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Oh Tucky Day - Copyright 1998 by Ellen Hayes.


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

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

All rights reserved.  See the bottom for distribution rights.


Oh Tucky Day


***
08:46 8 Mar

     I woke up from a dream that was too much like the self destruct
sequence in Alien, to find the phone flashing.  I grabbed it just before
the voicemail got it.
     "Tuck?"  It was Mike.
     "Uh?"
     "Get up, man, we're goin' out, remember?"
     "Nuh?"  I looked at the clock.  "Uh."  I swallowed painfully.  My
nose had clogged after the perfumery at the mall, and I'd been breathing
through my mouth all night.  "Okay, lemme take a shower and I'll be
ready."
     Mike threatened, "You got fifteen minutes, bud, then you're coming
with us!"
     "Yeah," I sighed.  All my friends liked kidnapping me, it seemed.

***
08:50 8 Mar

     Mom was just coming out of her room when I came out of mine.  She
was all dressed up, so I guess she had a showing today or something.
"Hey, Mom," I asked, "Debbie asked if she could come over tonight, would
that be okay?"
     "Oh, uh..."  She thought about it for a second.  "That'd be
alright.  How is she?"
     "Not well."
     "Oh?  What's wrong?"
     "Ahh..."  I was kind of embarrassed, but I figured that Mom would
understand, better than anyone else in the house.  "Female trouble,
cramps and stuff."  Mom made a sympathetic face.  "Yeah, and she just
wants to spend some time with me, I guess I make her feel better or
something."
     She smiled.  "Well, tell her we'd be delighted to have her over
again.  Is Rachel coming?"
     "Uh, not tonight."
     "Okay," she looked at her watch.  "Eugene, I have to get going or
I'll be late.  Give Mom a hug."  I gave her one, and she kissed me on
the cheek.  "Be careful today."
     "Yes Mom."  I would, but I couldn't think of any trouble I could
get into today.

***
09:02 8 Mar

     I was downstairs, still damp, wondering how my dork sibling could
drink all the cola in the house when the doorbell rang.

***
09:04 8 Mar

     "We gotta get some-"  George held up a bottle.  "Oh, God, thank
you..."  I dug a dollar out of my jacket and gave it to him, and he gave
me the Coke.  I wasted no time in starting to pour it into me.

***
09:11 8 Mar

     "Hey, Dan."
     "Hey."  He gave me a look.  "What happened to you last night?"
     "Debbie, Lisa... just the usual.  I got home at one."
     His face went funny.  "What did you do?"
     I shook my head.  "Don't ask."  More Coke was necessary, so I
administered some.  Actually, I didn't want to think too much about last
night anyway.

***
09:23 8 Mar

     "BOOK!" we all yelled.  I hadn't expected to pick up Book-man too.
Oh well.  More Coke.  I was fried this morning.

***
09:24 8 Mar

     "Oh, man, why do _I_ have to sit in the middle?" I complained.
     "Because you're the smallest," Mike told me as he shoved me in the
backseat.  "Get in there."
     "Jeez, maybe an inch.  Butthead."  Book squeezed in next to me.
Book was considerably more than an inch taller than me.
     "Hey, what's been up?" he asked.
     I just shook my head.  "Oh, you know, Debbie.  Homework.  Debbie's
friends.  Computers.  The usual."
     "You and Debbie are getting way tight," he observed.  Mike and
George started laughing in the front seat.  "What?"
     "SHUT UP!" I yelled before they could start explaining.  "Don't
ask, Book, and you won't have any nightmares."
     He raised his eyebrows.  "Like what?"

***
09:38 8 Mar

     My good friends had refused to spill the beans to Book.  In
exchange for me paying for half of breakfast, each.  I hated the idea -
had they been taking lessons in extortion from Debbie? - but paid up.
Silence, after all, was golden.
     Book was now annoyed that he wasn't getting any benefits from this.

***
09:43 8 Mar

     We pulled out of Jerk-in-the-Box with a lurch.  "Well?" asked Mike.
"Where to?"
     "Bookstore, uh, the Butler's Place," said Dan.
     "You got it!"  Mike floored the Beast, which roared but didn't do
much else.  Mike's car was a lot like an English sheepdog - big, but not
a lot of go in it.

***
11:48 8 Mar

     "Where to now?"
     "Ah..."  We all thought for a while.  My mind was a blank.
     George suggested, "Game shop?"
     "Sounds good."  Mike pulled out.

***
13:09 8 Mar

     "Oh, come on, when was the last time you played?" asked George.
     I shook my head.  "I dunno... long time.  George, I don't even have
my decks with me!"
     He shook his head.  "Idiot."  I flipped him the bird.  "No thanks,
not my type."

***
13:16 8 Mar

     Book and I were watching George get his ass whipped in INWO, when
Book said unexpectedly, "So what IS this deep dark secret you've got?"
     "Book, I'm not gonna tell you.  You don't want to know, anyway."

***
13:26 8 Mar

     "Babes.  We need babes!" George howled.
     I started to laugh.  "Oh, gee, George, lemme call Debbie and see
what-"
     "No!  I don't want to deal with them.  Look what they did to you!"
     Like he knew.
     "What?" asked Book.
     "Nothing!" I told him.

***
13:41 8 Mar

     In the eternal quest for babes, we ended up at the Galleria.
Plenty of babes, all of them carefully not looking at us.  I snickered.
Actually, I was kind of enjoying the anonymity.  It was a nice change
from lately.
     George was annoyed.  "What?"
     "Oh, George, you're such an idiot..."
     "You have a better idea?"
     I nodded.  "If you want babes, let Unka Tuck tell you..."
     After all, I did have more of a clue now than I did six months ago.

***
13:43 8 Mar

     "That's stupid!"
     I shrugged.  "Try it, or not."
     Book asked me, "You think?"  I nodded.

***
13:48 8 Mar

     "No, man," Book chuckled nervously, "I can't."
     "Oh, you dork, c'mere."  I grabbed his arm, and pulled him along.
     "What are you-" he tried to pull loose, but I'd got a good grip on
his arm.  "What the hell are you-  Let go!" he whispered frantically as
we approached the girl he was interested in.
     "Excuse me!" I said, and she turned around.  "Hi!  My friend here
thinks you're beautiful, but he's too shy to admit it-"
     "Tuck!" Book gasped.  The girl giggled.  She was kind of cute.
     "Anyway, what's your name?"
     "Uh, Donna?" she giggled shyly.
     I grinned at her.  "Hi, Donna, this is Allen, but everybody calls
him 'Book'.  He's a sophomore... what year are you?"
     She was blushing fit to die, but she giggled out, "Freshman?"
     "College?" I tossed in.
     "No!"  She giggled some more.  She seemed embarrassed.  Heh.
     "Well anyway, you two needed to be introduced, so I'll take off for
a while.  Nice meeting you Donna!"  I waved, let go of Book's arm, and
walked off.

***
13:49 8 Mar

     "I can't believe you did that," George mentioned, stunned.
     I was watching Book and Donna talk a little more.  At least
neither of them had run off screaming.  Yet.  "Huh?"
     "I said I can't believe you did that!"
     I turned back to face him.  "Trust me, it works.  I've seen it.
You get them alone, and do something a little embarrassing, and they get
the giggles real bad.  Then you back off, and you've got an opening, and
you can start getting to know them."  At least, that was what Jack had
done to me, and I'd seen it work on the other girls too.  Mike was
shaking his head.  "What?"

***
13:53 8 Mar

     Book came back to us, shaking his head.  "Well?" we asked.
     "Well what?"
     "Did you get her phone number or something?" I asked before anyone
else could say something dumb.  He nodded.  I spiked the ball.  "Yes!"

***
14:01 8 Mar

     "It's simple," I insisted.
     "You're simple," George insulted me.  I flipped him the bird, and
took another bite of my pretzel.  "No thanks, not my type," he replied
reflexively.
     "So do I just call her or what?" Book asked me.  I nodded.  "And
then what?"
     I sighed in exasperation.  And almost choked on my pretzel.

***
14:36 8 Mar

     We were walking along, looking at the girls, when Book mentioned,
almost casually, "Hey, is that Travis?"
     I choked.  "Which Travis?"  *It's just a coincidence,* I told
myself, trying to slow my heart down.  *Just a-*
     "Travis Jensen, he plays for Red Bluff basketball, and he owes me
ten bucks, too-"
     "Oh shit!"  I stopped listening and dodged behind George.
"Where?!"  Book turned around to me and gave me a strange look.  "Where
IS he you asshole!?" I hissed at him.  George just stood there, but Mike
was getting some maneuver room and looking alert.
     "It's not him, it's just some other guy, Tuck-"
     "Stop looking at me!  Where!"
     He turned around and pointed.  "Over there, behind that group of
girls..."  There were about two dozen groups of girls in the direction
he was pointing, but I scanned and scanned over George's shoulder until
I saw him.  It wasn't Travis.
     I took a deep breath, and felt faint.  "Oh, God..."
     Book asked, "What is your deal?  Did you piss him off or
something?"
     I was gonna answer him - actually I was going to lie to him - but I
felt a hand on my shoulder, and I yelped and my whole body jerked,
before I spun around and recognized Rachel.
     She was pulling her hand back, and had an apologetic look on her
face.  "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you there, uh, Tuck, right?"
     "Oh God, oh God...."  I was at the end of my nerves.
     "Maybe you ought to sit down for a minute?" she suggested, and took
my arm and walked me to a bench.  I appreciated the help.

***
14:41 8 Mar

     "So anyway, I was-"  I stopped and looked at the guys.  "Hey, why
don't you guys go look at Waldenbooks or something?"

***
14:46 8 Mar

     She shook her head.  "You have the most interesting life...  No,
really, you do, I mean, I go out sometimes with a few friends, but
mostly I go to class and study."  She smiled at me.  "It must be really
interesting for you to be doing all this."
     I rubbed my forehead.  "Yeah, I guess..."
     She shrugged, and changed the topic.  "So what are you doing for
spring break?  Yours is this week?"
     "I, ah, I'm babysitting.  I think.  Part of the time anyway."
     "Oh," she nodded companionably, "that's cool.  Something Debbie set
up?"  I nodded.  "Who's going?"
     I thought about it for a minute.  Then my mouth fell open.

***
14:49 8 Mar

     "Well, anyway, give me a call, okay?"  I nodded, and she gave me a
quick hug.  "I gotta go catch the bus, my car's in the shop," she
mentioned before she took off.  I watched her walk off.
     "Jesus," Mike said from behind me, startling me.
     "Who was that?" asked Book.
     "One of Tuck's spare girlfriends," Mike said.
     Dan added, "She went to the Christmas dance with Tuck.  AND
Debbie."
     Book's eyes got wide.  "See," I told him, "I told you I know
women!  And you didn't believe me."
     Mike slapped my head.  "It's your cute face," he insulted me.

***
15:04 8 Mar

     A little Mortal Kombat to settle my nerves was going quite well, as
I was whipping George's butt.  Hard.
     "Take that!" he said.  I dodged.  "Oh, h-"  I dodged and kicked
him.  "You-"  He moved the wrong way, and I dropped a classic series on
him, which pushed him over the edge of mortality.  He expired.  "I hate
you," he mentioned casually.  I shrugged.
     We turned around, and Book was telling Mike, "I'm gonna nail you,
chink!"
     Mike, on the other hand, was gibbering in fake Chinese and using a
lot of body English on the machine.  "Ah, now you die, chocolate boy!"

***
15:17 8 Mar

     Mike and I were watching everybody else in the linked racing cars
when someone behind me called, "Valerie!  Hey, Val!"  Mike and I snapped
upright at the same time.
     *I'm hallucinating, this can't be happen-*
     Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
     I glanced at Mike, who was staring at someone behind me.  I pulled
my jacket tight, to conceal the fact that I had no boobs today, and
turned around slowly.
     It was Jack.
     "Hey, whatsup?" he asked.
     "Hey?" I managed to choke out.
     He looked at me, then looked at Mike, then at me, then at Mike,
then at me.  "Did I interrupt something?"  Mike and I both shook our
heads.
     "Ah, can we go outside?  It's kind of hard to talk in here," I
suggested.

***
15:18 8 Mar

     My composure wasn't helped by Mike mumbling, "Oh shit, oh shit oh
shit..." all the way out.  But at least he figured out what was going
on.  I took the opportunity, while Jack was in front of me, to
finger-comb my hair into something approximating a girl's hairstyle.  I
hoped.
     "So, what'sup?" Jack asked again once we got out the door.
     "Ah," I glanced at Mike.  "Nothing much, we're just hanging at the
mall for a while."  Mike just nodded.
     "No sister?"  I shook my head.  He shook his head and grinned.
"God, you look so different than the other night."
     "Ah, well, that was Debbie's fault," Mike explained when I took too
long.  "She likes playing dress up with little Valerie here."
     I thought my heart was gonna stop.
     "She looked real good," Jack said it as a compliment.  "I guess
you can do grunge, too, though," he added, and laughed.  I forced
something out that sounded almost normal.
     "Where's the rest of the band?" I asked.  Enquiring minds wanted to
know.  Real bad.
     "Oh, I just came by to pick up some new shoes," he said, indicating
his almost dead pair of sneakers, "and I stopped in at the arcade for a
minute."  He looked at Mike, then lifted his eyebrows and looked at me.
     "Ah," I looked at Mike, "this is a friend of mine, Mike.  Mike this
is Jack.  He's in that band, Stepwise Pagoda."  Mike silently said ah.
     "Hey."
     "Hey," Mike said back.
     We all stood around and looked at each other for too long.
     Jack started again, "Well, I just thought I'd say hi, when I saw
you.  You gonna come to the concert tonight?  Same place?"
     "Ah," I said the first excuse I could think of, "I've gotta babysit
tonight."  I added, "Sorry."
     "Oh, well, it's a regular gig, so you can catch us there for a
while, I hope."  I nodded.  "Anyway, see you later, huh?  Nice meeting
you," he waved a hand at Mike, and walked off.
     I stood and tried to catch my breath.  Mike waited about thirty
seconds, then grabbed me and dragged me back into the arcade, to
relative safety.

***
15:20 8 Mar

     "Oh Jesus oh Jesus oh Jesus-"
     Mike snapped, "Shut UP!"
     We went back to the racing machines, and I leaned against one,
panting.  I glanced up at him after a minute, and he was doing the same
thing.

***
15:22 8 Mar

     "I gotta get out of here, Mike," I told him.  "This is getting too
weird, man, I mean, this was a good idea and everything, but this is
getting too strange, I mean," I ran my fingers through my hair, "this is
like freak-out number three, I gotta go lie down or something, oh
God..."
     "Well, let's vacate the mall, anyway," Mike suggested.  "I think we
pretty much sucked all the entertainment out of it for a while."

***
15:26 8 Mar

     George, Dan, and Mike were sort of clustered around me as we walked
out, while I scanned for Jack and tried to remember where the Foot
Locker was.
     Book tagged along, asking really obnoxious questions, like, "So
what freaked you out?"  I refused to answer them.  It was bad enough
going through it; I didn't want to talk about it too.  It would be too
hard to explain from the beginning anyway, and it wouldn't make any
sense otherwise.
     We'd almost made it to the door, when someone called out, "Hey
Tuck!"
     I think I screamed.  Mike and George made expressions of disgust as
they turned around.  Dan was shaking his head, like he didn't believe it
either.  I was scared to look.
     "Thank God," breathed Mike, sounding relieved.  "I mean Buddha.
It's Kim and Jill."  So I turned around.  There they were, walking
towards us.
     "God, Tuck, you look sick," observed Jill as she got close.  I just
nodded.  I felt sick.
     "Are you okay?" Kim asked.
     "Let's take this outside," Mike urged.  "I think it would be a
REALLY good idea."

***
15:28 8 Mar

     "First, Book thought he saw Travis-" the girls' faces went into
shock simultaneously.  "It wasn't, but it almost gave me a heart attack.
Then Rachel, remember her?"  They nodded.  "She taps me on the shoulder
from behind, right after.  THEN, we're in the arcade, and Jack shows
up."
     "Jack?" Kim said, "like from-"  She stopped.  I just nodded.
     "Holy..." breathed Jill.  "You're having a fun day, aren't you?"
     "No."
     Kim wordlessly gave me a hug.  I needed one.  Jill patted me on the
head.  "Poor Tucker," she cooed.  But she almost sounded sincere.

***
15:30 8 Mar

     "So were you guys taking off?"  Mike nodded.  Jill suggested,
"Well, did you guys eat recently?  We're starved."
     Kim clutched her stomach and made a face.  A few seconds later, she
elbowed Jill, who glanced at her and then did the same thing.
"Starved!" Kim whimpered.
     The guys looked at each other.  Then they all looked at me, like it
was my fault or something.  I just shrugged.

***
15:33 8 Mar

     "Where are we going again?" Kim asked as she started her car.

***
15:48 8 Mar

     "Oh, man," I said as I slid in next to the girls.  "It has just
been a bad day."  Mike nodded absently, staring at the menu.
     Jill made a face.  "Lemme tell you about mine," she started, but
Book interrupted, "What is going on?  Will somebody tell me?"
     Everyone else looked at each other.  Jill finally said, "No."
     "You guys got paid," I reminded the guys.
     "You really don't want to know," Kim added apologetically.
     Book raised his hands like he was going to argue, then just choked
a little, and put them back down.  "I just don't understand what could
be so bad...."  Everyone looked at me.  I hid my face in my hands.  Then
I hid my face in Kim's shoulder.  She wrapped an arm around me.

***
16:06 8 Mar

     "So what happened to you last night?" Jill asked me.
     I almost told her.  Out loud.  That would have been a bad idea.  We
both realized it at the same time.  So what I did instead was bend down
and whisper in Kim's ear, "I had a date with Travis, one of those where
they just stare at you a lot?  It turned out okay, though.  More
Sunday."  I wasn't going to risk telling them about the kiss.  Not in
here.
     Kim coughed, then leaned over the other way and told Jill,
hopefully what I'd told her.  When Kim got done, Jill straightened and
gave me a look.  "Again?" she asked.
     I shrugged helplessly.  "It's... Lisa," I tried to say enough to
explain it to them without explaining it to everybody else.  "You
know... paying back that favor."
     George started choking, so Mike started pounding on his back.

***
16:54 8 Mar

     We were about done, finally.  I was kind of tired, and looking
forwards to being home with Debbie.  Although Kim was nice too.  And
Jill had turned around a lot lately.  I didn't know why.
     "Hey, get up," Kim pushed at me.  I got up, and when her and Jill
got out, I started to go with them.  A few steps along, though, Jill
turned around.  She wiggled a finger at me, and bent down and whispered
in my ear, "Not today, sweetie, but maybe later?"  I thought she was
propositioning me, until it hit me what she was talking about.  I
smacked myself in the forehead.  Jill nodded, then turned back around
and they started off to the restrooms again.
     "What wah..." Dan started to ask, then he thought better of it.
Then he put his head down.
     "What?!" an annoyed Book wanted to know.
     Dan pulled his head up, looking like he'd just gotten a pop quiz,
and told him in no uncertain terms, "You do NOT want to know, Book.  You
just don't."
     Mike asked Book, "Hey, you gonna eat that?" pointing at his plate.
     "Don't you ever eat at home?" Book snapped.
     Mike shrugged.  "Some days yes, some days no.  So are you gonna eat
it or not?"  I thought Book was gonna throw the whole plate at him, but
he didn't.

***
16:57 8 Mar

     "So what are you guys gonna do now?" Jill asked after they'd gotten
back.
     "I gotta go home," I told them.  "Debbie's coming over, and, and, I
need a rest.  I think I'm gonna go lock myself in my cave until she
gets there."
     "Aw, man!" Mike protested, "Tuck, I swear, what the hell are you
doing?"
     "Mike," I told him tiredly, "one more thing, just one more, and I'm
gonna have a coronary.  Next time we do this, I think we stay out of the
malls, man.  I'm not up to 'em any more."
     George observed, "Well, at least it'll be at your house tonight."
     I nodded.  Debbie would have to use explosives to get me outside
tonight.

***
17:22 8 Mar

     "Well, are we gonna see you tomorrow?" Mike asked.  He was still
pissed off at me wimping out, or something.  Maybe it was because I was
going to spend time with my girlfriend and he didn't have one any more.
     "Yeah, I'll be there, okay?  With bells on."
     "Hey, seeya Tuck!" called George from inside the car.  They all
waved, and I waved back until my arm got tired.

***
18:04 8 Mar

     I was actually watching TV instead of hiding when the doorbell
rang.  Brian spastically looked at his watch, then at me as I got up to
get the door.
     "Who is it?" he asked me as I unlocked the door.  He'd followed me.
     "Debbie!" I shouted as I opened the door.
     "Hi," she said, dragging in.  She sounded like I felt.  We hugged
after I shut the door.  "How was your day with the boys?"
     I shook my head.  "Too interesting.  Tell you later.  How did the
sales go?"
     She nodded.  "Pretty good, but I feel like hell.  When's dinner
ready?"
     "About now, actually.  Come on in..."  I took her coat and hung it
up in the closet.
     Mom and Dad were both glad to see Debbie, which made Debbie feel a
little better, and pissed Brian off.  That made me feel doubly better.

***
18:13 8 Mar

     Debbie and I sat next to each other, and ate.  I wasn't too hungry
since I'd already eaten three times that day, but Debbie helped make up
for it.  She was starved.  And appreciative.  Mom was happy.  Dad was
happy, because I was too interested in Debbie, and too tired, to argue
with Brian.  In fact, the only one at the table who seemed unhappy was
Brian.  Which made me happy.  He'd made me unhappy often enough.

***
18:41 8 Mar

     Debbie and I carted the dishes in and started on them while Mom put
the food up.  Debbie had offered.  "So what are you doing so much of,
Debbie?" Mom asked. "Eugene says you're always busy."  Mom seemed
innocently to be pushing me towards an early death, or at least a hearty
choking, from embarrassment.
     Debbie nudged me, like she usually did when someone used my
official paperwork first name, but told my mom, "Oh, I'm actually
selling Mary Kay, believe it or not."
     "Oh, really?" asked Mom, who sort of lightened up.  Mom, doing real
estate, was a real booster when it came to women in business.

***
19:37 8 Mar

     Dad and I were idly watching TV for a while.  Debbie was taking a
hot bath, and Brian was chewing on himself for some reason, up in his
room.
     "She's a very nice young lady," Dad mentioned out of the blue.
     It took me a little while to figure he was talking about Debbie
instead of the actress a few channels back.  "Oh, yeah," I said.  "I
like her a lot."
     He grinned, and nodded slowly.  "I can tell."  Jerk.  Interfering
in my personal life.  I stared at the coffee table and hoped my blush
would go away.  "I'm glad to see more of her, actually.  She's very
interesting."  I nodded, wishing he would stop and watch TV.
     Amazingly, this wish came true.  He stopped talking, and flipped
back a channel, and we watched car racing for a while without saying
anything.

***
19:46 8 Mar

     I heard the water turn off, so I got up and went to go give Debbie
a hand.
     She came out of the bathroom a minute later, wearing my robe.  She
looked really exhausted, but she smiled when she saw me.  That made me
feel better.
     Brian was dancing around, and told Debbie, "Get out of the way!"
Debbie and I both turned on him and gave him this look that promised an
eternity of pain and suffering, which subdued him long enough that Mom
started her shower.  "Aaaaguh!" he screamed, and stomped back to his
room.
     Debbie gave me a look, so I explained, "We've got a too small water
heater, so we can only take one shower at a time."

***
19:50 8 Mar

     Debbie was wearing my clothes, for once.  She'd started giggling at
the reversal, and got me laughing about it too.  A baggy pair of shorts
fit over her hips, and an old soft flannel shirt covered her top.  She
said she wanted to wear nice soft stuff, so I got the softest things I
could find.
     We'd gone downstairs again, and were cuddling on the couch under a
quilt, watching TV, when Debbie murmured, "I wonder what's up with your
brother tonight?"
     I shrugged.  I didn't care.

***
19:56 8 Mar

     The shower upstairs had stopped, and I was readjusting myself
around Debbie when the doorbell rang.  One glance at each other was all
we needed.
     "We'll get it Dad!" I told him as Debbie threw the quilt off and we
raced for the front door.
     I opened it, and it was Jenny, and her mom.  "Hi!" I said, as
nicely as I could manage.
     "Hello, won't you come in?" Debbie oozed.  I pulled the door open
wider, and called out, "It's Jenny and her mom!"
     "Where's Brian?" Jenny asked, starting to panic again.
     I lied, "Oh, the other girls are upstairs, getting him ready."
     I'd obviously paid up my karma earlier, because a few seconds
later, Brian found out there wasn't any more hot water, and screamed
loud enough to be heard downstairs.  *Thank you, God!*  Jenny's head
snapped up, and her eyes got slightly bigger, which I didn't think was
possible.
     "He sure hates that soap!" Debbie remarked.  "But he'll be down in
a few minutes.  They're VERY efficient."  We didn't look at each other,
because we would have lost it.

***
20:05 8 Mar

     There was a pounding, as of feet along the upstairs hall, and
Debbie poked me unnecessarily.  We were wrapped up on one end of the
couch, with Jenny's mom on the other end, and my dad and Jenny facing
each other in chairs. Dad looked happy enough; Jenny looked very
unhappy.  She still looked like a lemur.
     When Jenny heard footsteps, she twirled the chair around.  "DAD!"
Brian called frantically.  "Jenny's supposed to be coming, is she-"  He
skidded to a stop.
     "We were just talking with her," Debbie said, waving.  I waved too.

***
20:08 8 Mar

     The door shut, which was a relief, because I could start laughing.
So could Debbie.  We laughed and laughed until we got tired.

***
20:34 8 Mar

     We were laying together on the floor, pillows propping our heads
up.  Mom and Dad were watching TV on the couch, and I guess we were too,
but I was getting enough entertainment just watching Debbie from the
back.  Call me dumb, I guess.
     I heard her groan, a little.  "Cramp?" I whispered.  She nodded.
"Want me to rub?"  She nodded again.
     I slid my hand under the sheet and around the right area.  She
grabbed it and put it where she wanted me to rub.  So I did.
     "Nnnn," she moaned softly, and pressed against me.  I felt sorry
for her.  "It's helping," she told me a little later.

***
21:00 8 Mar

     I'd been hearing my parents whisper and giggle a little as we were
lying on the floor, but I didn't think anything about it.  Until my dad
said, "Well, we're gonna go to bed, kids.  Tuck, remember the rules,
please."  They got up before I could roll over and look to see what they
were doing.  They were kissing.  How gross.  Then they went upstairs.
     "What?" Debbie asked.
     "Ugh, nothing."

***
21:46 8 Mar

     We'd moved up to my room, because she wanted to lie down.  So we
did that for a while, talking about our days, and then she went to
sleep.  I just held her, and thought about how lucky I was.

***
22:52 8 Mar

     "Nnnnn," someone moaned next to me.  I opened my eyes, and it was
Debbie, blinking at me.  "What time is it?"
     "Uh..." I checked the clock, "almost eleven."  I must've fallen
asleep too.
     "Nnnn."  She settled back down.
     Then she woke up again.  "I gotta be home soon.  Help me up?  Can I
borrow this until tomorrow or something?  Oh, wait, we need to get you
something for babysitting...."
     "I was gonna ask about that," I mentioned.
     She made a face.  "Well," she said hesitantly, "the client
requested a girl..."
     I sighed.  "I figured."
     She raised her eyebrows.
     "Well, I mean," I explained, "Rachel made me think about it today
when I ran into her in the mall."

***
22:56 8 Mar

     We carried the two bags of clothes, as well as other assorted
illicit goods, up to my room where I buried them for later retrieval.
There were worse things to be caught with than drugs.  I could explain
drugs to my parents; I didn't think I could explain fake boobs...
     "Can I use your phone?" Debbie asked.

***
22:57 8 Mar

     "Mom?  Hi, it's me... yeah, I'm gonna be a little late, I'm over at
Valerie's and I overslept."  Pause.  Debbie looked at me, her eyes wide.
"Well, her.. her dad already went to bed, so I can't ask if I can stay
over."  I slammed a fist into the mattress several times.  "Uh huh.
Yeah.  No, it's... yeah, I took a hot bath over... yeah, his... his
wife," she winked at me and rolled her eyes, "she was real nice.  Helped
me out a lot."  *With what?* I wondered, until Debbie pointed at her
crotch.  Oh.  I'd have to thank Mom tomorrow.  "Yeah," she continued,
"...no, I just thought I'd tell you I'd be a little late, is all...
yeah... love you too, Mom... bye."

***
23:03 8 Mar

     Debbie was taking my clothes, which was okay with me.  I walked her
out.  "So, call me tomorrow?" I asked.
     She nodded.  "Tuck?"  She gave me a big hug.  "Thanks for being
here for me tonight... I really needed it."
     "Sure," I breathed into her ear.  Then I nibbled it, a little, then
kissed her on the cheek.  "Be careful," I begged as she let go and got
into her car.
     "I will, love.... Later."  She shut the door and concentrated on
starting the car, but I stayed and watched until she was out of sight.
     I floated back to the house, barely noticing that I was starting to
shiver.

***
07:38 9 Mar

     I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and stared at the bags of
clothes.  I imagined they were staring back.  I sighed.  *If I want this
job,* which Debbie had said should bring in at least fifty dollars,
*then I'd better see what's up.*  I had an idea, too.

***
08:03 9 Mar

     There was a LOT of stuff in those two bags.  Not to mention my
"very own" makeup bag, and two boxes containing the blobs.  At least I
recognized what all of it was by now.
     Not much underwear, though.  This was gonna cause a problem.

***
08:34 9 Mar

     I was figuring out what looked sort of together, like Debbie would
wear, when the phone rang.  I dove for it.  "Hello?"
     "Hey Val?"  It was Kim.  "You want to go out for breakfast this
morning?"
     I looked at the mess of girl's stuff on the floor.  "Sure.  When?"
I figured I could use the practice.

***
09:02 9 Mar

     FlashFlash! went the front doorbell.  *Showtime,* I thought.
     I ducked out of my room, carrying my pack, and made it through the
house without anyone seeing me.  I'd taken precautions, but I wasn't
sure how well they worked.
     Jill and Kim were waiting at the door.  Jill said, "Well, come on,"
and turned around to go back to the car.
     "Wait, Debbie said you got all the stuff..."  Kim was staring at
me, like she'd figured out what I was doing.
     "Ah, let's get away from the house and I'll explain."

***
09:08 9 Mar

     I was too familiar with this parking lot.  "So?" I inquired.  "What
do you think?"
     "Turn around," commanded Jill.  I turned, slowly.
     Kim mused, "Oooh, baggy clothes.  Just like you always wear..."
     I unzipped my ski jacket and pulled it off, then shrugged off the
plaid shirt.  What was left, and one of the reasons I'd been sweating,
was the sweater vest and blue oxford blouse I'd hidden underneath,
guessing they would be suitable.  My shoes went next...  The parking lot
was very very cold.  Sunlight would have been nice, but the skies were
gray and nasty.
     I dug in the pack, and pulled out a skirt, which I slipped on over
my jeans.  I fumbled around through the waistband, and slid the jeans
off from under the skirt.  I sat down in the car seat, and dusted my
feet off, then slipped on the thin white lacey socks, almost like hose,
I'd found in one bag.  My flats went on last, I grabbed the purse out of
the pack, and then I stood up again.
     "Damn," said Kim, and started to giggle.
     "Val, you quick change artist you!" snickered Jill.  "And here we
thought you were someone else."
     I laughed sickly.  "Yeah, well, I need that cash this week."
     They looked at me.  "What cash?"
     I gave them a look back.  "Babysitting?  Debbie didn't mention it?"

***
09:11 9 Mar

     "You're doing what?  Jesus, T- ... Val, have you thought about
this?"
     I looked up from doing eyeliner.  "Kim, wouldn't you say that this
is sort of evidence of planning?"  I pointed the brush at her.
     Jill was shaking her head and chuckling.

***
09:20 9 Mar

     "Lemme have that," said Jill, and grabbed the hairbrush.  "Now,
THIS time watch what I'm doing, okay?"  She started swiping at my hair.

***
09:41 9 Mar

     "Oh, God, I can't wait 'til we get there so I can look at you
more," Kim commented.  I was glad she had decided to wait to look until
she stopped driving.  "You figured all this out by yourself?"
     "Debbie wasn't hiding up there in your room, was she?" Jill asked
suspiciously.
     "Well," I explained, "I was sort of paying attention when everyone
was working over me.  And you know that Debbie was making me do my own
makeup and stuff."
     "Yeah, but..."
     I snorted.  "Well, it's not the first time I've snuck out of the
house wearing stuff I didn't want my folks to know about."  They were
both real curious about that one, I could tell.  "Me and da boys, we
found out that all black was good in the dark but not so good when we
were trying to spoof the parental units and get outside."  Jill made an
ah-hah face.  "And there was other stuff we had to sneak out too."
     "Like what?" Kim wanted to know.

***
09:54 9 Mar

     I cut short my explanation of the intricacies of scientific mailbox
demolition when we pulled up in the coffeeshop parking lot.

***
10:06 9 Mar

     "I'm pretty sure I can do it... it's just the makeup I gotta be
stopped for."  Putting pencils next to your eyes in traffic - bad idea.
     "How long did that take?" Kim asked, but Jill answered, "'Bout ten
minutes.  Not too bad..."
     She asked me, "Don't you think that's a little heavy for
babysitting, though?"
     I shrugged.  "Debbie said I could use a little extra help."  They
both looked at each other.  "What?"
     Jill shook her head.  "I don't think you need any extra help."
     "You really think it's too heavy?  What about the clothes?  I took
a guess..."  Kim was shaking her head now, too.  "What?"

***
10:17 9 Mar

     I could live with this, I decided as I took a bite of very good
croissant.
     "So what happened Friday night?" Jill asked me.
     "Uh...."  I took another bite of croissant.
     They looked at each other while I was stalling.  "Must've been
good," Jill said to Kim.
     Kim sang, "And it must be luvvvvvvv..."  They high fived each
other, laughing.
     "No!" I protested.  Then I remembered the kiss, and almost choked.
     "What, did he kiss you again?" asked Kim.  She must have seen
something in my face, because she got really wide-eyed, and gasped, "He
did!  He did!"
     "I think you'd better explain yourself, young lady!" Jill barked,
shaking a finger at me.  And started snickering.

***
10:18 9 Mar

     "Yes you have to!"
     "But-"
     Kim explained patiently, and quietly, "It's how we bond, Val.  It's
much better than staring at a TV screen watching sports together, at
least."
     Jill added, bitterly, "Or getting so drunk you puke."  That sounded
like experience talking.
     I posed the question, "But why am I bonding with you, anyway?"
     Kim looked me straight in the eye.  "Because you like us and want
to be friends with us," she intoned.
     "Oh," I finally submitted.
     "So tell us," said Jill, almost casually.  Almost.  But she was
giving me the same stare that Kim was.

***
10:22 9 Mar

     "...and then I realized, like, oh my God, this is like one of those
dates, in junior high, when nobody knows what to do, and you just keep
screwing up and screwing up..."  Jill was grinning, Kim had her hand
over her mouth to strangle the giggles.  "And then it hit me, right?
What was the one thing you wanted to do when that happened?"
     "Die?" Kim suggested in a giggle fit.
     "Go home," said Jill.
     I shook my head.  "Start over!  So I did.  I stood up, introduced
myself, and shook his hand-"
     The two of them burst out laughing, which was too contagious for me
to resist.

***
10:31 9 Mar

     "So they threw you outside together, and then what?"
     I was going to stall some more, but someone else interrupted.
"Good morning girls!" someone chirped.  I looked up, and it was John,
Debbie's hairdresser.  "How are you all doing today?"  Bam, thudthud
twitch thudthudthud went my heart.
     "Fine."  "Okay," said the girls.  I just nodded.
     "Jill," he said, turning to her, "I just came over to see how your
color was working out."
     "Oh, I love it!" she said earnestly.  "It's great, great."
     "Well, I thought it would work out, and I'm SO glad it did!  So,
will you be coming back in in two weeks for a touch up?"
     Jill got a look on her face.  "I, I dunno.  Can I get the corporate
discount again?"  He nodded.  "Yeah, okay, I.. let me call and make an
appointment."  *Corporate discount?* I wondered as he pulled out a
business card and handed it to her.
     "Alright, I'll be looking forward to that call," he agreed, and
then he turned back to me.  "Well, Valerie, you look very nice today."
     I was going to quietly choke to death when Kim kicked me under the
table.  Twice.  Three times...  "Thank you," I said, and tried to smile.
My leg hurt.
     "How did your night on the town go?"
     "Uh," I started.
     "LOTTA fun," Jill grinned.  "Val here," she pointed at me, "found
us a half dozen guys to go party with."
     John WINKED at me when she said that.  It was so humiliating.

***
10:33 9 Mar

     When John left, they started in again.  "So what happened then?"
     "Huh?" I stalled.  They didn't buy it.

***
10:35 9 Mar

     I was flushing so hard that my face hurt.  "Oh, God...."
     "Want me to try?" asked Kim.  I nodded, unable to talk any more
about it.  Then I figured out, too late, *Wait, then she'll-*
     "So what happened next was," Kim shot out, "you looked up into his
eyes, he looked down into yours, it took forever for him to actually
kiss you, but he did, and then it was bliss, pure heavenly bliss and it
made you dizzy, and then when he was done, you stared at him with that
look," she did a remarkable imitation of that after-a-screen-kiss face
that I'd caused in Debbie and Lisa, "and then he left."  She paused, and
looked at me with an amused expression. "Right?"
     I choked out, "Twice."  They'd find out anyway.
     "He kissed you TWICE?" Jill verified.  I nodded helplessly.
     They both went, "Ooooh!"

***
10:43 9 Mar

     "Mike said I ought to go along with it, a long time ago."
     "Mike said that?"  Jill sounded surprised.
     I nodded.  "Something about 'understanding girls better' or
something like that."  Jill and Kim pondered that for a while.  "I don't
think he knew everything that was going on, though," I added.
     "Well," Kim finally asked, "is it working?"
     I shrugged.  "I think so," I finally admitted.  "I've learned a
lot, I guess.... like how much of a pain it is sometimes."
     They both started "Let me tell you-" and then broke up laughing at
each other.

***
11:06 9 Mar

     "Come on, Val, cough some more up!"  I dug in my purse for a tip.
     "This is getting expensive," I mentioned.
     Kim snorted.  "Why do you think we work all the time?  Those of us
without steady boyfriends-"
     "Which reminds me," Jill butted in, "who paid for Friday night?"
     "What?  Oh," I exclaimed, disgusted, "not that again!"
     "So who paid?" asked Kim.
     I sighed.  "He did, at least for the food.  We got our own disks
and books."  They nodded, like that's what they were expecting.

***
11:15 9 Mar

     "So where are we going?" I asked.
     Jill turned around in the seat to look at me.  "Park.  We need to
check something."
     "What?"
     She just waggled her eyebrows and remarked, "Don't worry about it."
     Yeah right.

***
11:21 9 Mar

     "Don't you think it's kind of cold to be out here?"
     Jill looked around carefully.  "No."  Kim gave Jill a look.
"C'mere, Val," Jill drawled, leaning against the car.
     "What?"
     "Just come here for a second."
     I sighed, and walked over and leaned against the car like she was
doing.  "So?  What's up?"
     "Kiss me," she commanded.
     "What?"
     "Kiss me!"

***

"HAYES!  Is that report ready?!"
*Uh oh.*  clikityklikclicki
                           NO CARRIER

OK

***

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Archiving is permitted provided no fee is charged for access.

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"Tallyho!"      \   /     @>--,--'--  ehayes@nym.alias.net  + vicki .sig
Ellen Hayes --=(*)=(*)=-- Renaissance Woman    ==[--------  + virus 9.1a
            http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/5734/



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