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Subject: {ASSM} Lupe and Dana Naked in School <*> (5/5) (mf ff, exhib, voy, naked, NIS,   rom, 1st, silly, fant)
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Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 02:10:02 -0500
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Look, I TOLD you this was silly.  And completely lacking in socially
redeeming angst.  But did you listen to me?  Nooo.  I just hope eating
jars of marshmallow fluff doesn't make you sick.
The NIS collection ... ah, you know where by now.  And no, I'm NOT
telling you where to get marshmallow fluff -- it'd ruin your dinner.
P. Random
---
-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - Does exactly what it says on the tin
<1st attachment, "FairyNIS-5.txt" begin>
Lupe and Dana Naked in School
(mf ff, exhib, voy, naked, NIS, rom, 1st, silly, fant)
by pseudoRandom
5. Friday
Lupe
Despite staying up late with homework, I got to school early, hoping to 
catch Dana.  She wasn't there yet -- though Babs and Tatja were.  They 
stood by the flagpole, watching for her as they talked.  I hesitated, then 
joined them.  Thing was, I was still annoyed at Dana telling her parents, 
but I wanted to talk about her magic.
	The girls nodded to me, Tatja as coolly poised as usual and Babs 
as coolly aloof as ... well, never.  Given where I'd left things with 
Dana, yesterday afternoon, I couldn't say I blamed her.  They continued 
talking about math homework.  Which since I wasn't in their algebra class, 
did make me feel excluded.  Not that the feeling wasn't normal, for me.  
But somehow, it bothered me now.
	Then Fritz joined us, camera hanging from his neck -- making me 
think seriously of walking away.  He barely acknowledged me.  He hadn't 
gotten the troublesome math problem either.
	Tatja turned to me.  "Do you know how to do it?"
	"I'd have to see it," I said.  I hadn't really been listening -- 
something with secants and co-tangents, which shouldn't be too hard.
	"Lemme show you," she said, slipping her backpack off.
	"Hang on," Babs said, looking towards the corner.
	I turned.  Dana walked towards us, large coffee in hand as usual.  
Though what caught my eye was her repressed excitement -- her antennae 
were almost shimmering in place.  Hello.
	"You look like a cat who got in the cream," Babs said as she 
reached us.
	Dana failed to hide her smile.  She reached into her messenger bag  
and pulled out a wand.  HER wand.  I let out my breath.  I guess I didn't 
have to tell her.
	Tatja figured it out first.  "Dana!  Yours?"
	Dana nodded vigorously, grinning.  Babs squealed and hugged her.  
They squealed together.  Tatja looked on, amused, but when Dana jumped 
into her arms, she hugged her back.  Then Dana whirled on me.
	I opened my arms just in time for her leap.  Her momentum spun us 
around, full circle.
	"ĄFelicidades!" I whispered in her ear.
	"Squee!" she whispered back.  I'd never heard an exclaimed whisper 
before.  I put her back on the ground.
	Fritz looked at us.  "But what is it?"
	"My magic wand," Dana told him.  She turned to face him, her left 
arm still around my waist -- it felt nice, being so close.  I kept my arm 
around her waist in turn, trying not to crush her hidden wings.  She was 
trembling with excitement under my hand.
	Babs looked at the cup of coffee in her hand, as if not sure how 
it had gotten there.
	Fritz blinked behind his glasses.  "You, uh, didn't have one?"
	As Dana shook her head, Tatja told him, "It's like the fairy 
equivalent of getting your driver's license."
	I nodded.  Dana had said she wouldn't get one until she was an 
adult -- but better would be to say, you became an adult fairy when you 
receive your wand.  When you come into your magic.  Dana squeezed my hip 
for a moment, and I did the same to hers.
	"I have to say I'm a little disappointed," Babs said.  "It looks 
like a conductor's baton."
	It did, kinda -- plain dark wood, maybe a foot long, with a foam 
handle for a better grip.
	Dana blinked at her.  "So?"
	"It's just, I was expecting something a little more elaborate," 
Babs explained.
	"With a star on the end," Tatja added.  "And glitter."
	Dana rolled her eyes.  "Those Harry Potter movies."
	"I was thinking more of Tinkerbell," Babs said.
	Dana looked puzzled.  She must have been too old for Disney, when 
she moved to Earth.
	"So what kind of magic do you do?" Tatja said.
	"Peacework," Dana said proudly.
	The others looked blank, but I nodded again.  I'd figured it out 
last night.  "A conflict resolution fairy."
	She beamed at me.  "That's what Kaidlearnien calls it.  Well, he 
calls it upadiandrielt, but that's a good translation."
	"Yes, but what do you DO?" Babs said.
	"When tempers fray, I can ... mend them.  Calm people down, so we 
can work it out.  Stop the fighting."
	I glanced at Tatja.  I wondered how strong Dana's magic was -- 
strong enough to turn aside the Hunt?  Or rite, whatever Diana's nymphs 
wanted to call it.  Either way, running with Dana during the full moon was 
sounding like a good idea.
	Yeah, I know -- me taking advantage of magic.  But if it could 
protect me, was that such a bad thing?
	Assuming I could keep my fur from standing on end just thinking 
about it.
	"Ah," Fritz said in a knowing tone, "so that's how you tamed the 
lone wolf."
	I stiffened -- how did he know?  But no, he was just teasing my 
name again.  Dana's hand pressed my hip -- in warning?
	"Fritz, really," Tatja said sternly.
	"It doesn't work like that," Dana said.
	"How do we know that?" Fritz said.  "None of us knows the first 
thing about magic."
	"Magic can't change who someone is," Babs told him.  "Just tweak 
their emotions."
	"And you'd know about this?" Fritz said sarcastically.
	This boy was starting to annoy me.  I let go of Dana and shifted 
away from her, in case something started -- she let me go.
	"Yes," Babs said simply.
	"And in any case," Fritz went on, "that sounds like taming to me 
-- soothing the savage beast and all that."
	I ought to have said something -- but dammit, it wasn't anything I 
hadn't thought of myself.
	"I can't change someone's loyalty," Dana said.  "That'd be 
changing THEM."
	Fritz let out his breath, as if in exaggerated patience.  "It's 
just, I don't think I know you any more."
	Whatever that meant.  As far as I could tell, Dana was the same 
person she'd been all along -- not that I'd known her well, before this 
week.  But I'd listened to her in classes for years.
	Dana held up her wand.  "This isn't me -- it's just a tool, to 
make spells easier."
	"Is that the tool," Fritz said, "or are we?"
	If this tool didn't know Dana couldn't lie, then he really hadn't 
known Dana.  He shifted forward, looming over her.  Before I could push 
between them or Tatja could hold him back, Dana pointed her wand at him.
	"Calm down," and as she said it, a glitter of sparks streamed from 
the tip of her wand to his chest.  The same rainbow sparks I'd seen 
trailing her finger, Wednesday lunch.  The hairs on my neck stood up.
	Fritz took a deep breath, calmer.  Then looked down at the wand.  
"Dammit, Dana, don't DO that."
	He spun around, camera case bouncing, and walked rapidly away.
	And I thought I was the one freaked by magic.
	The bell rang, officially announcing an anticlimax.  We stood 
there, looking at each other, then Babs offered Dana her coffee back.  
Dana stared at it a moment, as if uncertain what it was, then took it with 
a sigh.  We hurried to the door to strip for the day.
	The principal narrowed his eyes at us.  "Final warning," he 
rumbled at Dana and me as Babs and Tatja slipped inside.
	"About?" Dana said innocently.  She put her wand in her mouth to 
use both hands to shimmy out of her skirt.
	"Tardiness."
	"Bur glum powff burr," Dana said.  She took the wand out to say, 
"But we were right here!"
	"You should be in homeroom by now."
	She was having a devil of a time juggling her clothing and bag and 
shoes and wand -- with the latter giving her the most trouble.  I 
hesitated -- she'd said it was just a tool, though that didn't mean it 
might not be magical itself.  But she needed help, and she was my Program 
partner for the week.  She was DANA.  I took the wand from her, holding it 
between thumb and forefinger, and pushed it under the flap of her 
messenger bag.  She smiled at me gratefully, then rounded on the principal 
again.
	"Yes, but if we'd been stopped by requests, we'd be just as late."
	I wanted to put my face in my palm.  Didn't she know to leave well 
enough alone?  I picked up her bag, caught her arm, and pulled her into 
the building.  "Come on, or we'll be late for first period as well."
	Which made no sense, of course -- first period was still ten 
minutes off -- but Dana accepted it with an "Oh!"  Then she glanced down 
at my erection with an impish grin.  "And we wouldn't want to be late for 
relief now would we?"
	I swear my cock jumped an inch in length, just at the thought.  
"Later," I said at the intersection.  When she followed me, though, I 
pointed behind us, down the other hallway.  "Isn't your homeroom
thataway?"
	Dana blinked, looked back, and said.  "Oh, right."
	"No, left."  THIS was the right hallway.
	"Exactly."  As I hurried on, she called after me, "Later!"
	I hadn't known a single word could be so seductive.
*
Dana
Distracted as I was (my wand! stupidhead Fritz! first period with Lupe!) 
it wasn't until halfway through homeroom that I noticed something was 
bothering me.  It took most of announcements, thinking things through, to 
figure out what it was.
	Lupe had been annoyed by my assuming we were going out without our 
talking about it, but he was perfectly willing to keep on as before 
without our talking about it.  I mean, was his arm around me an acceptance 
of my apology, for telling my parents?  I THOUGHT so, but like he pointed 
out, we had to SAY it.
	Much as I didn't like to admit it, I knew what Babs would say to 
that.
	I knew Lupe was too honorable to deliberately take advantage of 
me.  But that didn't mean I wouldn't get hurt anyway.  I had to --
	The bell rang, ending homeroom.  On my way to English, I had just 
the one request, a really bizarre one from this geeky boy -- to put my 
right foot in, then pull my right foot out, then put my right foot in and 
turn it all about -- but that was quick.  Lupe caught up with me halfway 
to English.
	His hand slipped into mine as we walked.  The first time he'd 
taken my hand.  It was so sweet, I forgot my misgivings.
	He leaned closer to me to whisper, "So what is Fritz?"
	"What do you mean?"
	"Well if three of you are, ya know, what are the chances he 
isn't?"
	Non-human.  I glanced around -- no one in the hallway was 
listening.  Besides, he'd been careful.  "You heard him this morning -- he 
doesn't know anything about magic."
	"Neither do I."
	"Nor do I, for that matter," Tatja suddenly said, from my other 
side.
	I nearly jumped, I was so started, and stopped still.
	"Sorry," Tatja said.
	The bell rang, and I jumped again.  We started for class.
	As the halls thinned, Lupe asked Tatja, "What about during the -- 
the rite?"
	Tatja frowned at him, before finally saying, "That's the goddess's 
power, manifesting in approval of our sacrifice.  Not magic."
	Lupe stopped outside out classroom.  "What's the difference?"
	Tatja turned to look at him.  "I don't know -- I don't know enough 
about magic."  Then she looked thoughtful.  "From the outside, maybe it 
looks the same."
	Lupe glanced at me, a flicker at the corner of the eye.  "Well, 
no, there's differences."
	Between my peacework and nymphs trapping their sacrifices.  Well, 
yah.  From the way he stood -- with me, facing her -- he preferred my 
powers.  Another little piece of me melted.
	Tatja grunted, then opened the door for us.
	"Dana, Lupe -- relief?" Ms Emerson said as we entered.
	Lupe stopped and looked at me, eager.
	I almost said yes.  But as much as giving and receiving relief 
from Lupe would have been nice, the way I felt, it would have taken longer 
than our five minutes.  I was beginning to wonder how five minutes could 
be enough for any sex act, really.  Well, unless you didn't have an 
emotional connection with the person -- which I suppose most of the 
relievers don't.  Which struck me as kinda sad --
	"Dana?" Ms Emerson asked.
	I shook my head.  Despite my scattered thoughts, what I'd realized 
in homeroom -- it still applied.  Until Lupe was willing to tell me what 
he wanted, not just stand with me, I couldn't risk getting closer -- 
couldn't risk falling more in love with him, till he was willing to commit.
	Though if my mother was to be believed, I was already in deep -- 
we both were.
*
Lupe
"Tú o nadie," Dana whispered to me as we sat down.  You or no one.
	I looked down at my desk.  Oh.  And here I'd been startled -- 
okay, and a little pissed -- that Dana had turned down mutual relief after 
her implied promise before homeroom.  She'd take relief from no one but 
me.  But she wasn't taking relief from me, now.
	Until I finished thinking it through, about us, we were on hold.
	"Act five," the teacher called out.  "Pyramus and Thisbe.  Tell 
me, anyone -- what does this scene remind you of?"
	A boy behind me called out, "Drama Club productions!"
	Laughter.
	The teacher called on a girl.  "It's like the Elizabethan 
equivalent of Mystery Science Theater 3000."
	More laughter -- this time joined by the teacher.
	"You have a point, Selina -- but I was asking about the 
mechanicals' play itself."
	"It's bad -- the acting, the writing, everything."
	"True -- but what about the scene, the situation?"
	"You mean, taken seriously?" Dana asked.
	"How?" the same boy called out.  "It's so stupid!"
	"Stupid in what way?"
	"Well just LOOK at Pyramus -- one bloody scarf and he jumps to the 
conclusion that she's dead."
	Chorus of agreement.
	"But," Selina said, "how many of you have seen someone you're 
sweet on talking with someone else and get jealous -- jumping to 
conclusions?"
	"Or seen a friend do it," Tatja added.
	Dana nodded.  Was she thinking of Fritz?  Though Dana WAS 
interested in me, so it wasn't a false conclusion.  Someone else, then?
	The class talked about it a while, and under the teacher's leading 
questions came to the conclusion that both Pyramus and Thisbe get in 
trouble because they think in all-or-nothing terms.  Life without the 
other was as good as death.
	Pyramus saw a torn scarf and assumed the worst.  Fritz and I saw 
magic and assumed the worst.
	The thing was, I knew in my HEAD that Dana's magic was harmless -- 
that she could only use it for good.  My heart, the part that stays me 
through every change -- all it knew was that in the past, every magic 
spell I'd seen had tried to kill me.  Never mind the magic that let Dana 
cover her wings with a shirt, or the twice I'd seen her mojo Fritz when 
he was upset.  And me, once.
	I don't know how much you know about wolves, but one important 
thing is, they're proud, man.  The heart that stays through both wolf and 
man didn't want to admit that it was wrong.  About either her magic or her 
family.  Her family, which had successfully hidden their identities for 
however long it'd been.
	If I waited for my heart to come around, I'd never get together 
with Dana.
	The teacher called my attention back with an observation: nor 
would the four Athenians have gotten sorted out, if they -- and Puck -- 
hadn't admitted they'd gotten things wrong.  The choice of Pyramus and 
Thisbe wasn't random on Shakespeare's part.  Which got everyone off on a 
tangent again.  I followed it for a while, before looking at Dana again.
	The thing about self-control is, that if you act like you haven't 
lost your temper, then you're a good way to keeping it.  That was 
something Caesaria had taught me.
	The bell rang, ending the discussion.  The teacher reminded us of 
our essays due Monday -- bleagh -- and released us.  I sat at my desk a 
moment.
	The way to train my heart into accepting Dana's magic as it 
already accepted herself was to act like it.
	I stood and looked at Dana.  She returned my gaze, waiting.  Then 
I whispered,
	"Nadie puede var a la mierda."
*
Dana
I watched Lupe leave, puzzled.  Only when he was out the door did I figure 
it out.  My heart felt like a blossoming field of butterflies.
	Tatja wrinkled her nose.  "Did he just say Nadja has diarrhea?"
	"'No one' can go to, uh, a bad place," I translated.  Forget no one 
-- I'd get relief from him.  He'd thought about it.  He'd accepted my 
apology.
	"And this makes you giddy because?"
	Was I giddy?  Though I did want to like giggle and titter and 
twirl.  "I asked him out," I explained as we left the room.  "That's his 
way of saying yes."  Well, more or less.  We'd have to talk, during 
lunch.  Make it explicit this time.  I'd SO learned my lesson about that.
	Tatja raised an eyebrow at me, then shook her head.  "All I can 
say is, I'm glad you found someone who understands you."
	Again, Fritz didn't meet us in the hall, but reached biology 
before us.  And I, of course, had to sit up front instead of getting a 
chance to talk with him.  Though I was pretty sure Babs would tell me 
that, like Lupe, Fritz needed to think it through for a while.
	Ms Leyden didn't give me the chance for relief -- because I would 
be doing that later in class.  I stuck out my tongue at her naked back, 
when she turned away.  Okay, so maybe taking relief from Lupe last period 
would have been a good idea.  Well, it would have been bad at the time, 
but good for now.  Oh, you know what I mean.
	We started with a discussion of fairy sexuality.  Yes, fairies 
have sexualities -- we're nature spirits, aren't we?  No, Nature isn't all 
straight -- homosexual behavior occurs in nature, along with other things.  
Yes, that means there's gay and lesbian and bisexual fairies.  No, there's 
no prejudice against gays among fairies -- though hobs can be nasty about 
it.  Yes, the Gay-Straight Alliance would be pointless in Elfland.  No, 
I'm straight myself.  Yes, I have kissed another girl -- that's how I know 
I'm straight.  No, I'm not a virgin.  Yes, with a human.
	The questions had gotten such the personal.  I could see the term 
papers now: "Sexual Habits of the Adolescent Fairy."
	Leyden asked, "Are you dating anyone now?"
	I hesitated on that a moment, before admitting, "I'm sorta kinda 
seeing someone."
	"Would he or she mind if another person assisted you in a 
sexuality demonstration?"  In response to which, a couple kids eagerly 
raised their hands -- though not Fritz.  He grimaced for a moment, before 
wiping his face blank.
	Wait -- she?  "I said I'm straight."
	"Just covering all the bases."
	Which gave me the time to think.  I honestly didn't know if Lupe 
would be jealous or not.  Fritz would be, but that was besides the point.  
No, the point was that *I* would mind.  You or no one, I'd said -- and 
meant it.
	"I would prefer not to have assistance."
	The hands went down.
	Leyden then asked me to masturbate for the class.  Nothing more 
than we'd already seen, earlier in the year, from other students.  Right?
	I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and touched myself.
	I fantasized about -- well, I'm not sure I want to share it.  Not 
that it was anything embarrassing or perverse -- I mean, I wasn't near 
ready for sex with Lupe in wolf form, beautiful as it is.  But it was mine 
and his.  So let's just say it involved me and Lupe in naked to the warm 
moonlight in a field of fluffy bunnies, and a paint-bucket of glitter.  
Glitter looked really nice frosting Lupe's body hair -- at least in my 
imagination.  I wanted to find out, now, whether that was true.  Not that 
I had that large a bucket at home.
	Yes, I know, the glitter when I cast a spell -- but that winks out 
after I cast it.
	I took my time, not being limited to five minutes.  When I was 
done, the class talked about their observations of me, which made me feel 
totally odd, like I wasn't there.  But this turned into more questions, 
about fairy sex.  No, fairies don't usually use the missionary position, 
unless they have beetle wings.  Yes, flying does mean some interesting 
positions.  No, I haven't tried them.  Yes, they're supposed to be fun.  
No, I preferred sex with my boyfriend -- and he stays on the ground.  
Well, yes, I did mean that literally, but yanno a bed is the same 
principle.  No, I'd rather not list all the positions we've tried -- nor 
the places we'd done it.
	And all the while, Fritz turned stiffer and stiffer, until he was 
more like a stone than a student.
*
Lupe
It wasn't until the end of math that I realized why Dana had never feared 
me as a wolf.  Something Fritz, of all people, had said pointed me toward 
it.  She hadn't known she could soothe the savage beast, as he'd put it, 
but that'd been her instinct.  Her magic fit her character -- or her 
personality chose the form of her magic.  Something like that.  Not nature 
versus nurture so much as ... precursor versus predetermined?
	Sometimes I wish I was better with words.
	As I pondered this chicken-and-egg thing, I accidentally walked 
into the boy's locker room -- again.  Again, three big football players 
objected.  As if a naked guy, among all the other guys changing, was 
threatening their manhood or something.  This time, instead of just 
backing off, I stood there, hands spread.
	"Guys, honest mistake, eh?"
	The linebacker narrowed his eyelids -- I hadn't realized piggy 
eyes could get even smaller -- and said, "Just don't do it again."
	It was my last school day in the Program, so it wasn't like it'd 
come up again, but I just nodded.
	We all turned away together, and I crossed over to the girl's 
side.
	Tatja saw me before Luisa's gang did.  With her was another 
basketball/volleyball player -- a brunette with the same disinterested 
look about her as Tatja.  The look that didn't really care that I was a 
naked boy.  The look of another nymph.
	Just how many supernaturals were hiding in our school?
	Tatja introduced her as Helene Kourdakopolos.  From a line of 
nymphs that stayed in Greece, I was guessing.
	"This is ... ?" Helene asked Tatja.
	"The one who got away," I answered for her.  Yeah, as much boast 
as anything.
	She didn't like that I knew who she was -- no more than I liked 
Tatja telling her about me.  "And why should we trust you?"
	What answer could I give but, "The same reason I should trust 
you."
	I met her gaze as she went from annoyed to disdainful to 
thoughtful.  Tatja smiled slightly.
	To Tatja, Helene finally sneered, "What-EVER."
	I watched her stalk off, then said to Tatja, "And you think you 
can keep me safe from her?"
	"It'll take a little convincing," she admitted.  "It'd help if you 
can assure her you've never mauled a cow."
	I blinked.
	"Her mother and grandmother raise cattle, north of town."
	Finally I said, "A single wolf can't take down a full-grown cow.  
If they ranch, they'd know that."
	Tatja grunted, and went into the gym.
	I spent P.E. outside under Coach Dean again, me and three 
cross-country runners, as she coached us on tactics for tomorrow's meet.  
Most of which I knew from every other meet I'd run in, but you know 
coaches.  I wouldn't have minded except for standing outside naked.  It 
was a warmer day, but still.  Finally she had us run a 3000m -- and then 
dissected our performance in just as much detail.
	Enough so, that when she finally let us go in to shower, the gym 
was empty -- not even Tatja was waiting for me.
	But Helene was.
	She studied me with narrowed eyes.  "Almakova claims you scrub 
backs well."
	Why would Tatja say that?  "There's only one way to find out," I 
replied.
	Not the answer Helene was looking for.  She wanted an excuse to 
not like me.  A week ago, I would have blown past her, not caring whether 
she liked me or not.  A week ago, I wouldn't have known how much my safety 
depended on it.
	"You may have seduced Tatja into trusting you -- " she started to 
say, but I cut her off with a laugh.
	"She has even more reason to worry about me than you do," I said.  
Off her look, I explained, "I'm seeing her friend."
	Helene almost sneered.  "Babs Scranton can take care of herself."
	"Other friend."
	"Fritz?"  When I choked, she corrected herself.  "The fairy???"
	I nodded.  When she stared at me without responding, I walked past 
her into the locker room.
	Tatja was at the far shower again.  I joined her.  Before I could 
finish shampooing, Helene joined us.
	And I scrubbed her back.
*
Dana
Fritz was still stone-silent as he walked me to math -- or partly walked 
me, for when Babs caught up, he left us.  I was looking after him when 
Babs said, "So I take it I don't get to beat him up?"
	"No beatings," I told her.  Why do so many humans suggest violence 
as a solution, even as a joke?  Not that Babs is human, but I still
thought of her that way.
	"What, not even in bed?" she said teasingly.  "Don't knock it till 
you've tried it."
	"But I don't want to take him to bed," I protested.  "That's like 
the whole point!"
	Babs raised her finger, then paused.  "I was talking about Lupe," 
she finally said.  "Not Fritz."
	"Wait -- what?  No!  No beating Lupe.  That's my job."  Before she 
could say anything, I added, "Not that there'll be any beatings."
	"Whip me, beat me, make me fluffy," she murmured.
	Which is why I entered algebra class doubled over laughing -- loud 
enough that when Mr Weinberger asked if I cared to share the joke with the 
class, all I could do was wave a limp hand at him.
	I spent the class thinking of how fun it would be, being fluffy 
with my boy.  With or without bunnies.
	Mmm -- fluffy.  'Scuze me a minute.
*
Lupe
Tatja and I went to lunch again together.  Well, sort of together -- she 
stood in the cafeteria line while I (with my brown bag -- I couldn't face 
another school lunch) grabbed a table in the Commons.  For all of us -- 
somehow, in less than a week, that had become habit -- one of the 
six-seaters.  Though when the others arrived with their orange trays, 
Fritz wasn't with them.
	I looked at Dana.  She raised her chin as she looked back.  We 
needed to talk -- alone, later.  I nodded, and she sat beside me.  Tatja 
and Babs sat across from us.
	The mystery du jour, by the way, smelled vile.  Viler than usual, 
I mean.  The creamy sludge on top was closer to green than white.  I tried 
not to think about how stinky I'd find it as a wolf.  I'd probably want 
to roll in it.
	"What's the matter?" Dana asked as I peered at her plate.
	"I don't like the look of that supposed white sauce."
	"It's to cover the supposed food underneath," Tatja said.
	I looked up at her.  "The stuff beneath it's worse?"
	"Almost certainly," she said solemnly.
	"Worse than creamed snot?" I shot back.  "How?"
	Tatja leaned towards me and whispered conspiratorially, "It's ... 
magic."
	I scowled a moment, before realizing she was yanking my tail.  She 
snickered.  I shot back, "Or prayer, as the case may be."
	Dana giggled, and Tatja made a thin, wry smile.  Score.  I had to 
admit, sitting with Dana's friends was more fun than sitting alone.  As in 
more funny.
	Okay, okay, man -- I'll stop pretending I can make jokes.
	Throughout all this, Babs had studied Dana, chewing her cheek.  
She suddenly asked, "Why now?"
	Dana looked at her.  "Because it's what they served us?"
	Babs shook her head.  "I mean your magic -- why'd it happen come 
out your week in the Program?"
	Good question, I thought.  But I acted like I was only a little 
curious -- not a big deal.
	"She's right," Tatja said, "it is a bit of a big, ah ... "
	"Co-rinkydinks?  It isn't.  I mean, not that it was the Program -- 
not exactly."  Dana colored slightly.  I hadn't known that when she 
blushes, her nipples turned bright pink.  Very cute -- or maybe I mean 
very sexy.  With her, they're kinda the same.
	"Not exactly, how?" Tatja said.
	Dana took a sip of juice.  "According to my mother, fairy magic 
develops when you first fall in love," and she carefully didn't look at 
me, "with someone who returns your love."
	I stared at her.  Who said I was in love with her?
	Other than her magic.
	Damn magic.
*
Dana
There.  Now, where was I?  Oh yeah -- lunch.
	See, I hadn't insisted on talking with my boy right then -- aside 
from it'd mean ditching my friends again, that is -- because I thought we 
had time.  Sometimes, though, the Great Circle doesn't let you rest.  By 
the look on his face, he hadn't worked it out.  Yet.
	There are some things magic can't force.
	Tatja and Babs looked from Lupe to me.  Lupe flushed, his skin 
turning a richer dark.  Then Tatja nodded.  Babs almost snickered, but I 
glared at her.  So it was Lupe who spoke first.
	"Wait -- didn't your mother got her magic when she was twelve?"
	SO not what I was expecting.  "?"
	Tatja shook her head, as if to clear it.  "You mean she -- ?"
	"Oh," I said.  "Yeah, that was when my parents met.  I hadn't 
noticed that before."  Somehow, I'd never made the connection.  I 
sometimes wonder whether, if I had, that would have comforted me about my 
own magic -- or made me worry about not having a boyfriend yet.
	"Danes," Tatja said, "wasn't she a little young ... ?"
	"Of course she wasn't too young -- it happened, didn't it?  So it 
must be good."
	Lupe cleared his throat.  "But -- um, he was twenty-seven and she 
was twelve."
	It took me a moment to remember that humans considered an age 
difference like that scandalous, if not illegal.  Not that any of us four 
were human, but still.  I made an impatient noise.  "We're FAIRIES -- we 
can't do anything bad.  We can't even use bad words.  I mean, drat it."
	Lupe tried to hide a smile, but I was getting to know his facial 
ticks.  He asked, "You want to cuss more?"
	"No, silly -- that was an example of the worst I can do."
	"Ah."
	I sighed.  "Look, there's a reason we follow the Great Circle.  
It's, like, natural.  A part of nature, I mean."
	Lupe cocked his head at me.  "I suppose I should have realized 
that a nature spirit would be heathen."
	But didn't he follow his Silver Mistress, the moon?  "What about 
you?"
	"Madre de Dios," he said, "I'm Catholic, of course."
	Oh.  Maybe Silver Mistress was another title of this Mother.  
"Gotcha."
	"Nature spirit?" Babs finally asked.
	Lupe turned up his hand towards me.  "Opener of flowers in the 
night?"
	I sometimes think the real reason I love my boy is that, more than 
anyone I've known, he truly sees me -- and has from the start.  He always 
understands, even before I can put it in words.  Though his body certainly 
isn't a fake reason.  Yum.  I didn't know whether to melt in a puddle of 
squee at the sweetness of it all or drag him under the table with me -- 
though the latter would have been rude.  So would the former, come to 
think of it -- no one had a towel.
	Lupe nodded to Tatja.  "We know your religion -- what about you, 
Babs?  Not Muslim?"
	Which meant he was actually, like, talking.  With my friends, I 
mean.  A good sign, I thought, till I realized he was trying to change the 
subject.  Well, that was a good sign too, I supposed.
	Babs chuckled.  "Not really, no.  I'm Baha'i."
	Who?
	"Isn't that a Islamic splinter sect that became its own religion?" 
Lupe said.
	"Very good," Babs said.  "Most people haven't heard of them."
	"A small religion," Tatja said, as much question as statement.
	"Says the Dianic Wiccan," Babs shot back.
	Tatja shook her head.  "Not Neo-Pagan -- the old ways handed down 
and kept to."
	All of which completely lost me.  Human -- and I guess non-human 
-- religions just baffle me.  Though Buddhists are onto something with 
their karma -- that's more or less the heart of the Great Circle.  Or as 
one bumper sticker I saw put it, "What goes around comes around."
	Fortunately before their argument could get far, lunch ended.
	Art was, for once, NOT more of the same.  We were still sketching 
fairies, yes, but this time *I* got to draw.  Ms Andrews had rigged up two 
harnesses with wings, and had other students pose in them -- a different 
pair each session.  Not that the wings were very fairy-like -- the gauzy 
butterfly things were too small to carry anyone larger than a toddler, and 
the white bird wings were just weird.  Don't ask ME how angels are 
supposed to fly with those things -- they don't look at ALL aerodynamic.
	It was still fun to draw them.  Todd made a good angel to Mary's 
innocent fairy, but Scarlett's gothgirl angel was totally RAD with 
Spike's truly punk fairy.  I liked my sketch of them, especially once I 
shaded the angel wings dark.  Way sexy.
	All in all, best art class all week, even if I did run over.
*
Lupe
I was pleased with how well I kept my cool through lunch.  Even with Dana 
springing that on me.  Oddly enough, it was talking about her parents that 
helped.  I thought about them on the way to physics.
	Well, after the request -- a girl insisted on feeling the muscles 
in my legs and butt.  She claimed to be an artist.  Just on her own, it 
was almost as uncomfortable as Luisa's gang.  Nothing like the way Dana 
touched me.  I got away as quickly as I could.
	Yes, Dana's parents had fallen in love and brought out each 
other's magic, but that wasn't the end of it -- they'd divorced.  
Possibly, if it came to that, BECAUSE her mother'd been so young.  In 
other words, magic isn't predestination.  Maybe we were in love, but we 
still had to work things out.
	Which was an oddly heartening thought: I walked into class with a 
secret smile on my face, despite that request.
	I turned down relief -- we had more practice AP tests to take.
	Even though I knew we probably wouldn't -- or maybe that's 
shouldn't -- take relief together until we talked, I still spent physics 
looking forward to seeing Dana in history.  A hell of a lot more than I 
looked forward to taking the AP, let me tell you.  Man, did I have a lot 
of studying to do before then.  In my copious spare time between studying 
for the calc and history APs, that is.
	I was most of the way to class before Dana came up behind me.  
She caught my hand and we stopped -- just as the bell rang.
	"About relief," she said.
	"You think we shouldn't give mutual relief -- till we can talk 
about it."
	Well, no, she hadn't been thinking that, judging by the surprise 
on her face.  But she quickly turned somber.  "Maybe you're right."
	I nodded.
	"But I still need relief," she went on.
	I swallowed.  "So do I."
	"So," she said with that chipper smile of hers, "do it together."
	It took me a moment to unpack that -- both of us solo.  I nodded, 
and we started to class.
	The teacher looked dubious as usual when we requested relief, but 
hmphed his agreement.  We stood side by side in the front of the class, 
legs braced.  And started masturbating.
	In time.  It wasn't conscious -- we just fell in synch.  I could 
almost feel Dana's excitement rise with mine.  Which turned me on all the 
more.  After a minute or so, I was ready to come, and she almost was too.  
I held back as best I could, jacking less hard to stay on the edge, till 
her cries started rising -- and her wings started beating -- and I let go 
and pumped and pumped and came and came as she did.
	She caught my arm as she came down, to hold herself up -- nearly 
pulling me down with her.  My legs were wobbly.
	It was the most intense jacking off I'd ever had.  I didn't know 
whether it was her, or doing it with her, or what, but it was.
	I threw away my tissues and we staggered to our seats while others 
gathered strewn papers -- only a few, this time.  Once again, class was a 
dead loss.  At least I had my finished essay to turn in.  Dana's was 
incomplete, though, so I didn't get much joy out of it.
	As we left class, Dana pulled me to one side of the door and 
hugged me -- hard.  I held her, as best I could under her wings, for 
several seconds.  Her chin rested on my shoulder, her antenna gently 
patting my hair.
	"Sometimes," she whispered in my ear, "I just want to hold you all 
day."
	"Just hold?"
	"Well-l-l," she drawled as she pulled back enough to look me in 
the eyes.  "And other things."
	Remember that cock I thought was drained?  It was hard again, and 
not just because it was trapped by her warm body.  Time to deflect the 
conversation.  "Still, we couldn't do that all day.  Aside from the 
getting hungry thing."
	"Why not?"
	We broke, and she caught my hands in hers.  I explained, "That'd 
be like living only on peanut-butter-and-marshmallow-fluff sandwiches."
	Dana got a hungry look on her face.  "Mmm."
	I should have known she had a higher tolerance for sickeningly 
sweet than I do.  "Not now," I told her, "it'll ruin your dinner."
	She dug at the floor with her toe.  "O-o-oh," she said in a 
"you're no fun" tone of voice.  I was finally, I thought, starting to get 
the hang of handling the Dana Experience: be just as silly.  She accepted 
non-sequiturs as well as she gave them.
	Besides, it didn't hurt to laugh, once in a while.
*
Dana
Babs found us just as the bell rang.  "Guys -- hello up there! -- we're 
late."
	"Up where?" I asked.  After all, I'm shorter than her.
	"Couples Mountain, apparently," she said.  "Come on!"
	That hill again, wherever it was.  I let go of one of Lupe's hands 
as Babs reached for us.  Somehow, she ended up between us, but we were in 
too much of a hurry to sort ourselves out.
	"I have a request, O Program Participants," Babs said as we 
hurried.  "That you let me give you two relief at the start of the next 
class."
	"Serial or parallel?" Lupe asked.  Whatever that meant.
	"At the same time," Babs explained.
	My heart skipped a beat at the thought.  How would she do that -- 
one hand each?  Not to mention, "Is that the parallel or the serial?"
	"Focus, Danes," Babs said.
	"I am focused," I protested, "on which is which."  We turned the 
corner, with me on the outside -- and since I turn sharp when I back with 
my wings, Babs ran into me, and Lupe into her.  Oof!
	"Danes!" Babs protested.
	"She means parallel," Lupe said to me, then to Babs, "Why now?"  
He sounded skeptical.
	We stopped in front of the classroom door.  "Because I have a 
feeling I won't get a chance with either of you for a while."
	Suddenly, finally, my brain kicked into gear.  She thought Lupe 
and me would be steady, and so off-limits.  Not that Babs hadn't done a 
threesome or two with steady couples in the past, that I knew of.  But, 
still --
	This was important, I realized.  Hadn't Babs herself warned me 
about setting the right pattern for things at the start?  Was this the 
sort of relationship where we did threesomes -- and other things?
	I looked at Lupe -- his face blank, giving nothing away.  I didn't 
even know if we HAD a relationship, let alone what kind.  And here he was, 
not giving me any clue.  Except -- no, that wasn't it.
	He was giving me the choice.
	What did I want?  I wanted him.
	"Maybe later," I heard myself say.  "But thanks for the offer."
	My boy smiled -- a small curl of the lips that curled round my 
heart.  Right choice.
	"It was a Program request," Babs said in an odd voice.
	"Babs," Lupe said firmly, "we think it's not reasonable.  And you 
know better than to try what you're thinking."
	Try what -- her seduction powers?  I should think she knew better 
than to use them!  Though from the way she blushed, just a little around 
the ears, I realized she'd been tempted to.  She turned and went into the 
class.
	For a moment, as I watched her bottom sway in her tight jeans, I 
almost regretted turning her down.
	I took my boy's hand.  Almost regretted.
	Well, not really.
*
Lupe
The teacher chewed us out for being so late, and refused us relief.  Not 
that we were going to ask for it -- not after that scene with Babs.
	Then we had our test.  What test, you ask?  I hadn't mentioned any 
Spanish test.  That's because I'd forgotten about it, man.  If I'd even 
heard the teacher tell us yesterday.  Either way, I hadn't studied for it.
	I looked at the test paper, sighed, and started conjugating 
subjunctive forms of tener.
	I sweated over the exam until the bell rang.  As I handed it in, 
the teacher said to me, "Glad to be done with the Program?"
	Done?  I stared back at her.  How to put this?  I held up a finger 
and ticked it off, "Track practice this afternoon," and ticked off a 
second, "a meet tomorrow, and -- "
	She raised her hand to stop me.  "Never mind.  I'll just be glad 
to have you back with us, Monday.  You're normally a good student."
	To which I could say nothing.  How'd she know, when I never spoke 
unless I had to?
	Dana was waiting for me in the hall -- without Babs this time.  
Good -- what I wanted to say, I didn't want her listening.  Which was my 
first hint that I really was about to say it.  The second was the hollow 
in my gut.
	I took a deep breath before I could lose my courage.  "Dana, would 
you like to go out tonight -- dinner or something?"
	Her face seemed to glow -- for a second.
	I almost lost it when it stopped.  She didn't want to?  Then what 
had all that been, before class?
	She finally said, "I'd like to."
	That's the sort of statement that's never complete.  "But?"
	"My family."
	Ah -- okay.  It wasn't ME.  Too short a notice, I guessed.  I 
nodded.
	"Will you come to dinner, instead?"
	Um -- wait -- what?
	Dana went on, "They're -- well, my stepfather, he's a little upset 
over you.  So we need to introduce you, so he can see you're okay."
	You'd think if her family was giving her grief, she'd want to keep 
me away.  But then, how much grief could they be giving her, with her 
magic?  An idea that made me slightly queasy -- but I ignored it, 
following my resolution to act not worried.  "Um.  Sure."  Surely we'd get 
a chance to talk, sometime in there.  Besides, this way, I could see 
whether *I* trusted THEM with knowing I'm a werewolf.
	Her cheeks dimpled.  "It's informal -- so don't worry.  What 
you're wearing is fine."
	I hadn't been worried.  Though now I was.
*
Dana
I nearly floated up to the student newspaper offices.  Yes, even though I 
can't fly indoors.
	He'd said yes.  We were dating.  Not that we were going, like, OUT 
on a date, so I guess we were going out without going out, -- if there is 
such a thing -- and we hadn't said we were going steady -- but whatever 
you called it, --
	Anyway, we were working it out.  Me and my boy.
	I had two things to deal with in the offices.  One of them was 
write my column.  Yes, I could write it tomorrow morning, since the 
deadline for the weekend edition is noon, but -- what I said about not 
being the morning person?  I knew from it not getting done if I waited.  
Only if there's a Friday night dance can I get away with waiting, and even 
then it was iffy.
	The second thing was Fritz.  As I hoped, he was there -- tinkering 
with his camera as he waited for the afternoon basketball games.  He'd 
avoided me all day, even skipping lunch.  For a couple days, really.  I 
did wonder if I should let him -- give him time to work things through, as 
Lupe had needed -- but every instinct was telling me not to let this 
fester between us.  I was still very new to my magic, but one thing 
Kaidlearnien had pointed out was, mine's an instinctive magic -- I'd been 
using it without realizing it.  This meant I should listen to my 
instincts.
	Even though I was also nervous.  What if I lost a friend -- my 
oldest friend -- over this?  The idea of losing a friend, especially after 
the scare of earlier this week ... I shuddered.
	I took a deep breath, reminded myself not to spell him, what with 
it wigging him out -- and walked over.  Across the room, Babs watched me 
from the couch.  She didn't return my finger twiddle -- but I couldn't 
think about that.  I stopped across the table from Fritz.
	He looked up.  "Dana."
	I sat down.  "Yes, I still am."  I looked at him.
	He smiled slightly.  "Um, yeah, I kinda recognized you."
	"Good," I said.  "You kinda said this morning that you didn't."
	Which sobered him.  "I -- well, I'm sorry.  I was a little 
freaked.  What with magic being real and all that."
	"As real as I am," I said -- though once I said it, I wasn't quite 
sure what it meant.
	"Yeah, well, until this week ... "
	Until this week, I'd been hidden.  I hadn't even been able to tell 
him where I'd really moved from.  "Fair enough."
	He looked down at his camera, then turned it off.  "You and Lupe," 
he said.
	"Is between me and Lupe," I said.  I wasn't going to open that 
discussion with him.
	"I'm not going to ask you what you see in him -- I'm not that 
stupid."  He looked up at me, eyes large through his glasses.  "But I need 
to know -- is there any hope for me?"
	A good-looking, intelligent boy like him?  "Fritz, there's lots of 
girls in this school.  That's a lot of hope."
	He pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose.  "I 
meant, hope with you.  For me."
	Oh -- he was still trying to open that discussion.  And I couldn't 
just shut him out of it.  "If anything, only after him -- and even saying 
that's not fair to him -- "
	"Not fair, how?"
	I pressed on with my thought, " -- nor is it fair to you, leaving 
you waiting."
	"Isn't that up to me to decide?"
	I opened my mouth, then remembered where I'd heard those words 
before.  When I'd used them, to Lupe.  I'd just been sauced by the gander, 
or however you say that.  I looked down at the table, and traced the grain 
of the fake wood laminate.  "I would prefer," I said softly, "if you 
decided to remain my friend."
	His mouth twisted into a cruel parody of a smile.  "I see."  
Angry and bitter.
	I swallowed.  It didn't look like I'd get my preference.  I looked 
around the room, searching for I don't know what.  Solace.  What I saw was 
Babs.  Another friend I'd denied this afternoon, also in favor of my boy.  
Was this what they meant, about new relationships breaking up friendships?  
I looked at her in mute appeal, that the same thing not happen to us.
	She met my gaze steadily, wooden-faced.
	And then smiled slightly, and got up.  Fritz stood and gathered 
his camera as she started towards us.
	"It's always, 'Let's be friends,' isn't it," he started to say to 
me.
	"Hey, Fritz," Babs said.
	"Yes?"  He looked at her, breaking off his tirade.
	"We should head out if we're covering the games."
	"We -- I -- uh -- "  He checked his watch.  "I guess we should."
	He shouldered his gear, ignoring me.  Or as if he didn't even 
notice me -- attention all on Babs.  Babs twiddled her fingers, one 
eyebrow raised as if to say I owed her one, and turned to go.  By the time 
he reached the door, she had her arm around his waist.
	I looked after them.  Maybe he could find solace in another's 
arms.  Either way, yeah -- I did owe her, if she could keep him distracted 
long enough to get over me.
	Chris stopped beside me, digital recorder in hand.  "If he's that 
upset about covering the basketball games, why'd he volunteer?"
	It was too much to explain what had really happened.  I shook my 
head.
	Chris sighed.  "Sometimes, I just don't understand people."
	I wasn't sure I did either.  Fascinating creatures, though.
	That was task two.  I moved to a computer, to write my Yours Truly 
column.
	Except I had ... nothing.  For the second time this week, I'd been 
too wrapped up in my own drama to pick up any social news worth printing 
-- though this time, it'd been good drama instead of bad.  And there was 
no way I was writing up me and Lupe.  That was just selfish.  Not to 
mention, hello -- werewolf = secret.  But then what?
	I pushed my chair back and let my mind drift -- thinking about 
past columns, doing columns, doing homework, my lesson tonight, magic (my 
magic!), glitter sprinkles, ice cream, ickle fuzzy puppies, pastry chefs, 
parties, no parties, going out with Lupe.  Or sorta going out.
	I sat up.  That's it.  All the sorts of going out / dating / 
steady / friends with benefits / all that -- perfect subject for Yours 
Truly.  I could even describe them as stages up the slope of Couples 
Mountain -- assuming that's what Babs meant by that.  Either way, it 
worked for me.  I started typing.
	Fifteen minutes later, I had a column -- 750 words of minutely 
documented confusion.  "All of which just goes to show, love's 
complicated.  So tell ya what -- if you think Yours Truly missed something 
or got it wrong, do tell.  Email, note, whatever.  We'll print the best 
responses next week.
	"And that's all Yours Truly has this time.  TTFN!"
	I read it through, made a couple corrections, then emailed it my 
editor.  Who was sitting at the other computer, but trust me, it's easier 
this way.
	"Boyfriend troubles?" Jimbo asked, as he read it through.
	What gave him that idea?  "No," I told him, "I have one."
	He opened his mouth, then closed it.  "Never mind.  I don't want 
to go there."
	I should think not -- Lupe was MY boy, not his.  Besides, I didn't 
think he was gay.  Lupe isn't, I mean -- Jimbo is, of course.
	I checked the time -- half an hour till Lupe got off work.  Just 
enough to get home and set the stage.  And let my parents know we had a 
dinner guest.
*
Lupe
Coach Suarez looked at me, at my shoes, then back at my face.  "De Vega, 
at this rate, there's no way you'll break in new shoes in time for 
tomorrow."
	I shrugged.
	"It's not so much that they're a disgrace to the school -- though 
Lord knows they are -- but they're coming apart.  The sole's starting to 
flap, on the heels.  It'll hurt your performance."
	I nodded once.  That was true enough.
	Coach sighed.  "Look," he said softly, "if you can't afford new 
ones, you can just tell me."
	Like I was going to admit that.  Except, well, it was true.  It 
occurred to me, I'd been swallowing a lot of pride today.  Would a little 
more hurt me?
	After several seconds, I nodded.
	"We've got programs to help low-income kids, you know."
	I didn't.  Other than meal programs, that is.  I nodded yet again.
	Coach Dean called to him.  He waved back -- hold on a sec.  
"We'll talk tomorrow," he told me.  "Start warming up."
	After which threat, I wasn't sure whether to look forward to the 
meet or not.  I'd already get enough attention -- by which I mean too much 
-- running naked.  Which I'd been trying not to thinking about, but
athletic events are school events -- so Program rules applied.
	I avoided Coach's attention as much as possible -- not hard, with 
the relay runners still sloppy with the baton -- and got out of practice.
	In the girls' locker room, I ran into the basketball team, heading 
out to their game.  All tall, strong girls -- they could almost be the 
Hunt themselves, though some, I was pretty sure, had boyfriends or 
girlfriends.  Like Selina, from English class.
	Though not Tatja and Helene.  They were walking together.  I waved 
a finger as I passed, and said, "Go get 'em!"
	Tatja gave me a thumbs up.  Helene pursed her lips a moment, then 
nodded.  "We will."
	Hidden message: get "them," not me.  I nodded back.
	As I turned to go, Helene called after me, "Run well."
	At the meet, or from the Hunt?  Either way, "I will."  Oh yes I 
would.
	I changed shoes, then retrieved my clothes from the main office 
receptionist -- she still had Dana's -- and headed to work.
	More shelf stocking -- cans, mostly, which may be boringly 
repetitive, but at least it's better than tossing dairy and bakery past 
their expiration dates.  Yuck.
	Though there's one thing about stocking I don't like -- the way 
Caesaria's pricing gun keeps jamming.  An old friend of mine, that thing.  
Every time, I sighed and stopped to unjam it.
	"I see by you no cussing your novia is working out."  Caesaria was 
standing at the end of the aisle.
	I smiled slightly, and continued tinkering.  True, the dratted 
thing usually annoyed me -- usually, it was a damned thing, or worse.  I 
guess I was in a good mood, despite worrying about Dana's family.
	"żQuieres que contarmela?"  She smiled broadly -- as when settling 
into a good gossip with a regular.
	I stopped for a moment.  Did I want to tell her about Dana?  Could 
I NOT tell anyone about her?  I felt like a rag doll bursting at the seams 
with wanting to talk.  Though, how to describe Dana?  "Ella es una hada 
linda."  A pretty fairy, indeed.  Linda, hermosa, buena, mona ...
	"żUna qué?"
	"Hada.  Fairy.  With wings."  At her uncomprehending look, I 
grabbed the Mini Fairy Land box from the toy shelf.  I opened it and got 
out one of the fairy figures.
	Caesaria took it with a trembling hand.  "Ella -- she is like 
this?"
	"Well, her wings are bigger and her dress more gauzy.  Como gasa."  
Then I remembered an important detail, and held out my hand.  "This tall."
	Under her breath, Caesaria started reciting the Hail Mary -- in 
Spanish.  As she'd taught me to do, to help keep control of oneself -- to 
keep my temper.  I waited.  Finally, she handed the figurine back, face
blank.
	Then she frowned at the box.  "You know the rule -- you open it--"
	"I want it for her," I said.  "Take it out of my pay."
	The door chimed, and Caesaria nodded to me before turning to the 
customer.  I took the box into the back, to put with my backpack.
	The rest of the afternoon, I caught Caesaria looking at me at odd 
moments -- sometimes worried, sometimes curious, sometimes dubious.  Once 
she stopped me with a question.
	"żTienes que hablar con una bruja?  żPara protección?"
	Protection -- as in birth control?  But she was asking if I wanted 
a bruja's protection -- from Dana's fairy magic.
	Yesterday, I would have been strongly tempted, even though I 
distrusted traditional brujería as much as the Hunt's magic.  Now, though 
-- even if a charm could protect me, I wouldn't take it.  I had to act 
like I trusted Dana.  No fear.  That was the only way to teach myself.  
"No."  When she seemed about to push it, I added, "ĄNo!"
	She nodded, and left me to my job.
	At the end of my shift, all the new cans were on the shelves -- 
snacks and candies, I'd do tomorrow morning.  I went up front to say 
goodbye and collect my week's pay -- Caesaria counted it out from the 
register.  Before she handed it over, she studied me.  "You treat tu hada 
well, eh?  I find you treat her bad, I keel you."  She cupped my cheek 
with a strong hand.
	I nodded.  There was no point mentioning Dana's friends would get 
to me first.
	She pulled me to her and kissed my forehead.  "It's Friday night.  
ĄVayate!  Go -- have fun, tú y tu novia."
	I grinned and left.  Not that I knew what kind of fun we'd have, 
eating dinner with her family.
	It wasn't till I counted my pay that I realized Caesaria had 
forgotten to deduct the fairy play set.  Except -- Caesaria forget?  No, 
it'd been a gift.
*
Dana
I met Lupe at the corner of the block.  And no, it was NOT because I was 
afraid he'd get to our house and chicken out -- though as I kinda feared, 
he did taste nervous.  Which made me really want to meet his family and 
find out what was up with them -- someday.  But really, he was as bad 
about families as he is about friends.  Which was almost as 
incomprehensible.
	But as I was saying, I met my boy to prep him with The Plan.
	Not until after a kiss, though.  Yum.  I don't think I can ever 
get tired of his night forest flavor.  Though it was odd, kissing him
with, like, clothes on.  I supposed I'd have to get used to that, after 
the Program.
	We started back to the house, hand in hand, while I gave him the 
scoop.  "Jim's home with Brian, and Mom should be back soon."
	"Brian?"
	"My brother," I explained.  "Well, half-brother.  He's four."
	"Ah."
	"And he loves dogs, which is good."
	"Ooo-kay."
	Which reminded me.  "You said you can change form any time?"
	He looked at me askance.  "Um.  Yeah.  It's easy, this close to 
full."
	"Good."
	"Dana," he said slowly, "why do you ask?"
	"We need to show my stepfather you're not dangerous."
	"By shifting in front of him?"
	"Actually," I admitted, "I was thinking of introducing you as a 
wolf."
	He stopped walking.  "You mean, shift now?"
	"Exactly!"  I smiled at him.
	"Dana, I'm not wolfing out on the sidewalk."  His voice was quiet 
and even.  Firm.
	"No, silly -- in the back yard."  Where it was private.  I knew 
THAT much.
	"NOR in your back yard.  Nor outside.  Nor, in fact, at all."
	"Lupe!"
	But he was stubborn.  Five minutes of wheedling later, he finally 
agreed that IF it was necessary, he'd change inside, where no one else 
could see -- and that only after admitting that a conflict-resolution 
fairy (after all, that was his name for me!) might know something of what 
needed to be done.
	"So where's your house?" he asked.
	I pointed behind him -- we'd stopped in front of the gate.  He 
blinked at it.
	"They've been watching us argue?"
	"Not ARGUE."  It hadn't been that, really.
	He sighed.  "Way to make a good first impression, man," he 
muttered to himself.
	"It'll be fine," I told him, pulling him up the walkway.  Though 
he did have a point.  I don't THINK Jim had been watching us, but you 
never know.
	From the front hall, I heard the television in the den -- a honk-
crash-boink of Brian's cartoon.  He'd be occupied for a while.  "We're 
here," I called out.
	I started leading Lupe to the kitchen, but Jim stepped out to meet 
us, wiping his hand on a towel.  Both men looked somber, so I decided to 
make this formal.  "Jim, this is Lupe de Vega.  Lupe, Jim Partlow."
	Lupe bobbed his head slowly in greeting -- not taking his eyes off 
my stepfather.
	To me, Jim said, "This is him?"
	"This is my boyfriend," I said firmly.
	Behind Jim, Mom came out of the kitchen, still in her fairy 
girdle.  She paused, then leaned against the door-frame, waiting to see 
what happened.
	Jim tossed his towel onto his shoulder.  "Not very ... big."
	Lupe finally spoke, "I'm already large, for a wolf."
	Jim raised his eyebrows, then grunted.
	Then Lupe noticed my mother -- and did a double take.  "ĄQue hada 
hermosa!" he breathed.  Beautiful fairy, indeed.  Like I said, I've got 
nothing on her, at least in daylight.
	"Mom, this is Lupe."
	"Call me Nina," Mom said.  She stepped forward, then hesitated, 
before holding out her hand.  Something Jim hadn't offered.
	Lupe shook it.  He seemed about say something.
	"What?" I asked.
	To Mom, he said, "Not damselfly, surely?"
	She spread her wings -- there's just enough room for that in the 
front hall.  "Dragonfly," she said, not smiling.
	His eyes widened as he took in her glittering, transparent span.  
"Of course," he murmured.
	Mom cocked her head at him.  "I don't know much about 
transformation spells, but I take it you're the same size in all forms?"
	She WOULD start shop-talk.  But thinking about it, it was a good 
way to relax them both.
	"Same mass, yeah," Lupe said, with a wry smile.
	"How many shapes can you take on?"
	"Just the two -- this and a wolf."
	A beautiful gray wolf, I wanted to say -- but stayed quiet.  He 
had to do this himself.  I checked Jim -- he was watching, listening.
	Mom nodded.  "I'd like to see you transform sometime, if you don't 
mind.  I've talked with my uncle and cousins, and they've no idea how such 
a spell would work."
	Lupe got an odd expression in his eyes.  "Neither do I, Mrs. -- 
Nina."
	"Is it a spell?"
	"I ... just shift."  He shrugged helplessly.
	Prompted by her questions, he explained about feeling the moon, 
and being forced to "shift" as he put it, and how it feels.
	"You mean you could change now?" Jim broke in.
	Lupe hesitated.  "I'd prefer not to."
	"How much -- "  Jim stopped himself.  "Are you a monster?"
	Lupe shook his head.  "I'm still me.  Just in a wolf's body."
	My brother's show ended, and he wandered out to the hall.
	"Brian," I said, "this is Lupe."
	Lupe held out his hand to shake.  Brian solemnly took it, and they 
shook once.
	"That's a funny name," Brian said.
	"Brian!" Jim chided.  "That's not polite."
	"It fits me," Lupe said to Brian.
	Brian considered him.  "Are you Dana's boyfriend?"
	Lupe nodded.  I liked how he took my brother seriously.
	"Have you ... kissed her?"  Brian made his Broccoli Face.
	"Yes, I have."  Lupe kept a straight face.
	"Ew!"
	I almost giggled.
	"Oddly enough," Lupe said, "I like it."
	Brian made his Big People Are Stupid Face.
	"Come on, Brian," I said, "let's help make dinner."
	"Oh no," Mom protested.  "See to your guest."
	"Nonsense," I said.  "We're all helping."
	Lupe was startled, but nodded without missing a wingbeat.
	After a long moment, Jim nodded in agreement -- or at least 
acceptance for now.
	Which was a start.
*
Lupe
Though actually, Dana's mother took Brian upstairs -- the kitchen was a 
bit small for all of us.  I think it was too small to hold just Brian -- 
that kid has an amazing ability to get in your way -- but never mind.  I 
wouldn't have minded escaping myself, but I had to admit, Dana seemed to 
know what she was doing.
	She and I helped her stepfather make lasagna -- or rather Dana 
did, while I worked under her direction.  We talked as we worked.
	Which is to say, her stepfather grilled me, in the guise of 
friendly questions.  I suppose I should have expected that.  At least he 
slowly relaxed, more or less, as I answered.  Though I did notice, it was 
hearing what classes I'm taking that pleased him the most -- even more 
than my job.  Certainly it did better than admitting I didn't know how or 
why I'm a werewolf.
	He froze, holding a big noodle over the glass baking dish.  "Then 
how will you lift the curse?"
	"It's not a curse," I said flatly.
	"Jim!" Dana protested.
	He looked at me, noodle still in mid-air.
	"It's no more a curse," I said evenly, "than your wife is a 
damselfly fairy."
	"Exactly," Dana said.  Then, "Wait -- what?"
	Jim continued to look at me.  "You don't want to be cured?"
	"Why would I want to?  Being a wolf is fun.  More fun than being a 
boy."  Then I remembered one fun thing, and looked at Dana.  "Most of the 
time."
	She dimpled.
	"That's ... "  He laid down the noodle in the pan.  "How do you 
explain to your family, being out all night every month?"
	"I don't."  So far, anyway.  Now that Paco had turned me in, 
though, I needed a cover story -- but that was a thought for later.
	For some reason, he accepted that answer better than I expected.
	But his question reminded me -- once the lasagna was in the oven, 
I called home.  A stepsister answered -- Amanda.  I didn't think she 
believed I was eating dinner at a friend's house, but she said she'd tell 
our parents.  No point in giving them a reason to ground me for real.  
And, well, they were my family.
	Real lasagna, it turns out, is pretty good.  A lot better than 
what the school cafeteria calls lasagna, anyway.
	Dana's mother ate dinner dressed in human clothing.  Which made 
sense when I thought about it -- her wings nearly touched the floor while 
standing, too long to sit down at a human table without hiding them.  She, 
by the way, looked about the age of my oldest sister -- maybe early 30s.  
Her antennae are short -- you can almost miss them in her copper hair -- 
and more clublike than feathery.  And did I mention her skin's bronzed 
evenly all over?  Though if she flew all day in just that gauzy fairy 
wrap, of course she was well-tanned.
	As jaw-droppingly gorgeous as Nina is, though, she's got nothing 
on Dana -- especially Dana in moonlight.
*
Dana
Lupe was mostly quiet during dinner -- answering questions politely, but 
otherwise behaving like his first couple lunches with us.  Which was okay, 
what with Mom asking me how the Program had been for me.
	"No, really," I said, "the Program's fine."
	"Even with everyone learning who you are?" my stepfather asked.
	As I nodded to him, Brian suddenly said, "And then we drew 
dinosaurs!"
	Which diverted me a second -- I'd thought the new picture on the 
fridge was a sort of purple dog.
	"Yes, dear -- you showed us," Mom said to him.  To me, "Then
what's bothering you?"
	"Mom!"
	She gave me the fairy mother eye.  "Nothing at all?"
	I sighed -- I couldn't say THAT.  "Well," I said slowly, "I think 
we managed to tick off Babs this afternoon.  And then there's Fritz."  I 
out down my fork.  "I don't know what to do about him."
	Lupe seemed to bite back a response.  I'd have to corner him later 
for that.  Tickle him till he fessed up, maybe.
	"Something needs to be done with Fritz?" Mom asked, surprised.  
	I almost sighed -- what with my skipping lessons and then getting 
my wand, I hadn't been keeping her up to date with this stuff.  "He, ah," 
and I looked at my boy, "he's jealous."  I caught Lupe's left hand and 
squeezed.  "I asked him if we could just be friends."
	"How long has he been -- " she began, but Brian broke in, "I made 
mine a steggy-saur!"
	"Brian," Jim said sternly, "it's rude to interrupt."
	"And it's a very good steggy-saur, Bug," I told him -- which is 
was, for a child his age.  Then to Mom, "I don't know -- I didn't notice."  
Which came out grumpier than intended.  I let go of Lupe's hand to take 
another bite.
	"A few years," Lupe told Mom.
	I blinked at him.  Not just that he'd finally spoken without being 
addressed first, but how'd he know that?
	He explained to me, "Remember what Barb said, about telling him 
you were just a slow developer?"
	"Oh."  That's true -- she had implied it'd been a while.
	"And this is how you ticked her off?" Mom said, puzzled.  Which 
made HIM blink, for some reason.
	"No no," I said, "that was when we turned her down her pass."
	"We?" Jim asked.
	"Lupe and I," I said brightly.
	Lupe's face turned darker, but he reached for more lasagna as if 
completely calm.
	My stepfather looked at my boyfriend with new hostility.  What on 
earth for?  "We said No, I said," I told him, "and it wasn't for sex -- or 
not full sex."
	Lupe put the serving fork back and pinched the bridge of his nose.
	"Surely," Mom said, "that wasn't enough to make her jealous."
	I blew my breath out.  "No.  Just disappointed."  I played with my 
fork, then went on, "I still don't know, though, why she rescued me and 
went off with Fritz."
	"Perhaps," Mom said lightly, "she was feeling guilty?"
	For which, making her request or accidentally leading Fritz on 
about me?  I meant to keep quiet, but I still burted, "Why?"
	"After all, she's still your friend."
	"As is Fritz," Jim observed mildly.  I looked sharply at him -- 
I've come to distrust when he says things in that tone.  He's all too 
often right.  But he only continued buttering another slice of bread for 
Brian.
	It all gave me some food for thought.
*
Lupe
Dinner conversation was remarkably civilized, if a little surreal -- what 
with two chatty fairies talking in non-sequiturs and a four-year-old 
trying to tell us about the daycare experience.  Not that they're true 
non-sequiturs, I was coming to realize, but Dana and Nina's sidewise logic 
isn't always easily followed.  I mean, it was a little noisy, is all.  
Reminded me a little of dinners at Nana's, only with just five of us -- 
and with less shouting.
	With more wanting to sink through the floor, though.  Fairy 
honesty takes some getting used to, man.
	Jim more or less laid off on the interrogation as we ate, but when 
Nina went to the kitchen to help Brian fetch dessert, he asked me, "Do 
Dana's friends know what you are?"
	I nodded.  Well, except for Fritz, but I didn't count him yet.
	"And they accept it?"
	How to answer that -- given Tatja was trying to make up for having 
tried to kill me in the past, but Babs was still suspicious of me.  That 
we all had secrets on each other?  Dana stayed silent -- this was mine to 
answer.  Part of trying to get Jim to accept me, I supposed.  "It took 
them a while," I finally said.
	"Do you trust them?"
	I almost said, With that much -- but no, I did trust them with 
more.  Hadn't I turned my back on Tatja?  But did I trust them with my 
life?  Maybe not, or not yet.  "As much as they do me."
	Jim leaned back as Nina set the pie on the table.  "Sounds like 
you've done more than found a girlfriend."
	Dana's face lit up, though she tried to hide it -- he'd accepted, 
at least indirectly, that we were going out.  I was more wary though.  
"Namely?"
	"Sounds to me like you've joined her pack."
	Dana beamed at me.
	I kept my face neutral, my gaze on Jim's face, but it was hard.  
Pack?  The part of me that howled at the Silver Mistress thought of Dana 
as packfriend, true -- and her friends were clearly her pack.  Did that 
make them my pack as well?  I was still an adolescent, in human terms -- 
but in wolf terms, I was pair-bonding with a mate, and that's always done
within the pack.  It gave me something to think about.  Especially if 
Fritz was part of the deal.
	Thing was, for a human, Jim Partlow has a pretty good grasp of the 
problems of supernatural life.  No wonder Nina had married him.  Which 
meant I could probably trust him with knowing who I am -- at least as much 
as I trusted Tatja.  Nina, of course, was as good as Dana -- I'd quickly 
realized that.
	Dessert was incredible -- hot pie, filled with berries Nina 
collected while flying about.  I hadn't known anyone baked like that 
anymore.  I didn't have to be urged to take a second slice.  After that, 
Dana and I started clearing the table, but this time her mother was firm.  
"Danaral, you take your guest upstairs to your room."
	"But Mom, I have to -- "
	"I'LL take care of the dishes, this once.  Off!  Flit, Flitter!  
And don't open the door till you're ready to."
	Was she really saying what I thought she was?
	From Dana's sly, shy smile, and her stepfather's frown -- yes, she 
was.  Explicit permission to stay holed up in her daughter's room, making 
out ... or having sex.  Not that I have much experience, but my
understanding was that parents don't do that, man.  Or human parents,
anyway.
	Before her stepfather could object, Dana caught my hand and pulled 
me into the front hall.  We started up the stairs.  "I want to take off my 
shirt!" Dana said, low and fierce.
	"Oh," I said, disappointed -- and then felt like an idiot.
	She stopped short -- eyes wary.  "You don't want to ... ?"
	The only way out of a trap like that is the truth -- quickly.  
"The thing is, it's easier to hold you with your wings covered."
	The most comical succession of expressions crossed her face -- 
incomprehension, baffled, shocked, pleased, thoughtful, pleased again.  
"Ah.  I see."  She continued upstairs ahead of me.
	"I'd rather feel," I said.
	She didn't say anything, but her antennae *sproinged* upright.  At 
the top of the stairs, she turned left.
	"This one's mine," she said, opening a door.
	Inside, the bedroom was ... well, it was definitely a girl's room.  
Not QUITE like stepping inside a frilly pepto-bismol jar, but there was 
pink involved.  And unicorns pictures.  A large stuffed white bear.  
Glitter -- lots of glitter.  At least the only fairy decorations were 
photos -- family and friends, it looked like -- scattered on a cork-board
between sketches and watercolors.
	The windows opened over the front porch -- she could crawl out on 
the tar shingles.  And fly away, if she needed to.
	"We've got an hour, before I have to leave," she told me as I 
looked around.
	Oh -- right -- to go flying.  I started to say something, but she 
turned into my arms and kissed me.
	Oh.  Right.
	I held her tight, arms wrapped around her like I hadn't been able 
to.  Her woodland garden flavor shaded into something wilder.  Sometime 
later, we came up for air.  Dana leaned her forehead against mine and 
gazed into my eyes with one big eye.  "I don't know what future we have 
together, but right now?  I just want to be with you."  Her antennae 
lightly patted my hair.
	"And I with you," I whispered.  Because it was true.  I wanted 
her.
	She swallowed.  "Are you sure?"
	I may be an idiot, but I knew the only right answer to this one 
was to kiss her.
*
Dana
I hadn't thought about it before, but I did like having Lupe's arms around 
me.  Despite the clothing between us, it made us feel closer.  Which is 
why my skirt came off before my shirt.  Though it felt rather odd, clothed 
above and naked below -- odd and nicely naughty.  But not nicely enough to 
want to keep my shirt on.
	But maybe it was that feeling that made me want to experiment.  
Every time we'd had sex, Lupe had lain on his back, with me on top.  Which 
is how I proved to myself what every fairy learns, eventually: people 
without wings have it EASY, when it comes to sex.  Like I said in class, 
missionary position (where'd that name come from, anyway?) is SO not 
happening.
	Sex standing up together didn't work as well as I hoped -- in part 
because I'm a couple inches shorter when I need to be a couple inches
above him.  And then there was the balance thing.  Then something struck 
me, and I started giggling.
	Lupe looked startled.
	"It's just," said between gasps, "I finally realized why my 
parents have a chin-up bar in the door to their bathroom."
	Lupe smiled slowly.  "We'll have to try that sometime -- with a 
tree-branch or something."
	A thought that took my breath away.
	We tried a few more, but ended up on my bed, having sex as wolves 
do: me on hands and knees, my boy behind me.
	There's better positions, especially ones that let me kiss him,
but this had one advantage -- if I bated hard, my swallowtails batted his 
hips, which kept me from completely losing control and screaming my head 
off when I came.  As it is, I had to stuff my face in a pillow.  Yeah, Mom 
all but told us to make love till we were loopy, but I didn't like want to 
ANNOUNCE that's what we were doing.
	Also, that way, it took Lupe long enough to come that I came 
twice.  Hoo, baby.
	I was drained enough, after draining him, that I collapsed prone 
even though it meant uncoupling -- and he couldn't even collapse on top of 
me.  Or, really, beside me, not without crawling under my wing.  Which was 
okay, because he was too frisky yet to collapse.
	So he explored my body.
	I like melt just remembering.  Hands and lips, up and down me, 
every curve and plane and muscle and nerve.  His fingertips traced the 
lines of sinew on my back, beneath my wings.  I was relaxed enough, his 
touch light enough, I let him caress my wings -- edges, veins, the nap of 
scales.  Relaxed enough, the slightest breath was deeply erotic.
	Relaxed enough, that his feather brush along my antennae wasn't 
uncomfortable.  Charged, yes -- how could it not, with his fingers so 
light, that other times were sharp claws? -- but not unsettling; he tasted 
of me.  He knew enough to touch me only briefly, there.
	And all through it all, he didn't let me move -- pressing my 
shoulder down if I tried to.  I lay with my chin on my folded arms.  This 
was his time.  He was in control, just as I'd been yesterday morning.
	Though if he didn't do something for my smoldering body, I was 
going to combust.
	And even then, he seemed to know what I needed.  Just before I 
exploded, he reached between my legs, sliding between my lips, and with 
one touch I ignited again -- swift and silent, dazzling.
	My orgasm left as suddenly as it came, leaving me breathless.  
Relaxed.  Alive.  I lay still, my boy sitting with legs folded under him, 
his hand caressing my butt.  I swallowed to wet my throat.
	And whispered, "You are SO mine."
*
Lupe
What I said about not having a clue about the Program, before my week 
started?  That moment, it caught up with me.  See, the thing is, I may be 
book-smart, but I'm not quick, man.  I'm especially not quick when it 
comes to convincing myself of anything.  Especially convincing myself that 
I'm wrong.
	Dana had never let anyone touch her most sensitive places -- her 
antennae, the flat of her wings.  But she trusted me to.  She trusted ME.
	How could I not trust her in return?  Her and her magic and her 
endless chatter.  This girl who made me see myself, this girl I could talk 
with.  This girl I loved.
	"Yes, I am," I whispered back.
	She wriggled in place, under my hand, and made a contented sound.  
Yeah -- what she said.
	Eventually, though, I glanced at her alarm clocks -- three of 
them.  I didn't want to move, but ...
	"Dana?  Don't you have to go fly?"
	After three seconds, she blew a raspberry.
	I laughed like it was the biggest joke ever.
-END-
* * *
Dana's Afterward
As Lupe told Sra. Matasuki, that wasn't the end of our Program week.  But 
he refuses to continue his account -- saying as far as he's concerned, our 
getting together was the last and only important thing to happen to him.  
Given how that makes my heart patter-pit, it's hard to disagree with my 
boy, so I'll stop here too, even though it means skipping the incident of 
the lemon drops, butterflies, and spilled ink during a Sunday press check 
for the paper -- at the time it was like totally embarrassing, but telling 
it now it's SUCH the funny.  Ah, well.
	But you still deserve to hear what's afterward.  So quickly:
	At the track meet, I watched Lupe come in fourth, first, and 
second overall in the 1500m, 3km, and 5km races.  Go my boy!  However, the 
tape holding the number on his back came off during the 5km final heat, 
and rulebound officials disqualified him for "being out of uniform."  
Stupidheads.  You'd think they'd write the rules so athletes from Program 
schools aren't at a disadvantage to those who can always pin their numbers 
and so never worry about sweat.  I decided then and there to pitch Jimbo a 
hard-hitting investigative report of all the ways laws still haven't 
caught up with the Program.
	In return for helping him buy new track shoes, Coach Suarez made 
Lupe attend the victory party.  He hadn't wanted to, and after crawling 
through the drunken crush, I kinda saw his point.  I went as his date -- 
our first like going OUT while going out -- though I could only stay till 
sunset: I couldn't blow off my lesson with Kaidlearnien, especially now 
that he was my mentor in magic and not just my fairy teacher.
	Fritz and Babs covered both the meet and party for the paper -- 
somewhat erratically, given they were having a fling.  It was such the 
relief, seeing that -- seeing him get over me and slowly become my friend 
again.  They lasted almost a week, till Babs set him up with Chris and a 
graduating cheerleader named Madeleine -- all three together, that is.  I 
never really understood how that worked for them, especially given how 
volatile it was.  But despite rocky moments, they didn't break up till the 
end of summer, when Madeleine left for the fall semester at State -- and 
even then, they got back together during her winter and spring breaks.  By 
which point he'd fully accepted Lupe one of us -- which was rilly good.  
It's bad, being someone without friends or a wolf without a pack.
	Babs herself continued dating around -- though she did go steady 
for nearly two months with a nice computer geek named Laurie, the start of 
senior year.  Tatja, of course, dated no one -- not even Babs, now that 
she knew.  To no one's surprise, several colleges tried to recruit her,
including UCLA and U Conn; she eventually chose a public university in a 
nearby state with what she calls a righteous women's basketball program.  
Also to no one's surprise, Fritz followed Madeleine to State (Chris plans 
to follow them after graduating this year).  However, everyone but me was 
completely blindsided when Babs got her GED and left for Hollywood on her 
18th birthday -- I don't know why, since she'd been like dreaming of it 
ever since I met her.
	What DID surprise me was getting a 5 on the AP US History exam.  
Go me!  Lupe got a 4, plus 4 on the Calculus BC and 5/4 on the Physics C 
exams, which was also awesome.  Right after we received our scores, he 
talked me into taking both AP English and Spanish with him the next year 
-- taking TOTALLY unfair advantage of my giddiness.  I mean, TWO foreign
language APs?  It worked out, 'cause I got 5s on those too, but it was
still such the anxiety, senior year.  He also coached me (or as I like to 
think of it, BULLIED me) into a combined SAT score as good as his -- as 
better on verbal as he was on math.  Go us!
	Which was such the world of good, because it got me into UC 
Berkeley -- the perfect place to live openly as a fairy.  I mean, half the 
humans here are weirder than me.  Well, I DO get strange looks, but 
they're for dating someone from our cross-Bay rival: Lupe got a full 
academic scholarship to Stanford.  We're still together, of course.  Duh.  
My boy -- SO mine.  It's the end of freshman year, and he's waffling 
between declaring solid state engineering or pure math (though the Palo 
Alto were-pack is still hoping he'll do wildlife management).  As for 
Yours Truly, I'm majoring in journalism with a minor in creative writing, 
but I'm thinking of swapping them.  Maybe.  We'll see.
	And that's all Yours Truly has this time.  TTFN!
<1st attachment end>
<2nd attachment, "FairyNIS-5.txt" begin>
Lupe and Dana Naked in School
(mf ff, exhib, voy, naked, NIS, rom, 1st, silly, fant)
by pseudoRandom
5. Friday
Lupe
Despite staying up late with homework, I got to school early, hoping to 
catch Dana.  She wasn't there yet -- though Babs and Tatja were.  They 
stood by the flagpole, watching for her as they talked.  I hesitated, then 
joined them.  Thing was, I was still annoyed at Dana telling her parents, 
but I wanted to talk about her magic.
	The girls nodded to me, Tatja as coolly poised as usual and Babs 
as coolly aloof as ... well, never.  Given where I'd left things with 
Dana, yesterday afternoon, I couldn't say I blamed her.  They continued 
talking about math homework.  Which since I wasn't in their algebra class, 
did make me feel excluded.  Not that the feeling wasn't normal, for me.  
But somehow, it bothered me now.
	Then Fritz joined us, camera hanging from his neck -- making me 
think seriously of walking away.  He barely acknowledged me.  He hadn't 
gotten the troublesome math problem either.
	Tatja turned to me.  "Do you know how to do it?"
	"I'd have to see it," I said.  I hadn't really been listening -- 
something with secants and co-tangents, which shouldn't be too hard.
	"Lemme show you," she said, slipping her backpack off.
	"Hang on," Babs said, looking towards the corner.
	I turned.  Dana walked towards us, large coffee in hand as usual.  
Though what caught my eye was her repressed excitement -- her antennae 
were almost shimmering in place.  Hello.
	"You look like a cat who got in the cream," Babs said as she 
reached us.
	Dana failed to hide her smile.  She reached into her messenger bag  
and pulled out a wand.  HER wand.  I let out my breath.  I guess I didn't 
have to tell her.
	Tatja figured it out first.  "Dana!  Yours?"
	Dana nodded vigorously, grinning.  Babs squealed and hugged her.  
They squealed together.  Tatja looked on, amused, but when Dana jumped 
into her arms, she hugged her back.  Then Dana whirled on me.
	I opened my arms just in time for her leap.  Her momentum spun us 
around, full circle.
	"ĄFelicidades!" I whispered in her ear.
	"Squee!" she whispered back.  I'd never heard an exclaimed whisper 
before.  I put her back on the ground.
	Fritz looked at us.  "But what is it?"
	"My magic wand," Dana told him.  She turned to face him, her left 
arm still around my waist -- it felt nice, being so close.  I kept my arm 
around her waist in turn, trying not to crush her hidden wings.  She was 
trembling with excitement under my hand.
	Babs looked at the cup of coffee in her hand, as if not sure how 
it had gotten there.
	Fritz blinked behind his glasses.  "You, uh, didn't have one?"
	As Dana shook her head, Tatja told him, "It's like the fairy 
equivalent of getting your driver's license."
	I nodded.  Dana had said she wouldn't get one until she was an 
adult -- but better would be to say, you became an adult fairy when you 
receive your wand.  When you come into your magic.  Dana squeezed my hip 
for a moment, and I did the same to hers.
	"I have to say I'm a little disappointed," Babs said.  "It looks 
like a conductor's baton."
	It did, kinda -- plain dark wood, maybe a foot long, with a foam 
handle for a better grip.
	Dana blinked at her.  "So?"
	"It's just, I was expecting something a little more elaborate," 
Babs explained.
	"With a star on the end," Tatja added.  "And glitter."
	Dana rolled her eyes.  "Those Harry Potter movies."
	"I was thinking more of Tinkerbell," Babs said.
	Dana looked puzzled.  She must have been too old for Disney, when 
she moved to Earth.
	"So what kind of magic do you do?" Tatja said.
	"Peacework," Dana said proudly.
	The others looked blank, but I nodded again.  I'd figured it out 
last night.  "A conflict resolution fairy."
	She beamed at me.  "That's what Kaidlearnien calls it.  Well, he 
calls it upadiandrielt, but that's a good translation."
	"Yes, but what do you DO?" Babs said.
	"When tempers fray, I can ... mend them.  Calm people down, so we 
can work it out.  Stop the fighting."
	I glanced at Tatja.  I wondered how strong Dana's magic was -- 
strong enough to turn aside the Hunt?  Or rite, whatever Diana's nymphs 
wanted to call it.  Either way, running with Dana during the full moon was 
sounding like a good idea.
	Yeah, I know -- me taking advantage of magic.  But if it could 
protect me, was that such a bad thing?
	Assuming I could keep my fur from standing on end just thinking 
about it.
	"Ah," Fritz said in a knowing tone, "so that's how you tamed the 
lone wolf."
	I stiffened -- how did he know?  But no, he was just teasing my 
name again.  Dana's hand pressed my hip -- in warning?
	"Fritz, really," Tatja said sternly.
	"It doesn't work like that," Dana said.
	"How do we know that?" Fritz said.  "None of us knows the first 
thing about magic."
	"Magic can't change who someone is," Babs told him.  "Just tweak 
their emotions."
	"And you'd know about this?" Fritz said sarcastically.
	This boy was starting to annoy me.  I let go of Dana and shifted 
away from her, in case something started -- she let me go.
	"Yes," Babs said simply.
	"And in any case," Fritz went on, "that sounds like taming to me 
-- soothing the savage beast and all that."
	I ought to have said something -- but dammit, it wasn't anything I 
hadn't thought of myself.
	"I can't change someone's loyalty," Dana said.  "That'd be 
changing THEM."
	Fritz let out his breath, as if in exaggerated patience.  "It's 
just, I don't think I know you any more."
	Whatever that meant.  As far as I could tell, Dana was the same 
person she'd been all along -- not that I'd known her well, before this 
week.  But I'd listened to her in classes for years.
	Dana held up her wand.  "This isn't me -- it's just a tool, to 
make spells easier."
	"Is that the tool," Fritz said, "or are we?"
	If this tool didn't know Dana couldn't lie, then he really hadn't 
known Dana.  He shifted forward, looming over her.  Before I could push 
between them or Tatja could hold him back, Dana pointed her wand at him.
	"Calm down," and as she said it, a glitter of sparks streamed from 
the tip of her wand to his chest.  The same rainbow sparks I'd seen 
trailing her finger, Wednesday lunch.  The hairs on my neck stood up.
	Fritz took a deep breath, calmer.  Then looked down at the wand.  
"Dammit, Dana, don't DO that."
	He spun around, camera case bouncing, and walked rapidly away.
	And I thought I was the one freaked by magic.
	The bell rang, officially announcing an anticlimax.  We stood 
there, looking at each other, then Babs offered Dana her coffee back.  
Dana stared at it a moment, as if uncertain what it was, then took it with 
a sigh.  We hurried to the door to strip for the day.
	The principal narrowed his eyes at us.  "Final warning," he 
rumbled at Dana and me as Babs and Tatja slipped inside.
	"About?" Dana said innocently.  She put her wand in her mouth to 
use both hands to shimmy out of her skirt.
	"Tardiness."
	"Bur glum powff burr," Dana said.  She took the wand out to say, 
"But we were right here!"
	"You should be in homeroom by now."
	She was having a devil of a time juggling her clothing and bag and 
shoes and wand -- with the latter giving her the most trouble.  I 
hesitated -- she'd said it was just a tool, though that didn't mean it 
might not be magical itself.  But she needed help, and she was my Program 
partner for the week.  She was DANA.  I took the wand from her, holding it 
between thumb and forefinger, and pushed it under the flap of her 
messenger bag.  She smiled at me gratefully, then rounded on the principal 
again.
	"Yes, but if we'd been stopped by requests, we'd be just as late."
	I wanted to put my face in my palm.  Didn't she know to leave well 
enough alone?  I picked up her bag, caught her arm, and pulled her into 
the building.  "Come on, or we'll be late for first period as well."
	Which made no sense, of course -- first period was still ten 
minutes off -- but Dana accepted it with an "Oh!"  Then she glanced down 
at my erection with an impish grin.  "And we wouldn't want to be late for 
relief now would we?"
	I swear my cock jumped an inch in length, just at the thought.  
"Later," I said at the intersection.  When she followed me, though, I 
pointed behind us, down the other hallway.  "Isn't your homeroom
thataway?"
	Dana blinked, looked back, and said.  "Oh, right."
	"No, left."  THIS was the right hallway.
	"Exactly."  As I hurried on, she called after me, "Later!"
	I hadn't known a single word could be so seductive.
*
Dana
Distracted as I was (my wand! stupidhead Fritz! first period with Lupe!) 
it wasn't until halfway through homeroom that I noticed something was 
bothering me.  It took most of announcements, thinking things through, to 
figure out what it was.
	Lupe had been annoyed by my assuming we were going out without our 
talking about it, but he was perfectly willing to keep on as before 
without our talking about it.  I mean, was his arm around me an acceptance 
of my apology, for telling my parents?  I THOUGHT so, but like he pointed 
out, we had to SAY it.
	Much as I didn't like to admit it, I knew what Babs would say to 
that.
	I knew Lupe was too honorable to deliberately take advantage of 
me.  But that didn't mean I wouldn't get hurt anyway.  I had to --
	The bell rang, ending homeroom.  On my way to English, I had just 
the one request, a really bizarre one from this geeky boy -- to put my 
right foot in, then pull my right foot out, then put my right foot in and 
turn it all about -- but that was quick.  Lupe caught up with me halfway 
to English.
	His hand slipped into mine as we walked.  The first time he'd 
taken my hand.  It was so sweet, I forgot my misgivings.
	He leaned closer to me to whisper, "So what is Fritz?"
	"What do you mean?"
	"Well if three of you are, ya know, what are the chances he 
isn't?"
	Non-human.  I glanced around -- no one in the hallway was 
listening.  Besides, he'd been careful.  "You heard him this morning -- he 
doesn't know anything about magic."
	"Neither do I."
	"Nor do I, for that matter," Tatja suddenly said, from my other 
side.
	I nearly jumped, I was so started, and stopped still.
	"Sorry," Tatja said.
	The bell rang, and I jumped again.  We started for class.
	As the halls thinned, Lupe asked Tatja, "What about during the -- 
the rite?"
	Tatja frowned at him, before finally saying, "That's the goddess's 
power, manifesting in approval of our sacrifice.  Not magic."
	Lupe stopped outside out classroom.  "What's the difference?"
	Tatja turned to look at him.  "I don't know -- I don't know enough 
about magic."  Then she looked thoughtful.  "From the outside, maybe it 
looks the same."
	Lupe glanced at me, a flicker at the corner of the eye.  "Well, 
no, there's differences."
	Between my peacework and nymphs trapping their sacrifices.  Well, 
yah.  From the way he stood -- with me, facing her -- he preferred my 
powers.  Another little piece of me melted.
	Tatja grunted, then opened the door for us.
	"Dana, Lupe -- relief?" Ms Emerson said as we entered.
	Lupe stopped and looked at me, eager.
	I almost said yes.  But as much as giving and receiving relief 
from Lupe would have been nice, the way I felt, it would have taken longer 
than our five minutes.  I was beginning to wonder how five minutes could 
be enough for any sex act, really.  Well, unless you didn't have an 
emotional connection with the person -- which I suppose most of the 
relievers don't.  Which struck me as kinda sad --
	"Dana?" Ms Emerson asked.
	I shook my head.  Despite my scattered thoughts, what I'd realized 
in homeroom -- it still applied.  Until Lupe was willing to tell me what 
he wanted, not just stand with me, I couldn't risk getting closer -- 
couldn't risk falling more in love with him, till he was willing to commit.
	Though if my mother was to be believed, I was already in deep -- 
we both were.
*
Lupe
"Tú o nadie," Dana whispered to me as we sat down.  You or no one.
	I looked down at my desk.  Oh.  And here I'd been startled -- 
okay, and a little pissed -- that Dana had turned down mutual relief after 
her implied promise before homeroom.  She'd take relief from no one but 
me.  But she wasn't taking relief from me, now.
	Until I finished thinking it through, about us, we were on hold.
	"Act five," the teacher called out.  "Pyramus and Thisbe.  Tell 
me, anyone -- what does this scene remind you of?"
	A boy behind me called out, "Drama Club productions!"
	Laughter.
	The teacher called on a girl.  "It's like the Elizabethan 
equivalent of Mystery Science Theater 3000."
	More laughter -- this time joined by the teacher.
	"You have a point, Selina -- but I was asking about the 
mechanicals' play itself."
	"It's bad -- the acting, the writing, everything."
	"True -- but what about the scene, the situation?"
	"You mean, taken seriously?" Dana asked.
	"How?" the same boy called out.  "It's so stupid!"
	"Stupid in what way?"
	"Well just LOOK at Pyramus -- one bloody scarf and he jumps to the 
conclusion that she's dead."
	Chorus of agreement.
	"But," Selina said, "how many of you have seen someone you're 
sweet on talking with someone else and get jealous -- jumping to 
conclusions?"
	"Or seen a friend do it," Tatja added.
	Dana nodded.  Was she thinking of Fritz?  Though Dana WAS 
interested in me, so it wasn't a false conclusion.  Someone else, then?
	The class talked about it a while, and under the teacher's leading 
questions came to the conclusion that both Pyramus and Thisbe get in 
trouble because they think in all-or-nothing terms.  Life without the 
other was as good as death.
	Pyramus saw a torn scarf and assumed the worst.  Fritz and I saw 
magic and assumed the worst.
	The thing was, I knew in my HEAD that Dana's magic was harmless -- 
that she could only use it for good.  My heart, the part that stays me 
through every change -- all it knew was that in the past, every magic 
spell I'd seen had tried to kill me.  Never mind the magic that let Dana 
cover her wings with a shirt, or the twice I'd seen her mojo Fritz when 
he was upset.  And me, once.
	I don't know how much you know about wolves, but one important 
thing is, they're proud, man.  The heart that stays through both wolf and 
man didn't want to admit that it was wrong.  About either her magic or her 
family.  Her family, which had successfully hidden their identities for 
however long it'd been.
	If I waited for my heart to come around, I'd never get together 
with Dana.
	The teacher called my attention back with an observation: nor 
would the four Athenians have gotten sorted out, if they -- and Puck -- 
hadn't admitted they'd gotten things wrong.  The choice of Pyramus and 
Thisbe wasn't random on Shakespeare's part.  Which got everyone off on a 
tangent again.  I followed it for a while, before looking at Dana again.
	The thing about self-control is, that if you act like you haven't 
lost your temper, then you're a good way to keeping it.  That was 
something Caesaria had taught me.
	The bell rang, ending the discussion.  The teacher reminded us of 
our essays due Monday -- bleagh -- and released us.  I sat at my desk a 
moment.
	The way to train my heart into accepting Dana's magic as it 
already accepted herself was to act like it.
	I stood and looked at Dana.  She returned my gaze, waiting.  Then 
I whispered,
	"Nadie puede var a la mierda."
*
Dana
I watched Lupe leave, puzzled.  Only when he was out the door did I figure 
it out.  My heart felt like a blossoming field of butterflies.
	Tatja wrinkled her nose.  "Did he just say Nadja has diarrhea?"
	"'No one' can go to, uh, a bad place," I translated.  Forget no one 
-- I'd get relief from him.  He'd thought about it.  He'd accepted my 
apology.
	"And this makes you giddy because?"
	Was I giddy?  Though I did want to like giggle and titter and 
twirl.  "I asked him out," I explained as we left the room.  "That's his 
way of saying yes."  Well, more or less.  We'd have to talk, during 
lunch.  Make it explicit this time.  I'd SO learned my lesson about that.
	Tatja raised an eyebrow at me, then shook her head.  "All I can 
say is, I'm glad you found someone who understands you."
	Again, Fritz didn't meet us in the hall, but reached biology 
before us.  And I, of course, had to sit up front instead of getting a 
chance to talk with him.  Though I was pretty sure Babs would tell me 
that, like Lupe, Fritz needed to think it through for a while.
	Ms Leyden didn't give me the chance for relief -- because I would 
be doing that later in class.  I stuck out my tongue at her naked back, 
when she turned away.  Okay, so maybe taking relief from Lupe last period 
would have been a good idea.  Well, it would have been bad at the time, 
but good for now.  Oh, you know what I mean.
	We started with a discussion of fairy sexuality.  Yes, fairies 
have sexualities -- we're nature spirits, aren't we?  No, Nature isn't all 
straight -- homosexual behavior occurs in nature, along with other things.  
Yes, that means there's gay and lesbian and bisexual fairies.  No, there's 
no prejudice against gays among fairies -- though hobs can be nasty about 
it.  Yes, the Gay-Straight Alliance would be pointless in Elfland.  No, 
I'm straight myself.  Yes, I have kissed another girl -- that's how I know 
I'm straight.  No, I'm not a virgin.  Yes, with a human.
	The questions had gotten such the personal.  I could see the term 
papers now: "Sexual Habits of the Adolescent Fairy."
	Leyden asked, "Are you dating anyone now?"
	I hesitated on that a moment, before admitting, "I'm sorta kinda 
seeing someone."
	"Would he or she mind if another person assisted you in a 
sexuality demonstration?"  In response to which, a couple kids eagerly 
raised their hands -- though not Fritz.  He grimaced for a moment, before 
wiping his face blank.
	Wait -- she?  "I said I'm straight."
	"Just covering all the bases."
	Which gave me the time to think.  I honestly didn't know if Lupe 
would be jealous or not.  Fritz would be, but that was besides the point.  
No, the point was that *I* would mind.  You or no one, I'd said -- and 
meant it.
	"I would prefer not to have assistance."
	The hands went down.
	Leyden then asked me to masturbate for the class.  Nothing more 
than we'd already seen, earlier in the year, from other students.  Right?
	I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and touched myself.
	I fantasized about -- well, I'm not sure I want to share it.  Not 
that it was anything embarrassing or perverse -- I mean, I wasn't near 
ready for sex with Lupe in wolf form, beautiful as it is.  But it was mine 
and his.  So let's just say it involved me and Lupe in naked to the warm 
moonlight in a field of fluffy bunnies, and a paint-bucket of glitter.  
Glitter looked really nice frosting Lupe's body hair -- at least in my 
imagination.  I wanted to find out, now, whether that was true.  Not that 
I had that large a bucket at home.
	Yes, I know, the glitter when I cast a spell -- but that winks out 
after I cast it.
	I took my time, not being limited to five minutes.  When I was 
done, the class talked about their observations of me, which made me feel 
totally odd, like I wasn't there.  But this turned into more questions, 
about fairy sex.  No, fairies don't usually use the missionary position, 
unless they have beetle wings.  Yes, flying does mean some interesting 
positions.  No, I haven't tried them.  Yes, they're supposed to be fun.  
No, I preferred sex with my boyfriend -- and he stays on the ground.  
Well, yes, I did mean that literally, but yanno a bed is the same 
principle.  No, I'd rather not list all the positions we've tried -- nor 
the places we'd done it.
	And all the while, Fritz turned stiffer and stiffer, until he was 
more like a stone than a student.
*
Lupe
It wasn't until the end of math that I realized why Dana had never feared 
me as a wolf.  Something Fritz, of all people, had said pointed me toward 
it.  She hadn't known she could soothe the savage beast, as he'd put it, 
but that'd been her instinct.  Her magic fit her character -- or her 
personality chose the form of her magic.  Something like that.  Not nature 
versus nurture so much as ... precursor versus predetermined?
	Sometimes I wish I was better with words.
	As I pondered this chicken-and-egg thing, I accidentally walked 
into the boy's locker room -- again.  Again, three big football players 
objected.  As if a naked guy, among all the other guys changing, was 
threatening their manhood or something.  This time, instead of just 
backing off, I stood there, hands spread.
	"Guys, honest mistake, eh?"
	The linebacker narrowed his eyelids -- I hadn't realized piggy 
eyes could get even smaller -- and said, "Just don't do it again."
	It was my last school day in the Program, so it wasn't like it'd 
come up again, but I just nodded.
	We all turned away together, and I crossed over to the girl's 
side.
	Tatja saw me before Luisa's gang did.  With her was another 
basketball/volleyball player -- a brunette with the same disinterested 
look about her as Tatja.  The look that didn't really care that I was a 
naked boy.  The look of another nymph.
	Just how many supernaturals were hiding in our school?
	Tatja introduced her as Helene Kourdakopolos.  From a line of 
nymphs that stayed in Greece, I was guessing.
	"This is ... ?" Helene asked Tatja.
	"The one who got away," I answered for her.  Yeah, as much boast 
as anything.
	She didn't like that I knew who she was -- no more than I liked 
Tatja telling her about me.  "And why should we trust you?"
	What answer could I give but, "The same reason I should trust 
you."
	I met her gaze as she went from annoyed to disdainful to 
thoughtful.  Tatja smiled slightly.
	To Tatja, Helene finally sneered, "What-EVER."
	I watched her stalk off, then said to Tatja, "And you think you 
can keep me safe from her?"
	"It'll take a little convincing," she admitted.  "It'd help if you 
can assure her you've never mauled a cow."
	I blinked.
	"Her mother and grandmother raise cattle, north of town."
	Finally I said, "A single wolf can't take down a full-grown cow.  
If they ranch, they'd know that."
	Tatja grunted, and went into the gym.
	I spent P.E. outside under Coach Dean again, me and three 
cross-country runners, as she coached us on tactics for tomorrow's meet.  
Most of which I knew from every other meet I'd run in, but you know 
coaches.  I wouldn't have minded except for standing outside naked.  It 
was a warmer day, but still.  Finally she had us run a 3000m -- and then 
dissected our performance in just as much detail.
	Enough so, that when she finally let us go in to shower, the gym 
was empty -- not even Tatja was waiting for me.
	But Helene was.
	She studied me with narrowed eyes.  "Almakova claims you scrub 
backs well."
	Why would Tatja say that?  "There's only one way to find out," I 
replied.
	Not the answer Helene was looking for.  She wanted an excuse to 
not like me.  A week ago, I would have blown past her, not caring whether 
she liked me or not.  A week ago, I wouldn't have known how much my safety 
depended on it.
	"You may have seduced Tatja into trusting you -- " she started to 
say, but I cut her off with a laugh.
	"She has even more reason to worry about me than you do," I said.  
Off her look, I explained, "I'm seeing her friend."
	Helene almost sneered.  "Babs Scranton can take care of herself."
	"Other friend."
	"Fritz?"  When I choked, she corrected herself.  "The fairy???"
	I nodded.  When she stared at me without responding, I walked past 
her into the locker room.
	Tatja was at the far shower again.  I joined her.  Before I could 
finish shampooing, Helene joined us.
	And I scrubbed her back.
*
Dana
Fritz was still stone-silent as he walked me to math -- or partly walked 
me, for when Babs caught up, he left us.  I was looking after him when 
Babs said, "So I take it I don't get to beat him up?"
	"No beatings," I told her.  Why do so many humans suggest violence 
as a solution, even as a joke?  Not that Babs is human, but I still
thought of her that way.
	"What, not even in bed?" she said teasingly.  "Don't knock it till 
you've tried it."
	"But I don't want to take him to bed," I protested.  "That's like 
the whole point!"
	Babs raised her finger, then paused.  "I was talking about Lupe," 
she finally said.  "Not Fritz."
	"Wait -- what?  No!  No beating Lupe.  That's my job."  Before she 
could say anything, I added, "Not that there'll be any beatings."
	"Whip me, beat me, make me fluffy," she murmured.
	Which is why I entered algebra class doubled over laughing -- loud 
enough that when Mr Weinberger asked if I cared to share the joke with the 
class, all I could do was wave a limp hand at him.
	I spent the class thinking of how fun it would be, being fluffy 
with my boy.  With or without bunnies.
	Mmm -- fluffy.  'Scuze me a minute.
*
Lupe
Tatja and I went to lunch again together.  Well, sort of together -- she 
stood in the cafeteria line while I (with my brown bag -- I couldn't face 
another school lunch) grabbed a table in the Commons.  For all of us -- 
somehow, in less than a week, that had become habit -- one of the 
six-seaters.  Though when the others arrived with their orange trays, 
Fritz wasn't with them.
	I looked at Dana.  She raised her chin as she looked back.  We 
needed to talk -- alone, later.  I nodded, and she sat beside me.  Tatja 
and Babs sat across from us.
	The mystery du jour, by the way, smelled vile.  Viler than usual, 
I mean.  The creamy sludge on top was closer to green than white.  I tried 
not to think about how stinky I'd find it as a wolf.  I'd probably want 
to roll in it.
	"What's the matter?" Dana asked as I peered at her plate.
	"I don't like the look of that supposed white sauce."
	"It's to cover the supposed food underneath," Tatja said.
	I looked up at her.  "The stuff beneath it's worse?"
	"Almost certainly," she said solemnly.
	"Worse than creamed snot?" I shot back.  "How?"
	Tatja leaned towards me and whispered conspiratorially, "It's ... 
magic."
	I scowled a moment, before realizing she was yanking my tail.  She 
snickered.  I shot back, "Or prayer, as the case may be."
	Dana giggled, and Tatja made a thin, wry smile.  Score.  I had to 
admit, sitting with Dana's friends was more fun than sitting alone.  As in 
more funny.
	Okay, okay, man -- I'll stop pretending I can make jokes.
	Throughout all this, Babs had studied Dana, chewing her cheek.  
She suddenly asked, "Why now?"
	Dana looked at her.  "Because it's what they served us?"
	Babs shook her head.  "I mean your magic -- why'd it happen come 
out your week in the Program?"
	Good question, I thought.  But I acted like I was only a little 
curious -- not a big deal.
	"She's right," Tatja said, "it is a bit of a big, ah ... "
	"Co-rinkydinks?  It isn't.  I mean, not that it was the Program -- 
not exactly."  Dana colored slightly.  I hadn't known that when she 
blushes, her nipples turned bright pink.  Very cute -- or maybe I mean 
very sexy.  With her, they're kinda the same.
	"Not exactly, how?" Tatja said.
	Dana took a sip of juice.  "According to my mother, fairy magic 
develops when you first fall in love," and she carefully didn't look at 
me, "with someone who returns your love."
	I stared at her.  Who said I was in love with her?
	Other than her magic.
	Damn magic.
*
Dana
There.  Now, where was I?  Oh yeah -- lunch.
	See, I hadn't insisted on talking with my boy right then -- aside 
from it'd mean ditching my friends again, that is -- because I thought we 
had time.  Sometimes, though, the Great Circle doesn't let you rest.  By 
the look on his face, he hadn't worked it out.  Yet.
	There are some things magic can't force.
	Tatja and Babs looked from Lupe to me.  Lupe flushed, his skin 
turning a richer dark.  Then Tatja nodded.  Babs almost snickered, but I 
glared at her.  So it was Lupe who spoke first.
	"Wait -- didn't your mother got her magic when she was twelve?"
	SO not what I was expecting.  "?"
	Tatja shook her head, as if to clear it.  "You mean she -- ?"
	"Oh," I said.  "Yeah, that was when my parents met.  I hadn't 
noticed that before."  Somehow, I'd never made the connection.  I 
sometimes wonder whether, if I had, that would have comforted me about my 
own magic -- or made me worry about not having a boyfriend yet.
	"Danes," Tatja said, "wasn't she a little young ... ?"
	"Of course she wasn't too young -- it happened, didn't it?  So it 
must be good."
	Lupe cleared his throat.  "But -- um, he was twenty-seven and she 
was twelve."
	It took me a moment to remember that humans considered an age 
difference like that scandalous, if not illegal.  Not that any of us four 
were human, but still.  I made an impatient noise.  "We're FAIRIES -- we 
can't do anything bad.  We can't even use bad words.  I mean, drat it."
	Lupe tried to hide a smile, but I was getting to know his facial 
ticks.  He asked, "You want to cuss more?"
	"No, silly -- that was an example of the worst I can do."
	"Ah."
	I sighed.  "Look, there's a reason we follow the Great Circle.  
It's, like, natural.  A part of nature, I mean."
	Lupe cocked his head at me.  "I suppose I should have realized 
that a nature spirit would be heathen."
	But didn't he follow his Silver Mistress, the moon?  "What about 
you?"
	"Madre de Dios," he said, "I'm Catholic, of course."
	Oh.  Maybe Silver Mistress was another title of this Mother.  
"Gotcha."
	"Nature spirit?" Babs finally asked.
	Lupe turned up his hand towards me.  "Opener of flowers in the 
night?"
	I sometimes think the real reason I love my boy is that, more than 
anyone I've known, he truly sees me -- and has from the start.  He always 
understands, even before I can put it in words.  Though his body certainly 
isn't a fake reason.  Yum.  I didn't know whether to melt in a puddle of 
squee at the sweetness of it all or drag him under the table with me -- 
though the latter would have been rude.  So would the former, come to 
think of it -- no one had a towel.
	Lupe nodded to Tatja.  "We know your religion -- what about you, 
Babs?  Not Muslim?"
	Which meant he was actually, like, talking.  With my friends, I 
mean.  A good sign, I thought, till I realized he was trying to change the 
subject.  Well, that was a good sign too, I supposed.
	Babs chuckled.  "Not really, no.  I'm Baha'i."
	Who?
	"Isn't that a Islamic splinter sect that became its own religion?" 
Lupe said.
	"Very good," Babs said.  "Most people haven't heard of them."
	"A small religion," Tatja said, as much question as statement.
	"Says the Dianic Wiccan," Babs shot back.
	Tatja shook her head.  "Not Neo-Pagan -- the old ways handed down 
and kept to."
	All of which completely lost me.  Human -- and I guess non-human 
-- religions just baffle me.  Though Buddhists are onto something with 
their karma -- that's more or less the heart of the Great Circle.  Or as 
one bumper sticker I saw put it, "What goes around comes around."
	Fortunately before their argument could get far, lunch ended.
	Art was, for once, NOT more of the same.  We were still sketching 
fairies, yes, but this time *I* got to draw.  Ms Andrews had rigged up two 
harnesses with wings, and had other students pose in them -- a different 
pair each session.  Not that the wings were very fairy-like -- the gauzy 
butterfly things were too small to carry anyone larger than a toddler, and 
the white bird wings were just weird.  Don't ask ME how angels are 
supposed to fly with those things -- they don't look at ALL aerodynamic.
	It was still fun to draw them.  Todd made a good angel to Mary's 
innocent fairy, but Scarlett's gothgirl angel was totally RAD with 
Spike's truly punk fairy.  I liked my sketch of them, especially once I 
shaded the angel wings dark.  Way sexy.
	All in all, best art class all week, even if I did run over.
*
Lupe
I was pleased with how well I kept my cool through lunch.  Even with Dana 
springing that on me.  Oddly enough, it was talking about her parents that 
helped.  I thought about them on the way to physics.
	Well, after the request -- a girl insisted on feeling the muscles 
in my legs and butt.  She claimed to be an artist.  Just on her own, it 
was almost as uncomfortable as Luisa's gang.  Nothing like the way Dana 
touched me.  I got away as quickly as I could.
	Yes, Dana's parents had fallen in love and brought out each 
other's magic, but that wasn't the end of it -- they'd divorced.  
Possibly, if it came to that, BECAUSE her mother'd been so young.  In 
other words, magic isn't predestination.  Maybe we were in love, but we 
still had to work things out.
	Which was an oddly heartening thought: I walked into class with a 
secret smile on my face, despite that request.
	I turned down relief -- we had more practice AP tests to take.
	Even though I knew we probably wouldn't -- or maybe that's 
shouldn't -- take relief together until we talked, I still spent physics 
looking forward to seeing Dana in history.  A hell of a lot more than I 
looked forward to taking the AP, let me tell you.  Man, did I have a lot 
of studying to do before then.  In my copious spare time between studying 
for the calc and history APs, that is.
	I was most of the way to class before Dana came up behind me.  
She caught my hand and we stopped -- just as the bell rang.
	"About relief," she said.
	"You think we shouldn't give mutual relief -- till we can talk 
about it."
	Well, no, she hadn't been thinking that, judging by the surprise 
on her face.  But she quickly turned somber.  "Maybe you're right."
	I nodded.
	"But I still need relief," she went on.
	I swallowed.  "So do I."
	"So," she said with that chipper smile of hers, "do it together."
	It took me a moment to unpack that -- both of us solo.  I nodded, 
and we started to class.
	The teacher looked dubious as usual when we requested relief, but 
hmphed his agreement.  We stood side by side in the front of the class, 
legs braced.  And started masturbating.
	In time.  It wasn't conscious -- we just fell in synch.  I could 
almost feel Dana's excitement rise with mine.  Which turned me on all the 
more.  After a minute or so, I was ready to come, and she almost was too.  
I held back as best I could, jacking less hard to stay on the edge, till 
her cries started rising -- and her wings started beating -- and I let go 
and pumped and pumped and came and came as she did.
	She caught my arm as she came down, to hold herself up -- nearly 
pulling me down with her.  My legs were wobbly.
	It was the most intense jacking off I'd ever had.  I didn't know 
whether it was her, or doing it with her, or what, but it was.
	I threw away my tissues and we staggered to our seats while others 
gathered strewn papers -- only a few, this time.  Once again, class was a 
dead loss.  At least I had my finished essay to turn in.  Dana's was 
incomplete, though, so I didn't get much joy out of it.
	As we left class, Dana pulled me to one side of the door and 
hugged me -- hard.  I held her, as best I could under her wings, for 
several seconds.  Her chin rested on my shoulder, her antenna gently 
patting my hair.
	"Sometimes," she whispered in my ear, "I just want to hold you all 
day."
	"Just hold?"
	"Well-l-l," she drawled as she pulled back enough to look me in 
the eyes.  "And other things."
	Remember that cock I thought was drained?  It was hard again, and 
not just because it was trapped by her warm body.  Time to deflect the 
conversation.  "Still, we couldn't do that all day.  Aside from the 
getting hungry thing."
	"Why not?"
	We broke, and she caught my hands in hers.  I explained, "That'd 
be like living only on peanut-butter-and-marshmallow-fluff sandwiches."
	Dana got a hungry look on her face.  "Mmm."
	I should have known she had a higher tolerance for sickeningly 
sweet than I do.  "Not now," I told her, "it'll ruin your dinner."
	She dug at the floor with her toe.  "O-o-oh," she said in a 
"you're no fun" tone of voice.  I was finally, I thought, starting to get 
the hang of handling the Dana Experience: be just as silly.  She accepted 
non-sequiturs as well as she gave them.
	Besides, it didn't hurt to laugh, once in a while.
*
Dana
Babs found us just as the bell rang.  "Guys -- hello up there! -- we're 
late."
	"Up where?" I asked.  After all, I'm shorter than her.
	"Couples Mountain, apparently," she said.  "Come on!"
	That hill again, wherever it was.  I let go of one of Lupe's hands 
as Babs reached for us.  Somehow, she ended up between us, but we were in 
too much of a hurry to sort ourselves out.
	"I have a request, O Program Participants," Babs said as we 
hurried.  "That you let me give you two relief at the start of the next 
class."
	"Serial or parallel?" Lupe asked.  Whatever that meant.
	"At the same time," Babs explained.
	My heart skipped a beat at the thought.  How would she do that -- 
one hand each?  Not to mention, "Is that the parallel or the serial?"
	"Focus, Danes," Babs said.
	"I am focused," I protested, "on which is which."  We turned the 
corner, with me on the outside -- and since I turn sharp when I back with 
my wings, Babs ran into me, and Lupe into her.  Oof!
	"Danes!" Babs protested.
	"She means parallel," Lupe said to me, then to Babs, "Why now?"  
He sounded skeptical.
	We stopped in front of the classroom door.  "Because I have a 
feeling I won't get a chance with either of you for a while."
	Suddenly, finally, my brain kicked into gear.  She thought Lupe 
and me would be steady, and so off-limits.  Not that Babs hadn't done a 
threesome or two with steady couples in the past, that I knew of.  But, 
still --
	This was important, I realized.  Hadn't Babs herself warned me 
about setting the right pattern for things at the start?  Was this the 
sort of relationship where we did threesomes -- and other things?
	I looked at Lupe -- his face blank, giving nothing away.  I didn't 
even know if we HAD a relationship, let alone what kind.  And here he was, 
not giving me any clue.  Except -- no, that wasn't it.
	He was giving me the choice.
	What did I want?  I wanted him.
	"Maybe later," I heard myself say.  "But thanks for the offer."
	My boy smiled -- a small curl of the lips that curled round my 
heart.  Right choice.
	"It was a Program request," Babs said in an odd voice.
	"Babs," Lupe said firmly, "we think it's not reasonable.  And you 
know better than to try what you're thinking."
	Try what -- her seduction powers?  I should think she knew better 
than to use them!  Though from the way she blushed, just a little around 
the ears, I realized she'd been tempted to.  She turned and went into the 
class.
	For a moment, as I watched her bottom sway in her tight jeans, I 
almost regretted turning her down.
	I took my boy's hand.  Almost regretted.
	Well, not really.
*
Lupe
The teacher chewed us out for being so late, and refused us relief.  Not 
that we were going to ask for it -- not after that scene with Babs.
	Then we had our test.  What test, you ask?  I hadn't mentioned any 
Spanish test.  That's because I'd forgotten about it, man.  If I'd even 
heard the teacher tell us yesterday.  Either way, I hadn't studied for it.
	I looked at the test paper, sighed, and started conjugating 
subjunctive forms of tener.
	I sweated over the exam until the bell rang.  As I handed it in, 
the teacher said to me, "Glad to be done with the Program?"
	Done?  I stared back at her.  How to put this?  I held up a finger 
and ticked it off, "Track practice this afternoon," and ticked off a 
second, "a meet tomorrow, and -- "
	She raised her hand to stop me.  "Never mind.  I'll just be glad 
to have you back with us, Monday.  You're normally a good student."
	To which I could say nothing.  How'd she know, when I never spoke 
unless I had to?
	Dana was waiting for me in the hall -- without Babs this time.  
Good -- what I wanted to say, I didn't want her listening.  Which was my 
first hint that I really was about to say it.  The second was the hollow 
in my gut.
	I took a deep breath before I could lose my courage.  "Dana, would 
you like to go out tonight -- dinner or something?"
	Her face seemed to glow -- for a second.
	I almost lost it when it stopped.  She didn't want to?  Then what 
had all that been, before class?
	She finally said, "I'd like to."
	That's the sort of statement that's never complete.  "But?"
	"My family."
	Ah -- okay.  It wasn't ME.  Too short a notice, I guessed.  I 
nodded.
	"Will you come to dinner, instead?"
	Um -- wait -- what?
	Dana went on, "They're -- well, my stepfather, he's a little upset 
over you.  So we need to introduce you, so he can see you're okay."
	You'd think if her family was giving her grief, she'd want to keep 
me away.  But then, how much grief could they be giving her, with her 
magic?  An idea that made me slightly queasy -- but I ignored it, 
following my resolution to act not worried.  "Um.  Sure."  Surely we'd get 
a chance to talk, sometime in there.  Besides, this way, I could see 
whether *I* trusted THEM with knowing I'm a werewolf.
	Her cheeks dimpled.  "It's informal -- so don't worry.  What 
you're wearing is fine."
	I hadn't been worried.  Though now I was.
*
Dana
I nearly floated up to the student newspaper offices.  Yes, even though I 
can't fly indoors.
	He'd said yes.  We were dating.  Not that we were going, like, OUT 
on a date, so I guess we were going out without going out, -- if there is 
such a thing -- and we hadn't said we were going steady -- but whatever 
you called it, --
	Anyway, we were working it out.  Me and my boy.
	I had two things to deal with in the offices.  One of them was 
write my column.  Yes, I could write it tomorrow morning, since the 
deadline for the weekend edition is noon, but -- what I said about not 
being the morning person?  I knew from it not getting done if I waited.  
Only if there's a Friday night dance can I get away with waiting, and even 
then it was iffy.
	The second thing was Fritz.  As I hoped, he was there -- tinkering 
with his camera as he waited for the afternoon basketball games.  He'd 
avoided me all day, even skipping lunch.  For a couple days, really.  I 
did wonder if I should let him -- give him time to work things through, as 
Lupe had needed -- but every instinct was telling me not to let this 
fester between us.  I was still very new to my magic, but one thing 
Kaidlearnien had pointed out was, mine's an instinctive magic -- I'd been 
using it without realizing it.  This meant I should listen to my 
instincts.
	Even though I was also nervous.  What if I lost a friend -- my 
oldest friend -- over this?  The idea of losing a friend, especially after 
the scare of earlier this week ... I shuddered.
	I took a deep breath, reminded myself not to spell him, what with 
it wigging him out -- and walked over.  Across the room, Babs watched me 
from the couch.  She didn't return my finger twiddle -- but I couldn't 
think about that.  I stopped across the table from Fritz.
	He looked up.  "Dana."
	I sat down.  "Yes, I still am."  I looked at him.
	He smiled slightly.  "Um, yeah, I kinda recognized you."
	"Good," I said.  "You kinda said this morning that you didn't."
	Which sobered him.  "I -- well, I'm sorry.  I was a little 
freaked.  What with magic being real and all that."
	"As real as I am," I said -- though once I said it, I wasn't quite 
sure what it meant.
	"Yeah, well, until this week ... "
	Until this week, I'd been hidden.  I hadn't even been able to tell 
him where I'd really moved from.  "Fair enough."
	He looked down at his camera, then turned it off.  "You and Lupe," 
he said.
	"Is between me and Lupe," I said.  I wasn't going to open that 
discussion with him.
	"I'm not going to ask you what you see in him -- I'm not that 
stupid."  He looked up at me, eyes large through his glasses.  "But I need 
to know -- is there any hope for me?"
	A good-looking, intelligent boy like him?  "Fritz, there's lots of 
girls in this school.  That's a lot of hope."
	He pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose.  "I 
meant, hope with you.  For me."
	Oh -- he was still trying to open that discussion.  And I couldn't 
just shut him out of it.  "If anything, only after him -- and even saying 
that's not fair to him -- "
	"Not fair, how?"
	I pressed on with my thought, " -- nor is it fair to you, leaving 
you waiting."
	"Isn't that up to me to decide?"
	I opened my mouth, then remembered where I'd heard those words 
before.  When I'd used them, to Lupe.  I'd just been sauced by the gander, 
or however you say that.  I looked down at the table, and traced the grain 
of the fake wood laminate.  "I would prefer," I said softly, "if you 
decided to remain my friend."
	His mouth twisted into a cruel parody of a smile.  "I see."  
Angry and bitter.
	I swallowed.  It didn't look like I'd get my preference.  I looked 
around the room, searching for I don't know what.  Solace.  What I saw was 
Babs.  Another friend I'd denied this afternoon, also in favor of my boy.  
Was this what they meant, about new relationships breaking up friendships?  
I looked at her in mute appeal, that the same thing not happen to us.
	She met my gaze steadily, wooden-faced.
	And then smiled slightly, and got up.  Fritz stood and gathered 
his camera as she started towards us.
	"It's always, 'Let's be friends,' isn't it," he started to say to 
me.
	"Hey, Fritz," Babs said.
	"Yes?"  He looked at her, breaking off his tirade.
	"We should head out if we're covering the games."
	"We -- I -- uh -- "  He checked his watch.  "I guess we should."
	He shouldered his gear, ignoring me.  Or as if he didn't even 
notice me -- attention all on Babs.  Babs twiddled her fingers, one 
eyebrow raised as if to say I owed her one, and turned to go.  By the time 
he reached the door, she had her arm around his waist.
	I looked after them.  Maybe he could find solace in another's 
arms.  Either way, yeah -- I did owe her, if she could keep him distracted 
long enough to get over me.
	Chris stopped beside me, digital recorder in hand.  "If he's that 
upset about covering the basketball games, why'd he volunteer?"
	It was too much to explain what had really happened.  I shook my 
head.
	Chris sighed.  "Sometimes, I just don't understand people."
	I wasn't sure I did either.  Fascinating creatures, though.
	That was task two.  I moved to a computer, to write my Yours Truly 
column.
	Except I had ... nothing.  For the second time this week, I'd been 
too wrapped up in my own drama to pick up any social news worth printing 
-- though this time, it'd been good drama instead of bad.  And there was 
no way I was writing up me and Lupe.  That was just selfish.  Not to 
mention, hello -- werewolf = secret.  But then what?
	I pushed my chair back and let my mind drift -- thinking about 
past columns, doing columns, doing homework, my lesson tonight, magic (my 
magic!), glitter sprinkles, ice cream, ickle fuzzy puppies, pastry chefs, 
parties, no parties, going out with Lupe.  Or sorta going out.
	I sat up.  That's it.  All the sorts of going out / dating / 
steady / friends with benefits / all that -- perfect subject for Yours 
Truly.  I could even describe them as stages up the slope of Couples 
Mountain -- assuming that's what Babs meant by that.  Either way, it 
worked for me.  I started typing.
	Fifteen minutes later, I had a column -- 750 words of minutely 
documented confusion.  "All of which just goes to show, love's 
complicated.  So tell ya what -- if you think Yours Truly missed something 
or got it wrong, do tell.  Email, note, whatever.  We'll print the best 
responses next week.
	"And that's all Yours Truly has this time.  TTFN!"
	I read it through, made a couple corrections, then emailed it my 
editor.  Who was sitting at the other computer, but trust me, it's easier 
this way.
	"Boyfriend troubles?" Jimbo asked, as he read it through.
	What gave him that idea?  "No," I told him, "I have one."
	He opened his mouth, then closed it.  "Never mind.  I don't want 
to go there."
	I should think not -- Lupe was MY boy, not his.  Besides, I didn't 
think he was gay.  Lupe isn't, I mean -- Jimbo is, of course.
	I checked the time -- half an hour till Lupe got off work.  Just 
enough to get home and set the stage.  And let my parents know we had a 
dinner guest.
*
Lupe
Coach Suarez looked at me, at my shoes, then back at my face.  "De Vega, 
at this rate, there's no way you'll break in new shoes in time for 
tomorrow."
	I shrugged.
	"It's not so much that they're a disgrace to the school -- though 
Lord knows they are -- but they're coming apart.  The sole's starting to 
flap, on the heels.  It'll hurt your performance."
	I nodded once.  That was true enough.
	Coach sighed.  "Look," he said softly, "if you can't afford new 
ones, you can just tell me."
	Like I was going to admit that.  Except, well, it was true.  It 
occurred to me, I'd been swallowing a lot of pride today.  Would a little 
more hurt me?
	After several seconds, I nodded.
	"We've got programs to help low-income kids, you know."
	I didn't.  Other than meal programs, that is.  I nodded yet again.
	Coach Dean called to him.  He waved back -- hold on a sec.  
"We'll talk tomorrow," he told me.  "Start warming up."
	After which threat, I wasn't sure whether to look forward to the 
meet or not.  I'd already get enough attention -- by which I mean too much 
-- running naked.  Which I'd been trying not to thinking about, but
athletic events are school events -- so Program rules applied.
	I avoided Coach's attention as much as possible -- not hard, with 
the relay runners still sloppy with the baton -- and got out of practice.
	In the girls' locker room, I ran into the basketball team, heading 
out to their game.  All tall, strong girls -- they could almost be the 
Hunt themselves, though some, I was pretty sure, had boyfriends or 
girlfriends.  Like Selina, from English class.
	Though not Tatja and Helene.  They were walking together.  I waved 
a finger as I passed, and said, "Go get 'em!"
	Tatja gave me a thumbs up.  Helene pursed her lips a moment, then 
nodded.  "We will."
	Hidden message: get "them," not me.  I nodded back.
	As I turned to go, Helene called after me, "Run well."
	At the meet, or from the Hunt?  Either way, "I will."  Oh yes I 
would.
	I changed shoes, then retrieved my clothes from the main office 
receptionist -- she still had Dana's -- and headed to work.
	More shelf stocking -- cans, mostly, which may be boringly 
repetitive, but at least it's better than tossing dairy and bakery past 
their expiration dates.  Yuck.
	Though there's one thing about stocking I don't like -- the way 
Caesaria's pricing gun keeps jamming.  An old friend of mine, that thing.  
Every time, I sighed and stopped to unjam it.
	"I see by you no cussing your novia is working out."  Caesaria was 
standing at the end of the aisle.
	I smiled slightly, and continued tinkering.  True, the dratted 
thing usually annoyed me -- usually, it was a damned thing, or worse.  I 
guess I was in a good mood, despite worrying about Dana's family.
	"żQuieres que contarmela?"  She smiled broadly -- as when settling 
into a good gossip with a regular.
	I stopped for a moment.  Did I want to tell her about Dana?  Could 
I NOT tell anyone about her?  I felt like a rag doll bursting at the seams 
with wanting to talk.  Though, how to describe Dana?  "Ella es una hada 
linda."  A pretty fairy, indeed.  Linda, hermosa, buena, mona ...
	"żUna qué?"
	"Hada.  Fairy.  With wings."  At her uncomprehending look, I 
grabbed the Mini Fairy Land box from the toy shelf.  I opened it and got 
out one of the fairy figures.
	Caesaria took it with a trembling hand.  "Ella -- she is like 
this?"
	"Well, her wings are bigger and her dress more gauzy.  Como gasa."  
Then I remembered an important detail, and held out my hand.  "This tall."
	Under her breath, Caesaria started reciting the Hail Mary -- in 
Spanish.  As she'd taught me to do, to help keep control of oneself -- to 
keep my temper.  I waited.  Finally, she handed the figurine back, face
blank.
	Then she frowned at the box.  "You know the rule -- you open it--"
	"I want it for her," I said.  "Take it out of my pay."
	The door chimed, and Caesaria nodded to me before turning to the 
customer.  I took the box into the back, to put with my backpack.
	The rest of the afternoon, I caught Caesaria looking at me at odd 
moments -- sometimes worried, sometimes curious, sometimes dubious.  Once 
she stopped me with a question.
	"żTienes que hablar con una bruja?  żPara protección?"
	Protection -- as in birth control?  But she was asking if I wanted 
a bruja's protection -- from Dana's fairy magic.
	Yesterday, I would have been strongly tempted, even though I 
distrusted traditional brujería as much as the Hunt's magic.  Now, though 
-- even if a charm could protect me, I wouldn't take it.  I had to act 
like I trusted Dana.  No fear.  That was the only way to teach myself.  
"No."  When she seemed about to push it, I added, "ĄNo!"
	She nodded, and left me to my job.
	At the end of my shift, all the new cans were on the shelves -- 
snacks and candies, I'd do tomorrow morning.  I went up front to say 
goodbye and collect my week's pay -- Caesaria counted it out from the 
register.  Before she handed it over, she studied me.  "You treat tu hada 
well, eh?  I find you treat her bad, I keel you."  She cupped my cheek 
with a strong hand.
	I nodded.  There was no point mentioning Dana's friends would get 
to me first.
	She pulled me to her and kissed my forehead.  "It's Friday night.  
ĄVayate!  Go -- have fun, tú y tu novia."
	I grinned and left.  Not that I knew what kind of fun we'd have, 
eating dinner with her family.
	It wasn't till I counted my pay that I realized Caesaria had 
forgotten to deduct the fairy play set.  Except -- Caesaria forget?  No, 
it'd been a gift.
*
Dana
I met Lupe at the corner of the block.  And no, it was NOT because I was 
afraid he'd get to our house and chicken out -- though as I kinda feared, 
he did taste nervous.  Which made me really want to meet his family and 
find out what was up with them -- someday.  But really, he was as bad 
about families as he is about friends.  Which was almost as 
incomprehensible.
	But as I was saying, I met my boy to prep him with The Plan.
	Not until after a kiss, though.  Yum.  I don't think I can ever 
get tired of his night forest flavor.  Though it was odd, kissing him
with, like, clothes on.  I supposed I'd have to get used to that, after 
the Program.
	We started back to the house, hand in hand, while I gave him the 
scoop.  "Jim's home with Brian, and Mom should be back soon."
	"Brian?"
	"My brother," I explained.  "Well, half-brother.  He's four."
	"Ah."
	"And he loves dogs, which is good."
	"Ooo-kay."
	Which reminded me.  "You said you can change form any time?"
	He looked at me askance.  "Um.  Yeah.  It's easy, this close to 
full."
	"Good."
	"Dana," he said slowly, "why do you ask?"
	"We need to show my stepfather you're not dangerous."
	"By shifting in front of him?"
	"Actually," I admitted, "I was thinking of introducing you as a 
wolf."
	He stopped walking.  "You mean, shift now?"
	"Exactly!"  I smiled at him.
	"Dana, I'm not wolfing out on the sidewalk."  His voice was quiet 
and even.  Firm.
	"No, silly -- in the back yard."  Where it was private.  I knew 
THAT much.
	"NOR in your back yard.  Nor outside.  Nor, in fact, at all."
	"Lupe!"
	But he was stubborn.  Five minutes of wheedling later, he finally 
agreed that IF it was necessary, he'd change inside, where no one else 
could see -- and that only after admitting that a conflict-resolution 
fairy (after all, that was his name for me!) might know something of what 
needed to be done.
	"So where's your house?" he asked.
	I pointed behind him -- we'd stopped in front of the gate.  He 
blinked at it.
	"They've been watching us argue?"
	"Not ARGUE."  It hadn't been that, really.
	He sighed.  "Way to make a good first impression, man," he 
muttered to himself.
	"It'll be fine," I told him, pulling him up the walkway.  Though 
he did have a point.  I don't THINK Jim had been watching us, but you 
never know.
	From the front hall, I heard the television in the den -- a honk-
crash-boink of Brian's cartoon.  He'd be occupied for a while.  "We're 
here," I called out.
	I started leading Lupe to the kitchen, but Jim stepped out to meet 
us, wiping his hand on a towel.  Both men looked somber, so I decided to 
make this formal.  "Jim, this is Lupe de Vega.  Lupe, Jim Partlow."
	Lupe bobbed his head slowly in greeting -- not taking his eyes off 
my stepfather.
	To me, Jim said, "This is him?"
	"This is my boyfriend," I said firmly.
	Behind Jim, Mom came out of the kitchen, still in her fairy 
girdle.  She paused, then leaned against the door-frame, waiting to see 
what happened.
	Jim tossed his towel onto his shoulder.  "Not very ... big."
	Lupe finally spoke, "I'm already large, for a wolf."
	Jim raised his eyebrows, then grunted.
	Then Lupe noticed my mother -- and did a double take.  "ĄQue hada 
hermosa!" he breathed.  Beautiful fairy, indeed.  Like I said, I've got 
nothing on her, at least in daylight.
	"Mom, this is Lupe."
	"Call me Nina," Mom said.  She stepped forward, then hesitated, 
before holding out her hand.  Something Jim hadn't offered.
	Lupe shook it.  He seemed about say something.
	"What?" I asked.
	To Mom, he said, "Not damselfly, surely?"
	She spread her wings -- there's just enough room for that in the 
front hall.  "Dragonfly," she said, not smiling.
	His eyes widened as he took in her glittering, transparent span.  
"Of course," he murmured.
	Mom cocked her head at him.  "I don't know much about 
transformation spells, but I take it you're the same size in all forms?"
	She WOULD start shop-talk.  But thinking about it, it was a good 
way to relax them both.
	"Same mass, yeah," Lupe said, with a wry smile.
	"How many shapes can you take on?"
	"Just the two -- this and a wolf."
	A beautiful gray wolf, I wanted to say -- but stayed quiet.  He 
had to do this himself.  I checked Jim -- he was watching, listening.
	Mom nodded.  "I'd like to see you transform sometime, if you don't 
mind.  I've talked with my uncle and cousins, and they've no idea how such 
a spell would work."
	Lupe got an odd expression in his eyes.  "Neither do I, Mrs. -- 
Nina."
	"Is it a spell?"
	"I ... just shift."  He shrugged helplessly.
	Prompted by her questions, he explained about feeling the moon, 
and being forced to "shift" as he put it, and how it feels.
	"You mean you could change now?" Jim broke in.
	Lupe hesitated.  "I'd prefer not to."
	"How much -- "  Jim stopped himself.  "Are you a monster?"
	Lupe shook his head.  "I'm still me.  Just in a wolf's body."
	My brother's show ended, and he wandered out to the hall.
	"Brian," I said, "this is Lupe."
	Lupe held out his hand to shake.  Brian solemnly took it, and they 
shook once.
	"That's a funny name," Brian said.
	"Brian!" Jim chided.  "That's not polite."
	"It fits me," Lupe said to Brian.
	Brian considered him.  "Are you Dana's boyfriend?"
	Lupe nodded.  I liked how he took my brother seriously.
	"Have you ... kissed her?"  Brian made his Broccoli Face.
	"Yes, I have."  Lupe kept a straight face.
	"Ew!"
	I almost giggled.
	"Oddly enough," Lupe said, "I like it."
	Brian made his Big People Are Stupid Face.
	"Come on, Brian," I said, "let's help make dinner."
	"Oh no," Mom protested.  "See to your guest."
	"Nonsense," I said.  "We're all helping."
	Lupe was startled, but nodded without missing a wingbeat.
	After a long moment, Jim nodded in agreement -- or at least 
acceptance for now.
	Which was a start.
*
Lupe
Though actually, Dana's mother took Brian upstairs -- the kitchen was a 
bit small for all of us.  I think it was too small to hold just Brian -- 
that kid has an amazing ability to get in your way -- but never mind.  I 
wouldn't have minded escaping myself, but I had to admit, Dana seemed to 
know what she was doing.
	She and I helped her stepfather make lasagna -- or rather Dana 
did, while I worked under her direction.  We talked as we worked.
	Which is to say, her stepfather grilled me, in the guise of 
friendly questions.  I suppose I should have expected that.  At least he 
slowly relaxed, more or less, as I answered.  Though I did notice, it was 
hearing what classes I'm taking that pleased him the most -- even more 
than my job.  Certainly it did better than admitting I didn't know how or 
why I'm a werewolf.
	He froze, holding a big noodle over the glass baking dish.  "Then 
how will you lift the curse?"
	"It's not a curse," I said flatly.
	"Jim!" Dana protested.
	He looked at me, noodle still in mid-air.
	"It's no more a curse," I said evenly, "than your wife is a 
damselfly fairy."
	"Exactly," Dana said.  Then, "Wait -- what?"
	Jim continued to look at me.  "You don't want to be cured?"
	"Why would I want to?  Being a wolf is fun.  More fun than being a 
boy."  Then I remembered one fun thing, and looked at Dana.  "Most of the 
time."
	She dimpled.
	"That's ... "  He laid down the noodle in the pan.  "How do you 
explain to your family, being out all night every month?"
	"I don't."  So far, anyway.  Now that Paco had turned me in, 
though, I needed a cover story -- but that was a thought for later.
	For some reason, he accepted that answer better than I expected.
	But his question reminded me -- once the lasagna was in the oven, 
I called home.  A stepsister answered -- Amanda.  I didn't think she 
believed I was eating dinner at a friend's house, but she said she'd tell 
our parents.  No point in giving them a reason to ground me for real.  
And, well, they were my family.
	Real lasagna, it turns out, is pretty good.  A lot better than 
what the school cafeteria calls lasagna, anyway.
	Dana's mother ate dinner dressed in human clothing.  Which made 
sense when I thought about it -- her wings nearly touched the floor while 
standing, too long to sit down at a human table without hiding them.  She, 
by the way, looked about the age of my oldest sister -- maybe early 30s.  
Her antennae are short -- you can almost miss them in her copper hair -- 
and more clublike than feathery.  And did I mention her skin's bronzed 
evenly all over?  Though if she flew all day in just that gauzy fairy 
wrap, of course she was well-tanned.
	As jaw-droppingly gorgeous as Nina is, though, she's got nothing 
on Dana -- especially Dana in moonlight.
*
Dana
Lupe was mostly quiet during dinner -- answering questions politely, but 
otherwise behaving like his first couple lunches with us.  Which was okay, 
what with Mom asking me how the Program had been for me.
	"No, really," I said, "the Program's fine."
	"Even with everyone learning who you are?" my stepfather asked.
	As I nodded to him, Brian suddenly said, "And then we drew 
dinosaurs!"
	Which diverted me a second -- I'd thought the new picture on the 
fridge was a sort of purple dog.
	"Yes, dear -- you showed us," Mom said to him.  To me, "Then
what's bothering you?"
	"Mom!"
	She gave me the fairy mother eye.  "Nothing at all?"
	I sighed -- I couldn't say THAT.  "Well," I said slowly, "I think 
we managed to tick off Babs this afternoon.  And then there's Fritz."  I 
out down my fork.  "I don't know what to do about him."
	Lupe seemed to bite back a response.  I'd have to corner him later 
for that.  Tickle him till he fessed up, maybe.
	"Something needs to be done with Fritz?" Mom asked, surprised.  
	I almost sighed -- what with my skipping lessons and then getting 
my wand, I hadn't been keeping her up to date with this stuff.  "He, ah," 
and I looked at my boy, "he's jealous."  I caught Lupe's left hand and 
squeezed.  "I asked him if we could just be friends."
	"How long has he been -- " she began, but Brian broke in, "I made 
mine a steggy-saur!"
	"Brian," Jim said sternly, "it's rude to interrupt."
	"And it's a very good steggy-saur, Bug," I told him -- which is 
was, for a child his age.  Then to Mom, "I don't know -- I didn't notice."  
Which came out grumpier than intended.  I let go of Lupe's hand to take 
another bite.
	"A few years," Lupe told Mom.
	I blinked at him.  Not just that he'd finally spoken without being 
addressed first, but how'd he know that?
	He explained to me, "Remember what Barb said, about telling him 
you were just a slow developer?"
	"Oh."  That's true -- she had implied it'd been a while.
	"And this is how you ticked her off?" Mom said, puzzled.  Which 
made HIM blink, for some reason.
	"No no," I said, "that was when we turned her down her pass."
	"We?" Jim asked.
	"Lupe and I," I said brightly.
	Lupe's face turned darker, but he reached for more lasagna as if 
completely calm.
	My stepfather looked at my boyfriend with new hostility.  What on 
earth for?  "We said No, I said," I told him, "and it wasn't for sex -- or 
not full sex."
	Lupe put the serving fork back and pinched the bridge of his nose.
	"Surely," Mom said, "that wasn't enough to make her jealous."
	I blew my breath out.  "No.  Just disappointed."  I played with my 
fork, then went on, "I still don't know, though, why she rescued me and 
went off with Fritz."
	"Perhaps," Mom said lightly, "she was feeling guilty?"
	For which, making her request or accidentally leading Fritz on 
about me?  I meant to keep quiet, but I still burted, "Why?"
	"After all, she's still your friend."
	"As is Fritz," Jim observed mildly.  I looked sharply at him -- 
I've come to distrust when he says things in that tone.  He's all too 
often right.  But he only continued buttering another slice of bread for 
Brian.
	It all gave me some food for thought.
*
Lupe
Dinner conversation was remarkably civilized, if a little surreal -- what 
with two chatty fairies talking in non-sequiturs and a four-year-old 
trying to tell us about the daycare experience.  Not that they're true 
non-sequiturs, I was coming to realize, but Dana and Nina's sidewise logic 
isn't always easily followed.  I mean, it was a little noisy, is all.  
Reminded me a little of dinners at Nana's, only with just five of us -- 
and with less shouting.
	With more wanting to sink through the floor, though.  Fairy 
honesty takes some getting used to, man.
	Jim more or less laid off on the interrogation as we ate, but when 
Nina went to the kitchen to help Brian fetch dessert, he asked me, "Do 
Dana's friends know what you are?"
	I nodded.  Well, except for Fritz, but I didn't count him yet.
	"And they accept it?"
	How to answer that -- given Tatja was trying to make up for having 
tried to kill me in the past, but Babs was still suspicious of me.  That 
we all had secrets on each other?  Dana stayed silent -- this was mine to 
answer.  Part of trying to get Jim to accept me, I supposed.  "It took 
them a while," I finally said.
	"Do you trust them?"
	I almost said, With that much -- but no, I did trust them with 
more.  Hadn't I turned my back on Tatja?  But did I trust them with my 
life?  Maybe not, or not yet.  "As much as they do me."
	Jim leaned back as Nina set the pie on the table.  "Sounds like 
you've done more than found a girlfriend."
	Dana's face lit up, though she tried to hide it -- he'd accepted, 
at least indirectly, that we were going out.  I was more wary though.  
"Namely?"
	"Sounds to me like you've joined her pack."
	Dana beamed at me.
	I kept my face neutral, my gaze on Jim's face, but it was hard.  
Pack?  The part of me that howled at the Silver Mistress thought of Dana 
as packfriend, true -- and her friends were clearly her pack.  Did that 
make them my pack as well?  I was still an adolescent, in human terms -- 
but in wolf terms, I was pair-bonding with a mate, and that's always done
within the pack.  It gave me something to think about.  Especially if 
Fritz was part of the deal.
	Thing was, for a human, Jim Partlow has a pretty good grasp of the 
problems of supernatural life.  No wonder Nina had married him.  Which 
meant I could probably trust him with knowing who I am -- at least as much 
as I trusted Tatja.  Nina, of course, was as good as Dana -- I'd quickly 
realized that.
	Dessert was incredible -- hot pie, filled with berries Nina 
collected while flying about.  I hadn't known anyone baked like that 
anymore.  I didn't have to be urged to take a second slice.  After that, 
Dana and I started clearing the table, but this time her mother was firm.  
"Danaral, you take your guest upstairs to your room."
	"But Mom, I have to -- "
	"I'LL take care of the dishes, this once.  Off!  Flit, Flitter!  
And don't open the door till you're ready to."
	Was she really saying what I thought she was?
	From Dana's sly, shy smile, and her stepfather's frown -- yes, she 
was.  Explicit permission to stay holed up in her daughter's room, making 
out ... or having sex.  Not that I have much experience, but my
understanding was that parents don't do that, man.  Or human parents,
anyway.
	Before her stepfather could object, Dana caught my hand and pulled 
me into the front hall.  We started up the stairs.  "I want to take off my 
shirt!" Dana said, low and fierce.
	"Oh," I said, disappointed -- and then felt like an idiot.
	She stopped short -- eyes wary.  "You don't want to ... ?"
	The only way out of a trap like that is the truth -- quickly.  
"The thing is, it's easier to hold you with your wings covered."
	The most comical succession of expressions crossed her face -- 
incomprehension, baffled, shocked, pleased, thoughtful, pleased again.  
"Ah.  I see."  She continued upstairs ahead of me.
	"I'd rather feel," I said.
	She didn't say anything, but her antennae *sproinged* upright.  At 
the top of the stairs, she turned left.
	"This one's mine," she said, opening a door.
	Inside, the bedroom was ... well, it was definitely a girl's room.  
Not QUITE like stepping inside a frilly pepto-bismol jar, but there was 
pink involved.  And unicorns pictures.  A large stuffed white bear.  
Glitter -- lots of glitter.  At least the only fairy decorations were 
photos -- family and friends, it looked like -- scattered on a cork-board
between sketches and watercolors.
	The windows opened over the front porch -- she could crawl out on 
the tar shingles.  And fly away, if she needed to.
	"We've got an hour, before I have to leave," she told me as I 
looked around.
	Oh -- right -- to go flying.  I started to say something, but she 
turned into my arms and kissed me.
	Oh.  Right.
	I held her tight, arms wrapped around her like I hadn't been able 
to.  Her woodland garden flavor shaded into something wilder.  Sometime 
later, we came up for air.  Dana leaned her forehead against mine and 
gazed into my eyes with one big eye.  "I don't know what future we have 
together, but right now?  I just want to be with you."  Her antennae 
lightly patted my hair.
	"And I with you," I whispered.  Because it was true.  I wanted 
her.
	She swallowed.  "Are you sure?"
	I may be an idiot, but I knew the only right answer to this one 
was to kiss her.
*
Dana
I hadn't thought about it before, but I did like having Lupe's arms around 
me.  Despite the clothing between us, it made us feel closer.  Which is 
why my skirt came off before my shirt.  Though it felt rather odd, clothed 
above and naked below -- odd and nicely naughty.  But not nicely enough to 
want to keep my shirt on.
	But maybe it was that feeling that made me want to experiment.  
Every time we'd had sex, Lupe had lain on his back, with me on top.  Which 
is how I proved to myself what every fairy learns, eventually: people 
without wings have it EASY, when it comes to sex.  Like I said in class, 
missionary position (where'd that name come from, anyway?) is SO not 
happening.
	Sex standing up together didn't work as well as I hoped -- in part 
because I'm a couple inches shorter when I need to be a couple inches
above him.  And then there was the balance thing.  Then something struck 
me, and I started giggling.
	Lupe looked startled.
	"It's just," said between gasps, "I finally realized why my 
parents have a chin-up bar in the door to their bathroom."
	Lupe smiled slowly.  "We'll have to try that sometime -- with a 
tree-branch or something."
	A thought that took my breath away.
	We tried a few more, but ended up on my bed, having sex as wolves 
do: me on hands and knees, my boy behind me.
	There's better positions, especially ones that let me kiss him,
but this had one advantage -- if I bated hard, my swallowtails batted his 
hips, which kept me from completely losing control and screaming my head 
off when I came.  As it is, I had to stuff my face in a pillow.  Yeah, Mom 
all but told us to make love till we were loopy, but I didn't like want to 
ANNOUNCE that's what we were doing.
	Also, that way, it took Lupe long enough to come that I came 
twice.  Hoo, baby.
	I was drained enough, after draining him, that I collapsed prone 
even though it meant uncoupling -- and he couldn't even collapse on top of 
me.  Or, really, beside me, not without crawling under my wing.  Which was 
okay, because he was too frisky yet to collapse.
	So he explored my body.
	I like melt just remembering.  Hands and lips, up and down me, 
every curve and plane and muscle and nerve.  His fingertips traced the 
lines of sinew on my back, beneath my wings.  I was relaxed enough, his 
touch light enough, I let him caress my wings -- edges, veins, the nap of 
scales.  Relaxed enough, the slightest breath was deeply erotic.
	Relaxed enough, that his feather brush along my antennae wasn't 
uncomfortable.  Charged, yes -- how could it not, with his fingers so 
light, that other times were sharp claws? -- but not unsettling; he tasted 
of me.  He knew enough to touch me only briefly, there.
	And all through it all, he didn't let me move -- pressing my 
shoulder down if I tried to.  I lay with my chin on my folded arms.  This 
was his time.  He was in control, just as I'd been yesterday morning.
	Though if he didn't do something for my smoldering body, I was 
going to combust.
	And even then, he seemed to know what I needed.  Just before I 
exploded, he reached between my legs, sliding between my lips, and with 
one touch I ignited again -- swift and silent, dazzling.
	My orgasm left as suddenly as it came, leaving me breathless.  
Relaxed.  Alive.  I lay still, my boy sitting with legs folded under him, 
his hand caressing my butt.  I swallowed to wet my throat.
	And whispered, "You are SO mine."
*
Lupe
What I said about not having a clue about the Program, before my week 
started?  That moment, it caught up with me.  See, the thing is, I may be 
book-smart, but I'm not quick, man.  I'm especially not quick when it 
comes to convincing myself of anything.  Especially convincing myself that 
I'm wrong.
	Dana had never let anyone touch her most sensitive places -- her 
antennae, the flat of her wings.  But she trusted me to.  She trusted ME.
	How could I not trust her in return?  Her and her magic and her 
endless chatter.  This girl who made me see myself, this girl I could talk 
with.  This girl I loved.
	"Yes, I am," I whispered back.
	She wriggled in place, under my hand, and made a contented sound.  
Yeah -- what she said.
	Eventually, though, I glanced at her alarm clocks -- three of 
them.  I didn't want to move, but ...
	"Dana?  Don't you have to go fly?"
	After three seconds, she blew a raspberry.
	I laughed like it was the biggest joke ever.
-END-
* * *
Dana's Afterward
As Lupe told Sra. Matasuki, that wasn't the end of our Program week.  But 
he refuses to continue his account -- saying as far as he's concerned, our 
getting together was the last and only important thing to happen to him.  
Given how that makes my heart patter-pit, it's hard to disagree with my 
boy, so I'll stop here too, even though it means skipping the incident of 
the lemon drops, butterflies, and spilled ink during a Sunday press check 
for the paper -- at the time it was like totally embarrassing, but telling 
it now it's SUCH the funny.  Ah, well.
	But you still deserve to hear what's afterward.  So quickly:
	At the track meet, I watched Lupe come in fourth, first, and 
second overall in the 1500m, 3km, and 5km races.  Go my boy!  However, the 
tape holding the number on his back came off during the 5km final heat, 
and rulebound officials disqualified him for "being out of uniform."  
Stupidheads.  You'd think they'd write the rules so athletes from Program 
schools aren't at a disadvantage to those who can always pin their numbers 
and so never worry about sweat.  I decided then and there to pitch Jimbo a 
hard-hitting investigative report of all the ways laws still haven't 
caught up with the Program.
	In return for helping him buy new track shoes, Coach Suarez made 
Lupe attend the victory party.  He hadn't wanted to, and after crawling 
through the drunken crush, I kinda saw his point.  I went as his date -- 
our first like going OUT while going out -- though I could only stay till 
sunset: I couldn't blow off my lesson with Kaidlearnien, especially now 
that he was my mentor in magic and not just my fairy teacher.
	Fritz and Babs covered both the meet and party for the paper -- 
somewhat erratically, given they were having a fling.  It was such the 
relief, seeing that -- seeing him get over me and slowly become my friend 
again.  They lasted almost a week, till Babs set him up with Chris and a 
graduating cheerleader named Madeleine -- all three together, that is.  I 
never really understood how that worked for them, especially given how 
volatile it was.  But despite rocky moments, they didn't break up till the 
end of summer, when Madeleine left for the fall semester at State -- and 
even then, they got back together during her winter and spring breaks.  By 
which point he'd fully accepted Lupe one of us -- which was rilly good.  
It's bad, being someone without friends or a wolf without a pack.
	Babs herself continued dating around -- though she did go steady 
for nearly two months with a nice computer geek named Laurie, the start of 
senior year.  Tatja, of course, dated no one -- not even Babs, now that 
she knew.  To no one's surprise, several colleges tried to recruit her,
including UCLA and U Conn; she eventually chose a public university in a 
nearby state with what she calls a righteous women's basketball program.  
Also to no one's surprise, Fritz followed Madeleine to State (Chris plans 
to follow them after graduating this year).  However, everyone but me was 
completely blindsided when Babs got her GED and left for Hollywood on her 
18th birthday -- I don't know why, since she'd been like dreaming of it 
ever since I met her.
	What DID surprise me was getting a 5 on the AP US History exam.  
Go me!  Lupe got a 4, plus 4 on the Calculus BC and 5/4 on the Physics C 
exams, which was also awesome.  Right after we received our scores, he 
talked me into taking both AP English and Spanish with him the next year 
-- taking TOTALLY unfair advantage of my giddiness.  I mean, TWO foreign
language APs?  It worked out, 'cause I got 5s on those too, but it was
still such the anxiety, senior year.  He also coached me (or as I like to 
think of it, BULLIED me) into a combined SAT score as good as his -- as 
better on verbal as he was on math.  Go us!
	Which was such the world of good, because it got me into UC 
Berkeley -- the perfect place to live openly as a fairy.  I mean, half the 
humans here are weirder than me.  Well, I DO get strange looks, but 
they're for dating someone from our cross-Bay rival: Lupe got a full 
academic scholarship to Stanford.  We're still together, of course.  Duh.  
My boy -- SO mine.  It's the end of freshman year, and he's waffling 
between declaring solid state engineering or pure math (though the Palo 
Alto were-pack is still hoping he'll do wildlife management).  As for 
Yours Truly, I'm majoring in journalism with a minor in creative writing, 
but I'm thinking of swapping them.  Maybe.  We'll see.
	And that's all Yours Truly has this time.  TTFN!
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