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Just Tucky  -*-  Copyright 1997 by Ellen Hayes.

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provided no fee is charged for access.
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persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when
used for satirical purposes.

All rights reserved.

Furthermore,
This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and
possibly sex.  If you are legally not allowed to read materials
containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading
this.  I am not responsible.
Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it
in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally
allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish,
state, and country.



Just Tucky


***
05:19 1 Mar

     I woke up from the best sleep I'd had in a long time, to find
myself squeezed between Debbie on my front and someone else on my back.
*Geez, no wonder,* I thought, grinning.  I was beginning to seriously
like this.  Even if it did involve acting like a girl.
     I laid there for a while, thinking, and trying to go back to sleep,
but I eventually figured out that it was no use, so I gently got up.  It
was Jill, behind me, bizarrely enough, and Debbie had one arm draped
around Lisa.
     I thought about that for a minute, then decided that since she had
slept between us, that I was still "in."
     With that decided, I thought a shower might be a good idea.

***
05:33 1 Mar

     When I went back to Lisa's room, Lisa had woken up too, and she was
standing by the door.  "I wondered where you went," she whispered.
     I shrugged.  "I just couldn't sleep any more, so I took a shower."
She nodded.  "Should I get dressed or what?"
     She sighed softly.  "My folks are gonna want to take us all to
breakfast, so we'd better be ready for that."  She shook her head.  "I
hate them."
     I nodded.  "So...."  She turned and made her way carefully to the
closet.  She waved me towards her.

***
05:56 1 Mar

     "You look better in that than I do," she joked with me as she tied
the two strips together in back.  She'd found a long dress, which was
a dark red pattern, and made me wear that.  It went almost down to my
ankles, and had two things in back which you tied together to make it
fit a body better.  That, and a slip, or two, I couldn't tell, and some
jewelry, would do until it got light and someone could help me with
makeup and hair.
     "There ya go."  I turned around to check it out in the mirror.  The
ties pulled the dress in in the right spots, so it looked like I had a
definitely feminine figure.  Though it was kind of a thin feminine
figure, not nice and shapely like Debbie's.  *What am I THINKING?*
     "Thanks.  I think," I grinned at her.  She gave me a friendly tap
on the jaw with her fist, and then sighed and shook herself.
     She took my hand and gave it a squeeze, and led me back out of the
closet.

***
06:34 1 Mar

     She'd stuck me in front of her computer, which had a modem, so I
was completely gone from the physical universe for a long time.
     What brought me back out was a pair of hands sliding along my chest
into a hug from behind.  I recognized Debbie's arms, so I hugged what I
could reach, and when she let go, I turned around.
     The other girls were still asleep, though Kathy was stirring.
Debbie, wearing another nightgown, looked radiant, as she always did in
the mornings.  She motioned outside, and I followed her out silently.
     "Hope I didn't wake you up," I said as she shut the door.
     She shook her head.  Pause.  "No, Lisa sort of did when she got
up," she said eventually.  She gave me a friendly kiss on the lips.
"Morning."
     "Morning!"  I kissed her back.
     Pause.
     "You look good... did Lisa...?"
     "Yeah."  I wondered where she was, then heard the water going.
     "Shower already?"  I nodded.  Pause.  She wasn't really awake yet.
She never was, when she first woke up.  "Want me to do your makeup now,
or later?  Did she tell you about breakfast?  Good," she commented as I
nodded.  Pause.  "Anyway, I need some caffeine to get started."

***
07:02 1 Mar

     I was sitting next to Debbie, both of us wrapped up in a spare
blanket against the wall.  She was still sucking on a coke, trying to
wake up.  I guess she was used to doing makeup in her sleep, though,
'cause she'd done my face really quick, and it looked good when I
checked it.
     The door opened, and Kathy came in.  "Brrr," she said, as Debbie
got up and wandered out, bag in hand.  I lifted the blanket up and
patted the floor, and she came and sat down next to me.  She was pretty
warm, but the difference between hot, steamy shower and the rest of the
house was annoying.
     "Morning," she finally said.  I found her hand, and squeezed it.
She squeezed back, and nudged herself closer.  We sat there, leg to leg
and body to body, for a long time.
     *There are a lot of guys who would cut off BOTH their nuts to be
here,* I finally thought.  And grinned.
     When Debbie got back, Kathy got up to get dressed, and Debbie sat
back down next to me, under the blanket.  I grabbed her hand and kept
grinning.

***
07:49 1 Mar

     I must've fallen asleep after I laid back down, because I woke up
again.  I was too comfy to move, but I missed Debbie.
     While I was lying there, I heard Kathy say, "He-"
     "She," said Debbie.
     Kathy made a huffing noise.  "_She_ wouldn't even notice the
difference, I'm telling you."
     "Bets?"
     "Five bucks."
     There was a long pause, while I wondered what the hell was going
on.  I figured it out when a body, not Debbie's, slid under the blanket
behind me, and put an arm under my neck.
     Too much contact with Debbie must've expanded my own appreciation
of evil, because what I did was roll over, eyes still closed, and
snuggle into whoever's breasts.  I was smiling, but that would be a
natural reaction.  It had to be Kathy, too; nobody else was that tall.
     After a few seconds, I heard Debbie's voice, directly above my ear,
whispering, "Lover?"
     *Wrong place,* I thought.  I should have heard her from in front.
     Someone stroked my face.
     "Nnnnnn," I said happily, and slid an arm over Kathy's waist.  The
blanket was only covering her halfway, which was good for what I was
gonna do.  I slid my hand down her back, into her underwear.  She
flinched just the tiniest bit.  I rubbed her butt gently, until I found
something under my fingers.
     I waited a little bit, then turned my head to the side a little,
eyes still closed, still smiling, and said, "Nnnn, I didn't know you had
a mole there, Kathy!"
     Kathy squeaked, pushed violently off me, and slapped the hell out
of my face.  Then someone else kicked me in the ribs.  I grabbed the
responsible leg and pulled.  Debbie fell almost on top of me, squealing,
"You bitch!"  She grabbed a pillow and proceeded to start beating the
hell out of me with it.
     I grabbed a pillow of my own, and defended myself, until Kathy
started in from the other side.  "Help!  Oof!" I said as Debbie caught
me a good one in the face.  Then Lisa grabbed one and walloped Debbie
with it in the back of the head.
     *My God,* I thought as everyone joined in, *I'm in an honest-to-
God slumber party pillow fight.*  Whop! right in my face.  This was not
the time to be thinking.

***
07:51 1 Mar

     I was doing well until I got ambushed from behind unexpectedly.  It
knocked me off balance, and into Lisa's desk.  I should have remembered
that standing up was a bad idea.
     I said something truly foul as the corner of the desk slammed into
my head, and as I rolled around, I realized my fingers, where I'd
grabbed my head, were red.  I was BLEEDING.
     I really hate seeing my own blood.  Really really bad.  The pillow
in the face before I passed out was only icing on the cake.

***
07:53 1 Mar

     I slowly swam back to consciousness.  I heard someone almost
crying, "Oh, God, oh God..."  Then my head started to hurt.
     "Nuuhhhh?" I said, and sat up.  Everyone was clustered around me
like I was dying or something.  *Oh, God, not again,* I thought, totally
embarrassed.  I felt the spot on my head, and it hurt, a lot, but I was
okay.  I told them that, and Jill and Debbie both almost collapsed.
     "Oh, my God, I thought I'd killed you," Jill breathed.
     "No, I just..."  I was torn between reassuring them and not being
embarrassed again.  Then I realized I was already in girl's clothes, so
it kind of didn't matter.  Can't be macho in a nightgown.  I sighed, and
told them, "It's the blood.  If I start bleeding, I almost always pass
out."
     "What?"
     "I saw some on my fingers, and that was kind of it."  I shook my
head.  That hurt.  "Don't tell anybody about this, okay?"
     "Where on your fingers?" Debbie asked.
     I turned my head as I held up my fingers.  "Somewhere, I don't want
to look in case I pass out again."
     "Well, hell, then don't get up," Kathy told me as she got back to
her feet.  "You bled a LOT."
     I really didn't need to hear that.  I got really nauseous and
passed out again.

***
07:56 1 Mar

     "Boy, you weren't kidding, were you?" Kathy said as I opened my
eyes again.
     "What?"
     She looked at me intently for a moment, then held up two fingers.
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
     I sighed.  "Two.  Is Jill okay?"
     She nodded.  "And, we got you cleaned up and a couple of butterflys
over it, and a bandaid over that, so you don't have to look at anything.
Here," and she shined a flashlight into my eyes.
     "Hey!"
     "Stop it, I need to check your pupils."
     "When did you go to med school?"
     She flicked the light in and out.  "Advanced first aid, and I'm a
certified CPR instructor."
     "Oh."  Pause.  "Sorry.  I get kind of rude when I'm this shaken
up."
     She pulled the light out of my face and shrugged.  "S'okay."

***
08:06 1 Mar

     "Don't DO that any more!"  Jill was still pretty upset.
     "Hey, it's not like I do it on purpose, okay?"  I was still kind of
upset myself.
     She looked at me for a second, like she was going to argue, then
let a breath out, and grabbed me in a hug.  "Oh, God, I was so scared
I'd killed you or something."  Debbie grabbed my hands pretty hard too,
from behind Jill's back.  Then everyone else sort of swarmed me.

***
08:14 1 Mar

     "Somehow, I dunno why, this just fits," I mentioned.
     Debbie paused in fixing my makeup.  "What fits?"

***
08:23 1 Mar

     Lisa sighed.  "They've been up for a while, so we'll probably be
going to breakfast real soon.  Who wants to ride with my mom, and who
wants to ride with my dad?"

***
09:12 1 Mar

     "Uh, well, I'm only a sophomore, so I haven't figured out what I
want to do yet," I smiled and lied to Lisa's father.  Combined EE and
CS, though I wasn't sure yet which direction I wanted to lean, or which
master's to get first.
     I really loved talking to parents not.  Though at least they were
paying for breakfast.

***
10:31 1 Mar

     The door to Lisa's room shut, and you could sort of see everyone
relax, like the wardens had left.  There was a generalized rush of
tension relieving gestures.  Me, I was rubbing my neck as hard as I
could.

***
10:41 1 Mar

     "I gotta get home soon, I gotta do chores."
     Debbie looked at her watch.  "Well, shit.  Oh, I guess I can take
you home first-"
     "Oh thanks a bunch!"  I poked her in the ribs.  "I'd hate for you
to trouble yourself after kidnapping me again!"
     She whipped around, backed me into a corner using just the
expression on her face, and got within an inch of my teeth.  "Tell me,"
she growled, "you don't want to be here."
     Pause.  She continued to glare at me.
     I smiled weakly, when I figured she wasn't going to hit me, and
said, "Did anybody ever tell you that you get dimples when you're
angry?"  She had a dread of dimples.

***
10:43 1 Mar

     "Ow."  My ribs hurt.  My abdomen hurt.
     "Head?" Kathy asked.
     "Tum."  Where Debbie had poked me until I collapsed.
     She shook her head as she let me out of the hug.  "You, of all
people, should know better."  I nodded.  I really should.

***
10:54 1 Mar

     A round of hugs from everybody, and Debbie and I left in her car.
     As we got around the corner, I asked, "So can I kiss you when I'm
like this?"
     She gave me a look, but when we stopped at a sign, she leaned over
and we showed a couple of kids on bikes what lesbians looked like.
     They looked pretty amazed when we finally broke, a few short
blissful minutes later.

***
11:26 1 Mar

     "Wanna come in for a minute?"
     Debbie sighed, and shook her head.  "I really gotta truck to make
it on time."
     We sighed.
     "Well, call me?"  She nodded.  "Good luck, huh?"
     "Thanks," she smiled.  "You too."  She blew me a kiss, then started
her car again.  I backed away, and she drove off.

***
16:47 1 Mar

     The phone rang.  Luckily, I'd just finished connecting most of a
lineman's set to my headphones, so all I had to do was flip a switch.
     "Hello?"
     "Oh, hey, Val, you on the phone?" asked Lisa.
     "Nope.  Whatsup?"
     She sighed.  "I'm really desperate here.  Michelle's sick, and-"
     "Who's Michelle?"
     "She's one of the babysitters working for D'n'E," which was their
company, Deborah And Elizabeth Personal Services, "and she's got the
stomach flu, and I've got a contract with someone to provide
babysitting, and everyone I mean EVERYONE else is busy tonight!
Especially me!"
     "And?"

***
17:02 1 Mar

     It was gonna be close, but luckily, I'd already showered today.
Now all I had to do was get past my folks.
     "Eugene, don't you think this is kind of excessive?"  Dad only
called me that when he was really serious.  "You've gone out every
Friday and Saturday night since you got ungrounded."
     "Well, Dad..."  Inspiration hit me like a pillow.  "I mean, did you
think I was hanging around all those girls for fun?"
     His eyebrows shot up.
     I said, "Networking!" before he could say anything.  "Dad, she's
doing a real business here, and it, I mean, they have to keep up the
level of service that their customers are used to, so if I wanted to get
in on it, then I had to prove I was reliable, a good team worker, able
to take directions, all that good employee stuff.  That's what I've been
doing with them, that and getting to know them so they're willing to
call me if they need a substitution or something, like tonight."
Someone honked outside.  "Dad, I gotta go!  I said I'd work it!"

***
17:07 1 Mar

     "Yes sir," Debbie explained to my dad, "it's the real thing.  Ms.
Davidson has someone sitting her kids a lot of Saturday nights, because
she works part time on weekends and her husband travels a lot, he's some
kind of engineer and has to do field emergency repairs.  And Michelle,
the usual, she's got the stomach flu, which means there's no way she can
work tonight."  She sighed.  "And everyone else is busy tonight with
something, except Tucker."  She made a really desperate face at him. "We
have a big cash penalty if we don't have someone show up, so it's really
important.  And we'll pay him the standard rate for a substitution,
which is six dollars an hour."  That was what had really got me
interested in the job.

***
17:09 1 Mar

     "Jesus, Debbie, you're incredible."
     She snickered.  "That's what my boyfriend tells me."
     We kissed at the next stop.  A lot.

***
17:16 1 Mar

     "The thing I hate most, is changing in the backs of cars."
     She tossed something else into the back seat.  Looked like a
blouse.  "Well, we just gotta figure out a way for you to sneak this
stuff out of your house."
     "Or something."  It was a white blouse.  This, and the long denim
skirt and- Whap!  "Hey!  You don't HAVE to keep throwing this stuff in
my face!"  I pulled the sweater off my head and started pulling the
blouse on.
     She looked up out of the bag.  "Sorry, but we're on sort of a tight
schedule here.  Don't stop!"

***
17:27 1 Mar

     I took a deep breath as we walked up to the door.  She rang the
doorbell, and gave my hand a quick squeeze.
     Someone I guess was Ms. Davidson opened the door.  "Oh, good,
Debbie, I was worried sick I'd have to take off tonight, hi, I'm Mary
Davidson," she shook my hand lightly, "You're Valerie?"  I nodded.
"Well, come on in and you can meet the kids, Debbie did you bring a copy
of the instructions?"  Debbie waved a printout.  "Oh, good," she
continued without pausing, "anyway, everything's fairly normal tonight,
except Michael might be a little sick, he's not sure, but if he is, just
keep an eye on him unless it's really serious, here they are, this is
David and this is Michael-"
     "Hi," I said waving a little.  They went back to watching TV.  Ms.
Davidson did not slow down.
     "-And there's food in the refrigerator, DON'T let Michael have more
than two cookies with dinner-"
     "Mom!"
     "-because he's ADHD and the doctor wants to limit his sugar intake,
no matter what HE says," she flashed me a grin, "so, any questions?"
     My mind was a total blank.
     Debbie answered, "Nope, got it!"

***
17:31 1 Mar

     "She always talks like that, don't let it bother you."
     "Oh, God."  My head hurt.  Inside and out.
     "Anyway, read this, it's all the info you should need, like bedtime
and what they have to do while you watch them, and emergency stuff like
phone numbers and their doctor and everything."  She started walking
towards the door.
     "Wait!  You can't leave me like this, Debbie!"
     She walked back, and held my arm.  "They're alright, just don't let
Michael have any sugar.  Otherwise, they're good kids.  You won't have
any problems."  She checked her watch.  "Anyway, I gotta go help cater
at six, so I gotta go."  She patted my arm.  "You'll do fine.  I'll be
back at twelve thirty to pick you up, okay?"

***
17:34 1 Mar

     The kids didn't seem real interested in causing any fuss, so I sat
down on the couch to read the instructions.  While keeping one eye on
them.

***
17:41 1 Mar

     No surprises, though I was a little amazed at how well Debbie had
gone over everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, right down to a release
form, with my name on it, authorizing me to "initiate medical treatment
at my sole discretion."
     Pretty heady stuff.
     "So when do we eat?" David asked.  He was ten, the instructions
said.  Michael was eight, and hyperactive but on medications.  Which
were listed, along with dosages, in the info manual.  Like I said,
EVERYTHING.
     "Uh," I didn't remember anything about specific times.  "Whenever?"
     "Now?"

***
17:49 1 Mar

     I read the instruction manual some more while dinner heated in the
microwave.  I had a feeling they'd want to eat in front of the TV.
Luckily, Voyager was coming on next.

***
17:58 1 Mar

     "Star Trek?  It's stupid!" David said scornfully.  Michael made a
face.  I sighed.  *At least I'm taping it at home.*

***
18:12 1 Mar

     During a commercial break, David turned around and asked, "What was
your name?"
     Oooh, make me feel important.  "Valerie."
     "Where's Michelle?  She's our usual babysitter."
     "She's sick, got the stomach flu."  They both looked blank at that.
"She's throwing up a lot."
     "Ugh!" they said simultaneously.  I nodded.

***
19:31 1 Mar

     After scanning all sixty-two channels, faster than I could, Michael
announced, "I'm bored."
     I had a feeling this was a bad thing.

***
19:42 1 Mar

     Luckily, Nintendo seemed to be holding his attention raptly.  David
was kind of like, whatever.
     "You wanna play?"  Michael held up a cartridge.
     I could play Wave Race 64.  I might even whip their little butts at
it.

***
20:18 1 Mar

     Not quite.  I sighed.  Even two out of three.
     "So where did YOU learn to play like that?" David asked.  He looked
suspicious.
     So I lied.  "My boyfriend.  He plays a lot, so I learned to play
against him.  It's a cheap date."  It's an impossible date, too, but
they were too young to know THAT one.  I didn't know it either until I
tried it.  It was a bad idea, it really was.
     "You have a boyfriend?"
     I would have to apologize to Mike when I saw him again.  "Uh huh."
     "What's his name?"  *I'm sorry, Mike old bud...*

***
20:34 1 Mar

     "Did you feed the dogs?" David asked me.
     "What dogs?"

***
20:36 1 Mar

     Page two, under "Pets."  Feed dogs at 8pm.  Let in house after 9pm.
     I sighed.  "Where's the dog food?"

***
20:39 1 Mar

     I opened the door, and immediately they started barking.  My highly
trained ears, honed over several years of being in people's yards I
shouldn't have been in, registered: Dogs; two; large, as big as me;
moving fast; this way.
     I kicked the door shut about three seconds after I opened it.
Reflexes.
     "Who wants to go out and give those monsters some food?" I asked
the brothers.  They sounded like rottweilers.  Rottweilers were bad
news.
     I mean, the dogs sounded like rottweilers.  The kids sounded like
they were highly amused, judging by the way they were laughing their
little asses off.

***
20:41 1 Mar

     "See, this one's Pinky and this one's Brain."  David scratched
Pinky behind the ears, but this didn't distract Pinky from watching me
like a hawk.
     Michael screamed behind me, almost causing my heart to stop, and
ran off into the darkness, followed by Brain.  My heart lept into my
throat as I imagined having to explain to Ms. Davidson why I'd let the
dog eat one of her kids.  Not to mention Debbie.
     I started to run after the dog, intending to throw my body in front
of the dog so I wouldn't have to explain anything to anyone, but Pinky
stood up before I could take more than a step.  He growled.  I stopped,
torn between dying for a cause and dying uselessly.
     "Oh, it's okay," David remarked, "they're gonna play chase for a
while."
     "Chase.  Right."
     "Did he scare you?" David grinned.
     "Oh, don't be stupid.  Of course he did.  I almost died."  I was
glad I wasn't prone to asthma any more, or I'd be grabbing for an
inhaler right now.

***
21:03 1 Mar

     Pinky watched me.  I watched Pinky.  David and Michael watched TV.
Brain, unlike his namesake, wasn't paying much attention to anything,
judging by the way he was drooling on the carpet as he slept.

***
21:32 1 Mar

     "Wanna play Nintendo some more?"
     "Oh, sure, why not.  If he'll let me," I added, pointing at Pinky.
     David just grabbed Pinky's collar and dragged him out of the room
while Michael reset the Nintendo.  "Wanna play Super Mario?" he asked.
     "What?"  Pinky didn't seem to be interested in eating David, like I
was afraid of.  "Oh, sure."  I sat down next to him, and he started the
game up. The little dork didn't even ask if I wanted to go first.
     "Oh, no," complained David from behind me, "I HATE Super Mario!"
     "Valerie said I could play!" Michael whined.
     I took a breath.  "Just one game," I said, loud enough to stop the
two of them.
     "Aw-" "But-"
     I cut them off.  "ONE.  Game.  Then... David picks one, and then
you pick one."
     They both glared at me.  I figured it was balanced out.
     "And then I get to pick one," argued David.
     "And then it's bed," I agreed.  They were supposed to hit the sack
about ten anyway.
     Michael restarted the game.  David sighed really loud, and plopped
down on the couch.

***
22:04 1 Mar

     "Okay, guys," I said as David got his butt whipped in Mortal Kombat
Trilogy.  "Bedtime."
     "Awwww!" they both howled, "C'mon!".  "MICHELLE never plays
Nintendo with us," David explained.
     "You're cool for a girl," Michael told me.
     Compliments from an eight year old wouldn't change my mind.
"Thanks, but you two do need to get ready for bed.  Or I'll get in
trouble and so will you."
     "Just one more game?  Please?"

***
22:09 1 Mar

     "Okay, guys, that's it.  Upstairs.  NO arguing!" I said firmly.
     "AWWWWWW!!!"

***
22:16 1 Mar

     Amazingly, they listened.  They wanted to sleep with the dogs, too,
and the instructions didn't say anything against it, so they went to
bed, one dog per kid.
     Pinky watched me suspiciously until I was out of sight.

***
22:23 1 Mar

     I was kind of bored, and the dishes needed to be done, so I got
them all in the kitchen and started washing them.
     I was scrubbing a casserole dish when I felt something firm push
into my butt.  I calmly said "Ahhh!" as I whipped around, dropping the
dish into the water.  It splashed everywhere, including on Pinky, who
was wagging his tail at me.
     "You idiot dog, if you stick your nose in my butt again I'll throw
your ass out in the snow!" I hissed at him.  I lied; there wasn't any
snow tonight.
     He stopped wagging his tail and his ears went sideways.  He looked
hurt.

***
00:23 2 Mar

     I was alternately working on my math homework and scratching Pinky
when Pinky got up all of a sudden, then ran over to the garage door.  I
walked over to see what he was up to, and heard the door opening.
"Guess she's back," I said to Pinky, who was wagging his tail.

***
00:26 2 Mar

     "So no problems?" Ms. Davidson asked.  I shook my head.  "Oh,
that's great, I was worried, sometimes the boys can run a new sitter
ragged, that's why I signed up with D&E when I heard about them, so they
could have a steady sitter, have you been working for them long?"  I
shook my head.  "Well, if you didn't have any problems with the boys
tonight, and if you don't mind, I'll ask Debbie to put you on the
reserve list, would that be alright with you?"  I nodded.  "Well, thank
you so much, especially for coming on such short notice," she started
walking towards the stairs, not slowing down talking.  I guessed I
should follow, so I did.  She continued, "Michelle called me about five
fifteen, saying she was too sick to come in tonight, and frankly I'm
just as glad, I don't need either of the boys sick, I'm barely making
enough money as it is, which reminds me, was Michael having any
problems?"  I shook my head.  "Good, that's so wonderful, I wasn't sure,
but when he said he wasn't hungry at lunch today I started to worry..."

***
00:29 2 Mar

     I didn't think that I was supposed to help her undress, but I was
undoing a zipper on her back when I heard the doorbell.  "Oh, that's
probably Debbie, why don't you go let her in, I can handle the rest, and
I'll be down to write the check in just a couple of minutes, she can
have a drink if she wants, let me thank you again...."

***
00:31 2 Mar

     "Told you it'd be easy," Debbie told me, grinning.
     "So how did the catering go?" I asked.  She sighed.

***
00:36 2 Mar

     "Jesus, she can talk!" I remarked, sort of stunned, as I got into
the car.
     Debbie just nodded as she started the car.

***
01:14 2 Mar

     "Wanna come in?" I asked.
     "Just for a little.  And let me call my mom, okay?  From your
phone?"

***
01:17 2 Mar

     "Oh, yeah, I'm over at Valerie's," Debbie winked at me, "she did a
rush sub babysitting tonight, so I picked her up, I'm just gonna stay
for a few minutes."  She paused.  "Oh, Miz Davidson... yeah, the
talker...."  She winked at me again, and squeezed my hand.

***
01:21 2 Mar

     I hugged her for a long, long time, before I could bear to let her
go.
     "See you later?" she asked, and smiled at me.
     "You got it, babe!"  She nudged me in the ribs.

***
08:35 2 Mar

     The phone flashing woke me up.  I grabbed the handset.  It didn't
work.
     "Shit, shit shit shit..."  I stumbled out of bed and grabbed my
headset and dialler and flicked the line off-hook just before the
voicemail got it.  "Hello?"
     "Hey Val!"  It was Kim.  "You ready for breakfast?"
     "What?"

***
10:07 2 Mar

     I licked my fingers as I set the cinnamon roll down.  Normally I
would have wiped them on my pants, but these weren't my pants.  They
weren't pants.  I wondered if Debbie was washing this stuff or what.
     "So do you know who Lisa got to sit the Davidson kids last night?"
Kim asked Jill.
     "Me," I answered.
     "You?" they both asked at the same time.
     "Ask Debbie tomorrow or something, she took me and picked me up."
     "Wow," said Kim.  "I could've killed the hyper one when I sat for
them once.  How did you stand 'em?"
     I shrugged.  "They weren't that bad... I guess they adjusted his
medication or something."

***
11:21 2 Mar

     "Oh, hey," I asked, "could we go by a store or something?  I gotta
get another phone jack."  That'd make six, but I needed some kind of
phone by the bed.

***
12:09 2 Mar

     The girls each gave me a hug, and a peck on the cheek.  And then
they left.
     "So which one are you dating again?" Dad asked.
     "Dad!  Debbie, the one you talked to last night!  D'uh!"  He could
be such an idiot.

***
13:48 2 Mar

     The doorbell rang, the front door one, so I closed up the system
and made my way downstairs with my gaming stuff.  Today I was ready.

***
13:53 2 Mar

     "Your brother's having a fit trying to figure this out, you know,"
Kim mentioned.
     I chuckled.  "Yeah, the little snot.  Heheheheh..."  But there was
no way he'd figure it out.  Nobody could figure this out.  I barely kept
track of things myself, and I was right in the middle.

***
14:01 2 Mar

     "So what did you do this weekend?"
     "Who, me?"
     Mike gave me a look.  "You're the one with the interesting life
now."
     "Uh," I ticked items off on my fingers.  "Sleepover at Lisa's,
breakfast with her parents and everyone, babysitting last night,
breakfast this morning, and that's it so far."
     Mike put his head down on the table.  "That's it, he says..." he
mumbled.
     "Well, hey," Kim asked Mike, "what are you doing next weekend?"
     Mike's head snapped up.  "Why?"
     She shrugged innocently.  "No reason."  I didn't believe her
either.

***
18:06 2 Mar

     "Hey, do I get a hug or what?" Mike complained.
     Kathy let me go, and she gave him the eye.  "Why?"
     "You gave him one!"
     She stared at him for a while.  Then she said, "You show up at the
next sleepover, _appropriately_ dressed, and we'll see."
     He looked most vexed.

***
18:10 2 Mar

     Kim and I laughed ourselves sick in the car.
     "Oooh, oh, oh," she gasped, "and that black wig would be PERFECT
for him!"  I just howled.

***
22:39 2 Mar

     *Oh, God, and I gotta get up for school tomorrow?* I thought
wearily.  *Thank God I got most of my math done babysitting.  At least
spring break is only a week away.*  I hated homework.

***
07:56 3 Mar

     "God, Tuck, you look like hell," George observed.
     I moaned.  "I feel like hell.  I gotta stop this social stuff, or
drop out of school, or something..."

***
08:01 3 Mar

     Prince's "When Doves Cry" played over the speakers.  I wasn't sure
if that was a sign or not.

***
08:11 3 Mar

     "Hey, Tuck?" Mike asked as we were on our way out.
     "What?  I gotta get to-"
     "Were they serious?"  He looked worried.
     "Who serious about what?"
     He gave me a look.  "The girls, about...."
     Oh.  I chuckled.  "Gee, I dunno, why don't you ask them at lunch?"

***
11:27 3 Mar

     "Hey, Tuck, did you like working Saturday night?" Debbie asked me
as we walked to the foyer.
     "Uh, yeah, I guess, it was okay.  Why?"  It had gone off better
than the last time I'd babysat, anyway.
     "Well, if you'd like, I asked around, and we thought you'd do okay,
if you wanted to do more of that."
     I THOUGHT I'd been lying about the networking thing when I'd been
snowing Dad.

***
11:35 3 Mar

     "Jeezus, Debbie, how long is this application anyway?"
     She sighed.  "We gotta know what you can do, so we can assign you
to stuff you can do and you want to do."  Which didn't answer my
question.  I looked through it, and counted four pages.  With multiple
choice and essay.  I'd had shorter final exams.

***
11:48 3 Mar

     "So are you finally going to join the ranks of the employed?" Jill
teased.
     I rubbed my crippled hand and nodded.  "I hope so... do I have to
go through an interview now or what?"  Everyone got kind of quiet, and
looked at me.  "Oh, come on!"  They all broke up.

***
14:53 3 Mar

     "Hey, Tuck!"  I looked up as Debbie called me.  As she got closer,
she told me, "I got a cancellation tonight, I don't have to work.  Want
to do something?  Together?"
     I sighed, deeply.  "Yeah, I really do, but I am so tired..."  A
thought struck me.  "Maybe you could just come over and hang out for a
little while?"

***
16:02 3 Mar

     I looked over at her as we lay on the bed.  She finally looked up.
     "Sorry," I apologized, "I know this isn't much fun-"
     "It's okay... it was a pretty exciting weekend for you, I guess."
     I nodded.  "I'm not used to it yet, and I never did catch up on my
sleep from the last time or two.  Not that I wasn't having fun," I
added hastily, "it's just I'm almost completely exhausted."  I squeezed
her hand.  "But I really like just being here with you like this."
     She poked me, lightly this time.  "At least you changed the
sheets."  She stroked my leg.  "I like being here too."

***
17:04 3 Mar

     She sighed and put her book down.  "I gotta go home, Mom's fixing
dinner."
     I sighed.  "Can I get a kiss before you leave me?"
     The kiss she gave me told me that she didn't want to leave either.
And that she missed being alone with me.  A lot.

***
11:38 5 Mar

     "Hey, Tuck, you wanna do some babysitting next week?"
     "That's spring break, Deb!"
     "I was just asking..."
     "Let me think about it."

***
17:07 5 Mar

     "Tuck?" Mike asked.
     I looked up from our history.  "Huh?"
     "Are you ever gonna stop doing that stuff with the Pack?"
     I let out a breath.  "Man, I dunno.  When I think about it... I
just don't know WHAT to think.  It's fun hanging with them, but the, uh,
prerequisites are a little annoying."
     "A little.  Tuck, do you realize you've done things no self
respecting guy would ever do?"
     "Self respect is a strange thing, Mike," I pointed out.  "And being
around a bunch of girls like that who DON'T gag in my general direction
or make geek references all the time makes me feel better."
     "Yeah," he shifted on his bed, "but, I mean, you've never shown
tendencies in that direction before..."  I snorted.  "So what's the deal
now?"
     I sighed.  "Mike, like you said, YOU said a long time ago, it's
either go with it, or not.  It's like a package deal, man.  And I LIKE
hanging with 'em.  It's a lot of fun, with all of 'em running around and
stuff like I'm not even there.  And I'm getting to be more like friends
with some of 'em, like Jill and Kim."
     "Yeah, but what about, I mean, when was the last time you came with
us and hung around, besides the gaming?"  He looked concerned.  "You're
getting too far into this, man, losing your perspective."
     "More chink wisdom?" I joked.
     He deadpanned, "Straight from the slant-eyed master, here,
grasshopper.  Open your little dead fish ears and listen."  I hit him,
which he blocked.  "Seriously, Tuck.  You need to come out with us guys
a couple of times, re-balance your life, remember what it's like in the
rest of the world."
     I sighed again.  I _had_ been missing them.  "Yeah, I guess... how
about this weekend sometime?  Maybe Saturday?"
     "I think it'd be good for you," he nodded.

***
11:31 6 Mar

     Debbie asked, "You still want to do that demo tonight with me?"
     "Yeah," I said warily, "but what's the catch to it?  You keep
saying I won't want to go..."

***
14:52 6 Mar

     "We got some time to kill," she pointed out as we walked to her
car.  "Whatcha wanna do?"
     "Go shopping," I joked.

***
16:22 6 Mar

     Haha, funny joke.
     "Ah, jeez, I dunno about that one."
     Her eyebrows went together.  "What's wrong with it?"
     "I, uh."  I walked up to her and turned her around to the mirror.
"See, here, how it's like too tight?" I pointed it out, and she looked
at it.
     "Hmmm.  You think?"
     "Yeah, it makes you look like you just grew a cup size after you
bought it."
     She made a face.  "Okay, but if it was bigger?"
     "Maybe."

***
16:49 6 Mar

     "I'm glad I'm doing something tonight," I joked with her as I paid
for our burgers.  "See how the money just disappears?"
     She shrugged.  "Welcome to capitalism."  Her hand swooped down.
"It goes in DEES way," and her other hand swooped up, "and den it goes
out DEES way.  Like a REEVER."

***
17:44 6 Mar

     I sighed.
     "Second thoughts?" she asked as we dug stuff out of the trunk.
     "No, I just wish I didn't have to carry all of it anywhere."
     She hoisted another case out.  "At least we don't have to carry it
all across Deighton U this time."
     I put my hands together and said, "Thank God for small blessings!"
     "I just hope she cleared out the living room enough," Debbie
worried.

***
18:02 6 Mar

     "Good afternoon," said Debbie in a very professional sounding
voice, "and thank you for coming!"
     "Now," she continued, walking around a little, "I know that Mary
Kay is sort of a big joke to everybody, but they really do produce some
superior products, in my opinion.  And I brought my boyfriend here to
prove it!"  She flourished a hand at me, and I smiled.  On cue.
     The assorted suburban mothers giggled politely.  On cue.

***
18:47 6 Mar

     Debbie was demonstrating how different eyeshadows made my eyes
look different, when I saw someone pass by in the back.  *Oh, God, no!*
I thought in a panic.
     Then he came back.  It was, in fact, the right tackle of our
varsity football team.  I think that's what he did, anyway.  He was
staring at me, and everything else, and then he started to laugh.  While
pointing at me.  "Oh, my God, what's the little faggot doing?"
     "Drew!" our hostess shrieked at him.
     "Mom, look at him!" he laughed.  And pointed.  "He looks just like
a girl like that!"
     "Drew!" she said again, in a tone of voice I recognized quite well.
She was most pissed.  "Get over here!"
     His tune changed instantly.  "What?  Mom, I gotta-"
     "I said," her voice getting amazingly forceful, "come here.  Now."
     "Mooommmm!" Drew whined.  He sounded really desperate.  But he came
over.  Debbie and I looked at each other.  She looked impressed.

***
18:52 6 Mar

     I sat on one of the couches, next to Mrs. Lewis, as we watched
Debbie work on her son.  "Thank you, ma'am," I said politely as she
handed me the hors d'ouvres.
     Debbie lectured in her sales voice as she worked.  "Now, since Drew
has a darker, more tanned complexion than Tuck, what I'm gonna use
is..."
     Drew, for some reason, didn't look happy at all.

***
19:11 6 Mar

     I was taking an order from one woman, when I saw a camera flash.  I
looked up, and Debbie was taking another snapshot with her 35mm
Kodak-momentizer, the one she kept in her purse for moments like this,
of dearest Drew, now ready for a night on the town.  In San Franscisco.
Or ready to kill, except his mother was holding him back by sheer force
of will.  It didn't look like a contest for Mrs. Lewis.
     "Wow," Debbie mentioned as she took another shot, "I just can't
believe it, I've NEVER done work that good, I have just got to save
this."
     "Could I get some reprints?" Mrs. Lewis asked.  "I'd be-
     "MOM!" Drew shrieked.  I didn't think he could hit that high a
note.  He must've been worried.  I wondered why, haha.
     "-willing to pay you for them, of course," she continued, without
stopping.
     "Now, who do I make the check out to?" the woman in front of me
asked.  It was hard to get my attention away from Drew, but I managed.
     "D and E Personal Services, ma'am," I told her.
     "Are you the 'D' or the 'E'?"
     It took me a minute.  "Actually, ma'am," I was laying the
politeness on kind of thick, but I figured the contrast between me and
Drew was for the best.  "She's the 'D'," I pointed to Debbie, "and the
'E' isn't here.  I'm just a subcontractor."

***
20:04 6 Mar

     "Well, take care, okay?" I told her.  "Study hard."
     "I will."  She gave me a kiss through the window, then rolled it
up, waved, and drove off.

***

"Seen on a car, I swear: I feed on the flesh of the living, and I vote"

TS Tip #17: Eat light.  It's cheaper, neater, expected, and you need to
lose a few pounds anyway.


"Tallyho!"      \   /     @>--,--'--  ehayes@nym.alias.net  + vicki .sig
Ellen Hayes --=(*)=(*)=-- Renaissance Woman    ==[--------  + virus 9.1a
            http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/5734/


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