Chapter 4: The Arrival
"Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for the landing, please."
Tea gritted her teeth. She hated the bumping sound and the shaking feeling that followed
when the wheels of the airplane touched the ground.
"Are you nervous? You don't need to be, honey, I've been in an airplane a billion times and nothing's ever happened to me", Samuel grinned.
"I'm not nervous", Tea snapped. "And stop calling me honey!"
She was already irritated.
"Oh, yeah, I don't even know your name", Samuel laughed.
"Tea", Tea said shortly. "Just Tea."
"Tea… beautiful name. Just as beautiful as you", Samuel said, leaning close, breathing on her cheek. Tea felt for pushing him away.
"Caesar Park guests this way, please!" a woman shouted loudly, as she waved a wooden sign saying 'Caesar Park' at the airport. Tea smiled warmly as she approached them.
"I didn't know you were taking in on Caesar Park, too!" Samuel beamed. "Now we can spend lots of time together, can't we?"
Tea had to stop herself from groaning loudly.
"Maybe", she said at last, forcing a smile. "… I… might be busy."
"Caesar Park guests here, please! No more Caesar Park guests? Then let's go!"
The woman grinned as she marched towards the airport's exit.
"All your baggage will of course be delivered to the hotel and to your room", she shouted as she walked out of the automatic glass doors into the bright sunlight. There was a blue mini-bus there. Tea stepped on board, followed by a line of mumbling and laughing people.
"Why can't we go, too?" Joey said jealously as he folded his arms, glaring at the bus, which drove away.
"Because then it's a bigger risk that Tea notices us", Mai replied, folding her arms, too, as she looked around impatiently. "Now, where's that taxi? I KNEW men were unable to trust… oh, here it is."
Joey rolled his eyes meaningfully at Tristan, and Tristan shrugged. Yami, though, looked still depressed. Rebecca was chatting gleefully as she giggled and clung to Yugi, whom was looking desperately at Duke and Bakura. They only shook their heads and grinned back at him. At last, Yugi gave up.
"The weather is just as hot in Taiwan as in Japan", Serenity remarked, wiping some sweat from her forehead. Joey opened his mouth to reply, but was cut across by Tristan:
"Yeah, but you don't like cold, do you?"
"No, I don't", Serenity smiled at him.
"You can borrow my handkerchief, if you want", Tristan began, but was interrupted by Duke:
"Here, take my handkerchief." He handed her a white handkerchief. Smiling, and with a
'Thanks, Duke-kun', Serenity wiped her forehead gently with the handkerchief, as Tristan joined in with Joey's sulkiness. Duke, however, beamed at them.
"Oh, THERE it is", Mai said. The others turned around to see what she meant. It was a bit smaller than a bus – but larger than a taxi. It had three rows of seats. Enthusiastically, the others jumped into the taxi; Mai in the front row with the taxi driver, and Joey beside her; in the middle row sat Duke, Serenity and Tristan, while Ryou and Rebecca had to share a seat together with Yugi and Yami.
"Oh, it's beautiful here", Rebecca said, after ten minutes of silence, when they reached the town. Coconut palms were on both sides of the road, and small, low houses were there, too; and then they could see the bright-blue sea, and the beach where small figures moved around, and the high houses and the shops.
"I wonder if they've got a card shop here", Ryou grinned at Yugi and Yami.
"Yeah, maybe there're great cards to buy", Yugi grinned back. "We must go and see it!"
Sour that Ryou had interrupted her 'conversation' with Yugi, she pouted the rest of the journey to the hotel where the boys discussed buying cards enthusiastically, but she wasn't the only one not talking. Yami was silent too, staring at the beach outside.
Tea put her hand on the window. The glass felt cold and smooth to her fingers, as she slowly stroked it, gazing thoughtfully out at the palms that flashed past, and the ever-moving sea. The white foam licked at the children's feet as they played tag with the waves. She longed to be out there; swimming and sunbathing and…
"And then we were all like, 'What, but'…"
She heaved a deep sigh. Samuel had chosen to sit beside her, and just like on the airplane, he was babbling on and on about his deeds and his boring life. She only hoped he wouldn't come to her hotel room – she'd be relieved to get new friends. Right now, she could only hope he'd start to choke.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here's our hotel", the woman suddenly said in the front. The attention and interest was immediately caught, and she grinned widely as they all leaned towards the windows to gaze at it. It was huge, it was beautiful – it was Caesar's Park.
"It looks nice, don't you think?" Samuel asked her, grinning.
"Yeah", Tea agreed, and stared as the bus stopped. She took off her belt and immediately ran down the bus.
"Isn't it a beauty?" the woman chirped in her ear.
"… Yes", Tea repeated, still staring at the doors. They were made of glass and had golden handles. They walked into the hall, whose floor was a crimson carpet; there were couches on the left side, and a piano right in front of them, a small cafeteria with large windows on the wall – and the receptionist on the right.
"Cool", Samuel said, whistling. Tea ignored him and walked towards the receptionist. A few children laughed and screamed as they chased each other in the gigantic hall.
"你好", the young woman smiled behind the reception desk. She was wearing a white blouse under a black vest, a black bowtie and a black skirt; she reminded Tea somewhat of a waitress."
"Err… hello", Tea greeted back doubtfully in English. The woman blinked at her in astonishment, and then immediately put on her smile again.
"Hello", she said with a rather lousy English. Tea had to stifle a giggle, and coughed instead.
"Guest?" She made a gesture at the hotel rooms. Tea nodded. "Wright here, pleez."
She pushed a paper towards Tea, and she wrote her name neatly.
"Theenks", she beamed, took the paper, and put it back into its place. "Key. To hotel room. Number on key." She made another gesture at a golden key she handed to Tea.
"Thank you", Tea said politely, took the key, and eyed the number. '113'? Didn't sound like a lucky number. Chuckling, Tea walked down the hall. And just there it was! Just where there was a door out to the hotel's big yard. She inserted the key in the keyhole, and with a small 'click', the door was pushed open. She took a deep breath.
So, Tea had been to this hotel and that, but she had never seen a bedroom like this before all the same. The bed was big and soft, neatly made; there was a cute bedside table with a little lamp, a big wooden closet, and a clean, sparkling white bathroom. And best of all – the windows were DOORS. You could push them apart, and walk right out to the beach and everything, and you could see the children play in the playground. And there was an armchair and a small table with a plate of fruits, and a desk and a wooden chair… everything you needed.
Am I going to live here, or is it just for decoration? she thought, breathless with wonder.
"Yo, Tea, how was your room? Nice?"
Samuel looked inside, and Tea swore quietly for herself. Now Samuel knew what room she had!
"Yes, kind of", Tea said irritably. "Would you mind going away? Because, you know, this is a girl's room."
"Oh… yeah, right. See ya later then. At the beach?" he suggested.
"No, I want to be alone", Tea said shortly. "I MIGHT see you during my vacation. Goodbye!"
She slammed her door in his face, and sighed in relief. Now one problem was gone. The other problem was… have fun without your friends.
"Wow… so, we actually LIVE here?" Joey goggled at the room. Mai raised an eyebrow.
"No, we're just going into a museum", she said sarcastically. "Go in now, dog boy."
"Dog?" Joey looked with pretended shock at her. "I'm not your kitten anymore?"
"Alright then, cat boy. In with ya!"
Mai pushed Joey playfully into the room as she shut the door closed, and sighed. "Alright…" Her eyes scanned the room. Two large beds. Perfect. She didn't need to share it with him anyway. Then she heard somebody knock on the glass door and saw Tristan grin at them. She swore under her breath as she pushed the glass doors apart and he stumbled in, followed by the others.
"This hotel is wonderful", Ryou commented as he stepped in, smiling.
"If it hadn't been, I'd have killed you guys. It cost me a fortune and I got fired after I paid it", Mai commented.
"Whoops, sorry to hear that", Tristan said, but then started gobbling up the litchis on the white plate.
"Hey! They're mine!" Joey burst out, raged. Mai raised an eyebrow.
"I thought they were ours?"
"Alright, ours then", Joey said sulkily, and the others burst into hearty laughter.
"Where's Yami, by the way?" Duke wondered, still feeling a bit sour that Serenity and Tristan were sharing a room.
"Oh… he's still in our bedroom", Yugi began, but was interrupted by a chirping Rebecca:
"Why can't we go and get ourselves something to eat and drink? I'm all tired after the journey here."
"We can't", Mai commented, raising an eyebrow. "Tea might catch us. We must be careful, if she knows we're here, she's never going to forgive us. You've all got to have your curtains drawn, so you're out of view from the outside. We've got to call the receptionists to bring us food."
"Can't we even go to the morning buffet?" Joey asked, disappointed.
"Of course we can. But firstly after Tea has left. I've told a receptionist that if she phones us about when Tea Gardner leaves and enters the meals. We come right after. If she spots us… we're dead."
The others nodded in agreement.
"What're we waiting for then? Let's go!" Mai exclaimed, and with a loud 'Hooray!' the others rushed down the corridor for the restaurant.
Yami leaned against the wall and stared blankly at the beds in front of him. He felt so horrible. He could hear her 'I'm not hungry' over and over again in his head, and see the sparkling droplet that trickled down her cheek.
To be honest, he hadn't understood. He still didn't understand; why was she acting like that? All he knew was that he had hurt his best friend and she was so mad at him that she didn't even want to celebrate Christmas with her friends anymore. He had got to fix this – or else, not only would their Christmas celebrations be ruined, their friendship would be, too. And…
He scratched his head. Why were girls so difficult to understand?
Why was she mad with him? He knew she disliked his fangirls, but… but why?
It couldn't be…
His eyes widened at the thought, but then shook his head. Impossible. His fantasy fancied playing around with his brain.
He remembered last time when Belinda had bothered them… she had been mad at him that time, too, but this time, it was even worse. She had been crying and everything. He had desperately tried to shake Belinda off to speak to her in private.
"It's nothing", she sniffed, and dried a few tears. "I… only got something in the eye."
"Don't lie, Tea", he said, and he felt something sting in his heart. Almost like somebody had stuck a needle there. "I know you're crying." "Alright, fine!" she had yelled, and he had flinched of her sudden yell. "I'm mad at you because I can't stand Belinda going around flirting with you like that! If you end up being a couple, then it won't be like I care, if your heart is broken and she's stepping on it and everything! You're a fool, Yami, you know you are! And Belinda thinks I like you out of some stupid reason I don't know, so she goes around bothering me to BOAST about how wonderfully romantic you are, and it drives me insane! I don't care if you have a thousand fangirls like Belinda or not and you get all enchanted by them, but don't you even THINK about the possibility that I would be one of them!" Yami had felt a bit taken aback by what she had said, but sudden didn't feel the urge to protest when he saw the tears that ran down her cheeks. He had softened, and he said, a bit hurt: "Do you really think I've told her something like that?" Tea had at first widened her eyes, and then she had looked away, and sniffed: "Who else would have?" He just shook her head, and put a hand on her cheek to wipe away some tears. "She would've, you know that. She's just jealous because… because you're my friend. I care about you, and you care about me, and you know she'd never be my friend." Tea had looked up again, into his violet orbs, seeking for some sign of a lie – but had only found honest friendship and a bit of some hurt pride. "You're so stupid, Yami! And you're still my friend", she had sobbed, and had started to cry on his chest. "Don't cry", he had told her softly, as he had put his hand on her cheek. "Don't." He shook his head again. Everything had ended so well then. But this time, it was worse. She just didn't want to listen… he had already phoned her thrice after school the same day, and her mother had just said that she was away dancing. But being outside her house, he very well knew she hadn't left the house since after school. But she just didn't want to talk to him. He heaved a sigh. And now they were here, trying to keep an eye on her. Their Christmas was ruined anyway.
Tea bit her lip as she scanned the area swiftly for any sign of Samuel. Finding none, she felt satisfying relieved, and sat down on the little swing.
Alright, it wasn't like she didn't know the playground was for kids. But sometimes, you just needed to relax, and she knew no better way to relax than to sit on a swing – watch the world flash past you and the wind ruffle your hair, and just forget everything and be a child.
Why was she thinking about him again?
She shook her head impatiently as she moved her legs rhythmically as the swing started to move. A flashback unwillingly crept onto her mind…
"Tea Gardner, you disgust me."
Belinda had talked to her as if though she had been some kind of worm, drained in dirt and mud. Yami had just let his eyes slowly creep from Belinda to Tea. The two girls stared daggers at each other, Tea's eyes flashing furiously while Belinda's were filled with more disgust than she could possibly stand.
"You disgust me too", Tea said under her breath, but she flashed a triumphant smile at her.
"Well, what does it matter to me?"
"The fact that I'm going to kick you out of this school is what matters", Belinda had said, flashing an identical copy of her smile back. "My father's the principal… and the owner of this school."
Tea had flinched, and Belinda's eyes had hidden some amusement in them. Cursing herself for revealing herself, Tea merely smiled:
"Oh, really. There're other schools, aren't there?"
"Oh, not with the King of Games in it, does it?"
"No, but friends can meet outside school too, in case you didn't know." Belinda's turn to flinch. Tea had made a victory dance in her mind. Strike! She knew perfectly well that Yami had never asked Belinda to meet him after school. In fact, they had just met randomly in town (she, herself, believed that Belinda stalked him) and Belinda had clung onto him the rest of the day.
"You've been… asked OUT by HIM!" Belinda's eyes had looked, hurt and accusingly, from Yami to Tea.
"Well… yes", Tea said innocently, "But friends can meet outside the school."
"Don't be foolish, Gardner!" Belinda had shrieked, her eyeballs almost bulging out of their sockets. "Everybody knows you like him – except himself, of course!"
"Oh, REALLY, I didn't know you had the ability to read minds", Tea said coolly, making Belinda flush in rage. "C'mon, Yami, we're already late for class."
Yami had just looked in amazement at Tea, nodded, and followed her as Belinda had glared after them… and picked up her mobile phone. Smirking, she clicked on a few buttons and then whispered:
"Hello? This is Belinda… yeah, I've got a new job for you. You get one hundred thousand yen… her name is Tea Gardner. Dark brown, short hair, ocean-blue eyes, tall, dressed rather fashionably…"
"Ouch!" Tea had fallen to the ground, her face filled with bruises. A foot stepped onto her leg brutally and almost crushed it. Tea gasped for air as a terrible pain struck her. A few droplets, easily recognized as tears, trickled down her cheeks.
"Curse you!" she had yelled, her voice thick with tears and pain, "Curse you!"
"What did you say?" One of the muscular men took her chin and dragged her back on feet, staring threateningly at her. "Did you curse me?"
"Yes, I did!" she answered fiercely, and shrieked in pain as she was once again hit to the ground. Barely able to stand up, he started to stomp on her body, followed by the other five ones…
"What're you doing?" A familiar voice reached her ears, and another few tears trickled down her dirty, injured cheeks. "Yami…", she whispered, as the tri-colored youngster appeared before them.
"Does it any matter to you?" the man whom had stepped on her leg sneered at him. "We only do what we're told to do."
"And who told you it?" Yami said, staring fiercely at him.
"Oh, cheeky, are you? he had hissed in reply. "Well, we can beat you up as well."
He had aimed with his fist, but Yami had caught it halfway successfully and thrown him to the ground.
"Don't you even dare…", a woman growled as she hissed like a snake.
"No, Yami! Please! You'll get hurt!" Tea's eyes filled with more tears as Yami started to battle with them. At last, their leader had said:
"Hah! One good challenge. See you until next time. Now it's time to inform mistress Belinda of the events." He turned to his men, and cackling wickedly, they walked away from the battlefield. Yami groaned as he fell to the ground, clutching his arm.
"Yami! Are you alright?" Tea exclaimed, crawling over to him.
"Yeah, nothing wrong", Yami said with a bursting voice, filled with pain. Tea leaned closer.
"Let me have a look – here –" She slowly pulled away his hand, and her eyes filled with tears as she saw it. Blood. The woman had dug her nails into his skin, and apparently, the nails were filled with slight poison – the part where he was injured had suddenly turned deep purple.
"Oh, Yami", she sighed.
"How do you feel?" Yami asked, ignoring to answer her sighs. "Not injured?"
"No, not much", Tea replied – but immediately realized it was a lie. The mark after the man stepping on her leg was too clear; it was purple, too. She had bruises all over her face, and her clothes were dusty and dirty.
"Your leg", Yami frowned.
"That's nothing – but your ARM – Yami, I'm so sorry…"
"What're you sorry for?" Yami flashed a weak smile at her. "I battled on my own, I did it on free will. You didn't drag me into it or something."
Tea smiled through the tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"Don't cry, Tea", he added, as he brushed away some tears from her left cheek.
"No, I won't", Tea said thickly, as she brushed away some other tears.
"C'mon, let's get back home."
Yami, still clutching his arm, arose, and waited for Tea to do the same – Tea tried desperately to arose, but her purple leg was trembling terrifyingly.
"Are you alright?" Yami repeated worriedly, frowning at her leg.
"Yeah, I think", Tea smiled, as she tried to arose – but failed again. Yami bent down into a
strange position, like a frog. Tea giggled.
"What're you laughing at?" Yami said, pretending to wrinkle his forehead.
"Nothing", Tea chuckled, and Yami joined in. "You just sit… strangely."
"C'mon, get onto my back", Yami urged on her.
"What?" Tea blinked.
"Your leg's not alright. You can't walk with that, and it's way too far away from your house."
"But… your arm –"
"It'll be alright. It's not as bad as your leg. C'mon, what're you waiting for?"
Yet hesitantly, Tea stumbled onto his back.
"Oof! You're heavy", he chuckled as she leaned towards his neck. She breathed on his neck.
"I'm not!" she protested, but he only continued to chuckle. "But I'm not too heavy, am I? I CAN walk on my own – "
"Nope!" he said determinedly, "If you continue to protest, your horse's gonna gallop. You will want to control this horse, I tell you."
"You? A HORSE? The Horse of the Games?" Tea burst into a fit of laughter, and Yami joined in as he started to walk.
"Don't even dare to laugh at me, the Horse of the Games!" he said with a faked growl. "Or else…!"
He made small jumping move which made Tea hop on his back uncomfortably.
"Oof!" she exclaimed, but he only started to zigzag in a wild gallop. "Stop it!" she laughed.
"Stooop iiiit!"
"Alright, then", Yami grinned as he slowed down to a walk.
"There's my house", Tea said, pointing at a villa in the horizon. "Are you sure…?"
"Yeah, it's not that far. Plus, I will need some training…"
After some more teasing and another wild gallop, they were finally there, by the garden fence. Yami bent down again and allowed her to fall onto the grass. He offered a hand and helped her walk all the way to the door.
"Thanks", she beamed at him. Yami smiled back.
"What're friends for?" he imitated her, and she burst into laughter. Then she smiled, too.
"Thanks for carrying me home… and rescuing me from the bulls."
"Yeah, but who sent them?" Yami frowned.
"… Didn't you hear? Mistress Belinda…"
A cold droplet trickled down Tea's cheek. What was she doing? Thinking about him again? Laughing weakly to herself, she wiped it away and started to swing her legs rhythmically again.