Piper

I had a hard time sleeping again that night… but not because of any physical conditions. Finn's contrived bed really did work for me, which was surprising since I rarely expect anything useful to come from him.

Its always a pleasant surprise when someone who is known for being a pain in the butt comes up with something that is actually workable, you know?

But back to my problem… the reason I couldn't sleep had nothing to do with any physical discomfort. Even the floaty feeling of vertigo wasn't really bothering me. I mean, I fly around with the guys on a skimmer. Its not like floating or flying really bugs me all that much. I'm used to the weightless feeling of being in mid air.

No, the problem I was having was the fact that the notebook was nestled right there below me, under my mattress. It was sitting there, primed and ready to be read. It was perfect too.. I mean, if it was Finn's book I could probably not even hope to be able to comprehend it. Finn's handwriting was so bad that I had long ago forbid him from updating the squadron record book, even when it was his turn to do so. It was almost like the guy wrote in his own language… and half the time I was convinced that he did that on purpose, just to get out of record duty.

But Aerrow… well, like I mentioned earlier, Aerrow's the picture of military precision. You wouldn't expect something like that from a typical guy, but… well, I guess he is anything but typical, huh?

Aerrow's handwriting was anything but messy. Sometimes I wondered where he learned how to write… because, to tell the truth, while the shapes of the letters were unmistakably masculine, there was a quality to his script that was positively pretty.

And so very easy to read.

Not like Finn's writing. Or even Stork's spidery scrawl… I think the only person's writing that would be more simple to comprehend would be Junko's carefully printed boldfaced marks.

I fidgeted in my sleeping bag, my mind a mess of conjecture.

It was right there. Within reach.

I had that notebook right there… I could read it now and be completely filled in on why the hell the guys were being so strange. And I could get the up and up on their experiment too..

Because, really. A scientific experiment run by those two? Especially Finn, for crying out loud! I don't think I would trust him with a model volcano, let alone anything that demanded such secrecy!

And just think… I could prove to Stork once and for all that he was having some sort of baseless fear about those two. I sincerely doubted that there was anything mentally wrong with the guys, aside from Finn's normal stupidity that he exhibited every day.

Well… that's not that fair to say about him, considering the help he had been over the past few days. Aerrow too. They were both being helpful beyond what they normally were…

Weird..

I frowned into the darkness of my room.

All the strange behavior coincided with when I first noticed them carrying those notebooks around with each other… Could it have something to do with their experiment?

I mean, maybe they were doing some sort of behavioral study. Could they be trying to see what the reactions of the crew would be if they started acting slightly outside their natures? I wouldn't put it past Finn to try something that far fetched just for a laugh. Its not like it would take much abnormal behavior on his part to start stirring up trouble around here, especially with Stork.

I grimaced when I thought about Stork. He had been strangely quiet and illusive lately. He hadn't really talked to me much since I had rebuffed his theory of mind fungus, but what I had seen of him had left me thinking that he was being uncharacteristically quiet and… furtive, perhaps? I think Junko was the only one who wasn't really acting abnormal in any quantitative way. On the contrary, he'd pretty much been keeping a low profile for the past few days. In passing here and there he had mentioned to me about a failing generator and some other things that had decided to kick the figurative bucket. We had both laughed about how it was a good thing that all these things were breaking during our days of downtime as opposed to sometime where we were fighting and unable to spare the time or attention to fix all the parts of the ship that demanded it.

Truth be told, even Radarr was acting out of it. I mean… would he have come and gotten me like that if there wasn't really anything wrong? Radarr's instincts were usually spot on, to tell the truth. And he really had seemed worried about Aerrow.

I shifted around in my sleeping bag again. Looked over at the clock.

It was already getting pretty late. It was about half past midnight by now. All the guys would be asleep by this time of night.

The notebook screamed at me from its resting place beneath my mattress.

I shook myself.

It was so tempting… I hate not knowing things. I am sure that the guys knew what the secrecy was doing to me. Finn, especially. I bet that he did this just for the enjoyment of watching me squirm. And how did he manage to get Aerrow sworn to secrecy anyway? Aerrow's not the type to simply go along with Finn's plans. So maybe Finn had something over on him… or maybe…

Maybe Stork will give up life as a pilot and become a daredevil, I thought in disgust at the path my thoughts were taking. The way things were going, I was going to whip myself up into a frenzy and be unable to sleep for days upon days. I mean, it was just a notebook. Right?

It shouldn't bother me.

Its not like I was hurt. Or offended at the exclusion.

I mean, boys and their games…

I sighed.

By now, it seemed like everyone must be in on this. All except for Junko and me… Junko because he was still acting normal, and me because I obviously didn't know what was going on.

Even Radarr…

Why had Radarr tried to get me to read that journal anyway?

Hadn't Aerrow told me that if I knew the subject of the experiment, then the results would be skewed? I mean, what was that supposed to mean? How could I have such an effect on a hypothesis that I didn't even know anything about?

Maybe they didn't want my opinion or something. I mean, I tended to be right more often than the others when it came to things of a scientific nature. Perhaps they wanted to puzzle out whatever it is they're working on without the help of someone who would take all the fun out of it.

And they had promised that they would tell me after the experiment was completed. But what experiment would there be that would be so dependant on a person not knowing about it? I mean, if they would be able to tell me about it afterward, then what was the problem of telling me now?

Maybe they just didn't want me to answer it before either of them found the results out themselves…

And they didn't trust me to keep my mouth shut?

I mean, what was up with that?

My eyes stared unseeingly up to the dark ceiling. I was so far from sleep by now. I mean, the whole mess.. so confusing. And the answer to every question I had, I was convinced, was in the notebook that Radarr had brought me.

And I knew a thing or two about journals… you only write in journals at night, usually. Right before you head to bed. So it was a pretty good bet that Aerrow wouldn't be missing this thing until tomorrow night…

Which meant I had a whole day with it.

One whole day.

To do what?

I wont lie. I really, really wanted to read it. I mean… really.

And would it be so bad if I did?

I mean, I had never been told not to read it, after all. Granted, I had never asked…

There were several things to consider, I supposed. I guess I might feel guilty about reading something I had no permission to read… even though I hadn't been forbidden to read it, either. But it was really childish of those two to insist on playing the 'no girls allowed' club card on me. I mean, what were we, five? We were all pretty much mature enough to deal with each other in all situations, right?

Its not like the contents of the journal would be life altering or anything, right? And even so, if it was, then they needed to let the rest of us know about it.

The night sky outside was starting to brighten slightly in the first false dawn. The night was stealing away from me, and with it, my chances at a restful period of sleep.

I wondered… maybe one page of the book. The first page. It might give me some clue as to why the guys were acting so weird.

Maybe I should get Stork…

But then again, Stork was acting weird too. Who's to say he wasn't in on this to some degree? He's probably flip if I told him I wanted to read Aerrow's journal.

Ugh… just thinking those words makes me feel a little bit… I dunno, sneaky? Underhanded?

Who reads someone else's journal? Especially someone who is close friends like us. It's a trust thing, really…

…kinda like how I wished he would trust me with something as big as this thing he and Finn were doing..

It's not fair!

And really. I mean, I kinda think I deserve a little bit of a peace of mind when it comes to this, by now. Both Finn and Aerrow were acting more awkward than they had ever been before and I really was starting to get worried. First with Finn nearly kissing me… then with Aerrow's timid touches to my hands and his constant blush. You'd think they were…

Nah.

I'd have to chalk all that up to the awkwardness of guys in general.

Before I knew what I was doing, the sleeping bag was unzipped and I was fumbling through the darkness, trying my best to keep quiet even though I knew that no one would be able to hear me moving about in my room even if they were awake at this hour. A glance at the clock told me that I had been sitting there languishing in my thoughts for hours… it was already almost two in the morning.

I drifted quietly down until I was beside my bed. Once I was able to stabilize my movements, I thrust my hand in between the mattress and the bed frame, feeling around for the shape I knew to be nestled there, waiting for me to take it.

I pulled the thin notebook out and sat there for a moment, running my hand over the smooth cover.

Did I dare?

This opportunity would probably not come again. And if I didn't take this chance now, then I would probably have to wait until Aerrow or Finn got tired of their little game and decided to enlighten me. I knew for certain that I didn't want to do that… not at all. I was far too fired up about what was in that book.

You know what they say about curiosity… I guess that is, and will always be one of my major downfalls. I always have to know.

Besides. I could always just find out, then go on with life as it always had been, right? I mean, I didn't need to clue Aerrow or Finn in on the fact that I knew their secret. They would be able to continue their little smug game and I would be content with the knowledge that this book imparted to me. No one had to know.

Besides, their precious results couldn't be skewed just by having one more person know their game, right? No experiment was that fragile. The only way that my knowing what they were up to could have an effect on their experiment was if I was a control, or a test subject. And since I was never in on even the smallest part of this fiasco, I could hardly be involved, could I?

Though the papers were light, the book sat heavy in my hands. I would like to say that I was still wavering over it in my conscience, but that would be a lie.

I had already decided. My curiosity consumed the remaining doubts that I had.

I carried the book over to the table and sat down, turning my crystal lamp on its lowest setting. I opened to the first page. It was full of Aerrow's elegant handwriting.

I began to read.

OOO

Okay... you people… you… people….

You all just made this story go through a loop that I really didn't anticipate. I mean, wow, you are looking to make this as tense as possible aren't you?

Seriously. By the time the next chapter comes around the Condor will be like a powder keg with all the secrets and drama going on.

Anyhow, I was going to try to do either Finn or Junko for this chapter, but the poll choice that won really didn't allow for that. I mean, Piper was really the only PoV that could pull this choice off, in my opinion.

I realize that this chapter was done in complete internal dialogue as opposed to the interaction you find with the other chapters, but I couldn't let her just lollygag with that journal, since Aerrow would probably end up missing it sometime, eh?

The poll results!

Piper reads the notebook, not telling Aerrow (Piper) – 39 percent

Piper leaves the journal in her room without reading it; Aerrow becomes frantic when he cant find it (Aerrow) – 30 percent

Stork 'researches' and finds out about the bet (Stork) – 17 percent

Piper gives Aerrow the notebook without reading it (Aerrow) – 13 percent

Finn breaks and tells Junko about the bet (Finn) – 0 percent

Piper confides in Junko about Aerrow and Finn's recent strangeness (Junko) – 0 percent

Radarr, having failed to get Stork or Piper to help, turns to Junko this time. (Radarr) 0 percent

Okay, next poll… We're going to go with a plot subject again. You know the drill.

Please review! Tell me your likes and dislikes. Like I said earlier, it helps me become better to know what is good and what is bad.

Thanks for reading!