Friendship Part 4

The following is a work in progress and is subject to change at any time!

The Winter Holiday Season, 2003

I was still wondering about Katrina on Monday. Of course, Donohue noticed something was up, and called me on it.

“What’s going on? I know you aren’t hung over anymore.” She asked me over our regular Monday meal of lasagna.

I just shook my head. “I’m alright.”

“Have you seen Katrina since the party?”

I raised my eyebrow. “No. Have you?”

“No.” Donohue took a long swig from her chocolate milk carton, and I ate a few tasteless pieces of lasagna. “So what happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Did you two sleep in the same bed?” asked Donohue. Instead of having a devilish expression on her face, she looked genuinely curious.

“Yeah, but we didn’t do anything.” I told her.

“You’re shitting me!” Donohue looked surprised. “She didn’t…touch you or anything?”

I shrugged, thinking about that mysterious touch I felt in the middle of the night. “Maybe. I don’t really know.”

“Wow. I guess she really is straight.”

“Yeah. Not that it matters to me.”

Donohue rolled her eyes at me. “Right. If you knew for sure she was gay, the two of you would be a couple.”

“Whatever, Donohue.” I said, glad I was too dark-skinned for her to see me blush.

"Don’t act like you don’t like her like that.”

“Quit it, okay? I don’t cross the line with friends. And the way Katrina freaked out when I flirted with her the first time we met-” I shook my head. “I’m fine with the way things are between us.”

“And what if Katrina isn’t fine with the way things are between you? If she was going to make a move on you, what would you do?”

“That’ll never happen, so I don’t have to worry about it. I’ll see you later, Donohue.”

“Later.” she told me, shaking her head at me.

I was walking out of the cafeteria when I walked right into Katrina. “Sorry about that, More.” she told me.

“It’s alright.” I said with a small grin. I suddenly felt nervous. What if everything Donohue had teased me about was true?

“Have you eaten already?”

“Yeah. I got here early today. I was going to tape ‘Reno 911’ tonight.”

“Oh! You like ‘Reno 911’ too? Do you mind if I come over and watch it with you?”

I hesitated, allowing Donohue’s questions to get to me. “I dunno.”

“Why not?” asked Katrina, wrinkling her forehead in confusion.

I shrugged, feeling like an idiot. If Katrina wanted to get involved with me, I was sure she would have said something before then. “Sure. Follow me to my dorm.”

Katrina gave me her familiar sweet smile that always made me smile back at her. “Thanks.”

On the way to my dorm room, I felt shaky all over. If Katrina liked me, I didn’t know what I’d do. Probably run away. I knew I couldn’t handle the risk of screwing up our friendship. I had never had such a close friend like her before. Thankfully, she didn’t bring up the party, and I didn’t ask any questions, we just hung out and taped ‘Reno 911’ , with our usual talking and teasing. When Katrina left, she told me goodbye, and that was that. I breathed a sigh of relief, and decided to forget about what had happened the night before.

Over the next two weeks, I took my final exams and turned in term papers. I didn't have time to hang out with my friends until the semester was over. By the time winter break rolled around, I was more than ready for it. Me, Katrina, Donohue, and Vicky met at Ricky’s, a local sports bar to discuss our plans, and for Katrina to have her first official legal drink at a bar.

“I’m going home. I’ve finally convinced Tony to meet my parents! Yay!” said Vicky, raising up her beer bottle.

“That is so great! Everyone, let’s all toast to that.” said Katrina. We all clinked our beer bottles with Vicky’s.

“Thank you, thank you.” said Vicky, standing up and taking a bow.

“Just remember to keep him locked up at night. You don’t want him to escape.” cracked Donohue.

“Don’t worry. I’m cuffing him to my bed when we get to Port Charlotte. He’s not going anywhere.” Vicky told us.

I chuckled. “That explains why he’s so shy. You’ve got him whipped.”

“But he likes it. That’s what counts.” Vicky replied with a wink.

We all laughed at that. “So what are you doing, More?” Katrina asked me, nudging me with her cold bottle of Heinekin.

“I’m just going to stay in the dorms. I don’t want to drive two hours away just to curse out my brother. I just want to relax and wind down from exams. I don't want drama."

“My brothers and sisters are scared to death of me. They think I’m a witch or something.” offered Donohue. Don, born and raised in Miami, came from a huge family of five brothers and sisters. I had seen a picture of her family and wasn't surprised to see she stuck out like a sore thumb. A punk in a sea of preps. No wonder she was hated them so much. She never complained about her siblings, but I got the feeling they gave her hell when she was growing up.

“It’s just because I lit them on fire a few times. It was nothing too serious. They just had singed eyebrows for a few days.” shrugged Donohue.

Katrina looked at me. “Tell me she’s joking.”

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask her.” I said, with a smile. Katrina decided to just take a swig of her beer and not ask Donohue for details.

“Well, I’m going home. This is going to be my last Christmas with my parents before I decide where I’m going for stenography school.” said Katrina.

Vicky rolled her eyes. “Like you could ever pull yourself away from The City.”

“Well, there are tons of other cities out there. I might give one of those a try. Maybe Chicago. Or New York.”

“Four more years of college? And then more college? Pfft. I couldn’t do it.” Donohue commented.

Katrina shrugged. “The four year degree is more for my parents, I guess. They went to college later in life, so they’ve always made a big deal out of it. I guess I could have gone and gotten my degree in stenography two years ago, but I really don’t mind.”

I raised my eyebrow at that. “You’re telling me that you’re only in college because your parents wanted you to go?”

“I would have been in college anyway, but the whole four year thing isn’t really for me. I guess it’s nice to have a degree to fall back on, but I would have been a stenographer by now if I would have had it my way.”

“Why didn’t you just leave college after your freshman year after you lost your scholarship? Your parents pretty much cut you off after that, didn‘t they?”

“Once I start something, I finish it. Flunking out really hurt my parents. I mean, it really hurt them. I never want to disappoint them like that again.”

She looked really depressed about that, so I decided to change the subject. “So how does it feel to be twenty-one?”

“It feels the same as turning twenty. I guess if I was a huge alcoholic and I wasn’t attending a party school it would matter.”

“Well, cheers to you anyway.” I offered. “Welcome to the club.”

“Here, here!” said Donohue as we clinked our beer bottles together again. We hung out at the bar for several hours until it shut down, and then lingered by our cars for a few minutes. As usual, I took Donohue home. “Nothing happened? Really?”

“What? No, Donohue!”

“I was just checking.” She said with a smirk. “You do know that your dorm is being closed for winter break, right?”

“Are you serious? Damn, it must be because of that damn pig they let loose in the hallways last week. They’ll probably be cleaning pig shit out of here for weeks.”

“I heard professional cleaners have to go and rip out all the carpet from A wing to D wing.”

“Damn. I guess I lucked out when they stuck me in E wing, but that doesn’t help me this time.” I dropped Donohue off, and begged my Resident Assistant to let me stay in the dorms. But of course, this was the one time my RA had to enforce the rules, since his ass was already in hot water for not reporting the pig incident right away. Needless to say, I was not a happy girl. I had only twenty-four hours to pack up for two weeks. Thankfully, Katrina came over to tell me good bye, and gave me a hand packing up my stuff.

“Thanks, Trina. I know it isn’t a lot, but I was pissed that I had to leave in the first place.” I told her, as she was taking my folded clothes and placing them into my suitcase.

“Oh, but you look so cute when you pout!” giggled Katrina.

“Ha ha.” I told her, laughing it off.

“Well, this is a good thing. This means you get to go back to The City, right? Maybe you can hang out with me at my house.”

“Alright. It’ll save me from kicking my brother’s ass over break.”

“You’re really lucky you have a brother. Growing up by yourself is really boring.”

“And growing up with a brother is really annoying. Especially if your brother is a total asshole.”

Katrina whistled. “That’s kind of harsh.”

“Its also kind of true.” I said with a wide grin.

Katrina giggled. “Is there any particular reason why you can’t stand your brother?” I hesitated. I suppose I could have lied and listed one of the many annoying little things he had done to me in the past, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. My pain went deeper than that, so I just shrugged. “Well, you have to let me meet him and let me decide for myself if he’s an asshole.”

“So let me get this straight…since you can’t get me, you want to get with my brother?” I said in a mocking tone.

“Yeah. I’m guessing he’s at least half as hot as you, so why the hell not?” She asked with a wink.

I covered my mouth in surprise at her answer, and started laughing my ass off. “Wow, no more blushing for you as a comeback, huh?”

“No way. It’s more fun watching you blush.” She said with a wink.

“Well, don’t think you can make me blush that easy. I was just caught off guard.”

“Whatever you say, Morgan. So can I hang out at your house too? To hit on your brother of course.”

I gave her a look, a little annoyed that she was still joking about my brother. “Just as a warning, my brother has a time limit on his girlfriends: six months.”

“I’m just kidding, Morgan. I really just want to hang out with you.”

I shrugged. “My house is kind of small. And I really don’t do much when I’m home.”

“I don’t either. I mostly just watch T.V. My parents are usually working, and there isn’t much to do in a gated community. Anything fun, anyway.”

“Then we’ve got a dilemma. My place sucks, your place sucks. What are we gonna do?”

“I’ve got an idea. You should spend a week at my house, and I should spend a week at yours.” I winced. I knew my mom’s little apartment was not upscale by any stretch of the imagination. I didn’t know how Katrina would react to it. “I don’t know…”

“Oh come on. I don’t care what your house looks like. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’ll have to ask my mom. And you’ll have to ask your parents.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” She said with a smile. “So when do you want to leave tomorrow?”

“First I have to call my mom.” I got up and called my mom.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, Morgan. Are you coming down for Christmas?”

“Yes. And I was wondering if I could bring a friend with me…she’ll just be staying a week.”

“A friend? Well, I’m glad you’re finally doing more than studying all the time. That sounds nice, Morgan.” said my mother. “What’s she like?”

“She’s really nice. She’s the type of person that can make you laugh and smile, no matter what. And she’s got this annoying habit of making everything better, even when you want to be left alone.”

“Well, Morgan that sounds like someone you need in your life. How old is she?”

“She’s the same age as me. She just turned twenty-one a few days ago.”

“That is so nice, Morgan! I’d love to have her stay with us for Christmas.”

I smiled nervously. “Great. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Alright, sweetie. I’ll see you then.”

I winced when she called me sweetie, but she hung up before I could say anything to her about it. “Damn it. I hate it when my mom says stuff like that to me.”

“Your mom still calls you punkin, or something like that?”

“Yeah. Something like that.” I said, not taking the bait to give Katrina my mom’s pet name for me. “Anyway, she says it’s okay if you spend the break with us.”

“Great! Now you have to come over to my apartment and help me pack.”

I groaned at that and covered my eyes. “Argh. You’ll probably pack up half your closet.”

“I am surprisingly low maintanence.” She said with a straight face. I laughed at that.

“Bullshit!” I told her.

“Okay, smartass. If I pack less stuff than you, then I have to buy our tickets to see ‘Honey’.”

“What makes you think I want to see ‘Honey’?”

“Well, what do you want if you win?”

“You have to buy us tickets to see ‘The Return Of The King’.”

She shook my hand. “You’re on. Geek.”

“Whatever. Like you know anything about street dancing.”

“I don’t. I like Jessica Alba.”

I raised my eyebrows at that. “In what way?”

Katrina shook her head at me and grinned. “I’m just a fan of hers. I’ve liked her ever since ‘Dark Angel’ came out. When they canceled it, I was so mad! Now, I think this movie is going to be her big break. I can feel it!”

I poked her on the arm teasingly. “I see someone has a girl crush!”

Katrina bit her lip. “You won’t tell Donohue, will you? It would break her heart."

“Your secret is safe with me.” I told her.

After my suitcase was packed, we went over to Katrina's apartment. As we were walking into her hallway, Alice was leaving. She ran up to me. "Morgan. I just want to say I'm sorry. I wasn't acting mature about anything. You should have known everything from the beginning."

"Alice, I've said all I've needed to say. You are who you are. Have a nice life." I told her.

"Wait." She said, grabbing my arm. "Can't we grab a coffee or something?"

"No. I'm helping my friend pack her stuff right now, and then I'm leaving for the break."

Alice looked down. "I'm really sorry."

"Listen, I really gotta go. I'll see you around." That time, Alice stopped groveling and left me alone.

Katrina let us into her apartment. "Wow. She can't take a hint."

I shrugged. "Good. Maybe now she's having a taste of her own medicine."

"Are you okay?" She asked, as she tossed her purse onto her couch.

"Yeah. I'm cool." We pretty much packed her stuff up silently after that. I was peeved to discover that she did indeed pack less things than I did. "How is this even remotely possible?" I asked with a perturbed tone.

"For one thing, I usually wear jeans and t-shirts, Miss Fashionesta. You're bringing puffy vests, jeans, a few hoodies, and at least four pairs of shoes."

I shrugged. "I guess I lost the bet."

"Don't worry, Morgan. Jessica Alba is good in everything."

"She's only been in 'Dark Angel'."

"I know! And 'Dark Angel' was excellent."

I rolled my eyes and laughed at her. "You are such a fangirl."

Katrina raised her hand. "Guilty as charged." Katrina called up her parents and let them know she was bringing me over, though it took her awhile to convince them. She ended the conversation with an eye roll. "They are not happy right now. But they'll get over it."

"Are you sure it's alright if I come over?"

"It's fine. They just think everyone our age is a drunken loser. I gave them a rundown of your academic excellence, and they gave in."

I bit my lip. "Okay."

Katrina gave me a hug. "You've got nothing to worry about." Then she pulled back to give me a serious look. "You do know the difference between a salad fork, and a desert fork, don't you?"

"God, I hope you're kidding." I told her.

Katrina grinned at me. "Of course I am. Lighten up."

I groaned. "Please don't make me regret this."

"Like I said before, you've got nothing to worry about. You use proper english, you dress well-"

"And I'm a lesbian. An obvious one at that." I reminded her, rubbing a hand over my shaven head.

Katrina blinked rapidly for a second. "Oh. I didn't think about that."

"This probably isn't a good idea. Maybe we should just hang out together-"

"Eh! Wrong! Come on. My parents can be a little stuck up, but they'd never be rude to you. I promise."

"Well, they may not be openly rude to me, but I'm sure they'd talk about me behind my back."

"They wouldn't do that Morgan. They know how much you mean to me."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "What does that mean?"

Katrina rubbed her arm. "I don't have a lot of friends, More."

"Huh. Then I guess all of those people at your party were just there for the beer."

"You know what I mean. I'm close to my parents. I tell them everything. And I've talked about you a lot."

I didn't know what to say. "Oh."

Katrina giggled. "That didn't sound right, did it? I've told them about Vicky, and Donohue too."

"And what exactly have you told them about all of us?"

"That you guys are the best, etc.,etc. So it'll be cool if you stay over."

"Uh-huh." I didn't exactly trust that arrangement.

Katrina rubbed my arm. "You've got nothing to worry about. I promise."

I sighed. "Okay. But I don't go where I'm not wanted. If they don't like me, let me know, and I'll leave."

Katrina nodded. "Fair enough." Then she jumped up on her couch and held her fist up in the air. "This is going to be great!"

I just looked at Katrina. "What are you doing?"

Katrina blushed, and sat down on her couch quickly. "Nothing! I guess I got a little overexcited."

I shook my head. "So this is what you do when know one's looking..."

"Sometimes."

"I bet you did that all the time when you were a kid."

Katrina giggled. "Maybe."

"Mm-hmm."

After packing her stuff, Katrina offered to let me stay the night. "That way you don't have to go home and waste gas. You've got everything packed in your car already, right?"

"Uh..." All my unanswered questions about the night before came back with a vengeance. I knew I wouldn't be comfortable spending the night, but I also knew I'd could come off as a total nut if I outright asked her if she had been coming onto me the night before. So I did the only thing I could do in that situation. I lied my ass off. "I left my toothbrush and stuff in my cabinet. I'd still have to go home in the morning and get it."

"Oh." Strangely, Katrina looked absolutely crushed.

"It's alright. I'll see you in the morning, alright?" I gave her a quick hug and skipped out before she could say anything else.

I went home, and immediately felt stupid. Katrina would have probably offered me her couch, and there was no way she would have made a move on me. The more I thought about it, the dumber I felt. "Argh. I'm graduating with honors, and I have no common sense." I muttered to myself before going to sleep.

In the morning, I was awakened by my phone ringing. I squinted at my alarm clock, for the time, and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Wakey, wakey! Eggs and Bakey!" Katrina's cheery voice was not uplifting me at five am. No one's voice was.

"Damn it, Trina. It's too early." I grumbled.

"Don't you want to get an early start?"

"The city is only two hours away. You act like it's a road trip to a great city like Miami."

"Jacksonville's a nice city."

"Yeah. Which is why the football team sucks, the murder rate is through the roof, and no one can point it out on a map."

Katrina was silent for a long time. "Wow. You've got a crappy attitude first thing in the morning."

"Sorry. I'm not a morning person."

"I can tell. So now that you're up, do you want to grab breakfast?"

I threw my covers over my head, but knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. "Sure." I mumbled.

"What?"

I through the covers off and rolled my eyes. "I said, sure."

"Great. I'll pick you up in a few minutes."

"No. I'm driving my car."

"Why waste gas? We're going to be together the entire break."

If I hadn't been so grumpy, I would have let her talk me into it, but I was annoyed, and I didn't want to bite her head off during a car trip when she was just being her naturally perky self. "I'll be fine taking my car."

"Oh, come on. I wanted to talk about things on our way to the city. Like your family, for example. You never talk about your family, and I am dying to meet your Mom-"

"Katrina." I cut off her sentence with my tone and phrasing. "It's really early for me right now, and I'm gonna need a gallon of orange juice to wake up. I'll meet you at Burger King for breakfast in an hour."

Katrina sighed. "Okay. See you then." She hung up the phone, and I got up and got ready to go. Of course, I took my time getting dressed, making sure my jeans were pressed, and that my fur-trimmed boots were shined and good to go. By the time I looked at my watch, and hour had already passed.

"I'm late. Shoot!" I called Katrina, but she didn't answer her phone. I got over to Burger King as soon as I could. I saw Katrina through the window, resting her chin on the back of her hand while she sipped orange juice through a straw out of the corner of her mouth. I got inside, and Katrina handed me my breakfast, a sausage, egg and cheese croissanwich. I had my heart set on a bacon egg and cheese croissanwich originally. "I kind of wanted to order my own food. That's the whole point of meeting up for breakfast."

"I thought you wouldn't mind. And besides, we need to get going. We're going to run into the morning rush midway through the trip as it is."

"Ease up, speedy. There's nothing to rush home for." I remembered her comments about my older brother, and assumed that might be the reason she wanted to meet my family so badly. I immediately lost my apetite. "Gah. Now I'm not even hungry."

"Then let's go!" said Katrina triumphantly. I was glad that I had insisted on seperate cars. There was no way I could have been able to enjoy a car ride with her continually happy like that, especially since I figured she wanted to get with my brother. We went outside, and Katrina followed me out onto the highway in her car. It was a freezing December day, which was pretty unusual considering it rarely got below thirty degrees in the wintertime in northern Florida. That, combined with the heavy morning traffic, meant that I had to drive at a snails pace for most of the ride. We didn't arrive in Jacksonville until ten am, and it was a relief to finally pull up to my mom's apartment.

"Never again." I said as I shut off my car. "This is my last visit home until I graduate." I leaned forward and rested my forehead against my steering wheel, trying to drive images of swerving tractor trailors and soccor mom driven SUVs from my mind.

"Told you so." A teasing voice broke through my meditations. "If we left earlier, we could have avoided all that crap on the road."

"Katrina, give me a break. That was one hell of a drive."

"Well, it would have been easier if you would have let me drive. So don't expect me to feel sorry for you." She popped me on the head. I growled something inaudible. Katrina just laughed. "Stop being such a grump, and let me inside. It's too cold to be hanging around out here."

"Okay. My mom probably had an all night shift, so be quiet okay?"

"Oh. Sorry. What does she do?" asked Katrina.

"She's a nurse. She works at a nursing home with rotating shifts. So when someone wakes her up, she can't go back to sleep, okay?"

"Gotcha. I'll be quiet."

"Let's get our stuff then." I grabbed my three suitcases, attempting to get to the door as soon as I could. Unfortunately, I forgot about the annoying brick ledge that acted as a barrier between the parking space and the front door and tripped over, sending me and luggage flying towards the threshold. "Shit!" I screamed as I went flying. Luckilly for me, I managed to hit my hit my head on a suitcase instead of the hard cement ground. It still sucked, but at least I didn't have a concussion.

"Morgan!" Katrina rushed over to me. I got up slowly, surveying the damage. The locking clasp on my old red suitcase, a hand-me down from my grandmother, was hopelessly broken. I would have prefered to have my head cracked open on the pavement like an eggshell than to have my grandmother's suitcase broken. My grandmother had visited every single state with that suitcase, including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Guam, and she pressed cheap holographic stickers on it to prove it. It was the last physical thing I had left from her, aside from old family photos. I knelt down beside it, feeling like I had lost her again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Not that it matters." I pushed back the pair of khakis and the silver glitter shirt that had bulged out of the broken suitcase, and quietly opened the door.

"Mush!" yelled my brother as soon as I opened the door. "What's wrong with you? You woke up Mom."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Shit."

My brother grinned suddenly at Katrina who had appeared behind me. He looked like me, except he was lighter-skinned, with narrow eyes and lips. His usually braided hair was carefully hidden under a bandana. I guess he just woke up. "Who's she?"

I frowned at him. I knew that expression. It meant he saw my friend as far game and was about to make his move. Katrina didn't seem to notice. "I'm Katrina." She offered, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Can I get a hug?" he asked sweetly, fully aware that he was shirtless.

"You sneaky little bastard." I growled.

"I think I should help Morgan get unpacked. Nice meeting you-"

"Colby." He replied. "I'll be in the next room over."

Katrina nodded at that. "Okay." Katrina helped me hold my broken suitcase together as I lugged it into my bedroom and dumped the contents on the bed. Katrina ran her hand over the broken clasp. "Do you think you can fix it?"

I moved the locking mechanism, a small metal latch that was now hopelessly bent. "I don't think so." I felt the tears on my cheeks before I knew I was crying, but I wiped them away quickly.

"It's okay, Morgan. It's just a suitcase." She said, putting her hand on my back.

I shrugged her hand off violently. "It is not just a suitcase! It was Granny's!" Hot, stinging tears rushed from my eyes then. I covered my mouth to keep from sobbing. "It was the only thing I had l-left from her." I knelt down next to the suitcase, and buried my head in my hands. I felt Katrina kneel down next to me and put her arm around me, massaging my shoulder. I don't know how long we there like that, kneeling down on the floor like my grandmother had died the day before, when I heard a knock on the door.

"Morgan?" A voice called out, muffled by tiredness.

I wiped my tears away, and stood up. "Yes, Mom? I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's all right, honey. I was up already. I didn't have to work last night. Can I come in?" I opened the door, and my mom walked in. Regardless of what she told me, I knew she just woke up. Her hair was a bit of a mess, so I knew she had just taken her curlers out of it, and hadn't had the chance to comb it yet. My mother had on her favorite mustard yellow t-shirt, which meant it was worn and practically faded, and a pair of jean shorts. I was mortified. Surely my mother could have worn something decent instead of dressing like her normal self. She smiled at Katrina. "You must be Morgan's friend."

"Yes. I'm Katrina. It's so nice to finally meet you." Katrina tilted her head and studied my mother for a moment. "You know, you look a lot like Morgan. You both have the same dimples and everything."

My mother chuckled at that. "Really? Morgan thinks she's the spitting image of her father."

Katrina shook her head. "I don't see it. She looks a lot like you."

After hearing my dad mentioned, I needed a breather. I had forgotten how cramped my room could be, and with three people in it, I felt claustrophobic. I squeezed past my Mom and grabbed some hot chocolate mix from the cabinet and started to pour myself a cup.

"So...are you fucking her?" asked my brother, who had eased his way into the kitchen without my realising it. He had taken off his bandana and put on a shirt and some jeans in the attempt to look presentable.

"That's not your business." I said, opening the packet of hot chocolate and stirring it into an old chipped mug filled with water.

"You gotta be fucking her. Why else would she be here? Eh, I'm glad you finally got someone. It's about time." My brother had never judged me for being gay. He thought it was cool, and considered me to be the little brother he never had. I resented that. Just because I liked women didn't mean I wanted to be a guy. "Hey, if you get tired of her, let me know so I can hit that." He told me with a wink.

"If you say anything disrespectful to Katrina, or if I so much as catch you trying hug her or hold her in any way, I'm gonna knock the everloving dogshit out of you." I said it with so much venom, you would have thought I was a snake.

Colby raised his eyebrows at me. "So it's like that, then?"

"Yeah. It's like that." I said as I shoved the mug into the microwave.

Colby fixed himself a bowl of Lucky Charms and sat down at the table. "Alright. Okay. She's looks like a dime. I gotta respect you for defending your girl."

"She's not a piece of meat. And she's not my property either."

"Right. But girls like that like to be treating like property." he flicked his eyes over at my bedroom. "You know her type. She's not gonna be happy until someone's showing her off. There's nothing shy about that girl."

I held my hand for peace. "Just don't talk to me, Colby. I don't want to hear anything else out of your nasty mouth."

"Alright. But remember this. If you don't protect what you got, someone else is gonna slid in the driver's seat." He patted me on the back like we were old friends and took his bowl of cereal to his room. I took my hot chocolate out of the microwave and sipped it, ignoring the grainy texture. I got the feeling I was going to be in for a long winter break. After a few minutes, my mom and Katrina came out of my room, laughing and talking like they had known each other for forever. Spotting me at the table, Katrina ran over to the chair across from me.

"Morgan! Why did your brother call you Mush when you first came in! Your mom can't seem to tell me without laughing."

I groaned. "I really don't want to say."

"If it's really embarrassing, I'll tell you an embarrassing story about me."

I gave her a long suffering sigh, draining the dregs of my cup for strength. "When I was two or three, I used to eat mush a lot."

"What's mush anyway?"

"Corn meal mush is a gruel made from corn meal and milk. You can make it another way, but that was the way I ate it. Anyway, when I was getting older, my mom thought I ate too much of it, so she stopped making it for me. I cried for weeks, and everytime someone asked me a question, I'd answer, 'mush' and hold up my hands for a bowl of it. Hence the nickname."

"Aww. That's kind of sad." She said rubbing my hands.

I shrugged. "Not a big deal. Now you have to tell me your embarrassing story."

She tapped her chin with her forefinger. "Okay, I've got one. I was five years old, and my parents moved in to our first house. It was the first time I had seen stairs up close, and each one seemed to come up to my waist."

I snickered. "Shorty."

Katrina made face. "Shut up. Anyway, no one was around for some reason, and I started climbing the stairs like I was some kind of mountain climber or something. I was halfway up the grand staircase, and I lost my grip and fell down backwards. Knocked myself out cold."

"Whoa. Were you okay?"

"Yep. Twelve stitches later. You can't see 'em now. Everything's all covered up by hair."

"Dang, that must have sucked."

"The worst part of it was I had to go back home and use the stairs. All the bedrooms are on the second floor. But it was probably a good thing. My parents didn't allow me to develop a phobia about stairs."

"Hm. That's not really an embarrassing story. At least your parents didn't call you 'Climber' after your fall."

Katrina balanced her chin on her wrists. "That would have been cool. I'm kind of jealous, you know. I've never had a family nickname."

"Well, I've been Mush to everyone for as long as I can remember. Most people in my family don't call me that anymore since I'm older, but every once in a while, they'll slip up and call me Mush. Especially my brother when he's being a dick."

"Does your brother have a family nickname?"

"I've tried calling him Cheddar, but he took it as a compliment. Everything insult seems to bounce right off him. It's infuriating."

Katrina giggled. "Have you tired calling him Chuckie?"

"What?"

"As in Chuck E. Cheese."

I grinned. "That's a good one. He is a rat bastard."

Katrina rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. He can't be that bad."

"Trust me, he is. He'll probably make a move on you."

My mother stepped into the kitchen. "I'll have a talk with Colby so he won't." She announced.

"I have a feeling he won't. I already threatened to kick his ass."

Katrina giggled. "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, you know."

"I know. But you don't know my brother. He thinks of 'no' as an eventual yes."

"Then let's not give him any chances. Let's get out of here."

"And go where?"

"Shouldn't you know? This is your city, isn't it?"

I lifted the corner of my mouth up slightly. "I guess."

"Then come on. I want to do something fun."

"What do you have in mind?"

Katrina balanced her head on her fist and looked thoughtful. "I don't know."

"It looks like we have the same problem, except now we both have company." I noted.

"In that case, let's just drive around."

"Just drive around? Gas is too expensive."

"Don't worry about it. Jacksonville is such a big city, I think we'll find something to do."

I cleared my throat. "All right. Where do you want to go?"

"Let's start somewhere easy. How about downtown?"

"That's fine with me. The Landing is pretty cool."

"I've heard about The Landing!" said Katrina excitedly. "Isn't it like a mini-mall right on the water?"

"You've been in the area your whole life, and you've never been to The Landing?"

"Nope. So let's go there." Katrina hurried out to her car, but my Mom pulled me aside before I could follow her.

"She seems like a very nice girl, Morgan. I have a good feeling about her."

I groaned and covered my face. My mother was always having a good feeling about someone or something. The strange thing was, she was usually right. "Become Miss Cleo's replacement or something then. I gotta go."

"Do you have enough money to go shopping?" She asked, reaching into her purse.

"I don't want to buy anything."

She looked at me sternly. "It's only a few days until Christmas. Do you have presents for everyone?"

I mirrored her expression. "You know I don't believe in that Christian stuff."

My mother threw her hands up in the air and rolled her eyes skyward. "Not this again."

"I've been an athiest since I finished reading the entire Bible at fifteen. Don't act like this is an overnight experimentation."

"Well, I bought you a present, your brother bought you a present, and I'm sure your friend will buy you something too. It would be polite at the very least if you returned the favor, even if you don't agree with the reasoning behind it."

"And what exactly is the reasoning behind gift giving on Christmas? Didn't the three wise men drop off the goods around New Year's?"

My mother handed me two hundred dollars, and pushed me outside. "Go right now, and don't come back until you have something decent for everyone."

"But Mom-"

"Morgan Alicia Richards! Don't you backtalk me!" She warned.

I sighed. Once my Mom started calling me by my full name, there was no changing her mind. "Yes, Ma'am." I relented.

At that, she gave me a hug and a kiss. I recoiled in embarrassment. "Now go have fun. Are the two of you getting something to eat for dinner?"

"I guess." I looked past my Mom at Katrina, who was doing her best not to laugh at me. "Do you want to eat something out?"

"It doesn't matter to me. Do you usually cook?"

"Yes. Though I don't know if Morgan eats my cooking or not. She's always taking her plate and hiding in her room."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom-"

"Well, you do. It would be nice to see you occasionally when you're home."

"In that case, we'll be back for dinner, Mrs. Richards." said Katrina happily.

I rolled my eyes, and slumped slightly. "See you later, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie."

I shuddered at the nickname and walked towards Katrina's car. I saw my Mom hand Katrina something, and Katrina's eyes lit up. Then my Mom and Katrina hugged each other, and Katrina waved goodbye to my Mom as she ran over to me. "You will not believe what your Mom just lent me."

"What?"

Katrina jumped up and down, holding the silvery object over her head. "It's a digital camera!"

"Okay. How is that amazing?"

"I've always wanted to get one, but I've never gotten around to buying one. This is going to be great. Morgan, we've got to take a lot of pictures. We've got to take pictures in The Landing, and I definitely want to get pictures of all the old buildings downtown!" Katrina quickly scrambled behind the wheel of her car, and I got in. Katrina immediately peeled out of the apartment driveway, and I held onto the door for dear life.

"This is going to be a long day..." I muttered.

And it was. Katrina was all too happy to wander around downtown, looking at all of the old buildings. It was a mixture of old and new. Clean, glass fronted skyscrapers and brick faced thirteen storey buildings were all over the place. The oldest buildings dated from the late 19th century, and had decorative sconces. Some of the older buildings had decorative sconces with gryphons, or other mythical creatures. Most of the old buildings were abandoned as well. A peek inside usually revealed a building destroyed by vandalism, and time. I was a little leery of some of the seedier areas downtown, which seemed to have a lot of homeless people walking around. But Katrina didn't seem to notice. She just held onto my arm and took pictures of the buildings. Everytime I thought she was done, she'd drag me over to another building. "Morgan! I have to get a shot of this one! Isn't it pretty?" she'd say, and I'd groan and brace myself as she quickly took a picture.

"Gah. I'm freezing ass off, Trina. Can't we go to The Landing now?" I'd protest.

"In a minute." She'd say. Before I knew it, lunchtime had come and gone, and my stomach growled like the hungry monster it was.

"Damn it, Trina! I'm hungry!"

"Really?" Suddenly I heard a terrible sound, like lion that was simultaneously growling and burping at the same time. Katrina blushed and held her stomach. "Oh! I guess I am too!"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "That sound came from you?" Katrina just nodded and covered her face. Her look was so priceless, I laughed. "It's cool. At least you didn't fart."

We walked past the funky exterior of MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and walked down to The Landing. The Landing was a horsehoe shaped mall that had shops in the curve, and a large courtyard and a view of the river in the middle. Like most of the architecture in Jax, it was definitely unique. We walked into the mall, and Katrina immediately went towards a clothing shop. "Oh my God! I've got to get this shirt!" She said, pulling a crimson fleece shirt off a clothing rack.

"Can we come back? I'd really like to eat something right now."

Katrina's shoulders slumped, and she put the shirt back on the rack. "Sure."

"We're coming right back, Trina. No one's gonna take it." I spread my arms wide and did a 360 degree turn, pointing out the emptyness of the mall. "See? This place is deserted."

Katrina nodded. "Okay." We took the elevator upstairs to the food court. "Do you want Chinese?" She asked me, pointing at the row of food shops.

"No. I usually like Sbarro."

"Sbarro is a ripoff. Isn't it like four dollars for a slice of pizza?"

I shrugged. "Yes, but it is so good! Go ahead and get your Chinese, and I'll meet you at a table." We split up, and I walked over to the Sbarro counter. I looked up at the menu and chose my usual. "Can I have one slice of spinach, broccoli and tomato pizza, please?" I asked the woman across the counter. She stared at me for several seconds before hurriedly scooping a pizza slice and putting it in the oven to reheat, slamming the oven door closed violently. I raised my eyebrow as she kept her back to me as she watched the pizza heat back up. When it was done, she took the pizza out the oven and slammed it on my tray.

"That'll be three ninety seven." She said in a rude voice. When I tried to hand her the money, she stared at my five dollar bill before snatching it from me and slamming my change on the counter before walking away. I was so startled, I just stood there for a minute before turning around and looking for Katrina. She was sitting by the window overlooking the courtyard, and I walked over to her hurriedly.

"Hey! What did you get? Is that broccoli on your pizza?" She asked.

"Yeah." I said quietly.

"I got shrimp fried rice and wontons. I'm glad you talked me into getting something to eat. As soon as I smelled the food in here, I started drooling like Homer Simpson!" she chuckled at that, and I made myself smile slightly. "Are you okay? You got what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a little weak after all that walking around." I wanted to be all perky and excited, but I couldn't. Katrina gave me a weird look before digging into her carton of shrimp fried rice with her chopsticks. I just stared at my slice of pizza. I was very hungry, but I didn't want my pizza anymore. It was a reminder of the Sbarro woman's hatred, and I couldn't bear to touch it.

Katrina stopped stuffing her face to look at me. "If you're so hungry, why aren't you eating?" I wouldn't look at her. "We can eat somewhere else if that's what you want."

"I'm fine. I'm just not as hungry as I thought."

"You didn't eat breakfast, and now you're not eating lunch. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine-"

Katrina smacked my hand. "That's bullshit. What's wrong?"

I sighed deeply. "My server obviously doesn't like lesbians?"

Katrina dropped her chopsticks and held my hand. "What did she say to you?"

"She didn't have to say anything. Her attitude said it all."

"I'm gonna go talk to her." said Katrina getting up quickly.

"No! Just forget it. I have to get used to it. Everyone's so laid back on campus, I forgot this is how most people react to me."

Katrina leaned over the table and looked at me intensely. "You shouldn't have to get used to people treating you like that just because they don't like what you do. It isn't right."

"Of course it isn't right. But that's how it is. You think going over there and bitching her out is going to change her?"

"No, but she deserves it. And it would make you feel better."

I just shook my head. "She's not even worth it. Just forget about it, okay?"

"How can you just forget about it? How can you just pretend like nothing happened?"

"If you go over there and cause a scene, what'll she think? That you're my girlfriend or something. Trust me, you don't want that label. It's cool. If I run into her on the street, I'll trip her. Okay?"

Katrina stared and blinked wordlessly before rubbing and releasing my hand. "Okay." I let her finish her Chinese before unceremoniously dumping my pizza slice in the trash. "You have to eat something, Morgan. I don't want you to pass out or anything."

I shrugged as we started walking out of the food court and past the video arcade. "I'll eat dinner, then. No biggie. My Mom will have something ready by six or seven anyway."

"Really?" asked Katrina checking her watch. "That's only three hours away! We better get out of here before we get caught in rush hour!" She grabbed my hand and was about to wisk me onto the escalator.

"Wait! Don't you want to see that shirt you were looking at before?"

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Thanks More. I would have kicked myself if I had left here without tryong it on." We went downstairs, and I watched her try it on before she bought it. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a little baggy on you." I admitted, pointing to the slack material at the bottom of the shirt. "I'd try a smaller size if I was you."

"But you like it right? The color's not to bright is it?"

"The colors fine. A little vivid maybe, but it's okay."

"I'm buying it then." She announced as she went back into the changing room to change back. "I could always sleep in it or something." She mused as she bought the shirt.

"That's a pretty expensive shirt just to sleep in." I offered, noting the forty dollar price tag.

"Oh, you know how it is when you're on your period. I get super bloated. Trust me, this will fit me perfectly next week."

I lifted the side of my mouth slightly, feeling the fabric of the shirt. "Pity to waste such a nice shirt on that time of the month cramps."

"So you really like it?" She asked.

"Why does it matter so much what I like? It's your shirt." I told her.

Katrina shrugged. "I just like your opinion. That's all. Don't you go shopping for clothes with Don?"

"Why would I? Donohue dresses in either all-black or colors that make my head hurt. I love her to death, but I would never go clothes shopping with her. Not without a blindfold."

Katrina laughed. "I actually like Donohue's style. It's fearless. It growls at you and dares you to get close to her."

"You got all that from a pair of steel-toed brogans and black band shirts? Bravo."

"Oh. come on. You know Donohue's a cool chick."

"I know. I need to stop dogging her. This time of year just seem to bring out the worst in me."

The shop clerk bagged Katrina's shirt and handed it off. Me and Katrina left the store, but not before Katrina gave me an affectionate half-hug. "What could be so bad about the most wonderful time of the year? Christmas carols, presents, candy canes...what could be so bad about that?"

I shrugged. "I just don't like celebrating fictitious lies. That's just me." I muttered it so she couldn't really hear me. I didn't really want to get into a debate over the existence of God, which is why I usually kept my mouth shut when it came to religion in the first place. Not to mention the hypocrisy of people pretending to have a moral compass on only one day of the year. Most of the time I couldn't stand it.

"What's the lie?" Katrina wanted to know.

"Just forget it, Trina. It's been a long day."

"What's this?" she asked, feeling my forehead mockingly. "You're coming down with a fever?"

"Knock it off." I said, shaking her away.

"I know how to fix this. I'm going to put you to bed early and read you a bedtime story. And feed you a nice big bowl of mush."

At the very second she said mush, I knew our friendship was in danger, and that agreeing to spend time with her over the holidays was probably the worst thing I could have done. "Not funny Katrina."

"Grow up. Seriously Morgan. Don't be such a Grinch."

"Just don't talk to me right now. You've seriously pissed me off."

"Morgan, you can't be that serious about that nickname. It's actually really cute..." I stopped listening to her at that point. Anything else out of her mouth would have angered me even more so I just focused on quickly walking down the street to her car. I didn't hear her yelling at me until I was about to step off the curb and cross an intersection. Katrina yanked me back right before a sharp-looking BMW whizzed by. "Morgan!" she yelled, hugging me close. "What the hell? Didn't you see that car?"

I blinked rapidly. "No. I guess I didn't."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I teased you. I shouldn't have done it. Forgive me?"

"Yeah. Of course."

She let me go, and we both started walking down the sidewalk side by side. I felt her slip her hand in mine, but I was too embarrassed to protest it. I obviously didn't know how to cross the street by myself! When we reached her car, and I got in, I didn't say anythng at first. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. It's just been one of those days for me."

"You didn't like walking around downtown, did you?"

I hesitated, taking a deep breath just to tell her, "No."

"So what do you want to do after dinner? I mean, what do you really want to do?"

"Honestly? I just want to curl up on my bed and go to sleep. I'm not used to all this exploring."

Rather than look disappointed, Katrina beamed. "Sounds good." She drove us back to my Mom's house, where my brother was waiting on the couch, watching tv. I was instantly annoyed for the upteenth time that day.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I asked. Colby worked a second shift logistics job at Jaxport, the Jacksonville Port Authority.

He shrugged. "I switched with someone so they could spend Christmas with their kids."

Katrina smiled at him. "That was really nice of you."

Colby smiled his patented I'm-just-a-sensitive-kind-of-guy smile. "Thank you."

"Clear out, Colby. You have your own tv in your room. I don't."

He made a big show of getting up slowly. "Alright baby sis. Anything you say." Then he gave me a random hug with the most plastic smile I'd ever seen him wear. "It's good to have you back."

I just scowled at him. "Don't touch me." He just patted me on the head in response before going to his room. Katrina was trying her best to hold back her laughter. "It's not funny. He's only being fake as hell because of you."

"I know. I'm sorry." She plopped on the couch and took up the remote. "Let's watch cartoons. I haven't watched cartoons in forever!"

"Let's not and say we did. I haven't seen Oprah in a minute..."

"Oprah? That's an old ladies show!"

We argued over what to watch on tv until my Mom came home, her arms full of grocery bags. "Give me a hand with these bags, Morgan." She told me.

"Sure, Mom." I took some of the bags from her, and Katrina followed suit. Once all the bags were in the kitchen, I started putting everything away.

"So what are you making for dinner, Mrs. Richards?"

"You don't have to call me Mrs. Richards. Just call me Rae, Katrina."

Katrina turned a little pink at that. "Would it be alright if I called you Ms. Rae? I mean, I wouldn't want to be disrespectful."

"Rae is fine, Katrina." I gave my mother a funny look. She was usually very uptight about young adults calling her anything other than her last name, or at the very least 'ma'am'. "I'm making curry goat with rice and beans, plantains and callaloo. Have you eaten Jamaican food before?"

Katrina nodded emphatically. "Yes! Do you mind if I help?"

"Katrina's a great cook, Mom. She's cooked for me more times than I can count. Not to mention that amazing spread you had for your birthday. I still can't believe you baked and frosted a three layer red velvet cake in a couple of hours! I wish I would have taken a picture of it. It was really beautiful."

Katrina blushed and looked at her toes. "Thank you, More."

"No problem." I said with a grin.

"More? Is that what you call Morgan?" Katrina looked even more bashful about that, and didn't answer, so my mother turned to me. "And what do you call her?"

"Trina. Sometimes." I yawned unexpectedly. "I'm beat so I'm going to go lie down."

"Don't be rude, Morgan. If you're going to have your friend slaving over a hot stove, at least sit out here so you can talk to us."

I rolled my eyes at my mother's guilt trip bonanza. "I'm only going to take an hour-long snooze. It's nothing major."

"Well that's convenient, Morgan. After an hour, everything will already be cooked-"

Katrina jumped in to save me. "It's okay. I woke up Morgan way earlier than I should have, and I've been rushing her around all day. It's fine. Really."

My mother sighed. "Alright Morgan. I'll let you know when dinner is ready."

I went into my room and promptly passed out. I woke up to Katrina shaking me awake. "You really do sleep like the dead, girl!"

I groaned and stretched. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes." She scratched at something at the corner of my mouth. "You've got lint all over you."

"It's from my old blanket. I've had it since I was a little kid. Now I use it as a pillow cover." I told her, pointing to my old blankie. It was little more than a rectangular scrap of fuzzy fabric, and the once colorful pink and white panda bear on it was little more than a blob, but was still softer than anything else I had. I felt a little embarrased. I mean who still had their old blanket after they were kids?

"Wow. That's super soft." said Katrina, smoothing her hand over it. I thought that was odd. She didn't tease me about it at all.

"Let's go eat. I'm starving." I went into the kitchen and started serving myself from my mother's large cooking pots. Then I sat down at the table and started to dig in.

"Mush!" screeched my mother, who was coming out of the bathroom from washing her hands. "Why are you starting to eat before blessing the table? And you know good and well you haven't washed your hands yet!"

I dropped my fork and quickly went into the bathroom. Any other time I would have argued about it, but I didn't want to look bad in front of Trina, so I just did as I was told. Colby was already coming out of the bathroom. "Your girl can cook!" he said to me, wringing his hands. "Girl can put it down! Where'd you find her anyway?"

I made an annoyed sound in my throat and washed my bathroom, ignoring him. After I was done, I sat down at the table where everyone was already waiting for me.

"Katrina, would you like to pray over the meal?" asked my mother pleasantly.

"Sure, ma'am-I mean sure, Rae." My brother's eyes doubled in size when he heard that, and he gave both my mom and Katrina a crazy look.

"Since when do you let people call you by your first name? That is mad disrespectful, Ma." he said.

"Disrespectful to who?"

"If one of my girls started calling you by your first name, you'd get all mad!"

"That's exactly the problem. Bring home a woman, and they can call me whatever they want. Now hold your sister's hand so we can say grace." She took Katrina's hand and my hand and bowed her head.

I think that was the first time I had seen Colby speechless in years! His eyes continued to bug out, but finally he muttered "Whatever." under his breath and bowed his head. I reluctantly took his hand, and held Katrina's hand, but I didn't close my eyes. I didn't believe in any of that stuff.

"Please bless this food for which we are about to recieve, oh Lord. Amen." She said softly. I started eating immediately. Everything was hella good. “Well what do you think?” She seemed more nervous about her cooking talent than usual.

“It’s excellent, as usual.” I told her honestly. Katrina broke into a wide grin and started eating.

My brother’s eyes lit up when he tasted the curry goat. “Oh…this is so good.” he commented as he sucked the curry from the tiny goat bones.

We all ate until our plates were scraped clean, and then we went back for seconds. “I’ll wash dishes.” I offered. “It’s the least I can do.”

Katrina grinned. “You always seem to be in a better mood after a meal.”

I shrugged, taking up everyone’s plates. “You could make anyone happy with your cooking. Why don’t you go into culinary school after you graduate?”

She shrugged, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “Slaving over a hot stove ten hours a day is not for me. And I could never see myself attached to a restaurant, making the same recipes over and over again. At least in court, I’ll be hearing different cases as I record them.”

“I still think you’d be a pretty good chef.”

“Well, I am a chef. Just for the people I care about.” We shared a little grin as I started washing the dishes.

“I’m going to work now, everyone.” said my mom, coming out of her bedroom in her work uniform. She was putting on her diamond studs, her only substantial jewelry. She said they brought her luck.

“I thought you had the day off.” I noted.

“I was called in. I’ll work a double shift and then I’ll be off Christmas Eve.”

“That’s great!” Katrina exclaimed. “Will you go Christmas shopping with us?”

“Haven’t you gone Christmas shopping already? I thought I told Morgan to do that today.” She replied in a perturbed tone.

“We really didn’t have time to. Katrina’s never really seen the city, so we spent most of the day checking out downtown.” I offered.

“Get your shopping done by Christmas Eve, before the stores are sold out of everything, Morgan.” My mother said. “I’m gone.” And with a wave, she left.

“What do you want to watch on tv?” Katrina asked me.

“I think Chappelle’s Show is on Comedy Central tonight.”

“It’s on every night. They show reruns of that show almost every single day.” she said in an annoyed tone.

“So let’s watch it.”

“I…don’t really like it.”

“How can you not like Dave Chappelle? I mean his parody of ‘Pretty Woman’ was freaking hilarious!”

“I don’t think his sketch about predicting someone’s future based on a stereotype of their race was funny.”

“That was hilarious!”

“Morgan, I didn’t think you were the kind of person that thinks racism is funny.”

“I don’t think racism is funny. But making fun of racism is funny. And making fun of racists is hella funny.”

Katrina rolled her eyes. “You’re just making excuses for Dave Chappelle because you’re a fan.”
I sighed. “You know his work is just a satire of how most people in the country think, right? It’s like MadTV. Pure satire.” Katrina raised an eyebrow.

“You like MadTv?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t like MadTv either!” My mouth opened wide in shock.

Katrina looked like she was going to get angry, until she abruptly burst into laughter. “You are so easy!”

“Are you serious! I thought you really hated Dave Chappelle!”

“No way. He’s hilarious.” As it turned out, Chappelle’s Show wasn’t on, but we saw some South Park reruns for a few hours. By the time it was ten o’clock, I was ready to call it a night.

“Do you want to go out to a club or something?” asked Katrina.

“Not really. I’m still worn out after everything. Did you want to go out?”

“Yes, but it’s cool if you don’t want to go. I bet everything will be dead until New Year’s anyway.”

“I’m going to bed early.” I said with a yawn and a stretch.

“Yeah…about that…where am I going to sleep?”

“Dang. I never even thought about that. My bed’s queen sized. I guess we could share. If that’s not a big deal to you.”

“No. That sounds fine. I’m going to go brush my teeth.”

“Okay.” I went into my room, and got undressed, changing into some boy shirts and a tank top. Katrina came in while I was taking my top off.

“Oh! Sorry!” She said, as she hurriedly grabbed her toothbrush from her suitcase and left. I covered my face in embarrassment before I put on my tank, and Katrina came back in a few minutes. She looked as embarrassed as I was. “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay. Now you know I’m chunky. It’s not a big deal.”

Katrina pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “I wouldn’t call you chunky. Thick maybe. Built like a tank, maybe.”

I laughed. “You think I’m built like a tank? If you were gay, Trina, you’d have my heart in your hands right now.” Katrina turned as red as a beet. “Forget I said it! It was just a joke!” I said.

“It’s…fine.” she said. “I’m just going to go to sleep now if that’s alright with you.” She slipped between my sheets, and closed her eyes.

I wanted to ask if I’d really offended her, but decided to let it go. I got into bed and made sure that I was sleeping on my side at the very edge of my bed. I decided not to make things any more awkward than they already were. I fell asleep quickly, but I woke a few hours later to feel Katrina very close to me. Hugged up was more like it. She had an arm over my hip, and she was pressing her head into my back. I made a little moan of surprise, and Katrina just tightened her hold, moving her head to press her cheek against my shoulder.

I didn’t know if I could slowly ease my way out of her grasp, or if I should lay there and enjoy being held. I wasn’t a touchy feely person, but there was something about the way Katrina was holding me that made me decide to just let her stay where she was. I told myself I just didn’t want to wake her up, but I liked being in the arms of another woman, even if the other woman was my straight best friend. I stayed awake for a few minutes, enjoying it, until I went back to sleep again.

When I woke up, it was morning, and Katrina was already gone. When I got up to see where she was, I found her at my kitchen table, laughing with my brother about something. Still groggy from sleep, and annoyed that Katrina hadn’t woken up with me, I shifted into bitch mode.

“Could you guys knock it off? I was sleeping.” I said, making a beeline for a box of honey nut cheerios.

“Sorry, More. I didn’t mean to wake you. I know you’re not a morning person.”

I shrugged, getting my regular bowl out and sitting down at the table in a huff. My brother and Katrina continued their conversation about the recent popularity of throwback jerseys, but I didn’t join in. I felt guilty for it, but I wanted nothing else but to go back to sleep with Katrina again. It was an annoying, clinging feeling that reminded me of how desperate I was for female attention.

“I’m going out.” I blurted before I even thought about where I was going.

Katrina and my brother blinked together in confusion. “It’s seven a.m. Where are you gonna go?”

I shook my head in annoyance. If it was warmer, I’d head to my special place under The Old Wrought Bridge, but it was too cold. I decided to go up the block to the local McDonalds and just sit inside until I felt better. “Just out.”
“Can I come?” asked Katrina hopefully.

“No. I’ll be right back.” I tossed on some clothes and headed out, not even bothering to shower. I drove to the McDonalds, ordered an orange juice so I wouldn’t be bothered, and stared at nothing for about an hour. I thought about what I could do to get over my feelings. I hated to admit it to myself, but I was behaving like a jealous boyfriend. When I was finished I felt a whole lot better. I decided I had taken everything a lot more seriously than I should have, and that I should just try to have a good time with Katrina. After all, she was straight. I was gay. Nothing would ever change that.

When I went back to my house, Katrina looked worried. “I thought you said you were coming right back.”

“Sorry. I guess I lost track of time. Regency is right up the road. Wanna go once it’s open?”

Katrina perked up. “Sure!”

“Let me get showered and dressed, and then I’ll be good to go.”

“Deal.”

After I was dressed, Katrina and I headed off to the mall. “Where do you want to go first?” asked Katrina as we walked through the food court. My eyes were drawn to the arcade as I saw the Killer Instinct Gold game.

“And who says the arcades are dead!” I exclaimed, making a beeline for the machine.

“Are you really going to play that game?”

“Hell yes!” I said, checking out the demo movie on the screen.

“But that’s pretty…violent.” She noted weakly.

“It isn’t real violence. Come on, Trina. You know the difference between cartoon violence and the real thing, right?” I said as I got some dollar bills exchanged for quarters.

“Yes, but-”

“This will only take a sec. I haven’t played this game in forever, but I think I should be able to beat it.” I chose Maya as my player, and kept her outfit colors at default yellow. Maya was your standard scantily clad video game female character: dressed in a bikini made of leopard skin. I liked playing as her because she was hot, and she had a slick pair of daggers that could block almost any combo.

“Um, she’s very pretty…” Katrina said awkwardly, as I started my first match against Orchid, another video game vixen. “How do they make it look so real?”

I shrugged, breaking out a few minor linking combos to push Orchid towards the edge of her level. “I don’t really know. I’m not much of a tech geek. But I know they couldn’t even make it look like this on N64 when it was ported to the home console.”

“Huh. You sound like a tech geek to me.” After a few seconds, I knocked Orchid out of her stage and to her death below. “Wow. Was that supposed to happen?”

“Yep. Now I just have to do it nine more times.” I continued on until I beat the crap of the final boss, Gargos, and beat the game.

“You’re really good at that game.”

I smiled, and walked away as the ending movie started playing. “I should be. I’ve been playing it for almost ten years.”

“You used to play video games all the time, right?”

“Yeah. My mom never let me have a video game console at home, but I’d come here, or I’d go over an aunt’s house to play. I had to get very good, very quickly.”

“How many aunts do you have?”

I chuckled. “Three aunts, and one great-aunt.”

“Do you have a big family?”

“Yes…”

We talked about family for a while before we walked around in the store. Of course, we hit up the usual stores to kill time: Spencer’s, The Gap, Barnes and Nobles…but nothing really grabbed my attention as a gift for anyone. Katrina, in the meantime, purchased a few gospel albums for my mom, and a hat for my brother. I felt a little annoyed that she hadn’t bought anything for me, but I couldn’t really complain. After all, I didn’t even believe in the spirit of Christmas.

Around mid-afternoon, Katrina collapsed on a bench, her hands full of bags. “Woo! Time for a break! Do you want to get something to eat?”

“Sure.”

“You’re the Jacksonville expert. Pick a good local place. There’s only so much mall food I can stand to eat in two days.”
“I know this great pizzeria at The Beaches. I think you’ll like it.” I drove about twenty minutes away to a little strip mall that housed a convenience store, a dry cleaners, and a small party planner’s shop.

“Are you sure the pizza is good here?” She asked, still unsure as she opened and closed her door.

“Trust me. Space is at a premium down here, so there are several restaurants next to all kinds of different businesses.” I got of my car, and we walked the two steps up to reach the restaurant. “I hope your refined tastes are not offended by the exterior of this fine eating establishment.” I said snootily.

Katrina giggled. “Not at all.” We went inside, and Katrina looked a little confused. “This place looks…nice.” She said, looking at all the abstract artwork on the walls. Even in the middle of the day, the Italian restaurant had a aura of gloominess to it, concentrated by the dark brown walls, and poor lighting.

The maitre’d sat us at a table and promptly turned on a table light that was needed to see anything, and gave us our menus. “It gets better. Trust me.”

Katrina inhaled deeply. “Well, it smells good in here. That’s a good sign.” We both decided to split a margheretta pizza.