There were a few things I had to change and seriously deviate from the game to make things work a little. In the game all of the guys invite Eileen to go out on Thursday evening (with an exception of Alan, who simply says "sometime"); even if she agrees to go to their event(s) though, it's implied she and Wendy go dress-shopping that afternoon/ evening. To compensate, I exercised artistic freedom and gave them a day off to go shop. (Also because I was too lazy to write an entire other day and make the ball take place on Saturday.)
This is also why there are 7 parts to this story: Thursday and Friday are divided into two parts each.
Also, I felt the responses were a little odd at times. I didn't want to change the dialogue too much so I would combine responses and make up reasons for things. There were also points when I felt obligated to include more talk; occasionally such discourse seemed very continuous and in-character, but at other times I felt like the characters were walking, talking dolls that spoke in way too many exclamations. Hopefully everything is smoother :)
Meanwhile:
Louis: I give up. I'll wait until Nick gets back and team up with him to beat the Markordalemon boss. Let's see what's on tv. ...Oh look, Casayo, it's that one show about us!
Casayo: More like my sister.
Louis: Yah. I deserve more screen-time.
Jason: Page-time.
Casayo: Let's just watch.
Jason: Vanilla latte anyone?
. . .
I was at school early again the next morning, though with slightly more sleep. Yet I still couldn’t find Kenneth hanging around in the classroom. Could he be absent today as well?
I sighed in disappointment and took the karaoke contest application form out. “Well, why not? Go for it, Eileen,” I told myself and took out a pen to fill it out.
I was trying to remember my brother’s apartment’s address when a voice caught me by surprise. “Hi there, singing girl! What’cha up to?”
I smiled at Kenneth, who had appeared next to my desk, but before I could respond, the mean cheerleader that had apprehended me a few times before appeared between us.
“Hi Kenny-poo! Did you do your homework?”
Daww, this girl again. She’s always so rude. I must do something or else she might spoil the whole conversation! Let’s try to do it this way then…
“I beg your pardon, but we’re talking here. Please don’t interrupt.”
The girl stared down her nose at me. “Leave the guys from our school alone!” she declared snobbishly. “You’re not from here.”
“Leave US alone, Iris,” Kenneth retorted. She eyed him curiously, and I might have seen some surprise and incredulity in her expression. Kenneth held her gaze and finally she peered at me with a mix of disdain and curiosity before leaving.
“Whatever,” she huffed over her shoulder.
Kenneth turned to me concernedly. “Are ya ok? Don’t worry about her. She’s just incredibly nosy.”
“I’m ok. Thank you for the help!”
A pause when neither of us said anything. “…You asked me what I was up to…”
He laughed, and all tension from the rude girl’s interruption dissipated. “Yeah, What’cha up to again?”
I showed him the form. “I found some info on the Karaoke contest next week. I’m filling the application form right now.”
He glanced over it and recognition registered on his face. “Awesome! If ya enter I’ll come to cheer ya on!”
I smiled. “Thanks!”
He watched me pen in “singing, drawing, reading” under “hobbies” for a while before asking, “So, how d’ya like our school?”
I looked up and thought for a moment. “I quite like it. The people here are nice and supportive.
“I like it here too. I’d like it more if there weren’t so much homework, he said with that cute smile.
“Plus,” I added with a grin. “I was looking forward to coming to this particular school ‘cause I knew your band plays here.” I added a wink for good measure.
His ears turned a little pink. “I know you’re joking but it’s nice. Thanks! You’re a cool girl. Oh! I forgot to tell ya. We’re having a small jam at the Cactus Club tonight. Wanna come?”
I briefly wondered if it was smart to schedule something else this evening but finally nodded enthusiastically. “With pleasure! I love listening to bands playing live!”
“Let’s meet at 7 at the school gate. It’s not far from here, but I need to show ya the way.”
At that moment the teacher walked in and almost immediately started the lesson. At the end of class, Kenneth reminded, “Remember, 7 at the school gate! See ya there!”
I allowed myself a small “yippiee!” He seemed to like me a lot! Plus, I’d be able to ask him about the Tale of the Darkest Star references in their album later in the evening.
On the way out the girl that had interrupted us stopped me again and gave me a little warning glance. “Remember. No dance,” she said to me, quietly but clearly. With that ominous reminder she shouldered past me and into the throng of students heading to lunch.
Who was that rude girl anyways? I believe Kenneth called her Iris. I need to ask Wendy.
“So,” Wendy asked when she met up with me at our usual table. “You met our Miss Perfect?”
I greeted her with a little wave and swallowed a spoonful of fried rice before answering, “Was her name Iris?”
“Yes. She’s a cheerleader,” she continued, confirming what I saw yesterday,” and totally spoiled…” she looked pensive for a moment. “For some reason.” Wendy shook her head. “She’s annoying, but try to ignore her.”
“I somehow feel we aren’t going to make friends with her,” I mused.
“Aww, poor thing,” she said with an inviting smile.
I told her about Iris’s warnings. She listened intently, and when I was finished she stared hard at her rice, pushing one grain around with her spoon. Neither of us spoke for a moment. I wondered what she was thinking.
“I have you though,” I said lightheartedly after a moment. “And I’m sure I’ll make friends with others.”
She nodded absently. Something beyond me was definitely bothering her.
“Wendy? Something wrong?”
She shook her head and smiled. “Nothing really. By the way, have you seen Norbert today?”
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for?” She asked, bolting the rest of her food down. “We’ve only got the rest of the lunch break ahead.”
I laughed, relieved she was back to her usual self and also hurried to finish eating. “Okies.”
But I was suspicious now. There was definitely something that was bothering Wendy. Was it Iris? Or did it regard the dance? What was going on?
Whatever the case, Wendy didn’t give me too much time to think about it. As soon as we were finished she threw our trash away and dragged me around the school halls to find Norbert. Where was he?
“Found him!” she whispered, pointing down a corridor. “Go get him! I’ll meet you in front of the library after afternoon classes.”
She left me on that note and I looked up at Norbert. I couldn’t suppress the smile that followed. He was so concentrated on his game that he hadn’t noticed me yet. Adorable!
“Hi! Have you already beaten that Markordalemon boss?”
“Huh?” he looked up innocently confused. “Ah, it’s you!” he recognized, and beamed. “Yeah, today morning. Gee, he was tough! Took me a few retries.”
“Agreed. I lost count of how many cures I used.”
“Oh! Were you online on Tuesday?” He looked embarrassed. “My grandma felt ill and went to the hospital. I had to be with her there and thus couldn’t catch you.”
“Ah, I see. I’d been waiting for you for three hours or so and grew worried.”
“Gee! I’m terribly sorry! Hope you aren’t mad at me!”
I shook my head and smiled. “I completely understand. Family comes first. How was she?”
“It was just a dizzy spell, thank goodness. She’s all better now. My older brother is staying at home to keep an eye on her.”
I thought about how I hadn’t seen Nick since he left the cafe on Tuesday and asked, “Would your brother happen to be Nick Ames?”
Norbert was surprised by this. “Yeah! How do you know him?”
“He and my brother share an apartment and car,” I explained. “He seemed really worried when he left. I hope your grandmother gets better soon!”
He smiled apologetically. “Thanks. I feel bad I can’t do more for her. She’s volunteered to play a few rounds with me before when Nick’s not home.” A few moments passed. “Oh, by the way, do you like fighting games?”
I grinned. “I love them! I’m getting better and better at those combos!” I laughed. “Though, that isn’t saying much because I’m still pretty terrible at them.”
He laughed as well and the mood brightened as well. “If you want I can give you a lesson or two? What about a visit to the game arcade? Let’s say today afternoon? I do want to see a girl gamer in action!”
“Okay! I hope to defeat you in three moves,” I added jokingly.
“Challenge accepted!” The bell rang at that moment and he closed his laptop. “See you in the afternoon then! I’ll meet you in front of the school gate!”
I smiled as I headed into class. Woohohoho! Did it mean a date?
My mood sobered a little after that. Would I have time to play a few rounds with Norbert before heading to dinner with Curtis and the football team and then meet Kenneth back at school to see his band preform? Hopefully so.
By the time I was going to the library to consult with Wendy, I was feeling almost guilty. But it couldn’t hold my mood for long. It was only early afternoon and I still had to see Alan.
Wendy greeted me with a wide smile, all traces of her former worry gone. “Ready to meet Alan?”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I said, remembering the previous evening. I held my sketchbook tightly.
“Meanwhile, I’ll go turn in that karaoke contest application for you,” Wendy offered as we neared the library.
“Good idea. Thanks!”
“Don’t mention it,” she said with a patient smile. “Let’s go then.”
I hesitated before entering. “I hope we won’t meet Iris…”
“Huh?” She smiled and patted me comfortingly. “Still afraid of that nosy girl?”
I shook my head in a quick denial. “Nu-uh. It’s ok.”
“Cheer up, put your best smile on and let’s go! You’ll be great!”
I complied and entered into a land of books. I breathed in. Aww, how I love the smell of books. I could spend more time here, I thought, as I deposited my philosophy books into the return bin. But for now…where are you, Alan? I decided to search for a sci-fi section. That would be the most likely place for him, right? Along the way I picked up a few interesting looking books, but couldn’t seem to find anything else.
I spotted Alan typing away at a computer in the back of the nearly-empty library. Web browsers flickered by as fast as the internet at home worked. He seemed busy, and tired, if not frustrated…. should I try to talk to him first? Ack! While I was pondering how to approach him, he noticed me! In a few moments he had joined me by the window.
“Hello again. You seem to do a lot of reading lately!”
I blushed, half in embarrassment at being spotted and half because his voice was just as soft and lovely as I remembered.
“Actually I wanted to check the sci-fi section of the library,” I explained.
“Sadly, there aren’t many books of this kind here,” he informed me.
I frowned. That was a pity.
“However, I’ve got a great deal of them at home. I can lend you some if you wish,” he added and I brightened.
“Yes, definitely!” I remembered that he’d been typing and asked, “I’ve been wondering…Are you working on the next volume of The Tale of the Darkest Star?”
He beamed at my interest. “Yes! Actually, I’ve already written nearly 200 pages!”
“Yeah! I mean, I can’t wait to read it!” I hesitated before asking, “Do you need a beta-reader, by any chance?”
I needn’t have worried. He seemed excited by the offer as well. “Really? I’d love to listen to your opinion before publishing the book!”
“I’d be honoured to,” I replied. “200 pages though! That’s really impressive! How do you find time for writing?”
“It’s not easy, but I enjoy it so much that I can somehow find a lot of time for writing.”
So it was kind of like me and designing and sewing clothes. We just made time in the midst of our lives to get to it. Thinking of sewing reminded me of my sketchbook and I said shyly, “I got into a discussion with some friends last night about your novel…and we had a few ideas for how the characters would look…would you like to see?”
“Of course!” he replied, evidently delighted with the aspect. I flipped directly to the page with our “finalized designs” and to my delight he identified the characters quickly. I had colored them though, which probably made it a lot easier.
“I imagined Adelaide’s hair a little shorter and a darker shade of pink, but I really like these renditions,” he responded. “Did you sketch all these designs?”
I nodded and let him flip through the other pages. He commented on some of them, noting a few in particular. Half an hour flew by without either of us noticing.
“You’ve got a few really great ideas about the clothing styles,” he noted, lingering on a page titled “Lor’ Wedding”. I blushed. I had woken up early that morning with an idea for a potential wedding dress for Adelaide, and simply had to add Sorin as the groom and Turrek as the Head Witness, the alien version of the Best Man, according to Jason.
“This is actually pretty close to what I had in mind,” he said breathlessly, tracing a finger over my background. “The architecture is more elegant in your pictures than it was in my mind though, and I like the touch of Shakespeare you carved into the spires.”
“Thank you,” I said shyly. “Jason mentioned that the they copied entire books of poetry on their walls. I don’t remember that in the book, but I remembered that the aliens believed words from the heart could only be expressed in poetry and thought it made enough sense, at least in this scene.” I flushed with embarrassment. What had possessed me to copy Midsummer’s Night Dream onto the page?
Alan’s eyes lit up with surprise, and his mouth formed a little “o” like mine did whenever someone unexpectedly gave me an creative idea. Alan closed the sketchbook with a pleasant smile. “The duanairi—books of poetry— weren’t mentioned in the first book, but both are true,” he confirmed.
He handed me back my sketchbook, but did not let go of it yet. “You’re a wonderful artist, Eileen. I never thought you could take a few of blots of ink I put on a page and transform them into an entire culture of clothing and their wearers.” He paused, hesitating, but finally admitted, “ I must go now, lots of work ahead and you’ve just given me inspiration for something I’d been thinking about…Will you come here again?”
I nodded, blushing and smiling at his praise. “But of course, I’ll probably have all my books read by tomorrow,” I said, indicating the few books I had picked up.
“You do love books, don’t you? That’s so adorable! Ah—“ he looked away-- Was he embarrassed to say such a thing out loud? “I mean, I’d love to meet you again and talk a bit more. How about visiting the Sunny Cafe after school one day?”
“Of course,” I said, mentally relieved he hadn’t suggested that day. “I can’t wait!”
“Then until then, Miss Hieron, Yiw erjin xhihalla.”
As he returned to his computer to jot down whatever inspiration he’d picked up from me, and I went to check out my books, I realized that tomorrow this time I’d be getting ready for the spring ball…or not? Wendy, where are you?
As though right on cue, Wendy appeared to meet me just outside the library.
“Hey—hey, you’re blushing? I guess the conversation went great?”
“Alan’s so adorable!” I said with a little mental squee,
“Did he invite you to the ball?”
That sobered me up a bit. “No,” I admitted sadly. “Actually, none of the boys said anything about the ball. Did they all forget?”
Wendy was pensive. “I hope our efforts won’t be useless.”
I closed my eyes for a mini pep talk. Even if our efforts were for naught, it wouldn’t do any good thinking like that now. If anything, I had at least met some decent people that I could continue to be friends with. But at this point, I had to keep trying. There was still a chance I could attend a dance as a participant and not just a stylist for once.
“Let’s visit Curtis,” I said finally. He may remember about the ball!”
But when we arrived at the football grounds, neither of us could find Curtis. I remembered that they would be playing in the championship game that day and hoped he was ok. Was I just unlucky that the team hadn’t arrived back yet?
Wendy had gone off to talk to someone and rejoined me presently.
“Have you found Curtis? I haven’t!”
“No, but I met his classmate.”
I indicated for her to continue.
“The whole football team is in another city today. They’re playing in a tournament or something.”
“Ah, it must be that big game he was talking about. They must still be away.”
It was Wendy’s turn to cheer me up. “Naw, cheer up, girl! We’ll wait until tomorrow. Somebody has to invite you to the ball!. You’re too cute!”
I appreciated the compliment. “Thanks! I guess you’re right. There’s no need to worry. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. There’s no school, so One of them is bound to think of me.”
“Exactly,” Wendy said emphatically. “Speaking of the ball, do you even have a dress?”
“Actually No..I haven’t gone shopping for a while.”
“Geez,” she said. “Let’s go and buy one. The sales have already begun.”
“I..uh…I actually promised Norbert to go to the arcade with him this afternoon. Actually, he should be waiting for me now.”
“Go on then, Eileen! We’ll go tomorrow morning,” she said with an enthusiastic push. “Tell me how it goes at dinner tonight!”
“You and Gwen are coming over again?” I asked.
“Just me. Casayo and Louis finally convinced Jason to ask my sister out. They’ll be eating at a nice ristorante out of town tonight. I think Louis is going to microwave chicken pot pie.” She made a face. “Actually, I think I will. He’s burned it every time.”
I laughed. I could definitely see Louis burning food while distracted playing Legacy of Lords
“Do you have any other dates tonight?”
“Dinner with the football team at the Pizza House,” I admitted. “So I guess I won’t be able to meet you at home for dinner. And Kenneth invited me to watch his band play tonight at 7:00 at the Cactus Club.”
Wendy smiled, pleased nonetheless. “Excellent. Go home before you head to the pizza parlour though, if you can. We can find something nice for you to wear to this evening’s events.”
I agreed wholeheartedly, wondering how come I hadn’t thought of that.
“Go now then, or you’ll be late meeting Norbert!”
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