Stage In The Sky

Chapter 2 – Don’t F**k with the Sailor Scouts

At about 8:30, mom and dad headed out to get some breakfast. Mom gave us 20 bucks each and told us to behave. Chris and I waited outside and played a little basketball before Ken and Ryu came and picked us up. I wore a black Michael Vick jersey with some khaki shorts, while Chris wore a Vince Carter jersey over a white t-shirt and some black shorts. Ken and Ryu arrived on time.

Riding in the limo on our way to Atlanta, Chris and I couldn’t help but notice that Ken was wearing a pretty pink ring.

“My, my. What a nice little ring you have on, Ken. Where’d you get it? From a four-ear-old girl?” Chris asked.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“He got it from his girlfriend, Serena. She makes him wear it to show that he’s already with someone.” Ryu said with a smirk.

Chris and I started laughing harder than we already were.

“Oh my God, Ken! Tell me that’s not true.” I jeered.

“Man, ya’ll just made that you don’t have girlfriends that are about you so much, that she wants you to remember her every minute of your life.” Ken said, gradually realizing how silly his words were.

“Whatever.” I chuckled. “Well, tell me something Romeo. How come I didn’t see you wearing it yesterday?”

“Wimp!” Chris said in a muffled coughed.

Everyone was laughing except Ken. “You know what. I bet you won’t tell her that yourself.”

“Man, please!” I boasted. “I’ll tell it to her the first thing she gets off that plane.”

“Why wait!” Ken shouted, smirking to hide his obvious anger.

As soon as he pulled out his phone, I noticed Ryu stopped laughing. His amusement was replaced by grave suspense. Chris kept laughing though. I could tell he was pissing Ken off, but in a way, I didn’t care. I was in the zone. Whatever. What’s his girl gonna do to me?

“Hello? Yo, what’s up, baby. Oh nothing much. Right now, we’re on our way to Atlanta. Yeah, everything’s fine. I missed you too. Guess what. We found some people to play the lead roles with us. Yeah, they’re the only friends we got down here. They’re in the car right now. What? Serena, I don’t know. I don’t judge boys. They’ll have to decide for themselves. Anyways, I just showed them my promise ring and they laughed at me. Yeah! One of them said he had the guts to tell you himself. His name is Majestic. Yeah, alright.”

Ken handed me the phone.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hello, my butt! What were you saying about my ring? My ring that I gave to Ken!”

“Look, I think you should calm down.”

Ryu shook his head, trying his best to warn me.

“Shut up and tell me what you said about my ring!” she shouted.

At that point, I was pissed.

“Bitch! I said that Ken shouldn’t have to wear your faggety ass promise ring if he don’t want to.”

Before she could respond to curse me out, I threw the phone to Ken. Chris was laughing his ass off, but Ryu looked like someone just signed my death warrant. Even Ken hesitated to pick up the phone.

“Hello baby he didn’t mean he was just playing…” Ken quickly fired off before there was dead silence. “Okay, bye.” He added as if Serena didn’t just hang up on him.

“Majestic…You are so…DEAD! You don’t know Serena, man. She is like, super strong, man.” Ken said.

“Her and her cousins.” Ryu added.

“What are they, Power Rangers?” Chris asked.

“It’s pretty complicated.” Ryu began. “And you may not believe it. But Serena and her cousins are the Sailor Scouts. Each of them have the ability to call upon a planet or celestial body to summon their powers. To offend or defend. Serena is the strongest, calling upon the moon to destroy her opponents. Next is Lana, using Jupiter’s large mass to call upon.”

“Whelp, you’re right. I don’t believe you.” I said.

“I wouldn’t want to be you when we get to the airport.” Ken told me.

“Hang on. So, the girls are stronger than you?” I asked them.

Ken and Ryu nodded.

“This is ridiculous.” I dismissed.

Either way, it was quiet for the rest of the trip. I kept trying to shake off Ken and Ryu’s concern but it was ridiculously difficult. How bad could they be? They were just girls. And I’ve never met a girl who was stronger than a boy….stronger than Ken and Ryu. Give me a break.

We got to the airport just a half hour past noon with a mass of screaming girls awaiting Ken and Ryu’s arrival. Apparently, their fans knew the boys were in relationships and weren’t bothered by it. They were all screaming for Ken and Ryu and the small army of bodyguards could barely contain them. When the limo pulled into the drop-off zone, all I could see was girls and flashing cameras.

The girls were so loud that it drowned out the airport sounds. When one of the bodyguards opened the door, Ken told us, “Alright, when I count to three, we’re gonna run for it.”

He counted for three and was the first one out the limo, followed by a wildly excited Chris, then me, then Ryu. There were girls everywhere. Groping. Clawing. Spitting. The blinding lights from the camera flash didn’t help. It took about thirty minutes to get to the gate, which was cleared out, thankfully. It seemed like the only place in the airport where you could breathe.

“Alright! Woo! Let’s do that again!” Shouted an excited Chris.

“That was great, you guys. Now we just gotta wait for the plane to arrive.” Said Ryu.

While we waited, Ken and Ryu reluctantly went off to sign a few autographs and answer questions from the press. Chris marveled about how fun it was to run through the entire airport. And finally, I saw the approach of a massive US Continental airplane.

Ken and Ryu came back. All four of us stood side by side, awaiting the presence of Ken’s snotty girlfriend. I could tell that Chris fully anticipated the confrontation between me and Serena. I was still trying to shake off all the melodrama. I was sure Ken and Ryu were just exaggerating.

The jetway opened and two bodyguards came out, followed by the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. This girl was a brown-haired, brown-eyed belle with a look in those eyes that told me she was made just for me. The first time I saw her, everything stopped. Time. Matter. My breaths. There was just a picture of her and me in my mind. Those eyes were filled with a poison that killed my responsibilities, my nobility, and my shyness. Ever since that day, the way I would act, think…everything I’d do would be for her. Or at the very least, to impress her. Lana…Sailor Jupiter.

Next, came a very attractive blonde, about the same height as the first angel. She wasn’t as attractive as the first, but beautiful nonetheless. Her beauty was unique. Her blonde hair seem to be the same color as her complexion. I didn’t focus on her that much. I was still spellbound by the first.
I turned to Chris, thinking I’d get a nod of approval about the first, but Chris was captivated with the blonde. Chris…the hardly take anything seriously Chris wore an expression I’d never seen in him. It’s like he felt the exact same way I felt about the first one, but for the blonde. We didn’t even notice the other girls following behind them.

“Chris, you alright?” I asked.

“She’s the girl of my dreams.” He whispered.

I couldn’t help but feel a little animosity towards Ken and Ryu. The girls hugged and greeted them like they had known each other for years. Meanwhile, Chris and I stood off to the side like we were the last two nobody wanted in the dodgeball game.

“Before we leave, let me introduce you guys to our new friends. This is Chris.” Ken said before turning to me, nervously, and saying, “and I believe you already spoke to Majestic.”

The girls frowned at me. The look in their eyes cut straight to the heart. It felt like the entire world stopped what they were doing just to glare at me. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t breathe. I could barely think. I could only imagine how stupid I looked.

“Chris, Majestic…” Ken said with an awkward spike in his voice. He pointed to the most beautiful girl in the world and introduced, “This is Lana. Also known as Sailor Jupiter.”

Chris and I said hi but she stared at us as if we were the scum of the earth.

Next, he pointed to Chris’s hottie and said, “This is Mina. Our very own Sailor Venus.”

Then, he pointed to a girl with long black hair, with dark determined eyes and red eye shadow. “This is Rei or Renny. Sailor Mars.”

After we said hi to Lana and got no response, Chris and I just stopped responding. Ken would make the introductions and we’d just stare at each other. Ryu appeared to be enjoying the situation. He was seated with a strikingly beautiful girl with blue eyes and a bob cut with dark blue hair.

“This is Amy.” Ryu introduced as he saw me staring. “She’s Sailor Mercury. The brains of G-Force and she’s also my girlfriend.”

“What’s G-Force?” I asked.

Nobody answered. It amplified my agitation.

“Umm…Majestic. This gentle, precious flower here is my girlfriend. Serena. She’s the one called Sailor Moon.” Ken introduced.

Sailor Moon…She was pretty, sure. But out of them all, her blue eyes conveyed the most spite. It was hard to believe she was the strongest with that slender frame of hers. Lana looked the strongest. But they all seemed to rally around Serena. She had long blonde hair that came down in two long ponytails for pigtails. They weren’t braided but intertwined.

“Well…” Ken said, bouncing his eyebrows after a moment of silence. “Let’s go.”

“I hope you don’t mean they’re riding with us!” Serena barked.

“Well yeah, baby. I mean. How else do you expect them to get home?” Ken said.

“Bus.” Said Amy.

“Taxi.” Mina suggested.

“I mean, this is an airport.” Serena noted.

“We don’t mean to be rude, boys, but this is nothing compared to what you said to Serena. She had it on speakerphone. We all heard you.” Renny said.

“Damn…” I uttered under my breath.

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened, but they are our friends.” Ken said. “The only reason why they’re here is to meet you guys.”

Suddenly, Lana started for me with the most penetrating glare I’d ever seen.

“Fine.” She said. “But you better watch your back. Its boys like you that I can’t stand. It’s a good thing you got the lead parts though. It’ll be a pleasure kicking your asses.”

I was honestly intimidated. For real. I wasn’t a hundred percent sold on the idea of them being so strong or whatever, but I just know I stopped seeing these girls as girls, the weaker sex. They were formidable.

Just like before, we ran through the crowds of adoring fans, not with enthusiasm and excite like it was before. But more so with haste, like we just wanted to get it over with. We departed from the airport to go to the mall and get something to eat. On our way there, all was quiet. All I could hear was the sounds of Chris’s skipping Walkman and the girls whispering in their short skirts and their fruity lip gloss. It was driving me mad.

When we got to the mall, we saw more security guards than fans. The girls walked in front of us while us boys stayed a few feet behind.

“I don’t like these girls.” Chris said. “I don’t care what you said. If anything, they deserved it.”

“Getting on your nerves, are they?” Ryu asked, still enjoying it.

“Yeah, and with that grin on your face, so are you.” I told him.

“Well, what did you expect? You have no one to blame but yourself.” Ryu told me.

Deep under my brooding resentment, I knew he was right. I did bring it upon myself. But how could I make this wrong, right?

Most of the girls were sitting down in the food court, eating their food from a Burger King express, but Amy the blue haired one was still in line. I approached her.

“Hey Amy!” I greeted.

She turned around with a delighted smile as if she was hearing from someone familiar. Then, it quickly faded to something ugly as she was about to turn and stomp away.

“Wait! Please.” I said. “I know what I did was wrong and the only reason you guys are treating me like this is because of what I said on the phone. I want to make it right but I don’t know what to do.”

She stared at me with a perplexed expression. “How old are you?” She asked.

“Eleven.”

“Huh. So are we. It’s mature of you to admit your mistake. So from now on, you’re alright in my book. Now all you have to do is go over there and admit it.” She told me.

Damn it. I knew she was going to say that. By then, Ken, Chris, and Ryu had already gotten their food and joined them.

“Hey, Chris. What’s wrong with your friend?” Mina the blonde hottie asked.

“I dunno. Come on, Majestic!” Chris shouted.

I couldn’t move. It was like another audition. I couldn’t stand to look in Lana’s big brown eyes again. Chris was about to get up till I started walking towards them. I let out a deep sigh and put my hands together like I was about to say grace.

“Serena…I would like to take this time to tell you I’m sorry for what I said. I know it was very rude of me and I hope you would forgive me.” I said in one long breath.

For a moment, it was quiet with all staring at me as if I just revealed I was the son of a king.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!” Chris shouted, sparking up an applause. Ken and Ryu clapped in their laughter. Gradually, Serena, Mina, and Amy started clapping too. I sat down, relieved. However, I noticed the two dark haired girls weren’t clapping. Lana and Renny appeared as two peas in a pod. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars. For some reason they didn’t accept my apology. It didn’t matter. I apologized. And if they wanted to take it further, we could go there.

“That’s my boy.” Chris said, putting his arm around my shoulder.

“Majestic, aren’t you going to get something to eat?” Amy asked.

“No, I’m straight.”

“It must have took a lot out of you to apologize. Huh, Majestic.” Lana said. I got the vibe that she wasn’t being nice. She was provoking me. I was eleven at the time. It was easy to provoke me.

“Yeah. Actually, it did. You see, I feel that if you apply everything you got to something, you get better results. That’s too bad I can’t say the same thing for your makeup.” I told her.

Chris, who was drinking a Mr. Pibb, busted out laughing and spit everything he had out all over Lana. It caused a chain reaction of laughing outbursts followed by me and then Mina.

Ken and Ryu were too stunned to laugh. They couldn’t believe it. I can’t even describe the look Lana had on her face all covered in spit and soda. In a sudden burst of motion, Lana popped from her chair and punched Chris out of his chair. The impact was so brutal that even I could feel it.

Next, came something that astonished everyone, but none more so than myself. Perhaps spurred by a need to protect my brother. Perhaps, spurred by a need to let Lana know I wasn’t about to be her own personal Charlie Brown. All I know is that my elbow somehow found its way across Lana’s cheek. Lana sprawled over the table. Her cousins got up to defend her and everyone had hands on me.

After that, I couldn’t see anything. A whole lot of dark hair, leading me to believe it was mainly Lana and Renny raining punches on me, while Serena and Mina tried to separate us, and Ken and Ryu trying to pull them back. It was a mess.

Meanwhile, Amy just sat back and calmly finished her meal. Chris, who I was sticking up for, was still on the ground, laughing. Like the Joker. God help him.

After a few minutes of struggle and confusion, bodyguards rushed in and broke it up. We were told that we had to leave.

I was dragged up in a daze, my right eye bruised and sore. Carving a path through flashing cameras to the limo was a task in of itself. We huddled into the car. And the second I sat down, Lana quickly jumped on me again, her hands around my neck, choking the hell out of me. I fought back on the floor of the limo and blended screaming, the chaos of everyone barking orders and demands.

The limo pulled off. The momentum shift allowed me to roll on top, but the moment I did, freaking Renny put me in a full Nelson and slammed me into one of the windows. Yeah…they were insanely strong. She was swinging me like a ragdoll. My forehead must have hit the glass three times before Ken and Ryu were able to pry me loose.

I couldn’t feel my ears. My right eye was swelling up but I saw Lana sitting in the middle of her cousins who restrained her. And for some reason, I thought it was so hilarious. She was huffing and puffing like an alley cat that just finished defending her territory. Her face was read, her eyes fierce and burning with resentment. I know this sounds weird but she was acting like she’s the one who lost.

A smile stretched across my face. The last few minutes happened like a blur, an explosion of anger and tension and I couldn’t help laugh. Chris joined in. Ken and Ryu were worn out like a pair of hockey refs, so even they started laughing. The only girl who laughed was Mina, Chris’s hottie. But from what I could tell, she seemed to laugh at everything. Just like Chris. They were made for each other. It wasn’t until Lana cracked a smile, that it seemed to give the others permission to lighten up.

After everything settled down, we all started acting normal again. Serena and Amy talked about how much they missed their boyfriends. Chris and I discussed our short life stories. There wasn’t much to tell. And then, I went back a question I asked at the airport.

“What’s G-Force?”

“G-Force is the name of our group.” Mina said.

“How have never heard of us?” Serena scoffed.

“Well, look at him. You know Majestic can’t afford a CD.” Lana said.

The girls laughed. She may have just been joking but I took offense.

“Even if I did have the money, I’d rather light it on fire and piss on it than buy one of your CDs.” I told her.

Lana’s smile transitioned into her fiery frown again.

“Now, now children. Let’s remain calm. No need to get fired up again. I think we all know how that’ll turn out. Don’t we?” Renny said in a blatant threat.

Chris leaned over. “Majestic, what’s wrong?”

“Every little thing I do, this turd seems to make a joke out of it. If you didn’t notice, she’s trying her best to make me look stupid.”

“You don’t need my help, bullet head.” Lana said.

“Why are you still attacking me! I said I was sorry for what I said!”

“Because you elbowed me in the face!” Lana shouted.

“You punched my little brother out of his chair!”

“He spit on me!”

“It was an accident!”

“No it wasn’t! He was laughing at your joke! So if you just kept your mouth shut like a good little boy, he wouldn’t have laughed!”

I shook my head at her. “You must be used to getting your way all the time, huh.”

“SHUT UP!” She shouted. “You don’t know shit about me.”

“Guys…” Ken uttered. “You really need to chill out. We’re going to spend six months together so you better get used to each other.”

I got on the floor and laid down. “Wake me up when we get there.” I grumbled.

Lana stomped on my ankle.

“You know, I would hit you back. But if I did, I’d only be lowering myself to your level.”

I heard her let out a loud moan. Then I closed my eyes and rested, thinking to myself, “How could a fine girl like her be so cruel?” I hoped every rich girl wasn’t like her. The rest of the girls seemed straight. But Lana was a pain in the neck. I said sorry, geez! What’s the world coming to when you gotta kiss somebody’s feet just so they accept your apology!