Chapter 6

Part 1

“Ahh, finallyyyy done,” Xela said as she shuts her laptop closed and yawns quietly.

For the past week, Xela and I have been planning out an itinerary for Rebekah and Will for their Valentine’s Day evening, which is just a day away now. We’ve spent hours and hours discussing and debating locations, times, prices, etc. until we finally agreed with this plan:

7:30 P.M: Will picks up Rebekah in fancy suit and my borrowed car (he has a license just not a car).

8:00 P.M: Explore the Ice Museum together. (yes, that’s a real thing)

8:30 P.M: Mini-golf at the Pioneer Park. (I know it’s becoming more of a tourist trip than a date but we really ran out of ideas).

9:30 P.M: Eat dinner at the finest restaurant in the city. (Xela and I made reservations for two already.)

10:30 P.M: Play fun games at the arcade!

11:15 P.M: Stop for some ice cream, and then drop Rebekah back at her place.

Xela and I are now in Filip’s Cafe with some time to kill before we both head back home.

“Do you wanna know the best part about Valentine’s Day?” I asked Xela, trying to spark any sort of conversation between us.

“Impress me with your very funny jokes, Johnny,” she responded sarcastically.

“It’s celebrating it alone for the seventeenth consecutive year. HAHAHAHA.”

“Are you trying to piss the both of us off?” Xela said while giving a little laugh. “I think you did a pretty good job.”

“Nah, I stopped caring about that stuff a while ago,” I said. “I’m not someone who’s desperate for a relationship. I’m actually quite concerned about that, considering I’m a teenage boy.”

“Sure you aren’t....” she smiled.

“If you don’t believe me, then don’t,” I returned the smile. “Fine then, how do YOU feel about relationships.”

“I’ll be honest here, unlike SOMEONE,” she hinted at me. “I do want a relationship. All my friends are going and finding themselves someone, and I’m still stuck here not knowing what I’m doing with my life.”

“So you’re in love with the idea of being in love? Like in the show Kokoro… Kokoro….”

“Connect. Kokoro Connect,” she finished.

“Yeah, that anime.”

“Speaking of anime,” she started. “Why is Valentine’s Day so easy in Japan. The girl just makes some chocolate and the next day just hands it off to the boy while getting all embarrassed and then just runs away. That’s literally all she has to do but they make it seem like a big deal.”

“Isn’t it pretty much the same here, except with flowers? I think we’re overdoing it just a bit.”

“Maybe, but I’m glad we are. I want to make this Valentine’s Day the best Valentine’s Day possible for those two.”

“Yeah.”

There was a pause for a few seconds until a thought crossed my mind.

“FLOWERS!” I yelled as I stood up. “WE FORGOT THE FLOWERS!”

“Right, the flowers! You go buy them right now, I’ll send you the itinerary tonight and you can print them out and give it to Will along will the flowers”

“Okay, gotcha! See ya later!” I said as I quickly got up and rushed out of the cafe.

Part 2- Valentine’s Day After School

“So… how did it go?” Xela asked me as we took our seat at our local McDonald's.

“Will was reluctant at first, but after I told him how much we spent on everything, he took everything and thanked me.”

“Did you remember the flowers?”

“Yeah… that was pretty awkward though. A lot of people got the wrong idea and were giving us some weird looks.”

“It’s the 21st century for fuck's sake,” she said. “Feel proud.”

“So remind me why we’re at a McDonald’s today,” I changed the topic.

“So you know how Filip’s doesn’t allow you to bring your own food? To celebrate the occasion of Valentine’s Day and share our misery of being single forever together, I thought I’d bring….” she said as she was pulling something out of her bag.

“A box of chocolates! How thoughtful of you. ” I said half-jokingly.

“Well, what did you expect then???”

“I thought you were going to treat me to free McDonald's!” I said, disappointed.

“HA! Like I’d ever do that for you! I’m too broke to treat myself to McDonald’s.”

“And you blow like 50 dollars on a date for Rebekah and Will,” I remarked.

“You did as well!”

“But unlike you, I would buy myself McDonald's, better yet treat someone else to McDonald's on a special occasion.”

“I got us a box of chocolates, take it or leave it!” she said while eating the box of chocolates herself.

A couple of minutes go by and I looked down at the box in which she was carelessly grabbing chocolates out of. To my surprise, she was already finished around a quarter of the box.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing, and I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. I check to see who was calling, and see Hailee, my little sister’s, name show up on my screen. I stepped out of the McDonald’s to answer the call.

“Yes?” I greeted Hailee, annoyed.

“I need you to come pick me up now.”

“What am I, your personal taxi? Get one of your friends’ parents or something,” I told her.

“Don’t you remember? My school trip’s over today. You said through text you’ll pick me up!”

“Oh yeah….. I’ll be there in a bit. I’m in the middle of something right now so I’ll make it quick.”

“So you actually didn’t remember…….” she said angrily.

“.....”

“Johnny….”

“Yes….”

“You’re dead to me.”

“I’m so sorry! I won’t forget anything ever again!” I apologized.

“Didn’t you say that when you ALSO forgot my birthday, my eighth-grade graduation, and when I needed a ride to my first date?”

“You graduated eighth grade already? Wow, my Hailee’s really growing up!” I mocked her.

“...........”

She went silent for a moment, and I could just hear her anger through the phone.

“I was just joking. Hahahahahaha. I’ll come pick you up right now, be ready when I get there.” I said as I was getting ready to hang up the phone to avoid Hailee’s scolding and yelling.

I went back into the McDonald’s where Xela was still eating more and more of those chocolates.

"Hey Xela, I'll be right back," I told her.

"Where are you going?"

"Sister's being annoying. I need to pick her up from her school trip or something like that. Don't do anything stupid when I'm gone."

"Oh, okay. Come back soon. I don't want to be too alone this Valentine's Day," she said, still stuffing her face with chocolates.

Shortly after I left the McDonald's, hopped in the car and drove off to my sister's middle school.

Part 3

I walked back in the McDonald's 30 minutes after I left to see Xela seemingly asleep on the table.

“Xela,” I call to her. “Wake up.”

“AAAHHHHHH!” she suddenly raised her head and yelled in an attempt to scare me. I didn’t flinch but instead looked at her with an unimpressed face.

“You’re not funny,” I said, clearly not impressed with her prank.

“Hey Johnny,” she slurred. “Was there a dog here?”

“What the fuck are you talking about????”

She then starts touching my face like its a fucking sculpture.

“Your skin is really… funny. HAHAHAAHA.”

“What drugs did you take Xela?”

“I think I had a bit tooooooo much to drink. Hahaha.”

Too much to drink? She’s not of drinking age nor does McDonald's serve alcohol. WAIT! Now that I think about it, the chocolate did taste a bit funky. I check the back of the box, and sure enough, that idiot bought alcohol chocolate. Still, how the fuck did alcohol chocolate do THIS to her?

“Johnnyyyyyy, I think I need to…” she said, followed by her giving a vomiting motion and noise.

WHAT? HOW THE FUCK DO YOU VOMIT FROM EATING ALCOHOL CHOCOLATES?

“OH! Okay, okay, okay. Let’s get you to the washroom,” I said while helping her up and walking towards the washroom.

Here’s the real problem now, male or female washroom? She’s the one who needs it, so maybe I should use the female? Actually, females make a much bigger deal about someone being in the wrong washroom than the males. Yep, we’ll definitely use the males.

We walk in the first stall we see, and I’m holding her hair back for her while her face is directly above the toilet bowl.

“Use your finger,” I suggested to her.

“Everything’s too blurry.”

“So what?”

“I’m dizzy”

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“NO! DON’T PUT YOUR FINGER IN MY MOUTH!”

“I’ll do it with your finger then,” I said.

“Don’t suffocate me.”

“I’m not stupid.”

I used my hand to direct her right index finger in her mouth and quickly touch her throat, and quickly take it out again until something comes out.

We repeated this process for another 10 minutes until she told me she was finally feeling better. We were just about to leave the washroom, and then a familiar face entered the washroom with another woman. IT’S THE BIG BALD GUY FROM DEVANTE’S PARLOUR.

I quickly guided Xela out of the washroom, trying to get out of there as fast as I could.

“Do not turn back,” I told Xela.

“What????”

“You know that big bald guy in the washroom?”

“Yeahhhh. He looked funny. Hahahaha”

“That’s the same guy from DeVante’s parlour with the old hag who chased me around the region.”

She started laughing her ass off for a good 10 seconds until she finally calmed down. “I need to go in there and talk to that man.”

“NO! DON’T-”

It was too late as Xela walked back in before I could stop her, and we both found ourselves once again in the men’s restroom.

There that bald guy was again, with the girl he came in with on her knees and going down on him.

Xela starts laughing her ass off once again as the bald guy’s blood pressure was slowly going up and up.

“Why are you getting your dick sucked in a fucking McDonalds washroom?” she said while continuing to laugh.

Not even saying anything, the bald guy put his pants on and chased us two blocks out of the restaurant, which wasn’t nearly as bad as before.

Part 4

“Johnny, I’m tired now,” she yawned.

“Let’s get you back home then, I brought my car today. Where are your house keys?” I asked her.

“They’re in my back pocket.”

“I’ll get them for you.”

“NO! I don’t want you touching my ass.”

“Get them yourself then.”

“I’m dizzy and everything’s blurry.”

“HOW DOES THAT AFFECT YOU GETTING YOUR KEYS???”

“I can’t get them.”

“Ugh, fine. I’ll take you to my place first until someone else can come and pick you up.”

Part 5

As soon as we got home, I took Xela’s phone and called her older brother, spending 10 minutes trying to convince him that I did absolutely nothing to Xela except drive her back home and telling him that she didn’t go out drinking, but instead was somehow stupid enough to get drunk on alcohol chocolates. He finally listened to me, and told me he was on his way here now.

Now, Xela and I are beside each other on the couch, with her head leaned against my shoulder and my hand caressing her hair to get her to fall asleep faster.

“It’s not fair! The only ones doing ANYTHING on the Oilers are McDavid, Draisaitl, and Talbot,” she whined.

“Yes, I know. You’ve said that about 10 times already. You can stop now.”

“I mean, I thought we were a cup contending team!”

“You’ve already said that too.”

“Why are the Oilers so shit?”

“And that also.”

“Why are you such a meanie?”

“I don’t know,” I respond. “Go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to!”

“Go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to!”

“Go to sleep.”

“I don’t want to,” she repeated again, but this time in a tired voice and her eyes slowly closing and opening. I read on an article online that when you want someone who’s drunk and tired to go to sleep, you repeat the same phrase over and over again until they get sleepy.’

“Good night, Xela,” I whispered softly into her ear.

“Hey, Johnny, I… I think I love you,” she said as she drifted off into sleep.