All Stars (part 21 of 48)

a Original Fiction fanfiction by Al Kristopher

Back to Part 20
August 14th, Monday, Hill n' Dale Apartments

5:25 pm

 

"What have you gotten yourself into, Berkeley?"

The mirror offered no answers. Elisa was already dressed and ready to 
go; she was just experiencing cold feet. She hadn't been on a date since 
high school- and that had been with a boy- and she had never been 
"evaluated" by her date's family before. What kind of person was Nadia's 
grandmother? Was she strict, fair, demanding, lenient? Would she 
scrutinize Elisa like a forensics expert, or just give her a once-over 
and pass judgment? And what would happen should Elisa come up short 
(which seemed very likely)? Would all her feelings for Nadia, alien 
though they were, go to waste? Would she be utterly helpless as 
Khovansky found a more suitable lover? And why did she even fret so 
much? This was another woman! Elisa wasn't a lesbian!

Was she?

"Am I? Goodness gracious, it's too much to bear. You may as well bang 
your head against the wall, Berkeley, and hope some of this nonsense 
leaks through the cracks. Oh, drat, it's almost time to leave. I'm too 
anxious to go through with it now, but I can't back out on my word! 
And...it would be nice to have someone like her loving me. All right, 
then: buck up, girl. With risk comes progress, right? Of course. So just 
risk it and see what happens. You'll get a free dinner out of it 
regardless."

 

And people dream dreams that transcend time

Held in the arms of a still sea

As they looked up at the birds and clouds

It set their ephemeral souls on fire on a thousand mornings

I bet they're taking flight to where the light is headed

Now is the time to launch your dreams

Off into the frontier that is carrying boundless dreams

Farther and farther, dive in the sky

 

"Analysis"

 

"Take your seats, good morning, how are you, let's begin."

Carnegie's psychology teacher didn't waste any time, nor did he accept 
any disruptions. He came in shortly after class began, expecting 
everybody to be there, ready to face another day's challenges. He waited 
patiently for everyone to be silent, and then began his lessons.

"Take out your syllabus, please. If you don't have one, I'm afraid 
that's your loss. If you'll look to this week's assignment, you'll 
notice something called 'peer evaluation'. The gist of this assignment 
is for you to study, interact with, and ultimately perform a 
psychological evaluation on one of your peers in this room. Yes, I know- 
you may not be friends, but you are sharing time and space with each 
other, and to me, that counts. This arrangement will change twice a 
month, so by the end of the semester, you ought to know about half the 
people in the class. I'm telling you this right now because I'd like the 
seating arrangements to reflect this activity- so if you'd be so kind, 
take a look at this chart up here to see who you've been, uh, paired up 
with, and then sit accordingly."

What is this, the love cruise? Fleur grumbled. She waited until nearly 
everyone else had passed before dragging herself to the front. Next to 
the familiar LACROIX, F., she saw an ESSYLT, A., and turned to look at 
her new assignment. Fleur only knew two things about Arina: one was that 
they were on the same soccer team, although with vastly different 
skills; and the other was that she was somehow friends with Lauren 
Ofdensen, who was also in the same class. Reluctantly she changed seats, 
but she figured the arrangement could've been worse. Arina didn't seem 
to be a completely moronic rube...

"Let's just get this over with," Fleur sighed, not wishing to begin 
their new relationship with idle chatter. Arina hummed gently and 
nodded. "Go on and tell me something- anything at all. It won't matter."

"I think he means for us to do this after class," Arina said. Fleur 
sighed and slouched in her chair.

"Fine, whatever makes this easier. I wonder who your sloppy friend got 
put with."

"Better someone else than us," Arina smirked. Fleur finally smiled a 
little, feeling that maybe this wouldn't be an entire waste of her time 
after all.

"Aw, sweet!" Lauren exclaimed, as if on cue. "I got Al Hawthorne. 
Kick-ass!"

 

"What a bore!" Fleur groaned once their psychology class let out. She 
slung her purse on her shoulder, using an old shopping bag to carry her 
books and supplies (there was no way she'd lug around a backpack!). 
"Does that old man really have to be so dull about everything? The 
material's nice, but it's so hard to keep my eyes open! And it doesn't 
help that this is my first class."

"Do you have any exciting classes?" Arina wondered. Fleur just snorted.

"I wouldn't call them 'exciting'. It's the difference between tolerable 
and suicidal. I didn't pay all that good money just to be lectured to 
death."

"This assignment seems to be more hands-on," she noted.

"Yeah, but I'd prefer it if he did that sort of thing in class. God!! 
Well, at least it's short. So where can we do this thing?"

"Lunch? Practice? We could meet after."

"Sounds good to me," she gestured lamely. "I don't have anything better 
to do. Before all that, I have one question I've been meaning to ask."

"All right."

"Do you really think we need a 'team psychologist'? I understand the 
importance of getting inside your opponents' heads, but I don't see that 
giving us much of an advantage. I mean, let's face facts: I'm not the 
best player we have, but I'm far from the worst."

"Which is why a psychological advantage might compensate for our overall 
inexperience."

"But don't you think such an advantage would be incremental?"

"Perhaps," she admitted carelessly. "In those instances, a team 
evaluation might be better suited."

"So you're taking the job of coach and cheerleader, then," she replied 
tartly. "I'm afraid those positions are filled."

"I could always step in if you're injured," she replied wryly, giving 
Fleur a poke. "You're thin as a wire. Even Hawthorne has more muscle 
than you. What if you break apart like a twig? Someone will need to take 
over."

"You should know better than to underestimate me," she purred bitterly. 
"I should fill out just fine when our first practice match gets here. 
Anyway, I'm tired of talking about this nonsense. Since we don't have 
Anatomy together, I guess this is where we part."

"Yes. So...lunch or practice?"

"If you're buying, why not both?" she shrugged. Arina smiled sharply and 
started walking away.

"I'm generous, but not a pushover. Practice it is, then." Fleur saluted 
mockingly and stepped into her next class. Few people could lock 
intellectual horns with her and hold their own, so perhaps there was 
some merit in pairing her with Arina. Now she was intrigued.

 

- Felicity Velur, American, 120 lbs (54.5 kg), forward-

 

Practice went fairly well considering half the team consisted of 
novices, but now Arina and Fleur had another pressing matter to attend 
to: where to conduct their first psychological survey? Should they do it 
now, or maybe try it while showering? Maybe afterwards, in some private 
area where they wouldn't be distracted, where they could hear each other 
and record everything accurately...

"It doesn't matter where," Fleur shrugged. "But if it's all the same, 
I'd rather not reveal anything while the others are present."

"Perfectly acceptable. We can come back here and do it."

"Oh, let's do it now and get it over with," she said in frustration. 
"And make it quick: I'm starting to reek."

"I must profess some surprise for your athletic skill," Arina said as 
she and her subject sat down on the bleachers. "Given your size and 
apparent frailty, your style of play seems to rely on your agility and 
ability to steal the ball, dodge other players, and duck tackles, while 
looking to open a play for a striker, or score yourself. Of course, your 
lack of muscle is a weak point that can potentially injure you very 
severely. Your style heavily resembles Cristiano Ronaldo's, I've 
noticed."

"I'm impressed!" she exclaimed, offering a rare genuine smile. "You have 
quite the eye there, Essylt!"

"Well, I've performed some research over the past few days, and I've 
been watching clips to see if I can pinpoint the individual styles of 
the team. All in a day's work."

"Did that Teutonic twat put you up to this?"

"No," she replied casually, "I did it on my own. Well, we may as well 
get started. I've adapted an odor myself. Would you want to go first?" 
Fleur snorted.

"You can go first. I'm not ready to reveal my innermost secrets or 
whatever."

"Very well. But our urgency will ruin some of the...impending delights." 
She giggled eerily to herself, throwing Fleur off balance a little.

"Uh, okaaayyy... We can just pick up later, I guess."

"All right," she whispered melodically. "I have a lot of pride in 
myself, you see. I am beautiful and I know it. But I hate so many things 
as well, things that many people would see as so small, so small. But 
when I look into that mirror, I cannot help but find faults. 'Is this 
the best I can do,' I say, or 'How much further can I go? Is that all 
there is?' In lay terms, I simply hold a love-hate relationship with 
myself. Ohhh, those dark virile moments when I am alone in bed reflect 
this quite well. My pleasure peaks just as the abuse dims and wanes at 
last. But it's not frequent. I believe that life should be fair, even 
though I probably would not like it if it were. Why do I have so many 
problems with myself? You know, I'd really like it if things were calm. 
I don't go looking for conflict, Fleur. I just ask myself these 
questions for a test. Oh my, I have rambled, haven't I?"

"A bit," she grumbled carelessly.

"That's not like me," she murmured, smiling thinly. "Usually I show only 
the mildest signs and subtlest feelings. You can see the mirror, yes, 
but you can't see through it. But that's me in a nutshell. I'm not so 
hard to figure out once you accept the fact that I'm a preening woman 
that's never satisfied with herself."

"You and Lauren don't seem like the type to strike up a friendship," 
Fleur said suddenly.

"Oh yes, her," she giggled darkly. "Lauren my friend. We met so long 
ago. She respects me enough to fancy me a rival, but really, I don't 
care if she's better than me at academics. I don't care. She has 
embraced me for exactly what I am, and that's why I keep her so near. It 
really doesn't matter what else makes up a person, so long as they can 
love you completely."

"So sleep with her," Fleur gestured lazily.

"It's not that kind of love," Arina answered sagely. She checked her 
watch and sighed. "I got a lot off my chest today, thanks to the 
miraculous phenomenon of confessing to perfect strangers. I'd say that 
was Mr. Proctor's goal from the start. So, doctor Lacroix, can I be 
cured?" Fleur sat up and gave Arina an even stare.

"You seem comfortable with who you are, so just go with that. I suppose 
I could grow to like you in time, but only because you're realistic with 
yourself. I'm a little offended that you believe life should be fair, 
but on the whole, a decently complicated person. Ugh, now I have to 
regurgitate all of my little problems."

"There's no rush," Arina answered, hopping off the bleachers. "Let's 
continue this some other time. Neither one of us can afford to let our 
hygiene suffer anymore."

"You got that right," Fleur grimaced. Most of the other women had 
already left by the time they stepped into the showers, but Shannon was 
still there, as was her custom, so the three of them struck up a fair 
conversation and ended the day on a good note- or as good as people like 
Fleur and Arina can make it.

"Let's meet again on Wednesday," Fleur suggested as they walked to their 
cars, "unless you're going to that ridiculous video game thing at 
Parody."

"No, Wednesday is good for me. Why not Tuesday?"

"I'm taking some of my friends to that nightclub. I think I'm having a 
strong influence on their sexuality." She grinned cruelly, but Arina 
wasn't fazed.

"Fine. It'll give me a good chance to catch up on a few important 
matters. So, Wednesday it is, then. Do try and attend."

"I'm a lady of my word," she swore quietly, raising her hand to wave her 
off.

 

- Nadia Khovansky, Russian, 115 lbs (52.2 kg), defensive midfielder-

 

Obviously Mayu Takeya had not traveled all that way just to squeak a few 
words to her best friend and bask in her presence: she wanted to talk to 
Terra in private, and suggested that they go somewhere to spend a few 
minutes alone. The guys all gave them peculiar looks, some of them 
muttering suggestively under their breaths, but Terra and Mayu ignored 
them. Nobody would be at the soccer field, so once they paid their bill 
and waved goodbye to Nadia and Felicity, the two girls took a walk. It 
was a nice, slow day, so they weren't in any hurry.

"You haven't changed at all," Mayu said, nudging her friend. "You're 
still bipolar."

"Ah, but I have changed. I'm not restricted anymore by my idiot 
family...and what do you mean, bipolar?"

"You're shy around strangers and bouncy around us," she grinned.

"That's not bipolar, just human nature. Of course I'm not going to be 
the life of the party around people I don't know. That would scare them 
away."

"You never scared me away." Mayu took a deep breath and hoped Terra 
wouldn't misinterpret that. She didn't dare tell her that she adored 
both sides of her personality; there was enough of a rift between them.

"Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough!" Terra exclaimed. She raised her 
arms and growled, chasing after Mayu as they crossed the street. They 
were both in good enough shape to walk to the field, and with the 
weather cooling down, they didn't have to worry about getting all 
sweaty. They sat down on the bleachers when they arrived, slipping in 
and out of small-talk, updating each other about the little things they 
had gone through since graduation.

"...and I did try to get it published, but that only led to a dead-end. 
I'm working at a call center now, but it's not so bad since I can walk 
there and the pay's decent. Just a word of warning, though: don't try 
selling your plasma unless you're desperate. It hurts like hell."

"I'll keep that in mind," Terra winced. "Jeez, maybe you should just 
take my job instead, and I can transfer to Mirage, but that sounds like 
one hell of a commute."

"I won't stay there forever. I'm actually going to transfer soon; I just 
have to wait out my two weeks."

"Oh, that sounds cool. Where will you be going after that?"

"It's a data entry job- sort of like what I have now, but a little more 
challenging and a lot fewer irate customers."

"I'll bet. Still, you should check out Parody on Wednesday night. 
Robin's got a load of games."

"Sounds tempting," she grinned. "Now what's this thing on Tuesdays for 
girls only?"

"Uh, yeah, Robin sort of took me to this nightclub last week, 
and...well, it's sort of exclusive. They, uh, had this special thing for 
Tuesday."

"Oh? What sort of special? Your vague responses make me interested."

"As well they should, my dear!" she exclaimed wildly. "To stop beating 
around the bush, it's a lesbian nightclub, and...Tuesdays you get to 
take your shirt off."

"Oh my god!" Mayu laughed. "Oh, Thuy, that little kiss brought about so 
many repercussions! So did you do that?"

"No!!" she shouted defensively. "And I'm not gay, Mayu. I mean...okay, 
I'll admit it, but only because you're my friend: I am sort of curious, 
and yes, it does have something to do with our little 'exchange'. There, 
ego satisfied?"

"Quite," she squeaked. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"Go ahead and tell the guys," she grumbled. Mayu scooted closer and put 
her hand over Terra's.

"Thuy, I'm serious, I really won't tell. People just found out about 
that last incident."

"Mayu, it's cool. Really, I'm over it." That seemed to be the end of it, 
then. Mayu edged even closer and looked into Terra's face, trying to 
discern what she was thinking.

"Would you kiss me again?" she wondered. "Umm, hypothetically speaking, 
of course."

"I told you I'm not gay," she muttered.

"But you did say you were curious."

"And you said you'd keep that in confidence."

"Right. I'm just asking." Terra thought about it some more; it had been 
on her mind a lot ever since she parted with her closest friend. Now 
that mother and father weren't breathing down her neck, what harm would 
it do? She smiled sadly at Mayu- not because she felt sorry, but because 
she knew their second kiss would only lead to heartbreak. They would 
have to go their separate ways eventually.

"Yeah," she admitted, as she leaned in close. "But only because you keep 
twisting my arm."

Hopefully now, there would be no more regrets.

 

- Lauren Ofdensen, American, 140 lbs (63.6 kg), goalie/reserve-

 

Elisa had been inside the Lily Club before, but only to watch those 
movies on Saturday night; she never came during the day. It was much 
more spacious and laid-back than she envisioned, and the staff seemed 
friendlier now that they weren't being pulled in fifteen directions. 
Robin waved at her (apparently she was taking another extended lunch 
break), and Gardenia greeted her as well. Elisa smiled at them as she 
searched for Nadia; the spirited blonde was entertaining Terra at a 
table.

"Okay, so doctor is walking through hospital and nurse sees...what is 
word?"

"Thermometer," Robin said.

"Yes! Thermometer! Nurse sees thermometer in his ear. She iz saying, 
'Doctor, you have rectal thermometer in ear.' He take it out and say, 
'Then some asshole must have pencil!'" Several eavesdroppers snickered 
and laughed out loud; Terra just grinned. Robin smiled proudly to 
herself: after all, she had taught Nadia that joke.

"Um, hello," Elisa said, meekly curtsying. Nadia beamed at her and ran 
out to hug her. Elisa was flushed, but happy: very few people greeted 
her so warmly. Nadia even gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Oh my, you're 
being very friendly this evening!"

"Yes, I have happies all over the place. Come, sit, make comfort. Nana 
is here buzy being flirty."

"She's one heck of a cradle-robber," Terra commented, indicating the 
dance floor. A fairly striking Russian in her early sixties was dancing 
and grinding on the floor with Odessa. Several people were whistling and 
clapping at them, and a few were even waiting for their turn with 
Nadia's energetic grandmother. Elisa's eyes bulged.

"Uh...are you sure that's your grandmother, Nadia?"

"Definitely," she deadpanned. "Of course, I am taking after her 
sometimes. What will you be having for supper? Nana iz the paying of 
bill."

"Oh, nothing extravagant. Whatever today's special is."

"Excellent choice!" Gardenia smiled. "How about some strawberry 
shortcake to go along with that?"

"That sounds lovely!" she exclaimed. "Wait- strawberry shortcake?" 
Kemper nodded.

"With extra strawberries and whipped cream. Babushka's favorite." Elisa 
glanced over at the older woman, glanced at Nadia, and felt her face 
turning deep crimson.

"Nana haz good taste," Nadia coughed. Eventually, the old fireball quit 
dancing and came back to her table, where Nadia had been waiting 
patiently. What could she do, Nana was a player and a lady-killer; she's 
probably never settle down. She and Nadia hugged each other powerfully 
before introductions were made.

"Eleeza Berkeley, this iz my babushka, Svetlana. Nana, this iz Eleeza, 
very pretty woman who I would like for girlfriend."

"Pleased to meet you," she stated courteously. Svetlana peered at her 
questionably.

"[Well, she is very beautiful, but I thought you said she's fluent in 
Russian, Nadia!]"

"[Uh, I am, Mrs. Khovansky! If you'd prefer, we can just talk like 
this.]"

"[Ah, there we go!]" she exclaimed. "[Wonderful, wonderful! Well, let's 
get down to business, shall we? What sort of income do you possess, and 
how long have you been holding your job?]"

"(Nana always beginz with the money questions,)" Nadia whispered. "(Once 
I had unemployed girlfriend, and she made us break up right on spot!)"

"Oh, mercy," Elisa whispered. She cleared her throat and prepared for a 
long interrogation: "[Well, I've been working at the school library for 
three years, and I have a summer job at Borders when the school is 
closed. My family's also reasonably well-off, so I've never had to worry 
about money.]"

"[Ah, but are you generous or stingy with your wealth?]"

"[Oh, generous, absolutely. You can't take it with you, so you may as 
well use it to help other people.]"

"Good answer," she smiled in English. She had a melodic, strong voice 
that invoked images of fierce ballerinas and willful Stalin-era 
revolutionaries. With her energy and beauty, Svetlana could pass for a 
woman fifteen years her junior. One after another, Svetlana peppered 
Elisa with questions, and patiently recorded every answer in her mind. 
She was testing her, poking and prodding to see if Elisa was good enough 
for her granddaughter. It was an exhausting inquisition, and very few 
people passed Svetlana's scrutiny.

"[What are you majoring in school? What sort of diet do you follow? What 
are your living conditions like? Can you drive? What are your hobbies? 
Name five of your greatest influences. What sort of books do you read? 
Who is your favorite musician? What sort of family do you have- and are 
you close to them? Have you ever had sex before? Have you ever dated 
another girl? How long have you and Nadia known each other? What's your 
blood type? Are those real?]"

"[Honestly, babushka, do you have to ask that question every time?]"

"[I don't want my only grandchild dating a woman with false pretenses.]" 
Elisa tried to clear the red from her face as she prepared for another 
round of questioning. Of course they were real...

Once the Q and A section was over, they ate dinner together and finally 
started to chatter like normal people. But when everyone was finished 
eating, Svetlana went back to business, and asked Elisa to stand up. She 
nervously obeyed, and waited patiently as the older woman circled her, 
studying her body intensely. Nadia looked perfectly at ease and smiled 
at Elisa whenever their eyes met- this seemed like a normal part of the 
process. Svetlana asked Elisa to take her shoes and socks off, show her 
teeth and nails, and read aloud a section of a Russian newspaper. Then 
she squeezed Elisa's tummy to determine her body fat (which was very 
low), checked for lice and dandruff (humiliating but necessary), and 
even cupped her breasts.

"[Nana, really, show some restraint!!]"

"[Just making sure,]" she answered. Her hands were gentle and 
professional, but Elisa still felt embarrassed (at least all this was 
done in private). After checking everything from her driver's license to 
her armpits, Svetlana was finally satisfied with her studies and gave 
her diagnosis.

"[I'm very impressed- and a little jealous!]" she laughed. "[You've 
caught one of the finest ladies I've ever seen, Nadia! Where did you 
pull her from, anyway? It's too bad she doesn't have a relative that's 
single!]"

"(A one-track mind, that one,)" Nadia whispered. Elisa was startled with 
the results.

"[Thank you, ma'am. I'm glad I was able to meet your expectations.]"

"[Well, you're not perfect, and none of Nadia's girlfriends have ever 
gotten anything over a 92. You're very unsure of yourself and very 
belittling, but I suppose humility is better than pride. I also wouldn't 
call you a great athlete, but you're in better shape than most women 
I've met, and maybe it's time Nadia gets a cultured girl for once. You 
certainly have that covered. With that said, my final judgment...drum 
roll please!]" Nadia lamely rattled her hands on her belly as her silly 
grandmother waited for the suspense to build.

"[I give you...a ninety-three out of a hundred! And that's the highest 
anyone's ever gotten! You've really outdone yourself, Nadia!]" Nadia let 
out a yawp and tackled Elisa with a big hug, nearly bowling her over. 
Svetlana gave them her blessing and, with all that stuffy business out 
of the way, went back to dancing with Odessa. Elisa felt a great relief 
wash over her as Nadia cuddled close, and smiled at her victoriously.

"Well, that was an experience. Your Nana certainly is a colorful 
character, but I'm glad we have her blessings. We...are a couple, aren't 
we?"

"Yes, and I am very, very happy for it."

"So tomorrow we'll reap the benefits."

"And then we go to the In Out place for bouncy bouncies!" The two women 
grinned at each other, and in that moment, Elisa felt an overwhelming 
desire to kiss her new girlfriend- one even more powerful than the 
first. She placed her lips on Nadia's cheek, held them there, drew back- 
and was caught off guard as a very happy Russian kissed her deeply on 
the mouth.

 

When the day ended, their first practice game drew that much closer.

Onwards to Part 22


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