2. *DING DONG*
“Could you get that?” Mari na asked.
Azula shrugged and moved tow ard the door. “Were w e expecti ng anyone else?”
“Just a couple people I thought mi ght li ke to come and w atch w i th us. One today and a
couple more later i n the w eek.”
“Really? Who?”
“Why don’ t you go fi nd out?”
“Uh, okay.” The blonde shrugged agai n and opened the door to admi t thei r guest.
3. “DOM!” In her exci tement, Azula leaped on the new comer, startli ng hi m. Domi ni c
barely managed to catch her. “I di dn’ t know you w ere comi ng!”
“Surpri se!” he gri nned. “Di d you mi ss me?”
“Of course! I’ m so happy you’ re here!”
4. “How much have I mi ssed?” he asked, setti ng her dow n.
“Not much. I’ ll fi ll you i n w hi le Mari na’ s getti ng everythi ng set up.”
“Sounds good. Oh, and…” Domi ni c glanced over Azula’ s shoulder at Mari na, “I pi cked
up, um, a hi tchhi ker on the w ay here. I hope you guys don’ t mi nd.”
Mari na got up from her seat, frow ni ng. “Who’ d you bri ng? Bi lly?”
“No, but he says he know s you.”
“Huh. Who w ould--”
5. “Oh dear lord. Are you TRYING to send me to an early grave?”
7. “WHAT are you DOING here?”
Rhys Fi tzhugh smi rked at hi s Author’ s flustered state. “You di dn’ t really thi nk you
could keep me aw ay, di d you?”
“You are screw i ng around w i th my ti meli ne unauthori zed, buster! Di d you actually
thi nk I w ouldn’ t have a problem w i th that?”
“Oh, relax. It’ s just a si de project, I’ m not harmi ng anythi ng.”
Mari na studi ed hi m. “You know , I’ ve never seen you thi s cheerful. Bei ng dead must
have done w onders for your anger management i ssues.”
“It w as really bori ng, actually. Guaranteed survi val and nothi ng to plot took all the
exci tement out of li fe. Er, unli fe.”
8. “Oh sure, because ni ce sunny beaches and as much booze and w oohoo as you could ever
w ant i s such a horri ble thi ng. Truly, my heart bleeds for you.”
“Uh, Mari na?” Azula broke i n, looki ng confused. “Who i s thi s?”
Mari na shot a glare at Rhys, w ho smi led i nnocently i n response. “Thi s i s your great-
great-grandfather Rhys, Azula.”
“Isn’ t he dead, though?”
“Oy. Um, remember how I told you Akor and Meloti w ere both from Strangetow n?
Well, they are, but tw o di fferent versi ons of i t. They’ re li ke alternate reali ti es. So
yes, he i s dead i n Si erra Plai ns, but he can be ali ve here.” Azula frow ned. “Okay, look,
I’ ll explai n i t later. You go have fun w i th Dom w hi le I settle thi s.”
9. Deci di ng i t w as probably w i se not to get i n the mi ddle of thi ngs for now , Azula
dragged Domi ni c off to a corner of the room so they could catch up.
Rhys turned hi s most w i nni ng smi le on Mari na. “Come on. You know you’ ve mi ssed
me, and I w ant to see w hat my descendants are getti ng up to. I don’ t even have the
sati sfacti on of haunti ng because I can’ t get i n the house.”
“Oh, all ri ght,” she sai d, crossly. “But you get to help me patch the feed from the
house to the televi si on, because there are w ay too many people to crow d around the
computer now .”
“Why me?”
“Because you’ re good w i th machi nes, and I sai d so.”
10. Whi le they w ere w ai ti ng, Azula and Dom settled on the couch. “Is your fami ly alw ays
li ke thi s?” he asked, amused.
“My ancestors don’ t randomly come back from the dead all the ti me, i f that’ s w hat you
mean,” Azula snorted. “I defi ni tely prefer that to, say, the busi nesses, though.”
“I completely understand. So w hat have I mi ssed?”
“Basi cally Elle’ s been w alki ng around tryi ng not to make a mess of herself i n front of
the guys, and she sent thi s bandana dude named Joss home about an hour ago. Now
she’ s goi ng to have tea w i th three of the guys w ho are left.”
Behi nd her, Rhys let out an i ndi gnant cry. “Tea? What’ s w rong w i th hot tubs?”
“Your great-w hatever-granddaughter’ s shy, okay, she w ouldn’ t be bi g on the sw i msui t
thi ng,” Mari na sai d, and Azula could almost hear the death glare she gave hi m.
11. Rhys sni ffed and sat dow n. “There’ s nothi ng w rong w i th a good old-fashi oned hot tub,”
he muttered, glanci ng over at the snuggli ng couple. “Is that really necessary?”
Azula shot hi m a glare. “I can cuddle w i th my boyfri end i f I darn w ell please,” she
sai d.
Instead of taki ng offense to thi s, Rhys gri nned. “I li ke thi s one,” he called back to
Mari na. “She’ s defi ni tely descended from me.”
“Shut up and w atch the screen, Rhys.”
***
12. Over at the bachelorette house, Elle had just begun to pour the tea w hen she heard
footsteps on the stai rs.
“Hey, i s i t done yet?”
13. “Yeah, come si t dow n,” she sai d, gri nni ng w hen she saw that Li am, Abe, and Ham
w ere approachi ng the table. “So, you guys are the lucky three, huh?”
“There w as a stampede,” Abe sai d, w i th a w i nk. “We had to fi ght the others off w i th
a baseball bat.”
Li am stared at hi m. “Di d you just make a joke?”
“What, am I not allow ed to be funny now ?”
“No, you just…you seem to take everythi ng so seri ously all the ti me.”
“Well, I do have a sense of humor, for your i nformati on. You can’ t grow up i n my
fami ly and not have one.”
14. “You can be as funny as you w ant to, Abe,” Elle sai d, very amused.
“Thank you, Elli e.” He cast a glance at Ham. “Of course, thi s guy w as so eager to get
here w e almost had to i nclude hi m i n the baseball bat treatment.”
Surpri sed, Elle turned to Ham, w ho shrugged, a small blush creepi ng to hi s face. “I
di d say I w ould attempt to spend as much ti me w i th you as possi ble,” he sai d.
She smi led w i dely. “I’ m glad you’ re here, Ham. Okay, everybody grab a cup of tea.”
She looked around at the three men contemplati vely. “I thought, just to break the i ce,
w e could start off w i th a questi on that everybody has to answ er.”
“What ki nd of questi on?” Li am asked.
“Somethi ng really si mple, li ke…favori te color?”
15. “That’ s the best you could do?”
“It’ s a si mple, no-pressure questi on. It’ s not li ke I’ m tryi ng to get you to lay bare
your soul on the second day, I know I’ d be very uncomfortable w i th that.”
“Oh, w ell, w hen you put i t that w ay…”
She spared Li am a glance. “Okay. Favori te color, and w hy. I’ ll start and w e’ ll go
counter-clockw i se, so. Mi ne’ s yellow .”
“Why?”
“I guess I li ke that i t’ s cheerful. I don’ t know , all my clothes have had at least a li ttle
yellow i n them si nce I w as a toddler. It’ s a ni ce color.”
16. The guys nodded i n poli te agreement, and she turned to Ham. “Your turn.”
“Er…w ell, I qui te li ke grey. No nonsense w i th grey, you see.” He ti lted hi s head i n
contemplati on. “Ah, how ever, I do also enjoy several shades of green.”
17. “Abe?”
“Green, defi ni tely,” he sai d, smi li ng. “Because of Chelley.”
“Aw w w , that’ s sw eet.”
He shrugged. “It’ s just true.”
18. “Okay. What about you, Li am?”
“Me? Uh…actually, I’ m not sure I’ ve got one.” He thought about i t for a mi nute. “If I
had to pi ck, I guess i t w ould be somethi ng earthy, li ke brow n, or dark green--”
“Wow , there’ s a lot of green love here,” Abe commented.
“Shut i t, Abe.” Li am looked vaguely annoyed at bei ng i nterrupted, but the tone of voi ce
he used seemed harsher to Elle than hi s feeli ngs on the matter. She’ d noti ced a bi t of
odd male camaraderi e goi ng on betw een Abe and Li am, and really li ked seei ng i t, for
some reason. “Anyw ay, I’ m not that i nto bri ght colors, so…yeah. That’ s my answ er.”
“Okay, that’ s fai r.”
19. They chatted for a w hi le longer, and then Elle stood up. “Okay, I’ m goi ng to go get
somethi ng to eat,” she sai d, “and then I’ m goi ng to come around and have a li ttle one-
on-one ti me w i th everyone, so I’ ll see you guys i n a bi t.” She glanced dow n at Ham,
w ho w as looki ng up expectantly, and added, “Ham, w e already had our one-on-one ti me
earli er because I w as tryi ng to fi gure out w ho to send home, and I’ ve been told I can’ t
gi ve you more because i t w ouldn’ t be fai r to the other guys. Is that okay?”
“Certai nly i t i s,” he sai d, w i th a nod of the head, and i f he w as di sappoi nted, he hi d i t
very w ell.
“Okay. Cool. Bye, then.”
20. After a qui ck snack, she w alked back upstai rs to fi nd four of the guys at the poker
table, deep i n a game of Texas Hold ‘ Em, and hated to di sturb them. “Elli e, you’ ve got
to, sorry,” Mari na sai d, w hen she voi ced that concern. “They’ re here for you, not for
each other, and they can have thei r manly bondi ng ti me later. You don’ t see Li am or
Meloti anyw here, do you?”
“No, they’ re probably taki ng a show er or somethi ng,” Elle sai d reluctantly.
“There you go. Bother Stuart or Akor fi rst si nce they di dn’ t make i t to tea. ”
She si ghed, approached the table, and tapped Stuart on the shoulder to ask for a
moment of hi s ti me.
21. “I’ m sorry to i nterrupt,” she sai d.
“It i s qui te all ri ght. There w i ll be other poker games.” He smi led. “What di d you
w i sh to speak about?”
“Well, I w anted to ask how you’ re doi ng and w hat you thi nk of the house so far.”
“Thank you. I am very w ell and have been enjoyi ng myself exceedi ngly. Thi s i s really
a very comfortable house.”
“It i s, i sn’ t i t? I really li ke i t. I’ ve never li ved anyw here thi s ni ce.”
“Oh, and w here are you from?”
Elle bli nked. “That’ s ri ght, I never di d say. Uh, Si erra Plai ns? It’ s a very long w ay
aw ay from here, and very di fferent.”
22. “Really? In w hat respect?”
“Well, there aren’ t any houses li ke thi s because of the zoni ng law s, for example, so
i t’ s basi cally a bunch of tow ers sti cki ng up from w hat’ s basi cally the mi ddle of
now here. Um, there w as a huge pow er plant di saster generati ons before I w as born,
see, and my fami ly i s ki nd of i n charge of fi xi ng everythi ng that w ent w rong
afterw ard, so there’ s all these really stupi d law s i n place w e’ re w orki ng to get ri d
of.”
“I w i sh you the best of luck,” Stuart sai d. “How long do you thi nk i t w i ll take?”
“I don’ t know . It depends on w hat my si bli ngs and I are able to do and w here that
leaves us after, I guess. But, w ell, enough about that. What’ s Regalton li ke?”
23. “It used to be a patch of land i n the country,” Stuart sai d. “My great-great-
grandfather, Gabri el Legacy, chose to settle there, and si nce hi s ti me i t has become a
proper tow n. I beli eve I told you yesterday that my extended fami ly i s very large.
Most of us li ve i n tow n.”
“That must be ni ce. My cousi ns li ve close by, too.”
“I qui te enjoy havi ng them around, yes. It meant there w ere many bi rthday parti es
w hen I w as grow i ng up, but also plenty of playmates. I could be just as sati sfi ed w i th
my grandfather and brother, though. Our favori te acti vi ty to do together w as play
w i th the electri c trai n. It had i ts ow n table i n the upstai rs.”
Elle gri nned. “That sounds li ke a lot of fun. How bi g w as i t?”
“Let me thi nk…the tracks must have covered a table tw i ce the si ze of the pool table
dow nstai rs.”
24. “That i s one bi g table.”
“Yes, i t w as.” He gri nned at her enthusi asm, and she couldn’ t help gri nni ng back. He
really w as very ni ce, and easy to talk to. She di dn’ t li ke endi ng the conversati on, but
she w anted to talk to all the other guys, too.
“I really need to catch up to some of the others,” she sai d reluctantly. “But I w ant to
hear more about the trai ns later!”
“I w i ll be happy to tell you all about them,” he promi sed, touchi ng her arm bri efly as
she made a move to go i n search of someone else.
25. Elle found Meloti i n the hall, and as he approached her, he smi led and gave her a
thumbs-up. “Hello, Elle.”
“Hey, Meloti ,” she sai d. “What are you up to?”
“I w as on my w ay dow nstai rs to get some di nner, w hy do you ask?”
“Oh, I’ d just li ke to talk to you for a mi nute, i f that’ s okay.”
He nodded. “Certai nly. What w ould you li ke to talk about?”
“I w anted to know how you’ re doi ng, how you li ke the house, i f you’ re settli ng i n w ell
and all.”
“Well, I’ m qui te w ell, thank you. I li ke the house very much, i t’ s tasteful and roomy,
and I’ m very comfortable here.”
26. “I’ m very glad to hear that.”
“Yes, w ell, thank you agai n for aski ng.” A short, aw kw ard si lence ensued. “Was there
anythi ng else?”
“Oh, no,” she sai d, flustered that she had let the conversati on lapse. And I w as doi ng
so w ell! “That w as i t.”
“All ri ght. You’ re w elcome to come dow n and eat w i th me, i f you w ant.”
“I just ate, otherw i se I’ d love to,” she sai d, apologeti cally. “But you go ahead. Don’ t
eat any spoi led turkey.”
He nodded. “I’ ll be sure not to.” And then he left.
27. She got Akor’ s attenti on next and pulled herself together fai rly w ell, keepi ng the
conversati on goi ng even w hen she felt i ncredi bly aw kw ard doi ng so. “So how are you?”
“I’ m great,” he sai d. “Thi s i s a ni ce place.”
“How di d you sleep last ni ght?”
He took a moment to thi nk about hi s answ er. “As w ell as I could have, I guess. The
beds are very ni ce, but you know how i t’ s hard to fall asleep i n a strange bed?”
“It doesn’ t feel ri ght,” Elle agreed. “Even i f i t’ s the ni cest bed i n the w orld.”
Akor laughed. “Well, unless you’ re so ti red your body w on’ t be able to tell the
di fference, but yeah. I slept okay once I got to sleep.”
“That’ s good to hear. So, tell me about Strangetow n.”
28. “Well, I li ke i t, obvi ously, i t’ s my home. It comes by i ts name honestly, though. A lot
of strange thi ngs happen there. For one thi ng, there’ s an old Polli nati on Techni ci an
li vi ng w i th hi s w i fe--”
Elle’ s eyes w ent w i de. “Are you seri ous? A real li ve ali en? The ki nd that fli es around
i n spaceshi ps, not the half-ali ens w e usually see?”
Akor laughed. “There are plenty of those, too, but yes, a real full-blood ali en. He’ s
very old, though, I don’ t thi nk he’ s goi ng to be around much longer.”
“Oh, that’ s sad.”
“Eh. Everybody’ s got thei r ti me. It’ s sad, but i t happens.”
“Yeah, true,” Elle agreed, mi ssi ng the w ay hi s eyes clouded. “What about your fami ly?”
29. “Well, I’ ve got a tw i n brother, Djor, and a younger si ster, Llana, w ho just got
marri ed.” Hi s eyes suddenly li t up w i th amusement. “Djor i s actually doi ng somethi ng
li ke thi s ri ght now . It’ s bei ng televi sed and everythi ng.”
“Talk about coi nci dences,” Elle sai d, amazed. “Do you know how i t came out?”
“Not yet. I’ ve been here. But I’ m sure I’ ll fi nd out next ti me I see hi m.” He gri nned.
“I never really thought of my brother as a TV personali ty, to be honest, so I’ m looki ng
forw ard to that conversati on.”
She laughed. “Si bli ngs. Gotta love ‘ em.”
“Well, someti mes you hate them too, but that’ s besi de the poi nt. What about you?
Have you got any?”
30. “Yeah, an older si ster named Azula and a younger brother named Bi lly w ho are both a
mi lli on ti mes more outgoi ng and personable than I am.” She smi led, but couldn’ t help
feeli ng a li ttle dow ncast, rememberi ng thi s.
“I haven’ t met your si bli ngs, obvi ously,” Akor sai d, “but I don’ t thi nk you’ re half bad
at bei ng personable. Yes, you w ere nervous, but you’ ve done a pretty good job getti ng
around i t.”
She bli nked, and then her smi le shi fted to somethi ng more relaxed. “You’ re a very
ni ce man, Akor. Thank you.”
He nodded i n thanks, gri nni ng. “I happen to thi nk you’ re a very ni ce w oman yourself,
Elle.”
31. After she w as done talki ng w i th Akor, she meandered around the house looki ng for
Abe and Li am and found the latter si tti ng out on the back porch. “Hey,” she greeted
hi m. “I’ m not botheri ng you, am I?”
“Course not,” he sai d qui etly, getti ng up. “Are you done w i th everyone else?”
“Uh, I sti ll have Abe after thi s. Would you rather I talked to hi m fi rst?”
“No, w e can talk now , I w as just curi ous.”
32. “So how are you?”
“I’ m okay. You?”
“I’ m okay too. Sti ll a li ttle overw helmed, but better than yesterday.” She smi led,
though i t took more effort around Li am than the other boys. “How do you li ke i t here?”
Li am pursed hi s li ps i n thought. “It’ s the largest house I’ ve ever li ved i n,” he sai d
fi nally.
“Me, too,” she sai d. “So you’ re i n good company. Wow , that’ s a reli ef, I thought I w as
the only one actually i mpressed by the si ze of thi s house. It ki nda seems li ke all the
others are used to i t, don’ t you thi nk?”
33. “Wai t a mi nute, really?”
Her smi le faltered, but she stubbornly hung on to i t. “Really. Why?”
He looked a bi t confused. “Nothi ng, I just…w ell, I fi gured your fami ly w ould have had
a lot of money i n order for you to be able to do thi s, so I thought--”
“Oh no,” she sai d hasti ly. “I mean, w e do have money but that di dn’ t have anythi ng to
do w i th thi s. A fami ly fri end organi zed i t and asked my si ster to help her. It w asn’ t
even my i dea, they just thought I’ d li ke i t, and w ell a lot of w hat w e have w e can’ t
spend anyw ay because there’ s nothi ng much to get that w e don’ t already have and
now here to put i t anyw ay because of the zoni ng law s, the house i s already full as i t i s
w i th just the basi cs--”
“Whoa, slow dow n,” Li am sai d, laughi ng sli ghtly. “You don’ t have to explai n--”
34. “No, I w ant to,” she sai d. “I don’ t w ant you to thi nk I’ m thi s spoi led ki d w ho’ s doi ng
thi s out of lack of anythi ng better to do. Havi ng money i sn’ t all i t’ s cracked up to be
w here I’ m from. There’ s nothi ng to do w i th i t. The houses are ti ny, so there’ s no
room to put anythi ng anyw ay, and there’ s a lot w e can’ t have besi des because of those
dumb mi li tary law s. People w ho have money are pretty much just li ke everyone else,
except they have a lot put back that they can’ t spend.”
At thi s, Li am got a funny look on hi s face. “That’ s a lot li ke the w ay i t i s w here I’ m
from,” he sai d. “My fami ly’ s house i sn’ t any better than a shack. Thi ngs are mi serable
back there. No clean w ater or electri ci ty, no school for anyone older than ten, the
phone li nes are a mess--”
“That’ s how i t used to be i n Si erra Plai ns,” Elle sai d. “There w as a massi ve pow er
plant di saster generati ons ago. My fami ly’ s tryi ng to make i t better.”
35. “So’ s mi ne,” Li am sai d. “There w as a nuclear acci dent w here I’ m from, too.”
“Where are you from?”
He smi led, bi tterly. “Thi s di sgusti ng sand pi t w e call The Hellmouth. I hated i t and
I’ m never goi ng back.”
Thi s appalled Elle, w ho hadn’ t even consi dered never goi ng back to Si erra Plai ns.
“Never?”
“Never,” he sai d vehemently.
“But w hat about your fami ly? Aren’ t they sti ll there?”
“They can get on w i thout me. It i sn’ t li ke they needed me i n the fi rst place.”
36. Elle heard a w hi stle and a stunned murmur of “Damn” i n her earpi ece, w hi ch only
served to freak her out more. She’ d almost forgotten there w ere people next door
li steni ng to the conversati on. What w ould Azula and Mari na thi nk of Li am now ? She
w as sure he w as ni ce, just qui et, and of course he had a good reason for that.
Li am took i n her reacti on and si ghed. “I’ m sorry. I don’ t li ke thi nki ng about i t.”
“It’ s okay,” she sai d. “I don’ t blame you.”
“I’ m gonna, um, go--”
“Yeah, I should go fi nd Abe--”
“…talk to you later?”
She bi t her li p. “Yeah. Sleep w ell w hen you get there.”
37. She eventually ran i nto Abe upstai rs, but she w as di stracted by her conversati on w i th
Li am, so i t w as very nearly a li teral run-i n. “Whoops,” she sai d, backpedali ng before
she knocked hi m over. “Sorry.”
“It’ s all ri ght,” he sai d, frow ni ng at her. “You look a li ttle flustered. Everythi ng okay?”
“I’ m fi ne,” she sai d qui ckly. “What about you? How are you doi ng?”
“I’ m good. Are you sure--”
“Yes,” she sai d, fi rmly thi s ti me. She ow ed Abe a decent conversati on, and he w asn’ t
goi ng to get i t i f she w ere sti ll dw elli ng on w hat had happened w i th Li am. “So, tell
me, how are you settli ng i n?”
38. “It’ s very di fferent, but not bad,” he sai d. “I li ve i n a cabi n i n the w oods w i th Chelley,
and thi s place i s a lot larger and much more open. Somew here anyone else i n my
fami ly w ould prefer to li ve, actually. My brother w as ki nd of appalled w hen he found
out w here I w as li vi ng.”
“But thi s i s okay,” Elle sai d, feeli ng li ke the smi le on her face w as stuck there.
“Oh, i t’ s more than okay, I’ m not complai ni ng,” he sai d, w i th a qui ck laugh. “What
about you? Are you doi ng all ri ght here?”
He w as the fi rst person to ask her that, and i t caught her off guard a li ttle. “Yeah,”
she sai d, after a mi nute. “It sti ll feels ki nd of surreal, but i t’ s good. I li ke i t here.
It’ s my ki nd of place, very relaxed and qui et.”
39. “I’ m glad to hear i t,” he sai d. “Someti mes i t doesn’ t seem that w ay.”
“It’ s the people, not the place, and I’ m getti ng over that,” she repli ed. “I’ m not used to
li vi ng i n a house w i th a bunch of strangers.” Feeli ng a yaw n comi ng, she turned her
head i n w hat she hoped w as a di screet manner and covered i t w i th her hand. It
surpri sed her, how ti red she w as all of a sudden, but she w as determi ned to gi ve Abe
a couple more mi nutes and not let hi m see.
He noti ced anyw ay. “Am I bori ng you?”
40. “Oh no, no, you’ re fi ne,” she sai d qui ckly. “I’ m just exhausted. I’ m sorry.”
“Don’ t let me keep you from your beauty sleep, then,” he sai d ki ndly.
“But you should get at least a couple more mi nutes. I talked longer w i th all the others-”
“Elle,” he sai d fi rmly, “i t’ s okay. Later. You look li ke you’ re about to keel over. Don’ t
w orry about hurti ng my feeli ngs. It’ s been a long day for everyone.”
She studi ed hi m for a moment, and fi nally nodded. “Thank you, Abe,” she sai d qui etly.
“You’ re sw eet. I’ ll see you i n the morni ng.”
“Ni ght, Elli e. Sleep w ell.”
***
41. Ham w as up very early the next morni ng. It w as a li ttle before 5am, and he could be
sure that no one else w ould be sti rri ng for another hour or so, but he couldn’ t get back
to sleep, so he si mply crept dow nstai rs as qui etly as possi ble to the buffet to have
somethi ng to eat.
He knew he w as on thi n i ce after nearly bei ng eli mi nated the day before, and the fact
that he hadn’ t seen Elle at all si nce the tea date w orri ed hi m. He had no desi re to be
sent home, and he had no proof that Elle had any desi re to keep hi m there.
42. To hi s surpri se, Meloti show ed up at about half past fi ve, sleepi ly snatched a plate of
turkey, and sat dow n at the table w i th hi m. “Morni ng,” he mumbled.
“Good morni ng,” Ham sai d softly.
“You’ re up early too, huh? Couldn’ t sleep?”
“I di d aw aken earli er than I had planned to, yes.”
Meloti nodded and took several bi tes of hi s food, glanci ng up after to see that Ham
had barely touched hi s and w as movi ng hi s fork around hi s plate ai mlessly. “What’ s
w rong?”
“You w ould not w i sh to hear w hat I w ould say.”
“Try me.”
43. “I am afrai d Mi ss Elli e w i ll send me aw ay today,” he sai d. “And I do not w ant to go.”
Meloti studi ed hi m cri ti cally. “Do you li ke her?”
“I have not spent enough ti me w i th her to be sure, that i s w hy I am w orri ed. I do
know that I am i nterested i n fi ndi ng out, and that I w ant to have that chance.”
“Then tell her that.”
Ham bli nked. “Do you really thi nk that I should?”
“Well, based on w hat she told you yesterday, I thi nk that’ s somethi ng she needs to
hear. That’ s the reason she sent Joss home, you know . She di dn’ t thi nk he li ked her at
all.”
44. Ham nodded slow ly and got up. “I w i ll try. Thank you for your ki nd ear. I beli eve I
w i ll avai l myself of the bathi ng faci li ti es before the rest of the house ri ses from
thei r beds.”
“Good i dea,” Meloti agreed, calmly fi ni shi ng hi s turkey.
***
45. “Good morni ng, Elli e,” Mari na’ s voi ce greeted Elle as she got up that morni ng.
“Mari na, i f I di dn’ t know you w ere doi ng thi s for a very good reason, i t w ould be the
creepi est thi ng i n the w orld,” Elle sai d, bli nki ng at the w all i n an attempt to ori ent
herself. “I hope you know that.”
“You can take off the earpi ece w henever you w ant i f i t bothers you. ”
“Eh…I’ ll keep i t a w hi le longer. What’ s the plan for the day?”
46. “Okay, so thi s morni ng, you’ re goi ng to have one-on-one ti me w i th the guys agai n. Thi s
ti me I w ant you to try fli rti ng w i th them a li ttle. ”
“F-fli rti ng???”
“Yes, Elle. Fli rti ng. ”
“Um…can w e maybe substi tute somethi ng potenti ally a lot less embarrassi ng?”
“O ye of li ttle fai th. It’ ll be good. All functi onal romanti c relati onshi ps i nvolve some
form of fli rti ng at some poi nt or another. ”
“But I don’ t w ant a romanti c relati onshi p w i th all of them! Thi s sounds li ke somethi ng
Zuzu w ould do!”
47. “Elli e, I told you there w as goi ng to be fli rti ng w hen Zuzu and I pi tched you the i dea
i n the fi rst place. That’ s how these thi ngs go. Just thi nk of i t as practi ce. ”
“I don’ t li ke you ri ght now .”
“You’ ll get over i t. Then of course you have to send someone home at noon, and after
that do another tea date. When you’ re done w i th that, I w ant you to spend forty-fi ve
mi nutes fi shi ng w i th each of the guys. ”
“Fi shi ng? Really?”
“Yes, because chess i s bori ng. You got that?”
“Uh, yeah. I can do that.”
“Good gi rl. Off you go! ”
48. When she got dow n to the breakfast table, there w as a chai r open next to Stuart, and
she grabbed a plate of gelati n and w alked over to i t. “Morni ng,” she sai d to the general
populace of the table.
“Good morni ng, Mi ss Elli e,” Stuart sai d cheerfully i n reply. “Di d you sleep w ell?”
“Li ke a baby, thanks.”
49. By thi s ti me, Elle w as at ease w i th most of the guys and felt li ke they w ere her
fri ends, or soon w ould be. Thi s w as enough to get her through breakfast w i thout
breaki ng dow n, and she forgot to be nervous long enough to eat her gelati n.
It w as only after, once she w as ensconced i n the li ttle room desi gnated for fli rti ng,
that she began to really freak out.
50. “MARINA I NEED HELP”
“Elli e, don’ t w i mp out on me now ,” Mari na sai d, encouragi ngly, but fi rmly. “You can
do thi s.”
“No, I’ m goi ng to do i t, I just…how ?”
“How ?”
“I don’ t know how to fli rt! ”
Mari na hadn’ t consi dered thi s and i t w as enough to make her start to pani c. “Oh,
Elli e, uh…I’ m no good at i t myself. It’ s not somethi ng I can do i f I’ m consci ously
thi nki ng about i t.”
“Is Zuzu there then?”
51. “Um, she’ s a li ttle occupi ed ri ght now , hon--”
“Mari na, I need seri ous help i f I’ m goi ng to be able to do thi s! Please! ”
Mari na bri efly consi dered the i dea of havi ng Rhys talk to her, and di scarded i t almost
before i t had fi ni shed formi ng i tself as a complete thought. “Okay. Azula! Get over
here, your si ster’ s havi ng a cri si s.”
52. “And tell her to hurry up w i th i t!” Rhys added. “I have been lacki ng i n my
entertai nment for the past tw o hours and I w ant to see fli rti ng!”
“Rhys, shut your mouth or I w i ll shut i t for you. Wi th duct tape. ”
“You’ re not goi ng to do anythi ng that could mar my handsome, manly face--”
“DUCT TAPE.”
“Okay, fi ne.”
53. “Okay, Elli e, there are many, many di fferent flavors of fli rti ng. It i s an art that has
more subtle nuances than I can count. How ever, I thi nk I can boi l i t dow n to tw o mai n
categori es: i nnuendo, and compli ments. And si nce I don’ t thi nk you can manage the
fi rst one yet--”
“Azula, do you thi nk you can maybe condense thi s to a crash course i nstead of a
semi nar?” Elle hi ssed, through gri tted teeth. “Ham just w alked i n here and he looks
li ke he w ants to di e and I don’ t know w hat to do. ”
“Ri ght. Just say somethi ng ni ce. Li ke…you thi nk the w ay hi s hai r flops i n hi s eyes i s
really sexy. ”
“I can’ t say that to hi m!”
“Oh, gotcha. Old-fashi oned values. Well, say somethi ng else ni ce! And do i t before he
thi nks you’ re crazy for talki ng to yourself! ”
54. “Is i t not my turn yet, Mi ss Elli e?” Ham asked w orri edly.
“No, no, you’ re fi ne,” Elle sai d, getti ng up from the couch. “I w as just tryi ng to
collect my thoughts.”
“Ri ght. Well, I just w anted to say that, ah, I am havi ng an exceedi ngly good ti me here
and I hope that you are as w ell, and I should very much li ke to stay w hen you make
your deci si on today. If you w ould li ke me to,” he added hasti ly.
Elle bli nked i n surpri se. “Ham?” she began uncertai nly.
“Yes?”
55. “I…I really li ke your sw eater,” she sai d, smi li ng shyly.
“Y-you do?”
“Yeah. I thi nk i t bri ngs out your eyes.”
56. “Oh my,” w as all Ham managed to say, a deli ghtful smi le appeari ng on hi s face. He
sw i ftly exi ted the room, looki ng completely tw i tterpated.
“Azula! Azula! I fli rted w i th a guy! And he li ked i t!”
“Good job, Elli e,” her si ster repli ed, hi ghly amused. “Don’ t let i t go to your head.
We’ ll be w atchi ng. ”
57. Meloti came i n next, and Elle made a si mi lar comment to hi m only to have hi m bli nk
i n surpri se for a long moment and then burst i nto laughter and w alk out, chuckli ng too
hard to speak.
“Uh oh. That w as not a good laugh. ”
“Shut up, you’ re goi ng to freak her out. ”
58. Fortunately for Elle’ s ego, Stuart w as next, and he came i nto the room w i th a smi le
that put her ri ght at ease. “Hey Stuart.”
“Hello, Mi ss Elli e. You w anted to see me?”
“Yeah, I di d. I just w anted to tell you I thi nk that shi rt looks ni ce on you.”
59. “Oh, does i t really?”
“Yeah. It’ s a ni ce color, and uh, you look…w arm. And very comfortable.” Elle smi led
and tri ed to i gnore the loud laughter that burst i nto her ear at that one.
60. “Ah, w ell…thank you, I…i t i s a li ttle w arm i n here, i s i t not? Or i s that just my
i magi nati on?”
She gri nned, blushi ng a li ttle. “I don’ t thi nk i t’ s just you, no.”
“Good, I w as begi nni ng to be a li ttle w orri ed.” He gri nned back at her and left the
room.
61. She also, surpri si ngly, had success w i th Li am. “So, Li am, i f I tell you that’ s a ni ce
jacket, w i ll you not hold last ni ght’ s conversati on agai nst me?”
He bli nked. “Oh, Elle, no. That w as my fault. I get angry easi ly, someti mes. It’ s not
one of my better trai ts.”
“So w e’ re good?”
“We’ re good.”
“Okay. That’ s sti ll a ni ce jacket.”
“Oh, thanks. I guess i t i s, i sn’ t i t?”
62. The encounter w i th Akor w as also a surpri se, and not a very ni ce one. “Elle, that’ s the
cheesi est pi ckup li ne i n the w orld, you know that?” he joked, backi ng off a bi t.
63. When he saw the look on her face, he w as qui ck to back up. “Oh dang i t. I’ m sorry,
Elle. I di dn’ t--”
“No, i t’ s okay,” she sai d qui ckly. “I probably shouldn’ t be so sensi ti ve.”
“Uh, sure.” There w as an aw kw ard pause. “Ri ght. I’ m gonna go now .”
“Okay.”
64. But i f she had been surpri sed by Akor, that w as nothi ng compared to her shock at
Abe’ s reacti on. She w as barely halfw ay through her compli ment on hi s sw eater w hen
he fli nched and held up hi s hands, backi ng off. “What’ s the matter?” she asked,
completely hurt. “I w as just sayi ng I li ke your sw eater.”
65. Abe just gri maced and shook hi s head. Elle closed her eyes, tryi ng not to cry. “All
ri ght, fi ne. I’ ll go now .”
66. When she left the room, she w as surpri sed to fi nd that i t w as only 10am. She had
been hopi ng that the magni tude of her utter morti fi cati on w ould gi ve her the pow er to
magi cally make i t noon, but alas, i t w as not so.
“Elle, w ai t.” She turned to see Abe hurryi ng after her. “I’ m sorry,” he sai d hasti ly.
“Really, I am. Let me make i t up to you. Do you li ke to play catch? Let’ s play catch.”
“Oh…okay.”
67. So they played catch.
It w as the most aw kw ard game of catch Elle had ever played i n her li fe.
For a long w hi le, they tossed the ball back and forth i n si lence. Abe looked li ke he
w anted to say somethi ng, but never di d, and Elle had no i dea at all w hat to do to get
hi m to say i t.
68. The game w as i nterrupted w hen Ham made hi s w ay outsi de. “Mi ss Elli e, may I speak
to you a moment?” he asked.
“Sure,” she agreed, more than happy to escape the tensi on w i th Abe.
“Ah, I must apologi ze for leavi ng so qui ckly before.”
“Don’ t w orry about i t, you’ re fi ne.”
“…I also, ah, w i shed to express…”
“Yes?”
69. “…I qui te li ke your sw eater, too.”
Elle smi led. “Thanks, Ham. That’ s ni ce of you to say.”
70. As i f on cue, the rest of the boys began to fi lter out to the yard, w hi ch must have
gi ven Abe the tri gger he needed to talk to Elle. “It’ s not you,” he sai d abruptly. “My ex-
w i fe…oh, i t w as years ago, but i t doesn’ t feel li ke that long. I di dn’ t even thi nk about
i t.”
“It’ s okay, Abe,” Elle sai d. She hadn’ t thought about i t, ei ther. She hadn’ t even
reali zed she w ould be maki ng her fi rst foray i nto the w orld of fli rti ng that day, much
less how i t w ould affect the guys she w as tryi ng to fli rt w i th.
“I can do thi s,” he sai d. “I promi se I can.”
“I beli eve you,” she repli ed. “It’ s okay.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
71. When Stuart came out, Elle qui etly stepped up to hi m and sai d, i n a low voi ce, “I just
w ant you to know , I really appreci ate your not laughi ng at me, or runni ng aw ay, or
freaki ng out w hen I compli mented your shi rt thi s morni ng.”
Stuart looked sli ghtly confused. “Why should I do such a si lly thi ng?”
“No i dea.”
72. “Hey, Elle!” Li am came saunteri ng up, apparently i n a very good mood, and took her
arm. “It’ s noon. Would you li ke me to escort you to the li vi ng room?”
Elle had to smi le. “You are such a gentleman, Li am. Yeah, let’ s go.”
73. As w i th the day before, they all gathered i n the li vi ng room, and Elle prepared w hat
she w as goi ng to say mentally for qui te a w hi le before she w as able to say i t.
The deci si on had been easi er than the day before. She sti ll di dn’ t li ke i t, but she knew
better now w ho she w anted to stay and w ho had to be sent home. Now all she had to do
w as get the w ords out.
She had the feeli ng that part w asn’ t goi ng to get any easi er.
74. “Okay, so. That ti me agai n, I guess.
“I suppose sayi ng how sorry I am to have to do thi s agai n i s poi ntless cause i t’ s just
goi ng to happen anyw ay. Uh, today…di dn’ t really go as w ell as I hoped i t w ould. I don’ t
really hold that agai nst any of you, though, and those of you I’ m talki ng about know
w ho you are so I’ m not goi ng to name names. I’ m sure i t w as parti ally my fault.
Anyw ay, the guy I’ m sendi ng home today, I don’ t thi nk I’ ve really connected w i th at
all, and w hi le I hate that w e haven’ t spent much ti me together at all, I couldn’ t
possi bly say goodbye to the others yet.
“I’ m sorry, Meloti .”
75. “I agree w i th you,” Meloti sai d, surpri si ng her. “I w ould hate to get i n the w ay of
someone w ho w ants to be here much more than I do.” He smi led. “I apologi ze for
laughi ng at you, but…you remi nd me of my li ttle si ster, and the i dea of fli rti ng w i th
her…”
“Would be absurd, yeah,” Elle murmured.
“But I do w i sh you all the best,” he sai d. “I hope you’ ll pi ck the ri ght one.”
“You too. Let me call you a cab.”
76. “Hey Mari na!”
“What?”
“When do I get one of these?”
“In your dreams, maybe.”
***
That’ s the end of Day 2! Look for Day 3 by the end of the w eek ^_^
Thanks once agai n to Cai t for the cover, and to all the authors of the guys I’ ve
borrow ed for lendi ng them to me and all the help i n w ri ti ng them.
Turn the page for the scores -->
77. “Choo-ska, Mr. Fi tzhugh!”
“God, that makes me feel old. Go aw ay ki d, you bother me.”
Scores
Stuart - 74/19 = 93 (fri ends)
Li am - 39/14 = 53
Abe - 16/13 = 29
Ham - 18/11 = 29
Akor - 11/7 = 18
Meloti - 3/1 = 4
