Breakfast went exactly how I expected it to. Nani watched me cautiously, her eyes carefully inspecting each piece of pancake I put in my mouth.
Jumba and Pleakley arrived a short time after we sat down to start eating. Jumba smiled instantly when he saw me and went over to scratch the back of my head. Pleakley just gave his usual nod of greeting, heading straight for the latte machine.
"Morning 626. Little girl." Jumba said.
Lilo smiled at him as he went to sit down, opening up his daily 'Kweltikwanian Times' and reading it. He had the newspaper delivered every morning.
"Uncle Jumba?" I heard Lilo speak, and looked at her.
She had become adapted to calling Jumba her 'uncle' and Pleakley her 'aunt.'
"How does that get here?" She was looking at the newspaper. Lilo had asked me this question recently as well, but I couldn't tell her as I had no idea myself.
I looked back to my father.
"Is simple. I had postage set up via transportation pod in ship. Each morning Jumba receives newspaper. Much similar to how larger girl is receiving paper on weekends."
Lilo looked interested. "There's a transporter in the ship?"
"Eh... yes. But that is being off bounds to little girl and 626."
I knew about the transporter. Jumba often used it to have spare parts delivered he couldn't access here on earth and had the first fusion chamber delivered through it. It was off bounds to me because in the past I would try to sneak random things into it and send them off to random planets to see what the outcome was. Needless to say I got into pretty big trouble for it. After that I could never figure out the password to get into it. I had no idea he was getting the newspaper through it but I knew Lilo was going to get ideas from this.
Sure enough, she looked intrigued.
"Can I see?"
"No. When I say is off bounds, I am meaning it." he cast me a look at that and in turn I gave him a big grin.
"What's going on here?" Nani asked from behind me. "Should I ask why Stitch is making that face?" she added hesitantly.
"No," Jumba responded instantly to that. He and I both knew she still had no idea what had happened to some of her belongings I'd sent off. I had no idea either to be honest.
"Just a glimpse? Pretty please?" Lilo started to beg.
"No, little girl! I am being very busy repairing damage to ship. There is big mess and you could easily fall and be injured. Maybe when ship is repaired, but until then, I am forbidding it."
"But-"
"No buts! Jumba's words are final!"
I noticed Jumba seemed quite distant saying this. I knew why. He hated anything that reminded him of a month ago.
Pleakley remained quiet during this, but he looked between us, seemingly agreeing with Jumba. He hadn't seemed to talk much over the past few weeks and I had guessed it was how he was personally dealing with things.
"Okay uncle Jumba," Lilo responded, looking down.
"No worry Lilo," I told her. "Go to beach today?"
She perked up at my reminder. "I totally forgot! It's Thursday!"
She shoved the rest of her breakfast into her mouth and jumped from the table. I watched this and was about to shove the plate into my mouth when Nani grabbed it from me.
"Oh no you don't."
"Nasasay..." I moaned.
"No, Stitch!" she responded abruptly, putting the plate in the sink. I was quiet for a moment.
"No glitch Naanee," I told her. "Stitch okay now."
She looked away. Jumba did as well.
"I'm sorry. I still..." she trailed off. Before my glitch Nani seemed to hardly care less how many plates I demolished (though she did get annoyed) so this was still hard for me to adapt to. I was so used to eating whatever I wanted. She was so careful now, even over the most basic of meals. "Just... hurry up and head on to class with Lilo. Don't be late again." she told me, kissing me on the nose.
She pulled back and quickly wiped at her eyes.
I stared at her for a moment before I gave a nod and went to follow Lilo, but paused and turned to look at Jumba. He was staring at me, looking slightly anxious.
Of course I didn't forget! I went over to him and held up my arms, and he picked me up for a hug.
"Have fun, my little one."
"Stitch will!"
He smiled and put me back down and I quickly went to Lilo, who had come back to make sure I was following her.
The sky was a dull grey that morning, not the usual calm blue it had been over the past week.
As Lilo scattered off towards the waves, I called out to her. "Be careful Lilo!"
She gave me a thumbs up, pulling out the peanut-butter sandwich she'd prepared for her fish last night, and then dove beneath the waves. I sat down and stared out into the ocean depths.
I hated water so much. Lilo loved it... she basically lived and breathed swimming. I just sank like a rock because of my molecular density. I was heavy. Stupid.
Death was a different fear for me to water. I couldn't remember much of it now and I didn't want to. It was like... nothing. You're there and then you're just... not. It's a strange experience not being aware of your own existence.
I quite often feared the thought that Lilo would not resurface one day because I couldn't save her if she didn't. I trusted her enough to know she was a good swimmer and had been swimming since she was a baby. She knew what she was doing. But she was no match against mother nature. She was so tiny and the ocean was so big. It was hard for me not to worry for her every time she went in.
I'd seen some pretty wild storms here during the two and a half years since I'd arrived on earth. Today it certainly seemed as though one was brewing. After two minutes, I started to tap my foot anxiously. My best friend hadn't broke the surface yet and I was starting to get scared.
I heard a crack of thunder and jerked up.
"Lilo!" I called out, hoping she'd hear me though I doubted it. "Lilo! Bad sky!"
I sighed with relief when she broke the surface and waved to me. I pointed to the clouds and she made her way to the shore. Looking behind her she jogged over to me.
"I heard it Stitch," she told me. "I heard you."
I picked up her towel and wrapped it around her, and we both ducked against each other when there was a bolt of lightening in the distance. She held me close.
"Come on..." she said to me, pushing me gently and we quickly ran from the beach to head to Lilo's hula class.
That was when I realised we had been the only two there.
We'd just made it through the door when there was another crack of thunder outside. Moses had been about to address us, but at that the other girls in the class screamed and ducked against his leg.
Lilo flinched and held my paw.
"Sorry Moses. It's Thursday and I couldn't find Pudge in his normal spot." she tried to explain as water dripped onto the floor.
"Uh... who, Lilo?"
She stared at him.
"My fish," she said to him at that. "He controls the weather."
There was another bang outside. "I think he's in a bad mood today."
Moses just nodded. I could tell he didn't believe her but Lilo was too young to understand that herself.
I just took her towel and helped dry up the water, before opening up her bag and handing her the hula costume we'd both made together a few nights back. I knew that today she was supposed to be rehearsing for another performance. This one was not as major as the other one.
Lilo was adamant that I'd perform with her this time and she'd put Moses on the spot about it, basically giving him no say in the matter, so I pulled out my own costume.
While Lilo went into the girls toilets to change out of her bathers, I sat down and stared at the mask in my hands. It was similar to the one I was going to wear last time. Moses instructed the girls to sit down and I could hear Mertle starting up her usual taunts about Lilo and how weird she was.
It took everything I had inside of me not to pounce on the redhead. The only thing holding me back from it was a promise not to get Lilo into any more trouble.
I noticed they kept their distance. I also knew why.
Nani had fought to get Moses to allow me back into the class after what I'd done when I had my second major glitch. I wasn't aware of what I was doing at the time, but Lilo told me that I'd destroyed one of the amplifiers and nearly caused a fire. Ever since that they'd all been afraid of me.
Nani couldn't tell Moses that I was an alien. But she did tell him that I'd been on some kind of medication at the time that was making me insane. It had worked, but just barely.
Moses was going to refuse, but Lilo had cried, begging him not to ban me and that she needed me. She told him about my brief brush with death and he seemed very touched.
Finally he allowed me back, but on the condition that I wasn't allowed near the equipment any more. The girls, including Mertle, were far more afraid of me than they used to be.
I didn't really care. Lilo was my only concern. I looked towards the girls toilets as Moses started the class and flipped up my ears, listening.
Lilo was taking a while.
I wanted to go after her, but I wasn't allowed in there. So I just had to wait. Patience has never been my thing.
Eventually Lilo did come out. Mertle and the other brats started sniggering at her. She didn't seem to notice, approaching me. She sat down and pulled me into her lap, as she had started doing much more frequently as of late. Moses continued to address the class. I couldn't understand much of what was going on, but Lilo seemed quite happy. I was just glad she was.
It had been so hard for her. She had pent up regret of the worst sort and it often ate away at her good moods. So it was rare for me to see her smiling, especially over the past month.
I knew it was because she had remorse and guilt for how she had treated me. Everyday she told me she was sorry for it, and almost refused to believe that I had forgiven her, even though I had countless times. I wasn't going to ever hold it against her. That hula competition had meant a lot to her considering it was something that her late mother had participated in and I knew how much her mother meant to her.
She had hurt me deeply during that time, but I told her to let bygones be bygones. The main thing was that she understood that I wasn't in control of myself during those times. I would never, ever break a promise to her. When I did I wasn't myself. She meant too much to me.
I smiled when I felt her pushing her chin against the top of my head and wrapping her arms around my stomach, cuddling me as Moses spoke.
She made me feel so loved. I looked up to her and nuzzled her.
"Lilo? Would you like to share any ideas?"
Everybody turned to face my best friend. She spoke over the top of my head.
Mertle rolled her eyes at the sight of her holding me. The other girls just stared.
"I was thinking... what if we host a raffle? We can all pitch in together with donations for the prize. There can be a first, second and third place winner. The families coming to watch us can collect their tickets at the door, then after the closing ceremony is when the winners are announced!"
"Oh that idea is SO lame," Mertle started. "It's SO not go-"
"That idea sounds wonderful, Lilo," Moses interrupted the brat. Mertle crossed her arms and pouted and I just grinned.
"Are you kidding me? She's probably just going to donate gross old bandages and claim they were from a rotting mummy she found or something."
"Mertle," Moses warned.
Lilo was quiet. I reached up and pet her head and she responded by holding my paw. I hoped this wasn't affecting her. I couldn't tell if it was or not.
"I will consider all of your ideas tonight and choose one by tomorrow morning. But for now, I would like you to work on your ideas for your hulas, girls. We have a lot to get done before next week. I will give you twenty minutes and then we will start the next dress rehearsal."
Lilo pushed me gently and I got up from her lap.
She picked up my mask, alongside hers, and held my hand as we walked over to the group of other girls. She sat down but they moved a few inches away from her. I growled in warning, seeing the look on Lilo's face, and they freaked out, stopping what they were doing but still keeping their distance.
Lilo sat down beside me. The girls started to chat about their hulas.
Mertle would just not let up with her attitude. Each time Lilo went to speak, Mertle would butt in with her own opinions or ideas. I knew the girls were supposed to do their own thing with their hulas, but Moses had also instructed them all to work together to come up with a dance for the closing ceremony. Of course, when the other three spoke, Mertle listened, but as soon as Lilo spoke her voice was drowned out by the obnoxious brat.
I was getting quite sick of it and started to growl again. Since they were afraid of me, they looked scared.
"Stitch..." Lilo cooed. "It's okay."
"Ugh... what is it with you and your weird dog lately, freak-lo? It's like you can't do anything without him having to be right beside you. I would have thought he would be banned from being here. After all, he tried to kill us."
Oh no she did not.
"That's a lie!" Lilo retorted, now just as angry as I felt. "Stitch wasn't in control of what he was doing!"
"I don't believe you!" Mertle snapped, folding her arms. The other three just remained quiet. They hated getting involved between Lilo and Mertle's arguments, but they were completely useless anyway. None of them would lift a finger to defend Lilo and defy their precious queen. I was the only one that ever defended her besides Moses.
"It's TRUE!" Lilo was just upset now. After what she'd endured over the past month, she really didn't need this.
Mertle needed to keep her big mouth shut.
I stood up and pulled up Lilo beside me. There was no sense her arguing with a complete idiot. "Iki bah-bah..."
"Stitch..." she started. I shook my head at her.
"Naga el kiyotay. Ingo feebo ta... leega. Mertle baka," I told her quietly.
She closed her eyes and sighed, but gave a small smile at the insult. The girls were watching curiously and Mertle was glaring at Lilo.
"You're right, Stitch," she said, looking over at Mertle. "She is!"
"What?" Mertle asked angrily.
Lilo just stuck her tongue out at her. "Come on Stitch. They can do their own dance at the end, I'll do one with you!"
"Excuse me Lilo? What do you mean?" Moses said.
He had walked over to us and was listening intently to what was going on between the two.
"I want to do my own dance with Stitch, kumu. Each time I go to speak Mertle just interrupts me." she sounded distant.
Moses shook his head. "Mertle. I am starting to tire of this," he said gently. "I have told you that you all need to work together for this dance. That includes working with Lilo and her dog."
"But he tried to kill us!"
"Mertle, in the spirit of aloha, I think you need to be more tolerant of others. Lilo's sister explained to me what went on. It's water under the bridge now. Forgive and forget."
Mertle just sighed but kept her arms tightly crossed. "Okay, fine."
"Lilo come and sit down again. You are welcome to share your ideas."
Lilo smiled and went to sit down. Moses smiled and walked back over to his desk.
I tilted my head slightly and watched the girls discuss their ideas. I was glad to see that Mertle was doing as Moses asked. She looked annoyed whenever Lilo spoke, but that was the extent of her actions. I couldn't figure out why this girl hated my best friend so much. She jeered her, called her all sorts of horrible names and excluded her from a lot of events as well as was a compulsive liar, yet Lilo still tried to be her friend.
It was a vicious cycle and Lilo was very naive. I just hoped as she grew older she would come to see that humans like Mertle could not be changed.
She was too kind a soul. It really made me angry how Mertle treated her. I would love to have torn the brat limb from limb, but I wasn't going to get Lilo into trouble. I'd already caused her enough grief on that day.
Lilo had been about to speak when there was a bang loud enough to make even me jump overhead and a few seconds later the room went dark as the power went out.
The girls freaked out and screamed. Moses had to jump up and tell everybody to calm down. Lilo simply just reached out for me and I could see her becoming anxious when she couldn't find me. I ran into her arms and pushed myself against her.
"Hagata!"
"Stitch..." she murmured, nuzzling against me. She whispered into my ear. "I want to go home."
I knew Lilo masked her emotions well. She always had. But hearing this confirmed to me that Mertle had done more than enough damage for today. I picked up a single tear with a claw.
"Let me kill."
"No Stitch... it's okay," she tapped my nose after sniffling. "Baka, right?"
"Mertle dinko te fabba. Baka dak choota!" I responded.
Lilo giggled and I was happy to hear her laughing at that. It's all I wanted to hear at that moment. I hated Mertle so much. Stupid obnoxious brat.
"Alright girls. Keep calm. We will just have to wait to the power comes back on. I know it is early, but I'm dismissing class early because of the weather, so have your stuff ready and I will call your parents to collect you once the rain settles a little. We will have to continue our dress rehearsal tomorrow."
I yawned. Lilo pushed her head into the back of mine. I expected Mertle to carry on about how much of a baby Lilo was but to my surprise she actually kept her mouth shut. In the darkness of the room I could see her quite clearly due to my vision. She looked afraid.
I grinned. Wimp.
"Stitch... I wonder who will pick us up?" Lilo asked me softly.
I had no idea myself. "Naga nota."
"Nani's at work today. It was supposed to be an important day for her so I don't know if she can get us."
I shrugged. "Wait and see?"
"Okay Stitch."
I nuzzled her and sat in her lap again while we waited.