Chapter Twenty-Eight (Part One)

The phone rang in Aldrich again. This time, Melody answered, but a girl's voice was on the other end of the line. "May I speak to Edwin, please?" she asked in her most proper voice.
Melody knew this had to be the infamous Delilah, the object of Edwin's considerable affection. She was tempted to lie to Delilah and say Edwin wasn't there, but she couldn't do that. So she handed the phone to him.
"I had to call you. I couldn't wait to tell you the news. Guess what, Edwin? I sold my first masterpiece today!"
"Wow, really? Congratulations!" replied Edwin. "So, how are you going to celebrate?"
"That's why I called. I'm having a little get-together at my place. You can come if you like. Maybe bring some of your dorm mates."
"You -- having a party?" Edwin asked Delilah. "But I thought the reason you got your uncle to get you that apartment was so you wouldn't have to live in this crazy dorm."
"Well," Delilah laughed, "a special occasion calls for special activities. So why not a little get-together?"
Edwin sighed. "Okay, I'm there. What time does it start?"
"Eight-thirty. I'm ordering takeout."
"Sounds good. See you then?" As Edwin hung up the phone, he gathered the others around. "Delilah's having a get-together at her place, and she's invited us to come."
Melody scoffed. "You think I'm going to set foot in that snooty girl's house?"
Edwin managed a chuckle. "It's only for a couple of hours. Besides, it's something different to do."
"I can't," Chester said, remembering one of his physics classes was from 7 to 10 at night, "I've got night class. Sorry."
"I'll go," piped Marla. "Better than milling around here. Melody?"
Shaking her head, Melody replied, "I'll think about it. Besides, if Marla's going, I don't see why not."
Edwin smiled. "Excellent. I'll call the cab at eight-fifteen."

Delilah's apartment on Bundt Way stood out in a lot of ways. Her favorite color was yellow, so she'd decorated it both inside and out in that color. Its cheery exterior reminded Melody a bit of her girlhood home. When they arrived, Edwin saw a bunch of students had already made it there, a couple of whom they recognized from their dorm. He also recognized Mitch Indie and Max Flexor, the guys who lived in the apartments across the street from Delilah.
Meanwhile, Edwin quickly decided that this little get-together was a bona fide party, so many people here, so he walked up to Delilah's bookcase and started reading. Marla had discovered the food and parked herself right by the Chinese boxes. And Melody? Mitch Indie and Max Flexor had rounded her up and started playing a game of kicky bag.
Delilah herself walked around and made the party rounds. "Hey Edwin," she teased, "what are you doing reading a book at a party?"
"You said a get-together. You didn't say a party, Dee."
"More people showed up than I thought would come. People just walked in off the street."
After Marla finished eating her Chinese takeout, Melody had her in stitches bragging about what she'd done to Gilbert Jacquet at the last party she'd attended -- of course the annual Christmas bash down in Bluewater. "I can't believe you actually hit that guy," an astonished Marla replied, half-giggling.
"If he'd have done it again I would have hit him again," Melody said matter-of-factly. "That's how angry I was that night."
As Melody turned away, Marla came closer. She had a faraway look in her big brown eyes as she stood, deep in thought. "Penny for them?" she asked, touching Melody's shoulder slightly.
"Hmm?" To say Melody was distracted was an understatement. She had a lot on her mind.
"You're miles away," chuckled Marla. "Care to share?"
Melody wrapped her arms around her body, feeling chilled. "I'm worried about mom," she muttered, her eyes downcast. "She's not getting any younger and even though she said she'd be okay in the shop, I still don't trust that creep."
"Malcolm Landgraab." Marla nodded.
"Yep, the one and only. If he knew she was there, he'd be there like a vulture, turning the thumbscrews until she finally caved in to him."
"But the company is yours, not hers."
Melody let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Since when has that stopped him before? It certainly won't stop him from trying."
Marla stood thinking a little while. Then she brightened up with an idea. "I know!" she said, her whole face lighting up. "How about me dropping out of college to help your mom around the house and shop?"
Melody looked at her with horror. "Do you realize what you're saying?" she said, grabbing both of Marla's forearms and shaking her.
"Yes."
Marla's certainty forced tears out of Melody's eyes. "I can't let you do that! Especially not on account of me! What about college? And your future? You'd be throwing it all away!"
"I know, but I really want to help out as much as possible. Besides, I know you've got your own dreams. Learning you'd inherited your dad's toy shop was a big shock to you."
"Yeah, it was, but..." Melody was incredulous. Marla was completely and totally selfless, asking for nothing in return. Deep down Melody wished she could be that way -- it was an admirable quality. She couldn't believe Marla was perfectly willing to sacrifice her own future for hers. "Besides, who am I going to tease over their obsession with Harry Potter?"
Melody's comment forced a smile out of Marla.
A while later, Delilah walked outside with Mitch and a couple of the other guests. While Edwin was leaving, he caught Mitch and Delilah locking themselves in an embrace, to his horror. Too stunned to say anything, Edwin ran away from Delilah's house as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, Melody decided that she'd had enough of kicky bag and started doing her math assignment, all the while Delilah was entertaining her guests. Nobody seemed to realize Edwin was gone.
Or did they? Marla, normally in a little world of her own, just happened to be clearing away a few empty cartons when she saw Edwin dashing off in the dark. Turning around, she saw Delilah and Mitch in a lip lock. She shrugged it off. They were just kissing...nothing wrong with that. She wondered why Edwin left so early and so quickly. Perhaps it was some bad Chinese food he'd eaten. There again, he'd hardly touched any of it at all. Normally he'd wolf down at least two helpings and gaze longingly at everybody else's, hoping they'd leave some behind. Something was up, but she wasn't entirely sure what it was.

Across campus, Edwin's sister, Roxie, was having an argument with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Jonah Powers, who'd approached her after she was taking her bath. "What's the big idea?" Jonah shouted to the top of his voice. "You come home late from your classes, the phone rings off the hook --"
"Dr. Hyden is helping me with physics. I was considering dropping his class until he offered to help."
"Perhaps he's giving you more 'help' than he needs to."
Roxie was aghast. "What are you talking about, Jonah? You're being silly!"
"I'm not being silly, Rox, I'm just being real. And what about all those phone calls?"
Roxie fell to her knees. "I'm not allowed to have friends, Jonah?"
"Nope, none other than me."
"And what about my brother? You practically forced him to leave here."
"He was getting in the way, Rox, you said so yourself."
"I didn't say anything, Jonah, you did."
"Besides, dorks have no place here." Jonah began posturing and flexing his muscles.
Roxie straightened up and rose. "He may be a dork, but he's still my brother -- the only one I have."
"What, are you going to let him back in here?"
"Well, the least I can do is let him get his stuff that he left here."
"I'll tell you one thing," Jonah demanded, "if he as much as sets foot in this apartment, I'm leaving!"
Just as their argument had reached a boiling point, the doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" wondered Roxie as she walked to the door to see who was there. Her brother Edwin was standing there, his face as green as the shirt he was wearing.
"Whoever it is," yelled Jonah from the bedroom they shared, "tell them to get lost."
"Ed?" said Roxie, concerned about her younger brother. Edwin said nothing, but walked into the house and headed straight for the fridge. Emerging from their shared bedroom, Jonah shouted, "What's that little creep doing here? I thought I told you he wasn't welcome!"
Roxie watched as Edwin reached into the fridge and brought out the chocolate milk. She instantly knew what that meant... he was troubled.
"Leave him alone," she said, pushing past Jonah.
"Ed?" she asked, sitting down on the sofa next to Edwin, "is everything okay?"
"I warned you," bellowed Jonah, wagging a finger, his face turning a deep purple, "if he stays, I go."
Roxie spun around and flashed an evil look at Jonah. Standing up, she walked up to him and glared straight into his eyes. "Fine," she said harshly, "just go then."
Jonah looked stunned, his mouth agape.
"Well?" demanded Roxie, her arms folded defensively, "what are you waiting for? Nobody's stopping you."
Jonah walked out the door without another word to anyone.
Meanwhile, Edwin continued to spill his guts to his sister, a year his senior, but in his youth acted like a mother figure to him. "I had a crush on this girl, Delilah O'Feefe. Long, tall, legs for miles."
Roxie scratched her head. "I think I know who you're talking about."
"I was in love with her, I think," Edwin said simply, "and she betrayed me."
"Maybe she didn't feel the same way about you, little brother," Roxie replied. "Perhaps you jumped the gun a little bit too quickly."
"No, I didn't do anything," Edwin insisted, "except I happened to be walking outside and I caught her in the arms of another guy."
Roxie put her hand on Edwin's shoulder. "Ed -- Ed, I'm really sorry." Even as a romance-oriented person, accustomed to loving 'em and leaving 'em, this stung. Edwin buried his face in his hands. "Well, where are you staying now?"
"Aldrich."
Roxie was intrigued. "And you like it there?"
"Yeah," Edwin answered without hesitation. "I've made a few friends, too." He managed a smile. This was strange, Roxie decided. Her brother had never liked being in the dorms, that was why he'd come to live with her. And he'd made friends there? "Do I know any of these new friends of yours?"
Edwin shook his head. "Nope, I don't think so."
Roxie smiled. "Well, you can crash here for the night. I don't want you walking back to the dorm by yourself. Besides, I'd like to meet these new friends of yours one day."
Jonah, in the meantime, raged inwardly as he trudged around campus. Roxie was his meal ticket and the roof over his head. He'd been kicked out of a couple of dorms for fighting and general troublemaking.
He would lay the puppy dog act and she'd fall for it, hook, line, and sinker. The only thing that got in his way was that dorky kid brother of hers. Driving him out, in his mind, would make his life a living hell.
Life had been good so far, thought Jonah. He went where he pleased and did what he wanted. But now, that little creep was back, and he was the one who had nowhere to stay. Perhaps one of his bed companions could put him up for the night?