United Chapter 32

 She sat on the bleachers that next day in the gymnasium, doing homework and watching Professor Logan teach his self defense class. She had asked to be excused when in fact she had found blood staining the toilet paper that morning. Now she only wished she were back in bed with that wonderful invention Sophie had introduced her to, a heating pad. It helped her every time as she was loathe to take any of the little white pills that Chase called ibuprofen, worrying that it would make her sick just as some of the food had done in the beginning. She was starting to be able to tolerate more of it as time went on and her body adjusted to the additives. Chase had told her that wasn't always a good thing.
              She heard the door to her left creak open. She could see Logan's eyes shift to the sound though he didn't stop talking to the class. Chase slid into the room and seeing her on the bleachers, crept up beside her and sat down. He had not met her for the morning meal that day and she was angry, but at herself, not so much him, after all she'd been on edge last evening. Still she kept writing in her notebook, ignoring him as he cleared his throat and whispered, "Hey, sorry I didn't meet you for breakfast."
             She peered at him out of the corner of her eye, "Why are you not in class now?"
             Chase smiled, "You know what, don't ever change the way you talk, I love it.....Economics was canceled, Professor Adams is sick."
              "Do not pick on my speech..."
               "I wasn't." His whisper rose in volume and they realized that Logan had stopped talking and was staring at them.
               "Chase, if ya can't sit quiet, you're gonna leave."
                 "Yes sir." Chase called out and slunk further down on the bleacher.
                 "I merely meant it was cute, like you."
                 Brenna's shoulders fell and she looked over at Chase, "I'm sorry about how rude I was last night."
               "Hey don't be, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, right?" He sidled up to her and slid his hand around her waist whereas she leaned into his shoulder. "I was a little ticked off myself with my father's phone call. I'm tired of the fact that the only time he calls me is to tear me a new asshole if I've done something wrong. It's about the only time I talk to him except maybe holidays. The only good thing to come out of the conversation is that he wanted me to come home for New Year's so I might have no choice. His invitations are usually in the form of a command."
              "That means we will not be able to watch that glass ball drop that you told me about." Brenna pushed closer to him, her arm coming around his stomach.
               "Well maybe not together in the same room but you can take my laptop and we can watch it on webcam together. I'll show you how. I can't really tell him no. It's just how he is. You want to put up posters with me later?"
               "Yes, but I promised Sophie I'd come to her room and try on some dresses."
                "So you can do that afterward. The posters won't take long, we'll tack them up before suppertime."
               
               
                   Brenna put another piece of tape across the top of the dance poster, stood back and eyed it, readjusted it and taped it again, bent down and grabbed the pile at her feet. As she whirled about to continue on to the next section of hallway, she nearly knocked Brian over as he had been creeping up behind her to scare her.
                "Whoa girl, you gonna roll me." He put his hands out, catching her as she bounced off him.
                 "Oh Brian, I am so sorry." She held the posters to her chest as he picked up the tape from the floor.
                 "It ain't nothin'. Posting bills for the homecoming dance huh?" he started to walk with her.
               "Yes, me and Chase."
                Brian looked around the hallway, "Where he at?"
                 She indicated with a tilt of her head, "He's down the next hall. Do you need him?"
                "Naw I was just wandering around before supper." he paused, "Uh, you seen Rachel round here?"
                "I confess I have not. Why? Are you planning on asking her to the dance?"
                 Brian laughed and gave her a playful shove, "You funny, naw I just wanna show her the newest upload of this video series we watch online."
                Brenna tore another strip of tape as Brian obligingly held a poster to the wall.
                "So why do you not ask her to the dance. Do you not like her?"
                Brian looked away and scuffed his feet on the wooden floor, "Oh she fine and all, a real beauty but you know girls be friends with the funny guy, they date the hot guys."
               Brenna took another poster as they moved around the corner to one of the stairwells, "Well I believe a sense of humor is attractive. A man can be handsome with no personality and what is he then? Lovely to look at like a sculpture or a painting."
               "Yeah but chicks dig Michaelangelo's David. I'm telling ya, a sense of humor puts you in the friend zone."
                Brenna stopped, hand on her hip, "You fear rejection."
                Brian held up a finger in protest but Brenna continued on, ignoring it, "You do, you are afraid that she will say no and so you do not try."
                "Hey, I just don't wanna lose a friend is all. What if she say no get away from me and things get all funny like?"
                 Brenna put up another poster, tore another strip of tape from the roll on her arm, "I find it hard to believe she would do such a thing."
                 But Brian shook his head, "Naw, I can't do it. I tried I swear I did. I gave all kindsa hints and she just didn't get it. I don't think she interested in me."
                Brenna sighed, "So be it," And was about to expound on the ways to achieve results he was looking for when Chase caught up to them and all hope of a serious conversation with him was lost. She would have to approach the problem from another angle.

             She found Rachel sitting at one of the computers in the Tech lab. She looked to be writing a paper, her pretty little mouth drawn into a cupid's bow, her fingers tapping the desk. When she spied Brenna, she smiled, leaned back and stretched her arms high over her head, "Oh did you hear that crack? That was my neck. What's up?"
              Brenna had decided on the way that she wouldn't mince words and so she dove right in. "I must speak with you about Brian."
              She watched Rachel redden, "Okay? What about him?"
               Brenna pulled a chair out and sat at the vacant computer station beside her, "I wish to help him, the homecoming dance is six days hence and he has no one to go with."
              Rachel giggled then, "Oh so you need to hep him find a date?"
            Brenna shot her a perplexed look. "I suppose, but I..."
            "What about Kaitlin Grant?" Rachel interrupted her, ticking names off on her fingers as she said them, "She's a nice girl, psychic though, maybe not a good idea with him. How about Laurel Petty? She's nice, a pretty mean cook too. He likes food a lot....or.."
             "What about you?" Brenna seemed to have stopped her dead in her thoughts.
             "Me? I never thought about me."
              All at once Brenna felt stupid, "Oh....alright then, who.."
              "Do you think he'd want to go with me? He's never asked me out before."
              Brenna was aghast, "Are you toying with me. I see you two together all the time, at the dining hall, the library, the gymnasium, you are always laughing and making coy with him. To any outsider, you would look like a couple."
               Rachel had wrinkled her nose, "Coy, what's coy?"
               Inwardly, Brenna was amused when people would ask her in turn what her words meant.
               "Bashful, shy, you know, batting your eyes, giggling?"
               "Oh you mean flirting. I guess I do that a little bit but doesn't everyone?"
               Once again though, it was Brenna's turn to be confused, "Flirting?"
                "Making suggestive comments, looking into someone's eyes a bit longer than you should, acting like a general fool, anyways, tell me again you think we look like a couple?"
                "Yes, I do. Why do you not hint at the homecoming dance to him?"
                 Rachel pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at it, "He just sent me a text, what do I do? Should I ask him to the dance? What if he says no..."
              Brenna put a hand to her chest in surprise, "Is it not the custom here for the boy to ask permission to court the girl?"
              Rachel smiled, "Times have changed Brenna, girls ask boys out all the time now. What should I do?"
              Brenna peered over her arm at the text. "I do not know, I suppose it's up to you. Do you feel comfortable asking him?" She could tell Rachel's hands were trembling.
             "Yes, I'm terrified though, but you gotta take the bull by the horns sometimes. I'll tell him I have a question."
              She opened her phone and typed, "Can I ask you something?"
              His reply was quick, "Shoot girl, you can ask me anything you want."
              Rachel squealed and set the phone down on the desk, wiping her palms on her jeans, they were starting to sweat. "What do I do, help Bren!"
              "Here," Brenna picked up the phone, "You tell me what to say and I will type it. I might not be as quick as you though."
               Rachel closed her eyes, hands together as if in prayer, "Okay, alright, um, I was wondering," she watched Brenna tap away at the small keyboard somewhat slowly, "If you would like to go to the homecoming dance with me." She waited for Brenna to finish and they sat staring at the message until Rachel covered her mouth with her fingers and said, "Hit the send button, quick before I freak."
               Brenna did so and they sat for a few minutes, waiting, staring at the phone until Rachel sighed, "That's it then, I must have killed him."


               Chase took the phone from Brian, "Dude she asked you out!"
               "I know, I know, I can read but what the hell do I say?"
                He'd never seen Brian so agitated in all the years he'd known him.
                "Well what do you want to do? I mean you wanna go out with her, right?"
                Brian was pacing the corridor back and forth, "Well yeah,"
               Chase thrust the phone back at him. "Well text her back!"
             Brian took the phone, "Man, I'm scared. I ain't had a serious girlfriend before. I dated and all but this is the big time."
              Chase looked at the message again, "Well this is a date too. Ask her what she meant, are we talking date or dating?"


              Brenna read the message to her.
              "Oh boy, now what?"
              Brenna handed the phone to her, "I do not know. What do you want to do?" Brenna curled a strand of hair around her finger, fidgeting, excited. "It's your choice."
             With a glance at Brenna, she started to type, "Let's go to the dance and see where it leads us from there."

              Chase listened to Brian, "Dude, we gots to find some fine threads. I gotta look fly for her!" He slapped Chase on the back, "Hot damn, I gots a date boy!"
              "So tell her then." Chase pointed at the phone.

              "I'm cool with that, looking forward to wearing the finest woman on my arm at homecoming, oh isn't he sweet? Now I've got to find a dress to wear."
                "Damn, " Brenna looked at the time on Rachel's cell. "I have to meet with Sophie." She stood up.
                "Thanks so much for helping me, Bren, you're the best. Are you going to the dance with Chase?"
               Brenna nodded, "I am, I will see you at morning meal. Tell Brian we should all sit together."

              Sophie was sitting at her desk, playing on her laptop, loud music blaring when Brenna walked in and so didn't hear her. Brenna took the opportunity and tapped her on the shoulder.
             Sophie screamed and nearly fell from her chair while Brenna laughed, "Here I am."
              "You ass, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Sophie reached over to the stereo on her dresser and turned it down. "Where were you?"
            Brenna sat down on the bed beside a stack of dresses Sophie had pulled from her closet, "I was helping Brian get a date for the dance."
            "And did you?" Sophie leaned back in the computer chair.
            "I did, he's going with Rachel."
             Sophie giggled, "And if he pisses her off she can always give him a little juice."
             Brenna was about to ask her what she meant until she remembered Rachel's mutation was the ability to manipulate electricity, anything with an electrical charge, she could draw off its energy for her own use. Brenna smiled as she thought about Brian trying to get fresh with her and receiving a good zap for his trouble.
            "Now I thought those two were going together already."
             Brenna put her hand out, "Now see, that is what I told her as well. They act like a couple." She rifled through the pile of dresses beside her, picking out a green number, pulling it from beneath the pile of dresses. "Might we start with this one?"
           Sophie tucked her feet beneath her, "Be my guest, I'm just here to offer my opinion."

           For most of an hour, she tried on dress after dress, finally whittling her choices down to a long red satin halter and the green velvet and tulle shift she'd spied at the start. "I like the red dress."
           Sophie nodded, "I thought that was the best one myself. I have shoes to match, what size do you wear?" She picked up the brown flats Brenna had been wearing. "Whoa, Bigfoot! Size tens. You're not going to squeeze them into my size sevens. We'll ask around, there has to be another red pair of shoes somewhere in this school."
            Brenna held the dress before her again, "I cannot wait."
            Sophie was hanging the remaining dresses back on the rack in her wardrobe. "This is going to be your first dance, isn't it."
            Brenna smoothed the red satin bodice with the flat of her hand, "It is indeed."
            Sophie smiled, "Oh you're in for a treat."