And here is the opening chapter of the second special story, which is the first special which ties directly into the overall story of the Duel Force. Excitement, adventure, romance, and a story that I couldn't stretch out into a full book, this special has everything! So give it a read, and enjoy!
Chapter OneLife Just Really Sucks Sometimes
It was finally happening. Finally I’d worked up the courage to make the biggest move of my life to date. I was nervous, so much so that I was beginning to sweat. I was more afraid today then I’d ever been before, throughout every life and death battle that I'd ever fought. I swallowed and sighed a deep sigh, then I turned to the figure sitting in the bus seat next to me. Karen looked back at me and smiled. “What are you thinkin’ about?” she asked.
“Well,” I said, “that one movie’s coming out tomorrow.”
“The one with the-.”
“Yeah,” I choked out, “that one. And well, I was wondering if you wanted to go? You know, with me?”
Her face lit up, “Yeah, definitely.”
I sighed, relieved, “Okay, well I’ll pick you up at six thirty and we’ll, like, get somethin’ to eat somewhere first or something.”
“Sounds good.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
The bus ground to a halt, “This is my stop,” said Karen. She got up and walked off of the bus, and started down the street. I watched her play with her long brown hair as she walked, and I smiled again.
Tucker jumped into the seat to my right, his spiky red hair cut short for the first time since I’d known him (he already hated it), and my cousin Jen jumped into the seat to my left. She’d recently returned her hair to its original brown, with only a few streaks of purple and black in the bangs as highlights.
“So,” said Tucker, a mischievous glint in his eye, “you finally asked her out.”
It was the next day, a Friday. I was supposed to meet Karen at six thirty. It was five fifty five. I was standing in my room in a pair of boxers staring into my closet, trying to find something to wear. I’d already given up trying to tame my unruly brown hair. It simply refused to do anything that I wanted it to do. Now I was fruitlessly searching my wardrobe for a single scrap of decent clothing. There was nothing. Just the same old rag t-shirts and faded jeans.
Dammit “I really need to upgrade my wardrobe.”
Just wear what you always wear, said Hiro, who was laying on my bed in his spirit form, tapping his foot and staring at the ceiling. She likes you right? So why should it matter what you wear?
I scoffed. “I’m not really liking your attitude today, buddy,” I said, taking another look at the contents of my closet, “but I hate to admit, it looks like you’re right on this one, mostly because I don’t seem to have a choice.”
I grabbed a black shirt with only one hole in one of the sleeves, and the least faded pair of jeans that I had, threw them on, grabbed my wallet and my cell phone, and the old, somewhat torn up black over shirt that I've always worn, no exceptions, since I was big enough to fit into it, and headed for the door.
I reached Karen’s doorstep at exactly six twenty nine and forty-four seconds. I’d taken my new car. New to me anyway. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice car, an old white La Baron. I don’t have it anymore. For some reason I can’t remember why I got rid of it.
Oh well, it’s not important.
I rang the doorbell. The door opened, but it wasn’t Karen. It was Kimi. This was Kimi’s house after all. Karen had been staying with Kimi and her family since we’d freed her from Marik’s influence. She and Kimi had become like sisters in the months since.
Kimi was wearing a pink t-shirt and powder blue pajama pants, and her shoulder length jet black hair was pulled up into a ponytail. The TV was on in her family room. Her parents were out of town as they often were, and since Karen was going to be out, Kimi was probably looking forward to having the house to herself for the evening. She muttered something in Japanese as she scrutinized my choice of outfits, a disgusted look on her face. Then she shot me an annoyed look and said, “Karen will be down in a minute. You can wait here.”
She left the door open and walked back in, climbing onto the couch in her family room. The stairs were straight in from the front door. I put my hands in my pockets and leaned against the door frame. That’s when a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. Karen had always been the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, and she didn’t even try. Today she’d tried, and not even a lot, and she took my breath away. She was wearing a dark pink spaghetti string tank top under a thin denim jacket, with a short denim skirt and a pink and blue handbag. She’d even put on a little makeup, something that I’d never seen her do. I was stunned. She did a little twirl before asking, “How do I look?”
I frowned a little, “Better than me. By such a wide margin.”
“You look fine. Now are going out for dinner and a movie or not?” She grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door, shutting it behind us.
We had pizza for dinner. And before you say anything about me being cheap, pizza was her idea. I ordered a medium with her favorite toppings.
“I can’t believe you remember what I eat on pizza,” Karen said. “I told you once a year or so ago.”
“Yeah,” I said, “well, I remember a lot of what you say.”
She smiled.
We talked for a while during dinner, about life, about Duel Monsters, about whatever. It was one of the best conversations that I ever remember having. Then we hopped back into my car and drove to the theater adjacent to the mall and saw a movie. I let Karen pick. She picked a horror movie! How many girls actually like horror movies? It was awesome. Not the movie, it sucked. The experience of seeing it was fun, because of the company.
After the movie we walked over to the mall and walked around for a while in the parts of the mall that were still open, talking some more. Then, finally the mall closed and we had to go. I drove Karen home, walked around to her side of the car, opened her door, and walked her to the doorstep.
“See,” she said, “that wasn’t so bad.”
“Yeah, I guess we really should have done that a while ago.”
I’d had the perfect night. At the end of the perfect night is supposed to come the perfect kiss, something that I’d been looking forward to in all honesty. But here I was, at the end of the perfect night seconds away from that kiss, and I blacked out.
I guess life just really sucks sometimes.
Card of the Day:
Cupid
"Played" by: John and Karen
Because wuv!
Next Chapter >>
No comments:
Post a Comment