The Amaryllis Project [ Chapter Eleven ]
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
"I know this is a bit weird, Iriel, but can I sleep in your dormitory for tonight?"
.x.
When Steven came back with Shiroi, Val, Xenia and even Reisa all dressed up in strange costumes after leaving to answer the knocking on their dormitory door, Iriel was certain that something fishy was up. His immediate response was to recount his time line of events where he was. Seven days ago, he had chanced upon the much coveted hidden room. Seventeen days ago, he had to write an extra essay for Katsurou because he made him eat a sundae. Twenty-two days ago, he had arrived newly from home at the Amaryllis Institute on the first of July. Today was the Twenty-second of July, and by right there was nothing spectacular of particularly eventful occasion to celebrate. Halloween was still far away, and there was no reason to dress up, even if they all looked wonderful in costumes.
There was Xenia, all decked out in a strange collection of a black halter, shin-high boots, an assortment of silver chains and accessories and some serious amount of heavy make-up. Reisa, next to her was no better, dressed up like a maid, looking flirty and French despite her obvious heritage that did not trace to anywhere near the region. Shiroi was somehow in a cat costume, a bastardized and revealing version that looked more like a bar-top dancer than a cat, though the cat ears on her head and matching tail looped over her arm was an obvious indicator of her initial costume idea. Val stood at the back of the crowd with Steven, looking more bored than ever, her silver hair brushed up into a messy twist, with three ornate hair accessories sticking out of it like a pin cushion. She was also the most modestly dressed out of them all, with her high-collared, sleeveless corset and shorts, matched with a long flamboyant train that dragged on the ground behind her, suspended and held up with an interestingly patterned, broad and very stiff ribbon. Iriel was still eyeing their costumes when Xenia waved her hand in front of his face and startled him back to the situation.
"Where're your costumes? Why didn't you turn up? Didn't Franny personally tell Harty that you're invited? Che, the little moron I'll have his brains for lunch and sauté his guts for din--"
"Am I missing something?" Without much choice, Iriel cut her off lest he couldn't get a reply in edgewise.
"Missing something? Well of course!" Xenia exclaimed, horrified, "Franny's birthday party! It's the twenty second of July, Amaryllis Institutes' dress-up day! Didn't Hart-- oh forget him, didn't Kichirou tell you?" Iriel shook his head. "Well, Katsurou then?" Iriel shook his head again, and Xenia pouted. "Well, Haruko obviously didn't tell you. But anyway, we're going off for our own party now and you are coming along."
"Wha--"
Before Iriel could fit in another sentence in the mainly one-sided conversation, Shiroi and Xenia had each grabbed one of his arms and half hauled, half dragged him out of his chair and towards the door. "You, Steven, coming?"
The said individual cast the speaker, Shiroi, a scandalized look. "Of course not, young lady. I, Steven of the noble family of the Hartells have better things to do than engage in the frivolous lives of women. Now leave me be and go enjoy yourselves!" With that as a dramatic parting shot, Steven pressed the back of his hand against his forehead in a feint, and scrambled up into his bed space, pulling the curtains to completely isolate himself there before switching on his laptop powered lamp. There was a pause as Shiroi and Xenia resumed in their combined efforts to drag the rather apprehensive and reluctant Azrael out through the door, before another order came through the plaid curtains. "Oh, someone, open up Iriel's desk drawer and bring me that noble copy Oscar Wilde would you?" Shiroi and Xenia huffed at him in unison as Reisa stood by with her arms crossed, determined to leave without lifting a finger, allowing Val to go retrieve the book and then proceed to throw it perfectly into the curtain where it hit the one who gave the order with a perfectly satisfactory 'thunk'.
And the last sound that they all heard as they shoved and manoeuvred the brunet out through the door was a bunch of muffled curses and swearing before they shut the door on him.
.x.
"Huh, don't you have your own dormitory?" Iriel protested, while Steven creaked his way down the stairs and came up behind him to peer at the person who knocked at the door.
The visitor smiled at him sheepishly, rubbing a free hand against his neck while tightening the grip on his pillow with the other, "Kichirou has Reisa over."
.x.
What Xenia had meant by 'their own party' was basically a crash over at the Yamasaki's dormitory, the one that was so close to the Teacher's dormitory that most students refused to stay there and would request transfers. The lot of them had went right up to the door, covering up the spying glass with their hands while Shiroi knocked cautiously on the door. And upon answering the door, they had all shoved the door open regardless of whoever it was an burst into the dormitory with a loud yell of the pre-discussed catch phrase 'BANZAI!'. Needless to say, Kichirou was jolted out of his wits in an instant while Katsurou had the misfortune of being squished behind the door while the bunch of them elbowed their way through the suddenly small doorway, trying to ease their way in together.
Then whatever that happened was more of a combination of shouting, lot of illegally garnered alcohol, strewn books, a couple of drunk antics - including the time where Xenia tried to strip, only to be stopped in time by Shiroi's flying tackle to the disappointment of the various males present - and a lot of loud music. They also had several rousing rounds of Truth Or Dare, multiple drinking games that Iriel absolutely had no idea what they were trying to play, and a strange game Kichirou called "The Drinker's Confessions" which involved a lot of cups and a lot of hard liquor rather than the beer that they'd been drinking.
"I have a brother who think my girlfriend to psychotic!" Kichirou drawled as he downed his cup. Katsurou glared at him, but apart from his elder brother, nobody moved their cups, showing that he was alone in the matter.
"I... have dyed my hair multiple times~!" Xenia squeaked, her fingers tugging insistently at her collar while she lifted up her shot glass and downed the clear strong liquid in it. Iriel could have sworn he heard Val giggle as he, Reisa, Katsurou and Kichirou lifted their cups and emptied them. Shiroi shrugged mildly as she helped Val refill the newly-emptied cups.
When it became clear that the silence that ensued was because of Iriel, everyone was highly enthusiastic about making him continue on the game. "But I have nothing to say--"
"Forfeit the bastard!" came the slightly slurred cry from Reisa's end as she held up her own glass, "To the royal family..." her words died to a mutter before she knocked back the shot with more force than necessary, and Katsurou coughed lightly in response.
Shiroi looked apologetic, as much as a drunk could look apologetic, and held up a porcelain mug. "Forfeit, Iriel," she smiled at him mildly with the mug in hand, waving it about before Val caught her wrist and forced it still, filling the mug with whatever that was left of the vodka. When the bottle was empty, Val wrenched it carefully from Shiroi's grasp, prising her fingers from the handle and setting the cup down with a clonk in front of Iriel.
"Finish it."
Iriel stared at the mug, the one which could have easily held two hundred and fifty millilitres, with much apprehension. "You have to be kidding me!" he protested, flailing as he pointed at the cup, "This is easily a quarter of a litre! Can't I just think up for something--"
"Oh yeah? Too late for that prince, finish it or you spend the rest of your time tied up in the closet," Val could be strangely firm when she wanted, and the murderous glint in her eyes was definitely not to be messed with.
Obediently, Iriel picked up the mug with as much reluctance as possible, and slowly chugged it down. Xenia, Reisa and Kichirou all started supported him with a rousing round of applause in support, and when Iriel finished, his head was buzzing extremely pleasantly.
"Let's play something else now!" cheered Xenia as she flopped over onto the ground, knocking over her emptied shot glass and flashing off her underwear to everyone sitting behind her.
.x.
Iriel twitched, quirking an eyebrow at him, "But we were all over a moment ago--" Steven flicked the back of Iriel's head disapprovingly, and the brunet flinched in response, "--Che!"
"Hart, don't do that. We're speaking here. And they're both... drunk."
.x.
"Truth or Dare!" crowed Reisa, flipping back her blonde hair with a haughty toss of her head as she too flopped onto the floor and curled up, leaning her head on Kichirou's lap. Like Xenia, she didn't bother to smooth down her fluffed, black skirt, revealing the layers upon layers of white lace that allowed the skirt to maintain its almost gravity defying puff. It also revealed her underwear, but for the sake of Reisa's own modesty, Iriel pretended not to notice. It however went dancing in his head anyway. It was white. And lacy. No, he was not looking. Not looking. Not, not, not...
"What is it with truth or dare you bunch of morons!" Shiroi exclaimed as she sipped cautiously at her cup, three-quarters full with a translucent, brown substance which she sniffed at with more than a little apprehension. "I mean, we've gone through seven whole rounds of it and any more and I'll be telling you what I had for breakfast, lunch and dinner when I was eight."
"Then," Xenia sudenly said, in a voice so serious she didn't sound like the raving drunkard that took her place moments ago, "Let's simply play Double Dare. No truth, only dares. Get out the bottle... Ah, the vodka's bottle will do nicely, pretty pretty bottle..." she murmured as she cradled it then set it on the ground in the middle of the circle, stretching out like a cat almost. "Mouth to whomever will be the person who receives the dare," Xenia managed a grin, a lopsided one without the usual cunning, "So that Katsurou gets a chance too, he who wriggles his way out of everything!"
And it was true, from the time he was squished behind the door till this time, forty five minutes later, he had yet to speak a word. All he did was sit there absently nursing his cup which Val enthusiastically refilled even if it was barely half-emptied. Reisa next to him was giving him several disdainful glances, which he ignored completely, and it seems that all the while, he had done nothing more than study the tiling on the ground. Iriel really did wonder if this guy was really obsessive compulsive like his brother had explained he was, or simply wound up so tightly he was innately against the idea of having fun. Either way, this poor chap was in for it: Xenia had her eye on him--
"Alright then, since darling Katsurou has been so passive all the while, he can start first. Iriel, pass the mug please!" And just as soon as he had begun to sympathise the guy, Xenia began on her dastardly plan. Iriel handed over the mug, and the quarter of a litre capacity with it to her, giving the blond male a sympathizing expression. Katsurou didn't look particularly startled or shocked: the expression was neutral as always, though he now looked a little more of the resigned bit as Xenia snatched the mug from Iriel and began to hunt around for the bottles that were at least half-full. "Val! Val! Pass the whiskey bottle! What do you mean save it? Pass the bloody bottle, we're finishing that!" And finish it she did, taking a sip straight from the bottle, she smacked her lips a little bit and tipped her head to the side for a moment before finally she nodded her head, bobbing it dizzily in agreement. "Pa~! Ah~! Su~!" she declared loudly, before she tbegan to fill the mug with the whiskey, watching intently as the liquid went glug, glug, glug into the solid opaque-white porcelain container. It made one almost nauseous to watch her tip in the alcohol so generously, and the feeling was worsened when she thunked it solidly on the floor and slid it all the way to sit in front of Katsurou, the amber liquid glistening right at the brim, held in place by mere surface tension.
Katsurou cast it a resigned look, "All of it?" he asked, his voice flat, almost slightly disappointed.
Xenia flicked at her curly black hair, "Oh you bet you are! Finish it all or we cocktail it... with... with... Val! What do we have left?"
Val glanced at the carton next to her, the wooden box that was punched with breathing holes and stuck with a label. It looked more like a pet's carrying case, but it was in fact the alcohol smuggling compartment of theirs, one of their few, and right now, it was still carrying two unopened bottles. "You all are not touching the rest!" Val declared instead of answering Xenia, covering her hands protectively over the carton and it's nine slotted compartments, "This is all we have left for like eight days! We are so not finishing it in a day! And anyway, most of you are already wasted! Five beers, one bottle of vodka and now the last bottle of whiskey is resting in Katsurou's mug--" she glanced at the said person, who was now tentatively taking a sip, not even bothering to take up the cup lest it spill, "And all that's left is the wine and champag--Uh, sparkling water! You all are going to save that for the last day."
Xenia bobbed her head agreeably, and picked up the vodka bottle, squinting at it before setting it down again, "Well, there's a couple of drops left at the bottom of this baby, and we can always get a little tonic water from the cafe downstairs. We could also get Katsurou to go around for a day dressed up as Kichirou which includes necking with Reisa--"
"HEY! Shut up, Xenia!" Reisa shrieked.
"--And there's various other things that are nasty enough for a dare... Oh Iriel, do you think you can spin the bottle for me? My head's spinning."
Iriel nodded, choosing not to tell Xenia that his own head was buzzing merrily and his vision was starting to get a little tipsy, and spun the bottle with as much accuracy as he could without falling over.
'Whir' , 'whir', 'whir' went the bottle, round and round until it stopped...
.x.
"Oh... OH!" Iriel's last word was drastically increased in volume was Steven smacked the back of his head and pulled the door wide open, prising Iriel's fingers off the door jamb irritably. Katsurou raised an eyebrow, or at least, tried to as he watch Steven herd Iriel back indoors and return to beckon him in.
"Sorry, that guy's drunk. Think you should know since you were there, so where did you plan to camp? I'll be reading, and I doubt you should sleep on the floor, it gets bleeding cold down there at midnight."
"Um," Katsurou glanced around the suddenly insufficient room, blinking slowly while his survey was interrupted frequently by the sound of rushing water and a loud splashing in the bathroom, "well, somewhere... Anywhere?"
.x.
"What are you all doing awake young people?"
Immediately, seven guilty faces spun to the hallway leading to the door, to be met with the disapproving face of Francesca Noemi dressed in her sleeping shirt and long pyjamas bottoms, hair tousled and arms on her hips. She yawned shortly after her exclamation, quite spoiling the effect, but she waved her hand at them dismissively anyway. "You all..." she paused to rub one eye, without their usual reading glasses, "I won't have seen anything if you all clear up and leave to your own dorms in fifteen minutes. Otherwise, you all do public service in the Vest. Get moving."
Thus marked the sad end of what Xenia called 'our own party' with much affection, and of course everyone went off rousingly helping to clear up. The bottle and cans were slotted back into the smuggling case (or the innocent "Pet Carrier") and Val picked it up, setting off to store it somewhere nobody could find it. Shiroi managed to help escort Xenia out, while Kichirou shook his head at Iriel and Reisa, whom he then helped up and patted his shoulder. "Don't knock into walls," he warned Iriel as the elder made to set off after Shiroi who was waving at him to hurry up, and the drowsing individual nodded blankly.
"You know it’s been a good night when everyone has to switch clothes to go home~" Xenia trilled after Iriel as he went past her dormitory, windmilling her arms at him in an overly enthusiastic wave of good bye.
Whatever happened next wasn't much of a big deal. He got back to his dormitory without a fuss, and after taking a good cold shower started to sober up almost immediately. Steven didn't even bother to greet him, only opened the partitioning slightly to glare at him when he went crashing into the shoe cabinet before he drew the plaid curtains back together. And ten minutes later when Iriel was sure he could even begin to comprehend climbing the ladder up to bed, there was knocking on the door. Again.
And when he went to asnwer the door, it was then that he was greeted by the very strange sight of Katsurou parked outside the doorway with a pillow and blanket tucked firmly in his arms. And if that wasn't enough, he even requested permission to sleep with them. Iriel's first instinct was to rub his eyes and blink very vigourously.
Whatever happened next undeniably led to this.
"Is he... drowning himself in there?"
Steven snorted, scratching his head and ascending the ladder back to his bed space, rejoining his precious lamp, laptop and book with a satisfied sigh as he jumped onto the soft mattress. "You can go check. And it'll be better if he drowned, then you can have his bed all to yourself. Otherwise you're going to have to share with him."
Katsurou twitched visibly, first casting an incredulous look first to the general direction of the bathroom were Iriel was making a big splashing ruckus, then back at Steven who was snuggling into his blankets with the laptop and lamp still switched on and resting on his lap. "And why are you so comfortable with the idea of cramming Iriel and I into one small tiny mattress when you get to rest in your own by yourself?"
Steven looked thoughtful, waving the copy of Sense and Sensibility in front of his face like a fan, "Well... Look at it this way. I'll be reading till about two in the morning -- yes, two, 'a', 'm', honey, and I know you very very veeeeerrrry well. You can't sleep if any sort of light shining within a foot of your face. It's also impossible for me to read without a light on, okay heck that, it's impossible for anybody to read without a light on nearby and I'm not going to get glasses because of you. So--Ah shoot I got off topic, but you get my point." Steven arranged the laptop carefully in a corner and was about to lie back against the wall when he glanced down again at Katsurou with a slight frown, eyebrows contracting together mildly. "You... Do get it right? Well you can still come up and share with me if you like~"
Katsurou shuddered at him, rolling his blue eyes at him with a small amused smirk. "Oh, no thank you darling. I'll think about it a little, but never," he waved him off, tossing his head a little and gazing upwards through his lashes even in a manner that had to be described as cottequish. Stven pulled a mildly disappointed face at him, and laughed.
"What's the joke, did I miss anything?" Iriel had slouched his way out of the bathroom while Steven and Katsurou had been talking, and was now slumping over Katsurou like butter, melting onto him. Katsurou scowled at him, but otherwise allowed him to use him as a support. Steven abruptly stopped laughing, and swept his short hair back with his free hand, with a sniff.
"None of your business," he even sniffed again, and tossed his head, "This be between he and I and not you. Oh no no no! Now be off with you two, I need my time with my beautiful baby Austen. Shoo!" He waved at the both of them dismissively, even managing to add in a really bitchy sigh -- 'hah~!' -- and drew the partitioning sharply with a jerk of his hand. Katsurou rolled his eyes, and Iriel gave him a big bear hug from the side, pillow and all. The blonde squeaked as the hug tightened around his ribs, and shoved at his face.
"Sorry darling."
"Gerroff, I'm sleepy. You sleep on the floor."
.x.
"Ir..."
"I--Iri..."
"Iri... Iriel--"
"Iriel... Wake up."
"Uhh... Ow... My heaaaad... Wha...?" Iriel sleepily blinked his eyes open, rubbing his eye roughly with his left hand absently, propping himself up with his right. "Oh, hey--Ow, my head..."
"I'd appreciate it a lot if you can like, free my arm...?" Katsurou sounded strained almost, and with his throbbing head he couldn't try or even begin to try and comprehend. He was also unable to see, because it was bleeding dark, even the partitioning curtains that separated the two beds was dark: the guy who had said he would read till two in the morning was asleep, and the lights were off. It had to be late.
"What your arm?" Iriel asked, sounding very much confused but still nevertheless somewhat awake now and not just a sleepy person having a hang over, aching head and all. And he was still not catching on, though he was starting to feel distinctively odd, there was something weird going on. For example, the blanket was knotted and missing, and he was cold. But that was the not the real point, Katsurou's voice sounded really close to his ear, and his pillow was really painfully solid, like a rock. "Wha--?"
He could hear his exasperated sigh, and even a slight hint of... well, something else. "Would you like me to... open the partitioning and let you have a look... at the situation?" he sounded hesitant, like embarrassed for his sake, sort of weird and flustered. Instead of waiting for his response however, he reached out with his supposedly free hand, tug gently at the partitioning near the head of the bed, where the window was. There was a soft 'shiiink' as the curtain was tugged, and it slid open to let in the soft light of the moon and lamp post shining brightly outside the building.
"--uhh... ugh... Agh! Sorry!"
.xxx.
Labels: T.A.P.
about one xREDballoon
about meIt was the username that was adopted either in late August or early September of 2009. It was the combined effect of too many games on Orisinal (especially High Delivery) and also her long-time love for how the large red carnival balloons when they fly away.
about meFinalized as a digital signature only in November of the same year, it has since been used everywhere: her previous Gaia account, her account on bubbl.us, and of course every recent endeavor on web and graphic design. It was an aim of hers to use it as something of a brand. From her sketches to simple blog layouts, one xREDballoon presents is her favourite signature as of now.
about meone xREDballoon is the internet handle of a girl, born on a wet day in the early morning of late February. Although astrologically she is a Pisces, she displays many of the Aquarian traits, possibly as a result of being born near the time. She likes the concept of beauty in its most primitive classical form, ruffles layered upon each other generously for flounce or decor, detailed black lace be it crochet or woven, a whole palette of colours from turquoise to grey. She is charmed by the way an old well-read book smells on a wet rainy day, and the way the pages feel, all crinkly and wise under her fingers as she turns the page. She loves the inviting appeal of a blank notebook, and a good gel-ink pen in the colour of the sky.
about meLearn more about her in her personal blog.
about And Then She Fell
about meAndthenshe-fell@blogspot was named as such in October 09, on a whim and on a wish to match the layout that time. And Then She Fell was a lot of things back then: a roleplay layout (in bbcode), a roleplay idea (which was never developed) and also the words emblazoned in huge Ruritania upon an image which showed a falling girl. That was the beginnings of this writing blog as the all-new concept of And Then She Fell.
about meFrom the start, And Then She Fell has always been a semi-personal blog. While visitors are not unwelcomed, no particular effort is put into censoring the content or to sound polite. Just as well that the blog touches on intangible unimportant things, for if it were to talk of life and its nuances, things would sour quickly and it would become a blog of cynical views and criticism.
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