I wasn't sure whether or not to put in a filler or cut to the chase with Zane dueling against Jaylin. I decided to let the duel wait and have a filler, since the final duel would take place right before Winter Break. I want to use the time to bring out character and relationship development. Review please!
Ronda woke up to the morning light, remembering that her roommate was suspended due to failed grades. It was cutting close to the end of the semester, and those that had been showing grades below an F were already off the island. Now, Ronda had the whole room to herself, which was a relief, and a bit lonely at times. Ronda couldn't get used to not having someone with her under the same roof.
Yawning, Ronda picked up her cell phone and began texting to her grandmother, 'hello. Miss u :)'
A few minutes later, Ronda heard her phone ring, picking it up. She smiled and said, "hey Gramama."
"Hey sweet pea. How are you?" Ronda's grandma replied.
"Good. My friend Jaylin is going to duel against Zane in the finals. I'm... really excited."
"You mean Miss Bellybutton girl?"
"Don't tease, Gramama," Ronda giggled. Her grandmother watched the duel Jaylin and Chazz had against the Jagger and Slade, and called Jaylin bellybutton girl due to her midriff she wore during the duel. Her grandmother had a thing for calling women with midriffs or showing their bellies bellybutton women.
"Now, come on now, don't you think a sick old grandma like me deserves to get away with a few things?"
Ronda laughed a bit, while nibbling on her bottom lip, replying, "I don't think teasing my friends, or embarrassing the nurses is one of them."
The two laughed, and Ronda's grandmother replied, "I'll challenge you on that." The laughter quieted down.
"So... is it getting any better?"
There was a long pause. The grandmother sighed, replying, "sweet pea... you know we- I already gave up trying to fix this a long time ago."
"B-Bu... how long?"
"I don't know."
There was another long pause, then Ronda's grandmother breathed in to continue from where she left off.
Jaylin was with her friends outside on a bright sunny day. They sat by the cliff with the warm sun hitting their faces. Zane looked at Jaylin with slightly furrowed eyebrows that were filled with curiosity.
"You once questioned why Chazz wore a trench coat in the middle of the summer. Why are you waring a short sleeved shirt close to winter?" Zane asked.
Everyone else had worn Duel Academy's uniform sweater, each of them cotton. The Slifer Red were red with white and red striped sleeves. The Ra Yellow sweaters were bright yellow with a white collar and cuffs. The Obelisk Blue had a choice of a striped blue and white sweaters, or all blue hoodies with Obelisk in bold white. Zane chose the striped white and blue sweater, while Alexis chose the hoody.
"It's not that bad... it's about what? 18 degrees Celsius?" Jaylin replied as her friends began staring at her as if wondering if she was drunk. "What?"
"Are you not cold, because of your powers?" Atticus asked.
"No..." Jaylin replied, her friends still staring at her. "Okay, I... like wearing light. I'm always active, fighting evil, and what not, so wearing light is a habit of mine."
"Would you like my arms to warm you up?" Atticus teased as Zane quietly facepalmed.
"Na, I'm good," Jaylin replied as if oblivious to the fact Atticus flirted with her.
"Jay, this is the fifth time Ronda hasn't shown up. Do you know if there's anything wrong with her?" Alexis asked, who was being held by Bastion's arm, Bastion kissing her neck too. She giggled. "Quit, that tickles." Bastion smirked, and flipped the hood over Alexis' head. "Hey!"
"So, I'm not the only one," Jaylin realized, sitting up.
"I did check on her, but her door was locked, and she said she wanted to be left alone," Carl said.
"When was this?" Alexis asked, trying to brush her hair down, which was already messed up by Bastion flipping her hood over her head. Then, Bastion flipped the hood again. "Bastion!" Bastion chuckled, then his face grew serious toward the girls.
"It was three days ago, I think."
"It's safe to say she isn't sick. We see her in class every morning, though she seems a bit quiet lately," Bastion said.
"I know. She's not even studying with me. I wonder why," Jaylin thought, looking up at the sky.
"I wonder too," Alexis said, then showed a smirk at Bastion. "Speaking of strangeness, what's with you?"
"I've read online that girls like being teased by their boyfriend," Bastion replied.
Jaylin whistled a whew-whew sound, as Alexis smirked, "shut up!" Jaylin burst into laughter.
"You know, if you needed advice on how to woo my sister, you should've come to me," Atticus said.
"I would have, but I believe I heard that when you gave Alexis' ex advice on how to woo her, part of it included placing condoms in the drawer of her night stand," Bastion replied plainly, showing a smirk as everyone burst into laughter and Atticus' face turned red.
"Aw sis, you told him about that?" Atticus asked in a whiny manner.
"I figured that, if I was going to have a new beau, I need to warn him just how perverted you are," Alexis smirked.
"But... I was 14 at the time!"
"You also blacked out for three years, meaning that, in your number of years, it would've been only last year," Zane reminded Atticus.
"You're so mean."
"Anyways, we should go check on Ronda. Anybody wanna come?" Jaylin offered.
"I'm comin'," Carl joined.
"I'll come," Atticus volunteered.
"After hearing of the condom incident, and not telling me? No," Zane said plainly as Atticus crossed his arms and pouted. "Besides, you don't have an invite."
"I'll come," Syrus said.
"I guess that's everyone. We'll meet the rest of you in a few minutes," Jaylin promised before her and the others headed off.
Jaylin, Syrus and Carl walked up the stairwell of the campus to Ronda's dorm room. It was a longer walk, compared to Jaylin's room, but not too far of a walk. The trio eventually made it to the room, and knocked on the door. Jaylin could feel Ronda's darkness behind the door, so there was no doubt she was inside.
"Hey Ronda, is something the matter? You've been locking yourself inside here for five days!" Jaylin called.
After a minute or two, the door opened, revealing Ronda behind. She seemed to be quiet, her eyes not meeting her friends' eyes. She sighed quietly.
"Sorry for worrying you guys. I've been a bit under the weather lately," Ronda replied quieter than usual.
"Are you okay?" Syrus asked.
Ronda shook her head, replying, "my Gra'mama was just reported dead. About five days ago, she went into cardiac arrest, while on the phone with me; she had a hard time breathing. She... had been fighting lung cancer... Anyway, she has not been able to wake up, and the doctors have been putting her on machines and everything. She fought hard, but..."
"Oh my god," Jaylin whispered as Ronda's eyes twitched, watering.
Ronda quickly turned around, and dashed to a box of tissues, blowing against it, then wiping her nose and some tears. She horsed a, "sorry."
"You need some privacy?" Syrus asked.
"I'm fine," Ronda replied, her voice still hoarse, quickly wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "I've been crying for the last five days, so... I'm good."
"You know, the school won't count it against you, if you need to appear at your grandma's funeral," Jaylin said, walking and sitting on her friend's bed.
"I know. My parents are on their way here actually with a white paper lantern to put in front of my room, while my aunt and uncle are preparing the body for cremation. I will be leaving tomorrow."
"We're sorry for your loss. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."
"Thanks," Ronda replied, sighing. "I suppose a little fresh air would help. Staying cooped up isn't going to do me any good, and I'm done crying."
Jaylin and the others smiled as Ronda got up, placed on her sweater, then walked out the door. The trio followed Ronda, leading her to where the others were waiting by the cliff. Ronda had explained what happened to the others, then it became quiet. There was nothing to say.
Ronda sat, facing the school as Jaylin combed her hair. She smiled and said, "Gran'mama enjoyed cooking. Taught me how to make chocolates for all the kids at school for Valentines Day. She was a bit out there too." There was a silent pause, Ronda biting the corner of her lip. "She hated Chemotherapy... every time she'd go in for it, she'd complain almost nonstop." A smile appeared from her lips.
"And you complain about what I wear in the wrong seasons?" Chazz smirked directly at Jaylin. Her and the rest stood quiet, Chazz changing his smirk to a frown. "Why the silence?"
"My gran'mama just passed away," Ronda replied quietly.
"Oh... s-sorry," Chazz replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine. I'll be leaving tomorrow for the funeral, picking bones and all, so I'm just hanging out with my friends before my leave."
"Th-That's good... You're probably doing better than me when my parents passed away."
"What'd you do?" Ronda asked, looking up.
"I ran away from home... not far, since I was 7. My brothers found me, then we moved to where we currently live. The inheritance was hell, but I didn't know any better. They gained most of the crap they could get, and the inheritance I was supposed to get was kept by my manager, until I was old enough. That's why I was able to go to this school. Hopefully, you won't have to deal with that."
"Speaking of which, the money for me going to Duel Academy was supposed to be for Gran'mama's Chemotherapy. She wanted me to have it, because she felt 'it would be a waste of money to cure the incurable.' Of course, Mom thinks Gran'mama was just being stubborn," Ronda smirked sleepishly as the others chuckled quietly.
"So, how about a duel?"
"Sure."
Chazz sat down across Ronda, and they both played Duel Monsters. Of course, Ronda won most of them, which aggravated Chazz, and made everyone laugh. Everyone was glad Ronda had come out of her shell for a little while, before leaving. The passed five days were very stressful, and the stress level was finally calming.
When lunch time arrived, the gang got up and walked on their way to their campus cafeteria. Ronda looked out toward Chazz and called, "HEY!" Chazz turned. "Thanks... for the talk."
"Anytime," Chazz smirked in reply. "So, I guess you'll be gone tomorrow."
Ronda sighed, replying, "yep. I should be back in two days after my leave. I'll be able to watch Jaylin deck it out against Zane."
"Awesome."
"Chazz..." Ronda said as Chazz rose two of his eyebrows. "I heard about how you found the stolen keys. Why don't you start training with us? I know you have powers too."
Chazz sighed, then replied, "honestly, I don't wanna know what I'm capable of. I only helped one time, because the Ojamas wouldn't shut up."
"I see, well, I'm starving. See ya later."
"Later."
A/N: I must apologize. I completely forgot about my review challenge. The 350th reviewer is Flypool. I gave him/her (doesn't say the gender on profile) spoilers for my upcoming sequel. Right now this story has 359. Thank you for your comments, and keep them coming!