Chapter 15: Playing With(out) The Queen of Hearts

September 9, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"White Boy! Phone for you!" Clark called out on Thursday evening while I was with the study group.

I got up and went to our room to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mikey," Liz replied. "I just called to say, 'thank you'."

"For what?"

"Making Mindy come back to my room."

I chuckled, "Do you know how difficult it was to kick a hot, naked fox out of my bed? And then, after she turned on the lights so I could see her body, kick her out of my room?"

Liz laughed, "I BET it was hard!"

"I have things to do," I said, doing my best to sound annoyed.

"Chill, Mikey! I was teasing."

"How did you find out?"

"Mom told me. I guess she had a talk with Mindy and, at the end of the talk, told Mindy she couldn't stay over if you were home."

I chuckled, "I think Mom is afraid I'll do what I threatened!"

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Sure."

"If she wasn't my friend..."

"I don't know. Maybe, if she were mature enough. Why are you asking?"

"I'm just curious. You and Emmy did fine, right?"

"Sure, until her dad interfered. But even then, it was sort of casual, if you know what I mean. Mostly, college guys can't take girls to dances or to Prom. I know there are some exceptions, but even though Katy is a Senior, and I'm less than two years older, I can't take her to her Prom. I COULD take Tasha because I graduated from Harding County High, if I got special permission from the Principal. But you know Deacon Vasily's opinion on that."

Liz laughed, "You're allowed to take his daughter, who isn't allowed to date, on dates, but God forbid you take her to a chaperoned school dance!"

"I took April to a chaperoned school dance," I countered.

"I sure hope you had planned to use rubbers, Mikey, given what happened!"

"I'm not stupid, nor am I careless. And if you recall, I bought YOU a box, Lizard Breath!"

"True," she laughed. "Anyway, I just called to say 'thanks'."

"You're welcome."

"I love you, Mikey."

"I love you too, Liz."

I hung up and went back to the study group in the common area. Clarissa, Sandy, Jason, Pete, and Fran were all working on our lab reports. In addition to the usual experiments, we were also required to do several extra experiments, as well as discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the tests and testing methods. It was a ton of extra work, but I could see exactly how it would aid me in the future.

"I need a drink," Fran sighed just before 11:00pm.

"I know where I can locate a bottle of 'Jack'," Jason offered.

"Sold!" she said, closing her notebook and gathering her things.

I exchanged a look with Pete, who was sitting nearby, as Jason got up, and he and Fran went off together.

"When did THAT start?" Sandy asked with a laugh.

"About twelve seconds ago!" Pete replied from his spot at the next table over.

"I need a shoulder massage," Sandy sighed, rubbing her neck.

"I'd be happy to!" Kurtis called out from his seat next to Pete at the other table.

"Not!" Sandy said with a smile.

Kurtis frowned slightly, shrugged, and turned back to his physics homework.

"How about music and a bottle of pop?" I asked. "Angie won't mind if you join us, nor will Clarissa, right?"

"Right!" Clarissa said.

"Sure," Sandy agreed.

The three of us gathered our things while Pete got up and went over to a table where Tracy was sitting and put his hands on her shoulders. She'd spent the nights with him since they met at the dorm mixer, but she hadn't joined our gang for some reason.

"Hi, Ang!" I said when we walked into my room.

"I hope you don't mind that I put on your new album."

"Not at all. I told you it was OK to play anything you wanted. I hope you don't mind if Sandy joins us."

"Of course not!"

"Who is this?" Sandy asked.

"Dexy's Midnight Runners," I replied. "They're a British pop band. You might have heard Come On Eileen on the radio recently. That's them."

Sandy smirked, "Talk about a dirty song name!"

We all cracked up, including Angie, who also blushed slightly.

I got everyone a bottle of pop, and we lounged on the couches. Sandy rubbed her neck again.

"What's with your neck?" I asked.

"Tension headache," she replied. "Maybe I should have gone with Jason and Fran for a belt!"

I chuckled, "If that goes the way Pete and I think it will, you might have been in for a VERY interesting night!"

"I was surprised," Sandy said. "I had no clue."

"None of us did. And, honestly, maybe it was just one of those things, you know, like picking up a girl in a bar!"

"And you know this from copious experience, Mr. Loucks?" Angie teased.

"No."

"I thought she had a boyfriend," Angie observed.

"They had a spat and broke up," Sandy said, rubbing her neck.

"Sandy, I'll give you a neck rub if you want," Clarissa offered.

"She shot down Kurtis pretty fast!" I chuckled.

"Not my type," Sandy replied. "And I don't know him well enough. Sure, Clarissa."

She shifted and turned, and Clarissa started rubbing her shoulders and neck. I suddenly had a vision of the two of them cuddling together, but that flew in the face of every indication I'd had from Sandy that she liked guys. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind.

"Can anyone join this party?" Sophia asked from the door to the room.

"That's why the door's open," I said. "Come on in. Where are Robby and Lee?"

"They went to bed. My roommate and her boyfriend are smooching on the couch, so I decided to see what else was going on."

"No smooching here!" Angie laughed. "Though you could ask Mike, I guess."

I was pleased to hear Angie tease a bit. She was much more fun to be around now that she was more relaxed. I suppressed a chuckle because I was sure the same thing had been said about me!

Sophia laughed softly and plopped down on the couch next to me.

"Feeling better, Sandy?" Clarissa asked.

She nodded, "Much. Thanks, Clarissa."

They turned to lean back against the couch, facing the three of us on the other couch.

"Need something to drink?" I asked Sophia.

"Ouzo, if you have it!" she teased.

"Sorry. No booze and no drugs in this room. Just rock-n-roll."

"And sex?" she laughed.

"It's been known to happen," I grinned, "though the four of us are just friends."

"I'll take a Sprite or 7-Up, if you have one."

"Sure."

I got up and went to the fridge in the bedroom to get a bottle of 7-Up for Sophia.

"So, after two weeks in paradise, what do you think?" Clarissa asked Sophia as I came back into the room.

"It's weird living away from home, but so far, classes aren't too bad. Not like the stuff you guys were working on when I finished my studying!"

I handed her the green bottle and sat back down.

"Two hours after you left, Sophia, we STILL weren't done," Sandy sighed. "I swear, med school is going to kill me if I make it that far!"

"You're smart, Sandy," Clarissa said. "You just need to relax. You're even more uptight than Mike, and that's saying something!"

"Gee, thanks," I deadpanned but then started laughing.

"Deny it, Mike!" Clarissa challenged. "I dare you!"

"Pot. Kettle. Black."

"ALL of you are WAY too high-strung," Angie said, shaking her head. "You need to learn to relax, or you'll have a stroke, heart attack, or nervous breakdown, or all three!"

"Gee, the grade school teacher is diagnosing the doctors," I teased.

"I don't think I need a medical degree to realize how tightly wound the three of you are. Sophia seems a bit more relaxed."

"Sophia," I asked. "How much research did you do into medical school, internships, and Residency?"

"Just enough to know the path. Why?"

I shook my head, "Babe in the woods."

"Don't spoil it for her, Mike," Sandy laughed. "Being blissfully ignorant sounds pretty good to me right now!"

"What am I missing?" Sophia asked.

Angie shook her head, "These three idiots are all stressed because they're fixated on how difficult medical school is, something they call 'the Match', and the hours Interns and Residents work. All that despite the fact that it's YEARS from now!"

Sophia shrugged slightly, "My counselor just said to work on getting straight A's and to prepare for the MCAT and not worry about anything else for now."

I sighed, "Somehow, I think that might have been a far better strategy."

She smiled, "So relax, have fun, get good grades, and don't sweat the rest of it until you have to!"

"She has a point," Angie said. "Especially for you, Sandy."

"My advice," Sophia said with a smirk, "is to get drunk or get laid, preferably both!"

"Nobody I'd be interested in is asking!" Sandy laughed.

"What about Mike?" Sophia asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"He hasn't asked!" Sandy laughed.

"You ladies do know I'm sitting here, don't you?" I asked, laughing nervously.

"As if you would say 'no' to ANY of us if we asked you to go to bed right now!" Sandy declared.

"Actually," I said in a serious tone, "right now, I would. No disrespect to any of you, of course!"

"Did I miss something?" Sophia asked. "You don't have a serious girlfriend, right?"

"Right, but I had some severe relationship problems over the Summer, mostly of my own making. I need to get my head screwed on straight before I get too involved with anyone. Being with you guys as friends is exactly what I need right now."

"Notice he didn't say 'never'," Clarissa teased.

"You know, I think I'm going to find some guys to hang out with!" I chuckled.

"I'm here, homey!" Clark said, walking into the room. "You need help with these lovelies?"

Amy, who was right behind him, smacked him hard on the arm.

"One day, she's going to cut it off, Clark!" Sandy laughed.

"And then she'll be VERY sad!" he laughed.

"How DO you put up with him, Amy?" Clarissa asked.

"He may be a little boy out here, but in there?" she smirked, nodding towards the bedroom.

He grabbed her hand, pulled her into his room, and shut the door behind them.

"He's outrageous!" Angie said, shaking her head.

"He's also a very good friend," I said. "I'm sorry to break up this little party, but Angie and I are going to say our evening prayers, and then I'm going to bed."

Sophia, Clarissa, and Sandy all left, and Angie and I went into my bedroom. I lit the candle in front of the icons, as well as some incense, and we prayed. When we finished, I walked her to her room.

"Were you serious about what you said?" she asked.

"About what?"

"That you would say 'no' to me," she asked demurely.

Angie was sending off mixed signals again, and I was concerned about how she might take my answer, no matter which way I responded. That meant the only reasonable answer was the truth.

"No. If you ask, and it's a serious request, I'd say 'yes'."

Angie smiled, kissed me on the cheek and the corner of my lips, then slipped into her room. I headed back down the hall to my room to get ready for bed. Ten minutes later, I was under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

September 11, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"Hi, Paula," I said when Angie and I walked into the Quick Mart on Saturday morning.

"Hi, Mike! Hi, Angie! How's it going?"

"About the same," I replied. "Lots of studying."

"I could help take your mind off that for a while!" she said with an alluring smile.

"I have no doubt!" I replied with a careful, friendly smile.

Her eyes twinkled, and Angie and I moved through the store, picking up the things we needed to restock my fridge and shelf.

"She's still trying, huh?" Angie asked quietly.

"Yes. But the LAST thing I need is a relationship with a girl who has a kid! I'm having enough trouble with one-on-one relationships!"

"But those boobs!" Angie laughed.

I chuckled, "They are impressive, but there is way more to life than a nice pair of breasts!"

"The small-breasted women of the world, thank you for your support!"

I was just about to reply when Nancy turned the corner into the aisle where I was picking up a bag of chips.

"Hi, Mike! Hi, Angie!"

"Hi, Nance," I replied. "How are things?"

"Fine, really. Just getting the work-school-life balance figured out. Are you guys going to the dance tonight?"

"We are," I said. "The vote was pretty lopsided with all the guys in our gang voting yes."

"Can I get on your dance card?"

"What is this?" I laughed. "The USO?"

"It's something my mom says when she wants some time with someone. Not sure where she picked it up."

"Nobody has any claims on me," I said. "Just find me, and I'd be happy to dance with you."

"Thanks! See you tonight!"

"We'll be there around 8:30pm," I said. "We're going to Vespers first."

"OK."

Angie and I finished our shopping, and Paula rang up our purchase. We walked back to campus and put everything away, then put on some music and sat on the couch. Angie slid closer so that our shoulders just barely touched. It felt as if she was testing herself.

"What did you put on?" she asked.

"Something's Going On by Frida. She's part of ABBA but released a solo album."

"Not your usual music, is it?"

"My sister sent it to me," I replied. "It was waiting for me yesterday when I came back from class."

Along with a 'thank you' note. Me sending Mindy away seemed to have been a catalyst for an improving relationship with Liz, and that made me even happier I'd sent her away.

"She's an ABBA fan, right?"

"I do believe she'd kill someone for tickets to an ABBA concert."

Or, more likely, have sex with them, but I wasn't going to say THAT to Angie.

"Anybody home?" Sandy asked as she walked in, then laughed. "Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Loucks!"

"Not quite," I laughed. "What's up?"

"Not much. Clarissa and Sophia will be along in a minute. It's almost lunchtime."

"Feeling more relaxed?" I asked.

"Yes. Those lab reports we have to do are straight from some demonic corner of the universe!"

"It's supposed to be a preview of med school," I said, then realized what I'd said. "Sorry, didn't mean to rub salt in that open wound."

"Salt AND lemon juice," she laughed. "Don't sweat it. I just need to find a way to not stress so much."

"That shoulder and neck rub seemed to help," I observed.

"It did. I'm going to ask Jason how he scored a bottle of whisky."

"I'd advise against that part of the future Doctor Vasilakis' prescription," I said with a grin.

"And the other part," Sandy smirked.

"Oh look, here's Clarissa and Sophia!" Angie laughed as the other girls came to the door, with Robby and Lee right behind them.

We got up and met more of the gang at the elevator. When everyone was in the lobby, we headed, in a pack, for the cafeteria.

"We should get Raiders jackets," Pete laughed. "You know, look like a real street gang!"

"Oh sure," Larry laughed. "Make SURE the cops target us black guys for every crime that happens in a six-county area!"

"Is it really that bad?" Fran asked.

"You have NO idea," Clark groused. "I got rousted by cops all the time in Cincinnati. So did my friends."

"It wasn't quite as bad for us," Carter said. "But we had problems with the cops in Cleveland, too."

"Where are you from, Fran?" Jeannette asked.

"Wapakoneta."

"Where Neil Armstrong was born?" Robby asked.

"Yes."

"I've been to that museum," Lee said. "It's totally cool."

"Lee is a 'space nut'," Sophia laughed. "Back home, his room had a dozen models of NASA rockets, including this huge model of Apollo 11."

"What do you think of the Space Shuttle?" I asked.

"It's cool," Lee said, "but it can't leave low-earth orbit, so it's not all that useful for manned exploration. I was pissed when they canceled the Apollo program."

"That's a heck of a lot of money to spend flying around the solar system, which could be used right here on Earth," Jeannette countered.

"Uh-oh," Sophia sighed.

"It's important for both basic science AND exploration! In the larger scheme of things, it's peanuts! I swear, there are government programs that waste more money than NASA spends!"

"Truce?" Marie asked, intervening. "Please?"

"Sure," Jeannette said.

"OK," Lee agreed.

"So, about military spending..." Jeannette teased.

"NO!" came a chorus from the gang.

"I'd rather listen to the future doctors whine about their tough lives!" Angie laughed.

"I say we dispense with ALL of that and just eat lunch!" Jason said.

"Second!" came a chorus.

Everyone laughed as we went into the cafeteria, and about ten minutes later, we all had our food and were sitting at one of the long tables.

"What do you guys think about setting aside a time to talk politics or philosophy or whatever?" Jeannette asked.

"Looking for an argument?" I laughed. "I'm OK if you guys do that, but I REALLY have no stomach for political debate."

"Don't you care about what happens in the country?" she countered.

"I'm much more worried about my next exam and my homework."

"Seriously? How can you not care?"

"Because I'm just one guy. I plan to vote in the election, but I have zero interest in political debate. It turns my stomach, really."

"Pathetic," she said, shaking her head.

"Is it?" Sandy asked. "Not everyone is interested in politics. And honestly, if he votes, what more can you ask for? I guarantee you Mike isn't going to just vote a straight-party ticket! In fact, I suspect he'll vote for the best PERSON without regard to their politics."