The First Love Of Alipang Havens
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Copperfox
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Kim Tisdale came home from Pansit Paradise, to find that her closest sister, Baeline a.k.a. Betsy, was still out with her boyfriend Garth Bollinger, the 28-year-old freight dispatcher. So Kim held a conference with her mother and Leo the cat. She mentioned having ventured to call Al by phone, and then:
"Mom, since you encouraged Al, and encouraged me to encourage him....do y'all want to tell me what to do with him if and when I let him catch me?"
Elizabeth Tisdale still was brooding just a little over having had such an opportunity, such an opportunity, with Wilson Kramer, and then having blown it by treating Mr. Kramer--sort of the way Kim had treated Al Havens for a short while. But she didn't voice that part. What she did voice was, "I don't know that I have your answers, Kimmy. But you already know, and have implemented, one part of the program, which is to show him some respect."
"I guess the respect's not so hard at that, Mom, when a boy is all of the things in the Boy Scout Law, can kill practically anybody but hasn't so far, can recite Shakespeare, and at the same time is willing to listen to Tori Amos. But all that goes into attracting Al. What, you know, what do I do with him, when I feel sure he and I might get somewhere?"
Mom shrugged. "Walk. Talk. Make eye contact. Let him compliment you. Let him show respect to you. He's already inclined to treat you with respect; show him that you do require that as your due, but also that you appreciate being treated right."
"Mom, the question is, do I make out with him?"
Elizabeth Tisdale sighed. "I know you don't want to do that, Kimmy. Did you need me to tell you?"
"It isn't about anything being wrong with Al, Mom. He is a good guy. But I don't want to do that stuff with any boy. Not after the ones who refused to see me as female, and the others who wouldn't see me as anything but their objectified idea of a female, plus the clique bimbos who got that kind of attention without deserving it...."
"The good news, Kimmy, is that Al Havens has you on such a high-rise pedestal in his mind, you can probably date him for six months and not even have to let him hold your hand. The bad news is that unless you plan to be alone for life, you'll need to let someone touch you someday. So use the cushion of time that's been given to you by the fact of Al being in awe of the big sophisticated senior girl. While you have Al at arm's length, respecting your boundaries as he does, use those weeks or months to look into his heart. Not a hard search, he wears it on his sleeve. Then, before you find yourself becoming a college freshman while he's still in high school, decide if you want to move him in from arm's length to IN your arms. It'll be your call, you're legally an adult. Of course, he isn't yet, though he has more maturity and responsibility than many a forty-year-old...."
"The horses, Mom."
"Huh? What about the horses?"
"Do you still think we should have him over for a riding lesson?"
"Yes, I do. That's an area of expertise where you actually are superior to him, not just make-believe superior in a feminist wish-fulfillment roleplay. But at the same time, he won't be humiliated by that superiority, because it's a whole different department, not competing with any of his own accomplishments. You can show him a good time on a horse in the training paddock, make him feel special because you don't do that for any other boy. I don't think Al cares nearly as much about standard romantic pleasure, as about being regarded as special by someone he regards as special."
"Thanks, Mom. Who knows, maybe it will work. Don't tell my cyber-amazon friends, but I think I could see myself with a guy like Alipang Havens."
When Kim and Leo had retired for the night, Elizabeth got out a compact mirror and, under the light of a non-insect-attracting yellow light fixture, gazed upon her own face. She knew herself to be still attractive; but had she allowed her long resentment of a treacherous husband to rob her of the ability to act charming toward a man who wasn't personally responsible for her misfortunes? Was there a 45-year-old Shakespeare-quoting martial artist available somewhere, who would become so smitten with her as to give her time to relearn femininity?
"Mom, since you encouraged Al, and encouraged me to encourage him....do y'all want to tell me what to do with him if and when I let him catch me?"
Elizabeth Tisdale still was brooding just a little over having had such an opportunity, such an opportunity, with Wilson Kramer, and then having blown it by treating Mr. Kramer--sort of the way Kim had treated Al Havens for a short while. But she didn't voice that part. What she did voice was, "I don't know that I have your answers, Kimmy. But you already know, and have implemented, one part of the program, which is to show him some respect."
"I guess the respect's not so hard at that, Mom, when a boy is all of the things in the Boy Scout Law, can kill practically anybody but hasn't so far, can recite Shakespeare, and at the same time is willing to listen to Tori Amos. But all that goes into attracting Al. What, you know, what do I do with him, when I feel sure he and I might get somewhere?"
Mom shrugged. "Walk. Talk. Make eye contact. Let him compliment you. Let him show respect to you. He's already inclined to treat you with respect; show him that you do require that as your due, but also that you appreciate being treated right."
"Mom, the question is, do I make out with him?"
Elizabeth Tisdale sighed. "I know you don't want to do that, Kimmy. Did you need me to tell you?"
"It isn't about anything being wrong with Al, Mom. He is a good guy. But I don't want to do that stuff with any boy. Not after the ones who refused to see me as female, and the others who wouldn't see me as anything but their objectified idea of a female, plus the clique bimbos who got that kind of attention without deserving it...."
"The good news, Kimmy, is that Al Havens has you on such a high-rise pedestal in his mind, you can probably date him for six months and not even have to let him hold your hand. The bad news is that unless you plan to be alone for life, you'll need to let someone touch you someday. So use the cushion of time that's been given to you by the fact of Al being in awe of the big sophisticated senior girl. While you have Al at arm's length, respecting your boundaries as he does, use those weeks or months to look into his heart. Not a hard search, he wears it on his sleeve. Then, before you find yourself becoming a college freshman while he's still in high school, decide if you want to move him in from arm's length to IN your arms. It'll be your call, you're legally an adult. Of course, he isn't yet, though he has more maturity and responsibility than many a forty-year-old...."
"The horses, Mom."
"Huh? What about the horses?"
"Do you still think we should have him over for a riding lesson?"
"Yes, I do. That's an area of expertise where you actually are superior to him, not just make-believe superior in a feminist wish-fulfillment roleplay. But at the same time, he won't be humiliated by that superiority, because it's a whole different department, not competing with any of his own accomplishments. You can show him a good time on a horse in the training paddock, make him feel special because you don't do that for any other boy. I don't think Al cares nearly as much about standard romantic pleasure, as about being regarded as special by someone he regards as special."
"Thanks, Mom. Who knows, maybe it will work. Don't tell my cyber-amazon friends, but I think I could see myself with a guy like Alipang Havens."
When Kim and Leo had retired for the night, Elizabeth got out a compact mirror and, under the light of a non-insect-attracting yellow light fixture, gazed upon her own face. She knew herself to be still attractive; but had she allowed her long resentment of a treacherous husband to rob her of the ability to act charming toward a man who wasn't personally responsible for her misfortunes? Was there a 45-year-old Shakespeare-quoting martial artist available somewhere, who would become so smitten with her as to give her time to relearn femininity?
~ ~ END OF PART SIXTEEN ~ ~
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Copperfox
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PART SEVENTEEN: THREE JOBS FOR ALIPANG
On Monday, in fourth period, Mr. Burdock gave his Trigonometry class a ten-problem quiz. He was very efficient at creating early quizzes which he could grade in the same period, to give the students immediate feedback. Alipang got all ten problems right; Kim got eight right; Brickpile the football oaf only even finished five of the problems, and was wrong on two of those. Hearing the jock griping to a buddy on the way out of class, Alipang had an inspiration.
Addressing the enchantress accompanying him to lunch, he said, "Pardon me, Kim, I need to say something to a guy. Go ahead to lunch, I'll catch up." Kim, however, was herself enchanted by curiosity, and lingered to see what was coming.
Brickpile was startled to find the tough lightweight standing right in his path, yet with a friendly rather than belligerent expression. "Brickpile, if you're willing to let bygones be bygones, I can help you with your Trig homework."
The taller boy gaped with astonishment at the offer, until the same buddy he had complained to in the classroom said, "Take him up on it; he can help you make sure you stay on the team."
Anyone who might help him to head off the danger of being thrown off the football team by Coach Escobar for academic failures couldn't be all bad.
"Why, uh, thanks, yeah, let's do that, thank you." Brickpile's face wore the most natural, unpretentious, innocent look Alipang or Kim had ever yet seen on it. Alipang wrote his houseline and cell phone numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to his onetime harasser, saying, "Call me after your practice tonight. It's best if I visit your house--or you come to mine, for that matter--tonight. The time counts, not the place. Tomorrow I resume work at the Pansit Paradise."
Brickpile nodded. "I'll probably call around seven. It's no problem for me to come to your place. I appreciate this;" and in front of several interested onlookers, he offered a handshake which Alipang accepted.
Alipang noticed then that Kim had waited to watch the encounter. When she had his attention again, she offered him a positive reinforcement for his act of reconciliation: linking her right arm with his left, and walking with him in that fashion all the way to the cafeteria as numerous eyes observed and mouths talked. It was the most physically intimate act Kim had ever done with Alipang, which assuredly was not saying much; but she had offered it by her own sovereign initiative, and was pleased to see that it clearly made him feel good.
Just so he didn't think he would be allowed to kiss her any time before the year 2010.
Unforgotten_Memories
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Great job again, Grandpa Joe. I love to see Kim's thoughts about Al developing.
Copperfox
Well-known member
Brickpile did come to the Havens house Monday evening. Kim would have liked to drive over and witness this; but after the hugely forward--by her standards--gesture of walking arm-in-arm with Alipang at school, she didn't want to make Al think he had her secured. Chilena wasn't around to watch, either; she was at the Salisbury house, visiting with Dan and his mother.
The football player was on his best behavior, and no one mentioned his past rudeness to the boy now giving him a helping hand. The nearest thing there was to a mention of Brickpile's deserved humiliation at Al's hands, was when Brickpile--whose real name was Rick Pelham--noticed Jason Katon's framed anime-style drawing of the "Superhero Family." After looking over all the characters, he mused, "Filipino Fireball....yeah, he got that right." Rick also noticed, as Mrs. Havens had, what a sexpot Jason's drawing had made of Mrs. Havens, but he steered _very_ clear of making any remark about that.
Sitting at the same kitchen table that served as the homeschooling classroom, Alipang began by writing the following on a piece of paper:
"OH....AH....OH, WAAAAHH!"
Then he explained his memory device. "This represents the formulas for determining Sine, Cosine and Tangent. Imagine you begin to do something you enjoy, like eating your favorite flavor of pizza. You say 'Oh, that's good!' as you eat the first piece: the O and the H, for Opposite Side over Hypotenuse, the Sine formula. Then you eat the second piece and say, 'Ah, this is _really_ good!" That's the A and the H, for Adjacent Side over Hypotenuse, the Cosine formula. But before you can eat the rest of your pizza, your teammates run up and steal it from you; so you cry out, 'Oh, waaaah!' That stands for the O and the A, Opposite over Adjacent, the Tangent formula."
Rick shook his head in amazement. "That's really cool! Even if your waiter job keeps you too busy after this to help me any more, this by itself will already be a help. It beats me why the Principal thinks homeschooling turns out _dumb_ kids!"
"Mrs. Lewiston doesn't so much _really_ believe that," Alipang replied softly, "as she _wants_ it to be true."
By the time Rick left the house, he and Al were genuinely becoming friendly. Cecilia Havens, impressed with her son's performance, wanted to tell him that this proved he never needed anything BUT kindness to make friends and get by in life; but she could not deny that Rick might never have respected Al enough to accept his academic assistance, if Al had not first proven his _physical_ superiority.
The football player was on his best behavior, and no one mentioned his past rudeness to the boy now giving him a helping hand. The nearest thing there was to a mention of Brickpile's deserved humiliation at Al's hands, was when Brickpile--whose real name was Rick Pelham--noticed Jason Katon's framed anime-style drawing of the "Superhero Family." After looking over all the characters, he mused, "Filipino Fireball....yeah, he got that right." Rick also noticed, as Mrs. Havens had, what a sexpot Jason's drawing had made of Mrs. Havens, but he steered _very_ clear of making any remark about that.
Sitting at the same kitchen table that served as the homeschooling classroom, Alipang began by writing the following on a piece of paper:
"OH....AH....OH, WAAAAHH!"
Then he explained his memory device. "This represents the formulas for determining Sine, Cosine and Tangent. Imagine you begin to do something you enjoy, like eating your favorite flavor of pizza. You say 'Oh, that's good!' as you eat the first piece: the O and the H, for Opposite Side over Hypotenuse, the Sine formula. Then you eat the second piece and say, 'Ah, this is _really_ good!" That's the A and the H, for Adjacent Side over Hypotenuse, the Cosine formula. But before you can eat the rest of your pizza, your teammates run up and steal it from you; so you cry out, 'Oh, waaaah!' That stands for the O and the A, Opposite over Adjacent, the Tangent formula."
Rick shook his head in amazement. "That's really cool! Even if your waiter job keeps you too busy after this to help me any more, this by itself will already be a help. It beats me why the Principal thinks homeschooling turns out _dumb_ kids!"
"Mrs. Lewiston doesn't so much _really_ believe that," Alipang replied softly, "as she _wants_ it to be true."
By the time Rick left the house, he and Al were genuinely becoming friendly. Cecilia Havens, impressed with her son's performance, wanted to tell him that this proved he never needed anything BUT kindness to make friends and get by in life; but she could not deny that Rick might never have respected Al enough to accept his academic assistance, if Al had not first proven his _physical_ superiority.
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Copperfox
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Chilena stayed with Dan for the maximum time permitted before he drove her home, the presence of Dan's mother making it eminently respectable. Alipang was not waiting for her at the door; Dan deserved better than to have a sentry hovering over him and Chilena at their goodnight.
Alipang had his return to Pansit Paradise to look forward to. At last, he would _actually_ be Kim's co-worker. Undressing in the upstairs bathroom, he resolved that tonight he would try sleeping with his ribcage unwrapped. He could always re-wrap it in the morning if sleeping unwrapped proved too uncomfortable. He removed the long elastic bandages, took a shower, dried himself, put on his sweatpants, and stepped onto the stairway landing bare above the waist. The house was still. He went to bed. There had been no downstairs meeting with Chilena last night; they had, after all, managed two little rendezvous during the day despite the hectic activity. Alipang expected no meeting tonight, either. He whispered lengthy prayers, adding Brickpile to his regular intercession list (not that he had never prayed for that boy before this); then he slid into bed, still bare from the waist up, enjoying the sensation of air being able to touch his upper-middle body.
He was nearly asleep when the lightest of knocks from a beloved set of knuckles touched his door. "Come in, Chil." He sat up as his sister came in, looking very grown-up in the long-sleeved blouse and almost-up-to-the-knee skirt she had worn today for a change. She closed the door behind her as always, then came to him in the near-total darkness and sat on the edge of his bed.
"Al, you took off the bandages!" she whispered, having noticed this when light from the hall had fallen onto her brother. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Her fingers delicately stroked the area of his torso which had been wrapped up most of the time for the past sixteen days or so.
"I'm seeing IF it's a good idea," he whispered back. "Your touch doesn't hurt."
Alipang had made no move to kiss Chilena; it might feel strange to do so, when she no doubt had just come from being kissed goodnight by Dan. But Alipang was made aware that Chilena felt no strangeness in that regard, when her hands found his face in the darkness and her mouth sweetly pressed against his. "Then are you up to a downstairs meeting?"
Claiming a repeat of that kiss, Alipang then replied into her ear, "Yes, I'm up to go downstairs. So now that you're back, let's go forth; it's only right, since we're the only ones left. I'm in top shape, so let's get to the bottom of things!" Chilena giggled; they kissed again; and he added, "Let me pull on a T-shirt; and you go put on some kind of pants in place of the skirt, so that we can go downstairs in the _proper_ manner!"
"You mean, a stairway fight?" Chilena asked, and kissed him once more.
"Of course. I'm outraged at not having a meeting last night, so naturally you and I must now clash and collide in the desperate combat of struggling battle."
After a fifth kiss, Chilena went to her room. Since she was changing anyway, she changed completely into her long-sleeved and trousered pajamas. Since poor Al still had not really gotten much attention from Kim, Chilena would give him a stairway fight and a downstairs meeting worthy of their non-existent record books.
Alipang had his return to Pansit Paradise to look forward to. At last, he would _actually_ be Kim's co-worker. Undressing in the upstairs bathroom, he resolved that tonight he would try sleeping with his ribcage unwrapped. He could always re-wrap it in the morning if sleeping unwrapped proved too uncomfortable. He removed the long elastic bandages, took a shower, dried himself, put on his sweatpants, and stepped onto the stairway landing bare above the waist. The house was still. He went to bed. There had been no downstairs meeting with Chilena last night; they had, after all, managed two little rendezvous during the day despite the hectic activity. Alipang expected no meeting tonight, either. He whispered lengthy prayers, adding Brickpile to his regular intercession list (not that he had never prayed for that boy before this); then he slid into bed, still bare from the waist up, enjoying the sensation of air being able to touch his upper-middle body.
He was nearly asleep when the lightest of knocks from a beloved set of knuckles touched his door. "Come in, Chil." He sat up as his sister came in, looking very grown-up in the long-sleeved blouse and almost-up-to-the-knee skirt she had worn today for a change. She closed the door behind her as always, then came to him in the near-total darkness and sat on the edge of his bed.
"Al, you took off the bandages!" she whispered, having noticed this when light from the hall had fallen onto her brother. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Her fingers delicately stroked the area of his torso which had been wrapped up most of the time for the past sixteen days or so.
"I'm seeing IF it's a good idea," he whispered back. "Your touch doesn't hurt."
Alipang had made no move to kiss Chilena; it might feel strange to do so, when she no doubt had just come from being kissed goodnight by Dan. But Alipang was made aware that Chilena felt no strangeness in that regard, when her hands found his face in the darkness and her mouth sweetly pressed against his. "Then are you up to a downstairs meeting?"
Claiming a repeat of that kiss, Alipang then replied into her ear, "Yes, I'm up to go downstairs. So now that you're back, let's go forth; it's only right, since we're the only ones left. I'm in top shape, so let's get to the bottom of things!" Chilena giggled; they kissed again; and he added, "Let me pull on a T-shirt; and you go put on some kind of pants in place of the skirt, so that we can go downstairs in the _proper_ manner!"
"You mean, a stairway fight?" Chilena asked, and kissed him once more.
"Of course. I'm outraged at not having a meeting last night, so naturally you and I must now clash and collide in the desperate combat of struggling battle."
After a fifth kiss, Chilena went to her room. Since she was changing anyway, she changed completely into her long-sleeved and trousered pajamas. Since poor Al still had not really gotten much attention from Kim, Chilena would give him a stairway fight and a downstairs meeting worthy of their non-existent record books.
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Copperfox
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Properly attired for their customary loving play-fight, Alipang and Chilena emerged from their respective bedroom doors like opposing boxers coming out of their corners. Only, boxers of course would not open a round in the ring by embracing and kissing.
The two siblings were just about to open hostilities in _their_ way....when their father emerged from the master bedroom, heading to fetch something from the large bathroom for the smaller one off the master bedroom. "Ah, good, Chil, you're back on time. Anything interesting happening with Dan?"
Turning to her father two paces short of her now-postponed embrace with the _other_ boy she was in the habit of kissing, Chilena told him, "Yes, Dad, he's going to audition for a part in the fall play. East is going to do Man of La Mancha, and Dan thinks he can play the cynical character, Sanson Carrasco."
"That's definitely casting Dan contrary to type," Eric Havens remarked. "Do you plan to try out to be in the play with him?"
Chilena suddenly realized that she hadn't thought either way about the implications of doing that. Being in the show with Dan would of course reinforce their affection...but as when she was in Camelot, it would also mean depriving herself and Alipang of their downstairs meetings for weeks.
Alipang stepped into the gap. "You should do it, Chil."
"Your Mom and I will support you if that's what you want to do," agreed their father, then hugged both of them, said goodnight, and returned to the bed where Cecilia waited.
The two siblings were just about to open hostilities in _their_ way....when their father emerged from the master bedroom, heading to fetch something from the large bathroom for the smaller one off the master bedroom. "Ah, good, Chil, you're back on time. Anything interesting happening with Dan?"
Turning to her father two paces short of her now-postponed embrace with the _other_ boy she was in the habit of kissing, Chilena told him, "Yes, Dad, he's going to audition for a part in the fall play. East is going to do Man of La Mancha, and Dan thinks he can play the cynical character, Sanson Carrasco."
"That's definitely casting Dan contrary to type," Eric Havens remarked. "Do you plan to try out to be in the play with him?"
Chilena suddenly realized that she hadn't thought either way about the implications of doing that. Being in the show with Dan would of course reinforce their affection...but as when she was in Camelot, it would also mean depriving herself and Alipang of their downstairs meetings for weeks.
Alipang stepped into the gap. "You should do it, Chil."
"Your Mom and I will support you if that's what you want to do," agreed their father, then hugged both of them, said goodnight, and returned to the bed where Cecilia waited.
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Copperfox
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Alipang and Chilena stood rooted in place for nearly twenty seconds, as if watching to see if the action-movie time-bomb was really disarmed. All remained silent; so, in silence, Chilena, who had been the one who had to turn around to speak to Dad when he came out, turned back toward her brother, lifting her arms. Alipang, in silence, came into those arms, winding his own around his sister in return. Their bodies squeezed together tightly enough that he had to loosen their embrace a bit, relieving the pressure on his unsupported ribs.
Only when they had found the greatest possible tightness of hugging that he could stand without his body-wrapping, did they also resume their kisses. After enough standing salutations in this form had occurred, they moved in unison, barely decreasing their embrace at all, to where they could lower themselves like one person onto the landing's edge where the stairway-battlefield began.
Chilena kissed one of Alipang's ears, then whispered in that ear, "What rules of desperate battle tonight?"
He replied in exactly the same way: "The dreadful duel of the prime numbers!"
They warmed up for this epic struggle with a long spell of squishy hugging there at the top of the stairway; and then the mathematical clinch commenced.
Starting where they were, they smacked mouth on mouth, cartoon style, for the number one. Then, holding each other close, they shifted one step down together. In their new position, each one kissed one of the other's cheeks one time to make the number two. Another step downward, never letting go of each other for an instant, and Chilena solo-kissed her brother's cheeks and forehead for the number three. Down went their hindquarters again, and for the next prime number Alipang kissed each of his sister's cheeks twice and her lips once. Down again, and they tapped their lips together seven times at machine-gun speed. Down again, and for eleven each one gave the other the same combination Al had given Chil for five, concluding with a strong mouth-to-mouth kiss. Thirteen worked very similarly.
At last, at the bottom of the stairs, they whispered to each other, "Grand finale!"--and performed a series of thirty-one various kisses, eight of which were directly on each other's lips. That made a total of one hundred sixty-one kisses in the course of a nine-minute battle. Then, rising still in each other's arms and moving their unbroken embrace into the kitchen, they each got a drink of water. From there, they went in the same mutually clinging fashion to their familiar sofa....where Alipang paused, and in their entanglement his sister was compelled to pause also.
Chilena suddenly looked puzzled. "Al, what's wrong?"
He planted his forehead against hers. "You've been on this sofa with Dan since the last time you were on it with me. I don't have a problem with your being here with him--that's the movement of mortal time, sweets--but now that you _have_ been on it with him, perhaps we shouldn't use it--for _this_ anymore."
Chilena's answering whisper was distressed, as reflected by the almost frantic flurry of new kisses she rained upon him. "Don't say that, Al! Dan's my boyfriend, but in this house he's still only a visitor. He and I have our own special sofa at _his_ house; you don't have to give _this_ one up to him. I mean, you don't really _want_ to abandon our meeting place, do you? It _isn't_ time to break up the Wonder Twins yet, is it?" She kissed him a bit more urgently. "Al, I love you so much...and apples haven't lost their meaning."
In response, Alipang firmed up their embrace and began returning her kisses there where they stood. Then he said, "You're right, sweets: the oranges fit in someplace else." He sat in exactly his usual spot on the sofa...his sister settled onto his lap in exactly her usual way...their arms went around each other as usual...her head visited his shoulder as usual...she had her chance to listen to his heartbeat as usual...and they did even _more_ kissing than usual...but they still managed to work in some discussion of the drama tryouts, so they could say they had also _talked_ about something, while once more they postponed growing up for another night and flooded each other with assurances of their mutual love.
Only when they had found the greatest possible tightness of hugging that he could stand without his body-wrapping, did they also resume their kisses. After enough standing salutations in this form had occurred, they moved in unison, barely decreasing their embrace at all, to where they could lower themselves like one person onto the landing's edge where the stairway-battlefield began.
Chilena kissed one of Alipang's ears, then whispered in that ear, "What rules of desperate battle tonight?"
He replied in exactly the same way: "The dreadful duel of the prime numbers!"
They warmed up for this epic struggle with a long spell of squishy hugging there at the top of the stairway; and then the mathematical clinch commenced.
Starting where they were, they smacked mouth on mouth, cartoon style, for the number one. Then, holding each other close, they shifted one step down together. In their new position, each one kissed one of the other's cheeks one time to make the number two. Another step downward, never letting go of each other for an instant, and Chilena solo-kissed her brother's cheeks and forehead for the number three. Down went their hindquarters again, and for the next prime number Alipang kissed each of his sister's cheeks twice and her lips once. Down again, and they tapped their lips together seven times at machine-gun speed. Down again, and for eleven each one gave the other the same combination Al had given Chil for five, concluding with a strong mouth-to-mouth kiss. Thirteen worked very similarly.
At last, at the bottom of the stairs, they whispered to each other, "Grand finale!"--and performed a series of thirty-one various kisses, eight of which were directly on each other's lips. That made a total of one hundred sixty-one kisses in the course of a nine-minute battle. Then, rising still in each other's arms and moving their unbroken embrace into the kitchen, they each got a drink of water. From there, they went in the same mutually clinging fashion to their familiar sofa....where Alipang paused, and in their entanglement his sister was compelled to pause also.
Chilena suddenly looked puzzled. "Al, what's wrong?"
He planted his forehead against hers. "You've been on this sofa with Dan since the last time you were on it with me. I don't have a problem with your being here with him--that's the movement of mortal time, sweets--but now that you _have_ been on it with him, perhaps we shouldn't use it--for _this_ anymore."
Chilena's answering whisper was distressed, as reflected by the almost frantic flurry of new kisses she rained upon him. "Don't say that, Al! Dan's my boyfriend, but in this house he's still only a visitor. He and I have our own special sofa at _his_ house; you don't have to give _this_ one up to him. I mean, you don't really _want_ to abandon our meeting place, do you? It _isn't_ time to break up the Wonder Twins yet, is it?" She kissed him a bit more urgently. "Al, I love you so much...and apples haven't lost their meaning."
In response, Alipang firmed up their embrace and began returning her kisses there where they stood. Then he said, "You're right, sweets: the oranges fit in someplace else." He sat in exactly his usual spot on the sofa...his sister settled onto his lap in exactly her usual way...their arms went around each other as usual...her head visited his shoulder as usual...she had her chance to listen to his heartbeat as usual...and they did even _more_ kissing than usual...but they still managed to work in some discussion of the drama tryouts, so they could say they had also _talked_ about something, while once more they postponed growing up for another night and flooded each other with assurances of their mutual love.
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Copperfox
Well-known member
When Smoky Lake East opened its doors on Tuesday morning, Alipang and Brickpile met outside one entrance and let it be seen how they greeted each other as friends. Jack Torinburg, varsity football captain, was taken aback at his teammate being so amiable with one of "those homeschool nerds;" young Mr. Torinburg, however, had neither felt the steely strength of Alipang's hands, nor been helped by Alipang to grasp higher mathematics.
The school day as a whole was a normal one, weighted toward the happy side for Alipang because all three girls he especially cared about--Chilena, Kim and Summer--were in good spirits. In Kim's case, the body containing her good spirits was actually wearing a DRESS, and without the combat boots. The upper and lower frontiers of Kim's dress were not at all indecent by modern standards, but were downright voluptuous compared to Kim's usual "indie" fashion choices. Kim's Goth friend Peggy looked on Kim as having somehow "sold out;" but succeeding in having both Peggy and Alipang at the same table with her for lunch, Kim explained that she was dressed up to celebrate Alipang's impending return to his waiter job at Rafael Imada's establishment. She added, in Peggy's displeased hearing, that she would come by in her car after school to pick Alipang up, AND would allow him to drive her car from there.
Entering study hall that day, Alipang had a chance to ask Dan if he was indeed proceeding to audition for Man of La Mancha. "Yes, I am," Dan told him; "and I decided I'll try for the lead role. It can't hurt to try, and I'll still be satisfied if I'm only cast as Carrasco. Has Chilena told you whether she'll be trying out for the show?"
Alipang gave his friend a smile whose meaning Dan couldn't know; for Alipang and Chilena told no one, ever, about what went on in their downstairs meetings. "Chil and I had a long discussion about that last night. I urged her to audition; at last she said she would give it a shot, although some parts of that show are pretty raunchy."
"Going by the performance she gave as Nimue, I expect her to get cast in some part."
"For sure, Dan." Alipang was thinking, even as they conversed, that maybe Chilena being in the musical, with the long nights rehearsing, Alipang unable even to join the backstage crew because of his restaurant commitment, would be the thing to cause downstairs meetings in the Havens living room to die a painless natural death....WITHOUT either sibling ever having to SAY to the other, "Let's not do this anymore." That, Alipang knew, was not something he or his sister wanted to say to each other yet; but time did move ahead, and someday the oranges would have to claim their new precedence over the apples.
The school day as a whole was a normal one, weighted toward the happy side for Alipang because all three girls he especially cared about--Chilena, Kim and Summer--were in good spirits. In Kim's case, the body containing her good spirits was actually wearing a DRESS, and without the combat boots. The upper and lower frontiers of Kim's dress were not at all indecent by modern standards, but were downright voluptuous compared to Kim's usual "indie" fashion choices. Kim's Goth friend Peggy looked on Kim as having somehow "sold out;" but succeeding in having both Peggy and Alipang at the same table with her for lunch, Kim explained that she was dressed up to celebrate Alipang's impending return to his waiter job at Rafael Imada's establishment. She added, in Peggy's displeased hearing, that she would come by in her car after school to pick Alipang up, AND would allow him to drive her car from there.
Entering study hall that day, Alipang had a chance to ask Dan if he was indeed proceeding to audition for Man of La Mancha. "Yes, I am," Dan told him; "and I decided I'll try for the lead role. It can't hurt to try, and I'll still be satisfied if I'm only cast as Carrasco. Has Chilena told you whether she'll be trying out for the show?"
Alipang gave his friend a smile whose meaning Dan couldn't know; for Alipang and Chilena told no one, ever, about what went on in their downstairs meetings. "Chil and I had a long discussion about that last night. I urged her to audition; at last she said she would give it a shot, although some parts of that show are pretty raunchy."
"Going by the performance she gave as Nimue, I expect her to get cast in some part."
"For sure, Dan." Alipang was thinking, even as they conversed, that maybe Chilena being in the musical, with the long nights rehearsing, Alipang unable even to join the backstage crew because of his restaurant commitment, would be the thing to cause downstairs meetings in the Havens living room to die a painless natural death....WITHOUT either sibling ever having to SAY to the other, "Let's not do this anymore." That, Alipang knew, was not something he or his sister wanted to say to each other yet; but time did move ahead, and someday the oranges would have to claim their new precedence over the apples.
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Unforgotten_Memories
New member
Aww they're growing up. I like the slow progression. No need to grow up fast right? 
Copperfox
Well-known member
Thank you. If this isn't too much of a startling spoiler, Alipang and Chilena are still FAR from having had their LAST downstairs meeting.
By the way, one element that went into my imagining them having this private tradition between them comes from when I was about five years old. My seven-ish sister Ricki and I shared a bunkbed: she sleeping in the top bunk and I in the other. Each night, while this arrangement continued, Ricki would put her face at the edge of the bunkbed which was against the wall, because that felt more "secret," and would whisper down to me, "Secret Meeting Number One will now begin." Then we would converse in whispers about anything that came to mind, until either of us chose to say, "Secret Meeting Number One, dismissed!" But there would often be a second Secret Meeting in the same night before we would fall asleep. A much less emotionally-intense practice than Al and Chil's, but you see the connection.
By the way, one element that went into my imagining them having this private tradition between them comes from when I was about five years old. My seven-ish sister Ricki and I shared a bunkbed: she sleeping in the top bunk and I in the other. Each night, while this arrangement continued, Ricki would put her face at the edge of the bunkbed which was against the wall, because that felt more "secret," and would whisper down to me, "Secret Meeting Number One will now begin." Then we would converse in whispers about anything that came to mind, until either of us chose to say, "Secret Meeting Number One, dismissed!" But there would often be a second Secret Meeting in the same night before we would fall asleep. A much less emotionally-intense practice than Al and Chil's, but you see the connection.
Unforgotten_Memories
New member
Aww I love to know little tidbits like that. I always wanted to a have sibling closer to my age to do things like that with. The one closest to my age is my brother, and he's 8 years younger. The next in my sister and she's 16 years younger.
Copperfox
Well-known member
Alipang needed his ribcage rewrapped to enable him to work, and his father would not be home from the dental office in time to help him with it. So, since it was _going_ to have to be done by a female, Alipang accepted Chilena's automatic offer.
As her brother stood shirtless before her, Chilena realized that, other than at times of swimming, she had not very often seen his bare chest and back. A giggle born of her thoughts prompted Alipang to ask just what those thoughts were. "I was just wondering," she replied truthfully, "how long it'll be before Kim gets to see what I'm seeing now."
"You mean all my slash-and-burn scars?" He sighed. "I'm in no hurry to have her see those."
"I meant your _muscles,_ silly! The scars don't hide how ripped you are. And by the time there IS any occasion for Kim to see you like this, she'll have gotten to know you well enough as the wonderful guy you are, that she _won't_ even see the scars; she'll only see your strength, and add it up in her mind with your goodness. Then there'll be only one reaction possible for her when she sees your torso: THIS--!" And she kissed her brother's bare back several times between the shoulderblades, before beginning to wind the elastic bandages around and around him, also kissing his chest twice on her first pass around it.
When the job was done, and before he put on his shirt, Alipang stirred his hands in Chilena's direction, which was all that was needed to have them fully embracing two seconds later. "Thanks, Chil," he said, lightly kissing her lips. "I love you."
His sister answered, "And I love you. Here--" She gave him back an identical kiss, only a tiny bit firmer and longer. "That's for luck at work."
"Which kind of work?" he laughed. "With diners, or with Kim?"
"Both! Here, so you're covered--" She repeated the previous kiss. "And in case there's another kind I'm forgetting--" Once more on his lips.
"I accept all the good wishes. Probably my third piece of work is making more friends at school."
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
When Kim arrived in her old white sedan and relinquished the driver's seat to Alipang, he noticed that her combat boots had returned, at the end of a pair of blue jeans. Once they were enroute to their workplace, Alipang suddenly recited:
"....I will not yield / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, / And to be baited with the rabble's curse. / Though Birnham Wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet will I try the last; before my body / I throw my warlike shield! Lay on, MacDuff, / And damned be he that first cries, 'Hold, enough!' "
Kim stared for several seconds. Not with non-recognition of the speech; MacBeth was one of the very few Shakespeare plays she HAD once watched a version of; but why Alipang was quoting it--and then the lightbulb went on over her brunette head.
"Was I that obvious today, Al?"
"Yes, Kim, you were. For reasons I don't yet understand, you don't want to try to look desirable--which is a hard thing for you to avoid! So with no formal event coming up that would have required you to dress nicely, there could only have been one reason for you to dress up SO attractively in school today: you wanted me to be confronted with your charms, and yet NOT stare at them. Just like your tight T-shirt and medium-short shorts on the Barrier Islands trip."
"You did take one peek as you came into Mr. Burdock's room," Kim told him; "but not a gawking look, just an Okay-that's-how-she-looks-today peek. That wasn't enough to flunk you, not when you always had your eyes on my eyes whenever we spoke to each other during the day; so yes, you did pass the test, and you did earn the right to recite Shakespeare to me. But did you have a special reason to quote MacBeth?"
"No, it was just a passage I remembered well."
Kim looked away from him. "I thought maybe, because MacBeth brings on his own death by being too proud to surrender, you might be passing some kind of exhortation about pride to me."
"No, Kim, I honestly had no agenda, I just picked a passage I could easily remember. Although I see things in you that make me want to know you better, I don't claim to know you well enough yet that I can form an accurate analysis of your whole personality, in the pride department or any other. But since I'm giving you time, you give me time too, and I'll be able to determine what's the best Shakespeare quote to reflect you in particular."
Kim smiled and looked at him again. "Well, there's always ' What light through yonder window breaks?' "
He smiled back, without taking his eyes off the street ahead. "But our parents aren't enemies."
As her brother stood shirtless before her, Chilena realized that, other than at times of swimming, she had not very often seen his bare chest and back. A giggle born of her thoughts prompted Alipang to ask just what those thoughts were. "I was just wondering," she replied truthfully, "how long it'll be before Kim gets to see what I'm seeing now."
"You mean all my slash-and-burn scars?" He sighed. "I'm in no hurry to have her see those."
"I meant your _muscles,_ silly! The scars don't hide how ripped you are. And by the time there IS any occasion for Kim to see you like this, she'll have gotten to know you well enough as the wonderful guy you are, that she _won't_ even see the scars; she'll only see your strength, and add it up in her mind with your goodness. Then there'll be only one reaction possible for her when she sees your torso: THIS--!" And she kissed her brother's bare back several times between the shoulderblades, before beginning to wind the elastic bandages around and around him, also kissing his chest twice on her first pass around it.
When the job was done, and before he put on his shirt, Alipang stirred his hands in Chilena's direction, which was all that was needed to have them fully embracing two seconds later. "Thanks, Chil," he said, lightly kissing her lips. "I love you."
His sister answered, "And I love you. Here--" She gave him back an identical kiss, only a tiny bit firmer and longer. "That's for luck at work."
"Which kind of work?" he laughed. "With diners, or with Kim?"
"Both! Here, so you're covered--" She repeated the previous kiss. "And in case there's another kind I'm forgetting--" Once more on his lips.
"I accept all the good wishes. Probably my third piece of work is making more friends at school."
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
When Kim arrived in her old white sedan and relinquished the driver's seat to Alipang, he noticed that her combat boots had returned, at the end of a pair of blue jeans. Once they were enroute to their workplace, Alipang suddenly recited:
"....I will not yield / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, / And to be baited with the rabble's curse. / Though Birnham Wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet will I try the last; before my body / I throw my warlike shield! Lay on, MacDuff, / And damned be he that first cries, 'Hold, enough!' "
Kim stared for several seconds. Not with non-recognition of the speech; MacBeth was one of the very few Shakespeare plays she HAD once watched a version of; but why Alipang was quoting it--and then the lightbulb went on over her brunette head.
"Was I that obvious today, Al?"
"Yes, Kim, you were. For reasons I don't yet understand, you don't want to try to look desirable--which is a hard thing for you to avoid! So with no formal event coming up that would have required you to dress nicely, there could only have been one reason for you to dress up SO attractively in school today: you wanted me to be confronted with your charms, and yet NOT stare at them. Just like your tight T-shirt and medium-short shorts on the Barrier Islands trip."
"You did take one peek as you came into Mr. Burdock's room," Kim told him; "but not a gawking look, just an Okay-that's-how-she-looks-today peek. That wasn't enough to flunk you, not when you always had your eyes on my eyes whenever we spoke to each other during the day; so yes, you did pass the test, and you did earn the right to recite Shakespeare to me. But did you have a special reason to quote MacBeth?"
"No, it was just a passage I remembered well."
Kim looked away from him. "I thought maybe, because MacBeth brings on his own death by being too proud to surrender, you might be passing some kind of exhortation about pride to me."
"No, Kim, I honestly had no agenda, I just picked a passage I could easily remember. Although I see things in you that make me want to know you better, I don't claim to know you well enough yet that I can form an accurate analysis of your whole personality, in the pride department or any other. But since I'm giving you time, you give me time too, and I'll be able to determine what's the best Shakespeare quote to reflect you in particular."
Kim smiled and looked at him again. "Well, there's always ' What light through yonder window breaks?' "
He smiled back, without taking his eyes off the street ahead. "But our parents aren't enemies."
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Copperfox
Well-known member
Brendan Hyland and Jennifer Williams were among that night's customers at the Pansit Paradise, in celebration of the return of the Filipino Fireball. It was obvious to Alipang, though his friend was a chivalrous gentleman, that Brendan's relationship with Jennifer was progressing far faster than Alipang's with Kim.
In some things, though, there is no substitute for the investment of time.
On that evening, and many a following evening, Alipang worked smoothly alongside Kim, each finding ways to assist the other with routine tasks and sudden complications. She unfailingly provided his transportation to and from work each time. Nothing of great consequence ever seemed to be said between them, excepting a few occasions when Alipang volunteered to Kim some insight he had picked up in his Bible reading, and one time when he helped her to review facts for a Biology test. No, not _that_ kind of biology.
If nothing else, Alipang knew he was becoming a well-established presence in Kim's life. Which was a two-edged sword; he knew that his hopes might end up getting friendshipped to death.
But he refused to take offense at what could be viewed as slights--as when, on one Saturday shift, Kim's sister Betsy came with Garth Bollinger to eat lunch at the Pansit, and Kim did NOT introduce Alipang to her sister's boyfriend. Nor did Kim ever apologize for this--and Alipang was not about to ask her why she didn't want to introduce a man of age twenty-eight to a boy just short of seventeen.
Meanwhile, auditions came for Man of La Mancha at East High; but when Mom, who was not familiar with the Don Quixote musical, got to see a script and found out just how coarse and raunchy some of it was compared to her preference in musicals (Sound of Music, Sound of Music, or Sound of Music), she vetoed Chilena performing in it. In view of Dan getting cast as the Priest, however, Dad amended Mom's ruling: Chilena would not perform on stage, but she could be in the crew. Chilena accepted this for Dan's sake, being comforted on her brother's account (for the consequence of almost no downstairs meetings for the run of the project) since Alipang was now seeing more of Kim.
But as for how much more of Kim:
Some ten days before his November 5th birthday, Alipang earned his driver's license. Chilena, not needing her car for the first evening on which her brother would be able to drive solo to work, invited him to use her car (which did guarantee that there would at least be a highly affectionate downstairs meeting after he returned from work on that night). Alipang was quick to telephone Kim and offer to drive her to the restaurant; but she declined. She gave it as a reason that she didn't want to diminish his triumph by his still having a licensed driver sitting beside him as in his learner's-permit period.
But she also refused his offer on the three further occasions when he made it, before he gave up offering.
The most optimistic light he could manage to see this in was as another test; but he couldn't jump the gun quoting Shakespeare, because only Kim could tell him how much of this low-key snubbing he was supposed to tolerate in order to pass this one.
In some things, though, there is no substitute for the investment of time.
On that evening, and many a following evening, Alipang worked smoothly alongside Kim, each finding ways to assist the other with routine tasks and sudden complications. She unfailingly provided his transportation to and from work each time. Nothing of great consequence ever seemed to be said between them, excepting a few occasions when Alipang volunteered to Kim some insight he had picked up in his Bible reading, and one time when he helped her to review facts for a Biology test. No, not _that_ kind of biology.
If nothing else, Alipang knew he was becoming a well-established presence in Kim's life. Which was a two-edged sword; he knew that his hopes might end up getting friendshipped to death.
But he refused to take offense at what could be viewed as slights--as when, on one Saturday shift, Kim's sister Betsy came with Garth Bollinger to eat lunch at the Pansit, and Kim did NOT introduce Alipang to her sister's boyfriend. Nor did Kim ever apologize for this--and Alipang was not about to ask her why she didn't want to introduce a man of age twenty-eight to a boy just short of seventeen.
Meanwhile, auditions came for Man of La Mancha at East High; but when Mom, who was not familiar with the Don Quixote musical, got to see a script and found out just how coarse and raunchy some of it was compared to her preference in musicals (Sound of Music, Sound of Music, or Sound of Music), she vetoed Chilena performing in it. In view of Dan getting cast as the Priest, however, Dad amended Mom's ruling: Chilena would not perform on stage, but she could be in the crew. Chilena accepted this for Dan's sake, being comforted on her brother's account (for the consequence of almost no downstairs meetings for the run of the project) since Alipang was now seeing more of Kim.
But as for how much more of Kim:
Some ten days before his November 5th birthday, Alipang earned his driver's license. Chilena, not needing her car for the first evening on which her brother would be able to drive solo to work, invited him to use her car (which did guarantee that there would at least be a highly affectionate downstairs meeting after he returned from work on that night). Alipang was quick to telephone Kim and offer to drive her to the restaurant; but she declined. She gave it as a reason that she didn't want to diminish his triumph by his still having a licensed driver sitting beside him as in his learner's-permit period.
But she also refused his offer on the three further occasions when he made it, before he gave up offering.
The most optimistic light he could manage to see this in was as another test; but he couldn't jump the gun quoting Shakespeare, because only Kim could tell him how much of this low-key snubbing he was supposed to tolerate in order to pass this one.
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Copperfox
Well-known member
The Saturday night after Halloween and before the 2008 Presidential election brought surprises to Alipang, who had missed Halloween due to work. His first surprise was furnished by his boss Rafael Imada, upon the boy's coming in at lunch time.
"If business keeps growing as it has been, Carmen and I want to open a second location in the near future, as a new feature at Rafferty's Truckstop. A cousin of mine will move here to manage it if it does open; but I'll want you to help him run it. However....before you have to say yes or no to that, I'll ask a certain pretty lady if _she_ wants to work there or not--so you won't find yourself committed to leave her behind if she declines."
Alipang laughed. "You think of everything, don't you, sir?"
The pretty lady, coming in shortly after Al, provided--rather, was wearing--the next surprise. The dreary combat boots were nowhere to be seen; what was to be seen was an actual feminine dress, a slight notch more revealing (apart from having sleeves) than the outfit with which Kim had last "tested" Al. It had a colorful Celtic pattern, like a Riverdance costume; and like those dancers, Kim wore colored hose which offset the revealing effect. Al wanted to ask where she had gotten it, but he knew the drill: he wasn't supposed to acknowledge that the dress even existed, let alone admit that it was letting him see Kim's legs and her overall superb contours.
So Aunt Carmen asked the question on Al's behalf. Kim's answer was: "My sister Sharon found it at a thrift shop, like something in a movie, and wore it to a Halloween party last night. She only wanted it for that night, so this morning she gave it to me. I might wear it if I ever go to a fantasy convention."
The next surprise was as the dinner peak was approaching. Into the restaurant as customers together came Al's old friend Jason Katon, AND his new friend Rick Pelham, alias Brickpile of the Falcons' defensive line. Becoming Al's friend had admitted Rick to a circle of acquaintance which he once would have scorned; but being hurled onto the Trigonometry floor had been the beginning of a quite wholesome transformation in the senior jock. "Good evening, Miss Tisdale," Rick said politely to Kim, which was a surprise to HER. She was pleased to wait on them after that.
But less courteous clientele was on its way.
Jason and Rick were not far from paying up and leaving, when two truckers came in, smelling of beer. Mr. Imada stepped up to seat them, but they looked right through him to stare at Kim. The younger of the two hooted, "I'm in love! Baby, this could be your lucky night!"
Kim assumed her chilliest You-are-not-worthy-of-my-notice expression, and retreated for a moment into the kitchen, feeling the goons' eyes burning holes through the walls in her wake. Mr. Imada calmly said, "Welcome to the Pansit Paradise, gentlemen....a _family_ restaurant."
"Yeah, I got me ideas on startin' a family," guffawed the elder of the two strangers. "We heard at Rafferty's that some kinda cross between Chinese an' Mexican food might be openin' there soon, so we thought we'd check it out."
"Didn't know there was so _much_ to check out!" leered the younger one, as Kim was compelled to show herself again to bring an order to another table.
"Al here will be your server," Mr. Imada told the men without expression.
Alipang shot a glance toward Jason and Rick. Each of them returned a subtle nod. They weren't leaving yet after all. So Alipang had backup if he needed it. But in view of whom it was the truckers were ogling, Jason and Rick both suspected that, in case of trouble, their part would be to save both troublemakers from Alipang, not the other way around.
"If business keeps growing as it has been, Carmen and I want to open a second location in the near future, as a new feature at Rafferty's Truckstop. A cousin of mine will move here to manage it if it does open; but I'll want you to help him run it. However....before you have to say yes or no to that, I'll ask a certain pretty lady if _she_ wants to work there or not--so you won't find yourself committed to leave her behind if she declines."
Alipang laughed. "You think of everything, don't you, sir?"
The pretty lady, coming in shortly after Al, provided--rather, was wearing--the next surprise. The dreary combat boots were nowhere to be seen; what was to be seen was an actual feminine dress, a slight notch more revealing (apart from having sleeves) than the outfit with which Kim had last "tested" Al. It had a colorful Celtic pattern, like a Riverdance costume; and like those dancers, Kim wore colored hose which offset the revealing effect. Al wanted to ask where she had gotten it, but he knew the drill: he wasn't supposed to acknowledge that the dress even existed, let alone admit that it was letting him see Kim's legs and her overall superb contours.
So Aunt Carmen asked the question on Al's behalf. Kim's answer was: "My sister Sharon found it at a thrift shop, like something in a movie, and wore it to a Halloween party last night. She only wanted it for that night, so this morning she gave it to me. I might wear it if I ever go to a fantasy convention."
The next surprise was as the dinner peak was approaching. Into the restaurant as customers together came Al's old friend Jason Katon, AND his new friend Rick Pelham, alias Brickpile of the Falcons' defensive line. Becoming Al's friend had admitted Rick to a circle of acquaintance which he once would have scorned; but being hurled onto the Trigonometry floor had been the beginning of a quite wholesome transformation in the senior jock. "Good evening, Miss Tisdale," Rick said politely to Kim, which was a surprise to HER. She was pleased to wait on them after that.
But less courteous clientele was on its way.
Jason and Rick were not far from paying up and leaving, when two truckers came in, smelling of beer. Mr. Imada stepped up to seat them, but they looked right through him to stare at Kim. The younger of the two hooted, "I'm in love! Baby, this could be your lucky night!"
Kim assumed her chilliest You-are-not-worthy-of-my-notice expression, and retreated for a moment into the kitchen, feeling the goons' eyes burning holes through the walls in her wake. Mr. Imada calmly said, "Welcome to the Pansit Paradise, gentlemen....a _family_ restaurant."
"Yeah, I got me ideas on startin' a family," guffawed the elder of the two strangers. "We heard at Rafferty's that some kinda cross between Chinese an' Mexican food might be openin' there soon, so we thought we'd check it out."
"Didn't know there was so _much_ to check out!" leered the younger one, as Kim was compelled to show herself again to bring an order to another table.
"Al here will be your server," Mr. Imada told the men without expression.
Alipang shot a glance toward Jason and Rick. Each of them returned a subtle nod. They weren't leaving yet after all. So Alipang had backup if he needed it. But in view of whom it was the truckers were ogling, Jason and Rick both suspected that, in case of trouble, their part would be to save both troublemakers from Alipang, not the other way around.
Copperfox
Well-known member
Alipang did his initial waiter things--glasses of water and so on--pretending for a minute or two that he wasn't hearing the obscene talk between the two truckers. And in the midst of this, he wrote something on a sheet of his notepad, which he casually tore off and placed on Jason and Rick's table as if this were ordinary restaurant business. But what his note said was:
"Be alert, but force may not be needed. Will attempt to educate using visual aids. Let Kim see this note."
He attended to his other customers, and bustled about generally to fill the time until Kim had a chance to confirm to him that she had seen his note. "Good," he told the puzzled girl; "now just give me elbow room, keep an eye on the couple at Booth 7 for me, and watch the fun." As he said this, he was cleaning off the top of a bussing cart; this done, he had a hasty conference with Uncle Rafael--in Tagalog.
The two obnoxious truckers had had plenty of time to undress Kim with their minds by now; but a surprise was coming.
"Gentlemen, since you are new to the Pansit Paradise, Mr. Imada sends you free of charge a first-timers' special." He lifted from the cart's top to the tabletop a large wooden chopping block on which a dozen lumpia were laid parallel to each other and perpendicular to the long axis of the block. That long axis ran straight away from Alipang. "These are lumpia, gentlemen: you know, lumps. Wait a moment, please, while I cut them into the proper bite-size morsels; I'm pretty good at cutting lumps. Please hold still so I can concentrate..."
Almost too rapidly for the two men's eyes to register, he reached into the cloth-shrouded lower section of the cart, and drew from there a machete-size parang knife. In the same unbroken motion, he brought it over and down in a steely arc onto the chopping block, where it sliced through all the lumpia so fast that none of the pieces moved from its place. Kim, seeing this, likened it in her mind to the old-movie swordsmen who cut through a candle so fast that the upper half doesn't fall off.
Alipang used the blade to push one row of lumpia halves toward the older trucker, then to push the other row toward the younger. "There you have our sampling of what we can offer to our customers. No one has ever left our establishment unsatisfied...provided they want the right things. We have plenty to give; anything you want ON THE MENU, you can have, at this FAMILY restaurant."
The truckers proved to have enough brains to realize that they were not exactly being threatened with bodily harm....only being encouraged to behave themselves. Thus, they neither fled nor forced a confrontation; instead, they actually ordered, ate, and paid for a regular meal, just like normal customers.
They did, however, take a daring revenge: they left without tipping Alipang.
"Be alert, but force may not be needed. Will attempt to educate using visual aids. Let Kim see this note."
He attended to his other customers, and bustled about generally to fill the time until Kim had a chance to confirm to him that she had seen his note. "Good," he told the puzzled girl; "now just give me elbow room, keep an eye on the couple at Booth 7 for me, and watch the fun." As he said this, he was cleaning off the top of a bussing cart; this done, he had a hasty conference with Uncle Rafael--in Tagalog.
The two obnoxious truckers had had plenty of time to undress Kim with their minds by now; but a surprise was coming.
"Gentlemen, since you are new to the Pansit Paradise, Mr. Imada sends you free of charge a first-timers' special." He lifted from the cart's top to the tabletop a large wooden chopping block on which a dozen lumpia were laid parallel to each other and perpendicular to the long axis of the block. That long axis ran straight away from Alipang. "These are lumpia, gentlemen: you know, lumps. Wait a moment, please, while I cut them into the proper bite-size morsels; I'm pretty good at cutting lumps. Please hold still so I can concentrate..."
Almost too rapidly for the two men's eyes to register, he reached into the cloth-shrouded lower section of the cart, and drew from there a machete-size parang knife. In the same unbroken motion, he brought it over and down in a steely arc onto the chopping block, where it sliced through all the lumpia so fast that none of the pieces moved from its place. Kim, seeing this, likened it in her mind to the old-movie swordsmen who cut through a candle so fast that the upper half doesn't fall off.
Alipang used the blade to push one row of lumpia halves toward the older trucker, then to push the other row toward the younger. "There you have our sampling of what we can offer to our customers. No one has ever left our establishment unsatisfied...provided they want the right things. We have plenty to give; anything you want ON THE MENU, you can have, at this FAMILY restaurant."
The truckers proved to have enough brains to realize that they were not exactly being threatened with bodily harm....only being encouraged to behave themselves. Thus, they neither fled nor forced a confrontation; instead, they actually ordered, ate, and paid for a regular meal, just like normal customers.
They did, however, take a daring revenge: they left without tipping Alipang.
Copperfox
Well-known member
It took an effort of will for Jason and Rick to restrain themselves from cheering at Alipang's stunt. When they were leaving, Jason asked, "Is that Oriental Bowie knife yours?"
"No, it belongs to Uncle Rafael. His father cut off several Imperial Japanese heads with it in World War Two. Don't worry, it's been washed since then."
Routine serving kept Alipang and Kim busy for most of the time till closing. But when things were quiet, Kim finally let her admirer know that yes, she had also been impressed by his handling of the two bums: "--and without actually doing any violence."
"Glad you noticed." But he for his part noticed that Kim did not precisely _thank_ him for championing her honor, only complimented him for not injuring anyone. This was all of a piece with her habitual slighting of him lately. So it was without much enthusiasm that he said, "I hope you won't let those creeps stop you from dressing any way that seems good to you. It isn't your fault that apes in suspenders _wanted_ to think of a perfectly decent outfit as putting you in _their_ world." He even turned almost sarcastic when adding, "Not that I'm getting any notions that I'm allowed to look at what you wear anywhere lower than your earrings."
All at once, Kim's oval face assumed the first look of contrition he had seen on it since the matter of her unfairly judging him over the corridor encounter with Rocknose had been cleared up. "Oh! I'm sorry, Al, really I am: I guess I really hadn't given you any cause to know that I meant-- I'm sorry, I _didn't_ wear this dress to work tonight to _test_ you all over again, on a subject you've already passed with flying colors twice. No, not a test this evening...."
She looked away, blushing. "I wore this to _reward_ you."
When Kim looked toward Alipang again, his eyes had doubled in width.
"You've been so good, Al, I wanted you to be able to see me looking feminine--feminine for YOU, not for clunky truckers out of a dumb country song. But I ruined it for you, didn't I, because I never _told_ you that the I-can-show-it-but-you-still-can't-look rule was suspended. God, I'm such a klutz, one time when I try to be _pleasing_ to a boy--!" Even rarer than the contrition, Kim's face now took on a puppy-eyes pleading which Alipang had _never_ seen on it. "Is it too late for me to say, 'Look all you want, Al, this is for you'?"
Alipang now beamed like _three_ tropical sunrises. "No, not too late at all, Kim. You're prettier in peripheral vision than most girls in full view; and if I get to see you in full view...." At long last, for the first time doing so while she was looking straight at him, he let his eyes travel studiously over every part of her. It was NOT the staring of predatory lust; it was the ecstasy of an appreciator of beauty--seeing profound beauty.
She blushed again, but purposely enhanced his pleasure by turning for him a few times, like a model. When he remarked, "Did I say burning magnesium? You're more like a supernova!" she blushed still more. And then--
"I've _also_ got a reward for you for being my knight in shining armor this evening. A noble knight needs to be able to ride on horseback. I haven't spoken for a long time about the riding-lessons idea, simply because for awhile Mom hasn't had any horses in her care that it would be all right to let you sit on. Well, now Mom _does_ have a suitable one at our place.
"I know you hardly ever have time for fun, week in and week out. But what if you came to our--to MY house early tomorrow morning, in plenty of time still to make it to Redemption Free afterward? Then I could spend an hour or more with you, showing you that I do know some subjects besides Tori Amos and computer games."
"I'll be there, Kim! Heck, yeah!" Alipang exploded with glee. "I'll be there no later than eight a.m., even if I break both my legs overnight!"
Just like that, all perceived snubs or slights were lavishly compensated for. Between the new offer--almost the same as having a _date_ with Kim--and her having okayed him to _look_ at her one time when she was _not_ perversely trying to be ugly, Alipang was not merely walking on air, he was dancing like a human radio wave (short wave, what else) on the top layer of the ionosphere.
"No, it belongs to Uncle Rafael. His father cut off several Imperial Japanese heads with it in World War Two. Don't worry, it's been washed since then."
Routine serving kept Alipang and Kim busy for most of the time till closing. But when things were quiet, Kim finally let her admirer know that yes, she had also been impressed by his handling of the two bums: "--and without actually doing any violence."
"Glad you noticed." But he for his part noticed that Kim did not precisely _thank_ him for championing her honor, only complimented him for not injuring anyone. This was all of a piece with her habitual slighting of him lately. So it was without much enthusiasm that he said, "I hope you won't let those creeps stop you from dressing any way that seems good to you. It isn't your fault that apes in suspenders _wanted_ to think of a perfectly decent outfit as putting you in _their_ world." He even turned almost sarcastic when adding, "Not that I'm getting any notions that I'm allowed to look at what you wear anywhere lower than your earrings."
All at once, Kim's oval face assumed the first look of contrition he had seen on it since the matter of her unfairly judging him over the corridor encounter with Rocknose had been cleared up. "Oh! I'm sorry, Al, really I am: I guess I really hadn't given you any cause to know that I meant-- I'm sorry, I _didn't_ wear this dress to work tonight to _test_ you all over again, on a subject you've already passed with flying colors twice. No, not a test this evening...."
She looked away, blushing. "I wore this to _reward_ you."
When Kim looked toward Alipang again, his eyes had doubled in width.
"You've been so good, Al, I wanted you to be able to see me looking feminine--feminine for YOU, not for clunky truckers out of a dumb country song. But I ruined it for you, didn't I, because I never _told_ you that the I-can-show-it-but-you-still-can't-look rule was suspended. God, I'm such a klutz, one time when I try to be _pleasing_ to a boy--!" Even rarer than the contrition, Kim's face now took on a puppy-eyes pleading which Alipang had _never_ seen on it. "Is it too late for me to say, 'Look all you want, Al, this is for you'?"
Alipang now beamed like _three_ tropical sunrises. "No, not too late at all, Kim. You're prettier in peripheral vision than most girls in full view; and if I get to see you in full view...." At long last, for the first time doing so while she was looking straight at him, he let his eyes travel studiously over every part of her. It was NOT the staring of predatory lust; it was the ecstasy of an appreciator of beauty--seeing profound beauty.
She blushed again, but purposely enhanced his pleasure by turning for him a few times, like a model. When he remarked, "Did I say burning magnesium? You're more like a supernova!" she blushed still more. And then--
"I've _also_ got a reward for you for being my knight in shining armor this evening. A noble knight needs to be able to ride on horseback. I haven't spoken for a long time about the riding-lessons idea, simply because for awhile Mom hasn't had any horses in her care that it would be all right to let you sit on. Well, now Mom _does_ have a suitable one at our place.
"I know you hardly ever have time for fun, week in and week out. But what if you came to our--to MY house early tomorrow morning, in plenty of time still to make it to Redemption Free afterward? Then I could spend an hour or more with you, showing you that I do know some subjects besides Tori Amos and computer games."
"I'll be there, Kim! Heck, yeah!" Alipang exploded with glee. "I'll be there no later than eight a.m., even if I break both my legs overnight!"
Just like that, all perceived snubs or slights were lavishly compensated for. Between the new offer--almost the same as having a _date_ with Kim--and her having okayed him to _look_ at her one time when she was _not_ perversely trying to be ugly, Alipang was not merely walking on air, he was dancing like a human radio wave (short wave, what else) on the top layer of the ionosphere.
~ ~ END OF PART SEVENTEEN ~ ~
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Unforgotten_Memories
New member
Man,...I know I've felt the way Kim did before. I think every girl has. And don't we all want a knight in shining armor to protect us. I loved this last part. I planned on reading a couple posts but found myself flying through it.
I love Macbeth, btw. "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,/ Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,/ To the last syllable of recorded time;/ And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!/ Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more. It is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/ Signifying nothing." I had to learn that part senior year in my AP English class.
I loved this last part. I planned on reading a couple posts but found myself flying through it.I love Macbeth, btw. "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,/ Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,/ To the last syllable of recorded time;/ And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!/ Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more. It is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/ Signifying nothing." I had to learn that part senior year in my AP English class.