Chapter 8 ~ FACILE

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Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

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May buried her face in a pillow and she gave a frustrated scream. After a few seconds, she lay down on her back and stared at the rose Drew handed her as mind wandered to the events after her performance.

As she walked backstage, her sapphire eyes landed on Drew, casually leaning on the wall. A wave of déjà vu hit her but she composed herself. Drew approached her and he handed her the rose as he smirked and flipped his hair.

"What's this for?" she asked him, gently taking the rose.

"It's a congratulatory gift for not embarrassing yourself," he answered. May huffed.

"I am more than capable of taking care of myself thank you very much," she retorted as she crossed her arms and turned away from him in a rather childish manner.

Just as soon as she said those words, they heard a yell.

"WATCH OUT!"

May's eyes snapped open just in time to see a stray ball heading towards her. Drew grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her towards him and out of the ball's way.

"And that was Kenny Jordon everyone with his impressive juggling skills that seem to need some improvement," announced Harley.

Drew smirked. "You were saying?" May glared at him for a moment.

The image swirled to show May, sighing.

"Ugh. I just don't get him. One minute, he's all nice, the next, he acts like he's the king of the world as if he could best me. HA! I bet he can't even play Fur Elise!"

"Hey May, when you're done talking to yourself, come down and have dinner," called Max, sweat dropping at the sight of his sister. May huffed and headed to the bathroom.

"I'll be there in a sec. I'll just change."

"Ok."

Dinner passed by as usual and May proceeded to a practice room provided for her. It had cream walls and red carpets. There was a balcony overlooking the garden and a few paintings were hung. There was a shelf filled entirely with classical music CDs while there was another filled with sheet music in binders. In the center was an indispensable part of the room, a gorgeous crimson grand piano.

May took her usual position, sitting on the crimson velvet seat. Her fingers gently danced on the keys as she stared blankly ahead, the moon illuminating the beauty of this angel of music. Her eyes were blank and glassy as she thought of her rival whom Drew reminded her so much of. She dismissed the idea that was nibbling at the corners of her mind before it could take form and she concentrated on practice.

The image shimmered to show Drew and April having dinner in the vast dining room of their mansion.

"So how was May?" asked April.

"Why don't you just call her?"

"I'm asking you," retorted April.

"…"

"I'm waiting."

"She was Ok." he finally answered.

"Oh, what'd she do?" asked April, interested.

"She played the piano," he answered.

April contemplated on that fact as she chewed her food. For one thing, she knew that the piano had some effect on her brother, whether it had anything to do with his rival or not, the piano had always gotten a negative reaction from him. Of course he was now able to enjoy this rivalry, but that doesn't mean that he liked pianists in general. He either thought of them as equals, or he could've cared less.

Wordlessly, Drew got up and went upstairs, to practice no doubt. April sighed as she stared at the empty table.

'Has this house always been so quiet?' she thought.

Her brother's frustrated playing echoed all throughout the mansion.

She shook her head and she got up. She headed for her room. It was relatively large with walls that two thirds cream and a third black, cream on top of black. The floor was covered with black carpeting and she stepped onto the balcony to bask in the moonlight.

In a way, her brother's playing comforted her giving her the knowledge that her family hasn't completely forgotten that she existed, but it also sent chills down her spine. She feared his inexplicable and unpredictable actions concerning his rival and the piano as her mind drifted to that memory from long ago.

She just turned five at the time and she was watching her brother practice. She caught wind from one of the maids that her brother finally found a worthy adversary. She was staring at him and she didn't fail to notice his fierce expression and the fire blazing in his eyes.

"Big bro…" she whispered quietly.

He didn't even glance at her.

"Big bro clam down…" she said, a little more loudly.

Still, he ignored her.

"You'll break the strings if you continue!" she yelled.

Nevertheless, Drew continued.

To April's horror, the strings broke, just as she predicted. Drew screamed in frustration. April jumped in fear and she ran to her room.

April sighed as she shook her head to dispel the memory. She headed to Drew's room and she knocked twice before coming in.

"Alright, what's wrong?" she asked him. Drew's eye's momentarily flickered in her direction before his playing gradually came to a stop.

Drew sighed and sat down.

"Its nothing," he answered. April raised an eyebrow.

"Drew, seriously, what's wrong?"

Drew ran a hand through his hair and he fell back.

"I don't know. I'm just blowing off some steam," he answered.

"Why?"

"Well…I'm not sure…Its just that my own thoughts frustrate me," he answered. He covered his face with his hands as he tried to dispel the image of May and Phoenix.

"Ah…The best thing to do is to occupy your mind with something you want to think of, like schoolwork." stated April simply.

"Schoolwork?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then, they burst out laughing. April wheezed and composed herself.

"Goodnight." she said as she ruffled his hair. Drew shook his head, immediately returning his hair to its usual style.

"Night."

The next image was of lunch the next day. April and May were chatting away and Jun and Drew tried to follow their conversation. Keyword: tried.

"Do you follow any of this?" whispered Jun.

"Not a word," answered Drew.

It surprised both boys when the girls stood up.

"Where're you going?" asked Jun.

"Ladies room," they replied in a voice that seeped 'duh'.

Once the girls left Jun asked a question that has been passed down from generation to generation of the male population.

"Why do girls always have to go to the ladies room in groups of two or more?"

"That, my friend is one of the mysteries of life," answered Drew.

Meanwhile, the girls were talking in the ladies room, as usual.

"Yesterday was alright," said May, answering April's unspoken question. April nodded as she leaned on the wall.

"At first, I didn't know what to do so I cried."

"Yeah, I kind of notice that. You made me worry. And you didn't even bother to call."

May giggled. "Sorry about that, I got caught up on something."

"It's alright."

April half listened to May's talking while she thought to herself.

'Life's somewhat vexing. For a moment, you're at its peak, it seems to be an onslaught of joy and excitement, but at times like these, life's rather drab. But then again, if everything was at its peak, we wouldn't appreciate it…'

April smiled to herself and she laughed at something May said.

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Meaning behind the chapter title:

Facile – easily; without fuss

~It's because in this chapter, everyone's fairly content with everything, no need to fuss.