Monday, April 25, 2005

Just to give you guys fair warning, I'm not going to be here this weekend. I'm actually going to be in California for my sister's recital. Just wanted to let you know where I'll be in case you miss me.

Strays part 6 Recall The girls persuaded me to stay the night with them. There was an old subway train still in the station and each of it’s cars functioned as rooms for the girls. Felicia led me to her car. “You can sleep on my bed tonight,” she said. I saw a mattress at one end of the car that was layered with several blankets. “What about you?” I asked. “Oh, it’s alright,” she said. “I’ll sleep right here.” She grabbed a few of the blankets and laid them near the foot of the bed. The motor that powered the lights must have been connected to a heater as well because I was starting to feel a lot warmer. So I took off my jacket and shoes and sat down on the mattress. I was now wearing only my socks, sweats, and an undershirt. As I watched Felicia get situated, I still couldn’t believe that she was the white cat that I had saved a few days ago. Felicia; THE Felicia. Quite possibly the main influence of my cat-girl fetish. And she would be sleeping only a few inches away from my feet. The Great Felicia. There was so much I wanted to ask her. “I don’t want to pry,” I said, “but what happened after the Night Warriors tournament? If you don’t mind my asking.” “Not at all,” she said. She sat down on the blankets and began to tell me her story. “Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to be someone famous; someone who was loved by millions. I wanted to be a singer. After the tournament, I used my newfound publicity to finally live my childhood dream. I became a music super-star.” Her eyes started to glitter as she remembered. “It was everything I dreamed it would be. The music, the lights, the cheers of millions of fans. I was here. I had reached the big time. Everything was magic up on the stage. Nobody cared if these ears and this tail were fake or not. At least.... that’s what I thought.” Then her eyes became dull and her ears folded. “When the public found out what I really was, it was all downhill. Records stopped selling and the fans stopped coming.” My brow furrowed and I shook my head. “That is such bull,” I muttered under my breath. “That’s just how showbiz works,” she said soberly. “One day your face is in every magazine, the next you’re lining some canary’s cage.” I couldn’t stand it. “Not on reasons like that! That’s not showbiz, that’s discrimination! You should’ve sued.” “Sued who? My fans?” “No, your.... what?” “The studio didn’t let me go, Artukei. I left. The world just wasn’t ready yet.” I was stunned. “You could’ve fought,” I said. “I would’ve lost anyway,” she said. “Don’t feel sad for me, Artukei. They just weren’t ready. It was a short but glamorous ride and I loved every moment of it. I’ve had my taste of the sweet life. I lived my dream and I have no regrets.” She was being surprisingly mature about all this. It was a very sad story, but thankfully the experience hadn’t left her bitter. Unlike someone else I had met. “How did you meet the others?” I asked. “Summer and I met back when I was still a singer. I was doing my U.S. tour. I met Giselle in Paris about five years ago and Kanasuki’s originally from Osaka but we met here in Metrolex about one year ago. They’ve been like family to me.” Now it was all starting to come together. As she continued, I started looking Felicia over like the typical male that I am. Even after all these years, she still looked.... perfect! The tournament was at least ten years ago but she didn’t look a day older than when she entered. She was FLAWLESS. A goddess among other nekomimis. As my eyes wandered from her shoulders down to her chest to her tummy to her thighs, I suddenly remembered a rather silly question. “How’s your foot?” I asked. Her face became flushed slightly and she looked at me rather shyly. “A little sore,” she said, “but much better. Thank you.” A legendary fighter and a former pop-diva, but she still needs someone like me to help her out. “I’m sure you’re wondering what I was doing all by myself that day,” she said. Well, to be honest, I was. “The night before,” she said, “I had gotten careless and two men captured me. Needless to say, I escaped. But as I ran into an alley, I wasn’t looking where I was going and accidentally stepped on that piece of glass. When I found you the next day, I was moved by your initial kindness. Then when you tried to pick me up, I became wary. But there was something about you. Call it a sixth sense, but I knew you meant me no harm. And when we got to the shelter, I recognized one of the vans in the parking lot. It was the same kind of van that took me away the other night. I got scared and tried to get away, but again you.....” She stopped and looked at me curiously. “There’s something about you,” she said. “Every time you spoke and every time I looked in those eyes I just.... felt at peace.” She leaned forward and looked directly into my eyes. My head lurched back as I gulped hard not knowing what to expect. Then she put on a friendly smile and said, “You have very pretty eyes.” Like clockwork, I blushed. Felicia giggled. “You’ve never had a girl tell you that before?” she asked. “Sailor Jupiter told me that once,” I said, “but I don’t think she meant it.” Felicia lay down and curled up into a little ball. “Goodnight, Artukei. And thanks again.” Then she closed her eyes. As I lay down I whispered my reply. “Goodnight, my lady. And you’re welcome.” I was about to doze off when I heard a voice whisper. “Justin.” I sat up and looked around. Felicia was sound asleep. I heard it again. “Justin. Are you there?” “Ozz?” “Yes. Where are you? You’re not in the house.” “Um... something came up.” “What happened? Are you alright? Where are you?” “I’m fine, buddy. If Aisha wonders where I am, tell her I’m.... tell her I’m spending the night with some friends.” “What do you mean ‘tell her’? You know I can’t talk.” “Well, um... write her a note or something. You know what I mean.” I was speaking fast and sounding a little nervous. Ozz’s voice became suspicious. “Are you sure you’re alright? Where are you exactly?” “Don’t worry, buddy. I’m fine. I’ll be back in the morning.” “OK. See ya later, pal.” “Psst. Hey.” I must’ve been asleep for about forty minutes until someone started nudging me. “Hey. Guy. You awake?” I rolled over and slowly opened my eyes. “I am now.” I looked and saw Summer sitting next to me. “Hey. What’s up?” She nervously player with her hair like before and whispered, “I can’t sleep.” “So you woke me up?” I groggily asked. She smiled cutely and nodded. I sat up. “Well, what do you want me to do?” Summer smiled mischievously. “You wanna play with me?” she asked. My brow twisted in surprise. “What?” “Blackjack!” That was three times in a row Summer beat me. We had been playing cards in her room for several minutes. She was definitely the most energetic of the four, very playful, and quite the jokester. “Felicia said you met during one of her tours,” I said. “Where you from originally?” Judging by her voice and golden locks, I had already guessed that she was from the states. To be more specific, probably California. “I’m originally from southern California,” she said. Yapari! I knew it. “You’re kidding,” I said, “I’m a so-cal native too!” “Shut up!” she squealed in excitement. Yep. She was definitely a so-cal girl, all right. Her voice had a slight hint of a “valley girl” accent. “Really. It’s the truth,” I said. “Get out! What part?” she asked. “Orange County,” I replied. “I grew up in L.A.,” she said. “About two hours away from the OC. You’re right. The first time I met Felicia was at the Hollywood Bowl about nine years ago. I had heard about her when she was a fighter. She was my idol. The only idol someone like me could have, I guess. So when I found out that she was coming to my home town, I, like, totally flipped out. I had to see her. I didn’t have any money for tickets, but no way was I gonna let that stop me.” “So you snuck in?” I asked. “Through the artist entrance,” she said. “I got in and started looking for Felicia’s dressing room. Of course it wasn’t long before security spotted me. They grabbed me and started to drag me out. But I kept struggling as hard as I could and kept screaming, ‘Felicia! I have to see Felicia!’ She must’ve heard all the commotion, cuz the next thing I heard was her voice from down the hall. She called to one of the guards, ‘What’s going on?’ The guard said, ‘We just have a little intruder, that’s all.’ Then she started walking towards us. ‘Let me see,’ she said. The guards brought me forward. ‘Felicia!’ I screamed. ‘Look!’ I threw my head back to remove the hood of my jacket and showed her my ears. ‘I’m just like you!’ But one of the guards laughed and said, ‘Nice try, kid. Almost everyone in the audience has a pair of those.’ The jerk. But Felicia knew what they really were. She stared at me in shock for a second and then looked at the guards like all pissed off. She yelled, ‘Let her go!’ and then she called over her shoulder and said, ‘Lorenzo, give this girl a backstage pass.’ It was so awesome! The guards were all like, ‘Huh? What?’ Then she said, ‘This little girl’s very brave to try and sneak in and see my show. I think she deserves it.’ I watched the entire show that night from backstage. It was the best night of my life. And afterwards, Felicia let me come on tour with her. We’ve been inseparable since. She’s been like a mother to me. To all of us. She looked after me, cared for me, she even taught me some of her old moves.” Summer’s story left me in awe. It was a true testament to her courage and Felicia’s kindness. Now I knew Summer’s story, but there was still one thing that bugged me. “So what was all that ‘Tiger Lilly’ business earlier?” I asked. “Oh, that’s.... that’s just my stage name,” she said. “Stage name? You’re an actress?” I asked. She laughed. “No. I used to be a dancer.” Did I blush? You should know me by now. Of course! “Oh,” was all I could say. Summer caught my prudish reaction and immediately started exploiting it. Putting back on her seductive demeanor, she stood up and smiled devilishly. “You wanna see one of my routines?” she asked as she wrapped herself around one of the poles in the subway car. Her body fur resembled dull yellow stockings, gloves, and an incredibly revealing V-cut swimsuit. Like the kind Nagi wore at the swimsuit competition in “Tenchi Universe.” I tried my best to keep calm. “Hells yeah! No, that’s OK,” I said as I stared down at my cards. But I was just giving her more fodder. “Oh, come on,” she sensually pleaded. “Surely my best friend’s rescuer deserves some kind of reward.” She got down on all fours and crawled up to an inch away from my face. “How about a lap dance?” she whispered. I leaned back and fought to keep my libido restrained. Suddenly, I pulled together my thoughts and added up everything Summer had told me. I cunningly smiled and asked, “How could you have been a dancer if you’ve been with Felicia since you were a kid?” My question brought her completely out of character. Her entire body reacted in surprise. Her eyes widened, ears stretched, tail stood straight up, and lips uttered a small “nya”. Bingo! I had caught her. Then she smiled and quickly kissed my cheek. “A kiss for the smart boy,” she said. “I’m guessing you really are an actress,” I said. “What else could an influential young girl in L.A. want to be?” Summer backed up. “Sheesh! Take all the fun out of it, why don’t ya?” she chided me. “You’re mostly right. I’m an aspiring actress. I’ve never..... did you really think I was a real actress?” She looked at me, her eyes shining. “You’re very good,” I said. “If you hadn’t told me your story first, I would’ve been convinced.” Her cheeks turned beet red and she tried to hide them with her hair. It was such a shy reaction and very out of character for the first Summer I had met. After they came to Metrolex, Summer actually auditioned for a few roles at McMurphy Theater; the most prestigious performance hall in the city. She was very good. But of course, at the auditions, whenever she was asked to remove her ears..... It was just like Felicia. These girls had some real guts. Even after being discriminated and repressed their entire lives, they still had the courage to chase their dreams.

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