myself am not happy with, nor that anyone else should be ready to accept. A promise made without any word or explanation is a promise broken in the hardest of ways. And for that, I owe you all an apology as well as the explanation that I failed to give so far.

The chapter I wrote ~14 days ago to meet my deadline of that week had left me unsatisfied. I had released a chapter by finishing it, but the more I looked at it, the more I felt it was a chapter that was not upto the quality I expect from my chapters. It was outright bad storytelling, and that is pretty damning when your chapters are as short as mine tend to be. The result is that I spent the next few days being plain unhappy with it and pondering ignoring my gut feeling, rewriting or revising the chapter or plain scrapping it entirely.

And then that friday evening, I got a headache. No biggie, just go to bed early. Except I found out the next day that what I thought was a headache was just a really weird neck pain that I had never experienced before. The sensation was so weird that it plain made me feel like I had a headache, and immensely hard to concentrate. Sleeping suffered too; there were no real comfortable positions and I think I got maybe three hours of shut-eye the first few nights. That pain is why I totally didn't end up writing anything last week; I plain couldn't focus on it and I was still filled with a lot of frustration on what to do with the previous chapter.

I still feel the pain a little bit now, but after a good five days of pain and frustration, that what remains is so minimal that it is not worth mentioning. I can focus again, at least. :-) I had hoped to just pump out as many chapters as I could and do some sort of bulk release as an apology, but even that became difficult as I ended up stuck researching lots of little details and not a lot of writing getting done.

So all I can do for now is to apologize with what I've got to release, and clear my own slate for the sake of not continuously trying to make up for past mistakes and shooting myself in the foot through those means.

Chapter 39 is what I owed you all for last week.
Chapter 40 is my mandatory chapter for this week.
And this complimentary chapter to serve as my apology.

(In part because the chapter 40 cliffhanger is a one of my more cliffier ones.)

I will do my best to not let this happen a second time.

Enjoy the chapter, and thank you all for your patience! ~SilkHandkerchief

Chapter 41s: The First Time

Jenny always said her friends were a riot.

I never quite understood what she meant.

But getting kicked out of THE Alton Towers when the clock isn't even pointed to 'two' yet... that just.. wow.

Worst, I don't even know if I am insulted.. or just greatly entertained by it all.

Mind you, I'm sick of rollercoasters; the last one nearly made me throw up, so I am not upset we were thrown out. More... I don't know. It feels like a waste of a good birthday, right?

If Clara goes to ask what we did today, are we going to have to cop out on nearly ending up in jail for sexual assault?

Screw it, that makes it a good birthday, right? All in for the fond memories!

Frankly, I think this 'riot' owes me a gigantic debt of gratitude. And they know it, judging by their relieved expressions as we're sitting on a bus back to the station rather than in the back of a police van for some sort of intake involving our parents. Or fake parents.

"Okay. Who the fuck thought I'd like to spend my birthday in jail?"

Wow. Jellybelly is pissed. I'm grinning. She's always watching her words around me, kind of like Nii-san tends to do to the point where I don't even know what he's like anymore when he isn't playing with me.

The nearly-adults are now having a staring contest. Then Nee-san starts to drop names.

"Vera?" The blonde raises her hands up in defense, shaking her head. "Fuck no, J. I was the one to call out for maintaining a bit of decorum this morning, wasn't I?"

The staredown with Vera intensifies. "You were also the one discussing you-know-what right before we got picked up." she reminds the girl, who flushes red as if caught with her hand in the cookie jar. What the hell did I miss? Damn it!

"Ann?" This one just meets Nee-san's eyes in an almost calm manner. "You need to ask?"

"Only to make sure Kathleen wasn't going to talk her way out of it." Nee-san responds, and I find my eyes almost pop out. What the hell did I miss this time?!

The diminutive wallflower of the group is conspicuously looking out of the window. Ah. That's what I missed, I guess.

You tend to forget she's even here.

Nee-san is a goddess for as far guys are concerned, they flock to her like bees to honey as there's just that little to complain about. Vera is much the same, having a decently cute build without too much of the English fudge attached, just like Nee-san but with a slightly plain face. Sorry, but the half-lidded eyes look of perpetual dozing is simply lacking. Still, she and Nee-san have probably traded wardrobe contents on more than one occasion.

Ann is Ann. Loud. Obnoxious. Hard to forget with that neon-green spikey hair that resembles a guy more than a girl. But she's got a good heart, I think.

And then there's Kathleen. She's silent most of the time. Nee-san told me before she's like that around most people she doesn't know well, so I guess I'm the one at fault here?

Wait. I wasn't the one to commit sexual assault!

She finally looks over, offering a tightlipped smile. "Sorry."

Jenny now bursts out in anger. "You fucking think that will fucking cover the shit you nearly got us stuck in, you harridan frump?!"

Harridan frump? That's two insults for the price for one. Can you even adjectify harridan? Hmm. Well, I'll have to remember it regardless. Nee-san's amazing at this!

Kathleen seems to nearly start crying as she shakes her head, pulling in shuddering breaths which pisses sis off even more, pointing towards me. "See that there? THAT can pull off tears a hundred times worse than yours. Shelve the pity tears. There's no balls in this room!"

"Tche." Kathleen, almost as if switching gears instantly, lets out a grunt of annoyance. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think they'd know who did it if I just copped a feel in the darkness."

Wow. An outright admission. WOW!

Nee-san rolls her eyes as she grabs the girls mousey-brown hair, pulling on it. "You never, ever fucking embroil Setty in your shit again, got it? She was lying for your sake. Apologize. Fucking. NOW."

What follows is, without a doubt, the most earnest words I've seen coming from Kathleen in all the time I've known her, which is pretty much today if we ignore the casual nod of greeting in the past.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was an idiot."

I smile back at the woman. "It's fine." I respond easily. It is. It was a lot of fun. Imagine what Nii-san would say, ha!

"Besides, I didn't know it was you. All I did was.. well, remember something Jell.. Jenny told me a few weeks ago."

At this, Jenny gives me a weird expression, clearly not knowing what I am talking about. I sigh, blowing out air in mock-frustration that makes some wayward strands of hair bounce in front of my face.

"'What you don't tell them can't come back to hurt you.'" I quote the Jenny from a few weeks ago, and she smiles in remembrance. "Ah." she agrees, nodding.

A silence falls, and I might as well keep talking in a Holmes-esque manner.

"So yeah. I knew it wasn't Jenny because she kept bugging me all the time, and Ann kept poking me with her fingers whenever I'd least expect it.. but I didn't know anything beyond that. Still, it wasn't much of an untruth to say all of you were obsessed with adding to my Haunted House experience..."

Awkward chuckles happen as the sisterhood exchanges glances with eachother. It must be embarrassing, having a ten-year-old girl save your sixteen-something bums out of the proverbial fire.

The silence lasts even as we make it out of the bus and back into proper society.

In the end, it is Jenny that clears up her throat and the air at the same time. "Well, it is still my birthday. I'm not going home this early in the day; I said I'd be back around 8, so we've got a couple of hours left to burn."

In unison, the near-adults offer up 'clubbing'.. but Jenny is the one who torpedoes it. It is too early, and there's no way I can join them. They all become sad... until Kathleen comes up with an alternative. She must feel a bit bad, after all.

"Let's just find a pub and a pack of cards. We'll play some card games. Have you ever played spoons, Setsuka? Or Old maid?"

First I shake my head at the former suggestion, but nod at the second. "I've played Old Maid with Nii-san once." The smile on my face probably betrays that it is a fond memory.

Ann rolls her eyes. "Why not just teach her poker? The younger, the better."

Vera is quick to intercede. "You think she's got money to play with? She may have some pocket money, but that's not for gambling, grasshead."

Laughter bursts out as I hear that nickname for the first time. So fitting!

"She can play for.. I dunno, make-believe money. She saved our asses, we can just be her wallet, right?" Clearly, Ann isn't willing to drop the idea of gambling that easily. Honestly, it does sound a bit exciting.

I realize a second or two late that she was staring at Kathleen.

"Fine fine. I'll be her little piggybank. I owe her at least that much."

Sweet! I can't help but laugh. Playing with other peoples money; I bet Nee-san has done that in the past, too.

With that, it is settled, and we move to find a pub that looks upright enough to where we feel safe, yet seedy enough to where they won't fuss over someone my age playing poker.

Apparently it is an adult game, not meant for kids.

I offer Kathleen a conspirational smile, feeling just a bit emboldened by her helping me out. "So what does a guys junk feel like?"

An upset gasp fills the air. "SETTY!"