Chapter 18: Inexplicable
The next day, in the evening, all the kongs had gathered again. As mentioned before, the Kong family liked to meet somewhere in the jungle to hang out. This time, they were gathered outside the house of Dixie, Tiny, Kiddy, and Chunky. Everyone was present, except for Cranky and Wrinkly, who were on a cruise vacation.
Donkey and Diddy were walking to the house of the four kongs, although truth be told, Diddy wasn't in the mood to see Dixie again, at least not yet. When they finally arrived, everyone greeted them.
"Hi, dudes!" Funky exclaimed to the two, and they waved back.
"Hi! How are you doing?" Donkey greeted them.
"Hey, Diddy, we're going to play this new game, do you want to come?" suggested Tiny with a set of cards in hand along with Kiddy and Chunky.
"Oh, great, let's go," Diddy replied smiling.
"It's very entertaining, you'll see," Tiny said with emotion.
"Hey, where's Dixie?" Chunky asked.
"I don't know, she was here with us just now," Tiny replied before shrugging. "She'll be back."
Diddy went to join the three young kongs to play cards, while the older kongs gathered in another corner.
For some reason, Dixie was not present at first, until later, she appeared. She left her house and greeted everyone else and, after that, she also joined the group of the younger kongs. Diddy, for his part, tried to avoid making eye contact with her; just seeing her he remembered again the bad moment he went through, he didn't even greet her with joy as he always did, he did it rather barely smiling a little to her.
"Come, Dixie, we're with the new game," Tiny said.
"Okay," Dixie replied.
The five young kongs started playing within their group. Everyone seemed to be having fun... even though Diddy didn't look as cheerful as he always did at a time like this, he didn't even joke Dixie anymore like he used to whenever they played... While she seemed to look at him with some seriousness.
Later, the older kongs also joined them and started playing the ten of them. In the middle of the games, some won, others lost, others got frustrated and cheated, but they never lacked laughter.
"In this round I'll beat you all!" Lanky exclaimed as he placed a card in the center.
"You think so, but Chunky will be a winner here," Chunky replied when it was his turn.
"Well, you'll all see!" Donkey exclaimed in the same way.
The kongs present had a good time in the round of cards they were playing, where without a doubt, everyone had fun in the middle of the competition.
"Hey, Dixie," Funky spoke quietly after a while, who was next to her. "Is it true that you have a boyfriend at school?"
Instantly, Dixie opened her eyes to the fullest at that question. Those who were close to her, looked at her shocked and confused as well.
"W-what?!" she said stammering.
"What?!" said her sister and cousins looking at her with amazement and strangeness.
"Hey, it's not true about Jem- Uhh, no, no, I mean-" she stammered before being interrupted.
"What are you saying, little cousin? Do you already have a boyfriend?" asked Chunky, shocked. He spoke louder that caught the attention of the rest. "Wait! Were you going to say... Don't tell me it's that ugly orangutan with annatto hair that chases you!" he added, frowning sternly.
"No! I meant…"
Dixie was silent for a few seconds, as if Mr. Pinky had asked her a question in class; she had all the expression of not knowing what to say… She even looked at Diddy sideways.
"Uhh, no... Well, not exactly," Dixie replied… with a noticeable forced smile. "I-I mean, it's not that with that boy, I mean, not exactly that... and…"
The other kongs looked at her as if she was saying inconsistencies, because that sounded so strange and surprising to everyone.
"Are you serious, Dixie?" Tiny asked, looking at her strangely. "Really-"
"Uhh, no, no, no! I must go, I must go!" interrupted Dixie, before getting up and heading immediately inside her house. Instantly, she closed the door and didn't come out anymore.
There was a moment of silence, as everyone was still confused and trying to understand what they had heard.
"Orangutans aren't annatto hair, huh?" pointed Lanky.
"What's wrong with Dixie?" Chunky asked, looking confused.
"Diddy!" Tiny whispered. "You who go with Dixie to school... Is that true?"
"Well... Yes, it's true," Diddy confirmed, hiding his sadness as he remembered it again. "She said it herself."
All the kongs present made a gesture of astonishment and were stunned at that supposed novelty.
"Say what?!" Chunky exclaimed, showing himself all shocked, like the rest of the kongs.
"What are you saying, Diddy?!" Tiny exclaimed in the same way. "Is that true?"
"Well, yes... didn't you know?" Diddy asked them.
"No, not at all, we didn't even think about it," Chunky replied with a look of weirdness.
"Hey, that must not be true," replied Tiny. "It has to be a joke!"
Like the others, Tiny and Chunky didn't seem to believe it, nor could they assimilate that Dixie, who had long been crushed on Diddy, had ended up with another kong boy. Even so... they could see that something was not right.
"No, no, no!" Chunky exclaimed, putting his hands to his temple. "Dixie wouldn't be with a boy like that, I mean... she hasn't even told us so much about him! She hasn't told us."
"Let's see, that's very weird! She never told us anything," Tiny added, frowning and placing her hands at her sides. "Even... she said she didn't like that boy at all, and-"
"How come Dixie already has a boyfriend?" Candy asked, looking confused too. "Wasn't she..." she added, looking sideways at Diddy, but she couldn't give anything away in the presence of Tiny, Kiddy, and Chunky.
"Hey, but how did it turn out to be true?" Funky said. "I mean... that couldn't be true," he added, also looking sideways at Diddy.
"Well, my sister will have to explain a lot of things to us," Tiny said, still frowning. "She never told us that."
"That's true," Chunky added in the same way. "Chunky doesn't yet believe that's true."
The kongs continued to play games and also mutter about what had just been revealed, except for Dixie, who had not left her house. In fact... she looked very embarrassed when she left. What was really wrong with her?
A while later, the kongs served themselves some banana milkshakes. Then, the older kongs and, on the other hand, the younger ones met again. In this last group, Diddy was meeting with his three friends as usual and playing cards, but this time, he hardly spoke, rather he was all quiet and serious, so much so that the other three seemed to notice it.
"Is something wrong, Diddy?" Chunky asked, looking worried to see him like this.
"No... it's nothing," Diddy replied, barely smiling a little. "Why do you say so?"
"You look very quiet today," Chunky told him.
"Huh, me?" he asked, trying to disguise. "No, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, we're your friends, we know something is up," Tiny added in the same way as Chunky.
"No, seriously, it's just... bad school day yesterday," Diddy lied, even though the three of them weren't convinced of that answer. "Yes, it is that... I went wrong in a question that the new teacher asked me in class and he scolded me, that's all."
"Wow, that grumpy teacher Dixie tells us about too," Chunky said.
"Hey, and right, how come Dixie already has a boyfriend?" asked Tiny folded arms curiously. "She hasn't told us."
The explanation that Diddy did not want to give, he had to give anyway, although he was not in the mood to tell it in detail.
"Yes, that orangutan boy," Diddy replied seriously and without looking up. "Yesterday they hung out, in fact."
"Yesterday?" Tiny and Chunky asked in unison. "But she told us she had gone with you to the waterfalls," Tiny added, crossing her arms.
"What? We didn't go anywhere; she said she would go out with him," Diddy replied, looking at them strangely. "So really... didn't she tell you anything?"
"No, she told us she had gone out with you," Chunky reaffirmed. "She never named us that other ugly boy."
"But what are you saying?" Diddy asked again with greater confusion. "T-that is... she told me herself and I saw her with him live, seriously."
Diddy was now all confused, in fact, the four of them were confused... The versions didn't seem to fit well.
"We'll have to ask Dixie everything well," Chunky concluded, scratching his head.
"Or maybe really... is she with that orangutan kid?" Tiny wondered.
"Chunky doesn't think so," Chunky said earnestly. "She has told us until the end that that boy was a braggart and that she would never give him a chance."
As they continued their game, Diddy now didn't know what to think. While he was disappointed, he didn't understand the context that the conversation with his friends took, even beginning to find Dixie's reaction strange the moment she entered his house.
Minutes later, Diddy retired from the game and went for a walk near the area. He wasn't in the mood to have fun with the others; he needed a space for himself and to reflect a little. Then, he went to sit on the floor on the sides of his four friends' house, just to spend some time thinking.
"Uhh... Diddy," a female voice called him, which Diddy soon recognized. "Are you... mad at me?"
Diddy turned to look and, to his surprise, it was none other than Dixie. As soon as he looked at her, he couldn't help but remember the bad time he had gone through, although he tried to hide his disappointment.
"Uhh, no, why should I be?" asked Diddy, trying to look confused.
"You know, because I went out with Jemky when I told you we were going to the waterfalls," Dixie replied in a low tone.
Diddy just looked at her and fell silent with hardly any answer to her, so he just looked away a little.
"I know you, so you are," Dixie told him, before sitting down next to him. "Sorry, it's that... Well, that was an unforeseen event."
Diddy kept quiet. He wasn't so mad at Dixie for standing him up, but he didn't know what to say to her now, and he didn't even want to talk so much about it.
"But... I was thinking if tomorrow we could go to the waterfalls, I promise you," Dixie added with a small smile. "Of course... if you want."
Diddy, still with the disappointment latent in him, tried to answer her.
"Dixie, it's just…" he said, trying to be a little honest. "You didn't tell me before that you would go with Jemky, when we had agreed to go to the waterfalls... Or is that why you had told me you didn't want to go?"
"Uhh... Well, Y-Yes... Yes, that's why," Dixie replied with an apparent forced smile. "It's that I... Uh, well, I didn't know how to tell you that and... I didn't know how you were going to take that idea. But yes, if you want, we can go to the waterfalls tomorrow."
"Okay…" Diddy replied after a while, smiling a little. "But we are really going this time, right?"
"Yes, of course. We will not leave it pending, we will go tomorrow. How about going at sunset?"
"Well, if you want," Diddy replied with a shrug. "So... let's go tomorrow?"
"Yes, all right," Dixie smiled back. But suddenly, she began to look somewhat embarrassed. "By the way, don't tell my sister and cousins that the matter about Jemky is true!"
Diddy didn't know what to say again because he had already told them about it, to which Dixie soon recognized his expression.
"Oh, no, you told them," she said in frustration.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I thought they already knew," Diddy apologized immediately. "Wait... but if you say you're dating Jemky, why do you want to hide it?" he asked, confused.
"No, it's that we're not dating, it wasn't true, I-I mean… that wasn't true," Dixie explained, leaving Diddy more confused.
"What?" Diddy asked, all confused. "But... yesterday you said that and that you were going to go out with him."
"Well, it's that... Ah, yes, I left him," Dixie replied in an apparent forced tone and looking sideways. "H-he was a complete braggart; it was not going to be worth it if I formalized something with him."
Diddy got a strange expression with what Dixie was talking about and the way she said it... That only confused him more and more.
"Well?... Good thing," Diddy replied with a confused smile, before being really serious. "Uh, I mean, it's not for nothing, Dixie, but really those kids are not a good choice... Maybe he would invite you to steal jewelry, take those strange lollipops, and do evil to others."
"Oh, no, of course I wouldn't do those things," Dixie added, shaking her head. "That's why I also gave up going with him. So no, I'm not dating him, it wasn't true."
"Well... if you say so," Diddy replied smiling, but looking at Dixie with some strangeness, as if something made him doubt. "Or maybe… has that fool Jemky said something bad to you?"
"What? No, what are you saying?" Dixie replied with the same strangeness. "Well... He behaved well with me, only between times he went out with his bluster, and that's why I left him."
"And... how did you two start hanging out, by the way?" Diddy asked, still looking at her doubtfully. "You never told me that."
"Well," Dixie said, averting her gaze several times. "Oh, yes, from the day I told you, when he told me about their dads and I wrote him those pyramid instructions, that's when we started talking and... yes, it was from that day that we agreed to date and I thought about... give him a chance to see how he would be... But I already left him," she finished with an apparent fake smile.
"Uhh, okay... I guess it was the best thing you did," Diddy replied with a forced smile and strangeness at the same time. "I mean, that fool wouldn't be worth it. And by the way... what did you two do yesterday? Did you take pictures of yourselves at the waterfalls as he said?"
"No, of course not. Nothing really happened with him. Well…" Dixie replied, looking everywhere sideways. "Oh, yes, we just went there for a while and started talking, but you know, he started to behave like a snooty braggart, and there I left him... Even, the date didn't last that long; I left soon after."
"Oh, just as well... I mean, that explains things better," Diddy said with a slight smile.
"Well, I don't think we should talk about him anymore; that came to nothing," Dixie added, still with a forced smile. "By the way, Diddy, didn't you have yesterday... anything to tell me before you left?"
Diddy felt a little acceleration in his heartbeat when Dixie reminded him of that... But he could no longer tell him how he felt; he knew it was in vain, for all the courage he had to confess his feelings to her had completely disappeared.
"Uhh, I think I've forgotten," he replied, shrugging and trying to sound normal. "It wasn't important, anyway."
"Really... you're not going to tell me anything?" Dixie asked again, crossing her arms.
"It wasn't anything important, really. That is... I think it was just a school thing; it doesn't matter anymore," Diddy finished with a forced smile.
Dixie looked like she wasn't convinced by that answer, although she didn't press him any further. There was another long silence between the two; although they were friends, Diddy felt that things were no longer the same, at least for him... And telling her how he felt could already ruin the friendship, much more so now that he assumed she would have no feelings for him.
"Oh, and hey, Diddy... how is your pyramid going?" Dixie asked him after a while. "Have you finished its details yet?"
"Yes, this afternoon I was able to finish it. And yours?"
"I just recently finished it too. And let's see if that teacher is okay with it."
"I hope it's not going to get heavy," Diddy replied with a small smile.
Diddy and Dixie continued to talk as normal, but remained in the same place, as Dixie didn't want to see anyone after the awkward exposure about her and Jemky. Diddy, on the other hand, felt a little better talking to Dixie, even though he saw her as unreachable now and no longer the same with her. He knew he would just have to try to accept it... Although that could cost him too much, and even if he had waited so long for her.
The next day, in the evening hours, Diddy was preparing again to go out with Dixie as she had told him the night before. Although this time... he was not as lively as before. While he was at ease with his friendship with Dixie, deep down... he would have wanted to go one step further with her and have more than just a friendship. But with what happened, he thought that perhaps it was in vain to continue waiting for that, and he even began to doubt whether he could continue to maintain friendship with her normally.
"Are you going to hang out with Dixie today?" Donkey asked Diddy as he walked out the door.
"Yes, she had told me to go to the waterfalls today."
"After standing you up two days ago?" Donkey asked, arms crossed.
"She told me we could go today," he replied with a shrug. "And of course, this time it will be a normal hanging out as always."
"Well?" Donkey replied with a look of strangeness. "And... won't you say anything to her anymore, will you?"
"No, now for what, it's in vain," Diddy said with a shrugged and lowered gaze. "Better to leave things there; it will be the best after all."
Donkey continued to look with the same expression at Diddy as he watched him leave the house.
Diddy left and went to the same place where he had gathered with Dixie two days ago, the same place where she had given him that unexpected and inexplicable news.
This time, Diddy was no longer as nervous as last time. He was convinced that he would go out with Dixie as friends, like they had hung out normally on several previous occasions. Obviously, he also had nothing planned to say or what to do with Dixie. It was as if he would only accompany her so as not to leave the plan pending, and he was not so excited either.
Diddy was a few meters away from the place to meet Dixie. This time, she had already arrived first and was present at the place, but suddenly... Diddy was confused by what he saw, and paused for a while... Just like last time: Dixie was present at the site, but not alone, she was… again with Jemky accompanying her? Diddy observed that panorama from a distance without knowing what to do or what to think, since even... Both seemed to go together arm in arm. The two were walking ahead, so Diddy quickly headed over to talk to them.
"Uhh, D-Dixie?" Diddy called her quite surprised.
Instantly, Dixie along with Jemky turned to see him.
"Oh, hi, dwarf," Jemky said as they saw him arrive.
"Uh, h-hi, Diddy," Dixie said with an apparent nervous smile.
"But... And now what?" exclaimed Diddy, quite confused.
"Ahh, right, Diddy, I-I hadn't told you again, but…" Dixie whispered looking sideways at Jemky, "today... I will go out with Jemky just now again."
"What?" Diddy said, all confused. "Hey, but weren't we going today?"
"Were you going to go out with that monkey today?" Jemky asked Dixie seriously.
"No, no, no!" replied Dixie hurriedly, looking sideways at Diddy. "I-I mean, of course not... Uh, look, Diddy, it's that right now... Jemky and I have another date. By the way... Yes, we are dating," she added with a short smile. "Right, Jemky?"
"Of course, my dear Dixie," Jemky replied in a sweet tone.
"Hey, wasn't that a lie, Dixie?!" Diddy exclaimed, still confused. "So, how is this?"
"Wait a minute, did you lie about us, Dixie?" Jemky asked again.
"No, no, I haven't denied it, Jemky!" Dixie hurriedly replied. "I don't know what Diddy is talking about, if you and I were going to have a date."
"Say what?!" Diddy exclaimed, shocked at what Dixie was saying. "Hey, wait, wait, Dixie... Yesterday you told me that today we could go to the waterfalls."
"What?! I didn't tell you that, Diddy," Dixie replied earnestly… and with an apparent indifference never seen before. "Now if you will allow us, Jemky and I have a date to keep."
Diddy was confused; he didn't understand what was happening to Dixie now... She had never responded to him that way.
"Oh, no, Dixie, are you going to do the same thing as last time?" Diddy said, crossing his arms. "So, why did you tell me we were going to go again if you're going to leave with that silly orangutan?"
"Well, now I'm going to Jemky!" replied Dixie, raising her voice a little and looking sideways at Jemky. "And don't call him silly... or you will be."
Diddy was instantly shocked at the last words Dixie said to him, and wondered if she was now behaving like Jemky and his group.
"Hey, what's wrong with you, Dixie?! You yourself had told me that we would go out there today," replied Diddy. "And what happens to you?... By being with Jemky are you going to act like him?"
"I'm serious," she replied, raising her tone of voice. "Oh, and do you know something else?... I don't want to be your friend anymore," she added with an indifference she'd never used before.
Diddy was much more shocked: that wasn't Dixie, not the one he knew and he didn't know what was happening to her.
"But what's really wrong with you, Dixie?!" Diddy exclaimed in a loud voice. "What do you mean we won't be friends anymore?!"
"Well, that: I won't be your friend!" replied Dixie, raising her tone much more. "From now on I will spend all my time with Jemky; I don't need you anymore! Now, you can leave and leave us alone on our date."
"Dixie!" Diddy exclaimed in shock.
Those last words were enough to confuse Diddy much more; he didn't know why Dixie was talking to him that way.
"Yes, you silly monkey," Jemky added, looking at him mockingly. "You heard her, we have an important date, so go to your little house."
"Wait a minute! One minute!" Diddy interrupted firmly. "This has to be a joke, Dixie! You are not like that! Or is something this idiot telling you?!" he pointed to Jemky.
"What are you talking about?!" Jemky replied. "I haven't done anything, monkey! I was just going to hang out with Dixie!"
"It's serious, Diddy!" replied Dixie. "I'll go with Jemky! Now, I would appreciate that you left here!"
"But what are you saying, Dixie?!" replied Diddy much more shocked, before wanting to pounce on Jemky. "Or what are you telling her, silly orangut-"
"Hey, no, no, Diddy!" Dixie replied, interjecting defensively towards Jemky. "Please leave us now on our date, so leave right now!"
"Yes, monkey, I'm sorry," Jemky added likewise. "But Dixie and I have something pending."
"Yes, Diddy, leave us alone right now," Dixie added in all seriousness. "And don't interrupt us, please."
Immediately, the two turned around and started walking to just leave. Diddy didn't even stop to follow them anymore; he was being consumed by a strong indignation and bursting inside: Dixie stood him up again. And, as if that were not enough, he was completely indignant at Dixie's attitude and words.
"Ugh, okay, Dixie!" Diddy replied from a distance. "Anyway, I didn't even want to go with you today!"
Without arguing any more, Diddy turned around and began to walk leaving from the area, taking accelerated steps of anger and indignation... and with much more reason now.
Meanwhile, Dixie and Jemky also went away from the site at accelerated steps and while he was holding Dixie's arm.
"He's already gone," Jemky whispered, looking at Diddy in the distance, before speaking to Dixie. "What a good performance, baby. That monkey was saved," he said, smiling, but then looking at her seriously. "But now: hand us over what was pending…"