Beyond the Sea

By Allquall

Chapter Eighteen: The Tie that Strangles (BtS Finale Part One)

Nagisa and Shizuma gazed lazily at each other as the morning sun peeked into the bedroom of room 380. Neither one of them had much sleep, yet they were blissfully content to lay on the bottom bunk holding each other. Shizuma turned onto her side and pulled Nagisa closer to her. She held Nagisa tightly around the chest and touched her nose on Nagisa’s cheek.

Though her limbs were starting to fall asleep due to their positioning, Nagisa beamed with happiness. The former Etoile was once again snuggled around her, and this time she was determined to never let go again. She felt Shizuma’s left leg wrap around her.

“Are you trying to crawl into my skin?” giggled Nagisa.

“If it means staying like this forever, then I’m considering the option.”

Nagisa blushed as she felt Shizuma’s lips on her cheek.

“We’re going to have to get up eventually,” said Nagisa, “Tucker’s going to want her clothes.”

“She can wait,” said Shizuma as shifted her body so that she was on top of Nagisa and kissed the redhead.

Nagisa didn’t resist, and her arms intertwined with Shizuma’s long hair.

“I’ve missed this,” whispered Nagisa as they parted for air.

“I’ve missed you,” replied Shizuma.

“Did you?” teased Nagisa, “Because you took your sweet time coming back from LA.”

“It was under advisement,” smiled Shizuma as she lay peacefully on top of Nagisa.

“Gardner?”

Nagisa could feel Shizuma nod against her neck.

“Thought so, but she said you would only be gone a few days not a few weeks.”

“I was detained for a little while…”

Nagisa turned her head to look at Shizuma who was blushing deeply.

“Doing what?” asked Nagisa suspiciously.

“I had to sign a few forms for admissions. Then, I picked out a dorm room and got everything in line there, and then I explored the city,” said the red-faced Shizuma.

“That should have only taken a few days at most,” said Nagisa through narrow eyes.

“Then, I went to explore places outside city…” Shizuma trailed off.

“Such as…”

“Places?” mumbled the embarrassed Shizuma.

Nagisa pursed her lips and threw her weight to her dominant right side causing Shizuma to tumble beneath her.

“Let’s try this again. Hanazono Shizuma, where did you go?” glared Nagisa.

“…”

“I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Vegas.”

Nagisa rolled back over onto her side laughing.

“Are you crazy? You went to Vegas on your own?”

“Not exactly alone,” said Shizuma.

Nagisa’s jealous anger once again flared in her eyes, and Shizuma knew that one wrong word could mean a few nights of sleeping alone.

“Ok! Ok! I confess! I called Miyuki to see if she wanted to meet me in Vegas for a few days, and by that afternoon Amane, Momomi, Chikaru, Shion, and Kaname already had plane tickets to come too.”

“WHAT! You spent a week and a half in Las Vegas with them?” yelled Nagisa.

“Yes?” grinned Shizuma meekly.

“Why didn’t you take me?” pouted Nagisa.

“You were kind of busy thinking,” said Shizuma tenderly as she kissed Nagisa.

“What did you guys do?” sulked Nagisa.

Shizuma blushed hard, “They have a saying there that says, ‘Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’”

Nagisa slid off the bed and threw her pajamas back on.

“Honey! I’m sorry,” gasped Shizuma.

Nagisa gave her annoyed look, “Your apologies will not help my full bladder.”

“Oh, thank God!” shouted Shizuma bounding from the bunk, “I’ve had to go for an hour.”

The rest of the summer past Nagisa in a haze of laughter and bliss. Some tears were shed as the graduates slowly disappeared from the dormitories, and new boarders took their places. Nagisa missed the comforting knowledge that Wong and Jen could be could be called into action at anytime. However, she also looked forward to assuming a leadership role in AI’s political infrastructure. Tucker had been unofficially proclaimed Wong’s successor, and no one challenged her for the role. However, everyone also recognized that Jenny T had the veto power in that relationship.

Jenny T’s roommate finally moved out, and Tucker had taken up squatter’s rights in her girlfriend’s room. Nagisa would have put up a bit of a fight, but the arrangement allowed Shizuma to spend her nights with Nagisa. Nagisa loved the accommodations, but in the back of her head she knew that summer would not last forever. Shizuma would leave for college, and Tucker would reclaim the top bunk. However, Nagisa didn’t seem too stressed about the upcoming school year. Maybe it was because she knew where her center was.

Determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, Shizuma and Nagisa purchased matching phones for their American use. A slight oddity occurred when Nagisa looked at her balance for her AISSF spending account. After depositing a rather large sum initially, her father had ceased to put more money into her spending account. Nagisa shrugged this off to her outburst at the restaurant, but when she went to pull some funds from her account for the phone, she found over five thousand American dollars were in her account. Nagisa thought that this was a mistake and spoke with Mrs. Tsung.

“No, it’s yours,” confirmed Mrs. Tsung, “Weird, though. It was deposited over the internet. Your father made the original deposit in person.”

“Also, it says ‘From Dad’ in English. My father’s never had me call him that,” said the puzzled Nagisa.

“Could it be Shizuma?” asked Tsung.

“I don’t think so.”

“Sounds like you have a nice little mystery, Nagi,” teased Mrs. Tsung to the perplexed Nagisa.

“Got everything?” asked Amy for what felt like the millionth time.

“I think so,” said Shizuma as she loaded the last bit of luggage into the blue Honda.

“Shizuma! Your phone!” yelled Nagisa as she ran to Shizuma with her new cell phone.

“Oh, I keep forgetting the damn thing!” sighed Shizuma.

“Smile!” commanded Nagisa as she held out Shizuma’s phone in front of her and the former Etoile.

Shizuma obeyed and tried not to blink while her phone flashed. Nagisa fiddled with the keys and handed it to Shizuma. The silver-haired one looked at her phone and saw that the background hosted their picture.

“Cute!” commented the content Shizuma, “Where did I leave it?”

“Umm…I had it,” said a blushing Nagisa, “I…uh…put some other pictures in there.”

Shizuma opened her phone’s photo folder and instantly turned red.

“Don’t look at those here, dumbass!” yelled the very embarrassed Nagisa.

“You two,” sighed Amy as she let her head fall on the top of the car in utter defeat.

Nagisa and Shizuma kissed before Amy herded Shizuma into the Honda and pulled away from the school. Shizuma watched and waved at Nagisa until the redhead’s figure disappeared in the distance.

Shizuma adjusted the passenger seat for the long trip to Los Angeles, while Amy drove in deep thought. After ten minutes and Shizuma finally able to fall asleep, Amy turned to her.

“You really do love her.”

Shizuma looked at her with an incredulous expression.

“I mean that you love her beyond the typical high school shit. You’d really die for her,” marveled Amy.

“If it comes to that, yes, but I’d rather live for her,” said Shizuma still in disbelief that her sister did not see that earlier.

“Huh,” grunted Amy as she went back to her deep thoughts.

“What are thinking about?”

“That you have some hard choices coming up, and how you can make a life with Nagisa.”

Now Amy made sense to Shizuma.

“I really don’t see our dear father cutting you any slack with Eric. You know how he is. Once he has a stupid idea in his head, he’ll make sure that his idea wins at all costs.”

“With the exception of Rei,” added Shizuma.

“Rei did it, but it cost her dearly,” said Amy, “It cost all of us dearly. It was weeks of worry and panic while mom and I tried to find her.”

Shizuma turned to her in surprise, “But dad said that his people found her hours after her plane landed.”

Amy eyes flashed with anger, “That’s news to me. I’m sure mom and Hayato will be interested in this news as well.”

Amy gripped the steering wheel, “I hate that smug fuck! What the hell does it matter to him if his kids are stressed so much over a missing sibling that parts of their hair go white. Fuck!”

“Ami…” said a stunned Shizuma who had yet to see her sister’s anger.

Annoyance, she had seen many times, but not Amy’s fury. Amy pulled the car over on the highway shoulder and stormed out of the car to look at the Pacific Ocean. Shizuma watched Amy struggle to control her rage. After a few tense minutes, Shizuma opened the car door, and her ears filled with the sounds of passing cars. She walked up to her sister who was stiff-lipped and looking at the ocean with her sunglasses reflecting the afternoon sun. The younger Hanazono placed her arm around Amy. Tears ran from below her sunglasses.

“He acted so worried for her, and he knew?” choked Amy.

“He told me that she wanted to break from the family, and he gave her that gift.”

“She would never want that! She wanted a break from him! I lost my sister because of his stupid pride.”

Shizuma didn’t realize how close Rei and Amy were till then. She was six when she saw her sisters leave for Lillian, but she talked with them occasionally on the phone or through letters. She looked at Amy and couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Rei’s relationship with the eldest Hanazono child.

“Fuck him, Shizuma!” Amy seethed, “Fuck the bastard! Marry Nagisa, have a wonderful life, and fuck what the smarmy bastard demands!”

Shizuma smiled to Amy’s surprise.

“I’ve been planning for that, but I need to buy a little time.”

“How?”

“I’ll explain in the car.”

The sisters returned to the Civic and merged back onto southbound traffic.

“When I went engagement ring hunting for Nagisa, I noticed that all of my bank accounts were in some way connected to father. If I bought an engagement ring, he would know about it. I explained the situation to Miyuki, and she opened an account in her and my name. Father was used to me making big purchases, so I would be frugal and forward the money I would have spent into the account. Nagisa’s ring is the first ‘fuck you’ to father, because he didn’t have a clue that I purchased it.”

Amy gave a slight smile of pride to Shizuma.

“I’m not looking to get rich with it, but I want to be able to cover our expenses if father disowns me, and we have to look for work.”

“Hey, Shizuma,” said Amy with face illuminating her approval, “if that happens, could you and Nagisa stay on this side of the Pacific? I’m getting kind of used to family being close by.”

“I think it’s a bit early to say. Who knows? Father may have a change of heart. I don’t think he’s purposefully malicious; just very blind to the needs of others.”

Amy laughed in disagreement, and they continued to drive to UCLA’s campus

Almost as soon as Shizuma was settled in her dorm, she called her father to let him know that she was moving out of Gardner’s Los Angeles home and into the dorms to study. Her father agreed, and in one conversation she protected Amy and avoided apartment hunting.

When classes started, Shizuma dedicated herself to her studies. She found it easier to focus when Nagisa was only a phone call away or, in most cases, a text message away from her. She stunned her professors with her ability to grasp and weave the multiple narratives as well as her early mastery of historiography. When she turned in her application to major in history, her advisor, Dr. Sutton, could barely hide his elation.

She also declared a double minor in French and in Music. She found French classes mentally easy though labor intensive. Music, on the other hand, was her stress relief for the most part, because it required her to sit at the piano and relax. The additional benefit of this came when her piano instruction recommended her for the music department’s overflow gigs. By the end of August, Shizuma spent her non-Nagisa weekends playing for weddings and brunches, and every cent went into her "Fuck You" account.

Nagisa’s pocket buzzed in the middle of her History of the Americas class, and Mr. Johnson was not known for his cell phone tolerance. She quickly squeezed her pocket, and the vibrating stopped. Mr. Johnson looked around the room for the origin of the annoyance, but he returned to pointing out unique Canadian geographical features on the board. With Mr. Johnson’s back turned, Nagisa quickly and quietly slid the phone out of her pocket to check the message. It was from Tucker who should have been in Chemistry at the time.

Solidarity escort room 105 to 303 –T

Nagisa sighed. This was the second one today, but she rationalized that it must be worse at the beginning of the year. Her phone buzzed again while in her hand, but she was thankfully able to kill the noise quickly.

‘Tucker, you are going to be the death of me!’ her mind screamed at the tiny cell phone.

You busy this weekend? I’m free if you don’t have homework.

She checked the origin of the message and nearly squealed to see that it was from her fiancée. She hid the phone under her desk and sent a quick reply.

YES! Up or down?

Nagisa turned her phone on silent but saw the small red light blink twice as Shizuma’s reply came in.

I’ll come up Friday night. Love you.

The bell rang shortly after, and Nagisa met up with Tucker at room 105. She saw two very scared Asian freshmen and motioned them to get in the middle of the crowd. As she passed along the hallway, she saw a curious sight. She saw Heather, an AI sophomore, talking with Matthew Miller.

“Why is she talking with him?” asked Nagisa to one of the freshmen

“That’s her boyfriend. They’ve been dating for a while now,” replied the small voice.

“Tucker!” called Nagisa.

The new AI leader hung back to join her.

“Did you know about Matthew Miller dating Heather?”

“No!” gasped Tucker, “Shit! This could be trouble. Guys like that don’t change overnight. He hates us. Why would he date one of our own?”

“Don’t know.”

“Then, we’ll just have to keep an eye on it then.”

Matthew Miller seemed a bit quieter than last year, but Nagisa and the rest of the AI seniors did not trust his change in behavior. It seemed too sudden.

Fall kept Nagisa busy. It was her final year as an IB candidate, and the amount of work demanded of her was immense. She had her major tests to take in the spring, but her internal assessments were due now. The amount of work due was easily double what she was required to do the year before.

On top of her academic responsibilities, Nagisa also joined the AISSF soccer team, which took up the remainder of her time. Tucker and Jenny T joined Varsity Basketball, and once again the AI ladies would meet to change in the locker room before going off to their respective sports. And for another season, the AISSF teams continued to dominate the state with the exception of Girls Volleyball.

The warmth of summer turned into the coolness of fall and then into the cold, windy winter. Shizuma flew up to San Francisco for the Thanksgiving break, and Amy made a traditional Thanksgiving meal for those left in the dorms.

“So, I put this jelly on my turkey?” gagged Nagisa.

“Those are cranberries!” yelled Amy while the rest of the table giggled.

“Shizuma,” Nagisa turned to the very happy woman on her left, “jelly or cranberry?”

Shizuma looked at the dark red jiggly mass in the serving bowl, and looked back to Amy.

“That does look suspiciously like jelly, Ami,” said Shizuma, “and are those can lines?”

“Shut up.”

Nagisa rode with Shizuma as Amy drove her sister to the airport after the break. Shizuma’s arm draped around Nagisa’s back, she let her hand rest on the redhead’s waist. Nagisa leaned against the warm body of her fiancée as she tried to control her tears. Nagisa always felt her loneliness increase when Shizuma returned to school. She held the silver-haired one a little tighter at the thought.

“So, when do I get to come down to see you again?” whispered the teary-eyed Nagisa.

“Well, that depends on your next break. Only a few more weeks till Christmas Break, right? How about spending the holidays with me in LA?”

Nagisa buried her head into Shizuma’s side. She knew she was a stronger person than when she was a Miator, yet when it came to Shizuma, a part of her was still as tender as it was when she first saw her under that tree. Shizuma squeezed Nagisa in a comforting embrace.

When Gardner and Nagisa returned to the dorms after dropping Shizuma off at the airport, they walked by Heather and Matthew Miller in the middle of a sloppy kiss. Nagisa and Amy rolled their eyes and walked through the side door. Nagisa took a quick glance back at little Heather and made eye contact with a smirking Matthew Miller.

‘Something’s up,’ thought Nagisa and hoped that she was wrong.

They walked into the lobby, and Ms. Gardner opened the office door to put her coat away. Mrs. Tsung sat at the computer and swiveled her chair around to greet them.

“Welcome back!” she said cheerfully.

“How were the kids?” asked Amy.

“They’re great. They came and visited Caleb and me for a few days.”

“Caleb?” asked Nagisa without thinking.

Mrs. Tsung turned to her, and Nagisa could see Gardner turn pale.

“My husband, Nagi.”

Nagisa reeled as she realized her tactlessness.

“It’s ok,” Mrs. Tsung said sadly, “Mr. Tsung was a marine during the First Gulf War in 1991. His helicopter was shot down, and he’s needed to be in the VA medical center ever since. He needs round the clock care, but when I look into his eyes, he’s still the man I married all those years ago.”

Nagisa felt Gardner’s hand on her shoulder tug her out of the office.

“Amy,” called Mrs. Tsung as they were leaving, “I’ve been meaning to tell you that you had package come in just before Thanksgiving.”

She handed Gardner a large yellow envelope.

“Oh, and Nagi? You had another significant deposit into your spending account.”

“Who did it this time?”

“Just says “From Dad,” and it was donated from the school’s website for parents,” said Mrs. Tsung.

“That’s weird,” said Nagisa, “because my dad should be in town this week.”

Amy stopped opening her package and stared at Nagisa.

“Then, why did you stay in the dorms for break?” asked Gardner.

“Because my dad’s new girlfriend came over,” sneered Nagisa.

Both Mrs. Tsung and Ms. Gardner grimaced.

Nagisa went up to her room and talked with Tucker a bit about her money mystery. They came to the end of the discussion without a verdict other than that Nagisa’s father was a dick. Their conversation ended when Jenny T came over to walk with them to dinner.

At dinner, Nagisa noticed that Gardner was conspicuously absent for the meal while Tucker piled on her usual mountain of starch. Nagisa's pocket buzzed with an incoming text message. She smiled when she saw Shizuma’s name flash on the screen, but her happiness disappeared as she read the text.

on the phone with Ami. call me in a few hours. not good. don’t go talk to her yet. i’ll fill you in later. love you and miss you already.

Nagisa fought against her curiosity and waited two hours exactly before pouncing on her phone.

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to wait this long,” teased the voice on the other end.

“What’s going on?” asked Nagisa ignoring Shizuma's little jab.

“Greg sent Ami papers.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Greg’s officially filed for divorce”

“But that’s good for her, right?”

“Not really. She really did love the guy, but what’s killing her is that he states in the papers that the reason for the divorce is infidelity.”

“Well, yeah, he’s still living with the other woman, right?”

“Oh, no! He’s claiming that Ami was cheating on him.”

“What?”

“Yeah! He’s said that she’s been living in San Fran to be close to Linda.”

“Is he saying that…”

“Ami was having a fling with Tsung? Yes, the asshole is saying that.”

“Was she?”

“No!” yelled Shizuma, “but this does put Ami in a bind, because either way the family name is going to suffer since she’s the oldest child and the first marriage. Daddy is not going to be happy.”

“Do you think he knows?”

“I’m sure he does, and he probably knows that Greg is talking out of his ass, but that’s not going to stop him from letting Ami have it.”

“Shit,” sighed Nagisa, “What can I do for her up here, hon?”

“Nothing much till we know what dad does,” replied Shizuma, “but, please, don’t treat her like you would me.”

“You do realize that I find that statement a bit offensive.”

Shizuma laughed, “I do, but I still love you. I’m just saying that Ami doesn’t think like I do. She likes to deal with issues by herself first and then share with others.”

“And you’re just the opposite in that you have to have committee meet before you even realize that there’s a problem.”

“Hey! Is it my turn to be offended?”

“Only if I get to tell you that I still love you.”

“Deal.”

Nagisa did not see Gardner for a week. She did not come out to run in the morning, and Nagisa found herself wandering alone on the cold San Francisco streets. When she did see Gardner, the eldest Hanazono looked haggard and exhausted. The woman waved briefly to her but was talking pointedly to someone on the phone. Nagisa realized that Gardner must have been on the phone with her attorney.

Nagisa kept in close contact with Shizuma as Amy suffered in near silence. She was gone for most of the month of December due to meetings with Greg Gardner’s lawyers. The only person that she seemed to be open to was Shizuma, but even Shizuma’s time was limited with school and work. Nagisa wondered if she should cancel her trip to LA for Christmas and have Shizuma come up to AISSF for the holidays. However, her questions were answered when a strong-willed woman with thick blond hair pulled back into a ponytail appeared in the lobby of the AISSF Female Wing.

“May I help you?” asked Mrs. Tsung through the open office door.

“Yeah, I’m looking for Hanazono Ami,” said the woman in Japanese.

“Do you mean Amy Gardner?” replied Mrs. Tsung in Japanese.

“No, I mean Hanazono Ami. Tell her that Rei’s waiting for her.”

Mrs. Tsung hesitantly moved toward Amy’s apartment and knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?” said an irritated, loud on the other side.

“It’s Linda.”

The door unlocked and Mrs. Tsung opened it a crack. Amy’s voice boomed into the lobby as she stepped onto its tiled floors.

“You tell that son of a bitch that I won’t sign anything until he retracts the unfaithfulness clause!” she screamed into her cell phone, “Do a fucking test on those kids and see if you can find a trace of my DNA!”

She glanced quickly at the visitor and returned to yelling at her phone, yet a split-second later she was staring at the woman with mouth agape.

“I’m going to have to call you back,” she whispered into the phone and closed it while she stared in disbelief.

The blond folded her arms with a slight smile.

“Rei?”

The two women ran at each other and hugged while tears spilled out of both set of eyes.

“I heard about your husband, so I thought it was a good time to come out of hiding.”

“Where have you been?” sobbed Amy as she pulled Rei into her apartment and shut the door.

From what Shizuma was able to gleam from Amy, Rei had spent the majority of her time shuttling between Switzerland and Vatican City chasing after adventure and running away from any sort of committed relationship. She had recently contacted her mother and was informed of Amy’s dilemma.

“I thought you could use some company if the brat’s in school,” said Rei, “What’s that face for?”

“I don’t know whether to hug you or hit you,” replied Amy.

“You can decide that over your break.”

“Good grief! I dislodge one sister from my couch only to get the other one!” teased Amy.

“Nah, I though we’d go on a road trip like we used to at Lillian.”

“I’d like that.”

Nagisa packed her bags when school let out on the Friday before Christmas break. According to their plan, Gardner would be bringing Shizuma back from the airport, and Nagisa and Shizuma would drive to LA while Amy and Rei would leave together for their trip. Nagisa took her bags to the lobby and waited for Shizuma. When her silver-haired fiancee's laugh rang out in the lobby, Nagisa threw her arms around Shizuma and kissed her passionately.

“Ne, brat, you’ve got all break to do that!” yelled Rei.

“Nice to see you too,” said Shizuma with her eyebrow raised.

Rei smiled, “Amy’s told me that you have more of a plan than I did if daddy cuts ties.”

“If you mean to say functional, then I would agree.”

Rei rubbed Shizuma’s head of platinum hair, “Good for you, kid. You’ve got yourself quite the spitfire, I see. Just invite me to the wedding, 'k?”

Shizuma smirked at Nagisa’s annoyed expression.

Nagisa rolled out of Shizuma’s sleepy embrace on Christmas Morning. She drew open the curtains to wince at the realization that it was technically Christmas afternoon. She blinked several times as she tried to clean her vision of afterimages. She yawned and cracked her back before going into the bathroom. Shizuma’s arm groped at the empty side on the bed, which caused her wake up perplexed and confused.

“Nagisa?”

“In here,” came the muffled voice from behind the bathroom door.

Shizuma sat up and stretched her hands to the ceiling before reaching for her toes. She then got up and put on her bathrobe while she heard Nagisa turn on shower. She walked into her closet and pulled out a thin square green box with a large red bow. She studied it nervously before placing it on the bed. The shower stopped, and Nagisa soon emerged in a towel.

Shizuma yawned as she made her way into the bathroom.

‘I hope she left me some hot water,’ she thought as she looked at the fogged mirrors.

She turned on the shower and stepped into the enclosed area, ‘No, she did not.”

Shizuma endured as much cold water as it took to get clean before jumping out and shivering. As mad as she wanted to be at the redhead, she could not maintain her annoyance when she locked eyes with her.

“Merry Christmas,” her fiancée said sweetly holding a small box.

Shizuma laughed that Nagisa could not wait till after she had changed to give her a Christmas present. Shizuma carefully undid the bow and open the small box to see a white gold band with three diamonds embedded into it.

“I thought it would be nice if we could both have engagement rings.”

“You just don’t want anyone to hit on me.”

“That too.”

They both laughed, and Shizuma allowed Nagisa to slide the ring onto her ring finger. She then walked over to her bed and picked up the box. She handed it to the wide-eyed Nagisa you ripped off the bow. Nagisa gazed at the contents and collapsed on the floor with tears of happiness running down her face. Inside was a large wedding planner. Nagisa picked it up and out fell two plane tickets to Paris in June.

“I know a nice Catholic priest who promised to officiated the ceremony in a little church on the outskirts of town.”

Nagisa embraced Shizuma and sobbed.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Rei dropped Amy off at the entrance to AISSF on the second week of January just before school was supposed to start again. She was tired but happy after three weeks on the road with Rei. And with the exception of the near arrest in Texas, Amy felt that the trip successfully prepared her to take on her soon-to-be ex-husband and potentially her father.

Rei helped her extract her luggage and souvenirs from the trunk and hugged her goodbye.

“Call me when you need me and even when you don’t,” joked Rei as she drove away.

Amy was in great spirits as she pulled her luggage into her apartment. She then went to check the office to find that Linda was away from the desk. However, she saw several envelopes and newsletters sitting on the desk waiting for her. She picked up the stack and flipped through them as she headed back to her room. There were a few bills, her AFT newsletter, several Christmas cards from former students including a personal letter from Ling’s mother, and something official from the school.

She closed her apartment door and began to open her mail. She ‘awwed’ at the photos of her former students and their children and then opened the letter from the school.

TO: AMY GARDNER, TEACHER, AISSF

FROM: DR. TYLER MALONE, PRINCIPAL, AISSF

CC: AISSF BOARD, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

RE: TERMINATION OF CONTRACT

Dear Ms. Amy Gardner,

Due to accusations of gross negligence, conspiracy, and child endangerment by mandated reporter, you have been place on a leave of absence until a thorough investigation has been completed and a hearing before the Board, which may result in your contract with American International School being terminated. You will be notified when you are to appear before the Board. Until that time, you are to avoid all unnecessary contact with AISSF students.

Please contact my secretary with any questions you may have regarding this matter.

Dr. T. Malone

Amy’s hands shook in confusion and fear as she opened the next letter from Mrs. Walters. Amy gasped as she read the contents and then ran to the bathroom and vomited. The letter was only a page, but its contents were powerful.

Dear Ms. Gardner,

It’s with a heavy heart that I must inform you that our little angel, Ling, went to be with the Lord a few days before Christmas…

Notes from the Llama Farm:

I confess that this is the first part of the two-part finale, which is why it feels like a set-up chapter (It is!). It’s been a fun, drama-filled two months, but it’s time to put a bow on this fucker and send it on its merry way to page nine. You’ll also notice the pruned limbs of several chapters that were in the original plan, but have been cut (Vegas trip, Rei and Amy’s trip, many more). As much as I would have loved to include them (Chapter 4 was one of these and so much fun to write), the problem is that I am about to be out of commission till September (work-related overseas extravaganza). I’ll be able to post a few small one-shots over the summer, but nothing serial. My main goal at the moment is to get this done before I leave. So if it feels a bit rushed, well, I'm up against the clock, and the damn thing always wins.

Here’s where you can join the llama ranch if you so desire: if you think you can tackle the Vegas story, do it. Like I said at the beginning of Chapter 1, “I own nothing here,” and I mean it. Take the story and run with it. I don’t need credit, but I would love to read some ballsy up-and-coming authors. So, if you’ve never written a fanfic before or you’re thinking, “I bet it would be hysterical to see Kaname and Momomi take on a blackjack table” or "Shizuma plus former-girlfriend-turned-stripper equals WIN" or whatever your imagination conjures up, go for it with my blessings. If you’d like some help or a cheerleading session, send me a note, and I’ll do my best to get you started on this crack-laced hobby.

You can also visit Oras Clover at Twilightclover (dot) deviantart (dot) com to view the manga version of this story. She’s doing a great job with talent that I only could wish to have.

Once again, big thanks to all of you reading this. I hope you got a few minutes of pleasure and escape out of my irreverent take on SP. I’ll see you on the other side!