Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Legend ~ Book Two: Misadventure, Mayhem & Really Hot Guys ❯ Four: Planning for Bank Heists ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

   After much debating, they finally decided to meet in the Clubhouse the day after Christmas.

   In the late nineteenth century, when Brady's large, Victorian-style house had been built, the Clubhouse served as a detached carriage house set way in the back of the sprawling property. Her architect father had converted it into a life-sized Barbie's Dreamhouse for her sixth birthday, complete with Barbie-themed furniture and glittery pink everything. She'd even had a matching wardrobe of dress-up outfits, courtesy of an aunt who designed children's playclothes. Two weeks after that, Mr. Summers had packed his bags and took off for California. Brady always referred to the Clubhouse as his guilty goodbye present, but that didn't keep her or any of her friends from spending most of their summer nights camped out in it, playing dress up, telling bad ghost stories and making themselves sick on junk food.

   It had undergone drastic changes over the years. Its painted exterior, exposed to a decade of harsh summers and even harsher winters, had faded from its original eye-gouging pink to an even less attractive grayish mauve. At least where it hadn't peeled entirely off of the walls to expose the original wood beneath. The interior was in slightly better condition. It looked a little threadbare and worn around the edges. The furniture barely held itself together after years of rough play. Spiders had taken up residence in most of the corners, and Brady was pretty sure a family of raccoons had made themselves a nice little den under the wooden porch. But the building itself had been well-built and was structurally sound, although it had become something of an eyesore since the landscapers didn't bother to maintain the grounds around it anymore, allowing weeds and shrubbery to grow wild around it, nearly obscuring it from view.

   Which made it a perfect hideaway for their needs.

   "It's gonna be cold out there," Brady warned. "Mom had the power disconnected awhile back."

   "I thought Reagan still hung out in it," KC said.

   "She did, until one of her friends got caught trying to sneak in a bottle of vodka. And a couple of boys. They've all since been banned. Mom even threatened to have the thing torn down."

   Kimiko snorted. "Because you never snuck boys or booze into the Clubhouse before."

   "Of course I did," Brady scoffed. "I'm just not dumb enough to get caught. Anyway, I'd never drag a boyfriend into that place now. Do you even realize how embarrassing it is to try and make out on Barbie's couch? Spiders and glitter just don't set the mood. Neither does freezing your tits off."

   KC snickered while Kimiko just rolled her eyes. "If you're that worried about freezing to death, we can always just camp out in your bedroom."

   "Screw that. You know how my mom is. She'll keep nagging us to come down and, like, socialize or something. And then we'll probably get dragged into watching the zoo while everyone goes out drinking. My aunts can sniff out free babysitters from the other side of the country."

   "So, the Clubhouse it is." Kimiko jotted in her notebook. "We can drag a couple of space heaters with us. If things go well, we won't be out there that long anyway. And if anyone asks, we're holding a last-minute study session to cram for a big test."

   "And for me to work on my report." KC scratched her head. "Which I haven't even touched yet, come to think of it…"

   Kimiko shot her a droll glance. "An entire month spent gaining firsthand experience of life in ancient China and you didn't even take notes?"

   "Sorry. Guess I got too distracted with the whole trying-to-find-a-way-home-again business."

   "Wait. How are we supposed to get to the book, though?" Brady wanted to know. "Isn't it like locked in the basement or something?"

   "Oh. Well…" KC offered a sheepish smile. "I sort of snuck it out of the library with me. You might not want to mention that to anyone."

   Kimiko stared at her. "You stole a library book?"

   "Borrowed. I borrowed the book. I'm gonna give it back!"

   "…"

   "…Eventually…"

   Kimiko pressed both hands to her face and let out an exaggerated sob. "I-it's like I don't even know you anymore!"

   "Anyhow!" Brady tsked and shook her head with an air of extreme disappointment. "I call for an intervention! This is like the gateway theft to stealing candy from babies or something. It's all downhill from there, man."

   KC huffed and whapped them both with her pillow.

~*~*~*~*~

   Two hours later found her standing beside her bed, the largest duffel bag she owned open and bulging with most of the contents of her dresser. She pursed her lips and held up a long-sleeved T-shirt, shaking her head. "It's summer in Konan, Brady. Summer."

   The redhead shrugged and cheerfully tossed a pair of wool leggings onto the pile. "Seasons change. Never hurts to be prepared!"

   "You know, I already have plenty of clothes to wear over there."

   "Sure, but are they cute and flirty?" Brady yanked a lacy, knee-length sundress from the depths of the closet. "You wanna impress Hotohottie, don't ya?"

   "No!" An afterthought. "And stop calling him that!"

   Brady just laughed and tossed the dress into the duffel.

   "You might as well just let her have her way," Kimiko commented as she idly flipped the pages of a magazine. "You can't stop a bulldozer with a feather."

   KC huffed. "Packing clothes is pointless," she argued. "Lace and frills do not make good hiking gear. And I'm pretty sure we're gonna be hiking all over the country hunting the rest of these Seishi guys. I'm also pretty sure the bad guys'll be hiking all over the country hunting me. The last thing I need is to be screaming 'I'm from another world!' with an outfit like this." She pulled the dress off the pile and tossed it back into the closet.

   Kimiko looked up with a frown. "And is that supposed to make me feel better about this whole debacle?"

   "Why not? Doesn't seem to bother Brady."

   "Brady possesses the self-preservation of a doorknob." Kimiko considered. "As do you, for that matter."

   A balled-up sweatshirt promptly hit her in the face.

   "Nice aim, Brady!" KC chirped.

   "Thanks! Didn't date the football team for nothing!"

   Unfazed, Kimiko tossed the shirt onto the steadily-growing pile of discarded clothes on the floor. "Take necessities with you. Warm clothes that are easy to hike in and won't stand out too much. And comfortable walking shoes! You got any hiking boots?" At KC's incredulous stare, she rolled her eyes. "Forget I asked."

   "Forget hiking boots! Why is there not a single piece of sexy lingerie in your dresser?"

   "Brady! Get out of my underwear drawer!" KC squawked as she snatched the cotton panties and bra from her friend's hand. "I prefer comfort! Is that a problem?"

   "It is if you're trying to get laid!"

   "I'm not trying to—Gah! I give up!" She tossed the underwear into the air and flopped backwards onto the bed, dislodging the duffel to the floor.

   Kimiko snickered. "Told you."

   "Hey," Brady commented suddenly, "I think your mom's home. Just heard a car pull into the driveway."

   "Can't be. It's only…" A quick glance at the clock made KC blink. "Five o'clock?" Boy, time sure did fly when you were having fun…

   She opened her window, leaned out as far as she dared until she could catch a glimpse of the driveway, spotted the front end of her mom's dark blue sedan. The door opened and Annie climbed from the car, arms laden with bags of takeout. KC caught a whiff of pork fried rice and sweet-and-sour chicken and groaned. "Not more Chinese food," she complained.

   Annie must have heard her. Or maybe her mom-sense kicked in at that moment because she glanced up and visibly startled, nearly dropping the food. "Katriana Choinsky, what on earth are you doing?" she yelped. "Get back inside before you slip and break your fool neck! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

   KC grumbled and rolled her eyes as she pulled her torso back into her bedroom.

   "And you wonder why your mom worries about you," Kimiko deadpanned.

   KC ignored her as she gazed around her bedroom. It looked rather like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, which her mother would not appreciate should she discover the mess. "Don't just sit on your butts, help me!" she huffed as she kicked the duffel under the bed. She grabbed an armful of clothes and unceremoniously dumped them back into her dresser, stuffed random sleeves and pant legs through the cracks when its drawers refused to shut tightly. "If Mom sees this mess she'll ground me and she'll ask questions."

   "Just say you're coming to my place for a study session, remember?" Brady reminded her.

   "With enough packed for an entire year?"

   Brady considered, then shoved the discarded clothes pile into the closet with her foot, shut the door just as Annie's head appeared over the top of the stairwell in the hall. "Hi, Ms. C!" she chirped with way too much enthusiasm to be believable. "Got home early today, huh?"

   "Well, it's Christmas Eve and I promised KC I'd be home for dinner." Annie cast a suspicious gaze around the room. "What's up with you three? Planning a bank heist?"

   "Ha ha. We were studying. Big test coming up and all." KC did her best to sound innocent.

   "Hm." Annie dragged a textbook from beneath a few random socks that had somehow made it onto the desk. "Wouldn't it help to use the actual books?"

   "We were just finishing up, actually," Kimiko smoothly interjected as she stood. "Brady and I need to leave. We were baking at my place earlier and there's still some cleaning up to do before my parents get home from work. Right, Brady?"

   "Huh? Oh! Uh, yeah, we gotta go. 'Cause cleaning. And stuff."

   Kimiko hastily snagged the redhead by the sleeve and dragged her from the room. KC followed them to the front door and handed off their coats, aware that her mother trailed right behind.

   "Don't forget, weekend study session at Brady's after Christmas," Kimiko announced with exaggerated volume.

   KC rolled her eyes. "A little louder? Don't think they heard you in Konan yet," she muttered. "You're gonna blow my cover if you keep acting so squirrely!"

   "Yeah, Kimi, don't be such a spaz," Brady teased.

   "Oh, like you can talk!" Kimiko playfully punched her in the arm as the two girls made their way to the yellow convertible parked beside the curb. They were still bickering as the car pulled away.

   KC heaved a sigh and closed the door before she wandered to the kitchen, where her mother busily opened the takeout containers. She poked her nose into one and the scent of shrimp egg rolls made her stomach growl. Okay, maybe she could handle just a little more Chinese cuisine…

   "I know I promised an actual restaurant," Annie began as she scooped fried rice into a bowl, "but it didn't occur to me that reservations on Christmas Eve might be the tiniest bit impossible to make last second. So, plan two: sweet 'n sour chicken and Christmas movie marathon. Sound good?"

   "Sure! What're we watching?" KC picked up a trio of rental DVD cases. "It's a Wonderful Life. Always a classic. And really boring." She tossed it aside, ignoring her mother's huff. She held up the second case. "Die Hard? Really?"

   "What? It's a Christmas movie!" Annie protested with a laugh. "There are decorations and everything!"

   "You just wanna watch Alan Rickman playing the suave, super-villain terrorist," KC teased.

   "Well, can you blame me?"

   Good point. But listening to her mother moon over anyone who wasn't her dad was up there on the weirdness scale with listening to Brady crow over her latest conquest. Some things she just did not want to hear about. "Moving on." She examined the third DVD case and then heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Right. Gremlins it is," she decided. "Nothing says Christmas like chopping up a bunch of slimy little monsters with kitchen appliances."

   "Oh, come on. It's a classic!"Annie teased as she carried her bowl into the living-room, kicked off her shoes and relaxed on the couch with a sigh. KC followed with her own bowl and the movies and slid Gremlins into the player before joining her on the sofa.

   They ate in companionable silence for awhile, paused the movie to get seconds. As KC took a bite of white rice off her chopsticks, Annie commented, "You know, you're getting to be pretty good with those things."

   KC almost choked on her mouthful and took a gulp of sweet tea to wash it down before she replied. "Been practicing, I guess." Of course, it wasn't like she could say where she'd been practicing, so she left it at that.

   After a few more moments of silence, Annie put down her fork and turned to face her daughter. She seemed oddly hesitant. "So, I take it things didn't go so well with your dad?" she finally ventured.

   KC studied a bite of chicken at the end of her chopsticks. "Did he call you?"

   Annie hummed. "He left a message on the way to the airport and asked me to talk to you, since you clearly weren't in a mood to talk to him."

   KC's scowl deepened. "Can you blame me? Telling me I've been replaced. I dunno what else he expected."

   "A little understanding, I suppose."

   "Like the kind you displayed when you stomped out this morning?" Appetite gone, she pushed her bowl away.

   The corners of Annie's mouth tightened the way they always did when she was about to launch into lecture-mode. But after a few moments of silence, she sighed. "You know I had to leave for—"

   "Work. Yeah. I know. It's always about work with you," KC cut in. "How long are you gonna keep using it as an excuse to avoid family drama?"

   Annie pursed her lips, sat back with her hands folded over her drawn-up knee. "You know I've had to put in so much overtime lately because I'm aiming for that promotion," she said after a few moments. "If I can make office manager, it will mean a good pay raise and steadier hours. I'll also have more say over scheduling matters, so I shouldn't have to work as much."

   "So you won't work so many weekends and holidays?" KC asked hopefully.

   "That's the idea. Eventually, anyway. We just need to have a little patience. I don't enjoy working so much either, you know. It interferes with … other matters."

   KC nodded, sat back and began to pick at her food again. After a few moments, she realized her mother still watched her, expression thoughtful. "What?"

   Annie sighed. "There's something else I've been planning to tell you, but after today, I'm hesitant to bring it up."

   KC frowned. "We're moving."

   "No."

   "…You're dying?"

   "No!"

   "Well, you never know!" She shrugged. "Okay, you're getting remarried, too."

   A marked silence greeted this guess, and her eyes widened as her stomach took an abrupt nosedive into her feet. "You're seriously getting remarried?"

   "No, of course not. But…"

   KC swallowed. "But?"

   "I am seeing someone," Annie admitted. "Casually. A coworker of mine. His name is Terrance Williams. Tate. He started working the cubicle beside me about three months ago and he's a really nice guy. I think you'd like him."

   "You've been dating this guy for three months?"

   "Of course not." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Only about a month or so, and it's been very casual, as I said. We've stopped for a bite to eat or a drink after work once or twice. He often brings me food from the deli down the street when I have to work late. We get along well and I consider him a good friend. But, he's been hinting around that he'd like to get more serious. And I think I'd like that, too."

   “But…” KC could hardly think. Her stomach suddenly hurt and she felt slightly nauseous. “But what about Dad?”

   Annie gave her a blank look. "What about Dad?"

   "I…" KC dropped her gaze, eyes burning. Her entire face felt hot. She blinked rapidly. "I just…"

   Her mother sighed. "I know you always hope for Dad and I to reconcile someday," she began softly. "Honestly, I used to hope that, too. But we've both got to face facts that he won't come home anymore. He's living the life he always wanted. He's moved on, Katriana. Don't you think it's about time for us to move on, too? I'm tired of waiting for something that's never going to happen. We both deserve to be happy, too, and … Tate makes me happy."

   "If you and Dad hated each other so much then why did you even get married?" KC tucked herself into a miserable ball in the corner of the couch.

   "I've asked myself that same question. But I don't hate your father. I loved him very much. I still do, no matter how much we bicker. And I know he loves both of us, even if he's lousy at showing it."

   KC snorted.

   Annie reached over and gave her knee a squeeze. "Some people can love each other and still be completely wrong for each other. Your dad and I grew up together. Our parents were best friends and so were we."

   "Yeah, I know. Dad always told stories about the trouble you two used to get into when you were kids."

   She laughed. "Yeah. And we bickered all the time back then, too," she added dryly. "But in eighth grade he asked me to our school dance and that's when our relationship changed. We dated all through high school. Never even considered seeing anyone else. It just felt like the next natural step was to get married. But my mother was completely against it. I guess she could see what I refused to, that Chris had a completely different goal in life than to settle down and raise a family. I believe he really does love us, but…"

   "He loves his art and traveling the world more." KC stabbed at her cooled rice with a chopstick.

   "Yeah. I guess he does." Annie sighed and wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "The thing that upsets me most is how easily he was able to leave you behind. When the subject of custody came up, he didn't even try to fight to keep you."

   KC slid her a sideways glance. "That your way of saying you're pissed 'cause you couldn't foist me off onto him?" She received a light swat on the knee.

   "You know that's not how I meant it! Of course your welfare was most important and heaven knows moving every few months while your dad looked for new work is no life for a child, but I wish he would have at least tried to keep himself in your life more."

   "He did try. At first," KC pointed out. "Up until he forgot my existence." She received another swat. But no denial.

   A few moments of silence, and then Annie nudged her. "So? What do you say?"

   "About what?"

   "About me seeing Tate!"

   KC considered. "Are you asking my permission?"

   "No. But it would be nice to have your blessing."

   She chewed her lip, then shrugged. "Do what you want."

   "Thank you. And will you meet him? He's invited us both to a New Year's party next week."

   "That depends."

   "On?"

   "On whether you're planning to spring any more surprise stepsiblings on me," KC deadpanned.

   Annie huffed. "No, there are no siblings. Tate's a widower. His wife had a heart condition. She wasn't able to bear children. And she died about six years ago."

   "Oh. Sorry."

   "Don't be. Just letting you know where he's coming from. He's a perfectly normal guy. So will you go to the party?"

   KC sighed and nodded. Restarted the movie to signal the end of the discussion. She watched the gremlins wreak their havoc without really seeing anything, her mind fully occupied with the smallest beginnings of an idea.

   One that just might change everything.

   One that involved a magical bird, a wish, and an unbelievable adventure waiting for her an entire universe away.