Post by Aquisha on Aug 3, 2006 23:39:53 GMT -5
SLEEPOVER!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*****************************************************
That night, the boys quickly learned that when girls have a slumber party, there is absolutely no slumber involved…for anyone. Earlier Eric, James, and Ethan had promised that they wouldn’t do anything to spoil the girls’ fun, but now it was late, they were tired, and any attempt at sleep was thwarted by a cacophony of giggles. But, they’d made a promise to the girls, so even though they were tossing and turning, they stayed in their rooms and tried their best to doze off.
At the same time in Antonia’s room, there had been two games of truth or dare, numerous bowls of ice cream, and one trip into the depths of Antonia’s closet.
“Do you believe we used to wear these?”
Tony had grabbed a dress from her closet that was just a mess of bows and lace. The colors were a mix of the most uncomplimentary hues in the spectrum. It was like the nineteenth century bridesmaid’s nightmare.
“Oh, Tony that’s awful,” Ariel said, laughing.
“Oh, but Ariel we loved these,” Charlotte chimed in. “We wouldn’t stop writing to our parents about how friendless and unloved we were without the proper attire.”
“And everyone was wearing this?” Ariel asked.
“Yep. Even the dowdiest matron.”
I’m glad I missed that, Ariel thought to herself.
“I’m surprised the boys even talked to us,” Tony said. She had dropped the dress on a nearby fainting couch and joined Ariel and Charlotte on her bed.
“How did you all get to meet each other anyway,” Ariel asked.
“Well,” Tony started, “Charlotte and I were roommates. Within two weeks of living together, you would have thought we’d known each other all our lives. But we hadn’t even met before we went off to Crestwood. Oh, that was the name of our school: The Crestwood Academy.”
“Actually, it was a very nice place,” Charlotte reminisced. “The teachers were excellent. At the time of course we just thought they were strict and uncaring.”
“That’s an understatement,” Tony exclaimed. “There were rules for everything from how you presented your homework down to how you presented your own name. I was never to be called ‘Tony’ but was to be addressed as Lady Antonia Leonette Foulkes. We were all shaped to be the pedigreed and refined young men and women that rank and title had intended us.”
“In other words, they wanted us to be pretentious little twits.”
“Exactly, Charlotte. We met the boys over a game of ‘Tact’.”
“What is ‘Tact’?” Ariel asked.
“It is a game of skill and honor, as James would say it,” Charlotte answered trying to imitate James’ flare. “Each person is a country and you endeavor to bargain, trade, and battle with the other players. We wanted to play with them and they wouldn’t let us.”
“So we bet them that we could beat them in one round. They agreed and got their rears handed to them on a platter. We played everyday for a week, and they never won.”
“They had to start thinking up other games to play just so they could stop losing!” Charlotte added, laughing.
“We started playing different games every week. We just became friends after that.”
“And did you all come to Greysmith on vacations?” asked Ariel.
“For the most part, yes,” Tony answered. “I think we’ve been to everyone’s home at least once. But we usually came here for holidays.”
“Plus, Greysmith is the midpoint between all of our homes,” Charlotte added, “and we wanted to stay in a castle whenever we could.”
“That’s true. James and Charlotte and I thought we were very important to be friends with a set of princes.”
“The only bad thing was they never acted like it,” Charlotte said disappointed. “No royal decrees of no homework or edicts about superfluous holidays; there were absolutely no perks at all.”
“Well, now Charlotte, Eric did use his title once.”
“When?”
“That time when Eric hadn’t copied down the assignment from Dr. Fletcher’s lecture.”
Charlotte’s face lit up.
“Right!”
“Alright, tell me what happened,” Ariel said expectantly.
“Ok,” Tony said, preparing herself. “We were juniors at school. That year, there was really only one class that they allowed both the boys and girls to attend together and that was History. Eric and I were the only two of us who had Dr. Fletcher, so when we needed to, we would ask each other for help. Well, one time Eric had stayed up late with work the night before and gone to sleep in class. He needed the assignment from me the next day but we wouldn’t be able to see each other until History. Now, I believe it was James who hatched the brilliant plan.”
“Oh, yes,” Charlotte exclaimed. “This had James written all over it.”
“Well, Charlotte and I were in our French class in Wimberley Hall, which was strictly for girls. In the middle of class there’s a knock on the door. Mme. Grenier, our teacher, opens it, and there’s Eric clad from head to toe in his royal regalia. He walks in and pulls Mme. Grenier aside.”
“To this day,” Charlotte added, “I have no idea what he told that poor woman, but, when he was done, all the color was drained from her face and she looked like she was ready to faint.”
“Needless to say,” Tony continued, “I was asked to speak privately with ‘His Highness’ and to bring my things. I thought something terrible had happened! When he told me he needed my lecture notes, I started hitting him right there in the hallway. Of course I was laughing, but I was still mad! I gave him my notes, went back into class, and had to suffer a week of people whispering about political intrigue between Eric’s kingdom, me, and poor Mme. Grenier!”
“I’m sorry Tony but that’s hilarious,” Ariel said.
“It wasn’t about three years ago,” Tony grumbled.
The girls had peeled out into a small laughing fit when there was a knock on the door. All three were taken by surprise, and stopped laughing almost instantly. Then Tony, who was always the first into action, got up to get the door.
“Maybe it’s Eric looking for more notes, Tony,” Charlotte whispered.
They all began to laugh again, even though Tony was fighting to keep her composure.
“Just for that you’re coming with me!”
Tony turned and pulled Charlotte off the bed, quite against her will. Charlotte, who was not going to suffer alone, grabbed Ariel’s hand, basically dragging her off the bed. As they made their way over to the door, they stifled giggles with playful hits and shh-ing.
“Ariel, you answer it,” Charlotte said, pushing Ariel forward.
“Why me?”
“Just think of it as initiation,” Antonia said smiling as she stepped away from the door.
Ariel was now alone with whatever was behind the door. Please not Grim, please not Grim, please, was all that was going through her head. She took a deep breath, reached out for the knob, and in one motion opened the door.
There is probably nothing funnier to a girl giddy on the thrills of a sleepover than the sight of the sleep-deprived object of her affections standing in his pajamas at her door.
“Hi,” Eric said, half asleep and leaning on the doorframe.
“Hi,” Ariel replied. “What’s going on?”
“Well, I have been sent on behalf of Ethan and James as an ambassador to ask for the immediate cessation of all giggling, screaming, and/or squealing down this hallway.”
“Oh really?” Ariel asked. She was not going to make this easy for him. “I thought there was already an accord that your party would not interfere with the intentions or affairs of my party.”
“Yes,” Eric replied exasperated, “but my party promised not to interfere with any infantile pranks or annoyances. This is a matter of my party needing the basic necessity of sleep.”
“Here, here, Eric! Give ‘em what for!”
James’ voice barreled down the hall. At the sound of it Charlotte shot straight for the door.
“James, you coward! You come here and say that!”
Eric proved that even without sleep, his sailor’s reflexes were still pretty quick. In fact, they were quick enough to grab Charlotte around the waist and hold her back. It was a struggle, but Eric had no intention of having to save James once more from Charlotte’s wrath, especially not at two o’clock in the morning.
“Charlotte,” Eric said, clearly at the end of his patience. “Charlotte! Charlotte and James will you please stop!”
Immediately, Charlotte stopped thrashing and James’ taunts from the shadows of the hallway ceased.
“Please,” Eric said with his eyes closed in an attempt to keep calm. “All I want is some sleep.”
Both Ariel and Tony had been watching this battle with extreme amusement. But, seeing how desperately Eric wanted some peace and quiet, Ariel stepped forward to arrange an armistice. She walked forward, once again, covering her smile with her hand, and then dropped both hands behind her back as she met Eric.
“Alright. We will take any further activities outside. It’s a warm night and some fresh air might do us some good.”
“It might take the fight out of you, too!” James exclaimed.
“James!” Charlotte yelled.
“Charlotte,” Ariel called, “it’s ok. Let it go.” Then she looked to Eric. “We will keep it quiet for your party.”
“Thank you,” Eric said with profound gratitude.
Ariel nodded her head and closed the door.
“That was very good Ariel,” Antonia said. “Negotiating through…all of that more than qualifies you as one of us. It’s official; congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Ariel said with a laugh.
“Ugh, I’m so mad!” Charlotte said, throwing herself onto the couch. “James is so annoying!”
“But don’t you love him?” Ariel asked.
“Of course I love him! I’d probably marry him if he asked me to.”
“Then why do you get so upset with him?”
“This is just they way they are Ariel,” Antonia answered. “Their relationship makes no sense to the outside observer. But, I have the feeling that when no one is looking, there is some kind of harmonious balance with those two. Wouldn’t you say Charlotte?”
“I can't stand him.”
“See?” Tony asked.
“Not really,” Ariel replied. “But maybe I just need some time.”
“Well, I won’t be any fun for the rest of the evening,” Charlotte sighed. “He always manages to ruin my fun.”
“Oh, Charlotte it’s ok,” Antonia said sitting down on the edge of the couch. “We had a good time tonight.”
“Yes, well…. I think I’ll go to sleep. Maybe that way I won’t think about it. You guys can keep talking if you want to. I’ll be alright here.”
“You’re sure?” Ariel asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Alright,” Tony said. “We’ll be out on the balcony. Good night, Charlotte.”
“Night, Charlotte,” Ariel said following Tony to the balcony.
“Good night, you two.”
Charlotte reached for a blanket off of Antonia’s bed, found a comfortable position on the couch, and searched her thoughts for something pleasant to sleep on. Surprisingly, the thought she found was of James, and in no time at all, Charlotte was fast asleep.
*******************
Just a small P.S.: There is more to this scene and it'll be coming soon.
*****************************************************
That night, the boys quickly learned that when girls have a slumber party, there is absolutely no slumber involved…for anyone. Earlier Eric, James, and Ethan had promised that they wouldn’t do anything to spoil the girls’ fun, but now it was late, they were tired, and any attempt at sleep was thwarted by a cacophony of giggles. But, they’d made a promise to the girls, so even though they were tossing and turning, they stayed in their rooms and tried their best to doze off.
At the same time in Antonia’s room, there had been two games of truth or dare, numerous bowls of ice cream, and one trip into the depths of Antonia’s closet.
“Do you believe we used to wear these?”
Tony had grabbed a dress from her closet that was just a mess of bows and lace. The colors were a mix of the most uncomplimentary hues in the spectrum. It was like the nineteenth century bridesmaid’s nightmare.
“Oh, Tony that’s awful,” Ariel said, laughing.
“Oh, but Ariel we loved these,” Charlotte chimed in. “We wouldn’t stop writing to our parents about how friendless and unloved we were without the proper attire.”
“And everyone was wearing this?” Ariel asked.
“Yep. Even the dowdiest matron.”
I’m glad I missed that, Ariel thought to herself.
“I’m surprised the boys even talked to us,” Tony said. She had dropped the dress on a nearby fainting couch and joined Ariel and Charlotte on her bed.
“How did you all get to meet each other anyway,” Ariel asked.
“Well,” Tony started, “Charlotte and I were roommates. Within two weeks of living together, you would have thought we’d known each other all our lives. But we hadn’t even met before we went off to Crestwood. Oh, that was the name of our school: The Crestwood Academy.”
“Actually, it was a very nice place,” Charlotte reminisced. “The teachers were excellent. At the time of course we just thought they were strict and uncaring.”
“That’s an understatement,” Tony exclaimed. “There were rules for everything from how you presented your homework down to how you presented your own name. I was never to be called ‘Tony’ but was to be addressed as Lady Antonia Leonette Foulkes. We were all shaped to be the pedigreed and refined young men and women that rank and title had intended us.”
“In other words, they wanted us to be pretentious little twits.”
“Exactly, Charlotte. We met the boys over a game of ‘Tact’.”
“What is ‘Tact’?” Ariel asked.
“It is a game of skill and honor, as James would say it,” Charlotte answered trying to imitate James’ flare. “Each person is a country and you endeavor to bargain, trade, and battle with the other players. We wanted to play with them and they wouldn’t let us.”
“So we bet them that we could beat them in one round. They agreed and got their rears handed to them on a platter. We played everyday for a week, and they never won.”
“They had to start thinking up other games to play just so they could stop losing!” Charlotte added, laughing.
“We started playing different games every week. We just became friends after that.”
“And did you all come to Greysmith on vacations?” asked Ariel.
“For the most part, yes,” Tony answered. “I think we’ve been to everyone’s home at least once. But we usually came here for holidays.”
“Plus, Greysmith is the midpoint between all of our homes,” Charlotte added, “and we wanted to stay in a castle whenever we could.”
“That’s true. James and Charlotte and I thought we were very important to be friends with a set of princes.”
“The only bad thing was they never acted like it,” Charlotte said disappointed. “No royal decrees of no homework or edicts about superfluous holidays; there were absolutely no perks at all.”
“Well, now Charlotte, Eric did use his title once.”
“When?”
“That time when Eric hadn’t copied down the assignment from Dr. Fletcher’s lecture.”
Charlotte’s face lit up.
“Right!”
“Alright, tell me what happened,” Ariel said expectantly.
“Ok,” Tony said, preparing herself. “We were juniors at school. That year, there was really only one class that they allowed both the boys and girls to attend together and that was History. Eric and I were the only two of us who had Dr. Fletcher, so when we needed to, we would ask each other for help. Well, one time Eric had stayed up late with work the night before and gone to sleep in class. He needed the assignment from me the next day but we wouldn’t be able to see each other until History. Now, I believe it was James who hatched the brilliant plan.”
“Oh, yes,” Charlotte exclaimed. “This had James written all over it.”
“Well, Charlotte and I were in our French class in Wimberley Hall, which was strictly for girls. In the middle of class there’s a knock on the door. Mme. Grenier, our teacher, opens it, and there’s Eric clad from head to toe in his royal regalia. He walks in and pulls Mme. Grenier aside.”
“To this day,” Charlotte added, “I have no idea what he told that poor woman, but, when he was done, all the color was drained from her face and she looked like she was ready to faint.”
“Needless to say,” Tony continued, “I was asked to speak privately with ‘His Highness’ and to bring my things. I thought something terrible had happened! When he told me he needed my lecture notes, I started hitting him right there in the hallway. Of course I was laughing, but I was still mad! I gave him my notes, went back into class, and had to suffer a week of people whispering about political intrigue between Eric’s kingdom, me, and poor Mme. Grenier!”
“I’m sorry Tony but that’s hilarious,” Ariel said.
“It wasn’t about three years ago,” Tony grumbled.
The girls had peeled out into a small laughing fit when there was a knock on the door. All three were taken by surprise, and stopped laughing almost instantly. Then Tony, who was always the first into action, got up to get the door.
“Maybe it’s Eric looking for more notes, Tony,” Charlotte whispered.
They all began to laugh again, even though Tony was fighting to keep her composure.
“Just for that you’re coming with me!”
Tony turned and pulled Charlotte off the bed, quite against her will. Charlotte, who was not going to suffer alone, grabbed Ariel’s hand, basically dragging her off the bed. As they made their way over to the door, they stifled giggles with playful hits and shh-ing.
“Ariel, you answer it,” Charlotte said, pushing Ariel forward.
“Why me?”
“Just think of it as initiation,” Antonia said smiling as she stepped away from the door.
Ariel was now alone with whatever was behind the door. Please not Grim, please not Grim, please, was all that was going through her head. She took a deep breath, reached out for the knob, and in one motion opened the door.
There is probably nothing funnier to a girl giddy on the thrills of a sleepover than the sight of the sleep-deprived object of her affections standing in his pajamas at her door.
“Hi,” Eric said, half asleep and leaning on the doorframe.
“Hi,” Ariel replied. “What’s going on?”
“Well, I have been sent on behalf of Ethan and James as an ambassador to ask for the immediate cessation of all giggling, screaming, and/or squealing down this hallway.”
“Oh really?” Ariel asked. She was not going to make this easy for him. “I thought there was already an accord that your party would not interfere with the intentions or affairs of my party.”
“Yes,” Eric replied exasperated, “but my party promised not to interfere with any infantile pranks or annoyances. This is a matter of my party needing the basic necessity of sleep.”
“Here, here, Eric! Give ‘em what for!”
James’ voice barreled down the hall. At the sound of it Charlotte shot straight for the door.
“James, you coward! You come here and say that!”
Eric proved that even without sleep, his sailor’s reflexes were still pretty quick. In fact, they were quick enough to grab Charlotte around the waist and hold her back. It was a struggle, but Eric had no intention of having to save James once more from Charlotte’s wrath, especially not at two o’clock in the morning.
“Charlotte,” Eric said, clearly at the end of his patience. “Charlotte! Charlotte and James will you please stop!”
Immediately, Charlotte stopped thrashing and James’ taunts from the shadows of the hallway ceased.
“Please,” Eric said with his eyes closed in an attempt to keep calm. “All I want is some sleep.”
Both Ariel and Tony had been watching this battle with extreme amusement. But, seeing how desperately Eric wanted some peace and quiet, Ariel stepped forward to arrange an armistice. She walked forward, once again, covering her smile with her hand, and then dropped both hands behind her back as she met Eric.
“Alright. We will take any further activities outside. It’s a warm night and some fresh air might do us some good.”
“It might take the fight out of you, too!” James exclaimed.
“James!” Charlotte yelled.
“Charlotte,” Ariel called, “it’s ok. Let it go.” Then she looked to Eric. “We will keep it quiet for your party.”
“Thank you,” Eric said with profound gratitude.
Ariel nodded her head and closed the door.
“That was very good Ariel,” Antonia said. “Negotiating through…all of that more than qualifies you as one of us. It’s official; congratulations!”
“Thanks,” Ariel said with a laugh.
“Ugh, I’m so mad!” Charlotte said, throwing herself onto the couch. “James is so annoying!”
“But don’t you love him?” Ariel asked.
“Of course I love him! I’d probably marry him if he asked me to.”
“Then why do you get so upset with him?”
“This is just they way they are Ariel,” Antonia answered. “Their relationship makes no sense to the outside observer. But, I have the feeling that when no one is looking, there is some kind of harmonious balance with those two. Wouldn’t you say Charlotte?”
“I can't stand him.”
“See?” Tony asked.
“Not really,” Ariel replied. “But maybe I just need some time.”
“Well, I won’t be any fun for the rest of the evening,” Charlotte sighed. “He always manages to ruin my fun.”
“Oh, Charlotte it’s ok,” Antonia said sitting down on the edge of the couch. “We had a good time tonight.”
“Yes, well…. I think I’ll go to sleep. Maybe that way I won’t think about it. You guys can keep talking if you want to. I’ll be alright here.”
“You’re sure?” Ariel asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Alright,” Tony said. “We’ll be out on the balcony. Good night, Charlotte.”
“Night, Charlotte,” Ariel said following Tony to the balcony.
“Good night, you two.”
Charlotte reached for a blanket off of Antonia’s bed, found a comfortable position on the couch, and searched her thoughts for something pleasant to sleep on. Surprisingly, the thought she found was of James, and in no time at all, Charlotte was fast asleep.
*******************
Just a small P.S.: There is more to this scene and it'll be coming soon.