"I guess I should wear something... respectable," Daniela shudders. She is standing in her bedroom, clothing strewn about randomly. Coli shrugs. "Yes, I should. I don't want to scandalize anyone... and I don't want any creepy judge peering down my shirt!"

"Yuck, old men," says Coli, sticking out her tongue.

"I was thinking more about the fact that all judges are, by law, lawyers, and lawyers are all sleazy. Except for Dava, of course."

"Of course." Coli nods sagely, but ends up looking more goofy than wise.

"So, what's my longest skirt?" They look around the room, and through the walk-in-closet, the armoire, and the dresser. Finally, a skirt is snatched from its perch on top of the bed canopy. "Aha! This... I have not worn this since high school, when I was going through that hippie phase. No, wait," Dani frowns. "It was just a Hallowe'en costume."

The skirt is just above ankle length and, if held in front of a lamp, see through. After the skirt has been chosen, it is not difficult to find an appropriate blouse (the matching crop-topped and long-sleeved gauze shirt). "What kind of shoes do you wear with that outfit, Daniela?" asks Coli.

"I think... platform sandals. The ones made out of hemp."

"They're all made out of hemp, you don't wear leather, remember?"

"Oh, yeah... umm... the ones with the black ballet-style laces. And I'll have to change to clear nail polish, or maybe some little silver sparkles mixed into clear... I don't think Perfect Plum matches this outfit."

"What about your pedicure?"

Daniela hesitates. She isn't sure whether it's necessary to change her blue toenails. After all, the skirt is blue, as is the shirt. But it's a different blue. "Ah... I'll leave 'em. We don't really have enough time to dry twenty nails, anyway."

"I'll find the sparkly polish while you change, alright?"

"Good Coli," Daniela grins. "Good girl... and go get yourself a treat while you're at it." She laughs hysterically at herself. "Gawd, Coli, I'm so worried about this trial, everything's funny..."

Dava, you're sure you want me to testify? Do I really have to testify? Can't you just use the tape? Marianna is holding an intense pre-trial conversation with Dava, the only way they know no one will overhear them. Her face shows no emotion, but her eyes plead with Dava.

Mari, I know you don't want to be in the spotlight, but it will make a greater impact if you tell everyone yourself... besides, I could have just made up that tape. If you say you made it and it's accurate, and you say that under oath, then they have to accept it as evidence.

Okay, I understand what you're saying... I understand it's important... I know I need to testify to clear Daniela... but, geez, Dava! I hate having all those people staring at me. Especially that creepy judge...

He's not creepy.

Yes he is.

He's a perfectly good, fair, impartial-

Leering. He leered at me the last time I was in court, and I wasn't even a witness that time. I was just in the audience. Remember that?

He will not leer at you this time.

Why, cuz I'm pregnant? I bet he'll leer even more this time. My breasts are huge from all that milk they're storing up, and I've gotta wear this damn flimsy low-cut sundress because it's the only thing that fits me. I think all the baby showers people hold should be in the first trimester, before you get fat and they should buy maternity clothes, not stuff a baby's going to outgrow in two months.

Calm down... you're going to testify, Mari, and that's it. Leering judge or not, sundress or not... but I think you'd better keep it on.

I know I'm testifying, but I'm going to complain anyway. It's in my nature, and you know it.

I know. Let's go in now, okay? Dava leads the way, Mari trudging behind him. She sticks out her lower lip, pouting cutely, but the effect is nearly lost on her oddly aging face.

Marianna has been aging for a few months now, she isn't really sure how long, but probably since her last birthday. She seems to be gaining a year a month, which will place her at her actual age, 29, by the end of November. She hopes it won't be terribly different from 23 and outwardly protests aging, but in her secretest of hearts, she is thankful that she will not have to deal with Pollythene eventually becoming older than she.

Inside the courtroom, Daniela poses confidently, leaning against a pillar that sits smack in the middle of the room. She gestures subduedly with her hands as she talks to Coli. The hippie outfit does nothing for her appearance of credibility, but if she decides to change her defense to temporary insanity, the outfit (and the look on her face at the moment) could support it well.

"Daniela," says Coli, "there's nothing to worry about. You'll be acquitted. Look right here:" She holds up a copy of Season One, Episode Five, and reads aloud. "'Daniela had killed Pez- but not on purpose. So Daniela would plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter next month, and be acquitted.' Yada yada, but that's the important part."

"But, Coli, that would've happened in March. Who knows what will happen now, since the trial was postponed!"

"No worries, Dani," says Dava, coming up behind them. "Marianna's got some testimony- and evidence- that will clear you like nothing else could."

"What kind of evidence could Mari have?" Daniela frowns prettily. "I mean, she was there and all, but what could change the fact that I gave Pez one drink too many that night?"

"Just wait, sister dear," says Marianna. "Just wait..."

"This court is now in session. All rise!" commands Bailiff Pandora DeSka in her most commanding voice (which isn't as commanding as Daniela's least commanding voice). The judge walks in, nods gruffly to the bailiff after giving her a quick once-over, and seats himself. "Please be seated. All parties for the State versus Daniela DeSka please step forward."

J. Nicklaus Baccher, the District Attorney for Layla:) County, steps forward with a smug look on his face. He has never liked Daniela, Marianna, or anyone remotely connected to them, for the simple fact that they never, ever get in trouble for anything. He especially hates Mac Trench, because he has married Marianna- Nicklaus has been in love with Mari ever since the fourth grade. She can't stand him. He's let it become the bane of his existence. Now, he is thrilled that a DeSka has been charged with murder.

"Why is he smiling smugly like that?" Daniela whispers to Dava as they step forward. "He can't have anything on me, can he?"

"No way. And anything he has will be eliminated by Marianna's evidence."

"Opening statements!" grunts the judge.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury," begins Baccher, rubbing his hands together as he moves toward the jury box. "I can prove, without a doubt, that Daniela DeSka killed Pez DeSpencer on that night in that month... that date no-one can really remember. One needs only look at the coroner's report- death by alcohol poisoning. Or at the bar records from Club Calypso- all of Mr. DeSpencer's drinks charged to Miss DeSka's account."

Here Mari is angered, and projects a quick thought to Dava. How the hell did he get in my records? Those things are confidential- me, Doreen, and Neil are the only ones allowed near them, and the customer can see their own tab. That's it! I never saw him in my Club, and I never saw a search warrant, either! Dava nods slightly to acknowledge her, but continues to listen to the jabbering D.A.

"Or one may look at the sworn affidavit, prepared by Then-Secret-Agent MacKenzie Trench, wherin Miss DeSka admits to supplying Mr. DeSpencer with his last drink- the drink that killed him. Miss DeSka has entered her plea as guilty. Do I really need to prove it?" Baccher looks around at the jury, the audience, the judge. His case isn't any stronger than the affadavit, and it doesn't need to be. His job is to make sure Daniela is found guilty and punished- he doesn't want to see an acquittal, which is likely in this town. Finally, after looking very much like the sleazy lawyer he is for about five minues, he sits down and takes a sip from his glass of water.

Dava rises, straightens his tie, and looks confidently and reassuringly down at Daniela. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, I have evidence that Ms. DeSka did not kill Mr. DeSpencer on that random night about six months ago, accidentally or otherwise. My client, however, has decided to retain her guilty plea as a matter of expediency to this court and convenience to the jurors. If His Honor doesn't mind, I would like to delay any further statements until they can be backed by witnesses."

"Not a problem, Mr. Jini." Dava returns to his seat, and Baccher returns to the floor to call his first witness.

There is the uneventful re-telling of the night's events by Daniela, Alan, and various police officers, none of whom Dava cross-examines. Then, Baccher says, "I would like to call as my next witness- Dava Jini!" A plethora of shocked gasps and murmurs moves through the room, and UPChuck mutters to Dream, "What the bloody hell is this? What could he say to incriminate Daniela?" Dream nods silently- she is aware of what Dava's testimony could be.

"Witness has been duly sworn," reports Bailiff Pandora.

"Mr. Jini," Baccher says smiling slimily, "could you tell us in your own words what happened- to you- that evening?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Baccher. I don't see the relevance," interrupts the judge.

"If His Honor would remember Mr. Jini's ability to forsee the future?"

"Arright, answer the question, Mr. Jini."

Dava took a deep breath. "Well, I was at the Club that night, as usual, chatting with various friends who accosted me during dinner. I was halfway through a delicious T-bone steak when I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I usually have a steak dinner at the Club once a week, so I knew it wasn't the food. When a migraine started to build, I knew I was having a premonition. Not having my crystal ball or staff readily available (I leave those at home while on a social outing), I could not immediately determine the nature of the premonition. I could only tell that something bad would happen, it would happen soon, and it would happen just outside the Club. As a matter of duty to an old friend, I thought it appropriate to warn Marianna and did so. I returned to my dinner, which I finished in short order, and left the Club. The next day, Marianna contacted me about Pez's death. At that time, it was ruled accidental-"

"Yes, yes, we know that already," Baccher says impatiently. "You had no idea of the nature of your premonition?"

"No idea. I reiterate- I did not have the tools to derive the nature."

"Your so-called powers do not automatically derive natures for you?"

"I object. Wizardly powers have been documented by science and recognized for the past ten years as a science. They are not so-called."

"I apologize and withdraw the question. Did you request the re-opening of the case, on the hunch that it might have been homicide?"

"Yes, I did."

"And now you represent the prime suspect for this homicide?"

"Yes, I do."

"No further questions. Your witness."

"I decline to cross-examine myself."

"I call Marianna DeSka-Trench to the stand."

Marianna carefully pulls herself up from her seat, smooths her skirt, and walks up to the witness stand. "Permission to be seated elsewhere? I don't think I can handle that step up." The judge smiles toothily at her and nods his assent. He's leering at me, Dava...

Pandora steps up to her sister, now seated on a chair on the floor in front of the witness stand, and holds out a Bible. "Do you swear to tell the truth, such as you know it, so help you whatever you believe in?"

"I do."

"Witness has been duly sworn."

"Ms. DeSka-Trench... please tell us, in your own words, the events of that evening."

"The Club was running a brisk business that night. I played a set with the Trenchcoats, then we sat at the bar discussing the upcoming dance contest and battle of the bands. I didn't take notice of anyone not involved in my conversation, since things seemed to be running as normal. At one point, Dava came up to me and told me he'd had a 'feeling.' Having had 'feelings' myself, I respected his concern and acted upon it, spontaneously hiring Oskar as bouncer. Then I resumed my normal socializing activities until I was made aware of the death outside my Club."

"What was your first action after learning of Mr. DeSpencer's death?"

"I ran outside to confirm that there was a dead body."

"Why did you do this?"

"There are always people telling me about dead bodies in the gutters. I don't like to disturb the police for someone who's simply had one too many. I always check. I take the pulse, check for breathing. That's what I did with Pez."

"When you 'checked out' Mr. DeSpencer, what did you discover?"

"That he was, indeed, dead. I returned to the Club and telephoned the Layla:) Police Department."

"Why didn't you call 9-1-1?"

"I have the main number on speed dial. Anticipating your next question, they sent over an ambulance to verify Pez's death. Two officers followed shortly, interrogated a few people, and ruled the death accidental. Life resumed as normal, and nothing more was said about the whole issue for two weeks."

"Why two weeks?"

"The next week, I held the dance contest as planned. The week after that, the case was reopened and Federal Agents called in."

"When were you made aware of this?"

"When two Agents entered my bar and scared away the customers. More accurately, when they approached me and explained their presence."

"Did you attempt to impede their investigation?"

"Objection!" starts Dava.

"Oh, please," says Marianna sweetly, "I'd love to answer this question. I know it's irrelevant, but it could be so much fun! Mr. Baccher, I did not try to impede the investigation. I did impede the investigation."

Baccher frowns. This is not working the way it is supposed to. "I withdraw the question and request the answer be stricken from the record and disregarded by the jury."

"Granted." The judge coughs dryly and rearranges himself in his seat. "Continue."

"The coroner's report regarding Mr. DeSpencer lists cause of death as alcohol poisoning. Do you recall what Mr. DeSpencer drank that night?"

"As I said before, I spent the night playing a set with my band, and socializing. I only took care of incidental business that my employees couldn't handle. I rarely take notice of what people are drinking, with the exception of regulars. Also, my records show prices, not particular drinks. There is no way I could know what he had been drinking."

"You can, however, tell that all of his drinks were charged to Ms. Daniela DeSka's account."

"At that time, he was still in Daniela's entourage. All of her entourage are covered by her tab."

"There are no limits to how much one person can charge in a night?"

"No. I do not attempt to control adults."

"There are no limits to how much one person can drink in a night?"

"Again, no. If someone requests that I control their intake, or their spending, I will do what I can. That is with a written contract only."

"There was no such contract with Mr. DeSpencer?"

"No."

"Did Ms. DeSka serve any drinks to Mr. DeSpencer?"

"I wouldn't know. It's highly improbable, but you'd have to ask her to be sure."

"Thank you. No further questions."

"I decline to cross-examine the witness," said Dava.

"Why isn't he cross-examining?" UPChuck whispers to Dream.

"Shh. He knows what he's doing." Dream shifts in her seat and pulls her hand out of UPChuck's.

"I would like to call Daniela DeSka to the witness stand," says Baccher.

Dani swears to tell the truth, etc., sits carefully on the straight-backed wooden chair, and runs one hand through her hair nervously as she waits for Baccher to begin. He paces in front of her a few times, seemingly deep in thought, but really only trying to scare her.

"Ms. DeSka. Did you serve Pez DeSpencer any drinks that evening?"

"I gave him a rum and coke at about one in the morning. I stopped to talk to him for a while, to make sure he wasn't terribly depressed that I'd broken up with him. He seemed really really drunk, but I let him have the drink anyway, because maybe he'd get so drunk he'd totally lose any memory of me and he'd be happy again. I don't like it when my ex-boyfriends are unhappy, 'cause then I have to fire them from my entourage, too. So, anyway, I gave him the drink, and made him promise to go home right after he finished it. I even told him to find me and I'd send him home in one of my cars. But maybe fifteen minutes later, I saw him heading out the door. Maybe he didn't want to depend on me anymore, or maybe he needed the cool air to knock off some of the drunkenness, or maybe he just forgot my offer. So I went back to dancing. And then when the cops showed up, I got scared and took off. Cops make me nervous."

"Why do the police make you nervous?"

"No particular reason. I've never done anything, but they just... creep me out. They all dress the same, and drive the same boring cars. And they're mean sometimes. I don't like mean people."

"Did you harbor any bad feelings toward Mr. DeSpencer?"

"What?" Daniela wrinkles her nose in confusion. "English, please!"

"Did you hate Mr. DeSpencer?"

"No. Why should I? He was a nice kid. Sure, he pissed me off and I had to break up with him, but I didn't hate him."

"Why did you break up with Mr. DeSpencer?"

"He smoked tobacco, and he was helping smuggle pipes into Layla:). I can't stand tobacco smoke. I helped lobby for the no-tobacco law when I was in high school. So I wasn't happy that he was breaking the law and I couldn't be connected to him like that anymore. But I wasn't mad at him. I was mad at his actions."

"No further questions," Baccher says wearily.

"I decline to cross-examine." Dava lets no emotion cross his face or his voice, but Marianna can tell that his brain is jumping for joy. Baccher has no case at all.

"We will recess for one hour for lunch, before the defense begins," says the judge. He heaves himself out of his seat and lumbers toward his chambers.

"All rise!" Pandora says quickly, then as the people rise and start talking and moving toward the door, "This court will reconvene at twelve noon!"

"I don't get it," says UPChuck as he steers Dream toward a small cafe across the street. "Why didn't Dava cross-examine anyone?"

"It's his style. He never cross-examines when he's defending. Besides, he's got a bang-up strategy for this case."

"Bang-up? Where did that come from? I'm sure the phrase wasn't in your vocabulary before."

"Must have gotten it from Marianna. She says the oddest things sometimes. I'm not hungry, why are we going here?" She sits down at a small table on the sidewalk.

"Because I'm hungry and you need to eat whether you're hungry or not. You skipped breakfast, remember, because I let you sleep late."

"That's right. Now I feel hungry."

"Good girl. I'll go order."

While UPChuck goes inside, Dream looks back toward the courthouse. Daniela, Coli, Dava, and Marianna have formed a tight group, Pollythene and Marina close behind. They seem to be walking toward a sandwich shop on the same side of the street as the courthouse. Baccher is walking in the opposite direction, toward a seedy bar called The Bar (a not-very-clever pun on the exam attorneys must pass to practice law). Alan is slumping against one of the pillars outside the building, shading his eyes against the sun.

Dream stands up to call him over, almost shouting out "Oskar!" but catching herself at the last minute. "Alan! Come over here!" She waves at him wildly, hoping he'll be able to figure out where she is.

"I wonder what she wants," he mutters. "If somebody asks me one more time why I changed my name..." He starts walking toward the cafe, not wanting to talk to anyone (even sweet innocent Dream), but wishing to stop people from staring at him.

"Hey, Alan. Some trial, eh?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Dava says he's got a really great defense figured out. He says Marianna's got something that's going to blow the whole case out of the water!"

"Marianna? What could she have?"

"I don't know," Dream replies, eyes locked on Alan's. She is waiting for a reaction, waiting to see if he knows what she knows and is hiding... he seems clueless.

"Huh. I hope Dava knows what he's doing. Marianna isn't the world's most reliable person."

"Sure she is," Dream frowns. "I can trust her with anything and everything."

"I can't." Just then, UPChuck walks up bearing a tray of bread, cheese, fruit, and bottled water.

"Hey, Alan. Dream, I hope this is alright. They didn't have much choice other than this, and a whole bunch of turkey sandwiches."

"It's great, really. Umm... put it down, maybe, so I can eat it?"

"Oh yeah. So, Alan, how have things been since you got back in town?"

"They've been... peaceful. I've got a cabin in Foret des Reves now, and I've bought a few llamas."

"Llamas?"

"Yes... they're the future in farming."

"Do they do well in forests, though?" asks Dream. "They seem more like field creatures to me."

"I have a pretty big clearing. Took me a while to get it finished. Actually, I've had the property for years, clearing a little bit at a time. I was going to move Marianna there..." he trails off, looking at a distant point that might be the sandwich shop Mari is in, but also might be Alpha Centauri.

Dream glances at UPChuck, who is still clueless about everything that's happened so far in this episode. She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of water. "Llamas... don't they spit?"

"What?" Alan blinks back to reality. "Yes, they spit, but not much and not if they know you well."

"Could I visit your llamas sometime?"

"Anytime. Do you know how to get to my cabin?"

"Alan sat exactly opposite me. I wonder if he knows what's up." Marianna bit into a bagel spread with brie cheese, and stared thoughtfully at Dava as she chewed.

"Nope. I just heard from Dream... she says he's completely clueless, as far as she can read his eyes. Somehow he figured out how to put up mental blocks, so we can't read his mind. Thankfully, she's good at the eyes thing." Dava looks down at his sandwich, and the two green olives sitting next to it, staring up at him. He shakes his head and gulps black coffee from a Styrofoam cup.

"She's always been good at that. It's creepy, sometimes. I never could read his eyes; they always seemed... dull. Like there was nothing, no emotion, no intelligence, behind them."

"That's awful," says Daniela. "But I got the same feeling, too, the one time I talked to him. No life in him."

"Even when we were... well." Marianna blushes and looks down at her swelling stomach. "No real emotion. It was good, but I never got the feeling he was enjoying himself."

"He would have been a bad father. Jamie and I are better off without him," says Pollythene. "Even Mac would have been better."

"God, Polly, don't say that!" says Marianna.

Marina clears her throat lightly. "Between Inda and Neil, I've got what I need from a father. When Ma was with Frogman, I had no parents at all, 'cept you." She grins at Marianna. "I've had lots of parents, I guess. And I still don't know really what makes a good one, and when you're better off without one."

"It all depends," says Pollythene. Silence falls over the table, as everyone waits for her to continue.

"Depends on what?" Coli asks finally.

"Everything. Everything depends on everything else. There are no absolutes."

"Polly, what's your Wizard major?"

"Philosophy."

"Court is now in session. All rise." Pandora watches as the entire courtroom rises in one movement. This is a pretty good job, she thinks. People have to listen to me.

The judge comes in, takes his seat, and nods to Pandora. "Be seated," she says. "The case of the State versus Daniela DeSka will now proceed."

"I would like to call Marianna Trench to the witness stand," Dava says as he moves to the floor. Marianna has remained standing and walks over to the chair (automatically placed on the floor for her) with a slight spring to her step.

"Witness has already been sworn," Pandora says, and leans against the wall next to the State flag.

"Ms. DeSka-Trench, do you believe your sister Daniela DeSka killed Pez DeSpencer, intentionally or otherwise?"

"No, I do not." Marianna rubbed her right eye with one finger. "Sorry, my eye is twitching because of the fluorescent lights. Go 'head."

"Would you like to explain why you do not believe Mr. DeSpencer was killed by Ms. DeSka?"

"I have evidence proving otherwise, a confession told to me in confidence."

"Is there any reason you would not provide this evidence to the court?"

"No, there is not."

"You do not wish to protect the party to the confession?"

"No, I do not."

"Would you please produce the evidence for the court now?"

Marianna reached into her sundress pocket and produced a microcassette. "On this cassette, I have recorded a conversation from last May twenty-eighth. My then-fiance, Oskar, told me without knowledge of my home-surveillance system that he was a professional murderer, and his last job had been to 'knock off' Pez DeSpencer." Marianna breathed deeply. She was trying very hard not to shake in person or in voice, not to show any emotion (especially weakness) as she saved her sister and accused the father of her son.

"I request to enter this cassette as evidence." The judge nodded his assent.

"Let the record show that the cassette belonging to Marianna DeSka-Trench has been entered as evidence," interprets Bailiff Pandora.

Moments later, the entire courtroom listens anxiously to the tape...

Marianna: "Where's the man I fell in love with? Oskar, you've been increasingly moody lately, and I want to know what's wrong."

Oskar: "Nothing. Well, I haven't been completely honest with you..."

Marianna: "How so?"

Oskar: "You are not the only person I work for. I also work for... well, who it is isn't important. But because of my work, I may have to move to Pennsylvania."

Marianna: {brief silence} "Well... I suppose I could go with you."

Oskar: {sigh} "I'd need to become Amish, go undercover."

Marianna: "Who the hell are you working for, anyway?!"

Oskar: "I really shouldn't tell you... you should probably just forget about me and move on."

Marianna: "Oskar, I am carrying your child. I cannot just forget about you! I want to know what's going on... who are you working for? Please tell me you aren't a spy... I can't marry another spy..."

Oskar: "I'm not a spy... I'm..." {silence, sound of footsteps} "I'm... a hired killer. That's my other job."

Marianna: {deep breath} "Why? It's all I want to know."

Oskar: "It pays well, I'm good at it, and it's always in demand."

Marianna: "No... it can't be..."

Oskar: "Do you remember Pez? He was wanted dead. I killed him that night, when you asked me to watch the door, to make sure nothing happened. I knew what was going to happen. I had been hired two weeks before. Since I was already a member of Layla:)n society, there was no problem with learning the territory, finding the... victim. I poisoned his drink, and when he got outside, all I had to do was trip him, so he would die there. I knew that that way, I would never be suspected."

Marianna: "No! You couldn't have... he died of alcohol poisoning, that's what the coroner's report said. That's what the official police report said!"

Oskar: "He did die of alcohol poisoning, in a way. Marianna... accept it. I have done this many times... I will do it again... a criminal is hiding out in Amish country, and I've been hired to kill him."

Dava stops the tape. "I believe that's all we need to hear."

"The jury finds Daniela DeSka not guilty of involuntary manslaughter."

Daniela silently hugs Dava, then bolts out of the courtroom, Coli in tow, hoping to avoid the gathering Media. Marianna waits a moment, hoping to catch Dream and UPChuck and invite them to dinner at her house. Alan ducks out of the courtroom nearly as fast as Daniela, glad that he has not been arrested immediately and will be able to make arrangements for the llamas before heading off to prison. He's accepted his fate as a liability of doing a job he loves.

J. Nicklaus Baccher closes up his briefcase and walks out of the courtroom, not stopping to speak to anyone. He isn't really disappointed about the case. He knew he had hardly a leg to stand on in the first place. He's more upset that, yet again, the DeSka girls are completely innocent of anything. Will I never get revenge? he thinks darkly to himself.

"Marianna!" cries a familiar voice.

"Hey, Kiri! What's up?" Marianna smiles happily at her old co-worker.

"Oh, not much. Say, is the Club going to be open tonight?"

"We're opening late, eight o'clock. The dinner crowd will be disappointed, but the big spenders will still be able to get their fill."

"Oh, cool. I want to see that Brian kid again."

"The same Brian my friend Suki is dating?"

"Was dating," corrects Kiri. "They had a fight. He's sorta hanging out with me now. Cute kid. Bummer for her."

Uh-oh... thinks Marianna. "Hey, Kiri, I'll see ya later. I have to talk to some people now." She waves goodbye and quickly moves toward Dream and UPChuck. "Hey, all! Dinner's on me, yes?"

"Dinner? I'm starving!" says Dream.

"You're starving? You ate everything at lunch. Didn't even leave me a crust of bread," growls UPChuck.

"Uly, I did no such thing!"

"Yes you did."

"Are you guys married already or something? You're fighting like crazy lately," Mari says. "Hey, speaking of married, isn't that Nic and Priscilla?" She dashes off to greet her long-missing friends.

Dream shakes her head. "There's always something going on in this town, isn't there?"

"Would you rather live somewhere boring?" asks UPChuck.

"Nah... this is the only place I'd like to live. Home sweet paranoid psychotic home..."