Christmas in July Part 1

Christmas in July
Started By: Kodachi Kunou


The Kunou manor was just perfect, for Kodachi's planned party. She had the Christmas tree decorated, and seasonal items were placed artistically all over the house. The presents were wrapped, the food was cooking all that was left was waiting on the guests.

"Hohohhohohohohoho This shall be the greatest Christmas party ever. Now that everything is in readiness, I shall prepare myself for the guests. With that said, the young gymnast retired into the bathroom.

Sasuke shook his head and look out the window at the bright July sun. He was certain that the young mistress was completely off her rocker by now. "I just hope someone shows up for this party. I don't want to be left alone with her."

All over town, Kodachi had sent invitations to everyone she knew in Nerima. Friends, enemies, it didn't matter to her, she sent the invitations out.

Greetings You are cordially invited to the Kunou family Christmas party. We hope that you all have a wonderful time and a merry Christmas.

Outside Ucchans, Konatsu the most feminine waiter ever, went through the mail for the day. "Bills, bills, morning papers, invitations... invitations?"

Using a well-manicured nail, he opened the letter addressed to him. "Christmas party? But it's.."

Coincidentally, right across the street from Ucchans, Perfume was going through the mail at Cures and Curses. She also found the invitation from Kodachi.

"What does the Psycho Flower girl want now?" She muttered angrily to herself as she read the invitation. She was just a little surprised to be invited to a party. She thought it might have been a trap until she noticed the invitations for Silk and Scarf.

Glancing across the street she noticed that Konatsu had an invitation also.

She waved and shouted "Good morning, Konatsu Chan" at her love interest.

Konatsu heard Perfume yell his name, so he looked up and waved back. "Good Morning, Perfume-San." No matter what, his upbringing insisted that he'd call people at least "San". Quite sad when you think about it. "Did you get one of these as well?" he shouted in his cheery voice as he waved one of the invitations, namely his own.

At the Nekohanten...

Rinse had just finished scolding Mousse who delivered ramen to a statue near a Shinto shrine, when he went to check the mail. "Hmmm...eh?" Rinse

read the invitation he and the other Amazons received,"...Japanese people are so weird..."

"What the..." Ryuu said in confusion, "Isn't Christmas in December?" Ryuu shrugged his shoulders, figuring the people changed it while he was

traveling. "Lets see...Christmas parties usually mean gifts, so it'd be rude not to bring one...." Rummaging through his back he found just the thing for the hostess of the party. A black lotus/rose hybrid seeds.

Wrapping up his gift, Ryuu locked his apartment and went on his way.

Tatewaki Kuno, The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High wandered the halls of the Kuno manor, searching for inspiration for his latest poem to his two angels, the Pigtailed Girl and Akane Tendo. And then he came upon a room in which there stood a Christmas tree of all things. True, this would explain the new decorations along the walls and so. But who would do such a thing?

"Sasuke!" Kuno yelled. "Sasuke!"

The small manservant/ninja appeared in a doorway. "Yes master Kuno?" "Sasuke, what manner of delusion is behind this abomination of a tree? Is it not in the middle of summer? Is not the spirit of Christmas, Santa Claus himself, not dressed for such temperatures? And where, pray tell, is my Christmas stocking?"

Happi Chan was sitting cross-legged on the roof of the Tendo Dojo. She was deep in thought and hadn't even bothered to open the letter she had gotten from Kasumi moments before leaping upon the roof.

From time to time he/she still had problems controlling the female urges of his new form. It was very disturbing from time to time. Ranma never seemed to have this sort of problem, but maybe that was because he hated his female form.

Happi glanced over at the invitation and quickly opened it up. after reading it he looked up at the hot summer sun.

"That girl is completely nuts. A party means lots of pretty Ladies, Whoo Hoo!"

Up the street from Curses and Cures, Fujiko was reading her mail while eating her breakfast. Breakfast consisted of leftovers from the Ucchan last night. It's not that Fujiko couldn't cook, it's just that it was so much easier to let others cook for you.

She looked at the invitation and shrugged her shoulders. A Christmas party...now?!?! Then she remembered that merchants started ordering Christmas stuff in July. "What a clever way to remind the merchants about the upcoming season. This is a great way to introduce new customers." she mused.

Fujiko finished up breakfast and began her own preparations for the party. This involved calling the Kunou mansion to confirm her invitation and other details, such as number of guests. Not to mention what she was going to wear and what she was going to give. Add this on top of the various calls to her suppliers and it was going to be a busy day.

She went down to the store floor and set her alarm clock for about noon.

Fujiko had a tendency to get really drawn into things. So much so that she often times forgot to eat. Since showing up at a party hungry is extremely bad manners, the alarm was set. It looked like she was going to get take

out from the Ucchan again. One Seafood Special for the cat and one Special of the Day for herself.

Back at Ucchan's

Two thoughts went through Perfume's mind, one, Konatsu and her both had invitations to the party. And two, she wanted very much to go with Konatsu.

Like a shot she was standing right next to Konatsu. "Umm Konatsu-Chan" She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment. "Would.. you like to.. Go to the party.. with me?"

If Konatsu was surprised at Perfumes speed in crossing the street, he didn't show it. At the moment he was busy with Perfume's question. "Umm, ehh," he started, "well, I suppose that... umm, yes, Perfume-San, I'd like that very much."

Perfume smiled from ear to ear. She was overjoyed that Konatsu would want to go with her. She gave Konatsu a small hug. " thank you Konatsu, I'll meet you here in time for the party."

She kissed Konatsu on the cheek and headed back to the shop to tell the others about the party.

Alex looked at the invitation he had gotten. "A Christmas party in July? Strange. But, I guess I'll go. Kodachi needs friends more than anyone else I can think of." Alex went to get himself ready for the party.

Silk was in the process of thumbing through her mail (she got the most of any of the shop denizens) when she saw the invitation. She noticed that identical invitations were in Scarf and Keisuke's boxes.

"Christmas in July?" she spoke out loud after reading the whole invitation. "Okay, who am I to argue?" she picked up Keisuke's mail and headed down into the basement, knocking on Keisuke's door. "You've got mail!" she called. She figured that the whole Curses and Cures crew could just go together, since the shop was closed by the time the party started.

Keisuke heard the pounding on the door as he was doing his daily workout. "2997, 2998, 2999, 3000!" he exhaled as he completed the last of his sit-ups. He quickly grabbed a towel, drying himself before he ran to the door. He opened the door to find a smiling Silk-Chan standing holding an envelope. "What are you babbling about?" he said with a wide grin on his face, playfully poking her in her midsection.

Silk pivoted on her right foot and voided around the poke at her belly, her smile never changed. Holding up the invitation in one hand, she poked him in the chest with the other, "We've been invited to a party at the Kunou's tonight, and I was wondering if you planned on going?"

"That depends," he said dauntingly as he moved in closer to her. "On what you'll be wearing when I take you."

Silk smiled, pressing the invitation into his hand. "I haven't decided. Do you think the green dress or the black one?" she winked. Both dresses were definitely summer attire, and much more daring then her usual outfits.

Keisuke took gentle hold of Silk's hand as she pressed the invitation into his hand. "You can wear whatever you want, Silk dear. A mumu would look good on you." he finished as he moved in to kiss her.

The sound of footsteps at the top of the stairs startled them both, and a small smirk graced Silk's lips as she tapped his mouth with a finger. "The black, then." she winked and half turned back towards the door, braid swinging past her hips and shoulder as she moved. "Heya, Perfume! You going to Kodachi's party?" she called. The footsteps didn't sound like Scarf's.

Keisuke grinned. "Black it is. You'd better check who's upstairs now. I'll see you in a bit." he said softly, returning her wink. He watched her all the way up the stairs trying to figure out what just happened.

Meanwhile at Ucchans

Ukyou looked down at the small invitation from Kodachi she had gotten. She sat in her room, with no lights on making it really dark and hard to see all the corners in the room. All that could be heard was, "... In July?"

Back at the Kunou Manor

Kodachi the black rose had just completed getting herself ready for the party. She was dressed in a red and white designer dress, complete with a little Santa Hat.

She was whistling 'Jingle Bells' and had the last three stockings. Each one was embroidered with a name. "Kodachi", "Tatewaki", and "Sasuke".

"Hello Brother dear, are you going to stay for my little sworre' tonight?"

The Blue Thunder looked at the stockings, saw his name and his mind was calm again. "What manner of planning is this? Is it not the height of summer?"

Kodachi laughed for a few minutes. "That's the beauty of it Brother dear, we avoid all the Christmas crowds. Plus I wanted a Christmas Party." Her eyes darkened momentarily and her voice dropped in pitch. "you have a problem with that, Brother Dear?"

Kuno, not being able to help himself, didn't notice his sisters wild impressions of an "evil Kodachi". He thought about it. They DID loose the crowds that Christmas usually brought, he thought. And she HAD brought forward his stocking. "Ah," he said, "I see that the Kuno sharpness of mind has not eluded you totally, my sister. Very well, since you insist, I shall grace this little get-together with my presence."

At the Curses and Cures.

Silk walked up the stairs slowly, no need to hurry. Her smile was very broad as she stepped into the main part of the shop. Then she saw who her customer was. "Hello. how are you today?"

Alex replied, "I'm doing alright. Nothing too weird has happened today." He pulled out his invitation to the party. "Except this Christmas party invite." Alex gave her his best smile. "Would you do this humble soul the honor of escorting you to it?"

Perfume started downstairs to pick out her outfit for tonight. She noticed the crowd starting to form around the stairwell. "Hey are you guys going to Kodachi's Christmas party?"

She paused for a second. "Isn't Christmas usually in December?"

"Normally, but Kodachi was always a non-conformist." Silk answered her friend's question before looking at Alex. "I'm afraid not, I already have a date." she shrugged, turning to enter the shop.

Alex blinked, and replied, "Oh. Have a good time then." He then abruptly vanished.



(Tendou Household)

After a long tiring workout, the young Tendou wiped the sweat off her brow and proceeded to walk upstairs to take a shower. "Akane!" she heard Kasumi call from the kitchen. "I didn't want to disturb you while you were training." She handed over small envelop stamped with Christmas tree on the front.

"Kinda early to be sending this out isn't it?" she questioned aloud.

"Perhaps," Kasumi cheerfully responded. "But how delightful it is that everyone received one." With that said she smiled upon her sister and walked back to prepare a light dinner for the household.

Akane's brown eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw who the invitation was from. "Kodachi?! But why?... What is she up to?" Determined to find out what was the secret motive behind all of this, she straightened out her yellow gi and rushed upstairs to get ready for the gymnast's "party."

Ryuu knocked on the door of the Kuno mansion. Straightening his usual sweat shirt he waited.

Ukyou had finally chosen the normal black leggings and that large white sweater and belt she usually wore to parties and belted the large spatula to her back, just in case. Telling Konatsu to close the shop when he left, she started towards the Kunou manor, seeing Ryuu outside the door, awaiting it's opening.

"Hiya!" she greeted the door-knocker. "Invited to the Christmas party as

well?" Needless to say, at this moment Kodachi was happy. Finally she might have found a way to make a friend or two. Upon hearing the knock at the door, she was right there to greet her guests.

She opened the door and smiled at her first two guests. "Greetings, Ryuu and Ukyou, Welcome to my most humble party. I do hope that you will have a good time."

Just then Happi-Chan arrived at the Kunou Manor. She was dressed in a tight and high cut Santa like outfit, with a big bag over her shoulder. So what if it was July, she was going to have the Christmas spirit.

"Merry Christmas, Dachi-Sweetie!" She handed Kodachi a single red rose. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

At Curses and Cures, Perfume had just finished getting ready. She was dressed in a pink and blue Chinese silk dress. She had done her hair differently, but it still covered the right side of her face. The dress accented her figure quite nicely and showed alot of her shapely, athletic legs.

She grabbed her purse, which was filled with small wrapped gifts for her friends and walked upstairs.

"I'm going to get Konatsu, then I'll meet you guys at the party." she announced to her various roommates as she set out the door for Ucchans.

******

(Tendou Household)

"There....done," Akane sighed as she placed a small silver hairclip in her hair, the last little detail to her outfit. She cocked her head to the side, examining herself in the mirror one final time before stepping out her bedroom door and walking downstairs.

An upside-down Ranma caught sight of a pair of longs legs followed by a short silver dress and a set of deep brown eyes. He gasped for a minute but quickly regained his composure as he complimented her. "'Bout time kawaikune! I've been waiting on you for a whole hour."

"Baka!" A second later, the pair of legs started to dash towards him quickly and a loud "BAM!" rang through the house as his body violently impacted with the cold wooden floor. Akane held the mallet in her hands for a moment, debating on whether she should strike another blow, but decided against it. For once, she would actually need him to escort her somewhere.

"Everybody's already left and I don't want to go to Kodachi's party alone. You're coming with me."

"I was going to until you knocked me wi--" But his complaint was interrupted by a hard yank to his collar as Akane dragged him out the door.

Ko-chan Studios

Fujiko had gone through her clothing and finally picked the perfect ensemble. It was a low-cut green velvet dress with a slit up the leg for ease of movement. She had a black leather purse which would carry all her essentials. A piece of holly pinned on the dress and holly shaped earrings completed the ensemble.

She wrapped her gifts for everyone. Even after all this time, Fujiko had to admit she didn't that many people. Fujiko had gifts for Perfume, Scarf, Curses and Cures in general, and Silk. Fujiko gave a smirk at that. She found the perfect gift for Silk then had to get another gift for her when she realized that the Kunous were polite company. They would most likely frown about something like that. Oh well, Fujiko would still have fun with this.

As for the rest, Fujiko guessed depending on their various reputations. Those she had no clue about would get gift certificates. Now all she had to do was wait for the party.

Back at Alex's house, he was going over the list of gifts for everyone, with the help of Benson, his butler. "Let's see, rare flowers for Kodachi, a set of bokken for Kunou, herbs for Silk, a few uniforms for Konatsu..." As Benson finished reading off the list and checking the items off, Alex walked back out, dressed in a midnight blue uniform, with the pants having a gold stripe down the legs, and perfectly shined shoes. The uniform was completed with white gloves, a matching officer's cap and decoration saber. Alex lifted his bag of gifts and walked next door the Kuno mansion, and knocked on the door.

At the Curses and Cures, Silk was rummaging through the normal Christmas presents she'd managed to amass for the various people she knew. She'd have to buy everyone different gifts, but she decided that that would be fun. Another week long shopping expedition with Fujiko was not an unpleasant prospect. After bagging up everyone's gifts she changed into her dress. She'd chosen the black because with a few minimal accessories it could be very festive. The dress itself was a simple black off the shoulders with a flared skirt. But after adding red and green silk sashes around the waist with tassels that ended right at the skirt's hem, a holly broach on the left shoulder, and red, green and white silk ribbons woven into her partially French braided, partially loose hairdo, she was dressed to kill and ready to go. --Thank you Fujiko for waking me up to fashion-- she thought as she walked down the stairs to the main room of the shop.

****

Ryuu walked into the Kunou mansion uncomfortably, this being his first time at a party. Trying to casually hand his gift to Kodachi, (And failing miserably), he thanked Kodachi for inviting him. Upon entering he was struck speechless with awe. The decorations and furnishing were more than enough to set any poor martial artist mute. Walking in slowly, he studied his surroundings. Taking in everything from the Christmas tree to the stockings he saw that all of the staff were dressed up. So was Kuno. Even Sasuke! "Err..." he said in an embarrassed voice picking at his everyday T-shirt, "Were we supposed to dress up?"

Ukyou looked around, taking in the surroundings. "Neat."

Keisuke eyed himself in the mirror as he slipped on his black jacket. He was dressed in standard semi-formal wear; black slacks, white long sleeve shirt, and a black Armani suit jacket. Slicking his hair back, he decided he was good to go, but not before slipping Muryamada behind his back. "Never can tell what's going to happen at these things. Hopefully, nobody will be seeing you tonight." he said, patting his sword. Taking a final look into the mirror, he headed up the stairs to meet his date.

"Let's go." Silk smiled when Keisuke finally came upstairs. Soon the pair arrived at the Kunou mansion right behind Ryuu.

"Kodachi-San, thank you for inviting us." Silk smiled as she handed the hostess a wrapped bottle of a fine white wine.

Kodachi was very much happy, she never expected everyone to be excited about her party. Her idea worked far better than she thought it would.

"Your very welcome Silk-San." Kodachi responded as she put the wine away. " It nice to have people in the manor again, it's been so long since we've had guests."

Alex was let in by Sasuke, who showed him to where everyone was gathered, and took his hat. Alex saw Silk and Keisuke arrive together while they were turned and talking to some of the other guests, and after a moment of thought, decided to not react. He walked up to Kodachi, and said, "Thank you for inviting me, Kodachi-San." as he presented her with seeds for several rare flowers, and gave her a lotus blossom for her hair that coincidentally matched her dress. He gave Silk and Keisuke a nod as he went past, his face and emotions totally blank, even to Silk's abilities.

Kodachi smiled one of her RARE sweet smiles. She definitely liked the lotus, and one look at the seeds she identified every rare one. Some of which she didn't even have in her greenhouse.

She glanced over and saw the curt nod that Alex gave to Silk and Keisuke. Dachi put two and two together and figured that Silk and Alex were no longer together.

She ran up in front of Alex. "Thank you Alex, Even I didn't have some of these breeds of flowers. That was a very thoughtful Christmas present." before Alex could react, Kodachi nailed him with a huge all empowering kiss.

Silk happened to glance in Alex's direction as Kodachi kissed her former boyfriend, and felt a familiar surge of half-jealous, half-resigned pain in her chest, but the feeling disappeared as soon as it surfaced. She had no more claim on Alex. she'd given it up in favor of freedom, and couldn't undo it. Though she noticed that he'd locked down every outward expression of emotion she'd learned to read in their time together. --I wish there was some way I could explain why...-- she left the thought incomplete. She turned to Keisuke and asked simply, "Do you dance?"

****

Perfume walked into Ucchan's. She was dressed for action. "Konatsu-Chan, Are you ready to go?"

"Umm, think so," Konatsu's voice came from the back room. The cross-dressing waitperson walked out into the shop, wearing a darned cute and frilly ankle-length dress. His hair was let loose and only kept back from his face with a simple ribbon. "Which of these earrings do you think goes best with my eyes?" he asked, holding out two pairs of earrings for Perfume to see.

"Wow, you look great, Perfume-San," he added after looking at Perfume. "You'll knock 'em dead."

Perfume blushed bright red a Konatsu's compliment. "Thank you very much,

Konatsu-Chan. You look stunning yourself." She took in her friend's beauty, she was very impressed.

"I think you should take the saffire earrings, they match your eyes better. "

She smiled when she thought of the cute little outfit she had gotten for

Konatsu's present. She held her arm out to him.

"Shall we, Konatsu-Chan?"

"Certainly, Perfume-San," Konatsu said as he locked arms with Perfume and as they started walking towards the Kuno mansion.

****

"Let go of me will ya!" Ranma pleaded as a very angry Akane pulled him along the streets by the ear. Tired of the loud commotion he was making, she released him and continued to walk on. Her fiancée merely stood there, rubbing his sore ear until he remembered what he was going to ask her before he was so rudely rushed out, "Did you bring any gifts? It IS a Christmas party ya know."

She stopped in place, cursing herself for forgetting such an important detail. "Great," Akane sighed. "Now everyone will look at me funny if I don't bring one."

"Look at US funny," Ranma corrected.

"What do you mean US?! You didn't bring one either?!" Her question was only answered by silence as he twiddled his thumbs and looked around his shoulders to avoid her irate gaze. "FINE! I'll just have to get some BEFORE we reach KODACHI'S!" She fumbled around in her purse, a rarity to see her actually carry, searching for cash and stumbled upon a sufficient amount. "This should be enough." Akane cast another evil glare in Ranma's direction and stomped off, determined to find a small vendor or shop that was still open.

Back at the Manor

Alex was surprised, to say the least, both by Kodachi's reaction and Silk's feelings about it. Not wanting to hurt Kodachi's feelings, but not exactly wanting to get involved with Kodachi either, he gently broke the kiss. "Am I standing under the mistletoe?"

Kodachi took off her Santa hat and took the mistletoe she had hidden under there. "Your always standing under the mistletoe around me Alex-San." She smiled and laughed for a moment, but this time her laugh wasn't insane, it was almost normal.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment I need to greet my other guests, also."

Keisuke noticed the look on Silk's face as she seemed to be...thinking about something. He smiled at her as she asked him to dance. "I hope so." he replied with a tone hinting that indeed he did. "Why don't we find out?" He took her hand and lead her on to the dance floor.

Fujiko arrived shortly after that. She introduced herself to Sasuke and presented him with her invitation. Afterwards, she wandered to the main room where the rest of the guests were. Normally, she would have walked faster, but the artist was enthralled with the paintings on the wall. Fujiko had heard things about the Kuno compound, both good and bad, but she never expected this. One thing was for certain, despite whatever lunacies they may possess, they had good taste in art.

One piece of artwork in particular caught her attention. She stopped in front of it and just stared at it for a few minutes. Finally Fujiko asked out loud to no one in particular, "Is that a Musashi?" It looked like it was to the redheaded art lover. If so, the Kunous were also rich. Musashi's work never failed to cost several hundred thousand yen.

Kodachi slid noiselessly behind Fujiko. "Yes, that one is a Musashi, it is my dear brother's favorite painting." She smiled calmly at the red head. "I prefer the Picaso myself."

Fujiko turned around and smiled "Oh, Hi Kodachi. Picasso holds more universal appeal. It's just surprising that someone who's known more for being a kensai than an artist could actually paint something that good. So how's the turnout thus far? Your butler wasn't really sure when I called earlier."

Kodachi smiled warmly, this was going far better than she ever expected, almost everyone was there. "Well, Almost everyone I invited is here, except for Perfume, Konatsu, Akane and dear Ranma Sama."



(On the streets of Nerima)

"Oh c'mon Akane, we don't need any gifts! Let's just go already." Ranma shouted at his fiancée that was walking away.

His blue eyes questioned her next move when she stood motionless for a second and balled up her fists. "It's a CHRISTMAS PARTY!... I need SOMETHING to give to my friends. YOU can just go on to Kodachi's. No one's stopping you."

"YOU THINK I'M GONNA LET A DITZ LIKE YOU FLY OFF BY HERSELF?! You've got to be joking." He jumped on top of the fence nearby and proceeded to walk towards the short-haired girl.

Akane motioned to summon a mallet from hammerspace but was interrupted by a small voice calling out to them from behind. "Did I hear you say that you needed a gift? I have just the perfect ones for you." Ranma looked up to find a tiny old man dressed in gray, sitting on the side of the road. His beady eyes poked out from underneath the hood of his cloak and greeted the two with a merry glance. Pleased that he had their attention, the merchant pulled out a black box engraved with an intricate winding design lined along its clasp. A cloud full of dust arose as he opened it and let them view the contents.

"OH! They're beautiful," she exclaimed. "May I hold one of them?"

"Sure, of course. They're perfect for you."

She held up one of the metal fans and spread it open to reveal a red rose that wrapped around the front and back. It's emerald leaves and stem shined brilliantly and curled itself on the handle. She could almost smell the flower's fragrance. "This must be expensive!"

"Oh no...you be surprised at how long I've been trying to get rid-- I mean sell these fans off!" The old man chuckled innocently but Ranma caught his mistake and began to wonder whether something was wrong.

"Akane... This old guys bugs me, let's go somewhere else."

"NO! I found the perfect gifts. How much do you want for them?"

The merchant's eyes widened in shock. Obviously she hadn't recognized the significance of the visual warning designs on the box. "You actually

want these?! I'll let you have all of them, 10 fans, for 4,700 yen. That's not an unreasonable price is it?" Hey, if he was going to get rid of these evil relics, he might as well make a profit off of it.

Akane frowned for a moment. "That's all I have right now... but I'll take 'em. They're worth it!" The two shook hands on their agreement and the young Tendou waked off with the unusually heavy box. Finally Ranma and his fiancée made it to the doorstep of the Kunou household. "Everyone will love these fans!" Her companion only sighed and leaned against the wall.

*****

Happi-Chan was enjoying some wonderful party treats when she noticed the scene between Kodachi and Alex. She knew something was troubling the boy. She walked over and stood next to the young man.

"Yen for your thoughts, Alex."

Ryuu looked around and stared. This was wealth to the extreme...and it was making him feel a bit ill. Deciding to take his eyes off the wealth he switched his focus to the other guests, which didn't help any. Finally able to wrench his eyes off the elaborate clothes he headed towards the

punch table. "This'll be a long day..." he muttered under his breathe.

Ukyou, having seen the Alex-Silk-Kodachi play, walked up to Alex and Happosai. "I'll make that ten yen." she said, "What's up?"

Alex blinked in surprise at all the company he had gotten all of a sudden, when he had been planning to just sit back and relax, and try to get his mind off of his problems. He then simply stated as he thumbed at Silk, "I've been dumped." Both could that Alex was a lot more disturbed than he let on.