-Chapter XXVIII- Our Very First Morning

-Chicago, Illinois

-March 28, 2012/ 28 First Seed

-6:30 A.M.

-Nicholas

When I woke up, I found myself thinking of a beat that clung to head, at first a tune that I couldn't find just what it was until after a few moments of thinking into it. It seemed unwilling to leave, no matter how desperately I tried to stray my thoughts away from it. But whatever I did, I only found myself listening to the beat yet again in my head, tapping my toes at first. But when I left my room, I found myself humming the beat, and as I continued downstairs my step had a spring in my step, and I just couldn't resist as the urge gradually grew within me.

"All right now!" I said quietly to myself. "I'm walking on sunshine! Whoa-oh! I used to think you, now, baby, I'm sure..." I hummed the small instrumental parts between not realizing that I was progressively growing louder, "and I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door...now every time I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down...'cause I just can't wait till you write me you're coming around! Now I'm walking on sunshine! Whoa! I'm walking on sunshine, whoa! I'm walking on sunshine, whoa-oh! And don't it feel good!"

I continued as I walked to the indoor washroom, walking to the shower. I was so excited to be able to use American indoor plumbing, being raised in Skyrim where the only "plumbing" was typically an outhouse, and a washing basin for bathing. "Hey! All right now! And don't it feel good!" I walked into the showing room, which was just big enough for one person to shower, and turned the knobs, following in close detail how Johnson explained their working. It was refreshing at least to have the warm water run through my hair and down my body. I was so excited. "Hey yeah!"

After I exited the shower, I dried myself off, dressed up again in different clothes made out of some material that was obviously not leather nor cotton. It was much softer against my skin. I wore a white t-shirt and jeans that went down to my heels. And as I made my way toward the kitchen downstairs, I continued to sing, growing louder unbeknownst to me. "I used to think maybe you loved me, now I know that it's true! And I don't want to spend my whole life just a-waiting for you. Now, I don't want you back for the weekend, not back for a day, no, no, no, I said, baby, I just want you back, and I want you to stay! Oh, yeah, now I'm walking on sunshine, whoa! I'm walking on sunshine, whoa! I'm walking on sunshine, whoa! And don't it feel good! Hey, all right now! And don't it feel good! Yeah, oh, yeah, now! And don't it-!"

"Yes, yes it does."

I was stopped short as I walked into the kitchen, not realizing that Saria was already sitting at the dining table in an over-sized shirt and short jean shorts. "Well, I see you're up early..." I said with an embarrassed laugh as I scratched the back of my head nervously.

She smiled. "I take it you and David were listening to more music last night?"

I nodded enthusiastically, "are you kidding? It was...uh..."

"What's wrong?"

"Sick? I think that's the term Wright told me..."

"What's sick? Is someone ill?"

"No, no. Apparently American terms are very unique."

"I think you mean ignorant." she swiftly replied with a smile.

I shrugged, "that too. So have you been listening to some as well?"

She nodded, "yes, but none of that you and Johnson enjoy, I prefer some of Wright's assortment."

I shivered. "Yeah, I'll pass on that stuff."

"I think it's catchy. Wrecking Ball, Timber, The Lazy Song, Last Friday Night..."

"We Didn't Start the Fire, Lady '95, Ghostbusters, Highway to Hell..."

She looked at me and I at her. "We like some strange sounding music."

I nodded in agreement. "Very strange."

"So how'd you sleep? Any strange dreams?" she asked.

I thought about answering this, I didn't want to tell Saria of my dream, let alone my experiences through my dreams in the first place. Especially since she'd force me to Equestria to help the damned ponies... "Fine, fine, although my dreams were somewhat normal. You?"

Her expression abruptly changed into one of a stern face as she got up from the table to the window, watching the streets down below us of Chicago with the shoreline of Lake Michigan northward. "I dreamed I was in this massive castle, running around aimlessly." she said, then turned to me, "you were there."

I walked to the pantry, looking in awe at the abundance of food stored there. Normally it wasn't safe to have that much food at a time because you would have to worry about it spoiling. "Any idea what it meant?" I asked as I reached for an orange.

I turned around and I saw her shake her head, "no, not really."

"Well, perhaps you lived in a castle before you lost your memory." I said with a shrug. I bit into the large orange, tasting the sweet, yet tart juice.

Her eyes opened wide, "yeah! Maybe!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Shh, shh..." I said with a finger to my lips. "Remember the others are still sleeping, too.

"Oh, right. Sorry." she said in a whisper.

"So, did Johnson or Wright say what we were doing today?"

"I think Wright said something about taking you and I to town."

"Any idea why?"

"Getting us used to American culture."

"This is American culture?" I asked as we stood before the entrance into a bar.

"This is our American culture, anyway." Wright said with a smile.

"Liquor and hamburgers..." said Saria.

"Wow, um...amazing." I added.

"Expecting something a bit more exotic?" Johnson asked.

"Yeah, a bit."

"Trust me, you'll like this much better!" Wright said with much enthusiasm.

"All right...I guess." Saria said uneasily as the four of us entered together.

It was a dark, greasy, sweaty bar full of men both drunk and looking for a fight. Either one or the other, or both. As for the women in there, there were either being hit on and completely ignoring the men attempting to get in bed with them, and the others the barkeepers, wiping spit or blood off of the counters. "Where are we?" I asked Wright.

He patted me on the back before making his way to a brunette barkeeper woman. "Follow me." he said as he walked across the bar. The various men looked at Wright and Johnson and nodded in their direction, and then saw me and Saria following them and gave us glares that were intimidating at the least. I smiled and waved, but I don't that helped my case as they struck the cue ball on their pool table with their pool sticks.

"Hey, Claire." Johnson said with a friendly smile, which she returned.

"Hi David." she said. "What'll it be today, fellas?"

"How about the usual for me?" said Wright.

"And you David?"

"I'll just have my usual too." he replied.

"A shot of whiskey and a mug of beer, comin right up." she said before bending beneath the counter to fetch the glasses for their drinks.

"So what are we doing here?" Saria asked me.

"Having a drink, I guess." I replied.

"Nick, we're too young to have alcoholic beverages in America."

"Bah! In Skyrim you have to be fifteen! How old do you have to be here?"

"Twenty-one." Wright said over his shoulder.

"Twenty-one? Then what are we doing here?"

He turned to me and smiled. "Glad you asked." he quickly turned back to Claire, "and hows about two guests?"

She looked over me and Saria. "Hi." she said nervously.

Claire shrugged. "You know the cost." she said as she poured Johnson's beer.

"Yeah, yeah." Wright said, reaching into his pocket.

"You're not really going to let them drink at fifteen, are you?" Johnson asked.

"Are you kidding? I've been drinking here since I was sixteen." he replied. Johnson only rolled his eyes at him. He put a couple twenty dollar bills on the counter, which she took.

"All right, so what'll you two have?"

Saria and I exchanged glances, and we both shrugged. "I'll just...have some mead." Saria answered.

"Okay, and you?" Claire asked as she turned to me.

"Uh..." I quietly mumbled to myself. I did not want mead, I've had too much of that living in Skyrim on the day I turned fifteen alone.

"Same as me." Wright said quickly after I found myself indecisive.

Claire set a glass bottle of mead on the counter, next to a mug of beer and and two small glasses of whiskey. "There you go." she said with a smile.

"Here ya go. But let me warn you, this stuff's pretty strong, so take it slowly." Wright warned me, handing me the small glass.

Saria opened her bottle, drank her mead, Johnson drank from his mug, and Wright drank his shot of whiskey without trouble. "Ha! Did you see that, David?" he said victoriously.

"Yeah, yeah." Johnson said with a wave of his hand and a smile.

"Ha! I can do that!" I said, trying my best to sound as masculine as I could. So, I began to do exactly what Wright did.

"Uh, Nick, I wouldn't." Wright said quickly.

"Nick, seriously, don't." Johnson added.

"Nick, really-"

I leaned forward, and threw myself back with the glass in hand in front of me, tossing the liquid into my mouth. I threw the glass down on the counter, feeling just as triumphant as Wright did. "Ah..." We waited a few moments... "ah...ahhhHHHHH!" I yelled. My mouth felt like it was on fire directly from hell. It burned, going down my throat and into my stomach. After a minute or two of freaking out because my mouth and throat were on fire, I found myself on the ground with eyes wide open. "ahhhh..."

"Huh, impressive. Only a minute or two." Wright said, looking over me.

Of course, everyone else in the bar were laughing, causing the ground where I lied to shake. "Well that...uh..." I muttered.

Claire leaned on the counter as I got back up. She had the biggest smile on her face, "don't worry, hun, Jack here made the exact mistake when he first came here."

He shrugged with a nervous smile, "I wanted it to look like it did in the movies..."

"Here, Claire, how about a tequila for him." Johnson said, placing the money on the counter for the drink.

She nodded, "you got it."

So, she set another glass on the counter, short and wider, and poured a brown liquid into it, then placed a slice of what looked like a lime onto the glass. "Try that, Nick." Johnson said, motioning his mug for me to take the tequila.

I shrugged, "why the hell not..." I took the glass, took off the lime, and sipped the liquor. It was surprisingly enjoyable, seeing as how I typically don't really like alcohol in the first place.

"Well?"

"Not bad."

Wright and Johnson looked at each other, Johnson with a smile and Wright with an irritable look. "You just have to beat me in everything with this one, don't you?"

David only smiled and turned back to the counter.