Chapter XIX: DA Holiday!
Hello again, fans of Darkness Falls! Sorry again for the delay, everyone. This time, again, it was Peach's fault. Without going into detail, she's been at the doctor's office lately. Anyway, your happy co-authors now bring you another fun chapter…
Last time on Yu-Gi-Oh GX: Darkness Falls… Marcel Bonaparte remembered the day that his father and mother had their last big fight. He left the gang and passed out in the Ra boys' bathroom, leading to a reunion with his father. They reconciled and everyone rejoiced. Now, what does the future hold for the gang? Read on to find out!
Disclaimer: Please see the past few chapters to see what we own and don't own.
Authors' notes: CIA refers to the Culinary Institute of America, USC stands for University of Southern California, and Zeta Beta Tau was a fraternity in "Animal House." What happens to Dr. Crowler is an accident that can happen if you don't read labels closely. We love Dr. Crowler; it was fun watching him develop. Further, Buone Natale is how you say "Merry Christmas" in Italian. Finally, the pairing of Don Sartyr and Fonda Fontaine is referred to as Spiceshipping and they are a somewhat shy and sweet couple since they haven't had a lot of experience. Thank you!
Thanksgiving came and the group celebrated with their parents coming from Domino. In December, there was huge news from Domino right before Christmas. "Wow! Kisara's pregnant!" Jaden yelped, reading the local news on the Internet as he and the gang sat in Dorothy's café, downing hot drinks and eating all the warm chocolate chip cookies they could.
"Are you kidding?!" Alexis asked, looking over his shoulder at the screen.
"Dead serious," Jaden answered, his face taking on the expression of stunned realization. "Hmm... whoa..." The brown-haired Slifer might have been naïve, but he did know how long it takes for a baby to come into the world and that meant the timing had to have been when Seto and Kisara were at Duel Academy.
"You don't think she....when they were..." Alexis blinked a few times, slowly sweat-dropping.
"That's exactly what I'm thinking," he groaned, also sweat-dropping. They both had realized where the couple had stayed and it was a little bit awkward to think about.
"I wonder where they were," Annie muttered, a dazed expression on her face. Seto and Kisara had stayed in Slifer one night after the remodel was complete to make sure that the building was more than satisfactory.
"I don't think I want to know," Syrus said, grinning sheepishly.
"Well, I don't either, but wow... They'll have 5 or 6 kids," the dark-haired girl mused wistfully. A dreamy expression was on her own face as she thought of the children she might have with Sy.
"Or more... There's always that possibility," Violet said, giggling.
"Yeah... but that would mean she might not make it to the wedding," Bastion pointed out, knowing that women who had multiple births sometimes had their travel restricted.
"Okay, never mind, let's hope that's not the case," Violet said quickly, sweat-dropping. She still was stunned from the embarrassing possibility that had been raised, but she also didn't want to think about their friends missing the wedding.
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School let out for winter break and before everyone in the gang knew it, Christmas came. The gang celebrated at Slifer. Blair had gone home for Christmas, but the rest of the group had remained together. It had snowed for the past week and the school grounds had been transformed by the white powdery fluff. "Man, I didn't think this place would look so good!" Jaden grinned, looking at Chazz's suite where the tree was put up along with a lot of other decorations all around the room. "And that tree is huge!!"
"Hey, I have cathedral ceilings, Slacker," the raven-haired boy smirked. The huge Douglas fir tree was decorated with crystal, silver and gold Duel Monster ornaments and lots of red ribbon and tinsel. There was a gold and silver star at the top of the tree with bright red rhinestones around the edges.
"That's a good thing. I doubt this tree would fit anywhere else here," Alexis stated, smiling. She had helped decorate this room, along with both her brothers.
"You're right, Lexi. You'd need to cut a hole in the ceiling!" Atticus quipped, grinning mischievously. Not that he would… or would he?
"Yeah," Chazz grinned. "And all our presents are down here, too... Jaden, what are you..?!" CRASH! Jaden had tried to dive into the presents, only to hit the ground. Somehow, he'd missed the tree. He now was on the ground, stunned. Were this an anime, his eyes would've been in the characteristic unconscious swirls.
Alexis sighed, placing two fingers on her temple to calm herself. "Jaden...I'm not going to ask. I'm just going to help you up," she muttered, holding out her hand.
Once the brown-haired Slifer had shaken himself back to his senses, he took the proffered hand and stood up. "Note to self... diving at presents here is not a good idea..." The guys all cracked up.
Adrian grinned and added, "Don't you dare jump into the Hanukkah gifts tonight, Jaden. That can be hazardous..." Tonight was the 7th night of Hanukkah and the gang was celebrating, as Adrian was Jewish.
"Yeah, Jay! You might land on that wooden top, uh...what's it called again, Adrian?" Jesse asked, looking over at his bespectacled friend.
"It's called a driedel, Jesse," Adrian explained, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "And I have plenty of gelt." Gelt, of course, were chocolate coins. "And tomorrow... We celebrate Kwanzaa, right, Axel?"
Axel nodded. "This is one very unusual multicultural group," he said seriously, as always. The truth was that he was glad to have friends who celebrated the holiday with him. There weren't too many people who did back in his hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon.
Rosa grinned. "I guess we should feel lucky that both Spain and France celebrate Christmas."
"As well as Australia, of course. We celebrate most of the holidays the U.S. does," Jim added. "Got to admit, though, I'm used to bein' in shorts and a t-shirt…"
"Yeah, Australia's in the middle of summer now. We have different traditions, but we're 'children of a common mother,'" Annie quoted from the Peace Arch between the US and Canadian border between Washington State and British Columbia. "The UK is the mother country of America, Canada and Australia, after all..."
There was a knock at the door, and Professor Bonaparte grinned as he came into the room. "Joyeux Noel, everyone! Marcel and I brought a Bunches de Noel!" he said, holding up a chocolate rolled cake with meringue on top. He was clad in a huge blue overcoat and wore a blue deerstalker hat, which gave the professor the appearance of a gigantic walking blueberry.
"And homemade candy," Marcel added with a smile as he held up a plastic bag of chocolate treats, looking cute as ever in his woolen gray scarf and bright red Santa hat, along with a golden yellow snow coat which came past his knees.
"Oh, wow! Sam Hill, you guys must've been busy!" Tyson exclaimed, seeing the big bag of treats.
Marcel blushed a little, embarrassed. "Papa said...we needed some time together."
"We did, Marcel... Thankfully, we had use of the Ra kitchen," his father grinned. "Now... let's enjoy some of this chocolate!"
"Just be careful some of us don't get too much," Syrus said, sweat-dropping. They all knew who he meant by "some of us." Several eyes went onto Violet, Jaden and Atticus.
Chazz, in particular, looked daggers at his brother. "Bro, take it easy or I will make you into a human snowman!" he threatened.
Atticus grinned sheepishly, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, I won't go overboard on the chocolate..."
"The same goes for you, Jaden. The last thing we need is you streaking outside through the snow and catching pneumonia," Alexis warned, sending him "the look".
Jaden nodded solemnly. "Babe... I have no desire to spend the holidays or the start of the next semester sick. I think I've had enough of that for one year," he groaned, getting his classic frustrated look.
"That we all have," Bastion agreed, remembering the past year with all the injuries and hospital stays. "I think what we'll all do for our New Year's resolution..."
Violet grinned. "Fine by me. Though we may have to count out stomach aches from eating too much...or something too spicy!" she smirked, looking mischievously over at Jaden.
Jaden smirked, gazing at the table of treats the group had set out. Among the snacks were ham, cheese and chorizo sausage treats called tapas that Rosa had made. She had wisely made extra, knowing that an eating contest was likely. Also among the snacks was the mother of all dreaded holiday treats, the Christmas fruitcake. Surprisingly, Violet had made it, and repeatedly assured her friends not to fall victim to the stereotype.
"Violet... let's throw down," the future King of Games grinned.
"You're on, Jay!" the hyper-active alien fan girl countered.
Alexis groaned, face-palming. "Someone get the Super-Special strength Mylanta..."
"Sy... I think we need to be ready. It may be a long night," Annie sighed as Jaden and Violet took their places with the tapas. "Rosa? How spicy is the chorizo?"
Rosa paused, thinking back in her head. She then put on a sheepish grin and sweat-dropped. "Ah...I think I overdid it... I was going straight off of my mother's recipe..."
"Oh, bloody hell," Bastion groaned softly.
"Do we wish to know?" Professor Bonaparte asked.
"Not particularly, sir... I just hope Annie can hold them together... for Professor Sartyr and Miss Fontaine's sake..."
"Especially since they're habaneros," Rosa muttered, grin turning more sheepish at everyone's stunned looks. "My mother always used habaneros in her holiday recipes..."
About thirty seconds into the eating contest, Jaden's face started to glow red. "Oh... man..."
Violet, too, was starting to sweat a little. "It's winter...so why does it feel like summer in Death Valley in my mouth?!"
"Want to see how much snow we can eat?" Jaden asked suddenly, eyeing the door outside and then glancing at his competitor.
"Way ahead of you, Jay!!" Violet answered, leaping from her seat and making a dash for the door.
Jaden and Violet ran right outside and started shoveling down the fresh white snow. And then another disaster struck, the dreaded brain freeze. "OOOOH!!" Jaden groaned, pupils shrinking.
Half a second later Violet yelped, holding her head in her hands. "OWOWOWOW!!!! BRAIN FREEZE!!!!"
Bastion had come outside and seen Violet turn pale and groan out loud. "Oh, no... not again... Let's get inside, love... and breathe."
"How could...something so...pretty be so...COLD???" Violet whined, heading inside with Bastion as Alexis came out.
She sighed, walking over to Jaden. "Come on, Jay. Let's get inside and help you get over that headache..."
"Urgh... how could I be so... Forget I said that," he groaned again as he staggered inside to the couch where Annie was standing, arms folded over her chest. She had a patient look on her face as she coaxed Violet to take the liquid medicine, and also a slight smile as she remembered her mother's saying, "Those who play must pay."
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Meanwhile, up at Obelisk Blue, Fonda Fontaine sat at a small cafe table in the dining hall, looking like a princess. Tonight, she was dressed in a bright blue off-the-shoulder ball gown and she wore a small tiara. She looked very beautiful and yet very nervous. Then, the sound of wheels rolling across marble flooring was heard as Don Sartyr entered the dining hall. He was wearing a simple black tuxedo, but it was obvious he'd worked hard to make every aspect of it shine. His dark hair had been tamed and combed back, and a red rose sat in his breast pocket. Don was pushing a cart of food he'd made for them, all covered by silver to make the dishes a surprise.
The redheaded woman looked up, smiling. "Oh, my... Don, what did you do?" she asked happily.
He grinned, stopping the cart beside the table and straightening. "It's rare that we get to have dinner like this, so I wanted the meal to be special... There's fresh bread, salad, soup, the main course and, of course, dessert."
"Well, I know that you made it with love... And I couldn't imagine spending Christmas with any other man," she blushed. Over the past two months, Don and Fonda's relationship had become something of an open secret with most of the academy and a well known fact to a select group of seniors and two freshmen, along with the staff. "I just... can't believe this is happening..."
He blushed a little himself, but smiled and took her hand. "I know... It is hard to believe, but it's really happening, Fonda. And I know that I've never been so happy..."
"Me too, Don," she answered, squeezing his hand back. He sat down and together they started with the salad, a simple Caesar, along with freshly baked white rolls.
He was a bit nervous, as he always was when he served her something he'd cooked. Yes, everyone told him he was a wonderful chef. But he always wanted to cook the best for Fonda. "How is it?" he asked when they were about halfway through the salad and rolls.
"It's delicious," she answered, meeting his gray eyes with her own. "You made the dressing yourself?"
"Yes, I usually make what I can from scratch. I don't like using premade food unless I'm short on time," he explained, relieved.
"It's the best I've ever tasted," she answered, reflecting that maybe it was also that he loved her that made it all taste so good.
He blushed a little. "Only the best for you, Fonda..."
"And... for you," she answered, blushing even more. They finished up the first course and moved onto the soup. Fonda's mouth watered at the smell.
"It's a new recipe I tried, to fit the holiday season... Pumpkin chicken chowder, it's called, for a lack of a better name, I think," he said, placing the steaming soup bowls on the table.
Fonda took a spoonful of the soup as soon as Don sat down, blew on it and took a bite. It wasn't too spicy, but it warmed her nicely. "Mmm... this is good," she smiled.
Again, Don was relieved, as he too began to eat the soup. "Good. I was hoping you'd like it..."
"Well... I hope you like my present, later," she said softly, shyly.
He smiled, thinking of his own gift. "I know I'll love anything that you give me, Fonda... I hope you like my gift as well."
The couple finished the chowder, then moved onto Don's golden carrot soufflé, and finished with a Christmas coffee and cheesecake topped with a strawberry glaze. "Oh... I couldn't eat another bite, Don. This is sublime," Fonda murmured blissfully, her stomach pleasantly full.
Don couldn't be happier; everything was working out well so far. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Fonda. I love cooking for you any time."
"Well... may I have this dance?" she asked shyly, getting up on her silver high heels and holding out her hands.
He blushed a bit in surprise, but smiled and nodded as he stood. "But of course," Don answered, taking her hands as they walked onto a cleared area of the dining hall.
And so they began to dance to unheard music, waltzing lightly. "This is such a wonderful night," she murmured in his ear. "I wish it wouldn't end."
"All good things must come to an end," he murmured back. "But then even better things can come after them."
She nodded against him. "I know..." They spun around the floor a bit longer and then sat down for a glass of cool punch that Don had made.
"So then...we've had dinner, danced, and even had punch. Is there anything we're missing?" he asked good-naturedly.
"Uh... I guess... our gifts," Fonda answered nervously.
Don, too, was suddenly nervous. "Oh, yes...of course. Would you...like to go first, then? Or should I?"
Fonda had set a box under the Obelisk Christmas tree which was decorated with silver and blue balls, ornaments and tinsel. She got the present and held it out to him. "I hope you like this..."
Don took the medium-sized box, expression one of curiosity and anticipation. What could she have gotten for him? He found out when he opened the box, pulling back the tissue paper. It was a golden yellow sweater knitted out of a soft yarn. "I hope it fits," she said, a trifle nervously. "I made it so you could fit it under your blazer."
Don could feel how soft the material was as he pulled the clothing out of the box, and a tender smile crossed his lips. "It looks wonderful, Fonda. And it's so soft...I'll bet it's very snug and warm. I can't wait to wear it."
Fonda blushed. "I'm so glad..."
"I hope you like my present," Don said nervously, pulling out the only other box under the tree.
It was a small box, but whatever it was, Fonda knew she'd love it. She took the small box from him and opened it. "Oh, my! Don, it's lovely!" Inside was a twenty-four karat gold bracelet, sitting on a red velvet cushion. It sparkled in the light of the dining hall, and Don's heart swelled with happiness. He had saved for 2 months to get her the bracelet, having just enough in time for Christmas.
"You really like it?" Fonda chose not to answer him in words, pulling him to her and kissing him on the mouth, hard. Don blushed, surprised, but soon returned the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. Fonda knew jewelry was a serious thing for a man to give a woman and she knew that feeling that she was getting.
'This... is real love... this is... right,' she thought.
Don felt his heart flutter in his chest, hope running through his mind. 'Maybe...this is... real love?' he wondered. The kiss went on for a long moment. Time seemed to stop for the couple, but then they had to break for air. Fonda had never felt this way. Sure she'd had a boyfriend or two, but it hadn't been like this. Don took in deep breaths, entirely unused to this feeling and the sensation the kiss had brought on. He himself had never had a date, unless you counted that one time he and a girl went to the dance together so that neither would be all alone.
"Don," Fonda murmured, "that was the best kiss I have ever had..."
Don blushed and glanced away. "That was the...first kiss I've ever had," he admitted, embarrassed.
"You... didn't show it," she said softly, flushed from the kiss. Her first kiss had been a very clumsy affair, and the guy had never kissed a girl before. She might've forgiven it if he hadn't gotten... grabby as he kissed her.
"I...guess it was beginner's luck?" he offered, grinning sheepishly.
"Whatever it was... where do we go from here?" she asked.
"I...I don't know. I've never gotten this far before....have you?" he answered with a question.
She shook her head. "Not to the point a guy gives me jewelry. And I know... that's serious..." She held his gaze, not entirely sure what to do now.
"Well....where do you see this going?" he asked after a few long moments.
Fonda took a deep breath. "Is it too soon to think about... a future together?"
Don went a deep shade of red. "I...I'm not sure... Is that...what you're thinking?"
She nodded, also red. "I know... we've only been actually seeing each other for a couple of months... but... you seem right..."
"So do you....even though...you're my first..."
Fonda went even redder at the likely-unintended double meaning. "You'd... be mine..."
Don blinked, of course not understanding. "Er...yours?"
"My... f-first," she explained, knowing for sure now that he hadn't intended the double entendre.
His face went as red as humanly possible as he understood, and his words came out in a distinct stutter. "O-Oh...I see...a-as in that way..." She nodded, very nervous now, and feeling the blood rushing through her body. He swallowed, unsure of what to say. He'd never felt remotely this way for any woman, and the topic had never presented itself to him.
"W-well... uh... We can... cross that bridge when we come to it," she managed to say. 'OH NO! I said when! Great going, Fonda!' her brain screamed at her.
His face would have become redder had it not already been as red as it could get. He had indeed caught that single word, but tried to get over it. "Er...yes...good thinking, Fonda..." The couple sat awkwardly for a moment and then finally stood. "Well then... Would you like me to walk you back?" Don asked, rubbing the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. She nodded, shyly.
The couple headed back to Fonda's room and neither wanted the evening to end. "This was a wonderful night," she said, holding his hand. She didn't want to let go.
Don felt it too, as if their hands were glued together. "It was..."
"We... should probably call it a night," she murmured, her body language indicating that this was NOT what she wanted to do. Her lips were parted in such a way that it looked as if she wanted to be kissed. He swallowed tightly, feeling so attracted to her at the moment. He could practically feel the magnetism pulling them closer, both bodies begging to keep going. Fonda moved closer as well, her lips finally touching his. It felt so good. Don gladly returned the kiss, pulling her to him as it deepened. And then, just as Fonda was hazily thinking about opening the door and getting Don in her room, they heard someone singing. "We are family... Come with all my sisters and me..."
Dr. Vellian Crowler was about to break up the evening... accidentally. He had received a box of chocolates from his Aunt Giada in Italy, not knowing that they had strong liquor in them and had eaten them all after the gang had their party. He was now rather drunk and trying to make his way back to his room. Fonda broke away, eyes wide at the bad warbling off-key. "Don... is that... Vellian?!"
Don blinked a few times, his own eyes just as wide. "I...I believe it is. But...what on Earth??"
Vellian Crowler came staggering down the hall, and seemed to notice the couple. "Merry Chrishmas... Buone Natale... Don... Fonda... Am I in the right dorm?" he asked, sounding very, very puzzled.
Don exchanged glances with Fonda. "Vellian......are you drunk?"
Vellian blinked and pointed a long, bony finger at Don. "No... For your information, Don Giovanni... I had my Aunt Giada's chocolate!" he slurred, slightly insulted.
"Vellian... did this chocolate have... flavoring?" Fonda asked, smelling liquor on his breath.
"Yes...raspberry," the Obelisk boys' headmaster responded, sounding delighted and smiling in a dopey way.
"Oh, dear... Fonda, I do believe they were liquor-flavored chocolates... He must have eaten them all to get this...er, tipsy," Don whispered, frowning.
And then, as if to prove the Ra teacher's point, Vellian fell to the ground and passed out. "Oh, dear," the nurse groaned, kneeling. "He is royally schnookered..."
"Uh...'schnookered?'" Don asked, blinking.
"Hammered or just plain drunk," she explained, rolling the prone instructor onto his side. "I need to change before we move him, Don... I can't lift him like this." Her gown and shoes, while very pretty, were cumbersome, and since this wasn't a life-threatening situation, she could take the time to change.
"Go ahead, Fonda. I'll stay out here with him in case he wakes up," he replied, kneeling down beside his unconscious colleague.
Fonda ran into the room and changed quickly, getting her gym uniform on over her strapless pink bra and panties and exchanging her high heels for sneakers. She ran back out to the hall and checked Vellian's pulse again. "He's going to have such a hangover in the morning," she muttered. "But it wasn't his fault..."
Don sighed and stood. "No, it wasn't. Should we call for help to carry him?"
"I think we can carry him back to his room," Fonda decided. Together, they lifted the unconscious teacher and carried him back to his room and got him into bed. "I'll keep watch on him tonight, just to be sure he's okay," the nurse stated, sitting down on a chair.
"Are you sure you don't want some help? You shouldn't stay up all night... I could stay, and we could work in shifts," Don offered. Part of him just didn't want to leave her, and part of him really didn't want her to push herself. After all, she was the only nurse on the island.
She considered it and nodded. "You know... that makes sense... And if he needs help... you are a guy."
Don chuckled, pulling over a chair and sitting down as well. "Then I guess I have no choice but to stay," he replied, not that he cared.
"You don't want to stay in your tux all night, do you?" she asked, realizing how uncomfortable that outfit must be.
He blinked and looked down, only just remembering what he was wearing. "Oh, right. I should be fine if I just remove the coat and shoes," the Ra headmaster answered as he began unbuttoning the tuxedo jacket.
"There aren't any Ras on campus except for Bastion, Tyson and Marcel, are there?" she asked.
He shook his head as he slipped off the constricting black jacket, surprised when the red rose fell to the floor. "Oh, Fonda, I almost forgot..." Don reached down and picked up the rose, turning to her. "You already looked so beautiful, I thought only a rose could complement you any further," he explained, slipping it behind her ear. He had made sure to purchase a thornless rose, of course.
Fonda blushed at his touch and then breathed in the scent of the red rose. "I love roses," she murmured, thinking of a John Milton quote. "And... this is a rose without thorn."
Don again smiled, taking her hand. "I'm glad...I wasn't sure if you liked them or not. But I did know I should play it safe and get one without thorns. I'm happy that I did."
"Maybe I should see if one of the boys is willing to run up your pajamas," Fonda mused. "You should be comfortable, Don..." She flushed slightly, her imagination picturing how good he must look in pajamas.
"I'm fine, Fonda. Let them enjoy the night with each other," Don soothed, pulling off his polished shoes and unbuttoning the cuffs of his white dress shirt.
She took the cufflinks he'd been wearing and laid them on the nightstand. And in a moment, the couple was sitting in comfortable chairs next to Vellian Crowler's bed. And then... "Oh, Pat! You're so wonderful! May I have this dance?" Vellian murmured in his sleep. "...Yes... kiss me..."
Fonda's face drained. "Pat?" she wondered.
Don blinked and stared at his drunken fellow teacher. "Er..."
Thankfully, the smashed teacher fell into a deep sleep after that. "That... was so... awkward," Fonda groaned. "And... who's Pat?"
Don sighed and rubbed his forehead with a hand. "I don't know..."
"Well, I'm glad if he has someone," Fonda murmured, "but... this isn't how I wanted to find out... On New Year's Eve...let's make sure he stays out of the champagne..."
"Good idea. We'll certainly have to watch him around the holidays..." And so Fonda and Don watched Vellian all night.
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When the Obelisk headmaster awoke, he groaned, "Oh... what happened?" The poor man had a splitting headache and his stomach felt terrible.
It was Don's shift, and he suppressed a yawn as he moved to check his colleague. Fonda was dozing by his side. "You mean you don't remember, Vellian?"
"I... remember eating chocolate," the blonde teacher admitted, "but not much else..."
"Well, it seems those chocolates you enjoyed were liquor-flavored, Vellian," Don explained, sweat-dropping and running a hand through his dark hair.
Vellian flushed. "Oh, no... Aunt Giada said they were raspberry-flavored chocolates, but I didn't look closely enough at the packaging. They must have had raspberry liquor in them... Did I make an ass of myself last night, Don?"
"Well...er..." Don put on a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh, no... I did... did I ruin things for you and... Fonda? She's here..."
"No, no, of course not. I was just seeing her to her room when you...stumbled upon us."
Vellian sat up slowly, his head pounding. "I am so sorry... And you had to deal with me all night..." He had a feeling he had been royally soused.
"It's all right, Vellian. Fonda and I were glad to help a friend." The Ra instructor decided not to mention what the teacher had muttered in his drunken sleep.
"Thank you, Don," the Obelisk headmaster smiled gratefully.
Fonda chose this moment to wake up. "Mmmm... huh? Oh, it's morning... Oh, good, Vellian, you're awake... We were worried about you," she said, moving to check his eyes and pulse. "I thought you might've had way too much last night..."
"I'm all right, Fonda... just a bit of a headache and stomach upset..."
"You're lucky it's not worse. We thought for sure it would be a horrible hangover after all that liquor you consumed," Don stated.
"I... have a pretty high tolerance. I was in a fraternity in college," Vellian admitted, grinning sheepishly.
"A frat house?" Fonda asked, stunned. The image of Vellian Crowler in an Animal House-type fraternity was unnerving.
"Really? Which fraternity?" the tuxedo-clad instructor asked.
"I was in Zeta Beta Tau at USC. How about you?" the blonde teacher explained and queried.
Don blinked in surprise. "Zeta Beta Tau at CIA Greystone..."
"Did you have toga parties?" Vellian asked excitedly.
The other man blushed a little. "Yes...quite a few times."
Fonda couldn't help but snicker. "Excuse me, please," she said, standing up and abruptly leaving the room.
Don was definitely red in the face. "She wasn't supposed to know about that..."
Vellian sighed, and responded, "Well, people know that frat houses have toga parties..."
"I never was one for the parties..."
"Well, I did a couple of times," Vellian admitted.
"I did once...never again," Don admitted as well, grimacing.
"Me neither," Vellian agreed. The two men continued to talk about their college days, while Fonda Fontaine laughed until she cried some distance down the hall.
So the holidays have happened without anyone dying, getting seriously ill or aliens invading. Just Doctor Crowler a little tipsy and dreaming about someone named Pat (we left the gender up to your imaginations, people), and Jaden and Violet getting sick tummies. Next time… Please join us for "Sunset." So until next time, please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!