Chapter EIGHT
Checklist for Fall Formal
- Try on the dress Naminé's lending me
- Buy a pair of heels that are actually wearable
- Check with Naminé our getting ready together plans
- Remind Tidus to bring a corsage cause we all know Selphie's got standards
- If possible, figure out if Riku's going
Tidus' class ends up losing to the other senior class (yes!).
"...and then the moment we step through the gate, some guy sneaks up on us from inside the guard's house - can you believe it? - and takes out Yuna before I even realize what's happening!"
The guys at the lunch table ooh and ahh at his story, while some laugh at Tidus' incompetency. I fall in the latter category.
"You couldn't even pull off a knight in shining armor moment and take the shot for her?" I ask, reaching for his fries. He shoots me a look but is too busy storytelling to do much more.
"How was I supposed to know he was waiting in the guard's house? I could've sworn the coast was clear! Yuna chewed me out for that…"
"Her fault for trusting you," I snipe.
"Why so bitter, Kairi?" Tidus teases. "Still can't get over me and Yuna's genius plan in getting you guys out?"
"...Naminé got you out," I return with a small grin. That silences him for the time being.
"Tidus took out a lot of people in the other senior class," Wakka comes to his defense. "He's just not a good defensive player."
"Makes sense, cause he plays offense on the team," Irvine tosses in.
"Man am I glad we're finally out," Vaan remarks. "Yuna got super into it. And that game got me way too paranoid."
"Same!" I exclaim, recalling the days I spent furtively on the run. "Wasn't good for my heart or blood pressure."
"Why are you sitting with us, Kairi?" Wakka asks randomly.
I narrow my eyes at him. "Well, I didn't know you held grudges, Wakka. It's been a week."
"Wha - I don't - "
"Oh that's right!" Tidus laughs, clapping his hands together ecstatically. "Kairi got Wakka out on the very first day!"
The boys cheer for my accomplishment and jeer at Wakka. I let myself relish the pride and smirk gleefully.
"But seriously, why are you sitting with us?" Vaan asks. "I only ask out of genuine curiosity," he hastily asks.
"We do enjoy the lady's company," Irvine adds.
"Hey," Tidus snaps, "I don't wanna see any of that with my cousin."
"I appreciate the warm welcome, guys," I say, "but is it that hard to believe we're having some cousin-cousin bonding time?"
Actually though, Naminé ditched me for her cooler friends (read: Honors English project partners), so I've had to resort to Tidus as a lunch table buddy. Cause no way am I sitting by myself in this cafeteria.
The guys are quiet in response to my rhetorical question, but it's the awkward kind of quiet, where they're glancing at one another and egging each other to speak. Finally, Vaan breaks the silence.
"But I thought you were mad cause he and - mrgh!"
I can't help jolting back out of shock. Irvine had swiftly dug his elbow into Vaan's ribcage, while Wakka reaches over and basically shoves his hand into Vaan's face. Tidus and I stare on as the other guys laugh nervously.
"...nice weather we're having today!" Wakka says out of nowhere.
"Ah, yes, nothing like a cloudy day to keep you cool and levelheaded so you can focus on school."
"Uh, yeah!" Wakka says. "You got any tests coming up, Tidus?"
Tidus and I may be clueless sometimes, but we're not dumb. My eyes glance over to meet his, and though cousin telepathy doesn't exist, I'm pretty sure we both ask each other: what the hell are they doing?
"...Tidus!" a loud voice calls out.
Everyone at the table collectively turns their heads. My stomach flip flops as I recognize the person approaching. It's too late for me to abruptly stand up and leave, so I pull out my trusty phone and stare intently at my phone background: a collage of cute cat pictures (courtesy of Naminé).
"O - oh, hey Selphie," Tidus stammers. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean?" Selphie protests. "I need an appointment to see you now?"
"N - no, I didn't mean that…"
Some of the guys can't hold back their laughter, and I let out a quiet snort as well.
I think that's when Selphie notices my presence. "Hey guys," she greets cheerfully, and they chorus their responses, "and hey Kairi, what'cha doing here?"
I feel every fiber of my being burn cause this dreadful moment is not supposed to happen. But very slowly, and very hesitantly, I put my phone away and look up.
"Hey, Selphie. I thought you have class now."
Selphie blinks, pausing only a brief moment before responding. "I got out early cause Mr. Nichols - my math teacher - has an appointment across town at noon." She redirects her attention towards Tidus. "I texted you but you didn't respond," she finishes with an accusatory tone.
On cue, Tidus pulls out his phone and checks his messages. "Oh, shit, sorry Selphie. We had presentations in history so I set my phone on vibrate."
"It's okay. We have like 20 minutes - you wanna grab coffee or something?"
I've reverted to staring at my phone, cause mentally I'm cringing throughout this whole conversation. This is exactly the sort of thing I don't wanna hear my friend and cousin talking about.
"Sounds good," Tidus says, gathering all this trash on his tray.
"If you're busy, it's okay," Selphie begins, but Tidus cuts her off.
"Nah, I'm done eating. Let's go. See you guys later," Tidus says, standing up to leave. I'm counting down their footsteps for when I can raise my head until Selphie calls out my name.
"Kairi?"
I bite down an exasperated sigh, turn towards her direction, and somehow summon a smile. "Yeah?"
"...I heard you got into drama club. Congrats," she says. Then, she leaves before I can say anything.
...the fuck?
What in the world does that mean? How did she even know I auditioned for drama club? Is she...keeping tabs on me? What, is she afraid I'll do something to sabotage her and Tidus' relationship? Who is she to spy on me without my permission? I should be the one who gets to decide who I tell what about my personal life. This is an invasion of privacy!
"See, she's mad," Vaan says from across the table.
"Shut up, Vaan," Wakka hisses.
"Yeah, you don't tell a girl she looks mad," Irvine says. "Unless she's mad at you and you're acknowledging it."
I turn towards the three guys who suddenly morph into innocent bystanders, glancing at whatever nearest thing has caught their interest (spilled salad dressing on the table for Wakka).
"You guys - I'm fine," I finally say. No need to prolong this awkwardness any longer than necessary.
"She says she's fine!" Vaan insists. "So, are you still upset that they're dating?"
Wakka jumps to his feet. "Vaan, I swear to god…" he begins mumbling while forcefully dragging Vaan away from his seat. I have to say, I'm partially thankful, cause I'm not ready to answer (or think) about Vaan's question.
"...hey, you feel whatever you feel," Irvine finally speaks up. "No need to justify them or anything. Feelings just are."
I take a moment to let Irvine's words sink in. I'm upset that my cousin and friend are dating and they've disturbed the balance of my universe - I don't need a reason, do I? I'm allowed to feel what I feel. He's right...right? I've never pegged Irvine as the thoughtful type.
"...you got that off of tumblr, didn't you?"
Irvine snickers. "Girls usually fall for sentimentality."
"You are such a player."
"Hey! Just being honest!"
"Whoa. I don't think I've ever been in this auditorium outside of class," I comment, stepping into the spacious room.
"We always hold drama club meetings here," Naminé says, leading the way down the stairs towards the stage up front. "Then we splinter off into committees."
"Did you already apply to switch committees?" I ask.
Naminé smiles. "I'm still gonna be on the set design team for the club. We haven't started working on the year-end play yet cause we were busy interviewing new members. I hope you join my team, Kairi!"
"Of course! I joined drama club to hang out with you!"
We approach the front of the room and take seats in the second row. Within minutes, the lights dim down and everyone focuses on the stage.
"Welcome, everyone!" a voice announces through the intercom system. "We're so happy to see you all back for another school year! For those of you who don't know - and shame on you if you don't - my name is Yuna, and I'm your president and director of drama club!"
Suddenly, a spotlight shines down on center stage, where Yuna stands with a beaming smile holding a mic to her mouth. We burst into applause, and she takes a few dramatic bows.
"Thank you, thank you. Now, I know it's the very first meeting of the school year with new and returning members, so we wanted to break the ice with a classic drama club game!"
"It's charades," Naminé whispers. "It's like a tradition - we always start off the year with this."
"Oh, that sounds fun!"
"Just a heads up, some of the officers can get really into it…"
" - none other than...charades!" Yuna announces. "We've split you into teams, so please listen up for your assignments! On my left, we have…"
I end up on Naminé's team - thank goodness - so I don't have to awkwardly dwell in the corner by myself. Cause I don't really know anyone besides her in this club.
"Alright, who's gonna start on this team?" Yuna asks, gesturing towards our tesideam seated on the right. When no one makes a sound, our club treasurer Rikku volunteers as tribute.
"...oh my god!" she exclaims after Yuna whispers something in her ear. "How am I supposed to do that?"
Yuna grins. "Show'em what 3 years of drama club has taught you!"
Rikku's brows remain furrowed but the corner of her mouth tugs upwards into a smile. Finally, she draws a breath and faces our team.
"You have 30 seconds, starting...now!"
No one on our team makes a sound as we watch Rikku's intricate dance. Cause...that's what it looks like. I don't know if she's trying to imitate something, like a bird or lion, but it's awfully vague.
"Just guess!" she cries out desperately after 10 seconds of silence.
A few people laugh and some toss out a few answers. Rikku shakes her head, frowning petulantly. "Don't read too much into it!" she says.
"Hey, no talking allowed!" someone from the other team calls out.
"Shut it, Zidane, I'm just explaining my style of acting!"
"Dance?" Naminé pipes up, to which Rikku's eyes widen and she gestures with her hand for more.
Oh. Oh. It doesn't just look like a dance - it is one.
"Freestyle?" someone guesses.
"Aerobics," is another, which makes everyone laugh.
"Interpretive dance!" I exclaim with a hand raised in air, just as Yuna announces our time is up.
"Yes! High-five, Kairi!" Rikku exclaims, prancing over with her palm facing me. I eagerly oblige, a proud smile on my face.
I then turn towards Naminé to high-five her as well. "Teamwork, am I right?" I ask with a wide smile.
Naminé laughs, slapping her hand at mine. "At our finest."
"Alright, next!" Yuna announces, ushering the next team. "Anyone - anyone else? Yes, Zidane, I see your hand."
The game proceeds swimmingly. It's fun to see everyone make a fool out of themselves trying to mimic some pretty ridiculous things. For my turn, I have to act out '2 birds with 1 stone,' which is easier than I had thought it'd be.
Someone quickly catches onto the raised 2 fingers (someone guesses 'peace' before that), and though the team buffers awhile at my on point acting, Naminé quickly figures out I'm not pitching a baseball to scare chickens but tossing a stone at birds.
"Nice!" I cheer, patting her back as I take my seat and the opposing team goes up. "We're so good at this!"
"Power of friendship!" Naminé cheers.
"Queen of cheesy quotes!"
"You're not denying it, so you agree."
"Much sharp," I comment happily, noting the other team has failed to guess the phrase 'knight in shining armor.'
"Alright, last one! Who's left on this side?" Yuna asks, looking at my team. "Naminé?"
"Yes ma'am!" Naminé chirps, rising to her feet. Yuna whispers something in her ear, and Naminé's baby blue eyes widen. "B - but wha - ?"
"Don't fail me now, my promising protégé!" Yuna says before dashing off towards the side.
With a helpless sigh, Naminé begins her pantomime. She holds one hand out in midair on her side and bends her knees, walking and straightening her legs in the process. It's pretty vague and very hard for us to guess.
"Drink milk to grow taller!"
"Uh, change!"
"Walk carefully?"
Naminé sighs once more. She hesitates for a moment before taking another stab at the prompt.
I burst out laughing as she summons the widest, cheesiest smile I've ever seen on her. She's beaming so widely her teeth look like they're gonna fall out. If that makes any sense.
She then proceeds to wave her hand in multiple directions. Where is she going with this?
She eyes me in particular, and I feel the pressure mounting. Is this a charade specifically for me?
"Happy?"
"Grin and bare it!"
"A very enthusiastic janitor."
I chuckle at the last one. Naminé's still looking at me intently, so I dig up a guess. "Uh, a clown?"
Her response is a weary sigh.
"10 seconds!" Yuna exclaims on our side. Naminé frowns, at this point just glaring at me. She then proceeds to do a multitude of things at once: her hand falls to the ground and goes all the way up to as high as she can reach, she stares at the ground intently while her feet shuffle back and forth, she throws her head back and pretends to laugh…
"Life is short, time is money?"
"What the - is this like scenes in a movie or something?"
I narrow my eyes. "I don't - " I begin, as Naminé continues staring at me expectantly. "Are you...imitating someone?"
Naminé nods furiously.
Oh, okay! So that narrows it down to...our entire grade?
Yuna begins a countdown, and I feel a chill crawl up my spine. Somehow I feel like the entire team's counting on me! I rack my brains trying to figure out what message Namine's trying to convey.
"Uh, Tidus! Wakka? Rikku? Roxas, or Ven!" I'm just spitting out names of people we know. "Coach Fair! Wait...no way it's our homeroom teacher?"
"Time!" Yuna eagerly cuts off, much to my team's dismay and the other team's satisfaction. "So sorry, but you were getting there! I think I know where Naminé was going with this - hey, good job!"
Naminé manages a small smile. "Thanks, Yuna. That was hard though."
"What was it?" someone on our team asks.
"Childhood friend," Naminé says. "I was trying to show holding someone's hand and growing up with them...but that didn't work."
"I thought you had a stroke and your arm was paralyzed," someone says.
"Oh." Naminé chuckles. "Yeah. So then, since I know Kairi, I was trying to mimic her childhood friend…"
"Who?" I ask.
"Huh? Uh, you?" Naminé says confusedly.
"Who's my childhood friend?"
Naminé pauses for a moment before chuckling. "Oh! I was trying to imitate Sora."
Some ohhs of recognition resonate among the crowd. "Oh, yeah, only Sora smiles that much."
"Yeah, only he's that friendly and has to say hi to everyone," someone adds with a laugh.
I narrow my eyes, still stuck on the label she'd assigned me and Sora. "Childhood friends?" I repeat.
"...yeah." Naminé looks more confused now. "I was trying to approximate his height, he plays soccer, and he laughs a lot…? Was it not obvious?"
"Uh, well…" I snort, "Sora and I aren't really friends, per se…"
"...awkward," someone murmurs.
"Shot down," whispers someone else.
I turn around to glare but the offenders slink back into the shadows. Turning my attention back to Naminé, I proceed to explain myself. "We're not - I mean, I don't really...think of us as 'childhood friends,' you know? That's why it was so hard to guess the phrase is actually 'childhood friends!'" I exclaim, bringing the subject full circle.
Naminé blinks owlishly, the corner of her mouth twitching nervously. "Oh, I see...yeah it's kinda hard to guess."
Before the subject can continue any further, Yuna jumps in and asks for the final person on the other team to come up. Naminé navigates her way back to her seat next to me, greeting me with a light chuckle.
"That was hard," she complains.
"That was," I agree. "I have no idea how I'd act that out."
"I know, right? Acting out Sora was just a spur of the moment idea."
"Yeah, I don't think I would've gotten 'childhood friend' even if I guessed you were imitating Sora," I say laughing.
Naminé giggles, and then we're silent watching the other team's last player. Just when I think we're done with that topic, Naminé brings it back up again.
"So, if you guys aren't childhood friends, what's your relationship with Sora?" she asks curiously.
I hesitate for the longest time. My first response is backpedalling - am I being too harsh in not calling us friends? But...we aren't. We don't hang out every other day like me and Tidus. We don't trust each other with our secrets like me and Naminé. We don't shop, or go out and eat, or have sleepovers like Selphie and I - ahem, used to.
"He's just...someone I've known for a long time," I settle with saying.
It sounds kind of distant, but it's the only definition I'm comfortable with now.
One word, everyone: finals. Oh, and a renewed obsession with k-pop.
On a brighter note, finals are over! And I really should stop procrastinating with this.
Much thanks to my beloved readers & especially reviewers! I love seeing your feedback and what you thought about the story! Pleaseplease let me know what you liked/disliked about this chapter/the direction of the story/anything, really.
And, as always, please stay tuned for the next chapter!