Chapter Twenty-Nine (Part One)

News of Edwin's misfortune with Delilah O'Feefe at her party had reached Melody's ears via the ubiquitous Marla Biggs, who for being painfully shy was in possession of an incredibly big mouth -- a mouth she tended to use at inopportune times. Melody liked to sit alone on the dorm sofa sometimes to collect her thoughts and center herself. She was doing that when Marla approached her and told her.
"This happened at Delilah's party?" asked Melody absent-mindedly, her thoughts clearly focused elsewhere.
"Yeah, Edwin was pretty shaken up. I'm surprised you didn't see him, Mel."
"I was probably trying to catch up on my math homework or something."
Marla chuckled. "You are unbelievable, Melody Tinker -- doing homework at a party!"
"Well, excuse me for not thinking that sitting around Delilah and her stuffy friends is my idea of a good time," snapped Melody.
"It's better than moping around here. It was nothing but something to do and somewhere to go. Excuse me for suggesting we do something other than study and for thinking about someone other than myself. Goodness, Melody, you act like an old woman sometimes."
Melody took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. Marla was right. She'd always seemed older than she was. Neighbors in Bluewater Village used to comment that she was an 'old soul.' Back when she was seven, her mother had taken her to the local library. While other kids her age were reading picture books, she was tackling Shakespeare -- and she was proud of it. At recess, when the other kids were on the monkey bars or the swing set, she would sit underneath a tree, often with a pile of thick books next to her, reading. Even now, her sensibilities weren't those of a typical college freshman. She didn't drink and she hated parties.
Melody wrote down everything, every little detail of her life, no matter how insignificant. It had been a force of habit with her for as long as she could remember. She would record her thoughts and observations in first a journal, and then an online blog, and then she returned to a personal journal when she started college. One day, in a rush after recording some more of her thoughts, she had carelessly left her journal on her bed....
"So, what about Edwin again?" she asked, in the same singsong, distant voice.
Marla shook her head in disbelief. "You don't get it, do you, Mel?"
"I don't get what?"
"You've blocked people out again." Marla heaved a sigh. "You disappear for hours at a time, Mel. You don't sleep, you don't eat. You don't want me to call your mother."
"As if she can tell me anything at this point. Besides, she's got her own problems, trying to hold off Malcolm Landgraab." Melody stole a frown at Marla, who was adjusting her position on the couch. She suspected, from Marla's comments, that she had been reading her journal, but she wasn't entirely sure and needed more proof.
"And you're the only person I know who's totally nuts enough to attempt to grow a cowplant."
Melody was flabbergasted. Now she knew Marla had been reading her journal. Turning sharply towards her, Melody shouted, "You horrible little --"
Before Melody could finish her sentence, Marla countered, "You've turned this whole dorm into your own personal laboratory, and you're stringing poor Chester along like he's your guinea pig!"
"You had no business reading my journal, Marla! Those are my private thoughts!"
Marla sighed. "It's just -- I worry about you, Melody. You keep so much of yourself private. We know you and yet we don't know you."

Melody took a deep breath and shut the door behind her. The girls went to bed in silence, and Melody was still stewing the next morning when she woke up.
"I'm sorry for reading your journal, Mel," Marla muttered as she spotted Melody going toward their shared bathroom. Melody sighed. She would think about Marla's apology.
Marla hated this state of mind and hated even more that Melody was giving her the silent treatment. She knew this was a totally Melody thing to do, so she would have to come up with some way of making it up to her -- but she didn't know what. After all, Melody's interests weren't like those of other girls. She'd probably dig a new gadget more than a new dress. Could she purchase a book for her? After all, Melody did love books. That was always an option. How about a stationery set? A new mousepad for her computer? The wheels in Marla's head were still churning. Either of those items would see Melody more than she did. But she knew she had to do something, and soon.

As for Chester, he was spending his evening out on the town with the girl who'd answered his SimSpace dating profile. She was tall and blond, with porcelain skin, green eyes, and a sunny demeanor. "Jessica McClellan," she'd said as she extended her hand to greet Chester. "I'm SweetiePie from the boards."
"Chester Gieke, Ubergieke," Chester shrugged as he managed a chuckle.
Jessica studied his face. "You have an -- interesting -- visage."
"I've been told that many times," Chester mused, "you're not the first."
Now that he had the girl with him, he wasn't sure where he'd take her. Noisy night clubs weren't his thing -- many times because of his lack of coordination he'd been laughed off the dance floor, but it wasn't for lack of trying. If only he could talk to Melody -- she'd know what to do.
He decided, finally, to take her to the local internet cafe, a perfectly safe geek hangout. They ordered a meal and began to chat. "It's a nice evening outside," Jessica said, making small talk. "The air is cool and crisp. I grabbed my jacket."
Chester looked into Jessica's eyes. But his thoughts were clearly focused elsewhere.
Jessica began telling him that her mother was a psychic and she really didn't know who her father was. "My mother told me she thought he was one of the guys who was in the artist commune where she lived, but there were so many guys she's not really sure which one it was." She added that she was a history major who was thinking about switching to psychology.
Chester couldn't tell her he was studying to be a career criminal, so he said he was a physics major and going to work in one of the technology firms in the area.
The date ended wth them exchanging phone numbers. This was a far cry from the way most of Chester's other dates had ended. He was encouraged, if not downright over the moon, as he turned the key to his apartment.

Sarah Rodiek had settled into a comfortable life at Sim State University. Even though it wasn't her first-choice school, she was determined to make the best of her situation.
She found herself in the same dorm as Dirk Dreamer and the infamous Pleasant twins, Angela and Lilith, who were always fighting. She liked to call them the Un-Pleasants because they argued all the time.
Getting back into contact with the girl she had been madly in love with was not an easy thing. Time -- and her own personality -- had changed a lot of things between them. Sarah had become more outgoing and wanted badly to be 'cool.'
Sarah was sitting in the common area in the large Sim State dormitory with Lilith and Lilith's longtime boyfriend, Dirk Dreamer. Dirk was aghast when Sarah mentioned she'd gone to school with Melody Tinker.
"Hey, Dirk," asked Lilith, "why are you so curious about this Melody character? You keep talking about her like she's some goddess or something."
What would it be like for Sarah to see Melody again? And deep down, was she still in love with her after all this time?
"Mel and I were best friends," Sarah began, "practically inseparable. The running joke at Hanover was that we were one person because we were together so much."
"So what happened?" Lilith asked.
Sarah was incredibly frank. "I fell in love with her."
Dirk and Lilith's mouths dropped to the floor. "So you guys were an item?" asked Lilith, chewing on her brand-new tongue ring.
"Sort of," Sarah said. "But Mel didn't want to admit it. I think she was scared to admit that deep down, she loved me too."
So Melody's a lesbian, Dirk thought. That's what's going on with her. I figured it was something. But I never would have guessed she was gay. Oh well.
To Lilith, though, the idea of lesbians sounded pretty cool. She'd never met a lesbian in real life before Sarah, but had seen shows on TV featuring them.
"I think I'd like to meet this Melody," Lilith said to herself, "what is it about this chick that's got everybody captivated?"
"Something about her --" Dirk wondered to himself. He would be happy to introduce the two of them to each other, but he was apprehensive, knowing Lilith's vile temper. Still, nonetheless, he thought it would be a pretty good idea.
The problem was time -- and distance. Lilith was at Sim State, Melody at Academie Le Tour.
There was a backlog of assignments. And Lilith loved to party -- a lot.
Dirk was more serious and liked to hit the books. At times he wondered whether he'd chosen the wrong twin, but his love for Lilith was confirmed every time he peered over at her while she concentrated on her homework and she would wink at him slightly. He was her rock of ages, and she was determined to prove everyone who said she wouldn't succeed wrong.
Meanwhile, Lilith and Sarah were seriously bonding, and Dirk liked that Lilith finally had a galpal. Other girls were put off by Lilith's frankness and fearlessness.
But still, Dirk had to wonder himself. If he had a girlfriend and he cared deeply about her, why was he so intrigued by Melody Tinker? And why, even after two years, had this feeling not abated? He should have long forgotten about her by now. So why hadn't he? Why couldn't he get her out of his mind?

Meanwhile, Melody got a cab to take her across campus to the Le Tour Lecture Theater for her astronomy class. She'd never been in the lecture theater, but had heard a lot of things about it from the dormies. She snuck a peek at her sheet. Was she supposed to be in the main lecture hall, or one of the seminar rooms?
Climbing up the staircase, Melody pushed up her glasses and made a sharp right-hand turn towards the main lecture hall. There, she saw Dr. Hyden sitting in his desk, waiting for students to arrive. He gave her a sharp smile. "Ah, Miss Tinker, good on you to arrive."
"Since when do you teach an entry-level astronomy class?" she asked him.
He shook his head. "This isn't an entry-level class," he told her. "I usually reserve this for third-year students, but you're obviously advanced."
Hmm, Melody thought as she turned around and walked away. Chester, sitting in the front row, saw her come in and motioned for her to come and sit in the empty seat behind him, which she did.

Why now? Melody wondered. Why was Sarah trying to weasel her way back into her life? Surely lightning in a bottle didn't strike twice. Only Sarah had ever made Melody feel the way she felt around her -- positively giddy to be around her, making her forget herself and who she was and what she was. Whenever Sarah was around Melody got butterflies in her stomach. She'd never had these feelings around anyone else -- not even Chester or Marla or Edwin, who were her three best friends in the world.
Melody couldn't make the same mistake again.
Once upon a time, Sarah had ripped Melody's heart out of her chest.
She couldn't let Sarah do it again. Not this time. Besides, she had more important things on her mind -- like the toy shop that she'd inherited. And the DNA results that would determine her paternity once and for all. And her driving lessons, which would give her peace of mind and more independence. And of course her astronomy and mathematics classwork. She couldn't allow her grades to slip, or else she'd lose the scholarship she came to college on.
Since she returned to Le Tour from her holiday in Bluewater, Melody's life had settled into a nice little rhythm. A young woman who thrived on routine and balance, Melody had even started taking up meditation and yoga just to keep herself centered. And yet, here was Sarah, disrupting it all -- just like she always had. Why does Sarah do this to her?
"Hey Mel," greeted Sarah's voice over the phone. "What's up?"
Melody was clearly blindsided by Sarah's latest phone call. "Um, not much really. Just putting the finishing touches on my homework."
After a long silence Sarah said, "I ran into your prom date in the dorms."
A thunderbolt shot through Melody's heart. "Dirk Dreamer."
"We're roommates now. He and his girlfriend and his girlfriend's twin sister."
"Really?" Melody asked dismissively.
"Dirk keeps asking about you, keeps asking a lot of questions."
"I wonder what the heck he wants?" Melody wondered. "I had one date with him -- if you could call it that -- and that was at our prom. The only reason he went with me was because his dad wanted someone to go with me to make sure I was safe. Remember, I was working there that summer."
"Mel, I don't know." Again there was a long pause. "Mel, we need to talk."
"Sarah, there's nothing to talk about, really."
"You're avoiding the issue, as usual. Nothing has changed, Mel."
Tears began to flow from Melody's eyes, fogging her glasses. "Everything has changed now, Sarah. I'm at a different place in my life. I'm comfortable and content."
"Really, Mel?" Sarah took a deep breath. "You're just telling yourself that to make yourself feel better."
Melody rose her voice. "Sarah, why do you do this to me?"
"You need to come to terms with yourself, Mel. You need to admit the truth. And the truth is that I loved you and you loved me, and that we should still be together now."
"Sarah," Melody said, heaving a deep sigh and wiping her tears, "you're the one who needs to face facts. That part of our lives is over. Okay, I've moved on. And, frankly, so should you."

Chapter Twenty-Eight (Part Two)

Author's note: Thanks all of you for being very patient with me while I went through my life issues (my computer going kaput, my dental drama, my flu drama, and my work drama). I don't know what I'd have done without your support. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress. Don't worry, our geek chick hasn't gone anywhere ;-)

The diffuse sunlight beamed over Chester Gieke's off-campus apartment, filtering in through his bedroom window, illuminating the leaves outside. He had come to college to study the vagaries of science and the technology of robotics, but had recently found himself spending more time studying the mysteries of the fairer sex. He understood a lot of things he'd read in books, but he didn't understand women, he concluded.
Chester didn't have any illusions about his appearance. His stringy red hair and thick glasses turned off a lot of potential targets. Or so he thought. But, what did he know? He'd spent most of his spare time in the company of electronic creatures made of metal and wires, not real human beings with human feelings.
He spent his teen years in Strangetown with his uncle, Dieter, a master robot maker and gadget head, and his cousins.
Of course, Chester had made the acquaintance of a few females during his time at Le Tour, but he didn't have any "special friends." They often called him to complain about their loser boyfriends, and he'd calmly listen and even commiserate. He didn't understand why they continued to date these "jerks."
That day he woke up, as usual, and did his assignment from the day before, and ate his usual bacon and cheese omelette for breakfast. He attempted to watch a little TV to pass the time until his physics class started. Failing that, he walked upstairs to one of his computers and checked his online personals. "Hi Ubergieke, SweetiePie here. I got your last message. I'm a Pisces of the knowledge aspiration. I have blond hair and green eyes. My interests include weather, travel, sports, and paranormal. If you're interested, give me a holler back."
I wonder who this girl is? Chester wondered. Perhaps I've seen her before. She certainly sounds like she's familiar.
Chester had not had much luck with the opposite sex. He'd never had a steady girlfriend, because most of the girls he'd ever met had regarded him as too 'geeky' for their tastes.
Just then the phone rang. It was his buddy Edwin Sharpe. And he sounded upset. "What's going on?" Chester asked.
In a rushed manner, Edwin proceeded to tell Chester all about what happened with Delilah.
"Dang!" Chester exclaimed. "And I thought I had bad luck when it comes to women. Welcome to the club."
"I really thought it would be different this time," Edwin said sadly.
"Geeks like us don't get hot girls," Chester said. "Hey, Mel just picked up Command and Conquer, wanna come see?"
Edwin couldn't believe his ears. "How'd she manage to get that? That's been sold out for ages."
"Hah, you forget she's the Tinker toy heir. She can get what she wants."
"I'll be right over, as soon as my class is done."
Like clockwork, Edwin showed up. Chester greeted him with a high five that missed badly. After they laughed it off, they sat down in front of the TV. Edwin leaned over and picked up the empty cartridge. "Command and Conquer, eh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I've been trying to figure it out all morning."
Edwin picked up the controller. "Why are women so complicated?" he asked, out of the blue.
Chester shook his head. "I wish I knew. I guess I'll never be able to get them." He proceeded to tell Edwin about his last date, which ended with a flaming bag of poo in his mailbox.
After a few minutes Edwin commented, "Melody's a girl," his thumb hurting from the constant pressure of pressing the red button on his controller.
Chester grinned, determined to win this round. "Yeah," he replied, watching yet another beast disintegrate under his character's mighty weapon, "but Mel's different, you know. She's cool."
"Cool?" Edwin asked, laughing. "You two are Siamese twins, practically inseparable. What's up with that?"
Chester grinned again. "Mel and I met in a chat room, ages ago it seems. We started chatting to each other."
"What chat room was that?" Edwin wondered.
"It was the alien conspiracy chatroom on SimSpace."
Edwin laughed. "I used to go to that chatroom and I never met girls like Mel in there."
"Well you didn't go in there at the right times, it seems. She was in there a lot." He then proceeded to tell Edwin how he ran into Melody face to face.
"So she applied for your assistant position at the Ledger."
"I didn't think she was serious," Chester said. "But she was. Then we started talking, and it just seemed like we'd known each other for years. Then it dawned on me who she was. Tinkerbell from the chatroom. I was positively bowled over. Here she was, this tall dark beauty. I expected someone completely different."
Edwin laughed. "You sound like you like her."
"Of course I like her."
"You know what I mean -- I mean like, like, her. Like you have a crush on her."
Chester sighed. "Mel and I have a deep connection," he said, without revealing to him their experiments with the cowplant.
Edwin gazed over at Chester. "Oooh, somebody's got a crush on somebody!"
"I do not!" Chester protested weakly. But he had to wonder to himself. Did he?

Meanwhile, unlike Chester and Edwin, Chaz Whippler had a different problem when it came to women. He juggled many of them at once -- yet, in a way, he, too had bad luck. His tendency was to go after girls who were way out of his league. Granted, with his grant money he'd only managed to recently purchase a double bed to lure them, and he was doing all this in the confines of the dormitory, but if he was anything he was resourceful. He was most intrigued by the scent of ladies' perfume, and he liked to follow it as far as he could.
Occasionally, Chaz's mind would drift towards Melody. Melody? Now, that girl was a mystery if there ever was one. But for some reason he couldn't do anything to her. Was it just because she was tutoring him in math and had helped him to pass that semester? He already figured she had a great body underneath that T-shirt and jeans. And her geeky glasses concealed lovely brown eyes. But still, Chaz thought, there was something else about her that caught his eye.
Realizing that Melody was a health freak (he'd never seen her eat anything more than a salad), he knew that inviting her for a burger at the local 'greasy spoon' would definitely never win her over. Besides, he'd watched as she ate, hardly picking at her plate and shoving it aside with a grimace. He'd had no difficulty approaching women. But how on earth was he going to approach THIS woman?
On this day, though, he was entertaining Ellie Frost, a pretty, tanned, long-legged stunner he'd been chasing, but he'd so far been unable to lure to his bed. Why are you after Ellie? he asked himself. She's nothing like you, she's money-aspired.
"Charles," Ellie called, sitting along the side of the bed. "I told you, you've got to make yourself more presentable!"
"Ellie, babe, if you've been dealing with cars all day, how are you supposed to look?"
Ellie haughtily dusted herself off. "Look, Charles," she demanded, refusing to call him by his nickname Chaz, "I really like you. You're fun and charming. But --"
"What's the 'but' about it?"
Ellie was brutally honest. "You're not my type."
Chaz scoffed. "What is your 'type' then? Stuffy suits like Fin Furley?"
Ellie shook her head. "Charles, Fin and I are friends, that's all."
"I see the way you look at him."
"I don't 'look' at Fin any differently than anybody else around here. Besides, you know what I'm after. I want to get out of here as soon as I can so I can start building my business empire."