Chapter Twenty-Two

The phone rang in the dormitory just before Christmas break was to begin at Le Tour. At this time, Melody's plans for the month-long break in between the fall and spring semesters were uncertain. Truth be told, she'd rather stay at Le Tour and work rather than face the gossip hounds in Bluewater.
"Melody?"
She recognized the woman's voice on the other end of the line. It was Florence Delarosa, the florist who lived around the bend from her mother. "Hi, Ms. Florence."
"Hey, sweetheart. How's college?"
"Great. I'm doing great."
"Listen, Melody -- I'm really worried about your mother."
Melody was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I haven't seen her in about a week. She's not coming out of the house. She doesn't return any phone calls. I think you should to come down and see what's going on."
Florence's words reverberated through Melody's ears as she went upstairs to pack her things. This was not what she wanted to hear.

The winter break found Melody exactly where she didn't want to be -- back in Bluewater for an entire month. If she'd have had her druthers, she'd have been back at Le Tour, staying in the dorms, burying herself in some kind of research project or other.
Arriving at her girlhood home, she barely recognized the place. Its formerly cheery yellow exterior had become a dingy beige. The formerly well-tended flowers had wilted and become overrun with weeds. When she walked in the house, an incredible stench consisting of dirty diapers and rotting formula bottles filled the air. She saw Wanda seated at the dining room table, staring blankly out of a nearby window, while dirty diapers littered the floor. Growing more incensed by the minute, Melody disposed of the diapers and went upstairs to bathe Harmony.
A girlhood memory flashed through her mind. Melody groaned and pulled the covers over her head, wishing her mother didn't have to sing those godawful Christmas carols. Yes, she knew it was Christmas Day, but did everybody have to be so cheerful and happy? Besides, she already knew what she was getting this year (as always).
She'd sneaked down the stairs and carefully slit open the presents to take a peek inside. Then, almost as carefully, she'd attach more scotch tape, just to make it look as though they'd never been opened at all.
Grinning broadly to herself, she'd close her eyes and try to go back to sleep. Then the baritone of her father joined in. As if her mother's caterwauling weren't bad enough, her dad had to join in too.
She remembered when her parents dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus to work in the toy shop. She remembered when despite not having as much money as some of the other families, they had the most lavish Christmas light display in town. She even remembered when her parents wanted her to join in dressing up in Christmas colors for their annual family portraits.
Now, as she looked about the gloomy room, it seemed Christmas had bypassed the Tinker house completely. And it hurt. Deeply.
"Melody, dear," Wanda droned absently, "could you run down to J'Adore's and pick up a couple of cakes for me and Harmony please?"
Melody sighed. "Sure, mom," and she called a cab to pick her up. She still wasn't entirely sure of herself behind the wheel of a car.
"Say, isn't that Wanda Tinker's girl? What's she doing back here?" hissed one of the patrons to Denise Jacquet as Melody walked into J'Adore Bakery. "I thought she left."
"Yeah, that must be the kid Wanda had for the professor. Can you believe she hid the truth about that girl from her husband all this time?"
"I don't know how we didn't guess she wasn't Stephen's. She didn't look or act like him at all."
Filing this in her mind, Melody narrowed her eyes like slits, glaring at Denise and her companion. They were essentially calling her mother a slut right in front of her! Right then and there, she decided that the townsfolk's vicious attacks on her mother had to stop. They had sapped her mother of her energy and her will to live.
She walked up to the counter and requested two cakes, one that read "Happy Birthday Wanda" and another that read "Happy Birthday Harmony." After paying for the cakes, Melody left, but continued to hear the talk from inside the bakery.
Lisa Ramirez had rented the Bluewater Town Hall, like she did every year, for the annual village holiday party. The weather added to the festive atmosphere, delivering cold weather and intermittent light snow flurries. Just about every regular year-round resident of the Village had showed up here -- the Jacquets, Malcolm Landgraab, Florence Delarosa, and of course Lisa herself. Noticeably absent, however, were the Tinkers. "Where's Wanda?" Florence asked Lisa after pulling her aside.
"Oops, it must have slipped my mind to invite her," Lisa said. "Well, she knows we do this holiday party every year, so nothing's stopping her from coming again this year."
Without anyone noticing, and without uttering another syllable, Florence slipped out the back door.
Meanwhile, back at the Tinkers, Wanda, still staring blankly out the window, heard the commotion coming from the town hall, the festive holiday music and the laughter reverberating through the air. "What's going on at the town hall?" she asked, not even looking at Melody, who was holding her kid sister in her arms.
"Mom, you know it's the holiday party, they do it every year."
Wanda shook her head. "Oh, that's right."
Melody came up with an idea. "Mom, let's go over there, the three of us."
Wanda shook her head again. "No, it's not a good idea. Besides, we didn't get an invite."
"Since when do you need an invite to go to the Village holiday party?" Melody was incensed. "So this is what it's come down to, right? Dirty diapers, bottles all over, not taking a bath, not eating -- Mom, this isn't you."
"I don't know how much more of this I can take." Wanda heaved a sigh. "This was our favorite time of the year in the toy shop. We used to dress up as Santa and Mrs. Claus for the children --"
Just then Florence arrived. "Dear, the holiday party is going on --"
"I'm not going."
"Yes you are." Florence took Harmony upstairs and gave her a bath and dressed her. After bathing and dressing herself, Melody took Harmony from Florence and curled the toddler's jet black hair.
Melody helped her mother up from her chair, her blood continuing to boil the entire time. She told her mother to clean herself up, change into some decent clothes, and come along with her to the holiday festival. Reluctantly, Wanda listened, showing the first signs of climbing out of her abyss.
After Florence Delarosa slipped back into the gathering unnoticed, she heard Lisa Ramirez talking to Denise Jacquet and another lady over sparkling drinks. Everything stopped, though, with the entrance of the Tinkers -- Wanda, Melody, and baby Harmony. "You mean she bothered to show her face here after everything that's happened?" one lady whispered within earshot.
"You know wild horses can't keep her away," added Lisa. "She's a glutton for punishment."
Melody took a deep breath and examined the room. Her head started to spin in ten thousand different directions. Then, suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. A lifetime of pent-up anger and rage had finally come to a boiling point.
With fire in her eyes, Melody first turned her attention to the Jacquets. "What kind of voodoo spell do you have on your son, Denise? You talk about everyone else but the sun shines out of his butt, he could do no wrong. I bet you don't know that besides the 2 women he's seeing here, he goes downtown to the gay bars too. He needs to grow up and be a man instead of sticking up under mama all the time."
"Hah, I knew it!" Lisa said to herself, "and it finally comes out of her mouth. She's the one who's gay!"
The whole gathering stopped, their eyes falling on Melody. But she wasn't fazed. And Gilbert was even less so, even to the point of walking up to Melody and trying to flirt with her. "I remember that gangly awkward little girl in the green sunglasses who used to wander in the bakery. You sure did grow up nicely. Mind if we cut out of here and take a spin downtown?"
Melody shook her head. How dare he try to hit on her! By this point, though, her anger was palpable. And there was no controlling it. Melody raised her right fist and smacked Gilbert right in the jaw. With fire in her eyes, she shouted, "Try it again and your other side is going to be busted too."
Wanda was astonished. "Melody!" she cried in disbelief. "Oh, my dear sweet child."
Gilbert, for his part, scampered away toward the men's room, with bruises to his jaw and his pride.
Then she sharpened her fangs for Malcolm Landgraab. "And you, you greedy vulture, you came here with no connections to anyone who lives here and now all of a sudden you want to take over every damn thing."
"What are you talking about?" Malcolm shouted.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about, Malcolm. My mother told me, you offered to buy my father's toy shop. He worked his hiney off for that shop. I'd rather see the place rot than to see it in your dirty filthy hands!"
"I'm just looking out for your family's best interests, Melody. You know that." He flashed her a sly smile.
Melody scoffed. "Oh, spare me the drama," she shouted. "The only person's best interests you're looking out for, Malcolm, is your own."
"Melody Tinker!" someone shouted from the crowd. "What's gotten into you? Must be the punch!"
"Yeah, what the hell brought you back here in the first place? To cause more trouble, it seems like."
"I'm not finished. This whole town has been built on a foundation of lies. That's all, I say, lies! Nobody here is living the life they profess to live. It's time somebody in this god-forsaken place wises up to the truth."
Melody saved her sharpest knife, however, for Lisa Ramirez. "You!" Melody shouted, directing a sharp finger at her. "You pretended to be my mother's friend and confidante but instead went around town spreading vicious lies about her!"
"I did not!" Lisa yelled. "How dare you accuse me of something as blatantly disrespectful as that?"
"Oh don't give me that bull, Lisa. You run around with your smiley face, saying hi to everybody, pretending you've got so much, and yet you go around stabbing the knife in their backs. What you did to my mother was absolutely inexcusable! The only thing she did wrong -- was trust you."
"I didn't do anything to your mother that she didn't do to herself."
"You don't get it, do you?" retorted Melody. "With friends like you, who the hell needs enemies? Is that why you conveniently forgot to invite her to this, the town Christmas party?"
"I didn't forget to invite anyone. We have an open-door policy here, Melody, you know that, as long as you've lived here. Anyone is welcome here."
Melody then tried a different tack. "Where's your husband?" she asked.
"Business trip," Lisa replied, "some convention for the furniture shop."
"No, he isn't. He's at a hotel with his mistress, Dina Caliente from Pleasantview. Just yesterday he withdrew six thousand four hundred and fifty-three simoleans from his bank account and placed them in hers. Apparently it's been happening for quite awhile, Lisa. There's a whole slew of debits charged to his account on Dina's behalf. Diamond necklaces, fur coats, even a Mercedes."
The whole gathering stopped to hear everything. Lisa turned around to see them, and see her entire world crashing down around her. "Is this true?" she asked, trying to hold back tears. "If it is true, how do you know all this?"
Melody flashed Lisa a devious grin. "I have my sources." After a brief pause, Melody's tone suddenly turned reflective and she was on the verge of tears. "All my mother and father have done the entire time they've been here is make your children happy with their lovingly crafted, handmade toys. And this is the thanks they get? My father is six feet under, working himself literally to the grave so that he could produce this year's Christmas shipment. My mother is a nervous wreck now, thanks to all of you. She won't eat, she can't step outside to pick up the newspaper or to water the flowers, and she can barely even look at my baby sister, much less care for her. All the stuff you people are saying about her, it's all lies. You don't know a damn thing about what happened that night. And you shouldn't know, because it's none of your damned business!" Tears began to flow down Melody's cheeks, and she was powerless to stop them.
Collapsing to the floor in a heap beside the drink bar, her glasses fogging with her tears, Melody took hard, deep breaths while rocking back and forth. She was joined -- and comforted -- by Wanda and Florence. "It's okay, baby," Wanda whispered in her ear, rubbing her shoulder, "it's over now."
Lisa came forth, looking highly affronted. "Hmmph," she muttered, disgusted at what had just taken place. "I would never have expected that from her, the dyke."
Wanda's eyes narrowed in slits as she glared at Lisa, gaining the fury of a mother bear protecting her cub. "You called my daughter a dyke?"
"Well," Lisa said in a snotty tone, "she is, isn't she?"
"So what if she is?" Wanda asked. "That doesn't mean anything. She's still my daughter and I love her, no matter what."
A soft cough made Lisa spin around. Florence stepped forward. "Considering how you've all treated her family since her father died, you all had it coming to you."
Wanda, Melody, Florence, and Harmony left the party without saying another word. Melody's head rested on Wanda's shoulder.

Chapter Twenty-One (Part Two)

Going back to the dorm, she met Edwin for lunch. The group's class schedules meant they seldom saw each other together, but when they did, it was often magical and memorable. She knew Edwin was taking a lot of her same classes, so they would have roughly the same schedule. At the tail end of a conversation about recent ghost sightings, she was surprised to see him in a bomber jacket. "I borrowed it from Chester," Edwin cracked. "Who knows what else he's got stashed away in that apartment of his?"

"Yeah, that's true. He doesn't want me to go in there and clean it up."

"You would go clean up his apartment."

"I sure would. I made up my parents' bed at home. Cleaning up Ches's apartment -- that's a cinch. Besides, he already gave me a key."

Edwin's eyes popped open. "He gave you a key to his apartment?"

"Sure."

"You two aren't doing anything I don't know about, right?"

"Don't be silly, Edwin, of course not. And hey, even I know about those love letters you write to that girl Delilah on your computer," teased Melody.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Edwin shouted.

But Melody was already gone. "Later, I've got to pick up some things from the library."

Before Melody went to the library, though, she went over to the offices of the Le Tour Ledger where she met up with Chester. "You said you needed something?" she asked him.

"Well, if you can write just a summary of the goings on with your website, that'll be good for this week's column," he told her.

Chester couldn't help himself. Melody was different from any other girl he'd ever encountered. She shared his interests in astronomy, alien conspiracies, robotics, and all things paranormal. He kept thinking to himself that she was a dream creature, sent to mock him.

Melody could not have fathomed that she'd be anywhere near a campus newspaper, let alone writing for one. She knew that back at Hanover Academy, she would not have dreamed of doing this.

"I can't reveal all my research!" Melody exclaimed, "that's top secret."

Chester shrugged. "Just give a brief summary. You don't have to reveal the names of the people who sent you emails, you can just say, well, on Tuesday, November 3, a flying saucer was located...and then give an approximation of the location."

Melody was returning from the library when she saw a light still on in Dr. Hyden's place. "Thank you, Dr. Hyden," a random female student said as she was leaving his office. Curious, she positioned herself right by the entrance door, and peered inside with her head. She saw him straightening out his tie, with a slight flush to his face. She thought it strange for him to be in his office with a student well after hours. Filing this away in her mind, and being especially careful not to let Dr. Hyden or his female student see her, Melody ran away from the scene in embarrassment, taking deep breaths in between her steps, and found her way back to the dorm.

"Oh my gosh, is that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?" Marla asked, seeing the seventh and final Harry Potter book sitting on the cafeteria table.

Melody shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"Do you know how hard that one is to get? It's like super rare now, the stores have been out for ages. I've been trying to get it, but I keep missing it."
Melody shook her head. "I didn't know you liked Harry Potter."

"Oh my gosh, I love Harry Potter!" Marla exclaimed. "I've read all the books many times over. Except this last one." Thinking about what she'd said, Marla then asked, "Could I borrow this? I promise I'll give it right back to you."

Melody, looking up from her macaroni and cheese, waved Marla off. "Go ahead, knock yourself out."

"Oh, thanks so much! I promise I'll get this back to you right away!"
"It's no rush, really," Melody told her.

Later on Melody, her eyes hurting from staring at the screen, took a break from writing her freshman thesis, and looked behind her at Marla. Curled up in the nook of the sofa, cushions stuffed everywhere, Marla had her nose buried deep in the Harry Potter book Melody had given to her. Her lips moved soundlessly as her eyes swung rapidly from side to side. Melody couldn't help but thinking how alike she and Marla were in their love of reading. But that's where the similarities ended. While Melody took pleasure in theories and facts, Marla escaped into the realms of fantasy. They were separated by two and a half years, but they were worlds apart on that issue.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite niece." Dr. Hyden's serious countenance brightened at the sight of Delilah, who'd come to visit his office.
Delilah laughed. "I'm your only niece, Uncle Marcel."
"So. How are you today?"
"Uncle Marcel -- can I ask you something?"
"Sure, sweetheart. Fire away."
"The other day I met this girl, Melody Tinker. She was passing out flyers for the Astronomy Club."
Dr. Hyden scratched his chin and couldn't hide a chuckle. "Melody Tinker? Astronomy club?"
"She kind of looks like you, Uncle Marcel. Actually, she looks a lot like you."
"I've noticed."
"She kind of acts like you, too, Uncle Marcel. We talked for a long time."
"Good to hear, darling."
"Anyway, Uncle Marcel, I was kind of wondering --"
Dr. Hyden shook his head. "She came by the office today -- and said she might be my daughter." Delilah's mouth flew open. "Are you serious?"
"I told her it was impossible." Dr. Hyden buried his face in his hands.
"I can't believe this, Uncle Marcel. I mean, I don't remember you ever having any relationship, except maybe with your books." Delilah sighed. "But I'm definitely wondering, though. She sure does look a heck of a lot like you, that's for sure."
"She wants a DNA test."
"Well, you've got nothing to lose now. Might as well go for it. Hey, who knows? I might even have a cousin."
Delilah's offhand comment elicited a chuckle out of the very serious Dr. Hyden.
"I definitely can't have this getting out, not with the astronomy convention coming up."
"Did you have a relationship with her mother?" asked Delilah.
Dr. Hyden rose in thunder from his seat. "I don't even remember the woman! How could I have possibly had a relationship with her?" Her uncle's sudden burst of temper frightened Delilah, revealing a side of him she'd seldom seen.

Melody rang the doorbell at Chester's apartment. Chester came and answered the door, and immediately gave her a high-five. She didn't realize Edwin Sharpe was here, too. Chester's pet womrat, Sparky, ran around in his cage. While the boys were engaged in SSX3 on the console, she sneaked upstairs to Chester's computer and started chatting. Unbeknownst to her, the boys came upstairs with her and looked over her shoulder.
TINKERBELL: Where do you live?
CHATTERBOX: Bluewater Village.
TINKERBELL: Bluewater Village?
CHATTERBOX: It's a pretty place. Lots of trees and the ocean breezes too. We live just behind that toy shop. My daddy owns that big furniture store.
TINKERBELL: The furniture store?
CHATTERBOX: Ramirez's Fine Furniture.
TINKERBELL: Oh. I see.
CHATTERBOX: My daddy's away a lot, and every time he comes back he buys me something. Last time it was a computer. Then he set me up online so I could chat to people.
TINKERBELL: That's good.
CHATTERBOX: I hear my mom talking. That Tinker lady across the highway, she slept with some teacher! And she had his baby!
TINKERBELL: Really?
CHATTERBOX: Yeah, that's what everybody's saying.
TINKERBELL: I see.
CHATTERBOX: Well, I've got to go. Mommy's cooking dinner. See ya later. (signs off)
Melody turned off the computer. "Rumors going around Bluewater about my mom?" she asked herself. "The only thing she told me over the phone was that Malcolm Landgraab offered to buy the toy shop. She never mentioned anything about any rumors going around Bluewater about her."
"Malcolm Landgraab?" Chester asked. "THE Malcolm Landgraab?"
Melody winced. "You got it. I just knew he'd slime his way into the picture somehow."
Edwin shook his head. "I can't believe he'd do this. I mean, he walked up to your mother's front door and asked to buy your father's toy shop? I mean, that's pretty brazen of him."
"You're not from Bluewater, Ed. You don't know Malcolm Landgraab," Melody said. "He'd sell your mother if he thought he could make a profit."
"Dang," Edwin said to nobody in particular.
Melody instantly knew who "Chatterbox" was -- Tessa Ramirez, the little daughter of Checo and Lisa Ramirez who lived behind her mom. She had also gleaned -- from Tessa -- that Lisa, her mother's sworn confidante, was behind the nasty rumors going around Bluewater. But she needed more ammunition to fire at the woman. And she knew just how to get it.
"Chester --" He looked up from SSX3. He'd been heavily involved in an online tournament.
"You look worried, Mel, what's going on?"
"There's nasty rumors going around Bluewater about my mother. And I know who's behind them. I just need a little more info."
Chester leaned in with decided interest. "Who do you want me to dig up?"
"The Ramirezes."
"The furniture store people?"
"Yeah. Find out whatever you could. I'll deal with them when I get back there." Melody's tone was ominous.
Chester had never heard her like this, so he knew something was up. Getting out of his game, Chester went online, to the Sim City Bank website. He typed in a code he'd apparently typed in many times before, and accessed the personal accounts section. He then typed in Ramirez, which brought up a list of Ramirezes in Sim City. He picked out Checo Ramirez, which brought up a list of all his deposits and withdrawals.
Melody, leaning over, read, "He made a withdrawal last week in the amount of four thousand simoleans and placed the money in the account of a woman named Dina Caliente? Who the heck is she?"
"Something's going on there," Chester said to himself.
"Wait, Ches, there are more of these. Dina's name sure appears a lot in these records. There's another check, written November thirtieth, in the amount of six thousand four hundred and fifty-three simoleans, placed in her account."
Chester scratched his head. "Who is this Dina character?"
"Ches, who else could she be? She has to be his mistress."
Chester looked at Melody in disbelief. "Oh, my god."

Chapter Twenty-One (Part One)

The doorbell rang at the Tinker place at about lunchtime. Standing in front of Wanda was Malcolm Landgraab IV, a tall, tanned, muscular blond with a furrowed brow and piercing gray-blue eyes. Malcolm, the latest scion of the Landgraab dynasty, owned a mansion not too far from the Tinker residence, and indeed there was a view of it from what was Melody's bedroom window.
"How do you do, Mrs. Tinker?" asked Malcolm as he shook her hand.
"Do, please, come in," Wanda said, ushering him inside. "I was just about to cook some chili con carne. Would you like some?"
Refusing Wanda's kind offer of a meal, Malcolm got right down to business. "My board of trustees and I have been discussing the possibility of acquiring Tinker Toys."
"Really?" Wanda asked. "You mean like making a brand out of it?"
"That's something like what we have in mind. You see, we'd like to make Tinker Toys part of Landgraab Enterprises."
Wanda piped up. "How much?"
"Well, we haven't completed the paperwork yet, but all the day-to-day handling of Tinker Toys, all the franchising fees, all the business operations, would be handled by Landgraab Enterprises."
Wanda nodded her overwhelming approval. "I would say yes immediately but I would have to contact my daughter first. She's at Academie Le Tour, you know."
After Malcolm left, Wanda immediately dialed Melody. "Hey, sweetie. How are you today?"
Melody replied, "I'm doing okay, but I was on my way to class. What's up?"
"I got an offer to buy the toy shop. And I told him I would accept, pending approval from you."
Melody, amidst the hustle and bustle of her dorm, was aghast. "Mom! How could you?"
Wanda couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Melody!"
"How could you just give up like that? Stephen Tinker worked his hiney off for that shop, and you're just going to throw it away? Just like that?"
"Melody!" Wanda shouted in amazement, hearing her daughter's words ring over the receiver. "The guy promised he'd make an international brand out of it."
Melody shook her head. "Well who was the guy?"
"Malcolm something or other, he said his name was."
"Malcolm Landgraab, that snake! Mom, selling to him would be like selling your soul to the devil!"
"Melody!" Wanda shouted, "I don't believe you!"

"Don't make a mistake like this, mom. You just can't do it. Selling the toyshop would be a huge mistake you would never be able to forgive yourself for."
"Melody!" Wanda continued to scream, almost merely to hear herself scream. She could not believe Melody was objecting so vehemently. But then again, thought Wanda, this was Melody, always getting in the way of what needed to be done.
"I knew Malcolm would worm himself in here somehow. You just knew the minute daddy's death certificate got signed he'd show up to try to snatch up the pieces. He's like a vulture waiting to pounce on the ashes of our family. And as long as I'm alive I'm not going to let him. Look, I've got to go to class, we'll talk more about this later."
Wanda put the receiver down and sighed. "Melody." She couldn't believe Melody felt this way, especially about the toy shop which she'd never shown any interest in before. She had never heard her daughter emote such passion in an argument before. What was going on? What was behind Melody's tirade? Wanda knew there was something else going on, something Melody wasn't telling her about.

Even though she had taken a couple lessons from Chaz Whippler, Melody still didn't feel entirely comfortable behind the wheel. So after her seminars at Le Tour, she took classes at the Sim City Driving Academy (SCDA) twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, lugging home books on automobile safety and cars in general. There were times when she wondered if she would ever learn to drive.
Melody walked in the dorm and immediately crashed on the sofa in front of the television. Marla, sitting next to her, thought she was napping peacefully, but then saw her eyelids were still moving behind her thick glasses and her eyes were partially open. Lost in thought, Marla realized. I wonder what she's thinking about. Despite having become more outgoing at college, Melody was still an introvert at her core and prone to brooding, and sometimes liked to recharge her batteries by just thinking, shutting off the world and everyone around her.
Marla knew not to pry and just continued to watch her, with Melody unaware that she was being watched. She looks at peace, Marla thought, unaware of the internal turmoil concealed within.

Dr. Hyden was busy at his desk, typing up notes for his next lecture, when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in, Miss Tinker."
Melody laughed. "How did you know who I was?" "Because you're the only one of my students who would come knocking right after I've done my day's classes.
"Dr. Hyden," Melody began, taking a deep breath before beginning, "for one of my term papers, I've got to profile an influential person in the world of astronomy, and I chose you."
"I'm flattered, Miss Tinker, but -- why did you choose me?"
"Your studies on the origins of the universe and the possibility of life on other planets intrigued me."
"I see." Taking out her tape recorder, Melody proceeded to ask him general questions on where he was born, if he had siblings, where he went to college, how he got interested in astronomy, and Dr. Hyden answered them in his calm but commanding voice. "I was actually born in Strangetown, and I had one younger sister. I attended La Fiesta Tech..."
Then Melody got serious and personal. "Have you ever gotten married?" she asked him.
Dr. Hyden wondered about that question but answered it anyway. "No," he said, "but I came close a couple times."
Melody realized that Dr. Hyden had fallen right into her trap. Hardly daring to breathe, she asked, "Do you remember a student named Wanda Zarubin?"
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Dr. Hyden replied, eyeing her beadily, "Hmm, can't say that I do. Why?" He leaned forward, his hands clasped together. "Exactly where are you going with these leading questions, young lady?"
Melody's heart sank, he'd ratted her out. She realized she had to go in for the kill now. "She's my mother."
"Interesting," Dr. Hyden said, "I've had only a couple sets of mother-daughter students before this."
"Anyway, Dr. Hyden, my mother says that -- while she was a student at Sim State -- you and she had a relationship -- and that I'm -- I'm -- I'm the fruit of that relationship."
Dr. Hyden's mouth fell to the floor. "Are you saying I'm your father?" he asked in astonishment.
"That's what my mother says."
"Impossible!" Dr. Hyden shouted. "I can't have anything like this over my head, not with the annual astronomers' meeting coming up. I have to present the findings of my latest study on black holes."
Melody glared at him. "My mother would have no reason to lie to me."
"Oh, I believe she probably was a student at Sim State. Sim State is a large school, much bigger than this. It's just that, well, it was quite a number of years ago, and I've had so many students since then, I can't possibly remember them all by name."
Melody paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I'd like to take a DNA test."
"A DNA test?"
"It's the only way we'll know the truth once and for all. They can take it with your DNA, my DNA, and Stephen's DNA that's on file at the police station."
Dr. Hyden shook his head. "Stephen?"
"Stephen Tinker, my mother's husband and the man who raised me. He died a couple weeks ago, and that's when my mother told me about you."
"I see." Dr. Hyden thought about it for a moment. "Well, it'll have to be after the holidays and the convention," he told her. Satisfied with his response for the moment, Melody got up from her chair and left, leaving Dr. Hyden deep in thought as to who this Wanda Zarubin character could have been. He thought even more about Melody and her physical similarities to him.

Chapter Twenty

Back in Bluewater, the gossip and innuendo had reached a crescendo. It seemed everywhere Wanda turned these days, she couldn't escape it. All she heard in town was that she'd slept with a college professor and had his baby, then hidden it from her loving and devoted husband. Sweet, kind-hearted little Wanda Tinker, the dutiful toymaker's wife, had hidden a deep dark secret for many years. Now pretty much all of Bluewater knew Melody was not the late Stephen Tinker's child, making Wanda feel even worse about the situation than she already did.
The rumors also persisted about Melody's sexuality and general all-around "oddness," another hot topic of conversation in the Village. Wanda tried her best to diffuse them, but they spread like wildfire despite her denials.
It was a bittersweet moment for her as she reflected on the changes that had taken place in the lives of her family -- Stephen's death, Melody's departure, and the revelation that Stephen wasn't Melody's father after all. Deep down, Wanda feared for Harmony's life and future. Would she end up like Melody -- defiant, rebellious, and generally a royal thorn in Wanda's side?
Wanda's thoughts also turned to the man she believed was Melody's biological father, her former physics professor Dr. Marcel Hyden. She wondered what he was doing, where he was, how he was doing. Was he married? Did he have other children? How had his life turned out? How might her life have been different had she been with him instead of Stephen?
After her trip to Bluewater Baths and Salon in a last-ditch effort to recapture some of her lost youth, Wanda walked into Le Magnifique Restaurant to treat herself to a meal. There she got a host of dirty looks from the patrons as she was led to her seat.
The only thing keeping Wanda's sanity intact was her weekly chats over tea, coffee, and pastries with Florence Delarosa. Florence, out of the entire town, was the only person who refused to turn her back on the suddenly lonely widow. She truly felt sorry for Wanda, felt that a woman like Wanda did not deserve the hand she'd been dealt. Her daughter ran off to college, then her husband passed away, then the house of cards that had been her charmed little life came crashing down around her. Wanda would even take little Harmony with her, and the child would happily play around in the flower beds.
"My husband used to say all the time, he thought Melody might have been a nun in a previous life, for all the time she spent studying and working on her projects," Wanda said while sipping coffee. "He used to call her his little sky princess."
"I'd love to have a child someday," Florence said wistfully. "Unfortunately, I spend so much time with the flower shop that I don't really have much time to socialize. But if I were to have a child, I'd want her to be just like your Melody."
Wanda brightened. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. You know, I was on the Sim City Arts Council, the committee that determined the winner of the student art contest a couple years back. I saw your daughter's painting."
Wanda was stunned. "Really?" she asked.
"She has a lot of talent and a lot of potential. Too much potential as an artist for it to go to waste, if you ask me. You think it's at all possible -- I know she's wrapped up in school and her scientific interests -- but is it at all possible you could convince her to take up painting again?"
"I don't know, Florence. She just seems to want to know as much as she can about as many different things as she can. She just loves to learn, always has. She gets that from her father. That's why I think Le Tour is perfect for her."
"A girl as gifted as she is," Florence smiled, "can probably do absolutely anything."

Melody, meanwhile, was blossoming at Academie Le Tour. Through her hard work, she had made the dean's list, and found herself surrounded by a steady group of loyal friends for the first time in her life, friends who were willing to help her and protect her at all costs. She was amazed and mystified as to how this happened. She was the same person she always was, and she wondered why all of a sudden people were drawn to her, instead of running away from her like they did in high school. These new friends understood that she preferred to keep her own company, and gave her her space when she requested it, but at the same time she was learning that research was much more fun with a group.
Melody involved herself even deeper in her paranormal activities. Besides maintaining her website, she and Chester Gieke started the Astronomy Club for like-minded students. The pair, along with Marla, Edwin, and other students they'd enlisted, went around campus passing flyers everywhere. All they needed was a faculty sponsor. Not to mention, besides investigating paranormal activity and studying mathematics and astronomy, she had resumed her robot building hobby and taken up computer programming. Not bad for a young woman whose ever-present thirst for knowledge was such that she used to lock herself in libraries just to learn more. She could feel her mind expanding more than it ever had before. She found there was so much to do, so much she wanted to do -- and so little time for her to do it.
On the notices section right by Dr. Hyden's office, he had posted an advertisement for a student assistant, someone who would help him with students, grade papers, and also do some speaking in public. "You know the dean's looking for an assistant," Melody muttered during a research session.
"I heard about that," Edwin answered. "I think you should go for it."
"Me?" Melody asked, pointing at herself with disgust.
"Why not?" replied Chester, looking at her. "You'd be perfect. You already know the material."
"But it requires public speaking."
"So? You can't talk in public?"
"I freeze out when I'm practicing charisma in front of a mirror, what do you think would happen if I'm talking in a room full of people?"
Marla smiled. "You'll do fine, Mel. You'll see."
Chester, the jokester of the bunch, added, "Imagine all those suits in their underwear. That should loosen you up."
"Seriously though, if the topic is something you're interested in," said Edwin, "it should just flow. You'll forget you're talking in public."

The popularity of Melody's website captured the attention of Dr. Marcel Hyden, dean of the astronomy department at Le Tour, and he called Melody into his office right after class. "We were able to trace the website address to you, Miss Tinker," he said, stroking his chin.
Melody's heart beat about four thousand times a minute as she realized that she was in the presence of the man her mother said was her biological father. She looked upon him with awe and reverence as her cheeks blushed. As she looked around his office, all the telltale signs of his profession were glaringly evident -- walls lined with books, ungraded papers on his desk, posters of aliens and the solar system, and unfinished scientific experiments. Tongue-tied and fidgety, Melody took deep breaths as she reluctantly sat down opposite him.
"A very intriguing project you've embarked on," he said, looking directly into her face. "Is there any -- personal reason you've started this?"
"No special reason," replied Melody, taking deep breaths in between her deliberate statements, "I'm -- I'm just wanting to find out how many alien abductions there have been and how many people are scared to come forward."
Dr. Hyden smiled. "Have you always had this interest?"
"Yes," Melody replied. "I've always felt that we weren't alone in the universe."
Dr. Hyden forced himself to gaze into the eyes of the young woman seated before him. They were hauntingly, strangely familiar. The two of them stared at each other a good long while. The physical resemblance was apparent and obvious. And so, too, thought Melody, was the similarity in interests. The situation was awkward, to say the least.
Filing this in the back of his mind, Dr. Hyden changed the subject. "Have you selected a major, Miss Tinker?" he asked.
"Yes," she said. "I've decided to major in astronomy."
"You want to study the stars?"
Melody nodded her head yes.
"There's more to astronomy than just stargazing, Miss Tinker," he told her.
"I know that," she smiled. "That's what I'd love to learn. All the little nuances, even about extraterrestrial life."
Dr. Hyden shook his head. This Melody Tinker intrigued him. At first, she was shy and awkward, stuttering over her words, shuffling her feet and avoiding his gaze. But as soon as the topic turned to astronomy, it was as if a beam of light had cut through the awkwardness as she lit up within. He remembered that feeling. It was the exact one he'd had, when he'd first discovered the universe and all its possibilities. She reminded him a lot of his favorite niece Delilah, also a student at the Academie, who possessed this same otherworldly passion -- only it was for art.
After Melody left, Dr. Hyden templed his fingers and gazed down at Melody's profile, pondering. Looking back at his life, he wondered how things could have been. Was he so single-minded in the pursuit of one goal, only to have it consume his entire life?
He had never found his heart. He'd spent too many years analyzing every possible nuance, that the part of his heart that stored away love, had shrunken and withered away to dust. Or had it?
Was there someone out there who would show him the way after all? He shook his head, his heart and soul belonged to Academie Le Tour now. Besides, he decided, he was far too old to chase dreams and fantasies.

Every day after classes Chaz met Melody in the parking lot of Aldrich dorm for driving lessons. Obediently, Melody pulled into the curb at the end of Aldrich Avenue where her dorm was, turned the ignition off, and glared hard at Chaz. Immediately he pulled his hand from her knee. "Are you going to teach me to drive or not?" she asked angrily, her eyes hard as stones beneath her glasses.
Chaz blushed crimson. "Sorry," he murmured. He definitely wasn't going to get anywhere with this ice queen at all.
And right after driving lessons there was math tutoring. As time went on, Melody became pleased with the progress Chaz was making -- and, secretly, with the fact that she was able to help. This 'odd pairing' certainly had dorm residents shaking their heads, even more so when, after dinner, they were playing rock-paper-scissors in the dorm cafeteria. Even more shocking was that Chaz had managed to elicit laughter out of the usually dour Melody with his playfulness. "You know, you're not half bad," Chaz said. "It isn't often I can play rock-paper-scissors with a girl."
Melody flashed him a surreptitious, mischievous grin. "Well, you obviously haven't met me yet."
"Hah!" Chaz chuckled. There was a wicked glint in his eyes. "Is that a challenge?" he asked.
Normally Melody wouldn't try to rise to the occasion, but she needed a welcome break. "I can beat you hands down," she said, grinning broadly.
"Try me."
"Okay, what's first?"
"How about a game of pool."
"Heh," sniggered Chaz, "easy peasy. I learned from the best. You're on."
The pair of them walked to the pool table. Melody watched intently as Chaz set up the balls in a rhythmic order. "You first," she said.
"Nah, I'm a gentleman. It's always ladies first."
"Fine, if you say so," Melody grinned. Walking toward the cue ball, she aimed her pool stick right at it. She watched Chaz land the first shot. "Not bad," she murmured.
"Like I said," he bluffed, "I learned from the best. My dad was a world-class hustler."
We'll just see about that, Melody thought to herself. Over the course of the next half-hour, Chaz could not believe what he was seeing. This girl, this 'geeky' girl, was taking him to the cleaners. His face fell to the floor as he watched Melody pot the final ball. "That was a fluke!" he protested. "My dad taught me all the moves!"
Melody just smiled as he handed over the money. Grumbling under his breath, he turned away.
"You could always have a rematch," called Melody, feeling slightly guilty.
Chaz slouched off, waving his hand dismissively, "Nah, you're okay," he said, "I don't fancy getting slaughtered by you a second time. I'll take my chances with someone else."
Melody stepped up to Chaz, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," she said, handing the money back to him. "It was a simple question of mathematics. That's all. Once I worked out all the angles, it was pretty straightforward. Besides, I really don't need this. I just wanted to take a break from studying." She continued to explain the different angles of the pool balls. "So, when I cued the balls, they scattered in all sorts of different directions. It looks chaotic, but there's a simple pattern to it all, one where angles play a key role. Let's take the six ball for instance. It was located perpendicular to the five-ball but was at a forty-five-degree angle to the pot...."
Chaz shrugged his shoulders and looked directly at her, a broad smile spread across his face. "I guess I don't really know you at all," he said, curling her fingers over the bunch of simoleans in her hand. "You take it."
"No," replied Melody, taken slightly aback, "I don't need it."
"Listen kid," came the reply, "you won it, fair and square." Chaz crossed the room, then turned to look at Melody. "I guess there's a lot to learn from you." He winked, sticking his thumbs up and vanished out the door. His wallet was a little lighter but his respect for Melody had grown a little deeper.

It so happened that Melody was passing by Delilah O'Feefe's rental house and handed her a flyer advertising the latest Astronomy Club meeting. Delilah, like Melody, was tall and beautiful, with dark, silky hair. Melody caught Delilah's eye, and she invited her in.
"Your apartment looks cozy," Melody said, warming herself with a cup of Delilah's hot coffee. "Thanks." Delilah gave Melody a warm smile. "So, your name's Melody, right? Edwin was telling me, you're in his calculus class."
Melody nodded.
"So, what are you majoring in?" Delilah couldn't help but notice the physical similarities between herself and the girl she'd invited in her apartment.
"Astronomy, with a concentration in applied mathematics."
Delilah was impressed. "I'm an art major." The girls spoke for quite a long while about their chosen interests. When Delilah talked about loving to paint, and wanting to become an artist, Melody couldn't resist telling her about her experiences with art, even to the point of bragging that she'd been Darren Dreamer's apprentice. "You were Darren Dreamer's apprentice?" Delilah asked, astonished. "God!" Melody gazed at Delilah in awe. Delilah had the sophistication and worldliness that Melody wished she had, and Delilah herself longed for Melody's innocence about the way the world worked.
"Dr. Hyden's doing a lecture series on the big bang theory of the origin of the universe."
"Uncle Marcel and his silly theories about aliens." Delilah laughed.
But she looked over at Melody and saw her frown. "Uncle Marcel?" Melody asked.
"Yeah, Dr. Hyden is my uncle. His sister, Dahlia Hyden O'Feefe, was my mother."

The name Dahlia O'Feefe sounded familiar to Melody. When she was studying art history, she'd seen some of Dahlia's abstract paintings. Just then she got a mental image, of a tall and stunningly beautiful woman in a foreign country, surrounded by bohemian artists and philosophers. I don't believe this, she thought, this girl and I are cousins! And Dahlia O'Feefe was my aunt!
"After my mom died, Uncle Marcel took me in, and then took me here, where he taught, says he wanted to keep an eye on me."

Wires and motherboards littered the landscape at Chester Gieke's off campus apartment at Focaccia Place. Moldy pizza boxes and cartons of day-old Chinese food were also scattered about, along with the distinctive smell of a soldering iron mixing with sweaty socks. It was this atmosphere to which Melody had come, again. The pair of them constantly together definitely had tongues wagging around Academie Le Tour. And the fact that she'd be there until four in the morning -- that really had them talking.
Mostly, though, she wanted to tinker with his brand-new toy, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer from the early 1980s that he'd purchased with his grant money off Simbay for his computer science class, that he had bragged about in chat.
"I didn't know you took up programming," Chester asked.
Melody's insatiable curiosity was piqued as she sat down in front of the Spectrum, examining its keys and wondering what every function was. "I dabbled in it a little bit, yeah, what with the toy robots. I'm also taking computer science, learning BASIC and stuff."
"Sounds fascinating." Chester grinned. "Hey, you never finished telling me what happened that night."
"What night?" Melody asked.
"The night you were abducted."
Melody looked back at Chester, stopping her typing for one moment. "There isn't much I remember about it, actually. All I remember is going out to stargaze after I'd had an argument with my mom, and being beamed up on the mothership --"
"Well, what happened when you got on the mothership?"
Melody briefly changed the subject. "You had to program every single BASIC command by hand?"
Chester leaned over. "Yeah, quite a challenge, and you'd need plenty of patience. Now, what happened on the mothership again?"
"All I could see were green bipeds with huge black eyes, all staring at me. It was like they could see right through me. There I was, standing in my school uniform. I must have been quite a sight for them to see."
"And then what happened?"
"I don't remember much else, except there was this extremely bright light shining in my eyes. I didn't know where I was or if I'd ever return. I couldn't see the ground below because I was so far above everything. It was like I'd prepared my whole life for it to happen, I'd wanted it to happen so badly, I'd known it would happen because I'd believed it would happen, and when it did happen, I didn't know how to react. And I knew nobody would believe me because everyone in Bluewater thought I was a kook anyway. Especially my parents. They'd have had me committed to an asylum if I'd have told them."
"So they blocked your memory."
"And pretty much as soon as they'd picked me up, I was ejected from the ship back onto Eagle Lane, right in front of my house. The entire trip had taken about four earth hours, but only a few minutes in their time. I was looking at the clock, it was about two in the morning. My parents and baby sister were asleep. So I got onto the computer and I told you."
Chester grinned again. "Hey, how's your website going?"
Melody chuckled as she turned off the Spectrum and switched to his much more modern Moneywell. "I'm getting so many hits on it, I can hardly keep up. There's obviously an interest in this sort of thing."
"How many people have reported abductions -- or at least paranormal activity?"
"I've gotten at least a thousand e-mails. I can't separate my website mail from my regular mail." Chester laughed. "Perhaps you should get a separate e-mail address for your website."
"I didn't think about it, that's a good idea. That way, I can separate my regular mail from the mail I'm getting because of the website." Melody sat down and read her letters. "Most of them are about seeing spaceships circling the sky at night, as if they're spying on them."
"You mean the aliens?"
Melody nodded as she answered email. "They're canvassing neighborhoods seeking more potential victims." She stopped for a moment. "Hey, here's this one letter, it's from a teenage girl. She says her parents don't like her interest in astronomy, they want her to 'get her head out of the clouds.' Unfortunately this scenario sounds very familiar."
"You should write a book," suggested Chester. Melody stopped typing her email and looked at Chester behind her, thinking he would burst out laughing. But his facial expression never changed. "I mean, your abduction, this website, all your research -- "
"Nah, I don't know. I wouldn't want people to know who I am. Especially the gossip hounds in Bluewater."
"Hey, maybe the folks in Bluewater won't read your book."
"Yeah, but they'd know about it from the book shows on TV."
"You could use a pen name. All you'd have to do in your book is detail your experiences with extraterrestrial activity, maybe add in some autobiographical anecdotes. I'm telling you, Mel, people would gobble this up. You've got a story to tell."

Chapter Nineteen

With the stunning revelations of her mother still ringing in her ears, Melody returned to Academie Le Tour and immediately embarked on her journey of self-discovery. "He teaches here?" she asked herself as her internet search for Dr. Marcel Hyden revealed he was currently the dean of the astronomy department. Determined to learn everything she could about this man, almost to the point of obsession, she clicked on the link to his faculty page, and first read his biography. As a child and teenager, he was fascinated with the stars, and he'd spend hours with his telescope stargazing. Hmm, sounds familiar, she thought as she continued to read. The author of several books on the origin of the universe and alien conspiracy theory, he'd begun his career as a physics professor at Sim State University after graduating from La Fiesta Tech with his degree in astronomy. "I read some of those books!" Melody thought to herself in disbelief.
Then her eyes fell to his portrait and she looked at it in astonishment. She saw her eyes, her nose, her cheekbones, reflected in him. No, this can't be, she thought to herself, this is probably just a coincidence. But then she looked at the portrait again. Could her mother have been telling the truth? Was this man her biological father? After her weekend at home, there were suddenly more questions than answers. And Melody, she was even more confused than ever before.
In the meantime, though, Melody enveloped herself in her coursework and her extracurricular interests in paranormal activity. Those came as naturally to her as breathing. Now that she was in college, she felt free to pursue her passion, encouraged by her dorm mates, who had given her a nickname -- "Star Girl." With the help of Edwin Sharpe, the dorm's resident computer guru, she built a website on her personal space on the campus server dedicated to alien abductions and other astrophysical phenomena, enlisting others to talk about their experiences. She even designed all of the artwork. In the first week her website got over twenty thousand hits.
Every day after classes, she would log on to see if anyone else had shared a story. One tale, however, made Melody think long and hard. "My mother was abducted by aliens," the person wrote, "and she never returned. I miss her terribly. She's missed important events of my life -- my wedding, the birth of my child, my brother's birthday..."
Just why was she abducted? What did the abductors actually want from her? And more importantly, why was she allowed to return, relatively unscathed? These were questions she was allowed to ponder for the first time since it happened, and these were questions she vowed she would spend the rest of her life trying to answer.

Edwin watched in awe as Melody unwrapped her telescope. "Wow, is that a Farstar e3?"
Melody grinned. "Yep."
"Cool! I wanted one, but my parents couldn't afford it. Too busy paying for private school for Roxie and me." Edwin walked outside with her. "I know a great vantage point, where you could see far into the galaxies."
Melody looked around. "This is great! Too bad at home we didn't have a balcony, so I had to settle for the back hallway with the window to try and see through."
Edwin turned to Melody, his cheeks flushed, "I know I can talk to you," he said, twisting his greenish T-shirt in his hands, "but I think there is life out there, you know. That's why I was so happy when you asked me to help you set up that web page."
Melody looked at him in the moonlight, half-expecting a snort of derision, but he stood there, a solemn expression on his face. She knew she was face-to-face with a kindred spirit.

Melody ate breakfast the next morning with Marla. The dorm cook had made pipin' hot pancakes and Melody tried to resist them in order to keep the figure she'd worked so hard to build, but no avail. She scarfed them down. After an intriguing conversation about the ancient Greek sculptures in their art history class, Marla asked, "Mel, how was your dad's funeral?"
Marla took a good long look at Melody's face. It was a blank slate, completely unreadable. Beneath Melody's thick lenses, her brown eyes were dull -- the only giveaway that her suite mate was conflicted about her situation. Marla didn't want to push, for fear of being rebuffed, but she was hopelessly drawn to this young woman, so lost she was in her own thoughts.
"That bad, huh?" Marla muttered, looking down at her pancakes, which had barely been touched.
Melody shook her head. "He wasn't my father," she whispered.
Marla's eyes popped open. "Are you serious?" she asked.
Melody's stare told Marla all she needed to know.
"Oh my gosh. Your mother told you?"
"Yeah," replied Melody quietly.
"Well, could you tell me who he is?"
"My mother said, some professor."
"Well, I could help you find information on him, if that's what you want --"Melody shook her head. "No, I think I need to do this on my own."
Marla put her hand on Melody's. "Well, you know where I am, where we all are -- all your friends."
Melody was confused. "What friends?"
"You have a lot more than you think you do." Marla smiled. "I'm late for my biology class. See ya later."

After her own classes, Melody set up camp in the spacious Le Tour library, and for a bookworm like herself, it was like she'd arrived in heaven. Books were stacked high to the ceiling, on every subject imaginable. She wanted to read them all, but that was for another time. Now, though, she had one thing on her mind, and that was to check out every book on the solar system that Dr. Marcel Hyden had ever written, and there were quite a few of those.
So she went up to the computer, where the card catalogs were kept now, and looked up everything they had at the library that he'd written.
"The science section is in the five hundreds right?" she said to herself as she searched shelf after shelf. This was unlike any research project she'd ever undertaken. She emerged from the bookshelves with a stack of books piled almost to her forehead.
Edwin sat in a corner with his nose stuck in a book. "Hey, Mel, that's quite a bit of heavy reading you've got there. Doing some research?"
Melody replied, "Sort of... yes, actually."
Edwin smiled knowingly, putting his own book down and picking up the topmost book. "Dr. Marcel Hyden," he reminisced, "I've read that one. He's amazing, you know, the way he explains the 'big bang'. That's how I got into astronomy. His books are very comprehensive yet thought-provoking."
With that Melody's eyes widened with decided interest as she walked up to the counter to check them out. "Are you going to read all those books?" the checker asked.
Melody grinned. "If I don't, I'll die trying."
When she got back to her dorm, she found an email. "Hi Melody, I found your email address in the student directory. How have you been? I heard about your dad, I'm so sorry about that. I'm writing this note to tell you I haven't stopped thinking about you, and I'm really sorry for what happened on prom night. I lost my head and my cool. Please forgive me. Dirk."
Melody took a deep breath. She didn't know what to think. She wanted to forget everything that had happened before her arrival at Le Tour. But somehow, at least one small piece of her past had managed to follow her. What did Dirk want from her, exactly? she wondered. And why had he taken the time to find her email address and contact her?
Clicking off the computer, Melody began to immerse herself in the writings of the man her mother said was her biological father. She tried to get a feel for his voice, how he must sound. She also tried to picture him in her mind, what he must look like.
While searching for more information on Dr. Hyden's astronomy seminars on the notice boards, she came across another announcement, this one advertising free driving lessons at this dinky auto shop downtown. Hmm, Melody thought to herself, I think I might check this out.

So the next day, which was a Saturday, Melody called the cab and asked the driver to drive her to this place downtown. When she got there, she saw an advertisement for free driving lessons.
Looking around the dinky auto shop, careful not to get any of her clothes dirty, Melody spotted Chaz Whippler from the dorm and wondered what he was doing there.
Chaz (short for Charles Lee) Whippler was the son of an auto mechanic. He certainly didn't fit the profile of a 'typical' Le Tour student. A self-proclaimed expert on looking for love in all the wrong places, he was dressed in baggy shorts and a hoodie, with stringy blond neck-length hair. He'd spent his weekends working there when he wasn't on campus trying to lure every woman to his bed.
Melody looked at Chaz with a feeling of foreboding as he wiped his grimy hands on an oil rag, her eyes glued to a smudge of axle grease streaked across his cheek. "Yeah, baby," Chaz grinned to himself, "these ladies just can't get enough of me."
"I was told you offered free driving lessons?" asked Melody, pointing her words in the direction of Chaz, who seemed briefly distracted.
He hurriedly wiped the grease off his face as he spied Melody standing in front of him. "And?" he asked.
"I've come to take you up on that."
"Aren't you at Le Tour?" he asked her. "Don't you know how to drive already?"
Melody looked at him sheepishly.
"Don't tell me you're one of those nose-in-a-book types who wanna see what the real world's got to offer --"
Melody glared at him, impatiently. "Let's just begin my first lesson."
"Oooh, touchy!" Chaz wrapped his arm around Melody's shoulder. Melody, squirming away, removed his arm and reluctantly followed him. Chaz immediately got the clue that he was dealing with a different kettle of fish.
Chaz and Melody found themselves inside one of the many cars littering the shop. Chaz was in the driver's seat and Melody took the passenger. Stealing a close-up look at her, Chaz thought, hey, if you get rid of the glasses she's pretty cute. I wonder what else she's hiding underneath that T-shirt and jeans. She might have a great body.
What am I doing? Melody thought to herself. What the heck am I doing?
After Chaz explained to her the basic parts of a car, he told them to switch sides. With Melody trying to remember which part was the shift and which part was the brakes, she nervously sat down behind the steering wheel.
"Don't tell me you've never driven a car before," Chaz said, "not even for pretend? All kids do that."
For one of the first times in her life, Melody was clueless. Putting her hands on the steering wheel, she then shifted the lever all the way to the bottom.
"What are you doing?" Chaz asked in astonishment. "You're supposed to start the car off before you shift it into gear."
"Start it off?" asked Melody, befuddled. "Where are the keys?"
Chaz dangled them in front of her. Jerking them out of his hands, Melody then wondered, "Now where do they go?"
"In the ignition, smartass."
"Okay, ignition," Melody said to nobody in particular, unsure if anyone heard her, "where's the ignition?"
"You see that keyhole behind the windshield wiper?"
Melody was still confused. But finally she found the keyhole and inserted the key. "Okay, now what?"
"You turn it!" Chaz couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
Exhaling deeply, Melody turned the key to the ignition, starting the car. "Okay, okay, now what?" Before she could speak, though, the car careened off the driveway, through the sidewalk, and into a nearby tree. Chaz had to shift it again to prevent further disaster.
The car sputtered into action, the gear lever sticking, as Melody ground it into first. There was a definite groan, followed by a clunk.
"What was that?" she asked, looking nervously around.
"That's okay," came the reply. It was difficult to see who was the most scared -- Melody, sitting behind the wheel of a car for the first time, or Chaz, who'd volunteered to help her with lessons.
Spitting out choking black plumes of carbon smoke, the car jerked forward.
His face turning white, Chaz sighed. "We've got a long way to go."
But Melody walked away determined. I'm going to get this, she thought to herself, if it's the last thing I do.

On Monday, returning to the dorm, Chaz approached Melody, who was studying in the dorm library. "Listen, since I'm teaching you how to drive a car, you think it's possible you could tutor me in freshman math? I know you're smart and all --"
"Who said I was smart?" asked Melody.
"Oh come on. I know you're smart, I've seen you up on the balcony with the telescope and stuff. Besides, you even look the part, the glasses and all."
"Who says because a person wears glasses that means they're smart?"
"Well you obviously are, Melody Tinker," Chaz laughed. "Now, could you help me?"
How does he know my name? Melody thought to herself as she also pondered Chaz's question. "What do you need help in?" she asked.
Chaz looked at Melody with a plaintive face. "Everything. Those formulas are so confusing to me."
Melody sat down, opposite Chaz, and sighed. "Let me see your assignments." She realized that the concepts he was currently studying in freshman math, she had already covered in high school. Melody liked math and numbers, and was drawn to its exactness.
"Pi is nearly infinite," she began, "it's been calculated to billions of digits. But for the purpose of this exercise, and our lesson today, we're going to use five digits, pi equals 3.14159..."
Chaz listened to Melody talk, amazed. Not by the subject matter, of course, dry as it was, but he found himself fascinated by her. He watched her eyes, the same ones that looked like deer in headlights when sitting behind the wheel of a car, become radiant and full of life when explaining complex mathematical equations, and was amazed by the dichotomy between the two. At that moment he realized that they could be of great help to each other.

Chapter Eighteen

The phone rang in the dormitory just after Melody returned from her jog around the campus. With trepidation she picked it up. On the other end of the line was Wanda, sobbing uncontrollably. "Your father -- your father's dead."
Melody was numb. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Stephen Tinker, the rock of the family, the man who'd seen her off to college it seemed like only a few days earlier, was gone. "W-what happened?" she stammered.
"He was gone before the paramedics arrived. He was at his bench -- you could say he died doing what he loved."
After Melody hung up the receiver and slumped down underneath it, Marla came near. "What happened?"
"That was my mom. She said my dad had a massive heart attack and died." Melody buried her head in her arms.
"Oh, my gosh, I'm sooo sorry!" Marla put her hand on Melody's shoulder. She followed Melody upstairs to her second-story dorm room to help her pack a few clothes for an unexpected and unwelcome trip back home. Melody couldn't get her mother's wails out of her head.


A soggy, chilly late-fall day in Bluewater Village ended with the funeral of one of its founding citizens, Stephen Tinker, owner and proprietor of Tinker Toys. After Melody delivered a moving eulogy to her late father, Stephen's grieving widow, Wanda, his companion, playmate, best friend, and wife of many years, stood at his gravesite and wept unceasingly. She cradled his lookalike toddler daughter, Harmony, in her arms, playing with her dark bouncy curls.
Ever since Melody's unceremonious departure from Bluewater -- and some time before it -- the talk about her and her "odd ways" continued to fester, and now it seemed the eyes of the entire town were on her. They were watching how she looked, how she acted, and picking for anything they could possibly say about her. She knew that while returning here, she'd have to be on her very best behavior. The townsfolk's attitude towards her, in her mind, confirmed the reason she'd left in the first place.

Melody approached her mother and tried her best to console her. Having just received a full scholarship to the prestigious Academie Le Tour, she didn't want to come home to a task this unpleasant. She had to get her father's affairs in order, pay off his debts, and above all be strong for her devastated mother and kid sister. She was far too young to be in this position. Not now. She hadn't even lived yet. Florence Delarosa of Delarosa Flowers had done the gorgeous floral arrangements surrounding Stephen's newly erected tombstone -- free of charge -- and Denise Jacquet had cooked all the food for the funeral dinner.



A few minutes after the small, intimate service, Wanda, wearing a black widow's veil and a shawl, called Melody aside. "Honey," she began haltingly, tears streaming down her white-washed face, "there's something I've got to get off my chest."
Not knowing what to expect, Melody followed her mother back in the house, where they sat at the dining room table. Learning that she had a secret was a surprise to her. Wanda told her to sit down and held her hand. Taking a deep breath, she began. "Steve and I had been dating, and we had talked about getting married, but we weren't engaged yet. One night my physics professor, Dr. Marcel Hyden, called and I thought we were just going to have dinner. We ended up going to this place downtown, I can't remember the name. I got drunk, and we woohooed in the photo booth and continued it in the car."
All Melody could do was look at her mother in disbelief. She couldn't console or comfort her. She couldn't say or do anything. She had to continue to listen.
"I didn't know how to tell Steve. When I left Marcel's apartment downtown, I went over to Sim State to see him. Steve proposed to me on the spot, we left college, and the next day we were married. The morning of the wedding, I realized I was pregnant. The most important day of my life, I was miserable. Then, lo and behold, you were born. That day should have been the happiest, most fulfilling day of my life, because all I'd ever wanted was to be a mother. Instead I was filled with doubt. You were such a beautiful baby but I wasn't sure whether you were Marcel's or Steve's. I hoped you were Steve's so our family would be complete.
"Then as you grew up it became obvious to me that you weren't Steve's child. He never knew, but I cried myself to sleep at night. I felt like I'd failed at the one thing I'd really wanted to do. There was no way I could keep up with your energy. You were everywhere, doing everything. The day you leapt in fright from the jack-in-the-box was the day I knew for sure that you were Marcel's child. Steve went ahead and bought the telescope because you'd wanted it, and you spent your nights up there, just gazing at the stars. I couldn't bear to tell Steve. Chalk it up to being chicken or whatever, but I just couldn't do it. I knew it would break his heart." Wanda continued to sob uncontrollably. "I was never completely satisfied until after Harmony was born. That's when I knew our family was complete."
Melody took a deep breath. She saw this surreal conversation with her guilt-ridden mother as an opportunity to answer some of the long-pressing questions in her mind. She'd always known she was different from her family but didn't know exactly why. Now she knew. She was the daughter of a college professor she'd never met, a man she never knew, a man whose fate remained a mystery. Stephen Tinker was the man who'd raised her, the man she'd called daddy for many years -- but he wasn't her father. Not biologically, anyway.
It all made sense now. Melody always felt more at home around books and gadgets than around her parents' toys. Nobody in the family had the interests she had. "Tell me about Marcel," Melody demanded. "What was he like?"
"Marcel was a brilliant man, incredibly charming and handsome. He was perfect in every way -- almost, in a way, too perfect. I could look into his deep brown eyes all day and all night, but I think I was seduced by his intellect more than anything else. I could listen to him talk all day."
"Were you in love with Marcel?"
"I guess you can say that in some respects, I was. Marcel was a different type of man from Steve. He seemed so worldly, so cultured. It was like he was from another place and another time. He was so well-traveled, it seemed like he'd been everywhere and done everything. He talked about fine wines, opera, foreign foods. He seemed to know everything, like you do at times. I will always be incredibly grateful to Marcel because he gave me you."
As Wanda continued to wipe tears from her eyes, Melody looked at her. She wasn't sure exactly how to react to her mother's stunning revelation. She'd grown up believing that Stephen Tinker was her father, and that because she wasn't interested in toys or toymaking like the rest of her family that she was a misfit. Now, of course, she knew that she wasn't truly a Tinker after all. Processing all this in her mind, she wondered what exactly she would do if placed in her mother's impossible situation. "Mother!" she exclaimed, more in disbelief than in anger. "All this time!"
"I know, sweetheart. I've been racked by this for years."
"So you mean dad went to his grave thinking I was his child."
"Yes, he did. I feel terrible about it! I couldn't tell him. I was chicken." Wanda sighed in resignation.
Melody walked away from the scene and the conversation in disbelief, with a lot to ponder. At that moment she knew what she had to do. She had to locate this man.

When Wanda returned from the house, Florence Delarosa put an arm around her. "I feel so sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family."
Wanda looked up from her tears. "Thank you."
"Do you want some tea? I have some left over from this morning."
Thanking Florence for her kindness, Wanda followed her to her home on Lake Meadow Circle, which was around the bend. The walk was good exercise for Wanda, it helped to clear her head.
Wanda was in awe of the exquisitely decorated garden and the surrounding pond, thinking to herself that the environment looked serene. After they got there, Florence handed Wanda tissues and a cup of tea. Wanda proceeded to tell Florence everything she had just told Melody, and Florence, like Melody, simply listened. "So Melody wasn't Stephen's child?" Florence asked.
"No," Wanda sobbed. "And I feel terrible about it! He loved her so much -- adored her, really. She was his heart."
"Don't," said Florence in her soft, kind voice. "This man took advantage of a naive, vulnerable college girl, but in return you got the greatest gift you could ever hope to receive."
"And I love her to pieces, but we're just so different. Personality wise, Melody is a lot more like her father than she is like me."
"She keeps to herself," Florence said silently.
"I first suspected she was Marcel's child back when she was a toddler. She would jerk away from any toy we'd make for her, and then when she got older she began burying herself in books. We couldn't keep any books out of her hands. Then she taught herself how to paint, then she asked for the telescope -- I mean, I saw all the signs. I put them out of my mind, hoping they weren't real. And no matter how I tried to believe she was Steve's child, deep down in my heart I knew I just couldn't --"
"She's a lot like I was when I was her age," Florence said gently. "Head full of dreams and ambitions. I left home at sixteen -- my obsession was with plants -- and I started this flower shop. After my parents died -- one after the other -- I sold the family home and came here."
Wanda looked at Florence with disbelief. "When I was a girl, all I wanted was to get married and have a bunch of children. But Melody -- she doesn't seem to want any of that."
"Times change, people change, dear," added Florence, putting a hand on Wanda's shoulder. "People of your daughter's ilk will take over the world."

Chapter Seventeen

"Hi honey," Wanda said sweetly as Melody returned home from the prom. She looked up at the clock. It was only just before midnight. "What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it!" Melody tore into her mother as she fled upstairs to her bedroom and slammed the door shut.
Uh oh, Wanda said to herself as she chased after Melody as best as she could. Listening at the door, she heard muffled tears coming from behind it. "Sweetie? Honey, what happened?"
"I told you, me going to prom would be a bad idea."
"Okay, okay, so you didn't have a good time at the prom."
Just then Melody emerged, her makeup even more smeared than before. She walked right past Wanda toward the shower, where she proceeded to tear off her dress and wash off most of her makeup. She returned to her bedroom, fumbling for her glasses.
"I have your glasses, honey," Wanda said, handing them over as Melody put them on. "You looked gorgeous tonight, darling. I bet you were the prettiest girl there."

As Wanda left, Melody walked to her computer, where she went to her favorite chatroom.
UBERGIEKE: How was it?
TINKERBELL: What?
UBERGIEKE: Your prom. You said you were going.
TINKERBELL: A disaster, like I thought it would be.
UBERGIEKE: That bad huh?
TINKERBELL: Picture hundreds of sweaty kids crammed in our school auditorium, with loud music, spiked punch, and dancing. I'd rather have been home.
UBERGIEKE: I'm glad I didn't go to my prom. What about the guy you went with? Derek something or other --
TINKERBELL: Dirk Dreamer, Darren's son. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. He tried to hit on me. I got to the garden and he was standing there. Luckily there was a telescope there, so I could stargaze.
UBERGIEKE: ROFL! Stargazing on prom night. Somehow, Tinkerbell, that doesn't surprise me.
TINKERBELL: Believe me, that was the best part of the evening.
UBERGIEKE: Going slightly off topic, have you read Dr. Hyden's latest, From the Earth to the Stars?
TINKERBELL: I have to confess I haven't yet, usually I read all his books on the origin of the universe. When did it come out?
UBERGIEKE: Last week.
TINKERBELL: I don't know how that could've escaped me, probably because I was busy preparing for prom.
UBERGIEKE: Anyway, he mentions the Big Bang, kind of glossed it over, but he also talks about the universe's expansion.
TINKERBELL: Hmm, interesting. I think I'll have to check it out. Does he talk about the possibility of communication with aliens?
UBERGIEKE: Actually, this book isn't about aliens or extraterrestrial activity.
TINKERBELL: Wow, that's interesting. Well, I'll still have to check it out.

After prom, Melody began counting down the days until graduation -- until she would finally leave the halls of misery known as Hanover Academy. She took her final exams and turned in her books to the principal and the librarian. To no one's surprise (except maybe Tracy Glick's) Melody was named valedictorian, and it had also been revealed that she'd received a full-tuition scholarship to the prestigious Academie Le Tour.
"Mel," Sarah called, watching Melody walk through the halls of Hanover for the final time.
Melody turned around, facing the person who'd broken her heart at the beginning of the school year. Somehow, she'd gotten through it. But in her mind's eye Sarah looked upset, and her body language told the story. "What's wrong?" Melody asked, hesitating.
"I'm not graduating," Sarah replied, wiping a stray tear from her eyes. "I didn't pass the test."
Melody let out a deep sigh. "Sarah, I'm sorry. Really, I am."

Facing Melody again, Sarah heaved a deep sigh. "Do you even care?" she asked angrily, shaking her head. "This whole time you've cared about no one but yourself and your studies. I guess that's why you're graduating valedictorian tonight. Congratulations."
Melody detected the bitter tone in Sarah's voice when she said the word 'valedictorian.' "Thanks," she muttered to herself. "But what am I going to say?"
Managing a chuckle, Sarah shook her head. "You'll do fine, Mel. You always find a way to knock 'em dead." As Sarah walked away, she engendered thoughts of their very painful breakup in Melody's head. Eight months removed, and the wound was still as fresh as ever.

As the Hanover auditorium began filling with other students, parents, and guests, Tracy asked Melody to adjust her gown, but not before taking her opportunity to talk. "So -- you're valedictorian," repeated Tracy, making a face as she flicked her hair. She couldn't hide her disappointment.
Melody took a deep breath. "I would easily switch places with you, so I wouldn't have to make that speech."
Jerking away, Tracy dusted off her shoulders in disgust. "Yeah, sure you would," she responded sarcastically.
"I'm serious, Tracy!" cried Melody. "I'm petrified! I'm going to have to talk in front of everybody."
Tracy scoffed. "Mel, seriously, you're gonna do fine."
Melody shook her head. "Easy for you to say. You've been public speaking since you were in diapers."
"And you have been smart as a whip probably since then too," teased Tracy as she turned to face Melody. Then her tone turned reflective. "Can you believe this is it? Goodbye, Hanover Academy."
"I sure won't be sad to leave this place," mused Melody. "I'm ready to move on."
Suddenly, startlingly, Tracy reached for Melody and gave her a hug. And even more surprisingly, Melody reciprocated. The pair of them walked, arm in arm, to the auditorium and took their assigned seats, right next to each other in the graduation line.

The annual Bluewater Village summer festival was taking place over at Hunter's Park, sponsored by Landgraab Enterprises. Lisa Ramirez was making all the arrangements again this year, of course, with Wanda Tinker and Denise Jacquet bringing up the rear providing toys, trinkets, and cakes. Of course, with Lisa arranging all the festivities, she naturally made time to pipe Wanda about goings on at the Tinker place.
And Wanda, of course, was all too happy to oblige. "Stephen took a leave of absence from work for us to deal with Harmony," she said. "We've been in the middle of potty training all over again. You know we haven't had to do any of that kind of stuff since Melody was a toddler."
"Speaking of Melody, isn't she off to college soon?"
Wanda grinned. "Academie Le Tour, on full scholarship. She graduated tops in her class."
"Le Tour, full scholarship, wow, I'm impressed. Hope Tessa could do as well."
"Wanda, is it true that your daughter's a lesbian?" Denise asked.
Wanda was aghast. "Where'd you hear that?"
"It's all over town, really. Supposedly it was some girl from Sim City. Dirty people --"
Wanda shook her head. "Of course it isn't true," Wanda vehemently denied, continuing to set up her table for the raffle of a handmade water wiggler sponsored by Tinker Toys. "She went to her prom with that nice Dreamer boy. Derek, I think his name was --" Wanda lost her train of thought as she gazed down at Harmony, who was sitting at her feet.
Meanwhile Melody had elected to skip the annual festival this year. It was evident by now that she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Gone was her teenage gangliness, replaced by womanly curves and a sculpted physique, crafted from hours of work in the Hanover gym, aided by a sudden six-inch growth spurt, and nurtured by a healthy diet. Her black-rimmed glasses had been replaced by frameless versions that flattered her face. Her hair was now somewhat longer and just dusted her shoulders, curling in just the right places to frame her face. Everyone seemed to notice it -- except Melody herself.

It was six-thirty on an otherwise ordinary Saturday morning. Stephen rose from his bed, gazing at the thunderclouds hovering overhead. Groaning, he then walked toward Melody's room. Realizing that she was probably working out, he then walked to the exercise room, a set of gym equipment he'd purchased specifically for Melody because she'd wanted it. "Say, Mel," he announced cheerfully, "how about you and I go on a little trip?"
Melody looked confused. "What trip?"
"A fishing trip, just you and me."
Melody was still confused. "Dad -- why is it all of a sudden you want to go fishing? With me?"
"I haven't been able to spend as much time with you as I want to, sweetheart. And besides, you used to love to go fishing with me when you were a little girl."
"Yeah, but I was little then."
Stephen reached to tickle Melody. "I bet you still -- ooh! -- I bet you still like to go fishing!"
Wanda crept in the room, vehemently objecting. "Why are you taking her fishing? It's about to pour! It's hard enough dealing with this teething baby!"
"Oh well," Stephen said, walking out with Melody, "we'll be bonding together."
Particularly perturbed that two years at Hanover had not quite cured Melody of her tomboyish ways, Wanda gave her daughter a once-over. Dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, she glared at her mother as she pushed up her glasses and her father wrapped his arm around her.
Despite the low clouds hovering overhead, the pond was fairly still, with only a slight breeze rustling the bullrushes, as Stephen hauled his fishing reel, rod, and stool to a shady spot. Melody remembered the peace and tranquility here as she helped him to set everything up. The occasional chirping of the cicadas cut through the silence as the two of them, father and daughter, stood side by side, casting their own lines.
"I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. It was a day much like today, and I can remember looking into your big brown eyes and just losing it. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was dreaming. You were mine, all mine, and I wasn't going to let you go." Stephen cast a fond glance at Melody, who was intently concentrating on her line. "Now I look at you and wonder where all the time went. Soon you'll be off to college."
"Oooh, I feel something biting!" exclaimed Melody excitedly.
Stephen turned to look at her. He instantly recognized that expression on her face. It was the one she got when she figured out the robot crafter.
But alas, she reeled in an old boot. Then her overactive mind got to thinking. "I wonder who this old boot belonged to?" she wondered aloud. "Did he drown in the pond?"
Stephen couldn't help but laugh aloud. This was still his little girl, all right, the child whose insatiable curiosity was both endearing and daunting to her parents.
"There's an old wives' tale that if you put the boot in the puree mixer and drink the juice some 'crazy' things might happen to you."
Stephen chuckled again. "I'm sure that you wouldn't put that boot in the mixer. Throw it back out in the water."
"And risk catching it again?" asked Melody with a wide grin on her face.
"Well, I suppose that's true, I guess." Stephen decided to change the subject. "So, you're going to Academie Le Tour, right?"
Melody grinned. "Yep. And I got a scholarship, too."
"I thought you were going to Sim State. My alma mater."
"Dad," Melody pleaded, "not this again." She sighed at the prospect of hearing the story she'd heard many times since she was a girl -- how Stephen had been a llama mascot at Sim State and courted Wanda, who was on the spirit team.
"It was always a given that you'd go to Sim State -- like I did and my father before me did."
Melody scoffed. "I've always wanted to go to Le Tour," she retorted, "ever since I was little. And now I'll actually be there in a couple weeks."
But Stephen dismissed her. "I'm really proud of you, Melody," he said fondly as he reeled in a minnow. "I remember when you were younger and my tools kept disappearing. I had a sneaking suspicion where they were going, so I'd come by your bedroom door and peep at you. You'd be spread out with something you'd taken apart, with my screwdriver in your little hand..."
"Oh, Daddy," Melody teased, lightly punching his arm.
"There isn't a day that goes by when I don't realize how lucky I am to have had you for a daughter." He lovingly wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I love you so much."
Melody looked at her father. "I love you too, Daddy."
"And I'm going to miss you terribly when you're gone." They stayed at Hunter's Park until dusk, determined to catch the 'big one.'

The morning of Melody's departure was crystal clear, bright, and sunny. Her parents and baby sister rose at six am, and she would leave in another hour. She took one last look at her girlhood home, as she wouldn't see it for awhile. She cooked herself her last breakfast, an omelette, and packed her suitcases to leave for Academie Le Tour.
The horn blew. Melody walked outside, suitcases in hand, inhaling the fresh coastal breezes with which she'd grown up for the last time. Melody didn't even wave back, and her anticipation of what her life would hold in store for her at Academie Le Tour consumed her. These thoughts filled her head as she closed the door of the cab.
Stephen ran out of the house to the middle of the street, watching Melody get in the cab and waving her goodbye. When his oldest child finally disappeared, he screamed her name.
Upon arrival, she took out her suitcases and inhaled the air. Finally, she was free. No uniforms, no curfew, no parents or chaperones. She could do what she wanted, when she wanted. It was a strange feeling, being so free.
She had been assigned to the Aldrich Honors Dormitory, which, Ubergieke had told her, was clearly the best one on campus. It was larger than Mariel Simwell and even more imposing, having the air of a small castle. Each room had a private suite, featuring a personal bathroom, a bookcase, a desk, and a comfortable bed.
After she looked around and claimed her room, which was on the second floor, she watched as some of the other kids moved in. She had never met any of these people before, and she didn't see any familiar faces, which, in a way, she was glad of. She could make a fresh start, free of the baggage of Hanover.
After she finished unpacking her things, she saw a chubby, solitary girl with black braids wearing a purple oxford and beige skirt seated at the chess table, with a confused expression on her face. The girl looked up, seemingly in awe. "Could you teach me how to play?" she asked shyly, her green eyes pleading behind thick, round glasses.
Over the years Melody had become a fairly good chess player, but her mind flashed back to those times when Sarah used to beat her time and again. There was something about this poor girl that appealed to Melody, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was. The two girls involved themselves in the finer points of rooks and kings, and even strayed from chess-related topics with current events and the environment. "What's your name?" Melody got the courage to ask.
"Marla," the girl whispered shyly. "Marla Biggs. You?"
"Melody Tinker."
The two girls smiled at each other. Each of them had made their first new acquaintance.
Declaring a major at Academie Le Tour was now done by computer. She wasn't sure what she'd study, so she decided she'd try the school's general studies program for incoming freshmen.
Melody's first class was scheduled at 3 in the afternoon, so she left the dorm an hour early just so she could find the building. When she got there, though, she discovered she'd amassed enough credits in her advanced-placement courses in high school to skip her entire first semester of freshman year, so she could immediately declare a major and skip all the introductory classes other freshmen had to take. But what would she major in? She liked art, but she also liked math and science. She liked history as well. In general, though, she just loved to learn. Diving headfirst into her coursework, she enjoyed every moment of the intellectual stimulation it provided.
She was also surprised to have made the acquaintance of a couple of other new students. Edwin Sharpe, a chubby, sweet-looking guy with blond hair, had moved back into the dorms after an almighty bustup with his sister's loser boyfriend. Chaz Whippler and Ellen Frost were a couple of other new students she'd seen. She spotted Chaz trying to make a move on Ellen, but Ellen repelling his advances. With this diverse group of students, she knew it would be an interesting year.
On her way to class, Melody picked up a copy of the campus newspaper, the Le Tour Ledger, and thumbed through it. In it she noticed that Chester Gieke, the paranormal activities editor, was looking for an assistant. "I think I might check this out," she thought to herself.
So after class, she wandered into the student union press center, and she saw a mop-haired redhead wearing a shirt that matched his hair and dingy black shorts. He seemed to be so lost in thought as he was concentrating on his article that he didn't even see her come in. Finally he looked up and saw Melody standing in front of him. "Uh, what can I -- do for you?"
"I'm answering your ad, for an assistant editor for the paranormal activities section."
Chester burst into laughter. He had no illusions about his appearance. Many students had passed through but none had stayed due to his geekiness. "You?" he asked, giving Melody a once-over. "But you're gorgeous. What would you want to do with a geek like me?"
Melody brushed the comment aside. "I'm interested in the position."
She's serious, Chester thought to himself. Okay, I've got to quit joking around. Chester told Melody to have a seat next to him, beside the vacant terminal. They proceeded to talk for nearly half an hour about alien conspiracy theories and various paranormal phenomena. Chester was amazed. "Have we met before?"
Melody managed a grin. "Sure seems like it," she mused. "I feel like I've known you forever."
After a brief pause, Chester asked in astonishment, "You're Tinkerbell, aren't you? From the AlienNation newsgroup." Then, tipping her a wink, he whispered, "Don't worry, honey, your secret is safe with me."
Melody was floored. In that moment she realized she was face to face with Ubergieke, her online pal, the one to whom she'd told the full details of her abduction to. "I don't believe this!"
"I knew we would meet one day, Tinkerbell," Chester said, grinning from ear to ear, "I just knew it."
Melody, of course, had mixed feelings about finally laying eyes on Ubergieke. She knew that the anonymity she enjoyed online, at least temporarily, was gone. And there was the possibility of her secret getting out. But at the same time, she was surprised to learn that at Academie Le Tour, there were others who shared her interests.
"Hey, what's your real name?" Chester asked, "so I don't have to call you Tinkerbell all the time."
Melody smiled shyly and gave him her name. Chester gave her another once-over. "Hey, Melody is a pretty name," he shouted as she turned around and left. He then muttered to himself, "...a pretty name for a pretty girl." His prayers had been answered in an unexpected manner.