And today was such a -good- day...

[*sigh* Y'know, today was one of the first days in a really long time my entire family (all three of us, that is o.O;;) managed to go an entire day without fighting... Until just a second ago my mom got on my dad's nerves and he started shouting... *shakes head* Dun'cha love life?]

[Seriously though, it's not as bad as I make it sound. I mean, for a rather anal mom, a dad who's not really home all that often, and an extremely moody teenager, we get along pretty well. The only time we really had a biiiiiig fight was when my mom was abusing alcohol, and the DWI kinda fixed that. I mean, it's been kinda tense since then, and we yell at each other all the time, but there's none of that 'I hate you and I'm running away' crap that most families have to deal with. I don't know why I'm complaining.]

[Probably because I'm just a lazy wimp who's too self-centered to realize that I have it so good.]

[But you know what? Being an egotistical bitch is fun. So I'm just gonna keep doing it ^_^]

[On a lighter note, my friend sent me the first two chapters of her story, so I got to edit that for her. That was fun. I like editing stuff, I really do. I mean, that would be my ideal job, as a professional editor...y'know? Reading stuff all day long, getting to tell young authors exactly how to improve...I'm missing the problem. Well, other than that it probably doesn't pay well and everyone would think it was beneath me... *sigh*]

[That's another thing I hate, is reputations. All they ever do is cause trouble.]

[...well, that's not entirely true either. I mean, I know I've used mine (which is actually pretty good, if I may say so without sounding too holier-than-thou) to get out of a million and two troublesome situations... For example, a couple of friends and I were walking around school after the exams last month, and a couple of the teachers came over to yell at us to leave, but I just said I was on my way to check on my exam grade because I was worried about it and they let us go. I saw someone else try to pull the same ruse with one of the same teachers and they got kicked out. It was cool ^_^]

[But in other situations, reputations can be nothing but a pain in the ass. I mean, I like to joke around and curse and be lazy just as much as the next person, but I'm also very self-conscious around teachers and strangers, so what am I supposed to do? I mean, I'm supposed to be this perfect, uptight, always right, never misbehaving person. And yet I hang out with some of the biggest troublemakers, of my own violition - I've been best friends with a lot of them for years. So when they start acting up, what the hell am I supposed to do? Should I try to stop them? Join them? Or just sit back and enjoy the show?]

[O'course, I usually end up doing the latter, just on account of the fact that it's the easiest. I've become a master at watching something over the edge of my book and then pretending I never saw it... Easiest just to be neutral. Sticking your neck out for someone usually just results in said neck getting chopped in half.]

[...Man, I've got to stop reading those Bakura fanfics... *shudder* Gruesome image there.]

[And with that, I'm going to try to actually write something...dunno what, but something...]

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Half a World Away, Part II
Life Goes On
Kagome sighed and threw herself backwards onto her bed. Since they'd arrived near the beginning of the summer vacation, she and Souta really hadn't been able to meet that many people; as a result she'd been babysitting him all summer. This meant she had to chase him around in the hundred degree weather.
"I hate summer," she moaned, wiping sweat off her forehead. Even in the air-conditioned house the heat was almost unbearable. "I don't know how these people can stand it..."
"Hey, Kagome," Souta said as he popped his head around the door. "I want to go to that museum place."
"We've been to Moody Gardens a thousand times this week!" Kagome protested. "You know that place like the back of your hand. Why do you want to go again?"
"Because it's fun!" her little brother replied with a bright grin. "Besides, it's cool, and there are people there. Come on, you don't have to come all the way with me - I'll go to the aquarium, and you can sit in the lobby like usual. Please?"
"No."
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"No."
"Pretty please? With a Hershey's bar on top?" He looked up at her with pleading eyes, and she hesitated.
Don't fall for the kiddie eyes, she berated herself. Be strong...don't give in...be strong...
"Oh, all right," she sighed. "Go ask mother for some money and we'll go."
"Yippee!" The short boy nearly danced down the hall to their mother's room.
Curse the eyes, Kagome thought darkly.

* * * * *

Well, at least it's not hot, Kagome told herself reluctantly as she took a seat in the public seating section of the Moody Gardens main building. Souta had already run off; he was absolutely in love with the aquarium, and knew that it was pointless to try to get his sister to accompany him. The curved glass gave her headaches anyway. She was happier just sitting down and watching the other tourists.
One in particular caught her eye. He was a tiny boy with extremely busky hair; if they'd stood back-to-back he would have barely reached her waist. She recognized him from the last few times she'd been here. He was always running around, almost bouncing off the walls, but today he seemed sullen. He was sitting on the raised ledge by the theater entrance with his back turned to her. It took her a while to realize he was crying.
"That's strange," she said to no one in particular. Snagging her purse in one hand and tying her sweater haphazardly around her waist, she got up and walked over to the kid. "Hey, are you all right?"
He looked up, fear in his eyes. "Yeah...yeah, 'm fine," he muttered. He stood up and made as if to leave.
"Wait, don't go," Kagome blurted. "What's wrong? You were crying."
"It's...it's nothing."
"Come on, tell me," she coaxed. "I promise I don't bite."
He looked up at her again, as if weighing his options. After a moment's hesitation he shook his head and said, "I told you, it's nothing. Besides, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He turned and nearly ran off down the hallway, heading to the side exit.
"Don't worry about him," an elderly woman said, coming to stand next to Kagome. "He's the manager's friend's son, so we see him a lot here. He just gets moody. Best to let him be; in another day or two he'll be back to his normal hyper self."
"Are you sure?"
The woman nodded. "You bet I am. I've known him since he was born, he's always been like this. I'm Kaede, by the way."
"My name's Kagome," the younger girl said, holding out her hand. The woman looked at her quizically for a moment, and Kagome blushed as she realized her mistake. She switched to her right hand. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm new to America. I'm not quite used to your customs yet."
"It's okay," Kaede said with a laugh, "there are plenty of native-born Americans who haven't figured it out either. You're what, Chinese?"
"Japanese, actually."
"My mistake. I should have known, I have Japanese friend on the mainland. It's too bad you weren't here a month or two ago. There was a very nice display of Oriental dolls here, I think you would have enjoyed it. Say, are you hungry?"
"Er, not really," Kagome said. "I ate before I came. Why?"
"Then do you mind if I get something to eat, and we sit down and talk? All this standing around is a killer to an old lady like me." Kaede flashed a brilliant smile, and Kagome couldn't help but return it.
"Sure, why not?"

* * * * *

The rest of the day passed quite quickly. Kaede turned out to be quite fun, and as she's all but grown up on the island she was able to tell Kagome quite a bit about the less well-known attractions. She even knew a few words of Japanese that she'd picked up from her "mainlander friend." (She referred to everyone from off the island as mainlanders, but the way she said it never sounded at all deragatory.) She also knew a fair bit of Spanish, and she was teaching Kagome a handful of common words when Souta ran up.
"Hey Kagome!"
The raven-haired girl turned and waved to her brother, motioning for him to come over. "This is my little brother Souta," she said in introduction. "Souta, meet my new friend Kaede."
Souta eyed the white-haired woman suspiciously. "She's old," he finally said. Kagome turned an interesting shade of pink and hurried to apologize, but Kaede just laughed.
"Well, at least he's observant," she said, still chuckling. "But watch what you say, kid. If you weren't so cute I'd have to yell at you." Souta favored her with an embarassed half-smile, and Kaede ruffled his hair.
"We should go, it's getting late," Kagome said, picking up her purse. "Ms. Kaede, thank you for such an enjoyable afternoon."
"And thank you for listening to an old woman's rambling," Kaede said, also standing. "I'm here fairly often, so if you ever want a chat just stop by."
"I'll be sure to do that," Kagome promised. "Come on, Souta, time to go home."
"Awwww..."
"Mother said she's making real dinner tonight, rather than ramen..."
Souta's face lit up. "No more ramen? Real food? All right, let's go!" He sprinted to the door, leaving Kagome to stare openmouthed at where he'd been just a second before.
"He is never, never, never allowed to meet that other little kid," she vowed.

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Random Quote of the Day:
In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra
- Fran Lebowitz

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