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."