Ladera Heights
"Wow! Lots of cars... not sure where we're gonna park..." Kashi fretted.
"I can't believe you've never been to this party. If you had, you'd expect this; most of these are carpoolers too." Sayuri said absently while trying to keep a lookout for a place to park.
"Well, I can't see much from back here for all the bags. There's barely room to sit." Willow lamented.
"I'm pretty amazed at how much candy we got in only six hours! You filled up the trunk and backseat!" Sayuri said with amazement.
"Yeah, not a bad haul for a short shift. Normally Willow is up front and we fill the whole back 'til you can't see out the back window or the front floorboard, but this will do..." Kashi commented distractedly.
"That is a lot of candy! What do you do with it all?" Sayuri asked in amazement.
"Umm...I eat it..." Kashi replied. He was not sure why such an obvious question needed to be asked.
"You eat that much candy?!" Sayuri remarked surprised.
"Kashi's a huge pig! Didn't you know?" Willow blurted out gleefully.
"Shut up! Not all at once. Obviously! It normally lasts me 'til after Christmas. Sometimes all the way through New Year's." Kashi replied.
"Ohh! There's a good place!" Sayuri pointed out, shaking herself out of amazed disbelief at Kashi's confectionary excess.
Kashi pulled into the spot carefully. He had to parallel park, and as he didn't drive a car often, he wanted to be sure he parked without incident.
Kashi knew this neighborhood from his trick or treating expeditions. In past years, even before he was able to drive, he was known for venturing to reach even more 'fertile fields' of candy. The neighborhood was an affluent area; in fact, its apparent affluence was magnified by comparison to the rest of Inglewood.
The house where the party was held was large and well-manicured with blue paint and white trim. A white privacy fence surrounded the backyard where music and people talking could be heard. The front yard was quiet, the raised porch lacked railing but the support beams and hand rail for the stairs up matched the white of the fence and trim. It appeared Kashi, Sayuri, and Willow were the last guests to arrive. The house had Halloween decorations strung up in a festive manner. Most impressive of these was a full sized scarecrow that was resting in a chair on the porch. In the scarecrow's lap was a large bowl of candy. As Kashi climbed the porch steps he noticed that behind the bowl was a sign. Kashi leaned over to read it.
Busy with a party. Take a handful of candy from the bucket. Leave some for others. Happy Halloween! - The Jones.
"Is there going to be food at this party?" Kashi asked appraisingly, looking at the bucket.
"Yes, not a meal or anything like that though. Cola, chips, cake, you know, party foods. After the party is over at midnight, we normally go to an all-night cafe and get a late dinner. We did just eat something an hour ago..." Sayuri offered, suddenly wary of Kashi's interest in the bowl.
"Cool! Still...I think I'll take a mini candy bar to chew on 'til we get inside!" Kashi said reaching into the bowl.
As Kashi's hand dipped into the bowl, the scarecrow suddenly came to life. It let out a maddened cackle and reached for Kashi.
Kashi reacted by drawing back and making a fist of his other hand, in case he had to defend himself or the girls. Sayuri yelped and leapt behind Kashi, her eyes wide. Her hands went instinctively for her pocketbook, where she kept her pepper spray. Willow shrieked and leaped back right off the porch, falling into the grass below. Time seemed to stretch out a bit before the tension was broken when the maniacal laughter of the scarecrow turned into raucous guffaws. The scarecrow then removed its Pumpkin head and Sayuri immediately recognized the face behind the mask.
"Wow! Mr. Jones! You really startled us! I think it's the best Halloween trick you've pulled yet!" Sayuri exclaimed.
Kashi broke out in a smile as he realized the trick was nothing but harmless fun. He then, as he turned, broke into hysterical laughter as he saw his sister trying to get up off the ground and straighten her outfit.
"Oh! That was great! I'll bet Willow almost peed herself" Kashi cackled.
"Well planned and executed and my demented brother is right...I think I did almost wet myself. I take it Mr. Jones does something like this every year?" Willow asked Sayuri with an attempt at dignity.
"Let's just say it's hard to keep up with the Jones' when it comes to going all out for Halloween." Sayuri offered in an almost groan worthy cliche.
Mr. Jones for his part shook Kashi's hand and grinned widely.
"Great to see you here! The kids talk about you alot mister sports all-star! Glad you finally made time out from your busy trick or treating to join us!" Mr. Jones gushed.
Daniel Jones was one of those rare people who was both well off and very down to Earth. Unlike the majority of his neighbors, he sent his children to public school in Inglewood. He had opposed the failed attempt to have its school zone changed. He was a supporter of the school and its athletic teams.
"Well I should have come sooner looking back on it. Mr. Jones, if it wasn't for guys like you supporting our team, I might not have had the chance to make it to UCLA." Kashi said with unaccustomed gravity.
Mr. Jones clapped Kashi on the back in a warm embrace.
"Hearing those kind of words makes it all worth it, son. Well go on, Martha is inside with the others. Forgive me for not showing you in, but I have to set back up to catch the next trick or treaters!" Mr. Jones explained with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Opening the front door for the trio, Kashi led the way into the house, despite it being his first time at the party. The house had a long hallway running through it. To the left was an open doorway into the living room area where younger teens were talking and playing games. The group could barely make out through the crowd a railing that likely prevented falls down an open staircase into the basement.
The noise of the shrieks on the front porch had alerted Martha Jones, who stepped into the hall suspecting she either might have to go calm down frightened trick or treaters or welcome extra guests.
"Welcome! It's good to finally have you here!" Mrs. Jones greeted the group. She then peered down at Willow.
"Willow isn't it?" Mrs. Jones asked. "The sixteen and under crowd is to your left through those doors. The younger teens are in that room and as for the twelve and under kids, they are mostly in the basement. Don't go downstairs and bother them and they won't harass you when they pass through to get to the kitchen. You can mingle or visit if you have friends in the other areas but no bossing around or pestering." She said, laying out the ground rules.
"Oh! I see Kimmy and Ken! See you Kashi!" Willow squealed as she raced off.
Kashi eyed the room as Willow stopped and began chatting up the boy Ken. He then shrugged and turned back to his hostess and date.
"Looks like your sister might have herself a boyfriend there." Martha suggested with a smile.
"I guess she might. He has come over a couple times..." Kashi said aloud more to himself than for anyone's benefit.
"Well this way to the kitchen. The snacks are set out there." Martha offered.
The mention of food was more than enough to motivate Kashi to follow his Mrs. Jones into the kitchen area. They went straight from the front door passing through the doorway Martha had appeared from, which lead into a smaller hallway. Martha ignored the closed doors and stairs up to the second story which were to the right. She then guided them to the left which lead through another open doorway into the kitchen which was spread across part of the back corner of the house. From there an open doorway led up back into the living room and the younger teen section of the party. A sliding glass door to the right opened into the backyard where Sayuri had mentioned the older teens went. The array of party foods spread out along the counter of the kitchen and kitchen table was more than generous and Kashi excitedly eyed the food.
"Those doors and the upstairs, back that way, are off limits to everyone. You older teens are out back. Like I said, you and the younger kids can visit, but no pestering or bossing around. Well I'll leave you two here. I think Sayuri can show you the way. If you need me I'll be on the porch. I think I'm going to bring Daniel a drink. I think he might be having a bit too much fun out there." Marta quipped as she picked up a cold mug of punch and a straw to take to her husband.
"Thank you so much for having us Mrs. Jones!" Sayuri replied.
Martha gave her a smile as she hurried away to check on her husband. With their hostess gone, Sayuri turned her attention to her date.
"If Ken is more than a friend? I guess that would make him Willow's first boyfriend?" Sayuri asked.
"Yeah. She's never been popular. A long time ago, I tried to help her but she turned her nose up at all my suggestions." Kashi replied.
"Oh, what sort of suggestions?" Sayuri asked.
"Well for one, she's always showing off, and not in a fun way that people like. You know, like twirling a basketball on her finger or something. Willow has a bad habit of always talking over people's heads. She makes them feel stupid or uncomfortable. No one wants to hang out with someone they think is looking down on them, like they were dumb or something." He replied.
Kashi frowned for a moment as he thought before he continued, as if he was mentally going down a list inside his mind.
"Another thing; she never smiles. She looks really serious or like she's mad about something. Oh! And don't get me started on how she dresses! I keep telling her she dresses like some creepy little doll! I mean she wears dresses with freakin' bows in her hair and crap! She should dress her age or older since she's in class with people a year or more older than her. Just because she's so small and skinny and looks like a child is no reason to play it up by dressing like one. It's freaky! She's going to get kidnaped by some pedo sicko the way she plays that up. She should be trendy get some belly shirts and short or skinny jeans and some of those strappy tops. You know, like the kids in her class wear." Kashi explained.
Sayuri frowned slightly. She looked as if she got more of an insight than she wanted.
Kashi's expression softened as he looked down at his girlfriend. He then patted her on the shoulder.
"Look. I don't like tearing Willow down, but I've thought about this a lot and I've tried to help her, but she won't accept it. She's my sister and I worry about her." Kashi explained.
"It's alright Kashi. I've been trying to reach out to Willow a little bit. I think I'll try harder on that. I think I see why she never listens to your suggestions. They reminded me of Reiko a little bit. You see, I was the one who had a more modest than 'normal' taste in fashion. Reiko was always telling me that I should dress more like her. She would offer to lend me outfits that I would feel...uncomfortable...wearing in public. I used to resent the way she kept trying to get me to dress differently. It wasn't until much later I realized she was only trying to help. She was just trying too hard. She was going with what she knew. What I needed was a less drastic update, not a radical change. While we loved each other as cousins and we're best friends, we were polar opposites in so many ways, that neither of us could see it wasn't an all or nothing choice." Sayuri explained.
"I thought you had uniforms at that Catholic school?" Kashi replied, looking puzzled.
"I didn't wear my school uniform all day every day, Kashi!" Sayuri said with a hint of laughter.
"Well if you can help her, that's great but you two are nothing alike. You're sweet, friendly, and kind. Willow is as mean as a snake. She's as sarcastic as they come. She always has to get the better of people when she talks to them. Like talking is a game she has to win. Either that or she's not talking to you she's talking at you. Like a lecture." Kashi stated.
"Oh, I'll agree, she's pretty sarcastic. You're right, there we're different. I didn't develop a shell of suspicion and sarcasm when I was a social outcast. I was just quiet and shy." Sayuri explained.
"You!? A social outcast!? As I recall you were popular...and... you're pretty, smart, funny and kind...!" Kashi stammered. His list of complimentary adjectives came to an abrupt halt. He almost blurted out words like sexy, stacked and curvy, but his single ounce of good judgment was screaming for him not to utter these words. At least not in this instance.
Sayuri laughed and loaded a bit more on her plate, giving Kashi a chance to recover from his derailment of a compliment.
"I'm not perfect, Kashi! But thank you! I do appreciate that you see more than my physical attributes." Sayuri replied, as if she had sensed what Kashi was thinking and why he held back. "The thing is, Kashi, you only knew me once you and I were in High School. When I was in Middle School I was quite different. I hadn't found my place yet. It was a very sad time and I missed my mother so much. Daddy sent me to a therapist. It helped me so much. I was amazed at how the doctor saw inside me, through the emptiness I had balled around myself like armor. It was then I started to really look at people and see more than what was on the outside. I learned to listen to not only what people said but why they said it as well. Talents I regret now that I never applied to a certain notorious blond horn dog." Sayuri admitted.
Kashi smiled as Sayuri continued.
"I guess that empathy I learned is what made me decide I wanted to be a doctor. It's also what makes me want to help your sister. That and I know what it is like to be the 'smart kid' and deal with that distance it creates between you and others." Sayuri finished.
Kashi puzzled over her words. He also puzzled over how to place more food on one of his plates. He contemplated unstrapping his sword and using it as a platter to hold both plates he had made for himself. If he did that, he might be able to carry a third. However, as he eyed the door, he realized he'd never make it through like that so he left it strapped to his back. He then looked up.
"What do you mean distance? Willow isn't that smart. She just thinks she is; for such a supposedly 'smart person' she does some of the dumbest things!" Kashi said thinking back to an incident earlier in the year where she left the house in the middle of the night and forced him to go on a wild goose chase through half of Los Angeles County.
"No. Kashi. Willow is smart. Although, perhaps too smart for her own good. She's smarter than I am." Sayuri said quietly.
To Sayuri's surprise, Kashi broke out into laughter. He laughed until he saw her worried frown.
"What? There is no way Willow is smarter than you. You're a valedictorian. You're in the honor society at UCLA You have a perfect grade point average!" Kashi said.
"Kashi..." Sayuri began. "I was going to fail my calculus class. I really didn't know what I was getting into; rather than take the calculus for life science students as was recommended, I thought I'd take the advanced class for students going into math as a field. I got a little cocky and it was much harder than I thought. Luckily the second time I came over to tutor you, I showed up early. I was going to talk to your mom. She wasn't' home so I decided to try to work on my math..." Sayuri paused and looked back into the other room. She saw Willow standing by Ken who was playing some sort of trading card game.
"And?" Kashi asked genuinely curious.
"I sat down my notes to rub my eyes. When I looked up, Willow had picked them up and was reading them. I laughed and told her they were a bit above the High School freshman level. She proceeded to explain that my notes were missing a couple of things and she showed me the steps I had left out in my work. She then sat for half an hour and helped me. She didn't just correct my work she explained the concepts with an enthusiasm I found..."
"Annoying?" Kashi offered.
"No, infectious! She got me excited. She convinced me that I could do this math when I had been so sure that I was not able to grasp it. She made it seem easy, at times scary easy, she never even used a calculator. She was doing it all in her head. I actually felt guilty about taking the money your mom was paying me when Willow was doing the same work for me in calculus. That's why I never let you pay when we went on outings. I sort of owed you both..." Sayuri stopped suddenly.
The abrupt hush that fell over the kitchen was an almost deafening. Sayuri eyed the two heaping plates in Kashi's hands. He looked as if he was trying to decide how best to carry them. No doubt he wanted at least another plate, although he only had two hands. His almost overloaded hands rose to shoulder level a few times and fell back.
"If he puts one of those plates on his head and gets a third I am walking out of here." Sayuri thought to herself.
Kashi, for his part, wanted to take a third plate and was indeed trying to think a way he could use his soccer honed skills and balance and carry one more but, no way to carry a third plate came to mind. He was having a clear war between desire and the smattering of better judgment he possessed. One clear thought ran through his mind:
"If I put one of these plates on my head she's going to walk out on me."
Defeated, Kashi smiled at Sayuri.
"Well let's go out back then. Enough about the squirt! She seems to be doing fine for now. Maybe you can teach her something back! Then you'll be even." Kashi said as he beamed with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, that's true! I just wanted to get that off my chest." Sayuri said as she took a deep breath.
Kashi, who was struggling to get through the door without dropping a plate or catching his sword on the frame, almost tripped as he attempted semi-successfully not to stare back at her aforementioned chest and what her tight top was doing to it.
Entering the back yard, Kashi saw that it was larger than he had initially thought. A quarter of the space was a concrete deck that extended behind the kitchen. The tables, chairs, grill, and other typical deck furnishings had been banished for the evening. Other than a roped off walkway to the kitchen, the deck had been transformed into a small dance floor. In the middle of the space, a stand of some sort had been repurposed. Atop the stand was a mirrored ball, similar to those found at a disco. It reflected various lights in the shape of skulls, bats and pumpkins that were strung up about the area in order to project the proper mood into the dance floor. In the yard, beyond the deck, a few games and amusements had been set up; lawn bowling, bobbing for apples, a beanbag toss, and a ring toss were among the games. Tables with benches were set up in two spots; one where the guests sat and talked as they rested between dances or games while another accommodated those playing games' drinks or plates.
"Oh! This is kind of neat!" Kashi stated eyeing the "disco" ball as he entered the party area.
"I always enjoyed it." Sayuri said with a hint of nostalgia in her voice as she came up behind him.
Kashi realized that he and Sayuri were at the upper most end of the age group of attendees. From the way Sayuri spoke, she knew this would be her last time taking part in a treasured childhood institution. She was savoring it while saying good bye.
"It's safe and fun. Can you believe one year someone tried to spike the punch? He got permanently banned from coming to the party." Sayuri said as she reminisced distastefully.
"No, who did that?" Kashi inquired.
"Daniel Clifton. Two years ago when he was sixteen. It was right before he dropped out." Sayuri said with no small disapproval in her voice.
"I never was into drinking. My dad got drunk a lot. Sort of turned me off to it." Kashi said
"Makes me angry just thinking about it! Kids just trying to have fun and he almost ruined it. That's part of why I like this party so much. It's so..." Sayuri took a look around while thinking of a word to describe the Jones' party. "..wholesome I guess. Even though that sounds lame. It's just a nice, safe sort of party. You don't find many things like this anymore. Reiko would say I'm too much of a dreamer. I guess she's right." Sayuri admitted.
"I don't think you're too much of a dreamer. I'll bet the Jones' have worked really hard to keep this up; besides that Daniel Clifton is an ass. He's the same guy who got a girl pregnant and then dumped her to live a life of petty crime to pay for weight gain formula and steroids. I caught him picking on kids at the beach one time. He's an asshole." Kashi said.
Sayuri smiled up at him with appreciation for his words. For an awkward moment it seemed they might kiss, but Kashi was unable to take advantage of the moment. He was heavily laden down with his two massive plates of food. Unable to put his arms around Sayuri the moment passed.
"Hey Kashi! Over here!" A deep, familiar voice called out.
Turning, Kashi saw his friend Justin shouting over the crowd. He stood out for two reasons; first he was one of the minority of Caucasian kids present and second, Justin Lane was one of the largest teenagers Kashi had ever met. He stood an impressive six foot six inches tall and sported a thick, muscular frame. He had almost been too large to play on Kashi's high school soccer team. While not spectacular at the game, he had worked hard to stay on the team to be with his friends; however, he did make a good goalie. The sport Justin excelled in was football. He'd even obtained a college scholarship to USC. Kashi was amazed at how much he had bulked up over the summer and fall. He had been massive in high school, but now his friend was truly huge. Justin was dressed up as Frankenstein's monster. Kashi grinned at the appropriateness of the costume given his friend's bulk.
"Hey bolt neck! Be right there!" Kashi yelled out as he made his way through the party to the table Justin returned to sitting.
Once closer, Kashi could see three of his other friends had made it to the party. Sitting next to Justin was Samantha Montgomery or Sam as everyone called her. In High School she had delighted in challenging the boys to afterhours practice and proving she could score against the best the boys' team had to offer. Privately, Kashi wondered if she and Justin had become an item. Sam was tall, fit, and although Caucasian like Justin, she was well-tanned from playing volleyball in the summer. In fact, she was at the beach almost as much as Kashi. Kashi vaguely recognized the costume she was wearing. He remembered the character being from a movie that had something to do with hunger. She had on a light jacket and workout suit with a quiver of arrows and a bow.
Sitting on the other side of Sam was Toshi Hashimoto. Toshi was a year younger than Kashi's other core group of friends. Kashi had befriended the younger boy in High School, unlike his other friends, whom he had known since they were children. Toshi was known for being unrivaled at track. It was one of the reasons Kashi got to know him. He instantly wanted to get to know anyone that could outdo him in any sport, and Toshi was almost consistently able to beat Kashi in the sheer speed department when it came to running. However, Toshi would always lose out on longer races due to Kashi's legendary endurance. Toshi was dressed as Hawkeye from the Avengers. He seemed to have a bit more confidence about him than usual. Kashi wondered if this was due to the fact that Toshi was a senior this year or that many of the best athletes in school had graduated the previous spring, leaving Toshi on top. Or a combination of the two.
That left just one person of Kashi's core group of friends unaccounted for as he and Sayuri sat down at the table. Kashi was about to open his mouth and ask until he heard a voice behind him.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't "Candy man" Kimura! Here at the Jones' Halloween party! What happened man? Your little sis get too old to score you some chocolate?" Taunted the voice of Brandon Walker.
Kashi turned to find his friend and rival throughout school. Brandon was a multi-sport jock, self-styled ladies' man and a troublemaker extraordinaire; just like Kashi. The two boys had been rivals in a way the affable Justin wouldn't and Sam, being a girl, couldn't. While Brandon's chocolate skin tone fit in with the majority of the party goers, his costume stood out. He had come as the wolf man and had definitely spent some time on the costume. He was made up professionally rather than wearing a cheap mask. Kashi wondered who had done it and if it had been done to keep up with his own detailed costume. He was now glad Sayuri was so good at cosplay. Kashi set down his plates and turn to his friend.
"Nah, man! On a date with Sayuri here. You remember Sayuri Sato don't you?" Kashi asked as he slipped an arm around Sayuri reflexively in a protective manner. Brandon might be his friend, but he was also the second biggest womanizer their school had ever seen.
"Actually, Brandon is why we're all here. He told us you were coming. Said he heard it at school." Sam interjected.
Justin looked up and smiled. He nodded silently as he swallowed a large amount of food and dove back into eating. Kashi noticed he had three plates piled high with food...just like he had originally wanted. One was sitting in front of Sam, although he knew it couldn't possibly be hers. With a twinge of jealousy, Kashi realized Sam had to have carried in Justin's spare plate.
"Oh? Word around UCLA must travel fast! I was actually kind of bummed when I found out we didn't share any classes. Good to see you're still keeping tabs on me! It's good when people have heroes they can look up to!" Kashi said as a cocky smile spread across his face.
"Yeah, well, I guess she's been the one keeping you out of trouble." Brandon said, gesturing at Sayuri. "Usually, by now, I'd have had to come rescue your ass from some new 'adventure' like the old days." Brandon shot back with a smile.
"I'll bet it's that Justin isn't with him. You two may have been into it all the time, but it always seemed to be Kashi and Justin getting into trouble." Sam tossed in.
At that comment, Justin put down the food he was about to eat and opened his mouth.
"Hey, Kashi's the one that would drag me into stuff! Like the time-" He began.
"Hey, Sayuri! You're Reiko's cousin aren't you? How is she?" Toshi interrupted, trying to change the subject.
"Oh, Reiko's fine! She completed her government mandated training, but hasn't been looking for a career yet, so she's still living on the air force base." Sayuri said
"I think Toshi has a little crush on her." Sam teased.
"That's too bad! I mean now, don't get me wrong, I'm as brave as a brother living on the edge of the 'hood can be, but I think dating a chick who, when she gets excited, has a literal bonfire erupt around her is a bit outside my comfort zone. Ya know?" Brandon added.
"Heh and here I thought Wolverine was your role model." Toshi replied.
"Maybe he is, but he can keep the chicks that burst into flames. No offense to your cousin, Sayuri. I like my junk unburned and plan to keep it that way." Brandon stated dryly.
"Oh, don't worry too much about that Brandon. Now that she has control of her powers she doesn't randomly burst into flame. Not that I would have advised her to date you even before she manifested." Sayuri said with a smile.
The smile on Brandon's face faded slightly in light of Sayuri's jab before it returned.
"Well I doubt you'd have dated Kashi a year ago either. I seem to recall several of the hilarious attempts he made to pick you up. All rejected expertly I might add." Brandon countered.
Sayuri blushed as she remembered the first time Kashi had tried to ask her out on a date. It was following a soccer game. His school had played against hers. He had spotted her in the stands while on the field and doggedly pursued her after the game. She was studiously ignoring him as he trailed behind her until she heard a crash. He had walked right into a crossing sign in front of the school while attempting to talk to her. She had been about to stop to help when he leaped up and announced he was alright while grinning like some sort of moron. In retrospect Sayuri wondered what would have happened if he'd stayed down a bit longer and she'd gotten to know him years ago.
Kashi turned to face her and smiled reflexively. It was almost the same grin that he had plastered on his face when he had fallen the first time they had met. However, now that she knew Kashi better, she found that indelible smile endearing rather than off putting.
"Well, Sayuri got to know me while tutoring me in Japanese. It seems I speak Japanese like I was from the Japanese 'hood." Kashi admitted.
"Actually, it was more like you were from the Japanese boondocks." Sayuri corrected.
Kashi's friends burst into laughter and Kashi even found himself drawn into laughing with his friends and girlfriend.
"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. It's pretty funny now but at the time it was frustrating! I had no idea what I was doing wrong. Neither did mom or Willow." Kashi admitted.
"Yeah, your mom called me to ask for advice on finding a tutor. She remembered how I helped you pass classes in high school. I told her to call the school athletics department. Normally the teachers keep a list of students they trust to tutor." Sam said.
"Well, it looks like Sayuri found the same ways to motivate Kashi that Sam used!" Brandon jabbed. It was an open secret that Sam and Kashi had a 'friends with benefits' relationship all throughout high school.
The table went quiet. The others suspected the demure Sayuri wouldn't appreciate being reminded of her new boyfriend's lengthy sexual history. True to expectations, Sayuri went slightly rigid and turned to look away from the others.
"Hey! Let's not just sit around Kashi! Let's go play some of the games." Sayuri said gently segwaying her exit.
"Sure! Catch up with you guys more later!" Kashi replied as he walked off with Sayuri, leaving his plates of food on the table.
Sam sighed and shot Brandon a dirty look.
"What?! We joke about that shit all the time!" Brandon said, looking flustered.
"Not with her we didn't. To her, it just sounded like you were being an ass." Justin said between bites of food.
"Besides! Can't you tell he isn't just out to get in her pants! Kashi's in love!" Sam stated matter of factly.
"Psssh! How can you be so sure? Women's intuition?" Brandon shot back.
"Dude...he left his plates...and he didn't finish." Toshi pointed out.
"So he didn't..." Justin noted. He stretched out a massive arm and slid one of Kashi's plates over to replace one he had depleted.
"I hope he kicks your ass when he gets back..." Brandon said in response to the theft.
"You keep sticking your foot in your mouth like you just did, and it won't be me who has to worry about an ass kicking." Justin replied.
