WARNING: This story contains graphic depictions of violence and other mature or controversial themes/topics that not all audiences will find suitable. Please continue reading at your own risk.
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzT0lTl0HK
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QZnrEgZH1
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qciVO9UIJ
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnkqtp0MUVv
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkLvokvujmz
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHuEKsemLDv
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRg7Sji6KOZ
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfdrpaHhyiZ
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIfGrWPqi7
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbt4Dx3yv8r
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
Something
***
In the previous chapter of Something... with Nydia out of her clique, Xandra was bent on nothing but making that poor child's life miserable. And what better way than to give Rye the order of plunging a ball right into Nydia's face?! Seeing Nydia get hurt was something Xandra and everyone else enjoyed—everyone except Ikjot and a few other good apples of his class. And Xandra's evil would not stop there! During recess, Xandra was once again up to no good in saying mean things about people behind their backs. But the backstabbing wouldn't stop there either! Xandra did the unthinkable and made fun of her own clique members—and to the opposing clique at that!
With a laugh, Xandra teased, "Yeah, Yosef looks like some old, skinny anorexic! Oh, and she's ugly too!"
"She's totally a zombie!" teasingly said Orabel.
Hey, Ikjot... we thought you said those girls would be kind if you behaved differently this time. What happened?!11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLXkQxJmjd
Herbertia was also up to being sneaky. Overhearing how mean these girls really were, she knew it was time to warn Ikjot—only for him to not believe her! This forced Herbertia into making an alternative deal: If Ikjot would stand by and risk her safety by letting her take on Hobbs and Xander, he wouldn't have to believe the news. Desperate enough to keep his loyalty to Xandra, this stopped Ikjot from wanting to intervene, leaving Herbertia to fend for herself—which didn't take much.
Drawing back his fist, Xander told Herbertia, "Yeah? How's about I take your hearing?" And he swung forward.
As Ikjot quickly ran Herbertia's way, he stopped and realized something: Nothing happened! Xander Lennon and Hobbs were just as shocked as he was to see Herbertia remain standing there like a statue! She hadn't even blinked! Woooooow!
Herbertia asked the two boys, "What's wrong? Is that all...?"
As if witnessing Herbertia's awesome strength wasn't enough of a surprise for him, Ikjot got an even bigger one by the end of class: He had to do Xandra and the other girls' homework! Hey, Ikjot... is this a part of the deal when being in Xandra's clique?
As for Marta and her crew, Tiane finished them off, but wasn't going to let them go without strict payback—literally! Stealing her family's only source of money and food, Tiane walked out... but not before making a promise to beat Marta every day she'd come home from school! It looks like Marta is in for more trouble than she bargained for. What will she do now?! Find out or find out not... this chapter of Something!
***
Something11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNvAg5viZk
1111Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMBJvI1TaI
Ikjot Sings
***
The two agents once again stood across the street, waiting for my next move. "We've been chasing this guy for quite some time now..." said the second agent. "Maybe we should just—"
"No!" said the first agent, sternly looking her comrade's way. "Just give up? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Ah?" said the second agent, puzzling and looking her comrade's way.
The first agent told her, "That boy is the chosen one for the paper test needed to work. That is all we have to rely on in saving all of existence!" And she looked the way of our school again. "If we can't get Ikjot to take that test... then all of existence as we know it... takes the plunge."
Meanwhile I was in the cafeteria, setting up my equipment while Xandra and the girls would wait outside. To Xandra, Piper laughingly said, "Wow! I can't believe he actually fell for your trick!"
"But of course..." happily and proudly said Xandra. "It was my trick, after all."
With a laugh, Orabel added, "This is kinda mean though.... We're gonna make him do a homework assignment that doesn't even exist? Then we're gonna rip up the work and throw it away...?"
Also with a laugh, Xandra replied, "Yeah, 'cause we're awesome and he's a loser!"
"I can't believe he actually fell for it! What a dummy!" teased Wynfred.
Helena came to them and asked, "Let me guess... you guys actually went through with that prank? Isn't that kinda mean...?"
Xandra said with a laugh, "I know, right?! He'll lose his whole weekend over this crud! Hahahaha!"
Unamused, Helena said, "Sis... I hate to tell you this, but you're being a total jerk."
Xandra rolled her eyes and said, "Here we go...."
"I'm serious! I mean, here he's doing all these nice things for you, and you're just gonna keep hurting him?"
"Uh... duh? I know he likes me, which is why I'm leading him on—that way, he'll hurt even more when I stab him in the back."
With disbelief, Helena walked off and said, "That is so not cool!"
Piper yawned and asked, "So, why are we staying around for this boring event Ikjot's planned again?"
"So we can pretend to like it, just to make fun of him," said Xandra.
"Wow... that's mean," said Voleta.
Xandra said with a laugh, "I know, right?"
Scratching her head, Wynfred asked, "So, uh... we've really merged the cliques now?"
Xandra said with a laugh, "No way! We just said that so he wouldn't know our real cliques."
"But... he did before," said Yosef.
"Only because I didn't know him to be as much of a loser as I do now," said Xandra. "Now that I see him as an even bigger one, I'm not gonna even let him go on with knowing our real names in a bit."
Voleta asked, "But remember how you said he was useful for his cleverness—?"
"Exactly," interrupted Xandra. "I can't have an equal to my cunning. Besides, it was your dumb ideas to make him join us in the first place."
Orabel said with an unamused look, "But, Xandra, you're the one who wanted him to join us...."
Xandra snootily replied, "Well I'm gonna blame it on you anyway."
"So, what you're saying is... you made a mistake?" asked Wynfred.
Xandra gasped and said, "How... could you say that?! I never make mistakes!"
Wynfred looked down meekly and said, "Sorry, Xan."
"So, we're cutting him off?" asked Orabel with a laugh.
Xandra shook her head while saying, "No, not yet." And she chuckled in concluding, "I still need a good laugh to keep around n' Ikjot fits the bill."
***
Inside the cafeteria were many students from many grades—too many to clarify actually. And all the teachers were there as well. Nydia was still holding the ice pack over her face while she sat alone at one of the tables. Each table had eighteen seats (nine on each side), so anyone could have easily sat with her—but they didn't. Luckily, Kip arrived and sat next to her. He said, "Hey, Nydia!"
"Oh—uh... hi, Kip," Nydia replied.
Before Kip could respond, Rye and Graysen arrived also. Rye said, "Kip, why are you hanging out with Nydia...?"
Kip said, "Hey, I couldn't let her sit by herself...."
Rye protested, "But, dude, this girl is weird!"
"She has imaginary friends, for goodness sake!" said Graysen.
With a sad smile, Nydia said, "I'm sorry, Kip..." and got up from her chair, preparing to walk away. "Maybe I should go—"
"No way, Nydia," said Kip before telling Rye and Graysen, "So what if she's weird? Does that really mean we should treat her like dirt?!"
Rolling his eyes, Rye said, "Hmph... whatever." He looked to Graysen and said, "Let's go sit by ourselves," and walked off.
Just as annoyed, Graysen said, "Riiiight," and followed Rye.
Nydia's mouth shivered while she started to shed tears.
But Kip quickly placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "Hey... don't listen to them. You're not weird; you're just... misunderstood."
Nydia slowly calmed down and looked to him with a smile. "Well... I wouldn't even have this ice if it weren't for you. No one else seemed to care...."
Shrugging his arms, Kip said, "Eh, no one but me...."
Nydia gave him a soft smile in response.
Just then, Yam, Xandy Khúc and Quenishia came to their table. "Hey!" Xandy told Nydia with a wave.
"Hi, Xandy!" happily said Nydia, waving when Yam waved back.
Quenishia asked, "Mind if we sit with you guys...?"
Disappointed that he wouldn't get to sit alone with Nydia, Kip said, "Uh..."
"Sure, no problem!" said Nydia.
"Alright!" said Quenishia, taking a seat with Yam.
Meanwhile, I stood on a stage set up at the front of the cafeteria, fixing my mike and testing it. "Is this thing on...?" I asked. Realizing it was, I continued, "Okay, someone tell Xandra and the girls that they can come on in."
Standing up from her seat, Yam said, "I'll go get them!" and walked to the exiting door.
Still standing outside with the other girls, Xandra said, "Man, I could be at home right now, torturing frogs in my backyard; yet here I am..." and she laughed and rolled her eyes, "waiting for some stupid song...." And the other girls laughed as well. "AH!" Xandra screamed while the door opened behind her, knocking her over.
Yam said, "Psst—" before noticing what she did and exclaimed, "OH MY GOSH! I'm sorry!" while the other girls laughed.
Noticing this while sitting on the ground, Xandra gasped and exclaimed to them, "You're laughing at me?!"
And Xandra's groupies quickly stopped laughing.
Turning up her nose with a frown and closed eyes, Xandra said, "Hmph!" Then she stood up, using her hands to dust off her uniform skirt. With her eyes reopened while she looked down at her skirt and kept up the dusting, Xandra asked Yam, "Is the loser ready now...?"
Yam replied, "Yup, he has the whole stage set up!"
Rolling her eyes again, Xandra said, "Talk about desperate...." She then told her girls, "Hold the door for me as I walk in first."
Wynfred nodded and held the door open for Xandra.
Xandra, without saying Thank you, walked in. Seeing me on stage, she happily gave me a whoop, "WOOOOO!" She raised her fists while cheering, "ALRIGHT, IKJOT!"
I said through my mike, "Glad you could make it, Xandra!" And the rest of her girls would also find their seats soon enough. Once all of them were seated, I asked, "Alright, you ladies ready for this?!"
All of the ladies in the cafeteria, in addition to Xandra and her girls, replied, "YES!" And some of them said, "YEAAAAH!" while others went, "YEAH! WOOOOOO!"
I wasn't going to say something like, I wasn't talking to all of you—I wasn't rude like that. I then noticed Xandra and her girls whispering to each other and laughing, and I highly assumed it was because they were expressing excitement to one another about the performance I was about to do. I felt so appreciated! Hehe!
With a big smile to Orabel, Xandra whispered, "Look at him, he's such a dork!"
"Maybe we should start calling him 'Dorkjot!'" Orabel happily whispered back, much to Xandra covering her mouth and giggling.
I replied to the audience females, "That's great, 'cause this is gonna rock!" And just so I wouldn't seem sexist, I also asked, "How's about the guys up in here?! Y'all ready for this?!"
"YEAH!" said the guys.
I said, "Alright then! This is 'Black Sea' by Sulfur and Skull Heads!"
Everyone cheered in response.
I said, "Let's cue the music, DJ!"
The DJ at the back of the cafeteria was Wende Trujillo, a pretty nice koala I came to know upon my first time at this school. He was a short fellow with the face of someone who'd be a big time corporate leader one day. He gave me a thumbs up and prepared to play the record... before the front door opened.
"Sorry we're late!" Herbertia told me, running inside with 1098 to find a seat.
Watching them search for a seat, I replied, "It's cool!" I laughed and continued, "I can't tell you how many times I've been late for things!"
While 1098 found a seat, Herbertia shouted, "WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU, IKJOT!" and whooped, "WOOOOO!"
Okay, take it easy, Herbertia. I don't want Xandra thinking you and I are too good of friends.... Regardless, I gave her a thumbs up and said, "Alright, Herbertia!" Without any more interruptions, I continued, "Okay, DJ, play the record!"
Giving me a thumbs up while the audience cheered, Wende started playing the record.
Everyone in the cafeteria started cheering.
With the opening instrumental and knowing the way the song was structured, I was prepared to sing when I knew the time was right.... Then I sang, "♪ Keep the sorroooow beyond tomorroooow, ♪" and they all cheered even louder. "♪ On you, let it bestoooow. Don't let it goooo! ♪"
Meanwhile, Xandra continued whispering with laughter to the other girls. While chuckling, she told Piper, "Look at how dorky he looks!"
With a giggle, Piper whispered back, "I know! And do you hear how ugly his voice sounds when he sings?!"
Unaware of their backstabbing, I continued, "♪ We're gonna keep the sorroooow beyond tomorroooow. The Black Seeeea's for all to seeee! Let's all drown in the Black Seeeea. ♪" From there, a drumbeat began within the instrumental, progressing the song's rocking tune.
With a laugh, Xandra whispered to her girls, "Let's stand up, cheer and dance as if we're being supportive, just to make fun of him."
"Right!" whispered Piper with a laugh, and all six of them stood up and did just as Xandra commanded—cheering and dancing.
"YEAH, IKJOT!" cheered Xandra. "WOOOOO!" she whooped.
And with their cheering, especially from Xandra, I was smiling with a feeling of... belonging.
As for the audience, lots of them began cheering because of Xandra, while others just started cheering because of the drumbeat that was suddenly accompanying the instrumental.
In a trance with a smile, Herbertia jigged her head back and forth while clapping her hands to the beat—much to 1098's annoyance. Man, do Effects get pleased by anything?!
I sang, "♪ Scars are all over my snaaaare, so come and mock meeee if you daaaare. I've got no reason, got all pain... look at me filled into blood's stains! Black souls, black hearts, they've all given me the spark to run, to choose my pathway into the daaaark. Someone kill me noooow. Do it how you pleeeease, I don't care hoooow! ♪"
1098 was very disturbed by that verse—you could see it in her face.
I sang, "♪ Keep the soooorrow beyond tomorroooow! ♪"
Xandra whooped, "WOOOO!" before whispering to the girls with a laugh, "He sounds so bad, bleating goats could shame him!" causing them to laugh as well. I suppose with the song being as loud as it was by now, they figured laughs were something I wouldn't hear—and they were right.
"♪ On you, let it bestoooow. Don't let it goooo! ♪" Then I let the instrumental briefly do its thing... before I continued, "♪ We're gonna keep the soooorrow beyond tomorroooow. ♪" And it was time for me to let the instrumental do its thing again... before I continued, "♪ The Black Seeeea's for all to seeee! Let's all drown in the Black Seeeea. ♪" Then I moved as though I were strumming a guitar... even though I didn't have one.
Xandra covered her mouth laughing, leaning down to Piper. She laughingly said, "What a DORK!"
Covering her mouth and giggling also, Piper laughed, "Right?! Isn't he?!"
And I sang, "♪ Have no self-esteeeem. Do not believe in dreeeeams. I wanna diiiie and that's no liiiie. Bury meeee, hear me cryyyy! Darkened, frightened, I've got no liiiife. Part myself from your doomsdaaay... and take my oooown; we join the fraaaay! ♪" And there was brief drum strumming between those last lines... before I sang, raising my tone, "♪ Hear me sing keep the soooorrow beyond tomorroooow! ♪"
With a laugh, Xandra whispered to her girls, "Did you just hear the way he raised his voice?! He sounded like a dying crow!"
"I've heard dying crows and they sound way better than that!" laughed Orabel.
"♪ On you, let it bestoooow. Don't let it goooo! ♪" And I let the instrumental do its thing... and continued, "♪ We're gonna keep the sorroooow beyond tomorroooow. ♪" And I let the instrumental do its thing again. "♪ The Black Seeeea's for all to seeee! Let's all drown in the Black... Keep the sorroooow beyond tomorroooow! ♪"
The audience whooped in rhythm to the instrumental's tune, knowing that's how the band sang it at this point in the song before the next verse would come.
"♪ On you, let it bestoooow! Don't let it goooo! ♪" Then I let the instrumental do its thing again... before I continued, "♪ We're gonna keep the sorroooow beyond tomorrooow! ♪"
Herbertia elatedly screamed over me, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
I sang, "♪ The Black Seeeea's for all to seeee! Let's all drown in the Black Seeee-eeee-eee-eee-eeea. Let's all drown in the Black Seeee-eeee-eee-eee-eeea. Oh, yeah! ♪"
At this point, Herbertia, who wasn't doing this just to make fun of me, was dancing and jigging to the song. To this, 1098 held her own head down in embarrassment.
As for Xandra and her girls, they continued to dance and cheer; and they were making fun of me. Orabel whooped and yelled, "IKJOT!"
"♪ Keep the sorroooow beyond tomorroooow.... We're gonna keep the sorroooow beyond tomorroooow! Let's all drown in the Black Seeeea.... ♪"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftJXuUUbQ8
From there, the song was over, and everyone who wasn't already standing got up—some just whooped instead of clapping—and cheered. I couldn't believe it... they all loved me! Little did I know, however, that many of them really didn't. This was proven by many people laughing while they secretly said mean things about me to each other.
Really, it was Herbertia, 1098, Nydia, Yam, Quenishia, Kip, Xandy, Wende and Xander Nyce who really did enjoy my performance and weren't faking. (Xander Nyce—not confused with Xander Lennon—was a big, tall porcupine with a blonde buzz cut and a frown that dared you to cross him; but he meant well.)
Once again, I didn't know any of the backstabbing that was going on against me.... I told my peers, "Thank you, thank you! You are all too kind!" and walked off stage.
Seeing this, Xandra laughingly told her girls, "Let's go make fun of him!"
They all agreed as Piper said with a nod, "Yeah!"
"Let's!" said Orabel.
From there, they all ran toward me, stopping Herbertia in her tracks from giving me any compliments of her own on my performance. At least her compliments would've been sincere and truthful.
Xandra exclaimed, "IKJOT, YOU ARE SO TALENTED! DID I MENTION HOW FINE YOU LOOK ON STAGE?!"
Before I could reply to Xandra, Orabel said, "YEAH, YOU WERE AWESOME! YOU HAVE SUCH A GREAT VOICE!"
Piper whooped, "WOOOOOO!" and said, "YEAH, YOU WERE THE MAN!"
Before any more of them could compliment me, I finally managed to get a word in and said, "Why, thank you! Thank you all! Orabel, I'm pretty sure you have a great voice too!"
"WHY, THANK YOU!" excitedly and happily said Orabel.
"Don't mention it!" I happily and excitedly responded. "And Piper, thank you too! And Xandra, regarding your compliment too, thank you! But really, this wasn't about me—it was about you! I mean, Xandra, you're absolutely fine all the time!"
Feeling uneasy about a loser like me giving her a compliment, she looked to her girls and replied, "Uh... yeah!" before softly chuckling.
You know what...? I was tired of this. I wanted Xandra to have some sort of romantic affection for me, so I continued, "I'm... sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable—"
Xandra frantically interrupted, "Oh, no, not at all!" She smiled sweetly. "YOU'RE COOL!"
I shyly said, smiling, "I may be cool, but you're the coolest."
"No, honestly, you're the coolest!"
"How's about we're both equally as cool as the other?! Whaddaya say?"
"WOO!" whooped Xandra, raising her arms with fists. "Equally cool it is!" And she offered me her hand for a high-five. "You're the most AMAZING person, Ikjot! WOO!"
"You too, Xandra!" I happily replied, high-fiving her.
Meanwhile, Herbertia, growing impatient, complained under her breath, "Man, why is that stupid Xandra girl hogging my time to commemorate my man on his job well done? That performance of his was amazing!"
1098 plainly said, "Why don't you just go over there and tell him?"
"Because he told me that the students here will make fun of couples."
"Well... not to jinx you or anything, but couldn't anyone make fun of Ikjot and Xandra right now for talking this long?"
"She's with other girls though. No one would think multiple girls at one time like Ikj—wait... THAT'S IT!"
1098 curiously raised a brow. "What's it?"
"If I hang around Ikjot with you at my side, people won't suspect he and I like each other!"
Accompanied by Xander Lennon, Hobbs passed by Herbertia and taunted, "Lying to someone again, liar?"
Herbertia replied, "Nah..." before shaking her fist, "but I could be truthful about how hard I wanna hit you."
Remembering the incident at recess, Hobbs Sydnor and Xander Lennon immediately ran off.
Herbertia continued to 1098, "Well, what do you say?"
1098 sighed and said, "Listen, Herbertia... I don't think Ikjot's trying to stay away from you because of embarrassment. From what I read in his mind, he wouldn't care about people making fun of him for being in a relationship—" but shook her head, understanding how much Xandra meant to me. "Oh, never mind...." Then again, she knew she had to stand up for Herbertia as well; helping us both was her duty as an Effect. She told Herbertia, "Wait, no.... Yes, you do need to mind!"
Feeling confused, Herbertia replied, "Well, uh, 1098, could you make up your mind...?" But Herbertia's attention was cut short when she heard Orabel tell me, "Seriously, though, YOU WERE AWESOME!"
Wynfred said with a laugh, "YEAH, YOU ROCKED!"
I said with a sweet smile, "You guys are so nice to me! Thanks for being my best friends at this school!"
To Piper, Xandra said, "DID YOU SEE THE WAY HE HIT ALL THE NOTES PERFECTLY?!"
"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" said Piper. "AND THE POWER HE PUT INTO THAT SONG WAS JUST PHENOMENAL!"
Meanwhile, Nydia and her newfound friends sat at their table, waiting for Xandra and the girls to be done with me... but they could wait no longer.
Quenishia was the first to stand up and say, "You know what...? We're going over there."
Xandy Khúc stood up and added, "Yeah, who's to say we can't compliment Ikjot and mean it?!"
"But... But guys..." fearfully said Nydia, "what if Xandra doesn't want us over there?"
Yam stood up and said, "Nydia, you can't let Xandra scare you like that! She's not the boss of what you do!"
Kip unhappily said, "Yeah, just because she's hogging Ikjot, doesn't mean we can't go and compliment him too!"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7n5Owlg5F
And he sympathetically placed a hand on her shoulder, looking up at her. "Come on, Nydia... you can do this."
Looking down with sorrow, Nydia said, "But all she's going to do is—"
Holding her by the face, Kip interrupted, "Nydia..."
Nydia looked Kip in his eyes.
"Trust me..." Kip told her, sympathetically, "you're gonna be fine."
Nydia took a moment... and sympathetically smiled to Kip. She told everyone, "You know what...? Xandra isn't our boss, you guys."
And to that, Kip sympathetically smiled back.
Nydia raised a fist, and her smile became determined. She said, "Let's go show that jerk that we're not scared of her!"
And Kip, Yam, Quenishia and Xandy Khúc all cheered with raised fists, "YEAAAAH!"
And with that, Nydia and Kip stood up from their seats. And all five of those fifth grade outcasts began to approach me. Xandra was too busy making fun of me to notice that... but soon enough did when she heard Nydia's voice yell, "YOU DID GREAT, IKJOT!"
Remaining calm so that she wouldn't reveal her true mean nature in front of me, Xandra nodded to Nydia, then looked back at me, whooped while Piper gave me a high-five, and said, "YEAH, IKJOT, YOU WERE AWESOME!"
Noticing Nydia and her friends, Herbertia said, "Hey, more girls are complimenting Ikjot!"
"All of them except Kip are girls," said 1098.
"That's it!" Herbertia said, frustrated. "I'm not going to take a backseat while everyone except Ikjot's own girlfriend commends him on a job well done!" She grabbed 1098 by the arm and continued, "Come on, 1098!" Then dragged her along while approaching me.
"Crushing my arrrrm!" warned 1098 in severe, wide-eyed discomfort.
Kip said, "Way to go, man!" and gave me a high-five.
From behind me, I heard Herbertia whoop, "WOOOOOO!" and cheer, "GO, IKJOT!"
Turning around, I replied, "Oh, hi, Herbertia!"
Now standing behind me and still holding onto 1098, Herbertia continued, "IKJOT, YOU WERE AMAZING—JUST ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!"
I told her, "Why, thank you, Herbertia!" I then looked to Xandra and said, "And thank you, Xandra!"
That made Herbertia's jaw drop. Such immediate dismissal from her own boyfriend? She wanted me to make at least some conversation with her!
I went on to tell Xandra, "Thank you and thank your girls for your compliments! I'm sure when this school has a talent show, and you all participate, I'll be just as amazed by your performances too!"
"Aw, you're sweet!" elatedly said Xandra.
Yosef whooped and said, "YOU ROCK!" before giving me a high-five.
As for Herbertia, and 1098 could see this, she was feeling depressed at this point. She wondered, I don't get it.... I'm with another girl in front of all these people. It's not like it's just me and him, making our romantic relations obvious. So then... why doesn't he want to talk to me?
***
About two hours later, me, Herbertia and 1098 were already picked up by Somer and Julian. As for Xandra, Orabel and their cliques, and Helena, they stood outside of the cafeteria and were talking about me... and not in a positive way.
Xandra laughingly told them, "Man, I can't believe he actually fell for it!"
Also with a laugh, Piper said, "I know! He's so dumb!"
Orabel told Xandra, "I just love how we compliment him all the time just to make fun of him!"
Xandra said with a laugh, "Yup! Just us winners playing with the emotions of a loser!" And the rest of them laughed with Xandra too.
***
The question was... could Marta laugh? Back at her house, all was not well.... With Tiane having stolen their only source of funding and food, it looked like her family was doomed.
Marta, her mother and father, and Ram all stood in the house, filled with worry and gloom. Marta then began to shed tears, remembering Tiane's cruelty throughout those recent days:
Tiane grabbed Ram's fist and kicked her in the stomach.
"AH!" screamed Ram, bending over in pain.
And remembered more:
Tiane grabbed her father by the head and slammed his face into the floor, making blood spill from his nose.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Mr. Grey yelled—this time even louder.
And remembered more:
With tears in her eyes, Marta weakly pled, "Stop... it...!"
Tiane then repeatedly stomped on Marta's head.
"AH! AH! AH!" cried Marta, feeling many bones crack in her skull.
And remembered—
"Martaaaaaa!" said Ram, not angrily but firmly enough to capture Marta's attention from her own thoughts.
Visibly crying at that point, Marta sympathetically looked Ram's way with an, "Ah...?"
Ram, sadly looking in Marta's eyes, said, "It's over now.... Don't keep thinking about it, okay? You're only making yourself more upset and that won't resolve anything."
Marta narrowed her eyes and looked down, still crying while she sniffed.
Ram quickly came to her buddy, held her close and said, "It's okay, Marta... it's gonna be alright."
"How could you say that...?" cried Marta with her face on Ram's chest. "Without food or money... we'll starve and die...."
Indeed, Ram was worried about the fate of Marta and her family... but then realized something. Looking behind herself and seeing the home phone, she told them, "Hey!" and laughed. "That idiot, Tiane—she left the phone here just so y'all could call the police!"
With a pause, Mr. Grey said, "It wouldn't work...."
"Huh...?" puzzled Ram with worry.
Mrs. Grey said, "Tiane left that phone here on purpose, knowing that we would know better than to call the police."
Ram was confused... and asked him, "Why? Because she threatened you not to?"
"No..." said Mr. Grey. "Tiane wouldn't need to tell us twice not to call the police; they wouldn't be able to stop her."
"But they could arrest her, couldn't they?" asked Ram.
Mrs. Grey said, "Ram, there isn't a handcuff made, nor a bullet, that could stop Tiane...." With this, Ram's eyes widened in shock while Mrs. Grey continued, "You see, from the day Tiane was born, she was unusually strong for a human. In the crib, when she shook her rattle, she immediately looked to me with a mean smirk and plunged it into my face, making my nose bleed—what's worse, she laughed about it. Mr. Grey told her, 'Tiane, apologize to your mother immediately!' But Tiane just kept laughing to spite him."
"So, she threw a rattle too fast—that doesn't explain her strength," said Ram.
"No..." said Mr. Grey, "but picking up her crib and throwing it at us when she was only a one-year-old does."
Ram was stunned and remarked, "Ah...?"
As for Mr. and Mrs. Grey, they remained silent, keeping their heads down with stern expressions.
Ram asked them, "What... happened from there...?"
Looking back to her, Mr. Grey replied, "We managed to get out of the way. Tiane's speed is greatly outclassed by her pure strength. Or so it was back then but... now her speed's increased, as we saw tonight...."
Still surprised, Ram said, "A bully ever since the crib.... Who would've thought...?"
Slowly sucking in her tears, Marta said, "Now do you see, Ram...?"
"Huh...?" puzzled Ram, looking back to Marta.
Looking her in the eyes, Marta sniffed and said, "It's all over.... We're doomed.... No one will ever be able to stop my sister...."
Ram grew a stern expression and told Marta, "Hey... don't talk like that. We'll find a way to get your stuff back, somehow...."
Marta covered her face in Ram's stomach and cried, "First... we'll have to find a way to get my teeth back, once Tiane knocks them out...."
"That's right..." said Mrs. Grey, worried. "She vowed to beat up Marta... every day."
Pounding her fists together, Ram said, "Not while I'm on duty, she won't!"
"But you lost to her before, Ram..." said Mr. Grey.
Ram paused before looking down with a worried groan. She knew all too well that Tiane was much stronger than herself; such was proven when Tiane had just single-handedly beaten four people.
Marta too could not help but worry the same... until she got an idea. "Wait!" she said, gaining their attention. "Penelope! Penelope is the only one who has an upper hand against Tiane! I remember...." Indeed, Marta did remember this:
Penelope came flying in from above and landed in front of Tiane. She said, "Hi-YAH!" while slamming Tiane to the side with a karate chop.
Tiane was sent flying across the cafeteria. The big bully screamed for her life before crashing into the nearest wall.
"Wow!" Marta exclaimed, gently holding onto Penelope's left arm and looking up at her. "Thanks, Penelope!"
"No prob, kid!" said Penelope before flexing her right arm and admiring it. "Just standing up for my friend, as always!"
And the flashback ended.
With a clenched fist, Marta said, "She's our only hope! I know Penelope can take Tiane down!"
"Someone who actually managed to rival Tiane...?" puzzled Mrs. Grey.
"Is that even possible...?" puzzled Mr. Grey.
Ram said, "I know it seems like a needle in a haystack, but we gotta trust that Marta's plan will work!"
Mr. and Mrs. Grey blinked with curiosity before looking to one another.... Looking back to Marta and Ram, they asked, "And if it doesn't?!"
Marta looked down with sorrow and said, "Then we're all doomed...."
***
Meanwhile, having stolen their refrigerator and money, Tiane was now in an apartment. Having used the money she stole from her family, Tiane managed to buy a sofa, TV and lamp stand for her new residence. She even had her two female colleagues over for the celebration.
"Man, you sure know how to party, Tiane!" complimented the first colleague, unlocking a soda and drinking it.
"Yeah, Tiane!" said the second colleague, eating a chocolate chip cookie. "This whole plan of yours rocks!"
Relaxing on her couch, Tiane replied, "Heh... yeah. My dumb family didn't stand a chance; nor did that cowpoke of a loser, Ram. Yup, it sure is nice when you can just walk all over people and do whatever you wanna...."
The first colleague asked, "Tell me something though: Couldn't they starve?"
"Yeah," suggested the second colleague, nodding. "And without money, they can't buy food."
"Like I care!" said Tiane with a laugh. "I want 'em to suffer!"
"Uh, just curious, your leadership... why so?" asked the first colleague.
Keeping a mean smile, Tiane replied, "For no reason at all...."
***
Back at the shack, Derick and Mike were doing the usual: Beating up the girls.
Laying on the floor, Vanessa screamed, "AAAAAAAAAH!" from Mike kicking her in the face.
Derick chased Vicky around in a circle, then grabbed her in a body lock and threw her to Mike. Mike pushed her back to Derick, who pushed her back to Mike, who pushed her back to Derick, and so on.
"PLEASE, STOP!" cried Vicky while those guys laughed.
Vanessa watched with despair and cried, "PLEASE! PLEASE, DON'T HURT HER!"
Just because Vanessa said that, Derick smiled and socked Vicky right in the face, sending her to the floor with blood flying from her nose... and Mike found this funny.
Looking down to Vicky with a smile, Derick laughed, "HA!" Then said, "Maybe if you weren't so," and kicked her side, "WEAK..."
Vicky cried, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
And Derick continued, "...you wouldn't be in this mess." Then looking to Mike, Derick said, "Hey... grab Vanessa so we can bump these chicks' heads together... repeatedly."
With a smirk, Mike said, "Right!" and walked to Vicky with a chuckle.
"No.... NOOOOOOO!" cried Vanessa.
Vicky cried, "VANESSA, NOOOOOOOO!"
Derick laughed in response.
Finally making it to Vanessa, Mike grabbed her by the head and asked Derick, "Ready?!"
With a nod, Derick replied, "Yeah...."
"NOOOOO!" cried Vicky while Mike sped towards her with Vanessa. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Then BAM! Mike slammed Vanessa's face right into Vicky's own, causing Vicky's forehead to bleed while Vanessa's turned sore.
"HIT HER AGAIN!" coached Derick.
Mike nodded with a chuckle, pulling Vanessa back by the head and prepared to launch.
Vanessa begged, "NOOOOOOO! STOOOOOP!" Her scream became quite piercing. "PLEASE, STOOOOOOP!"
"VANESSA!" screamed Vicky.
Then Mike slammed the girls' heads together again.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" cried Vicky.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" cried Vanessa.
And Derick and Mike kept laughing at it all.
***
By nightfall, me, Herbertia and 1098 were back at the hotel. While Herbertia and 1098 did their own homework, I was doing my own homework plus the homework of Xandra and the other girls.
Puzzling to this, Herbertia implied, "Wow, Ikjot, Mrs. Ives must wanna kill you...."
"Huh...?" I puzzled.
"The homework, I mean. How does she expect you to get all that done in one weekend?"
"Oh, this stuff...? No, this isn't all my homework; I'm also doing the homework of Xandra and her girl pals."
Herbertia's eyes widened while she dropped a pen out of her hands. As it hit the floor, she puzzled, "What...?" before shouting, "IKJOT, THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Eh...?" I puzzled.
"Huh...?" puzzled Somer and Julian, turning their heads.
"THAT WENCH!" said Herbertia, balling up her fists as they trembled. "WHAT MAKES HER THINK SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU LIKE THAT?! One boy doing the homework of six people, in addition to his own.... WHAT A COW!"
I didn't know what to say.... All I could do was look down, knowing there was no way to argue with her logic.
Somer gained her daughter's attention with saying, "Herbertia...? I was thinking you and Ikjot should have some time alone...." Somer then looked to 1098. "1098, since it's a Friday night and all, did you want to hang out with Julian and I at a local night club?"
"Hm...?" puzzled 1098.
Despite his suspicions about what Somer was up to, Julian nodded while saying, "Yeah..." and grabbed his disguise. "We'll go out as Clarence F and Judie Barnes, just so no one will recognize us."
"And Herbertia and Ikjot...?" puzzled 1098.
"They'll stay here to have some quality time together," said Somer.
"Right," said Julian, nodding.
"Quality time with Ikjot on a Friday night...?" asked a suddenly happy Herbertia. She grew a sweet smile. "That sounds interesting!"
Also with a sweet smile, Somer replied, "Yup! The hotel will be yours all night!"
Blinking what were now widened eyes, 1098 puzzled with asking, "All night...?"
"Yup!" said Somer. "I think it's time Ikjot and Herbertia got all the alone time they need!"
Herbertia and I puzzled to this and looked to each other... then back to Somer. And I said, "Well... I mean, if you guys will be able to handle it."
"Eh... we're all adults, right?" said Julian, shrugging his shoulders.
I smiled and said, "Wow! You guys consider us adults...?"
Herbertia teasingly told them, "If that's the case, maybe you should let us walk ourselves home from school, from now on."
To that statement, we all laughed. Well, all of us except 1098.
Somer said, "Well, it would be safer if we weren't going outside as much and, yes, you're right.... You two have been big enough since five years old to walk yourselves home from school," and laughed.
To this, I puzzled.... I mean, she had to be kidding, right?! How was it safe for a five year old to be that independent?! Then again... I did know, all too well, the ways of Righteous Korrigan's people. Many parents, if not all of them in this city, allowed their children to do many things that the average parent wouldn't. Believe me, you would've been amazed at some of the scenarios I knew... and I'd like to add that my own parents would have never let me walk home from school at twenty-one years old, let alone five. So overprotective, ugh....
Somer continued, "Very well.... You two can walk home from school without us, if you wanna."
Herbertia whooped, "WOOOO!" and said, "Sweet!" before giving Somer a high-five.
Afterwards, Somer picked up her disguise from the coat rack and started putting it on. She said, "Well, we'd better get going..." and was soon fully dressed as Judie Barnes. Looking to Julian, she asked him, "Right, Clarence F...?"
Now in his Clarence F disguise, Julian replied in the voice of an old man, "Eh, whatever, you young kook...."
Walking to Somer and Julian, 1098 told Herbertia and I, "Well, see you guys around.... Oh, and don't touch my homework."
I confidently said, "Your homework will be safe and sound with us!"
"More like safe and sound with me," playfully said Herbertia.
I, on the other hand, thought she was insinuating that I would try to destroy 1098's homework or something. So, just for the sake of agreeing with her to try and save our relationship, I happily said, "True! You are the better caretaker of things, after all!"
Herbertia giggled and told me, "I'm just messing with you, silly!"
Realizing this, I said, "Oh.... Right!" Since I had so many experiences where a girl would seem like she was displeased with me—and turn out to actually be so—I guess I couldn't really tell when another was just playing around....
Now standing at the door with Julian and 1098, Somer said, "Well, have fun guys!" Opening the door, she continued, "We'll be back by morning..." and walked out with them.
Herbertia waved and said, "Bye, Somer!"
Waving back with the others, Somer said, "See ya, Herbertia!"
"See you around, guys!" said Julian before Somer would close the door behind them. Now outside, as he walked with Somer and 1098, Julian asked, "So, like... what's the real reason behind all this?"
Somer plainly said, "They've been boyfriend and girlfriend for quite some time now. I figure if Ikjot's serious about this relationship, he has to prove it by making out with her. I don't want any dumb boy wasting our daughter's time."
Something tells me this is a 'trust exercise,' as the humans call it, thought 1098, keeping her eyes on the one window of our hotel room. The window curtains were closed, so she couldn't see Somer and Julian outside. And 1098 went on to think, I wonder what Somer's hoping to achieve through this.
***
As for us, it was the very first time that Herbertia and I had the room all to ourselves....
"Well... what did you wanna do?" I asked her.
Herbertia got close to me and cuddled her head to my chest. And she told me, "Well... I was thinking we could make out...."
I rubbed her back and said, "Make out, huh...?"
"Mhm..." she hummed, nodding before puckering her lips and drawing close to mine. While I puckered my own, Herbertia managed to kiss me upon reaching my face. Then she asked me, "Hey, um... why didn't you draw in?"
"Hm...?" I puzzled.
"Well... I had to completely come to your face for the kiss."
"Isn't that how we're supposed to kiss...?"
"Well, what I mean is, you're supposed to draw in too. It shows you have an equal amount of effort— I mean, not to make you feel bad or anything—"
"Oh, no, not at all!" I rubbed the back of my head. "Actually, I'm glad you don't want me to feel bad about it, 'cause... I've never met a girl before who would apologize for telling me I did something wrong."
With a smile, she said, "Ikjot, you did nothing wrong..." and rubbed my chest. I moaned with pleasure to this while she asked, "Is this your first time kissing a girl...?"
"Well, outside of cyberspace, yes...."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAX7YjXFK8
"Outside of the internet...? How did you kiss someone on the web?"
"Have you ever heard of 'cybering?'"
Herbertia just shook her head.
I went on to explain, "It's like making out, only you're typing the words that describe your actions instead of physically doing them."
"Hmmm... that's interesting. So, you never physically made out with anyone before?"
I shook my head. "My parents were really protective of me... and thought fourteen years old was too young for a dude to have a girlfriend."
"What about fifteen?"
"Nope."
"Sixteen?"
"Nope."
"Wow! Not even sixteen?!" she laughed. "Well, please tell me you could at least do it at eighteen—"
With a laugh, I said, "I wish!"
Herbertia giggled. "Wow! Your parents sound way too protective!" Before I could respond, she continued, "Well, I've—oh, sorry! You go first!"
I laughed and said, "Nah, you can continue!"
"No, really, you were gonna say something, right?"
"Well, all I was gonna say was, 'I know, right?' to when you told me my parents are too protective."11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETsQlAo3bR
"Oh..." and she giggled, as did I.
I said, "Yeah, not really important—"
"Oh, nonsense! People expressing their feelings is always important!"
"Wow, I'm glad you feel that way...."
She nodded. "So, yeah, I was actually into boys from the time I was in the crib."
"Get out.... Seriously?!"
"Yeah! I still remember crawling to a baby boy and offering him my bottle to share... only for him to strike my face with a rattle."
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!"
"Don't be.... You did nothing wrong."
I nervously laughed to that statement—of course I did something wrong, and was still doing it! I was liking another girl behind this girl's back! What was wrong with me?!
Regardless, I maintained my composure and told Herbertia, "Yeah, but... I still feel bad for what happened to you."
With a giggle, Herbertia said, "Hey, don't worry about it.... As far as I'm concerned, none of that matters to me anymore... now that I have you."
I smiled... and said, "You know, it's kind of sad in one sense...."
"Hm...?" she puzzled with widened eyes. "What is?"
"Well... every time I'd tell a girl I was sorry for something, she'd either ask what I was sorry about—right after just telling me her story. That or she'd tell me something rude like, 'How could you be sorry for something that didn't happen to you?' This one girl I met online told me about her abusive boyfriend who was a hockey player and gave her a concussion. I told her I was sorry and she was like, 'That's what they all say.'"
Herbertia's left eye twitched with disbelief. "Ouuuuuch!" she remarked.
"In addition, whenever a girl sees me in person, I feel like she thinks I'm the ugliest guy on the face of the planet. Maybe it was worth it to have online gal pals all the years of my teenage life...."
"Okay, let's get one thing straight here. First off, you're not ugly...."
"Yes I am.... I mean, come on, Herbertia, admit it.... I'm skinny, a frog among all these land mammals, crooked teeth, an ugly face in general—"
Setting her hand on my shoulder, she said, "Whoa-whoa-whoa, first of all, you can't control your race, Ikjot! So what if you're an amphibian? I'm a land mammal and I still love you!"
I looked down, blushing while keeping my frown. She said she... loved me.
Herbertia brought her face closer to mine while saying, "You're not ugly, Ikjot.... You are on the outside, but not on the inside."
My eyes widened with shock.... I couldn't believe it! For the first time ever in the history of my life, a girl admitted I was right when I said I was ugly! Yet... she told me I wasn't ugly on the inside. I said, "You... mean you never fell in love with me over physical appearance?"
Herbertia shook her head. "I could care less for how a boy looks.... It's good character I truly value."
I chuckled and said, "Wow! You're not like any of the girls I've ever known.... Chicks gave me the impression that all a they were interested in were a guy's looks!"
Herbertia added, "And money...." Then she said in a teasing way, "And of course, his ability to do homework for her."
To that statement, I nervously laughed and rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah...."
"Let me guess—clique orders?"
"You mean Xandra's orders?"
"Yeah."
"Well, yes.... It's actually the first assignment she's given me."
Twiddling her thumbs, Herbertia said, "Um... yeah..." and made a nervous laugh. "Um... since we're alone and everything—I mean, I know I promised not to remind you about this so long as you allowed me to take on Hobbs and Xander by myself earlier; and you did. But..."
"Hm...?"
"Well... remember when I told you about Xandra and her girls making fun of you behind your back?"
I sighed... and remarked, "I guess a girl can't always keep her promises."
"She promised you she wouldn't?"
"No, I mean... your promise not to bring that up again—not to make you sound like a bad person or anything 'cause you're really nice—"
"Oh, no, not at all! It's just that... Well, I guess a good girlfriend can't keep things like that away from her boyfriend."
"I understand you're looking out for me."
"...But... seriously though, Ikjot, I don't want you to get hurt. I mean, I'm not against you hanging with Xandra and her girls. But I just don't like the fact that they're backstabbing you like that."
Again, I sighed... and said, "Well—"
"Before you say anything, I gotta know..." and she intently looked me in the eyes, "do you believe me?"
I paused and said, "Well, of course, Herbertia—"
"You're telling the truth, right...?"
Uh-oh.... She had me there. "Um... well..."
Herbertia patiently awaited my answer.
"Um..." and I sighed. "I don't—I do believe you—"
"You do believe me, or you don't believe me...?"
"Well... before I say anything else, can you promise you won't get mad at me or wanna leave me for saying what I'm about to say...?"
"Why would I leave you just because you say something? That's stupid...."
I chuckled and said, "Now I know you're not like other females I've crushed on...." And my chuckling ceased. "Well, it's just that... many people have told me before that Xandra is mean, talks about people behind their backs, is the devil, et cetera. But I've... never really, well... seen her in the act of it."
Herbertia looked to the side with disappointment and said, "From what I can tell, she's not the only backstabber at that school...."
"Hm...?"
"Well, Ilana spread rumors that I'm a liar and junk...."
"Yup... that sounds like Ilana to me."
Herbertia slightly looked back my way and replied, "So then... you've seen Ilana in the act of doing bad things?"
"Well, no.... My sister told me about a time when Ilana made fun of me behind my back. She asked my sister if I was mentally disabled or something, despite the fact that Ilana always acted nice to my face."
"So, then... you believed your sister when she told you about Ilana, despite the fact that you never actually saw Ilana do any of those things...?"
"Yeah...."
"Was your sister one of the people who would tell you about Xandra being bad?"
"Yeah.... She told me about a time when Xandra threw Nydia's—one of my sister's friends—lunchbox across the cafeteria and told her to go pick it up."
"Did you believe your sister...?"
"Well... I didn't see Xandra throw Nydia's lunchbox across the cafeteria. But it was that day that I saw Xandra in a dispute with my sister—and the lunchbox thing was probably it."
"So then... you believed your sister when she told you about Ilana. But you didn't believe her when she told you about Xandra?"
I paused, realizing Herbertia found a clever way to get me... and said, "Um..."
"Curious, why didn't you believe her when she told you about Xandra...?"
To this, my lips quivered.... I had no choice but to hug Herbertia. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't find it in me to.... Though I did cry on the inside. And then I realized something—what if she didn't want me to hug her?! Oh, man! I guess I was a little too extroverted now—ah... wait... I could feel her rubbing my back with her hand, nice and smoothly.... I said, "You're... not mad at me for hugging you out of the blue like that...?"
With a sweet smile, Herbertia said, "Of course not, Ikjot.... You're my boyfriend. Why would I be mad at you for giving me a hug...?"
I made a shy smile... and said, "Well..."
"Bad experience with a girl?"
"...Yeah...."
She kept her smile. "Well... I just want you to know that I'm not like those girls. I'm not like any of them. If you wanna give me a hug, or a kiss, or whatever you wanna do, I'll always accept those things because I love you, Ikjot...."
"...Herbertia...?"
"Hm...? Yes, Ikjot?"
"...I... love you... too...."
With that, Herbertia smiled brighter and kissed my neck, making me moan with glee. And she said, "Now, um... about my question."
"Ah?" I puzzled.
1098 just smirked, watching this whole thing go down.
"...Well..." I eventually said, sighing in between, "I didn't find Ilana to be as... attractive as Xandra. And it's because I found Xandra to be more attractive that... I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and not just believe my sister's words, let alone anyone else's words either." I knew it was... risky of me coming clean like that. But... what else could I say?
Herbertia gently held my left hand with both her own hands. "Ikjot..." she said.
"Huh?" I puzzled, looking back at Herbertia.
Looking into my eyes with a sympathetic frown of hers, Herbertia told me, "I'll always love you, no matter your secrets. No matter the darkest ones. But I... will say that... you have to learn to look past people's looks. No matter how... beautiful you think someone is... it can't stop you from doing the right thing."
And to that... I looked down, frowning as though I were defeated because... I knew she was right. Yet I... just wasn't strong enough to be that type of person.
***
Later that night, with the lights out and the window curtains open, we laid in bed while watching each other. Tickling my chest, Herbertia said, "Can I... take off your shirt?"
With a blush and nod, I replied, "Mhm...."
Herbertia gently pulled my shirt over my head, throwing it behind her. "Ah, look at that pretty froggy chest of yours."
I looked down shyly, pursing my lips.
Herbertia noticed my reaction and covered her mouth with a giggle. She told me, "I'm just teasing, Ikjot."
I smiled, still shy and said, "Oh, of... course." I guess my multi-colored pebble would once again not be helping out. Blasted thing, ugh.
Herbertia looked down and asked, "So, uh... about Xandra..."
I paused... and said, "Yeah..."
Running her fingers over my cheek continuously, she asked, "You believe what I told you... right...?"
"About having to look past her beauty?"
Herbertia shook her head, saying, "Not that. I mean earlier when I mentioned overhearing and seeing her and those other girls make fun of you."
Realizing what she meant, I replied, "Oh... that. Um... well—"
"It's okay if you don't, Ikjot.... I understand."
"But... I do believe you—"
"Do you...?"
"...I'm sorry I lied.... I mean, it's just that... Well, I've only known you for so long and—"
"So, you're saying that you trust Xandra before you trust me...?"
"No, not at all—"
She held my face, looking me in the eyes. "Ikjot... I promise that I won't leave you, even if you don't trust me...."
My eyes widened. "Ah...?"
"Don't be afraid to tell me how you really feel.... If you don't trust me, I'll still be your girlfriend regardless." She looked down. "And... if you can't find it in yourself to look past people's beauty in order to do the right thing..." and she looked back into my eyes, sympathetically, "I'll still be your girlfriend regardless of that too."
"You're... serious...?"
She grew a soft smile. "Guess you've never known a girl to be that forgiving and understanding, huh...?"
I laughed under my breath. "No... I guess not."
"Well... just know that I'm not planning on breaking up with you if you hurt my feelings."
"Seriously...?"
"Yeah... I mean, why would I? I've never had any boyfriend before, and I know that no other guy except you likes me. You've changed my life, Ikjot.... You've made me very happy; and I don't care if no one, not even Xandra, can see you for what a truly great person you are...." My eyes just kept widening while she continued, "So what if you're not beautiful or even cute on the outside...? It's the inside of you that only a truly good girl could appreciate...."
I couldn't believe it.... Was she telling me the way she truly felt about me, or was she just sucking up like so many other backstabbing chicks I'd met? Why was it always so confusing for me to understand whether or not I was being tricked...? Regardless, this girl told me some very comforting things—things that made me feel I was important. I said, "Herbertia... thank you."
Her only response was to hug me close, and I hugged her as well. She rubbed my back and said, "So... do you trust me about Xandra?"
And I became stunned.
"Again," Herbertia went on to tell me, "I won't leave you if you don't."
"Well... okay... but.... only if you promise not to."
Setting her hand to mine and looking me in the eyes, Herbertia said, "You can trust me, Ikjot...."
"Well... okay, here's..." and I took a deep breath, "the truth...."
Herbertia intently kept her attention on what I would say next.
"Okay... I... halfway... believe you and... halfway... don't...?" With that, I quickly closed my eyes with discomfort, believing she would immediately break my heart from what I had said there.
Setting her hand on my shoulder, Herbertia replied, "You can open your eyes, Ikjot...."
And I opened one eye.
Smiling, Herbertia continued, "I am still yours... and you are still mine..." before puckering her lips and drawing in for a kiss.
I couldn't believe it.... SHE ACTUALLY KEPT HER PROMISE! What was there for me to do besides pucker my lips and give in to her kiss?! And so I did. And after our kiss, Herbertia drew back from my face and laughingly said, "You let me do all the work again?"
"Huh?" I puzzled.
"You didn't draw in," she reiterated, looking down with a shy smile.
"O-Oh..." I suddenly remembered her pointing that out earlier. "Herbertia, I'm—"
"Shhhhhhhhhh," Herbertia calmly shushed me, touching my lips closed. "It's... okay, Ikjot; I get you're not as experienced as me."
Looking down shyly while she released my lips, I said, "Y-Yeah...."
Herbertia tilted her head with the most sympathetic smile, telling me, "And, as for Xandra... what matters is that you were honest with me, even though you knew the truth would hurt...."
I asked with guilt, "Wow, I... hurt you...?"
She giggled and said, "Well... I most likely hurt you too, when I said you were ugly. No offense!"
"None taken.... I mean, all that matters is that you were honest too."
She shyly smiled with glee before asking, "So... just for clarification purposes, what did you mean by halfway trusting me and halfway not...?"
"Well, it means that while I believe you're telling the truth—not that I'm calling you a liar or anything—"
"Oh, it's cool! I completely understand!"
"Eh, just making sure I'm not hurting you or anything."
"Pfft.... Believe me when I tell you that my only enemy right now is that stupid Ilana and her groupies—but I've already told you about that."
"I'm willing to listen as many times as needed for you to get it off your chest. You would do the same for me."
"Heck yeah! I'm always open to hearing your problems! Now, back to the clarification purposes over you calling me a half-liar, half-truthful person."
"Oh, right! Well, what I meant is that, while I believe you, I also want to see Xandra in the..." and I was growing frightened to say the rest, "act of... doing bad... things for... my... self...." I then cringed in fear.
Patting my shoulder, Herbertia said, "Hey, don't worry; I'm not mad at you."
I slowly calmed down... and said, "You're... not...?"
Herbertia shook her head. "It's nothing to fault you for if you like to thoroughly investigate things before coming to conclusions. It just shows you're a fair judge of people. I mean, you not giving into the rumors of me being a liar, just because they're all hearsay, proves that."
"Wow... a girl who is actually okay with not being trusted...."
"Well, who am I to be the person that everyone believes? I mean, I did witness Xandra and her crew backstabbing you. But you didn't. All you deserve is the right to catch her and her dumb clique in the act of their meanness, that way you get the truth in its cleanest form: Witnessed, not heard."
"Herbertia, I just... I just love you... so much...."
She hugged me again while saying, "I love you too, Ikjot..." and sucked my neck with her mouth—finally, a girl who made out this way!
Placing my mouth on her neck too and doing the same, I replied, "I love you, too, Herbertia...."
Just then, Herbertia's eyes widened as she realized something. Ceasing her sucking and looking me in the eyes, she asked, "Oh, um... Ikjot, did you like your song today?"
"You mean the one I sang for Xandra and her girls, right?"
"Mhm!" hummed Herbertia, nodding. "I mean, you seemed to be enjoying it—all of us did too! But... I just wanted to be sure."
Honestly, that song just wasn't my style—I'd probably said that before. I mean, in my opinion, it was mediocre. The kind of music I liked was just, I don't know, better than that...? But hey, today was a day designed for pleasing Xandra. And from what I could tell, I did a great job on that. Still... I had to be truthful and say, "Well... honestly, and don't tell Xandra—"
"Oh, no, not at all."
"Thanks! But, yeah, that song didn't really do anything for me.... I mean, it's just not my kind of music, I guess. Then again, maybe Sulfur and Skull Heads aren't my type of band in general."
Herbertia rubbed her chin with suspicion and hummed, "Mm-hmm...."
"I mean... maybe they work for Xandra and lots of other people; but... that song just... wasn't me...."
Herbertia smiled and told me, "Wanna sing something that is...?"
"Huh...?"
"Well... you're obviously disappointed from not singing something you wanted today."
"I am, actually...."
"Well, let's hear it! Show me what you've got!"11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWpsaprsvD
I smiled and said, "Well... okay!"
Herbertia whooped, "WOOOOO!"
Since there were no instruments nor a CD for me to kick-off the instrumental, I told her, "Now, for the first time, you're gonna hear me humming an instrumental as I sing, rather than relying on it from a CD or instruments—if that's okay."
"It sounds interesting actually.... Go for it!"
"Well, alright!" Clearing my throat, I hummed a rock n' roll instrumental and sang, "♪ Gotta take these cuffs! Gotta get 'em off this sooooOOOOOooooul. ♪" I then hummed guitar riffs. To this, Herbertia's eyes were already brightening with joy while I continued, "♪ We're gonna rock! We're gonna rock this way! Gotta take 'em off, they'll be thrown in the burrooooooooow! ♪" Then I hummed the riffs again. "♪ It's the only way to make you PAY! ♪" Next, I hummed a wicked guitar solo.
Herbertia was pretty impressed by how I was doing this.
Then I stopped the song short and said, "I wish I could sing the rest; but I still have yet to remember all the lyrics. That was just the refrain I sung to you."
"WHO CARES?! Just the refrain of THAT song, the instrumental and everything else was WAAAAAY better than that 'Black Sea' junk!" And she shook her head in visible disgust with closed eyes. "BLEH!" Then she happily reopened her eyes to me and said, "You should TOTALLY make this one your next song to sing!"
Looking down, I bore a sad smile and replied, "Well... I actually used to sing songs all the time this year, back in the original past. The only thing was that the other students at the school would pretend to like them, just to make fun of me."
"Whaaaat?!" asked Herbertia with disbelief.
"I know, right?" I replied, visibly getting sadder as I remembered those days.
"That is so messed up! But, curious though, if these people are as bad as you say, why did you wanna go back to the past and start things over with them again?"
Rubbing the back of my head, I said, "Well... Xandra and her girls were the real reason. I wanted to get on their good sides, and especially Xandra's...."
"Hmmm.... What if they were ugly to you?"
"I mean... they did turn out to be acting ugly towards me, yes. But—"
"No," said Herbertia, shaking her head in realizing I didn't catch what she meant. "I mean... what if they weren't... physically attractive, in your eyes? Like... not pretty, by your standards?"
I blushed and said, "Oh! Um..." I rubbed the back of my head again. "Well... uh..."
Holding my cheeks and pecking my lips, she said, "No pressure, Ikjot.... You can be honest with me."
"Well... okay; but... once again, please don't leave me when I tell you."
She licked my cheek and said, "I promise...."
Feeling I could trust her again, I said, "Well, okay.... Well, if they were ugly in that way, I... wouldn't have cared about going back to the past."
"Hmmm..." puzzled Herbertia. "Well, from what I see, you value a girl's looks over her character—" She giggled, interrupting herself. "Wait, we've been over this before."
I said with a smile, "Yeah... I'm a pig, remember...?" and giggled too.
Giggling more, Herbertia said, "Uh... sorry if I offended you with that 'pig' crack before."
"Oh, no, not at all!"
"I meant no offense, of course."
Holding my arm around her, I said, "Hey, that's all that matters in my book..." and giggled with her.
***
Later that night, while Herbertia was sound asleep and keeping her arms around me, I remembered something:
"Why don't you two tell the class a little bit about yourselves?" Ms. Pasternak suggested to Herbertia and 1098.
"Oh, yes; please!" added Sister Nylah Zita. "Tell the class a little bit about yourselves."
Meanwhile, I was thinking, Here we go again....
"Okay!" said Herbertia. "This is my knife, Dinky!" she continued while pulling out her weapon, showing it to the class.
Suddenly smiling, the students all went, "Ooooooooh!"
"Ahahaha!" I laughed nervously, seeing Sister Nylah Zita watching us with an unhappy look and folded arms.
Ms. Pasternak grabbed Herbertia's knife and stuffed it in her shirt. She then grabbed Herbertia by the arm and sternly told her, "We need to talk!"
As for me, I smacked my forehead in frustration.
With my flashback ending, I could hear Herbertia talking in her sleep. Through her snores, she said, "Dinky..."
Man... what a jerk I was! Herbertia really missed her knife, Dinky. And I knew that as her boyfriend, I had to do something about it.
***
At one of the city's night clubs were Somer, Julian and 1098. While Somer and Julian, along with many other people, were dancing to music, 1098 sat on a bench, obviously unamused—as usual—while drinking a soda.
While Somer noticed this, Julian whooped, "WOO!" and said, "Cool party, right, Somer?!"
Somer said, "You keep dancing, Julian," before walking towards 1098. "I'm gonna go check on 1098."
"What's up with that 1098 girl anyway?!" asked Julian.
While 1098 continued drinking her soda, Somer came to sit with her, placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Hey, what's up?"
Ceasing her soda drinking and placing the cup on the bench, 1098 replied, "I just don't see the use in parties."
"Aw, but they're so fun! You should go find a cute guy to dance with or something!"
1098 raised her eyebrow. "A cute guy...?"
"Yeah!" Somer puzzled while saying, "Someone like..." and pointed to a teen otter who sat alone at a table, "THAT GUY!"
Keeping her unamusement, 1098 paused and said, "So... you want me to go dance with that dude?"
"Mhm!" hummed Somer, nodding with a smile.
"Um... I don't really have any use for dancing with someone."
With a laugh, Somer said, "But it's fun!"
"Correction: It's fun for humans. I am an Effect. My only purpose in life is to serve as a source of knowledge to those who spawned me."
With an awkward expression, Somer asked, "What the heck?"
Now even more unamused, 1098 smacked her own forehead and said, "Okay... pretend I am what Ikjot or Herbertia would call a 'computer.' Do computers dance? And, no, this isn't a trick question."
Somer puzzled, "Um... no."
"Exactly. Now, tell me something else; do computers give you information?"
"Yeah...?"
"Well, there it is. I am an Effect with no higher of a purpose than a computer. All I do is give information. Nothing more."
"Why do you feel that way...?"
"It's not about my feelings.... It's about my purpose. If I was spawned into existence to serve as a source of knowledge to my creators, then my only purpose in life is to do just that."
Placing her hand on 1098's shoulder again, Somer said, "No, you're not! You're more than that, 1098."
1098 paused... and told her, "Not in my book."
Well, Somer, there you have it! 1098 is only meant to serve as a source of information. Guess you turning her into an extrovert will be more difficult than you thought....
Back on the island of Sanne, Marta and Ram walk the streets of their town, heading for Penelope's residence to ask her a favor: Defeat Tiane! Will their plan prove successful...?
Ram said, "Gee, Marta... I don't know. Are you sure this will work...?"
Keeping a stern expression, Marta replied, "It has to...."
Find out... next chapter of Something!
***
In the next chapter of Something... Ikjot visits a local tools store, intent on replacing Herbertia's old confiscated knife Dinky. That's very sweet, Ikjot! But would be even sweeter of you to leave Xandra in the dust and stop leading Herbertia on already!
Xandra laughed and said, "YEAH, YOU'D BETTER RUN!" Aiming her arrow at one of the fleeing small frogs, she whispered, "It makes this all the more fun...."
And for goodness SAKE, Xandra! NOW what are you up to?! It's definitely not goodness... next chapter of Something!
***
Something11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJFaMRwhEp
1211Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7adO9A8Pm
Ikjot's Reminders
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SaDIWmK1C
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwi4pNTUmST
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZ8EK13MKH
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEcg44A7Uv
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlmvnolJOb
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgIXeWaFbj
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGdpDskH0D
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡouhbfpR7n4
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpt41pZFXu
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgCL9czIgS
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins!
***
© 2013 Trerchry.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwkoMA2Cqt
All Rights Reserved.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaV21WM3EIw
