Chapter Seven

"My. Brain. Is. Empty." Kairi sighed, hitting her head violently on her desk.
'All I can think about is that letter...' Since she wasn't getting any ideas staring at her computer screen, she thought it would be a good idea to call Ven and tell him the good news.
"Hello, this is Ventus. May I ask who's calling?"
"Geez Ven, you ever heard of call display?"
"Oh hey Kai. What's up?"
"Oh nothing. I just thought I should tell you that I got a letter back from Paopu."
"You did?! Jesus Kai, that's fantastic!" Ven shouted. Kairi grinned. She knew calling him would cheer her up.
"So what did they tell you?"
"Well, before I can join I have to write an interesting novel. On my life."
"Wow, you have a bit of a problem there." Ven chuckled.
"Shut up! I know my life is not that exciting, but I have to write about something." Kairi wailed.
"I know! How about a tragic tale of how your best friend was snatched away by the evil overlord Economy, and is now being held captive in his lair, California!" Ven declared, and Kairi laughed.
"It has to be TRUTHFUL Ven."
"Well it is the truth."

"I guess. So how was your skateboard competition?"
"Eh, it was ok. Silver isn't so bad, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted."
"Aw, those judges must've had their eyes closed. Otherwise, you'd totally have gold."
"Thanks Kai. That's sweet of you to say. How are Xion and Namine?" He asked.
"They're great. They both have dates to the dance, believe it or not."
"Really, even Xion?"
"Yup. I was surprised too." Kairi giggled.
"I'm taking it your flying solo?"
"There is no flying solo, you can't get in without a date."
"God, that's retarded. So are you not going, then?"
"Actually I am. I'm going with Sora."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Uh, Ven? You still there?"
"Yeah, I just... I have to go now. Goodbye Kairi." He said, hanging up.
Click.

'That was weird. Why did he seem in such a hurry to hang up? And why did he use my full name? Something must be bugging him.' Kairi thought. He might've still been disappointed about the whole skateboarding thing. She sent him a short, cheerful email in hopes of making him feel better. Then she decided it would do her some good if she took a walk and gathered her thoughts. Maybe it would help her with the obvious brain clog she had going on.

Some fresh air turned out to be just what Kairi needed. The late afternoon sun beamed down from the sky, making her feel at ease and relaxed. She ended up walking towards the elementary school park, which was fine with her. There was a small commotion in the parking lot, so Kairi decided to check it out. Dozens of kids were crowded around a small truck, and she immediately regretted coming over.
'Oh god, it's the ice cream truck. Of course the second I get a date and I have to fit in a teeny tiny little dress, the truck that makes all fat people run comes along.'
She knew she shouldn't have any, but as fate would have it, she had a few dollars inside her coat pocket.
'Well, if you can't beat em, join em.'
Kairi walked up towards the counter of the truck.
"O-K, I'll have a caramel crunch cone please." She said, handing him her change.
He handed her the cone, and she thanked him, strolling away happily. Then she noticed all the kids around the truck were staring at her.

"What are you freaks looking at? I'm allowed to enjoy life, okay?!" She growled. One kid started to sniffle.
'Oh great, just what I need.' She awkwardly patted him on the head.
"I-It's ok. Sorry if I yelled..." The kid looked up at her, then snatched her ice cream.
"Hey, you little brat! Come back here!" He turned around, stuck out his tongue, and dashed across the street.
"You're a jackass! I hope you get hit by a car!" She yelled, sticking her middle finger in the air.
'Jesus, that's just my luck.' She sighed and walked out of the park.
"Wow, that was intense. You sure handle kids in an interesting way." A familiar voice said behind her. Kairi spun around.

Of course it was Sora, the sweetest guy she knew. Of course he saw her yell at a kid to get hit by a car.
"God, you heard that, didn't you?" Kairi groaned. Sora laughed.
"Yup, and I gotta say, so far this has been the most entertaining part of my day."
"I'm uh, usually not like that with kids, but when somebody steals my food.." She said, blushing profusely.
"Yeah, I hear you there." Sora pulled out two Popsicles from behind him and smiled.
"Here, I don't think Riku is going to show, and I don't want this to go to waste." He said, handing her one.
"Thank you..."
"Your welcome, just don't yell at harmless little children anymore, okay?"
Kairi nodded sheepishly.
"Good. I hope you like the flavour, it's Riku's favourite." Kairi took a small bite. Then she smiled.
"Sea salt, right?" Sora nodded.
"This is like the second best flavour out there!"
"Yeah, I think so too." He started walking away.
" I came here to meet up with Riku, but he's obviously not coming, so do you wanna hang out?"

Kairi's pulse quickened. Sora wanted to hang out with her? This could make for an interesting chapter in her story.
"Okay sure." As they ate their ice cream, they began talking about their lives. Sora was actually really easy to talk to, and he was easygoing as well as a good listener.
"The popular life actually isn't all it's cracked up to be." He said between mouthfuls of ice cream.
"There's all this pressure to be perfect, and you have to be a certain way otherwise you're gone. I am definitely not perfect." He grinned.
"Uh, yes you are." Kairi hadn't realized she said it out loud, and as soon as she did, her face turned fire engine red. Sora laughed.
"Thanks, but I'm really not. My grade in English is not that good, I can't memorize the periodic table, and my room is really messy!" Kairi laughed.
"Hey don't feel bad, mine's probably worse!"

They laughed for a few minutes, then Kairi said,
"What don't you get in English? I'm an A student, so I could help you out."
"See that's the thing. I understand everything, but I just can't...write."
"Hmm, I see your problem." Kairi thought for a moment.
"I can't teach you to be a better writer, but I can show you some tips and tricks one day, if you want." Kairi offered.
"Really? That would be awesome if you could."
"Sure, I'd be happy to."
"Thanks Kairi!" Sora grinned. Kairi smiled back at him. She loved his smile.
"And in return, I can help you with anything your struggling with." Kairi mentally went through her grades. They weren't that great, except for English, but Math was definitely the worst.
"Well, I can't for the life of me understand equations."
"I'm good at those. How about every day after school we get together and each get an hour of lessons?" Sora suggested.
Two hours each day with Sora Takahashi? Like she was going to say no.
"Yeah, and we can alternate houses." Kairi added.
"Alright. First lesson can be at mine if you'd like." He offered.
"Ok, sounds good."

"Great! You're really saving my ass here." Sora smiled.
'I'd be glad to save it.' She thought.
"You're going to save mine too." They turned the corner and her house came into view.
"Well, this is my stop."
"Wow, this is your house? It's nice." He commented. Kairi stared at him in disbelief. Her house, nice? The front was an ugly shade of mahogany, the windows had weird glass patterns and her mailbox was slightly tilted to the left. It was anything but nice.
"Thanks, I don't really like the color though..." She could see her mom doing dishes in one of the windows.
"Ah, my mom's expecting me."
"Ok, well I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright, goodbye Sora."
"Goodbye Kairi. And thanks." He waved as she closed the door.