"Ketchup" Most of the students at school liked Mrs. Torvald, even though she had a dour personality and often seemed lost in thought. As usual, when something mysterious was going on that nobody could readily explain, rumors started to fly. Some people said she was mourning the loss of a lover, others said she was a drug addict, still some said that this was just her personality—warm and smiling one moment, forlorn the next. Corona, who knew the depth of depression better than most, wanted to find out what the trouble was, perhaps to make herself feel better or more useful. "Mrs. Torvald," she said, coming up to the foreign languages teacher, "it just occurred to me that hardly anybody here knows anything about you." "Well, that's the way I like it," she said. "The less they know, the better." "Well...we're just concerned, ma'am. I mean, a lot of people like you—hell, even Kula likes you, and I didn't think she liked anybody." "Probably because I can speak Hawaiian well. You could learn a lot about a person by just talking to her. A lot of people tend to stay away from her." "For obvious reasons," muttered Marcos. "But what about you? Whenever we ask you about your past, you just sigh and tell us to forget about it." "Because it's really none of your business." "But whenever we have problems, we know we can go to you. Why does it not work the other way around?" "Because," she said, drawing in a deep breath. She couldn't think of anything to say at the time, so she just mumbled, "It's not suitable for you." "Oh, and contemplating suicide night and day is? Look, you know me, and you sort of know my girlfriend. You know we both went through a whole hell of a lot to get where we are now. Aside from Miss Keeping and you, I haven't told anyone else about myself." "It's...complicated," she replied. Corona frowned and crossed her arms. Mira and Ms. McGowen passed them by during the silence, both exchanging greetings. Emma noticed the look on her former lover's face and decided to see if she couldn't cheer her up. "Hey, Andy! Another weekend coming up! What'cha gonna do?" "Just stay home," she replied. "Boo. That's a pithy way to spend two free days. Don't you have any exciting plans?" "What's to do? I'll just read and garden. I'm not young anymore anyway; it's not like I can go out and party. That New Year's thing was good enough for me." "But you gotta do something! All you do is sulk. Look, I'm over you—uh, whoops, you didn't hear that, ladies!" She smiled mischievously, as if she had let some cat out of its bag, but Mira and Corona were confused. Still grinning, Emma put her arm around Andeira's shoulders and poked her. "Look, a few of us girls are going to play indoor golf. It's not much, but it's something. Now I know you've had a bleak history but it's time to put it behind you. Severing off your dead branches is a healthy choice; that way, what's left will grow quicker. Come on, I did it, and look at me! Happy as a clam!" "Oh, so you and Janna are..." "No comment," she hooted. "But suffice to say we'll be at the range, indoors. Whaddya say? Come with?" "...I'll think about it," she concluded. "I have to get back to class, though, and so do you." McGowen snorted and led Mira away, muttering to herself. "Hmph...dunno what I saw in you." "What's that?" said Mira. The half-crazed science teacher smiled. "Oh, Andy and I used to be an item. Don't worry, she was dour long before we were together, so it's not like I broke her heart." Stunned, Mira looked back to see Mrs. Torvald slipping into her room, then back to her teacher. "The two of you, really? I had no idea." "Most people didn't. Teachers don't exactly spell out their relationships to their students. But enough about me, what about you? The three of you getting along okay?" Mira nodded. "I don't know how long it can last. Blake says that she hopes we all stay together forever. Yusha is having more realistic thoughts. I love them both, but I don't like this divide. It's sad the way we squeal over each other and love one day, and yet can seem unsure of ourselves the next. The threads might be loosening!" "Well, all relationships are hard. You don't need me to tell you that. I can't advise you what to do, because all of mine were failures, and it doesn't even look like Janna and I...uh, whoops, never mind." "I know about you and Miss Raulson already," Mira told her. "Rumors run around this school quickly. Of course, I am also guilty of spreading them, even Blake." "I see..." ...... "Take your shirt off." Ana Lu had a tiny, tiny fear of doctors, and Dr. Jean-Jacques Andrews was no exception. She obediently complied, taking her long-sleeved blue shirt off, revealing cold skin and a brassiere of unimpressive standing. Andrews had her business face on as she warmed the stethoscope up (nothing worse than a cold stethoscope) and placed it over Ana's heart. The poor blonde had gotten sick again—not from being around Rai, but around people in general—and she was asked to report to the school doctor. She would have to trust Andrews with her work; being half-naked in her office was not as exciting as it sounded. "Breathe deep," instructed the taller woman. Ana did so, but shyly, noticing how her smallish breasts swelled with each puff. She couldn't help but have a slight crush on the older woman, probably because of how masculine she was. Ana went for the more masculine type anyway, be it man or woman, which had originally drawn her to Rai. Of course, Rai now owned her heart, and she would never ever look at any other person like that again, but still. She was human. "Good. Say ‘aah'." "Aaah." She also coughed when asked, and sat patiently as Andrews took her blood pressure. Out of all the doctors Ana had seen in her life, Dr. Andrews was probably the coldest, albeit one of the best. She wished Andrews was a little more gay (not in the sexual sense of course) and cheerful—at least Rai was trying her best to break out of her shell. That probably would've made Ana's visit less tense. Andrews ran a few more tests, numbly told Ana she could get dressed again, and wrote some things down on a clipboard. "You've got a cold," she stated flatly, "but it's nothing to be worried about. Just be sure you drink plenty of tea, lemonade, things with vitamin C. You might want to eat more vegetables, too; that's part of the reason you're not in good shape." "Okay," said Ana, knowing better than to argue. She preferred sweets, naturally, and even though she was fairly skinny, it was starting to show. "You don't need anything else, except exercise. Of course, that can't be helped now that Leena's gone." "Oh? Where is she?" "Just away," said Andrews, who honestly didn't know the fate of the Finnish woman. "In the meantime, I'll be teaching Health classes. I guess that concludes our business, then." "...Yup." Ana walked out, coughed, and saw Rai waiting for her, smiling duskily. Oh, shivers! Rai had a lusty look in her eyes, and greeted her girlfriend with a warm kiss on her cheekbone. "So? Does nurse Raisa need to make a house call?" "No, I just need to take better care of myself." "See, I told you. That's why I rarely get sick; I exercise a lot and eat well. Didn't I start getting healthier once I was consuming more vegetables?" "That you did," sighed Ana, knowing it would soon be her fate to do the same. As the two girls left the doctor's office, they passed Miss Cerio, who greeted them both with a smile. She slipped into Dr. Andrews' office as well, although her sickness was a little different. She closed the door and gave her former lover a happy, slightly sexy smile. "Well, Jackie, hello. Putting any skeletons back into the closet?" "No closet jokes, Abs. Not in the mood." "Poo," she pouted, "you're never in the mood." "And strangely, you always are. No wonder we didn't work out." "Speaking of which..." Abi walked over, wrapped her arms around the older woman, and kissed the back of her neck. "...I missed you." "Don't please. I'm seeing somebody else." "Who?" "Somebody I got in trouble with." "Ah, so the rumor is true." Andrews rolled her eyes. "What is it with this school and rumors? Don't you teachers give the girls enough homework?" Abi laughed, and tried to kiss the tall woman, but she was brushed off. Business, Jean said, and she didn't plan on having pleasure anytime soon. ...... Abigail Keeping, 27 and in love with her best friend, sat glumly at lunch, sipping a Pepsi. It was rare for the pretty woman to feel down, but she and her girlfriend had just had their first serious fight, and both had stormed off saying things they didn't mean. She decided to sit with the students and let Hitomi cool off, but none of them looked able to understand her. Jocelyn was happy, albeit recently separated from her one-and-only girlfriend, and was chatting with several of her friends. Ayanna and Olivia were around talking, but even they seemed to be in good spirits. Olivia at least noticed the change in Miss Keeping's demeanor and scooted over to encourage her. "What's up, doc?" Abby at least forced herself to smile. "Oh...it's unusual for people to call me a doctor. Just Miss Keeping will do. To answer your question, I'm feeling a little down. I had a fight with my girlfriend." "Oh? You and Miss Madsen? But you act like best friends." "Well, yes, but even the closest friends have their squalls. I'm sure it's nothing, just some long-overdue friction. It was bound to happen. I keep forgetting that peaceful relationships can't exist, even though I was hoping we could live our whole lives loving each other." "But you will, right?" "Of course," she answered softly. "I will love Hitomi to the day I die. But I meant...passion, flair, hot sex, that sort of thing. The spark. I meant that this sort of stuff can't go on forever, otherwise people would burn up." "I don't think you have anything to seriously worry about," said Jocelyn, who had overheard the conversation. She smiled and joined in. "Erica and I aren't seeing each other anymore, but we still love each other deeply. I think that even if you two stay as lovers forever, you'll probably end up treating each other more like best friends than nymphomaniacs." Abby snickered and coughed mildly as bits of soda caught in her throat. "Yes," she managed, "I see your point. You've been...(cough) paying attention in (cough) class. Scuse' me." "It's just a paraphrase from C.S. Lewis." "It's odd," mused Ayanna, smiling more at herself than her cousin. "It's like...the less I think about having sex with Hero, the more I love her, and the more I love her, the less I want to have sex with her. I mean, I still do, obviously." "You do realize she's not a natural blonde, right?" "So? I'm past all that now. I wouldn't care if she was bald; I just love her." "I don't know why I'm having this conversation," Olivia groused, rubbing her forehead. "You've talked about or mentioned sex three times in the same sentence—you who've never had it!" "But I've had the inclination." "So? I've been inclined to do lots of stuff, but I don't do it all." "Whatever. So, how's Yuki?" Olivia shrugged. "Bizarre. She's sweet, no doubt about that, and cute, but..." "I think you need a bizarre girl to shake things up. I think the two of you would be nice together." "I don't know," she sighed wearily. "I just don't think I'm really a lesbian." "Oh, yeah, right! You who has to fight in order to keep from looking at girls in the locker room. You who lingers over every little smooch your friends give you. You who still wishes you were with Vicki! Admit it, you're girl-crazy." "I'm not admitting that; I'm just going through a phase." "They all say that, Liv. I was going through a phase too—it was called childhood. But I'm gay and it's to stay, that's my motto." "I'm happy you're so proud." "Your sarcasm can't hurt me." She giggled and stuck her tongue out; Olivia growled. Ayanna apologized and became more serious. "Anyway, tell me about Yuki. Have you kissed her yet?" "No." "Have you asked her out on a date yet?" "No." "Then hit two birds with one stone, love. The weekend is fast approaching; ask the snow-girl for a walk in her environment, then...offer to...keep her warm!" Ayanna cackled; Olivia just rolled her eyes. A date with Yuki? Sure, provided she didn't bring that silly stick of hers, or sprout more samurai nonsense. But slim chance of that happening. ...... Lilian wasn't exactly a close friend of Kathlyn, but she understood the girl's pain to a degree and offered to keep her company during her two-week suspension. Kathlyn was a wreck by then: she was very pale, sported a black eye, her hair was everywhere, and she walked with a limp. Kathlyn told Lilian she had fallen down some stairs, but even the albino could identify a victim of abuse. She pried, but Kathlyn was stubborn. Eventually she asked why she was suspended, but got little more than "Just something". "You must've done something terrible," said Lilian sympathetically. "Miss Marbel does not suspend people usually." "Well, it didn't seem terrible at the time." "Would you rather not talk about it?" "Uh, yes please. Uh, say Lilian, you have a girlfriend, right?" "Yes, Gabrielle." "Oh yeah, her. Yeah, I can see the two of you together. She's pretty cute and a little wild." "Why do you ask?" Here Katt fumbled. She wanted to talk to somebody about lost love, but she didn't know Lilian very well, and couldn't guess which direction the conversation would turn if she told her she was in love with a teacher. She tried to be as discreet as possible, though. "What if...you were separated from her for a really long time?" "That would be hard," she answered. "For a long time, I've been used to being alone, not having any friends other than my pets, being excluded and isolated like that. But then along came Gabrielle, and it was like night turning into morning. If I lost her, even for a few days, it would probably get worse than before. It's not like that old saying, ‘tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved', because loss is terrible. It's a big gaping hole, and...losing love is like falling into it, whereas not having it is like just living in there. You can't get hurt." Kathlyn took some time to think about this. It was true, too: being in her home, flitting about with hardly any real friends, certainly felt like being in a hole. Once Leena came into her life, she felt like she was walking on clouds every day, but since their indiscretion the other day, she had fallen pretty far and had landed on rough ground. Did Lilian speak from experience? "Have you ever lost anybody like that?" The German nodded solemnly. "My first love, long ago. I was eleven, she was thirteen. It was such a bittersweet romance, too. It only lasted a few weeks, during summer camp, and I never saw her again. I don't know if she remembers me now, but I've never forgotten about her." "Oh. That's sweet...and sad. What was her name?" Lilian grinned shyly as a long-buried episode of her life was unearthed. Of all the things to be thinking about now! "It was Ramona." "Oh, I see. Wow, and you were just eleven years old, huh? Was that when...you, uh, thought you were..." "Probably. I loved her very deeply, so perhaps. I think having Gabrielle is like re-experiencing all that all over again. But I am happy. So...may I ask, do you have a lost love like that?" "Uh, sort of. Look, I'm not too comfortable talking about it, and well...we're not that close." "I could always use more friends." Kathlyn smiled sheepishly. It certainly wouldn't hurt. "Yeah...me too." Fittingly, the lovers of Kathlyn and Lilian were off having their own conversation elsewhere. Leena was trying to adjust to life without Kathlyn, which wasn't quite as awful as she feared it'd be. She had been through the emotional gauntlet several times in her near-three decades, and had weathered two particularly crippling storms, both of which she recovered from. Parting from Kathlyn was not unlike parting from her two most cherished exes, and knowing they'd be together again made things seem easier. Gabrielle, like most girls in Stanton, liked Leena deeply, and loved going to gym if for no reason than to be taught by her. Spending two weeks away from her would be murder, especially considering who was replacing her for the time being. Dr. Andrews was competent and strikingly handsome, but she was no Leena. Gabrielle met the older woman in a restaurant by coincidence and joined her at the table, though the conversation was anything but dry. Leena wanted to know about Lilian mostly. "She's...great," was all Gabrielle could say, adding in a shy grin. "She's really great. I love her a whole lot." "Mm. I don't know Lilian too well, mostly from what Hitomi tells me—Miss Madsen, I mean—but I hear she's a really fine character. A very classy woman, through and through, with a kind heart and a gentle demeanor." "Yup," said Gabrielle, blushing from hearing such true statements, "that's her, all right. So what about you? I've been listenin' to the rumor mill and I ain't heard nothin' about your love life. You seein' anybody?" "Sort of. Right now we're giving each other some space. I found that sometimes missing your loved one makes the relationship better." "Oh, like, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder'?" "Something like that. You appreciate food more when you're hungry, and sleep more when you're tired, and music more after silence. Right now I figure I'll love her all the more when we reunite." "It's funny," said Gabrielle with a smile. "Out of all the girls and teachers in school, so many are in love with other women. It just strikes me as odd." "Hmph, in a society deprived of men, women seek love wherever they can find it. I, however, have been a certified lesbian for fifteen years." "Wow, really? Gosh! It's only been about three or four years for me." "Well, that's because you're still a teenager. Most girls, studies show, would find attraction to their own gender right around your age, and I'm no exception." "I can't think of more'n a handful that are genuinely straight," muttered the redhead. The subject was drying up, so Leena moved it full-force to another. "So, have you conquered your fear of heights yet?" "Not quite. Lilian says she'll help me, but I don't know how." "Take you to a high place and hold on tight?" Gabrielle smiled brightly. In spite of being so high, having Lilian's arms wrapped securely around her sounded fantastic. It would certainly be a good method. "Maybe. You afraid of anything?" "Sure, though mostly it has to do with being away from home. I'm also scared to death of black lungs, from smoking, so I discourage it. One of my friends back home got lung cancer and died because of smoking." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Nothing to be sorry about. I did my best to help him, but he just couldn't quit. Once I get back, Miss Marbel wants me to help Hitomi quit smoking." "Miss Madsen smokes?" Gabrielle obviously didn't know this, and it showed on her face. Leena smiled cutely and nodded. "Yeah, but she does a good job of hiding it. That's why she and I aren't always on good terms." "...Wow!" whispered O'Shannon, "you think you know somebody!" ...... Avelina sat by herself at lunch, but seats soon filled up around her as more and more people populated the cafeteria. She didn't even recognize any of them, and sat quietly, wanting not to speak or be spoken to. She hated crowds, and she hated small groups, but she hated being alone most of all. Ethan was becoming discouraged and even annoyed with her, and the two had fought several times. Avelina just wanted to be with him. He wanted her to go out, make friends, and realize that she was there to stay. "I promise, people won't think you're weird because of your eyesight," he had said. "From what I hear, there are plenty stranger girls there. Why don't you go talk to this Yuki girl I hear about? I think she'd like you." Avelina had tried to open up to Yuki, but even she was no match for the girl's schizophrenic demeanor. Avelina had better luck with Vai and Kula, whom she treasured as very close friends. In spite of her reputation, Kula was actually a very sweet, funny, "real" girl, who identified with Avelina and her alienation. She glanced across the cafeteria and saw a table that was largely empty, save for a few loners. One girl in particular, a new face, caught her eye. She wasn't eating so much as she was playing a Game Boy, and she seemed to like the solitude. Avelina chewed her lip. She wondered if she could test herself a fourth time. So far, she had two very solid friends and one that could pass as one under the right circumstances, so maybe another... Miss Rohani did the bravest thing in the world (in her mind) by picking up her tray, walking over, and sitting across from the girl. The blonde looked up briefly, then went back to her game for a few seconds before turning it off. Avelina tried to smile as they made eye contact. "Lo'," said the girl. Avi nodded. "Hi. Um...you're...new?" "Yeah, just transferred over winter break." "Oh. I know some new transfer students too." "...Oh." A sigh. "I'm really no good at this," muttered Avelina to herself. "I have such a hard time making friends. I'm...uncomfortable." "Mm-hmm." "I'm...Avelina," she said at last. The girl nodded. "That's an unusual name. Mine is also unusual. Rozalia Miklos." "Oh. Uh, that's not so unusual. Is it Greek?" "I think." "Mine's Brazilian. And, uh, Portuguese, I think." The girls didn't say anything. Rozalia frowned, but at least she wasn't rude enough to return to her game. She ate at last, greedily devouring her food even though it was a little cold. Rozalia and Avelina said nothing else to each other for the rest of the period. Well, at least I tried.
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