Valo emerged from the bathroom, her face white. Grant looked up from the computer, a frown of concern on his face. Valo made a face in response and said, “Want the edited or unedited version?”

“Whichever you’d prefer,” Grant replied slowly.

“Short version is that I need to make a doctor’s appointment within the next week or two. Long version is that I need to yell at my doctor to tell her this dosage is no longer working and that I need it upped,” Valo responded, rolling her eyes. “I swear, if I ever am diagnosed with anemia, you’ll know why. And you know, they could easily end all this. Just send me into surgery. But because I’m young and might actually want kids later on-- yeah, right-- they refuse to do that, unless it’s a life or death type thing.”

She groaned and flopped onto the bed. “Grant, be grateful you’re not a woman. You don’t have to deal with this kind of crap,” she muttered, pulling the blanket around herself.

“Do you want me to get you something? Food? Water? Medicine?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I mean, aside from the obvious.”



“Okay,” Cy said, shaking her head. “How many days has it been this time?”

“Uh…” Ophelia said slowly, thinking. “I’ve been up since… um… Friday morning. What’s today?”

“It’s Saturday. And it’s really obvious you’re sleep-deprived, Lia,” Cy scolded. “Your pupils… and you’re acting like you’re doped up. What possessed you to pull an all-nighter? Especially after the crazy fortune teller crap yesterday.”

Ophelia grinned broadly at Cy. “That’s what I came here for,” she said. “I have some Tales From the Crypt DVDs. Second and third season. I was up all night watching them.”

Cy’s scolding expression changed to a delighted one. “Really? Are you serious?” she asked.

“Yeah, I have them in the car.”

“…You drove, in your condition?!”

“Yeah.”

“I swear, one of these days, you’re going to get into an accident doing that kind of thing.”

“Look, you want to watch the DVDs or chew me out?”

“Good point,” Cy nodded. “We’ll watch the DVDs, and then I’ll finish yelling at you.”


“So, yeah,” Tacita said, sipping her coffee. “That fortune teller told Jade a little too much, and now she knows about the whole Mark thing.”

“Mm,” Graham replied, as noncommittally as possible. “So, she was involved with that Mark guy?”

“Yeah. No idea why,” Tacita shrugged. “I mean, the guy’s good for a roll in the hay. That’s about it. Not to be vulgar or anything like that.”

“Of course not.”

“Just saying, Jade’s a good-looking girl. I don’t get why she would waste her time with someone like Mark. She needs someone like you.”

“Yeah, try convincing her about that.”

“Not likely to work,” Tacita said, shrugging. “Ever since she found out, it’s like Mark and I are like Public Enemy #1 and Public Enemy #2.”

“So, why do you waste your time with him?”

Tacita set her coffee mug down and said, “Because I managed to run off all the decent guys. That, or I gave them up to the women they really loved.” She rose and patted Graham’s shoulder. “Hang in there. You’re a good guy.”

“It doesn’t seem like that counts for much these days,” Graham responded bitterly.

“Trust me on this. You remind me of this other guy I know. He had this huge crush on this chick for pretty much his whole life, and she’s only recently become aware of it. Oh, and she’s dating the biggest jerk ever. If I could get her away from that jerk, things would be fine, but…” Tacita sighed. “The way things are looking, you’ll have better luck with Jade. And I want you to have good luck with her.”

Graham smiled and replied, “Tacita, don’t think so badly of yourself. You deserve as much happiness as anyone else. Don’t settle for less than what you deserve.”


“I think I’ll get my usual-- burger, fries, and Coke,” Louie mused aloud. “And I guess you’ll want your usual? Salad, no dressing, with an unsweetened iced tea, extra lemon. Right?”

Emily shook her head. “No,” she said, quietly but firmly. “Coke, and an order of fries.”

“Really?” Louie asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Yeah.”

With a nod, Louie hurried over to the counter to order their food. As they settled down to eat, Louie spoke up. “I’m glad you ordered, you know, some real food. I was getting worried.”

Emily smiled wanly and responded, “No need to worry. I was just… going through a rough patch. That’s all.”

“Yeah, but ever since the Clique News Crash group got back together, it’s like you’ve been afraid of eating that might actually taste good.”

“Let’s just say it was my way of dealing with a really bad experience. I’m fine. Really.”

“Does it have to do with that big party I heard Tiffani and Ophelia talking about?”

“Something like that.”


“Why are you so worried?” Tiffani asked.

“I got up early this morning, and… Tiff, she looked really bad,” AJ replied.

“She looks fine to me,” Tiffani said, shrugging.

“Tiff, ever since that party, she’s been… I don’t know. Changed.”

“Speaking of that party, when are you going to tell me the truth about what happened between you and Ophelia?”

AJ sighed and responded irritably, “I told you before, nothing happened. I came in, thought the room was empty, turned out someone-- Ophelia-- was crying her eyes out in there. I talked to her until she was calm, turned on the light, and saw it was Ophelia.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth. Ask Ophelia.”

“She’ll just agree with you. You two have been fooling around behind my back.”

“No, I swear, you’re the only--”

“You’ve always liked her better,” Tiffani snapped. “Well, I’ll give you plenty of time to go after her. We’re finished!”


“Are you sure you put it there?” Angela asked, stretching.

“Positive,” Dunstan replied, opening yet another drawer and yanking out its contents.

“I just don’t see how you could have lost a gun,” Angela sighed. “That’s so careless of you.”

“I know. I could have sworn I put it in one of these drawers. It was in here the other day…”

“I’m sure it’ll turn up,” Angela said, shrugging. “These things always do. So, have you given my idea any further thought?”

Dunstan groaned and turned to face her. “Look, I’m not doing it,” he said. “It’s crazy, and you know Charise is going to figure out what’s going on.”

“No, she won’t,” Angela disagreed. “Look, think of it as securing your legacy.”

“Where the hell do you get these ideas from?” Dunstan asked.

Angela smiled angelically and responded, “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. From my perspective, there’s no downside. At least, not for me.”

“Yeah, but if I refuse, I’m seriously boned. And if I’m found out, I’m going to be in serious trouble.”

“Look,” Angela said firmly, “I’ll give you about two weeks to agree to this.”

“Yeah, and what are you going to do to make sure I agree?”

Angela smiled, but did not respond.