Chapter 2
Here's the second chapter, overhauled. As you can see, I got really creative with the name (Tarantella, part II). :)
The next morning at precisely 04:25 hours, Wufei’s eyes snapped open. He lay awake, blinking stupidly for a minute, trying to figure out why his stomach was a pit of dread. When memory finally flooded back to him, he had to suppress the urge to bury his head in the pillow and scream. Instead, he let out a low moan and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. He got up, knowing that his movements would awaken his sleeping roommates. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he headed over to the laundry basket, where he knew he would find his newly cleaned clothes. As he rummaged through the pile of clothing, his eyes widened.
“Injustice! And today of all days!”
“What’s up, Wufei?” Duo asked in a would-be casual tone as he tossed the covers aside and got out of bed.
There was a long pause before Wufei answered. Seething, he took a few deep breaths, calming himself before responding.
“Duo, was it your turn to do laundry this week?”
“Why, yes, Wufei, it was. How ever did you know?”
Duo’s innocent tone didn’t fool Wufei for one minute. His eyes flashed and his tone turned took on a dangerous edge.
“And did you, perhaps make a small mistake while doing it?”
“Umm… maybe? I didn’t really check.” Duo flashed a grin at Wufei, hoping to win him over. It was futile.
“Perhaps I should be more specific then, Maxwell. Did you, perhaps, by mistake, put my clothes in the same washer as your red basketball jersey?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I might have done something like that… yeah. I guess your clothes aren’t white anymore, are they?”
Wufei growled in irritation.
“Well, that’s what you get for wearing white, ‘fei. I’ve told you time and time again it’s not practical.”
Wufei only grunted in response.
“You can’t seriously expect me to wear these.”
“Weeelll, I’ve often thought about what you might look like in pink. I hear it brings out a golden complexion-“
“Duo! Stop baiting Wufei and get on with it,” Heero growled in irritation. “Wufei, you can borrow a pair of my jeans. Duo will spend a happy few hours at the washer when he next gets a chance bleaching your clothes.” Heero looked to Duo for confirmation.
“Oh! of course. Sorry Wufei, it really was an accident. I didn’t notice I’d put the jersey in there.”
Looking somewhat mollified, Wufei caught the jeans Heero threw him, and turned back to the laundry pile.
“But, you know… you would have looked very pretty in that shade of pink.”
Giggling slightly at his own less than stellar humour, he was silenced when his customary priest-collared shirt hit him in the face. He looked up to see Wufei smirking at him from over by the dresser. Heero grunted in gratitude as his own green muscle shirt and jeans were passed to him, much more civilly of course. Within seconds, a mad dash between Duo and Wufei to get to the bathroom first ensued. Ultimately, the door was slammed in Duo’s face because Wufei was closer to begin with. As Duo sat down dejectedly beside Heero on their bottom bunk, Heero shook his head in private humour at his friends’ antics.
Quatre, for his part, needed no alarm clock to wake him that morning. He was awoken by a piercing cry that emanated from the top bunk. Soldier instincts kicking in, he was awake and standing in 3 seconds flat. Hearing a rustling of blankets and a soft whimper, he realized what and who had woken him up. With agility no teenager should possess in the early hours of the morning, he climbed up to the top bunk. There, he found Trowa, shaking and gasping.. Sighing softly, he clambered onto the bunk with Trowa, ignoring the ominous creaking sound of the old bed sagging under their combined weight. Brushing away Trowa’s sweaty bangs, he tentatively put his arms around his shoulders, unsure of how much physical contact Trowa would be able to endure. Despite Quatre’s misgivings, Trowa leaned into the comforting touch, and soon he was nestled comfortably in Quatre’s embrace. Quatre rocked him quietly for a few minutes, waiting until Trowa’s soft sobbing had all but stopped before separating from his best friend. There was no need for dialogue, the two were so in tune with each other that each knew almost exactly what the other wanted or needed without asking. Leaving Trowa alone for some much needed thinking time, Quatre left the room and wandered down the hallway towards the mess hall. Once what he deemed a sufficient amount of time had passed he headed back towards their room, two steaming mugs of coffee in hand. When he entered, a newly showered Trowa threw him a grateful look as he took his own cup and downed the hot drink almost in one gulp. Quatre smiled gently and said,
“We’re running a bit behind schedule, so we’d better hurry up. If you’re ready, we should probably get something to eat in about 5 minutes, after I’ve had a shower.”
At this Trowa merely nodded, and the two went about their morning routines.
At precisely 06:00 hours, Commander Une opened the door to her office to find her five protégées standing at attention just outside it. Their punctuality was impressive, and Une regretted that the Preventers organization could not take credit for training these five. She had a fleeting moment of sadness for their lost childhoods. It just wasn’t normal for a teenager to be standing outside her office door, silent, immaculately dressed and ready to go at 06:00 hours of the morning. She hoped that the school would show them a bit about normal life, and that one day, they would be able to let go of some of their inhibitions. However, Une was not one to ignore reality; she understood that they would always be soldiers. She knew that it would be foolish to hope that they would be assimilated completely into society. The five of them would likely remain with Preventers, putting down uprisings and securing peace for the rest of their natural lives. Regardless, Une hoped that by getting a taste of what normal, teenaged life was all about, they would loosen up, learn to have fun, and maybe forget the enormous burden that was placed on their slim shoulders at such a young age, if only for a time. Allowing a quick smile to grace her lips, she questioned:
“Shall we be off?”
“Are you coming with us, Commander?” Duo asked with some of his shock apparent in his voice.
“No, Preventer Maxwell,” Une said trying to suppress a chuckle, “Only as far as the Shuttleport.” Turning to Heero, she said, “unless I am sorely mistaken, Preventer Yuy, you have done some research regarding the mission in question. While we walk to the taxi waiting to collect you five, would you care to inform your comrades about where you are going?”
Heero nodded and turned his head to address his friends.
“We are headed to the L1 colony. Saint Christopher’s is a co-educational high school that prides itself in both academic and athletic excellence,” he said gruffly, “It is situated in a small town called Eastwood,” he finished. He looked to his Commander for approval.
“Excellent, Preventer Yuy, and now, I believe we have arrived at the taxi. Please get in.”
The five pilots piled in, but soon found there was not enough room for them all. Duo grinned ruefully,
“Since Wufei and Quatre are the smallest, they’re gonna have to double buckle.”
The others nodded in approval, Quatre sighing and Wufei muttering about “Injustices to his person.”
Wufei turned to Quatre, and retorted seriously:
“Don’t worry, Quatre. Duo’s just jealous that he’s too fat to sit with us.”
Quatre chuckled at that, his laughter obscuring any of the usual awkwardness of sharing a seat.
Une smiled to herself. The boys were already beginning to act more their age, they just needed a bit of a push in the right direction. She hoped that he had made the right decision; that their stay at St. Christopher’s would help them to adjust to a world of peace. When they were finally settled with Une in the front seat, the taxi driver drove off. The ride to the shuttleport was a quiet one, each pilot nursing private insecurities about attending a normal high school.
The next morning at precisely 04:25 hours, Wufei’s eyes snapped open. He lay awake, blinking stupidly for a minute, trying to figure out why his stomach was a pit of dread. When memory finally flooded back to him, he had to suppress the urge to bury his head in the pillow and scream. Instead, he let out a low moan and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. He got up, knowing that his movements would awaken his sleeping roommates. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he headed over to the laundry basket, where he knew he would find his newly cleaned clothes. As he rummaged through the pile of clothing, his eyes widened.
“Injustice! And today of all days!”
“What’s up, Wufei?” Duo asked in a would-be casual tone as he tossed the covers aside and got out of bed.
There was a long pause before Wufei answered. Seething, he took a few deep breaths, calming himself before responding.
“Duo, was it your turn to do laundry this week?”
“Why, yes, Wufei, it was. How ever did you know?”
Duo’s innocent tone didn’t fool Wufei for one minute. His eyes flashed and his tone turned took on a dangerous edge.
“And did you, perhaps make a small mistake while doing it?”
“Umm… maybe? I didn’t really check.” Duo flashed a grin at Wufei, hoping to win him over. It was futile.
“Perhaps I should be more specific then, Maxwell. Did you, perhaps, by mistake, put my clothes in the same washer as your red basketball jersey?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I might have done something like that… yeah. I guess your clothes aren’t white anymore, are they?”
Wufei growled in irritation.
“Well, that’s what you get for wearing white, ‘fei. I’ve told you time and time again it’s not practical.”
Wufei only grunted in response.
“You can’t seriously expect me to wear these.”
“Weeelll, I’ve often thought about what you might look like in pink. I hear it brings out a golden complexion-“
“Duo! Stop baiting Wufei and get on with it,” Heero growled in irritation. “Wufei, you can borrow a pair of my jeans. Duo will spend a happy few hours at the washer when he next gets a chance bleaching your clothes.” Heero looked to Duo for confirmation.
“Oh! of course. Sorry Wufei, it really was an accident. I didn’t notice I’d put the jersey in there.”
Looking somewhat mollified, Wufei caught the jeans Heero threw him, and turned back to the laundry pile.
“But, you know… you would have looked very pretty in that shade of pink.”
Giggling slightly at his own less than stellar humour, he was silenced when his customary priest-collared shirt hit him in the face. He looked up to see Wufei smirking at him from over by the dresser. Heero grunted in gratitude as his own green muscle shirt and jeans were passed to him, much more civilly of course. Within seconds, a mad dash between Duo and Wufei to get to the bathroom first ensued. Ultimately, the door was slammed in Duo’s face because Wufei was closer to begin with. As Duo sat down dejectedly beside Heero on their bottom bunk, Heero shook his head in private humour at his friends’ antics.
Quatre, for his part, needed no alarm clock to wake him that morning. He was awoken by a piercing cry that emanated from the top bunk. Soldier instincts kicking in, he was awake and standing in 3 seconds flat. Hearing a rustling of blankets and a soft whimper, he realized what and who had woken him up. With agility no teenager should possess in the early hours of the morning, he climbed up to the top bunk. There, he found Trowa, shaking and gasping.. Sighing softly, he clambered onto the bunk with Trowa, ignoring the ominous creaking sound of the old bed sagging under their combined weight. Brushing away Trowa’s sweaty bangs, he tentatively put his arms around his shoulders, unsure of how much physical contact Trowa would be able to endure. Despite Quatre’s misgivings, Trowa leaned into the comforting touch, and soon he was nestled comfortably in Quatre’s embrace. Quatre rocked him quietly for a few minutes, waiting until Trowa’s soft sobbing had all but stopped before separating from his best friend. There was no need for dialogue, the two were so in tune with each other that each knew almost exactly what the other wanted or needed without asking. Leaving Trowa alone for some much needed thinking time, Quatre left the room and wandered down the hallway towards the mess hall. Once what he deemed a sufficient amount of time had passed he headed back towards their room, two steaming mugs of coffee in hand. When he entered, a newly showered Trowa threw him a grateful look as he took his own cup and downed the hot drink almost in one gulp. Quatre smiled gently and said,
“We’re running a bit behind schedule, so we’d better hurry up. If you’re ready, we should probably get something to eat in about 5 minutes, after I’ve had a shower.”
At this Trowa merely nodded, and the two went about their morning routines.
At precisely 06:00 hours, Commander Une opened the door to her office to find her five protégées standing at attention just outside it. Their punctuality was impressive, and Une regretted that the Preventers organization could not take credit for training these five. She had a fleeting moment of sadness for their lost childhoods. It just wasn’t normal for a teenager to be standing outside her office door, silent, immaculately dressed and ready to go at 06:00 hours of the morning. She hoped that the school would show them a bit about normal life, and that one day, they would be able to let go of some of their inhibitions. However, Une was not one to ignore reality; she understood that they would always be soldiers. She knew that it would be foolish to hope that they would be assimilated completely into society. The five of them would likely remain with Preventers, putting down uprisings and securing peace for the rest of their natural lives. Regardless, Une hoped that by getting a taste of what normal, teenaged life was all about, they would loosen up, learn to have fun, and maybe forget the enormous burden that was placed on their slim shoulders at such a young age, if only for a time. Allowing a quick smile to grace her lips, she questioned:
“Shall we be off?”
“Are you coming with us, Commander?” Duo asked with some of his shock apparent in his voice.
“No, Preventer Maxwell,” Une said trying to suppress a chuckle, “Only as far as the Shuttleport.” Turning to Heero, she said, “unless I am sorely mistaken, Preventer Yuy, you have done some research regarding the mission in question. While we walk to the taxi waiting to collect you five, would you care to inform your comrades about where you are going?”
Heero nodded and turned his head to address his friends.
“We are headed to the L1 colony. Saint Christopher’s is a co-educational high school that prides itself in both academic and athletic excellence,” he said gruffly, “It is situated in a small town called Eastwood,” he finished. He looked to his Commander for approval.
“Excellent, Preventer Yuy, and now, I believe we have arrived at the taxi. Please get in.”
The five pilots piled in, but soon found there was not enough room for them all. Duo grinned ruefully,
“Since Wufei and Quatre are the smallest, they’re gonna have to double buckle.”
The others nodded in approval, Quatre sighing and Wufei muttering about “Injustices to his person.”
Wufei turned to Quatre, and retorted seriously:
“Don’t worry, Quatre. Duo’s just jealous that he’s too fat to sit with us.”
Quatre chuckled at that, his laughter obscuring any of the usual awkwardness of sharing a seat.
Une smiled to herself. The boys were already beginning to act more their age, they just needed a bit of a push in the right direction. She hoped that he had made the right decision; that their stay at St. Christopher’s would help them to adjust to a world of peace. When they were finally settled with Une in the front seat, the taxi driver drove off. The ride to the shuttleport was a quiet one, each pilot nursing private insecurities about attending a normal high school.