03x30: A Very Cold Christmas

The holidays prove to be cold as Austin continues to fail at coping

A VERY COLD CHRISTMAS

 

     The next morning, Austin went to the Base to find Erika dumping stuff in the lab.

     “Erika, what are you doing?!”

    “I went back to our base in Osaka; got our stuff and research.”

     “Erika, we Derek and Scarlett were worried sick!”

     Scarlett walked out of the male ward and stopped when she saw Erika. She then rushed in for a hug.

     “Erika, don’t ever do that again! We were worried sick! We thought you went back to the Mastermind!”

     “I just got our stuff in Osaka. I’m fine.”

     “Scarlett, how’s Derek?”

     “He’s fine. He’s just asleep. Hey, it isn’t safe in Osaka anymore. I know we had our disagreements before…”

     “That’s an understatement,” Erika said.

     “Fine, we almost pummeled you guys to the ground but I was wondering if we could stay here.”
     “Of course. No problem. Some of the graduates moved out so we got some free rooms on the 18^th and 17^th floors. Seriously, there are a lot of free rooms. I’ll fix you guys up right away.”

     John entered the Base and went to the lab. He stopped when he saw the mess.

     “What the hell did you guys do with the lab?”

     “That’s their stuff from Osaka,” Austin said.

     “Alright, I want our stuff separate from their stuff, alright?”

     Austin switched to psychic powers and moved the new stuff to the other side of the lab.

     “Thanks.”

     John went in and sat down.

     “What’s with the fuss? Are you working on something?”  

     “Yeah. It’s a little gun that can shoot out beams according to the effects of six spokes. Think of it as a tool for the most insane game of Russian Roulette of all time.”

     “And the catch?”

     “No catch. It’s just hard to choose which spoke without taking too much time.”

     “Austin, Erika and I are gonna get some breakfast. If Derek asks, just tell him, okay?” Scarlett said.

    “Sure. Have a good breakfast. John, you were saying?”

     “I basically split the cylinder into six and put each one in the Dome. It was still technically metal so I put them together and voila.”

     “That’s nifty. Is that all?”

     “Yeah, pretty much. I just don’t know how to get it to work. With the Telegun, the magazine was specially made to be able to channel the infused spoke into the gun. This one has six spokes interfering with one another, making it extremely difficult to make it work.”

     “You’ll get it right.”

     “Are you okay?”

     John went to the fridge and got some soda.

     “I guess not. Last night was one pile of bullshit after another.”

     “It’s gonna be fine.”

     “I just can’t accept that of all the guys out in the world, let alone the school, she chose Joel.”

     John did a spit take on the floor.

     “Holy s**t, Joel?!”

     “I didn’t tell you that?”

     “I think if you told me that, I wouldn’t have done a spit take.”

     “Point taken.”

     “Dude, he has no chance. You have no worries. Just act like it’s her loss and she’ll be running back to you by the end of the year.”

     “They’re MU.”

     John dropped his glass, spilling soda all over the floor.

     “What the hell is happening to the world?!”

     “I don’t know but I want it to make a lot more sense soon enough.”

     “Hell, just take it easy and don’t act too much like a whiny b***h and she’ll be running back in weeks.”

     “Thanks for the advice.”

     “No problem.”

     “I’m gonna get some waffles. See you whenever.”

     “I’ll be here, working on this s**t.”

     “Oh, and if Derek asks, Scarlett and Erika are in the dining area.”

     “Okay.”

 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. He watched Fargo, Schindler’s List, and Dogma that day and loved them all.

     The next day was also uneventful except for his second viewing of Brian De Palma’s Scarface. Also, he invited Mo-on over to finish Empire Strikes Back and Patrick also came in to watch Terminator 2 and Full Metal Jacket with them.

     The next day, Austin got to watch The Human Centipede due to boredom and it wasn’t as bad as he expected it to be. He also watched 300 and Toy Story 3.

     Late into the night at around 11:45, Austin went to the lobby to meet up with Berna, Patrick, Ivan, Mo-on, Bianca, and some more people and they went to Kyle’s room.

     “We got ten minutes, what do we do now?” Patrick said.

     “When Johnny comes marching home again�"“ Ernst began to sing.

     “No, Ernst,” Austin said.

     “Let’s play spin the bottle,” Ernst suggested.

     “I have a suggestion, Ernst. Stop making suggestions,” Bianca said.

     “I have a suggestion too, Bianca. Stop flirting with Ernst,” Austin said.

     They almost began a screech tease before Austin signaled them to keep quiet.

     “Shh. Let’s just wait.”

     “SHH! He’s coming!” Berna said.

     “Oh, crap. I told you guys to shut up,” Austin said.

     “Let’s hide under the carpet,” Ernst said.

     “You go do that,” Bianca said.

     “Guys, line up side by side!” Mo-on said.

     He manipulated gravity, sticking them all in the ceiling. Patrick sucked the fire out of the candles on the cake Berna was holding and they all kept quiet as Kyle opened the door.

     He looked around and saw nothing. He went back in and closed the door.

     “They never look up,” Ernst said.

     Kyle went back out and looked up.

     “Hey guys, how’s it hanging?” Kyle asked.

     “Happy birthday!” Austin said.

     Patrick blew fire at the cake, lighting up the candles as Mo-on set them back on the real ground.

     “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!” They sang as Berna gave him the cake.

     “Guys, thanks.”

     “Pancakes down under anyone?” Ernst asked.

     “Ooh, I always wanted to taste Australian pancakes,” Bianca said sarcastically.

     “I meant the ground floor!”

     “You two should get married,” Austin said as Ernst and Bianca dived bombed away from each other.

    “Anyway, let’s celebrate in the morning. I’m wiped out,” Kyle said.

      “Sure thing, bud,” Austin said as they all went back to their suites.

    

Kyle’s Birthday was sort of uneventful. He went back to the city to celebrate after a short but sweet celebration on the island.

     Austin watched On the Waterfront and Inception again that day and loved them both.

     A bit later, Kyle went to his suite.

     ‘Hey, how’s life?”

     “Good. No depression much.”

     “That’s great! Finally, we’re both happy-ish.”

     “

     The next day he watched Pan’s Labyrinth and wasn’t blown away or anything. He then went out to the cinemas and saw TRON: Legacy which was meh…

     Austin and Patrick watched Hot Fuzz the next day and almost died from laughter. When Patrick left, Austin watched blade Runner and loved it (he hated it the first time because he was young and bored). He also watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and liked it.

     He also received a text from Marise

     He sent it back to Bam, Bianca, Ernst, Ivan, Janella, Kyle, Marise, Nica, Patrick, Rica, and Sean.

     The next day, watching three movies a day started to wear him down and he got began getting bored with movies. Every movie began to feel the same to him. Die Hard with a Vengeance bored him. Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Surprisingly entertained him. Princess and the Frog surprised him but overall, his obsession waning.

     This stayed at this current level the next day. Million Dollar Baby impressed him. Magnum Force bored him a lot. Godfather III was a disappointing end to an otherwise excellent trilogy.

     That evening, Mo-on dropped by.

     “Hey!”

     “Yo. How’s the break?”

     “Ok so far. You?”

     “Fine. I’ve seen 23 movies.”

     “Wow. You watch 2 or 3 per day?”

     “3 usually…”

     “Oh, wow… Any plans for Christmas? Christmas Destination or whatnot?”

     “None really. Let’s go to Hogwarts?”

     “Haha, sure. Let’s bring Rica along.”

     “Yeah. Poor Ernst. He’s going to the Death Star. :-(“

     “Haha. Training with Darth Vader.”

    “He has a crush on Master Yoda but his heart belongs to John Connor. Aww… how sweet.”

     “Haha… Speaking of crushes, what now? Have you moved on? I’m of course referring to G12.”

     Cue falter. It was too quick to disable the tunnel vision though.

     “No. I don’t have a crush on her. Still Janella, I guess.”

     Frankly, he didn’t really know anymore…

     “Aww. That’ sweet. This is the first time I’ve seen someone like that. Cool.”

     “I just can’t let her go. She’s the only one for me. :-)”

     The mind functions very differently when the heart is broken…

      “Yeah, it’s pretty obvious that you really miss her.”

     “Yeah. But I don’t hate Joel anymore. There’s this quote from Godfather III: ‘Don’t hate your enemies. It clouds your judgment.’”

    

     “True. Emotions are a powerful thing. It can influence one’s actions greatly. I mean, look at Bill.”

     “I won’t ‘overreact’. If I do, Ernst is O-Ren and Renz is Gogo. Haha. Get it? Guioguio? Gogo?”

     “Hey, what fun thing can we do when we get back to school?”

     “Let’s form a Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. First target: Owen Cantillas. Kidding!”

     Then as if Mo-on just got the joke.

     “Haha. Micherenz Gogo. I have a gift for Mr. Gogo… tooth brush.”

     “Listerine, dude! Toothbrush might be too complicated. Man, I’m mean today.”

     “Haha, you’re Bill? Or Budd?”

     “Uhm... Bill. Patrick is Budd. Ernst is O-Ren. Haha.”

     “Haha, toothbrush, complicated… that’s mean. It’s fine, it doesn’t happen all the time.”

     “Haha.”

     “Ernst can’t be Elle! That’s forbidden!”

     “Ernst as Sophie Fatale!”

     “Anyway, it was nice talking to you. My suite is just so boring! See you some other time,” Mo-on said.

     “Same here. Adios, con de dios.”

     “Still don’t know what that means?”

     “Nope…”

     “Haha, bye.”

    

In the movie watching department, he just stopped for a while. He didn’t see a single film until Christmas Eve where his cousins came over to the Island. They played Poker and Wii all night, sang on the karaoke machine, and just ate and celebrated.

     When it finally hit midnight, the greetings finally came in through his cellphone.

     “Merry Christmas, Austin. Don’t be too heartbroken :-) You can get through it! Have a blessed night!” Justine texted.

     “Thanks el president! Merry Christmas too!”

     “Merry Christmas! Haha, its Christmas!!!!!” Mo-on sent.

     “Merry Christmas too, bud!” he sent.

     “MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!” Sean sent via group message.

     “Merry Christmas Everyone! Happy Holidays! Take care!” Marise sent via group message as well.

     Austin decided to jump on the bandwagon and sent a group message too.    

     “Merry Christmas, everyone! Have a good one!” he sent to Bianca, Ernst, Marise, Mo-on, Nica, Patrick, Sean, Bam, and Ymara.

     He set aside a special greeting for Janella: “Hey beautiful! Merry Christmas!”

     She did not reply.

     He also set aside a special greeting for Kyle.

     “Merry Christmas best bud!”

   

The next morning, Janella replied to his text. It was a pretty quick conversation and not worth talking about.

     Austin also watched one movie that day and it was Apocalypse Now which didn’t blow his mind like eh expected it to.

     On the next day, feeling quite depressed, Austin watched Scott Pilgrim again, having gotten it back from Sean already.

     Finally, it was New Year’s Eve. The first group message greeting Austin received was from Janella.

     “Before 2010 ends, I thank all the good people like you who made the passing of the year beautiful for me… I pray that you’ll be blessed with another fruitful year! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

     “

     “Hello,” Janella texted.

     “Hi. How are you?”

     “I’m okay. You?”

     He typed in the message but took a few second to send it due to hesitation.

     “I’m alright. I miss you.”

     Then he decided to double text.

     “Actually I’m sad. I dunno why. It’s been three days since my last movie.”

     “You’re not watching?”

     “I’ll just eat dinner.”

     Austin went down and ate. When he got back up, he had received another message

     “Are you mad at me?”

     “Of course not. Why would I be mad?”

     “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just you reply a bit late.”

     “Haha. I think that way sometimes.”

     A little while later, Sean sent a gm himself.

     “2010 is almost over…… :) =) :D :-) :)) :] :> :3 c: XD Send these 10 smiles to every person that made you smile this year. And this DECADE! :bd”

     He got his phone and sent another gm to Kyle, Ernst, Ivan, Bianca, Mo-on, Marise, Patrick, Sean, Janella, Joel, Bam, Bruce, Dory, Justin Lubag, Justine Olaivar, Maan, Nica, Rica, and Queennie: “HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS! YOU ROCK! m/”

     Austin decided to get out of depressed mope-state and go up to the roof. He saw Patrick and Mo-on there.

     Austin switched to Pyrokinesis and made fireworks in the air.

     “Hey, Austin! I see you’re out of the shell,” Mo-on said.

     “Austin, dragon time!” Patrick said as he shot fire out of his hand and it formed a dragon shape that flew around the night sky.”

     “Nice. When did you learn to do that?”

     “I dunno.”

     “You think G12 can do that?” Mo-on asked.

     “I guess. Hey, guys, and Patrick, no roofies please, let’s toast to another great year of awesomeness.”

     Austin switched to Space Manipulation and teleported some orange soda and glasses to the rooftop. They toasted and looked past the balcony to see the fireworks outside….