Time to updart.
Chapter Nineteen
~Consequences, And Their Actions~
My head ached from the fall. I rubbed it gently as I flipped it back into place. I lifted the blanket off of my body and stood up and stretched. Dad and Doc had gotten back to their conversation about exploding drinks and candies. I took another glance at Penelope. She cut her hair short, but still enough to cover her face, or at least her eye. I wanted to press my lips against her cheeks, but if she's in this state of slumber, I couldn't. I put my foot down on the floor, but I missed the sleeping figure at the foot of the bed. It seemed I placed my foot on Asuka's face. She turned over and went back to sleep. Next to her, Mom was asleep too. I watched my step as I walked around the apartment.
I took off my jacket and threw it back on the couch. It was too hot of a morning to be wearing a jacket. It landed close to Penelope, but not too close. Just about right. I guess. I mean... If you were to take a measurement scale from too close and not close enough, it would be in the middle. Like... Smack dab in the middle. Yeah... Amy's door was open and I felt that I owed her an apology and a thank you. She was sitting up on her bed writing into a small notebook. She had a sling on her left arm and the sling held a cast. I really did break it. I was overcome by the guilt. "Mornin, Kanny," she said smiling.
It was amazing how she could smile. I mean, without yelling at me. She was quiet as she erased and continued writing. She closed her notebook and took a deep breath. "Can you put this on my desk please?" she asked. I noticed she didn't take off her ponytails. I guess it looked good on her. I liked it. I complied with her request and sat on her bed.
"Why'd you try and save me?"
"Because. You're an idiot," she laughed.
"...Did it hurt?"
"Not really. I mean, I just had you land on top of me and crush my arm, but that's pretty much it. Why?"
"I'm sorry," I said. We were quiet. "Did anyone sign your cast yet?"
"Well, not yet. You wanna be the first to sign?"
"Yes, please," I smiled. She tried reaching to her bedside drawer, but she couldn't reach it. "Y'need help?"
"I can do it. It's fine," she said as she laid on her stomach and crawled closer to the drawer. She opened it and grabbed an assortment of markers held together with a keychain ring. "What color?"
"Take a guess," I said with a chuckle.
"I thought so," she said rolling her eyes as she sat back up and covered herself with her blanket. I grabbed the black marker and slowly wrote my name on her cast. I did a little squigly line under my name because I always thought it was fancy looking. "Thanks, Kanynt," she said closing the marker. I watched as she placed the ring in her teeth and tried hooking the marker back on. I really didn't want to laugh, but when she drew a small marker moustache on her face in neon green, I couldn't help it. I kept it quiet though. Didn't want to wake anyone else up. She hit me upside the head with her collection of miniature markers. I took it upon myself to put her stuff back, so I did.
"You want breakfast?" I asked.
"Fetch me two slices of toast. And a goblet of something cool and refreshing," she said lowering her voice and sounding like some kind of official. "Orange juice will be nice," she smiled as she quickly reverted to her normal tone. I stepped out of the room and closed the door. "BRING ME AN APPLE TOO, PLEASE!" she yelled. I rolled my eyes as I entered the kitchen and saw Rikku slowly slumped over the table as Dad and Dr. Pliskin were conversing.
"Didja hear that Rikku!? We can make a volcano with vinegar and baking soda!" Dad said with a gleeful look on his face. Rikku nodded and smiled with her eyes half open.
"He's not really an idiot, is he?" the doc whispered to Rikku as Dad wrote down the ingredients to the volcano.
"Sometimes, I really don't know," she whispered. Dad showed Rikku the picture of the volcano he drew along with stick figures of them standing on a cloud. Rikku blushed and kept the picture to herself. Dad was all smiles. I began toasting the toast with the toaster and pouring the orange juice.
"You know, Gerard. What are you interests? I haven't got to know you very well, as of yet,"
"Well, I like... I like Rikku" he said with a big smile. "Music.... My kids... Blitzball...ramen........" he said suddenly growing quiet. The toaster broke the silence. I slowly picked it up and slid it on a plate. I grabbed an apple and I began to slice it into pieces as Dad picked up the conversation. "I'm also writing some stuff..."
"Like what?"
"Well, this'll sound kinda silly, but here it goes. Y'see, a boy,"
"Ketso," Rikku cut in.
"Ketso," Dad corrected himself, "gets sent to another planet by the request of an intergalactic mercenary,"
"Asuka,"
"Asuka. Anyway, in a young man's life, it's only natural to find someway to prove that he is a mature and that he has finally progressed farther than the paternal unit-"
"Ketso wants to prove himself to Gerard,"
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, he goes there and meets a girl,"
"I'm not even going to say anything, this time," Rikku said shaking her head and put her fingers on her forehead.
"But the problem is that he has a girl back home,"
"So basically... He's going to find himself in a situation where his heart and body are tested through many trials in which he will mature and slowly realize that growing up is not as easy as it looks?" the doc cut in. Smart man, that doc. Smart man. I finished cutting the apples and I slid them on the plate. I washed my hands and brought them into Amy's room. We shared the apples as we talked about how last night went and such. A knock came at the door and I looked over to see Penelope peeping her head through.
"Kanynt..." she said softly. "Can we talk?"
"Anything... Penelope," I said.
-End Chapter-
