Archivist's Note:  Because there are a number of languages used in "Skank Train, the following key is provided:
{Mua}
*Wua*
{{sign}}
 

(Meera)
I have never been so mad in my life. Aunt Kuli was moving me and my two cousins away from Todine City to the boondocks. Away from the lights, the glamour, and the excitement of urban life to some back woods town called Fountain Hill. Away from the sexy city boys I loved so much. I heard those country boys aren’t much to look at. All this because Aunt Kuli wanted to move her sex therapist practice to a less congested area. She said that this place would provide a less stressful environment for her patients. I didn’t give a flying flip about her patients! I did not want to leave the city! And neither did Sheesta and Daeontia. All our boyfriends were there. Unfortunately, our protests fell on deaf ears. Soon, we were settled in Fountain Hill. A few days later, we arrived at Fountain Hill Academy for our first day of school. We made our grand entrance in our hottest outfits. We wanted to make those dumpy country girls jealous and the boys drool.

{Well, girls, here we are. We might as well make the most of our time here. Let’s check out the man meat!}
 

All eye were on the trio of berry skinned girls as they entered the school yard. Soon all the girls turned back to each other and started whistling and humming about their clothes.

{Those tops are so low!}

{The skirts are pretty high!} and an assortment of other scandalous comment rang through to yard.

Most of the boys were speechless and they're eyes remained glued with awe on the new comers.

(Jodan)
It was my first day of secondary school. It was pretty much routine. I was surrounded by my usual group of female admirers. I had done them all, some of them several times. I was getting bored with them, really. I was hoping to meet someone new, someone exciting, someone...
Oh my, what have we here? Three girls I didn't recognize entered the school yard. They caught my eye because of the way they dressed. The low cut tops and short skirts let me know they were definitely not from these parts. Speaking of parts, theirs were pretty sexy! I made my way over to them and introduced myself.

(Meera)
My cousins and I looked over our potential conquests. So far the boys there were lacking. Then, I noticed one boy coming over towards us. Wow, was he hot! I figured he must be a city boy. His face, his hair, his body, his EVERYTHING was perfect! He put his hand out and introduced himself.

{Hello, ladies. I'm Jodan.}

{Hi, I'm Meera and these are my cousins, Sheesta and Daeontia.}

{Please call me DaeDae...} my cousin interrupted. Sheesta flicked her tongue to show off her piercing. That really got the sexy boy's attention.

{I can see you girls aren't from around here.}

{Yeah, we're from Todine City. How about you?}

{Born and raised in Fountain Hill.}

{Really? Hmm....by the way, Jodan, you got a last name? Ours is Hasau.}

{Meglouse. Jodan Meglouse.}

My cousins and I looked at each other. Did he just say Meglouse, as in "well endowed?" Oh, man, this guy was perfect. We just had to find out the truth behind that name!

(Jodan)
The first bell was about to go off so I escorted the three lovely girls into the school building.

{Do you know your locker numbers? I'll help you find them.}

We crossed paths with my sister, Wufa Mi and my brother Sirobo. Bo was leaning against a locker while muffled screams came from within it.

{Think I should let him out, WuWu?}

{Yeah, he's been in there long enough.}

Bo then opened the locker and a body spilled out. The frazzled boy got up from the floor. My brother then grabbed him by the arm and had him stand before my sister.

{Apologize to my sister for disrespecting her...NOW!}

{I...I'm sorry WuWu. It'll never happen again.}

{Great. Now get outta my sight!}

The boy picked up his book bag and ran down the hall.

My siblings then looked over at me and the Hasau girls.

{Hey, Jo, who are your friends?} Wufa Mi asked.

{I'd like you to meet Meera, Sheesta, and DaeDae Hasau. Ladies, this is my brother, Sirobo and my sister, Wufa Mi.}

I noticed DaeDae was looking at my brother, who began to blush.

(Sheesta)
I could tell my sister really liked Sirobo. He was pretty sexy too, though not as sexy as Jodan. Jodan also told us he had another brother named Mikel. It just so happened that he was in our homeroom. If it wasn't for the hair, I would have thought he was Jodan. I didn't know about my cousin and sister, but I wanted to check out all three of them. There was something about them I found very attractive.

I made sure I got to sit next to Mikel and introduced myself.

{Hi, I'm Sheesta. You're Jodan's brother, Mikel, right?}

{Yes. Nice to meet you, Sheesta.}

{My sister, my cousin, and I just moved here from Todine City.}

{Oh really? How do you like it so far?}

{So far, some of the scenery is very nice.} I leaned over towards him just enough for him to get a peek down my blouse. He looked kind of surprised, but I didn't see him take his eyes of my chest. I noticed then a pink skinned girl sitting next to him looking really pissed off.

(Marana)
How dare that slut flirt with my Mik! I don't care if she is new; he's mine! "Ahem!" I cleared my throat. That snapped Mik out of his trance; he looked at me and felt a little embarrassed.

"Uhh..." he went. "Rana, I want you to meet Sheesta. She's new around here; just moved here with her cousin and sister. Sheesta, this is Marana...my fiancée."

That tramp's eyes bugged out like they were going to fall out of their sockets. She gave me a dirty look, then turned back around. That should teach her not to take things belonging to other people.

(DaeDae)
Our first day of school was pretty boring. We met our new teachers and filled out our emergency contact cards, got our text books...you know the usual first day stuff. Things didn't pick up until lunch time. Jodan met up with Meera, Sheesta and me to escort us to the cafeteria. My sister and Meera each grabbed one of Jodan's arms. I decided to walk with Jodan's brother Sirobo. He seemed so cute, sweet and shy. He was more my type that Jodan. He kind of hesitated, but he eventually let me take hold of one of his arms.

When we all got to the cafeteria we passed a table filled with all girls in scarlet and gold and scarlet and silver.

{That's the junior varsity and varsity girls dance troupe,} Sirobo explained. I noticed that pink skinned girl from homeroom was sitting there too. {That's Marana, Mikel's betrothed. She's the troupe captain.} She looked over at me a Sirobo then turned up her nose. I wondered what that was all about.

(Meera)
Everyone seemed to be staring at me and my cousins during the whole lunch period. The varsity dance troupe, which had on scarlet and gold, looked kind of disappointed when Jodan sat down with us at another table. All except Marana, of course. Jo told me that she his brother Mikel's betrothed. For some reason, she didn't seem to like us. I didn't like her that much either. She seemed like such a snob. Jodan went in line to buy his lunch while we sat down. We had brought our own gourmet meals. Sheesta even snuck a little wine into our thermoses. It was just enough to give us a buzz, but not enough to get us drunk. We even shared some with Jo when he got back with his food.

{So, how has your first day been so far, ladies?}

{BORING!} Sheesta squealed as she rolled her eyes.

{Yeah, mine too. It should get better by the end of the day. My last class is gymnastics. Next semester it will be traditional dance.}

{We'll be taking gymnastics this semester too. Gonna help spot me?} I asked with a wink.

{sure...if you don't mind some strange boy grabbing your tender parts.}

{As long as it's you I don't mind at all.} I put a hand on his thigh and squeezed. I could tell he really liked the attention I was giving him. I also got a hint to the truth behind his last name. Yowsah!

(Kuli)
When I went to pick up the girls from school, I expected some more complaints. However, when they got in the car, they looked pretty happy.

{Well, girls, how was your first day of school?}

{Boring, Aunty, but we did get to meet some nice boys.}

{Oh really? Tell me about them.}

The girls began chatting away about the Meglouse boys. That name sounded familiar.

{Sirobo is the cutest,} Daeontia sighed.

{Nuh uh! Jodan is the cutest!} Meera argued.

{Personally, I think they're all pretty cute,} Sheesta added.

{Oh my. It looks like I have to meet these boys that have you girls so worked up.}

{Can we invite them over this weekend, Mahda? Please?} Daeontia begged.

{I have to talk to their parents first. Do you have their number?}

{Yes, ma'am.}

{I'll call them this evening then.}

The girls were very pleased to hear that.

(Meera)
That weekend Jodan and Sirobo came over to see me and my cousins. Mikel didn't come because he said his betrothed would get upset. She sounded like a control freak to me, so I felt kind of sorry for him. After we had lunch, Aunty Kuli told us she had an appointment at her office to take care of. That left us and the boys all alone. We were bored, so Sheesta suggested we play a game of truth or dare. That made Sirobo kind of nervous but Jodan was all for it. When it was my turn to challenge somebody, I decided it was time to find out some truth.

{Ok, Jodan, truth or dare?}

{Ummmm...I'll take truth this time.} Perfect! Here's my chance.

{Tell me, is Meglouse just a last name or is there some truth behind it?}

{Why tell you...when I can show you?}

My cousins and I looked at each other and kind of smiled. Sirobo looked kind of embarrassed.

{Ok, Jodan, let's go up to my room so you can show us, ok?}

{No problem, Meera.}

(Sirobo)
All of us went upstairs to Meera's room. I had a feeling what my brother was going to do and hoped we wouldn't end up getting into trouble.

{Ok, ladies, have a seat.} All three Hasau girls sat down. Meera had a smug expression on her face, Sheesta looked bored, and DaeDae looked nervous. My brother then uh....revealed the truth to them. Meera then looked quite fascinated, Sheesta looked terrified, and DaeDae looked flabbergasted. I was beyond embarrassed. I then got a little pissed off. My brother shouldn't have been showing himself to my new girlfriend! I grabbed her by the hand and took her out of the room and closed the door. DaeDae still looked kind of shocked.

{Daeontia, I apologize for my brother's behavior. He gets out of hand sometimes.}

{I noticed...}

Moments later we could hear some ah...interesting sounds coming from Meera's room.

{Um, Sirobo, would you like to come downstairs and watch some holovids with me? I have a feeling things are gonna be a bit too noisy up here.}

{Sure, that sounds fine to me.}

I had no idea how noisy things were going to get. Let's just say there is truth behind Meera's name too, which means "large mouth."

(DaeDae)
Damn my sister and cousin were loud. We could hear them all the way downstairs. Sure sounded like they were having lots of fun. Shucks, I wanted to have some fun on my own, but Sirobo seemed a little too shy. I had to bring him out of his shell a little. I invited him to the little pool house out back to watch the vids there. We Hasau girls planned on making that our new Love Grotto since it has a hot tub and everything. I determined in my mind before this day was over I was going to seduce Sirobo Meglouse, even if I had to give it everything I've got!

It took me a while, but I finally was able to coax Sirobo into the hot tub. He was concerned that neither one of us had a bathing suit, but I told him that was fine. When we finally got into the tub, all he wanted to do was talk. That was ok for a few minutes, but I had other plans. I decided to cut our little chit chat short with a kiss. At first he seemed taken aback by my aggressiveness, but it didn't take long for him to start kissing me back. Pretty soon my mission was accomplished!

(Meera)
For that whole semester, we were the envy of all the other girls at Fountain Hill academy. Sheesta and I had Jodan and Daeontia had Sirobo. Everything was perfect until the next semester when a tall half-human and a foreign interloper invaded our world.

(Jodan)
Those Hasau girls kept me on my toes! The time I spent with them was exciting and fun. Things got a little interesting the beginning of the next semester though. Our god sister, Detia, was coming to live with us. Her parents died in a plane crash so my parents were going to adopt her as their own. I liked Detia a lot. She was funny and nice. However, she did have quite a temper. I'm glad I never had to fight her, cuz she can really kick ass! I found out quick that Detia didn't like the Hasau girls very much. She called them skanks. And all three of them together made a Skank Train in her book. I tried my best to keep the peace between my girls and my new adopted sister. Having a new sister from another planet brought some changes for all of us, but no one changed my life more than someone else I met a little later that semester.

One weekend I was sitting under a tree in Fountain Hill Park sketching in my book. I was looking for the perfect subject to draw that day. That's when I saw her. There was this girl with long, black curly hair and skin like black velvet splashing around in the Great Fountain. She had on a long, pink sarong and a white blouse. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen! I had to sketch this dark beauty in my book. I was going to go talk to her when and older man came and made her get out of the Great Fountain. They headed towards the west side of the park. I quickly got up to see if I could catch up with her, but by the time I made it through a crowd of people she was gone. I only hoped I could see her again. I hoped she was going to be at my school the next day. As luck would have it, she was and she was accompanied by my adopted sister, Detia.

(Trizana)
My first day at Fountain Hill Academy was pretty difficult. I could barely speak Mua and the little I did know came out with a very thick accent. It's a good thing I met Detia. She's such a good friend. She helped me out a lot that day. She was learning Mua too so she understood what I was going through. As we headed to the cafeteria for lunch, we crossed paths with a handsome boy with red orange hair. He was talking to three berry skinned girls at the time.

{{That's my adopted brother, Jodan. And those girls are his girlfriends,}} Detia signed to me.

{{He has three girlfriends?}}

{{Well, the one on the end is Sirobo's girlfriend, but I doubt that will last the way she's acting toward Jodan.}}

The boy then looked straight at me and Detia and started to head in our direction. I thought he was very cute, with his little J-shaped curl in the middle of his forehead. I noticed those three girls were giving us nasty looks too.

{{What's with them why are they looking at us like that, Trizana?}}

I hung my head a bit as I began to sign a reply. {{It's because I'm a Wua and you’re a hybrid.}}

{{It's probably because you've got the attention of Jo.}} Detia signed back with a grin.

{Hello, cheri beri, I'm Jodan.}

I barely knew what Jodan said. {{I can't understand you. I don't know much Mua. Could you please sign for now?}}

Jodan resigned his greeting. I blushed, no one had called me a cheri beri before. Only Detia notice the berry girls' expression get nastier.

(Meera)
Now, I didn't mind Jo talking to his new sister. She was ok. I mean our favorite cousin is half-human. But what was he doing talking to that dirty little Wua girl? And Jo had a lot of nerve walking off in the middle of our conversation. What's even worse, he walked right passed us still flirting with that girl right into the cafeteria. Sheesta, DaeDae and I were really pissed off then.

{Girls, looks like we had a foreign invasion taking place. Let's go let her know Hasau girls always get what they want, and they plan on keeping it too!}

(Jodan)
When I asked the dark beauty what her name was, she answered me back in what little Mua she did know.

{Mah name ees Trizanah.} Whoa! That accent sounded so...sexy! I asked her to repeat her name again just so I could hear it again.

{Trizanah. Trizanah Bernuf.}

As I tried to get her to talk some more, I saw something white fly through the air and land right in Trizana's beautiful hair. As I picked it out, I looked at the table behind us. My girls were sitting there glaring at me. I saw Sheesta pick up a piece of napkin to get ready to throw it, but I gave her a warning glance. I then sat sideways on the bench so I could watch the Hasau girls and talk to Trizana at the same time. In spite of my watching her, Sheesta threw another piece of napkin at Trizana. That's when the real trouble started, because Detia got up and went over to the other table. I was afraid of what she was going to do.

(Detia)
Those skanks had a lot of nerve bothering my friend. I got up and went over to Sheesta and grabbed her wrist and squeezed. That caused her to drop the rolled up piece of napkin. DaeDae then got up to get up in my face.

{You can't do that to my sister!} I pushed her back down on the bench.

{Sit!} That's when Meera had to get her mouth in it. Man, for someone who always had something in it, she sure could run her mouth. Meera started cursing me out. I was about to pop her in the mouth when Jo got between us. Meera started getting loud, so everybody else in the cafeteria started looking over at us. The Skanks' older cousin, Cherri even came over there. She was holding Meera back while Jo held me back. Finally, Lady Tiboo, the Language and Math teacher, came and broke up the fight.

{Detia Valentine Meglouse and Meera Hasau- to the principal’s office, now!}

Oh man, were we in trouble! I hadn't even been there a month and I was already headed to the principal's office.
I slumped down in a chair in front of Lady Gast and Meera sat next to me with her lips poked out.

{Now, girls, what seems to be the problem here? Detia, you first.}

{She was bothering my friend, that's what!}

{Meera?}

{I wasn't doing anything to her friend! She hurt my cousin's wrist, though!}

{Cuz she was throwing stuff at my friend!}

{Alright, that's enough! You two are suspended for the rest of the day. I'm going to contact your parents and have you two sent home.}

Aw man! I just got here form Earth and I'm already in trouble! What will Lsa and Makel think? Lsa taught dance at the school so Lady Gast had her paged to the office. Master Gafad took over the class and Lsa took me home. She didn't look too happy.

(Meera)
Aunty Kuli couldn't leave her therapy session, so Uncle Upong came to pick me up. He works at the Anti-Gravity Room at night so it was no problem.

{Hey, Meera, hear you got in a fight. What's going on?}

{This new girl hurt Sheesta's wrist so I got up to do something about that.}

{Who is this new girl?}

{Jodan's adopted sister, Detia.}

{Your boyfriend's sister? Why did she hurt Sheesta?}

{Uncle, I really don't want to talk about it right now.}

{Alright,} he sighed.

(Jodan)
After school I had a little talk with the Hasau girls.

{What did you guys think you were doing harassing Trizana like that?}

{What did you think you were doing walking off and leaving us so you could talk to the dirty little Wua?} Meera yelled back.

{Don't call her that!}

{She looks like she's covered with coal dust.}

{That's it! I want you guys to leave her alone, ok? I really like her and want to get to know her better.}

{What about us?}

{What? You think I'm just going to forget about you guys? Get real! We have way too much fun together.}

{Well, ok. Do what you want as long as we come first. But if it even so much looks like you're going to leave us for her, there will be trouble.}

{Is that a threat?}

{That's a promise.}

Things calmed down for a while until the following cycle when we spent a day at Mirror lake with our friends and siblings. That's when things really got ugly.

(Trizana)
One day I was hanging out at Mirror Lake with my friends. Detia and I had become best friends since the cycle before. We were just about inseparable. Detia's boyfriend, Col, and the Meglouse Quads were also there. The Hasau girls were there too watching me very closely. For most of the day Jodan was flirting really hard with me, but I told him I wasn't interested. It's not that I wasn't attracted to him. Like his name, he is very handsome. It's just that I had never had a boyfriend before and I certainly didn't want to share my first one. Jodan didn't seem to be giving up though. I was sitting in the suns by the shore listening to the radio when I felt a shadow blocking the suns. I looked up and saw the Hasau girls standing over me.

{Whaht do you want? You ah blocking the suns.}

{Well, that's just too bad, isn't it?} Meera sneered.

As I began to stand up, those girls surrounded me. I pushed through them so I could get away.

{Leave me ahlone!} Then they began to mock me, making fun of my foreign accent. As I backed away, I saw Meera bend over and pick up a handful of mud. Her cousins followed suit. That's when I called my best friend, Detia, for help.

Detia followed by Sirobo AND Jodan came just in time, those three had me covered in mud! Soon the tables were turned the "Skank Train,” as Detia called them, were retreating.

After things settled down Jodan helped me clean up. He said he was going to be faithful to me. I wasn't sure though.  That trio of temptresses wasn’t going to give up easily.

(Jodan)
Boy, Trizana sure knew how to play hard to get! I was glad when she said we could become a couple. I got to kiss her for the first time that day. For someone who had never been kissed before she sure seemed to know what she was doing! The following weekend my sibling and I had our tenth birthday party. Meera and her cousins tried to crash the party, but I let Mahda and Pahda know they were uninvited because of what they did to Triz. Marana gave us some very nice gifts. She gave me a brand new sketch book and a set of pens. I sketch some of the party guests. My favorite subject was Trizana, of course. The next day we were supposed to have our first official date. I was going to get to meet her Uncle. I heard he was kind of mean, but I figured that was just a rumor.

Our first date was set in the afternoon. I wanted to make sure I got to spend as much time as I could with my dark beauty. I also hoped I could get lucky that evening. I just had to get my hands on that soft, velvety skin and look into those big brown eyes. Triz told me her favorite color is pink, so I brought a little pink niku doll with me. I stepped on the porch and rang the door chime. I got kind of nervous when a stern looking Wua man opened the door.

Trizana's Uncle looked me up and down for a second. I smiled at him nervously. He frowned. Not a good sign. He turned his head and shouted something in Wua. Trizana answered from another room. After a few moments, she came down to meet me.

(Trizana)
I had a nice time with my new handsome boyfriend. We went to the movies. He was so polite. With his reputation I kind of expected him to cop a feel or something, but he just held my hand. For some reason my Uncle Rahj didn't seem to like Jodan that much. He thought Jo was full of himself and only after one thing. I didn't think that of Jo. As for my body, I was willing to give myself to him when I felt the time was right. I had never been with a boy before so I wanted to make sure our relationship was about love, not just lust. After about two months I felt I was ready.

About that time, Marana found out she was pregnant. It didn't seem to bother her that she was going to have to give up being the dance troupe captain until the baby came. Detia didn't like me to mention Rana's pregnancy though. I wondered why. I thought maybe it had to do with how she was raised on Earth. I'm told humans frown upon babies being conceived out of wedlock.

After much begging, Uncle Rahj finally gave me permission to spend the night at the Meglouse house.

*Are you sure you're ready for something like this, darling?*

*Yes, Uncle, I feel I'm ready. Why do you ask?*

*I don't trust that boy. I've been talking to your teachers about him, and I'm told he has player status at your school. I'm thinking he may be seeing other girls on the side.*

*Uncle Rahj, how could you say such a thing to me? You know you shouldn't go by rumors!*

*Listen, Trizana, I'll be watching that Jodan very closely. I don't like him and I definitely don't trust him.*

Jodan and I had lots of fun that evening. We had dinner with the family and played holovid games on Mikel's game system. Jodan and I were to spend the night downstairs in Lady Tamla's old bedroom, which was converted into a guest room. When it was time for bed, he took me by the hand and led me downstairs. I felt excited and scared. Jodan knew I was a virgin, so he tried his best to ease my tension. The guest room looked so nice! It had a canopy bed with curtains. Very romantic. When we sat on the side of the bed, Jo put his arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear.

{Triz, are you sure you're ready for this?}

{Yes, Ah'm ready.}

{If you want me to stop, just let me know and I will stop.}

{Ok.}

It was so sweet of Jo to make sure I was ready. And Uncle Rahj thought he was a jerk.

(Jodan)
That night I spent with Trizana was so awesome! She felt so soft, smelled so sweet, and sounded so sexy. She had completely captured my heart. I did something that night that I had never done before in my life. I told Trizana I loved her. She's the only female I had ever said that to besides my mahda and my sisters. I realized for the first time in my life I was actually in love. That made me excited, happy, and scared. My ego was having a hard time with my being in love. That part of me wanted to be with any female anytime. I mean I was known as Jodan Meglouse, Master Player at school. It was a struggle, but I began to wean myself of the Hasau girls. They weren't too happy about that. My player's ego kicked in overtime when spring vacation finally arrived. Triz told me she was going to Wua country to visit family so we wouldn't see each other for about two weeks. While she was gone, I did something I seriously regretted later. I couldn't hold out on my lust until Triz got back, so I paid Meera a little secret visit one night. She promised it would be our little secret, but I got the feeling I shouldn't trust her. Unfortunately I also became careless. I forgot my pager in Meera's room. Boy, did I ever panic when I realized it was missing! I hoped Meera would get it back to me before Triz found out.

(Sheesta)
The morning of our first day of school after vacation, Meera came into the bathroom while I was cleaning and adjusting my tongue stud. She leaned her head on my shoulder and smiled.

{My, my, someone's looking quite satisfied this morning! What's going on, dear cousin?}

{Oh, nothing much, Sheesta. I just have a surprise planned for a dirty little Wua after school today.} She held a blue pager in front of my face. I recognized it as Jodan's.

{Hey, how did you get that?}

{That's me and Jo's little secret.}

{Wait a minute. Did he come over here a couple nights ago?}

Meera's grin let me know that was the case. {Aw, cuz, how could you leave me out of the fun?}

{Because he knew you would tell. Anyway, this pager is going to come in handy for "Operation Break-Up.” Time for a certain Wua girl to get her heart broken and get out of our lives.}

{Oooh, Meera, baby, you are so bad! Can I watch?}

{Sure, honey. Believe me, our revenge will be sweet!}

Hearing that from Meera made me so very happy. I just had to reward my sweet cousin with a kiss.

(Trizana)
After I got back from visiting my family, Jodan was acting kind of strange.

{Jodahn, why didn't you answer mah page three nights ago?}

{Umm, I lost my pager. Hopefully it'll turn up soon.}

It certainly did show up! In a way I didn't expect. After school I crossed paths with Meera and Sheesta. They both looked like they had just won a million credits or something. I knew something had gotten the excited.

{Hey, Trizanah,} Meera greeted, mocking my accent.

{Whaht do you want, Meerah?}

{Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to return Jodan's pager. He left it in my bed room the other night. Could you give it back to him for me?}

Meera then pulled out Jodan's blue pager and started to grin. I stood there in shock for a few seconds. Meera then took one of my hands and placed the pager in it.

{How...how did you get Jodahn's pager?}

{My goodness, if you can't figure that out, you're dumber than I thought!}

I felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me. I was angry, hurt, and humiliated. I went to find Jodan and confront him about this.

(Jodan)
When I met up with Triz after school that day, she looked pretty furious.

{Baby, what's wrong?}

{You know exactly whaht's wrong, you cheater!}

{Huh?!}

{Explain to me how this got in Meerah's bedroom!} I was shocked speechless when she pulled my pager out or her pocket. Oh, sh**! I started to panic and began to stammer. I couldn't think of any excuse for Meera having that pager. Trizana then threw the thing at me and started screaming at me in Wua. Next thing I knew she was running off sobbing. Damn it, I had really screwed up!

I ran all the way home crying. I couldn't see for all my tears as I fumbled with my key card. Uncle Rahj noticed I was at the door and let me in. He could see I was extremely upset.

*Trizana, what's wrong?* I was overcome with gut wrenching sobs. Uncle put his arms around me trying to comfort me. He sat me down on the couch and asked me again what was wrong. I was finally able to tell him what happened. Now my Uncle was really upset. He got up and picked up the phone.

*Uncle, who are you calling?*

*That red-headed jerk, that's who! I'm going to give that @#%$ a piece of my mind!*

I went straight home and thankfully no one was around. I sat on the couch and looked at the cause of my trouble. Maybe this wasn't my pager. Maybe Meera bought one and said it was mine. No matter what the case I had to make up with my dark beauty, somehow. RING! RING! The video phone? Who could it be?

I thought maybe it was Triz, but when I got on the line I heard an angry male voice on the other end. It was Trizana's Uncle Rahj. And boy was he mad! He was yelling at me and cursing me out.

{Listen, boy! Ah don't want you coming anywhere near my niece, you hear me?! If Ah catch you anywhere near her, AH'll hang you by your-} I don't even want to say what body part he wanted to hang me by. After he was finished with his tirade, he hung up. It felt like my ear was burning from all his yelling and screaming and cursing. My day had gone from bad to worse.

(Detia)
Triz, WuWu and I were supposed to hang out after school but we couldn't find her. When I asked Jo if he'd seen her he told me she went home. I wondered why she did that when she knew we were supposed to go skating after school. I also wondered why Jodan looked so upset. When we got home from school I gave Triz a call to find out what was up. Her uncle answered the phone and he sounded like he was really mad about something.

{May I speak to Trizana?}

{Who ees this?}

{This is Detia.}

{Oh, ok. Just a moment.}

A few seconds later Triz picked up. She sounded awful, like she had been crying.

{Triz, why you soundin' like that, girl? You cryin'?}

{Yes.}

{Why?}

{Jodan and I broke up...}

{What?! Why?} Triz didn't say anything in reply. I asked her again but she said she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

{Are you gonna be ok?}

{Yeah, Ah'll be alright.}

Not wanting to upset her any further, I moved on to a different subject. Later in the conversation, Triz told me something that got ME a little upset.

{DeeDee, Ah just found out thaht Uncle Rahj and Ah are moving back to Wua country soon.}

{What? When?}

{In a couple weeks.}

{Oh, girl, don't tell me that! What am I gonna do without my best friend?}

{Ah'll still keep in touch.}

{Oh, Triz, I'm gonna miss you so much! Now I feel like crying!}
 

(Trizana)
When moving day arrived, Detia, Wufa Mi, and Marana showed up to bid me farewell. They brought me little going away gifts. While my uncle oversaw the packing process, I laughed and talked with my friends. Out of the corner of my eye I could see someone coming up the sidewalk. It was Jodan, and he had something big and green in his arms. When he got close enough I realized it was a stuffed tree bear doll. There was a sudden uncomfortable silence when my friends kind of stood aside as Jodan walked up to me. For a few moments I looked at him and he looked back at me. He finally spoke.

{I got this for you. I hope you like it.} He handed the stuffed animal to me.

{Thahnk you.} He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else but nothing came out. My friends then moved a little distance away. I guess they wanted to give us some privacy.

{Looks like you 'ave something else to say. Go ahead ahnd say it now, cuz we're leaving soon.}

(Jodan)
There was so much I wanted to say to Trizana. I wanted to tell her how much I love her, that I was so sorry for hurting her, to beg her forgiveness. I wanted to kiss her and hold her one last time. I was getting kind of choked up but I was finally able to say something.

{Triz...you have a safe trip, ok?} Have a safe trip?! Man, I felt like such a jerk saying just that when I felt so much more. Triz reached out and held one of my hands ever so gently.

{Goodbye, Jodahn.} She then waved goodbye to the girls. She hugged Detia goodbye. DeeDee was trying to hold back her tears, but to no avail. She gathered up the tree bear I gave her and got into the car. Within minutes, she and her uncle were headed for the airport. The girls headed back home.

{Hey, Jo, you coming?} WuWu asked.

{I'll catch up with you guys later.}

When the others were a safe distance, I burst into tears.

(Trizana)
Soon, I was back in Wua country, my beautiful homeland. That is where I fit in. No one makes fun of my accent or calls me a "dirty little Wua." I would have been very happy to be back if it wasn't for the emptiness I felt in my heart. I didn't tell anyone, but I missed Jodan. Uncle Rahj was so glad I left him, but I was so miserable. My cousin, Sulhi, suggested I start seeing other guys to help me get over him. It didn't work. When I turned thirteen I had my second growth spurt. I blossomed in so many ways. That really got the boys' attention. There was a problem though. I was desiring a relationship while the boys just wanted to play. I decided then to stop dating altogether and focus on taking care of my uncle.

When I was seventeen, I was tired of missing Jodan, dreaming of him every night, and day dreaming about him all day. I decided to write Jodan a letter letting him know how I feel. I didn't expect him to write back or anything, but I felt I had to express myself somehow. That evening I wrote the letter. I made sure I was the one who put the mail out the next morning. I didn't want Uncle Rahj to see it. Then I waited. I waited for a whole week to see if he would reply. To my surprise, he did.

(Jodan)
After Triz moved away, things got pretty crazy. First, Mik and Rana's baby, Thelia, died. Rana cut most of her waist length hair off as a sign of mourning and loss. A couple cycles later, Mik shocked us all when he married Detia. He was then given the decisions of marrying Rana and exile. He chose exile. That's when I think my life really started going down hill. I got so depressed over all that was happening. I tried to find comfort in wine and women. The Hasau girls became my party partners. We spent quite a few nights either getting drunk out of our minds or having kinky parties. I was headed for destruction.

One night I was partying hard at Meera's house. I vaguely remember what happened that night because I was awfully drunk. I think I wandered over to Rana's house to see if she had some food. The Hasau girls caught up with me a little later. I remember heading towards them when I heard Rana yell, {watch out!} After that, everything went black. When I finally woke up, the first face I saw was my mahda's. Meera was there too on the other side of the bed. I didn't know where I was or what happened to me. Meera told me I was hit by a car. I also found out that I had been in a coma for three days. I had to recuperate in the hospital for a couple weeks. I was in pretty bad shape. During that time I took a good hard look at where my life was headed. I didn't like what I saw. I decided it was time for me to give up the wild life. I also started thinking about settling down and starting a family. As far as a mate, I didn't have much to choose from.

After I came home from the hospital, I gave up the wild life. I stopped seeing Sheesta and DaeDae. The only one who seemed like she was serious about having a relationship was Meera. I even got to the point of buying a promise stone for her. Someone must have seen me buying it because the rumor got around somehow.

One day I went over to my parents' house to visit my niece, Camiel. She was about three cycles at the time. Detia had some interesting news for me. She told me that she had gotten a letter from Trizana.

{I haven't heard from her in a while. Oh, and she wrote you a letter too. Here.}

I was a bit surprised. I really didn't expect a letter from Triz after what happened between us. I went out on the back porch to read the letter in private.

That letter from Triz changed my life forever! She told me she still loved me even after all those cycles had passed, and in spite of our very dramatic break-up. I saw this as my opportunity to get back with the only female I truly loved. I hurried back to my place to write a letter in reply. But before I did that, I decided to break it off with Meera. She was none too pleased when I told her I was letting her go.

(Meera)
I couldn't believe Jodan was breaking up with me! I was there for him during his entire recovery. A friend of mine even saw him buying my promise stone at the jewelry store where she works. Now all of a sudden he wants to break up. I smelled a dirty little Wua. I didn't know how, but I had a feeling that somehow she managed to come between me and my man again. As far as I knew, she hadn't moved back to Mua country, but I kept my eyes and ears open.

The weeks past and still no sign of that black man stealer. But, an interesting piece of information came to my attention. I heard that before we broke up Detia AND Jodan received letters from Wua country. They had to be from Trizana... she was getting her hooks in him long distance!

(Trizana)
Jodan and I wrote each other back and forth for several months. He even called me on the phone once. His voice was a little deeper, but I could still tell it was my handsome Jo. It was nice to hear his voice, but I really wanted to see him face to face.

One day I got a letter from Jo telling me that he was coming to my country to visit for his eighteenth birthday. I was so excited! He said he would be staying at the Altus View Hotel, which happened to be the very hotel where my cousin Sulhi works. Jo and I made arrangements to meet in the hotel restaurant at 6 PM the day of his arrival. Sulhi said she would make sure she was our hostess.

Before Sulhi left for work, she saw me getting ready for my date.

*Wow, Triz, you look great! And I really like your hair. I think you look better with it short. It's cute.*

*You really think so? Thanks, Sulhi.*

*Does Uncle Rahj know who you're going to meet?*

*Yeah...*

*What did he say?*

*Nothing, he just scowled.*

*Yep, that sounds like Uncle Rahj, all right!* Sulhi giggled.

After my cousin left for work, I finished getting ready for my man. I planned on making this a birthday weekend he would never forget!

(Jodan)
The evening of my arrival in Wua country I made sure to be at the Altus View Restaurant at 6 PM sharp. Unfortunately Triz was late. My heart was pounding. I was kind of nervous, worried, and anxious. I had also given up all other females since I got Trizana's first letter, so I was also quite tense. At 6:15, I saw her. She was talking to her cousin. She looked like she was a little upset about something. Finally she headed for the table. The weird thing was that she walked right passed me and headed towards the restrooms without saying a word. I thought that was odd, so I got up and followed her. Boy did she look different from the last time I saw her! She was a lot curvier, a little taller, her hair was shorter, and certain parts of her had uh blossomed. I caught up with her at the water fountain getting a drink. When she stood up straight she looked right at me with those big, beautiful, brown eyes. She was absolutely breathtaking.

Trizana then put her right hand on her hip and began to fan herself.

{Whew! Sorry Ah'm late. Ah'm awt of breath from rushing ovah here. Ah hope Ah didn't keep you waiting too long.}

{You're forgiven, mostly because of that dress.} She began to laugh that cute, bubbly laugh of hers. Then she hugged me. That accent, that dress, that laugh, and that hug just about put me over the edge. I just had to kiss her. We must have gotten lost in that kiss for a while because we noticed Sulhi standing behind us with her arms folded smiling at us.

{Uh, Triz I think you're cousin's ready to serve us now. We'd better head for the table.} So far, the evening was going very well. And that was just the beginning.

(Trizana)
After Sulhi got up to our table and we ordered our drinks I took another good look at Jodan. I was glad this was happening... He had seen that the other girls, three in particular, were just as fast as he was at the time. I knew his mind had matured when I read his letters and heard his voice over the phone. Now we were face to face and I could look at him with loving eyes as he looked at me with his.

After dinner, we went to dance in the lounge. Koyah was performing there. I thought it was a bit ironic that they were singing "Gotta Make Sure," a song about a couple that gets back together after a dramatic break-up. They were singing it in Wua so I translated for Jodan.

{Hey, what did they do, spy on our lives and make a song out of it?}

{Seems like it doesn't it, Jodahn?} He then held me close and whispered in my ear.

{I'm glad we got back together, my dark beauty.}

{Me too,} I whimpered back.

(Jodan)
After dinner and dancing, Triz stayed with me overnight. We didn't get much sleep that night, I tell ya. We had a lot of catching up to do, so to speak. Trizana showed me that she had also matured a lot since the last time I saw her. That little Wua girl had blossomed into a very sophisticated, sexy Wua woman.

Triz and I spent most of that weekend in the hotel room, but I did get see Altus City. We rode a ferry across the canal, which is huge! Triz also took me to a museum, which I found interesting. She said she looks forward to seeing some of my work being displayed there. That made me blush. I was close to becoming a Master Artist, but I was nowhere near the level of the Masters displayed in the gallery. I had such a great time with Triz that I didn't want it to end. I knew the next day I would be leaving, so I asked her if she would like to come back with me. She looked at me as if I had asked her a bad question.

(Trizana)
Even though I really did want to go back with Jo, I knew I couldn't. Uncle Rahj needed me. Sulhi was moving to Altus City to live with her betrothed and be closer to work. Rahj is my great uncle. My mahda's uncle to be precise. His entawan had passed away quite some time ago. Sulhi and I were the only ones taking care of him. Jodan looked so very disappointed when I turned down his offer. I reassured him that if I could, I would return with him. I stayed with Jodan the night before he was to return to Mua country. I helped him pack the gifts I had given him. I tried not to cry when I saw him off at the airport, but it was hard not to. I had no idea how long it would be before I saw him again.

(Meera)
I gave Jodan a call the weekend of his birthday. There was no answer. I went by his parents house to see if he was there. They told me he went out of town. I was hoping he hadn't gone where I thought he went. I left his birthday presents with his parents. A couple days later, Jo called me up. He said he needed to talk to me. Boy was I glad to hear that! I thought he had changed his mind about breaking up with me and wanted to get back together. When I finally did meet up with him, I found out I had made the wrong assumption.

He told me he wanted to meet me at Mirror Lake. I came and found Jodan standing near the shore. He looked like something was troubling him. When he saw I was wearing my promise stone his turned towards the lake. That's when I knew for certain he'd gone to see the dirty little lump of coal in Wua country!

(Jodan)
{So, how was your birthday weekend,} Meera asked.

{It was nice.}

{Yeah, I bet...So, what did you call me here for anyway?}

I picked up the bag of gifts I had sitting on a tree stump.

{Meera, I gotta give these gifts back. I can't accept them.}

{And why not, pray tell?}

{Well...I don't think my girlfriend would like me getting a pair of cuffs, a blind fold, and some silk boxers from another woman.}

{Girlfriend? What girlfriend?}

{Trizana of course.}

Meera's jaw dropped. Then she looked furious.

{You mean to tell me after all we've been through you went back to her? After I was by your side the whole time you were in the hospital?! After you gave me this?} She held the promise stone up from her neck. {What do you see in her? What's she got that I don't?}

{My heart.}

That's when Meera got really quiet. Meera being quiet is a rare thing, so she must have been surprised by what I said.

{Listen, Meera. I really do appreciate all you've done for me. But I have to follow my heart, and it's led me back to Trizana. Look, you're a beautiful woman and you have a lot going for you. I'm sure you'll meet somebody who'll love you like I love Triz.}

Meera had this completely defeated look on her face. I'd never seen her so disappointed. I didn't want to hurt her and I was being as kind as I could. Before she turned away from me, I could have sworn I saw tears in her eyes.

{Ok, Jo, I get the point. You have a nice life,} she said as she walked away from the lake and out of my life.

(Sirobo)
Ever since Mikel married Detia, things got really strange around here. Jodan stopped dating and both Marana and Detia had children by Mikel. I was having my own personal struggle. I dumped DaeDae after I found out that she and the other Hasau girls had made a pact to seduce me and my brothers. I was very disappointed in her. I really thought I meant more to her than that. I was also struggling with my feelings for Marana. I had a crush on her for many cycles but I never revealed how I felt out of respect for my brother. When he left her for Detia, I could see how hurt Rana was. I wished I could comfort her. I would have told her how I felt about her if she hadn't been so determined to get Mikel back. I hoped that maybe I could get a chance with her. She's so beautiful. I love watching her dance. Unfortunately, I didn't even know if she was even attracted to me.

(Trizana)
Uncle Rahj and I moved back to Mua country the day of Jodan's Eldership Ceremony. Unfortunately I was unable to attend because we were too busy getting settled in. My uncle sent me out to run some errands later on that day. When I came back later, I saw Uncle Rahj on the side of the road looking distressed. I got out of the utility van and went to see what was the matter.

*Uncle, what happened?*

*Some crazy Mua woman forced me out of the house. From a distance it looked like she took a body into the cabin with her.*

I could see my uncle had a lump on his forehead. He told me it happened when the woman pushed him down. It appeared to me that I was going to have to get rid of this intruder who had injured my beloved uncle. I went to the utility van and got out a sonic shovel and headed for our cabin.

*Uncle, you stay here until I get back. I'll take care of this!*

When I got to the cabin I busted the door open wielding the sonic shovel. I saw a Mua man with a syringe in his hand. he was standing over a Mua woman who was gagged and tied to the bed.

{Nobody messes with my uncle!} I shouted, firing up my makeshift weapon. The Mua man cried out and his body seemed to lose its shape. He finally took the form of some strange looking yellow creature. It was the most bizarre sight!

(Detia)
My savior chased Molecu-Lar out of the cabin, firing at him all the way. She came back after he had been sufficiently chased off. As she untied me I got a good look at her face. She looked so familiar. After I explained about the mobster she introduced herself as 'Trizana'. My friend Triz had come back!

(Jodan)
My brothers and I were really worried about Detia. She had disappeared from the Eldership Ceremony. Mikel told us she might be in danger because of someone called Molecu-Lar. Sirobo, Mikel and I headed to the quarry. We figured a kidnapper might take her to one of the caves near the mining community. On the way we met up with an elderly Wua. As Mik spoke to him, he kept giving me strange looks. After a few moments I realized it was Trizana's Uncle Rahj, but I didn't say anything. As far as I knew he still couldn't stand me. He gave us some pretty interesting information about a strange Mua woman taking over his home and bringing a body inside with her.

{Mah cabin ees just ovah the hill. It's the second one from the left.}

Mikel urged us to hurry to the cabin. When we got to the top of the hill we could see Triz chasing some weird yellow guy with a sonic shovel. It was kinda funny so I started to laugh, but Mik gave me a look that made me stop. We headed down to see if Detia was there and unharmed.

(Trizana)
Detia and I were so glad to see each other! We were so busy laughing and talking that we didn't notice someone come in the door. Detia finally realized someone else had come in. Jodan, Mikel and Sirobo were standing behind us. Detia ran over to them.

{Mikel, Trizana has returned! And she saved my life!}

Jodan's brothers greeted me and Jodan kissed me on the cheek. Detia and Mikel then went over and sat on Uncle Rahj's bed. I think he was checking her for injuries. When Detia got really upset about something, Mikel sat next to her and held her close. Then he started kissing her, not like a brother would kiss his sister, but like they were lovers! This day was just getting stranger and stranger!

(Jodan)
Everyone realized that no one had told Triz about Mik and Detia getting married. Before I could explain things to my girlfriend, Detia blurted out that she had been raped by that guy Molecu-Lar. After hearing that, Mikel completely lost it. It was a scary thing to watch!

(Trizana)
It took both Sirobo and Jodan to calm Mikel down. Soon their pahda contacted them on the walkie talkie. I overheard him tell Mikel that he had some kind of message waiting for him at their parents' house. I offered them all a ride back so they wouldn't have to walk back in the dark. By that time, Uncle Rahj had returned to the cabin.

*Uncle, I'm giving them a ride home. I'll be back soon.*

It was a very quiet ride. Detia was unusually quiet. I could understand why after what she said happened to her. I could also understand why Mikel looked so furious. What I didn't understand was why my best friend never told me about her marriage. I mean what did she think I was going to do? Not be friends with her anymore? I got another surprise when we got to the Meglouse's house. I saw Detia and Mikel's little girl, Camiel. She was so cute! I was also told Marana and Mik's first child died but they had a son together later on. So many surprises! My head was spinning trying to process all of this information.

(Sirobo)
During Mikel's visit even more weird events began to unfold. It was discovered later on that Marana and Lady Pijol had put a hit out on Detia. After that it was quite clear that Mahda and Pijol were no longer good friends. She had knocked Pijol out with a left hook after Rana's mahda said some pretty nasty things about Detia.

I was shocked that sweet Rana would stoop so low. I knew she was angry with Detia for marrying Mik, but I would have never thought she would try to have my sister killed. I truly believed that she had to be influenced by her mahda. Marana and Pijol disappeared for a while until one particular evening when Jodan and I were guarding our parents house from possible intruders. Molecu-Lar was still on the loose and a threat to Detia so we were all on alert. I was surprised when Rana showed up begging me to let her get Pidro from within the house. She looked so beautiful in spite of her pitiful expression and her tears. I could have alerted Jodan and held her until the police came to arrest her, but I decided to let her get away.

(Marana)
How strange. Sirobo could have easily captured me and called his brother to have me arrested, but he let me go.  I was grateful that he did, but I still wondered why. I had hoped that maybe he would bring Pidro to me. I had to get him out of there before Mon*Star arrived to destroy the entire Meglouse family. Mahda had already left for Tch country to meet up with her lover, Lord Tkkla. I stayed behind to see if I could get Pidro. When Sirobo made it clear that he wouldn't bring my precious son to me, I put my head covering back on and hid in the garden maze. I slept there until I was awakened by the sound of alarms. It was an invasion alert! Mon*Star was on his way or he was already here. With my head and face still covered, I fled down into the massive underground shelter. I hoped that somehow I would be able to get Pidro back...and maybe thank Sirobo for letting me escape the night before.

(Sirobo)
The evacuation went smoothly thanks to the help of my brother, Mikel, his human friend, and my pahda. Soon all three communities from Three Points County were safely underground out of Mon*Star's reach. Unfortunately, an intruder had made his way down in the form of Detia's deceased mahda. While Detia and the children were watching Cherri Berri's concert, Molecu-Lar attacked. His intended target was Detia but he hit little Pidro instead! When the medic came to take Pidro to the emergency room, I was going to follow my brother there to see about him. On my way to catch up with them, a woman with a head covering grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

When I got a good look at the person who grabbed me, I realized it was Marana.

{Lady Marana, what are you doing here? What if one of the officers recognizes you?}

{I don't care, Sirobo! I need to get to my son! Please bring him to me!}

{I can't. He's been taken to the emergency room.}

{What? What happened?}

{Molecu-Lar shot him.} Marana got this horrified look in her eyes. {Listen, I'll take you to him.}

{No, the security guards might recognize me. Can't you go get him for me?}

{Marana, I promise I won't let anything happen to you. You're Pidro's mahda. You have every right to see that he is all right.}

{Sirobo, why are you being so helpful towards me?}

That's when I got a bit tongue tied. I wanted so bad to tell her how I felt. Finally I took a deep breath and told her what I should have long ago.

(Marana)
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sirobo, one of the shyest boys on the planet, was telling me he loved me. He has since he first saw me. After everything that has happened, he's never stopped. Oh, Vasah, why didn't Mahda arrange my marriage to Sirobo instead of Mikel that day?

{Sirobo, I have a confession to make.} I told him. {I... I love you, too. I wanted to say something, but you know how traditional my family is.}

{I understand. Then why...}

{The hit was entirely my Mahda, I swear! She never liked Detia, all because she's a hybrid.} That was true; Mahda was known for her dislike of Mimian hybrids. {There's more you should know.} I continued. {Remember when you had an emergency check-up at the hospital shortly after Mikel was exiled?}

{Yes..}

{The doctor was someone hired by my Mahda's lover, Lord Tkkla. He... took a sperm sample from you and used it to impregnate me.}

{What are you saying, Marana?}

Vasah, this is hard! {What I'm trying to say is, Sirobo...Mikel isn't Pidro's Pahda; you are.}

{What... but the paternity test--}

{Was done in Hnn country using a sample of Mikel's hair. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't disobey her.}

{Where is she, Rana?}

{Out of the country. Sirobo, I have to get Pidro out of here! After we were exposed, Mahda became so upset that she upgraded her agreement with Mon*Star; everyone in your family is targeted now, including Pidro!}

{She'd kill her own grandson to get revenge..}

{Everyone in the Meglouse family, she said. I tried to make her spare Pidro, but she wouldn't hear of it! She said he was tainted by your family's blood.}

{By the gods... follow me. I'll take you to see Pidro. Mon*Star's up there now, and I have faith that Mikel's human friend and the Lightning Squadron can handle him.}

{I hope you're right, Sirobo. By the gods, I hope you're right.}

I secured my head covering and asked Sirobo to take me to Pidro's recovery room. As we walked through the halls I tried to cover my face a little more with my hand. Thankfully we didn't run into any of Sirobo's family.

In the recovery room I saw Pidro was already fixed up and lying on a gurney. I slowly walked over and kneeled down beside him. He saw me and a smile came on his sweet little face.

{Madah?} he squeaked weakly.

{Yes, I'm here.} I replied softly, trying not to lose myself. I didn't want to say it out loud, but, when Sirobo told me about Pidro Thelia, my first child, flash into my mind. After she died I didn't was any more children. When Pidro was born I saw him as more than a way to get Mikel back. I saw him as a second chance.

(Meera)
I was scared for my cousin, Cherri. Someone had opened fire during the free concert she was giving in the underground shelter.

{Cherri, who was that they took away in that ambulance?}

{Some little boy, Meera.}

{You don't think you were the target, do you? You know those purists don't like half-humans.}

{I don't think I was the target this time, cousin.}

I was so glad cousin Cherri was all right. Her son Jokar and her entawan Umi would be lost without her if anything ever happened to her. Umi was one of the reporters covering the unfolding events to be broadcast later on the news. Most people were watching the Lightning Squadron's battle with the infamous Mon*Star on the many huge screens set up around the shelter. As I made my way over to one of them to watch the battle, I saw them. Jodan and Trizana holding hands and watching the screen. I suddenly got so angry when I saw them. Some time had passed since Jo and I had broken up and I thought I was over him. Apparently, the deeper feelings were still there.

(Trizana)
While Jodan and I watched the battle with Mon*Star, I noticed someone looking our way out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see Meera staring at us hard. I guess she realized that I saw her because she turned away after a few moments.

The battle looked like it was going Mon*star's way until Bani got him with a surprise attack that knocked him off his steed. The giant space squid turned tail and began to make its escape. Mon*Star followed, but not before he put Lt. Situ's ship out of commission. The Elite pilot had to eject. Mikel's human friend roped her in. Everyone began to cheer. The Elite Lightning Squadron and the SilverHawk had successfully defended our precious planet from the monstrous invader!

(Makel)
After Mon*Star was defeated, my family gathered in our undergound quarters. Mikel and Detia had returned from the hospital with my grandson. He had his arm in a sling and he was a little upset. He kept saying that he wanted his mahda. Mikel let us all know that he had turned Marana over to the police, but Sirobo had gone to bail her out. Lsa and I were shocked when Mik told us that Bo planned on marrying Marana, even after she helped Pijol put that hit on Detia. Apparently, my son had hidden his feeling for her very well because we had no idea he felt that way about her. Mikel's visit had brought to light so many long kept secrets. I was hoping to hear some good news for a change!

(Jodan)
Soon, everything was back to normal...somewhat. Not long after Mon*Star was defeated, Sirobo contacted us to let us know that Marana was setting her mahda up for a fall in exchange for her own freedom. Apparently someone had leaked the information to the press because not long after Lady Pijol was arrested, just about every reporter was outside of the Ritua residence waiting to get a statement from her. Triz and I watched the whole thing at my place. Boy did Pijol look pissed! She even spit in poor Umi Hasau's face! Pijol knew he was married to Cherri Berri, who's half-human, and we all know how she felt about Mimian hybrids.

(Trizana)
After Jodan turned off the news broadcast, I noticed that he was acting kind of funny. He kept nervously patting his pocket with one of his hands. I struck up a conversation with him about Mikel and Detia's family. He didn't say much. He just kept agreeing with everything I said. When he reached into his pocket and got down on his knees in front of me I pretty much knew what was coming. My handsome Jo was proposing.

My breath caught in my throat as Jodan sank to his knee. He paused, his eyelids flickering over his eyes, then he took a deep breath, and looked straight into my own eyes

"Trizana, you make me complete. I am never so happy as when I am with you, hearing your voice, seeing your face. I want to have these feelings for the rest of my life. Will you, my dear Trizana, take me as your husband, become my wife?"

He then opened his hand, and it was the most beautiful promise stone I had ever seen. My throat closed, my voice nonexistent. I swallowed several times, attempting to speak, as tears of joy welled in my eyes. We stared at each other for a moment, then Jordan’s shoulders began to slump. He opened his mouth to say something, and I threw myself into his arms, twining my arms about his neck.

He held me, rubbing my back, as I got myself back under control. He then pulled away slightly, looking into my eyes. "Triz?" he asked, as if his life hung in the balance.

"Yes, yes, Oh, yes!!!!" I said, laughing, crying, and shaking. He smiled then, and the sun had never shone so bright. Tears began to flow from his eyes then, as he fumbled to place the promise stone on me. We then hugged each other, laughing with tears flowing down our faces, until we were exhausted.

(WuWu)
I couldn't believe my brother, Jo, was getting married of all people! Sirobo, I could understand because he seems a little more settled than Jodan. But Jo, the Party Man? That meant three weddings were coming up in the next cycle or two. Sirobo and Marana planned on having a short and sweet one as soon as possible. A couple months later, Col Brima and I were tying the knot. Jo and Triz set their date for the following cycle. Mikel was to be the herald for Jodan and Detia was to be the herald for Trizana. Boy, Master Hajin was going to be a busy High Holy Elder for the next couple months!

(Mikel)
I was so honored when Jodan asked me to be his herald. We've always been quite close to one another, being identical twins. I was sorry that I couldn't attend WuWu and Bo's weddings. There was no way Stargazer would give me even more vacation time. It was hard enough getting a whole month!

I also got another pleasant surprise. Besides a brand new house on the home planet, Detia had received an assignment on Bedlama working closely with Governor Xander. He needed someone familiar with our particular dialect to translate the documents the Chitau was sending him about the MATI. Standard translators and translation devices were only programmed with Universal Language B, which I speak when in Limbo.

A couple weeks later I got another surprise. Detia was pregnant again! I was so excited! It turned out that the baby would arrive during Detia's time on Bedlama. Months later we found out it was a boy. We agreed to name him Valentino in honor of Jawan Valentine, Detia's pahda. And that still wasn't the end of the surprises! That was also the time when Camiel's gifts began to manifest. I saw my bubbly little chatterbox become a serious young lady over night. Master Hajin thought it was a good time to begin her training, but Detia wasn't too thrilled that Camiel would be taken back to the home planet before her work on Bedlama was done. Detia had never been separated from Camiel since the day she was born.

(Detia)
Soon after Valentino was born I headed back to the Planet of the Mimes with the baby. I wanted to be reunited with Camiel as soon as possible. I found out for whatever reason, her powers had gone dormant. Master Hajin couldn't even explain why that happened.

For the next few months I worked with Trizana and Wufa Mi with wedding plans. WuWu was making the clothing for the wedding party. My job was to basically help Triz keep from getting too stressed out by helping her run errands during the week. Everything was going ok until Sheesta McNasty decided to cause my best friend a little trouble.

One day WuWu, Triz and I were out shopping for materials for the wedding garments. Camiel was at her training session with Master Hajin and I had Valentino in his little stroller. Everything was pretty peaceful until we crossed paths with Sheesta on our way to the fabric store. She got up in Trizana's face and started talking trash.

{Hey, Wua, heard you and Jodan got engaged. Wonder what kind of tricks you turned to get him back?}

{You're a fine one to talk about somebody turning tricks, Sheesta McNasty!}

{It's Mocnoster! And who asked you anyway, Detia?}

{I don't care how you pronounce it, you're still nasty!}

{Me?! I'm not the one who married my own brother!} Oh, Vasah, she went there. That's when I pulled out all stops.

{Well, at least I don't do my own cousin, MISS LICKETY SPLIT!}

{What?!}

{You heard me! Everybody knows about your little nasty ways! They can even pick up a copy of your worst stuff at the video store!} I was right on target. Every one knew the Mocnoster brothers, whom Sheesta had married, were producers in the adult film industry.

{That's it! I'm gonna shut you up for good!} Then the bitch swung at me. I caught her fist, grabbed her by the collar, then tossed her into the fountain in the center of the mall. Sheesta had herself a fit! As Sheesta's entawan and pitawan came to her rescue, we went on our way to the fabric store. Unfortunately, that wasn't the last we saw of the Skank Train.

(Trizana)
I was very busy preparing for the wedding. I was so glad I had help from my friends Detia and Wufa Mi. The wedding garments looked wonderful! My sleeveless dress was white with gold highlights on the bodice. Detia's dress was pink. Jodan's garments were a deep, dark red: the color of passion flower leaves. His shirt was gold. Mikel's garment was the same color except his shirt was white. WuWu did an excellent job.

In spite of my excitement, I felt a bit sad. I hadn't heard from my pahda in a while. I was hoping he could attend our wedding. I had no way to contact him. I didn't even know if he was still in Mua country. Uncle Rahj told me not to worry about it, but I couldn't help it. This was one of the most important events in my life and I wanted pahda to be there.

(Jodan)
A couple days before the wedding, my brothers, my pahda, and Col all took me out to dinner. Sort of a guys' night out. We teased Col about how WuWu seems to be in charge of their relationship.

{Seems to me you don't mind my daughter telling you what to do all the time, cuz you never complain,} Pahda chuckled.

{Well at least she's got someone else in her life to boss around besides me for a change!} Mikel added.

{Speaking of pushy females, did Detia tell you what she did to Sheesta, Mik?}

{Yeah, she told me! Wish I could have been there to see it!}

(Trizana)
Jodan and I were to be married at Mirror Lake. Makel was providing the catering services, but not for free. He did give us a discount though. Uncle Rahj was going to play the processional on his flute. At first he said he didn't even want to attend the wedding. I guess when he saw how hurt I was that he said that, he changed his mind. Many of my relatives were coming from Wua country to attend. I hadn't heard anything from my pahda though. No one had seen any sign of him.

The day of the wedding, Wufa Mi and Detia helped me get ready. Detia made sure she had her string of gold bells. I was sort of in a daze. I had dreamed of getting married someday, but now the day had finally come. I was excited, nervous, and happy all at once. I wondered how Jodan was doing while preparing with Mikel.

(Jodan)
Today is my wedding day, and I am a mass of nerves. My stomach is flip-flopping and turning somersaults on me. I am really getting ready to marry my dark beauty. Will I be a good husband? What if I mess up? What if I make her cry? Am I ready for this? Is anyone? Thousands of thoughts and images flit through my brain, and a hundred feeling crowd my heart.

Some of my inner confusion must have shown on my face. Mikel came over and rubbed my back in silent sympathy. I felt my shoulders hard as rocks underneath his hand, and I took deep breaths, forcing myself to relax.

Finally, I make the final adjustments on my nuptial clothes, and breathed deeply

{Are you ready} Mikel asked

{No} I replied, {but I am not going to let that stop me}

Mikel smiled, and walked to the doorway of the room. I stepped in behind him, waiting for him to announce me to my guests and my bride, carrying me to my destiny, and the woman I love.

(Trizana)
Detia and I stood a distance off from the wedding audience. We were listening for the grooms herald to announce his arrival. Soon we heard Mikel ring his hand bells and cry out. That was Detia's cue to follow suit. My heart was pounding as I followed Detia down to the passion flower path to meet with my love. When we all finally made it to the beginning of the path, Detia placed my hand in Jodan's. He smiled at me. I smiled back. We both then made our way down the path to take our vows before Master Hajin.

As we knelt before the High Holy Elder, I saw a man over Jodan's shoulder leaning against one of the pavilion pillars. Oh, Vasah, it was my pahda! He had come after all! I can't express with words how happy I was to see him. I was looking forward to introducing Jodan to him after the ceremony.

After Master Hajin said the opening prayer, Jodan and I made our vows to one another. Jo seemed kind of nervous. His hands were shaking. In fact, after Mikel gave him my marriage bracelet, Jodan almost dropped it. Before long, Master Hajin was presenting us as entawans. I looked back over to where Pahda was standing and realized he was gone. I wondered why he couldn't stay. Well, at least he came to the wedding. I hoped I would be able to speak to him again soon.

(Meera)
I had read in the local paper when and where Jo's wedding would be. Sheesta and I were going to stir up some trouble, but Daeontia protested.

{Meera, you can't disrupt a sacred ceremony! You could bring the wrath of Vasah down on you!}

{I don't care! I want to get that dirty Wua back for what she's done to me!}

{Yeah, and while we're at it, I have some payback for Detia!}

{You two are crazy! I want nothing to do with this!}

{Fine! We don't need you to help anyway!}

Sheesta and I made our way over to Mirror Lake. The wedding was being held in Pavilion 4 on the west side of the park. I brought along a little holovid I wanted to share with Trizana. Before we broke up, Jo and I had made some pretty kinky movies, which I had disguised as a wedding present. As I was about to set the package in the pile of gifts, I looked over where Jodan and Trizana were. They were kneeling before the High Holy Elder. They looked so happy. I noticed the way Jodan was looking at his bride. He never looked at me that way before. I started to have second thoughts about my scheme.

My cousin noticed my hesitation.

{Come on! Hurry up and put it in the pile before someone sees us!}

{I...I can't.}

{What?!}

{I can't ruin this day for Jo. Look how happy he is.}

{But Trizana...}

{...is meant to be with Jodan. I realize that now. There's nothing I can do to get him back now. Can't you see he's totally in love with her?}

Sheesta looked at me as if I had completely lost my mind.

(Jodan)
I could have sworn I saw Meera in the pavilion as Triz and I walked back down the passion flower path. I figured I must have been mistaken. You can usually hear Meera before you saw her. She's known for making sure her presence is made known.

Soon everyone joined us at the outdoor reception. During the celebration, many of the wedding guests came over to congratulate us. I was surprised when Master Rahj came over and shook my hand.

{Vasah's blessings, Jodahn. May you ave much happiness in the cycles to come.}

{Why, thanks Master Rahj.} He must have noticed my look of surprise.

{Not used to me being friendly towards you, ah you? Well, Ah'll tell you this. Ah still don't like you thaht much, but Trizanah loves you. So, Ah'll show you respect, but don't expect much more thahn thaht.}

{Ummm...thanks, I think.}

Trizana told me she had seen her Pahda at the wedding but he had left before the end of the ceremony. It's too bad, because I really would have like to have met him. The reception was excellent! The food was great of course, because Pahda and his team of caterers prepared it. The party was closed out with the Tanta. Everyone knew Triz was ready to dance when she kicked off her shoes. When the drummers began to play and I took my love into my arms, I realized that this was a perfect moment. There was nothing more wonderful than dancing with my dark beauty. I'm so glad I got off the Skank Train.
 

The End

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