Glad you guys enjoyed the French. :) I'm in French I, and it's fun. I had to look up a few words, but not as many as I thought I would have when I first got the idea... I couldn't find Hell, but I figured it was the name of a place, so it may be the same. Satan is spelled the same in French and in English, though it's pronounced different. (My French teacher looked it up for me. It's pronounced say-TAH). For some reason, the word "beer" is in my French book at school... but Satan wasn't. Go figure.

— — — — —

"I'm thinking we catch a movie, then grab a bite to eat, whadda ya think?" asked Louis at lunch the next day.

"Sounds fine." Nita said, a smile tugging at her lips. It was so nice not to eat by herself. She was bursting with joy inside— this was too good to be true. Which was part of the reason she simply had a smile tugging at her lips, rather then the goofy grin she felt like wearing. She still had the sneaking suspicion of something amiss— Louis seemed too good to be true. Was he really interested in her? For the right reasons?

He had to be a interested, a little, at least. What had Kit said? That he "must have been pretty intent to get through all of your bull crap".

Nita couldn't denied that that was true. But still... he'd only asked her out after the incident in math... what if he was not interested in her for a companionship or romance, but only for physical reasons? What if....

"Earth to Nita. Earth to Nita. The Louis '85 paging Nita Callahan."

"W... what?" Nita was startled out of her thoughts. She still wasn't used to someone else being around, and not being able to have the long periods of time to think, with absolutely no one to bother interrupting her thoughts.

"I was asking," started Louis, "where you lived. The movie theater's only about 7 blocks from my house, but I need to know where you live, so I we can go, and figure out the

shortest way to walk, since I don't get my license for two more months."

"I live on East Clinton avenue. Number 243."

"Um..." started Louis, "Where's that in relation to Garcia? I've only lived in Hempstead little over a month, and I'm not exactly familiar with it all. Is... You look like you made a shocking discovery. By the look on your face, you look like you could get up and yell, 'Eureka!' any minute."

"What? Oh, it's nothing. Garcia is two blocks north of Clinton." Nita changed the subject quickly; she had no desire to share what just struck her.

Louis just moved here. That's reason he doesn't ridicule me relentlessly or avoid me like I have the plague. Pure "newbie" ignorance— I wonder how long this hanging around me will last.

"... walk you home from school? So I can find your house tomorrow night?" Louis voice interrupted her thoughts once more.

"What?" Nita asked before the words assembled in her mind. She remembered Kit was tutoring after school again. "Oh, sure. Where do you want to meet after school?"

Louis laughed and looked at her, amused.

"What?" she exclaimed. Boy, didn't she have a wide vocabulary today?

"We have English together, last hour. Absent minded today, are we?"

"Sorry I think of something other than you occasionally." Nita snapped, and winced when she heard her words. She was getting much too emotional lately— she needed to keep a lid on it. Being to emotional in a dire situation in wizardry was disastrous— she'd seen that with her mother. If she couldn't keep calm in normal situations in everyday life, how could she expect to when under enormous stress?

"Absent-minded and overly sensitive, what a combination!" he responded, not even swayed by her outburst. "Are you on the rag?"

Nita was flustered. Why did everyone always assume that when she didn't keep up her "perfect little girl" image? "No." Nita managed, flustered.

"You mean you're like this all the time?"

Nita resisted the urge to reach out and smack him. He was worse than Kit! She attempted to calm herself and replied, "Not usually. How 'bout you? Are you this.. prolixive all the time?"

"Prolixive?" asked Louis, his face still radiating amusement, "Is that even a word? Can prolix be 'ive'-ed?"

Nita dropped her anger and laughed. "As much of a word as '"ive"-ed' is."

Louis joined in her laughter. "That was kind of the point, and it got you back in a somewhat decent mood." Nita glared. "Maybe. The answer's yes, by the way."

"To what?" Nita asked.

"Yes, I am usually am this 'prolixive'. I'm always digging all kinds of graves for myself. I have an opinion; I express it. I want to say something—anything— I will. I won't beat around the bush, I'll tell you straightforward. I don't lie," Louis paused, then added as an afterthought, "to most people, because most people are too important to deceive. I'm honest to the point of being brutal, though not cruel."

Nita raised her eyebrow. Louis clarified, "If you sing, and asked me how you did, and it was simply terrible, I'd not tell you that it was good, but I wouldn't tell you sounded like a chorus of a dying cat and tortured crow."

Nita smiled. It was a good quality to have. She was a fan of honesty, too, not that wizardry allowed much otherwise. Lying in a spell is basically sealing your own doom, though certain amounts of discretion were required to keep wizardry under wraps from the world.

"What're you thinking?" asked Louis.

"That I agree with what you just said and that I'm glad it's a trait you have."

"Me, too." Louis said, laughing.

Nita's thoughts drifted yet again as Louis talked.

This is nice. Nita thought again, To spend time with Louis. He's carefree, and doesn't expect anything from me. He has no preconceived opinion of who I am, other than what gossip he's heard. But is that a good this or a bad thing? Nita mused, thinking of the most recent gossip about her, I wonder if....

"Nita!" Louis voice broke in for the fourth time in this short conversation.

I really need to work on the whole conversation thing, she scolded herself, I've been out of the loop for awhile.

"You really need to work on this 'conversation thing." Louis said. "You got the gazed look again. Now what were you thinking?"

He repeated my words again! Was he... Did he...

When Nita didn't answer, Louis said pointedly, "Didn't you just agree that straightforward revelations is the best policy?"

Nita smiled sheepishly, "I was thinking that it was nice you talk to someone without any expectations of you I am or should be."

"I'm touched!" Nita could tell if Louis was joking or serious, though she suspected maybe a bit of each.

The bell signifying the end of lunch rang, and Louis and Nita stood up and pushed their chairs in.

"See you last hour." Louis said, flashing a smile.

He has a killer smile. Nita admitted to herself as she agreed, and bid him goodbye.