The purpose of an insinuation is to undermine the trust in the object in the listeners and readers. Implications, therefore, to his arguments or behavior. An insinuation is always a speech act, and the goal is not the character of the opponent's rally, but the desire to defame it in the eyes of others. It performed disguised, secretly, in several stages. It is often difficult to distinguish from the truth. The insinuation always directs against a specific individual.

Chapter 1

Rey Teedo opened her eyes and stretched out. Warm sun rays were making their way through the curtains, swaying from the breeze, the usual noise of morning Boston was coming outside. A small second bedroom in a tiny apartment, located in a not very prosperous area, was filled with warmth and freshness. Somewhere outside the window, children were shouting, and someone was cursing the selective ghetto naughty words with a Vietnamese accent, trucks were sailing right through and past the appendix of the streets now and then. Life in the old Dorchester was always so noisy, a little dirty, but not dull and annoying, especially in the dark. The immediate proximity to a railway made its presence felt by the rattling of glass in the windows and by endless dust, flying all year round. Her last summer in this city is winding down. One year, and she will finally say "arrivederci" to this apartment, the university and inadequate neighbors who, during the day, plugged her being on homework, and at night - sleep. There was only one day left before the final race to the desired diploma began. Master program is on its last legs, Rey is in a flutter of expectation for job offers. Only the graduation paper remained, and she is ready to fly into the arms of this brave new world.

No doubt, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the best thing ever that could happen to her in her life. Someone would say: Rey was incredibly lucky to get there, but she knew that it wasn't a question of luck: there would have been no ideally passed final tests, neither won academic competitions nor diplomas for participation in contests. All these small, carefully accumulated victories helped her obtain higher education for free. Nearly. The university has paid for it, but she is paying the fare by slave labor. "You always have to pay a piper" - Rey Teedo had never believed in free lunch since the age of three. Her entire life could be called anything, but not ordinary. Upshot the things, a newborn baby, whom its mother sold for a dose of heroin, should have died twenty-three years ago, but Rey was lucky. And wasn't it a miracle? Only cause of Uncle Unkar. She lucked out to come at the Unkar Plutt himself, who, as he once said, could act no otherwise. The old jiboney was too kind and pious to let an innocent baby die, get into slavery to his counterparts, or just be sold out for organs' transplantation. She was found on Christmas Eve in a wad of blood-stained blankets on some abandoned construction site, where several heads of criminal gangs gathered. Every respecting criminal authority believed women and children were sacred, to which no one has the right to invade. That's why even the bastard of a needle freak, God knows, who was a father, had to survive. Plutt sincerely believed that in the great beyond it would count towards his recognition, like a good deed is never lost, accomplished between the shootings and the elimination of competitors, and immediately identified his new acquisition in the Catholic boarding school at the Abbey of Saint Neema near Boston. The shelter was located in the small town of Jakku and was under the protection of Unkar himself, both spiritually and financially. It was Plutt who gave Rey a name that distinguished the girl from all the other novices of the monastery. Deciding to name the baby in honor of the only woman he loved, Unkar endured not one round of confrontation with Revered Mother Katharina - she demanded a more traditional name for a girl. But her savior seemed to feel that the girl was not destined to become a nun.

Rey became his favorite. No question about it, the story of her salvation inspired the older man that he doted the soul in a small tender rascal. Pickle, cheerful, sparkly - she pleased him with her innocent children's tricks, about that, during regular visits, Mother Agnes scrupulously reported.

The old thug only laughed and ruffled the hair of the hushed child. AND at that time, nobody was disturbed by Rey's strange pallor or quick fatigue, nor the nagging pains that she periodically used to complain about. Finally, monastic life, with its endless fasts, hadn't shown anyone to a great advantage yet.

Despite the strict charter and ascetic way of life, in their small boarding school, that was located in the old building of the 19th century, love and warmth reigned. No pupil's birthday was without a festive cake with berries and small, but still an ideal for the birthday-child gift. Most often, this turned out to be some trinket, but for the orphanage children, such trifles were within their own universe. And when once a passionate love arose in Rey for an old computer that stood in the room, mother Agnes and sister Maria didn't remain indifferent. They begged the superior to give the child permission to attend computer courses, and they were immediately paid by Unkar Plutt for his little lustrous Rey. And since then, twice a week, she and one of the sisters drove to the other end of the city in an old pickup. But then, she was not disturbed by such inconvenience. She saw another world and did not want to return from there. Not confused by the sidelong glances of the boys, snubbing their noses dismissively upon seeing the thin little girl in a standard dress of pupils boarding. Not upset even by openly prejudiced attitude of her teacher. She was so delighted with the discovered universe of digital opportunities, that she didn't pay any attention to these annoying little things.

As time went on, pretty soon it turned out that Rey was not only capable of fast learning but also going one step ahead of the rest. While everyone was trying to solve some tricky task, using standard ways, a quiet orphan girl, biting her child-chubby plump lower lip, suggested an unexpected approach. And even if the lines of the code could not always embody all the ideas that were spinning in her head, it helped win the respect of the teacher and then the boys. Their friendship with spooky Finn, the wild fanatic of everything that is soldered, lasted to this day. O'Nealley could sit for hours over comparative tables of the characteristics of any printed circuit board, and then make from heaps of rubbish and a couple of loud expletives, a perfect converter current. They were both introverted, lonely, and infinitely in love with programming. Ray and Finn stuck together, sometimes falling into outright rebellion. A dime thousands of virus programs were written by them during their studies at a small computer studio, of personal pages and accounts had suffered in social networks of their buddies, of times the friends came across on the next trick.

But they kept the chin up and only leered at each other and demonstrated repentance look, while being given the hairdryer treatment.

They quickly became more than just friends — withdrawn and distrustful by nature - Rey and Finn turned out to be attorneys in each other's personal affairs. Brother and sister. Identical twins generated by the Great Matrix. At sixteen he cheered her up after unrequited love, and at seventeen the girl became the first and for a long time, the only one who knew about her friend's gay story. Being a black gay from devout family is another test for a shy teenager. The friends went together like salt and pepper. Still, their relationship remained so frankly related that no one, even Mother Agnes, could see anything wrong with that for a strict framework Catholic student. No one was surprised that bosom buddies decided to try to enter the Mecca for all computer scientists in the country - Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And now, after almost six years, their training was nearly winding up. Two semesters, final tests and graduation paper detached them from the finish of the academic race.

Suddenly, outside, a tremendous roar of a car went off, blasting past, following by choicest swearwords of neighbors downstairs, and this turned Rey back of her memories to reality. She glanced at the wall; the clock showed half-past ten in the morning. Yesterday's shift at Uncle Unkar's club was hurry-scurry, and she managed to get home only long after midnight. Stretching out again, she noted that her three-working-day tired legs had never even relaxed at all during the night. But it was OK, only 24 hours more do so: Rose would be back from vacation, and her usual schedule would again be with her.

Rey got out of bed, turned on the local radio on her MacBook, and, accompanied by Queen and David Bowie's eternal hit, headed for the shower. She promised her uncle to come early today and deal with piles of paper that already completely covered the table in his office. One day she helped Unkar Plutt hush one small business and by that deserved boundless trust allowing to delve into all the crafty twists and turns of black and white accounting. Rey grinned, thinking what Mother Agnes would say if she knew about the affairs of her alumna. Well... Maybe she knew because she was perfectly aware of who was considered to be a fairy godfather of their boarding school.

"... Pressure pushing down on me

Pressing down on you, no man ask for

Under pressure that burns a building down

Splits a family in two

Puts people on streets ... "*

The slamming of the doors and the clicking of the closing lock, were heard when she brushed her wet hair - the only beautiful feature in her appearance. If you, of course, are not into croopies. Too small, too thin, too pale - she considered her long thick chestnut curls to be her the only treasure. Unkar said that she had got beautiful eyes, but her uncle had his skin in the game, that is why Rey took his enthusiasm with a heavy dose of skepticism.

"Oh my god! Are you home?" Finn's yell shouted down the music streaming from the speakers. She just shook her head, leaving the bathroom and turning off the sound.

"No, it's just the specter of Hamlet's father decided to dance to the latest big tune," her sarcastic response caused a smile on her friend's face. "I did not expect you before tomorrow night. Has something happened? How are your parents?"

"Everything is fine," having thrown off his down at heel sneakers in the corner, he passed by shuffling barefoot in the direction of the refrigerator, opened the door, and grimaced. "Is there anything to have a little nosh, woman?"

Rey braced for a moment, hands on her hips.

"FN-2187," she called him by his permanent network nickname, "if I have female secret parts, it does not mean I have to slave over a hot stove for the sake of your stomach. Moreover, you have got Arnold for such stuff".

"Well, just admit that for these six years you haven't learned to cook."

Finn grinned and plopped down on the sofa with a packet of chips, that the bastard had hidden from her again somewhere as a stashy-slushy fund. She couldn't take a lot of salt, and he was fully aware of it. He also knew that Rey could not resist Pringles. They have been sharing this apartment for five years now since the very first day the order on the compulsory residence of freshman-year students in dormitory buildings of the campus had given over. And such conversation, just with minor changes, used to repeat with enviable regularity all these years, as well as the endlessly stashed yummies. No, Rey, trying to find in herself at least one of authentic feminine sides and honestly experimented with cooking. But after using a fire extinguisher and repainting the ceiling, she dropped it.

The landlord did not kick them out only because of his total why-bother-attitude. Hell with that, she'd freelance to buy a vegan burger than burn out the apartment thoroughly.

"I don't deny it," Rey returned to brushing of her almost-dried hair.

"So, what are you doing here? There is a whole day before the semester starts".

Finn's slow distraction and his total inability to keep track of his schedule, have already become inside jokes too. In their hodgepodge, Rey kept up with the classes, time-tables and other things that required concentration and responsibility, and Finn had an eye on her.

"Phasma sent a message," he grimaced. "She says, Hux wants to see me. I need to discuss my graduation work".

Rey frowned. They both were writing their diplomas under the guidance of professor Armitage Hux. And since he has always been unavailable, appearing at some conferences and scientific exhibitions, all supervised graduates were squeezed into his tight schedule by Phasma, a PhD-student. This blond-haired blue-eyed Valkyrie with an angelic face possessed impressive growth and nasty temper. Sometimes it seemed that Professor Hux himself was afraid of her.

"Strange, she didn't tell me anything..."

"Oh, calm down," Finn interrupted her, rolling his eyes and brushing off the crumbs from his hands. Right on the sofa! "You and Hux have been fawning over your project since your third year. What exactly are you going to discuss with him?"

Sit and write your code. And we have a real problem here, printed circuit boards, ordered three month ago, arrived defective, and there is no time to make up new ones.

"So what is there to do?" Rey gasped, sitting next to the friend and sneakly stretching out her hand to the carton pack of Pringles. It didn't work.

"Well, either partially change the circuit itself based on what we have, or acid-etch..."

"Stone Age."

"Honey, the stone age is a BASIC", Finn said with preaching tone. "BUT etching is timeless classics."

"That's where I could be offended now, but there is no time."

Rey got up, picking up the jacket from the couch and stuffing it in her bag. The weather in Boston liked to play "catch me, fog," to say nothing of the temperature drops during the day. Such a climate was definitely not for them, Rey was always cold and Finn always failed to buy new sneakers on time.

"Are you at Plutt's tonight?"

"Yes," she nodded, looking thoughtfully around the living room in case she had forgotten something.

"Oh, well, you will catch up on your sleep tomorrow" - Finn also rose and dragged along to the fridge again, with no abandoned hope to find something edible.

"Alas, my friend, I'm back in harness tomorrow from early morning class," Rey finally found her wireless headset under a crop of cardiac waveforms. It didn't escape her friend's sight.

"Have you revisited the doctor?" Finn's voice was quiet and worried. Ray winced. She hated it when he started dragging out her problem, and a friend hated indeed when something was swept under the rug from him.

"Yep," she said, a little more harshly than she should have, in the hope that the conversation would stop there. But no way!

"Pain again?" and again, those worried eyes.

"Nothing serious," she shook her head, trying to look as cheerfully as possible. By the same token, she might tell the truth, Rey wasn't able to bluff, she never did, especially when Finn was concerned. The guy pursed his lips and looked at her angrily making her sigh and give up. As usual. "Just prescribed the next pill."

"Stronger," it was a statement. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her point-blank. How such glances drove her mad!

"I would not say..." she pulled on her uniform skirt and twisted up her hair in a knotted bundle.

"So, the previous ones were not effective enough?"

"Finn, choosing drugs is not being done with a wave of a wand. My diagnosis one has to look for workarounds."

"So, anyway, pain came back again."

Rey sighed. And why is she trying to deny it every time? Finn saw all her heart attacks; he drove her to hospital when it was especially serious. Well, last year, they called an ambulance more often than in her entire life.

"It did."

"It seems to me that your doctors are just wasting time," he was alarmed beyond measure, but Rey just rolled her eyes.

"You know full well I have no money for the surgery. It is a good job that I work way through the insurance and prescribed medications , and that only thanks to Plutt."

"You could ask him..."

"No!" Rey snapped. "He has already done enough for me and I don't want to drain his wallet even more. You know, the club doesn't pay well . And besides Unkar is as old as Methusalem ... I'm fine, really."

She smiled at her friend, but he had grave doubts about all of it.

"Your night duty does not step up your health."

"Insurance, drugs, apartment... Should I proceed?" Rey raised an eyebrow ironically. Finn sighed only, then he came closein the blink of an eye and gave her a squeeze.

"Silly arrogant woman," he murmured.

"Sentimental gayboy ".

Her friend gave a chuckle, letting her go. Rey also smiled, gazing fondly at Finn.

"Do not worry, everything will be fine with me. And now, Great Warden, can I go to work?"

"Buzz off," he gave a wave of one hand, taking the pan in his another. It is a real catch, but her friend could compete for prizes places a best chief, standing on his head, if not of America, then at least of Massachusetts for sure.

"Come off it! Just order in," she couldn't stand it, watching how he warily felt tomatoes as old stock in the fridge. Their quality raised a doubt even on the day of purchase, but they were sold for a discount, so Rey didn't have ecological properties of them on her mind.

"You don't know thing one about home cooking."

"Oh, let alone!" Rey muttered, left the flat and turned on the music.

"... through the sorrow all through our splendor
Don't take off at my innuendo ... "**

The first-class nightclub "Takodana" was located in the most fashionably upscale area of the city, not far from posh Back Bay. Government head honcho, the Boston grandest in society, beau monde, and silver-spoon-in-the-mouth kids of today's deep pockets were frequent visitors at Unkar Plutt. It has always been beating the crowd off with the stick, and today's Sunday evening has been moving in a groove as usual. Some people were dancing to a tune of modern rhythm on the dance floor, others preferred to hit the high spots with their posse, sitting at separate tables on soft sofas.

The shimmering light of spots refracted and twisted in a crawling fog of screening smoke. Rey went to the bar, gesturing Maz to pour her water, when she gets off. Native of Jamaica, who has already forgotten the marine blue color of her homeland, nodded and returned to mix another stunning cocktail. She has become a legend cause of her skills, and the story has it that she has begun her career at age of nine. Maz Kanata was the goddess of hot spirits and "explosive" drinks, smoked odd flavored tobacco and was in to green apples. Sometimes Rey regretted that she was never fated to have firsthand knowledge about Maz' high level of skill, but oftentimes she was furiously worked up about compassionate sights of every person who was on to her problem. Yes, heart disease problem. And as follows, a lot of restrictions. But for God's sake, she is not going to die here and now!

Rey shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts and returning to her duties. The job as the club hostess implied the ability to solve any issues quickly with both customers and suppliers. Stellar politeness mastery, damn high tolerance for stress and soul in patience, like thermonuclear fuel of the Sun. She was able to bring a presumptuous huckster down a peg calmly, and, smiling sweetly, to deliver in-for-a-treat-visitor into hands of brave policemen. And now one of posse demanded her close attention.

They were located a few tables away from her in the most quiet, out-of-the-way corner of the club, if such a word was applicable to a dance "establishment". A young man was seated, surrounded by two cutesie hussies, unbuttoned on three buttons snow-white shirt glowed in the ultraviolet rays of the night lanterns. His unusual face features couldn't help but engross Rey's attention: big nose, set mouth which lips curled in a forbearing smile right along and, all of sudden, heavy look. He was telling something, shoving easily his black hair back, that used to fell to his eyes from time to time, and gesticulating wildly. His escort was trilling with unnatural laughter, every time moving closer and closer to him, until both girls hung on him altogether. Rey frowned. The guests haven't crossed the border of morality yet and, therefore, haven't broken the rules of the club, but they were on track to it.

Even from her seat she saw a demonstratively vicious expression on his face with that the man looked every of his interlocutress over. However, their necklines deserved much more attention than this macho rendered them. The girls smiled vulgarly in response with rouged mouths and they dived their hands under the collar of his shirt, holding their sharp claws on the in the shadow darkening skin. Of course, in good conscience, it must be admitted that this jackass was handsome, moreover, handsome by his own distinctive sightliness, much less compliant with consensual canons of beauty. And Rey did not deny that he unveiled as doan, all in all, she has been just a woman. It all seemed to point to that he was acutely aware of it, availing his charm. Rey had no doubt that the man in front of her was definitely a dumbass. Imperious look, attitude of confidence, and finally, the expression of being full of conceit on his face make it clear that this man was a personality of possessiveness and egocentric by nature. Such features were met separately by anyone who strays of ahead the VIP zone of the club, but now all that traits cocktail tended to be outright here ... H-mm, bingo!

"Watching?" a voice of Unkar

Plutt behind her made her jump. Rey turned around and noticed the old German's serious gaze aimed at the same table, that she kept an eye out just a minute ago.

"I see so as nothing happens off the wall ..." she nodded.

Unkar was silent for a while, chewing his thick lower lip absent-minded. Then unusual
seriously uttered:

"Whatever happens, I highly recommend you not to face off against him or enter into a dialog with him."

Rey stared at her uncle in surprise.

"Why would I do this ? If they cross the line, Arthur will handle with them. After all, he is a club bouncer here, not me."

Suddenly, Plutt put his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn back sideward the hot-botton-issue company.

"Just look very carefully, Rey," he began, having a word in her ear and shouting above the dance music. "I met enough of motley crew in my entire life, and really understand how to see things in people. Remember, people like this guy can ruin any life once and for all. They have no consideration for anyone, override everybody and respect only opinion of their own. The mainstay of their high-off-life is not sex, drugs or alcohol, no, they steer clear all these roturier manners and entertainment. Subtle manipulating with people's emotions, indignity beyond the admiration, pressure, total control turn them on, encourage to play with their victims. Money serves as a pass to the world of their evil habits and other people'snightmares. And therefore you can't do anything, but they get the almighty power. Be careful, Rey, and never ever get mixed up with such a person."

He paused, slightly gripping her shoulder with his plump fingers.

"I understand what you mean", she nodded, watching how the subject of matter called the waiter with an elegant, pretentiously lazy gesture and ordered another whack of alcohol. She wondered how much he had already drunk and whether it was time to call Arthur to kick out the glassy-eyed guest? Just to be on the safe side. In the meantime, Maz finally offered her long-awaited glass of water. Rey took a sip, thinking about what Plutt just said.

"Thank you for worrying about and taking care of me, I solemnly swear never to mess with bad boys. But still, I don't think I'm off the radar of such personalities. There is nothing attractive in me: no beauty, no money, no business cutouts. Only prolixity and terrible character, I'm afraid," Rey smiled defiantly "It would be better for them to run away from me".

But Unkar had none of it, he continued to observe closely his unwelcome guest, still squeezing the girl's shoulder. His pasty face expressed extreme anxiety, and then anger, when he heard her last words.

"Stop cracking wicked jokes!" Plutt put her down unexpectedly, and there was something in his a voice that made her listen to. "Now it seems to you that he is drunk. Ha! If you were more attentive, you would notice that the guy hadn't even touched his whiskey. It is a game, Rey. Double, triple ... yes, only he knows how many layers are over his true motivation. And, it seems, our guest is ready for hunting. He's been looking at you, since the moment he spotted you in the crowd".

Rey shuddered at his words and glanced again at the subject of their discussion. That one just whispered something into the ear of the blonde, who pressed close against him.

"What made you think that?" She murmured and felt how the anxiety of her swore uncle
prepossessed her too. "I hadn't noticed anything."

"Of course, you hadn't. You shouldn't have noticed anything while he's "evaluating" you, he is trying to decide now whether the cake is worth the candle".

"Am I a commodity to be browsed like in a shop window?" the wave of anger washed over Rey, and she gave a black look to her glass of water.

"I'm afraid, but you are," Unkar sighed. "For people like him, we are all a commodity".

He wanted to say something else, but his cell phone call distracted him. Plutt motioned her he'd walk away for a few minutes, Rey only nodded, continuing to ponder what she just heard. She wasn't born yesterday to be amazed at the existence of such people like this visitor. Moreover, a lot of creeps dropped in on the club, and things did happen. Eliteyouth could pull a trick, though this asshole obviously stood two or even three steps higher than any of pampered children of top officials. She had barely seen Unkar so excited and fearful until that evening, and he had never made such conversations before. Well, if the old mafia kingpin found it necessary to warn her, then she would have been certainly very careful. Even though she did not believe in increased focus on her plain-living person. Maybe Plutt was just looming something in the semi-darkness and cigarette smoke in the room. Rey drank the rest of the water at one gulp, and leaned over the bar, siding the glass to a sink. It was time to work, and she had already hung around in the hall for too long.

While leaving, she shot a glare at the frivolous company and felt her heart gave a leap with disquiet. As it were a slow-motion picture, Rey watched as the man was turning his head in the flickering light of the spotlights, and looking thoughtfully and steadily at her. Her mouth was ash-dry and she felt mesmerized by him, as if he were a master of hypnotic trance. It seemed they looked at each other for eternity, before she managed to break the eye contact, having mustered up her all will power against all the odds. Turning round, Rey headed into the hall, trying to get the stranger out of her head as soon as possible. Any thoughts of attractive men, cock-smitten chicks and preventions of Unkar were effaced from her memory by referral tasks.

Even she wasn't able to think about so many things at one time and take on "board" an assembly of Midori Melon liqueur and Absinthe that were delivered tonight. And besides she had to fall out with a driver, who managed to crush the half of energy shots in boxes in an unknown way. So, at the end of the shift, Rey's head was analogous to a table land with geysers, where thoughts exploded painfully and chaotically. In predawn hours, she was standing run-down in the parking lot in front of the club, where a lot of cars of the late visitors were located.

Snapping a pill of painkiller and jostling everything in her bag in search of a bottle of mineral water, Rey swore quietly, palm pressed against some sharp pin on the bottom. One day, she will clean up this mess! Scout's honour! Of course, she could return to the club for water, while Maz has not closed the club bar yet, recording stock of new arrived alcohol, but a taxi should have come at any minute. Finally she fished out a plastic container and drank her fill with pleasure. Autumn cool air braced up and got under thin jacket, making shiver with cold. The taxi was delayed and Rey dived into her bag for the checking time on her phone.

"I can give you a lift," a man's voice sounded behind her. She froze almost sure whom she sees if she turns. Exhaling sharply, Rey made pretend not to understand who the words were spoken to, and returned to the excavations in her bag. But there's no stopping him. "It's pretty rude to stand with your back to your speaking partner."

Rey pursed her lips, restraining an impulse to give a boorish reply, got out the damned smartphone and then turned. And for sure she became numb: an improbable sight met her gaze: in one parking space, there was the most incredible car she'd ever seen. Dull black, incredibly "lean", with a predatory design on the verge of absurdity and perfection at the same time. That attacked with glamour, speed and money. Two doors were open up, reminding the wings of a sea gull, or a never-before-seen creature. Certainly, the car complied with the spirit of its owner, who was leaning on its huge hood. And both were absolutely gorgeous.

Rey didn't guess wrongly. A man from the club, lost somewhere his ladybirds, stretched out his long legs, casually putting his hands in his pockets, and settled more comfortable on the monstrous nose of the car. Dawn light imposed unnatural shadows, making his face seem somehow hard/ abrasive. Rey swallowed a lump, noticing distantly, how hisglance wandered on her body. No! What an asshole, huh! She tossed her head in pride.

"Thank you, but my taxi is here at any minute", - she answered as calm as possible.

"It is rumoured to, that there is the largest number of perverts among taxi drivers," the man said in a drawling manner, and his eyes were overwatching her reaction suspiciously attentive. "Not afraid?"

Rey thought if it was someone to be afraid of, that was definitely him. Unkar was one hundred per cent right, the sense of danger hung thick in the air around this person. But damn it, he challenged her, and her rebellious nature could not just ignore it. She looked at her companion ironically.

"We have to be frightened of ourselves, and otherwise I have got a stun gun".

He clearly intended to say something, but at that moment a white Boston taxi car finally rolled up. So Rey turned around and dropped:

"Thank you very much for your care, however, I am able to handle it by myself."

Flopping down in the seat, she must have slammed the door too hard and the whole way home she cursed herself on all that was holy for having entered into a conversation with this... with this. Rey even found it difficult to find a definition for such a person. Never talk to such dangerous strangers, especially in an empty parking lot, especially at night. Even if they look so damn teasing. It is perhaps more by token, sticking up for giving them a cold shoulder. Only when she found herself in her quiet apartment, Rey was able to take a breath and relax.

She has got a couple of hours left to have a short nap before the first day at the University starts. But while drawing curtains in her bedroom so that the dim morning light would not show through, she threw look down to the street and stayed put. The car, like a ravenous animal, was flowing softly away, right from the entrance of her house.

"Holy fucking shit!"

* Queen, David Bowie – Under Pressure

** Queen - Innuendo