vandrophobia

The Finale at The Gala

If I wasn't sure that Alda had never met Tanya, I'd swear that they shared the same brain.

It started at dawn when a foghorn went off in my room.

"WAKEY WAKEY!" Jeff yells.

I shoot out of my bed, my eyes bloodshot, wondering why and how the Titanic hit my house.

"NO MORE TRAINING!" I scream.

Jeff tosses the foghorn and looks at me, puzzled.

"Training?" He grins. "No training. Time to get ready. Alda told me to get you at five."

I grab my blanket and pull it over my head. "I think she meant PM."

Jeff tries to pull the blanket out of my arms, but I hold on like a leech.

"No," he says trying to shake me off. "She specifically said AM."

"Why must you all insist on spending hours to get ready?" I groan.

Jeff starts pulling my blanket with both arms, but I remain latched on. When it's time for me to sleep…I WANT TO SLEEP!

"Well, I don't have to spend hours," Jeff says. "And you really need to let go."

"Noooo…" I grab onto my blanket tighter.

"LET GO!" Jeff yells pulling me off the bed with the blanket.

"NO!"

The door to my room suddenly flies open. Jeff drops the blanket and I sit up immediately. Standing there are my parents, eyes bulging.

"JEFFREY STARK," my mother says. "You are welcome any time in our house BEFORE eight! It's five in the morning!"

"And what the hell was that noise!" my father demands.

Jeff and I look at each other.

"Sorry!" I say.

"Sorry Mr. and Mrs. Treviso," Jeff says lowering his head.

My mother turns to me, livid.

"Lira! If Jeff wants to play right now, then GO! You don't need my permission anymore! Seriously! You two literally shared the same crib! GO!"

I stand up, not sure whether to really go or not. You know parents. They say one thing but they mean another. My dad holds up his hand.

"FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ON—"

Jeff and I fly out of the room like Sonic the Hedgehog.

When the Treviso's sleep…you let them sleep.

Period.

w w w

"Jeff! Lira!" Alda says in delight upon opening the door at Wintar's house.

"I'm going to sleep on the couch," Jeff mutters and Alda gestures to another room.

"Me too," I say nodding but Alda sticks her arm out.

"No!" Alda says. "You will come with me."

She pulls me by my arm and the moment I step inside I wonder if it is really five in the morning. Lights are on, there are hair dryers going off, make up is scattered everywhere, and dresses hanging from racks fill the room.

"Do you know Tanya?" I ask out of curiosity. "From my class?"

Alda shakes her head. "No. Why?"

I follow Alda up the stairs.

"I just get the feeling you two would get along very well."

Alda leads me into a bathroom. She hands me a towel and a bathrobe.