2.2 Ruchi
Actually, that wasn't the whole story. After we went back to Vhy's room and sat and talked about it for a bit--and I mean, talked, okay, no hanky panky stuff--I told him to stop and rewind.
"Which part?" he asked, puzzled.
"The part when you looked into Mikey's room and saw his comp. What was on his monitor?"
He shrugged. "The usual thingies. Net stuff."
I shook my head. "I saw something else. Actually."
He frowned, with a trace of irritation. "Like what?"
I shivered. "I don't know. Some kind of interface. It was all black, with white lettering and red letting, but it wasn't like the usual html page, you know what I mean? It was like, I don't know, a video playing."
He turned to look at the door of his room, thinking. "Maybe it was a video. He plays a lot of heavy metal and punk rock videos while chatting, some of those are really whacked stuff."
"Maybe," I said reluctantly, "but I think this was something else. I saw a word, big letters, Portal, I think...no, with a V. Yes, actually, V."
"Vortal?" he asked, crinkling his forehead the way he does when he's getting one of his migraines.
"Yeah! Actually! Vortal, that was it. What is that anyway?"
He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger, massaging it. "It's like a vertically integrated portal..." he shook his head. "And when you saw this Vortal thingie...where was Mikey?"
I remembered and shuddered again. "That was when I saw him...you know."
"Disappear?"
I nodded, swallowing. Suddenly I realized my throat was parched. "He was there when I looked in, and I was just going to say I was sorry for barging in like that, and then, he just...vanished...actually...and that's when I was left looking at monitor and saw that word."
"Vortal," he said, tonelessly. After a moment, he said, "Was it like, a very dark screen, blinking very fast, almost like a hypnotic rhythm...?"
"Exactly! You saw it?"
He shook his head, rubbing his face. "I don't know. I thought I saw something when I was looking around his room, but when I turned back..." He sighed. "Listen to us. This is crazy. It's impossible. I mean, we couldn't have seen what we saw. Mikey couldn't have vanished and then reappeared like that. There must be some kind of logical explanation."
"Yeah? Like what?" I sounded angrier than I meant to, but it was so like Vhy to just brush me off. If he hadn't seen Mikey not in his chair and then back in his chair again, we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation, and that realization bugged the hell out of me.
He looked up at me like he was angry and sad both at once. He saw that I was bugged and backed off. "I don't know," he said. "I just don't know."
We talked some more, and then, I saw the time and had to vanish myself. I was coming out of his room, and he stopped me and took hold of me and kissed me, real tender-like, and said, "Sorry I got carried away before."
When he's nice like that, and gentle, it really makes me melt, like icecream on a hot sunny afternoon. So I kissed him back. And he kissed me back again. And before I knew it, we were like, melting together. Never heard the front door opening, footsteps, nothing.
The next thing we know, someone was clearing her throat like, so loudly, she sounded she was gargling Wocadine--I know, because I had to gargle that horrid iodine-tasting stuff when I had a bad throat last summer and it was like yuckville.
Vhy and I broke it off right away, and looked around, wiping our mouths guiltily.
His older sis, Viveka, was standing there, one hand on her hip and looking with raised eyebrows at us. "Hi, guys," she said. "Having fun?"
She sounded p'd off.
I left Vhy to make the lame excuses. And left. Haven't been back since.
"Which part?" he asked, puzzled.
"The part when you looked into Mikey's room and saw his comp. What was on his monitor?"
He shrugged. "The usual thingies. Net stuff."
I shook my head. "I saw something else. Actually."
He frowned, with a trace of irritation. "Like what?"
I shivered. "I don't know. Some kind of interface. It was all black, with white lettering and red letting, but it wasn't like the usual html page, you know what I mean? It was like, I don't know, a video playing."
He turned to look at the door of his room, thinking. "Maybe it was a video. He plays a lot of heavy metal and punk rock videos while chatting, some of those are really whacked stuff."
"Maybe," I said reluctantly, "but I think this was something else. I saw a word, big letters, Portal, I think...no, with a V. Yes, actually, V."
"Vortal?" he asked, crinkling his forehead the way he does when he's getting one of his migraines.
"Yeah! Actually! Vortal, that was it. What is that anyway?"
He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger, massaging it. "It's like a vertically integrated portal..." he shook his head. "And when you saw this Vortal thingie...where was Mikey?"
I remembered and shuddered again. "That was when I saw him...you know."
"Disappear?"
I nodded, swallowing. Suddenly I realized my throat was parched. "He was there when I looked in, and I was just going to say I was sorry for barging in like that, and then, he just...vanished...actually...and that's when I was left looking at monitor and saw that word."
"Vortal," he said, tonelessly. After a moment, he said, "Was it like, a very dark screen, blinking very fast, almost like a hypnotic rhythm...?"
"Exactly! You saw it?"
He shook his head, rubbing his face. "I don't know. I thought I saw something when I was looking around his room, but when I turned back..." He sighed. "Listen to us. This is crazy. It's impossible. I mean, we couldn't have seen what we saw. Mikey couldn't have vanished and then reappeared like that. There must be some kind of logical explanation."
"Yeah? Like what?" I sounded angrier than I meant to, but it was so like Vhy to just brush me off. If he hadn't seen Mikey not in his chair and then back in his chair again, we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation, and that realization bugged the hell out of me.
He looked up at me like he was angry and sad both at once. He saw that I was bugged and backed off. "I don't know," he said. "I just don't know."
We talked some more, and then, I saw the time and had to vanish myself. I was coming out of his room, and he stopped me and took hold of me and kissed me, real tender-like, and said, "Sorry I got carried away before."
When he's nice like that, and gentle, it really makes me melt, like icecream on a hot sunny afternoon. So I kissed him back. And he kissed me back again. And before I knew it, we were like, melting together. Never heard the front door opening, footsteps, nothing.
The next thing we know, someone was clearing her throat like, so loudly, she sounded she was gargling Wocadine--I know, because I had to gargle that horrid iodine-tasting stuff when I had a bad throat last summer and it was like yuckville.
Vhy and I broke it off right away, and looked around, wiping our mouths guiltily.
His older sis, Viveka, was standing there, one hand on her hip and looking with raised eyebrows at us. "Hi, guys," she said. "Having fun?"
She sounded p'd off.
I left Vhy to make the lame excuses. And left. Haven't been back since.
posted by Ashok K. Banker at 12.10.05
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