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On The Turning Away -*- Copyright 2006 by Ellen Hayes.

Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual
persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when
used for satirical purposes.

This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and
possibly sex.  If you are legally not allowed to read materials
containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading
this.  I am not responsible.
Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it
in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally
allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish,
state, and country.

All rights reserved.  See the bottom for distribution rights.


On The Turning Away


***

     They were all outside by Mrs. Tucker's car, standing around and
looking all different directions to make sure there wasn't anyone
nearby, when Mrs. Tucker asked, "Have you ever read Robert Heinlein's
'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'?"
     "Do what?!" Debbie asked, startled.  *How did she-*
     "'The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress'," she repeated, looking at her
little PDA - Debbie was envious - and added, "pages fifty-nine to about
sixty-two.  Got that?"
     "Why-  Heinlein?  Doesn't he write science fiction?" she remembered
suddenly.
     "Yes," Mrs. Tucker said, which relieved Debbie immensely.  "But he
stuck in other things, in some of his books.  The pages I mentioned
deal with how to set up a cell structure for conspiratorial purposes. I
looked up the page numbers before I left.  Did you write them down?" she
pressed.  Debbie sighed and flipped to a different page in her Daytimer.
*I really don't want to do this...  I have enough reading to do for
classes already...*

***

     "'Cause I can't make it," Kathy repeated.  She was getting annoyed
because her break didn't last that long, and she had other things to do
besides argue on the phone about whether she was or was not going to be
photographing a football game for the newspaper.  "I just can't, not
this weekend.  I did Homecoming and all that," she reminded Mr. Kazunas.
"Have you tried calling Marcus Denofrio?"  He was a freshman, but his
work looked pretty good from what she'd seen.

***

     "Upstairs, in quarantine in Eugene's room," Bill explained for
Elaine's benefit.  "Simplifies keeping up isolation.  From contagion,"
he added.  She didn't always remember why the two of them were best
confined to quarters.  "Besides, they seem to be sleeping most of the
time anyway."
     "Oh, they can always find something to do," Elaine assured Bill
needlessly as she unpacked a seeming infinity of Tupperware boxes of
food from the cooler he'd wheeled inside for her.  "Especially with
those computers.  How many does he have now?"
     Bill shook his head.  "I don't know.  He hasn't gotten any new
cases from me in over a year, so maybe it's 'enough'..."  Pieces went in
and pieces came out, but there was only so much anyone could do without
a case, or at least a backplane.  Plus there was the power aspect; the
electrical sockets in his room would only handle so many watts, and Bill
had forbidden tapping into the lighting circuits.  Eight or less, Bill
would have guessed, depending on how many old junkers he had up and
running at the moment.

***

     Kelly tried to continue eating as the phone started ringing again.
Then the answering machine started grinding, and she felt herself
flinch.  It had registered at least two messages and three hang-ups
since they'd started eating.  And every time it happened, Audrey would
give her a look.  She couldn't wait to finish eating so she could get
out of the apartment.  Audrey had PROMISED not to listen to any of the
messages, but there was no way Kelly could get out of talking about it
tomorrow morning.
     *Maybe I could run away...*  She wanted to, or wanted to do
anything that would avoid tomorrow morning, but there wasn't anything
that wasn't worse.  Slightly.

***

     "Oh yeah, okay," Deborah nodded excitedly as she scribbled into her
little notebook.  Even Lisa was looking interested at this point, though
she'd done her best to remain aloof during dinner.  *What, does she
think she's protecting Deborah or something?* Sarah wondered without
letting her amusement show.

***

     "Sheil-  Oh, yes," Bill said as he finally remembered who she was.
He typed a note in to identify her number - which wasn't her office
number, he noticed - as he said, "No, there is no way he's coming in
tomorrow.  He's recovering, but he's not really in shape to talk."
*Wait, that didn't stop her last time,* he remembered.
     "Well, if you wouldn't mind, I could come by and see him," Sheila
said.  "Like I did while he was in the hospital."
     "Mmmmm..."  *He doesn't like going to her during normal times.
"No.  He ought to be better by next Saturday, definitely," depending on
your definition of 'better'; Bill thought he ought to be able to endure
a therapy session by then, even if he couldn't drive himself.  He wrote
a one-line note to Sarah to make sure he had a ride.
     "It's just," she put in, "that he survived a violent attack, and
he's at risk for a lot of psychological problems without some support."
     Bill's eyebrows went up as he said carefully, "He's getting support
here.  His friends have started visiting, and his best friend Mike has
been staying here for a while."
     "Oh, he is?"
     Bill was fairly sure she wasn't as much of a twit as she sounded;
otherwise, Dana wouldn't have recommended her.  "Yes.  He's also not
talking at the moment, and I don't believe you can communicate in
American Sign Language?"

***

     "Naw.  Stay here tonight," Mike groaned.  "Don' wanna go out.  'M
watchin' Tuck."  So to speak; right at the moment he wasn't actually
watching Tuck eat, because his mother was in front of him talking to
him.
     "But YOU'RE sick," she reminded him.
     "Naw'sick 's him."
     She looked over at Tuck, and seemed to be thinking about it.
     Mike really didn't want to go; it was cold outside, and there
wasn't anything he could wear that would keep him as warm as he was
right now.  And having Mom come by was almost as good, or better, than
being home with her; when he was here, he didn't have to worry about
what stupidity Tuck was committing on himself when nobody was paying
attention to him.  Plus, sometimes Mike got tired of his mom treating
him like a baby; and she had a tendency to do that when he was sick.
"Really, Mom, s'okay."

***

     Kelly waited until the message got done, then flipped open the lid,
removed the cassette that was in there, and put in the good one she'd
been planning to use for a compilation tape.  *Ninety minutes ought to
last...*  She wasn't sure if this one was full, but the fact that she
WASN'T sure had told her she ought to change tapes before she left.

***

     "Oh, she's got that date tonight," Sabrina remembered.  "Right,"
she said as she hung up.  "It'll be too late to call when she gets back,
probably... maybe I could call her tomorrow."  Debbie had predicted that
everyone ought to cancel or reschedule any dates they had for Friday
night, sometime during the week.  Sometimes she was uncannily accurate;
Sabrina was extremely glad she'd put Eddie Duncan off until Saturday
early-evening.

***

     "Mom!"
     "It needs to be done, Mike," Elaine said to her son, and continued
wiping down everything in Tuck's room that either of them might have
touched.  Except the computer pieces; Eugene was fiercely protective of
them.  "Besides, I'd be doing it at home, if you were home...  And don't
talk, that'll just make your throat hurt worse."  She didn't mind
cleaning; she felt it was the least she could do, and according to Bill
it would reduce the chances of anyone else catching the strep throat
Mike had.  *I wish he'd come home...*  But he really was being taken
care of here, as he always had been; she just felt guilty about his
staying here for days, as if she didn't love him and didn't want him.

***

     "Darnit, where IS she?" Kelly mumbled to herself.  She was starting
to feel like all paranoid about being out in the open where someone
might see her.

***

     The outside sensors bleeped, and Bill switched to look at what was
going on.  Looking at the latest records, the motion sensors had been
triggered on either side of the house, on the front, and twice each.
The repeat was what had triggered the audible alarm; he'd reset the
alarm criteria last Friday.  *Looks like someone's walking back and
forth,* he guessed as he got up, turned off the office light, and then
gently moved a curtain aside.
     *Hmmm.*
     After almost a minute, the girl outside turned around again, and
Bill thought he recognized her as one of Tuck's friends.  *Kathy?  Can-
no, definitely not.  Caitlyn?  Kath- Kelly, that's it,* he nodded.

***

     Rachel sighed, and hung up the phone without leaving another
message; she'd left several over the last week, and no one had called
her about any of them.  *Maybe I SHOULD go over there...  There's
nothing going on here, really, either.*  She had planned to go out
dancing tonight, but she could visit Tuck first and go out after that.
*I could, I guess... I just have to get ready early...*  She looked at
the clock and realized that she had to start NOW, if she wanted to get
there by a reasonable time.

***

     "No, I mean, if they're eating, I mean, I already ate," Kelly tried
to explain.  "I just, I mean, Sabrina said she'd come over here, and I,
uh, I really needed to talk to her.  And Tuck an' Mike too, I guess..."
     "About what?" Mr. Tucker asked, like she'd hoped he wouldn't.
     "Uh, just, uh, some stuff.  At school."
     His face did something, she didn't know what, but suddenly it was
like he'd switched landing lights on or something, because she felt like
she was jacklighted.  "Does this affect their safety?  Or the safety of
anyone else?" he asked sharply.
     "Huh?  Oh, no.  I don't think so," she said, wondering if it could
somehow.  She couldn't think how it could affect anyone else, but she
wasn't entirely sure.
     Mr. Tucker turned the highbeams off and nodded at her.  "Well, you
can wait down here, if you don't mind watching television with Brian.
He's got, uh, he's going out in a while, I think, so when he leaves you
can put it on whatever you want."  He checked his watch as Kelly started
to thank him.  "Sabrina should be here in half an hour or so."

***

     "I know what printer they use," Deborah said as she wrote into her
small notebook.  "Here's the name and phone number; I don't have the
address, but you should be able to look it up."  She pulled the page out
and handed it to Sarah.
     Sarah copied the information into her Palm, using a false name and
a simplistic one-off enciphering that ought to obscure it enough, just
in case.  *My husband, the espionage geek,* she thought.  *'For want of
a nail,' he'd say...*  It was worth some extra effort to avoid hearing
him say that.
     "Alright, what I was thinking was..."  She turned to her car and
opened the door and bent in, to grab the sample and show Debbie what she
had in mind.  "... was that I could-"
     The blare of a car horn seemingly in her ear startled her badly;
she reflexively flinched upright but slammed her head into the roof
which made her feet slip out from under her.  She ended up - somehow -
half in the footwell of her car, her back in so much pain she almost
screamed.
     "Miz Tucker?" Lisa asked.
     "It- AII!" Sarah yelped as her back spasmed again; it felt like
someone had plunged a dagger into her lower back and left it there.
*SHIT that hurts, shit shit shit...*  "Lee'me'lone!" she gasped out to
prevent anyone from trying to help her, then panted until she caught up
with her breathing.
     *How the hell do I get out of here?*

***

     *At least she didn't want to talk, and screw it up,* Brian sighed
as he waved at Dad and shut the door.  *Or chase me to the door.*
     He hustled out to the car waiting in the street; Todd's mom had
agreed to drop Todd and some of his friends off at the movies, and then
they were going to hang out for a while, away from the parents and the
siblings and school, like ought to happen more often.  *Wonder why she
was watching TV instead of going upstairs, though?*  She had to be okay,
or Dad wouldn't have let her in.  They were keeping things pretty close
since yesterday, when Tuck had apparently almost shot his ex-girlfriend
in the house.  *Weird shit.*

***

     "Yeah, an-  Oh, hey," Sabrina waved at Kelly, who had been watching
television.  "I thought you'd be upstairs with Tuck."
     Kelly shrugged as she stood up, holding her pack by one strap, but
didn't say anything.  Brian's kitten hesitantly jumped down from the
couch, like it was ready too, but then wandered under a table.
     "Did you want tutoring tonight?" Mr. Tucker asked.
     "Um, yyy- well, could I get it Sunday night instead?" she hoped.
"Like usual?"
     He nodded.  "Thought that might be the case.  We'll see if they're
through eating."

***

     Mike boggled a bit at how Sabrina had managed to get rid of his mom
and Tuck's dad without irritating either of them.  *Wonder if she could
teach me how to do that?*
     "What is it," Tuck's computer spoke, visibly startling Sabrina.
Then Sabrina looked at Kelly, who looked at the floor and started to
mumble and stammer.  *Oh God, I don't need this,* he thought wearily.
Sabrina sighed and patted Kelly on the shoulder, like it was okay and
not to bother, and said, "Kelly had a little outburst at lunch today..."

***

     Debbie started to drop her car keys in her purse when she noticed
the strip of thin black leather tied to the shoulder strap.  "Lisaaaa-"
     "Not now," Lisa said impatiently, "but when she leaves."
     Debbie sighed, but she was tingling.  "You realize you've been very
presumptuous," she told Lisa.
     "Uh huh," Lisa smiled.

***

     Michelle Frost sighed and wiped her face.  Replacing drum skins was
NOT her favorite thing to do, and the heater seemed to be on overdrive,
too, for no good reason.
     "We gonna make it," Jason told her.
     She nodded wearily but forced a smile.  "Gonna make it," she
agreed, and they slapped hands.
     *Even if we have to stay up all night doing it... though at least
nobody will get in here to try it again.  Not tonight.*
     Actually, she wouldn't mind if someone did.  There were a lot of
angry people in band, and almost all of them were still, or back, at
school trying to fix what they could, and get replacements for what they
could, in time for tomorrow's game.  And they were sometimes taking it
out on each other, like they often did before a competition when
anxieties ran high.  Someone showing up to vandalize the place a second
time would give everyone a really nasty way to work their frustrations
out.  *But they'd deserve it,* Michelle thought.

***

     "Okay, so," Sabrina said as she came back with cokes for everyone.
She was a little annoyed that she'd had to go get them, but she DID know
where they were, unlike Kelly, and it was obvious that Mike and Tuck
were moving as little as possible.
     "Shut the door," Mike rasped.  "Please," he finished just before
she got irritated at him.
     Sabrina bumped the door shut with her rear, then handed out cokes
to everyone before hinting, "So I guess you guys knew about this
already?"  She was guessing, because they hadn't reacted like she'd
imagined they would, but she was pretty sure.
     "Can't say we did," Mike said, grimacing and then swigging his coke
like he could wash the pain in his throat out.
     *Hmm, guess not...*  She leaned back against the door - there
wasn't any place else in the room - and opened her own coke and had
some.  She'd talked a lot and her throat was dry.
     "But what do I do about the phone calls?" Kelly asked.
     Mike and Tuck looked at each other, then Tuck typed, "Do you have
the recordings of the messages query."
     "Uh, yeah, I brought it," she admitted as she dug into her
backpack.  "I know I did..."
     Tuck's computer said, "Assign others to call the people back stop."
     "Do what?" Sabrina asked.  "Like who?" she demanded, because she
had a feeling-
     Tuck typed and his computer spoke, "Anyone we can get."
     "Third party," Mike ground out.
    Tuck nodded, then typed some more, and the computer voice explained,
"Get others to call them back stop.  Treat each phone call as serious
unless it is clearly a prank stop.  This removes the fun from bothering
Kelly and makes people think backword backword-"
     "What?"  Sabrina had almost gotten used to hearing the computer
speak for Tuck, but this confused her.
     "Erase last word, each time," Mike explained, and Tuck nodded
absently.
     "This removes the fun from bothering Kelly," Tuck restated, "and
makes prankers bored or scared stop.  As if it is official with an
organization working not just one person stop."
     "Yeah, I can see that...  But, Tuck, I don't want to call these
people back either.  I mean, what if they think I'm one?"  A late guilty
impulse made her turn to Kelly and say, "I mean, I'm not; I wouldn't
want to give them a false impression, you know?"  Kelly nodded; she
looked unhappy, but she'd looked unhappy most of the time they'd been in
Tuck's room.  Sabrina wasn't sure why - it might be the lesbian thing
all by itself, but she'd been pretty confident at lunch.  *Maybe she's
somehow embarrassed to be saying this stuff in front of Tuck?  Or Mike?
Maybe she feels guilty about not telling one of them?*  "Anyway,"
Sabrina continued, "_I_ don't want to call them back, and if Kelly
doesn't, then..."
     "Got it!" Kelly said, finally holding up a normal cassette tape.
     "Ah," Mike said as he nodded.  "We can read that format."  Then
Mike and Tuck were flicking fingers at each other and ignoring her and
Kelly.
     After a couple of minutes, it appeared that they weren't going to
stop anytime soon either.  Sabrina, looking around the room, spotted the
card she'd dropped off; it hadn't even been opened.
     "Tuck!" she burst out.
     They stopped and looked at her.
     "Look at this!" she continued as she stopped leaning on the door
and walked over to Tuck's desk.  "We wrote these for YOU, Tuck!  And,"
she remembered, "I have a couple for Mike, too.  The least you could do
is READ them!"
     "Been sick and sleeping," his computer said.
     "Well, you can read 'em now," she suggested, picking the pile up
and putting it onto his keyboard.  They all slid off and scattered on
the floor around the chair tucked under his desk, which he wasn't using
and no one else could use because he was hanging over it in that net
thing, and it was one of those weird 'orthopedic' kneelers anyway.  She
sighed and bent to the floor and began picking them all up.
     "Jody Martin?"  She looked up at Tuck.  "Why did JODY MARTIN of all
people write you a letter?"
     Tuck looked puzzled.
     "Who?" Mike gargled, before coughing his throat clear.
     Sabrina flinched at the harsh sound.  "Jody Martin.  One of the
varsity cheerleaders?"
     Mike and Tuck looked at each other for a moment before Tuck started
pounding away at the keyboard as Mike hauled himself off the bed.  "Put
the letter back down and do not touch it," Tuck's computer said; it
sounded like he'd added some extra bass to the voice for some reason.
     "Criminal evidence," Mike croaked as he opened the door and went
out.
     "What?"
     "Like fingerprints?" Kelly asked, and Tuck nodded.  "So, what's
Mike gonna do?"
     "Gloves, things."
     Mike came back in, carrying a large nylon bag by its handles, and
he dropped it on the floor next to Tuck.  Within seconds, he had put on
latex gloves and pulled out a little pair of pliers or something.  Then
he dropped to his knees near her, bumping into Tuck's net with his head,
and was holding the envelope up and looking at it.
     "Well open it!"
     They both looked at her like she was stupid.

***

     "Is, uh, is Tuck home?" Rachel asked.  "I haven't seen him for like
a week or more, and he hasn't returned my messages or anything... I was
just wondering if he was okay."
     Tuck's father looked at her for a moment, then said, "Would you
mind waiting out here for a minute?  I need to finish something right
now."  With that he shut the door.

***

     "Damn..."  Sarah was astonished.  She could breathe, and walk
around, and even gingerly sit down and stand up without spasming or
screaming in pain, if she was careful.
     "So it works?" Deborah asked.
     "It works," Sarah agreed.  "I need to go outside for a bit."  She
thought she still had the half-pack of cigarettes in the car, and she
wanted one so bad she could actually think about walking out there
herself, if she had to.

***

     Kelly startled when something like a phone made a shrill noise, but
Mike just leaned over and picked it up.  "Who?" Mike asked.  Then he
said, "Yeah, I guess..."  He signed something at Tuck, who signed
something back - maybe the same thing, for part of it - and then nodded.
"Yeah sure.  Kelly...  'Nother friend of Tuck's," he partially
explained.  "Rachel, I think you've met her..."
     Kelly nodded absently as she asked, "Like she's here?  And... she
wants to talk to me?"  *Why would she want to talk to me?*
     He shook his head.  "She wants to talk to Tuck-"
     "Oh shit," muttered Sabrina accidentally, getting everybody's
attention.  Kelly noticed that she was wearing gloves and holding the
letter from Jody in her hands.  "I need to use your phone," she said.
     "Why?" Mike asked as Tuck typed the same thing into the computer
he'd been using as a speech synthesizer.
     Sabrina's mouth opened like she was going to say something, then
she got stuck, shook her head, and said, "I NEED to use your phone for a
minute."
     Tuck flashed his hands at Mike.  "Let me see that," Mike said as he
stood up and reached for Sabrina, or the letter she was holding.
     "Let me use the phone," she insisted as she backed up.
     Tuck huffed, sounding like he was breathing through Jello, and
pulled a headset from a hook and tossed it gently to the floor in front
of her.  He made motions with his hands indicating she should put it on,
and then pointed at a small box that hung from the ceiling via a coiled
cord.
     "Headset on your head, dialer on the box," Mike explained.  "Give
me the letter."  Sabrina stood up and handed it off to him absently with
one hand as she pulled the headset up with the other.  When both hands
were free, she grumbled something, but put the headset on and adjusted
the microphone, then pulled the box down to where she could look at it.
     There was a soft knocking at the bedroom door.  Mike shoved the
letter into a ziplock and got up to answer it.  *Must be that Rachel.*
Kelly wondered where she was going to sit.

***

     "Oh, shit," Debbie sighed as her cellphone rang.  She thought about
not answering it, but finally decided she had to know who it was,
because it might be important, and she had a lot of important things
going on.  "Hello?"
     "Debbie, it's Sabrina.  I just..."

***

     Rachel was stunned.  "Oh...  That's horrible," she finally said.
She didn't know what else to say.  Or what to think, or...
     Tuck looked, strangely, less feminine than he usually did; or maybe
it was less human, or less alive.  He was thinner in his face than she
remembered; she couldn't see much of the rest of his body because he was
wrapped up in blankets.  But he also looked beaten - he had bruises on
his face and arms - and half dead, or horribly ill.  Which they'd said
he was, ill at least.
     What was strangest of all was his face: it was usually exhausted,
like she would expect in someone who was seriously ill; but when someone
said something that woke him up, his eyes would open and sharpen at the
same time and he would lurch to get his hands on his computer, or he'd
begin making hand signs to Mike.  He wasn't talking either, which added
a surreal, film-like quality to things, like it was a video with the
sound turned off.  She could usually hear his breathing, though, and he
sounded desperately sick.  She'd wondered why he wasn't still in the
hospital, but Mike had explained that Tuck didn't like hospitals, that
they were nasty places - she didn't really know, she'd never been in one
as a patient - and that he had enough equipment and supplies here at
home for good care.  She'd noticed the oxygen mask over his face, of
course; when Mike had pointed at one of the many computer screens in the
room, it had taken a while to realize that it wasn't a computer like she
expected, but the sort of monitoring instruments she'd seen in movie and
television hospitals.
     And the story they were telling...  It was mostly Kelly, though
Sabrina had done some of it, because Tuck wasn't talking at all, and
Mike was hoarse and in pain any time he said anything.  If Tuck wanted
to say something, he'd turn and there would be a flurry of typing, and
then his computer would say it, in slow and hard-to-understand speech
that occasionally said the wrong word, or the right word pronounced
wrong.
     "Is there anything I can do?" Rachel finally asked.  "To help?"
     All four of them looked at each other, and then Mike and Tuck
started signing to each other.
     Kelly asked her directly, "Uh, did you get dressed up like that to
come over here?"
     "What?"  Rachel looked down.  "Oh!"

***

     Sarah sighed as she turned her car's ignition off.
     *Now I have to get up, out of the car seat.*
     She didn't move.
     *C'mon, Sarah... a shower and a bed would be SO nice...*

***

     "I think we'd better do something with her tomorrow," Sabrina told
Kim.  She'd left a message for Kim, and luckily Kim had listened to it
and stayed awake until Sabrina could get home.
     "Oh man," Kim groaned.
     "I know, I was hoping to sleep in, too.  But she HAS to talk to her
parents, tomorr- and it has to be tomorrow, too.  She keeps getting all
these phone calls, and-"
     "Phone calls?  What, like prank calls?"
     "No- well, I don't think so," Sabrina admitted.  They might be, she
supposed.  "I guess some of them could be someone else, pretending to
be someone else, uh-"
     "Someone calling and saying a name- a false name, and then saying
they were gay?  To make other people think they were gay?"
     "Yeah," Sabrina agreed, grateful Kim had gotten what she was trying
to say.
     "Not that I've ever done that," Kim mentioned.  "You?"
     "Oh, can't say that-  Damnit!"  She'd just caught it.

***

     "So, how di-  What the hell is that?"
     "It's a corset, Bill," she said with that slightly acerbic tone
that indicated he was asking a stupid question.  She kept the smile off
her face as she continued undressing.  *I really don't think I should
try to shower... which really bites, because I REALLY want one.*
     After at least ten seconds, during which she'd carefully kicked her
old underwear into the hamper, gingerly stepped into and pulled on fresh
and clean and dry panties, and had decided on a tank top as easier to
get into, Bill finally asked, sounding calm like he usually did, "Why
are you wearing a corset, and where did you get it?"  She couldn't help
snickering.

***

     Lisa sighed quietly as she slid into the covers on the other side
of her bed.  The bruises were going to hurt - they already did, a
little, but they would be worse tomorrow - and Debbie hadn't hit her
hard enough any place it would show, so it was good.  She knew she had
marks on her ass; she'd felt the welts with her fingertips when she was
showering.  Lisa smiled as she curled herself around Debbie's body.
     Debbie had fallen asleep before Lisa finished cleaning everything
up, but that was because Debbie had done most of the work earlier.  *I
needed it too,* she admitted to herself, and stretched just a little to
see if her body still ached.  It did, pleasantly so, and she smiled as
she put her face in Debbie's hair and breathed in her scent.  *I love
her so much.*

***

     "Urrrrrrr," Mike groaned as he leaned against Tuck's body, which
was limply hanging from the sink.  The idea of just dropping to the
bathroom floor and sleeping there seemed like an unreasonably good one.
"You gotta get better before this kills me," he mentioned.

***

     Sarah sighed, and started to roll over before a twinge reminded her
to do so carefully, and tried to go back to sleep.  It was hard, but
both the boys would be unreasonably resentful if she got up to see how
they were doing.  They both hated waking her up for 'nothing'... and she
did trust Mike to wake them if there was a real problem.  *Please let
him get better soon... both of them.*

***

     The twist and shake of the bed underneath her brought Lisa awake,
terrified, before the bed stopped moving.  "Debbie?!"
     Debbie's gasping told her something was wrong.  "Nah, nightmare,"
she panted.  After a while she added, "S'okay.  Just... a nightmare."
     Lisa sat up the rest of the way, and started rubbing her hands
along Debbie's back, not hard, just to let her feel some love.

***

     "So, anyway, I think it would help," Sabrina said.
     "Really?  I mean," Pam said apologetically, "it sounds kind of
iffy, you know?"
     "Yeah... we need to see who we can, I mean, who's okay with it.  I
think I am... I was with her last night, when she was over at Tuck's,
and we talked about it-  I mean, we all talked about it, a little."
     "Tuck can talk again?"
     "No, he was using his computer.  Did you see that?  Him do that I
mean?"

***

     "Are you going to be okay today?" Lisa asked again.
     "Yeah, I think so... you'll be home most of the time, right?"  Lisa
nodded.  Debbie looked around, then leaned close for a quick hug and a
kiss.
     "If not, I'll have my cellphone," she said through her smile when
Debbie pulled back.  "And CALL if you need me, okay?  Promise!" she
demanded.  She was a bit on edge this morning; she hurt more than she'd
thought she would, but mostly she didn't want Debbie to work herself
back into a bad state like she had.

***

     "How's your back?" Bill asked Sarah.
     "Better... I'm still not happy about it."  It ached distantly, and
was still spasming in fiery lances when she moved wrong, but the corset
Debbie had loaned her was helping a lot.  She'd slept in it, and been
able to sleep.
     "Want to make an appointment and have your back looked at?" he
suggested.
     "Sure..."  Actually she didn't WANT to, but it was a smart move;
they'd learned with Bill's knee, that the faster you had a joint or
connective tissue problem looked at, the better you'd end up afterwards,
and sooner too.
     "Want some help getting out of bed?"
     "Definitely."  She had to pee, badly; her bladder ached, and no
matter what she did, it was going to hurt somehow.

***

     "Can I speak to Jody, please?" Debbie asked politely, smiling.

***

     "So, I mean, could you come?  It could help, if you're cool with
it," Pam pleaded into Bridgette's answering machine.  She knew Bridgette
was doing band at whatever football game was on tonight, and she wasn't
at all sure that Bridgette would even agree; she'd seemed like one of
the more freaked out littles after Kelly had done her thing at lunch.

***

     "Can I speak to..."  Rachel looked at the paper where she'd written
the first name; she'd already forgotten it.  "Allison Hunter, please?
I'm calling about the McAllen Glee Club."  That had been an inspired
name, she thought, and she'd helped to think of it.

***

     "Urrrgh..."  Dan looked at the clock, and then had to wipe his eyes
several times before he could make out the numbers clearly.  *I have to
go... but I don't have to get up.  I can go back to sleep.*  That
sounded good to him; he'd get up to go to the bathroom in a minute.

***

     "Yeah, this is Lisa Simmons, an-  Oh, pretty good...  Listen, I
heard that something awful happened at one of the high schools; their
band hall got seriously vandalized and-  Oh you did?  McAllen?"  Harriet
started explaining it all, and Lisa practiced 'nod and smile' over the
phone until Harriet momentarily overwhelmed herself with the tragedy of
it all, without correcting even the grossest distortions of what had
really happened.  "Yeah well, what I was thinking was, it would look
really good for OUR band if we did something to help them.  You know,
like a fundraiser or something?  If all their instruments and stuff were
damaged or destroyed or whatever in the fire, then-"  Harriet went off a
second time, but after a few seconds Lisa thought this one would go
better than the last one.  Hopefully it would be shorter.

***

     Kathy sighed, and looked around at the other girls, who weren't
looking especially perky this morning, except Jill; she was nauseatingly
a morning person.  "Why am I standing around in a parking lot at this
ungodly hour?"
     "Immoral support," Julia snickered, and Pam giggled.
     "Mike thought it would be a good idea," Jill said, "Sabrina said,
if some of us were here in case her dad or whatever went bonkers.  She's
telling him and his girlfriend this morning, 'cause of all the calls she
started getting yesterday.  She figured she'd better tell 'em now,
instead of letting one of them talk to someone on the phone."
     "So why are WE here?"
     "'Cause Vv-Tuck's sick and can't be here to help," Jill said.  "And
Mike's sick too.  So it's us."  There were five of them; apparently the
ones that hadn't hung up on Sabrina last night.  Kathy was wondering
whether she should've; she could've been sleeping instead.
     Jill looked over at Kathy.  "You didn't bring your camera, did
you?"
     "Who cares?" Kathy retorted.  *Of course I did.*  She had two, of
course; the small one and the good one, though she was only carrying the
small one at the moment.  "Just don't do anything that'd make a good
photo and you'll be fine.  It's not like you're doing something REALLY
disgusting like wearing makeup or a dress or-"  She slapped Jill's punch
away; Jill thought better of trying again and just stuck her tongue out
instead.
     "Why did you bring a camera?" Anne-Marie asked.
     Kathy looked at her, trying to determine if the younger girl was
trying to make fun of her or not.  *Not,* she finally decided, and
answered, "Because I always bring a camera.  Because it's impossible to
take good pictures without one."
     "Because she'd rather take pictures than do most things," Julia
said loftily.
     "Fuck off and die, Julia," Kathy suggested casually.
     "Hey, she's coming," someone said, and Kathy twisted and looked
over her shoulder, and it was Kelly, looking kind of energetically
awake.  And, Kathy decided after staring at her, worried.

***

     Kelly sighed, and tried to look up.  Her dad had come in after she
had last night, and Audrey had told him something about what had
happened.  And she HAD promised to talk about it... and there were all
the girls outside, and she couldn't help thinking that they'd make her
do it if she balked.
     "So what's the big deal?" Dad asked her.
     *Go for it, Kathy said...*  "Dad... this is really hard..."

***

     "Joan Rieke?"  *Wonder where that last name came from,* Rachel
thought.  "Hi, I'm calling about a phone call you made yesterd-
     "Huh, she hung up."  Rachel chewed on her lip.  *Did I do something
wrong?*  She put a question mark by the name, circled it, and started
the tape player to get the next one.

***

     "Are you hot?" Mike accused, and Tucker thought about it for a
while before deciding that he could lose a layer of covers.  "Hey!" Mike
exclaimed.  "Fever broke, betcha!"  Tuck hoped it was true, but wasn't
sure yet.  "And, man, I think I need a shower."  He sniffed at himself
and winced, and then glared at Tuck menacingly.  *Oh no...*

***

     "What do you mean, 'How do I know?'" Kelly complained.  "I just
know!  How do YOU know?"

***

     John Block stared at himself in the mirror, and didn't like what he
saw.  *I even LOOK sick,* he eventually decided.  *Shit.  No WAY I can
play today unless I can get something to make me feel better...*  He'd
slept several hours more than usual, but it didn't seem to have helped
any.  *Shit.  At least it's not the Homecoming game...*

***

     "Hi, this is Sarah Tucker; one of my children goes to McAllen this
year, and I've been hearing-"  She stopped talking, because the other
woman was emphatic, and started taking notes like Deborah had suggested.
"Uh huh...  Yeah, I-"

***

     "Dad?  What are you doing?"
     Bill looked up and answered, "I'm working on something to shield
your brother's broken ribs.  Wanna help, actually?"
     "Uh, like how?" Brian asked suspiciously.
     "Brian!  Would I ever do anything to cause you pain and suffering?"
     "Only if you thought it would be a good idea," Brian answered,
still looking suspicious, and starting to edge back.
     "No, this shouldn't hurt."
     "Uh huh."

***

     *Burns?*  Tucker looked closer, and the pattern was unmistakeable.

***

     "Oh, man," Kelly sighed, but it was hard to stay tense and upset
when Kathy was massaging the hell out of her shoulders.  Not, she
noticed, impossible, but she felt better.
     "So, you done?" Jill asked.
     Kelly wanted to shake her head, but was afraid that if she moved,
Kathy would grab something wrong by accident and REALLY hurt her.  "No,
but I suggested everyone take a break, like Anne-Marie said..."
     "It works sometimes," Anne-Marie re-explained from somewhere off to
the side.  Kathy had positioned Kelly facing and against someone's car,
and she couldn't see anyone from this position except Jill, who was
sitting on the hood on the other side.  "When you're talking about
emotional stuff, I mean, it helps to take a break in the middle
sometimes."
     "I am DEFINITELY going to try this the next time I have one of
these 'family talks'," Julia stated.
     "Works if you have SANE parents," Jill snarled as she slipped off
the car, kicked one of the tires and stomped off, muttering to herself.
     "There's some psychology there, betcha," Julia said to no one in
particular.  "Hey, any more diet soda in there?"  Anne-Marie rummaged
through the cooler she'd brought and Kathy had taken money to fill with
drinks and snacks.
     "How's it going, you think?" Kathy asked Kelly.
     "Dunno... they haven't thrown me out yet," Kelly half joked.
     "That's good," Kathy agreed like she'd been serious.
     "You think they might?!"
     "Well, they haven't yet," Kathy said calmly.  "So I kind of doubt
it."  She wrenched some more at places that had tensed up again, which
hurt.
     "Tuck said to call him or Mike if that happened, remember?" Sabrina
mentioned.  Apparently Sabrina had taken Pam's place while Kelly had
been inside.
     "He did?"
     "They both did, last night."
     Remembering that made her feel better.  "Okay, I think..."  She
swallowed.  "I think it's going okay."
     "Ten minutes!" Jill announced.
     Kathy stopped massaging and put her hands around Kelly's hips and
pulled her upright.  "Got it?" she asked, but she didn't let go until
Kelly made the effort to stand upright.

***

     "This is a LOT of people," Rachel said to herself.  Dave looked up
and nodded at her anyway.  He'd forced himself into helping, after his
morning cartoons were over and he'd wandered up and wondered what she
was doing.  Now he was listening to the tape and writing down the names
and phone numbers for her.  And laughing occasionally, but not while she
was talking; he was pretty scornful about some of the calls, especially
the prank calls.
     Finally someone answered.  "Hi, this is Rachel; I'm calling for
Peter?  It's for the McAllen Glee Club."

***

     "Sarah's on the phone, doing something," Bill explained to Elaine
Johansson as he went out with her to get her cooler.  "And she's got
showings today too.  I'm working on a couple of urgent projects... I
think the boys are taking it easy, though."
     "I hope so...  Have you checked on them?"
     "What, you think they could possibly get up to some kind of
mischief in Tuck's room?"  He waited for Elaine to either laugh or glare
at him.

***

     "What?  NO, I'm not," Kathy said carefully.  "We just came today to
help her talk to you about, about-"
     "Okay," Audrey agreed, saving Kathy from coming up with a polite
noncommital way to say 'being homosexual'.  "I just," she started as she
looked over her shoulder, towards Kelly's room Kathy guessed.
     When she didn't finish, Kathy said gently, "Well, it was a surprise
to everyone at school, too; but after she announced it, we-"
     "Why would she do that?  I don't get that," she complained.
     "I guess she got tired of being accused of it anyway," Kathy said.
"It didn't seem to matter before, at least, whether she was or not, it
was just a way to hurt her.  You know how junior high girls are, right?"
she asked and got Audrey to nod along in agreement.  "Most of the
problems she was having was with freshmen girls, just out of junior
high.  They were calling her a lesbian since school started, apparently.
Just to be abusive."
     "I just don't..."  She turned back.  "Could, I mean, I know this
sounds stupid, but, I, could, could I-"
     "Could it have been something you did?" Kathy guessed, and Audrey
nodded sick-faced agreement.  "No.  She said she was interested in girls
from, uh, from before you started dating her father, I think she said.
Long time.  Years."
     "Do you think it was their divorce?" Audrey asked in a whisper.
     "I really doubt it," Kathy asserted.  "Some girls just are.  She
doesn't seem abused or anything, so-"
     "Abused?"
     "Some girls, I think, turn- I mean, for some that have been abused,
they turn away from men later instead of turning TO, you know what I
mean?  Like the men get crossed off the list because they- because of
bad experiences, so the only thing left is women."  So she'd read,
anyway, and it made some sense; she suspected that was what was going on
with Debbie and Lisa.  BUT," Kathy emphasized, "I REALLY don't think
Kelly's like that.  She doesn't show any signs of abuse.  And like I
said, some just turn out that way, for no apparent reason." Kathy
shrugged.  "_I_ don't think she knows what she's missing," she said
pseudo-confidentially, "but-" and stopped when Audrey laughed, like
Kathy wanted her to.

***

     "Nine already, and then-  Where did-  Bill, you didn't call her
AGAIN, did you?" Sarah asked; she'd belatedly recognized the Tupperware.
     "What did you say would happen if I tried cooking in YOUR kitchen
again?" Bill reminded her.  "And I didn't want fast food."
     "Bill!  YOU-"
     "And she feels guilty about Mike being here, as always, and this
lets her work it off.  Remember?"  She had explained it to him years
ago.
     "But-"
     "Lemme show you the body armor," he interrupted, obviously trying
to change the subject.  "Brian's been helping me with it all morning.
You stay here and eat," he said as he turned, "we'll show you."
     He helped her sit and then scampered away down the basement stairs.
She had to be tired if she was letting Bill manipulate her with this
little effort.  She sighed, picking up a plate-sized box that still
seemed to be full.  *It's just the phone calls,* she told herself;
they'd been stressful.  *And my damned back.*

***

     "No," Kathy grinned, "she already asked me that yesterday."
     "She did?" Kelly's father asked.
     Kathy chuckled.  "Yeah, she did this big speech into someone's
face, someone that had been teasing her, and I said, 'Oooh, that was
subtle, what do you do for an encore?' and she said, 'Ask you out'!"
She laughed a little at the memory; it was still funny, though not as
paralytically so as yesterday when it had happened.

***

     "Hi, this is Rachel, with the McAllen Glee club.  Can I speak to
Michael Baltazar please?"  *I really hope I don't have to do ALL of
these...*  She glanced at Dave, who was doing more than his share, but it
was still a lot of calls.  *And this was only what she had last night,
too.  Wow...*

***

     "So, do you want to do something today?" Kathy asked Kelly.
     She wasn't sure; her dad and Audrey had been pretty freaked out,
but they hadn't thrown her out or anything.  She wasn't sure what would
be the best thing to do; leave them alone to think about it without
bothering them by being there, or stay with them.
     "We oughta go check on Rachel," Sabrina said.  "She's doing the
callbacks for all the messages Kelly got last night," she explained to
the other girls.  "We thought it'd be a good-"
     Jill interrupted, "We?"
     "Me, Kelly, Mike, Valerie, and-  Oh damn," she sighed.
     "Forgot again, din't ya?" Jill smirked.
     "Fuck off Jill," Sabrina snapped.  "At least I didn't do it there!"
     "Do what where?" Anne-Marie asked, obviously confused.  "And who's
Valerie?"
     "Ex-girlfriend of Tuck's," Kathy lied instantly, before Kelly was
even sure there was a problem.  "They don't like each other, and we're
really not supposed to mention that she's helping Mike.  At all, ever,
to anyone.  Even in the same sentence."
     "Oh?" Anne-Marie asked.
     Sabrina shook her head.  "Too long a story.  Ask Mike, if you want
to know.  Anyway," she turned to the others, "Rachel's doing the
callbacks, and hopefully filtering out the prank callers.  We thought if
someone outside of school made the callbacks, that the serious ones
would talk to her and the prank callers wouldn't, and since she doesn't
even go to McAllen she wouldn't have any problems in school."

***

     "First fitting, Eugene," Bill said as he opened the door.  His son
was already awake and doing something with a computer.  "Whatcha-"  He
blanked the screen before Bill could get a good look.  "Lame," Bill said
anyway, and got a finger in reply.  He was definitely feeling better,
which made Bill feel better.  *Especially if he's doing something on a
computer he doesn't want me to see.*  "Come on, out of the cargo net and
try this on, see if it works right."  Eugene slowly started disengaging
from the blankets he was swaddled in.

***

     "Got 'em?" Sarah asked, and Dan nodded.  "Are you feeling any
better?"
     "Yeah, some," he agreed vaguely, "but I think I'm gonna go back to
bed early anyway."
     "That sounds like a good idea," Sarah agreed, and patted him on the
shoulder.  "Thanks for the work."
     He nodded without saying anything, so rather than keep him awake
any longer, Sarah turned and went back to her Accord.  The envelope was
heavy with paper, but she wasn't going to open it; he'd clipped the
example sheet to the outside of the plastic bag so she could see what
it looked like.

***

     Tucker outlined with a finger what he had in mind over his belly,
then pantomimed unfolding the laptop and how it should work.  If Dad was
going to be sewing today, Tucker had figured, he might as well do
something else useful; after unexpectedly getting the laptop back, he
was NOT going to risk leaving or dropping it ever again.  So, like the
deuce gear for hiking, he was going to strap it to his body, in this
case in the front where he could reach it too.
     "Ah yeah, okay," Dad agreed, nodding.  "But what about the power
cord and so on?"
     *At least he's not making me write out a spec,* Tucker thought
gratefully.  He traced an outline over the laptop on his desk to show
that the case should be significantly larger than the actual laptop,
which should give enough clearance for the cords, he thought.
     "I'm not sure I've got that much Cordura," Dad said.  "It'd take a
week to get more; none of the stores around here carry it."
     Tuck tried not to sigh; it would hurt.

***

     "So you're gonna be okay?" Debbie asked.

***

     "Some girl named Rachel, said she was done with the first tape and
she's ready for another one?" Brian complained.  "I still get paid for
taking these phone calls, dork," he reminded Mike and Tuck.

***

     "Actually," Sarah lied, "it helps my back.  I've had disk problems
for years, like JFK, and so I thought if it worked for him it'd work for
me.  So far it's helped a lot..."  That part was entirely true; she
might have to buy a corset for herself.
     "Oh, backs are terrible," the sales droid agreed vaguely.  "So how
does this one look?"
     Sarah looked again in the mirror; the reflection was still a bit
startling.

***

     "How many?!"
     "Four starters," Coach Grigsby moaned.  "Five second-stringers."
     "Man, it's like an epidemic!"

***

     "Tuck said for me to tell you that he's got the list of numbers
from Rachel," Brian read off the computer.  He'd gathered that she was
supposed to email them; he wondered if she knew how.  Despite being in
college, she hadn't ever struck him as the brightest bulb in the string.
"And you can come pick them up any time; and she's ready for another
tape."  Brian had no idea where Tuck was going to get the money to pay
him; he obviously wasn't capable of doing chores, and he hadn't been
working either, the last week and a half.  *Still,* he'd thought, *that
asshole is working enough to get hundreds of dollars a week...  I hope
he saved some of it, heh heh heh...*

***

     "Glee Club?" Victoria asked.
     "Me an' my friends were sittin' around last night," Kelly
explained, "an' someone said 'Gay Lesbian and Everything Else' which
sort of comes out G-L-E-E," she spelled.
     "Oh," said Victoria.
     "I think it's kind of cool," Kelly defended.  "I mean, it's
different, you know?  And it doesn't scream like Les-Bi-Gay or Gay and
Lesbian Student Group or something, you know?"
     "Oh, yeah," Victoria agreed, sounding vaguely nervous.
     Kelly thought Victoria might hang up soon anyway, so she said,
"Well, anyway, if you want to talk or anything, you've got my number,
right?"
     "Yeah," she agreed, as if she didn't want to but was forced to
admit it.

***

     *I can't believe I'm doing this,* Sarah thought as she pulled open
the front door.  The thought was vaguely familiar; *Then again, this
whole week has been kind of insane.*
     The place was fairly noisy, and looked sort of like a auto
mechanic's shop; there was the same small space with a few crappy
chairs, and the large desk taking up half the room, and the door leading
to the interesting and loud part of the show behind the counter.  *Not
your average Kinko's,* Sarah noticed.  The place was industrial.
     After a minute of standing around in the deserted room, some guy
with greasy brownish hair captured under a Reds baseball cap came from
the back; the noise grew considerably while the door was open.  "Can I
help you?" he said loudly over the noise.
     "Uh, yeah, I'm here from McAllen High School?" Sarah said.  "The
newspaper?"  The guy nodded.  "Well, we just heard- I mean, _I_ just
heard about an insert we're supposed to have in the next paper, the one
for this Monday, so I brought the insert along?"
     "And you want these in the paper?" the guy asked, obviously not too
pleased with her.
     "Yeah, like a coupon sheet in the regular newspaper," Sarah agreed,
and popped her gum.  It was a lot easier to act dumb than it was to act
smart, and hopefully less memorable.  Certainly if she did it right it
ought to be totally atypical and so not likely to appear to be her.  But
the wig itched.
     She noticed where he was looking, though, and realized that the wig
and everything else had almost been a waste of time, because he wasn't
looking at her face.  *That-  Wait, girl!*  Instead of ripping him a new
one, or ripping his manager a new one, she smiled and sighed, which
would make her breasts just that bit more obvious, and said, "Yeah, I
know it's like a big hassle, but this came in at the last minute and we
really need to have it..."

***

     "Yeah, like a fundraiser or something," Lisa said.  "I mean, I know
you compete with them at events and stuff, but this isn't like that, you
know?  It's, it's like a race car getting vandalized; the other racers
might help out or someth-  Yeah," she nodded, happy that the race car
analogy had worked.  "And it would make US look good, I mean Red Bluff,
like we were good sports about it, you know?  That always looks good in
the paper."  The last sentence was the crucial one, and judging by the
pause and then the sound of dawning agreement, it had done its job.
Lisa smiled bigger as Brett spoke.

***

     *Well, that was not a fun way to spend money,* Sarah thought as she
left.  At least she shouldn't have left fingerprints on any of it.
     *Now I get to find someplace and take all this shit OFF.*  In
addition to the shortish blonde wig - which, she was surprised, actually
looked good on her, in the mirror - she was wearing about three times
her normal makeup, and clothes she didn't like either.  Still, all
together it looked credible.
     *Too bad I can't get a picture...  Hmmm.*

***

     "I was thinking about fast food tonight," Bill said.  He was also
wondering where Sarah was, but she'd said she'd be out late; which is
why he was thinking of fast food.  "Brian said pizza."
     <C-H-I-N-E-S-E,> Eugene spelled out.
     "It's superior food," Mike added.  He was sounding better, and also
wasn't wincing like he'd been knifed every time he spoke.  He'd also
showered and changed into more normal clothes, from the sleeping gear
he'd been wearing steadily.  Bill hoped he wouldn't have to wash it.
     <Easy to eat,> Eugene signed.
     *And if I get some of the meat dishes, he's more likely to eat
those, and he needs the protein.*  "Makes sense...  Chinese.  Got the
menu?"
     <Am I cooking tomorrow?> Eugene asked.
     "Uh... no," Bill decided.  "You're still sick."  He was running a
hemoglobin saturation of about 96%, but he was still using the face
mask, though that could be caution more than anything else.  Eugene got
vaguely paranoid when he'd been in the hospital; apparently he'd decided
years ago on a policy of 'better safe than sorry'.  And he wasn't moving
right yet.  He'd probably be walking around tomorrow, but Bill didn't
want him around a stove.

***

     "Dad?" Kelly asked.
     "Yeah?"
     He sounded so tired and confused, she almost couldn't say it.  "D-
do, do you still, still l-l-"
     He didn't say anything right away but he nodded.  Kelly's eyes
closed as they started to water in emotional relief, but she heard him
finally say, "Yeah, Jelly-Belly, I still love you."
     She felt like a baby, crying into his shirt like she'd done when
she was little, but it felt good at the same time.

***

     "Well, do you think I could go see him?" Kim asked.
     "Hell, I don't know," Sabrina sighed.  "He still looks sick, he
still SOUNDS sick, he's still over at Tuck's house, and he's still not
talking too well.  So-"
     "What were you doing over there?"
     "Kelly wanted to talk last night, remember?  About all the phone
calls and stuff, and she said she'd meet me there.  I dunno why,"
Sabrina realized, "she doesn't live anywhere near there."
     "She just does that," Kim shrugged.  "I think she's used to being
on her own in strange cities, and she just goes places.  Plus I think
her dad gives her too much money."
     "You're just jealous," Sabrina grinned.
     "Hell, wouldn't you be?"
     "I am!  I am!"

***

     "She was really bad," Debbie explained.  "I don't-"  Her cellphone
rang.  "Oh man," she sighed.  Lisa pleaded with her face for Debbie not
to answer it.  "What if it's her?  Hello?"
     "Debbie?  It's Pam.  What're you doing tonight?  Anything?"
     "Uh, yeah, Pam, I'm already busy.  And sort of in the middle of
something.  Can I call-"
     "Whenever," Pam interrupted.  "Just wanted to see what was up.
Call me when you're free, okay?"
     "Okay, bye.  Pam, just calling," she explained to Lisa as she
turned the phone off and stuck it in her purse.
     "Debbie, relax for a while, okay?" Lisa begged.  "You've done
enough, everything's going okay right now... just rest, okay?"  Her hand
reached out and touched Debbie's.

***

     "Hey, uh," said some guy from the opposing band that Michelle
didn't know.  "What happened to you guys?  Did you replace all your
drums?"
     She blew her breath out, wishing it was colder so she could see it.
"Some people came in night before last and trashed everything they could
in the band hall."
     "Shit, man!" the guy exclaimed in shock.
     "Drums, instruments, sheet music, flags... even the desks."  She
shook her head.  "We've been working all day on it, last night..."  They
hadn't done enough, though they'd done more than Michelle had even
dreamed they could do.
     "Yeah, well, uh, our band director, Mister Beadle, he said for your
band director to give him a call tonight or tomorrow, okay?  It wasn't
us," he said.  Michelle glared at him anyway, but she couldn't tell if
he was really good at lying or really pissed.  He held out a slip of
paper.  "Here's his numbers and stuff.  So, if you could give this to-"
     "Yeah, okay... thanks," she said, and tried to smile at him.  His
face moved a little, not quite into a sympathetic expression, and he
shrugged and turned around and walked off.
     "Well, the football team looks like shit tonight too, and there's
at least one of the cheerleaders missing," John Markley remarked.
     "Like I give a SHIT about football!" Michelle erupted, instantly
angry enough to surprise herself.  "I hope somebody KILLS those
assholes!"

***

     "Mmmmmph," Mike said through his food.  In lieu of a verbal
correction apparently, Tuck kicked him.  "Bff!" Mike complained, but had
to restrain himself from retaliating.  He swallowed, which hurt, and
said, "Don't do that, you asswipe."
     Tucker glared back at him.
     "Eat your food," Mike pointed with his chopsticks.

***

     "Hi honey, I'm home!" Sarah called as she came in the back door.
She stopped as she smelled something, and took a deep whiff.  "Bill?"
     "Chinese take-out," he explained as he pushed open the dining room
door.  "How's your back?"
     "I'd rather not think about it," she said.  Getting in and out of
the car was still an ordeal, and she could really use a shower to rinse
the residue of the agony off.
     "Want me to help you take a shower?" he leered.
     "Ohhhhhh..."  It was entirely too tempting.  "Stop that."

***

     "Jimmy..."  He tried not to wince.  "We're worried about you-  I
mean, you in that school."  Dad shook his head.  "I never thought..."
     "Dad, it's better now, really," James said, hating the way his
voice cracked.  "I've got Mike and the rest of them watching out for me,
and-"
     "What if you didn't have to go?" Dad asked.
     "What?"
     "We-  There's a way we can arrange it so you don't have to go any
more."
     "Uh.  Um, I..."  He'd never even thought it was possible.  "Is it
legal?"
     "Is it legal," Dad chuckled.  "Yes.  Completely."
     "Uh... well, like what?"

***

     Lisa giggled, and Debbie knew what it was about.  "Lisa, just put
the stuff on, okay?"
     "Oh-okay," she stuttered, then put the bowl down and laughed
instead.
     "Damnit!" Debbie complained as she started to grin uncontrollably.
"STOP it!"

***

     "Well, somebody came out at school on Friday," Julia explained to
the assorted thespians who hung around Saturday nights.  "I mean, BIG
time."  The crowd made appreciative and apprehensive noises, with a few
questions.  "She-  Someone had been teasing her, about being a lesbian,
and she just got up and told them off, told 'em she was and that it
wasn't a bad thing and that people like her- the girls that had been
teasing her - made her sick!"  Many loud noises of astonishment
followed.  "I swear, this is all true," Julia affirmed as she raised her
right hand as if she was swearing an oath on a Bible.
     "At McAllen?" Marc questioned.  "That's the hardest part to
believe.  Isn't it still full of goat-ropers and those sorts?"
     "They've sort of been losing their privileged place in the
hierarchy lately," Julia grinned momentarily, but couldn't keep the
smile on her face.  "People are really getting angry, and I've heard
some parents are talking about pulling their kids out entirely, to keep
'em safe."
     Stevie handed her what looked like a mimosa.  "Ah, beneficent
blessing of Bacchus!" she declaimed and took a swig.  A mimosa it was,
and sweet going down too.  "My eternal thanks, O Stephen O' Song!"
     "You're just saying that 'cause you think I'm trying to get you
drunk," he sneered melodramatically at her.
     "Yeah, get me drunk so you can take advantage of my boyfriend," she
shot back.

***

     Kim hugged her shins and tried not to look at the phone again.  *I
just wish there was someone I could talk to...*  But it was late, and
everyone she knew was either busy or in bed (or both), and she didn't
dare call anyone just because she wanted to talk to someone, anyone.

***

     CLACK-
     "Ahhh!"  Debbie snapped awake, but once again it had only been a
nightmare.
     "Debbie?" Lisa asked sleepily.
     "Nightmare, again," she sighed, and lay back down to cuddle with
Lisa for a while before she got up.  She had another busy day ahead...
and then Monday.

***


"This is bad.  No, let me call it what it is.  This is fucked up."
Marcus Burnett, Bad Boys


Distribution:
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+ @>--,--'-----   Ellen Hayes   o===[--------      __      vicki .sig  +
                  -=[1990]=-                       \/      virus 12.2
+      http://www.barkingduck.net/ehayes     PGP key: EFC9 5D55 (1996) +



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