"Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places" Now that Homecoming was over and the weekend was beginning, Alexandra Blair had a lot more time on her hands. That stupid social event had been a drag, and the fight hadn't even been worth its troubles—so what now? Stay home? Home was the last place she wanted to be, and frankly, that nightclub was becoming less attractive as time went on. She had lost all interest, and besides, it was easier to stay clean the further she stayed from that place. Not having a body full of drugs was improving her disposition—from despondent and suicidal to just merely being in a bad mood. She missed Corona. Thinking of her, of all people, made her smile a bit. Blair decided to go and recover herself, since she was already doing her best to kick her drug and raver habits. She had already made amends with Ivory—she still had to apologize to poor Ancelin for putting her through such unnecessary grief—and there were at least fifty other people she needed to speak with. One in particular came to mind, and so since she really had nothing else to do for the whole day, Blair picked herself out of bed, washed, and walked to the bus station, since she didn't drive. It would take her to the more revered side of town, towards one of the people she owed a great debt to. ......... Rai Zanders didn't expect to be interrupted from her studies, but she answered the door anyway. Her mother was away, off on some shopping trip, and her sister was in who-knows-where land, leaving her alone (which was just fine with her). She looked in the peephole first when she answered the door, and spotted a very familiar face. She opened the door and couldn't help but smile a little as she greeted her guest. "Haley, this is unexpected." "Yeah, I know," answered Furious Hail. "Sorry for not telling you I was coming, but you know... your mom and all." "Uh, yeah. About that..." "Yeah, that's why I came over. May I come in?" "Yes, please." Rai smiled and let Hail in, keeping watch over her intently. Hail was skinny and a little pale from so many nights out, and her hair had been washed and dyed anew so that the purple really stood out, giving her a fresh new Goth look. She had a white shirt with the words "Skid Row" on it, and black jeans, and a chain on her hip. Rai asked if she wanted anything to drink and got a No. "I have to admit," she said as they sat, "you're the last person I expected to come visit, but I'm glad you're here." "I don't see why, seeing as how I wrecked your mom's school." "My mother is... a little sensitive to these things." "Rai, I beat up fifteen kids for no good reason. She had every fucking right to expel me." Zanders could not answer. Hail sagged under the weight of her past. "Fifteen fucking kids," she whispered to herself. "God, what was I doing? What kind of a bitch was I?" "You were going through tough times," offered Rai. "That's no excuse. I nearly killed one of them, and for what? Because they said the wrong thing? Because I was in too bad a mood to keep my civility? Because I... my fucking parents were being assholes again?! Rai... don't waste your time trying to justify what I did. I'm sorry, and I regret it, and all I can do is apologize and hope you two forgive me." "I don't see why I need to forgive you," she said. "I didn't even know those people, and that wasn't my school." "But your mother taught there." "Then she's the one you need to ask forgiveness." "You know she won't." Rai bit her lip. Hail had her there. It was true, all of it: back when she was more furious than even her moniker let on, Hail had been a menace at Vermont Public High School. She had wrecked part of the school, beat up freshmen (fifteen she claimed, although there were at least three others), and had cursed violently at teachers and faculty, most notably Mrs. Zanders herself. The strict woman had Hail expelled for her actions, but was appalled to find out she had been transferred to Stanton, where her own daughter was going. Headmistress Marbel had won that battle, but Rai's mother still kept vigil over her daughter, and forbade her vehemently against any contact with the dangerous girl. And here she was, the penitent prodigal, sitting right in the Zanders home living room. "Do you forgive me at least?" she whispered. It took Rai awhile to answer. On one hand, Hail had done terrible things, both to her mother and her mother's school, and her reputation for malice, violence, and bitterness nearly understated the truth. But she had changed over time, that much was clear, and she spoke like a criminal who found clarity, or a sinner aside a priest. And there was also that other thing to consider... "Yes, I do," she said at last. The burden on Hail's back rolled off, and she seemed a little happier. "Thanks. At least that's something." Rai said nothing. A sound came up from the hush: it was gravel being ground by rubber, the sound of squealing brakes, the engine of a car—her mother was home. Startled, Rai jerked to her feet, but she knew the only way in or out of the house was the front door, and there was no way of sneaking Hail out without her mother knowing. Alexandra heard the noise, saw Rai's panic, and sighed. She stood and crossed her arms, waiting for the storm and the subsequent eviction. The door opened. "Rai, could you help me with the groceries? Some are still in the trunk—" Mrs. Zanders cut herself off as she peered over the brown sacks and saw her daughter with a guest—a very unexpected, very unwelcome guest. She nearly dropped her bags in a rage. "Mother—" "What the hell is she doing here, Raisa?! I told you never to go anywhere near that girl, didn't I?! What are you doing here? Get out! Get out, before I call the police and have you arrested!" "Mother!" "It's okay," grumbled Hail, keeping her anger in check. She dismissed herself and sidled past the furious woman, avoiding eye contact. "I did what I came to do, and now I'll be leaving. Excuse me." Hail ignored Mrs. Zanders' ranting as she left the door and the house behind her, stuffed her hands in her pockets, and walked home stiffly. Rai lived in a good part of the town; she lived in the slums. Good—the further away from that squall she was, the better. Unfortunately, Alexandra had forgotten to take into account the formula of Distance (D) multiplied by Temperature (T) divided by Speed (S), so since she lived far from Rai, the weather was getting colder and more inclement, and she was not a fast walker, things started becoming unbearable. She couldn't hug herself since her arms would freeze, and she couldn't stuff them away since her chest would freeze, and her head was getting cold regardless. She squinted as a piercing rain came onto her and a cruel breeze licked her exposed skin. Worse still, she was being splashed by cars, and one of the inconsiderate machines was honking at her. It pulled up to her, and the passenger side window rolled down. A voice called out "Haley!", and the car stopped. Hail crossed her arms and stared inside, recognizing the driver to be Rai. "You need a lift?" In this weather, Hail would've ridden with the devil himself. She got in and thanked Rai for her kindness, but Rai (of all things) apologized. "Sorry for the way my mother treated you. She had no right to cast you out in the cold like that." "Well, she kinda did, after what I did. You really can't expect anything less." "She's not a cruel woman, Haley." "Right, just to me then." "Haley..." Rai touched her guest's shoulder, staring sadly, as if she were the one who needed forgiveness. But she didn't ask for any, or if she did, it was very quiet, and only to the sky: as more rain soaked her car, the wipers swished it off. Sin and grace, sin and grace, sin and grace... "Why did you do all those things?" she inquired, not meaning to sound judgmental. Hail snorted. "Cuz' I was in a bad mood. Cuz' people got on my nerves. Cuz' I didn't know how else to handle it. Cuz' I hated everybody. Pick one." "What's the real reason?" Hail gave her a nasty sneer. "What are you, a psychologist? I told you why. What more do you need?" Rai was quiet for a moment. "I have bad days too. Lots of them. Usually my mood's just neutral until circumstance tips it in one direction or the other, and usually it ends up being bad. It's strange. Sometimes the most offensive things don't even bother me, while even the littlest wrong can set me off in a violent mood swing. It's not the circumstances of the present that get me so riled up, though; it's usually the build-up of the past, what's happened to me years ago. Now I know the past shouldn't dictate how we live our life today, but what's set in stone can still come back and haunt us, like ripples of waves coming to rock a boat long after the stone has sunk." "Yeah, I know what you mean," murmured Hail wearily. She too became quiet, and her voice lowered. She decided now, of all times, to pour her heart out, and to Rai no less! "My parents divorced when I was only seven years old. They never liked each other from the start, and once I came along, things seemed to slide out of control. I was too young to understand things at the time, so I let it all go. But eventually I got twisted and warped by their back-and-forth bantering. My mother would say bad things about my father, and dad would insult my mom, but they'd always use me as the middle ground; they'd never face each other person to person. "I tried shutting myself in my room to avoid all that shit, but of course it didn't work. My dad started getting on my case every day, and soon mom pretty much fazed herself out of my life. She's gone completely deadbeat by now and could probably care less if I'm alive or not. I don't see my dad more than a few hours a day, which is fine by me since he either yells or goes stupid on me, and the rest of my family is in other states. Eventually I learned I could avoid all that by going to raves, getting stoned, taking drugs, things like that. That really freaked my dad out, but I was the one who was getting fucked. "I started all that shit when I was about thirteen, so by now I'm pretty messed up. The drugs affected me in the day too, all those mood swings and all—but maybe it was just me lashing out, screaming, saying how horrible things had been for me, how nobody loved me or cared two cents for me, or even bothered to help. I just... saw no point. So I beat up kids, wrecked things, cussed at teachers, the whole lot. You wouldn't believe where I found some sanity." "Where?" "A soup kitchen. A volunteer soup kitchen, anyway. I went there once to sleep and eat, and I've been working there whenever I could. They're a little too God-centric for my tastes, but at least it's better than getting wasted or hearing the bitch and the bastard yell at each other. Oh... I was actually dumb enough to fall in love once, did I tell you about that?" "No." "Of course not," she said with a smile. Rai parked the car, got an umbrella, and walked Hail into her house, which was empty and dark. Hail flipped on the lights, recoiling from just how wretched the whole place looked. Rai stared disapprovingly. "Sorry if it's a shit-hole," said Hail weakly. "I don't usually clean unless I have to, and dad's a slob anyway. Course, he usually works all day and doesn't have time to clean. If you want anything to drink, it'll have to be water, since we don't carry booze anymore." "Thank you. Go on with your story." "Story?" Hail regarded her with a bemused look, snickered, and made two drinks from the cleanest glasses she could find. "I'm no fucking Charles Dickens, so don't call this a story. Whatever. Here." "Thanks." "Anyway," she continued, "I was stupid enough to fall in love—not that there's anything wrong with love, but plenty wrong with the person I chased after. Totally the wrong person. Complete slut. Now that I think about it, I'm glad nothing came of it. She's not... who I would've chosen as a lover." "Oh? Who would be?" "I dunno." Hail laughed sadly, and deeply gorged upon the lukewarm water. "Fuck," she whispered, "that's nasty-ass shit without ice, but our freezer's been broken forever. You'll have to stick it in the fridge if you want it cool." "That's okay. So like you were saying... If you could chose a lover, who would you chose?" "I dunno." Would it be Corona? Or maybe Hero? But Hero's got a girlfriend. That Vai's kinda cute, and she looks real depressed. So does Olivia. And Kathlyn has a nice ass. Plus she's just your type. But it would be so nice to cuddle into an older woman's arms... If only Mrs. Keys weren't so old... "I'm gay, by the way," she added. Rai smiled. "I figured, since you said your last, uh, love was a girl." "Mm-hmm. Are you? I mean, I don't mean to say that masculine girls are gay, but... if I was straight, I'd be fooled." Rai smiled bashfully and hid her face. "I'm used to it. As for me... well... I think I may be attracted to girls, but if I am, I haven't met too many who are really my type." "And what is your type?" Rai smiled wolfishly. "I like... the thrill of being around a bad girl. Good girls... the one I've known, anyway, they're all so dull and unpredictable." "Yeah, but... you can live a life with them, right?" "Live or... live?" asked Zanders enigmatically. Hail's face lit up. "Ah." "Actually... about that. I have a confession." Now Rai Zanders wasn't the type to be shy (outside of social situations), nor tentative or uneasy, or even that unsure of herself, so it was unusual watching her. Alexandra crossed her arms. "Yeah?" "To tell the truth," she murmured, "I kinda have a crush on you." "...Kinda?" "I do," she remedied. Hail shook her head, her face twisted like a puzzle not quite solved yet. "Why? Because I'm a bad girl?" "There was that, but also... you intrigue me. You strike me as the kind of person who needs a lover, someone patient and caring. I can tell there's something in you—" "Like a diamond in the rough, right? Sorry, Zanders, it ain't gonna happen. Look, I'm flattered, but if your mother ever found out—" "I don't care if she finds out!" she snapped quietly. Rai took Hail's shoulders in her palms, standing over the girl just slightly as her face changed from being coolly stoic to gently passionate, like that. "I don't care, all right? For once I want to do things without her being in my face, or looming over me. She says you're bad, and I agree to a point, but I also disagree." "Zanders, I... wrecked your mom's school." "Because nobody had ever loved you, and you gave up because you believed nobody ever would." "Your mother will kill you if she—" "I don't care. Just for once, I don't want to care." "Rai, what—" Alexandra was interrupted with a kiss, a long one, filled with alien need. Not only was Rai pouring every drop of her own dormant, uncertain love into Blair's mouth, she was also extracting some for herself, so Need and Need could come together and find a Have, proving—maybe childishly—that something could come from nothing. The embrace ceased, with Rai pulling away with a smile and Hail standing there surprised. She had actually kissed Rai Zanders. "That was... good," she managed. A chuckle came out of her, and of Rai, and every notion of reason was sifted out of their minds as they kissed again, and laughed in the dreary bleak house, and kissed, and moaned, and merged skin with skin, flesh with flesh, soul with soul. In short, they fucked each other's brains out. ......... She didn't have to go out to her next destination and ask for forgiveness, just as she didn't have to end the spontaneous relationship with Rai. She could've stayed, and fooled herself into believing love would find her again, and she could've hidden from responsibility. And she certainly didn't want to do either of those, because leaving the side of the beautiful, soft, nude Rai was like leaving the womb of a mother—a good mother—and going over to beg forgiveness would've left her vulnerable and uncertain. She didn't have to do either, and she didn't want to do either, but she needed to. Good or Bad no longer had any meaning; it was all about Right and Wrong, and Alexandra Blair knew that if there was any chance for her recovery, she would have to start doing the right thing. So she left. "Rai— "As ironic and blissful as our affair was, it can't happen. Don't ever say you don't care about your mother, because at least you have one to care about. She loves you, and she's right to keep you away from me. I'll look forward to seeing you in class, and if you want, we can be friends. Not close friends, of course, but friends. To be honest, I always thought you'd be better off with Ana Lu anyway. I'm sure your mother would agree with me. Please take care of yourself." Alexandra "Haley" Blair "P.S. Don't call me Haley anymore. I'm not going to that place. I'm reforming. Don't call me Haley. Alex is fine." The bus let her off at the corner of Shortleaf Lane and George St., and once she walked past a few houses, taking in the gorgeous scenery and the peaceful silence of the neighborhood—even this one was wealthy, though its riches were in beauty, serenity, and simplicity—she came to her destination, 742 Shortleaf Lane, where the next person she owed an apology to lived. Her stomach curdled like bad milk as she rang the bell, half-expecting an angry parent to answer. She was greeted, instead, by a cute blonde with long braided pigtails and a cheery, if not slightly ditzy face. The cheer lost its edge as Alexandra Blair locked eyes with Ana Lu. "Oh, Haley! Um... you want something?" "Yeah, listen. Can I come in?" "Uh, sure, I guess. My mom and dad aren't home yet." "It's okay. I just want to talk to you." "All right." Ana carefully let Hail in and instructed her to take her shoes off. She led the other girl up to her room, opened the windows, and let the sun accent her already bright features. Hail bristled as she noticed just how pink parts of Ana's room was. Pictures of Rai Zanders, whether solo or with Ana, adorned the wall, looking back at Hail as a reflection of her past. "So," said Ana, sitting on her bed, "why'd you come over?" "Ana, I need to ask your forgiveness. You know why." "...Yeah." Lu could rarely be serious, and when she was, so very few people took her seriously. Her voice gave her away, and Alexandra took her for her word. "You know, I've forgotten all about it," she said with a gesture. "It's been a long time anyways, and besides, I've noticed you changing. You're not quite as, forgive me, bullish as you used to be. You're nicer. You're not nearly as mean. Don't be angry if I strike the wrong chord." "I won't. I appreciate your honesty. So it's really all behind you?" "Yup." Ana smiled softly, relieving Hail even more. She caressed the sheets of the girl's bed, feeling just how soft they were, how spoiled with love Ana was, how happy and, sex aside, gay she was. Had Hail been furiously jealous of all that when she struck Ana all those years ago, struck her down and said so many awful things to her, long before her temper against the Zanders clan flared out? Had she meant to say Why? Why do you get to be so happy and I'm left out in this misery? Was it primitive revenge that made her act so horribly, against one who never deserved it? "Please forgive me," she wailed quietly, now visibly crying. "Please, Ana... I can't believe I did all that to you." "Haley..." Ana's smile grew, and she laughed gently as she offered the older girl a tissue. "I told you, I forgot about it, so don't you dare remind me of it. It's over, okay? Forgive yourself first." "I can't." "Well, you should. It's not a problem now, not to me. I know the past hurts, it hurts me as well. Boy does it ever hurt." Had that been a flash of insurmountable pain behind those merry blue eyes? Did Ana the Ever-Glad know what true misery was as well? "Well... sometimes the past can be fixed. I try not to be bound by it. It's very hard. It sometimes takes very good people to help you." "But I don't have anybody to help me," lamented Blair. "Nobody cares about me." "You don't have any friends?" "None that I'd call 'real', anyway." "Your parents?" Hail sneered. "Don't get me started." "Oh, dear..." Ana frowned and, to Hail's surprise, touched her face and drew her in for a hug. She reciprocated stiffly. One single act of kindness, no matter how slight or brief, can often fill the deepest holes of misery in a person's life, and this is what Ana did for Alexandra. She softened and squeezed back, not caring it was a virtual stranger she was embracing, or a former target for scorn, or her ex-lover's ex-lover. It was something, something to fill in her Nothing, and she held and held until she forced herself to let go. "Sorry," she said groggily. "I'm not used to that. Sorry." "Maybe you can count me as a person who cares for you," offered Ana quietly. Alexandra smiled weakly, looking into the cute face of young Ana, filled with light and laughter to spare, and shook her head. "I guess. Although really, you could look at things a little more seriously, Annie." "Ana." "Annie," she shot back with a smirk. Lu pounced on her with a growl, bowling her over down onto the bed, she on top laughing. Alexandra couldn't help but blush as she felt the weight of the smallish woman press down on her—and Ana smelled so good... Maybe all I needed this time was a woman who could be happy no matter what. She's a ditz, but maybe I need a ditz. Maybe I need Ana Lu. But isn't she with Rai? I mean, I guess not, since Zanders came onto me and we...... Oh, it'd be weird coming onto Ana after making love to her ex-girlfriend. But maybe I need it. "Are you blushing?" she sang playfully, toying with Hail's long purple hair. She was. "Uh... so what if I am?" "You look so cute!" she declared. Hail rolled her eyes. "Oh, God." Ana giggled. "Do you like me?" she whispered softly, eyes gentle. Hail became even more flush. "Awhile back... somebody asked me if I could choose a lover, who would I choose. I couldn't answer them because I didn't know... but maybe all I really needed was somebody like you." Ana smiled warmly, tenderly, touching Hail's face and her hair with thin fingers, breathing in and out jaggedly. So, perhaps she was just as nervous. Her teeth showed as she grinned. "On one level, it would be really weird, wouldn't it?" "...Yeah," croaked Hail. She braced herself as Ana leaned down and kissed her. "But on another... I think it would be very sweet." She barely even nodded. "Yeah." Alexandra Blair gave herself into desperation—gave herself into Ana—and passions flared as the unlikely lovers, the second pair in two days, embraced and exchanged kisses. Their hands wandered, Hail fiercely tearing Ana's clothes off, Lu squealing as more and more of her skin found itself naked, and before either of them could fully commit themselves to lovemaking, Ana rushed over to her door, shut it, and locked it tight. ......... "Beautiful Ana, "Thank you for forgiving and forgetting. You have made me feel hopeful for things again, but I have to tell you that even though the time we spent together was better than any sweet dream, it could not be. You said it would be slightly kinky for you, Rai, and myself to engage in a threesome, but I don't believe in those relationships, and I don't believe on interrupting or manipulating others. I resolved to start doing 'the right thing' so that I might recover from my past, and so as I ended my relationship with Rai, so too must I end it with yours. Don't worry, this isn't about you. You're a wonderful young woman and anybody would be honored to have your love. But I can't. "You should talk to Rai and ask what you need to do in order to achieve her love and get her back. The relationship you had with her was so wonderful and sweet, and I cannot infringe upon it. I could never live with myself. Besides, I'm not used to two gorgeous women fighting over me! Please don't cry, this is all for the best. I'm doing the right thing, believe me. In time I may yet find a woman with whom I can completely love and identify with, but until then, I shall always be..." Your friend, Alexandra "Haley" Blair "P.S. Don't call me Haley anymore. I'm not going to that place. I'm reforming. Don't call me Haley. Alex is fine." Ana Lu read the letter twice, clutched it to her heart, and breathed in its smell. She hadn't cried at all; her mind had matured to the point where she realized Alexandra was right. The relationship they had was nice, but it wasn't destined to flourish. In her heart, Ana yearned for Rai even more, and resolved herself to get back with the mannish woman, no matter what. Rai would be led to understand just how serious Ana was, and if she still didn't believe... No, she would. Alex had reason to hope, so Ana could too. ......... Ana had told Alex that she needed to forgive herself first, but before she could feel worthy of it, she knew there was still one more person she needed to confront. Being Monday, she knew where to find them, so all she needed to do was wait. She spotted her final destination in Art and P.E. class (along with a cheerful Ana and a somber Rai), but waited until after school to talk to her. How unusual: not long ago, she had used a similar method to unleash her fury; now, she was doing it to beg mercy. Once things settled down, and she was alone, Alex tentatively approached her. "Hey, Ancelin. Mind if we talk? Peace?" "Sure." "I gotta admit, I feel like shit now," she said shyly. Ancelin had her arms crossed, listening to the whole story, and came out with her verdict once the other girl was done. "I've forgiven you, Alex." "But what I've done to you was the worst thing anybody could do. I mean, what I did to Zanders and Lu was awful, but I was still nice compared to what I did to you. I don't deserve it." "Why did you... do all that, anyway?" she asked. Alex's face darkened as she snorted. "Because I was a fucking jerk who thought I was in love with... Ivory. And I noticed how crazy she was about you. Nobody ever loved me or paid attention to me before, see, and anything, even if it's fake, is better than nothing. I just got so carried away and jealous, all for the wrong reasons. I'm actually glad I didn't stay with her. I'm sorry." This took Ancelin by surprise, because she believed Alex didn't trust Ivory, as she had told her. But it made sense. And poor Alex! Feeling so jealous and empty that she was ready to kill, all over the wrong kind of woman! Ancelin's heart went out to her. "It's okay. I forgive you." "It's not okay!" she yelled. "I almost killed you, Ancelin! I almost did something really bad!" "But you didn't. You stopped yourself. You... ran off. I could see in your eyes how sorry you were, and I forgave you. Don't worry, I didn't tell Ivory about it." "...Did you tell anyone?" she whimpered. "Mm, my mom, but I didn't reveal your name." "Oh." Blair was openly crying by now, lost and alone in a world she believed didn't care for her. As cold as many people believed Ancelin was, she was really quite a compassionate person, and she demonstrated it by taking Alex in her arms, holding her, and drying her tears. Alex shuddered and hugged back, wailing how sorry she was over and over again. All Ancelin said was "It's okay, it's okay, ssshh." Alex felt Ancelin's cool hands touch her face and absorb her tears. She tried to smile as she saw the glow of mercy in the taller woman's eyes. Whether out of charity, pity, genuine love, or impulse, Ancelin found herself kissing Alex's forehead gently. She looked deep into the other girl's eyes, expressing her forgiveness, and tenderly touched her mouth with a second kiss. Alex's eyes snapped open in surprise. For the third time in three days, an unlikely woman, one she had hurt and broken in the past, had forgiven her and expressed unusual love to her. The past two times had resulted in blissful lovemaking, but she knew this third could not, no matter how wonderful it felt. Alex reciprocated and broke off after a moment, blushing and smiling. "That was weird," she admitted with a chuckle. Ancelin laughed too, a sight and sound too beautiful for words, and perhaps under another circumstance, would've kissed Blair again and made love to her—moth drawn to flame. Alex grinned and said, "Wouldn't it be really strange if we got together?" "Yeah, it would." "Let's not, okay?" she said, looking clear and even happy for the first time since... oh, she couldn't remember. She took Ancelin's hand, caressing it tenderly. "Now I know what Ivory sees in you. She really does love you, Ancelin, so don't throw yourself at me. It's pearls before swine, Yi. Don't protest, now; I know what's best for you two. Ivory may be a punk, a slut, and a troublemaker, but deep down, she's got a heart of gold." "Like you?" said Ancelin with a smile. Alex shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about. Listen. Don't get mixed up with me. Give Ivory another chance, all right? You might be happier that way. A nice woman like you deserves it." "If you say so," she shrugged. Ancelin pulled Alex in for another hug before letting her go; Blair remarked how awfully strange things were turning out for her. If she didn't know any better, she would've believed that her angst was a magnet for other women! Or, for that matter, that people cared for her. She rode the bus home with a much lighter conscience, and decided to do one more "right thing" before calling it even. ......... Blair hunted for the phonebook and found it underneath the sofa, of all places. She cracked it open in the middle, searching for the "M" listings, then the "MAR" section. Mara, Marbel (the Headmistress), Marceau, Marchi, Marciani, Marcos—got it! There were four listings, none that had a "C" of course, so she tried them all. She dialed the first and got a female voice, but not "hers". "Hi, uh, is Corona there?" "Who?" "Corona. ...Is this the wrong number?" "Oh. Yes, I'm sorry, there's no Corona here." "My mistake. Sorry." "No problem." Click. Well, she was polite. Alex tried again. This time it was a young man's voice. "Uh, hi, is Corona there?" "No, but I'm Corey. Did you want to talk to me?" "Uh, no, Corona." "...Nobody here by that name. Sorry." Click. Nice kid. Once again! "Hey, is Corona there?" "May I ask who's calling?" A jackpot, perhaps? He sounded Hispanic. "Is she there? Tell her this is Furio—uh, Alexandra Blair from school." "Oh. Hold on, please." Yes, jackpot! Alex nearly squealed with glee, and waited with impatient enthusiasm for the other girl to pick up. Even as she had made love to Rai and Ana, and kissed Ancelin, one woman had always been on her mind, perhaps the only one she could truly understand and identify with. Corona had always been kind to her, even under the worst circumstances, so perhaps maybe... Maybe she would finally find the right one. Maybe. "Hello?" The voice was hers, all right. Alex actually found herself giddy. "Corona? It's me, Furi—Alex from school." "Oh, hi Alexandra! How'd you get my number?" Boy, did her name sound good when it came from her voice! "I looked in the phonebook, dummy. Listen, it's Monday, but are you available anytime this week? Like to go out or something?" "Um, well... yes, but... oh, you mean with you?" "Yeah!" A pause. "Sure," she answered shyly, but warmly, "I'd love to. Where and when?" "Shakenstein's, tonight at seven. Can you make it?" "Uh, yeah... I'd have to take the bus, but yeah. Can you?" "Of course. I wouldn't suggest it if I couldn't." "Oh, right. Well, um... see ya there, Alexandra." "Right. Bye." Click. Alexandra laughed out loud, feeling unusually happy, and flopped onto the floor as a sigh of complete contented relief escaped her mouth. In just a few hours, she was going to go on a date with Corona Marcos. Wow. She felt too happy to think of anything else, and hurried in spite of the extra time she had. Corona Marcos! And she had, quote, loved the idea! What were the odds? Alexandra Blair felt like she was leaving Furious Hail behind for good as she cleaned up, got dressed, and headed out the door at record speed.
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