~~~ Flashback
*~*~*~* Change of Scene (either different time, or same time and different people)
Matt stumbled out of bed as his alarm clock sounded, one o’clock was far to early to be waking up. He usually stayed up this late most nights. He stepped on a sweatshirt as he crossed his floor.
“Matt!” came the groggy but angry reply from his sweatshirt. Actually, it was T.K., he’d forgotten that he was staying over. “What’s your problem?”
“Sorry. I forgot you were there . . .”
“S’okay,” he yawned out, “It was just kind of a rude awakening.”
“Do you mind if I take the shower first?” he asked, turning on the light.
“Yeah, go ahead. It’ll give me another ten minutes to sleep.” He rolled over on his side and pulled the corner of his sleeping bag over his head.
Matt ran the shower water a bit colder than usual and by the time he was done he was actually feeling pretty awake . . . and excited. A whole week of sun, sand, and Sora lay ahead of him. He pulled on jeans, a t-shirt, and a longer sleeved v-neck green sweater over top. She always said it was her favorite because it brought out the color of his eyes. T.K. was standing outside the bathroom door, towel in hand, when Matt emerged.
“How long does it take you to shower? You’ve been in there for almost twenty minutes. I was so bored of waiting that I made your bed.”
“See, that was my plan. Spend as much time as possible in the shower so you would do my chores for me.”
“My,” said T.K., deadpan, “You are the devious one.”
“I know. Besides, we’ve still got forty minutes before we have to pick up the others at Tai’s. You just want to see Kari, don’t you?”
T.K. flushed, but recovered quickly, “/I’m/ the one that wants to see my girlfriend, you’re the one that’s wearing the Sora sweater.”
“The what?”
“You know, the sweater she gave you for your birthday and always gushes about how good you look in it and how it brings out your eyes and stuff. Or did you forget that and wear it solely because you like the itchy wool?”
He slid past Matt into the bathroom and shut the door before he could think of a come back.
*~*~*~*
“Okay Tai, explain to me one more time how we’re going to fit eleven people into an eight person van.” Matt helped him load the suitcases scattered on the front lawn of the Kamiya’s apartment building into the van.
“Elementary, my dear Matt. Kari sits on T.K.’s lap, Sora sits on yours, and Davis volunteered to sit on the floor.”
“Davis volunteered?” Matt’s glanced shifted to the ground where Davis was propped up against his duffle bag, snoring loudly. He slid the bag out from under him and put it in the trunk but Davis didn’t even stir.
“Well, it was more like he didn’t answer the question: Who doesn’t want to sit on the floor? But that still counts. See, it all works out perfectly.”
“Except one thing. How am I supposed to drive with Sora on my lap?”
“You give me the keys.”
“Oh no. No. No. You are not driving my dad’s van.”
“Why not?” Tai shoved the last bag, his own, into the back and tried to close the door, which sprang back open.
“Why not? Oh let’s see, first of all, have you ever even driven a van? Second, you’re not covered by the insurance. And third, we have an illegal number of people in the vehicle!”
“Minor details. Here, help me with this. On three. One. . . two . . . three.” They slammed the door as hard as they could and luckily it closed, “Otherwise we’re not going to fit everybody. Unless, of course, you want Sora to sit on my lap.”
“No!” He laughed as Matt responded. “No, it’s fine, you can drive.”
“I thought you’d see things my way,” Tai replied, spinning the key ring around his index finger, “Alright everybody, into the van. We’re on our way to Antigua!”
*~*~*~*
“How far is the airport?”
“We’re still like a half an hour away,” replied Tai, yawning. Conversation had eventually dwindled to nothing in the van and they were staring glassy-eyed out of the window at the freshly falling snow. Matt could see everyone was struggling to stay awake, even Tai.
“Why don’t we put on some music?” he asked, “If we sing along, we’ll probably wake ourselves up.”
“Good idea, Matt,” replied Sora sleepily.
“Davis, there are some CD’s in the cup holder down there.” Davis, not having a window to stare out of, was transfixed on his shoelace, “Davis!”
“Wha . . . ? Right, cup holder, gotcha.” He rooted around in it for about thirty seconds before holding up six or seven CD’s, “Alright, what do you guys want to listen to? We’ve got Fuel, Our Lady Peace, Greenday, Matthew Good Band, Gob, Teenage Werewolves . . . you carry yourself around on tape? And you people say I’ve got a big ego . . . and this one labeled Matt’s Mixed CD.”
“Go for the Mixed,” called Yolei from the backseat, “It’ll probably have something we all know on it.” Everyone else mumbled their agreement and Matt slipped it into the player.
The familiar sound of trumpets reverberated through the speakers. “Yes, Cake!” yelled Davis, “I love this song!”
“Matt! You had Short Skirt, Long Jacket on CD and you never told me,” questioned T.K. from the middle bench.
“I forgot.”
“I want a girl with a mind like a diamond
I want a girl who knows what’s best
I want a girl with shoes that cut and
Eyes that burn like cigarettes . . .” sang Davis along with the song. Gradually, the rest of the group joined in (even Izzy and Ken), and soon the silence of the night was interrupted by the “Hey! Ho!’s and Nananananana’s” of eleven teenagers singing at the top of their lungs. Matt reflected that even though they had been through more than most people their age, they were just regular kids at heart.
“I want a girl with a short skirt and a loooooooooooong jacket!” they finished, laughing and waiting for the next song to come up.
“Man,” said Davis, still playing with his shoelace, “If we meet a girl like that in Antigua I call dibs.”
“Like she’d want you,” quipped Yolei.
“Shut up!”
“Besides, it’s my birthday,” replied Tai from behind the wheel, “I get automatic dibs on any girl we pick up.”
“I’m sorry to inform you,” said Matt, “but unless you’re planning on leaving me and T.K. here in Japan, you won’t be picking up any girls.”
“What?” blurted Tai and Davis at the same time.
“It’s the Ishida charm . . . T.K. and I have been afflicted by it since birth . . . girls are just drawn to us. We can’t help but pick them up. It a horrible curse, right T.K.?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Matt . . . sweetie,” said Sora, turning to face him, “You never told me you were planning on picking up girls this week.”
“Yeah,” replied Kari from behind him, “T.K. forgot to share that information with me too.”
“I . . . uh . . .” stammered his brother, “ I didn’t . . .”
“We weren’t implying that we were going to actually pick up girls,” interjected Matt, “We were just saying that we could.”
“Oh, if you want to pick up girls that’s totally okay, honey,” said Sora, smiling deviously, “As long as you don’t mind if we find ourselves guys in Antigua as well. I think that seems fair, don’t you, Kari?”
“Very fair. Right T.K.?”
“Uh . . . I guess . . .”
“Matt?” asked Sora, her smile growing like a Cheshire cat’s.
“Yeah . . . sure . . .”
*~*~*~*
“Hey! Over here!” yelled a voice at the gate when they emerged from the plane in Antigua. It was Mimi. “You made it! Oh, it’s so good to see you all again . . .” She gave Sora a hug, “So how’s the happy couple?” she asked, gesturing at Matt.
“Fabulous,” replied Sora, the smile from the van returning to her face, “Isn’t that right, honey?”
To be continued . . .
-Tai Luva
AN - So, what do you think? Should I continue? The next chapter is called “How To Get Layed . . . er . . . Lei-ed On the First Date” Hope to see you all there ^_^ Thanks for reading!
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