Spring Break Special

Author's note: I decided to do this not as a specific chapter but a special section in itself. I apologize for the delay in getting this out, but I got a new job, I bought a new computer, and I had to completely rebuild my game.

A few days later the van arrived in front of Aldrich Dormitory to pick up Melody and Marla. Edwin, and Chester were already in the van, along with two other students. “Ok, I don’t know about this,” Melody whispered.
“Relax, we all NEED this vacation,” Marla said. “After all, Chester’s graduating in a couple days.” Upon arrival at the tranquil Flaming Dragon hotel in Takemizu Village, Melody felt at home, comforted.... calm.... it was.... well words really couldn't describe how she felt at that precise moment. Maybe she did need this vacation after all. Take her away from the stresses and strains of college life and the fact that she STILL had to run Tinker Toys too. At least the dark cloud that was Malcolm Landgraab, had lifted for now.
Marla walked up to the check-in counter and put down the names of their college group. After she did, the group followed their concierge to their assigned hotel rooms.
A stunned bunch gazed in awe at Melody’s carefully crafted vacation itinerary. She had drawn a map of Takemizu and pointed out every nook and cranny in the village. She had planned every moment of the trip, even down to the times they would go to bed at night so they would go exploring the next day.
Chester, fed up with watching the sci-fi marathon in his hotel room, went in search of Melody. She'd been gone a while and he was getting more than concerned. He'd just turned the corner when he saw her, raking the Zen garden, her face a picture of concentration and contentment.
In the fading sunlight, where the rays caught the lines and contours of her face, he thought she looked radiant too. But in his eyes, she'd always been radiant. That was part of her charm. "Uh, Mel?"
He didn't want to disturb her, but he knew she hadn't eaten much all day.
"Want to join the rest of us for sushi? Marla's looking green at the thoughts of it, it'll be fun to see what she does."
Melody managed a slight chuckle at this. “It’d be fun to watch the expression on her face. That alone is worth the price of admission.”
After dinner, she joined them and a townie whose name they’d forgotten for a game of mahjong. He walked them through how the game was played and they assembled the pieces in companionable silence.
Chester kept looking up into Melody’s eyes, the laser focus so evident in her work showing up here at the mahjong table.

"Mel?" It was totally random and unexpected. Especially coming from Chester.
"Mhm?"
"Have you considered corrective eye surgery.... or contacts?"

"What on earth for? My eyes are fine."
"It's just that you have really pretty eyes, and they shouldn't be covered by those spectacles you keep wearing."
"I don't like anything touching my face.... besides, the surgery could go badly wrong and then what? I'd be blinded either partially or fully."
"You're just stalling and you know it."

"No I'm not."
"Then give it some thought, will you?"
Melody groaned. She was an independent person. She didn't need anybody to tell her what to do. However, Chester HAD hit a nerve.... as she HAD been considering doing something like this for a while herself.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, before everyone else had even awakened, Melody set out on her own to explore the picturesque Far East tourist village. Her friends had been watching in wonderment as all her cares seemed to melt away in the steaming hot springs. She'd been able to enjoy herself, to truly let herself go. They knew how much Melody savored her solitude, so they spent the majority of the rest of the trip simply staying out of her way.

She found herself actually savoring the environment and the ambience, determined to immerse herself in the culture. Unlike her friends, who looked at this trip as simply a way to unwind from the pressures of college, Melody seemed resolved to soak in as much knowledge as she could.
Unfortunately, her early-morning rush to take in the sights led to her stepping into a hive full of ravenous bees, the sight of her seeming to them an oasis in a desert. Still before anyone awakened, she disappeared into a soaking shower and set off again.

Despite being in pain from the multiple bee-stings she took, she emanated a feeling of complete calm and tranquility, comfortable in her treasured solitude and content, finally, in her own skin. Her identity secure, Melody inhaled the sights and sounds of the Asian tourist village.

And her natural curiosity took over from here. She ate chirashi, an Eastern delicacy made from fish, learned the acupressure massage, learned to bow, and learned the Tai Chi, in addition to yoga. However, she had one disappointment on her first full day of exploring. When she sought the ninja, to learn how to teleport from place to place instead of merely walking, she was unable to find him. Perhaps she took it as a metaphor for her inability to solve some of the mysteries of being.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, the two lovebirds Edwin and Marla remained blissfully in bed. When Melody returned, she teased, "Are you two going to sleep your vacation away?"

Edwin groggily turned over. "Haven't we been through this?"

"C'mon, you guys, there's SO much to do here! You haven't tried the chirashi yet, have you? It's delightful. And you haven't learned the Tai Chi or the acupressure."

"C'mon, Mel," Marla pleaded, "we just got here. After getting up at 6 am for morning classes, we deserve this sleep."

"Suit yourselves, then," Melody said. "But I'm going to make the most of this."

Chapter Thirty-Seven (Part Two)

Author's note: My sincerest apologies for being gone so long, real life intervened, plus I'm still having difficulty staying motivated. This has, after all, gone on for over a year. Well, without further ado, here's my next update.

Melody tried to go through the next several weeks like normal. However, they were anything but normal. Relations between herself and Dr. Hyden were understandably strained. After all, DNA test results would determine whether or not he was her biological father. The fact that this was even possible made Melody uneasy.
On top of everything else, there was Stella. Stella seemed to be everywhere, even in Melody’s private papers. “So, you’re beaming reports about me to the mothership, am I correct?”
Stella nodded.
“Why am I the subject of this experiment?” she asked.
“Don’t ask me,” Stella snapped, “ask the pod leader. He shipped me down here to watch you. Frankly, I haven’t found anything interesting.”
“I don’t have time for this, Stella,” Melody shouted, “I’ve got school, and homework, and I’ve got a business to run.”
“Business?”
“My father’s toy company, Tinker Toys. When he passed away last fall, he left the business to me.”
“Okay, okay, don’t get all hyper about it. Who told you to beam a flashlight in the sky?”
“It was an experiment.”
“You all say that ‘an experiment’ like you’re playing with a toy. We’re not toys. We live and breathe just like you do.” Stella was aghast as she saw Melody's eyes wandering towards what she'd been writing. "What are you looking at?" she asked angrily.
“Well, you’re ‘toying’ with us the exact same way, aren’t you?” Melody left Stella’s room in a huff, slamming the door angrily.

Chester had woken up from a deep sleep when the doorbell rang. It was Melody, paying him an unexpected visit. “My class this morning got cancelled,” she said, “so I thought I should see how you were doing.”
He was glad to see her. While he turned on his Gamecube, she gently needled him about his expanding waistline. “Any more pizza and burgers and you’ll look like your buddy Ed,” she teased. “You probably should lay off of them.”
“And what do you eat, tofu and salads and bran cereal?”
“Well, yeah,” Melody said. "They're good for you. Did you know that one slice of pepperoni pizza has 366 calories, 15.6 grams of fat, 41 grams of carbohydrates, and 668 grams of sodium?"

"Really, Mel?" asked Chester.

"Do I need to go on with those burgers? They're worse, believe it or not."

"Um, nah, never mind," Chester grinned.
She’d brought over a new game, and Chester squealed. “No! Do NOT tell me that’s Fallout 3!”
“It sure is!” Melody exclaimed.
“How’d you get it? It’s not even out yet!”
“The folks at Microsoft sent me a copy when I told them I was from Tinker Toys.”
“Must be nice, to be able to snap your fingers and get whatever you want,” Chester mumbled, halfway laughing as he said it.
For Melody, though, it was just like old times -- no Jessica, no hangers on, no pressure. Just like it used to be. Just like it should be. She was just a girl hanging out with her best friend -- who just happened to be a guy.
But even she could feel the distance that had grown between them over these last several weeks -- a gulf had opened up that even this day couldn’t completely close. Sure, Jessica’s presence in Chester’s life was part of it, but so was the fact that Chester was nearing graduation and was spending a lot of time preparing for that inevitability. “You know, Chester, I haven’t been seeing very much of you. I mean, I know you’ve been busy -- but -- but you haven’t called or anything. I’ve -- I’ve been worried.”
Chester’s reaction was strange. “Worried? About me?”
Melody tried to laugh it off. “No, I don’t mean that -- I just mean -- you know, I’ve been concerned, that’s all. I thought maybe aliens might have abducted you or something --”
Managing a chuckle, Chester remembered that was a joke only they could comprehend. Turning his attention to the death ray flying across the TV screen, he shouted, “Aaaah! You’re dead, sucker!”
“I’ll get you next time!” promised Melody, shouting into Chester’s ear.
“You’re nervous about that paternity test, aren’t you?” Chester said.
Melody shook her head. “Nope,” she replied firmly as she pressed on her game controller. “I’ve taken it, I’m done. I’ve got it out of my mind.”
“Really, Mel? Seriously, finally knowing the truth about your father could answer some questions you’ve had for awhile.”
“I’ve known the answers to these questions for awhile. It doesn’t really matter anymore. Stephen Tinker was the one who raised me, therefore he was my father, whether by blood or not.”
The subject then turned to life at the dorm. "Now everyone in the dorm thinks I’ve gone coo-coo for cocoa puffs.”
“They’ve suspected that for awhile, Mel,” Chester teased, “but I know better.” He gave a sly wink.
“I wish things would be like they used to be. Things would be a lot easier that way.”
“Would you want to go back where YOU came from?” teased Chester.
“Bluewater Village?” Melody laughed. “Of course not! Maybe to visit, but to live --”
“Speaking of live --” Chester’s expression turned serious. “Would you like to live here?”
“Chester, are you serious?”
“I’m dead serious. It’s been too quiet in here lately. Sure, Jessica comes and visits, but most of the time I’ve been here alone. I like it sometimes, but sometimes it just gets lonely. I’ve even had a few visits from the social bunny.”
“C’mon, Ches, it can’t be that bad.”
“Believe me, it’s been that bad. Edwin’s been mostly with his fiancée --”
“Hey, what did you think about that, huh? When Marla told me, I was shocked.”
Chester then turned deadly serious. “The graduation ceremonies are next week.”
“I know. Time sure does fly, huh?”
“I’m thinking -- I’m thinking we ought to do something before then.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. All of us. We can bring Ed and Marla too.”
Melody was puzzled. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about one last blast, with all of us together. C’mon, Mel, say you’ll do it. Please? For me.”
Melody placed her index finger on her cheek in a thoughtful pose. Chester had always thought it looked adorable. “Mm -- I’ll think about it.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven (Part Two)

By now Melody had to keep wondering why she seemed to be ‘chosen’ by these beings. Most had never been ‘abducted,’ and this was now her second time. After being beamed up to the spaceship’s control room, Melody looked around, part in disgust and part in wonder. “Where am I and what am I doing here?”
Stella Terrano stepped up. She was wearing a crisp white uniform and her short black hair was slicked back on her head. “You summoned us.”
“I did?” Melody said in disbelief.
“Yes, you did. With your flashlight.”
“Wait a minute, not anyone can just put a flashlight to a telescope and get whisked away on a spaceship.”
“No, they can’t. That takes a special talent, possessed by someone who’s done this before.”
“I’ve -- I’ve never done it before.”
Stella encircled Melody. “When you came the first time, we inserted a chip inside of you.”
“A chip?”
“A microchip that is undetectable by the naked human eye. You don’t even know it’s there.”
“How -- how did it get there?”
The alien pod leader stepped forward. “We put it in there. We sedated you while we inserted the chip in a covert operation. In human time it only took a few seconds, but it’s a few hours our time. We do it to every human who comes up here.”
“So, I’ve been walking around for five years with a microchip inside of me and I didn’t find out until tonight?”
“That’s correct. We’ve monitored your every move, your every motion, everything you do. We’ve even watched you bathe.”
“Watched me bathe? But -- why would you want to look at me bathe?”
“For the last four years, you have been one of the subjects of our experiments. And, I have to tell you, we have found you fascinating. So fascinating, in fact, that we’re sending one of our own to shadow you.”
When Melody was ejected from the ship, Stella Terrano followed. I can’t believe I have to babysit this brat, Stella thought to herself.
Hurtling back to terra firma at warp speed, Melody and Stella hit the asphalt with a mighty thud. Rubbing their heads in unison, they exchanged bewildered and disgusted glares. How on earth were they going to live with each other? How would Melody, accustomed to keeping her own company, adjust to having a green shadow around her all the time? And if that weren’t bad enough, the other denizens of the dorm crowded around the departing spaceship to see what was going on. Had they seen what they thought they saw -- or was it merely a mirage? Whatever it was, Melody had to do her best to keep her secret a secret, which would be much easier said than done.

Dr. Katherine Lyons was among the noted artists in the area, and as an adjunct professor of art at Academie Le Tour, she taught a couple of classes. One of them was advanced portraiture. Dr. Lyons' advanced portraiture class was among the most sought-after art classes at Le Tour. A student had to demonstrate substantial artistic ability just to get into the class, and most of the students in it were junior and senior art majors.
Dr. Lyons divided the students into pairs, one student to paint, the other to be the subject. She paired Melody with Allegra Gorey, and Melody couldn't help but steal a few extra glances at the lanky transfer student with the pasty white complexion and the frosty manner to match.
"Okay, which of us is going to be the artist and which of us is going to be the subject?" asked Melody.
Allegra turned away from her and didn't respond.
Just who does she think she is, Melody thought to herself. Whipping out her paintbrushes, Melody decided to paint Allegra, her arms resolutely folded, her profile fixed like granite.
"Portraiture is the most difficult of the artistic disciplines. One of the major tenets of portraiture is to pay attention to your subject," Dr. Lyons admonished. "A portrait artist cannot capture every single feature of his or her subject, but it is the duty of that artist to capture those elements that lend credence to the interpretation of the subject."
Melody glanced again at Allegra. Her straight black hair sat down on her head like a helmet, weighted down with heavy oils and conditioners. And she wore dark glasses that hid her eyes.
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. But what if those windows were slammed shut? How can one tell what a person is like then?
Melody then remembered her summer painting lessons with Darren Dreamer. What Dr. Lyons had been saying wasn't new to her. Portraiture was a challenging discipline to master. Sure, she could paint as many moons and stars as she wanted, and do them well. But getting the hang of the nuances of people's faces was a great challenge to her. Especially since she really didn't like people very much. She could count on one hand how many people she actually tolerated.
Portraiture was all about perception, Melody decided. How was she going to perceive Allegra on the canvas?
Allegra kept shooting angry glances at Melody. What does she have against me? Melody wondered as she mixed up white and peach paints to produce an ocher porcelain for Allegra's skin.
Advanced portraiture was a three-hour seminar class, so the students had to paint as much as they could in the allotted time. "What are you doing here?" Melody asked.
"I was just about to ask you the same question," muttered Allegra as she washed her hands alongside Melody.
"I take this class."
"You're only a freshman, why are you here? Only juniors and seniors even get in here."
"How do you know I'm a freshman?"
"The campus directory says a lot about you -- who you are, where you stay on campus, what your major is --"
Melody took a deep breath. "Hey, this isn't a police interrogation, you know."
Reluctantly, Allegra extended her hand. "Allegra Gorey, I transferred here from Sim State."
Melody took it, just as reluctantly, and was briefly shocked when she felt the thin bony fingers and the hard calluses. Yes, this was indeed the hand of a true artist, as Melody's hands had the same callused ridges too, although a few more had been added, when she'd started working on the robot crafting workbench.
"You've got a man's hands," Allegra cracked.
Melody shot back, "I've got my father's hands. He was a toymaker. He spent all day at workbenches."
"A toymaker?" Allegra scoffed. "I thought those went by the wayside years ago."
"Well, he was a cop, but he and my mom both made wooden toys on the side."
"Kids don't play with those anymore."
Melody winced. "You'd be surprised."
"And how would you know?"
Melody was defensive. "Believe me, I -- I just know."
Allegra leaned over to see what Melody was doing.
"Hey, are you going to keep still so I can paint you or what?" Melody snapped.
Allegra reluctantly folded her arms as Melody continued to paint. Dr. Lyons nodded her head in approval as she passed by. When class disbursed for the day, Melody walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

The next afternoon Dr. Hyden paced nervously around Aspirational Laboratories. “Do you need anything, Doctor?” a lady bringing coffee mugs around asked.
“No, thanks,” the prof mumbled.
“Are you waiting for someone?”
No sooner had the lady asked that than Melody arrived at the door -- and she had Chester in tow. “Well if it isn’t Miss Tinker -- and she’s brought Mr. Gieke with her, what a surprise.”
“Let’s make one thing clear,” Melody said, stepping up to the professor. “I’m not here to play games.”
“Neither am I, Miss Tinker.”
“You told me to meet you here. Why?”
Dr. Hyden took a deep breath. “I know that you’re still in possession of the cowplant formula, and I know that you’re still doing experiments against nature. But that’s not why I’m here.”
“Really?”
“I’m here because this is where they do the DNA tests.”
Melody nodded. “So you agree this needs to be done?”
“Yes, if for no other reason than my own peace of mind.”
Dr. Hyden and Melody walked up to the machines. A lot of thoughts went through their minds. An accident of fate had brought them together, but what if they were actually related by blood?
The notion of her department head being her biological father left an uneasy sensation in her spine and a bad taste in her mouth. Melody stole a glance backward at Chester, who let loose a wan smile.
Dr. Hyden and Melody sat in chairs right next to each other. Neither of them could bear affording the other a mere peep as laboratory workers drew vials of blood from each of them. The answer wouldn’t come this afternoon, or the next, or the next. It would be a winding conclusion to an agonizing wait that began the September afternoon that Stephen Tinker was buried. The question of Melody’s paternity would finally be answered. Or would it?
They say that the truth should set you free. In Melody’s case, would the truth bind her even further? Or, at this point, did the truth even matter? What was the truth?
What Melody Tinker had known as ‘truth’ for eighteen years had been poked, prodded, ripped apart at the seams. She knew that she was raised by two people who loved and cared for her, that was all she knew. Many kids didn’t have two parents. Some had one -- or none. She should consider herself lucky.
So why was she here? Why was she sitting in a laboratory, next to a man she despised, in a half-assed effort to determine if he was her biological father? Why was she being poked and prodded with needles? She was supposed to be the one doing the experiments, not the one being experimented on. What was she seeking here?
Validation.
All this time, all this work, she wanted to know she was on the right course. But what course? Just where in fact was she going? It seemed so easy when she was younger. It was, study like mad, make the best grades, and then spend her free time learning more stuff. But now, it wasn’t so easy. Now she had to worry about a ‘social life.’ People wondering why, up to now, she’d never really had one. People whispering about her behind her back. Some, like Chaz Whippler, asking her uncomfortable questions right to her face.
Now, though, had Melody really gone too far? And, more importantly, what could she do about it?

Chapter Thirty-Seven (Part One)

After Melody hung up with Chester, she thought a lot about what he'd said. Whenever she became lost in thought she'd reach for her journal and jot all of it down.
Just as she started to write, though, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in!"
In walked Marla, and she was giddy. Her smile was as broad as her shoulders. "Why are you so happy?" Melody asked brusquely.
All Marla did was show Melody a glittering diamond ring.
Melody was thrown for a loop. "What's all this?"
"Don't you get it, Mel?"
Melody shook her head. "Get what?"
"Ed and I are getting married!"
"Married? I didn't even know you two were dating. When did this happen?"
"Ed proposed tonight, but we'd been seeing each other since before you went back to Bluewater. Just one day we were talking, and everything just opened up. I mean, it just made sense."
"Um -- congratulations, I guess." Melody shrugged her shoulders.
Her nonchalance took Marla by surprise. "That's it?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You're my best galpal, you're supposed to be hugging and kissing and be all happy and stuff like that."
Melody chuckled. "Marla -- I would be happier if this wasn't so sudden! I mean, I could see if you guys had been dating for six months or a year or so. I mean, you barely know each other!"
"Barely know each other? Melody, we've been dorm mates for 2 years. I know him as well as I know you. Probably better because he's around and you're not."
"You don't get it do you? I mean one day you're complaining about the lack of good men and the next you're engaged to another of my good friends. How am I supposed to react?"
"You think too much, Melody. Sometimes you just have to DO things."
Melody shook her head again and muttered to herself. Between Chester and Marla she sure had a lot to think about. And then there was Dr. Hyden. What in the world could he possibly want with her? And at Aspirational Labs too?
Melody tossed and turned in her bed, failing to receive even a wink's rest. So she tore the cover off her bed and did what she always did when she couldn't sleep.
She walked up to the balcony and stargazed with her telescope.
It had always come down to that for Melody. She remembered, right then and there, why she’d fallen in love with the study of the heavens. And now, stumbling on Pascal Curious' blog with explicit instructions for summoning, meant she could call them any time she felt like it.
Pascal, one of the famous Curious brothers, had written extensively about his journeys to the other dimension. He was very thorough in his findings, obviously getting all the details from his own first hand experiences. Pascal had even detailed the process by which aliens inseminate human subjects with their sperm.
In his journeys, Melody saw hers mirrored -- the only thing different was her age and her gender.
Intrigued by this new project, Melody took her notebook and a flashlight up to the balcony.
The night was perfect -- if a little chilly -- so she grabbed her bomber jacket to cover her arms while she stood outside. If the flashlight is held at the precise angle toward the Big and Little Dipper in the southeast sky, then just maybe, an alien spacecraft would recognize her. But, Melody knew, this scenario was farfetched at best and dependent largely on luck and timing."Hmm," Melody noted as she peered into her telescope, "Canis Major is tilted off its axis. I wonder why that is."
Every time she went to stargaze, from the time she was a little girl up to now, she'd carried a notebook with her, to diagram the positions of the constellations in the nighttime skies. There was, however, one page missing from the notebook -- the page from the night she was abducted. She’d wondered why that was -- and perhaps someone didn’t want her to know something that had happened that night.
Remembering Pascal’s notes, Melody held the flashlight over the viewing lens at the precise angle. She jotted down the positions of the constellations at that moment, in case something dramatic happened.
“Is this how Pascal Curious wrote it?” Melody asked as she continued to hold the flashlight over the viewing lens. About an hour later she could hear an odd noise in the distance. At first she thought it was someone whispering, but the sound grew louder and much more pronounced. It took awhile, but Melody recognized it. It couldn’t be that, right?
Melody took a step back and looked upward at the sky. It couldn’t be happening again? Could it? Had she actually succeeded in ‘summoning’ aliens?
Sure enough, a spaceship appeared in the sky, heading towards the balcony where Melody was standing. Was it going to crash land right on top of her?
By now, though, she was convinced something extraordinary was happening. She pulled her digital camera out of her pocket, trying to get a perfect picture.
But before she could get a good view, the spaceship had snatched her away.
It had happened again.

Meanwhile, back in Bluewater Village, Malcolm Landgraab and his paramour of the moment, Dina Caliente, were having a romantic candlelight dinner at his home. They touched on many different subjects, including Tinker Toys. “I don’t know if she thinks she has beaten me or not -”
“Are you talking about that dinky little toy shop?” Dina asked. “Give it a rest, Malcolm. What can you possibly do with a toy store anyway? You know nothing about toys.”
“First of all, it’s not a ‘dinky little toy shop,’ not anymore. Not since that girl took it over from her dead father.”
Dina looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“She’s expanded operations. My spies are telling me there are scheduled shop openings in Desiderata Valley and Belladonna Cove.” He then pulled out the Standard magazine cover, emblazoned with Melody’s picture on it.
“She made the cover of Standard?”
“With a three page spread.” Malcolm shook his head. “I tell you one thing. If she thinks she’s getting away with this, she’s got another thing coming.”
Dina shot a worried glance at Malcolm, whose smoky gray eyes smoldered with something she didn’t recognize. “What are you planning?” she asked.
Just as suddenly, though, Malcolm got down on bended knee, the expression on his face changing at the drop of a hat from anger to rapture. “First, though --”
“Malcolm!” Dina shouted in disbelief.
“Dina Rosalia Caliente Goth --” Pausing to catch his breath, Malcolm reached into his pocket for a black box. Inside was a glistening silver diamond ring, with the biggest diamond his considerable largesse could afford. “Will you marry me?”
Dina had been expecting Malcolm’s proposal for awhile, and invitations to the wedding had already been printed, but the timing of it definitely surprised her. After all, she had only just buried her husband, Mortimer Goth, on whom she’d been cheating the entire time.
Acting surprised, Dina shouted, “Yesss!” and flew into Malcolm’s arms. She then proceeded to press Malcolm for a wedding date.
“Soon, dear,” he promised. “The sooner we do this, the sooner I can deal with that bitch Melody Tinker. Nobody crosses Malcolm Landgraab and gets away with it. Nobody.”

Chapter Thirty-Six (Part Two)

Author's note: This update is short and sweet due to my evacuation from Hurricane Gustav. I still don't have electricity or internet access at home, so I'm not sure when the next one will be.

Just then a girl walked by wearing a hip-hugging pair of jeans, and Melody's eyes wandered in that direction. "I saw you looking at that girl," Chaz noticed.
"I was not!" Melody squealed defensively. "She was wearing a nice pair of jeans. I was trying to figure out the design on the pocket."
Chaz chuckled. "Right, Mel. Since when do you take an interest in fashion? You've been staring at that girl's backside for the past five minutes."
"I was not!"
"Look at you! You can't even drink your coffee without sneaking a peek!"
"There was a loose thread dangling from the pocket of her jeans."
"Yeah, right."
"Oh, come on, Chaz, give me some credit here."
"Mhm," he mumbled while tearing into his danish pastry.
"I was just thinking about the poor workmanship that went into those jeans and I bet she paid a fortune for them too. All the angles are off."
"Mhm, right, Mel."
"Okay," Melody said, "I'll prove it to you. I'll go up to her and ask her how much she paid for them then."
Chaz chuckled in disbelief. "And I'll bet you can't."
"Is this a silly dare game Chaz?"
"Why, are you game?"
Melody straightened up her posture and dusted off her shirt. She was astonished when she looked up and the girl was none other than her ex-friend, Sarah Rodiek. She could have died of embarrassment.
Melody's cheeks grew red. Chaz motioned for her to come over, but Sarah wouldn't let her get off that easy. "Melody Tinker."
"Sarah."
"You haven't changed a bit."
"Actually, Sarah, I have changed. And, apparently, so have you."
Sarah motioned her companion, a striking auburn-haired girl wearing striped stockings and a leather skirt. "Lily, this is Mel. Mel, Lily."
"Nice to meet you," Lilith Pleasant said, flashing a wide grin. "So you're the famous Melody everyone keeps talking about. Funny, you seem so -- so -- plain."
Melody dismissed the comment. "So, Sarah, is this your new girlfriend?" she asked cattily.
"Raarrrr!" yelped Lilith, making fake cat noises.
"So," Sarah replied tersely, "what's it to you?"
"Touchy," Melody said, "I just asked. How are you? How have you been?"
Sarah nodded. "Okay. Not great, but okay. Could be better, and could be a lot worse."
"I see."
"So, Melody," Lilith asked, her curiosity now piqued, "how'd you meet Dirk?"
Why must these old memories be dredged up? Melody asked herself. "Um, I used to be his father's apprentice," she replied reluctantly.
"That's it?" Lilith asked, somewhat disappointed that Melody didn't have an arcane romantic story to tell her.
Melody shrugged. "Yeah, that's it. Nothing much to say, really."
"Did he or did he not take you to your senior prom?"
"Where'd you hear about that?"
"Dirk told me -- and Sarah. So, is it true or not?"
"Why do you want to know if it is?"
"Because Dirk is my boyfriend."
Melody shook her head. "I don't want him!" she shouted emphatically. "You can have your boyfriend, hell, marry him for all I care."
"Did you kiss him?"
"Heck no! I don't want to talk about that night, okay?" Melody turned away from Lilith and walked over to Chaz. "Let's go. I've suddenly lost my appetite."
Chaz was puzzled. "Melody -- you were having such a good time a moment ago. What happened?"
"I really don't want to talk about it."
Chaz shook his head. "It was that girl, wasn't it? Did she not tell you where she got the jeans?"
Melody sighed. It seemed like she'd been sighing all night. "Oh she told me where she got the jeans, all right."
"You knew her, didn't you?"
No words needed to be said as Melody's eyes found the floor.
"What was she to you, Melody?"
Melody didn't really want to tell Chaz Whippler the whole story. After all, she was only his math tutor. He was prying into her personal business, the things she'd kept well under wraps. "Can we change the subject?"
"Who was she, Melody?" Chaz demanded.
Melody pointed a finger right in his face. "Even though you might think you're my shrink, Chaz, you're not, so just leave me alone!"
Uncharacteristically, Chaz raised his voice. "I'm going nowhere, babe. Get used to it!" After taking a few deep breaths, he calmed down.
Finally Melody said, "She's - she's a girl I went to school with."
"Tracy?"
"No, not Tracy. Sarah."
"She treated you badly, didn't she?"
Melody's eyes suddenly found the floor. "How did you know?"
"Judging by your reaction."
Melody was distressed that Chaz had figured her out. "Okay, if you're not feeling comfortable, we can leave."
Melody walked away from the coffee house, alone with her thoughts. She liked to take walks like these to clear her mind. Finally she looked around the busy dormitory. For a strange reason, she liked the noise of the dormitory, even though she craved peace and quiet.

Just afterwards, he telephone rang. "Hello?" she asked in a muffled voice.
"Miss Tinker, we need to talk."
There was only one person who would refer to her as 'Miss Tinker' and one person who spoke in that rich distinguished baritone.
"Dr. Hyden."
"I know this must be a peculiar time for my call, but I would really like to have a private meeting with you."
Melody's heart sank. Her mother had told her just this story. He'd given her mother a phone call just like this one and asked for a private meeting, just like this one. The rest, her mother had said, was history. Was he luring her as he'd done to her mother all those years ago?
Melody paused, thinking about it a moment, then letting out a deep sigh. If Dr. Hyden did try to make any advances towards her in their private meeting, she'd know what to do. "Okay, Hyden," Melody decided, "when and where?"
"Aspirational Laboratories. Tomorrow, after class."
Melody wondered to herself why Dr. Hyden was doing this. Knowing him, she thought, he had to have an ulterior motive. She knew she had to tell this to Chester. After all, he'd been involved, too.
Pressing the speed dial button on her cell phone, Melody waited for a response. Chester, as it happened, was just getting out of the secret society limousine in front of the Volauvent house. "Hello?" he whispered, careful not to allow anyone to hear him.
"Chester, it's me."
"Mel?!?" he asked, immediately recognizing her voice and lighting up at the sound of it. "Hey, what's up?"
Melody gathered herself. "Listen, Chester, this is kind of important. Hyden called tonight."
"Dr. Hyden? But he never makes calls at night."
"I know, it's really strange."
Chester seemed to be reading Melody's mind at this point. Their connection was almost telepathic. "You're afraid of what he wants."
Taking a deep breath, Melody replied, "More than anything. I remember my mom's story, and he did just this."
"Mel, calm down. The situations are entirely different."
"I know, but still -- I can't help but think the worst. And then I agreed to it. As soon as I hung up the phone, I was like, what did I just do?"
"You know, Melody, you can't be a slave to the past."
"What do you mean?"
"You can't get all worked up about this meeting with Dr. Hyden just because of what happened with your mother."
"I still can't get it out of my mind."
"The past happened, you can't change it -- but you can change the future."

Chapter Thirty-Six (Part One)

Right before Melody's class in the big lecture hall, the phone rang, and she was surprised to hear a cheery, high-pitched voice on the other end.
"Harmony?" she asked, somewhat in disbelief. She openly wondered what made her call.
But Harmony supplied the answer soon enough. "It -- it's mom."
Melody's heart dropped to her shoes. It hadn't even been a year since her father passed, and the thought of her mother being ill was just too much to even think about. "What's happened?"
"She's gone crazy, I swear. That Mr. Landgraab came by after school with a package, and mom darn near ran him down the sidewalk with a brush in her hands!"
Melody burst out into laughter. "Mom chased down Malcolm Landgraab with a broom?" she asked in disbelief.
Harmony continued to speak in a rushed, breathy voice. "I've never seen mom so upset. She even said she was calling the cops if he didn't leave."
"Is she there now?" Melody asked.
"Yeah, hold on. Mommmmmm!" Harmony's blood-curdling scream shook Melody a little bit. Melody heard another little girl's voice in the background. Their laughter temporarily took her mind off of her very serious request.
Melody waited until Wanda came to the phone. "Hello?" she asked.
"Hey, sweetie," Wanda's warm, candy-coated voice rang in Melody's ears.
"Harmony said Malcolm Landgraab was there. Was he?" Melody's voice turned deadly serious.
"He came with some big box he said was donated toys."
Melody shook her head. "Knowing Malcolm, it was probably a bomb." She took a deep breath. "Mom, I'm serious. You've got to get a restraining order against him. You and Harmony are in grave danger."
Wanda let out a resigned sigh. "Florence said that, but --"
"You didn't believe her."
"No, it's not that, it's just that --"
"You didn't believe Malcolm could stoop that low."
"Well -- no, I don't think."
"C'mon, mom, we're talking about Malcolm Landgraab here. Of course he'll stoop that low. It's me he's after, not you. He thinks he can get to me by harming you. Mom, listen to me. I want you to go to the police and tell them you're Stephen Tinker's widow and you and your young daughter are being threatened. They'll listen. You might want to lay low awhile, too."

The next day Melody, carrying algebra and calculus books and a basketball, went over to Lam Plaza Dormitory to see Chaz Whippler. Unlike most days, Chaz was eager to see her. He greeted her with a big wide grin. "Guess what?" he boasted. "Thanks to you, I got an A on my remedial math test."
"Wow, that's great!"
As Chaz led her into the dormitory, and then the dorm cafeteria where they usually met, Melody put down her books and took her seat opposite him.
A thought crossed Chaz's mind, and it had nothing to do with applied mathematics. Instead, he'd thought a lot about his math tutor herself. To him, something was amiss. And he didn't dare wait.
"Melody," Chaz uncharacteristically stammered, preparing himself for a thunderous response, "are you a lesbian?"
Frowning in disbelief, Melody asked, "What? What do you mean?"
"It -- it's just something I've been wondering about for awhile now."
"Chaz," Melody managed to chuckle through her shock, "I don't understand. What do you mean 'if I'm a lesbian?' Why are you asking me this?"
"I don't know, it's just -- I've never seen you out around campus, you never --"
"Don't be silly, Chaz. I'm just real busy. My studies are very important to me."
"I know, gotta keep up that perfect 4.0," teased Chaz. Then he suddenly became serious again. "That's just it, you're not like other girls."
"In what way?" asked Melody. "I get up, brush my teeth, do my hair -- I'm exactly like everyone else."
Chaz shook his head. "No, you don't get it. That's not what I mean. You don't wear makeup, you don't wear perfume, you like sports and science and fooling around with mechanical stuff--"
Melody shook her head. "C'mon, Chaz. Just because I like those things doesn't mean I'm a lesbian."
"Your hands are as bad as my dad's, girl," Chaz teased again, examining Melody's cuts and calluses. "Is that from your tinkering -- pardon the pun?"
"I paint too," Melody revealed. "Haven't touched the canvas in awhile though, been so busy with my studies."
"Heck, you're just a regular old renaissance girl." Melody was somewhat taken aback. "Hey, I wasn't slumbering in my literature classes, you know."
Melody needled him gently. "Very good, Charles Whippler."
Chaz then thought of something else. He leaned over and closed Melody's textbook. "It's time to initiate you into some nightlife."
"What do you mean?"
"You and I are going to Romara Coffee House." He took Melody's hand, dragging her like a rag doll. "I haven't got much money, but I'm sure I can afford to buy you a coffee. Their specials are outstanding, especially the cinnamon flavored coffee with a danish pastry."
When they arrived at the coffee house, there was a fairly healthy crowd in line to sample the delicacies. Melody spied a cool, well-dressed flaxen blond girl with a newly roller-set bob, accompanied by an equally well-dressed, bespectacled blond gentleman. She recognized the girl but not the guy.
"Hey, who's the chick Phin's with?" Chaz asked.
"Phin?"
"Phineaus Furley. He lives in my dorm."
Melody nodded. "Oh. The girl, she's Tracy Glick, she went to my high school."
"They seem to be getting very cozy. I didn't even know he had a girlfriend."
Chaz and Melody continued to sit opposite each other in companionable silence. Their personalities were opposite in a lot of ways. Chaz was a slob, Melody a neat freak. Chaz was extraverted, Melody was introverted. Chaz was playful, Melody was serious. Chaz was paunchy, Melody was thin and trim. Still, though, he felt a comfort with her that he didn't really feel with anyone else.
And that's why he worried about her. He was concerned she was becoming 'all work and no play.' What he failed to understand was, her work WAS her play. She genuinely enjoyed her long hours at the laboratory and the observatory. She got her fun from performing experiments and studying the stars. With all the commotion at Aldrich over the cowplant, life at his dorm had gone on as usual.
"Hey, when did you figure out you wanted to be a scientist?" Chaz asked in an attempt to make conversation.
This question elicited a grin out of Melody and Chaz could see her eyes light up. "When I was about fourteen," she told him, careful not to mention her secret. "All of a sudden it became crystal clear what I wanted to do with my life."
"See, that's what I mean. Most girls, when they're fourteen, don't talk about wanting to be scientists."
Melody scoffed. "How do you know about most girls, Chaz?"
"Hey, I had sisters. Three of them to be exact. I know a lot about women."
"Really?" Melody raised an eyebrow and folded her arms.
"You know, Melody, you're not the total space cadet everyone thinks you are."
"Space cadet?" Melody laughed. "Now where would you get an idea like that?"
"I just wish -- I just wish you'd open yourself up a little more. Let people get to know the real you. Not the one that's hiding behind books. Like the one you show me."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's face it, Melody. I loosen you up in a way that no one else does."
"How so? How do you know that? You don't know how I am."
"C'mon, Melody. You're smart, attractive, witty -- there's really no reason why you should hide yourself behind your studies. There's a warm, playful person in there just waiting to come out."
Melody rubbed her hand along her arm, a somewhat familiar habit of hers, especially when she was in deep pensive thought.
"Hmm, I... don't ... know," she said slowly, nervously scanning the crowded coffee house.
The last thing she wanted to do, was to make an utter fool of herself. Especially in front of Tracy. "What about a game of darts?" Chaz offered, grasping at straws, "that's not too difficult is it?"
Melody pursed her lips in deep thought. "Mmm... I guess not."
Chaz took her hand, helping her up from her seat, and led her to the dart board, where a couple of other students had congregated. Watching them intently, Melody studied the angles they were throwing and tried to silently predict who would hit the center of the dartboard and who would miss badly. She couldn't help herself.
Then the other two students left, leaving Melody and Chaz at the dart board. "You first," Chaz said, ushering her to it.
"You'll regret it," laughed Melody. "I swear, you'll regret it." With the three darts she was given, she managed to hit the bullseye twice and just missed it fractionally, when the third dart veered slightly to the left.
Chaz was amazed. "How did you do that?"
Melody grinned. "Easy. You have to throw the dart at a ninety degree angle toward the center of the dart board. If it's not precisely at that ninety degree angle, it'll veer off course."
"Do you always think in angles and shapes?"
"Maybe. Depends on what I'm doing." Then she took the darts off the board and handed them to Chaz. "Your turn."
She watched as Chaz flailed wildly, his darts ending up all over the board and even on the adjacent wall.
After Chaz handed Melody the darts, she again tossed two darts in the red bullseye marker. But her third miss, this time, was high instead of left.
They went back to the table. Suddenly Melody got hungry, so Chaz stood in the long line and ordered her a coffee and a danish pastry.
"A danish pastry?" asked Melody. "I swear, those are murder on my diet. They are loaded with calories and sugar and saturated fat --"
"Goodness, do you eat anything that doesn't grow in the ground?" Chaz wondered.
"Not really," laughed Melody. "I've been a vegetarian since I was seven. Gave my parents no end of grief."
I bet, Chaz said to himself. "Can't you just this once, forget about your stinkin' diet?"
Melody shook her head and let out a deep sigh. "Oh, all right. But I'm going to have to work twice as hard to burn this off."
"You've got plenty of room for a few more danish pastries in there." In response, Melody playfully threw a piece right at Chaz's nose.

Chapter Thirty-Five

The annual Sim City Collegiate Mathematics competition had just gotten underway at Sim State University. Chester, Melody, and Edwin got out of the taxicab that pulled up at the Sim State University gymnasium. They'd heard the host school, Sim State, was considering not fielding a team this year, till at the last minute they got someone to commit. They looked around at the other teams competing. The home team, the Llamas from Sim State, featured Martin Ruben, Daryl Deppiesse, and Ashley Pitts, who said he was only there to check out any available females. The La Fiesta Tech team consisted of William Williamson, Guy Wrightley, and Klara Vonderstein. Two other schools sent teams.
The host sent them to their assigned table as the individual competition was going to begin. The individual contest consisted of a test that had thirty math problems and questions, ranging from basic algebraic calculations to complex quadratic equations. Chester and Edwin stole a few loose glances at Melody, who was zipping through her test. "Dang," Edwin thought to himself, "she's gonna win medalist."
A medalist prize would be awarded for the individual student with the top score in that section of the competition. The medalist would receive a $500 simolean cash award.
After the individual tests ended came the team competitions. Teams were pitted against each other in a round robin quiz show format, answering problems. The first team to score three hundred points would win.
Several hours of competition and the final two schools came to face each other in a live televised event. The Academie Le Tour team would face the squad from La Fiesta Tech. Before they took their seats, Chester gathered the group together. "We have a chance to do something special," he told them. "We have a chance to make something happen."
Chester looked at Melody with a twinkle in his eye. Edwin nodded his approval.
"We can beat these guys," Melody added. "They don't scare me in the least."
"Here's something for you," piped Edwin. "We've been together for months. And we're all friends. These other teams, they probably have been together a few weeks at the most and barely know each other."
As they took their seats, they looked over at the other team. A tight contest came down to the last question. A student from each school would have to face each other in sudden death. Chester and Edwin didn't think twice. They chose Melody.
"Me?" she asked in disbelief, pointing at herself.
"Why not you?" Chester asked.
"But you're the captain!"
"And I've made my choice."
Reluctantly Melody walked up to the podium and looked into the eyes of a girl she didn't know and had never seen before. The task before her was simple. Solve one mathematical problem before she did, and the team prize was theirs.
Melody watched the contest proctor, listening for his every syllable. And he looked at both competitors. "And now for the final question. If x and y are real numbers such that x squared and y squared equals one, find the maximum value of y and x."
Melody observed the other girl, furiously scrambling on her sheet of paper, to figure out the solution to this word equation. Is this the final question? she thought to herself. Before the girl could finish scratching out numbers, Melody pressed her lever so that the proctor could recognize her.
"The maximum value of y and x is the square root of 2."
The proctor alternated glances at Melody and the other girl and announced, "That is correct! The Academie Le Tour team has won the competition."
Dr. Young, Chester, and Edwin flanked Melody with congratulatory hugs and high fives. "We did it!" exclaimed Dr. Young. "Let's do this again next year."
A shudder shot down Melody's spine. The thought of doing this again never crossed her mind.

There was a knock on Chester's front door. He was having a study session with his girlfriend, Jessica McClellan, and Jessica was, to put it mildly, a little peeved. "Who is that?" she asked, looking up from her book.
Shuffling toward the door, Chester realized that it was Melody. "Doesn't she tell you when she's coming?" Jessica asked.
Chester glared at her. "She's my best friend, I can't say no to her." Ushering Melody inside, Chester returned to fixing hamburgers.
Melody walked right to the bookcase next to Chester's door and grabbed a volume from it. She remained as quiet as a mouse while Chester fixed the hamburgers.
Melody gave Jessica a sharp glance. The only sounds that could be heard in the entire room was the turning of the book pages and the frying of the hamburgers in the frying pan.
"The hamburgers smell good," Jessica finally said, "but I'm leaving! I can't take this anymore. I'll call you tomorrow."
A shudder ran through Chester's spine as he heard the door slam shut. How had he gotten himself in this position in the first place?
Trying to push what had happened out of his mind, Chester placed a freshly cooked plate of hamburgers in front of him, and then took a plate for himself. "What do you want out of life?" he asked Melody as he stole a glance at her, tongue slightly askew, concentrating on what she was reading. He couldn't help himself. His heart skipped more than a few beats.
Melody, for her part, was staggered and surprised by the question. She'd known since at least her teens that she wanted to become a scientist, and her interest in the subject crystallized after her abduction. But she hadn't really thought beyond that. Marriage, children, none of that had ever crossed her mind. She had been single-minded in the pursuit of her eventual goal of becoming a scientist.
Chester's question really forced Melody to think hard. Why was she doing this? Why was she pushing herself to exhaustion, with everything she did in her life? Finally she looked up at him and said wistfully, "I want to know everything."
Chester's jaw dropped to the floor. He had to quit eating his hamburger when he heard her say that. "Everything, Melody?"
"Everything there is to know." Melody took a deep breath. Looking over at her, Chester saw an almost dreamlike, childlike glint in her eyes. "I want to know everything that's possible in the entire realm of knowledge."
"You understand that that's an impossible task you've set yourself, Mel?"
Melody shook her head. "Nothing's impossible," she replied simply, "just look at us and what we've achieved."
By now, there was a manic gleam in her eyes and Chester broke out in a cold sweat. He'd seen that look before, and felt the presence of the man behind it.
Melody leaned forward. "Didn't you EVER want to know everything?"
"I did.... once."
"And how did you feel? Honestly?"
"It felt..... wonderful.....but..."
"Aha!" Melody felt triumphant, she'd finally cracked the code that was Chester Gieke. "What happened? Didn't you feel that rush of power you felt when you first unlocked a mystery?"
"Um --" Chester stammered a moment.
"Don't tell me you didn't feel it."
Chester shook his head. "You don't get it, do you, Mel?"
"Get what?"
"This life, Mel, it's dangerous!"
"You lock yourself in labs."
"Yes, but I'm trying to get myself out of it." Chester decided to change the subject. "While you were gone, Mel, I got more messages. They looked like gobbledygook."
"It looks as though a child's been playing with their dad's computer," Melody sighed bitterly as she perused Chester's saved screens, "pay them no heed."
Chester looked down at her.
"You sound disappointed Mel," he said casually, "what's on your mind? Is there something else I should know about?"
"I thought..... I thought......" She shook her head and raised herself from the seat. "Never mind. I'll go get us some coffee."
She'd barely reached the kitchen when Chester gasped out loud.
"It's here again!" he said, his eyes wider than saucers, "and I've just checked out it's source."
"I don't believe it..."
"Don't believe what?"
"It's coming from that last place I ever expected to see...."
"Which is.....?"
"1 Tesla Court..... dammit!"
"Chester, you're not making any sense. Can you please enlighten me here?"
Chester turned to look at her, his face pale and drawn. Within minutes, he'd visibly aged before her.
"Strangetown....." he barely choked the words out "......the Beakers."
"What have they got to do with anything?"
"Actually, quite a lot. They were in cahoots with the military, watching our every move. What I can't understand is, how did they find me? And more to the point, what's with all this stupid coding?"
"Perhaps it isn't them?"
"Oh, but it is." Chester took the steaming mug of coffee from Melody with trembling hands and gulped it down quickly. This was the last thing he wanted to see.
"But why would they do this? I mean, it's been years since you've even set foot in Strangetown."
"Who knows." Chester decided to change the subject. "Anyway, what were you up to? I hear you caused quite a splash at the shareholders meeting."
"How'd you hear about that?"
"Bad news travels fast -- especially when it happens to Malcolm Landgraab."
Melody shook her head. "I hate him!" she shouted in-between sips of coffee.
"I know well you do."
"You should've seen the looks he gave me, Chester. It was like he could see right through me. I had to do my best to fight them off."
"You know, Mel, I wish you'd have told me you were going to that meeting. I should've been there."
"Chester, I know. I'm sorry. I know I said I was going home to my little sister's party. But -- I needed to lay low awhile and take care of this little business. I needed to do this on my own. I hope you understand."

Chapter Thirty-Four (Part Two)

Melody decided she needed some alone time after the shareholders' meeting to recharge her batteries. She took a jog down to Hunter's Park, to the pond where she and her father had spent their last quiet moments together. Tossing a few loose pebbles into the water, she watched the ripples spread outward and disappear. She thought a lot about Stephen, about what he'd told her before he died...
They had spent all day at Hunter's Park, just the pair of them -- no distractions, no one approaching them, no babies crying, no yelling and nagging, nothing. They'd cast their own lines, hardly looking at each other but feeling each other's presence just the same. "You know, Melody, I don't want to tell your mother this -- I don't want to worry her -- but I've been having heart issues for some time."
"Father!" shouted Melody in disbelief.
"My doctor says that if I avoid stress and follow a healthy regimen I should prolong my life." Stephen then changed the subject. "Listen, sweetheart, about the toy shop -- I know you don't really like toys and toymaking, and I know you've never set foot in the shop. That fact disappoints me, but it's the choice you've made. I still think you'd be a great toymaker, the way you like to take apart things. I had just bought your new computer and I passed by your room and there you were, with a screwdriver in your hands, taking it apart. I had to laugh, I couldn't help myself. It wouldn't be so funny if that Alienware hadn't been special-ordered and it didn't cost 4000 simoleans."
"I've always liked to try to figure out how things worked."
"While I was on the phone with Alienware, I had to explain to them that I'd bought the computer for my daughter and that her curiosity had caused her to take it apart. I know about your fascination with machines. You've been that way since you were little. That's why I wasn't surprised when you asked for the robot crafter."
"I'd seen one and read up on what could be done with them. I decided I wanted to learn how to do that."
Stephen gazed fondly at his daughter. "I know about the situation with the jack-in-the-box and about what happened when our store Inner Child opened. Melody, dear, there's more to making a toy than a piece of wood and a hammer. I'm pretty sure that if you tried it, you'd enjoy it. It even involves painting, and I know you like to do that." Stephen took a deep breath. "I want you to promise me something. In the event of my death, I'd like you to keep Tinker Toys in the Tinker family."
Snapping back to the present time, Melody realized that she had never truly had time to grieve Stephen's passing. No matter what the DNA test results would ultimately reveal, she felt a connection to him. Right then and there, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The fact that he was now dead had altered the fortunes and priorities of her whole family -- herself included. Her kid sister, Harmony, would never know her father -- the kind, loving, generous man she knew.

The next morning, Melody awoke to the smells of Wanda's fresh-brewed coffee and omelettes. "Hey, sweetheart," Wanda smiled, looking up at her daughter. "I see you've been rummaging through Stephen's things again."
"Yeah, this was one of his shirts. Kinda reminds me of him."
"You know," Wanda said while flipping the omelettes over, "he'd be so proud of you, the way you took over that meeting room yesterday."
"You were there?" Melody asked, somewhat surprised by this revelation. "I thought you'd gone to pick up Harmony."
"Harmony stayed after school for ballet classes, so I stuck around the meeting room."
After a brief pause, Melody stopped Wanda for a second. "Mom -- " she began in a hushed, halting voice, with the sepia-toned Polaroid of a young man with glasses, dreadlocks, and glasses, "who is this?"
Wanda nearly burnt her omelettes. "What? Where did you find that?"
"In the box with daddy's stuff."
"Oh, that's sweet little Billy -- my beloved little brother."
Melody's eyes bulged in disbelief. "Mom! You never told me you had a brother! And he kinda looks like me!" "There's a lot of things I haven't told you, dear. I wanted to wait until you were old enough to know."
"I think I'm old enough to know now."
Wanda managed a chuckle. "Yeah, you sure are, I guess. If you're old enough to positively take over a boardroom with Malcolm Landgraab in it, then you're old enough to hear about your uncle Billy."
After serving breakfast, Wanda proceeded to tell Melody everything about her younger brother, William Zarubin. Of the two of them, William, or 'Billy' was unquestionably their parents' favorite -- and no wonder. He was their shining light, the overachiever, the golden boy. He made straight A's without trying. "Meanwhile, I -- I just struggled," Wanda revealed, "I did everything I could do to try to outdo him, but nothing I did helped. In fact, everything I did made things worse."
Like his niece would do many years later, William -- he hated being called Billy, even though Wanda insisted on it -- got into Academie Le Tour early due to his excellent grades.
"What happened to him?" Melody asked, her curiosity growing with every word Wanda uttered.
"After graduation from ALT Billy got a job as a chemist at Sim City General. His bosses were pushing for a deadline for an antidote to a specific poison, and he rushed it through, testing it on himself -- " Wanda struggled to fight through tears.
"So Uncle Billy was a scientist?"
Wanda took a deep breath. "Yes, he was. The lab was shut down, there was a huge investigation and the whole project was scrapped."
Melody shook her head. Wanda wiped her tears long enough to recognize that the wheels were churning in her oldest daughter's mind. "Do you know what poison they were trying to make an antidote for?"
"Melody!" This was why Wanda worried. This was the source of her sleepless nights, nearly every night, since her daughter left for college. And this was why she was afraid to let her go. She didn't know when the next time she saw her oldest daughter would be her last.

The Tinkers' late-model grey sedan pulled onto the curb beside Aldrich Dorm. "Melody," Wanda called to the tall, lithe girl, "could you give me a hand?"
"Sure, mom," Melody replied obediently as she walked toward the trunk of the car.
Wanda cut an authoritative presence as she carried boxes toward the entrance of the dormitory. She was playing the part of the wealthy widow and playing it well. Other dormies leaned forth to see what was happening. "Is that Melody's mother?" they whispered to each other. "Funny, but they look nothing alike."
Wanda shot them a glance, and their whispering immediately stopped.

Melody kept a low profile -- or at least as low a profile as she could -- as she returned to the campus grind and the routine she so loved. She was back to waking up at the crack of dawn to jog, going to classes, then the library, then the lab, then the observatory. She was glad to know that the reporters who had camped around the dormitory had moved on to some other story, so she could return to something resembling normal student activities. She glided within her air-tight inner circle, trying to maintain the privacy she cherished.
"Stop playing him like a marionette!" warned Jessica, pointing her finger as Melody entered the secret society house.
"What are you talking about?" asked Melody, wondering what she did to get accosted in this manner.
Jessica shook her head. "You know darn well what I'm talking about. There's only so much he can take, and keeping him dangling there isn't helping matters at all." Jessica stood as close as she dared, their noses almost touching and feeling Melody's hot breath on her chin.
"How the heck do you know how Chester feels?" Melody asked in an accusatory tone, feeling the bile rise from her throat.
"I want to know," Jessica said slowly, emphasizing every word that came from her mouth, "do you love him or not?"
"It's none of your business how I feel about him."
"Actually, Melody, you're wrong. It is my business because he's my boyfriend. And because I've seen him look at you in a way he'll never look at me."
Melody was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"He follows you around like a little puppy dog, he takes your orders, bends over backwards, is available at your every beck and call, and does he complain? No! Whenever we're talking, it's always Mel this and Mel that. Do you know how hurtful that is? Especially coming out of the mouth of the man you love? Or do you even care?" Jessica heaved a heavy, deep sigh. "There's no way I can compare to the great and glorious Melody Tinker. I don't have a billion and a half IQ, but what I do have is love and lots of it. I love Chester with all my heart and soul, but I know that he doesn't love me back. There's a piece of him that I cannot take for myself, and that's the piece that loves you."
Tears started flowing down Jessica's face as her voice failed her. Wiping her hand angrily across her wet, flushed cheeks, she turned and ran out of the room, away from the ice princess herself.
Melody was left alone in the darkened room, forced to ponder Jessica's words. She buried her head in her hands, and if one came close, they could hear a couple of loose sobs. What was happening here? Her whole perfect world was crumbling around her ears. A young woman who prided herself on knowing things suddenly didn't know anything at all.