Early-morning sunlight streamed in through curtains thrown back, cutting a swath of warmth over the bed. VeeJay stretched long and lazily as she woke up, blinking yellow-green eyes through the tangle of black curls in her face. ?Blue Monday? throbbed from the alarm radio, but the noise wasn?t enough to make up for a sound not present. Waking up was always better when Roland stayed the night. He tried to be so quiet when he got up before she did; with only a very little effort, she could hear the footsteps of everyone walking on the street below. It made the attempt pointless, but no less sweet.
?Beautiful Day? kept her company while she rolled out of bed, pulled on jeans with the knees torn out, a black thermal shirt and a faded yellow t-shirt. The t-shirt had a smiley-face on it with a halo hanging rakishly from devil horns. She was just tugging down the shirt when there was a knock on the door. She beamed, and bounced over to fling open the door.
The boy standing there with his hand lifted for a second knock stepped back half a pace, startled. Vee?s bright laugh bubbled out, and the boy found himself smiling back without meaning to. She be-bopped a bit in place to ?Tainted Love?, without a care for what the boy might think. ?Hi! What can I do for you?? Yellow-green eyes sparkled with her smile that looked too wide for her face.
?Th-this is from Master Gravois with his compliments.? The boy thrust out a sealed letter, stammering a bit in the presence of VeeJay?s outgoing energy. Her black eyebrows flew up with surprise, and she looked more closely at the boy. There was the small symbol of House DeMuer embroidered on his shirt. He glanced down, took in the bright pink of her painted toenails, and then flushed, looking terribly young.
Vee laughed again, a chortle of delight, and bounced back to invite him into the apartment. ?Did he say to wait for an answer??
The boy shook his head violently in answer to the question. ?N-no. I?ve got to get back. Itwasverynicetomeetyou.? The last came out in a rush while he backed away. He turned just in time to avoid tumbling backwards down the stairs, and clattered down at a near-run. It was as if he didn?t want to answer any more questions. One last word was delivered over his shoulder. ?Sorry.?
More puzzled now than anything, especially by that last apology, VeeJay shut the door and broke the seal on the letter. Her smile fell away when she scanned the words. ?Minor border conflict? What do you mean, minor border conflict?? Amusement had dropped away. The boy had to have known more about it for the apology to slip in. She walked back into her bedroom to hunt up shoes, and slammed off the alarm radio. It shattered and broke, ?Another One Bites the Dust? dying with a hiss of static and cracking plastic.
A few minutes later Vee took the stairs down three at a time, heeled boots barely touching the wood. A pencil threaded through her wild black curls and her notebook was tucked into one jacket pocket. There was a very determined look on her face as she set out to find out exactly what was taking place in the Barony.
?Beautiful Day? kept her company while she rolled out of bed, pulled on jeans with the knees torn out, a black thermal shirt and a faded yellow t-shirt. The t-shirt had a smiley-face on it with a halo hanging rakishly from devil horns. She was just tugging down the shirt when there was a knock on the door. She beamed, and bounced over to fling open the door.
The boy standing there with his hand lifted for a second knock stepped back half a pace, startled. Vee?s bright laugh bubbled out, and the boy found himself smiling back without meaning to. She be-bopped a bit in place to ?Tainted Love?, without a care for what the boy might think. ?Hi! What can I do for you?? Yellow-green eyes sparkled with her smile that looked too wide for her face.
?Th-this is from Master Gravois with his compliments.? The boy thrust out a sealed letter, stammering a bit in the presence of VeeJay?s outgoing energy. Her black eyebrows flew up with surprise, and she looked more closely at the boy. There was the small symbol of House DeMuer embroidered on his shirt. He glanced down, took in the bright pink of her painted toenails, and then flushed, looking terribly young.
Vee laughed again, a chortle of delight, and bounced back to invite him into the apartment. ?Did he say to wait for an answer??
The boy shook his head violently in answer to the question. ?N-no. I?ve got to get back. Itwasverynicetomeetyou.? The last came out in a rush while he backed away. He turned just in time to avoid tumbling backwards down the stairs, and clattered down at a near-run. It was as if he didn?t want to answer any more questions. One last word was delivered over his shoulder. ?Sorry.?
More puzzled now than anything, especially by that last apology, VeeJay shut the door and broke the seal on the letter. Her smile fell away when she scanned the words. ?Minor border conflict? What do you mean, minor border conflict?? Amusement had dropped away. The boy had to have known more about it for the apology to slip in. She walked back into her bedroom to hunt up shoes, and slammed off the alarm radio. It shattered and broke, ?Another One Bites the Dust? dying with a hiss of static and cracking plastic.
A few minutes later Vee took the stairs down three at a time, heeled boots barely touching the wood. A pencil threaded through her wild black curls and her notebook was tucked into one jacket pocket. There was a very determined look on her face as she set out to find out exactly what was taking place in the Barony.