Chapter 3 - Based on Meaning
"Um…Elijah?" asked Clay, looking up into the tree.
"Go away!" sobbed Elijah.
"Elijah, sweetie, come down. You know he didn't mean it!" said Kimiko.
"I don't care. Just leave me alone!" he sniveled.
"Elijah, please do not sit in a tree all day," said Omi.
"I don't want to see him," spat Elijah.
"Who?" asked Omi.
Elijah was silent for a moment. "Raimundo…" he whispered. Elijah sighed, and then toppled out of the tree. This was not a purposeful fall, he just kind of fell out. He picked himself up and brushed himself off. "It was inevitable," he said, sighing again. He smiled slightly at Kimiko and Omi, and then said, "Do you have any idea why he picks on me?"
"No," said Omi.
"I think he's a bit of a homophobe," said Kimiko.
Elijah chuckled bitterly. "Figures. Well, the pilaf should be done, is anyone hungry?"
"I am!" said Clay. He walked over to Elijah and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, Raimundo picks on everyone but Kimiko, and that's only cause he likes her—well, you know. Omi's slang, my accent, Jack's wimpy-ness, he just picks on people. Don't take it to heart."
Elijah smiled at him. "Thanks. That does make me feel better actually."
Clay smiled back. "Glad I could be of service." He and Elijah began to walk back to the main building and Clay asked, "Now tell me, is pilaf an Indian dish or what?"
"Ooh, I'm glad you asked," replied Elijah. "Actually, it's a Persian dish…" The rest of the sentence was lost, as they were now too far away to hear.
"They will become good friends," said Omi promisingly to Kimiko.
"I think you're right," said Kimiko, smiling at Omi. They, too, began walking back to the main building.
When they got there, the first thing they noticed was Raimundo at Kimiko's laptop in the kitchen. "Raimundo," growled Kimiko.
"Hang on," said Raimundo, holding up a hand. The computer pinged and Raimundo smiled and ejected a CD, adding it to a pile. He handed Elijah a stack of five CDs, smiling at him. "Avenue Q, Spring Awakening, Phantom of the Opera, and Sweeney Todd disks one and two," he said. Elijah looked at the CDs for a moment, and then looked up at Raimundo. Raimundo noticed he had tears in his eyes. "Oh, geez, did I do something wrong? Can I fix it?" said Raimundo frantically.
"No," said Elijah thickly. "No, you didn't do anything wrong." He abruptly sprang onto Raimundo with a tight hug. "Thank you."
Raimundo looked at Elijah awkwardly for a second, then shrugged slightly and hugged Elijah back. "You're welcome."
After pilaf and training, the kids were relaxing on the grass. Elijah and Kimiko were giggling about something and Omi, Raimundo, and Clay were watching from across the lawn.
"Pretty cute, isn't she?" asked Raimundo.
"Kimiko?" asked Omi. "Yes. She is very good looking."
"Mm-hm," Clay absentmindedly agreed.
Across the lawn…
"Don't look now, but someone's eyeing you up," Elijah whispered to Kimiko. "Two people, actually."
"Who?" asked Kimiko excitedly.
"Who do you think?" asked Elijah.
Kimiko giggled. "But you only said two. What's the other one doing?"
"I think one of them's eyeing me up," he whispered excitedly.
"Really?" asked Kimiko in equally excited tones. "Who?"
Elijah cupped a hand around her ear and whispered something inaudible. "At least, I really hope he's eyeing me."
Kimiko sighed romantically. "Oh, I hope he is, too. You two would make such a cute couple."
Elijah blushed. "Stop, you're getting me all flustered," he giggled.
Back across the lawn…
"What do you think they're giggling about?" asked Raimundo.
"Girl things, probably," said Clay, leaning back and chewing on a long piece of grass.
"You think they're talking about us?" asked Raimundo.
Clay sat up quickly. "No. You think they are?"
"Maybe," said Raimundo. He fell back onto the grass. "Who can tell what girls talk about?"
"I hope they're talking about us," said Clay.
"What if they are and they are not saying good things?" asked Omi.
"Yeah," said Raimundo, grinning mischieviously. "What if they're debating about who would be the best lover, and they think you'd be the worst?"
Clay groaned and fell back, pulling his hat over his face. "J-aysus, Rai, why do you plant these ideas in my head?"
"'Cause it's so darn easy," said Raimundo, a smile in his voice.
Back to the girl talk…
"We'd better get back inside," said Elijah, standing up and pulling Kimiko with him. "Cherie, you are a wonder," he laughed, kissing her on the cheek.
"Aringato," she giggled. "What does 'cherie' mean?"
"'Darling', in French," said Elijah, taking her hand. "I've been speaking it since I was five."
"Really?" asked Kimiko as they set off towards the main building. "That's fascinating. How do you say 'I love you'?"
"Je t'aime," said Elijah. "Why?"
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Je t'aime," she said, kissing his cheek.
He laughed. "Cherie, you are a wonder!" he said loudly.
"Hey, you all going in?" yelled Raimundo.
"Yeah," yelled Elijah back. "Want us to wait for you?"
"Yeah, hold up," he yelled, yanking Clay and Omi up. They all ran over and joined the two in their walking.
"I actually think I might take a walk," said Elijah. "The grounds are absolutely beautiful, and I haven't gotten a chance to see them well yet. Anyone want to come with me?"
"Sorry, koishii, I have to check my email," said Kimiko, releasing his hand.
"I must prepare for training tomorrow," said Omi.
"I gotta…um…eat something," said Raimundo, catching Clay's eye then looking at Kimiko meaningfully.
"I'll go with ya," said Clay, smiling at Elijah.
"Okay!" said Elijah. "I'm sure you know a good route."
"I do, actually. It goes through the garden and flowers and stuff, then ends in the gazebo."
"Sounds lovely," said Elijah. He and Clay set off down the path and the other three went into the main building. "So, what kind of flowers do you have here?" asked Elijah.
"All kinds!" said Clay, smiling. "Different colors of chrysanthemums and carnations and tulips, and violets and zinnias, and snapdragons and orchids, but there are some special flowers." He led Elijah over to five small beds of five different flowers. "Master Fung likes flowers, and he planted a different group of flowers for each of us based on meaning. That's Kimiko's," he said, pointing to a group of purple flowers that grew all on the same stem. "They're larkspur. It means she has a beautiful soul. And them's are Raimundo's," he said, pointing to some flowers that had six petals, three on the inside and three on the outside. "Freesia, that is. Means he's spirited. And Omi's," he said, steering Elijah around and pointing to a patch of white, orange, and purple flowers that looked almost like daisies, except with eight wider petals, "are cosmos. They mean peaceful, which, most of the time, is what the little guy is. And mine," he paused for a moment and sat down at the foot of a bed filled with pink six-petaled flowers that grew like Kimiko's, all on one stem. "Mine are gladiolus. They mean strength of character. I was pretty flattered that he'd picked that for me."
"It's appropriate," said Elijah with a smile. "Has he planted mine yet?"
"He has, actually," said Clay, picking himself up and leading Elijah to the bed next to his, where white flowers shaped like five-pointed stars were growing. "Jasmine, yours are. It means grace and elegance."
Elijah snorted slightly. "What is that, a joke?" He sighed. "And I was really looking forward to seeing what the master had planted for me."
"I can see why he chose it for you," said Clay. "You're graceful in your own way, like with words. You have a grace with words. And you are elegant also, just in your own sense. You're a pretty special guy."
"Thanks!" said Elijah, beaming at him. They set back off down the path towards the gazebo. It was a white one, freshly swept and cleaned. They sat on the bench in the middle of it, looking to the west. The sun was setting and bathing the sky in red, orange, and yellow light with the sun as a great fiery ball on the horizon. "Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Elijah, looking at it.
"Mm-hm," said Clay, gazing at the skyline. This was his favorite time of day, and he was glad to have a friend to share it with. Raimundo didn't seem to get it, and Kimiko and Omi were always busy, so he was glad to have an easygoing friend. He looked down at Elijah and saw Elijah's gray eyes looking back at his. Elijah smiled.
"Clay…" he said.
"Yes?" asked Clay.
"Anyone ever tell you, you have impossibly blue eyes?" asked Elijah, in the slightly drunken tone he'd used with Omi that morning over pilaf.
"You okay, pard?" asked Clay.
Elijah inched closer to Clay until his nose was about an inch from Clay's. "They're beautiful," he murmured. He leaned forward and closed the gap between them with a tender kiss. Clay was shocked, and didn't exactly know what to do, so he broke the kiss.
"Elijah?" he asked.
His name seemed to snap him out of it. "Oh God," he whimpered. "Did I just…?" Clay nodded. Elijah's eyes widened and he let out a scared little whimper before bolting into the forest.
"Elijah, wait!" said Clay. However, Elijah didn't hear him, he just kept running. It was rather late now, and Clay sighed and pulled his hat over his eyes, trekking back to the main building. He would come back when he was ready…right?