required 4

         Jenna sat at the lab bench.  She leaned over resting her head in her hand while she doodled on the lab book with the other.  She sighed as she sketched out the picture.  Her hand moved with practiced precision as the image began to take shape.  She smiled.

         The face brought back memories of childhood.  She remembered playing with Rachel’s house.  Rachel had been sick for a week and was finally feeling better.  They were making up for lost time running and chasing each other about the yard.  She remembered that face looming over them.  He was the giant.  He chased them into hiding places pretending he couldn’t find them.  They raced out and would grab at the treasure trying to take it away.  At the time, the game was endless.

         Jenna sighed again. 

         The protein extraction had failed yet again.  This was proving difficult.  She told the Senior Techs she had an idea she wanted to try.  It produced a foul smelling black goo that proved to be failure number one hundred and fifty-seven.  Not knowing what to try next she sat down to think. 

         “That worked out well,” she thought,  “Perhaps I should just call it a night.”

         The door the lab bust open.

         “There you are, “ Rachel said as she exploded into the room.  “I told them you’d be in the lab.”

         “Hey, Rach.”

         “I don’t see you for two weeks and I get ‘Hey, Rach’?”

         “Sorry, I have been a bit busy,” Jenna stated as she flipped the page over.

         “Busy, hunh.  Let’s see just how busy. “

         “Hey!”

         Rachel snatched the notebook off the counter and thumbed through it. 

         “Let’s see.  Jenna’s last official entry was about an hour ago.  Then there are five pages of doodles.”

         “Gimme that.”

         Rachel spun around the lab bench to the other side out of reach.

         “Wait is that my brother?”

         Jenna ducked her head.

         “Busy, and yet you had five pages of doodles, one of which is a mostly nude of my brother, “ Rachel said.

         “Well, the experiment failed for the millionth time, I wasn’t sure what to try next so I sat down to think about it and sometimes the doodles help, “ Jenna said gesturing.

         Jenna looked up at Rachel.  Rachel stared back; then blinked.

         “Don’t look at me like that.  They do help.”

         Rachel blinked again.

         “Fine.  I am sorry I haven’t talked you.  I have my tech exams coming up, plus I am on this project and it is really stressful and I just got caught up in it.”

         “There are dead people with more a social life then you.”

         “Really?”

         Rachel rolled her eyes, “Jake was right.  You are too easy sometimes.  Come on. We’re leaving.”

         “But…”

         Rachel grabbed her hand and pulled Jenna toward the door.

         “You are going to get out of this lab and have some fun if I have to knock you out to do it.”

         “Hold on, Rachel.  Help me clean up the last mess and I’ll go.  There are protocols to follow. “

         “Done.”

         The girls cleaned up the equipment.  The goo was saved in an air tight container. Jenna left a note for the morning shift about what she had tried and also logged the information into the computer for Senior Tech review. 

         “Negative results, still need attention, “ Jenna thought to herself.

         After about twenty minutes, the girls were done.  Jenna removed her protective clothing that placed it in the bin to be sanitized.  She undid and shook out her blonde hair. 

         “That always feels good, “ she stated out loud.

         “I’m sure it does, “ said Rachel watching impatiently.

         Jenna put on her street clothes.  The girls raced out of the lab building and onto the street.  The sunset cast a faint orange glow as they approached the rail station. 

         “Where are we going anyway, “ Jenna inquired.

         “Jake’s house to meet up with the gang .”

         “Really?  The whole gang?”

         Rachel looked sideways at Jenna.

         “We were, like, twelve the last time we all hung out together. “

         “The last time YOU hung out with all of us. Yes.”

         “Can we drop the black woman shtick; you have made your point.”

         “Sorry, Jenna.  We just, really missed you.  It’s been two years since we all hung out together and chances are; we might not get the chance again.”

         Jenna hugged her friend tight.  She noticed she was a bit taller than Rachel now.  It had been too long.

         The train arrived and they boarded.  It was mostly empty.  The girls started chatting.

         Rachel mentioned how Michelle had lost the summer music contest because she flubbed the lyrics to a song.  Jenna chatted about how one of the other chemistry techs had blown up a test tube in an experiment because he was more interested in talking to her than paying attention to what he was doing.  Rachel talked about Jake passing his scout preliminaries and so was in for two years of training.  Jenna asked how Michael was doing with his father, and Rachel mentioned it was touch and go.  However, Cicero was mediating between the two and it seemed to be helping.  Rachel also mentioned that Leo was probably going to fail his generals but that sculpting and drawing was keeping him afloat with the artists.

         After that, they moved on to other things and became more animated. They seemed to be talking with equal parts hands and voices.  A passenger on the train looked up from his book and smiled watching them for a brief period.  He laughed to himself remembering how teenage girls hadn’t changed much from thirty years ago and returned to reading.

         “Ya know that is a pretty good picture of my brother, “ Rachel stated.

         “I had to learn to draw in the chemistry cycle.  Organic molecules are easier to understand for me if I can see them.  So, I had alot of practice.”

         Jenna paused.

         “Wait….you don’t he knows?!”

         Rachel laughed.  Jenna buried her head in her hands.  Rachel laughed harder.

         “Jenna……he’s…..he’s known…..since we were ten……mom knew since you were eight.”

         “oh no, “ Jenna mumbled.

         Rachel wrapped her arm around her friend.

         “Look it’s not that bad.  Just act normal.”

         “Wait….he’s going to be there too?!”

         “Yeah.  We’re all in town for the festival.  Even the thing one and thing two are here. “

         “Did my mom call you? Ya know, before you left. “

         “No, sorry. “

         “She doesn’t like to travel without dad anyway even if it is just a few miles to here. “

         The computer announcer chimed their stop.  The girls got up.

         “Race ya, “ Rachel said and bolted through the doors, with Jenna close on her heels.

         Jenna felt the thrill of running.  She chased Rachel down the road. Ducking under branches.  Jumping over bushes, benches and anything else in their way.  Jenna passed her and looked over her shoulder to see Rachel disappear down a side street.  She jumped and grabbed a light pole to spin herself around and charged off after her friend.  She bolted down the side street to see Rachel starting up a flight of stairs.  Jenna put her head down and sprinted as best she could. 

         Her legs were burning.  Her lungs hurt.  He legs were feeling like dead weight.  The stairs didn’t help, but she took them two at a time anyway.  She grumbled to herself about letting herself get so out of shape that she could barely handle two flights of stairs.

         Rachel was sitting on the top step, grinning. 

         “yeah yeah….you made your point….again, “ Jenna stated as made her way up the last few steps.

         Rachel smiled and held out her hand.  Jenna took it. She stared at Rachel for moment.

         Jenna noticed that her dark curly hair was cut close to her head.  She had single earring in her left ear.  As, Jenna’s eyes tracked down her body, it was apparent that her friend was looking more like a woman than she remembered.  She even noticed that Rachel had some subtle makeup on that she had never seen her wear before.  Her mind went to all the biological hormones and such that caused the changes and started to catalogue how each had triggered certain  effect, the combination, and that her friend would continue changing for a time and it would only really…..

         Rachel squeezed her hand.  The feel was same, the texture so familiar from years of playing together.  The hands combed her hair as they played dress up.  The hands held her after the terrible trip with her father.  Seeing their hands together reminded her.

         “Rachel,  do you member when I stayed over and stayed up and stared at the stars?”

         “Yeah, why?”

         “Nevermind….Just came to mind for some reason.”

         “Come on.  There’s people to meet. “

         They walked together down the landing.  The apartment complex was an older style with steel and concrete instead of plasteel resin.  They went down two doors and knocked.  A scarecrow opened it.

         “JENNA, “ it shouted as it engulfed her in a hug, “come in, come in.”

         The small apartment was filled. Jenna stared at her friends.  Some she hadn’t seen in two years, others a few months.  But all had changed.  Their bodies were different.    The boys voice were lower than she remember.  All the changes she noticed in Rachel were amplified in this room. 

         Cicero came up to her and chatted a bit. He then took her by the arm and introduced her to everyone as if she was a stranger.  Michelle hugged her and said she was grateful she came.  Jake had always been distant with her. Now was no different.  He shook her hand and nodded.  Michael dressed in a seventeenth century costume bowed deeply and kissed her hand.  Leo greeted her with a cheek kiss in the artist fashion.  She just couldn’t believe they were all in the same room together.

         Everyone started talking at once.  The conversation ebbed and flowed from one topic to the next.  Joke and jabs flew with the speed of familiarity.  The old classics and some new soon to be ones mixed in equal measure.  It felt good to be around old friends. 

         As the conversation moved on, Jenna smiled and watched.  She embraced the familiar routine.  The years apart no longer mattered.  They were together now. 

         “Hey, “ she stated, “Do they still do the nightly dances?”

         “Of course, “ Michelle said.

         “Let’s go. “ Jenna stated , “all of us, together.  Look, I didn’t realize how much I missed you guys.  We are all going in different directions and who knows if we will get this chance again.  My work and such is taking more and more time.  Michelle is performing all over the place.  Jake is going off to training in the spring.  Cicero and Leo are finishing generals. Michael is living in the archivist dorms, and Rachel is living with her parents.  Let’s do something now that we will remember. “

         “Capital idea,” blusted Michael.

         Jake nodded.

         Michelle squealed with delight and hugged Jenna.

         Rachel inclined her head toward the door.

         Leo shrugged.

         Cicero just smiled.

         The ganged headed for the door.  Only to be cut off by the scarecrow.

         “Rachel, “ it stated.

         “Yes dad, I know.  No drinking alcohol.  Stay with the group, or at least in pairs.  Make sure everyone gets home. And be home by midnight.”

         “Okay,” her dad stated, “Max.  Go with them.”

         “Aaawww dad, really. “

         “Yes, Rachel really.”

         Max stood up from the couch.  She did not think it was possible but he seemed taller than she remembered.  The smile was still the same, as was the rest of him that she could see.  Jenna shook her head.

         “Come on, munchkins, let’s go. “

         They said their good byes and head out. 

         The walk and the train ride was a blur.  Conversations streams flowed in and out of topics. Jenna floated along.  Sometimes joining in and sometimes just letting it wash over her.  A quip here, and comment there,  something said from left field over there,  the ebbs and flows refreshed her in ways she could not describe.  Even the pauses felt natural.  She felt at home.

         As they exited the train, the air pulsed with the music. It pulled you toward the lights in the garden square.  Lasers shot up.  Rainbows of color danced through the trees.  Jenna’s mind raced to analyzing the frequencies and which would be heard first and last.  She felt the bass beat, then the tenor sounds of male voices, then the higher altos and finally the sopranos.  She looked around at the gang. They all moved quicker.  Then they passed through the sound dampeners.

         The gang stopped.  The crowd before them moved as a single organism.  Arms waved sinuously.  The air smelled of vanilla smoke.  They looked around and saw ghouls, ghost, and ghasts. Vampires danced with werewolves.  Demons of lust, anger and pride moved around each other in an entrancing fashion.  Jenna grabbed the nearest hand and pulled them in with her.

         She turned to see Leo.  He began to move in a jerky fashion.  Jenna remembered they called it the popping.  He moved quickly at times and slowly others, but the arms and hands always froze.  Jenna tried and failed to copy him so she just move however she felt. Michelle and Michael danced together. Rachel was dancing with Jake and Cicero.  Max was dancing with another girl.

         The music changed and the partners did too.  At one point, they were all in circle with other dancing in the middle.  Leo competed with another guy.  Michelle entranced several guys.  Then the circle broke and the gang  grouped up.  They danced alone or with each other as the music changed.    They moved as a subset and grouped with those whose frequencies matched.

         The hours went by.  The music began to slow.  Jenna felt a hand grab hers.  It was Max.  She laid her head on his chest as they swayed to the music.  The touch of his hand in hers felt perfect.  Their bodies moved in harmony.  She began to cry.  She knew it would never be.  It had always been a childhood crush.

         The music ended. She looked up at him.  He smiled that smile and kissed her forehead, just like he had a thousand times before.  She hugged him tight like she had a thousand times before.

         The crowd began to disperse.  The gang grouped up and headed home. 

         Riding on the train was crowded but quiet.  Jake leaned against the window and slept.  Rachel chatted with Leo. Cicero joked with Michelle and Michael.  Max flirted with a blond and redhead he met at the dance.  Jenna sat and watched. 

         Michael was dropped off first.  The archivist dorms were closest to the park. Michelle, Michael and Leo were next.  Rachel moved over and sat next to Jenna.  Jenna reached down and took her hand. 

         “It was a good night, “ she said.

         “Yes, “ Rachel replied squeezing her hand, “yes it was. “