A week had passed since the incident, and the Elwood City police force was no closer to determing the status or whereabouts of Odette Cooper.
As for Arthur and Sue Ellen, they were still blissfully in love...or at least Sue Ellen was.
As they sat on the edge of Arthur's bed and kissed, Arthur struggled not to retch as a result of the unpleasant contact with Sue Ellen's lip fuzz.
How long can I keep this up? he thought. Sooner or later I'm going to hurl all over her.
Sue Ellen withdrew her lips from Arthur's, and giggled when she saw the boy's consternated expression. "You're so weird."
"Yeah." Arthur licked his lips to remove the aftertaste. "I guess that fall from the tree must have permanently scrambled my brains."
Sue Ellen giggled again. "You still haven't read my diary," she noted.
"I'll get around to it." Arthur tried hard to mask his dread. "One of these days. It's a big step, you know."
"Maybe I can make it a smaller step." Sue Ellen reached into her pack, which lay at the foot of the bed, and pulled out her diary. She flipped through the pages as Arthur watched anxiously. "This is a story I wrote about you and me. It starts with us sitting in a cafe in the Latin Quarter of Paris..."
"Whoa, whoa!" Arthur held both hands in front of him.
"Don't you want to hear my story? It's very romantic."
"Please don't read it to me." Arthur almost sounded as if he was pleading.
Sue Ellen looked at him with concern. "What's wrong, Arthur?"
"I...I..." Arthur could only stammer.
"What is it?" Fear suddenly enveloped Sue Ellen's face. "Have you...have you stopped loving me?"
"Yeah," said Arthur meekly, lowering his head. "I really think we're too young to..."
He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw tears forming in the girl's eyes.
She started to sniffle. "I knew it was too good to last. I felt so empty, with my parents gone and Carla broken up with Nigel."
"I'm sorry," said Arthur. "I should have told you this sooner."
Rather than reply, Sue Ellen began to sob violently. Jumping from the bed, she hurried out of Arthur's room. Arthur could hear the sound of rapid footsteps on the stairway, followed moments later by the front door slamming.
He glanced down at his body and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm still alive."
----
Muffy opened the door to the Frenskys' apartment and walked in unheralded, as she was accustomed to doing. She saw Francine and Beat sitting on the living room couch, chatting in an animated fashion. "Hey, girls," she called to them.
"Hey, Muffy," Francine greeted her. "Long time no see."
"Yeah, it has been." Muffy seated herself on the couch with her friends. "Uppity Downs is murder, but I think I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to Mrs. Stiles' tutoring."
"You couldn't have chosen a better tutor," Beat remarked.
"And you won't believe this," Muffy went on, "but Angela hasn't tried to rob her or cheat her or anything. She's been a perfect roommate. Mrs. Stiles got her a job at the electronics store where she works."
"Then maybe she's telling the truth about wanting to turn her life around," said Francine optimistically.
"It's like Mrs. Stiles is making Angela a better person, while Angela is bringing out Mrs. Stiles' Hollywood 'bad girl' side," said Muffy. "It's the first time I've seen Mrs. Stiles really happy."
"That's a good thing," said Beat. "I was afraid that any day she would go back on the drugs and end up in rehab again."
Muffy took a deep breath. "So, have you two made up your minds about what to do for Thanksgiving?"
"It looks like I'm doomed to stay here," said Francine with a hint of sadness. "My parents won't budge. I can forget about seeing England or David Beckham."
"Which means I'm staying, too," said Beat.
"I think you should go," Francine told her.
"Sorry, Francine," said Beat with determination, "but I meant what I said."
"Beat, you must care a lot about Francine," Muffy remarked.
"Yes, I do," Beat responded. To prove her point, she climbed down from the couch, jumped sideways into Francine's lap, and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Francine and I love each other very much, don't we, Frankie?" she said with mock sweetness.
After several seconds in this position, Beat noticed that Francine's expression had turned into one of confusion and fear.
Beat suddenly appeared emotionally shaken. As Muffy watched curiously, Beat pushed herself off of Francine's lap and went to sit on the other end of the couch, where she looked away from the other girls.
Muffy found the silence uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Beat and I would like to talk in private for a few minutes," replied Francine, who herself appeared a bit shaken.
"Well...okay," said Muffy quietly. "I'll wait here."
"Leave, Muffy," said Francine with utter seriousness.
Without a word, the perplexed Muffy rose from the couch and headed toward the door of the apartment. "I'll call you when we're done," Francine said to her as she exited.
Now alone with Beat, Francine observed that the rabbit-aardvark girl was still facing away from her, and seemingly trembling with embarrassment.
"What's wrong?" Francine asked. "You can talk to me about it."
Beat turned slowly to face her. "I frightened you. I'm sorry."
"No, you didn't frighten me," Francine reassured her.
Beat looked away from her again, and took several breaths to compose herself. Then she began to speak, her voice quivering slightly.
"What you suspect about me is true. I don't find boys interesting at all. I never have. But I find you endlessly intriguing."
Francine's mouth fell open. "You mean..."
"Yes, Francine," Beat continued. "I'm...attracted to you."
Francine closed her mouth and became speechless and motionless for several seconds.
Beat looked at her again. "You're taking this better than I expected."
Francine opened her mouth hesitantly. "So...that's why you want to stay with me instead of going to England."
"Yes," said Beat. "And that's why I declined to take the advanced placement test. I didn't want to be separated from you."
Once again, Francine fell silent for several moments. Beat finally waved a hand in front of Francine's face to make sure she was conscious.
"I'm sorry," Francine said quietly. "It's just...such a surprise."
"I didn't know how a Jewish girl would react to something like this," said Beat with emotion. "If you want, I'll never mention it again."
"No," said Francine with sudden urgency. "It's all right that you feel that way. In fact, I'm glad that you do."
"You are?" said Beat with surprise.
"When you sat in my lap, and I looked like I was afraid," Francine went on, "it's not because I thought you were coming on to me. It's because..."
Beat gazed at her breathlessly and expectantly.
"...because I was having the same feelings," Francine concluded. "For you."
Beat started to stammer. "Then...that means..."
Francine held up her hand. "Wait, Beat. I...sorta think we shouldn't act on this. Not yet."
"Why not?" Beat asked her.
"Last year," Francine began, "Catherine and I were talking, and she told me how she had feelings for another girl when she was about my age."
"Oh, really."
"But then she hit puberty, and all she could think about was boys."
Beat became pensive. "So, in other words, you're afraid that our feelings will change as we get older."
"It could be embarrassing," said Francine weakly.
Beat sighed plaintively. "Well, then, maybe I should think about going to England after all."
----
In front of Francine's apartment building, Muffy paced along the sidewalk impatiently. Occasionally she checked her Princess Peach watch to determine exactly how many minutes and seconds her best friend had caused her to waste. Bailey, her dutiful chauffeur, sat at his post in the limo, reading from Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment".
"Muffy!" She suddenly heard a girl's voice calling her name. Looking in the direction of the sound, she saw Marina Messersmith walking toward her, cane in hand. Muffy thought it odd that Marina could tell who she was from such a distance.
"Hey, Marina," she said as the blind girl drew closer.
"Got a minute?" asked Marina.
"Sure," Muffy replied. "What can I help you with? Fashion? Romance?"
Rather than answer, Marina gazed directly into Muffy's eyes. Muffy briefly felt as if something was piercing her brain. It was a strange, rather pleasant sensation...then it was suddenly gone.
"Thanks, Muffy," said Marina, who then walked past her without the use of her cane.
Muffy watched her shrink into the distance. "I wonder what that was about," she muttered to herself.
(Next chapter: Thanksgiving. The roller coaster ride begins...)
