Somewhere Beyond This
Chapter 4: CAR WASH!!
Did you ever get that feeling? You know, the one where you feel like you wish the earth would open up beneath you and swallow you whole? The one that usually comes around when you've done something embarrassing or extremely bad, and don't want to be the center of attention?
That is what I was feeling right now.
Mortified.
Corrupted.
Ashamed.
And the whole thing wasn't even my fault. "Well, you should have done this," she says. "Or you shouldn't of let him do that," she says. Doesn't my mother understand that I have no control over the mind of my fifteen year old brother?
Obviously not.
"I am very disappointed in you, Kagome," she said what seemed like the tenth time in the past hour. "I can not believe you allowed your brother, and his friends, to go to a college party. Especially when there was drugs and drinking involved."
"Mom," I tried reasoning with her. But with the look on her face and the way the light touched her, it seemed as if the battle had already been lost. "Nothing bad happened. The boys just thought they would have some fun, but they're home safe and sound. Not a hair out of place. We all make mistakes, just threaten them and be done with it."
I probably shouldn't have said that last part. I knew how much my mom hated it when I told her how to punish her son. She seemed to contemplate my words for a moment and silence thickened the room. Finally, she uncrossed her arms and her face seemed to relax. "I'll let you off the hook," she said sternly. "But only because you're an adult now and able to make your own decisions." She paused a moment before turning her heated glare upon me. "If I ever here of Souta doing something like this again in your presence, I will hold you personally responsible."
I gulped. "Yeah, mom," I replied meekly. Nothing could outdo my mother's wrath. Except maybe Sango's. But that's besides the point. "I've got to get back. I'll call you later this week, okay?"
"Alright, dear," she breathed, exhausted from the night's events. Waking up at two in the morning to find your son and his friends gone wasn't exactly a trip through dreamland. "I love you." She gave me a hug before smiling and waving me out of the house.
When the door closed behind me, I took a deep breath of the warm night air before making my way to the car waiting at the end of the driveway. "So, how'd she take it?" Miroku asked as I slipped into the driver seat.
I sighed. "Better then I thought she would." I peeked into the back seat, shaking my head at my wasted friends. Kouga and Ayame were curled up in one corner, looking uncomfortable in the single seat belt they had to share. Sango and Rin sat on the other side, a drop of drool trailing down the bubbly girl's chin. I still couldn't believe we all managed to fit in my car with the boys.
"Let's go drop Kouga off first," Miroku said, buckling up and waiting for me to ease off the brake. The men's dorms were a short distance away from ours, so dropping my drunk boyfriend off first was probably the best idea.
"You'll make sure he gets in okay?" I asked, remembering one of the reasons he had agreed to come.
He chuckled. "Yeah, sure, as long as he doesn't wake up and bite my head off." I couldn't help but smile and a silence thickened the air.
"So," Miroku started after a few moments, wanting to make conversations. "Are you guys going on the trip?"
"Yep," I replied with a little too much enthusiasm. "We're all going to get together tomorrow and do something to start raising the money. You?" I gave him a sideways glance before turning my attention back to the dark, deserted street.
"As far as I know," he said, glancing out the window as a store closed down for the night, their lights flickering before going out all together. "Yash is bringing Kikyo with." I cringed as he said that, feeling my heart break within my chest. Maybe it was the thought of seeing him with another girl ... granted I never actually seen them together, I only heard about their relationship and glimpsed them walking the halls. "I don't know anyone else who's going though ..."
After all, me and Inuyasha broke up five years ago. What was done was done and nothing was going to change that. If he found someone he was happy with, then that's all that mattered ... "Kags?"
I broke my gaze from the street and glanced over at Miroku, noticing the concerned expression on his face. "Uh, yeah?"
"You okay?" I must have been thinking too much and hadn't been tuning into what he said.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just fine."
Miroku smiled and turned his eyes back to the window, leaving silence to fill the car once more. It was amazing really, how comfortable I was with Miroku. We've known each other for quite a long time, before Inuyasha and I dated, and yet we never drew apart like I did with so many of my friends after high school. He was more like a brother then a love interest, but I could always count on him to be there. "Hey, Miroku?"
"Hm?" He looked at my reflection on the passenger window.
"Thanks." A smile graced his lips. He didn't say anything, but the quiet rumble of the car was enough. We continued home in silence, our thoughts intertwining with a certain silver-haired friend and a journey only a month away.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
"CAR WASH!"
I covered my ears as the voice echoed through the campus, bouncing off the walls and ceilings.
"GET YOUR CAR WASHED!"
A few people turned to stare at our little set up we had out in front of the campus, having enough room for cars to pull off the main street if needed.
"CAR WA-" I yanked the girl down from the hood of my car, grabbing her arm and dragging her away from the spectator of boys who had appeared to watch the 'show.'
"Sango!" I hissed, trying to keep her attention as a group of guys without shirts walked by, eyeing my friend in her jean shorts and pink bathing suit top. "Do you mind keeping it down a bit?"
She waved at the boys and scanned her eyes over the campus. "Oh, come on, Kags," she protested, turning to look at me. "How are we ever going to raise money by just standing around here with a bucket of soap and a sponge?"
She had a good point. "Well, you don't have to go shouting at the top of your lungs!"
She laughed. "You worry to much. Why don't you use what the kamis gave you to earn some extra money." She grabbed me by the wrist before climbing on the hood of the car.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a worried tone, suddenly feeling self-conscious of the little clothing I wore, much like my deranged friend sported. "Sango!"
"Have some fun!" she told me before turning her attention back to the crowded campus. "CAR WASH!"
Oh well. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. "CAR WASH!" I screamed, copying Sango's exotic movements with her hips.
We had positioned our little funraising event in the middle of the dorm rooms so both the boys and girls could see our little act. Of course, the boys seemed more interested then the girls. "Hey you guys!" Rin said, running over in a t-shirt and shorts. "How's business?" She smiled up at us while leaning against my car, her eyes gazing about the collective group of men.
"Not bad, so far," I said, hopping down to chat with her while Sango continued to draw attention to herself. "We've had quite a few cars come through already and it isn't even noon."
"That's great! Where's Ayame?" Another car pulled up and Sango jumped down, immediately running to the driver's window and exchanging words with him. He seemed to be a sandy-blonde haired boy who had transferred from America and spoke fluent Japanese.
I watched as she nodded and he stepped out of the car, offering her the keys in case she needed to move it. "I don't know," I said. "Haven't seen her since last night after the party."
"Damn," Rin mumbled sheepishly. "I don't even remember half of last night."
I smiled and recalled how I had to wake her up early this morning in order to get her moving, giving her in detail the fun she had the previous night. I had yet to ask Sango about her make-out session with Miroku. "Hey, come on guys! I can't wash this thing by myself!" Sango waved us over and we smiled, immediately grabbing sponges and a bucket to help.
About two hours and twenty-something cars later, we sat under the shade of a tree, taking a much needed break. Rin began counting how much we had made in the first five hours of washing cars non-stop. I glanced over my hands, pruned from the amount of water they had endured. "Alright, how much we got so far?" Sango asked, taking out our lunch and splitting the sandwiches between us.
"Hmm ... " she mumbled in concentration, calculating numbers in her head. "Well," she finally sighed. "We're not even close to having one of our amounts paid, let alone all four." We had taken on 360,000 yen because of the size of our group.
I groaned. "This is going to take forever ..."
"Maybe I can help." We all turned to look at the red-head behind me.
"There you are, Ayame," Sango called out, fishing out a sandwich and handing it to her.
"Thanks," she mumbled taking a seat. "Sorry I'm a bit late, had some things to take care of."
"What's in the bag?" I asked, studying the blue plastic shopping bag accompanying her.
"Oh, I did a little fundraising of my own this morning." A michevious glint sparkled in her eyes before she took out a paperback book in good condition. "I found all of my grandmother's old books stored in an old chest at my gramp's house. They were in perfect condition so I brought them by some collector's shop and he agreed to buy some." She grinned.
"Wow, great job, Ayame," Sango praised, glancing over the cover. It appears her grandmother had only been into the collecting part, seeing as how the old woman could never have been interested in reading about the American rock 'n' roll, which is what the cover of the paperback said.
"So, how much did you make?" Rin asked, stashing our cash into her wallet and putting it in her purse for safe-keeping.
The red head seemed to think for a few moments, roughly going over the amounts in her head. "Hm ... not sure. Here," she said, digging into her purse for said money. "Why don't you take it and count it up tonight after we finish the car wash?"
"Okay, thats cool." The bubbly girl pocketed the money and unwrapped her sandwich to take a bite.
I smiled. "Now that we have an extra pair of hands, we should be able to get this done in no time. What do you say we stop around five?"
"Sound good to me," Ayame agreed, eating the food Sango offered her.
"Sorry, Kags," the brunette said. "I have a class in an hour and Rin has one after that. We're going to have to call it quits early."
"Damn," I grumbled, watching as the sun rose high above us, warming the land. It was going to be a while before night came. "Oh well, I guess Ayame and I can still do a few cars. But we have to figure out something else. I don't think this is going to cut it."
"I agree with you on that one." A few giggles were shared as the minutes passed, soon turning into one o'clock. As we got up, threw away our garbage, and looked at the crowded campus, Sango said, "Well, time to get back to work."
A/N: Alright, I'm guessing there are about two or three more chapters until we're done with all of this background crap and get to the real plot of the story. Sorry for making you guys wait. I do, however, have a little contest for you guys. Starting now, if you have any ideas about what should happen to the gang while they're on the island (whether it concerns romance, trials they have to face, deaths, friendships, etc. Really anything about their journey.) let me know in a review. If I use your idea in a chapter, I'll be sure to give you credit.
As a side note: LoversKagXInu is no longer going to be my co-author on this story. Her life has gotten way too hectic to continue writing as frequently as I wish, so she has allowed me to continue the story on my profile, as to not upset the readers with the long delays. She will, however, continue giving me ideas in what could occur in the story, considering the main story line was originally hers. Anyways, please leave a review to let me know what you think. Thanks!
Please take my poll and vote up to 5. Otherwise I can't start on the next story.