Ghost From the Past

Prince and Princess

CHAPTER 14

My thumb clicks down on the dino cap's button, and poof! The last of my belongings is sealed away inside the tiny capsule, leaving my room completely empty.

"Is Papa going to turn my bedroom into his new study, or will you make it your exercise room?" I ask Mama, keeping my voice light so she knows that I don't really care what happens to my old room. I'm officially an adult now. No matter how hard it will be living on my own, once I move out, I know I won't be moving back.

Mama walks to the center of the room, her hand lightly clasped over her chest. Her shining blue eyes slowly roam over the white walls, the ceiling, and the dusty hard floor under her feet. She looks like she wants to cry. Thankfully, she doesn't.

"I'm so proud of you, Pan." She says, smiling.

I give her a hug. She squeezes her arms around me so tightly that I know she isn't ready to let me go. I'm her only child, but she'd never really been an affectionate parent. Her affection now surprises me, and I awkwardly pat her back. "I'll....visit you on the weekends. Flying is super easy for me. I can fly home from anywhere in the world in under a minute. Don't be sad, okay? You still have Papa to keep you company."

Papa clears his throat and lightly taps on the wall before entering the room. "Bulla has come to take Pan dress shopping for the party," he announces, stepping to the side so I can see her. Her chin is pointed towards the floor and she's holding her small designer purse in front of her body, making her look uncharacteristically meek. I still haven't told her what happened on my date with Trunks.

Mama slowly releases me. Papa wraps a supportive arm around her waist and she leans into him. They both have glowing, proud faces that I imagine most parents have when their only child is preparing to leave for college.

"Save a dance for your old man," Papa says with a wink.

He begins to lead Mama out of the room, but Mama stops to growl," There will be NO DRINKING at the party tonight! I don't care how many times Bulma says you can, I say you can't!"

"Okayyyyyy," Bulla and I say in unison, using our fake angelic voices. We keep our wide smiles in place until my bedroom door closes.

"Please tell me your parents are just as sappy as mine," I groan in embarrassment.

Bulla shakes her head." Sorry. My Mom moved out on her own when she was sixteen and searching for the dragonballs. She's excited that I'm finally moving out and starting my own adventure. My Dad on the other hand...well, I think he might follow us to our apartment and stick around for a week to scare away a bunch of guys on campus. Just pretend not to notice him."

Instead of prattling on about her life or which dress stores we're going to hit first, Bulla stays quiet.

I know she feels guilty for pushing Trunks and me together. If it wasn't for her, I never would've gone out with him. I doubt Trunks shared any information with her about his love life, but it's plain to see that our date wasn't as spectacular as she'd hoped. If anything, it probably wedged Trunks and me further apart.

"We should get going before all the good dresses are taken," I laugh, breaking the silence between us. After I say this, I know that I'm not exaggerating. When it comes to parties, Bulma is the best at throwing them. She'd been planning mine and Bulla's going away party for months, inviting all the teachers and students at our high school, sending invitations to celebrities, young entrepreneurs, the Kais, the God of Destruction himself, and the list goes on.

With the party only hours away, we'll be lucky to find a dress in West City.

Bulla smirks as she heads for my window. "We're not wearing an ugly dress. I'll drag you to every dress shop in the world if I have to. Just because a store sells it on a rack doesn't mean we should wear it. Ugh, you would not believe how many ugly outfits I've found at the mall! You'd think they'd have a person specifically hired to say, 'No, we can't sell this. Send it back to the factory, idiots.' "