3. Nephenee

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Now significantly richer, Heather put away her stash of money in a super-secret hiding place (she wondered if people thought it odd that her chest kept growing.) In one of the supply tents, she found a big burlap sack (which, thankfully for her, was not a man, although she had trouble telling the difference.) She went around to the two food tents, which were getting loaded up for the evening sup (and Heather had time enough to rhyme.)

So once Heather had got it together, she ambled to the tents and made commence stuffing her sack with food of all sorts. A roast chicken went in whole, then a few drumsticks for good measure; next, the fruit, including plenty of watermelon slices, juicy, dripping pink peaches, and plums, lots of plums; then came the soup, which she poured into the bag (Heather immediately realized this was inadvisable.) Finally, she found some crisp apple tarts and pie. First she put in a cherry pie, then a sweet potato pie, then a peach cobbler. Heather liked pie. Finally it was done, so she cinched the sack and made her way across the camp to Ilyana's tent.

She was halfway across the green grassy camp, looking at the ground and thinking about a nice hot spring and girls in bunny costumes when she smacked into someone.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Watch where you're go—oh!" Looking up, Heather realized she had plowed into Nephenee, who pulled herself up off the ground and brushed off the dirt.

"A-Ah…Ah'm sorry 'bout that. Reckon ah wasn't lookin' at where ah was goin' to. I-if you'll be 'scusin me…"

"Whoa, wait a second!" Heather said. She slung her sack of food over her shoulder and grabbed Nephenee's arm. Nephenee squeaked and tried to run, but Heather had her in the clutches of doom. "Sorry, Nephenee, I didn't see it was you! That was totally my fault. C'mon, stay a while, I haven't seen you in a long time." Heather giggled with her best vixen's voice. "We need to catch up, am I right? Or maybe hook up?"

"Er…ah apologize, but ah was, uhm…" Nephenee was bright red. "Ah was fixin' to, er…go to…go eat some…uh…"

"Oh, come on! You know I wasn't trying to be mean. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I thought you were a guy, or something bad like that. You okay?"

"R-Reckon 'course," Nephenee said. "Ah…ah know y'wouldn't do anythin' like that."

"You should come up see me in my tent some time. Maybe at night? You can talk dirty to me with that cute little accent of yours." Heather winked and Nephenee turned even redder.

"W-Well, ah reckon t-that mightn't be…"

"I'm kidding, Nephie!" Heather said, laughing. "Hee hee hee. You're so serious. Lighten up! Life is too short to spend with a frowny face. There are plenty things in this world to really hate, so enjoy whatever you can when you get the chance! Ha ha. Say, Nephie. Where you grew up out in the country, did you used to jump ropes?"

"Uh...why, yes," Nephenee replied, shifting from foot to foot. The reds in her face turned to pink. "Ah used to jump ropes with one of mah girl friends back in Oma."

"Ooh, a girlfriend," Heather said, chuckling. She stuck out her chest a little bit, happy that she wore tight clothing. She hoped Nephenee didn't hear the coins jingling. "Shhhhh! Hee hee! I won't tell. But I bet she wasn't as cute as I am, right?"

"W-What? Ah don't really know…yer both good-lookin', if that's whatcha mean."

Heather knew what was going on at once: she had been like that with her first girlfriend, too. After a few months, they went their separate ways, but Heather still remembered her first with a certain fondness, her purple-haired Marietta. Marietta was still the most good-looking girl in the world, as far as Heather was concerned, but she tried to put that out of her mind.

"I totally know what you mean," she said. "But I guarantee I'm a better rope-jumper than any of your old girlfriends were."

"Ah see. D'ya want ta—"

"Rope jump with you sometime? I'd love to!" Heather interrupted, clapping her hands together. "How about tonight? I have the best rope, you'll love it so so so much, I promise."

"Shucks…that's awful nice of ya…okay." Nephenee cracked a smile. "Mah girl friends and I back home used ta have a lotta fun rope-jumpin'. An' a lotta heart, too."

"Really? Cool. You have to tell me about your friends back home some time, Nephie."

"Yeah, ah reckon ah do. All mah old girl friends, why, we used to have a grand ol' time. Ah…didn't really have any boys as friends, though. 'Less you count ol' Brom, but…"

Heather wasn't surprised. She'd had Nephenee pegged from the moment she saw her. Heather couldn't explain why, but she had some sort of seventh sense for finding girls who liked girls.

"Can't blame you much. You don't choose your friends, your friends choose you!" Heather giggled and winked, which made Nephenee blush again. "Go Nephie, I choose you! Hee hee. Hey, 'ah reckon ah gotta' get this food back to Il—my tent. I've got a huge appetite today. Need to go get some eye candy. Hee hee. How about when the sun goes down, I'll come around to your tent and bring my jumping rope with me. Good?"

"That's soundin' mighty good. Ah hafta be goin' now."

"See you then, cutie!" Heather said. She blew Nephenee a kiss and walked on towards Ilyana's tent. Some of the hot soup had leaked from the bag onto her back, but she didn't even care. She had a date. Another one.