A/N: Dun dun dun dun... Chapter SIX! Thank all you guys for reviewing! You really make my day. D And I swear to God, I never even thought of abandoning the story! NEVER! I simply was too busy with finding a flat in another town (yay! my first own flat! ehehehehe!), buying furniture, packing my things...all that stuff that is annoying but still necessary (sighs heavily)... I guess you all know what I mean. (sighs again)
There are so many reviewers I'd like to dedicate this chapter to (I'd really love to dedicate to any of you - I love you guys!) but I chose UnSchuldig and Llian Lan Elijah, because they belong to my closests real life friends. )
Disclaimer: Argh...STILL Holes is not mine!
Chapter six - A small piece of paper
" 'Not the finest past' ... man, you're the winner of the understatement-of-the-year award." I said, and the boys laughed even harder. I kneeled down in front of Ricky, forcing him to look at me. "I don't like shouting at people." I said quietly, "And I'm not going to freak out, for actually your friends seem to be quite harmless." I shot a quick glance at them. Squid, who sat next to Ricky, had heard the comment and immediately tried to look like a tough and mean guy, but actually ended up looking plain silly. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Ricky.
"So...it doesn't ... bother you?" he asked insecurely, and I shook my head. His face lit up and he smiled. "You know, you pretend not to be nice, but somehow ... in a strange way ... you are." he whispered. I rose my eyebrows and put on a doubting face. "Don't get sentimental, dude." I said, but he just continued to smile at me knowingly. In the meantime, the boys had calmed down a bit, and now Caveman spoke. "I'm not a criminal." he said, and I gave him a disbelieving glance.
"For sure. Let me guess: You were sent there innocently..." I said, and he gaped at me.
"How do you know that?"
I groaned and was about to give him a very nice answer, but in that moment someone tugged at my sleeve. I turned around to see Magnet looking at me curiously. "What do you want, burrito?" I said.
"How come you're not afraid, chica?" he asked. "Most girls would be quite shocked now, wouldn't they?". The other boys nodded.
"Would you like me better if I was running around screaming? I don't think so. And by the way, you guys don't look like you're rapists or murderers or something." I explained.
"How could you know that? I mean, what a rapist looks like. For all you know, any of us could be one." X-ray commented, and I just quirked my eyebrows a bit more.
"Trust me, if one of you was a sex offender, he would have noticed much earlier that I knew he was one. Got it?". They made such puzzled face, that without wanting it I sighed. "I recognize an asshole when I see one." I added and finally they understood. Ricky stared at me in shock. "Have you been ... raped?" he gasped and all the boys' heads turned toward me synchronely. "No! Man, honestly!" I exclaimed. "And by the way, ... girls who have been raped don't walk around talking about it so open-mindedly. Keep that in mind for the future." I said, and he seemed to calm down, but not much. "But there was a guy in your past who tried, otherwise you wouldn't recognize one." he said. "What if so?" I asked. My thoughts went back to an evening three weeks before my birthday. That guy deserved what had happened to him. (A/N.: Check chapter one again... ;-) )
"Then, girlie, we'll beat the pulp outta him if you like." Squid growled, and I looked at him in surprise. Had he just offered to beat a guy up for me? "Bastards that don't respect girls just deserve to get beaten up from time to time..." he said. I shook my head.
"Thanks for this generous offer, Mr Seafood. But the guy already got - ...". I bit my lip. No ending for that sentence. No need for them to know about the night in jail that had followed my little attack on the bastard. The boys all looked at me curiously, and then Ricky flashed me his knowing smile again. "What he deserved? Ean, somehow I start believing that there is more than one thing you should tell us."
"Somehow I start believing that you didn't get the meaning in 'I don't share my innermost with others.' " I said calmly.
"Fine, if you don't wanna tell me, I'll just ask Mom and Dad." he shrugged. What a child. And he was supposed to be eighteen years old?
"Do so." I said, "As long as you don't get on my nerves anymore with questions I'll probably never answer."
"What was it with you and the mind drugs?" Zero suddenly asked and we all turned around to stare at him. That moment it suddenly occurred to me that he hardly ever spoke when the entire group was around. But that wasn't the topic now. And neither was my connection with mind drugs.
"Like I already pointed out: That is none of your business." I replied angrily. Why wouldn't they stop questioning me? Were there no interesting people at where they came from?
"It's okay Zero." Ricky said, "If she doesn't want to talk about it herself there's no way you'll get her talking. I've tried it the past days and always failed.". He flashed me a bright, amused grin, and I threw him a black 'You're-an-idiot' look.
"Yoou know what? I'll go back to my room now, so I don't have to listen to what else you're telling your friends about me." I said acidly, getting up. He gave me a concerned look.
"Ean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-..."
"Save your regret for someone who cares, okay?" I stated calmly as I left the livingroom. That was honest. I didn't care about whether people were sorry for what they said about me. Plus, he was totally right, so there was no need for any excuses.
The sun was still up in the sky and the air outside was full of the sounds of nature in summer. I opened the window widely and took a deep breath, looking at the beautiful landscape that was lying in front of my eyes. The rustling trees, the lake water reflecting the evening sun ...it felt good just to enjoy the peace of the scenery. For one moment I even forgot about Ricky and his annoying friends. I had nothing against them personally, just against their curiousity and their immature behaviour. Ricky had said that some of them were even older than me. Well, they couldn't be much older, for obviously they still were bound to school holidays.
'Why am I thinking about these brats anyways?' I suddenly thought, 'In one week they'll be gone.'. Exactly. One week. It should be possible to ignore their questions for one week.
With a deep sigh I grabbed the book from my nightstand and sat down on the bed. When I looked up from the pages for the next time, I did it because actually I wasn't able to see anything anymore. The sun had nearly set, and so I turned on the light and continued reading, my gaze flying over the pages. From downstairs I could hear the boys laugh, and wondered what they were laughing about. Maybe a TV show. I shrugged and went on with my lecture. Half an hour later, the sounds of the TV went silent and I heard the boys climb up the stairs.
"Good that you have so many bathrooms here, Zig." Squid said. Then they all rummaged around in their rooms which was clearly audible through the thin walls. 'One week only, so stay calm, Ean. Don't jump up to ask them WHY THE HELL they just can't do things quietly...' I told myself.
Then there was silence for about twenty minutes when they all were in the bathrooms, and I thanked God for not letting one of them sing under the shower. Then the wooden floor planks in the corridor creaked, and there was a gentle knock at my door. I looked up from the pages.
"We just want to say good night." Ricky said. His hair was wet from showering and his friends stood behind him, as far as I could tell. He was so tall that he effortlessly was able to cover any of them. There were some "Good night, Ean."'s coming from behind him, so I mumbled back a "...'night." and then the door was closed.
Well, this was a good example of how I imagined this holiday to work: They don't get on my nerves, and I don't get all too unfriendly. Maybe they had finally understood that.
In the neighbouring rooms the beds croaked. I wondered why they went to bed so early. It wasn't even ten p.m.. Then it occurred to me that some of them maybe came from other states, and that it had been a long day for them.
This night, I went to bed at two a.m.. As I silently tapped through the corridor, everything was quiet, apart from the crickets outside that could be heard through the open window, and the snores of some of the boys. They weren't coming from the bedrooms next to mine.
Short time later I fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.
The brilliant rays of summer sun awoke me by shining directly into my eyes. I blinked and let out a silent curse. "Damnit. The curtains...". They were still open, so there was no barrier between the sunbeams and me. I threw a quick glance on the alarm clock: not even seven! Why did the sun have to rise so early? I got up and shuffled over to the open window. Birds were singing and a faint touch of mist still hung under the forest trees. But there I stood, wide awake. I gave the sun another grumpy glare and went down into the kitchen to have breakfast.
Half an hour later I put on my swimsuit, a bathing robe, and a pair of flipflops and went down to the landing stage. The clear, warm morning air greeted me. Perfect weather for swimming!
Without realizing how much time passed, I swam for about an hour, nearly reaching the other shore. When I came back I found Ricky, Armpit, Squid and Zero in the kitchen. "Morning, Ean! Had a good night?" Ricky said, smiling friendly. "Hmmm... not a very long one. Forgot to close the damn curtains." I moaned and the guys laughed. "Awwww, did my lil' sis' not get enough sleep?" Ricky said in a baby-kind of voice and pinched me in the cheek. I knocked his hand away with a rapid, aggressive movement.
"No need to go all aggressive, karate kid, I was only kidding." he grinned, "Haven't you had your coffee yet?"
"Actually, I got up long before you doofus and already had breakfast."
"Uh huh." Ricky nodded. "And what did you do since breakfast? Killed a few squirrels for lunch?". They all burst our laughing.
I glared at him. Teenage boys, honestly."I went swimming, genius. Just in case you haven't noticed: There's a lake out there." Saying so, I disappeared from the kitchen and went into the bathroom to blow-dry my hair. Then I put on a light, black cotton summer dress and went back down to get the book that was still lying on the counter, and to have a second cup of coffee. When I came down, all the boys were hanging around in the kitchen, eating toast or cornflakes. Magnet still looked extremely tired.
"And Dad says I'm not a morning person..." I mumbled as I watched him yawn so widely that he nearly dislocated his jaw. "Try a cup of coffee, burrito." I said, placing one in front of him, and then filling another one for myself. He smiled at me gratefully, but I was already on my way back to my room.
For the rest of the morning I heard nothing of the boys. Probably they went swimming. I didn't know and I didn't care all too much. It was just a plain ordinary holiday, like I had wanted it, and so I was in a quite good mood when I went downstairs to make lunch. Caveman and Zero were sitting in the livingroom alone. They saw me and followed me into the kitchen.
"Would you help me with making lunch?" I asked. Caveman nodded.
"Sure."
After a while he asked: "How come you never do anything together with us? Isn't it boring to hang around in your room all day?"
"Answer to second question: No it isn't boring. Answer to first question: You haven't been here for 24 hours, so 'never' is a bit too strong. And anyways, I'm neither here to spend time with you, nor am I interested in it. I'm here to enjoy my holidays."
From the edge of my eye I saw him and Zero exchange glances, then they both smiled. "You're behaving like Zero when he was at camp. Hardly ever talked and most of the time just lay on his cot." Caveman said.
"Whatever. Keep an eye on the noodles. They're about to boil over." I said. When he sped over to the stove, I turned toward Zero. "So, lil' guy. Why wouldn't you talk to your tentmates?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Just don't like answering stupid questions." he said. Okay, that was creepy. He sounded like me.
"Ean? Are you still amongst us?" Caveman waved one hand in front of my eyes, and I blinked.
"What?" I asked, and he frowned.
"You were spaced out." he said, then his face relaxed again. "I think the noodles are ready. What about the meat?". I went to the stove and cut one of the chops in two halfs.
"Ready." I said, "Go get your friends.". And off the Caveman went. "Wherever they might be..." I added, muttering under my breath.
"They're on the lake, swimming." Zero said.
"Why are you two not with them?"
"Stanley can't swim and I didn't want to leave him alone." he said indifferently. I gave him a long look.
"You're a good boy.He's glad to have you as friend." I finally said without the faintest touch of sarcasm in my voice. He gave me a very weird look and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Armpit's "Wow, that smells GOOD!". I turned around to see five sopping wet boys who were actually dripping water all over the expansive parquet floor.
"Okay, you guys..." I said, "...will get decent before you recieve anything to eat." They all pouted, but I ignored them. "And one of you will wipe up the water, or my mother kills us all for destroying the parquet. Now get your asses moving!". They all hurried off, leaving only Zero, Caveman and me behind. I threw a look out of the window. Outside the weather was just plain perfect. "We should set the table outside. Come on, we'll get the terrace furniture from the shack." And so we did. I got the guys to clean the chairs, while I scrubbed the table. Inside, the other boys discussed who should wipe up the water they had left behind in front of the kitchen door. After awhile it started getting on my nerves and so I stomped inside, taking the napkin with me. Apart from Armpit, who was wearing a dark grey t-shirt, they still were only half-decent. The only thing that had changed was that they now wore dry capris or shorts. I couldn't take offense at it, it was quite hot outside. I threw the cold, wet napkin at X-ray. It hit his neck and he jumped with a short scream. They all skipped around to stare at me. "Just wipe it up and come to lunch. And bring plates, cutlery and the pots with you." I commanded and went back outside.
Five minutes later we were all sitting around the table in the full sunshine, and the boys gulped the food down like they hadn't had some in days. 'Guys and their manners when they don't feel watched.' I thought. 'Jim, Kenneth and Will weren't any better concerning that. But they were better at not getting my nerves.'
Shit...thinking about my old friends spoiled my appetite within a second. I put down the fork and knife, but luckily none of the boys noticed. 'Okay Ean, you haven't thought about them for more than a year, and you won't start it again right now.' I told myself, taking a deep breath. I had lied to Ricky when I told him I never had friends. Actually, before I got into grade nine, my parents and me had moved to Washington D.C.. Although I was only fourteen, I was often mistakenly thought as being seventeen (don't ask me why), and so I finally ended up hanging with a bunch of goths from my school that were three, four, or even five years older than me. Jim, Charlene, Kenneth, Will, Winola, and Charlene's cousin Zoey were cool people. They understood me, and they never asked stupid questions. They had just been ... there for me. Stressing had been.
A gentle tap on my left shoulder made me jump. I whirled around to see Squid frowning on me. "What'cha thinking about, girlie?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes.
"Don't call me girlie. And what I am thinking about definitely doesn't belong to the things you need to know, Mr. Seafood."
"Come on, Ean. You looked like you were close to crying..." he whispered, giving me a meaningful look. Oh gosh... that wasn't true, right?
"Interesting to hear how carefully you're observing me." I whispered back, half angrily, half in a jeering voice. It worked: his meaningful look disappeared, and he went all red like a tomatoe, reconcentrating on his food immediately. Zero chuckled silently on my right side. I looked around at the other boys to find out whether anyone else had noticed the little scene. Of course, Ricky was watching me carefully. Who else? My inner self let out a deep sigh. It wouldn't take long until he came up to me again, demanding to finally hear the truth. Well, if he wanted to hear something about my past, then why didn't he ask my parents, like he had said?
I got up abruptly, ignoring the boys' curious looks, and took my plate inside to throw away the rest of the food. With my book attached to one hand, I left the house through the front door, avoiding the boys, and heading for a group of trees on the unmown lawn, about fifty metres away from the house.In the shade of the trees I sat down and opened the book, but I wasn't able to concentrate. Instead, my thoughts drifted back to what Squid had said: 'You looked like you were close to crying.'.
Fuck it. It was two and a half years since the ... accident, and still I nearly started crying whenever I thought of my old friends. But now I was able to control my emotions, so I wouldn't fall back into the old thought pattern that had cost me four and a half months of my life.
Suddenly a shadow appeared on front of me, making me look up to see Ricky. 'Surprise!' was my only thought, as he kneeled down in front of me.
"Okay Ean, what is up with you? From one moment to the other you change from a shrew to a normal person and back again, and now you sit there, lost in your thoughts, looking as if you start crying the next moment ... Whom were you thinking about?"
"You should hear yourself, honestly. You're worse than the Spanish Inquisition." I groaned, but I felt that this time he would't leave me alone so easily.
"Just answer the question, Ean." he said, looking slightly annoyed.
"Okay, if you need to know it so desperately: I was thinking about some people I used to hang out with some years ago. Answer enough? Can I go on reading now?"
"So you had friends. Why didn't you tell me? You said you never had some.". He looked curious, and somehow ... hurt?
"I didn't tell you the exact truth. People do that sometimes, get used to it.". A short silence followed these words. Then Ricky spoke again.
"What happened?" he asked, and I gave him an annoyed glance.
"Obviously they don't hang around with me anymore, as you maybe noticed." I said.
"Yeah, I noticed that you're all alone, that you won't let anyone get close to you, and that you're close to tears when you think about them. Come on, you're not fooling anyone. What happened between them and you?"
Instead of looking at him, I turned my head and stared at the sparkling surface of the lake.
"Ean? You know that it's rude not to answer questions?"
"You asked the wrong question." I said in a barely audible voice. Ricky frowned, confused.
"The wrong question?"
"You should have asked: What happened to them?" I said.
"Fine. So what happened to them?" he said, shrugging.
"They... uhm... we were..." I attempted to say, but failed. I had never talked to anyone about this. Gulping heavily, I said: "Sorry. I just ...can't...What do you wanna it know for, anyways?"
"I'm just trying to find out why you're so distant. It's not good for you, you know? But if you can't talk about your friends because it's too bad for you, I guess I already found the reason."
"Nice analysis, Doctor Ricky. Let me guess, next time our mother makes a phone call, you'll ask her." I said, slowly leaving the moment of weakness behind me, finding back to my old cynism.
"Guessing right, sis' ."
"You don't want to hear her version. It'll give ou a false impression of my old ... friends."
"But you won't answer me, will you?"
"Hm..." I gently shook my head. "But Roberta Angelini will." I said, getting up and heading for the house. Ricky came hurrying after me.
"Who's Roberta Angelini?"
"She worked for the Washington Post when I was fourteen."
"What does the Wash-..." he tried to ask, but I cut him off.
"Stop asking. I'll show you."
Five minutes later I handed him an old article, which I had cut out of the Washington Post from April 5th 2003.
"Tragic end of a party? What is that supposed to tell me?" he asked, waving the small piece of paper around.
"Just read it, and stop asking."
"Fine." he grumbled and sat down on my bed to read the short article. While he read, his lips were moving, and I saw his face grow more serious from second to second.I could very well imagine why, for I had read the text so often that I nearly knew it by heart.
Tragic end of a party
Last night a terrible drama happened in the well known Goth-Club "Darkflower". In an act of murder-suicide 18-year-old Charlene W. killed herself, her cousin Zoey W., 18, and 19-year-old Jim L. in the storeroom of the club.
Being asked for the girl's reasons, police chief C. Fiell gave the following comment: "We believe that it was an act of outrageous jealousy, in combination with being under the influence.". How the teenagers got entrance to the club, or how the Suicide got access to the firearm is still unclear.
The only eye-witness, a teenage girl, is currently under the care of police psychologists.
He looked up from the small piece of paper and stared at me.
"That will be answer enough, I guess. Our parents don't know much more." I said calmly as he just remained staring at me silently. "Oh, don't look at me like that!" I moaned as he went on looking all sympathetic.
"Losing someone by suicide is always terrible, Ean. I know what I'm speaking of. Mom committed suicide, too, right after I entered the bootcamp."
"She...what? Oh, I didn't know that. Sorry." I said, and I really felt sorry for him. Losing someone this way belonged to the most terrible things that could happen to you. I knew that from experience.
"It's okay. It was her way of coping, or ...not coping with things...guess it was all just too much for her."
"But it wasn't fair of her." I said, and cautiously took the small piece of paper from his hand. He turned his face away, an I saw how he quickly wiped something which I believed to be a tear from his face. A wave of sympathy rolled over me, so I did something that was totally against my nature - I squeezed his hand, but let go instantly as his look hit me again, and I decided to change the topic.
"Where are your stupid friends, anyway?" I asked, and he smiled lightly, though there still was a suspicious shimmer in his eyes. Oh, how I hated it when he smiled this knowing smile! It told me without a word that he knew why I had changed the topic, and I hated that he knew it.
"They went and tried to find the oars for the boat." he said.
"Uh huh." I mumbled, "Means I don't have to get rid of them by myself. They're doing the job for me by drowning themselves...".
Ricky snorted as he heard this, but I kept a straight face. "What's so funny about that? Ever since they arrived they haven't done anything but getting on my nerves!" I complained, but he only kept on looking quite amused.
"Ean, why don't you try behaving a bit nicer towards them? They might leave with a false impression..."
"A bit nicer?" I exclaimed, "I'm being nicer to them than I have been to my teachers, classmates and psychologists alltogether!".
"Your psychologists? Like, plural form?" he said, looking stunned.
"Yes, plural form.Our dear parents have dragged me from one psychologist to the other, but because they made me take these awful mind drugs I refused to talk to any single one of them."
"Well, that really sounds like something you would do."
"Oh, thank you very much..." I said sarcastically, and that moment Squid walked in.
"Zig, where is the key for the friggin' shack? The door won't open." he said loudly, but Ricky just frowned.
"How should I know? Ask Ean." he said, and I rolled my eyes.
"Am I the assistance, or what?" I groaned, "But just so you won't ask me again: All the keys are in the small bureau in the corridor."
"Thanks." Mr. Seafood said, and instantly disappeared into the corridor where he started rummaging around with the keys.
"You don't like answering questions very much, do you?" Ricky said. I lifted one eyebrow.
"That's just exactly right." I said. Than something came to my mind. "What did our parents tell you about me? Can't have been much, as far as I know..."
"Yep. They only said that I shouldn't take everything you say all too seriously...'cause you're constantly in a bad mood."
"And such people may call themselves parents...". I let out a short disapproving snort and got up from the floor. I was halfways across my way to the door when Ricky asked whether I wanted to come with him and the boys - in case they would be able to find the oars.
"Will you stop annoying me if I don't?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. I didn't even have to turn around to know that Ricky was grinning.
"Nope." he said. What a surprising answer...
"Seems like I have no choice then...I'll be back in five minutes.". And I went off into my room, hearing Squid call "I found it!" behind me. Hopefully, the guys wouldn't be all too annoying out on the lake where there was only one way to escape their stupid conversations: by swimming. It occurred to me that, apart from some white clothes, I should put on a swimsuit - just in case...
Ten minutes later I was still searching for something white amongst all my dark clothes, when X-ray walked right in. "Are you ready now?" he asked in an impatient voice as he appeared in the doorframe. Then he saw the pile of clothes I had thrown onto the floor in the desperate attempt to find something white. "Bloody hell - what are you looking for?" he asked, and curiously peered over my shoulder into the wall cupboard.
"Gold." I replied dryly, and moved a pile of neatly folded shirts from one corner to the other to see what was behind it - without result. Angrily I slammed the doors of the cupboard shut and turned around, facing X-ray. "Do you have any white shirts with you?" I asked, but he shook his head, staring up at me. "No, sorry."
I let out deep sigh, asking myself what I had done to deserve this. I went into the livingroom and grabbed the first guy I could take hold of, which was Squid, by the wrist. He stared at me wide-eyed. "Can you lend me a white t-shirt?" I whispered, . "What? What do you need a t-shirt for, girlie? Don't you have any of your own?" he asked in an unnecessarily loud voice, making me regret immediately to have asked him. Some of the guys chuckled, and I let go of his wrist.
"Mine are all black, which means that I'll turn into a fryed sausage in that boat if I wear one one of them." I replied impatiently, rolling my eyes. Was that guy stupid or was he stupid? He grinned. "Wow, the girlie's actually got some sense of humor! Of course you can have a shirt."Okay, maybe he wasn't too stupid at all, but that had to be proven.
As we all sat in the boat about ten minutes later the guys were still shooting me amused glances. Which - considering my outward appearance - definitely had a reason: I looked like I was dressed in a white tent. For sure it fitted Mr. Seafood perfectly, but I simply didn't have a guy's shoulders. "Man, I have nightgowns that are shorter than this..." I muttered, stiffily staring at the shore that we were drifting away from. Caveman and Ricky were rowing the boat, the other guys were busy with drinking coke and trying to shove each other into the water. About one minute later, Magnet hit the surface of the water, and the splattering lake water had us all ending up sopping wet.
"Well done! Like this the shirt will be a perfect protection from the sun ... I'm surrounded by dumbasses!" I blurted out, and was trying to wrench the water out of my clothes when I heard Ricky say: "Well, Ean, not everyone can be such a genius as you are..."
He didn't even get the chance to flash me a grin, because within two seconds I had leaped up and thrown him into the water. Yes, thrown. I almost had the boat capsizing but couldn't have cared less that moment. Panting and coughing he came up, looking at me with the most shocked puupy look I had ever seen. The other guys in the boat were roaring with laughter.
"What was that for?" he asked, and I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"Your comment?" I suggested, and his face altered from shocked to simply surprised as he made attempt to climb back into the boat.
"Girl, why you're so bad tempered? Definitely should cool down a bit...". And suddenly he was giving me that creepy grin again.
'What the-...!'In one single, fluent movement he leaped up, grabbed my elbows and pulled me - arms and head first - into the water as if I didn't weigh more than a rag doll. I didn't have time to scream or even catch a breath. He just kept on holding my arms in a tight grip and pulled me deeper into the dark water.
My lungs screamed for air, my brain screamed for oxygen, and my body was squirming and flinchig uselessly while I tried to withdraw from his grib to get back the rescueing surface - but no chance.
- End of chapter -
A/N.: Whoa, like, finally I managed to finish this chappy! I'm so proud of how I managed to stay up until way beyond 3:00 a.m. for three times in a row...(note to self: try to get rid of addiction to drinking coffee late at night...)
As usual, reviews, criticism, suggestions, etc. are very welcome! D