Ch. 4 The Dinner of Two Friends

written 11/9/21

Red was at home internally arguing about what to wear for his dinner with Silver. A few minutes later, he finally came to the conclusion that this was just dinner with a friend

so he should just go out as he casually looks. "I guess I should at least brush my teeth before I leave." So he went to brush his teeth, and he looked himself in the mirror to

boost his stamina. He then took one last look around the house to make sure that everything was where it should be, which it was. Red's eyes went to the clock. "Oh no!"

cried Red when he saw the late time. "Silver said to meet outside her class at 6pm and it's 5:45!" He went out the front door, locked it, and ran for the Village slingshot where

he shot himself in the direction of the Academy. This slingshot took seven to ten minutes to reach it's destination. Once he reached his destination Red took another five

minutes to find Silver's class. Once he got to the door he peeked in to see that Silver was still finishing up a presentation. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the was a

few minutes early and chose to wait outside for her.

Silver was at the Avian Academy finishing her class presentation. "I now present to you all ultra string!" she said excitedly. "A stronger version of super string!" At the mention

of super string half the class was attentive. "Any questions?" she asked the class. A couple of students raised their wings. "Yes Rose." said Silver calling on the first student to

raise her wing. "What makes it so much stronger than super string?" inquired Rose. "Great question Rose." replied Silver. "It's the same design, but the only difference is the

ultra string is reinforced with metal wire rapped around on the outside." "Oh that's pretty cool." said the student known as Rose. "Well, that's about it for me." said Silver

looking at the clock. Then the bell rang and everyone began to depart as Silver started packing her bag. She looked at the clock again once she was packed up. "Oh no, I've

got five minutes." she said. She ran out the doors and bumped into Red. "Oh Red I'm sorry." said Silver. "I hope you haven't been waiting out here for too long." "Don't worry

about it Silver." said Red reassuring her. "I've only been out here for three to five minutes." "Thank goodness." said Silver. "Oh and Red do you mind if we stop by my place

because I need to drop off my backpack and maybe clean up myself a little bit. "Sure." replied Red and the two of them walked over to the slingshot pointing at the village.

"Also don't worry about cleaning up that much because you already look good as you are." he added once they were both in the air. "Thank you for the compliment Red." said

Silver. "What can I say, I'm just voicing my feelings towards you, which I give you full credit for being able to do." said Red. "How do you mean?" Silver inquired once they

landed in the village. "Well you're the one who's explained to me about how to talk about my feelings in a healthier style." Red answered as the two began walking toward

Silver's house. "I guess you're right." said Silver with slight chuckle. "Hey Red, give me five minutes to put away backpack and do a brief check of myself." "Alright sounds like

a plan." said Red as they reached Silver's front door. Once again Silver felt bad about just leaving Red outside. "Do you want to come in, and wait on the couch?" she asked

giving him the welcoming gesture. "Alright thank you for the invitation." Red replied as he followed Silver inside and sat down on the couch "Okay I'll be right out." said Silver

just before she shut the door to her room. "Take your time, but don't stress about looking good." said Red.

Silver dropped her backpack and started looking around for her brush. "Oh where could that brush be?" she thought and then she looked in the top drawer of her dresser. "Ah

there it is." she said as she located it. She started giving her hair feathers a couple of strokes, and checked herself out in the mirror. "I guess that's good enough for a friend

dinner." she told herself. Then she made her way out to her main room to find Red still waiting patiently on the couch for her. "Thank you for being so patient with me." said

Silver. "I just couldn't find my hair brush." "No worries." said Red with a sigh. "As I said you look good regardless." "Thank you Red." replied Silver. "I guess we should get

going." "I agree." said Red as he got up off the couch and led the way out. Silver followed him out, turned around, and locked her front door. Then she turned back to Red.

"Okay, where are we having dinner?" Silver inquired. Red recalled one of the best restaurants he'd ever been to. "How do you feel about a little seafood for dinner?" he asked

her. "Sure." Silver replied. "Actually seafood is one of my favorites." "Well, how about The Flying Fish." suggested Red. "It's one of the best restaurants I know of." "Alright,

let's go." said Silver. The two of them made their way to the village side by side. "Well, here it is." said Red as they arrived at their destination. "The Flying Fish." Silver

surveyed the Tiki style seafood restaurant. "Looks like fun." she said. The two of them went up to the hostess. "Excuse me miss, I was wondering how long is the wait for two

birds?" Silver inquired. "About 10 min-." began the hostess and then she saw who was talking to her. "Oh Silver, Red, sorry I've got one for you right now." Luckily for the

hostess the party before Red and Silver hadn't shown up anyway. "Is outside okay?" she inquired. "Sure." said Silver. "That's actually our preference." "Great." said the

hostess as she took two menus. "Right this way please." Red and Silver followed the hostess to an outside table with wooden chairs. "Have a seat and your server will be with

you momentarily." stated the hostess and then she took her leave. Red and Silver sat down across the table from one another and began browsing their menus. "Hey Silver,

what would you like to drink?" Red asked. "Hmm, I think I will have a mojito." Silver replied. "How about you?" "Actually a mojito sounds delicious." said Red. "I think I'll have

one of those as well." Silver let loose a small chuckle. "What was that for." Red asked. "Oh I just had a feeling that you would order the same drink as myself and I'm amused

because my prediction ended up being accurate." answered Silver. "Well it's just you always seem to have an eye for the good drinks." answered Red with a smile. "You're

very influential." "Thanks." Silver said accepting the compliment. Just then the waiter appeared before them and set one glass of water in front of each bird. "So can I start

you two off with a couple of drinks?" he asked. "Yes." said Silver. "I'll have a mojito." "Alright." said the waiter who wrote the order down. Then he turned to Red. "What can I

get you this evening?" he inquired. "I'll have the same." Red answered. "Very good." said the waiter as he jotted Red's request down. "I'll be right back with your drinks and

ready to take your food orders." With that the waiter took his leave. Red turned his attention back to Silver. "So what are you going to have to eat?" he asked. "Well the

seafood salad and shrimp cocktail sounds promising." said Silver. "How about you?" "I'm thinking about having the Dungeness crab cakes and the lobster with melted butter."

Red answered. "Mmm, that sounds delicious." said Silver. Five minutes later the waiter came back with their drinks. "Here are your mojitos." he said setting one of the

cocktails down in front of each of the two birds. "So can I take your orders?" he asked as he got his notepad back out. "Yes." said Red and then he looked across the table.

"Silver, you first." Silver smiled. "Thank you, Red." she said and then she turned her attention to the waiter. "I'll have the shrimp cocktail for my appetizer and the seafood

salad for my main course." "Alright." said the waiter jotting the order down. Then he turned his attention to Red. "How about you sir?" "I'll have the Dungeness crab cakes to

start and the lobster with melted butter for my main course." Red replied. "Got it" said the waiter writing down his order. "Anything else?" he inquired. "No thanks." Red

answered. "Alright." said the waiter taking their menus. Once he was gone, Red reverted his attention back to Silver. "So how's life been treating you since we've saved Bird

Island and Piggy Island from the assaults of Eagle Island?" he asked. Silver paused for a moment before speaking. "In what way?" she inquired. "I mean teaching and social

life." he answered. "Oh I gotcha." said Silver. "Well in the teaching section I've been getting a lot more respect from the class such as compliments about my innovations such

as Super String and the improvements I've made on it." "What kind of improvements?" Red asked showing great interest. "Well I guess the most significant would be doubling

the strength of the Super String with a layer of metal wire over it to create Ultra String." "Wow, that's fascinating." remarked Red. "Seems that you're getting more innovative

every day." "Thank you for the compliment." said Silver. "You asked about my social life as well?" "Yes, tell me all about it." said Red. "Well, since after the time that we saved

Bird Island and Piggy Island I've been developing a crush on someone." Silver replied. "Oh, and who might that be?" Red inquired. "I can't tell you his name." replied Silver.

Red gave her a curious look. "I can however tell you about his personality." said Silver. "Then maybe you can think of who he is." "Alright so tell me about him." said Red.

"Well, he has up until recently been a loner and unable to properly talk about his feelings." Silver said hinting his name in the message. "How about you?" "I myself have been

recently crushing on someone as well." Red said. "Like you, I can't tell you her name." Silver arched an eyebrow. "Although I will tell you about her personality and then

maybe you might be able to figure out who she is." said Red. "Challenge accepted." replied Silver eagerly. "Fire away." "Alright, she is the smartest and most innovative bird I

know, not to mention very beautiful." remarked Red. "Unfortunately though, she is also the sister of one of my best friends." Silver blushed. "I have a feeling I know who

you're talking about." she said. "I also have an inkling of who you are referring to as well." said Red. Just then their waiter came back with their food. "Here you are." he said.

"For you miss, I've got your shrimp cocktail and your seafood salad." said the waiter setting Silver's food down in front of her. "Thank you." she said. "No problem." said the

waiter and then he turned to Red. "For you sir, I've got your Dungeness crab cakes and your lobster with melted butter." "I appreciate it." said Red. "Enjoy." said the waiter

and with that he took his leave.

The two birds began eating their meals, but little did they know that they were being watched by Silver's brother, Chuck. "I hope they're not about to what I think they're

about to do." he said. Then Bomb sat down next to him with their drinks. "What do you think they're about to do?" asked Bomb. "Possibly kiss or make out." answered Chuck.

"Maybe Red becoming my sister's boyfriend." "Okay what's wrong with that, your sister will be happy in a relationship." said Bomb. "Not if it's with Red." replied Chuck. "It

would be weird to have one of your friends dating your siblings, don't you think?" "I guess in a sense I can see that." Bomb remarked turning his attention from Chuck to Red

as the two of them started sipping on their drinks once more.

Back at their table Red and Silver were quietly eating dinner together. The silence was starting to make both of them slightly uncomfortable. Fifteen minutes later, after they

both finished their meals, they looked across the table at each other while wondering who was going to be the first to break the silence. Red went ahead and took the

initiative to break it. "So Silver, I guess that I am the guy that you have been crushing on?" Red asked. "Totally." Silver answered with a slight chuckle while blushing. "So

Red, I could possibly conclude that I am the girl that you have been crushing on?" inquired Silver. "Exactly." replied Red who started to blush. The two birds started staring

into each others eyes. Red gazed deeply into Silver's ocean-blue eyes. "Wow, your eyes really project your personality." said Red. "Not to mention your vast intellect." "Ahh,

Red thank you." replied Silver gratefully. She in return examined Red's milk chocolate brown eyes. "Your eyes project your personality as well as your soft emotional center

underneath that tough, angry exterior." Next thing they knew both of them were leaning across the table kissing each other on the beak, almost making out. Then out of his

peripheral vision Red saw a streak of yellow coming towards them. "Ahh shit." he thought. Just as they fully parted from the kiss, Chuck appeared before them looking quite

irritated at Red. "Ahem!" cried Chuck. "What is this?" "Umm…" stuttered Red. "I warned you not to love my sister too much or I'd break every bone in your body." said Chuck.

Just when things started to get ugly Silver rushed over and planted herself between Red and her brother. "Move sis." said Chuck. "No I won't move." declared Silver. "Besides

I'm the one who initiated the loving gesture." "Oh is that so?" asked Chuck with a sound of interrogation in his voice as he turned his attention to his sister. "Yes it is, and

guess what I liked it." she answered defiantly. At the same time Red was getting the check. "Chuck you're a great brother, but you are not Mom or Dad." said Silver who was

now very irritated. "Also I'm not a kid anymore Chuck, and as such I'll make my own decisions. Then, after calming down, Silver looked at Red. "Come on Red." she said

grabbing his wing. "Walk me home." "Alright." replied Red willfully accepting her wing. "My pleasure." Then they began their walk home leaving Chuck behind with his jaw

dropped.

Again lots of work and was briefly injured. Sorry for the delay. Happy early Thanksgiving to all of you!