Uncertainty
by Phantasy Star
--------------------
Part One: Coward
PROLOGUE
It was a dark, winter night.
In one of the only quiet parts of downtown, a girl dressed surprisingly lightly
in this cold weather walked quickly, eyes filled with worry. She was a stunningly
pretty girl, but she didn't seem to revel in this fact at the moment. She stopped
every few moments to frown or to sigh. Coming to an intersection, she waited, head
down, for the bright coloured figure to replace the red hand.
A moment later, she stepped off the curb and onto the street. Suddenly, a car came
up with horrifying speed, stopping only a few inches from her, with a loud braking
screech. She shut her eyes tightly in fear.
A few seconds later - "Miss?"
She turned slowly to look at the driver of the car that had nearly run her over.
He was an attractive fellow, and she noticed an air around him that only movie stars
seemed to have. That reserved, aristocratic look.
"You all right?" the young man asked, leaning out of the driver's window.
She took a deep breath.
"Sorry about that," he said, "I was in a hurry. Shouldn't have tried running that
red light."
To the fellow's horror, the girl's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
"I just lost my job, I'm tired, I'm hungry," the girl said, "and now some crazy
guy's trying to run me over!"
The gentleman looked shock, then uncomfortable, "Well, like I said, I'm sorry.
I didn't-"
"I don't even have a place to stay the night," the girl said, sniffling, "Maybe
it would have been better if you had run me over."
By now, a crowd had gathered to watch what seemed like a couple in a fierce
argument. The gentleman realized that he was still in the middle of the
intersection, and cars were sounding their horns impatiently around him.
With all of his dignity and movie-star air gone, the young man mumbled his
apology one more time and fled, before the girl could make a bigger scene.
The girl looked around nervously and then continued quickly down the crosswalk.
Finally reaching her destination, she came to a coffee shop and went inside.
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
I stepped on the brake pedal and slowly came to a halt before the red light.
I could have made it, probably, but I wasn't going to take my chances anymore.
Not after yesterday.
You never know when crazy blondes jump on to the crosswalk without watching out
for cars.
I finally arrived at the charming little coffee shop my best friend owned
downtown. My friend Andrew was the type of guy that everyone liked. His
optimistic view on life seemed to brighten everyone's day somehow. Probably
the reason people kept coming back to his shop. And the good coffee.
"Hey, Darien, didn't see you come in. Here," he said, putting my coffee
on the table, "Hope this hasn't gone cold. Made this fifteen minutes ago, where
were you?"
"Traffic," I answered.
I gratefully put my hands around the cup and let it warm me up.
"Hurry up," Andrew said, "I want to go home."
I decided to take my time drinking.
In the car, Andrew was strangely silent for a while, looking like he was in deep
thought. Finally, when we were almost back to the place we rented, he spoke up,
"Darien, you know how you've always said you're bored?"
Not sure why he brought it up, I answered, "Yeah, sure. Nothing exciting really
happens to us."
"Hmm, I don't mean it that way. I mean, you know how you say our apartment is
boring? We've been living in the same place for four years in a row!"
"Uh-huh," I nodded.
He didn't want to move, did he?
By now, we had reached the parking lot of our apartment building.
"Wouldn't it be fun if someone moved in with us for a change?"
I stopped the car, "What?"
"Okay, Darien, I really need a favour."
I sighed, "What is it?"
"You remember my little sister?"
"Vaguely. The cosmetic specialist?" I said, chuckling.
"Yeah, so you know her, right? Well, what happened was, she got fired from that
department store on the other side of town where she was working."
"And?"
"She's out of money. She can't afford that townhouse she rents anymore."
"Yeah, so what does that have to--"
Then I figured it out, "No way, Andrew. Are you insane? Our apartment is small
enough already!"
"She's just a little girl! You won't even notice her, I'm serious."
"There's no way I'm going to live with a girl."
"You'll be paying less rent..."
Hmm, tempting...
But no.
"I've done some pretty strange things for you, Andrew, but not this time."
He crossed his arms, looking upset.
"Well, then, you explain it to her," he said suddenly, "You tell her to sleep in
the streets. You tell her she has to move all her things back out."
"Excuse me?"
CHAPTER TWO
Over the six years we've known each other, Andrew has done some pretty weird
things to me. And vice versa, I guess. But somehow, we've always got past
these petty differences and move on with our friendship.
That was not happening today.
"Tell her to move out? Does that mean that she's already moved in?"
"She doesn't have a place to stay, Darien. Do you think I would let my own
sister sleep on the streets? My own sister. My own poor sister!"
He finished that last part dramatically.
I was not amused.
"It'll be only for a few days, Darien," Andrew said seriously, "I promise."
I didn't say anything, and it seemed to scare him.
I silently parked the car and got out.
"Darien? Darien?"
I was still quiet in the elevator.
"Listen, man, I'm sorry. But it's really not that bad. Just a few days, top."
I sighed, not knowing what to do.
I looked at him, "Two days, and then she's out."
He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, "Yes sir."
I opened our apartment door and froze in shock.
Crazy girl alert.
CHAPTER THREE
"Darien, Serena. Serena, Darien."
I extended my hand, and discovered that I was shaking. Two things intimidated me.
One was broccoli, and the other was crazy girls.
She was the girl I met on the street last night!
Little girl, yeah right. She looked only a few years younger than we were.
She looked at me questioningly, like she was looking at a suspect in a murder, "Do
I know you?"
I shook my head quickly, "No, you don't."
"Hmm," she said slowly, then she gasped.
"You're that freak who nearly run me over with your car!"
I winced, "Oh, yeah, now I remember..."
She looked at her big brother Andrew, and pointed at me accusingly, "The day I came
to you for help, he nearly killed me on the street! Then he didn't even stop to ask
me if I was okay, he just left!"
"I did ask you if you were okay," I said defensively (this girl was completely irrational!),
"I apologized, twice, at least-"
She seemed to have already developed the habit of interrupting me, "I can't live here,
Andrew! You said your roommate was really nice, but he, he..."
Andrew silenced her, "Serena, I'm sure that it was only an accident. Darien's a nice
person, really. You two will get along fine. Darien, maybe you should apologize to her."
What? Apologize? Again?
Maybe she should be saying sorry to me for making a spectacle out of the both of us!
I shook my head, "Why should I apologize?"
I regretted my words right after they left my mouth. Two pair of blue eyes turned
immediately to glare at me with pure hatred.
I gulped.
"All right, I'm sorry, um, whatever your name was."
Her features seemed to soften a little, and I saw, again, the pretty face that she
hid so often with frowns and scowls.
"It's Serena," she said, "It's okay. I mean, I guess we should start off on good terms.
After all, I'll be living here until I find a job, and you're letting me stay here for
free until I have a fixed income... So I should be grateful to you..."
For free? But didn't Andrew say...
He looked at me pleadingly, so I kept my mouth shut.
And that was how I met Serena, and how life suddenly became more interesting.
And scary.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, I stepped on Andrew when I got out of bed.
He had dragged his sleeping bag into my room so that Serena could have his old room
all to herself.
He mumbled something angrily, then went back to sleep. It was a Saturday, the only
day in the week when I get to wake up at ten. If Serena was anything like Andrew, she
wouldn't be up till noon. I decided it was the perfect time to get a little time alone.
I opened my bedroom door to be greeted by smells of bacon and egg, and the sight of
Serena rummaging through our kitchen drawers.
"Good morning, Darien!" Serena said cheerfully, turning around, as if we were the best
of friends, "I made breakfast! Isn't Andrew up yet?"
I shook my head, still shocked at the sight of her in her bunny pyjamas and Garfield
slippers. Then I noticed how I must have looked and escaped to the bathroom to get
washed and dressed up.
Oh, horror! My precious, clean bathroom has been invaded!
The counter was lined with bottles, soaps, and unknown substances as far as the eye
could see! Meanwhile, my old toiletry were no where to be found.
"What happened to everything?" I cried frantically.
She came in quickly, "Oh, I got everything replaced. No wonder your hair looks like
wires! You've been using all the wrong shampoo."
Then she picked up a bottle filled with lime-green liquid.
"This," she said wisely, "This is the shampoo you should be using."
I stared.
"Where did you get all these?" I blurted out.
"Got'em this morning. Thought I'd get up early and do you guys a favour."
"No, I mean, how did you get these? I thought you were out of money."
She laughed, as if I had asked a stupid question, "These are samples! Can't you tell
how small the bottles are?"
"Oh."
"Well, I'm going to finish fixing breakfast. You go ahead and do your thing in here"
I nodded dumbly. I think I was blushing.
Serena was going to take some getting used to.
* * *
The next few weeks went by pretty quickly. Andrew and I got accustomed to having a
new roommate.
And I had to admit, my hair was a lot better with that new shampoo.
It was about two weeks after her arrival that I found out Serena really wasn't that
bad. She made all our meals, probably because of all the extra time she had,
considering that she was jobless. Her cooking was pretty impressive, compared to
our old diet of pure canned foods.
After a month or so, I think it was safe to say we were semi-good friends. But
somehow, we still bickered a lot. I had a constant urge to make fun of her all
the time, probably because of her eccentric behaviour.
One night, when I came home alone from a meeting on a bridge-building project, I
found her standing in the middle of the room playing a violin. She didn't notice
that I had come in, and I waited outside. It was beautiful music, really.
The cynical side of me wondered how she afforded the violin, but decided to dismiss
the thought.
She seemed embarrassed when I asked her about her music, so I didn't bring it up again.
CHAPTER FIVE
"Anyway, I think we're all clear on the project? In that case, meeting adjourned."
I groaned. It was just like my boss to make my job much more interesting.
I worked as a computer software programmer. The job is usually not a very interesting
one, that is, if you worked under anyone but my boss.
Mr. Tin was looking for someone to become the new assistant supervisor (the last one
had a bungee-jumping freak accident, apparently) and he decided that the best way to
determine the best candidate was through a competition.
By the end of June, everyone was to turn in a computer game, which wasn't my field
anyway. The one to turn in the best game - in his opinion, that is - would get the
promotion.
Not having much knowledge about computer games, I had little chance.
On the way home that night, I went to the closest Electronic Boutique and went to the
games section. I decided that I would buy a few to get an idea of how computer games
were like nowadays.
My jaws dropped. The prices were insane! I could probably afford ten games maximum
with all of my life savings.
Leaving the store, I found the nearest counterfeit CDs store instead, and picked out
several purchases. RPG's, strategy games, action games, whatever I could find.
When I got out of the store, I looked around quickly to see if anyone I knew saw me
doing something so morally wrong. Then I headed home.
* * *
"I didn't know you were interested in computer games," Serena said, "Aren't you a little
old for them?"
"No, it's for work," I muttered, trying to defeat the "demon boss" I was fighting in
the game, "Want to help?"
"Sure," she said happily, "How do you play?"
I read out loud the instructions while she took over the keyboard. I stared wide-eyed
while she got through the entire game with ease.
"Hmm, I got 483230. Is that good?"
That was ten times as much as I ever got!
But I wasn't about to admit that a girl beat me.
"It's okay," I replied, "Good for a beginner."
It was true.
"Now, I have to get to work," I said, "Go organize your make-up kits or something,
will you?"
She scowled, "For your information, I have lots of important things to do, better than
to play computer games with an immature twenty-four-year-old."
Then she stormed off into her room.
And I grabbed the controls to try again, determined to beat her score.
I frowned when the words "Game Over" flashed across the screen.
CHAPTER SIX
A month later, when I arrived at the coffee shop to pick Andrew up, he told me
Serena wanted to meet us at a restaurant downtown, and that she had important news.
We arrived at the restaurant to find a beaming Serena, all dressed up.
"So, what's the big deal?" I asked, "Did you discover a new perfume or something?"
She glowered at me, then whispered excitedly, "I got a job!"
It was hard not to be happy for her, when she was so happy herself.
"That's great, sis!" Andrew exclaimed, "I'm so proud of you."
"So what is it?" I asked, "McDonald's?"
She hit my arm, hard.
"It's not really a job," she admitted, "My old violin teacher called me a few days
ago. He said he was doing some tours in the United States and parts of Canada. And
he wants me to go with him!"
While she continued to talk excitedly about all the people she will have a chance
to meet and all the places she'll get to see, I couldn't help but to wonder selfishly
how long the trips were going to be. Who was going to clean and cook in the apartment?
And keep me company while I was working at home...?
"So, how long will you be gone every time?" Andrew asked. (Andrew and I are
telepathically linked.)
"About a month... But... even after I come back, I don't think I'll be living with you
guys anymore. Remember how I said I would leave once I get a job?"
Finally! My own room again!
"Took you long enough," I said jokingly.
She scowled, "You're a jerk, Darien, but thanks anyway for letting me stay for
the last few months. It's been fun."
I grinned.
by Phantasy Star
--------------------
Part One: Coward
PROLOGUE
It was a dark, winter night.
In one of the only quiet parts of downtown, a girl dressed surprisingly lightly
in this cold weather walked quickly, eyes filled with worry. She was a stunningly
pretty girl, but she didn't seem to revel in this fact at the moment. She stopped
every few moments to frown or to sigh. Coming to an intersection, she waited, head
down, for the bright coloured figure to replace the red hand.
A moment later, she stepped off the curb and onto the street. Suddenly, a car came
up with horrifying speed, stopping only a few inches from her, with a loud braking
screech. She shut her eyes tightly in fear.
A few seconds later - "Miss?"
She turned slowly to look at the driver of the car that had nearly run her over.
He was an attractive fellow, and she noticed an air around him that only movie stars
seemed to have. That reserved, aristocratic look.
"You all right?" the young man asked, leaning out of the driver's window.
She took a deep breath.
"Sorry about that," he said, "I was in a hurry. Shouldn't have tried running that
red light."
To the fellow's horror, the girl's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
"I just lost my job, I'm tired, I'm hungry," the girl said, "and now some crazy
guy's trying to run me over!"
The gentleman looked shock, then uncomfortable, "Well, like I said, I'm sorry.
I didn't-"
"I don't even have a place to stay the night," the girl said, sniffling, "Maybe
it would have been better if you had run me over."
By now, a crowd had gathered to watch what seemed like a couple in a fierce
argument. The gentleman realized that he was still in the middle of the
intersection, and cars were sounding their horns impatiently around him.
With all of his dignity and movie-star air gone, the young man mumbled his
apology one more time and fled, before the girl could make a bigger scene.
The girl looked around nervously and then continued quickly down the crosswalk.
Finally reaching her destination, she came to a coffee shop and went inside.
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
I stepped on the brake pedal and slowly came to a halt before the red light.
I could have made it, probably, but I wasn't going to take my chances anymore.
Not after yesterday.
You never know when crazy blondes jump on to the crosswalk without watching out
for cars.
I finally arrived at the charming little coffee shop my best friend owned
downtown. My friend Andrew was the type of guy that everyone liked. His
optimistic view on life seemed to brighten everyone's day somehow. Probably
the reason people kept coming back to his shop. And the good coffee.
"Hey, Darien, didn't see you come in. Here," he said, putting my coffee
on the table, "Hope this hasn't gone cold. Made this fifteen minutes ago, where
were you?"
"Traffic," I answered.
I gratefully put my hands around the cup and let it warm me up.
"Hurry up," Andrew said, "I want to go home."
I decided to take my time drinking.
In the car, Andrew was strangely silent for a while, looking like he was in deep
thought. Finally, when we were almost back to the place we rented, he spoke up,
"Darien, you know how you've always said you're bored?"
Not sure why he brought it up, I answered, "Yeah, sure. Nothing exciting really
happens to us."
"Hmm, I don't mean it that way. I mean, you know how you say our apartment is
boring? We've been living in the same place for four years in a row!"
"Uh-huh," I nodded.
He didn't want to move, did he?
By now, we had reached the parking lot of our apartment building.
"Wouldn't it be fun if someone moved in with us for a change?"
I stopped the car, "What?"
"Okay, Darien, I really need a favour."
I sighed, "What is it?"
"You remember my little sister?"
"Vaguely. The cosmetic specialist?" I said, chuckling.
"Yeah, so you know her, right? Well, what happened was, she got fired from that
department store on the other side of town where she was working."
"And?"
"She's out of money. She can't afford that townhouse she rents anymore."
"Yeah, so what does that have to--"
Then I figured it out, "No way, Andrew. Are you insane? Our apartment is small
enough already!"
"She's just a little girl! You won't even notice her, I'm serious."
"There's no way I'm going to live with a girl."
"You'll be paying less rent..."
Hmm, tempting...
But no.
"I've done some pretty strange things for you, Andrew, but not this time."
He crossed his arms, looking upset.
"Well, then, you explain it to her," he said suddenly, "You tell her to sleep in
the streets. You tell her she has to move all her things back out."
"Excuse me?"
CHAPTER TWO
Over the six years we've known each other, Andrew has done some pretty weird
things to me. And vice versa, I guess. But somehow, we've always got past
these petty differences and move on with our friendship.
That was not happening today.
"Tell her to move out? Does that mean that she's already moved in?"
"She doesn't have a place to stay, Darien. Do you think I would let my own
sister sleep on the streets? My own sister. My own poor sister!"
He finished that last part dramatically.
I was not amused.
"It'll be only for a few days, Darien," Andrew said seriously, "I promise."
I didn't say anything, and it seemed to scare him.
I silently parked the car and got out.
"Darien? Darien?"
I was still quiet in the elevator.
"Listen, man, I'm sorry. But it's really not that bad. Just a few days, top."
I sighed, not knowing what to do.
I looked at him, "Two days, and then she's out."
He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, "Yes sir."
I opened our apartment door and froze in shock.
Crazy girl alert.
CHAPTER THREE
"Darien, Serena. Serena, Darien."
I extended my hand, and discovered that I was shaking. Two things intimidated me.
One was broccoli, and the other was crazy girls.
She was the girl I met on the street last night!
Little girl, yeah right. She looked only a few years younger than we were.
She looked at me questioningly, like she was looking at a suspect in a murder, "Do
I know you?"
I shook my head quickly, "No, you don't."
"Hmm," she said slowly, then she gasped.
"You're that freak who nearly run me over with your car!"
I winced, "Oh, yeah, now I remember..."
She looked at her big brother Andrew, and pointed at me accusingly, "The day I came
to you for help, he nearly killed me on the street! Then he didn't even stop to ask
me if I was okay, he just left!"
"I did ask you if you were okay," I said defensively (this girl was completely irrational!),
"I apologized, twice, at least-"
She seemed to have already developed the habit of interrupting me, "I can't live here,
Andrew! You said your roommate was really nice, but he, he..."
Andrew silenced her, "Serena, I'm sure that it was only an accident. Darien's a nice
person, really. You two will get along fine. Darien, maybe you should apologize to her."
What? Apologize? Again?
Maybe she should be saying sorry to me for making a spectacle out of the both of us!
I shook my head, "Why should I apologize?"
I regretted my words right after they left my mouth. Two pair of blue eyes turned
immediately to glare at me with pure hatred.
I gulped.
"All right, I'm sorry, um, whatever your name was."
Her features seemed to soften a little, and I saw, again, the pretty face that she
hid so often with frowns and scowls.
"It's Serena," she said, "It's okay. I mean, I guess we should start off on good terms.
After all, I'll be living here until I find a job, and you're letting me stay here for
free until I have a fixed income... So I should be grateful to you..."
For free? But didn't Andrew say...
He looked at me pleadingly, so I kept my mouth shut.
And that was how I met Serena, and how life suddenly became more interesting.
And scary.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, I stepped on Andrew when I got out of bed.
He had dragged his sleeping bag into my room so that Serena could have his old room
all to herself.
He mumbled something angrily, then went back to sleep. It was a Saturday, the only
day in the week when I get to wake up at ten. If Serena was anything like Andrew, she
wouldn't be up till noon. I decided it was the perfect time to get a little time alone.
I opened my bedroom door to be greeted by smells of bacon and egg, and the sight of
Serena rummaging through our kitchen drawers.
"Good morning, Darien!" Serena said cheerfully, turning around, as if we were the best
of friends, "I made breakfast! Isn't Andrew up yet?"
I shook my head, still shocked at the sight of her in her bunny pyjamas and Garfield
slippers. Then I noticed how I must have looked and escaped to the bathroom to get
washed and dressed up.
Oh, horror! My precious, clean bathroom has been invaded!
The counter was lined with bottles, soaps, and unknown substances as far as the eye
could see! Meanwhile, my old toiletry were no where to be found.
"What happened to everything?" I cried frantically.
She came in quickly, "Oh, I got everything replaced. No wonder your hair looks like
wires! You've been using all the wrong shampoo."
Then she picked up a bottle filled with lime-green liquid.
"This," she said wisely, "This is the shampoo you should be using."
I stared.
"Where did you get all these?" I blurted out.
"Got'em this morning. Thought I'd get up early and do you guys a favour."
"No, I mean, how did you get these? I thought you were out of money."
She laughed, as if I had asked a stupid question, "These are samples! Can't you tell
how small the bottles are?"
"Oh."
"Well, I'm going to finish fixing breakfast. You go ahead and do your thing in here"
I nodded dumbly. I think I was blushing.
Serena was going to take some getting used to.
* * *
The next few weeks went by pretty quickly. Andrew and I got accustomed to having a
new roommate.
And I had to admit, my hair was a lot better with that new shampoo.
It was about two weeks after her arrival that I found out Serena really wasn't that
bad. She made all our meals, probably because of all the extra time she had,
considering that she was jobless. Her cooking was pretty impressive, compared to
our old diet of pure canned foods.
After a month or so, I think it was safe to say we were semi-good friends. But
somehow, we still bickered a lot. I had a constant urge to make fun of her all
the time, probably because of her eccentric behaviour.
One night, when I came home alone from a meeting on a bridge-building project, I
found her standing in the middle of the room playing a violin. She didn't notice
that I had come in, and I waited outside. It was beautiful music, really.
The cynical side of me wondered how she afforded the violin, but decided to dismiss
the thought.
She seemed embarrassed when I asked her about her music, so I didn't bring it up again.
CHAPTER FIVE
"Anyway, I think we're all clear on the project? In that case, meeting adjourned."
I groaned. It was just like my boss to make my job much more interesting.
I worked as a computer software programmer. The job is usually not a very interesting
one, that is, if you worked under anyone but my boss.
Mr. Tin was looking for someone to become the new assistant supervisor (the last one
had a bungee-jumping freak accident, apparently) and he decided that the best way to
determine the best candidate was through a competition.
By the end of June, everyone was to turn in a computer game, which wasn't my field
anyway. The one to turn in the best game - in his opinion, that is - would get the
promotion.
Not having much knowledge about computer games, I had little chance.
On the way home that night, I went to the closest Electronic Boutique and went to the
games section. I decided that I would buy a few to get an idea of how computer games
were like nowadays.
My jaws dropped. The prices were insane! I could probably afford ten games maximum
with all of my life savings.
Leaving the store, I found the nearest counterfeit CDs store instead, and picked out
several purchases. RPG's, strategy games, action games, whatever I could find.
When I got out of the store, I looked around quickly to see if anyone I knew saw me
doing something so morally wrong. Then I headed home.
* * *
"I didn't know you were interested in computer games," Serena said, "Aren't you a little
old for them?"
"No, it's for work," I muttered, trying to defeat the "demon boss" I was fighting in
the game, "Want to help?"
"Sure," she said happily, "How do you play?"
I read out loud the instructions while she took over the keyboard. I stared wide-eyed
while she got through the entire game with ease.
"Hmm, I got 483230. Is that good?"
That was ten times as much as I ever got!
But I wasn't about to admit that a girl beat me.
"It's okay," I replied, "Good for a beginner."
It was true.
"Now, I have to get to work," I said, "Go organize your make-up kits or something,
will you?"
She scowled, "For your information, I have lots of important things to do, better than
to play computer games with an immature twenty-four-year-old."
Then she stormed off into her room.
And I grabbed the controls to try again, determined to beat her score.
I frowned when the words "Game Over" flashed across the screen.
CHAPTER SIX
A month later, when I arrived at the coffee shop to pick Andrew up, he told me
Serena wanted to meet us at a restaurant downtown, and that she had important news.
We arrived at the restaurant to find a beaming Serena, all dressed up.
"So, what's the big deal?" I asked, "Did you discover a new perfume or something?"
She glowered at me, then whispered excitedly, "I got a job!"
It was hard not to be happy for her, when she was so happy herself.
"That's great, sis!" Andrew exclaimed, "I'm so proud of you."
"So what is it?" I asked, "McDonald's?"
She hit my arm, hard.
"It's not really a job," she admitted, "My old violin teacher called me a few days
ago. He said he was doing some tours in the United States and parts of Canada. And
he wants me to go with him!"
While she continued to talk excitedly about all the people she will have a chance
to meet and all the places she'll get to see, I couldn't help but to wonder selfishly
how long the trips were going to be. Who was going to clean and cook in the apartment?
And keep me company while I was working at home...?
"So, how long will you be gone every time?" Andrew asked. (Andrew and I are
telepathically linked.)
"About a month... But... even after I come back, I don't think I'll be living with you
guys anymore. Remember how I said I would leave once I get a job?"
Finally! My own room again!
"Took you long enough," I said jokingly.
She scowled, "You're a jerk, Darien, but thanks anyway for letting me stay for
the last few months. It's been fun."
I grinned.