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Author's Note: Here's Ch. 9. I kind of had a busy week what with moving my grandfather into his new apartment and all. But now I'm back on track...at least for the time being. We finally get to see a little nightclub in this one. I'd like to thank djkauf for the editing and everyone who had a hand in helping me hammer this one out, you know who you are.

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Chapter Nine:

“Becca” said a voice as someone shook me. “Wake up or you’re going to be late for class and trust me, you don’t want that.”

I opened my eyes a bit, ready to yell at Stella for bothering me so early. But it wasn’t Stella who was shaking me. I opened my eyes further and saw Karen standing over me, already in her dreadful green uniform. I groaned. It took me a few seconds to process where I was. Then I closed my eyes and rolled away from her. I didn’t even need to look at the clock to know how early it was. I could feel the sun on my skin as it seeped through the open curtains. There were a lot of advantages for me as far as the Second Skin was concerned but there were some disadvantages too. One of the biggest ones was the tingling. It didn’t bother me so much if most of my body was covered. But when it was in the direct sun, the suit kind of tingled a bit. It usually only happened in the morning and always when I was trying to sleep.

Karen shook me again. “You can’t sleep in like this; if Janet catches you there will be hell to pay.”

I scoffed, not bothering to turn around. “I can handle her.”

Karen sighed. “That I don’t doubt but they have a rule here. If you get in trouble, I do.”

That caused me to open my eyes. I turned around and pushed myself up onto my elbows. This bed was too lumpy for me; I missed the one back home. Yes, I referred to the Center home; I never had a real one so it’s the closest to one I’ve ever had.

“What are you talking about?”

Karen sat on the end of my bed, making sure to fold her skirt underneath her as she did so. She smiled weakly. “You and your roommate are responsible for one another. If one of you misbehaves then it’s seen as a demerit to the other. Something to do with not watching each other.”

That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I sighed and bit my lip. “You didn’t get in trouble yesterday did you?”

She shook her head. “You were new, you didn’t know the rules. But if you do something stupid today, I will.”

What the hell was with this place?

I sighed and threw off my blanket. Karen smiled. She jumped off my bed and walked over to her own, turning her back on me again. I rolled my eyes. She lived in a girl’s school; surely, she’d seen the others undress. But her prudish behavior was the least of my worries at the moment. I looked at the clock and saw that I only had about ten minutes to get dressed before breakfast. I sighed. I guess that means I’m skipping a shower. I pulled off my bedclothes quickly enough and put on some underwear. The only good thing about wearing a uniform was not going through the hassle of finding something to wear every day. I walked over to my closet and found it hanging there. Apparently, all of the girls only had two or three uniforms. The dirty one was to be hung outside your door every night and someone would come by and collect it to wash. With all of us visiting girls, they only gave us one uniform apiece. So we were meant to hang it outside our door every night we were here. Last night I forgot but someone must have because here it was hanging in my closet, all nice and clean.

I dressed quickly enough. “I’m decent.”

Karen turned around. “C’mon, we’re going to be late for tutor group.”

I didn’t even get a chance to say ok as she grabbed my arm and pulled me out into the hall. The line-up of girls from yesterday was gone. The hall was empty as Karen pulled me down it. I struggled to keep up because I was still putting on my stupid shoes. I guess they were better than the heels they made us wear at the Center. But I still missed my boots.

Unlike yesterday morning, this morning we actually went to a classroom for our roll call. There were about thirty or so of us, the others all sitting at little wooden desks when we entered. We slipped in when the teacher’s back was to us. We found some seats in the back so when she turned around, she didn’t even notice we weren’t there before. I didn’t go to school much when I was Rick. I mean I had school but it never really agreed with me. I’m a bright student, I used to get decent grades but there was something about being bounced from one place to the other that didn’t settle well into a school environment. Besides Dell, I didn’t really have many friends.

“Good morning girls” said the teacher, writing her name on the board. “I’m Miss Cross, for those of you joining us from America for the week; I am the Form Tutor of this group.”

She went on to explain what a tutor group is about. All you really need to know that it’s sort of like home room in American high school except here you’re with the same students pretty much throughout your entire time here. I’m not sure how things go in normal high schools but I used to have a different home room and teacher almost every year---but then again I was lucky to stay at one school for more than a year. Miss Cross droned on a bit more about her job then took attendance. After that, she let us go.

I got to follow Karen around for the day.

I don’t think I need to bore you with every single class. I can give you a rundown of them though. First was English, then Math and Biology. They were pretty much the same as the classes in America except they seemed to be even more boring. After that was History and let me tell you, I’ll take Mr. Royce any day over the troll who taught it here. I usually like learning about World War 2 but this woman made everything sound very bland. It was a lot of blah, blah, blah. After history, Karen had German and yes, I didn’t understand a damn thing. When Connor did his thing, he gave us French. Which is hard enough to have rattling around in our heads. The German was worse though, much worse.

After that, we finally got a break for lunch. We weren’t allowed to eat with one another, though. So I ended up back at the table with the other girls from Our Lady of Angels. I sat in between Emma and Stella. Both of them looked about as exhausted as I felt.

“You can cross two more girls off our list,” said Stella quietly.

“Which ones?”

She gestured slightly with her head. I turned and saw a pair of brunettes sitting together and groaned. How did we miss that there were twins here. Both of them were kind of short and a little overweight. As much as I didn’t want to judge, I just knew there was no way they could be Dekker’s kids. For one thing they didn’t look a thing like him and for another, there was no way he’d ever allow any kid of his to look like that.

“Where do we meet Connor?” asked Emma, sipping her drink. “Because I was dying in French class. I took Spanish in school and even then I struggled.”

I was thinking the same thing myself. So far, I’d been able to get away with my own knowledge but pretty soon, that wasn’t going to work. For starters, after classes today was our first band rehearsal. I think it was pretty safe to say that none of us knew how to play the cello without his little mind “jumpers” he gave us.

Half way into lunch, I excused myself on the false pretense of going to the bathroom. After that, I slipped out of the Great Hall and found a dark, empty classroom. I slipped inside and shut the door. Then I whipped out my scrambled cell. I dialed Kit, she picked up after only one ring.

“Hey Sarge, how’s boarding school life been treating you?”

I ignored the question. “Where’s Connor going to meet us?”

Kit laughed. “I was wondering when you’d call. I’ve got him set up to rendezvous with you three in about ten minutes. Do you know that door on the other side of the kitchen, the one where they get deliveries? He’ll be one of the guys dropping off the newest shipment. As soon as he gets a few moments, he’ll do his thing.”

I nodded and looked at the clock on the phone. I thanked her, slipped it into my hoodie and went back into the Great Hall. I walked over to the table and made some excuse for Emma and Stella. Apparently, it was now my “time of the month” and I needed some help with that. The two of them gave me wide eye looks but after giving them a look of my own, I think they understood. They slowly followed me down the hall and into the kitchen. Luckily, for us there was no one there. We slipped through it silently to the delivery door and waited. Ten minutes later, Connor showed up right on time, carrying a large wooden crate.

“Little help, this thing is heavy.”

I groaned and nodded to Emma. She took it in one hand, carrying it like it was made of paper. She set aside, Connor’s eyes got as big as saucers.

“Stop gawking and do your thing,” I snapped.

He nodded numbly. He did me first, knowledge flooded into my brain. But unlike before, I didn’t get woozy. I think I was finally getting used to it. Everything cello went bouncing around, boggling my mind. When this mission was over, I was going to make sure he never did his thing to me again. I hated how all this new stuff made me feel. I also hated being dependent so much on him. He was a prick and let’s face it; no one wants one of those around. Especially one like him.

“All done gorgeous” he said, just finishing up with Stella.

She was the last.

“Hey” he said, still talking to her. “Kit says you guys might hit a night club tonight, you want to be my date?”

Stella rolled her eyes. “I already told you I don’t swing that way.”

He nodded. “I know, but I figure if I walk in there with a pretty girl like you on my arm all the other girls will get jealous and then become sympathetic when you ignore me the rest of the night.”

I interrupted. “You’re leaving now; Connor or else I’ll have Emma remove you.”

Emma smiled at him, cracking her knuckles.
The color drained from Connor’s face. “I’ll see you tonight, girls.”

I pushed him out of the kitchen and slammed the door in his face.

“Do you think he was a horn dog as a girl too?” asked Stella, shivering.

Emma laughed. “Her name was Maria Velazquez actually. According to Lola, Maria was a real bookworm. She was real shy and quiet.”

“And how does she know that?”

Emma smiled. “They were neighbors. Martin’s Mom and Maria’s mom were best friends. They moved next door to each other. Apparently they drank the same water.”

I nodded. I couldn’t picture Lola as a Martin though. I smiled at that. Then I remembered the hard time I gave her before and frowned.

The three of us slipped out of the kitchen and back into the Great Hall. No one was the wiser.

After lunch, things went by a little faster. Karen dragged me into a Geography class that wasn’t all that bad. I lucked out because they were discussing the US. I think they might have done that for our sake. After that, we went to a Religious Studies class. I’m not even going to discuss how bored I was there. There was a technology class too. I think they wanted their girls to have a well-rounded education. As Rick I would have loved it---Barry would have too, because it was all about computers---but for some reason I couldn’t find myself getting into it. I think a lot of the girls were that way. There were several of them with blank looks on their faces, some of them even staring off into oblivion. Her last normal class was Child Development. You can imagine how well that went over. Emma and Stella were in the class too and I think the two of them were as red in the face as I was. I know it was all a part of being a girl but honestly there was no way I was going to have a kid. Not that there was anything wrong with that but I’m just not that kind of person.

Can you see me taking care of a kid?

I called Child Development her last class because I don’t really consider PE a class. I was never one for sports when I was Rick because I was always too short and girly. A lot of guys used to rib me a lot about it. I got pushed around a lot too, and being the little guy, the others had a tendency to avoid me when it came to picking teams. But being me now, it was a whole different thing. I’m tall now and athletic. Not as motivated as Stella maybe but I’m pretty fit. So PE was kind of a breeze for me. We played something called Net Ball---which is basically basketball. My team dominated, thanks in no part to me and Emma. She may have been a hockey jock before but she was a pretty good ball player too.

After PE, I finally got that much needed shower.

________________________________

The rest of the day went by too damn slow. I don’t think I need to bore you with the details, especially band practice. I have to admit though; the band is good. I don’t generally like the music they play---all classical and crap---but because of my Connor whammy, I know that they’re excellent. Besides getting the usual, we also got a lot of knowledge about classical music. So I now know the ins and outs of things that I wouldn’t necessarily know. I’m just glad that this crap leaves my head. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Connor, always having it in his head. What happens when some girl needs to know something girly? I can’t help at smile at that. I know Connor was once a girl but the thought of him having makeup and hair care expertise rolling around in his head is just priceless.

After practice, I ended up alone in the room. Karen left me a note though. There was something pressing that needed her attention, newspaper business I guess. I think I might have forgotten to mention that. Karen was a member of the school newspaper, the Chairmont Gazette---not very original I know. She was a photographer or something. Her note didn’t say where she went but I think I remember her mentioning something about having to take pictures of the Netball team. So now, here I was sitting on my bed, looking around the empty room. The last time I had a room to myself like this was at the Syndicate. The memory was happy and sad at the same time. Trish helped me decorate and Mr. Red---aka Greg Dwyer---painted it. He was a pretty cool guy until I found out he was a mercenary for hire who killed my best friend Dell. Yeah that kind of puts the whole damper on admiring someone. I sighed. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d thought about him. Dwyer was one of the good guys at the Syndicate---well as good as can be expected from him. He was one of the three faculty members who helped us escape---Trish being one and Mr. Black being the other.

Dwyer stuck with us a bit until he kinda disappeared. I didn’t care either way. I’m sure if he stuck around, I probably would have killed him anyway. He was a coward. He left me a note after he left, explaining his guilt over killing my friend. He claimed he was only following orders and felt real bad about it. How can you follow orders but feel bad about it too? It made no sense. But I suppose guys like him have no consciences or something.

I sighed and fell backwards on the bed. The ceiling was a dull white color. Why is it that all places like this don’t bother to paint their ceilings? If it were mine, I’d have midnight blue or black. I think that would look cool. Not that I could ever get away with that at the Center. They didn’t mind us painting our walls but for some reason they drew the line at the ceiling. I think it’s just really hard to do. But then again didn’t that Michelangelo guy paint that ceiling, on his back no less? Maybe they’re just lazy or something.

A knock on the door drew me away from my thoughts. I sat up and groaned. Who the hell is that? It can’t be Karen, she doesn’t get done for another hour and besides it’s her room so she has a key. I groaned and pushed myself off the bed and trudged slowly to the door. When I opened it, I felt like groaning again: it was Britney. She was standing there with the sweetest smile on her face, her long blonde hair looking particularly long and shiny today.

“What do you want?” I asked, not trying to hide my distaste for this girl.

She ignored it. “Is it true that you’re going to the Hellcat tonight?”

I inwardly groaned. Does everyone know about this?

I nodded. “If we can find some way to sneak out of this place.”

Britney smiled. “If you agree to take me along I think I have a plan.”
Bring her alone? We were going to be spying on her potential father. How could I drag her along unless…What better way to distract someone then to bring their own daughter. Can you imagine if Dekker saw his darling little girl thrashing about in the club? He’d blow a gasket and cause a scene. It would be enough of one to get him away from his room and us in there. Of course, that plan all hinged on the fact that Jasmine was right and Dekker wasn’t there at nights. But a solid back up might be a good idea.

I regretted my next words. “You can come but no one else. I don’t want this to become common knowledge.”

She smiled big, showing off her shiny white teeth. “Don’t worry; I know how to keep a secret.”

I smiled. I bet she does.

I didn’t wait for her to say anything else as I shut the door in her face. I didn’t slam it though, even though I wanted to. After all, she was going to get us out of this place. The least I could do was be polite to her, at least until we were free. As soon as we were at the club, I planned to treat her like she had the plague.

I went back to the bed and collapsed onto it again. I tried my hardest to get some sleep; it’s hard when someone throws off your sleep cycle. But no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t do it. I hate it when you can’t fall asleep. It’s one of those things that seem to be my weakness. Superman has kryptonite, Homer Simpson has donuts and Rebecca Howe has sleep issues. I can’t really call it insomnia because I do sleep. It’s more like as soon as I wake up I can’t seem to fall back to sleep. Sometimes it just happens, most of that time is when you least expect it. Other times I get knocked unconscious. That happens more than I’d like. Then there are those times when you’re trying to stay awake and you fall asleep. I hate those.

I groaned then continued my tossing and turning.

I never did get asleep.

After tossing about for an hour or so, I gave up and decided to make my way to dinner. I found the Great Hall semi-packed. Karen was already there, sitting with her group. I’m not sure but I think they might seat the girls by Tutor group. I noticed a couple of the girls from this morning sitting with her. Karen was alone at the end of the table, eating her dinner in silence. I felt kind of bad for her. She seemed like the odd girl out and she looked sadder than ever. I’d been meaning to ask her about that. Sometimes she seemed ok, but other times it was like the world seemed to be contagious to her. Every once in a while she’d flinch or tense up. It usually happened around guys too. I wonder if she had a bad experience. I bit my lip. For once, I actually wished I’d brought an Empath on this mission.

I found Emma and Stella at the table too. The two of them were becoming fast friends. I guess I could deal with that. They did have a lot in common after all, both being recent additions to the club. Some of the guys at the Center had jokingly started calling it the “New Thong Club.” They got a couple of laughs out of it until one of the new girls---I’m not sure who---coined the phrase “New Jockey Club”. It’s funny but guys can dish out the jokes until they’re directed back at them. They grumbled a bit about it and then dropped the teasing. Unfortunately, for them, most of us were once guys so we couldn’t wait to tease them with our new name every chance we got.

“Evening ladies” I said, sitting down with my tray, doing a bad Connor impersonation.

Stella groaned and Emma rolled her eyes. “Tell me you weren’t like that before?”

I smiled. “Not on your life.”

We shared a smile then looked at Emma. She was sipping her drink and then did a double take at our twin smiles. “Don’t look at me” she said “just because I was a jock that doesn’t make me an ultimate dick. I was a gamer if you must know.”

We all shared a laugh. It was good to laugh. I’d been feeling so angry lately that laughing was kind of therapeutic in a way.

Stella took on a more serious tone. “Good and bad news guys.” Emma and I both stopped laughing. “I got the 411 on the last of the girls and they’re no go’s either.”

I sighed then the three us turned as one, looking across the Great Hall. Our gazes fell on Britney. She was sitting with a group of girls, giggling and having a good time. There was no doubt about it now; she had to be Dekker’s daughter. I smiled at my foresight. I knew that bitch had to be related to him somehow, I just knew it. It was the way she talked and the way she moved. She was too snobbish and cruel to be anything but.

After staring at her for a few more seconds, I nodded. “Mission accomplished girls.”

“Are we one hundred percent certain?” asked Stella.

Emma answered for me. “There’s no one else. Besides, she looks a lot like him. If she’s not his daughter then I’ll make out with Connor.”

None of us laughed. But Stella did shudder.

Then she shook her head. “She’s not what you guys think. She might be a bitch on the outside but there’s no way she’s a girl who her father abandoned. It’s the way she talks and acts. I know snobby people; I used to mow lawns for a lot of them. There’s no way she’s one of them. She may appear that way but it’s all an act really.” She blushed but neither of us seemed to notice. “She’s different. If she’s Dekker’s daughter then there’s no way she knows it.”

I shook my head. “Regardless, she might be the only link we have at finding him.”

“What about the nightclub? That’s still on right?”

I smiled. “There’s no way I’d pass that up.”

Emma and Stella sighed in relief. I think the two of them were really looking forward to it. I was looking forward to it, too. I invited Barry and Brad. But I was hoping maybe I could get Barry to loosen up a bit; maybe tell me what’s been eating away at him. He was reluctant to accept the invitation---he had a lot of work to do---but I pulled rank. I outranked him and the others. I told him that it was a part of the mission so he finally agreed.

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Ok, so Britney’s little sneak out plan wasn’t much of a plan. It consisted of the five of us---hey, I couldn’t go without my roomie---making a crank phone call to the front desk about a strange man in front of the school. Apparently, the school took prowlers and perverts very seriously. Chairmont had a small security force. They were notable by the red blazers they wore and how they stood out amongst the green. Mr. Phelps was the Head of Security, he was the only other person in the school who knew who I really was or rather he knew the cover story we gave Miss Pennington. So we didn’t really need Britney’s little distraction but I did want her along so I let her think she was contributing. In truth, Kit and Barry caused the security cameras to malfunction and created an actual emergency---Barry put a virus in the security computers---to preoccupy security.
But we let Britney think it was her doing. She got a big smile out of that.

We followed her down the hall and into the kitchen. We went out the same back door that Connor met us at after lunch today. Britney went first of course. She looked real funny sneaking across the lawn in her short dress and four inch heels. But then again we all looked kind of ridiculous. It was Britney’s idea of course. Apparently, there was no way they’d let any of us rejects---Stella not included---into the club wearing what we usually wore. Luckily, for us though, she had some clothes waiting. Don’t tell me how she knew our sizes. The others were dressed normally; well at least they had more clothing than I did anyway. I think the bitch was trying to embarrass the hell out of me. She was succeeding, too. It’s not every day that I wear a shirt with no back, a skirt so short it barely covers my ass, heels that make me feel like an Amazon and so much makeup that a clown would blush.

“You look so posh though,” she told me after she was done doing my makeup.

She even teased my hair a bit and made sure my heels were so high that I had to walk like a sexy bimbo. When this was all over, I was going to interrogate her so hard that I reduced her to a puddle of piss. I wonder if she knew the three of us were on to her and that’s why she was doing this. She came out of nowhere earlier. She definitely didn’t look like the type that would want to go to a club called the Hellcat but then again neither did any of us. I don’t do well in the whole crowd situation. I never have, even as Rick. There’s just something about a lot of people, in a cramped space that makes my skin crawl. Going into this club tonight would be the first time I’d ever been in a place that packed as a girl too. Both the malls I went into were full of people but there was a lot more room then.

We cut across the lawn, Britney in the lead still. She was clinging to the walls, moving like a sexed up cat burglar. It was kind of ridiculous, watching her slink along like she did. I couldn’t help but smile but as long as she was going in the same direction we were, I was fine with that. If Dekker was there it would truly be a shock for him to see his little girl grinding with some jackass. In fact, I planned to point her out to the hopeless Connor, maybe he’d get his “freak” on with her. He looked like the kind of guy who liked to party hard. Not that I condone those kinds of things but what’s the harm at seeing two asses make bigger asses out of themselves, in public no less.

Finally, we were done playing 007.

There was a black taxi waiting for us. The driver was standing outside and I groaned. It was the same guy from last night. I fell behind a bit, hoping he wouldn’t recognize me.

He opened the door. “Evening, lovelies” he said as Britney slid in first, followed by Stella, Emma and Karen.

I kept my head down as I slowly slid into the car. It’s really hard to do in such a short skirt.

“Ello, ello” he said, recognizing me. “I almost didn’t recognize you luv, what with you being all dolled up and all. Where’s the boyfriend tonight?”

I flushed beet red. Emma gave me a look. Her eyebrow rose. I stumbled over my words. “He’s meeting us.”

The cabbie smiled. “Lucky lad.”

The cabbie smiled and shut the door. I tried my best to be invisible, even slouching in my seat a bit.

“Something you’re not telling us, Beck?” asked Emma, throwing me a knowing smile.

I blushed and ignored her, looking out the window instead.
We drove in relative silence. It didn’t take long to get to the club. But unlike last night where the street was deserted, there was a huge crowd of people in front of the building now. I guess I didn’t really describe the building before. I didn’t have the need too. But I guess it wouldn’t hurt for a little description. The Hellcat wasn’t a place that you’d think was a nightclub because it didn’t look very big. But according to Britney---who’d been before---that was its charm. Most of the club was actually underground. The building was an old factory of some kind during the turn of the century. It was abandoned for years until some rich somebody bought it, gutted it and turned it into what it is now. The top floors were VIP areas and of course the apartment. But the bottom floor and the basement---where the dance floor and DJ were---was all open to the public.

“The best part” said Britney as the cabbie pulled up to the pavement. “They don’t card you here.”

She got out of the car first and went right into line. Stella followed, looking very fine indeed in her tight green dress. She looked posh too according to Britney but for some reason her hair wasn’t as teased and her makeup not caked on as much. But the green did bring out the emerald color of her eyes nicely. Looking at here---all dolled up---made my nipples hard. Hey, the pheromones still work on me remember?

“I’m not so sure about this,” said Karen as she got out of the cab in front of me.

I smiled and squeezed her hand. “We don’t have to go in if you don’t want too. There’s plenty of places we can go. I think there’s a little coffee shop nearby, right?” She nodded.

Then she shook her head. “No, I wanna do this. I gotta do this.”

“Thatta girl.”

We got into line behind Britney and Stella, Emma got in behind me. She was being the ever vigilant sentinel but she didn’t need to be. Inside already were the guys no doubt and my tactical support. I made sure the two of them inserted themselves into the nightlife somewhere. In fact, if I wasn’t mistaken, I thought I saw Kit and Samson together. It was hard to tell though because they were in civvies. Though it wasn’t all that odd to see them out of uniform---especially on a mission---the two of them considered fatigue colored cargos and black shirts as standard non-issue wear. Thankfully, the two of them never followed us around in public. The only time I think I saw Samson out of his “nonofficial” uniform was when he followed us into the mall when we were looking for Emma.
It didn’t take long for the line to start moving along.

When it finally got to us, the doorman let Britney and Stella in without a problem. When it got to me, Karen and Emma he gave us the once over first. His eyes widened when he got to Emma and he smiled real big. Men are such pigs, I’m glad I’m not one anymore.

“You ladies can go,” he said, waving us inside.

I gulped as I stepped through the doorway, my ears quickly assailed by the pounding noise of the music. Everything was overly loud to me. It actually hurt. I stumbled a bit, falling into Emma. She caught me, a look of concern on her face. I shook it off though. I took a deep breath, trying to filter out the noise. But it wasn’t just that, either. The sound was bouncing around the room, coming at me from all sides. That’s why I was so dizzy. That and the smell. I can’t even describe it to you. It was many different ones, waiting around the room in so many different colors. Then there was the people. They were crushing against one another, so many that it was hard to move. Emma took the lead for us, elbowing her way through. She might not look like much but there was no way I’d want to stand in her way.

She pushed us through to an area where they had some tables. We found Stella, sitting alone. There were a couple chairs around her and we slipped into them.

“Where’s You Know Who?”

Stella raised an eyebrow. Then sighed. “She saw some hottie and disappeared into the ground after him.”

I nodded. “Figures.”

Karen fidgeted uncomfortably next to me. “It’s really loud in here.”

I groaned. “You have no idea,” I said softly then louder I said. “We can still bail if you want.”

“No” she said rather quickly. “I want to be here. I have to be here.”

I took the bait. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

She bit her lip, nibbling it a bit. “No…it’s just that my Dad would never let me go to a place like this…he’d blow a gasket.”

I nodded. It was a lousy lie but if she didn’t want to open up I wasn’t going to force her.

Luckily, for me I didn’t have to. Stella took my cue---she must be a mind reader---and started chatting with Karen. I smiled, then scanned the crowd. It didn’t take me long to find Kit and Samson. The two of them were sitting at a table together, pretending to be extra attentive to one another. For once, they looked like normal people. Kit was in a tight pink dress, Samson in a blue button down shirt and black pants. They were laughing and having a good time. It was all an act of course; I could tell by the way they looked over at our table every now and then. I noticed something else too. A certain blonde powerhouse sitting next to me.

Emma was looking over at Samson and Kit too. There was something in her stare that made me glad I wasn’t on the receiving. Unfortunately, it looked like Samson was. There was a snapping crack, low enough that only I could hear because of the music. I looked down and saw that she was gripping the table tightly, the wood having splintered under her vice-like grip. I smiled and looked back over at Samson and Kit. Samson looked like he’d just swallowed a goldfish.

I turned away, laughing to myself.

I scanned the rest of the crowd looking for my posse. The guys were definitely not on the dance floor. But it didn’t take long for me to find them. They were standing at the bar, the three of them dressed in similar fashion. Apparently, there was no make over guru at their school like at ours. I looked at Connor, his shirt unbuttoned a bit at the collar; he’s such an ass. Then I looked over at Brad. He looked as beautiful as ever, his shirt was light blue, it brought out the color of his eyes nicely. I bit my lip, my gaze falling on Barry. He was dressed in black from head to toe. He was nursing a glass of blue liquid and looked really bored. Damn it, what the hell was his problem lately.

“Emma, you going to be ok taking table duty?”

I didn’t get a response. So I turned around to ask her face to face but her chair was empty. I looked quickly over at Kit and Samson but the two of them were sitting together still. Then I looked at the dance floor. It didn’t take me long to find her. She bobbing up and down, dancing awfully close to a blonde guy. I only saw the back of his head but he had one of those looks---slicked back hair, tall and frat boyish---he was definitely not her type. But I think she did it to make Samson jealous. I think it was working too because he kept looking over at them.

I turned to Stella and Karen. “I’m going to the loo,” I said, putting on a bad British accent. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Stella looked past me, over at the bar and nodded. “We’ll stay here and hold down the fort.”

I nodded and made my way slowly through the crowd. I pretended to head toward the bathroom so as not to raise Karen’s suspicions then I doubled back, taking the long way around to the bar. I came up behind Barry, slipping my arms his waist, resting my head into his back. He was so tense but it felt good to be pressed up against him.

“Hey, babe” I said, loud enough for him to hear.

“Hey”

Unfortunately, for me, Brad and Barry said it at the exact same time.

Photo Credit: Model AJ Stewart