Chapter 18

Of course standing up too quickly after drinking too much was never a good idea. As Kaija jumped up to sprint for her toys, her stomach stayed behind. She clutched her nauseated abdomen with a groan. "I feel like shit." And while it wasn't the most polite thing to say, Ally wanted to tell her she looked like it, too!

Not thwarted by her discomfort, Kaija stumbled across the room to her closet where she retrieved a shoebox full of sex toys out of the bottom drawer. She placed the box on top of the dresser, momentarily disoriented. "Damn, there's something I forgot to do," she mumbled, rubbing her aching forehead.

After nearly falling asleep on her feet, it finally came to her. "Ah," she said, holding up her index finger. "I need to brush my teeth!"

Ally had to laugh at the exaggerated profundity of Kaija's realization. She couldn't imagine being so out of it that she didn't even know what she was doing or even saying.

Kaija turned back to her closet to grab her tooth brush, and instead grabbed one of her many toys-a long, slender, bright green dildo. She seemed not to notice her mistake as she fumbled through the top drawer for some toothpaste. Ally debated whether or not to point it out to her, but Ally being Ally decided it'd be too cruel to let a friend walk down the hall with a rubber penis instead of her toothbrush. It sure would have been worth a good laugh though, Allison giggled quietly.

As Kaija reached the door, Ally tried to stop her. "Um, Kaija?" she began tentatively.

"What's the problem? I'm just going down the hall to brush my teeth!" Kaija looked simply ridiculous standing there with her arms outstretched in a drunken rage clutching a bright green penis.

"I know," Ally said, remaining calm despite her roommate's testiness, "but you may want to get your toothbrush first."

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" she shouted back, fuming mad. "I've got my goddam toothbrush right-" Kaija lifted her hand to hold it up for Ally's inspection and immediately noticed her error. "Shit," she cursed, throwing it back on top of the dresser. Without a word, she retrieved her toothbrush and shuffled down the hall to the bathroom.

Allison was still awake when Kaija returned. As long as it took her, she was about ready to send out a search party! Ally watched with a grin as Kaija managed to put her toiletries away and stumble over to her bed. She watched with interest to see how-or if-Kaija could make the hop up to her loft. As usual, Kaija turned around, propped her hands on the edge of the bed, and hopped up. In her altered state, she had misjudged the distance. She missed the bed and landed on a pile of books stacked on the floor nearby, her body a blur of pirouettes and flailing arms that were punctuated by the sickening clunk of her head against the cement floor.

Ally winced, her hands flying up to her mouth to suppress a terrified scream. Surely Kaija had to be seriously hurt after a fall like that! She found herself wondering if the campus health center emergency room were open that time of night. Bracing herself to see a gruesome pool of blood, Ally leapt out of bed and ran over to her friend. Much to her amazement, there was no blood whatsoever. Instead, Kaija sat there cross-legged with a stupid grin on her face.

"Are you okay?" Ally asked, offering her a hand to help her up.

Kaija slapped the cement floor beside her and shook her head. "Whoa, that was hard!"

Ally had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying, "Duh!"

Without missing a beat, Kaija jumped to her feet. "I'm great," she enthused. "See ya in the morning!"

And what a painful morning it was going to be, Allison thought to herself with a smile.

Morning arrived in record time. Like anything else in life, the less you wanted it, the sooner it came! Ally knew Kaija had a morning class, but she sure as heck wasn't going to be the one to risk life and limb to wake her up for it! Luckily, she didn't have to. The blazing sun casting ribbons of bright light across the room did it for her. Kaija's first moan escaped her lips as a sliver of sunlight planted itself squarely on her left eye.

"Holy crap," she mumbled, rubbing her throbbing head.

"Glad to see you cleaned your language up a little, Miss," Ally grinned, straightening the sheets and comforter on her bed.

"I have just one question," Kaija asked, her mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton balls. "Who clocked me on the head, because I'm gonna hafta hurt 'em!"

Ally smiled sweetly. "I don't think that's a promise you're gonna want to keep," she said, thinking of how painful it'd be to do battle with a cement floor.

"Ya don't think I can cut it, huh?" she teased.

"Probably not," Ally smiled. "It was the dorm room floor." She pointed to the still messy stack of books that led to the fall.

Kaija looked down at the hard surface and rubbed her aching head once more. "Ouch," she winced. "You're right; that's gonna leave a mark!" Both girls laughed as they made their way to their closets to dress. "I've got class, but where are you headed so early this morning?" Kaija asked, wiggling into a short denim mini skirt.

Ally shrugged. "I was thinking of getting some real breakfast this morning. Wanna come?"

The expression on Kaija's face made it abundantly clear that not all about the night before had been forgotten. She scrunched up her face. "No thanks, the asshole will ruin what little appetite I have." Ally knew she was referring to Barclay. "I'll just grab a Pop Tart on the run or something," she added, running a brush through her short hair.

"Your call..." Without another word, Ally headed over to the dining commons. She was pleased to see the breakfast that awaited-French toast sticks, eggs, sausage links, and an assortment of strawberries, grapes, and bananas. Ally took a smidge of everything and made her way to the dining area. Without giving it much thought, she found herself heading for the spot Barclay and his buddies frequented most-a sunny corner at the front end of the room.

Barclay's friends were just saying their good-byes, complete with high-fives, when she approached the table. His eyes lit up. "Good morning!" he beamed. "Why don't you join me? These lug nuts are on their way to class," he explained, jerking his head toward the trio of guys standing behind him. "And I really hate eating by myself."

With a smile, she pulled out the chair across from him. Perfect, she thought. Maybe now she could get to the bottom of what was going on between he and Kaija. Ally desperately wanted to fix it after everything the twosome had done for her.

"So Ally-gator, what's on your agenda today?" he asked, biting off an end of a sausage link.

"Not sure," Ally responded, dunking a French toast stick in a little cup of maple syrup. "Haven't had much time to think about it I guess." She was hoping the statement would lead him in to asking her why so she could broach the topic of Kaija. He hadn't even asked where she was this morning, which was an oddity in and of itself.

Predictably, Barc took the bait. "What in the world could keep you from planning your day off?" he asked curiously. He hadn't expected Ally's one word answer-Kaija. Instantly, Barclay was sorry he asked.

"She came home pretty upset last night, you know."

"Did she say why?" Barclay had an uncharacteristic edge to his voice.

Ally swallowed hard, not wanting to say the words. It would be an embarrassment to all involved. On the other hand, if she truly wanted to help them... "She said you refused to be with her last night?" She phrased it as a question to conceal just how much she knew.

Barclay leaned back in his chair and sighed in frustration. "So she's throwing a shit fit about not getting sex?!?" he shouted in disbelief. He said it a bit louder than he had intended, because their section of the dining area fell silent as dozens of ears attempted to listen in. He shook his head. "Damn, that woman is insatiable!" Ally could see the showman in Barclay start to peek out. A certain part of him liked the attention from the crowd, and the nature of the 'problem' gave his ego a real boost. "I'll tell ya," he continued, "if sex were food, our little friend would outweigh Japan's premiere sumo wrestlers four times over!"