Right. This has been a long time coming. With school in full swing and doing like, four extracurricular activites, I simply don't have as much time to write. That and my computer's a toaster. Like, burn-one-side-and-hardly-singe-the-other, kind.

PrincessKatniss: Maybe so, but he just sort of looked Hindu to me.

Enjoy!

Dave's been having a surreal day.

Okay, so maybe it's not really been that weird to other assorted lunatics, but for the skinny Hindu kid, it was stranger than seeing a camel in the Arctic.

Hm. Bad analogy. Oh well.

The two teens weaved through the crowds, trying desperately to blend in and lose Dave's screaming parents. About twenty paces behind them, Dave's mother and father were screaming in both Hindu and English.

Aryama Embranthiri: Tuma abhī vāpasa apanē yahām̐ patalā gadhā nahīṁ milatā hai dā'ūda Embranthiri, maiṁ, āpa itanē lambē samaya sē jamīna lēṅgē āpa sūraja phira sē dēkha kabhī nahīṁ hōgā!

Ibhanan Embranthiri: Damnit boy! I'm getting tired of chasing you through this citadel of metal and glass! Get back here right now!

They paid them no attention. Quite a feat, since the yelling could be heard halfway across the airport.

Dave, panting and sweating, suddenly had a terrifying thought. "Sky," -wheeze- "what about," -gasp- "your parents?"

The young Sky, who was in her element, replied off a beat. "It's all part of the plan! I told them that I might do this on the chopper! They're cool with it!"

Even while in all this pain and discomfort, Dave took a moment to admire her. She was kind, smart, funny, and even prepared for a situation like this. He didn't know what he looked like, but he could see Sky quite clearly. Young. Capable. Eternal.

Beautiful.

She saw him staring like a loon, and said rather cutting, "Dave! This is absolutely not the time to fawn over me! Focus on running!"

He shook off the spell that had formed over his already addled mind. Sky was right. Time to get moving.

It wasn't long before the airport entrance was in sight. Unfortunately, at that point, Dave was drained. His head hurt, his arms felt like they weighed a ton, and his arms were more like overcooked noodles than limbs. They hung limply at his side and only moved with the motion of his stride. Despite all this, he felt great. He wore a huge smile, and his thoughts were happy.

His parents were rather strict. He was a healthy kid, and he could hold his own academically, but his entire family wanted him to be a prodigy, as if their health and happiness depended on him being successful in life.

Dave still remembered the day his parents saw the commercial for Total Drama. He had watched what the contestants had gone through, and had no intent to experience the same things. So he took precautions. He bought his parents boxes of books, he sabotaged the television, he threw a brick through a window, anything to keep his family from seeing that ad.

But it was to no avail. It was during the commercial break of Adaalat Daily when they saw it, Chris Mclean on a boat, Pahkitew Island looming in the distance. The host was holding an open case showcasing the entire $1,000,000 prize.

That case was the nail in the coffin. Dave moaned, pleaded, begged to his parents to not make him go to the Island. But they just smiled condescendingly and said, "David, you'll never win the contest with that attitude."

They didn't even know what Total Drama was. Just that it had a big payoff if you won, and damn the consequences.

Now here they were, screaming at him to stop and return home. It wasn't exactly the same as painting on fake tears and getting on your hands and knees, but it felt good, nonetheless.

Dave and Sky burst through the glass doors, making them fly open and gusting a breeze. It looked good with Sky, making her hair billow dramatically and pressing her clothes tight against her body, highlighting her athletic frame. However, it did no favors for Dave, who was on the ground moaning and cradling his forehead. Stupidly, he jumped right before the doors and clapped his head on the metal doorframe.

Dave didn't know what exactly he was thinking. Effect? So he could look cooler? Either way, it was a mistake.

Sky yelped when she saw him fall. "What the hell were you thinking Dave? Christ!" She helped him up by his arm, glancing into the airport with fright in her eyes. Inside, a stream of Hindu was steadily getting louder, along with the sound of furious footsteps.

Dave, suddenly aware of how much the punishment would hurt if he was caught, suddenly scrambled to his feet. Sky looked relieved, then waved him along and started running. The two teens bolted for a cherry red Volkswagen GTI parked a few lanes away. They came closer, closer, closer . . .

Then suddenly Dave felt a jerk on his shirt collar. He made a gagging sound and stopped in his tracks. He turned and there was his mother, her lips pulled back into a snarl and her eyes alight with anger.

She yanked on his shirt again. "You are coming home, David!" He could hear the sounds of the rest of his family approaching rapidly, the furious ramblings of his mother, and above all, the anguished "DAVE!" that came from Sky ahead.

Sky . . . Dave thought.

He remembered the hell that his parents had put him through, the massive pressure on his shoulders almost every day. Always his mother, tried, struggled, fought against Dave. And he didn't do anything about it.

But hearing the cry that came from the love of his life gave him new strength. And for the first time in his young life, he fought back.

He jerked, and was rewarded with his mother's sharp intake of breath. He jerked again, and the grip around his shirt lessened. And with a roar that Dave himself never thought he could make, he broke free.

Full of adrenaline and newfound strength, he dead sprinted for the car. Sky was beside him, and there was a joy on her face like nothing he'd ever seen before.

It wasn't until almost thirty minutes later, listening to the sweet melody of Sky's voice singing along with Taylor Swift, that he finally drifted off into a deep slumber.

Well peeps, I don't know about you, but I think that was better than my usual standard! Comments, PMs, and flames are all appreciated!