This is the sequel to "A Bikini Beach Summer".

Luke Cuttington's older brother, Peter, persuades Luke to join his babysitting job with the idea of taking over once Peter leaves for college. Luke takes over the babysitting, and continues his summer routine of activities and relaxation.

        Disclaimer

Bikini Beach and its main characters are copyright 1998 by Elrod W.

Any comments about Bikini Beach, how it works, what it does, by characters other than Anya or Grandmother are potentially non-canonical and wrong. As this story is told from a particular point of view by the protagonist, this includes comments by the narrator. The protagonist, and thus the narrative, are what the protagonist believes or interprets from what he is experiencing. Thus some of the mechanics of BB are biased by the protagonist's view and experiences. Furthermore, because of the particular viewpoint of the story, those errors often won't be corrected. When the errors are corrected, the correction will often be disbelieved and rejected.

Despite this I will admit to pushing the limits of Bikini-Beach canon, perhaps even going outside on occasion.

This post (https://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog-entry/64659/muse-wrestli...) persuaded me that waiting to complete and revise my long stories before posting posting may have been an ungood idea. As it is, the sequel still isn't complete more than half a decade later. Consequently, there is NO WARRANTY that this won't be revised as part of the final story.

        Monday, July 28

GLENN MATSUMOTO WAS SEARCHING prior art online as part of a patent application he was filing, when the phone rang. "It's Ellen," called Darline over the intercom from the front desk.

"Thanks, Darline!" he replied, as he answered the phone. "Hi, Ellen!"

"Hi Honey, the night at the Itohs is good to go tonight."

"Ah, good." Glenn did his best to sound happy. Jack and Ai Itoh were their friends with benefits, and he was quite happy to have a quiet night with them. He had his doubts because, unfortunately, about half the time, Ellen used her visit to cover for her own nocturnal prowling.

Ellen was officially a private investigator, but Glenn knew that Ellen's methods stepped outside the law on occasion, and sometimes she actively intervened in a crime. The less Glenn knew about her activities, the better. He hoped that if she did slip out tonight, she would only find some young man or young lady to seduce, and that would be it.

"Peter's babysitting Daisy tonight, right?" asked Glenn, quite certain of the answer.

"Of course. It's not as if he has any kind of night life, or any kind of social life."

"Okay, love-ya."

"Love-you, bye."

        ******************************

"WE HAVEN'T SEEN as much of your sister as before, ever since she discovered that girls-only water park a month ago," I said, sighing.

"Tracy's made a bunch of new friends there," said Bruce, as we walked through the mall. It was about time to meet Peter to take me home for dinner, and we were headed to the meeting point. "I've met a few of them. They're very nice. Very hot, too. You know, Tracy keeps trying to get me to visit Bikini Beach. I think I managed to shut her up when I pointed out that Bikini Beach was a girls-only water park, and told her that I didn't want to be a girl."

We both laughed together at his joke. I said, "That would make a nice fantasy change-boy-to-girl Universe: a girls-only water park that admits boys but changes them to girls."

Bruce sighed. "Too bad it's impossible in real life."

We reached the entrance where Peter was going to pick me up. I said, "Peter wants me to join him in his babysitting job tonight. He thinks I might be able to take over for him when he heads off to Pacific Tech."

"It's tough, dude. You have my sympathies."

Shortly after, Peter came by to pick me up. "Bye, Bruce," I said as I got in the car.

"You don't seem very happy about joining me tonight, Kiddo," he said as he drove off. He was right there. "Honestly, Daisy's a great client. She's great, her parents are great, and they pay very well." My ears did perk up at that. Peter laughed. "I'd really have you rather than some random stranger take over for me, when I leave for college."

No doubt, Daisy was one of the young girls I'd seen playing around the neighborhood, one of the Asian ones, but what did a fourteen-year-old boy have to do with nine-year-old girls?

We arrived home shortly after Pa got home from work. Ma had dinner almost ready. The four of us chatted about random things over dinner, and then Peter and I left for Daisy's house.

It was just a short walk. Daisy lived a few houses down from us. Peter and I approached the door, Peter confidently, me nervously, and Peter rang the doorbell. Peter slipped his shoes off as we waited for someone to answer the door, and I followed his lead.

Mr. Matsumoto opened the door. "Hello Peter, come--"

"Ooof!" A miniature bolt of lightning shot forward. "Peter!" exclaimed the nine-year-old girl wrapped around him, as Peter patted her back. Then the girl turned to me. "So you're Peter's kid brother, Luke." To my astonishment, she came and embraced me as well.

For some reason, I lifted her up to eye-level. She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. "Peter talks about you, and I feel like I know you very well. You'll make a great big brother."

I was flattered and a bit embarrassed and flustered, and I liked her already. Not to mention that she was very pretty.

"As Daisy noticed, this is my kid brother, Luke," said Peter as I followed him inside, carrying Daisy. "I hope he takes over for me when I leave for college, perhaps sometimes even earlier -- and Daisy appears to approve. I'd like him and Daisy to get acquainted, so we're both working tonight. If you don't mind, that is."

"Sounds great. I'm happy to meet you, Luke."

Despite holding Daisy with both arms, I did manage to stretch one hand out for a handshake. "I'm pleased to meet you, too."

Mr. Matsumoto said, "Ellen will be down in a moment, and we'll be on our way."

Daisy slid down and grabbed my hand. "Let's go downstairs and play. The games are there." I let her lead me on.

She led me to a pair of computers next to each other. Wow! I didn't have any computers, although Pa had one in his office at home. Peter sometimes was allowed to use it. Was I actually going to be allowed to use a computer?

        ******************************

THAT WAS MOST interesting, thought Glenn, as Daisy dragged Peter's younger brother Luke downstairs to the computers. Glenn's wife, Ellen, appeared just as Luke and Daisy disappeared down the staircase. Glenn was sure it was no coincidence: Daisy didn't want Luke to see her mom.

"Darling, you are ravishing," said Glenn to Ellen, who was wearing gray slacks, a white sleeveless blouse that showed considerable cleavage, and flat strappy sandals.

Ellen fluttered her eyes at Glenn, then turned to Peter. "Good evening, Peter. As always, I appreciate your coming to babysit Daisy." She held her hand out to Peter, and Peter gave it a good firm shake. Glenn noticed that Peter always kept his eyes squarely on hers -- no surprise, as by now Peter had plenty of practice.

"I am happy to be of help," replied Peter. "My brother Luke joined me tonight, and I hope he can take over for me when I leave for college -- something that's been worrying me a while. By now, Daisy is downstairs teaching Luke how to run a computer and play games."

"I really should go down and meet him," said Ellen.

"That won't be necessary," said Glenn, putting his arm around her shoulder and gently directing her toward the door. "After all, we want to leave Luke conscious, sane, and functional to help with Daisy. Right Peter?" Glenn grinned.

"Indubitably. Enjoy tonight's function, both of you."

As Glenn and Ellen walked to their car, Glenn commented, "Peter's a smart boy there -- thinking about what happens with Daisy when he goes off to college, and coming up with a potential solution. I am concerned about Daisy, though. Remember how long it took before Peter became Daisy's favorite babysitter?"

"A couple of months, as I recall," answered Ellen. "That's how long it took him to get over drooling over me. For a while, he wore something to prevent his pants from bulging out."

"He finally realized he had no chance with you," joked Glenn.

"Oh, I'm sure he knew that from the start. He just had to train his reflexes. After all, I wouldn't care to ruin his future prospects with the young ladies."

"In any case," continued Glenn, "Daisy and Luke instantly took to each other. She even knew his name without being told."

"Peter probably told her quite a bit about his younger brother, and Peter and Luke look enough alike to be recognizable as brothers."

Glenn wondered if that really explained Daisy's promptly hugging Luke and letting Luke lift her up and carry her inside.

They reached Jack and Ai's house in good time. Both Jack and Ai were at the door, which opened promptly on the ring of the doorbell. Glenn greeted Ai with a hug, and Ellen hugged Jack in greeting.

"You look lusty as usual, Ellen," said Jack as he backed away, looking her up and down. "I shiver with anticipation at seeing the rest of you."

They continued into the living room, which had all been set up with snack food: chips, pretzels, crackers, carrots and other rabbit food, sodas, fine wines, and beer.

Jack inserted a VHS, and turned off the lights. Before the video really began, Ai came and sat on Glenn's lap, pressing back against him. Glenn got caught up in the movie, while absently munching rabbit food, sipping his soda, and helping Ai work herself and him out of their clothes.

        .
        .
        .

The clock showed about 2:30 when Ellen nudged Glenn awake and helped him unpin and untangle himself from Ai on the sofa. Glenn knew he was rather intoxicated. He vaguely recalled noticing the absence of Ellen and Jack from the room, and hearing familiar noises from the bedroom. He also recalled having to pause the video and go to the bathroom before letting Ai impale herself on him as they watched the rest of the movie.

He also recalled silence from the bedroom when the movie ended, and hoped that it didn't mean that Ellen had slipped out.

Ellen drove home. She always remained sober and awake during these visits. When they got home, they found Peter and Luke playing cards. Luke was doing his best to stay awake. Glenn paid Peter for both of them, reminding Peter to give Luke his share. The last Glenn saw of them, they were staggering home down the street.

        Tuesday, July 29

I WOKE UP very late in Monday's clothes, and staggered downstairs just as Peter was about to depart for wherever he spent the day. "Luke! Before I forget, here's your payment for last night's babysitting." He handed me a surprisingly large amount of money -- wow! "Mr. Matsumoto pays well -- especially when he's drunk."

As I made and ate my own breakfast, Ma turned on the Mental Work. Pa had already left for work. After the Mental Work, I had to listen to the Lesson-Sermon that I'd recorded the previous day with Pa. Ma was already working, but about halfway through the recording, she briefly paused it and said, "Luke, please don't cringe at the recording. You sound fine."

"Ma, please. I sound like someone saying, `Duh!'"

"No you don't. How can I persuade you?" she sighed. She'd never understand, I realized. She said nothing further, and resumed the Lesson.

Despite the brief conflict, I still helped her with the housework afterwards. Surprisingly, it was voluntary on my part rather than something Ma required. A month or so earlier, I'd had an epiphany: I'd gradually come to realize that summer vacation was rather boring, despite my activities, AND Ma worked rather hard for the family.

So I began helping Ma with the chores -- the easier ones, of course. This had two surprising side-effects: Ma and I talked more than we'd ever talked before, and my allowance was raised considerably.

I also practiced clarinet and piano a lot more than I needed to, although the quality of practice was rather low. And I actually worked from that geometry textbook that Peter got me. ("If you can place out of geometry and get into Algebra II, you'll be all the further ahead in math.")

"How was babysitting last night?" she asked, while we folded clothes we'd just removed from the dryer.

"Quite fun, actually. I was surprised." I didn't tell everything that happened last night. "We played games for a while, then I managed to get Daisy to go to bed at a reasonable time by promising to read to her in bed. I read `A Wrinkle in Time'." I didn't tell the entire story. For example, the games we played were computer games. I was illicitly learning about computers.

And I definitely didn't tell how I dozed off on the floor in her bedroom, and then comforted her when she woke crying from a nightmare. Instead I jumped to the last couple of hours. "Peter and I spent the rest of the night playing cards and drinking soda, desperately trying to keep me awake until Daisy's parents returned. They got home late."

A little later, Ma brought up a subject guaranteed to thoroughly embarrass me: "Luke, have you gotten to know any nice girls?"

"Well, um," I focused my attention on the shirts I was folding. "I've met many girls, but only Tracy... I know well... my friend." I stammered out my answer. I certainly wasn't going to mention Daisy; that would only lead to trouble.

"She could be your girlfriend?"

"No-no-no, just a friend. You know, like Bruce, her brother. I think you met them."

"Yes, the Miura twins. They're both good kids. Tracy could become your girlfriend, if you let her."

"I... um... tried," I blushed. Bruce and I were paired a few times in history and science classes last year. In science class, we had occasional contests, and kept beating everyone else. Then I met his twin sister, Tracy, and promptly got a major crush on her. For once, very much unlike my usual self, I tried asking her to lunch and a movie -- and got a crushing, mortifying no.

The surprising thing was that both she and Bruce noticed my embarrassment, and were quite apologetic about it. As a result, we became friends. The three of us were often together, not so much during the summer, and definitely not so much since Tracy discovered Bikini Beach. "I don't think of her that way, not any more," I told Ma.

I think Ma noticed my embarrassment, and she was nice enough this time to drop the subject.

In between various tasks, I practiced on the piano and the clarinet. Finally, Ma sent me out. "Go out and have some fun. You've helped a lot today."

I did go out, wondering whether to hit the library or the mall. I thought for the moment of returning inside for a book, and relaxing outside reading it.

"Luke! Come play with us!" It was Daisy! She was with a bunch of other kids in a large front yard across the street one house down. I ran over to join her.

"We're playing kickball. Wanna be on my team?" said Daisy.

"No fair!" said a boy. "A big boy on your team!"

"How about this?" I suggested. "I pitch for both teams."

And that's what I did. Whether it made the game more interesting for the kids or more boring, one couldn't say. I caught many fly balls, as well as many grounders that I promptly tossed to first base for the out.

We were getting pretty tired, when the mom who lived here came out the door and announced, "Lunch time!" Most of the children followed her into the house, but Daisy took my hand and led me to her own house, just across the street and a few houses down the street.

I wondered if I should call home to tall Ma where I was. Then I decided it wasn't necessary. I never did when I was at the mall or the library. Nobody was at Daisy's home when we got there, so Daisy made a few ham and cheese sandwiches for both of us. "Mom often goes out during the day for a couple hours. She'll probably return in an hour or so."

"These sandwiches are wonderful, Daisy."

She smiled shyly and prettily at the compliment.

I was at a loss for words, as I sat eating the sandwiches and watching Daisy with a giddy, embarrassed, smile.

We finished, and I helped Daisy put the few dishes in the dishwasher. I was getting rather tired from this morning's action, and said as much.

"I'm a bit sleepy, too. Mom wants me to nap around this time. It would probably not be a good idea for Mom to catch us napping together, would it?"

I shuddered, imagining the serious trouble I'd be in.

"Mom would think she'd get free babysitting," Daisy continued. I laughed at that, and she laughed as well.

"Well, thank you for the lovely lunch," I said. "See-ya again some time."

"Next time we need a babysitter, I'll ask for you," said Daisy. "And I hope we'll play together as well." She hugged me and ran up to her bedroom, shouting "goodbye!" as she ran.

I tried to keep my thoughts wholesome, especially as I would probably encounter Ma at home. I finally thought of the geometry text, and thought it would be a good idea to do a few pages from it. I was only about halfway through the text, and we had how many weeks until school began again? Three, four?

Back in my room, I decided to finish up the geometry chapter. I had a scheme for deciding which problems to do and which to skip: I rolled a die at each problem. I did it if I rolled a six. Otherwise, I skipped the problem. That resulted in a nice selection of easy, intermediate, and difficult problems to do without having to do the entire book. It also helped me with the postulates and the theorems, and what to do with them.

I was seriously sleepy, so I set the textbook and my paper down, and got into bed.

It was about 4:30 when I woke up again. I practiced piano and clarinet, until dinner time when Pa and Peter came home.

Shortly after dinner, Ma left for her weekly Firmlove meeting. Peter and I scraped the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, and hand-washed the things that couldn't go in the dishwasher. Then I retired to my room to read some more.

        ******************************

DAISY WENT DOWNSTAIRS after dinner to play on her computers, and Ellen dragged Glenn to their bedroom for a particularly passionate evening fueled by the previous night.

Despite the passion, or perhaps because of it, Glenn worried. He didn't want to know if she'd gone out, or what she did if she did. True, Ellen could take care of herself better than anyone else he knew -- and certainly better than he could. But Ellen had to make only one mistake, and it would be all over.

Daisy would be motherless.

"I'm going to clean up, and then join Daisy downstairs," said Glenn, tears in his eyes, standing up to leave the room.

        Wednesday, July 30

TAEKWONDO WAS MY ONLY activity today -- apart from the mandatory boring Lesson-Sermon in the morning and the mandatory Wednesday Evening Meeting at Church in the evening. After the usual hearing of the Mental Work and Lesson-Sermon, and some piano and clarinet practice and a little housework, I put on my Taekwondo uniform and left about three hours before the actual class and packed a clean set of clothes. I found it more convenient to put my Taekwondo uniform on at home, rather than just before class.

Not only that, it seemed as if on Mondays and Fridays, my piano and clarinet teachers were nicer when I wore my TKD uniform. I'd long since gotten used to the strange looks passers-by gave me whenever I was out in my not-so-pure white outfit.

I decided to visit the public library first. I had a couple books to return.

I thought with excitement of going to "Forbidden Flowers" but felt too scared of getting caught. So instead, I browsed the rows of the adult fiction section. A really fat paperback book called "Lace" caught my attention. It was by Shirley Conran, and the cover was quite sexy, showing an item of women's underwear. If I checked it out, I hoped my parents and Peter wouldn't find it.

I was pretty sure that at the checkout stand, they wouldn't let me check it out -- and would embarrass me in the process, but perhaps if I hid it among other books...

I headed over to the young-adult section, where I really belonged. I spotted almost immediately a pretty Asian girl -- the shelves were quite low here -- browsing the science-fiction and fantasy section. I just couldn't keep my attention away from her, and kept glancing at her. Thinking of yesterday's embarrassing conversation with Ma, I wondered if I could somehow get to talking with her.

It was a good thing I liked science fiction and fantasy; I could legitimately browse while still creeping near her. And I did come close to her, after picking up a couple books. She was browsing through a book, and I recognized the cover: Tamora Pierce's "Squire".

I hesitated during a moment of nerves, but then took the plunge. "Tamora Pierce? I like her books."

The girl stood up; she was about my height. "Yeah, she really is a good author. Have you read this one yet?"

"Not yet," I answered. "I prefer the `Circle of Magic' books to her Tortall ones. But I've read `First Test' and `Page'." I'd first learned about girls' periods from her first Tortall book, but I wasn't going to mention that.

We chatted more about Tamora Pierce, and also other authors. As we talked, both of us picked up a couple more books to check out.

The girl laughed at one point, and said, "I see you're hiding a sexy book in there."

CAUGHT! I couldn't help blushing, and I was stuck for words. I opened and shut my mouth noiselessly, which of course made her laugh all the more, which only reinforced my embarrassment.

She wrapped her arm around my shoulders, and pulled me almost off-balance against her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm Carol Hsu. What's your name?"

"Luke Cuttington. Pleased to meet you." I stuffed my books in my left arm, to hold my right arm out for a handshake. I felt a bit strange acting as if I were meeting someone new, considering we'd already talked for some time -- and even gotten a bit sexy together. We did shake hands.

"I have to go check these out and meet my sister," she said.

"May I join you? I think I have enough books to check out now."

"Sure!" She smiled such a winning smile, I almost melted right there.

We checked our books out, and "Lace" got through with no problem. I picked up my knapsack, stuffed my books in, and followed Carol outside.

We talked a little as she waited, then a car drove up. She jumped into the back seat, waved at me, and shouted, "See-ya around, Luke!" as I waved back.

I headed for the mall, sporting a giddy smile practically all the way. I wondered how I looked to the passers-by. I still had plenty of time before the TKD class.

I saw a bunch of girls standing in front of posters at the entrance of a music and video store, giggling and chattering excitedly at high pitch. They were blocking most of the posters, but I could still see a trio of shirtless boys younger than me (the tallest might have been my age), one sporting drums, one sporting a bass electric guitar, and the third sporting a smaller electric guitar and standing behind a microphone.

I couldn't help stopping and watching the girls. They all varied in their mode of dress and speech, and they were all attractive to a person. Even the "unattractive girls" whose comments were mostly ignored, were quite attractive in their own way.

I was wondering how I could ever get to talking with them, at the same time wondering if that would be betraying the girl at the library, when the excited exclamation of a familiar girl's voice made me jump almost out of my skin. "Oh-my-gosh, it's the Naked Brothers Band!"

I spun around just in time to see Tracy dashing into the crowd of girls. Bruce, who was with her, shrugged with a bemused grin. "They're definitely hot, aren't they?"

"I can't think of any way to go up and talk with them," I said unhappily, turning my head to Bruce.

"Don't ask me," he replied. "I don't know any more than you. I'm going to the food court. We were heading there originally, so Tracy'll know where to find me."

I went with him, feeling my usual distress that I was somehow giving up an opportunity with girls, but also this time I thought I might want to save myself for Carol. I kept wondering how I'd been able to go up and talk to her at the library in the first place.

I decided to tell Bruce about meeting her and talking with her at the library.

"Wow!" he said. "I don't think you've actually had the nerve to hit on a girl since that time last year with Tracy."

"Oh, don't remind me please!" That had been embarrassing, even though it turned out well and Tracy become one of my very few friends. Except for rare occasions, I no longer thought of her that way. "Not unless you want me to bring up Valen--"

"Okay, okay! I get the point." Bruce shuddered.

I got a slice of pizza at the food court, and Bruce got something Japanese. I was rather hungry, but I knew I shouldn't eat much before Taekwondo.

Tracy joined us just as we sat down. "You couldn't even wait for me?" she asked. "Too chicken to talk with the girls, I know."

"By the way," said Bruce. "Apparently on Monday, when Aunt Yuko took Tracy to Bikini Beach, they finally took the plunge and got Tracy a lifetime membership."

"Yes indeed," said Tracy, rummaging through her purse and getting out a card that resembled a credit card. She showed it to us. "Aunt Yuko was already a life member, of course."

"So does that mean we'll see even less of you than we've been seeing this past month?" I asked, injecting a tragic tone into my question, with hopefully a suitably tragic expression.

"Well... If you came, you'd see quite a bit more of both me and Aunt Yuko. You'd get to see us in bikinis."

"Oh, please, Tracy!" I was blushing and had trouble breathing. I'd met their Aunt Yuko a few times, and she looked very much like an older version of Tracy. She was less than a decade older, I knew. I couldn't quite get to imagining them in bikinis. "You wanna shock me, or you want my crush on you to return with a vengeance, just go right ahead and show yourself to me in a bikini," I said, to the laughter of both Bruce and Tracy. "Unfortunately, my mind just did its crazy thing again, this time shifting through various girls, all the way to Ma in a bikini." I mimed wiping away the crap.

"Your Ma would look wonderful in a bikini," said Bruce.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" I exclaimed. "Pa wouldn't allow it anyway."

"Hot, dazzling, lusty,..." continued Bruce.

"No-no-no-no!" I was getting seriously squicked now.

"But various girls? This is getting interesting," said Tracy.

"Luke mentioned the girl at the library this morning. What was her name, again?" asked Bruce.

"Carol."

"Ooooo, interesting," said Tracy with a giggle. "Did she say anything about your attire?"

"Surprisingly, no. I wasn't even thinking of that at the time." So true. I hadn't been even thinking about myself in my TKD uniform.

"Luke," said Tracy. "With your Taekwondo uniform, if you played your cards right, you'd attract many girls. They'd even share you with other girls."

"Tracy," I replied. "If I knew how to play my cards right, I'd probably have a girlfriend by now. I just hope I actually played them right at the library with Carol, and didn't forget something critical. I hope I somehow meet her again, and recognize her when I do."

"But you mentioned `various girls'," said Bruce. "Were there any others?"

"You know, half the girls at Taekwondo, half the girls at school. Pretty much any girl I can't work up the nerve to talk to or ask out. Um, well." I wondered if I should admit this. "Remember Peter `suggesting' that I join him babysitting Monday night? Well, that girl is very pretty. Not only that, she promptly took to me. I really like her, too." I quickly looked around, hoping nobody else was listening, and lowered my head and my voice. "It's really too bad she's only nine years old."

They both laughed again.

"It gets better. Yesterday morning, she was with her friends playing kickball, and she roped me into the game. Her friends are all cute. Even some of the boys."

"Man, I'm jealous! All of a sudden, you're meeting girls right and left!" said Bruce. "But definitely, don't limit yourself. Don't rule out anyone; she just might be your soulmate. And you're on a roll now; you might meet other girls."

"Especially if you visit Bikini Beach," added Tracy with a giggle.

Bruce sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" He rolled his eyes upward.

"They occasionally admit guys," said Tracy. "They have a small men's changing room."

"That's probably just for emergency and unusual situations. Maybe to satisfy regulations," countered Bruce.

"Yesterday morning, I saw a pair of hunks, real hotties, at the ticket booth." Tracy licked her lips. "Brothers, a high-school student and a college student, I think. It looked like they were actually sold guest passes; they made it to the men's changing room before I could make it through the turnstile and introduce myself." Tracy sighed. "I couldn't find them inside Bikini Beach no matter how hard I looked. I even asked my friends." She sounded so tragic.

"That's not exactly encouraging," said Bruce. "Now, you're telling us to go to a girls-only waterpark that admits boys who disappear without a trace. Can't you think of anything more nightmarish than that?" I detected the snark in Bruce's tone.

I shuddered, and Tracy said nothing more for a little while. Then she spoke somberly as I'd never heard her before: "I woke up screaming from a nightmare last night, for the first time since I was seven or eight. I can't remember most of it -- being tracked by a huge black monster, a shadow monster, having to sneak about, hide, and remain silent. I finally made it home, and locked and bolted the door, only to discover the monster waiting inside for me. That's when I woke up screaming."

After another moment of silence, during which I shuddered and shivered, Bruce shifted over and put his hands around Tracy. She bent and leaned against him -- and then sat back up and lightly swatted him, giggling. "Ow!" chirped Bruce with his own laugh, and he sat back in his chair.

I said, "I had plenty of nightmares when I was little. A year or so ago, I had a nightmare featuring elementary school, IT from `A Wrinkle in Time', and a swampful of poisonous snakes. The school was in the middle of the swamp."

Eventually, it was time for Taekwondo. Tracy and Bruce both came to watch. Peter greeted all three of us when he came. After the class, we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the mall.

        ******************************

GLENN MATSUMOTO was in his office that afternoon, preparing a reply to an office action on a patent application. This particular patent examiner had a ridiculous notion of what was obvious -- it was as if any use of a resister was obvious, no matter what it was combined with.

"Someone is here to consult with you, a young lady who has identified herself as Alima al-Hamdani."

Her name sounded Arabic or something similar. "Send her in," said Glenn, saving his work and iconifying the window.

The young lady who entered was dressed in an elaborate full-covering outfit. Her face, hands, and sandal-covered feet were her only visible parts. Glenn stood up and held his hand out for a handshake, which she shook firmly.

"Good afternoon, Miss al-Hamdani," Glenn tried to pronounce it right.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Matsumoto. I found this card planted on me a couple nights ago. It had your name and this office address, and -- well, look." She handed me the card. Yes, it was one of my cards. Something was written on the back. I recognized Ellen's handwriting: "Don't act hastily. Consult a lawyer or a counselor"

It sounded serious. Glenn decided to give his standard introductory speech. "Okay, there are standard issues an attorney must inform a prospective client. First, this initial consultation obligates neither of us. You don't have to retain me as a lawyer, and I don't have to take you as a client."

"I just don't know what to do," said Miss al-Hamdani.

"You don't have to decide just yet. Hopefully, this consultation will help you decide. This leads to the second: client confidentiality. I am required to hold what you tell me in confidence. You understand what that means?"

"You're not supposed to tell anyone what I tell you."

"That is correct, for the most part. What you tell me -- even the most innocent of things -- I mustn't discuss with others ordinarily. In fact, well-known information that I discover in the course of investigation is also confidential. There are certain exceptions. For example, if I retain the services of another for your case, I may disclose information necessary for his services. I'm also required to bind him to confidentiality

"If certain things embarrass you -- well, I'm not here to judge, I'm here to advise and help you. And I have to hold that in confidence. On the other hand, the law may require me to report certain things. If we appear to approach such a situation, I will inform you."

"What kind of things?" she asked.

"Information about any crime or offense in the past is confidential -- although if evidence is damaged or moved when I inspect it, I may have to tell the prosecution about it. If we get to actual criminal defense, I will have to refer you to a criminal defense attorney, as I am not confident in my abilities in criminal defense.

"It's also fine to ask, and for me to tell you, of the legality and legal consequences of any act. I am not allowed to help you commit a crime. I might be required to report if necessary to prevent a crime."

"I am allowed certain disclosures to receive my fee, although blackmail isn't allowed. And I believe that it's important to discuss the fee right off the bat." Glenn thought back to a CLE course, where an attorney had the practice of informing a prospective client that he could focus only on one thing at a time: either the client's case, or the client's fee. Glenn himself thought that went too far, and technically would be false if an attorney was involved with more than one case simultaneously. Nevertheless, he agreed that discussing the fee right off the bat was important. "It has to be established once and for all whether I'm taking a standard-fee case, a discounted-fee case, a contingency-fee case, a pro-bono case, or any other situation.

"My standard billing rate is $250 per hour plus expenses," Glenn began. He and Ms. al-Hamdani discussed the fees the next few minutes. Apparently, she wasn't concerned about her fee; she had enough from her father to cover it.

Then she introduced herself, and described her situation. "My full name is Alima bint Salim ibn Yaman al-Hamdani, although I go by Alima al-Hamdani. I have reason for wearing this, and for telling you my full name. My father is one of the important and wealthy personages of Saudi Arabia."

It occurred to Glenn that her father might not approve of college culture here, and that she feared being in considerable trouble. He continued listening to her story.

"I was sent to the University here because of its expertise in a particular academic field." She didn't mention that area, and while Glenn knew that the University was expert in various fields, as far as he knew, numerous other colleges and universities were experts in those same fields.

"I lived in a women-only private dormitory, just off campus. When I first arrived a year ago -- I'm a sophomore now -- I was shocked at how American women dressed and displayed themselves. But I gradually became accustomed to it, and began to adopt it myself. Last spring, I finally even got to wearing shorts and tee-shirts and tank-tops -- over spring vacation and continuing through the rest of the semester.

"The problem is that someone got photographs of me in those revealing clothes."

Glenn answered, "You understand, I assume, that people take pictures all the time -- innocent pictures of friends, people doing things, the area, who knows what. People are beginning to post them on the internet, or the World Wide Web as it's known."

"I realize that now," said Alima, almost in tears. She produced a large envelope. "A man came up to me as I was studying in the library, and indicated he knew my true field of study here. His offer sounded great: a part-time job with his company during the year, practical training in my field, full payment of my university tuition, full-time summer job, and a full-time job at the company upon graduation."

As she paused, Glenn said, "I noticed the phrase you used: `true field of study'. You might explain what you mean."

"I wish to avoid stating it if possible, but the University offers majors that are confidential and kept off the official transcripts and grade reports, but are recorded in separate records. I have a second public major, which covers the true major. In my case, it's chemistry."

"In other words," said Glenn. "You effectively have a double major. Okay, I'll see if I don't need your true major. So what happened next?"

"I had the sense that the man was evil and dangerous, and that the job would entail doing evil. I don't need any actual income, or support for my studies. I initially said I'd think about it, and he gave me a way of contacting him. I eventually declined his offer, but then I received this." She pulled out several photos, looking seriously embarrassed as she did. They showed her at the University walking, talking with friends including men, sitting and reading, standing and cheering at a sports event -- photographs of the wholly innocent activity of a college student. She was wearing shorts and either tee-shirts or tank-tops. "I never really realized how I was exposing myself to the world and to men." She blushed. "This card accompanied the pictures."

Glenn read the short letter. "Dear Miss al-Hamdani. I think that your father and his business associates would be quite interested in your collegiate extra-curricular activities. The offer still stands. By the way, you have lovely long legs."

Glenn was beginning to understand the problem. "If you weren't from Saudi Arabia or that area, I would tell you that there wasn't a problem. Even young ladies from China would have no problem. But Saudi Arabia." Glenn shivered.

"My father will drag me back home and whip me!" She burst out crying.

Glenn gently and carefully put his hand on her shoulder. Sometimes, he knew how to deal with a crying client, although they were rare because he was rarely consulted outside IP law. But this time, he wasn't at all sure how far one should go to comfort her, given her background culture and upbringing

"Did the man identify himself?" Glenn asked, unsure of where to begin, but knowing he had to begin somewhere.

"No. I'm sure I'd recognize him if I saw him again."

"What about his company?"

"He never named it. It was always his company or his firm."

"Sounds like a good reason not to take his offer. It seems as if the only thing we have about his offer is his blackmail."

"I also have his familiarity with my real field of study, which I could detect was genuine. He seemed quite powerful. And he didn't seem good. Okay, I might as well tell you, even if I'm not supposed to, even if it sounds ridiculous. The field is applied magic."

"I assume you're not referring to the methods of stage magicians and tricksters, illusion, distraction, slight-of-hand -- basically, standard magician's tricks."

"No, not that," said Alima. "It's the real thing."

"Is there any connection with Bikini Beach?" asked Glenn, thinking back on his wife's encounter ten years earlier.

"No, not that I know of. I've heard talk of Bikini Beach, among my fellow students and instructors. From what I've gathered, anyone from there trying to recruit me would be a woman. Not that you'd catch me anywhere near that place. I'd never wear a bikini!" she shuddered.

"Did anyone see you talking with that man?"

"I don't know. I can find out."

"That sounds like a good thing to do. At least, it will give you something to do, which helps with feelings of powerlessness and anxiety. You might want to discuss it with a trusted instructor or faculty member. In fact, he or she may be able to do more than me, or give better advice than me."

"Thanks. I'll try that."

"I'll summarize the issues as I see them. We have blackmail, a crime. We have your father and his business associates potentially seeing you in ordinary college dress -- severe embarrassment and the possibility of aggravated assault and kidnapping. I assume you are in the country legally as a college student, and that you are at least eighteen years old." She nodded. "So dragging you home unwillingly would be kidnapping, even if committed on behalf of your family.

"In short. The law is on your side. The law usually doesn't pay attention to severe embarrassment, but that's an aspect of blackmail.

"Now here's the bad news: enforcement of the law. I don't think we can prevent anyone from sending the pictures to your father or whoever they choose. Second, if it involves magic, it's probably beyond the reach of the law. Third, extreme wealth can also sabotage law enforcement. So I can't really offer much hope, and I am seriously not sure I or anyone in the legal field can do much."

"I was afraid of that," said Alima. "At least, you didn't ridicule me about the magic business. Can I wait to decide whether to retain you?"

"Certainly," answered Glenn.

Alima reached into a pocket and pulled out a stack of bills bound by several rubber bands, and pulled off a $100 bill. "I think this should cover today. Looks like it will approach 24 minutes."

"Thank you, that's just about right," said Glenn, as he wrote out a receipt for the payment. He thought of warning her to be careful about carrying the money, but then decided that as a mage, Alima was better protected from pickpocketing than the ordinary person. "I should mention, if you pay my retainer in cash -- that's $15,000 -- I have to report the payment to the Federal government. That won't be a problem though, as they probably have a huge number of reports to go through."

Glenn and Alima stood up simultaneously, and shook hands. "Good day," said Glenn, echoed by Alima.

Alima departed, and Glenn set about creating a new case folder, with a new client number and case number. It didn't matter that she hadn't yet retained him; he needed it for his notes and records of the consultation. He wrote up the information Darline needed, and went out to give it to her. "Here is info on the young lady's case," he told her.

"Thank you," she replied.

Back in his office, Glen thought to himself, `Okay, back to the office action.' He spent the next hour completing his reply. That would be another $250 billed to the client.

His reply finished and addressed to the USPTO, Glenn left his office. He extracted his pocket notebook, and looked up his client and the case number. "Darline, I'm going to drop my reply for case 25-09 into the mail, and then go for a short walk. I'll be back within half an hour."

"Enjoy your break," replied Darline, as she continued with her work.

At the ground floor mail drop-off, Glenn deposited the letter through the mail slot, then marked in his notebook the date and time for that case.

Then he went for his walk.

Alima's consultation reminded him how little power he had, even as a lawyer. He thought back anew on his patent client who was murdered a couple years earlier He was sure who was behind the murder, and he'd even been able to provide some information for police investigators to follow. It wasn't enough. The police had taken for consideration and a possible lead, the earlier attack on him and his wife Ellen. They'd both survived uninjured, because of Ellen and her dark martial arts practice. Glenn had helped a little in the defense. Unfortunately, the attackers had all vanished.

He returned to his office very much unrefreshed, but resigned to the notion that he had to do what he could, and let the chips fall where they may.

        ******************************

AUNT YUKO WAS DUE to pick up Tracy for Bikini Beach, and Peter was due to pick me up for home, both between 4:30 and 5:00, both at the same place. We went there together to await them.

Aunt Yuko arrived first in her little car. As Tracy promptly got in the car, Aunt Yuko greeted both Bruce and me. She really did resemble an older version of Tracy. I tried to banish the thought of them prancing about in bikinis, by thinking about Daisy. I really did want to see her again. Funny, imagining her in a bikini wasn't interesting or exciting; imagining her in shorts and tee-shirt was so much more interesting.

Peter came shortly after, and we went home.

During dinner, Daisy's dad called. Ma answered the phone. "It's Mr. Matsumoto. He's asking for Luke," she said quickly as Peter rose. "He wants Luke to babysit Daisy Friday night." Surprised and anxious, I went to the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Matsumoto?"

"Hello, Luke. We're going out again Friday night, and Daisy requested you as her babysitter, if you can make it."

"Me? Oh, sure, sure, I can do it." I couldn't help stammering. I was elated to babysit Daisy again, but also very uncertain, very nervous, afraid I might do something horribly wrong.

"Fine," he said. "I'll see you Friday night. Good night."

"Good night," I echoed.

Peter said, "Sounds as if you got it made, Luke."

I was looking forward to seeing Daisy again, and I hoped, really hoped, that nobody would notice my thing about Daisy.

Unfortunately, after we finished eating, I had to dress up in my tight, uncomfortable suit, because we had to go to the Wednesday evening meeting at Church. Peter couldn't go. Some months back, he was barred from the church. I never knew why, although I'd heard Peter arguing several times, in Sunday School class, at Church Services, and at least once after a Wednesday evening meeting. But I had to go.

Most children in the church didn't have to go to the Wednesday evening meetings. I thought it very unfair that I had to go. The first section, consisting primarily of the First Reader's readings, was mercifully short. The Bible readings were actually interesting; the "Science and Health" readings not so much. The hymns were fine, too -- especially the ones that I knew, such as the hymns by Mrs. Eddy.

The second part was by far the most boring, here, the meeting was open to testimonies of Christian Science healings and other demonstrations of Christian Science, and comments on Christian Science. Not only was I simply bored sitting there, but I was terrified of the time surely approaching that I would be expected to give my own testimonial.

An old woman stood up, and was acknowledged with a smile by the First Reader. "I am very grateful for Mary Baker Eddy's discovery. I have been blessed with numerous demonstrations over the years. Several years back, I was walking down the street. A young man going the other way, on the other side of the street, seemed vaguely familiar. The next day, I had occasion to visit the police station. That very man had been arrested and was being booked in. An officer informed me that he was a known serial rapist and killer."

Talk of rape was really embarrassing for me, sitting next to my parents.

"He was even then being booked for attacking a young lady. I went up and asked him why he didn't attack me when we passed by each other the previous day. He answered, `There's no way I'd attack anyone guarded by two huge men holding giant swords.' I understood then how I was protected by God, whom Mrs. Eddy describes as an ever-present help in trouble.

"I am so grateful for God and Mrs. Eddy, for the many blessings I've received."

The woman sat down. "Thank you," said the First Reader.

That testimonial was really scary. I just couldn't imagine it. I wondered, though, how the young man recognized her as the same woman guarded by the huge men, when presumably many people might have been walking.

There were a few other testimonials, separated by long boring time intervals.

Eventually, the service ended with the final hymn. When the hymn was over, many people got up to leave. Mom, Dad, and I stayed a couple minutes, listening to the organ music.

One of the few children attending the service was a little girl, leaning against her grandfather, in the back bench of the church. I vaguely recognized her from Sunday School, and I remembered her grandfather's testimony from a month or so back. The girl was visiting for the summer.

We got home, and I went up to my bedroom, changed into pajamas, and slipped out "Lace", the sexy novel I'd checked out. The opening scene, the Prologue, I found incredibly exciting, describing an abortion. Even so, I felt a little ashamed because the girl found it painful, but I couldn't help being excited by it. I kept reading through it several times.

Finally, I went on to the first chapter of the first part of the book, set fifteen years later: long-winded descriptions of four highly-successful ladies unwittingly converging to a surprise reunion as former close schoolgirl friends at a Swiss boarding school. The abortion girl, Lili, now a famous movie star, confronts them with the advertised line, "Which one of you bitches is my mother?"

That ended the chapter, and I decided to put a marker in and slip the book under my bed, and go to bed. I got caught up in fantasizing and masturbating about the opening scene. Fearful and guilty, especially since it was a church night, I cleaned out my briefs and put new ones on, before finally settling down to sleep.

        Thursday, July 31

I both dreaded and looked forward to Friday night babysitting Daisy. I went to the library hoping to see that girl Carol again, but without success. I didn't see Bruce at the mall, either. I briefly thought of Tracy in a bikini at Bikini Beach. I returned home, and helped Ma with housework. I also read more of "Lace" -- about the four schoolgirls meeting in Switzerland, and some of their backgrounds. One of the girls was nice enough to have a lesbian sex scene in her background. I kept rereading that scene, to make sure I got the whole story and understood it properly.

It was quite interesting to read about the young ladies at school worrying about their breasts and other aspects of their bodies, fantasizing about their dream Prince Charming and dream wedding, and never admitting to knowing nothing about the subject to avoid appearing unsophisticated. The four friends were joined by an older boy who delighted in playing big brother to them.

I was furious at what the finishing school headmaster did if a girl was caught outside at night. The girl was expelled -- unless her parents paid hush-money. Typically, the parents were extremely wealthy, and the amounts demanded were sufficiently insignificant -- such as an extra year of tuition -- that the headmaster wasn't in danger of being caught at blackmail. Or a girl may be seduced and photographed -- and then the parents blackmailed. Unless things were kept completely under wraps, the girl was defiled forever from a good marriage.

I read over and over again a paragraph of unwitting past orgasmic experiences of the girls -- be it religious ecstasy in Scripture class, the thrill of the ride on a galloping horse, or being buzzed frozen at the top of the climbing ropes in physical education. I felt particularly embarrassed for the latter girl, especially when the book suggested that this was a totally familiar occurrence for the instructor. Her story took the whole last half of the paragraph.

I eventually went on, to read about one of the girls winning a competition at the first ballroom dance -- because the big brother cheated. I got quite caught up in the story overall, and couldn't help pausing to relieve myself on occasion. It had quite a meaty story.

I tried to keep as quiet as possible, using up quite a bit of Kleenex, and made sure my window was wide open. I made sure to clean myself off and wear a fresh pair of briefs when I went down for dinner.

        Friday, August 1

Friday morning, I had my weekly clarinet lesson, followed by Taekwondo. Before leaving for the library and the mall, I practiced both clarinet and piano. As usual, I wore my TKD uniform. I still didn't find Carol at the library, but at the mall, I spotted Tracy and Bruce in the hallway before they saw me.

I slowed down, my jaw dropped, and my eyes bulged out. Tracy was wearing nylon short-shorts, a bikini top, and flip-flops. Unfortunately, my white TKD top wasn't enough to conceal my sudden tenting. I'd never seen Tracy dressed like that before.

"Hey, Luke!" she called out. I couldn't respond, although I did approach them. She giggled. "Are you shocked to the core, or are you happy to see me?" I still couldn't respond, even when she gave me a quick hug. She stepped back and giggled again. "Bruce was just as bad when he saw me. You can still tell, even now." I glanced down at Bruce; his jeans had a small tent.

"Thanks a lot, Tracy," said Bruce. "Mom and Dad would -- something -- if they ever knew Tracy dressed like this in public except in a gymnasium or swimming place."

"You invited me to show up in a bikini, a couple days ago. So I wore this underneath a dress," said Tracy. "As soon as I reached the mall, I used the ladies room and removed the dress and stuffed it in here." She indicated her purse. "Bruce got it really bad when I came back out in this. I think he's beginning to realize I'm a girl, rather than just thinking of me as his sister."

"Let's just keep that to ourselves, thank you," said Bruce, blushing.

"You don't mean to say that Bruce didn't know that his sister was a girl?" I asked.

"Enough, Luke, enough!" exclaimed Bruce.

Tracy took both our arms in hers, and we began walking. I think I was still in shock, and was perpetually conscious of Tracy and her presence. I almost missed it when Bruce said, "Oh my, those redheads there!" They were walking together toward us, both in jeans, the younger one about our age with a halter top.

As they passed, I met their eyes and gave them a quick smile before we went on our ways. I guess my mind was too much on Tracy between Bruce and me.

Another time, Bruce spotted a tall man in tight jeans and a short stomach-baring tank-top. His stomach and chest formed the perfect six-pack, and his biceps continually rippled. He was sitting alone on a bench. "There's a hot specimen, Tracy," he said. "You might want to go up and introduce yourself to him."

"Bruce," replied Tracy, holding us tighter to her. "I'm already sandwiched between two hot guys," she answered breathlessly. "It's practically paradise!"

"Come on, I'm your brother!" said Bruce. Meanwhile, I was floating in the stratosphere. I tried working my arm around Tracy's bare waist.

"Hey, that didn't matter when you went bug-eyed over my outfit," replied Tracy. "Stop that, Luke!" Brought back down to Earth, I pulled my arm back to between us, where she could hold it or not as she wished.

I also noticed we were getting numerous stares, often from girls I'd normally be instantly attracted to, and I was gradually feeling more and more uncomfortable. Sometimes I managed to deflate things by briefly smiling at the girls.

It was shortly time for my clarinet lesson, so I bid my friends a friendly adieu, and headed off toward Shandy's. I assembled my clarinet while I waited for the saxophone lesson to end, and when the girl came out, she greeted me with "Hi, Luke."

"Hi... I don't recall your name, sorry," I was a bit embarrassed to say.

"Oh, I'm Meredith. I only know your name because I asked Mr. Oregon just before leaving today."

"Hi, Meredith. I'm pleased to meet you." I couldn't help smiling a giddy grin.

We couldn't talk further, because Mr. Oregon emerged for me. All we could do was bid each other good day. I had my usual clarinet lesson -- me tripping over fast fingering and fast tonguing. At one point, he commented that he could hear slight crescendos and decrescendos, and slight differences between piano and forte. He pointed out, "One really has to feel as if he's exaggerating the differences. Eventually, with experience, one realizes that it's no exaggeration." I tried an extreme crescendo at one of the passages right then. I thought I sounded awful, but he said, "Very good, that's close to what's needed."

After the clarinet lesson, I went to Taekwondo class. Bruce and Tracy joined me on the way. Tracy had changed into a spaghetti-strap summer dress, partly transparent to her bikini top. I could also just barely see her shorts through the dress if I looked carefully. "I had enough of everyone's eyes on me," she said. I was relieved. I would have been embarrassed if Peter had seen Tracy in her skimpy outfit.

After class, Peter came up to us as I joined Tracy and Bruce. "Hi Tracy, Bruce. Luke, don't forget that you're babysitting Daisy tonight."

"I won't forget," I answered. It was always at the back of my mind.

        Friday Night Babysitting

That night after dinner, I briefly considered bringing "Lace" with me, to read after Daisy was in bed, but I didn't want anyone catching me with that book. Instead, I brought a knapsack with my geometry textbook and writing material, hoping I might be able to persuade myself to actually work on it.

I nervously rang the doorbell, and heard sounds of someone running inside. The door opened and Daisy glommed onto me. "Luke!" I lifted her up again. "Wonderful to see you again."

Mr. Matsumoto appeared shortly after. I was reminded of the thing about removing shoes, and I tried to use one foot to remove the shoe from the other, without success. "Don't worry about your shoes," said Mr. Matsumoto. "It's not important. You're early."

"I wanted to make sure I was on time," I said.

"Excellent work ethic and business sense," said Mr. Matsumoto. "Ellen is still upstairs getting ready."

"Let's go downstairs, Luke!" said Daisy, so I let her down and let her lead me to the basement. We got into a game on their computers, and I heard in the back of my mind the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Matsumoto.

I was so caught up in the game that before I knew it, it was already 9:30. I found a nice stopping point a few minutes later and told Daisy, "I think it's close to bedtime. Get ready for bed, and I'll finish reading the book, okay?"

"Okay." Daisy rushed upstairs, and I followed her more slowly. She was still in her bath when I reached her room. I got out "A Wrinkle in Time," which I'd only gotten halfway through on Monday. I also found another book, "Support Your Local Wizard" by Diane Duane, just in case we finished the first story.

When Daisy came in from her bath, I asked her, "Daisy, if we finish the book, would this book be okay?"

"I started it once," she said. "I couldn't get into it. I'm sure if you read it to me, it would be so much better." She smiled as she said that.

Before continuing with "A Wrinkle in Time", I said, "When I was your age, the section coming up gave me a couple nightmares."

"Oh I know," she said. "It's really scary and creepy and all. But you'll protect me from nightmares."

"I get my own nightmares. I don't know how to protect people from nightmares, sorry. But if you have a nightmare, I'm here with you."

She turned off the light, got in bed, and turned on a small reading lamp next to her bed. I sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, and began reading a page before the point I left off Monday.

It turned out that she was asleep just before Meg's return to Camazotz to face IT. I turned off the reading light. The room would have been almost pitch dark, if not for the nightlight, as its window looked over the back yard from the second floor of the house.

I parked myself next to the night light, turned on my flashlight, and did a few geometry problems, making it about half-way through the chapter.

I might have dozed off, but I came alert when I heard Daisy softly crying. I crawled over next to the bed and whispered, "Daisy?" I couldn't bear to see her cry like that, so I reached over and put my arms around her.

She continued weeping softly as she whispered, "Nightmare. Someone, a friend, disappeared. I just *knew* I'd never see or hear of her again." She cried some more. "That's all I remember."

"You had that nightmare on Monday, too," I whispered.

"Last night, too," said Daisy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I said. Having the same nightmare over and over again was simply awful! Daisy briefly hugged me hard, before letting up. I slid down to the floor...

        Saturday Morning, August 2

... and woke up. I was on the floor in my clothes, with a blanket over me, lying next to a bed. It took a moment to realize, yikes! I was still in Daisy's room! I sat up and looked around; Daisy was nowhere to be seen.

I was going to be in so much trouble with Daisy's parents. I should have been awake when they got home. I should have been out of Daisy's bedroom. I couldn't help it; I was terrified.

Daisy, already dressed in tee-shirt and shorts, returned. "Up, sleepyhead. Breakfast's downstairs."

"Just a minute, I have to go to the bathroom." I jumped up, letting the blanket fall off me, and stepped across the hallway to the bathroom. It took a little while to relieve myself.

Fearfully, I followed Daisy downstairs to the kitchen. I first saw Mr. Matsumoto reading the newspaper at the table. Then -- oh my! I froze, unable to help staring, my jaw somewhere on the floor! Mrs. Matsumoto, was that she at the cupboards? Good thing I was wearing jeans, which didn't tent as much as other pants would, but still... Pretty, lovely, hot, cool, sexy, exotic, erotic, you name it, she was it. Her soft, furry, peach-colored, long-sleeved, short-short pajamas didn't help, showing leg all the way down.

I was having a hard time breathing, and I was feeling faint.

"Good morning, Luke," she said. "Have a seat, breakfast is ready and waiting."

I was plowing through molasses as I sat down, unable to keep my eyes off her, or my jaw off the floor.

I only barely felt small hands pulling my hair and shoving my jaw back up into my face, trying to twist my head around. I heard a distant voice, "Luke!" Whose voice was that? And what was a Luke? "I'm over here! Luke! Please, look at me. Luke? Luke? Are you in there, Luke?" The words made no sense; the voice was fading out.

I suddenly took an involuntary breath, and then another. "Daisy!"

We both pulled back simultaneously. It looked as if I were kissing Daisy hard right in front of her parents. I was dead now.

"You were fading away," said Daisy. "Mom and Dad told me to use arti-fi-cial res-pir-ation on you." I looked over, and her dad nodded. I didn't dare look at her mom again. "I want you to stare at me, not Mom," she said. "Now you know why I didn't let you see Mom before."

Her mom placed a plateful of scrambled eggs in front of me, along with toast and sausage patties. It smelled wonderful. Daisy climbed back to her own chair next to mine, to let me eat. "Thank you, Mrs. Matsumoto. This looks wonderful!" It smelled wonderful, too. I dug in. All the time, I still tried to see Mrs. Matsumoto as little as possible.

"It seems as if you've supplanted Peter as Daisy's favorite babysitter," said Mr. Matsumoto.

I replied, "I never babysat anyone before. I didn't know anything about it. Still don't."

"You seem to be a natural," said Mr. Matsumoto.

I wondered about that. "I thought they weren't supposed to fall asleep, and were supposed to return home when the parents returned." Also, babysitters, as far as I knew, didn't usually kiss their babysittees -- especially in front of their parents. I didn't mention that, though.

Daisy said, "Luke comforted me after a nightmare last night."

"I'm concerned," I said. "It seems she had the same nightmare Monday night and the night before last."

"What kind of nightmares?" asked Mrs. Matsumoto.

"I can't really remember," said Daisy. "I just remember waking up very sad and crying."

"From what she said last night, it's about some very close friend who completely vanished, or died," I said. "I wonder if something's behind the nightmare."

"Did she have that nightmare earlier? I mean, before Monday?" asked Mrs. Matsumoto.

"No, I don't remember having any such nightmares earlier," said Daisy.

"I wish I knew how to look into that," said Mr. Matsumoto. "Oh, by the way, I called your parents this morning, and told them that you were still here, sleeping. We'd got home very late, and let you sleep."

When we finished breakfast, Daisy said, "Luke, let's go downstairs and play a game!"

"Daisy," said her mom. "Luke has his own life. He might have plans for the day. Also, he should return home and let his parents know he's okay."

"Awww," said Daisy. "Oh, well. I'm going out to play! See-ya, Luke!" She started off, then turned back and gave me a quick hug.

Playing with Daisy, now. As long as nobody my age found out, that sounded neat.

"I think I'd better get home now, and face Ma and Pa."

"That would be a good idea. But first." Mr. Matsumoto grabbed his wallet and counted out and handed me -- oh my, I had never held so much cash in my hand.

"This much, really? I really shouldn't..."

"Absolutely, young man. I pay well for good work," he said.

"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" I gasped out hyperly.

I went home, to let Ma and Pa know I was okay. Thank goodness, Daisy's parents had already told them. I was still feeling a bit scared and guilty.

Neither Pa nor Ma were upset. Peter was already out and about somewhere. "Mr. Matsumoto called us and told us. They were out later than expected, and were letting you sleep. I take it you had breakfast there."

"Yes. It was good," I said.

"Bruce also called," said Ma. "He said he was going to the library. He wants you to call back. But first, you have to listen to the Mental Work and the Lesson-Sermon."

I sighed. That was going to be a boring half-hour. Peter had admitted to me that one thing he wouldn't miss going to Pacific Tech this fall was this daily ritual. It was all the worse because Pa and I had recorded the Lesson on Monday, and I sounded terrible.

When the Lesson ended (finally!) I called Bruce at his home. His mom answered the phone. "Hello, Luke. Bruce is at the library, and he wants you to meet him there.

"And bring your swimsuit."