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This story may NOT be archived in ANY FORMAT whatsoever in existence today or under development now or developed in the future for public display, FOR FREE or PAY without the expressed WRITTEN consent of the author. Midnight downloads is available electronically, for free. It will NEVER be found on a pay to access site with the author's permission!

This is a work of fiction. Any people, places or locations within are purely fiction and the product of the author's imagination, or their names are used to add realism and/or for satirical purposes. Their use does not constitute any type of endorsement or agreement, in part or in whole, with any belief or message, expressed, implied or otherwise inferred by the author and the story/story line, nor do they imply any endorsement of the story or author.

This story contains scenes of EXTREME VIOLENCE, mature subject matter and deals with alternative lifestyles. If you are not comfortable with these concepts and materials, STOP reading NOW. If you are under the age of seniority and consent where you live, or if these types of materials are illegal for you to read, possess or download, you must STOP reading NOW and you may NOT download this story. If you are very religious, this work will probably anger you. Do not read it. Do not download it. Hello, nice to see you, GO AWAY. You'll be more comfortable at http://www.disney.com please go there instead of here.

 

Midnight Downloads
by Wendy-J
Wendy-J@KimEM.net
© 1999-2004 Wendy-J All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized distribution or archival prohibited.

 

Part-22
Saturday Morning September 12^th

Sam woke up on her own Saturday morning and padded down the hall to Tina's room. Quietly she opened the door and went inside, closing it behind her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she leaned over and gently kissed Tina's eyes. When Tina's eyes fluttered open, Sam just smiled. "Mornin', Sleepy head. I gotta get ready for work. Why don't you sleep in? Think you can meet me after work at the mall?"

"Work? Huh? Wha'?"

Sam giggled. "Meet me at the mall after work. Umm… how 'bout at the bench by the fountain?"

Tina smiled, "What time?"

"Four."

"'Kay. Love you," Tina mumbled, almost, but not quite, awake. A smile crossed her face as she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

Sam sat there a few minutes and just watched Tina sleep. Looking at the clock on Tina's nightstand, she sighed then, quietly got up and left the room.

**********************

Sam walked into the kitchen, her hair still damp from her shower. "Morning!" she said brightly when she saw her mother and Jan sitting at the table over coffee.

"Good morning, Sweetie," Donna said. Jan just beamed a smile in Sam's direction.

Talking as she poured a cup of coffee and dropped some bread into the toaster, Sam said, "I asked Tina to meet me at the mall after work today… but I don't think she really heard me."

"That's okay, Sam," Jan said. "I'll remind her before she leaves for work."

"Work?" Sam asked.

"She has some consulting to do today. Linda's picking her up at ten," Jan replied. "I guess with all that's been happening lately, it slipped my mind. It was one of the conditions that Linda attached to the credit card she gave Tina."

"I guess Ro and I are on our own then," Sam said as the smile disappeared from her face.

"Oh, I wouldn't count Tina out just yet. Let me have a talk with Linda when she gets here."

Sam just grinned.

Breakfast was pleasant and uneventful. As Sam was getting ready to walk out the door, she stopped in her tracks. "Is something the matter, Honey?" Donna asked. She was standing by the door to see Sam off.

"I just remembered -- I left my bike back at the house! I'll never make it to work on time now!"

"Why don't you take Tina's car?" Jan asked from the hallway.

"Are you sure about that? I mean…"

"You're the only one she lets drive it without having a fit. I don't see where it would be a problem."

"But…"

"Would you rather take the wagon?"

"I'd be too scared to drive that, Aunt Jan. I mean, what if I had an accident? I'll just be late to work. Could you call in for me, Mom?"

"Don't be silly," Jan said as she took the spare keys to Tina's car from the key rack in the hall and handed them to Sam. "Just be careful. Somehow, I don't think she'll be upset at all. Besides, you'll both need a way home from the mall."

"Okay, if you're sure. Thanks!" Sam said as she started back out the door.

"Sam?" Donna said as Sam started to pull the door closed.

Sam turned, and, seeing the look on her mother's face, gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, too, Mom. I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

"Thank you, Sam. I hope you have a good day at work. Please be careful… and don't overdo it!" she admonished.

"I love you, Ma," Sam said with a smile as she pulled the door closed behind her.

"Well, I'd better go wake sleeping beauty," Jan said to Donna, then started for the stairs. "I'd bet she's completely forgotten about her appointment with Linda."

Donna laughed and said, "You know… I think some parts of child rearing are just plain universal." With that she started back into the kitchen.

Waking Tina was nowhere near the ordeal Jan thought it would be and soon, Tina was dressed in a simple skirt and peasant blouse. She was ready to go when Linda showed up at ten. As Tina and Linda were headed out the door, Jan said, "And don't forget you promised to meet Sam in the…"

"…mall by the fountain at four," Tina finished for her.

Jan looked startled. "One other thing," Jan said, "I told Sam to drive your car today. Her bicycle is still at the other house."

Tina just shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Ready, Linda?"

Jan just shook her head.

When they were settled back at the kitchen table, Jan asked, "Why doesn't Sam have her own car?"

"I wanted to buy her one for her sixteenth birthday," Donna began wistfully, "but Jim wouldn't hear of it. His excuse was that the two cars were more than enough for the three of us. He cried poor, saying we didn't need the added expense of the maintenance and insurance."

"But?"

"Jan, he makes enough money for us to live in a house like this! I just think he was just trying to hobble us."

"Then it's settled. I'll get her a car."

"Jan! I can't let you do that!"

"Why not? It's not like I need the money I earn at Spectra. I could quit tomorrow and not miss it. Frank left us well provided for."

"But a car, Jan? That's…"

…"What she'll get. She can't be bumming rides and taking her bike to work all the time. What about when it rains or snows? And if Tina needs to go somewhere during the day, how is Sam going to get to work or home from school? We didn't register for the bus. Sam needs a car and she'll get one. Now, where are the want ads?"

**********************

Tina was spewing out a constant stream of data to the stenographers as she worked. She'd already changed the security routines, balanced the load, added a few bells, whistles and traps for hackers. Now she was hacking the university system to do some tel-netting of her own. The system she was manipulating was sweet. It didn't have the latest processors, but what it lacked there it made up for in multiple processor processing power.

"Damn, this place in nice," she thought as she switched terminals to co-ordinate her attack with an automated subroutine.

"Then I want you to get boards made by…" she was saying as she broke through the firewalls and accessed an internal IT account.

Once into the university's system she started setting herself up with an external proxy. It was almost too easy with the data routines she'd written.

"After you get the processors, I want those to be matched processors, by the way. Be sure their tolerance is between .0001 and .0003 percent…"

"No-one is going to get to her if I have any say in the matter," she said to herself as she worked. "Now for RAM I want…" she was relentless.

Linda looked on in stunned amazement. "I knew she was good, but…"

"Linda, you wouldn't believe what I saw in the window at Mandee's the other day…" Tina nattered on as the computer screens flashed by.

It wasn't quite like you saw on Star Trek TNG when Data did it, the screens actually stopped for a second or two, but it was close.

"Tina, how can you tell what you're doing?" Linda asked in amazement.

Tina laughed. "I'm not reading the whole screen, Linda," she replied never taking her eyes away from the flashing screens as her fingers danced over the keys. "I've looked at these screens so often that I know where to look for the data I need. If I see what I want, I go on to the next one. If I don't I change the field and move on. It's that simple.

"You have enough incoming lines for a T-3 and you aren't even on a T-1! I want a pair of T-3s in here by the time I get the new processors in. Now, for the microwave links…"

"I can't believe the way she changes back and forth," Linda thought. "She's almost completely detached when she talks about the system. It's like she becomes a different person. And then in the next breath she's a bubbling teenager as she talks about dresses. I'd better tell Eugene. It's almost frightening. It's like she has multiple personalities or something."

**********************

Donna needn't have worried about Sam taking it easy; Jennifer Winchester found plenty of busy work for Sam that didn't involve anything more strenuous than filing sales receipts. Sam, while nearly bored to tears, was thankful for the opportunity to return to work. The day passed slowly, but it felt good to be productive again.

At five till four, Sam was at her locker, getting ready to leave when Jennifer Winchester walked up to her. Jenny smiled sadly, looking at Sam's fading bruises. She wanted to hold the child and never let her go. "Sam. I just…" Linda and Tina strolled into view, causing Jenny's breath to catch in her throat. They had come in through the parking lot entrance. The two were talking animatedly and didn't even notice Jenny or Sam.

Seeing Mrs. Winchester freeze, Sam looked over her shoulder and… "Tina! Linda!" she called out excitedly.

"Oh bother," Jenny mumbled.

"Is something wrong, Mrs. Winchester?" Sam asked.

"Hmm?" Jenny looked distracted. "No, Sam, it's nothing. I… Why don't you run along and have some fun with Tina? I'll see you Monday, after school."

"Are you okay, Mrs. Winchester?"

Jenny reached out and touched Sam's bruised face gently. "I'm fine, Sam; you just get better." Removing her hand from Sam's face, the starch returned. "I'll expect you here promptly at four. Now go! Have fun; that's an order."

"Yes'm," Sam smiled at the brief and uncharacteristic show of emotion.

"Hi, Jenny, Sam." Linda said. "I just love that shade of yellow-green, Sam," she teased. "It should sell well during Halloween."

"Hello, Linda," Jenny said. "Tina, you look very nice today." Tina just blushed and looked at the floor. "Is that how you respond to a complement, dear?" she chided good-naturedly.

"N-no, Ma'am," Tina stumbled over her timorous reply. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Why don't you two run along and have some fun," Jenny said. "Linda and I need to talk about a few things. Linda, you did give her one of the…"

"Yes, one of the new ones."

"Excellent. Sam…"

"Four o'clock sharp, I promise," Sam finished for her. "Come on, Tee, Ro's waiting for us. See y'-later, Mrs. Winchester, Linda!" Grabbing Tina's hand, Sam led her through the store and out onto the mall.

**********************

"So, Linda, which one did you give her?"

"One digit up from yours. I have to hand it to you, Boss, as soon as she saw it, she fell in love with it. Internet access, hybrid technology… she knew more about the features than I do and I've had mine for a month!"

The two strolled casually into Jenny's office. "I wish you wouldn't call me that," Jenny said. "So, will she be able to handle the system?"

"At first, I thought we'd made a mistake, Jen. She just looked at the computers for an hour. She didn't even try to log in; hell, she didn't even sit at one of the terminals and look at a screen. She just looked at the racks without saying a word. Five minutes after that I had to bring in three stenographers just to keep up. It was then, at that moment, I knew our selection was right on the money. We'll have the transcripts in an hour, by the way.

"The part that amazes me is that she was spewing out all this information while she was at the keyboard of the main server. I've never seen anyone's fingers move so quickly in my life, Jenny. She's changed the encryption routines, streamlined what we have, and, I swear to you, she was doing it all while she was talking about what we're going to need and how cute the dress she saw in the window at Mandee's was! Come to think of it, I don't remember ever giving her the login to the servers!"

Jennifer frowned. "Could our security be that lax?" she mused. "One digit up, you said?"

"Yeah, Boss, 3711."

Jenny winced, "I really wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Anything you say, Boss," Linda said with a smile.

**********************

"So you couldn't get a hold of Lee?" Tina asked Rochelle as the trio strolled the mall aimlessly.

"Nope, never tried. I know she'll be here; she did Clifton two days running. Besides, she practically lives here, for Pete's sake. If you want to find Lee, look for shoe stores. I swear that girl has a pair of shoes for every blouse and skirt she owns."

"So, about last night, umm… how'd it go?" Sam asked.

"It was totally Khuehle! You should see everything that goes on back stage!" Ro said, indulging the geek within. "I mean…"

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of…"

"Oh…yeah, right. Uh, Sam, George is gonna be a problem."

Tina looked panicked.

Ro started to laugh, "No, not that kind of problem, Tee, relax. He was, like, so totally bummed he almost couldn't play."

"Shit," Sam said. "I was afraid of that."

"What?" Tina squeaked. "He's not going to be like Brad, is he?"

"No, Tee." Ro said, smiling. "He, uh, doesn't usually get interested in too many girls. I mean, he's not like Freddie, y'-know?"

Tina looked perplexed.

"She means he doesn't date much, but when he does, he falls head over heels for the girl he's with," Sam explained.

"So how is that going to be a problem?" Tina asked, her fear painfully obvious. "I'm only gonna go out with him the one time."

"The problem, Sweet Cheeks, is that he's already fallen for you," Sam said.

Tina looked like a scared rabbit. "But…"

"Did you ever… Never mind; I already know the answer."

"What?" Tina and Ro chorused.

"I was gonna draw an analogy for her. Y'-know, to think about someone she really wanted to date and remember what it felt like. It's just…"

"I never wanted to date anyone that bad, Sam; you know that. I asked when there were big events and stuff, but…"

"Shit, you poor thing," Ro said.

"Damn it, Ro, did Freddie have any suggestions?" Sam asked.

"None you or Tina want to hear."

"Shitshitshitshitshit! Figures I'd get that kind of response from him. Didn't you tell him Tina didn't even know she agreed to a date?"

"Yeah. It, like, didn't make any difference; he just grinned."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Tina asked.

"We'll have to figure it out, Hon. I know he gave you their numbers, Ro. Have 'em with?"

"Yeah, uh," she dug into her handbag and came up with an autographed promotional shot of the band. "Here."

"How tacky can you get?" Sam asked no-one in particular. "Thanks, Ro," she said, folding the 8x10 glossy and putting it in her back pocket.

"Tina, if you really feel you have go out with George, we've gotta find me a date."

"Why?" Tina looked crestfallen.

"Because, there's no way in hell I'm letting you go on a date alone."

Ro giggled.

"What's so funny?" Tina asked.

"You. Both of you. Tina, if I were Sam, I wouldn't let you go on your first date alone either. If you were both fourteen, maybe, but now?"

"Tee?" Ro asked.

"Or me," Tina answered, playing off the 1960's coffee tea or me line "Coffee Tea or Me."

"Where'd you learn to play the keyboard through a computer?" Ro asked, puzzled. "I sat at my box for hours and I couldn't come close to anything that sounded like music. The software won't let me do chords and the attack was… it never varied. I mean, on the piano, and even on an organ or a synthesizer, you can vary the inputs and…"

"Were you using the software that came with your blaster card?"

"Yeah, but…"

"How old is the keyboard?"

"Three or four years," she replied, and then it dawned on her. "You need an addressable chip for the keyboard controller, don't you?"

Tina nodded. "And the free programs are so limited in their abilities, they're almost useless for anything but simple melodies. Now, if you use some of the better software on the market…"

"Gotcha."

"So, how come I never hear you practicing?" Sam asked Tina.

Tina and Ro looked at her like she was some sort of doofus. Ro pulled a Discman out of her purse. The ear-buds, their cord still wrapped around the player, swung back and forth beneath it like a pair of pendulum.

"Shit… Never mind," she said, chagrined. "Headphones!" Sam berated herself. "How much of a ditz can I be?!?"

"I started trying to play with my computer sound programs a few years ago when I learned you could play guitar really good. I wanted an excuse to…" She left the thought unfinished, blushing. "Anyway, I wrote some subroutines for the free software I had. That was pretty cool, but it still didn't work right, so I bought a new keyboard and saved for some real software and started practicing. But I never felt comfortable enough to try playing with you, Sam. I mean, you're so good at it and… Well…anyway, when I got the computer working the other night, I wanted to show Mike what could be done with the software and I sorta forgot where I was and…"

Sam started to laugh. "Want to practice together sometime?"

"Really?!? Do you mean it?"

"Hell, you're as good on the computer as I am on the guitar. YES I mean it!"

A faint chirping sound was heard. "What was that?" Sam asked. "Did you get a new cell phone, Ro?"

"Not me, I hate those things!" The chirp sounded again.

Suddenly, Tina started digging frantically at her purse. Sam looked on in puzzled amazement, while Rochelle giggled at the frantic movements Tina was making, trying to get into her purse with her talons.

"Damn zipper…" Tina hissed. Tina retrieved the phone as it rang a fourth time. "'Lo?"

"You mean she's one of 'THEM?'" Ro asked Sam. Ignoring the girl, Sam just stared at Tina. "Why didn't she tell me her cell number?" Ro continued.

"I didn't know she had one," came the puzzled response.

"Tina?" said the voice on the phone.

"Uh…yeah, uh…who…"

"Jennifer Winchester."

Tina's posture improved immediately. It was almost as if she'd come to attention. "Um… Wa-wa-what can I do for you, Mrs. Winchester?"

Sam giggled. Ro looked from one girl to the other. "What's so funny, Sam?"

"Uh… It's my boss, and…Tina's new boss."

"So?"

"Well, Tina's always been sorta scared of her."

"Press program three," Jenny said.

"Hold on," Tina said, glanced at the phone, and then pressed the keys. The phone beeped twice, warbled, then beeped again. "Go."

"Linda told me that you were able to log into the servers without her giving you a…" Jenny began.

"Wait a minute," Ro said. "You mean Tee works at The Under-World, too?"

"Well, sort of; she's a computer consultant for them."

"Uh…well, yeah," Tina said into the tiny phone. "I mean, I was able to get in via a back door to the main OS. It's one of the things I fixed today. That and the load distribution…"

"Oooooh…" Ro said. "But why the phone?"

"Beats me," Sam replied. "I guess she's doing some sys-admin stuff, too."

Spying an empty bench, Sam nodded to Ro, then took Tina by the arm and guided her over to it while Tina talked on the phone.

"And you say it's been taken care of?" Jenny asked.

"Yes'm. I don't think you have to worry about anything, I didn't see any traces of hackers or…"

"Hackers!?!"

"Hackers are usually nothing more than computer geeks who find it a challenge to break into a computer's security system, Ma'am. True hackers aren't out to cause trouble or damage systems, they just break through your security and leave you a note or something to tell you they were there and how they got there."

"Does she always go into la-la-land like this?" Ro asked, giggling.

"When it comes to computers, she does," Sam replied. "That's why I didn't want you talking about electronics the other night. Same thing -- 'LOST IN SPACE.'" Both girls broke into a fit of giggles.

"You're sure about this?" asked Jenny, more than a bit concerned.

"Like I said, Mrs. Winchester, I didn't see any signs that anyone's hit the system. If it had been a cyber terrorist, he would have bombed the system and shut you down. If it had been a hacker, he or she would have left you a note, making fun of you and your security measures. Don't worry. You're safe. You don't have a big enough name to attract the attention of most hackers and cyber terrorists look for the publicity of hitting the big names like Amazon or Micro$oft. Look, uh…Mrs. Winchester, this isn't exactly the right place to talk about this, so, um… I mean…I have some research to do for you over the next couple of days, so why don't you let me do that? And we can talk about this after I get that finished. Okay? I promise you, your system is safe for the time being, and no-one is going to break in over the next couple of days."

"Are you sure about that, Tina?"

"Mrs. Winchester, even NORAD gets broken into. The trick is to keep things in a constant state of flux. Your system is doing that now. It isn't a guarantee that someone won't manage to get in anyway, but the odds are more than in our favour that…"

"Jeez, what a geek!" Ro giggled.

"Tell me about it," Sam said with a smile. "At least she pays attention to real life, too."

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, look at Jon. Now that's one boy who's a lost cause," Ro giggled. "I swear his parents must be straight out of the EARLY 60's."

"Yeah, and that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," Sam said, seeing an opening. "He really is a nice guy and since Tina won't refuse to talk to him, like the rest of the school does, we have got to do something about his image."

"Ain't that the truth! I swear, I'm losing dates just because he eats lunch with us!"

Tina pressed a button, folded the phone, and then put it back in her purse. "What about Jon?" she asked.

"Speak of the devil," Ro hissed.

Tina and Sam looked in the direction of Ro's hooked thumb. There was Jon, in all his pear shaped, geeky glory, walking into "Radio-Shack".

"It's time for Operation New You," Sam giggled.

"Huh?" came Tina's puzzled response.

"Look, Tee," Rochelle started, "I like Jon, too. He's a nice guy. But the way he dresses, I swear it's costing me dates. If we're gonna let him hang around with us, he has got to make some changes. Here's what we're gonna do."

The three huddled together and planned while Jon played geek in the electronics store. An hour later, two girls, replete with almost full juice cups, "bumped" into the large boy as he emerged from the store. Grape drink went everywhere, but mostly, it went all over Jon.

"Ohmigods!" Rochelle squealed, "I'm so sorry… JON!?!"

"HEY!" Jon started to yell. But, upon seeing whom the "clumsy oaf" that soaked him in the sticky purple liquid was, he quickly changed his tone.

"Miss Rochelle! Hey look, it's okay, I'll just go home and…"

"No you won't," said Tina, looking at her now half-empty cup.

"Miss Tina!" The boy's attitude changed immediately. He went from embarrassed to joyous in a heartbeat. "I've got to stop bumping into you like this," he said with a smile, shaking his hand in a vain attempt to rid himself of the sticky liquid.

Tina smiled warmly and said, "We're going to buy you some clothes to replace the one's we've ruined, aren't we, Ro?"

"Yup!"

"Look, uh… you really don't…"

Tina grabbed one arm and Ro the other.

"Let's go, handsome. You're getting some new duds," Ro giggled.

"But…"

"No, Jon, we're serious. We've just ruined your clothes. That was grape drink. That stuff stains. Come on."

"Really, Tina, I…" his voice trailed off as he looked into the girl's face.

"It wasn't an accident, was it?" he said quietly.

"No, Jon, it wasn't," Tina replied in a gentle, yet sincere voice. "Look, it's time you faced the facts of life…"

"Hey, TEE!" a voice shouted from across the concourse.

"Oh shit…" Jon mumbled.

"Hey Jon! Wha'sup?" Sam said. "Oh man, you…are a mess! What happened, dude?"

"Uh…"

"Hi, Sam," Tina began. "Ro and I weren't watching where we were going and bumped into him. Look, Jon, we're really sorry. Please, let us buy you some new clothes."

"Yo, dude," Sam said with a smile that was almost a smirk, "if I were you, I'd let them do it. I mean, think of it, two beautiful ladies," she smiled at Tina, "offering to take you with them and buy you some clothes. It's like something right out of a movie!"

"Yeah, right, um…look, why don't you just…"

"Uh, uh," Sam said. "Look, dude," Jon's shoulders slumped even more, "it's about time you heard some hard truths."

"You, too?"

"Yep."

"Look, Jon, we're your friends, right?" Sam asked.

"I, wu… yeah, sure, I guess," Jon replied nervously, not sure where this was going.

"And isn't it a friend's responsibility to help their friends?" Ro chimed in.

"I gu… Yeah," Jon said, still puzzled and definitely embarrassed.

"Jon," Tina said softly, "you're our friend. We like you, and we want to help you."

Jon started trembling. It wasn't so much the cold grape drink as it was fear of what was happening.

"Help? Help me? What are you talking about, help me?" Jon was looking at Tina the way a cow looks at an oncoming train.

"C'mon," Tina said. "Let's go sit down for a second. Please?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

Jon blushed. "Okay," he said nervously.

Tina, oblivious to the grape goo coating her friend's hands and arms, took him by the hand and led him to the bench they had vacated earlier.

"It's the way you dress, Jon," she began softly.

"I…"

"Sssssh, listen to me for a second first. Please?" Tina pleaded imploringly, quieting his response.

Jon nodded and swallowed nervously.

"I -- we -- all like you," Tina continued. "We want what's best for you. Jon, these clothes," she said, waving her hand from Jon's head to his knees, "are doing you some major harm."

"Tina's right, Jon," Ro said. "Who else talks to you in school?"

Jon sat silently for a moment. It looked like he was ready to cry. "No-one," he squeaked.

"Our point exactly," Sam said. "Wouldn't you like to change that?" she continued. "Wouldn't it be nice, just once, to have someone to talk to? Someone else to be friends with at school?"

Jon nodded, swallowing again.

"It's your clothes, Sweetie," Tina said. "You're smarter than almost everyone there," she continued softly. "And if your smarts don't scare them off, your clothes do. I found out the hard way that clothes may not make the man, or, um…girl in my case, but they sure go a long way in making some friends. Please, let us help you shoppe for some new rags, Jon. Let your friends help you out."

"I can't…"

"Am I your friend?" Tina asked again.

"Yes. He said it more firmly this time.

"Then let me get you some new rags. Okay?" Tina finished.

Jon gave a heavy sigh. "Okay, where to?" he asked resignedly.

"How about 'J-Crew' to start?" Sam asked.

"No way, I can't afford…"

"Who said you were buying?" Tina asked. "J-Crew it is, Sam."

The three of them all but dragged the dejected youth down the mall. As they passed "The Wild Pair," they all but bumped into Leticia.

"Hey, Guys! Wha'sup?"

"Operation New You!" Ro exclaimed. "C'mon, Lee, give us a hand!"

"Hey, Jon, how's… Man! You're a mess!"

Jon started to pull away. He looked like a scared rabbit. Tina held fast. As he backed away, he started to drag her.

"Jon!" Tina pleaded with him. "Stop pulling! Jon! That hurts!"

"Just let me go home," Jon was fast approaching tears and he was still dragging Tina. "Please, Tina. I won't sit with you at lunch anymore. I won't embarrass you all any more. I'll…"

"Damnit, Jon! STOP!" Tina finally yelled. Jon stopped pulling away. "You're my friend, damn it! You're OUR friend! Lee, too! Please, for me," she all but begged him, looking into his eyes. They were brimming with tears. "We care about you, Jon. Please?"

Jon's shoulders sagged. "I don't…"

"Hi, Jon," Lee said, smiling at him. "You really are a mess. They do this to you?"

Jon nodded.

Lee looked at the trio taking up stations around Jon again. "Where are you dragging him to?" Lee asked, looking at the expression on Jon's face. "His execution?"

"J-Crew!" came the chorused shout from the three smiling girls.

"Gotcha! C'mon, Jon. It's time for some new rags!" Lee exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. She grabbed his sticky elbow. "Well… Sam?"

"Right; restrooms first stop!"

When they got to the door, Ro and Lee started giggling. Sam looked over her shoulder and stuck out her tongue as she propelled the Human Pear towards, and then through, the door.

After Jon and Sam emerged from the restroom, Ro and Tina pulled Jon down the mall by his now goo-free hands, while Sam and Leticia followed along a short distance behind.

"Remind me never to go in there again!" Sam whispered to Lee.

"Why for?"

"I wouldn't even hover over those things, much less sit on one!"

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse!"

Lee just giggled.

When they arrived at J-Crew, Jon tried one more protest. All he ever got to do was open his mouth. As soon as he did, Sam pushed him hard in the middle of his back and it was into the store.

Almost three hours later, the five teens were walking down the mall side by side, with a MUCH changed Jon. He was wearing a stylish button down long-sleeved shirt, Dockers that not only fit, but looked good on him, and a new pair of loafers. He carried a couple of bags from several men's stores as well.

"Look, Tina, I can't let you pay for all of this. I have no idea where I'm gonna get the money to pay you back. This really is too much!"

"Jon, with my job, I can afford it. Besides, if you really feel a need to repay me, I can subcontract some of the programming I have to do. That way, you don't have to feel bad about it, okay? But, if you really want to repay me, just wear the clothes and enjoy them. Seeing you happy will be the best repayment you could give us."

They were walking by a "One Hour Optical" when Sam said, "Hey, Tee!" then hooked a thumb in the direction of the store. Tina didn't miss a beat. She grabbed Jon's arm and led him into the store.

"Take off your glasses, Jon," Tina said, taking a pair of wire frames off one of the racks. Carefully, she put them on the boy's face. The change was dramatic. "One more thing… Ro, got any of that…umm…" she made a motion with her hands near her hair.

"Yeah! Hold on a sec!" Ro dug in her bag and came up with a small can of mousse and handed it to Tina.

"Here y'-go, Tee. Bullwinkle in a can!" she said with a giggle.

"Okay, 'Gentle Ben,' bend down."

Jon, well past the stage of embarrassment by now, bent slightly at the waist as Tina sprayed a bit of the foam into her hand and gave the can back to Ro. She rubbed her hands together and then re-combed Jon's hair with her fingers.

"Okay, all done."

Jon stood up. He couldn't see a thing without his old Coke Bottles on. The silence was deafening. Everyone just stared.

Lee looked at him and just gasped.

"Oh - My - God," Ro said softly.

"I knew this was a mistake. Look Tee, we'll just take the rest of these things back and…"

"That's it!" Tina said excitedly.

Everyone looked at the boy's reflection in the mirror. Gone was the geek; in his place, a very handsome young man looked back at them.

"Tina…"

"Uh, uh," she replied. "It's the whole image or nothing. Ro and Lee have been getting the cold shoulder from the rest of the school, and the guys have been avoiding Sam. If you want to hang with us, something needs to give. This," she paused for effect, sweeping her hand from Jon's feet towards his head, "is that something."

"But…" Jon tried to protest again.

"Shut up, Jon," Tina said, smiling. "Now, let's see how soon we can get you some new glasses."

An hour and a half later, the five of them were sitting in a pizza shoppe laughing, talking, and having a slice before going home. Jon wasn't even recognizable. He was a "New Man." "Operation New You" had been a rousing success.

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Continued in Part-23

  

  

  

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