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By: Teresa Mittelstedt, SZ Fiction Writer

Ochigo stumbled into my room, before collapsing on the floor. I sighed and pushed my hair back, pondering what I should do with him. Before I could think of anything, loud snoring caused me to jump. I looked down at a sleeping Ochigo. I guess when he’s drunk, he really exhausts himself. I grabbed the blanket that was folded at the end of my bed and threw it over him, tucking a pillow under his head. If he was comfortable on the floor, then I didn’t want to move him. Honestly, I didn’t want to move him anyway.

“He’s pretty easy to take care of, even when he’s drunk,” Tankai’s voice sounded
through my room. I whirled around, checking the door, but the doorframe was
empty. “Over here,” it sounded again.

I turned to my computer. Tankai was on the screen. His hair was wet, like he had just
gotten out of the shower; and he was shirtless. Why was my heart pounding?
Uncontrollably, my eyes moved down his torso, tracing his abs. If he had a
shirt on, my eyes would be undressing him. Why couldn’t I pull them away?
What’s happening?

“I mean, he just falls asleep on the floor, and it’s easy to leave him there,” he continued.

Numbly, I walked over and took a seat in my computer chair. “Yeah, he’s simple. I actually thought he’d be more complicated.”

Tankai laughed lightly. “What with the way he tries to pick up girls and all.” I laughed along with Tankai. “Honestly,” he started, “did you have any fun tonight?”

I blinked a few times, shocked at his question. “Yes. I had a lot of fun. I can’t remember
the last time I went to a club, just to hang out with my friends.”

Tankai rubbed the back of his neck. Was he nervous? “Well perhaps we could it again.”

“Go clubbing?” I asked, confused at what exactly he was talking about.

He laughed. Even his laugh was nervous. “I was thinking just going out. Maybe dinner and a movie…with me…”

I gasped. “Tankai, I-“

“If you don’t want to then just say so,” he interrupted.

I smiled. “I would love to. When can we go?”

He seemed shocked that I had actually accepted. “How about tomorrow?”

I nodded, trying to hide the blush that crept across my face. “Tomorrow sounds great!”

A loud snore from Ochigo told me that I was too loud. I turned around and watched him
for a second, hoping I didn’t wake him up. He scratched his arm and rolled
over, but his eyes never opened; and soon after he was comfortable, his snoring
continued.

I returned my attention to Tankai. “I better get off this thing. I don’t want to wake up
Ochigo.”

Tankai nodded. “I understand. I’ll talk to you tomorrow at the lab.”

I nodded and waved. “Goodnight.” I concluded my conversation by blowing the screen a
kiss. I could swear I saw Tankai blush before I shut down my computer and
turned off the camera.

I sipped at a cappuccino and took a bite out of a Twinkie. For some reason, coffee and
Twinkies help me concentrate. I don’t know why; they always have though. I
narrowed my eyes in concentration as the spongy texture was tossed around my
mouth.

I attempted to go to sleep not long after I disconnected with Tankai. But several thoughts
and ideas ran through my brain, making my mind restless and sleep impossible. I
decided to apply some of these ideas that I had by instinct. I got into the
program on my computer and began constructing a formula for the cure. I was
really making a breakthrough now. Ochigo was still asleep. But I was careful
not to wake him.

I punched in another element and watched the virtual atom’s reaction to what I added. It
broke. I sighed and dropped my head onto my computer desk. My forehead hit the
edge of the desk. I sat back up, rubbing my forehead, trying to ease the pain.
While doing this, I watched the steam curl up from my cappuccino. Just as I was
about to give up hope for the night, another thought hit me like a school bus.

I typed and clicked until I had the exact formula where I wanted it. Then I crossed my
fingers and watched the virtual atom, hoping to have gotten it right this time.
The words flashed across my screen: Stable.
It took a lot of energy to hold back the squeal rising in my throat. I had done
it! I had found the cure for the disease!

I have to tell Tankai, I thought to myself.

Quickly, I turned on the camera and logged into my chat account. Tankai hardly ever turns
off his camera, or his computer. The screen flashed and Tankai’s bedroom came
into view. The lights were off so I couldn’t see much. Through the darkness I
could barely make out Tankai’s figure in the lump on the bed.

“Tankai!” I called, trying to wake him up. “Tankai! Wake up, you lazy ass!! It’s an
emergency!”

He groaned and rolled out of bed, walking over to the screen in his underwear. I blushed.
But I think he was too tired to notice, or even care. Thank God! He fell down
into his chair, not even coordinated enough to see sit.

He yawned and scratched his head. “What is it, Gwen? Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m great. But you’re never going to believe what I found!”

“What?” He was even falling back asleep in his chair. Poor guy, I felt kind of bad for
waking him up. But he needed to hear about this.

“I found it.”

“Found what? Atlantis? The jump drive you lost last week? The nickel I dropped down
your sink?”

“You dropped a nickel down my sink?” I was suddenly taken off-topic. “That’s why the
disposal wasn’t working properly.”

Tankai nodded half-heartedly. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

I shook my head, getting back to the right subject. “Never mind that. I found the formula
for the cure!”

Tankai blinked, suddenly awake. “Are you serious?”

I nodded. “Watch this.” I pulled up the proper program and sent him the atom model. He
watched it until Stable flashed across the screen again.

He seemed
amazed. “Congratulations, Gwen. You’ve done it.” I smiled triumphantly. “Wake
up Ochigo. We’re going to the lab.”

“We’re
going right now? It’s four o’clock in the morning!”

Tankai
shrugged. “So? I’ll be there in a minute to pick you guys up.” He looked down
at his wardrobe. “As soon as I get dressed.”

I laughed.
“It might be a good idea.”

The moment
of truth: mixing the necessary compounds. There was no way I could do it. Every
other time, I messed up. My nerves vibrated and made my hands tremble with
anticipation. I wasn’t stable enough to fuse the chemicals. Instead I stood
back and watched patiently as Ochigo and Tankai debated on who would be the one
to do it.

Ochigo lost
the game of “Rock, paper, scissors” and now had to combine the mixtures. Tankai
walked over to me and, standing behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist. He
pulled me tightly against him and tucked his face into my hair, inhaling the
scent of my shampoo. He shifted his face to my ear.

“Are you
okay?” he whispered.

“Yeah, I’m
fine. Why are you asking?” I replied.

“You’re
trembling. And you seem tense.”

I smiled.
“I’m just excited…and extremely nervous.”

He kissed
the top of my head. “It’ll work. I promise.”

“Thank you,
Tankai.” I smiled.

Ochigo
hesitated, holding the test tube over the beaker. He glanced back at us with
nervous eyes. Tankai and I nodded encouragingly. Ochigo nodded back,
understandingly. He poured the clear liquid from the test tube into the light
yellow compound in the beaker. The yellow swirled hungrily with the clear and
bonded. Ochigo let out a heavy sigh of relief and I jumped up and down, squealing
for joy.

“Congratulations,
Gwen!” Tankai cheered. “You did it!”

“I’m so
proud!” Ochigo added.

I couldn’t
stop smiling. My mother and so many other people that needed that cure could
finally get it. And it was all because of me, and my two best friends. Though,
I believe Tankai and I were becoming more than friends… I bit my lower lip,
deep in thought. A pair of strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me back
into reality. It was Tankai.

“Let’s
celebrate,” he whispered.

I giggled.
“Alright, but how are we going to do that?”

“You said I
could take you out.” He pulled back from the hug, leaving his hands on my
shoulders.

I nodded.
“Yes, but- It’s so early.” I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind
me. It read 5:45 am.

He
shrugged. “So? We’ll go home and go back to sleep; then later, I’ll pick you up
and we’ll do something.” He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous manner. “I
haven’t thought of what to do, but I’ll figure out something. And I’ll take you
somewhere special that I know you’ll love.”

I tilted my
head to the side, closed my eyes tightly, and smiled. “That would be great, Tankai!”

He seemed
surprised that I had actually accepted. “O-okay. Great! I’ll give you a call
later and let you know what time I can pick you up.”

I nodded.

Suddenly I
remembered Ochigo was still in the room. I stood on my tiptoes and peered over
Tankai’s shoulder. Tankai didn’t move, but looked out of the corner of his eye
at what I was staring at. Ochigo was patiently sitting on the bench next to the
door. He looked depressed.

“Ochigo?” I
called.

He shook
his head. “What? Oh. Hello, Gwen.”

I wasn’t
convinced. “Are you okay?”

He stood up
and nodded. “I was just zoning. I do that a lot when I think. Why do you ask?”

“You were
looking a little pissed off there for a minute,” Tankai answered for me.

Ochigo
stretched his hands over his head and his jaw parted in a huge yawn. “No, I
wasn’t. It’s just this look I get when I zone.” He walked over to us. “What’s
up?”

“Tankai’s
taking me out for a celebration. You want to come?” I asked. Tankai looked
slightly disappointed.

Ochigo ran
a hand through his thick, black hair. “No, that’s okay. If Tankai’s taking you
out then I don’t want to interfere.”

I waved my
hands frantically. “No! You’re not interfering at all. It’s a celebration.”

Ochigo
shook his head. “I would rather not. Besides, I have a headache.”

“That
happens when you get drunk,” Tankai changed the subject.

Ochigo
looked upset. “Yeah, but I didn’t get any phone numbers.”

I laughed
as images of Ochigo trying to talk to girls using lame pick-up lines ran
through my head. “Alright, Ochigo, you don’t have to go. Would you like to go
home?”

He nodded.
“You’re probably getting irritated with me for staying at your house.”

I shrugged.
“Not really. You were drunk and it didn’t feel right to leave you home alone in
that state.”

He smiled.
“Thanks Gwen.”

I jutted my
thumb out at Tankai. “It was his idea.”

He smiled
his thanks to Tankai as well. “Well, I’m going to head home.”

“Let me
give you a ride,” Tankai offered.

Ochigo
nodded and walked toward the door. Tankai followed behind him. I was about to
grab my jacket and follow them to Tankai’s car, but I was stopped by a soft
bubbling sound. I stopped and looked around for the source of the noise. The
cure was bubbling inside the container it was stored in. The glass was sealed
so nothing could leak out, or in… So why was it bubbling? Could it be a delayed
reaction?

“Hey Gwen,”
Ochigo’s voice shouted from the door. “Let’s go!” Tankai honked the horn from
his car sitting outside the lab.

I hesitated
to leave, keeping my eyes on the container that was placed securely on the
shelf. Tankai honked again. I spun around and saw that Ochigo already had his
seatbelt fastened in the passenger seat. Tankai waved, motioning to me that I
needed to hurry. I took one last look at the cure. It stopped bubbling.
Brushing it away, I ran out the door and jumped into the backseat of Tankai’s
car.

“Jeez,
Gwen, we were about to leave you there,” Ochigo warned.

I looked out
the window, still thinking about the cure. “I’m sorry. Something caught my
eye.”

“Gosh. What
possibly could’ve caught your eye in the laboratory? You’ve been in there
several times. Was there a shiny quarter on the ground?”

I didn’t
answer him. I just watched silently as the scenery of downtown Chicago whizzed by. I
was surprised by how
active the streets were at six in the morning. Then again, it was only six.
People were getting ready for work, or school, or just getting up for the day.

“Gwen?” Tankai
was watching me in the rearview mirror. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. I
guess I’m just a little tired.” I rubbed my eyes, trying to convince him. I
hoped he didn’t see through my lie. I liked him, but I didn’t want to tell him
about what I saw. He might get concerned, and I didn’t want him to be worried.

About ten
minutes later the car rolled into my driveway, dropping me off first. Tankai
usually drops off Ochigo first. Why me today? Perhaps he wanted to talk to
Ochigo about something important? I don’t know. And, to be honest, I was too
tired to even care. I waved goodbye to my friends and unlocked the door,
walking into my dimly lit house. Dawn poured through the windows as I trudged
up the stairs to my bedroom; there was no need to turn on lights.

I was
half asleep even as I took off my shoes and pants. Sliding under my light blue
comforter, I snuggled into my pillow and tried to go to sleep. My mind kept
wandering back to the cure. Why was it bubbling? Was it really a delayed
reaction? What kind of reaction could that be? Was it dangerous? My restless
mind pondered these questions, making sleep impossible. But these questions
made me scared of the answers.

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