Five teenagers almost end up killing each other

As planned, the five met the following day. Sarsaparilla had been most reluctant to go anywhere that would cost money, so they decided to meet mid morning at one of the park areas. There were many parks to choose from in Verdant; Leroy said he knew one close to the North tower which was just a boring area of grass and a few trees. In other words, ideal for a meeting while unlikely to have anyone else within listening range. So at the appointed time, four teenagers walked in from four different directions, while Leroy flew in. They sat in a circle on the grass under the biggest tree and looked at each other. The girls casually adjusted their positions and skirts to be as discreet as they considered appropriate, while the boys just sat as they felt like.

After a small silence:

"Ah, hello everyone.” said Adalace, looking ever so cute.

Sarsaparilla looked cheerful and also greeted everyone.

Another silence.

“So, how long have you known each other?” said Leroy.

“Well, actually yesterday was the first time I met the others.” said Erasyl.

“I’ve only met the two girls once before.” said Maggie.

“Well, Sarsaparilla and I barely know each other...” said Adalace.

"And this is the first time I've met the girls without Teylon being present.” said Sarsaparilla.

More embarrassed silence, as each teenager covertly looked at the others, while pretending to be just looking at the grass in the centre of their circle.

Erasyl decided he would be the first to demonstrate his social ability. He eyed Leroy, then reached over and patted his thigh.

“You're pretty handsome, you know!”

Leroy froze, said ‘Eek!’ then rapidly slid out of each and lifted a metre into the air.

“Gross! If you want to hit on men that’s your business, but not on me!”

“I was only complimenting you...”

“I don’t need that from you!”

“Yeah, that is gross.” said Maggie, turning to face Erasyl. She looked disgusted.

So Erasyl doubled down on his disaster and made a pass at her.

“Well, actually I also like girls. Particularly when they are showing off as much leg as you are.”

A horrified gasp from Maggie as she realised that, as a result of turning in Erasyl’s direction, her skirt had ridden right up.

“Stop that you miserable boy!”

At the same time, her skirt miraculously straightened itself out. Simultaneously, half a dozen ten centimetre steel nails flew out of her purse and started flying around. Mainly around Erasyl’s head. He flinched backwards; the nails followed his head’s movement and kept on circling.

Leroy, still hovering a metre above, spoke, making a desperate attempt to diffuse the situation.

“Hey, that’s neat how your skirt straightened itself out, how do you do that?”

“I sew small steel beads into the hem, of course. Ideal for coping with lecherous creepy boys like you two!”

“I’m not creepy! A true hero doesn’t do that sort of thing!”

“You call yourself a hero? Really?”

Both Leroy and Maggie were beginning to shout. Erasyl added his input:

“Well, he is a hero, he saved Teylon yesterday!”

“And I saved the boy yesterday!”

Erasyl took his stupidity up to 120%, and said:

“Actually, did you realise that yesterday, when you went over the railing, we had a clear view of your panties - argh!”

Maggie went nuclear and blinded him. “That will teach you to look up my skirt!”

“Shit, what have you done to me...”

Now it was Maggie’s turn to scream. Because Erasyl erased her ability. The flying nails around his head broke out of their rapid orbit and scatted all over the grass. One nail each hit Sarsaparilla and Adalace, causing both to jump in surprise and discomfort.

“That’s it, I’m leaving this miserable bunch of hopeless losers!” said Maggie.

She struggled to her feet, only to be brought down again by Sarsaparilla.

“You hit me with your stupid nails! I’m not going to let you run away like that!”

Adalace, completely dropping her cute facade, added: “Yeah, take responsibility for your actions!”

“Yes! Give me back my vision!” yelled Erasyl, as he failed his arms around. In doing so, he knocked Leroy’s leg. Panicking, Erasyl erased Leroy’s ability. Who promptly fell down on Erasyl. They both started fighting each other, but did not get very far since Adalace screamed at the top of her voice:

“I hate fights! You will leave each other alone! You boys are always fighting and bullying each other!”

It was a very loud scream. They all stopped moving, and four of them looked around in embarrassment. Did anyone else hear that? It appeared that there was not anyone else within earshot. Erasyl, still blind, just glared at nothing in particular.

Taking stock of the situation:

Sarsaparilla, looking outraged, was holding onto Maggie, who looked defiant and angry.

Leroy, looking as if he was having severe second thoughts about this group, was locked in a close fighting embrace with Erasyl, who looked frightened and completely pissed off.

Adalace looked as if she was totally disgusted with everybody. She made a decision, and lifted her left wrist and made a phone call.

“Teylon! Could you please come here immediately! After a mere five minutes of meeting each other, the so called friendship group you have created is about to descend into murder and mayhem and I really think you should take responsibility and do something about it!"

She listened to Teylon's response, issued the command to her mobile to send him her current location, and then disconnected the call.

"Right, he's coming out."

"In which case, no one is running away, OK!" said Sarsaparilla. She no longer looked even remotely cheerful.

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Teylon: Saving the day

Teylon had been spending the morning lazing on his sofa, facing his window. But the visions he was seeing in his head were a day old; the ground below, slowly coming closer, the wind on his face increasing, his clothes starting to flap in the breeze as his speed increased to the terminal velocity for a falling person on Mars...

Take a deep breath. And another. Right.

He wondered why he had not been affected like this back on Earth, after being bitten by that snake.

That's right, on Earth I actually did die. In resurrecting me, Esmeralda must have turned right down my shock response. While this time, I didn't actually die. So I'm left to deal with the stress all by myself.

It's a shame I don't drink. One of those good stiff drinks the hero is always quaffing down at such moments would be nice.

At this point, the phone call from Adalace came.

"Yes, I'll be there."

He disconnected the call.

Shit, they really are hopeless at making friends.

He scrambled to put on his shoes and was out of the door within half a minute.

But how am I supposed to fix whatever mess they have gotten themselves into? I'm not a relationship counsellor, you know.

After travelling by elevator, sub-terrain maglev pod, escalators, and a final elevator up to the surface, he stepped out, onto a grassed area. Behind him was what looked like a small garden shed which just so happened to have an elevator door in its side. Before him was a grassy knoll, a few trees, and five teenagers sitting under the biggest tree. He started walking in their direction.

Yeah, they definitely look strained.

They were sitting in a uniform circle, a good metre or more between each one. They were all intently studying the grass in front of them, and doing their best not to catch the gaze of anyone else.

Oh, bloody hell. What do I do now?

As if in answer, Esmeralda provided five brief snapshots, one after the other, for five footsteps.

Teylon’s Soul Reading of: Sarsaparilla

It always ends badly. Nobody stays with me, nobody. Perhaps I should just die and get it over and done with.

Teylon:

Shit, she's suicidal? But she's always so cheerful and positive...

Teylon’s Soul Reading of: Adalace

Always fighting. And bullying. Why can't people be nice to each other. And nice to me. I'm sick to death of it all. And always telling me to be something I'm not. Maybe I should just give up, no one will miss me I'm sure.

Teylon:

Oh. Adalace too. There's apparently more going on beneath that cute exterior than we suspected.

Teylon’s Soul Reading of: Maggie

Mum dies and leaves me alone, Dad's only interest in me is to continually push me to be some sort of perfect student and daughter, all my previous attempts to get friends end in failure, and now this screaming debacle. Maybe I should 'accidently' miss-time one of my practice explosion trials and just end it all.

Teylon:

Sigh. This is getting depressing.

Teylon’s Soul Reading of: Erasyl

My father and my brothers tease me all the time, every time I try to initiate some sort of relationship I get slapped down, obviously I'm hopeless at this. I'll die a virgin for sure. Perhaps I should make it sooner rather than later?

Teylon:

Well, I already knew he didn't have a clue when it came to finding a boy/girl friend. But how am I going to help him?

Teylon’s Soul Reading of: Leroy

At this rate I'll never be a hero to anyone. Never make up for the pain. And I had such high hopes, too, for this lot. Maybe I'll give up on this group, just like I have with the others. I can wait a decent interval so that they don't make any association, then fly myself into the ground at high speed.

Teylon:

All five are suicidal? All five? What are the odds of that happening by chance...

None.

Narrative Causality says the selection of these five kids must be deliberate. Esmeralda must have planned this, for currently unknown purposes.

And, right now, it looks like I'm being held responsible. My immortal soul is being held ransom for the sake of their well-being.

Oh. Shit. What sin did I commit to deserve this...? Actually let's not go down that track, OK?

By now, he had walked up to the circle, and they were all looking at him. Although Erasyl seemed to have some trouble with his vision, he was squinting and trying to shade his eyes from the sun. The gap between Maggie and Erasyl was the largest, so that is where he sat.

"Ah, Hi, everyone."

Adalace mumbled something, everyone else was silent.

How the hell do I start this?

He got a brief image of Maggie.

Ah, thanks, Esmeralda.

He cleared his throat.

"So, ah, Maggie, perhaps you would like to start the proceedings?"

She indicated she would, by pointing with a stiff, emphatic, arm movement, to Erasyl. Disgust dripping from her voice, she said:

"That dickhead made two gross remarks about me, and then he turned off my ability!"

"Well, she went and blinded me!" said Erasyl in reply.

Everyone else spoke up, and it took Teylon ten minutes to get them to calm down and to extract a mostly coherent story from them.

Sigh. I'll have to agree with Maggie, he does act like a dickhead. On the other hand, I know from Esmeralda that he has potential.

"OK, OK. How about Erasyl apologises nicely and then Maggie can apologise in return and we can restart..."

"How can I trust him not to make another dickhead pass at me?"

"Well, how can I trust her not to blind me again?"

"Everyone, please be quiet! Now, look, I know you're seeing the worse of each other at the moment, but I'm sure that Maggie can be trusted not to indiscriminately go around frying everybody's brain, and I'm sure that Erasyl is able to make an agreement not to make any suggestive comments to anything that has a heartbeat."

Erasyl folded his arms onto his chest and looked away.

"Trust her? Like hell. You don't have any idea of what's it like to be suddenly blinded. I'm sure her next move will be to silence us at the same time!"

"Well, in that case I don't trust you!" said Maggie.

"Silence!"

The teenagers looked startled at Teylon's sudden outburst.

By now, Leroy was hovering just above the ground, looking like he might do a runner (flyer?) at any moment.

Maggie looked like she might be thinking about the same thing.

"Please, no one leave yet. Now, I trust both of you, I'm sure that..."

He was interrupted by Erasyl.

"If you trust her so much, how about asking her to blind and silence you! Then you will see what I mean."

"OK, I will! But if I do, you must then agree to try out my suggestions."

After a moment, they all agreed.

God help me, am I really doing this?

"Maggie, if you could?"

She looked hesitant, and then his world went pitch black. He opened his mouth to say something, only he was totally unable to get any sound to come out. Dropped suddenly into darkness, unable to cry out for help, he felt his panic rising. He started to flay his arms about, when one of his arms was grabbed by someone and held.

"It's all right, we're still here." said Erasyl.

And then his other arm was held by Maggie.

"It'll only last a few minutes."

Right. I'm in no danger, am I? No, none at all. None at all. Although it is scary. But it's comforting having my hands held... I'm glad nobody else apart from these teenagers can see me now, holding hands with a boy and a girl. Kind of embarrassing. Right, keep thinking about such things, don't think about the darkness and helplessness, I can wait it out. I can, it won't take long. I hope.

After a small eternity, his vision came back. Very blurry and the sunlight was very bright. But it was returning.

"Awk, argh, ... C-can you hear me now?"

He rested for a minute, until his heartbeat and breathing slowed down to their normal pace.

"OK, now perhaps Erasyl will apologise to Leroy and Maggie and promise he'll never make a pass to anyone here again?"

Mumble, mumble from Erasyl.

"Speak louder, kiddo!" said Maggie.

"Yeah, sure, sure. I'll promise not to make any passes. But, I mean, isn't it unfair? You girls wear short skirts, boys go around without t-shirts, and I'm supposed to ignore all of that?"

Maggie was making like a pressure cooker, building up steam pressure, before releasing it in one scalding blast.

Say something before we all slide back into the depths of hell!

"Erasyl and Maggie," he said, in the calmest, most reasonable voice he could manage, "If we can understand each other's point of views, it is easier."

Teylon reached back in his memories, to the dim far off days when he was once a teenager dealing with the same issues.

"It was exactly the same when I was young, you know. Teenage girls are always very conscious of their bodies, they wear clothes to show them off in the best possible manner, and enjoy it when boys and girls appreciate them. But, that doesn't mean they want the boys ogling them all the time. It might be a fine line, but it is a very definite line. And it is mandatory that you boys learn it. No exceptions. Or you'll get the current mess, all over again."

"And girls, you do need to make some allowances. When I was a teenager, girls were the mysterious other, attractive, alluring; us boys were practically compelled to notice their bodies. But, personally, I did learn the lesson. There might have been a few embarrassing, not to mention painful, lessons involved, but I did learn."

"Erasyl, if Maggie wants to wear a short skirt, it is her right. And if you see her pretty legs as she walks along, well she can't complain. But if she is making it clear that you are going too far, say you look at her as she sits down on the grass, then you will just have to, casually as if you were going to do it anyway, look away, and pretend you didn't see anything. And she will pretend not to notice. And if you want to sit down next to her, a gentleman will work it out. Work out how to change the direction of your approach, so that you come from her side, and sit down next to her so as to allow her the maximum of modesty. It's not rocket science, it's just basic courtesy."

All the teenagers were looking at him, waiting for him to finish his long speech.

"OK, OK, I think I get it." said Erasyl, "It feels like a lot of work, but I suppose I can manage."

He turned to Maggie. "I promise not to do such things in the future. OK?"

Maggie nodded.

"Now, Maggie, it's your turn. Perhaps you can state that you won't be using your powers against anyone - well unless it is some sort of weird emergency where they would agree to it anyway?"

Maggie, with a disgruntled expression on her face, agreed.

Teylon also managed to extract a statement from each of the other three, to the effect that they will give the group another chance.

And then there was silence. A long, uneasy, embarrassed silence.

If we all depart our separate ways now, it will be a great big letdown. It also means they have nothing much in the way of anything positive to take away with them.

Well, looks like there's nothing for it but to make an offer...

"What say we all retire to the Frenzy, and I will again shout you all to as much ice cream concoction as you like?"

"Ooh, yes please!" said Sarsaparilla.

The others agreed, although not with quite the same enthusiasm as Sarsaparilla.

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Teylon: Confession is good for your soul. At least, that is Esmeralda's opinion.

Teylon realised that the Chocolate Frenzy had a small function room, available to groups by arrangement. So, on the spur of the moment, he requested it. Grandma Frenzy was happy to acquiesce, and they all ended up sitting around the table in a private room.

Teylon had a coffee, flat white, with a small cookie. He looked at what the others were having.

"I say, if you keep eating all of that carbohydrate, you're going to end up very unhealthy, you know."

"Nope!" said Adalace, looking with anticipation at her order, "We're all under thirty, and thus all have had our genes edited to remove any chance of getting overweight or suffering from diabetes or any other associated disease."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot. As you were."

The ice creams might have been cold, but the atmosphere was thawing out a little.

Big ice cream moustache on her face, Sarsaparilla smiled and said:

"Teylon is very generous; this is now the third free outing I've had here!"

"Say, how do you support yourself?" said Adalace, "I mean, you don't have a full time job, the neighbour watch job pays peanuts, and you managed to buy your way to Mars without any outside help."

Oh-Oh. This could get sticky. I'll have to deflect their interest...

He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted. Teylon had the very disconcerting experience of getting a soul reading of himself. More specifically, of the time when Esmeralda was explaining things:

Telyon’s Soul Reading of: Himself

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Although, when we finally get around to Judgement time, I'm sure we will have a really fascinating talk about how you made your fortune, Mr Teflon Rat."

Telyon:

He closed his mouth.

Bloody hell. Does this mean I'm to tell them about my professional life. What sin did I commit...? Oh, never mind.

"Well, yes, you see, hmm, I called myself 'The Teflon Rat'."

Giggle from Maggie: "Teflon Rat? What does that mean?"

"Teflon, as in non-stick Teflon. They used to use it on frying pans. As in, nothing ever stuck to me. Nobody ever linked me to any of my jobs."

Maggie was the only one that looked as if she might be having some idea of where this was leading.

"Oh yeah? And what sort of jobs were those, if I may so inquire?"

"Well, you see, as I'm sure you're all aware, there are many injustices in our world. Or worlds, as the case may be. Often times innocent people will lose out to the ruthless, the corrupt, the uncaring, they will have their superannuation drained, their life insurance policies rendered invalid just as they need them, their life savings stolen away. Often those with the power and wealth will feel entitled to gain even more power, even more wealth, and in the process ruin people's lives, shove them aside, with a complete disregard to any principles of humanity, or of decency. "

"That is where I come in. The Teflon Rat, lurking in the corners of our world, hiding in the cracks. I observe injustices, extreme imbalances of wealth, that have been accumulated by violence, or by the callous disregard of people's welfare; I act, in my own small way, to redistribute this wealth, to take it away from the elites who believe only in themselves, who worship only power; and return it, in so far as it is practical, to society, to the people who actually work to support and protect society. Of course, it is dangerous to me; those who accumulate their ill-gotten gains are also those who have the most power to change the laws in their favour. So the usual mechanisms of society, like the police force and the justice system, are helpless against such foes. The police and courts can't break the law, so it is up to me to risk my own freedom to get around the laws. Morally speaking I am not breaking the law, more like subverting the law in ways that align with the original law's original purpose to protect the innocent and weak from all of the predatory elements out there."

"I may not be able to right many wrongs, I am only one man in a society of billions after all, but I provide a service, I do my best to level the playing field, to make the unscrupulous and selfish think twice before they rip off anybody again. I do my little bit the make the world a better place to live in for the common man."

It took the teenagers a minute or two to digest this manifesto. The silence was finally broken by another giggle from Maggie.

"Right. In other words, you're a con man. So, the man who was just lecturing to us about the morality of teenage behaviour, and quoting from his own experiences, is a thief? Hmm."

Teylon began spluttering, before getting control of himself.

"I am not a common thief! I have standards! I don't ruin the lives of some battler struggling to earn enough money to pay the rent each week! I'm above that! It's like calling a cordon bleu chef a hamburger cooker! Or calling a heart transplant surgeon a butcher!"

Taken back by this outburst, and cognisant of the fact that he was, after all, more than thirty years her senior, Maggie backed off. For now.

"Well, then, how much money did you 'earn' from your jobs?" asked Leroy, putting air quotes around the 'earn'.

"There is no need to put quotes in there, young man!"

Calming down a little, Teylon continued.

"And, I guess that is a valid question. Before my last job, I made about-"

He named a figure. Everyone else was startled.

"That much? And how much did you give back?" said Erasyl.

"About 80%, mainly to charities and the like. You understand, I had to keep some money for myself, after all I had to pay the rent and feed myself and set aside funds for health costs and so on and so forth..."

"So, you actually did give back a lot?" asked Maggie.

"Of course. As I said, I am not just some sleazy conman ripping off your grandparents."

"Ah, you're not?" said Maggie. She looked as if she just had some sort of epiphany, and for a few moments ignored the continuing conversation.

"And, ah, did you ever marry?" said Sarsaparilla.

"No, no, I mean, it would be irresponsible for one with a lifestyle like mine to commit himself to a family..."

Small silence.

"And what about your last job?" said Leroy.

"Ah. That one. It was my longest and my best ever, even if I do say so."

"How much did you earn that time?" said Leroy.

"Oh, about twenty times all of my previous earnings."

Gasps of surprise from the teenagers.

"Of course, as usual, I gave away 80% of it. But that still left me plenty with which to migrate to Mars. And, I suppose, due to currency restrictions, when I die here all of that money will remain in the Martian economy. So I guess you could say I have given the rest to Mars."

"That's not too bad... I suppose." said Adalace.

At this point Maggie cleared her throat. She happened to be sitting opposite to Teylon, so she raised herself so she was kneeling on her chair, leant forward slightly, and spoke.

"Just by chance, about twenty or so years ago, did one of your little jobs include the gutting of the South Seas Asteroid Mining company?"

South Seas... Oh - Oh, I remember that one. Where the hell is this leading to?

"I wouldn't call it 'gutting'. If I recall, that company was a sham right from the start. The businessmen who set it up deliberately constructed a real looking company, with employees and took in some genuine investments, and then used that as a basis to set up a sting whereby they pretended to be asteroid miners, but in practice it was all a fraud. By the time I came along, they had lured many small scale investors into their scheme, and all of the money had been siphoned off into their own secret bank accounts. I merely used my skills to, in turn; siphon off their secret bank accounts. I believe that in the resulting chaos, they were outed and were given quite a lot of jail time. So another plus to my account. Classic Teflon Rat, if I may so."

Teylon, looking pleased with himself, indeed looking quite smug, finished his explanation. Four teenagers, looking as if they had some doubts about this but not finding anything obviously wrong, nodded their heads in tepid enthusiasm. The fifth teenager was Maggie.

"That's all very well, Mr Rat, but my grandparents were one of the ones who invested their life savings into the scheme. Apparently, those sleazy businessmen were pretty slick in their sales spiel. They managed to talk my grandparents into handing over everything they had. When the police finally finished with their investigations, it was found that there was only enough money left over in those secret accounts to pay the taxman and the first in line creditors. My grandparents lost everything, and my mother, who was then studying at university, had to give up her career plans and take on cleaning jobs just to support herself and them. So maybe it wasn't all that well, after all?"

Crap, crap, crap. This is getting real ugly, real fast. Do I have to subject myself to an inquisition by five immature, callow teenagers?

Teylon’s Direct Message from Esmeralda

YES

Esmeralda's voice was clear and distinct. This was the first time she had issued a direct command.

Teylon: Sweats it out

Gulp. Looks like I do.

"Ah, well, remember I wasn't the one to steal your grandparent’s money..."

Maggie by now had climbed up onto the tabletop and was on her hands and knees, looking down at Teylon. She was showing her teeth, and it was not in a smile, either.

"Not directly. But if you hadn't stolen it from the rip off artists, it would still have been available to compensate the investors."

"Now, err, I did donate most of the money..."

"But it still didn't end up back to where it originally came from, did it?"

"Well, I suppose so..."

Leroy got into the act: "Why didn't you just tip of the authorities, without pinching the money?"

"Ah, because, because, well that job took me half a year of research to find. I mean, I needed to get some money back to live on, right?"

"So, why didn't you just pinch the 20% amount that you always kept yourself, then tip of the authorities?" asked Erasyl.

"Well, ah, I..."

"In fact, when you donated that 80% to various charities and whatever, why didn't you do a little bit more research and find out how to donate it so that the victims would have ended up with it? After all, they deserved it, not the charities." said Adalace. She was not smiling, either.

Teylon was beginning to sweat.

Why didn't I? Well, you know, it's, ah, well, not that simple! Damn these kids.

"Actually, I think your concern for the victims of that crime only went so far. You just chose not to take it any further, didn't you? You could have taken it to the next level and did your best to reimburse them, but you didn't. For a man who has so far been presenting himself as a mature, responsible, moral adult, you really fall short, don't you?"

This was from Sarsaparilla. Who was looking at Teylon with a faint sneer in her expression.

Silence from Teylon.

"Well?" said Maggie. By now, she was glaring down at Teylon. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Do I have to bare my soul here... Shit. With an Angel of Death breathing down my neck, what other choice is there?

"Well, I guess, you could say, I am guilty of, ah, causing your grandparents to lose their money. Ah, indirectly, but, ah..."

"And, you never worried about the victims after you had done your jobs?" said Adalace.

Teylon picked up a table napkin and wiped his forehead.

"I, well, after I donated the 80%, well, I suppose... no."

"Hmm." said Maggie.

She realised that she was kneeling on the table, and slid back and off and sat down on her chair.

"Well, I guess, for being so -" giggle "- honest with us, I can accept that. For the time being. After all, if you had restored my grandparent’s savings, mum wouldn't have needed to accept an immigration indenture and come to Mars, she wouldn't have met my dad, and I wouldn't have been born. And both mum and my grandparents are dead, now, so there's no one left to reimburse."

"So, the Teflon Rat has a few imperfections, hey?" said Sarsaparilla, with her chin propped up by her hand, elbow on the table.

"None of us are perfect!" said Adalace, with a big smile.

"I guess things are all right, then." said Erasyl.

"I dunno, I feel a bit disappointed. I was sort of hoping Teylon would be more of a hero than he's actually turned out to be." said Leroy.

"Well, ah, thanks..." said Teylon. He grabbed another napkin, the first one was had become too damp to be of any further use.

Big smile from Sarsaparilla.

"Everyone, I think that since Teylon has earned his pile by disreputable means, we need not have any qualms about claiming just a tiny little bit of it. Like, he shouts us all expenses every time we meet? Anyone has any problems with that?" she said.

"Well, I suppose some of it is rightfully mine, anyway." said Maggie.

"I think that's a great idea!" said Adalace, with a lovely smile.

"Fine by me," said Leroy, "sort of his just deserts!"

Only Erasyl looked doubtful. But after looking around at the others and realising that none of them seem to have any problem with the idea, he must have decided not to raise any objections."

"So, that's no problem for you, Teylon?" asked Maggie. For once, she was speaking as sweetly as Sarsaparilla normally did.

"Ah, no, that's fine. Ah, mind if I order another coffee?"

Giggle. "Sure, be my guest." said Maggie.

While Teylon sipped his extra strong black coffee, the others sat in contemplative silence. They had a lot to think about.

Maggie had a thought. She looked at the two boys who were sitting either side of Teylon.

"I hope that you lot did not take advantage of the fact that I was distracted in having my discussion with Teylon and look at my legs?"

"Ah, no, no, definitely not." said Erasyl, with a touch of panic in his voice.

"I didn't notice anything. And if I did, I promptly ignored it. Really!" he continued.

Leroy was nodding his head in vigorous agreement.

"OK, I'll take that. At least I didn't have to worry about the two girls looking at my bum as I was kneeling on the table."

Sarsaparilla and Adalace were sitting either side of Maggie. And, right now, they were both going slightly red in the face.

"Huh?" said Maggie.

"Ah, well, I suppose now is as good as a time as any to mention that, well, you see, hmm, in fact, I, err, only like - girls." said Sarsaparilla.

"Really?" said Maggie.

"And I probably only do that too. That is, I've decided only recently that I'm the same. Ah, I hope nobody minds." said Adalace. Who was blushing furiously, and incidentally looking even cuter that usual.

"Oh. OK. I don't really care one way or another." said Maggie.

The two other girls looked at each other in embarrassment.

"But - but - Isn't that sort of an unfair double standard?" said Erasyl, sputtering slightly. "You go sub-orbital at the thought of us boys looking up your skirt, but regard with indifference the possibility that those girls might be also."

Flash of anger from Maggie.

"Well, but they weren't, were they?"

"Ah -" said Erasyl.

Whatever else he might have been going to say was drowned out by Adalace. She stood up, leant over the table, and said.

"No it is not unfair! In the time I've been in the neighbour watch we have been the first point of contact for five cases of rape. Four female and one male victim. And in all cases it was a man who did it! Don't you dare tell me that the situations are equivalent!"

She was angry, her eyes glaring; she gave all the impression of just waiting for a chance to go nuclear if any boy dared to contradict her.

The boys (and man), not wishing to end their lives right this very moment, wisely refrained from refuting her statement.

Wow, that really touched a nerve there. Just what is behind that facade?

"You know, I think that we have gotten the message. Us males had better continue being on our best behaviour." said Teylon.