This is the final chapter of a continuing story that begins with Darkroom - Monday.
----
Steve's alarm went off at 7:00 on Saturday. It was unusual for him to get up earlier than 9:00 on the weekend, but he had signed up to teach English to immigrants at the library once a month and today was his first day. He rolled out of bed, checked his email. Nothing yet. A shower and breakfast and he was on the road.
Thirty minutes later and he was helping a group of three elderly Indian ladies learn the days of the week in English.
"Sunday" they repeated after him, "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday."
It was strange how a single week could completely load a set of ordinary words with new significance.
Dieter was at the gym. His time with Friday, with Marie Marthe, had been tantalizing and brief. She had completely skewed his standards of what he was looking for in a woman. After the girls had gone the night before he had stayed in the basement to clean things up. She had left her dress behind. He wondered if she had a change of clothes, but he guessed that she had probably just walked away naked. He had no doubt she was capable of doing that. He pushed metal against gravity. For the moment, he felt like he was beating it.
Anthony answered the door at 9:00, yawning in his boxers and a t-shirt. It was the landlord. He said he had sold the house. They had 30 days to get out.
Gabe and Justin were blasting each other to pieces on the LAN. They were talking smack on the chat channel between lobbing grenades and calling in air strikes on each other.
Anthony came in with a paper in his hand and some bad news.
----
English classes were over at noon. Steve had covered the days of the week, the months of the year, the seasons, and counting to twenty with his ladies. They left, one by one with their rides and he stood there on the curb watching them leave, a bag of cooling samosas in his hand from a grateful student.
The mood in the house when he got home was pestilential.
Then the email came.
Hi Boys,
We know about your house. Don't start packing just yet. One of us knows how to help you guys out. Trust us.
It's Saturday and today we're getting the hell out of the dark. Find us at the food court at the mall by the theater at 2:45. We'll all be within view of each other, but otherwise alone. You may have to take a few risks. Join the club.
Love,
Monday, for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
----
"We're early," Gabe said.
"No we're not. Your watch is fast. It's always four minutes fast. We set it while you're sleeping." Anthony was in the parking lot with the guys looking at the mall. "It's kind of late for lunch- maybe there won't be too many people in there."
Anthony realized something was wrong before they even opened the glass doors.
"Oh shit." Steve spoke for all of them. The place was swarming with young women.
Dieter scowled. "Your Monday is one evil little..."
"Watch it." Steve said, "You're right though. Evil. It's opening day of romantic vampire movie 4. Right after the first showing."
There were long lines of women with the occasional humiliated boyfriend waiting to get into the second showing and crowds of blushing fan girls flowing out of the theater and into the food court.
Dieter smiled. "Well, it looks like I can eliminate 80% of the crowd. Good luck, guys." And he waded into the chaos.
Justin looked shell shocked. "I don't even know where to begin."
"They know what we know about them- they'll be signaling us somehow," but Gabe was secretly thinking the same thing. How do you find the girl who invented your favorite blowjob?
Justin groaned. "I just know she has incredible tits, but I don't actually know what they look like. I can't go around
feeling
all these girls. I'd get maybe three chances before security would drag me out."
Anthony took a step forward. "Well, if any of you see a hot girl humping a pillow, let me know." and he headed for the arcade.
"Screw it," Steve said and stood up on a table and started waving his arms. "Hey! Monday? How about a clue?" He waited as several hundred amused eyes turned to stare at him. "No? Okay then. Girls, I'm looking for my Cinderella and she has great smelling hair. I need you all to line up here and I'm going to sniff your hair one by one..." He saw some uniforms starting to move in his direction. "Never mind," he said quickly, getting off the table and plunging into the crowd.
----
Marie Marthe stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall near the ladies' restroom, scowling. Two girls standing near her kept up a high pitched irritating chatter, "did you see those guys. I know- the one on the table was cute. Does my hair smell nice? But I know- totally, the blond guy wearing the muscles. Wouldn't he look tasty in my Cabriolet? Is it true that guys who work out are compensating? Look, he's coming this way. Shit. I think he looked at me."
Marie Marthe watched him approach, devouring him with her eyes. "You're a beautiful man. I want you to kiss me."
When Dieter heard her voice, he knew her immediately. She was walking toward him, looking fierce, wearing a dress that was similar to the one he had destroyed the night before. Her braids were gathered in a large bundle that swung at her back. Everything about her seemed to burn, her skin was dark brown, smoking hot, her breasts swayed freely in the front of the dress. Her lips seemed to have their own dance, impatient and mobile. The way she wore the dress, she could have been naked. She transcended her clothing. Her eyes burned into him and spoke of need, impatience, passion. He kissed her deeply, enveloping her in his arms and she grabbed his buttocks and pulled herself into him.
All conversation in the vicinity lapsed into uncomfortable silence as the kiss lasted beyond what was comfortable, or even decent. Dieter's hands were on the small of her back, mostly, sometimes lower. Finally, breathless, Marie Marthe broke the kiss, breathing heavily. "Look into my eyes right now, like you will later. Look into me."
Dieter did. He let his excitement, his admiration for her, his lust, he let it all show in his face. They felt completely alone. "Yes. You will take me to my room now."
As they left, a spell lifted from the people that had surrounded them. "How did she do that?" one of the chatterboxes wondered. Someone called out, "Get a room," lamely, and too late.
----
Steve had managed to evade security, and was wandering blindly looking for Monday when he saw her sitting at a table behind a bottled sports drink- long blond hair, freckles, an impish smile, and a tight white t-shirt with "Volvo" stretched over small breasts. He stumbled over a chair getting to her, and sat down across the table from her heavily. She was wearing a very distracting miniskirt.
"I'm Thursday," she said, feeling a little sorry for the way it made Steve wilt. "Monday told me you imagined she looked like me. We thought that could be a little awkward. She doesn't look like me at all. She's not
that
horrible though." She grinned and paused for a moment, thinking. Then she leaned forward. "I feel a little bad for you, so I'm going to help. She's wearing what she wore Monday. It's important to remember that you weren't ever going to see her in it."
"Thank you," Steve said, as he stood, "Anthony is going to be very, very pleased."
She smiled, "Thank you- I sure hope so."
----
Justin wandered hopelessly, not really having any idea of how to find Wednesday. Finally he noticed that the light in the arcade was mixed with ultraviolet. He drifted over in that direction, not sure what to look for, but not having any better ideas. Several of the girls checked him out, the male to female ratio being what it was, but none of them seemed right. One's hair was too short, one was too tall, one had an infected nose ring. Then he saw something that caught his eye- a slightly goth chick with a little tattoo of the sun under her ear. He approached her, and she smiled at him. He thought he'd take a chance.
"Play a game of Ms. Pac Man?"
"Old school. Sure, why not?"
He led her into the arcade where he could see several people's clothes glowing. He looked at the girl he had invited, and nothing about her glowed except the "Team Edward" on her black hoodie. Her voice was wrong. It wasn't her. He played the game with her, but he was distracted and played badly.
"Thanks," she said, "hey, if you haven't seen the movie yet, I'll take you."
"Thanks, no. Actually I'm trying to find someone. I met her on Wednesday. I don't really know what she looks like though."
"Cybersex, huh?"
"What? no- well, sort of," he sputtered, "I saw your tattoo and I thought it might be you."
"My sun?"
"Yeah, never mind though."
"I saw a chick with a wicked sun tattoo on her back a while ago, looked like it was inked in blood. I wanted to get a closer look, but..."
"Where was she? What did she look like? What was she wearing?"
"Eager boy. I don't know- black hair. She was facing the other way over there. White top cut low in the back."
"That's great!" Justin kissed her absently on the cheek, "Thanks!"
"No," she said, her hand on her cheek, "thank
you
."
Justin moved in the direction the girl had pointed, but didn't see anyone promising. He turned back to the arcade and he felt a jolt as he saw her. She was walking away from him into the arcade, an intricate sun glowing yellow under the arcade lights in the center of her exposed back, framed by long black pigtails tied low on her head. He plowed through the crowd, his eyes fixed on her back. Justin got to her and didn't wait- he grabbed her around the waist from the back and kissed her in the center of the beautifully airbrushed sun.
"Well now, that's a strange way to greet someone you've never met." The girl turned to face him. She was Asian, with prominent cheekbones and bright eyes.
Justin was stunned. "You're, um... beautiful." He stuttered and started again, "My name is..." and stopped, feeling foolish.
