author's notes ch 2
author's notes
Chapter: 2 ((i abhor vegetables))
Type: Original
Posted on- 2/22/04 (ff.net short cut)
Bring-briiiiing!
“I got it!” I yelled, to nobody in particular, considering it ws my own cell phone.
Lilly laughed. “Good. I want to keep reading.” She stretched in her chair and looked up. I’d posted doodles over my computer of everyone, from Jen to the demons and back again. “These are sketches of your characters?” she inquired while I searched through my purse.
“Yeah.” I picked up the phone.
“How’s the weather over there? I wanted to fly, and the sky’s clear to me,” It was my boyfriend. He doesn’t go to college with me, for good reason. He lives in Connecticut, but he’s not exactly an American citizen.
I glanced over my shoulder. Damn tiny room. I knew I should have opted for the on- campus apartment, but I was an RA in the Northwest dorms for the freshmen. Lilly would easily be able to hear my conversation, so I replied, “The weather’s not too good here, it’s too windy today to use my model plane. I’m keeping it on the ground, at least for now.”
“Oh well. But you still know what day tomorrow is.”
“The cemetery. I know. Can you pick me up, Yusuke?” My hand was shaking. I felt so vulnerable at the cemetery. But the person we went to see- for the past six years now- he was important to us both. And most of all to Hanna.
“Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean he’s not among us anymore, you know that just as well as I.” I could hear Suke-kun’s voice quiver. He didn’t like thinking about the death either. “At least he died painless. And Johanna is taking good care of the grave site and… him…”
“I know. I just feel really awkward going there. You know what happens when we are together for too long.”
“You have sex?” Lilly called from across the room. I clasped my hand over the receiver and shot her a nasty look.
“No, but I think you want to,” I hissed at her. She’d seen Suke before, and I think she even liked him, despite his Asian looks reminding her of Anime, in turn reminding her of her guy. “Don’t act like a fifth grader while I’m on the telephone. I have to pay respects tomorrow.”
“That friend of yours… Oh, gosh I‘m so sorry, I should really think before I talk,” she exclaimed apologetically. She obviously remembered from last year.
I pried my fingers from the phone’s receiver “I don’t have class tomorrow, so anytime after lunch is fine.”
“…Fine.”
“And, don’t forget your hat. Just because it’s April doesn’t mean it isn’t cold.” Not that Suke needed a hat- he could walk naked in -100º C weather and not freeze. And I’m not even exaggerating. We said our good-byes and hung up, then I turned my attention back to Lilly
“How do you go to the next chapter?”
I leaned over her shoulder. “Just press this.”
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Between Yú and Me
FSP here--- Three reviews in the two hours that I was away from the computer on the first day of posting? Holy crap! I love you guys! Arigatou! Also, since I’m too lazy to go back and change it- I forgot to mention arigatou (or arigato, same word) in last chapter’s glossary. It means ‘thank you’. Sorry about that, Rem. I know you got a little touchy about that in your essay [which I still need to review, as I completely agree].
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“Who’s Rem?” Lilly asked
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “Aside from the fact they’re from the UK, I know nothing else. That, and we have similar opinions.
“And you just trust some random person to review your story?”
I pulled my glasses off, cleaned them, and sat on my bed. “Sometimes, you need to put out a little faith. My readers have faith that I’ll update when I do, and you that I won’t go into your wallet while you’re gone, no?”
“Can’t someone just copy and paste this?”
“Why would they want to? It’s not their story,” I commented. And truly, how could it be?
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Also, this is a ‘scheduled update story’. I will publish new chapters every Tuesday night, sometime around nine EST, but may throw in an extra surprise chapter if I have the time. :-) However, this one counts as tomorrow’s chapter, so don’t expect another until next Tuesday (March 2).
Enjoy!
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I slept really well. As I awoke the next morning, I realized it wasn’t to my alarm. I rubbed my eyes to remove the crust (I could move!) and realized that I was sitting at the kitchen table, already dressed, with a fluffy square of egg sitting hot on a plate in front of me.
“I don’t remember any of this,” I mumbled, rubbing my left eye with one hand and scratching my head with the other.
‘Ohayo! You seemed dead tired last night- no pun intended, so I got up earlier and made you something. Now I’m back in the hole.’
“YOU… CHANGED… MY… CLOTHES!” I bellowed- well, as quietly as I could scream with people still asleep in the house. I have a little issue with people seeing me change, even my own mother and doctor. And a guy? Hell, no!
Yú snickered. ‘I had to change you into pajamas, anyway. Your mother demanded she say goodnight to you after you’d changed. And you were fast asleep when that happened. I tried to wake you. You were even mentally snoring. It was like listening to a woodcutters’ competition with all that sawing!’ He snorted mentally, and I swear, even today, I still lose brain cells when he does this (not that it happens as often any more, but why is beyond the point).
I poked the fork into my breakfast and then stopped. What the hell was I doing? My whole life, really, I’ve been treating this poor guy like shit and liver, and when he tries to do something to help me, I knock him! I was so obsessed with trying to prove him wrong, that… was it really because I was embarrassed that he was a guy? What about him? He’d never asked for this either! All this time, even when I’m so mean to him, he still tries to help. Honestly, it wasn’t him where the conflict laid, it was myself.
I clearly remember what I did next, simply because it was the most mature thing I’d ever done.
I dropped the fork, and hugged myself. It wasn’t meant for me. “Yú, arigatou.”
‘For what?’ His laugh was a little short ended on this, he was clearly baffled by it- but he seemed happy to me.
“You could have done a million things after my parents had gone to sleep… anything, from being perverted to chasing down that demon book and committing suicide. Anything in the world! And what do you do? Make me breakfast. With all the shit I’ve thrown on you, I’m surprised there’s no arsenic in it!”
‘I’m happy for you, Yen-chan. You’ve finally come to terms with who you are. I have feelings, too, you know? I hate how the modern man is portrayed here in America- so insensitive. [laughing] But you’re a good kid- better than some of my students.’
“What do you mean?”
‘Denial.’ he sighed. ‘I went through it when I woke in you, so I have an idea of how you feel. I didn’t want to believe what I was, so I made excuses. You had it easy, you simply took it out on me. I bottled it in for a very long time. When you were old enough to comprehend things, I taught you. It was the only thing to keep me sane. I lived and died for my teaching, Yen-chan. Quite literally, too.’
“What do you mean?”
‘It’s nothing… just a memory I never disclosed to you; maybe when you’re older.’ I immediately started forming some horrible thoughts, with this new insight in my other half, but Yú continued with a, ‘Don’t worry, it’s nothing gory or perverted, just depressing. And I honestly regret it, too. I was, kicked out of heaven, you might say. Amaterasu has been throwing down hail at me for a long time, from her palace in the clouds. I can’t argue with her; how can a mortal debate a god’s judgment?’
“Yú?”
‘Yes?’
“May I call you Yú-kun? I’m using the right suffix, right?”
‘Yú-kun? I would be honored.’
“You’re going to teach me today, right?” I asked, as I picked up the fork and started munching.
‘When your homework is done, Jen. I won’t have you skimping out on your duties. I’ll always be here… you do not need to start today, even if something should happen.’
‘What do you mean?’ I thought (for what, the third time in a row?), as my mouth was too full of food to speak out loud. I immediately discovered that Yú-kun was a flawless chef, just by the first bite.
‘Demons crave magic. They’ll attack anyone with power before a normal person. We’re in danger just sitting here. I know spells to get rid of the smaller ones, though… and it might be good for you to learn from example, anyway.’
I finished eating, cleaned off my dishes, and left the rest of the Japanese egg out, wrapped in tinfoil, with a note for my family. I had a performing arts club meeting that morning, so I was already out of the house before anyone else woke up.
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The first half of the day was no more than uneventful. All of my friends and I met up after the drama meeting; there were ten minutes spare time between zero period clubs and the first bell, and then five minutes to get books and get to class before the second bell rang. I really liked my confidants a lot, we were practically a Spanish banquet. First there was Jeffery, a guy much like a taco. He was crunchy, messy, and just a little spicy, all under a hard, crispy exterior- which most people were a little afraid to crack (even though he was pretty soft underneath). Then Meghan, the paella. Everybody could find at least one part to like about her, and just push the rest off the plate; she was very catholic and agreeable. Personally, I really liked paella, as well as Meghan. It’s so much better when one can enjoy the whole, and not just pick at the parts, but… to each his own. Also there’s Johanna, or just Anne, the spinach salad. She’s got very few ingredients (extremely easy to read) and is just a little overtossed. Finally, we come to our resident flan, Dom. He’s so flexible, no matter how hard you push him, he’ll just flop upright again. He’s also really sweet; that is, if you like flan’s ‘distinct’ taste. Though if you really tick him off, he gets burned, and then you have a big kitchen mess to clean…
And then there’s me, the arroz con pollo- ‘cause I’m equal parts sweet and spicy. My philosophy is: if you want just rice, order rice, or just chicken, order chicken. Just know that if you order me, you’re getting both. So deal with it, or take it up with the waiter.
When talking to each other, we usually just use these names, but it often results in people thinking we’re planning a fiesta. Like at that time, people were wondering when our Navidad party was. And as the bell rung, Salad Anne quickly mentioned, “Oh, Arroz, you know how I love saving Asian artifacts from the trash pile? My mom found me something really cool at a pawn shop last week, I want you to have a look at it- you’re pretty good at estimating dates on stuff.”
‘More like Yú-kun is good at estimating dates on stuff, but…’ I thought, though I said, “Sure, show it to me before lunch.”
The morning went by quickly, as I was pretty excited; Salad Anne’s mom, Mrs. Bear, was the owner of an antiquities dealership, and brought back some amazing things for her Anime- obsessed daughter (and sometimes me, too) and her really awesome bedroom. Anne had those Japanese dividers and everything- a lifetime's worth of collection.
‘The item she brought with her would probably be really cool- maybe a lacquered box, or some glass chopsticks or maybe a boo…’
‘Don’t say, it, don’t you dare,’ Yú-kun cautioned. ‘Yen-chan, don’t think out loud like that. It’s making me very nervous. I really have a bad feeling about this.’
‘Didn’t even know I was.’
‘Please, just thinking about this worries me. I’ll feel better when I actually see it. Humph, five minutes left until fifth period is over. I just want to see it fast, tell her, and breathe a sigh of relief.’
‘But wouldn’t it be a good thing if she had it? Then we won’t have to search far to do some oni hunting.’
‘They also might attack your classmates or family if they are this close.’
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE… p.
The beep signaled the end of the period, so I picked up my things and walked over to Salad Anne.
“So, where’s the ‘stuff’ you had for me?”
“Hold on, let me get it,” se said. Conversely to someone so tossed herself, her bag was set up like a Cobb salad; everything was neatly organized by subject, with not a loose paper to be seen. I was green (spinach) with envy. She pulled it out from a special side pocket and handed it to me.
‘Te... te... teme! Omaewa!’ Yú cursed.
“Salad, can I borrow this for a while? It seems to be from the early 1200’s Japan and I want to look at it further,” I said, trying to refrain from showing emotion, despite Yú-kun breaking down in my head.
“No problem. I know you take good care of other people’s stuff,” she said, as she picked up her bag, tripping over herself as she walked out.
‘…to sonna baka onna wa ningen.. to open the book? Snona kata wa doesn’t even know her left shoe from onna no migi! Hon no oni wa.. are going to follow whatever she wishes, baka amerikajin!’ Yú-kun was beyond infuriated. He’d slide Japanese words into his speech on a normal basis, but when he went full heels in anger, he’d lapse almost completely (Basically, he was angry that “such an idiotic woman was the one to open the seal” and that “the demons would do whatever the book’s owner thought or desired”). This was the first time he’d ever done this to me- and my head was reeling- but it certainly wasn’t the last.
“You didn’t tell me that!” I yelled. Fortunately, everyone else had already left the classroom. “Yú-kun, you’re going to figure out some kind of solution to this, NOW before Salad Head says ‘I’m so happy I wish I could drop dead!’ Do you have any idea what she might accidentally do?”
Yú-kun sighed. ‘Can you cede control, Yen-chan? I want to read this, to see if there’s anything I can do. I’ve never actually read it, and maybe we can find something…’
I sat back in my desk and groaned, looking down at the book. The tanuki on the cover was actually peeling off. I guess Kohaku couldn’t hold down the fort any longer, poor guy. “Just tell me what to do,” I whispered. “I’m ready.”
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END ch 2