FicWad

Chapter 18



Anjou spent some time that evening pouring over the books that Jean-Claude recommended. His words hit hard, but she had to admit that she had not been sensitive to his issues. It was not just her that had lost; it was everyone, for these two men were family to everyone. One was very dear to her, and very intimate, but that did not mean that she was the only one that missed him. However, as she read Ecclesiastes, something else was coming to her mind, something she had always understood, but something that she was beginning to relearn. Being a vampire means living for many centuries. One reason, besides avoiding persecution that many vampires used to keep away from humans was the fact that human life was ephemeral compared to their own. It was a flash in the pan, and to get close to a human meant having a friendship seem to end before it began. Thus, it was little wonder to her why Solomon wrote that all in this world was vanity and vexation of spirit, and that there was nothing new under the sun. She had not yet experienced this; however, she had had enough told to her about that for her to at least understand how things went. Yet, not enough humans understood this concept, and though Solomon's words did not surprise her, what did surprise her was how much this human had understood the concept and his take on the whole thing. He had done everything a human could have done in his time-good and bad-and now, at the end, he realized that putting your hope on the ephemeral things of this world did not bring the kind of joy that people think. Yes, this world was here to be enjoyed, but in the end, it could not be kept. Therefore, we need to keep higher things in mind as our goal-hope in things eternal. Thus, enjoy life, but do not let life be the soul focus. According to Solomon, it was giving proper reverence to God, and obeying him that brought the true peace, for only those things would stand forever. From this, she began to realize that things come and things go, and often beyond our control, and without rhyme and reason. Yet, if they go, we must move on. She then went to Job. Suddenly, Ecclesiastes took on a whole new light. In her mind, the book could have been entitled Job: the Man Who Had to Die to Live. He had it all, but Satan was not convinced that Job's love for God was solid. He then challenged God to take everything from him, and see how he reacted. Despite losing everything in one day, and then losing his health just that fast, he refused to blame God or curse him. However, Job did have pride issues, and he was willing to take the blame on himself if he had sinned. Yet, he still questioned God's judgment in allowing this, for he had examined his life and he wondered where he stepped out of line for God to be allowing this. Finally, a young man set Job straight, saying that he had no right to accuse God for anything when God himself had not even chimed in as to the reasons for Job's affliction. Job challenged God, wondering what right God had to do this considering that he had not done any sins to deserve what he had received. In other words, Job was more righteous than God, for Job had performed no sin to deserve his affliction, and here was God being unjust for allowing affliction. Yet, he did have one sin, and that was his pride in questioning God's reasoning. That was when God showed up! The thing that struck Anjou the hardest was the first words God uttered to Job directly, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, 'Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?'"

As she continued to read, the whole of the matter was that God does what He does for good reasons, and we may not understand it all. However, if we have not sinned, we then need to seek God's face and see what in the trial we are supposed to learn, and have the guts to say to God, "Okay God, if you will not get me out of this, get me through this."

Job then received twice that which he lost. When she finished, she thought she heard someone say, "Job 23:10."

She knew that she had read it already, but for some reason, she went back to it and read, "But he knoweth the way that I take: /when/he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

She closed the Bible up again, and began to say in her heart, "What is the purpose of all this? What do you want me to do?"

She felt another touch, and seemed to hear, "I will tell you when the time is right. Bring that Bible with you in the fight, and trust in Me."

With that, she felt a surge of positive energy throughout the room, and she was on her knees, crying in tears of joy.



The next night, Jean-Claude and the A-team got together, and they went over the data. The biggest concern was how to go after them. After some stewing over matters, Kenta said, "They are so spread over the world-how are we going to do this? I mean, we hit one, and the others may turtle up."

"Too bad we can't corral them like cattle," said Karin.

Jean-Claude reacted like he just got shocked. "That's it!" he exclaimed, "Karin, you're a genius!"

"What did I say?" she then asked, quite surprised.

"Look," he said, pointing to a world map, "If we start here in Portland, Oregon, and the Clan starts here in Tokyo, they can move west, we move east, and force them towards Paris. Then the noose can tighten."

Victor looked at the map, and said, "When do we start?"

Anjou gave it some thought, and said, "October break is coming. That will be a four-day time period where we can move and strike in sync with the rest of the Clan in Tokyo. Have Victor Sinclair pick his best, and take care of it. When we strike, we push them in the right directions. We take our time, and watch them. I can have my bats tail them undetected, and we have grandmamma do the same thing. If they try to reestablish on the west coast, or in Japan, we hit them before they organize, and move them where we want. Perhaps we can send six to the southernmost point of their control-Rio-and force them north?"

"Sounds good to me," said Gilbert.

"I'll send Wiener with you," said Jean-Claude,"Because he knows their minds well, it would be like having a spy glass on them all the time. You would know how they move before they moved."

"Then it is settled," said Hondo, "We strike in October."

"Then we watch with our bats," said Anjou, "That way, if they lay low, the second they rise up, we can move in swiftly."

They all nodded, and put a call into Tokyo.



That Monday, a package came in for Jean-Claude, and it was the surprise he had hoped for. He was excited, and hoped to show the team that day. Meanwhile, in Adams Elementary, things were interesting. Jennifer was in the same clothes that she had always worn, but for some reason, they did not seem so odd. This was because she seemed to be smiling all the time. She had two new friends, and something to eat at school everyday. She felt safe with Sheila and Alicia, because whenever someone tried to bully her, or put her down, it was not pretty. Sheila would straighten them out, and over time, the other kids began to gain a respect for Sheila. She was not acting like a bully or snob, because everything she did had integrity and justice behind it. No one could gainsay her. Thus, they backed off from her, and all who she called friends. She never had to lash out, because she seemed to have something about her that said, "You cross her, and you pay dearly."

Mickey had also gained a reputation of being aprotector. The bully now was very docile, and became very introverted. He ceased completely from his bullying ways, because every time he tried to bully someone, or put them down, his body racked with pain, and every joint felt like it had a knife cutting through it. No one could explain his behavior, nor did he dare tell anyone what happened when he tried to bully. He just sat docile and talked to no one. Mickey hoped that, one day, he could come out of his shell, and learn how to make friends. If he could become charitable, and learn how to love, he would never have to worry about pain. He hoped one day to make friends with the bully, but the bully kept his distance. No one knew why the bully ended up this way, but he had his suspicions, and it surrounded the new kid he wanted to refer to as the Japanese Frog, but it hurt his head every time he thought about it. Of course, there was no proof that Mickey had anything to do with it, but he had his guesses. Ever since that first day, everyone in class began to wonder if the new kid had done something, but no one was sure. However, because the new kid had never done anything to harm anyone, and he was actually very willing to make friends, it was hard to peg down what, if anything, he may have done. Still, because of the way he held himself, other boys had a tendency to seek his counsel often, and looked on him as a kid that, if someone was going to cause him or her problems, it was to Mickey that they should turn. Mrs. Swanson even began to rely on him as someone to whom she could trust the class when she stepped out, because, for some reason, whatever he told them, they did, and he never took advantage of his position. He was all this, and a model student, along with his sister. She once mentioned to them,"I don't know how it is in schools of Japan, but they must instill something in you to be such great kids."



Jean-Claude made sure to get to the practice field early, and he opened the package and started to lay out its contents. When everyone arrived, they were shocked by what they saw. There were 45 pairs of Rugby socks, complete with the ribbon under ties that went under the fold over to keep them up, colored navy blue and sky blue on the fold over portion. Then there were 21 stacks of team jerseys numbered 1-21, all in the various sizes expected in those positions. The jerseys had the old feel to them, with the white collars, but were designed with the fabric of the modern Rugby jersey, and were designed to fit tight to aid in keeping someone from getting a jersey tackle. They were all with white collars, navy blue, but with a six inch band of sky blue all the way around, in accord with the school colors. The numbers were set in a white square with navy blue numbers: McQueeny looked at all of that, and said, "What is this?"

"This is game day gear-enough socks for everyone and shirts enough to outfit two teams and six subs per team. You said we didn't have official game gear, so, I took care of it. We hand them out the night before to who we want to start where, and then have them ready the next day. We would be the delight of any International Rugby Board member, knowing that we are in complete regulation."

"Dude," said Turlo, "This had to cost some money!"

"Don't worry," said Jean-Claude, "I'm good for it. It's just my contribution to the club."

Once the whole team had arrived, the socks were handed out, and McQueeny then announced that Jean-Claude had pretty much paid his dues for the rest of the time he cared to play for UMaine, because he now had done so much for the team. He even began to call Mickey and Sheila the official team mascots because of their fetching, and always having, cold water on hand for the players, and anything else they needed. With that, Jean-Claude went back to the box and presented them both with their own team jerseys, saying that they were now just as much a part of the team.



That Friday night would be a test. Would the team keep to their promise, and the select members remember their vows? Indeed, there was a keg there, but only one this time. It seemed that only those partaking of the alcohol took their team captain's call seriously. Because the mood would be calmer, Yuriya and the twins were there. The first order of business was to hand out the starter and sub jerseys. Since the next day would have both an A and B side game, it was that much that was handed out and some of the B side starters were A side subs. As the shirts were handed out, McQueeny said, "In the second row, we have Turlo, and Drac, except..."

He cut himself off and grabbed the trophy bowl, and grabbed some ginger ale. He also grabbed some red food coloring and put that in as he filled the bowl with the ginger ale. "We cannot have you out there unless you do the rite of passage. Thus, since you cannot drink alcohol..." and everyone groaned at this, some saying, "He's just faking it! He can drink!"

However, McQueeny said, "Hey, guys, he has certain vows he makes, and I can respect a man that has enough guts to do his own thing."

Jean-Claude said, "Any dead fish can go with the flow, but it takes a live fish to go against the grain."

McQueeny then continued, "Since you cannot drink alcohol, we have the perfect drink for him-bloody ginger ale!"

Then Turlo said, "Oh! And you need a little protein with that," and grabbed a bag of goldfish and started to pluck them out and put it into the bowl. Jean-Claude began to roll his eyes, but smiled, knowing that this had the potential to make him just as sick and throw up as it did those that drank the beer. He looked over at his family, but they were all stifling laughs. He just gave them a look of "Thanks a lot!" The bowl was brought to him, and Turlo said, "Remember, once you put your lip to it, you cannot take it off your lip unless you intend to throw up!"

Thus, he began. Because of his nickname, they kept teasing him, and one came up sounding like Bela Lugosi, saying, "I never drink...wine!"

The whole time, Yuriya was taking photographs and laughing right along with the twins. About halfway through the bowl, he suddenly let it go, and as he did, the said, "Spew for distance! See if you can break the record."

He let some go, went on, and then he really let it fly, including his lunch! Sheila was laughing, but grimacing at the sight at the same time. Mickey was in stitches, and Yuriya was recording it for all posterity, trying to snap shots in between laughs. He went back, and finally finished the bowl, and they said, "We have a record spew, and a record drinking time! Put the bowl on your head!"

He did, and they all congratulated him by cursing at him, but all in good fun. They milled around for about twenty minutes, and then Jean-Claude said, "I hate to be anti social, but I promised my kid sister that I'd be there for her team's candlepin bowling tournament. She's going through the prelims now, and hopefully, she'll make the final match. But, where are we meeting?"

"Unless you're driving, we'll have two vans ready to leave by about 7 o'clock tomorrow morning," said Turlo.

"We're driving, so we'll meet you there," said Jean-Claude, "The family's going to be there with us, and the kids are going to help as they have been."

"Great!" said Andre, "We have water kids!"

"See you tomorrow!" said Jean-Claude, and he went to the student union.



At the union, the four girls that made up the UMaine team were finishing up their last two strings against Bates College. As it was expected, Anjou was comfortably ahead after eight strings. She was wearing the white shirt with the navy and sky blue trim, with the UMaine Black Bear logo resplendent on the front, and her name on the back. However, whereas the other girls were wearing shorts, Anjou was wearing a flowing black skirt, her white tights, and her bowling shoes. All the other girls wondered if she could bowl in that skirt, but her scores were quickly answering that question. She was averaging about 126, which was a good 8 pins higher than the other girls on either team. However, the other girls were not rolling as well, and Bates was keeping a good enough average to counteract Anjou. By the time it was done, there was a tie, which meant a three string roll off to determine the winner against the top bowlers on either team. This brought cheers from Anjou's own cheering section, led by Maki and Karin. They then handed out signs and headbands for everyone coming in to watch, as well as the kimono shirts. Thus everyone, including Kannon, was wearing the navy and sky blue kimono shirts with the white headbands that had the UMaine logo on the front where the Yin and Yang are normally, with "UMaine" on one side in Japanese characters, and the Japanese words for "Black Bears" on the other. They were going to cheer her on Japanese style. Anjou spotted Jean-Claude, and said, "Thank you, for everything," and hugged him. "Just go out there and knock em' down!"

She smiled, curtsied, and took her place. The rest of the team joined the cheering section to pull for their teammate. Anjou had somehow developed a hook ball. Though it is not unfamiliar amongst the ranks of candlepin bowlers, it is still rare, because it is harder to control that hook. However, she had a nice and high back swing, a smooth delivery, and aroll that was fast enough to give her good action on the pins, but not so fast as to be out of control. As they commenced, the first string was fairly even, and Anjou had jumped out to a 10 pin lead after the first string. However, in the second string, she was losing a bit of concentration, and she was straying off the headpin. By the time the second string was done, she was now down by 13 pins. Jean-Claude pulled her aside and said, "Okay, you got your bad string out of the way. Now go out there and bowl the way I know you can!"

As she took her place, her section took up a chant in Japanese that essentially said, "Smash em', bash em', knock em' all down! Put on the hurt and run em' out of town!"

They quieted down as she approached. They had no need to fear as she opened with a solid strike. The chanting came up anew, and quieted as she rolled and knocked down three with a good leave and plenty of deadwood to clean up the deck, which she did-spare on strike. This was followed by a turkey, and she was soaring now. Her opponent could not keep pace, and it was obvious who was going to win. However, there was the possibility for her to pull off a 500 total for a three string match, which is very difficult in this version of bowling to do. In the sixth, however, she put it in jeopardy by dropping it past the lob line on her first ball. It was called a foul, and she had to re-rack. On her second ball, it showed that she was rattled, and she was off the headpin. In the process, she left the 1-7-10-called the High-Low Jack, and no deadwood to help. She took a second, concentrated, and sent down the ball. She caught the headpin on the right, kicking it left and back. The ball found the ten pin, and took it down. However, the headpin somehow bounced into the sidewall and off the gutter, and in such a fashion that it danced around the seven and left a solid seven-her first open frame in the string. Jean-Claude then said, "That's okay, Muff: you know where the headpin is now, so go out and get it."

She then continued her assault on the pins, and it came down to the last frame. She would need a good fill, and maybe a mark to get over the 500 mark. However, she was off the headpin, and drove the 3-9 straight back-the dreaded Half-Worchester, (pronounced "Half-Wooster.") Now she would have to get the rest on this ball, and get a strike to break 500. It was then she went what would be unorthodox for her. She came over on the lane, used her same approach and stroke, but forsook her hook for this shot, and went straight. Pins went everywhere, and somehow, by the pin action, the headpin was kicked across the deck, hit the sidewall, went flat, and then point first towards the bowler. As it did, it cut out the kingpin, and gave her the spare. Now she had one ball left for the fill, and it would have to be astrike to break 500. After she made the shot, her cheering section piped up loud and started the chant. Her teammates were now joining in, saying the words phonetically, because they did not understand Japanese. They could have been chanting, "Jimmy crack corn, and I don't care," but it did not matter to them. They were cheering on their teammate. Anjou took her spot on the approach, and everyone quieted again. She took her normal stance this time. She took a moment or two to gather herself, eyed the arrow on the lane where she intended to aim, focused, and approached. The ball went down swiftly, but hooked over into the 1-2 pocket, opposite than for what she had aimed. Now, note, all this happened in a fraction of the time it will take to describe the shot. It kicked the headpin across, and the ball took care of the 2-4-7. The action of the pins cleared out the 8, while the headpin took out the 6-10, and the 9. That left the kingpin, but none of the action went to it. However, in action like that, sometimes the ball kicks off the sidewall and back onto the deck instead of into the pit. This is what happened, and no one was tracking it until the split second it landed on the deck after caroming off the sidewall, and it landed next to the kingpin. Once the ball touches the pins in any kind of bowling, whatever and however the ball takes out pins is perfectly legal, as long as it does not first touch the channel. It never even touched the channel, bounced, and took out the kingpin. The house erupted. The chanting had practically brought in everyone from the arcade outside, and the pool room behind it. They came in on the last two frames, saw what was at stake, and all got into the match. Now they were all into the cheering, and were happy. Someone from the school newspaper-the Daily Maine Campus-caught word of a hot match at the lanes, grabbed his camera, and went to see what was going on. Anjou, not one for a whole lot of cheering, just smiled pretty, and waved at the crowd as they cheered. Her teammates were all hugging her and they were all jumping up and down, not just for the win, but for her record score. The reporter got the scoop, and had the team pose as he photographed them. It would read in the sports section of the Monday edition, "Music Student Composes Sweet 501 Game in Tiebreaker against Bates."

She would indeed cut it out, and put it on her bulletin board. She was not one for pride, but she did like good memories, and that was one she would cherish for a long, long time.