Alright, after this chapter, the next chapter will be in three parts each consisting of three songs (except the first part, where Kat's band makes a cameo @_@)
Chapter Sixteen
~And You're On In Five, Four, Three, Two...~
I woke up unbearably excited. Tonight was the night I was going to prove my love for Penelope. But with such anticipation, came anxiety. When I woke up at one in the afternoon, questions like 'What if I mess up?' arose in my head and the only way I could settle my thoughts was to pick up my guitar and play. Mom and Asuka had already left for their Friday sphere hunts with Paine and Rikku. After I came out of the shower, I put on a change of clothes and went on a scavenger hunt in the fridge. Luckily, Asuka left something for me in the fridge. I took a few bites of the club sandwich she left while I strung on my shoes. I still had to pick up Amy.
Looking at the clock, it looked like I had an extra thirty minutes on my hands before I should leave. With tonight being the show, I have to look my best. Dad would say that, or maybe Leblanc. But she was a bitch. I went into my room and opened my closet. And there it was. A jacket that had haunted me into using it. It was a black suit jacket, with white vertical pinstripes. The pockets were lined with zippers and the inside was a smooth white material. Leblanc said she designed it as a gift, but I really didn't like accepting gifts from anyone. I didn't do anything, why'd she give it to me? I left it on my bed and I dug through my drawers for the white tie I had. I didn't know how I got it, but I've opened my drawer a few times, and it was always just there. Now, I really needed it. But luckily, I found it.
I'd just keep my jeans on and my black slip ons. They were comfy. I tried the jacket on and it fit quite snugly. It was tight, but it didn't restrict movement. I could tell because I went a picked up and got a little wild with my guitar. I didn't have an amp with me, but I sure felt cool. I put it down and lay my jacket back on the bed. I ran out the door when I found out I had ten minutes to get to school so I could pick up Amy. As I hopped onto my jetcycle and began riding all the way to Luca Heights, I looked back at last night's practice. We were missing one member, but thankfully, Hollow filled in as our bass player. He was pretty cool for such an old guy. Probably a bit older than Dad. It was funny when everyone stayed for dinner and a silent competition to see who could bug Hollow out the most between Sanae and Piku broke out. Because of Piku, Hollow spent almost half an hour washing mashed potatoes out of his hair and because of Sanae, Hollow left the house without noticing that he had carrots in his ears.
The practice itself was fun. Dad and I were careful about our vocals because we didn't want to burn out our lungs before the show. We practiced on the roof again, so we were lucky the wind wasn't all too active. It was one of our most fun practices, seeing as to how we had Hollow join us. There WAS a bit of tension between Sanae and Hollow, because Sanae didn't like math and Hollow didn't like anyone. Although, Hollow did know how to give a good show. He spun his bass around, behind his back, all sorts of things that Dad tried to do with his keyboard. What he forgot was that the keyboard didn't have a strap. Good thing it didn't break though. That would've screwed our performance.
I arrived seven minutes early to pick Amy up, so I had some time to go sneak inside. Although I needed a visitor's pass, Amme helped me out by telling the secretary otherwise. I guess being principal had its perks. I peered through Hollow's classroom door which had a small window in the middle. I saw Amy slumped over her desk as Hollow passed some papers around the desks. Her face brightened up when she received her paper. The bell rang and I waited for her to come out. She passed me by, but I pulled her sleeve to get her attention. "You looked happy," I said. She showed me her paper. Eighty three percent. "Good work," I joked, with a touch of sincerity. "Who's bringing you to the formal tonight?"
"Bah, I'm not going," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Why not?"
"No one asked me,"
"Why don't you go with your friends?" I asked. She just turned to me and smiled.
"Don't have any,"
"Oh come on. I know you must have at least one to go with,"
"I don't talk to people,"
"Does that make me inhuman?"
"Yes, yes it does," she laughed. We exited the doorways and felt the warm sun beat upon us. She lifted her books above her head as a makeshift shade. We began to walk towards my jetcycle and once we sat on it, some kid called towards Amy. I looked over to see some short kid with messy hair with glasses walking over to us. "Do you mind?" she asked. Sanae and Shinobu caught me sitting and waiting and they approached me.
"Hey Kanynt, how're you doing?" Sanae asked her eyes widening. Oh, no... "Y'know, Shinobu and I have to walk home, but our backpacks are kinda full..."
"No," I said folding my arms.
"Thanks a bunch, Kanny," she smiled, tossing her backpack towards me. Shinobu handed me her backpack.
"I'm really sorry," she said blushing. I shook my head. Whatever. I'm in no rush, lady. I could see her arms quiver as he talked. He bowed in front of her with his face blushing and he ran off. Amy walked back calm and cool, only to force me to speed back home.
"What's the rush?"
"I... I don't have a dress," she said. She laughed nervously, but I rolled my eyes. In the end, she will have a dress, she will have fun tonight, and it's the night will end, and she'll never use the dress again. I dropped her off and headed straight home. I got changed into my clothes and held my guitar proudly. Now, I might delve into a bit of narcicissm at times, but man, I thought I looked pretty good. Normally, I wouldn' t care what I look like, but... These are different circumstances. I strapped on my guitar and flung it over my back as I walked out the door to my room. Mom and Asuka were sitting down on the couch in their pajama's watching the news.
"You look wonderful, dear," Mom told me. "Come here," she said. I went closer and leaned over to her. She licked her thumb and rubbed it on my cheek. "You have a little schmutz on your face," she said as she pinched my cheek red. Asuka laughed and I joined in sarcastically. "Now, I want you back before midnight sweetie. And... Don't let your Dad get too crazy, okay?"
"Whatever. I'll be back before midnight. You want me to bring my keys?" I asked. She nodded yes. I placed them in my jacket pocket and walked out the door. I ran down the stairs in a stream of adrenaline. The rush was amazing. I hoped it would last the whole night. I made my way over to Dad's place just to make sure he was ready. I ran straight up to the building and I took the elevator up. I exited at the top floor and made my way to his door. It was unlocked, so I let myself in.
Inside, I could hear Dad asking someone questions. I looked into the living room and saw him surveying the same kid that asked Amy to the formal. He sat nervous, with three of Dad's belt's holding him down. Dad rested his foot on the coffee table in front of him and rested on his knee. "So... Jun... Do you like nuts?"
"Excuse me, sir?"
"Nuts? Almonds, pistachioes, cashews?"
"Err... No sir,"
"What were you thinking I said, private?" Gerard asked. He had the whole military thing going on. He never was serious when he did it. He was always joking when military Gerard replaced dad Gerard. Besides, Dad was a long ways off from the military.
"Nothing,"
"Nothing?"
"Nothing, sir,"
"Good, very good. You know, private, I see potential. You've made it past all of my trials. Even the dairy challenge. No one ever passes the dairy challenge," he smiled. I remember the dairy challenge. It was one of the thing's Dad did when we were bored. He challenged me to it once and I'd never forget what that entailed. He brought out ten large cups of milk and laid them out in front of me. He then poured ten cups of milk for himself. What I had to do was drink the ten cups of milk faster than he did. It was crazy when it started. He gulped about three down when I finished my first. But by my third glass, he made this weird noise in his throat and I laughed, but I was swallowing my milk as I laughed, so I ran to the bathroom and began heaving. Boy, that was oddly fun.
"But I have one more test for you, private," Dad said. He reached into his jacket and pulled out one gil. The small gold coin sparkled in the light and Jun stared at it. You could see the reflection of the coin in his glasses. "I have a coin in one of my hands. I want you to pick which hand has the coin. If you guess wrong, I'll slap you,"
"Honey, I don't think that's a great idea," Rikku said peering her head out of Amy's door. I peered inside to see her fixing up Amy's hair with some... new fangled device or something.
"Don't worry, dear. I'm just playing with him, that's all," Dad said giving Jun a cold stare. He pointed his finger accusingly at Jun.
"I swear to CLOUD, that if you touch my daughter in anyway uncomfortable, I will use my fist to rip out your fifth vertabrae. You got that, punk?" he asked. Jun nodded. I thought the kid was gonna cry. "Good. Here," he said handing Jun a fifty. "Treat her to a nice dinner before you go," he said with a wide smile on his face. Dad was unpredicatble. I thought he was going to break out the black suit and red tie for the ocassion, but he wore a jacket with different colors in a plaid pattern. He wore black suit pants and leather shoes. On the inside, he wore a pink tie with a black shirt.
Sanae and Shinobu stepped out of their rooms blushing. Not that they were embarassed though. I guess they just didn't feel comfortable in their dresses. They didn't look too bad. I thought they were as nice looking as a brother could think of his sisters. Sanae was wearing a scarlett dress that looked as smooth as velvet. Shinobu was in a light purple dress that cut off at her shoulders.
Ketso came out of his room sporting a black tuxedo. I walked up to him and looked at his feet and then towards him. He was the same height as I was. I stepped back and gave him a playful punch in what I thought was his robotical arm. "Wrong arm dude," he said rubbing the spot where I made contact. Wussy. Rikku came out in a small black number. She looked great. I mean... As great as a nephew would think of his aunt. Or stepmother. "You look great Mom," Ketso said almost glaring.
"She sure does, Oedipus. Now, kill your father and claim your spot on the throne," I joked. Shinobu was the only one who understood, unfortunately. Whatever. I had a nice laugh, that's for sure.
"You look good too, sweetie. Here," she said walking towards Ketso in what seemed like a quick glide across the floor. She even let her hair down. All the way. I guess even the chaparone's needed to dress up too. She licked her thumb and began rubbing Ketso's cheek. "You have a little schumtz on your cheek, honey," she said pinching his cheeks. Dad finished untying Jun from the chair and he stretched himself out as Ketso went out the door to pick up Megan. I gave him a pat on the back for good luck. I didn't want the boogieman to attack him in the dark.
I sat between Sanae and Shinobu as Amy preceded towards us. She wore a dark orange dress that sparkled in the lights. Her hair was put into curled ponytails that looked elegant. She blushed at us as she stepped towards Jun who was about to fall backwards on the ground from a nosebleed. She did look pretty. I guess. Whatever. "So Amy's the only one with a date?" I asked the two as Jun made conversation with Amy and Dad was having a quick check up from Rikku.
"I'm only going because I was on the coordinating team," Sanae said closing her eyes in a dignified manner. "Besides. I'm too busy for a date,"
"I just wanted to serve punch," Shinobu said with a lax smile on her face.
"Both of you sure did dress up for the occasion for no apparent reason then, right?" I asked before getting a punch in the back of the head from one of them. I had the sneaking suspicion it was Sanae. I opened my eyes to see her folding her arms.
"I'm meeting my date there," Sanae said. "I just couldn't tell Dad. I don't know how he'd handle it," she said ignoring my pain.
"Who is it?"
"Not telling," she said. Shinobu leaned on my shoulder and whispered into my ear.
"It's Silver,"she said giggling. That was a shock. Like... Wow. Silver. Dad'd freak. We were finally ready to go. I helped Dad pack the keyboard into the band van where all of us sat comfortable until we got to school. Holy crap, this was it.
-End Chapter-
