Thea stopped dead. She stared at him. He was serious.
"I mean-I know I hurt her feelings anyway. Or she wouldn't have gone away mad. Uh, are you mad now? Thea?"
She started walking again. "Are you saying you didn't even want to be with her? Not even just a little?"
He stopped. "How could I want to be with her when I want to be with you? I told you that before this whole thing started."
Maybe it's because we're soulmates. Maybe it's because he's so stubborn. But, whatever, I'd better never tell Blaise. She'll have a whole new reason for killing
him if she finds out her spell bounced off like water off a duck.
"Well, anyway, it's resolved now," she murmured-and at that moment she really believed it. She was too happy to think about anything dreadful.
"Is it? Does that mean that we can finally go out? Like on a date?"
He sounded so wistful that Thea laughed. She felt light and free and full of energy. "Yeah. We could go right now. Or... we could go in. Your house, I mean. I'd like to see your sister and Madame Curie again."
Eric made an "ouch" face. "Well, Madame Curie would probably like that. But Roz lost her case- the court ruled that the Boy Trekkers are a private organization. And she is not-pardon the pun-a happy camper."
"All the more reason we should go see her. Poor kid."
Eric looked at her quizzically. "You're serious? You have a choice of anywhere in Las Vegas and you'd like to go to my house?"
"Why not?" Thea didn't mention that a human house was more exotic to her than anywhere else in Vegas.
She was happy.
It turned out to be a modest frame house, shaded by a couple of honest-to-goodness trees, not palms. Thea felt a twinge of shyness as they went inside.
"Mom's still at work. And"-Eric checked his watch-"Roz is supposed to be in her room until five.
Home detention. This morning she microwaved her
Barbie dolls."
"That doesn't sound good for the microwave." Rosamund's door was plastered with homemade
Signs. DO NOT ENTER. KEEP OUT AND THIS MEANS ERIC. FEMINISM IS THE RADICAL NOTION THAT WOMEN ARE PEOPLE.
When Eric opened the door a piggy bank shaped like a skunk came flying toward him. He ducked. It hit the wall and, amazingly, didn't break.
"Roz-"
"I hate everybody! And everybody hates me!" A hardback book came soaring.
Eric shut the door fast. Bang.
"Everybody doesn't hate you!" he yelled.
"Well, I hate them! Go away!"
Bang. Bang. Crash.
"I think maybe we'd better leave her alone," Eric said. "She gets a little moody sometimes. Want to see my room?"
His room was nice, Thea decided. Lots of books, some smelling of mildew-"I get them at the used book stores." Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy. Development and Structure of the Fetal Pig. The Red Pony. Most of them were about animals in some form or other.
And lots of trophies. Baseball trophies, basketball trophies, a few tennis trophies. "I have to switch between baseball and tennis different years." Sports equipment was scattered carelessly around, mixed with the books and some dirty socks.
Not so different from a teenager's room in the Night World. Just a person's room.
There was a picture of a man on the desk, a man with sandy hair and a glorious, lightning-bolt smile like Eric's.
"Who is it?"
"My dad. He died when Roz was little-a plane crash. He was a pilot." Eric said it simply, but his eyes went dark.
Thea said softly, "My parents died when I was little, too. What's sad is that I don't really remember them."
Eric looked at the picture again. "You know, I never thought about it, but I'm glad I do remember. At least we had him that long."
They smiled at each other.
By the bed was a tank that gave off a pleasant percolating sound. Thea sat next to it and watched iridescent blue fish dart around. She turned off the bedside lamp to see the lighted tank better.
"You like it?"
"I like everything," Thea said. She looked at him. "Everything."
Eric blinked. He eyed the bed Thea was sitting on, then slowly sat at the desk. He stuck out a casual elbow to lean on and papers showered to the floor.
"Oops."
Thea stifled a laugh. "Is that the U.C. Davis application?"
He looked up hopefully from gathering them. "It sure is. Want to see it?"
Thea almost said yes. She was in such a cheerful mood, ready to agree to anything, be open to anything. But a moment of thought changed her mind. Some things were just going too far.
"Not right now, thanks."
"Well..."He put the papers back. "You know, you still might think about transferring to the zoology class at school. Ms. Gasparro is a great teacher. And you'd really like what we're studying."
Maybe I could, Thea thought. What would it hurt?
"And if you were ever interested. Dr. Salinger is always looking for extra help. It doesn't pay much, but it's good experience."
And... what would that hurt? It's not as if I would be breaking any laws. I wouldn't have to use any powers, either, I could just be close to the animals.
"I'll think about it," she said. She could hear the suppressed excitement in her own voice. She looked at Eric, who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward, watching her earnestly. "And- thanks," she said softly. "For what?"
"For... wanting the best for me. For caring." The light from the fish tank threw wavering blue patterns on the walls and ceiling. It made the bedroom seem like its own little underwater world. It danced over Thea's skin.