“Hmmm. Maybe I was wrong about you after all…” Dae paused pretending to think about it. “Then again; I could always just go make my own hot steamy cup of cocoa with tiney tiny marshmallows. Here’s a tip for negotiating; you actually have to have something the other person wants that they can’t have with you giving it to them.”
“Oh you could, if this wasn’t the last package…” Was it the last package? Damn Iya’s carefully selected words. Iya smelled the mug and imitated a look of that said this is heavenly, “And the cocoa smells great, maybe I should try it…” She pretended to be struggling with her decision. Bitch.
“You wouldn’t.” Dae’s eyes narrowed. Iya was the coffee queen and Dae was the cocoa freak. It’s how things have always been and they did not muddy the waters. Well, they didn’t usually muddy the waters. Before. But with the face Iya made over that mug…
“Try me.” Iya had a poker face like, well, Dae guessed like people who knew how to play a good game of poker had.
Dae’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Ok, but on one condition: I get the cocoa now and clean the room later tonight because–” Dae motioned to her Happy Bunny clock “its 8:30 am and we don’t want to be late for registering for the good classes.”
Yes, Dae had a Happy Bunny clock. It was a black round old fashioned looking alarm clock, with the metal symbol thingies on top and a red Happy Bunny in the white face that said Prevent Violence, Give Me Your Lunch Money. Dae loved it to pieces.
“Crap, we do have to go. You win, but tonight the room has to be cleaned and you have to actually open your mail.” Iya countered.
What the hell? “Ok, I will open some of the mail, the most important ones meaning the ones I deem important and that’s it. Take it or leave it, you’ll get no more concessions from me.”
Iya smiled as Dae claimed her cup of steaming hot chocolate-y marshmallow-y goodness. Man that was some good cocoa.
Dae was rinsing out her mug in the sink when she saw the box of cocoa on the counter top. The full box of hot cocoa.
’All war is deception’ Sun Tzu wrote. So lie with the truth. He didn’t write that but he should have. Man, that girl was getting good. Dae turned on Iya in awe. “You are so slick I’m surprised your clothes just don’t just slide right off you.”
Iya grinned, “I learned it from you. I honestly don’t know why you’re so surprised.”
It was a really warm day for May as Dae and Iya took the train to get to the main campus. They couldn’t afford a car –they could barely afford their apartment– so public transportation was a necessity. Dae hated the smell of BO that clung for dear life to the train cars in the warmer months. It was the worst collaboration of smells she ever scented besides garbage trucks and dumpsters on a sweltering summer day.
At least you could escape those. Dae shivered.
She hated taking the train. On the train she was trapped, locked inside with a stench worse than decomposing meat. Iya always ignored the odors of everything. It was like the girl had no nose what so ever.
“How do you not notice the reek of all the people in this car? It’s suffocating me.” Dae said loudly through the front of her shirt, which she fashioned over her nose and mouth like mask.
Iya looked around at the other people on the train with them, embarrassed at Dae’s bluntness, as she always was. Iya didn’t want anyone to take offense but Dae could care less about who heard what. Dae spoke her mind, whenever where ever, and if somebody had an issue, she enjoyed the drama that followed. Iya was the complete opposite; she tried to diffuse the bomb before the BOOM while Dae was busy pulling out wires and pressing buttons so it could go off.
“Well, I don’t have a bionic nose like you do. I’m the normal one in this dynamic duo.” Iya rolled her eyes at her friend.
Dae looked around like she was now paranoid someone was listening and whispered in horror, “You say that like your proud.” Dae’s dramatics made Iya snort a laugh before she blew a raspberry at Dae.
Iya knew Dae was grinning through her makeshift odor protector. Dae always prided herself for being the very opposite of what people called normal. Dae said being normal looks ‘depressing’. According to Dae, most people she saw were trying to conform to what other people thought they should be, saying only what they were expected say, having no original thoughts themselves.
Dae ‘pitied the sheep’.
Dae was the kind of girl who started racing shopping carts in the cereal aisle of supermarket. On a dare last semester, she ran alongside the marching band during one of their practices in the football field. She wore nothing but her Scooby-doo undies and a tank top with the American flag on the front. As she ran, she sang the star spangled banner bare foot during a Michigan February. Iya finally figured out it was better not to dare Dae to do anything Iya thought was crazy because Dae would be the one to do it just because no one else in their right mind would.
Iya was Dae’s best and only friend in a world of ‘stupid sheep waiting for the shepherd’. And even though Iya was friends with almost everybody on campus, Dae was her best friend too.
Dae met Iya in the halfway house she was staying in after a series of unfortunate room-for-rent disasters. Finally Iya found out they had halfway houses for kids like her. Orphans. It was like the Lord himself bestowed a blessing down from the heavens.
Iya had been having a hard time with the other girls at the halfway house. She was always nice, polite, and didn’t bother anybody. They had no reason to dislike her but maybe they sensed she was gifted. None of them were. Iya figured the ungifted could sense the same ‘likeness’ she sensed with certain people. Maybe that was why they acted the way they did. Though none of the guys who stayed there had anything against her. They were all friendly but she couldn’t bunk with the guys. And she asked to be transferred out to another halfway house but there were waiting lists. She knew she was lucky to get a spot where she was.
Shortly after arriving, almost every girl was ready to jump her in the bathroom. That’s when Dae came in. As soon as Dae made her way in the door, everybody stopped and watched.
Dae gave off a predator vibe that even now Iya couldn’t explain. Dae was something else.
Iya expected to get jumped by the girls and then ask the administrators to send her to another halfway house. Surely, they would have found another one for her to go to keep her safe. The administrators liked Iya; she helped them with random stuff when she wasn’t working because they were so understaffed. Silly plan but Iya thought it would work, and it gave her what she wanted while simultaneously giving the other girls what they wanted too. Everybody would win. Well, everyone would have won if some crazy women didn’t snarl like an animal as Bertha the Beast grabbed Iya’s shirt.
That’s when Dae exploded. Literally exploded, because all of those girls got knocked on the floor. Hard. They were scrambling away as Dae made her way to Bertha. Dae got up in Bertha’s face and Bertha shrunk back like Dae wore blood and guts as foundation. With only Dae’s back visible, Iya didn’t know what to think as the crazy women threw Bertha into a shower stall. Then Dae stopped, got in Bertha’s face again and said, “You ain’t gonna jump nobody no more now are ya!” as Dae turned the water on. Bertha shrank as far away as the stall allowed and Dae introduced herself to Iya like nothing happened moments before.
By the time the administrators came and asked what happened it was over and nobody was talking. Technically, Dae didn’t do anything. But Bertha and all the rest didn’t look at Iya sideways after that. Which was a good thing.
From then on, Iya and Dae were like Kenny Rogers and Jack Daniels; inseparable. The administrators helped her and Dae wrangle some extra state aided funding besides financial aid for low-income families for college. With school paid for, they decided to pool their money together and become roomies vs. holing up in one of the various rooms-for-rent in the neighborhood.
It’s been Dae –quite literally–and Iya against the world ever since.
Dae grabbed Iya�
�s arm and directed –or dragged– her over to a row of stores across the road that they usually passed on the way to MSU, but had never checked out before.
Iya protested immediately. “We’re going to be late; we’re not going to get the good classes! People are already there!”
Dae’s roommate, the worrywart.
“It’s ok, its summer semester. There’s not going to be crowds of people taking summer classes. Only nerds are that anxious to waste their summer of fun going to class.” Dae’s grin spread ear to ear when she saw the offended look on Iya’s face but she quickly talked Iya into checking it out anyway. They had to take summer courses to keep open their financial aid applications. And Dae actually liked learning. Teaching was the most useful purpose of other people in the world Dae had ever found.
In the beauty salon Dae tried on some wigs. Iya wouldn’t try on any wigs in the salon, but she did want to go in the ‘pleasure outlet’. Dae was mortified, she may talk all big and bad but talk was… talk. It’s not going to buy appliances for getting off. Iya started cracking up when Dae said that and teased Dae mercilessly the whole walk down the strip about being ‘Prudence McPrudeson’.
Iya was the only one who got away with teasing Dae… So she did it. A lot.
They almost passed an electronics store that advertised a big banner about cell phones and plans. Dae thought it was like a sign from the Gods. She dragged Iya in and proceeded to coerce her into buying a phone and plan together. They had a phone in the apartment before, but since their waitressing job had gotten slow and there wasn’t enough shifts to go around, it had been turned off. Truthfully, Dae was a bad waitress. Really bad.
“Look, its inexpensive so we can afford it, we’re getting a free phone each and you’d have a way for all your ‘gentlemen callers’ to get all mushy mushy with you anywhere! With the new job, you know I’m not lying about being able to afford it!”
The new job was a medical transcription firm that paid much better than waitressing ever could. They got steady income as long as they transcribed all the documents by the deadline. Plus, they no longer had to be on their feet for 12 hour shifts while taking a full course load to keep their financial aid requirements. It was the perfect job for both of them. And Dae didn’t have to deal with extra people. Score!
“Come on, you want one, you know you do!” With a little more persuading, Iya and Dae walked out of the store with two cell phones.
Dae was so excited to make her first call, even though it was only to Iya, who was waking right next to her. Dae couldn’t help the grin she wore after she talked Iya into buying them; she knew Iya would see it her way.
When they finally got to campus, it was crowded with students. Iya gave Dae a minute to introduce herself with her surroundings. Dae knew from previous experience there was 4 exits in the Manhow R. Preston building. The one they just came in and the one 15 feet to the right down the hall where they had classes were the closest. Long dark wooden tables were arranged in a crescent moon around the massive main room. Each table had different signs at each seat for different classes. Summer semester didn’t have many classes, only 30 or so available for those who actually wanted to come to school in the summer.
Dae looked around slowly, her eyes narrowing on the crowd. Shit. There were many nerdy-book-wormy types here.
“Great. I bet all the good classes are taken already by the massive nerd mob. Christ Iya, why do you have to be such a slacker? Ugh!” Dae said with mock disgust shaking her head all while trying not to grin.
“Stop taking His name in vain, Dae. And I am not a slacker, slacker!” Iya swatted Dae’s shoulder but Dae moved out of the way, her grin wide.
Iya and her God. To Dae the only thing worse than organized religion was the devout believers who censored everybody else. Dae had a few fosters like that. But Iya wasn’t oppressive with her faith. Which made it part of the reason it was so much fun to tease Iya about. So it all worked out.
Oddly, Dae and Iya were like two pieces to a puzzle.
Dae knew, like Iya knew, that if they didn’t get the classes they wanted for summer semester, it was going to be because Dae was the slacker of their terrible twosome. Dae procrastinated all the time, while Iya thought the early bird got the half-caf nonfat vanilla latte ventis. That girl would have been there at 6 am if she didn’t want to wait for Dae to come with her. They kind of evened each other out in that way. Dae thought her slacking off fueled Iya’s worker bee. And because of that, they were seldom apart. That Iya knew about anyway.
For complete total opposites, they had similar interests in courses. When they didn’t agree, they usually took the courses they disliked anyway. The last semester, Iya took Native American History course because of Dae. In turn Dae took Sociology of Evil. Iya was practically ready for Sainthood; all she was missing was the halo so originally the class seemed to be an odd choice. Then Dae figured out Iya’s real interest was in the guest professor rather than the content.
As interesting as the class was, Dae didn’t want to understand why people did horrible things. There was no excuse for true evil. They both ended up dropping it when Iya, thankfully, lost interest in her professor and found some better eye candy.
Oh, Iya would never let Dae forget about her favorite thing in the whole, wide world. Iya liked pretty things and pretty things like her too. Iya would drag her all over campus looking for the next object of her affections. She wasn’t desperate, Gods knew the girl had plenty of fans who stalked her relentlessly, but she got bored easily. She’d let them make her smile for the week or so and then move on.
Dae had a different idea of what to do with eye candy. She thought looking was good but didn’t really care about the follow-through. The female student body was lucky, if not blessed –Iya’s words– that the school had an outstanding sports reputation. Sexy sports types came from all over to go to school here, and no female on campus was complaining.
Well, Iya never complained about anything at all, unless it was about Dae’s love life. Her biggest issue was that technically… Dae didn’t have one. While Dae liked to browse the selection, appreciating the variety, she didn’t sample a taste for herself. Not even a small lick. Dae could never properly explain what the problem was.
It’s not you, it’s me. Or it’s you and not me. Or it’s you, me and them.
Dae keep forgetting how that saying went. How could she explain clearly that the guys she saw weren’t right? She really couldn’t see herself with any of those guys for more than an hour much less a night. They didn’t smell right to her. Or sit right with her; she kept forgetting that saying too.
Iya didn’t much get her in that retrospect. She was all for the sampling. That sounds bad, but she wasn’t a whore or anything, she just liked attention from seriously hot guys. And boy they were giving it to her now.
As they made their way through the crowd, Dae saw more than half the guys there break their necks to take a good, long look at Iya. Well, you’d have to be blind not to want to take a look at Iya; she was seriously the most beautiful person Dae ever saw.
Her café mocha skin, black curly hair that was just past her shoulders and her body like a coke bottle was just the start. Icy green eyes hinted at Asian ancestors with full lips; the girl had beautiful down to a science. Yes, Dae sounded jealous, and no it was quite possible to have all that pretty in one person. Dae was not over exaggerating.
Dae, in no way, looked like she should be hanging out with Iya. Ever. Iya was beauty personified; if there was a God of Drop-Dead Gorgeous, Dae was sure they would have looked exactly like Iya. But, nooooo, Dae couldn’t tell Iya that or Dae would have to endure another one of Iya’s ‘big dummy’ spiels that gave Dae a migraine.
Iya normally didn’t ream anybody out for thick headed stubborn stupidity. Then she met Dae. Iya couldn’t understand why Dae always picked at herself. It was like Dae had cataracts. Or glaucoma. Iya thought Dae was beautiful. So did a lot of the guys Iya knew. With Dae’s long dark hair, her eeri
e gold eyes and dimples, Iya couldn’t find a guy who didn’t think Dae was beautiful. Dae was just so damn picky with guys. Iya resolved to find some sexy guy in this crowd of candy that Dae was going to go out with. On a date. If it killed her.
Dae glanced around suspiciously. No matter where they went in the crowd, no matter which table they were at, Dae knew she was being followed. Had been being followed for quite some time now. Dae felt someone’s heated gaze on her at all times and it was making her crabby. Well, crabbier than she usually would have been in a large crowd of people who thought stinky chemicals made them smell better. She scanned the crowd, looking for a face to go along with the stalked feeling that crawled up and down her spine like a creepy caress.
Iya noticed Dae’s distraction. Well, she couldn’t help but notice it when Dae abruptly did an about face from the cute guy who was trying to talk to her. Iya apologized softly and looked up to the ceiling as if it would help her in some way. No there weren’t any instructions on how to handle Dae up there but it made Iya feel better.
“What are you doing? He was cute and sooo interested until you blew him off.” Iya tried not to sound angry. And failed.
“Someone’s been following me. They keep staring at me and I don’t like it.”
Iya prayed for patience. “Come on now, do you really expect me to believe that? You just didn’t want to talk to Trey and this is your excuse.”
Dae blinked twice. “Who the hell is Trey?”
“Hello, the cute pre-med who was just doing his best impression of a love sick puppy till you completely blew him off?”
Dae scoffed. “It’s not an excuse Iya, I really am being followed. Believe it, don’t believe it, or set it on fire because it’s Saturday. It doesn’t change the fact that someone is following me all the time.”
Dae looked completely serious, so Iya decided to entertain her entirely ridiculous mental breakdown. “Ok. I’ll bite. Where is this person that’s been following you?”
Lost & Found (A Lost Ones Novel Book 1) Page 2
