Chapter 36
The Organization was gathered in the meeting room, all ready for another announcement. "So... what do you think he's going to say this time," Calixa asked Neox.
"Something about Kingdom Hearts probably," he replied, messing with a snow globe Zexion got him for getting an A on a test.
Bàli suddenly appeared in her seat. She must have had her breakfast interrupted for she was carrying a piece of jellied toast. Neox laughed at the site, and Calixa joined in. "Bàli, every time I see you, you're eating. Looking a bit on the cubby side aren't you," she teased. It was meant to be lighthearted, but that's not the way it came out.
Bàli looked down at herself, looking worried. But neither noticed, for Roxas and Xion suddenly took there seats and joined in a conversation with them. One by one the other member's joined, and finally Xemnas appeared in his seat and everyone fell silent. "Members of the Organization, Kingdom Hearts…"
He had already lost the attention of half the room. Neox started playing with snow globe again, Calixa started daydreaming, Roxas and Xion went into a whispered conversation, and Xero started to play with Bàli long hair. Xemnas was preaching on and on about Kingdom Hearts, as most of them had anticipated. After almost an hour the meeting seemed to be drawing to a close, "And so…" most of the members straitened up and listened, ready for the meeting to me be over. "We will have a play, put on by all members except for me, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eighteen because he has a month long mission to go on tomorrow."
"WHAT!" several members shouted in outrage. Xero on the other hand smirked at getting out of it.
"The play you will perform will be 'The Wizard of Oz'" Xemnas continued as if he didn't hear there protest.
Neox groaned. He hated that story, while Calixa's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, I want the part of Dorothy!" she squealed.
Neox looked over at her. "What are you so excited about?"
"Are you kidding me, do you know how honorable it is to be the lead in a play..." she trailed off as her mind went into fantasies of walking down a red carpet with camera's flashing in all directions.
It was interrupted when Neox scoffed saying, "About as honorable as it is to be thrown over by Blackbeard the pirate."
Calixa glared at him. He just rolled his eyes and looking around the room. Everyone was talking about the play with either excitement or dread, "I want to be the Wicked Witch of the west!" Xion squealed.
Neox had the strongest urge in the worlds to say that it would be a part better suited for Larxene, but thought better of it. Bàli seemed to be the only one who was neither excited nor pissed off about it. Xemnas cleared his throat, and all feel silent. "Auditions will be held tomorrow at noon. Be prepared to perform an audition piece."
Neox held his hand up to ask a question.
"Yes?"
"Can I audition to not be part of the play?" the boy asked hopefully.
"No," Xemnas left no room for argument.
"Damn... can I audition to be an audience member then?"
"Keep this up fifteen and you'll be given the lead male role." Neox immediately shut his mouth, "Dismissed."
Bàli teleported to her room feeling depressed. She stared at herself in the mirror, until Xero appeared. "Hey love, something wrong?" he asked her.
"Nae," she gave a forced smile.
"Ok. Yeah, now tell the truth, hun," He said, folding his arms over his chest.
She thought of a quick lie, "Aam jist sad ya leavin."
He wrapped his arms around her, "Don't worry. I'll be back before ya know it."
He broke the hug after a moment and started to walk away. But Bàli stopped him, "Xero?"
"Yes love?" He looked at her.
"Dae ya- dae ya hink aam fat?" she asked him.
"Of course not hun! You're absolutely perfect," he kissed her on the cheek.
She smiled a real smile, "Realla?"
Xero nodded, smiling. "Now... Let me give ya a little... 'going away present~" he suggested seductively. She returned the smile, wrapping her arms around him.
The next day, Xero left early in the morning. Down at breakfast everyone was rehearsing there lines for the audition. "I'm going for the Wicked Witch of the West," Larxene was telling Marluxia.
"I'm going for the part of the Tin Man," Axel said proudly to Roxas.
"I want to be the wizard," Roxas added, then looked at Demyx, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Carful Demyx, you'd injure your brain by thinking too hard."
"That's it!" Demyx said, ignoring Roxas's comment, "I'll be the Lion!"
"Well we already knew that much, your the Cowardly Lion, no brainer," Calixa said.
Demyx rolled his eyes, "Who are you going after Neox?" Calixa asked refusing to touch the oatmeal and apple slices Vexen had prepared for her.
Neox took a bite of cereal, "I don't care…"
"You're just like Bàli," she told him, now grabbing a piece of an apple since Vexen kept sending cold glares at her. "From what I heard, she doesn't care either."
For that, Neox kicked her chair from under her butt, making her fall to the ground with a loud thud. "Hey what was that for?" she asked, glaring.
"My leg spasmed," the boy replied innocently.
They finished their breakfast rather fast, though Calixa had poured Neox's food down his pants as revenge. "Now I have to go change," he complained.
Calixa nodded, "Good. Go change your diaper," she rolled her eyes and was already out of the hallway before he could retort.
A couple hours later everyone was in the hall of empty melodies for auditions. Everyone was rather worried, "Oh I hope I get the part I want," Calixa was saying.
"All right everyone, auditions are about to start," Saïx announced.
A collection of cheers were heard. One by one everyone went up and did there rehearsed audition lines, and most didn't come out too happy.
"Ok we are now ready to give out parts," Saïx announced, and cleared his throat.
"Xaldin Luxord and Marluxia, you three will be extras, playing multiple small parts," none of them seemed to care much, they just nodded vaguely.
"The Part of Dorothy," Saïx continued, and Calixa looked up eagerly, "Will be played by Bàli."
The red heads jaw dropped to the ground. "WHAT!" She shouted with outrage, "How could they have chose her! She probably won't even fit in the costume by the way she eats. She looks more like a fat munchkin."
Most of the organization burst into laughter, at the joke. Bàli on the other hand looked about to cry. "Oh don't be a baby!" Calixa scoffed.
Saïx cleared his throat again, indicating that he was going to continue. "The role of the Scarecrow will be Roxas." Neox doubled over with laughter at that while Roxas turned red with embarrassment.
"The role of the Tin Man will be Axel."
Axel threw his fist in the air, "YES! I got the part I want." Calixa and Roxas glared at him.
"The role of the Wicked Witch of the West will be Calixa."
Neox snickered at the horrified look on her face, "Are you trying to say I'm the witch! I'm way too sweet to be a Witch," Calixa asked.
"Maybe in smell, yeah," Neox teased.
Calixa glared, and Saïx continued like he wasn't interrupted. "The role of the Cowardly Lion is Demyx."
Demyx started leaping for joy like a giddy schoolgirl, "YAAAAAY!"
"Neox, you will be playing the role of Toto," at this everyone laughed.
"IM GONNA BE WHAT?" The kid shouted in outrage.
"You're the smallest, so it fit you the best," Saïx explained.
"This is so-" Calixa put a hand over his mouth, knowing he was probably not going to say a good word since Zexion wasn't around.
"Look on the bright side Neox," she told him, "All your lines will be 'bark, bark-'" that was all the girl managed to say, before she couldn't contain her laughter anymore.
Neox sighed but listened for the next person. "The witch of the North will be played by Xion."
The raven haired girl shrugged and smiled, "Not the part I wanted, but good enough for me."
"The Wizard of Oz will be played by Xigbar." The one eyed man just shrugged, "And lastly, Larxene you will be Aunty Em, the wicked witch of the east, and extras."
"I'm WHO!"
Calixa, Xion, and Roxas fell over with laughter. Larxene looked ready to hurt someone, "That is all. Dismissed." Saïx announced, "Don't forget to pick up your scripts."
Upon dismissal, the four laughing friends ran out of the room, Larxene on their tail. Hours later, Bàli was in her room again, looking at her script and wondering if she'd be able to memorize all those lines. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Was she really getting fat? The blonde stood up and stared at herself sideways, there was a slight bulge in the stomach.
"I 'ave bin eatin fairy large meals," she mused to herself, then noticed what looked like a second chin in her reflection. "I'll just have to go on a diet," she finally said making herself calm down.
Bàli went into her bathroom, and got on her scale. Her weight read 120 pounds, "I'll jist diet until I get to 115 then stop," she said to herself.
Before long it was lunch time. Neox and Calixa were at the table eating sandwiches. Calixa was still laughing at Neox's part in the play. "Will you shut up already? It's not that funny!" Neox growled, though knew that wasn't true. If it had been anyone except him, he would be doing the same.
"Did you take your flee medicine yet?" Calixa continued to skate on thin ice.
"Your pushin' your luck Calixa!" Neox warned, "Besides you didn't get the part you wanted." He was hoping that pointed this out, would deflate the red head.
But no such luck, she just smirked. "That's ok, I get to torment Bàli, while you have to be her best friend. Arf, arf," she mimicked a barking dog again before falling into another fit of giggles.
"Well at least my lunch tastes better then yours," Neox said, finally deciding to hit Calixa's raw nerve to get her to shut up.
Of course this always worked. Neox was currently eating a toasted sub sandwich with salami, potato chips and French fries meatballs, shredded cheddar and swigs cheese, covered with BBQ sauce, while Calixa's sandwich only consisted of turkey meat with lattes, tomato, and mustard. The girls smile was wiped from her face, and replaced with a glare. Before anything else was said, Saïx announced, "Rehearsal in five minutes!"
Neox groaned and decided to go hide. Calixa smiled ready to get her revenge for hat comment, "Come back little doggy," she called in a baby voice following him. "Bàli needs you, there's no Wizard of Oz without Toto." Her reply was having Neox's keyblade thrown at her with great speed, pinning her hood to the wall.
Calixa dragged a reluctant Neox into The Hall of Empty Melodies a few minutes later. Most of the members were already in there looking over there lines. Bàli walked in last, with her hair braided into to pig tales, and a script in her hands. "Why don't we start at the beginning of the 2nd Act," Saïx announced. "Lets have Bàli, and Neox. Larxene, Xaldin, Luxord, and Marluxia you will all be playing munchkins in this scene so get on your knees all of you."
With a scowl all for them got on there knees, and Saïx continued, "Neox you get on your hands and knees," Saïx ordered, "And stand next to Bàli."
After a few moments the scene was ready to start, "Ok Scene," Saïx announced.
Bàli walked forward, looking at the script in her hand, with Neox following on his hands and knees. "Toto… I don 'ink we'rea Kansas anymore…" Bàli read off the script.
There was a long silence that followed, "Neox you have a line." Saïx pointed out.
The boy growled deep in his throat, it wasn't his line it was from frustration and embarrassment. Finally he let out a half hearted, "Ruff, ruff."
Neox walked out of the rehearsal room with a scowl on his face. Calixa followed looking thoroughly amused. "I hate this play," Neox grumbled.
"I think its great, but you need to work on your barks-" Calixa bust into fits of giggles again.
Neox glared but then suddenly gave her a look of calmness, which she didn't notice. The boy walked behind her, and then she finally noticed he was acting strangely. "Neox what are you doing?" He grabbed the back of her hood and pulled her down, before dragging his foot along her hair, getting anything that was on the bottom of the shoe in her hair. With that, he ran off at top speed. "Nooooo! Now I have to wash my hair!" she screamed.
"Nyah nyah~!" Neox taunted.
Over the next couple of days, everyone worked hard on the play, and no one noticed that Bàli wasn't showing up to meals. The blonde Scottish girl was currently in her room standing on her scale. She was quite pleased to see that in her efforts she managed to go down to 115. "That was easy," she told herself. But at a glance in the mirror she frowned, "Maybe I should go to 110."
Neox was searching for Calixa, rubbing his now hurting head. "Where is that girl..." he growled. Her and her damn noogies... "CALIXA! COME OUT HERE YOU COWARD!"
He heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and was expecting to see the red head coming out. But saw it was a rather pale looking Bàli. Neox, for some reason he didn't know, was concerned. "You're not looking too good," he told her bluntly.
Bàli waved him off, "Aam ok," she replied. But a second after she started to continue to her destination, she groaned softly falling quite gracefully to the ground.
Neox ran over "What the? You okay? Get up!" he shook her shoulders, not being careful though.
She didn't respond for a few seconds. He kept calling her name until she slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. "Gevorala?" she asked in Gaelic.
"C'mon. Come to Vexen with me." He ordered.
"Nae, nae, I'm all rite," she said slowly standing up swaying slightly.
"Stop. I am of higher rank than you. I order you to come with me to Vexen, Number Seventeen," Neox said. He had surely picked up things from Zexion.
"I jist gotta dizza spell, musta been somthin I ate," she replied trying desperately not to go with him.
"Now, Number Seventeen. That's an order."
Quite reluctantly, she followed him. When they arrived at Vexen's lab Neox knocked, and then looked at her. "Go in when he answers," he told her then walked away.
Bali waited barely two seconds after he walked out of sight, and then went in the opposite direction. Vexen opened up a second later to an empty hallway. Neox went back to his hunt to get revenge on Calixa, and headed for her room. He walked in without knocking, and Calixa, who was sitting on her bed, looked up at him. "H-Hi Neox," she greeted nervously.
He growled and pounced on her. The two had a wrestling match, Calixa eventually pinned him down. Neox struggled to get her off of him, and she grabbed the waist band of his underwear. His eyes widened. "N-no... Cali don't you dare!"
"Gimmi a reason not to," she said.
"Cuz if you do, I'll get you back!"
She pondered that for a moment then released him, "I guess I'll you off the hook this time."
Neox smirked and flipped her over and sat on her back, "Get off me!" she shouted.
Neox shook his head and grabbed the green waistband of her underwear, "You let me off, but I actually have a reason to do this!" A loud squeal came from within Calixa's room.
Some time later, Calixa was sitting uncomfortably at the table for dinner. Neox was looking quite pleased with himself, and suddenly noticed that Bàli wasn't at the table. Perhaps Vexen said that she was ill, and couldn't come to dinner. He nodded in thought, thinking that must be it. He failed to notice Calixa's hands moving towards him. When he finally noticed, it was already too late. The boy looked startled, "what are you do-AHHHH!"
She gave him a public wedgie. Neox fell out of his chair, making it worse and everyone in the kitchen laughed at him, as the top of his underwear was now hanging out of his pants. Neox glared at Calixa and grabbed his plate of spaghetti, putting it down her underwear. She screamed in terror, then ran form the room, obviously going for ANOTHER shower. Saïx sighed, "I guess we wont be able to do any of the witches scenes tonight."
Neox's eyes widened. "OWwwwww! My butt hurts! Can we skip all the Toto scenes too?"
"No, if we do that, we wont be able to have any rehearsal at all," Siax repleid "Though we might have been able to do that if we still had the witch."
Neox groaned; he should have just let her off the hook. Why did you have to put his food down her pants? He could have gotten off tonight. He stood up intending to head up to head to the hall of empty melodies, then a thought hit him. Bàli probably didn't have any dinner tonight. Maybe he could take her a plate before heading to the rehearsal. He took a bowl of soup and some bread from the table, and quickly left before he could be questioned.
He walked to her room and knocked on the door. She answered after a few moments, looking just as pale as before, but healthy enough. "Hi..." he started awkwardly. It was weird being nice to her. "I brought you some dinner."
"Thanks," she replied giving a fake smile, and took the bowl with no intention of eating it.
Neox walked inside and leaned on the wall, "Um.. you don needa stay," she told him.
"I want to see what you think."
Bàli then took a small sip of the soup, hiding the liquid under her tongue and said, "It's good."
Neox nodded, "Then finish it."
Bàli finally just swallowed the bit of soup because it was too hard to talk with it in her mouth. "I will, jist don like people watchin me eat."
Neox raised an eyebrow, but did leave closing the door behind him. The blonde held the soup in her hands for almost two minutes, just to make sure he wasn't listening. Then went into the bathroom and flushed it down the toilet. She would not break her diet... no matter what happened. What she didn't know was that Neox was still listening outside her door. Just waiting to hear the toilet flush to confirm his suspicions.
Chapter 36. see it hasnt be that long :P