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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 6a: DILEMMA WITH A CHESS MATE. I CAN'T TALK TO YOU NOW! <opening theme>

Greg walked past Mamoru and the girl as they separated their embrace. Glancing over as he proceeded into the arcade, Greg caught her eye momentarily. Hard to say what feelings she had for him… there seemed to be something…

Greg waved to Motoki. "Hey, how's business?" he inquired.

"Busy," Motoki noted, hands in his pockets. "Usually is on a Friday."

Greg nodded and donned one of the Centre's change holding aprons. "Looks like your friend Mamoru's met a friend outside," he commented.

"Hm?" Motoki moved over by the door to look outside. "Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed. "It's Kato! Kato Sujigaki! I haven't seen her in months… me and Mamoru were in school together with her at one point," Motoki clarified. "Excuse me a minute, I'll return shortly…"

He quickly walked out of the arcade and went over to offer his greetings.

Shrugging, Greg turned back to the people milling about the arcade. Childhood friends… ok, that would explain it. He paused. Though in Kato's eyes, there had almost been something else…

"Pardon me - can you change this bill?" a young boy asked him. Greg blinked and nodded, fumbling with his change. Well, best not to think about things that didn't concern him.

*****

"How good of a chess player are you?"

Ami stood nervously in Greg's doorway. He had apparently been lying on his bed reading when she'd knocked.

He now sat up and smiled at her. "Well, fairly good," Greg replied. "Why? Looking for a game?"

"Yes. Well… no," Ami corrected herself. She forced herself to stop fidgeting with her hands.

It was weird, seeing Greg's room for the first time since he'd moved in. She'd avoided it up until now. It was rather sparsely decorated… the bed moved a bit closer to the window, a couple pictures of who she assumed were elder relatives, like his parents, on the dresser.

The desk almost resembled hers though… tidy, a computer on one end - she wondered where that had been packed - with a bookshelf to the side. It was filled with several books; a couple she actually recognized from the day she'd accidentally looked through his things.

The picture of Minako wasn't anywhere though. There were no pictures of girls at all, actually.

"Which then, yes or no?" Greg wondered aloud.

Ami blushed mildly. "Er, I am… sort of," she finally specified. "Urawa needs a player to… to help him in a tournament."

Urawa had come up to her at the end of classes yesterday, asking if she knew any other great chess players. He'd seemed quite upset over Shougi's illness; apparently Shougi was the only other really good player in the club. She could still remember Urawa's troubled look.

~~~

"I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for my opponent," Urawa muttered to her. "He's not only a great player, he's a bit of a thorn in my side..."

~~~

"You mean the chess tournament?" Greg broke into her thoughts. He shook his head. "Isn't it after school? I work at the arcade, remember? Besides, I don't get involved in things like this."

Ami nodded and lowered her eyes marginally. "Okay," she acknowledged. "Just a passing thought. I'll, er, stop bothering you," she concluded, moving to leave the room.

It likely wouldn't work with them anyway, right?

Greg sighed inwardly. He didn't want to get involved; it was unwise for others to find out things about you. At best, people started to expect more from you. At worst, people could end up finding out things resulting in someone getting hurt. Plus this situation involved Urawa - and how would he react?

However… his flat refusal had seemed to disappoint Ami. He did hate to see her upset. Was it so important to her?

Greg shrugged outwardly. "Well, wait… it's been a while since I've had a good match," he noted. "Assuming Urawa is willing, I guess I can get Motoki to give me a little time off. I'll work a weekend or something."

Ami paused. "You're sure…?" she verified. "I don't want to --"

"No, no, it could be interesting after all," Greg broke in. "Hey, maybe he'll even see I'm not such a bad guy. Assuming he lets me play," he reiterated.

Ami nodded. "Er… I did mention you knew how to play yesterday," she admitted, blushing again. "Urawa was sort of upset he didn't have another good player… I'm sorry, I hope you don't mind, I just… well…"

Greg nodded back. "Whatever. What's the outcome then?"

Ami took in a quick breath. "He said if you want to then he'll have a game tonight, with you, to see if you'd be better than anyone else he could come up with," she divulged.

"Ok," Greg agreed. "Set it up then." He lay back on his bed and returned to his reading.

Ami stood uncertainly for a few seconds before quickly backing out of the room and closing the door.

That was it? Just 'set it up'? Somehow she thought it would be more difficult. Well, he hadn't seemed willing at first… then it was like something had changed his mind… the chance to play? Something to do with Urawa? Maybe nothing. After all, Greg didn't tend to take things too seriously, right?

She shook her head. Well, she'd phone Urawa, tell him the match was on. She just hoped in trying to help him she hadn't made everything worse…

*****

"Check," Greg indicated.

"Nice," Urawa admitted grudgingly. He gazed at the chessboard. "How about this," he returned, moving his queen in to block.

Greg nodded. "I was hoping you wouldn't do that," he conceded. The two players exchanged queens and the game continued.

Fifteen minutes later Greg leaned back in his chair. "Draw," he said, with a wave of his hand.

Urawa frowned. "What? The game's not over."

Greg smiled. "Your pawn isn't going anywhere. These pieces are pinned and I'm not going to checkmate you with a knight. It's a draw. Wouldn't you agree, Ami?" he concluded, turning slightly to look at her.

Ami blinked from where she was sitting on the couch and looked down at the board, despite the fact that she'd been nervously observing the entire game for the past forty minutes.

"Er, it does look like neither of you can get the advantage now," she admitted.

"Um," was all Urawa said. Then he nodded. "I guess you're right. But the tournament has a time limit, that can make a difference," he pointed out.

Greg shrugged back. "I've played timed games before," he responded. "We can play one now if you want."

Urawa paused for a minute as if considering it, then shook his head. "No, that's all right," he said. "You are a good player. Actually made me think about what I was doing; probably for the first time since I last played with Ami."

Urawa smiled at her and Ami was unable to hold back her blush. She really wished she could stop doing that! Ami quickly stood up.

"Well, if that was all for that, should I get us some drinks or something?" she asked to change the subject. Things had gone fairly smoothly so far, she didn't want the romantic situation to intrude.

But Urawa shook his head as he stood as well. "Thanks, but I'd rather not," he declined. "It's getting late and - I'm not exactly comfortable being here right now," he continued, glancing momentarily at Greg.

Then he turned to address Greg directly. "I would appreciate your assistance in the tournament Monday. We should probably practice some standard moves and gambits tomorrow…"

"No, that's fine," Greg said airily as he stood to join the others. "I'll just see you at the tournament."

With a quick nod and wave, he moved out of the room. Three was a crowd.

Urawa paused with his mouth slightly open then clamped it shut. "No??" he repeated.

He paused, staring at the doorway before shifting his gaze to Ami. "He's making light of the situation," Urawa said incredulously. "Maybe I made a mistake in choosing him…"

Ami sighed. "He's usually like that," she told him with a small shrug. "Don't take it personally. And it is just a tournament after all…"

Urawa folded his hands across his chest. "Well, for me it's a little more than that," he put forth with a shake of his head. "I don't know, maybe it's me, but I can't see how that guy cares about anything. Do watch yourself Ami - I… I don't want you getting hurt…"

"Urawa, don't worry," Ami answered, trying to put on a convincing smile. "I'm fine. I will be fine. If you MUST worry about something, worry about the tournament."

Urawa looked at her for a minute and smiled. "All right then."

The two of them moved into the front hall. "This would all be easier of course if I could have a vision of the outcome," Urawa sighed ruefully. "If only the universe worked like that… but all I've seen recently is events to do with other people."

Ami nodded. "Do your best then," she encouraged him.

When he had departed she leaned back against the door. The situation hadn't exploded yet. Both Greg and Urawa had ended up… reasonably content with the situation. So with any luck this would work. Ami moved away from the door and went back to turn out the light in the living room.

The evening hadn't really helped the other situation though; she didn't really feel any closer to a decision. Yet… Ami paused to think about what Urawa had said.

Greg not caring about anything? She shook her head slightly. Somehow, she just couldn't believe that. There was something there… something… Ami fingered the blue medallion in her pocket absently as she walked up the stairs to her room.

*****

"You're tense," Greg pointed out. "Can't you relax?"

"I can't think that's going to help," Urawa scoffed. "You don't know our opponent."

"Who exactly is this guy?" Ami inquired.

The three of them were standing in the library, amidst the small crowd of people waiting for the match to begin. The library was the chosen site of the tournament, mainly due to it's tranquility; they were only waiting for the other two opponents to arrive now.

Urawa frowned and opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by another voice calling out. "Ami! Greg!"

Ami spun around. "Minako?" she affirmed.

Minako waved as she walked up to them. "Hi there!" She grinned. "Fancy meeting you here, Ami. Oh, and thanks for the call on the weekend, Greg."

Ami blinked. Greg had told her about the tournament? Why?

"But why didn't you mention you'd be in this tournament?"

Oh. Ami felt a little foolish now… but what had that phone call meant then?

Greg shrugged. "I didn't think chess would interest you," he replied. "How did you know about the games anyway?"

Minako raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know? You're playing people from our school," she revealed. "I came by to see if some of my friends would be here."

She smiled again, and Ami found herself wondering if Minako meant her, Usagi and Makoto… or Greg.

"Anyway, I was rather surprised when I found out who the players were," Minako continued. "I hope you're good… it would be nice to take some of the wind out of the sails of one of the guys we have."

"You know them well?" Urawa mused.

He didn't know a great deal about Minako himself… most of the initial relationship between him and Ami hadn't involved her at all. He'd really only met her after Ami had admitted her feelings, and hadn't seen her much afterwards.

Minako nodded to him. "Hi Urawa! All too well, I fear. One of them…" she shook her head. "He's crazy. An obsessed nut."

"Wait… wait, this isn't the same nut you mentioned to me back in England, is it?" Greg said, suspiciously.

Minako blinked. "Er… actually, yes," she confirmed. "I'm surprised you remember though."

Greg grimaced. "I remember because I met him afterwards… in Canada," he admitted.

Urawa stared. "Are you two talking about who I think you're talking about?" he inquired, eyes widening.

Ami stared back and forth between the three of them in confusion. "Uh… who?" she said, puzzled.

Urawa exchanged a glance with Minako and Greg, then all three folded their arms across their chests.

"Sewaya Kanren!" they declared in unison.

"You rang?" a voice sounded out. The trio turned to face the new arrival who was walking up to them. He shot them a wicked grin. "Well, If it isn't Urawa and Greg. What a small world!" he laughed.

Minako rolled her eyes. "Gimme a break," she murmured.

<commercial break; Minako, Urawa and Sewaya skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 5b: CONFRONTATIONS. CAN A MEDALLION HELP?

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

'God does not play dice with the universe', Ami quoted to herself. 'But this is getting ridiculous…'

Once again, in trying to avoid her love troubles, they'd managed to follow her anyway. Ami forced herself to clear her throat. "How… how long have you been working here?" she asked.

Greg shrugged and adjusted the apron he wore, the tipoff to his current employment. "Since the start of this week," he noted. "A nice way to meet people and earn extra cash. Just happened to stop by after school Monday when one of the previous workers quit. I offered temporary help, and after that and another stint on Tuesday, Motoki offered me part-time work. I needed a job anyway, so why not?"

Ami nodded. It seemed like she wouldn't be stopping by the Game Centre for a while either… she glanced about quickly wondering how she might get away.

"So, the game's not ready yet?" Makoto put in quickly.

Greg nodded. "Some trouble with adaptors or software I think," he volunteered.

"Okay, well… me and Ami should really be going then," Makoto said, glancing at Ami for verification.

Ami blinked as if in a daze, then murmured agreement.

"Well, come again," Greg said with a bemused look and a wave. "It'll be working Monday." Makoto and Ami waved back and returned outside. Once on the sidewalk, Makoto turned to Ami.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to stick around or not, given how you looked and the troubles Usagi said you seem to be having," Makoto explained. "Though if you want to go back…"

Ami shook her head. "No, no… it's fine. I think I'll just go study a bit. See you at the temple tonight." With a quick wave she hurried off.

Makoto stared after her. Ami really seemed to be having troubles coping with her situation - and Makoto found it a bit upsetting that she couldn't seem to aid her friend. With any luck she'd open up a bit at the temple this evening so they could help her through the difficulty; she wondered exactly what it was now…

Fear of rumours at school? Accommodations with Greg? Something to do with Urawa?

*****

"A kiss??" Rei interjected.

Ami nodded, biting her lower lip. The study session had seemed to be already underway when she'd arrived earlier… Usagi having trouble as usual, though the others with some difficulties as well. She'd fielded questions for a while, then somehow the conversation had turned to guys and relationships. Then more specifically to her.

And before she knew it she'd been telling them about what had happened with Urawa. Reflecting on it, it was almost like she'd been set up… and yet Ami had to admit, the talking seemed to have helped. Her thoughts were a little more organized now and she wasn't as worried.

At least her friends appeared to be on her side… though they had a tendency to go a bit overboard sometimes.

"And before you ask," Ami said quickly, "It was nice but I'm not sure how I feel about it… now or then. Especially with the situation of our breakup."

The others simply smiled back at her. "So, was that your first kiss then, Ami?" Makoto inquired softly.

Ami wrung her hands slightly in her lap. "S-second," she admitted. Might as well be making a clean sweep - plus it would satisfy Usagi's curiosity after she'd made that outburst on the phone. "Greg kissed me before."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. Usagi giggled and grinned. Rei tilted her head to the side. Minako was… oh no, she'd become carried away - and had forgotten about Minako's feelings for Greg!

Minako was just looking at her.

Ami bit her lip again. "I- I don't know if he was being serious," she put in quickly. "He thought I was asleep… that is…"

"So, now you can't decide, huh?" Minako interrupted her with a sudden smile.

Ami paused, then simply nodded. It seemed Minako didn't want to push the point right now… but Ami would have pay more attention to what she said in the future…!

"You know, this is the sort of problem I wish I had," Makoto muttered aloud, with a wink in Ami's direction.

Ami blushed and there was a slight pause in the conversation.

"Well, if you want my opinion," Rei offered at last, "here's something to think about… the breakup with Urawa was basically due to the problem of distance. But Greg's a transfer student from Canada - and he won't be here forever. Ultimately, you might end up with the same distance problem again."

Ami felt her heart constrict within her chest. She hadn't even thought about that…

"Oh don't be so pessimistic, Rei," Usagi interjected. "Greg might decide to stay around. Maybe move here! Or at least return if he had to leave."

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, there's no reason a relationship with Greg would end up the same way things happened with Urawa before," she agreed looking at Ami. "I'm sure you'd be able to come to some understanding…"

Rei shrugged. "I'm just pointing it out," she noted. "I don't want Ami to get hurt any more than you do."

"It really comes down to your feelings on the matter though," Minako commented. "Maybe not so much who you like, Ami… but who you like more."

Ami looked at her friends and sighed. "I… I know," she admitted. "I guess part of it is not wanting to upset either one of them."

She paused. "Greg… he seems nice overall… but he's so secretive I'm not sure how serious he'd take a relationship. But I'm having a hard time with Urawa right now too; for some silly reason I can't get our breakup out of my mind. Despite it's nature and how sorry he is about it… I just can't pick things up…"

"Catch," Rei said abruptly. Ami blinked as Rei tossed an object at her and she plucked it out of the air. "One of our lesser known temple charms," Rei explained.

"Er, it looks like some kind of medallion," Ami said dubiously.

"Sort of," Rei conceded. "I have a feeling part of your fear is in making a wrong decision. So when you do decide who you want to go out with, put their picture inside that. The medallion will bond the two of you together as long as you have it. Distance or no distance."

Ami peered closer at the item in the palm of her hand. Circular and light blue in colour, it was emblazoned noticeably with two M's and a small heart. It opened up to reveal a blank area where she assumed the picture was supposed to go. Didn't seem like things could be so simple… "You can't use charms and such to make people love you," she pointed out.

Rei smiled. "From what you've said, it sounds like both Greg and Urawa already do," she remarked. "This will just reinforce it. Provide you with more of a focus, avoid the second guessing. We haven't had bad results from the use of these medallions at least. Motoki seemed especially pleased with his…"

"Motoki got one??" Makoto choked. "For who, Reika?"

"Er, I suppose," Rei responded uncertainly. "She IS off in Africa or something, right?"

"Ooooooh, how romantic!" Usagi cut in. "Could you get one of those for me and Mamoru?" she asked.

Rei rolled her eyes. "Usagi, you're already DESTINED to be with him - and your relationship is going great," she pointed out. "It's not like Mamoru is suddenly going to move away or break up with you for no reason!"

"Weeeellll… can't hurt can it?" Usagi implored.

"We don't have a great number of these available now anyway," Rei said, shaking her head. "Can't you be happy with what you've got?"

Usagi opened her mouth to reply but Minako cut in first. "Er, not to intrude," she said hurriedly. "But it's getting late - and if I don't go my parents will probably start to wonder." The other girls glanced at their watches and with some nods and sighs the 'study' group broke up.

Ami slipped the medallion into her pocket as she stood.

"We'll have to do this again next week," Makoto commented ruefully as they headed through the doorway. "I'm afraid some of that Physics we did earlier still doesn't make much sense to me."

*****

"…and so if you overuse a particular battery, there will be less energy available after the recharge. This is why it's important to vary your energy sources after a certain time or there could be grave consequences…"

Ami listened with half an ear to Naru's voice as she spoke on Umino's weekly "Lunchtime Views" broadcast. More of her attention was directed at the small blue medallion she held in her hand.

Who would she put into it… Greg or Urawa… quite an important decision. She certainly didn't think she could make up her mind right now… it would require careful analysis.

Ami blinked as she heard Umino say something familiar on the radio before signing off.

"What was that?" Ami said, turning to Usagi. "Did he say Urawa?"

Usagi nodded and swallowed a large bite of sandwich. "Chess Club," she remarked. "Apparently Urawa rejoined when he came back. There's a tournament on Monday, but the person who was supposed to enter it with him now can't. Urawa will need a replacement."

Ami raised an eyebrow. She was peripherally aware of most of the school activities that went on, though she didn't really have time to participate herself.

It made sense that Urawa would be in the Chess Club here though; he was very good at the game, even managing to beat Ami if she wasn't on her guard. Some of the most interesting discussions they had had had been over a chessboard…

"Shame about that really," Usagi continued, breaking into Ami's thoughts. "Not a great deal of great players here, are there? I mean, I'd encourage you to go, but this particular tournament's for males only."

~~~ I played a fair game of chess back in Canada... ~~~

"There's Greg!" Ami cried out, the memory of her conversation with him last Tuesday coming unbidden to her mind. Usagi paused and looked around the area. "No, no, I mean Greg plays chess," Ami elaborated.

"Oh," Usagi responded. She tilted her head to the side. "Think it would work with those two?" she mused.

Ami opened her mouth, then closed it again. "I… don't know," she admitted. "Probably not."

Usagi shrugged and finished eating as the bell rang, ending lunch. "Well, if anyone can make that work, you can," Usagi pointed out as she stood. "Maybe they'd even get to like each other, playing for the same side."

Ami raised a hand to her face as she got up next to Usagi. "Maybe…" she conceded, pursing her lips. It could make things worse though, couldn't it?

The two girls began to walk back towards the school.

"Well, Urawa will likely be taking offers within the next couple days - not like time's on his side. There will be someone if not Greg," Usagi affirmed.

Ami nodded, thinking as she walked. Should she get involved? She was probably the only one who knew Greg was good at chess. Or at least… he'd seemed to be. But what did she really know? And Urawa could surely find another player without her help.

Ami shook her head. Best not to get involved unless it looked like she was needed. Especially since Greg and Urawa… weren't exactly best of friends. It was almost like inviting trouble. That thought in mind, Ami reentered the school behind Usagi.

*****

Greg glanced over his shoulder as he left the school. Ami and Urawa seemed to be discussing something by her locker. He wondered absently what about then shrugged it off and headed towards the arcade to start work.

Urawa… well, he had nothing against the guy. Except for how defensive he seemed all the time. I mean, he was the one who'd made Ami available! Unbelievable as it seemed. That hair, those eyes… the amazing intellect and insight… sweet disposition… Urawa had to have lost his mind.

Admittedly, Greg didn't know all the specifics - but really, what could have caused a breakup? Ami was… was… incredible… ineffable… indescribable.

Greg shook his head and smiled slightly. Not that he could let on. Not only was it unlikely Ami would appreciate someone outright 'drooling' over her… but getting too close to someone - that led to trouble.

People found out things that way. Things better left behind. Or forgotten. Greg frowned… well, no point dwelling on the past right now.

He looked down the street towards the arcade - and raised an eyebrow. Mamoru was there. Greg had gotten to recognize him, he seemed to hang out there with Motoki sometimes. That wasn't what caused the raised eyebrow.

What did was the fact that Mamoru's girlfriend (as far as he knew) was that girl with the hair… Usagi. So who, exactly, was this other girl Mamoru was embracing? Did Mamoru have relatives his age?

Or was it that the relationship of Ami's friend… wasn't all that it seemed to be…

<closing theme>

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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 5a: CONFRONTATIONS. CAN A MEDALLION HELP? <opening theme>

All was silent outside the Mizuno residence. The street was deserted with the exception of two people.

Ami and Urawa stood and stared at each other in the dimming light as the sun began setting in the background. Urawa suddenly cleared his throat. "I'm sorry…" he said. "Maybe I shouldn't have said--"

"No…" Ami cut him off, finally finding her voice.

Urawa stared. "No… as in…?"

"N-no… no, it was nice of you to tell me… I just… I don't know what to do," Ami admitted, shaking slightly. "I… I only wish you'd said something then."

Urawa nodded. "I… suppose I should have… I guess I just didn't want to make you choose. I wasn't sure… well, what would you have done?"

Ami shook her head. "I… I don't know. I don't really want to think about it. I mean… despite what the circumstances were of our… breakup… it happened. And you can't change the past. And now is now. And… and… and I'll need time to think about this."

Urawa took a step closer and took Ami by the shoulders. Their eyes met. "All right," Urawa agreed. "No problem, I can give you time. Just so long as you sort of know where I'm coming from… and why I may sometimes act in haste and such…" He paused. "I can't help it, I don't want to lose you now," he added, almost unnecessarily.

Ami's eyes quivered as the two of them continued to stare at each other. If only she could just call up her feelings for Urawa again… then things would be all right.

Urawa… months ago… the ferris wheel… their faces began to move closer together. It would be as it was…

"Hello, should you be doing that in public?" a voice interrupted.

Ami jumped back from Urawa as if she'd been struck. "Greg!" she cried out.

Urawa clenched and unclenched his fists as he turned to face the new arrival who had come up behind them. "YOU have to have the WORST timing of anyone I've ever MET," Urawa pointed out with a frown.

Greg shrugged. "I don't know, I have the feeling I arrived in time," he commented.

"And who are YOU to judge?" Urawa returned. He wasn't usually aggressive by nature, but this was too much… I mean, what gave this guy the right to intrude like this??

Greg probably didn't even know Ami half as well as he did! He'd known her for months. Not going out all the time, but communicating, talking… Ami, with her amazing intelligence, kind heart and stunning looks. Ami, who he had left because it had seemed like he couldn't be there for her, and she deserved more than that. Except he had been unable to forget her - and he could be here NOW.

"I don't just mean TODAY either," Urawa continued, frustrated. "Somehow I get the feeling you're keeping one step ahead of me, and I don't like it. I DON'T trust you! I don't think I really like you either!"

"And I'm pleased to meet you too," Greg returned, airily. "Do you want to have lunch sometime or just keep arguing here?"

The two rivals stared at each other.

"Stop it…" Ami abruptly murmured, off to the side. The two males turned to look at her. "Stop it, please!" Ami cried out, lower lip quivering, seemingly on the verge of tears.

Then before either of them could react, Ami ran into the house and slammed the door behind her.

Urawa jabbed a finger at Greg. "NOW look what you did!" he accused.

Greg raised an eyebrow. "I've just been standing here talking, you're the one waking up the neighbourhood," he pointed out.

Urawa's frown deepened. "Fine," he said, lowering his voice. "Then why don't you just run on home before… before your actions cause real trouble."

Greg paused, then shrugged and walked up to the front door of the Mizuno residence.

Urawa stared. "Hello? Did you not CATCH that?" he questioned, raising his voice slightly once more. "Where are you going? Don't act as if you own her house!"

Greg turned back. "This is where I live at the moment," he revealed. Urawa's jaw dropped. "And before you disturb everyone within a kilometre radius," Greg continued hastily, "this was a coincidence and a favour courtesy of her parents. Ami had nothing to do with it, and she doesn't want people talking. So it might be wise to be discrete."

Urawa glared. "Right, a coincidence. Like I believe that," he contested.

Greg shook his head. "I don't really care what you believe. Goodbye," he concluded, and he walked inside the house, closing the door behind him.

Urawa continued to stare at the door, hands unknowingly clenching into fists again. "DAMN YOU!" Urawa finally cried out before running off, flustered, frustrated and upset.

Ami turned away from the scene she'd witnessed from behind the curtains of a second story room.

It was all getting out of hand… she'd… she'd have to choose one of them to stop this! But… but who…? She couldn't choose! Not now! A single tear trickled down her cheek. It was shortly followed by several others.

*****

"Usagi, you really have to study your mathematics!" Luna, Usagi's guardian cat, insisted. "You have no excuse for not doing it, there hasn't been a need for Sailor Moon in two months - and you have a test next week."

"But it's sooo hard," Usagi protested. "I mean look at question 15… they don't even give us any useful numbers to work with!"

Luna sighed. "Maybe you should talk to Ami," she suggested. "Or better yet, have another study session with the others, it's been a little over a week since you got together, hasn't it?"

"All right, all right," Usagi yielded with a sigh. "But I don't think that it --" she was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Usagi reached absently for the extension in her room, calling out "I got it!" to whoever else was in the house. "Hello?" she said.

There was a sniffle on the other end. "U-Usagi?"

"Ami?" Usagi verified. "What… what's wrong?"

"I- I didn't know who to call… I- I don't know what to do…," Ami whispered with a small sob. "I c-can't concentrate anymore… there's the two of them… too different… hate each other… have to pick… and our b-breakup was a mistake!"

"Wait a minute, calm down Ami… now is this about Urawa? Or Greg? Or something else?" Usagi questioned.

There was a pause as Usagi heard Ami blowing her nose. "B-both," Ami's voice came again - sounding slightly stronger. Or was that her imagination? "T-they were both here, Usagi… but… but I wasn't supposed to break up with Urawa. This shouldn't be happening!"

Usagi shook her head. "Slow down, Ami!" she implored. "Back up, what exactly happened tonight?"

Usagi lay back on the floor as Ami related the highlights of the evening's encounters.

When she finally concluded, Usagi let out a low whistle. "I see. Well, that's certainly a lot to lay on you all at once, I must say… makes me think of the time I found out Mamoru, of all people, was Tuxedo Kamen…" She paused. "But, er, what exactly makes you think this is forcing you into a decision?" Usagi finally mused.

"B-because if I don't choose they'll hate each other!" Ami said sadly. "Or hate me! Or what if one of them gets hurt… all because of me…"

Usagi sighed. "Ami… stay calm. You're dreaming up worst case scenarios that are very unlikely to come true - after all, if both Greg and Urawa really like you, they'll respect your wishes and your decisions. I'm sure the last thing they want to do is make you feel pressured or uncomfortable, right?"

"I… I suppose…," came Ami's uncertain response. "It's just after this… what with the situation now and the kiss from before I just…"

"Whoa, wait, what kiss??" Usagi interrupted, eyes wide. The scope of this problem suddenly seemed a little larger than what she'd thought. "Who kissed you?"

Usagi could almost hear Ami wince on the other end of the line. "Oh… er… well, Urawa the other day - but… both… both of them actually…" Ami admitted.

"What??" Usagi practically shouted.

How could Ami have kept this a secret? This news was, well… BIG!

"Congratulations! When was this? How was it? Did you enjoy it…?" Usagi blurted out.

There was an awkward silence on Ami's end of the line for a few seconds.

"Usagi, what ARE you going on about?" Luna spoke up over the conversational lull. "Is Ami having difficulties over something?"

Usagi blinked at Luna, remembering why Ami had called in the first place. Nodding briefly to Luna, she turned to the phone again. She was reminded of Luna's study suggestion earlier; that might help take Ami's mind off things.

"Okay, er… look, nevermind that right now. I'm having some trouble in math at the moment myself - hey, maybe the five of us can get together at the temple tomorrow and help each other out…?" she offered.

The silence on the other end of the line continued briefly, then was broken by the sound of Ami's hesitant voice. "I… I suppose…," she agreed.

Usagi grinned. "And in the meantime, Ami, don't worry yourself over the situation. It's not something to lose sleep over."

At least, it didn't seem to be… though if Ami was actually getting KISSED… well, who'd have thought it. Still, at least Ami sounded a little better now than when she'd called, that was the important thing.

They exchanged a few final words, then Usagi hung up the phone. For some reason she was reminded of the time Ami had caught the bouquet at the wedding for that teacher last year…

"Is Ami all right?" Luna asked, cutting into her thoughts.

Usagi blinked. "Er, yes, she'll be okay," Usagi assured.

Luna nodded. "Well… in that case, perhaps we should get a little work done on this assignment before tomorrow…?" she hinted. Usagi was unable to hold back a moan.

*****

Of course, it hadn't been as bad as Ami had thought.

Thursday seemed to pass pretty much just like any other school day. Well, discounting the little glares that seemed to be passing between Urawa and Greg… though that was almost becoming routine, Ami reflected. Urawa had actually been avoiding her for part of the day too - obviously respecting her need for space and for more time.

Usagi had been right for the most part; and while this stalemate couldn't continue indefinitely, it was nice to think that she wouldn't need to constantly fret over it. Would she?

"Ami!" Ami turned. Makoto was walking towards her. "Ami, glad I caught you… that study session tonight's gonna be postponed a while," Makoto warned. "Usagi has detention for not finishing her homework or something, plus Rei's grandfather is apparently making ancient sacrificial prayers at the temple for a while. We're still planning on meeting for a short while later though, and you could come by after your juku…"

Ami nodded. "Sure. Thanks for the news," she acknowledged.

Makoto nodded back. "In the meantime, you want to stop by the arcade?" she proposed. "I heard they have a new game."

Ami paused, then nodded again. "Ok," she acquiesced.

She often spent the time she had between the end of class and juku studying or reading in the library; sometimes she went home for a while, though the only time she'd been home early since Greg had moved in was the time she'd accidentally rummaged through his stuff.

Definitely the sort of thing she wanted to avoid.

So today… maybe going out with one of her friends for a change would be a nice diversion. Heck, she could probably use one before this love triangle stuff drove her around the bend. Just to get away from it for a while…

As if reading her thoughts, Makoto discussed schoolwork and other trivialities on the way to the Crown Game Centre. They arrived and greeted Motoki, who ran the place, before heading to where the newly installed game was.

Ami blinked. Makoto grinned. "Sailor Moon video game?" Ami said, smiling slightly.

Makoto nodded. "Go figure, hm? Sailor V no longer has the monopoly on video merchandise. Apparently you can pick any Senshi!" She looked around the machine. "Doesn't seem to be working right now though," she noticed, somewhat disappointed.

"Won't be hooked in until Monday," a voice behind them commented.

'No…' Ami thought. 'It couldn't be…' The two girls spun around, Ami's hands grabbing her bookbag a little tighter. Greg smiled back at them. "Fancy meeting you here," he remarked casually.

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

Previous	Chapter Links	Next
	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 4b: SECRETS OF THE PAST. THE TALE IS TOLD.

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

The next day basically began like any other. If you ignored the fact that Urawa had been waiting by her locker in the morning, so Ami hadn't gone inside right away. And also the fact that he approached her at lunchtime, to be thwarted by the timely arrival of Usagi.

Ami supposed she would have to deal with the situation before too long. But the memory of Urawa's kiss still lingered in her mind, the whole experience still rather upsetting. So she didn't want to seem too available, fearing he might take that as reason to continue.

Plus she still hadn't determined what to say. If he was still waiting at her locker the next morning… then… then they would have a chat…

He came after her at the end of classes as well though; Ami saw him approach through the crowded hall after the bell. With Usagi in detention and Makoto nowhere in sight, it looked like they would have to speak.

Ami wasn't sure what to do… she hurried out of the school ahead of Urawa, but a quick glance showed him following her. It wasn't time for juku yet, so she couldn't use that as an excuse… how could she…

Ami suddenly caught sight of a red bow by the exit to the school grounds. Minako? Ami hurried over.

"Minako! What chance, could you walk with me?" Ami asked.

Minako paused. "Ami… hi… actually, I was sort of waiting for someone else."

Ami glanced behind her again. "Please… I'm- I'm trying to avoid Urawa at the moment," she implored. "He may not interrupt when there's two of us."

Minako frowned slightly then shrugged. "Oh, all right, let's go to the Crown Cafe then."

The two girls hurried off and another glance showed Urawa was not following. Ami breathed a slight sigh of relief and Minako looked at her quizzically.

"So why are you avoiding your old flame, Ami?" Minako asked.

Ami pursed her lips. "There's issues… with us. I'm not ready to talk with him at the moment," she answered.

Minako nodded as the two girls walked into the Cafe and took a seat, ordering drinks. "Okay… guess I won't pry then. For the moment anyway," Minako said with a smile. "Unless you want me to," she reassured.

Ami shook her head slightly. "I'm… working it out. I'm just glad you happened along when you did."

Minako nodded and took a sip of her drink as it was served to her. "Actually, I was looking to run into Greg," she admitted. "Can you believe it's been over two days and he hasn't called yet?" Minako shook her head. "I must be losing my touch or something…"

Ami gripped her cup slightly tighter. Of course, Greg. Why else would Minako have dropped by the school?

So he hadn't called yet. Was that good? Or was that just Greg being Greg? Ami paused, suddenly realizing what an opportunity had been presented to her.

She took a sip of her drink to compose herself then came out with it. "S-so where do you know Greg from then?" Ami asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Hm?" Minako looked up. If she noticed Ami's slight anxiety she gave no sign. "Oh, of course," she said, nodding. "It was… about two years ago, I guess… we met back in England, he was visiting there. He certainly gets around doesn't he!" She smiled.

"Anyway, he was there for a period of about six months, and we went to the same school. He was fairly popular then too, but never wanted to go out with anyone, didn't hang around much… always seemed to keep to himself. Of course, he couldn't resist me though," Minako noted, twirling a strand of hair in her fingers, grin broadening.

"So… he asked you to go out with him?" Ami prompted, uncertainly.

Minako titled her head slightly then shrugged. "Well, no, more the other way around I suppose," she admitted. "But I wouldn't take no for an answer. I mean come on, everyone has to get out sometime, it's only natural - I mean, even you've been out with Urawa. Not that I'm exactly comparing the relationship," she added.

"We talked, and he eventually agreed to give a relationship a trial run for three months, with a possible extension. So we went out… didn't really get intimate or anything but still had fun together. Then after the three months…"

Minako frowned slightly. "He broke it off," she divulged. She took another sip from her glass, shaking her head. "And our breakup was sort of weird, too…"

~~~~~

"I suppose you know what day this is?" Minako said with a smile. She and Greg had gotten together in the park that afternoon at her request.

"Umm... National secretary's day?" Greg joked, smiling at her.

Minako rolled her eyes. "No you goof, we've been going out for three months now to the day," she corrected. "And I want you to admit you've been enjoying yourself."

Greg nodded to her. "All right. I admit I've enjoyed myself."

"See? This relationship stuff isn't so bad," Minako asserted.

Greg nodded. "Maybe we can do it again sometime."

Minako smiled then paused. "Sometime? Uhhh... why not now?" she proposed.

Greg turned away slightly. "The agreement was for three months," he reminded her. "It's been three months. It was nice, but... I'd rather not pursue anything further."

Minako blinked at him. "Why not? Do you have to leave or something? Is there someone else? Did I say something wrong? What...?" her voice trailed off.

Greg shook his head. "I am leaving in a while, but that's not it. There's no one else. It's not you. It's just me. I... I can't do this any more," he stated. "I'm sorry. Thanks for a wonderful three months," he finished, starting to walk away.

"W- wait a minute!" Minako shouted, grabbing him by the shoulder to stop him. "What are you talking about? Just 'thanks, sorry, see you later'? That's hardly an explanation...!"

Greg shrugged. "It's the only one I really have right now. Best hopes for the future." He began to move off again.

"So that's it?" Minako stared. "Not even a goodbye kiss or anything?"

"I'm not worthy of that," Greg called out as he walked, without even turning around. "Sorry," he repeated.

Minako opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to figure out what to say.

"You're crazy!" she finally shouted out after him. "What, love just isn't in your vocabulary any more? Is it impossible for you to care about a girl?"

There was no reply. Greg disappeared around a corner.

~~~~~

Minako shook her head again. "Anyway, he left England a while after that; went home I think. I didn't reflect on it too much at the time… and well, soon after came Artemis and…"

Minako paused to make the "V" sign on her forehead. "So I basically forgot about him. But now to see him again… I don't know, sort of like fate, don't you think?" Minako concluded.

She downed the rest of her drink as Ami shrugged in reply. "What do you think about him?" Minako finally inquired.

Ami blinked. "Oh, he's… interesting," she admitted. "Still seems to keep his thoughts to himself…," she said, calmly as she could.

Minako quirked an eyebrow. "Uh huh. So I don't suppose you'd have an address for him then…?" she continued hesitantly.

Ami stared into her half empty cup. Well, she'd told Usagi and Makoto… and it was really only a matter of time before Minako and Rei would find out anyway. She glanced around briefly to be sure no one else was within earshot.

"Actually, don't tell anyone but… he's… he's staying with me…," Ami murmured, quietly.

Minako raised both eyebrows. "He is, is he?" she intoned. "Well, well… I guess that puts a different spin on things… is this what Usagi meant last week - talking about you and him?"

Ami shook her head. "She only found out yesterday… my dad made the arrangements when he was in Canada and I didn't find out until after," Ami explained. "So he's in our guest room."

Minako nodded and looked at her empty glass. "Hm. I can't seem to think of a delicate way of putting this…," she mused aloud. "But basically… Ami, are you thinking of going out with him then?"

Ami blushed visibly. "I… n- no, I don't think so… I mean… I don't know…," Ami stammered.

Minako sighed. "All right, let me try putting it this way… would you have objections to me going out with him? I can back off if you like. I guess I just assumed that you and Urawa…"

Ami stared, speechless. "You… want to date Greg again?" she finally forced out.

'Now what do I do?' her inner voice cried out.

"Maybe," Minako said, non-committally. "After all, never give up, right? Plus it would be better than dealing with the guy who arrived at my school…," she paused and shook off the thought with a slight frown. "Anyway - as I say, if that bothers you though…"

Ami shook her head, perhaps a little too quickly. "N- no, that's… okay. I mean, that would be more Greg's decision anyway, wouldn't it? I- I don't have any claim. Why should I mind?"

Yes, why should she mind? Greg might prefer Minako anyway… he could have been shy in the past. Then, if he was out of the picture, perhaps things could return to how they were before, with her and Urawa. And life would be back to normal.

Ami frowned. Somehow… somehow it didn't seem that simple though. If only… if only she was sure what she FELT.

Ami realized she was clutching her cup tightly and forced herself to stop. She smiled back at Minako. "It's okay," she reiterated, hoping both that she believed it… and that her statement wouldn't complicate things. "At the moment," she added, almost as an afterthought; just to have a safety barrier.

Minako stared at her for a minute or two then shrugged. "Er… all right then," she concluded.

Ami nodded as she finished off her beverage. A change of topic was probably in order. "So, who is it who arrived at your sch…," she began, but her voice trailed off when she happened to glance at her watch.

"Uh oh," she moaned, interrupting her own thought. "If I don't hurry I'll be late for juku! Th- thanks for the chat, Minako, I'll see you around later!" she finished, hurriedly.

Minako smiled as Ami stood. "I'll be around," she answered. The two girls exchanged goodbyes and Ami hurried on her way.

*****

Ami peeked out of the seminar building, but Urawa was nowhere to be seen. It almost surprised her, and she wondered if she should be pleased or not that he seemed to have given up.

It didn't really please her. Now she felt guilty for not talking with him earlier.

Ami shook her head as she walked home. Well, tomorrow morning then, they'd talk… because despite what he did, she certainly didn't want to lose him. Especially if Greg and Minako got to talking and… well… no, she was overreacting. She hoped.

Did saying that she didn't care who Greg went out with mean that she didn't like him? Had she said that? Ami frowned. Geez, she had to stop thinking about this situation so much! What would be, would be, right?

She turned her attention to the class she'd just been at and tried musing over the new mathematical notation they'd been taught. Her thoughts on that subject lasted a full five minutes… until she turned the final corner, looked up and saw Urawa waiting outside her house.

"Ami… please don't run…," he beseeched her. Ami stood nervously, then slowly approached. Somehow she felt like she couldn't have run even if she'd wanted to.

"Ami," Urawa started, "you've been avoiding me. I can sort of understand that given how I acted - but please understand I REALLY didn't mean for it to come out like it did… or for it to upset you like that…" He paused, and Ami nodded. Words were trying to form on her lips, but they weren't coming out.

Urawa pressed on. "I probably wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the fact that I'm worried I'm going to lose you; plus I guess you were partially right… in my mind we never completely broke up. You know I've regretted what happened and if I'd only seen this in the future, I never would have let it happen. So to hear this stuff about Greg now, it's… distressing."

Urawa suddenly paused as if considering something.

"And there is one thing I've been holding back from you…," he admitted. "About our breakup."

Ami simply waited uncertainly, her throat dry. Urawa seemed to take that as an invitation.

"It… it didn't seem too important at the time," he revealed. "But the day I left Japan… it was actually the same evening as your 'Snow White' play. I figured you'd probably want to see me off and all that, and would have to drop your part… which may not have been a big deal, since you were short a dwarf already and, er, adapting parts of the story anyway. But there was a vision I had the day before we… parted."

He paused again.

"I saw you at the play… I saw a cardian attack… and I saw you, Mercury, freeze him. Thus I was worried that if you weren't there… something else might happen. Something bad."

Ami stared, speechless. Of all the things Urawa could have said, this was probably the last one she'd figured on. He continued, relentlessly.

"I figured if I told you, you might shrug it off and come anyway, leaving it up to your admittedly capable friends… but I didn't want either of us to feel responsible if it was YOUR attack that turned the tide. Plus I've found there's an inherent danger in revealing too much about the future to others. So, considering I was going away in any event… plus given how worried I was about our relationship surviving the distance and my fear about tying you down… I decided it would be best if I just left. And I never intended to tell you. But if I hadn't been so hasty, if I'd said something, if we'd stayed together for what turned out to be a rather unanticipated brief period of time… would things be as they are now? Because… because I won't just give you up to him without a fight!"

Ami swayed slightly on her feet. Could it be possible? Their breakup… somehow the result of a miscommunication? Misinterpretation? Misunderstanding?

There was now apparently no doubting that Urawa cared for her… and… and she… she… Ami shivered, quelling the urge to cry out. She didn't know what to do! What was she supposed to do??

<closing theme>

Previous	Chapter Links	Next
	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 4a: SECRETS OF THE PAST. THE TALE IS TOLD. <opening theme>

Ami lay in bed, staring out the window. She had thought there would never be a time when she didn't feel like going to school, but here it was.

For while school was educational, even fun, it was also where Urawa would be. And she didn't want to see him, not now, not after yesterday. She leaned against the windowsill and squeezed her eyes shut.

Whatever had Urawa been thinking? She tried to review the turn of events of the previous day in her mind again.

~~~~~

"No time like the present?" Urawa whispered.

It was a question, but one Ami felt unable to give a quick answer to. A minute passed as Ami tried to figure out if Urawa was serious or not…

And then before she could protest, Urawa kissed her.

Ami accepted it, mostly out of shock than anything else. It wasn't like Greg's kiss though, not light and simple, it was more intense, more urgent. Not unpleasant, really.

But somehow not right either… not right… Ami broke away and backed up against the row of lockers.

"No…" she murmured. Then, more forcefully. "No, no… what… what are you doing?" she demanded, staring at Urawa, eyes wide.

Urawa stared back. "You agreed it might be fun to compare…"

"No," Ami interrupted, shaking her head quickly. "No, you're… you're acting like things were three months ago! It's not three months ago, it's now! You… you can't just pick up where you left off!" she objected, shaking slightly.

"Ami…" Urawa breathed quietly.

"It's… it's too fast… we've never kissed before…"

"Ami, I didn't mean to upset you…"

"No, I… I… I can't deal with this now," Ami finally asserted, and with that she ran off before Urawa could continue.

Making it the second time in as many days that she'd run away from someone who supposedly admitted to liking her. But she doubted Urawa would take it in stride like Greg had.

Her Monday morning had been like any other, Greg not mentioning anything about the events at the amusement park on the previous day. Nor had he said anything about it that evening when she'd arrived home.

~~~~~

'Nor will he today,' Ami concluded with a sigh, opening her eyes again to face the rising sun.

Two kisses… so drastically different. Two people, also different… like night and day. So which one did she like? Which one… Ami turned to look at her desk, upon which sat a Mercury plushie and the star candy she'd carried away with her the previous day.

She frowned, then turned back to the window and shook her head. She searched within herself for the centre of calm she needed.

She couldn't let all this get to her, or allow it to interfere with her studies! She refused to let love dominate her life!

*****

"Ami, here you are!"

Ami looked up from her textbook. Both Usagi and Makoto were looking down at her, peering around the tree trunk. She waved slightly.

"Ami, we've been looking for you over half the lunchtime," Makoto continued. "Why're you hiding out here?"

Ami shrugged. "It's a quiet place I can study," she replied. "I just wanted to get away for a while."

"Ami, don't give us that," Usagi chided. "You've been pretty much avoiding everyone since yesterday morning. Is it because of the rumours that were floating around?"

"Yeah, if there's a problem or something, we'd like to help," Makoto chimed in. "We are your friends, after all…"

Ami sighed. Part of her wanted to just tell them everything. But another part of her feared what her friends might say. Oh, not that they'd tease her or tell anyone or anything… she was pretty sure she could count on them to be discrete… but more that they would encourage her to get involved in a relationship of some type.

And right now Ami wasn't sure she wanted anything of the sort.

"Ami…?" Usagi prompted again.

Ami bit her lower lip. "Promise you won't tell anyone…" she murmured. Usagi and Makoto sat down nodding.

Ami glanced down at the open textbook in her lap.

"My… my parents made some arrangements while my dad was overseas," Ami began. "And while their intentions were good, they just forgot to tell me about it until… until it was too late to back out. And so the net result is… well… now Greg Anderson and I… we're living together," Ami admitted.

She waited for her friends to say something, but there was only silence. Ami glanced back up to see Usagi and Makoto staring at her uncertainly.

"So, what, you and Greg are…," Makoto whispered.

"Housemates," Ami finished, uncertainly. "It's… it's not THAT terrible," she put in quickly. "I mean, he stays in the guest room down the hall from me and my mom. It's just a weird situation… but with how things have been, people might get to thinking…"

"Oh!" laughed Usagi. "Okay. You just sounded so serious that I thought…"

"Er, what exactly's the situation then?" Makoto cut in briskly. "He hasn't done anything to you… has he?" she said suspiciously.

Ami shook her head. "No, no, he's not harassing me or anything, really… it's just… with him here… and now with Urawa back… I don't know what I should do…"

Makoto nodded, and paused. "So do you like Greg then?" she asked.

Ami bit her lip and shrugged. "I… I don't know," she confessed.

"Do you still like Urawa?" Usagi questioned.

"I don't know," Ami repeated glumly. "I'm starting to wish neither of them had ever shown up."

Usagi and Makoto exchanged a glance.

"I didn't realize this had become such an issue with you, Ami," Usagi remarked. "But I have a feeling that deep down, you don't mean that. Take some time to think, and if you want to bounce some thoughts off of us, we're here for you, you know that."

"This isn't something you need rush into," Makoto agreed. "Just go one day at a time. And if you just want to be friends with either of them… be friends. Ultimately it will all be your decision, no one else's."

Ami nodded as she glanced back down at her text.

They were right, of course. She had probably blown things a little out of proportion… plus there was no real hurry to decide anything. She just didn't like keeping Urawa and Greg in suspense - she'd seen the two of them glancing at each other in class that morning.

Urawa hadn't looked very comfortable, and Greg… well, he'd been as hard to read as always. There was also the fact that the longer she waited on a decision, the more rumours that might start up. But… it was her decision. Yes.

A bell rang, signifying an end to lunch.

Ami quickly gathered her text and half eaten sandwich and stood along with her friends. "Feel any better now, Ami?" Usagi asked.

Ami nodded slightly and smiled. She did feel like some weight had been lifted from her shoulders… but of course, she'd only really laid half her cards on the table. There was still the matter of the kisses…. and Minako.

*****

Ami walked inside the house and slipped off her shoes. She'd had to avoid Urawa twice that afternoon - once after school, and once after juku.

She supposed it was a little silly of her to do so, but she just didn't want to talk with him face to face yet. Or with Greg for that matter; not until she'd sorted out her feelings. Unfortunately, Greg she couldn't really avoid.

To her surprise though, he wasn't in the kitchen when she entered, so she ended up eating by herself.

On the way to the stairs, however, she heard him mumbling chess strategy in the living room. Thus Ami waged a brief inner battle with herself… and curiosity won out. She poked her head around the door, just to observe quickly. Greg heard her.

"Evening, Ami… enjoy dinner?" he asked, glancing up from the chessboard in front of him.

"Er, yes, fine," she replied. "Don't mind me, I just thought I heard you mention the Kolchinsky gambit…"

Greg nodded. "Yeah, I did, but I don't think it applies here. Yet somehow I think there's mate in three."

Ami advanced a bit into the room, the notion of a chess problem intriguing her, and looked closer at the board. She frowned. "Mate in three? The king is so well protected I don't think a mate is imminent at all…"

Greg shook his head. "No, actually, mate is quite imminent. I can certainly see it in four… just move the knight in here, thus forces the king to castle, then attack the right side with the bishop and queen…"

Ami blinked as he moved the pieces. "Checkmate," she admitted, feeling somewhat foolish not to have noticed it before.

Greg nodded. "I played a fair game of chess back in Canada," he admitted. He looked back up at her. "You're troubled by something. I can tell in your eyes and your inattentive chess play," he pointed out.

Ami blushed lightly. "No, nothing really… nothing you can do anything about, anyway," she insisted.

She moved to go before Greg could say anything else, but he was already standing.

"Here, come with me," he said, taking her by the hand.

"Greg, I don't --" Ami started.

"Wait, I got my bicycle sent up… do you have a bicycle?" Greg interrupted.

"Well, yes, but I don't ride much, I --"

"Good, I thought that other one was yours. This won't take long. Just follow me," Greg intoned, leading a semi-unwilling Ami out of the house.

"Shouldn't we at least tell my mother that --"

"She's busy upstairs, we'll be back before she knows it… and it's late, so don't worry about being seen by classmates."

Thus Ami found herself riding along the road of the slowly darkening city, trying to figure out exactly what had happened. She'd come home, semi upset about her personal life… seen Greg in the living room… now they were riding through Juuban.

It was nonsensical… yet somehow it seemed perfectly normal. Ami's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by his voice announcing "We're here".

Ami looked over at Greg - and behind him. The view was quite astounding from where they were!

Ami glanced about a minute to get her bearings; they'd gone off the main road a bit, back onto a trail through the trees. Ahead was a clearing, with a hill that sloped down into a small lake.

The sun had mostly set, but there were still some streaks of colour in the background sky, and yet the moon also reflected slightly off the surface of the water, rippling as waves moved through courtesy of an unknown source. A bird called out from a nearby tree.

"It's… beautiful," Ami breathed.

"Better right at sunset," Greg commented, setting his bike aside and moving closer to the water. "But quite tranquil this time of day too."

"How did you come across it…?" Ami asked, moving to join him. "I mean, I've been in this area before, but this particular perspective…"

"Oh, your tour the first day inspired me to look around myself," Greg revealed. "Discovered this place one day last week when you were at juku. Helps one to relax, I think."

He picked up a stone and skipped it across the water experimentally.

"Three skips," he commented, picking up another stone. "You try," he added, offering the stone to her.

Ami blinked as she looked from Greg to the stone. She nodded slightly, and took it gingerly, weighing it in her hand. She gazed out at the water, considering its level and her distance, then took a measured step and let fly. The stone skipped once and sank.

Ami frowned as she heard Greg laughing behind her. "What?" she demanded, turning back.

"Ami, you're thinking too much," he ventured. "I could almost hear the gears turning in your head." He picked up another stone. "Try again, and this time don't analyze. Relax, no one cares if the rock reaches the other side of the lake or not! Ease up - go by instinct."

"Hmph," Ami replied, accepting the other stone nonetheless. She then flung it at the water quickly, without conscious thought, just to show Greg.

And watched as the stone skipped merrily across the water four times before sinking.

"See, some things come easier when you're not thinking about them," Greg pointed out.

"That was more like luck," Ami protested, continuing to stare at the spot where her stone had disappeared.

"Uh huh. Let's see you do it again then," Greg challenged. He advanced with a few stones and handed half to Ami.

"Fine," she said with a smile.

The two of them began to launch stones across the water, calling out the number of skips as they went. It was when Ami had managed to get a stone to skip six times that she suddenly realized Greg had become very silent.

Ami turned, to see he was now standing still - and staring at her. Staring… yet his gaze seemed to reveal nothing. Ami stopped and returned the look. For a few minutes, silence reigned.

A breeze suddenly rushed through the trees and Ami shivered slightly as she realized darkness had set in several minutes ago.

Greg turned away. "We should get back, just in case your mom does come downstairs," he noted, going back to his bicycle.

Ami stood a moment longer. "R-right," she finally agreed, hurrying to her own transportation. What exactly had he been thinking?

As the two teens pedalled back to the Mizuno residence in the darkness, Greg turned to Ami. "By the way, can you keep that place our secret?" he asked. "It'd be bothersome to have a bunch of people come by and spoil the serenity."

"Right…" Ami agreed again, though her thoughts were not completely on the current situation. She'd just realized what Greg had been doing; giving her a break. Creating a diversion for her from her problems!

Sort of ironic, considering Greg was, in a way, one of those quandaries. But the almost unnerving thing, however, was that it had worked…

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

Previous	Chapter Links	Next
	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 3b: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS! WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK?

<commercial break; Minako, Urawa and Sewaya skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

"Ami, if you don't smile I may just have to tickle you."

"What??" Ami gasped, turning to look at Greg. He shook his head at her.

"Amusement parks are supposed to be fun… we've been here fifteen minutes and you keep glancing around like you're afraid someone's going to jump out at you at yell 'boo!'," he pointed out. "Try to relax a little. If it makes you more comfortable we could split up…"

"N-no, no… that's okay," Ami said.

No point in possibly hurting his feelings over her admittedly silly paranoia. Of course, it didn't exactly help that the last amusement park she'd been to had been with Urawa last year, when they'd been on the Ferris wheel. Or that the time Ami hadn't spent in her room studying on Saturday had been spent worrying about what might happen today.

"It's just there's some things on my mind," Ami admitted.

"Forget them. Take it easy. Look, here one of those UFO catcher games, I'll win something for you… what do you want?" Greg offered.

Ami blinked looking from Greg to the game and back. "Er… I, I don't know…," she said.

Greg waited expectantly. Was he serious this time?

"Er, how about that blue one," she said, indicating a rather cute little kitten.

Greg nodded. "Right, let's see if I can figure this out then," he said, starting to manipulate the machine.

Ami turned to scan the crowd again, absently. What if Urawa had come to the park too…? She shook her head. Her thoughts shouldn't be of Urawa when she was with Greg. Just like they shouldn't be of Greg when she was with Urawa. It made no sense.

She looked back briefly at Greg as he worked the crane into position. Was it her imagination or was Greg being overly nice to her today?

She paused, looking down. Of course, he was never really mean… and he had been gracious enough not to bring up that incident on Umino's show yesterday. But then, he never did seem to bring things up himself, did he… it was so hard to figure him out. Maybe that was part of his charm…

"Here you go," Greg said. Ami turned and looked up as he held out a doll. Ami stared.

"A Sailor Mercury plushie?!" blurted Ami. He HAD to be putting her on. And surely he didn't know she was…

"Sailor Mercury? That who it is?" Greg remarked. He frowned slightly. "Is it wrong? You did say the blue one, and if she isn't as blue as your lustrous hair, I'll eat my math homework…"

Ami closed her eyes for a minute and shook her head. "No, it's fine, thank you…" she replied, allowing herself a small smile.

Not his fault, she should have been more specific… anyway, it was a nice doll. She took it from him and gazed down upon it. A little chill ran down her spine. It was almost like her first gift from Greg…

"Ami!" came a voice off to her right.

She looked up, startled, then relaxed a bit seeing who it was. She hurriedly tucked the plushie into her bookbag, out of sight.

"Usagi… Mamoru… didn't expect to see you here," she greeted them.

"Well that goes double for us," Usagi commented. "Not to mention you and… Greg," Usagi said, winking and stressing his name slightly.

"Now, now, Usako," Mamoru chastised her playfully. "It's a fairly large park and they may not have come together, after all."

"Well, it's nice to see you two together now then," Usagi continued, undaunted. "Anyway, we just came over to the games area because Mamo-chan said he'd win me something."

"Er, I said I'd TRY…" Mamoru corrected.

"Oh, you can do it, I have faith," Usagi countered, holding onto his arm and smiling up at him. "But we noticed you and just thought we'd say 'hi'," she added turning back to Ami. "Nice to see you getting out."

Ami smiled. "Nice to see the both of you, too. As long as you're not going to be jumping to conclusions again," she emphasized.

Usagi rolled her eyes. "Perish that thought," she replied. "Anyway, I won't keep you… just don't do anything I wouldn't do," she finished.

Mamoru raised his eyebrows and looked down at Usagi, eliciting a giggle from Ami.

"Don't mind us. Have fun," Mamoru put in.

Greg watched somewhat bemused as Mamoru and Usagi continued onwards. "Usagi's boyfriend I take it," he commented. "He almost looks old enough to be her teacher."

"No, he's still in University," Ami said, shaking her head.

She smiled slightly. Oddly, seeing Usagi had put her a little more at ease. It still might be best not to stand out in plain view though. Even with the crowd here… She turned.

"Want to go into the Hall of Mirrors over there?" she motioned.

Greg turned. "Sure… I'll see you in there in a second, just need to retie my shoelace…" he said, bending down. Ami nodded and proceeded over to the attraction.

Walking inside, it was like walking into a crystal or something, her image reflecting off every surface, sometimes at crazy angles. She moved through uncertainly. Odd how they could create tricks of the light and illusions of passages.

She turned. Where was Greg? Had he been held up? Ami almost hit her nose against one of her reflections as she looked about her. This was quite confusing! Might be interesting to analyze it sometime with her computer… she felt her way along.

What had happened to Greg? Surely he couldn't be that far back… Ami found herself at a dead end and retraced her steps. Had Greg just let her go in here to see if she could get through? Was this another of his strange jokes? Or… maybe something had happened to him? Or even… was he trying to… get rid of her?

Silly as her thoughts seemed, Ami suddenly felt more urgency as she tried to get through the maze.

This way… no, wait there was a passage… no, she was sure she'd been here before… no… no… Ami resisted the urge to cry out. This was silly, this was all so silly… but where was she… and where had Greg gone… and where was the passage… and there were too many of her in here and what should she do and she had to get out, find the exit where was the exit it was another mirror and she was trapped and what was going on and the EXIT, THERE it was at last.

Ami hurried out of the building, breathing a sigh of relief… that caught in her throat at who she saw before her. Greg. With Minako. Holding hands. This just wasn't happening, was it?

Ami stood silent for a moment, wondering if she shouldn't just slip off and leave the two of them together. But then Minako caught sight of her.

"Ami!" Minako called out. "Hi! My goodness it's amazing the number of people I know that I'm running into today. First Usagi, then Greg, now you!"

Ami approached cautiously, her heart in her throat. "You… you know Greg then?" she asked, surprised at how calm her voice sounded.

Minako nodded. "Sure, we go way back… how do you…? Oh, wait, transfer student named Greg at your school, of course… I didn't even think," she realized, putting two and two together. "You didn't say it was Greg ANDERSON. I mean, I know him from before I moved into the area… hm, possibly even before I met Artemis! Greg, you'll have to give me your current phone number… where are you staying?" she asked, turning back to him.

"Er…" Greg paused, glancing back at Ami.

Ami shrugged. It looked like yesterday's fears had not been unfounded after all.

"Er, it'd be easier if you gave me your number… I promise to call," Greg told Minako.

Minako paused, then wrote her number down. "All right, but you'd better call!" she said, slipping the paper into Greg's pocket. "Or I'll have to send people after you!"

Minako grinned. "Anyway, I have to be getting home… talk to you later! Oh, bye Ami," she added as she moved off.

Ami stared at Greg for a minute. "You didn't tell her," she observed.

Greg shrugged. "She seemed to know you. I didn't feel like explaining things right now, but didn't want to give her the wrong idea," he answered.

'Give her the wrong idea?' Ami thought. 'What idea is that?' "So you two were close?" Ami said uncertainly.

Greg shrugged again. "Well, yeah, kinda. We went out for a while, did the usual stuff."

The bottom dropped out of Ami's stomach. "Oh. Usual stuff. Right."

"Holidays I mean, that sort of thing," Greg clarified airily. "We never went too far. You were the first girl I ever actually kissed - and I didn't expect you to be awake."

Ami felt her body turning to jelly. How could he just toss that out so calmly??

"Then you admit… you actually… you… WHY?" she demanded, forcing out the question that had been plaguing her all week.

Greg quirked an eyebrow at her. "Why do you think, Ami-chan? Obviously because I LIKE you," he declared with a shrug.

Ami searched for her voice. Was he SERIOUS? He didn't sound that serious, he just sounded like he did all the time. But did he really…?

Greg winked at her and tilted his head slightly.

He wasn't being serious. This had to be one of his STUPID games… the other options were… were ones she didn't want to think about. It was all too much.

"You… you shouldn't talk about love so flippantly!" Ami heard herself say, and with that she turned and hurried away, just wanting to return home, to get away from Greg, away from Minako, away from the park and the world that seemed to be crashing down around her.

She remained in her room most of that night, studying, dismissing the day from her mind as best as she could.

*****

"You were out with Greg."

It was a statement, not a question, but Ami felt it deserved some sort of response anyway. "S-sort of," she admitted. "We were together at the amusement park yesterday. It… it didn't really mean anything though," she emphasized.

Actually, Ami had a feeling that it had meant something, but even now, twenty four hours later, she preferred not to consider it.

Urawa nodded to her and popped a candy into his mouth. "You like him."

Again, not really a question. But it hung in the air of the deserted school corridor, the other students having left the immediate area following the conclusion of their Monday classes.

"I-I don't know," Ami murmured, her eyes shifting down to her feet.

A couple of other students had also seen her and Greg together on Sunday. Of course, given Umino's Friday broadcast, word had gotten around. To Ami's relief it hadn't been as bad as she had feared; most people seeming to disbelieve the claim due to her history, a lack of proof, or whatever.

It didn't matter, really. Though it had been enough for Urawa to request a talk with her at the end of the day.

"I see," came the response. There was a pause. "I'm prepared to win you back any way possible," Urawa abruptly continued.

Ami remained silent, eyes on the floor, not sure what to say this time. There was a longer pause.

"Star candy?" Urawa offered, breaking the silence.

Ami looked up; Urawa was offering his bag of candy to her. "Er, all right…," Ami agreed, hesitantly taking one. She smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. "Some say these types of candies indicate a bond of friendship."

Urawa smiled back. "Yeah, I've heard that. I've actually heard a few different tales to do with these." He paused and looked at a candy in his hand. "I think it's also been said that they… taste like kisses. Weird, huh?"

Ami giggled and looked down at her own candy. "I wonder how they can claim that," she mused. "It's an odd comparison."

"One that might be fun to explore sometime…" Urawa commented.

"I suppose so," Ami nodded. There was another pause and Ami shifted her gaze back to Urawa.

She almost jumped back when she found Urawa standing directly in front of her, looking into her face.

"No time like the present?" he whispered.

This time it was a question. But there was no answer. The two of them stared at each other for another minute… then before Ami could protest, Urawa leaned in and kissed her.

<closing theme>

Previous	Chapter Links	Next
	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 3a: CLOSE ENCOUNTERS! WHAT WILL PEOPLE THINK? <opening theme>

Ami pulled a sandwich from her lunch box and began nibbling on it. Thursday had passed pretty much without incident, and it was finally the end of the week.

'And what now…' mused Ami. She still wasn't sure if she should ask Minako about Greg or not… she certainly couldn't ask Greg. But she also couldn't deny Urawa an answer forever; she had almost sensed Urawa watching her, waiting for her to approach him, but it may have been her imagination.

As she flipped the page of a textbook in front of her, a shadow fell over it. Ami looked up.

"Feeling better today, Ami?" Usagi asked, taking a seat next to her on the grass.

"I suppose," Ami answered absently.

"Glad to hear it!" Usagi replied. "Don't let Urawa's arrival get you down… or Greg's for that matter. Remember you have friends who'll be behind you all the way," she said with a wink.

Ami smiled back. "I know. Thanks," she said.

Ami paused to take another bite of her sandwich as Usagi took her lunch and a radio out of her book bag.

"Usagi… have you and Mamoru… kissed?" Ami inquired tentatively. That was the other thing on her mind… what Greg's intentions were towards her.

Usagi shrugged. "Well, yes, I suppose…," she answered. "Nothing major but a peck now and then as a way of showing our affection… why?"

Ami shook her head. "No reason, really," she hedged. "Just… curious."

She supposed that her… kiss… hadn't been too prolonged either. Actually she was starting to wonder if she'd just dreamed the whole event.

"Don't be getting too far ahead of yourself now, Ami," Usagi interrupted her thoughts with a grin.

Ami blinked and nodded, looking back at her sandwich. She disliked involving her friends with things that were really just her personal problems… they had enough to deal with themselves. But this whole situation was really having repercussions for her…

What would they say? Could they really help anyway? Maybe if she just told Usagi about her living situation… doubtless Usagi or her other friends would find out sooner or later if they dropped by.

"Usagi…" Ami began.

"Hold on… Umino's show's about to start," Usagi said, fiddling with her radio.

"What?" Ami said, puzzled.

"Don't you remember? Umino got approval a few weeks ago to have some airtime for a local school talk show or something… to be broadcasted over lunch. They've been setting up stuff in that abandoned room for the past while and today's his first programme," Usagi reminded her.

"Oh, right," Ami nodded, recalling. She remembered the name had been a bit unimaginative… Time for News… Views over Lunch… Lunchtime Views, that was it.

"He's on!" Usagi said, turning up the volume a bit.

"Hello Juuban Jr. High," came the slightly static-filled voice from the radio. "Umino Gurio here with an amazing first edition of Lunchtime Views for you! With any luck, we'll do so well we'll go into syndication! Ha, ha! But anyway… <a slight shuffling of papers could be heard> Today's first ever guest sharing his views with us will be that of the most popular transfer student since Ginga Seijuurou - all the way from Canada, Greg Anderson!"

Ami began choking violently on her milk. He wouldn't… would he?

"You've probably seen him around the school… fairly tall, brown hair and a confused look as he adjusts to life in our school and in Japan," Umino's voice droned on. "Greg, glad to have you with us."

"Thanks, Gurio… or is it Umino?" came Greg's reply.

"Everyone calls me Umino, run with it," he replied. "So what brings you to Japan?"

"Oh, just expanding my horizons, trying to develop good cultural relations… while brushing up on my Japanese. I guess you could say I have a bit of a thirst for knowledge at times…"

"Mmm hmmm, mmm hmmm… well thought out answer. Actually, speaking of such, it's been reported to me that you've been seen arriving at the school a few times with Juuban's brightest young student, Mizuno Ami. If you're looking for knowledge, you certainly lucked out! How did you happen to meet her? Is she helping you in your studies?"

"Well… actually…"

"N-no, I-I'm not associated with him in any way," a third voice interrupted, gasping for breath. Usagi's gaze shifted from her radio to the empty place where Ami had been sitting a few moments ago. She blinked in shock.

"Ami… this… this is an unexpected surprise," commented Umino.

"We… we just met because we practically live next door to each other," Ami continued. "So I was helping him find the school. But there's nothing else going on!"

"Hm, was I going to say that?" came Greg's bemused voice.

"Greg…! I don't want ---" Ami's voice trailed off into a mutter. There was a minute or so of quiet murmuring in the broadcast studio.

"Well, it seems like we could have the beginnings of a relationship here," Umino's voice suddenly rang out.

"No!" came Ami's protestation. "You newspeople always overdo things!"

There was abruptly a loud <WHAP> followed by a <CLUNK> and a strangled noise from Umino.

"Eep! G-gomen nasai!" Ami gasped. There was a long pause. "A-are we still on?" Ami's nervous voice sounded. Another pause.

"Er… I think that's our time," Umino's voice finally returned, though somewhat unsteady. "Be sure to tune in next week when we'll have Osaka Naru giving us her views about the usage and overusage of batteries and power cells… Until then, this is Umino saying… er, enjoy your lunch…"

The air went dead and Usagi switched off the radio. She paused, then picked up some of the things Ami had left behind and headed for the broadcasting centre. Was it just her, or had Ami been behaving somewhat oddly of late?

*****

Ami slipped out of the broadcast booth and ran down the hall. She almost ran into Makoto, who was coming the other direction. "Ami! You okay?" Makoto asked. "I… heard the broadcast. What happened?"

Ami looked up, sorrowfully. "I've never been so embarrassed in all my life," Ami whispered to her friend. "The whole school probably heard me… what on earth was I thinking…"

"Ami! Ami, don't worry about it!" Makoto said in surprise. The poor girl was almost in tears! She grasped Ami by the shoulders. "This was just one of those crazy things that happens and then gets forgotten, I'm sure of it. And if anyone teases you, you just tell them they have to deal with me first," she added with a wink.

Ami found herself unable to avoid smiling a bit as she looked up at Makoto's face. She sighed and gave a slight nod, eyes falling back down to the floor.

"Ami!" came another voice. Oh no…

Ami bit her lip, as Greg come up behind her. Not now, she didn't want to talk now…

"Just thought I'd let you know Umino will be fine," she heard him say. "You just surprised him, that's all. He actually thinks he might get good ratings from this…"

"What went on in there?" Makoto asked, looking over at him.

Greg shrugged. "Ami clocked Umino with a textbook," he revealed.

"I… I was gesturing and… forgot that I was holding it…" Ami admitted quietly, clutching the aforementioned text to her chest, squeezing her downcast eyes shut.

Makoto looked back at Ami then around the hall. Some other students were starting to gather.

"Maybe we should move off until classes resume," Makoto suggested to Ami. Ami gave a slight nod.

Makoto looked back up at Greg. "Somehow I don't think you can be of help here," she hinted. It was hard to tell exactly how Greg was mixed up in this, but his presence had seemed to make Ami retreat even further.

"Sure, you two go on, I'm going to go back and help them at the broadcast centre," Greg said airily, moving back the way he came.

Makoto watched him go for a minute. It was interesting, she realized… despite his popularity, they didn't really know that much about him. And last time that had happened with a transfer student, he'd turned out to be Ail…

Well, best not to go there for the moment. She led Ami away from the growing number of curious Juuban students and towards Usagi, who had appeared at the end of the hall.

*****

Greg flipped through the pages of a book with a sigh. That lunchtime report had been a terrible fiasco… he'd never dreamed that Ami would charge in like that. She was really serious about not letting anyone know he was living with her.

Not that he would have told without her permission anyway, but she apparently didn't know that. If only he had… could have… no, that was the wrong way to approach things. Wrong. All wrong.

Greg slammed the book shut. This wasn't what he was looking for. He replaced it on the shelf.

"Don't like that one?" came a voice.

Greg turned to see a guy standing at the end of the aisle of books in the library. "No, none of these seem right," Greg replied with a shrug.

"What are you looking for?" the guy prompted.

"Books on writing. There don't seem to be a great deal that are of use to me here."

"True, the selection isn't too broad on that subject," the stranger agreed. "Though I do have a fair number of books on that subject back at my place… if you want to come by…," he added with a smile.

Greg blinked. Was this guy… who the… "Uhhhh, no, thanks, it's just a passing interest," he said, backing off slightly.

The guy gave him a bemused look and another grin.

"And you know, I think I have class now," Greg continued quickly. "I'll have to see you around." He hurried to the library door. Well, better safe than sorry. That had been a bit too weird…

*****

Ami ran a hand through her hair as she got home that evening. The weekend, finally. It had seemed so far away, especially that afternoon.

Makoto and Usagi had helped her feel a bit better, but she still could have sworn everyone was looking at her afterwards. Then Urawa had cornered her after class, asking about Greg and if he had been bothering her. Of course, she'd seen THAT coming.

Ami had had to convince him that she was fine, and that there was nothing going on he had to worry about. She hated not telling him the whole truth. Despite the fact that Urawa had left her those months ago, he obviously genuinely cared about her. But how would he react to… everything?

Especially given the fact Ami had been avoiding talk about their relationship… she just didn't want to lead Urawa on until she was sure that she really only loved him. He deserved that much.

Ami shook her head. Urawa and Greg. Greg and Urawa. One was kind, open and caring. The other was teasing, detached and enigmatic. If it weren't for that kiss… but was that all? Was that the only thing that made her pause?

Ami closed the front door behind her and slipped off her shoes. She could hear her mother and Greg talking in the living room so she peeked her head around the corner.

"Ami!" her mother said with a smile. "We were just talking about you."

"Oh?" Ami asked, proceeding into the room uncertainly.

Her mother nodded. "Dr. Tavolite had two tickets to that new amusement park - good only for this Sunday. But it turned out he couldn't use them, so I convinced him to give them to me. Of course, I can't go since I'll be on call, but I thought maybe you would enjoy going. You shouldn't spend ALL your time on the weekends studying, after all dear… and since there's two tickets, perhaps Greg could go along too."

Ami opened her mouth then closed it again, searching for her voice. She HAD hoped to just stay at home… even though she hadn't really gone out much in the past three weeks, now that she thought about it. But if she went out now… after today… and with GREG… what if she met someone she knew? What would she do?

"I'm game if you are," Greg said noncommittally from his position on the couch. Her mother looked at her in anticipation.

"I… er… sure…," Ami managed to get out.

She didn't want to turn down her mother's offer after the trouble she seemed to have gone through to get the tickets… but really, what had she gotten herself into now?

<commercial break; Minako, Urawa and Sewaya skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

Previous	Chapter Links	Next
	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 2b: START OF A RIVALRY? URAWA'S RETURN.

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

Ami was still trying to figure out what to say when abruptly a bell sounded, and Urawa looked around. "Look, I'm sorry for springing this on you," he said to Ami. "I thought we'd have more time… you'd better get to class. We'll… we'll talk tomorrow."

Ami nodded mutely as the words sank in, and she quickly hurried off, mind whirling.

*****

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur to her. She couldn't believe what was happening. She'd had her first kiss from a guy she'd barely met. And Urawa was back. Of all the things to happen…

Well, she couldn't deny she'd had feelings for Urawa. But were they still there? And what of that exchange student? What was it she was feeling about him? And, perhaps more importantly, what did he think about her? Ami wrestled with the questions in her mind, but could come to no clear conclusion. She was just as confused as she'd been hours ago.

"Ami? Are you listening?" Minako asked her.

Ami blinked, remembering where she was… studying at Rei's temple with Minako, Makoto and Rei. Usagi was late, as usual. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" she asked.

"Ami, you're not usually this unobservant," Makoto pointed out. "Are you feeling all right? Has something happened?"

Ami found herself unable to suppress a giggle. What hadn't happened to her of late? She shook her head with a sigh. "No, nothing…" she replied, more soberly. "Well, not exactly…" she corrected.

After all, maybe her friends could at least shed some light on the Urawa situation…

"That is… I… Urawa's back in town," she finally blurted out.

Her friends paused in surprise. "He's visiting Japan and came to see you?" Rei prompted.

Ami shook her head ruefully. "He's living here again… and going to my school…" Ami took a deep breath. "And he wants to get back together," she admitted.

There was a pause as Ami looked uncertainly at the expressions on her friend's faces. "The guy has a lot of nerve," Makoto commented. "Dumping you, vanishing for months and then suddenly trying to pretend nothing's happened."

"Well, it's not exactly like that --" Ami began.

"Oh, I don't know, I think it's romantic," Minako pointed out to Makoto. "Urawa's obviously never gotten over her… and they did make a good couple, you said so yourself."

"I'm not sure if that's --" Ami started.

"I don't know," Rei added. "This all seems rather sudden. He might have some as yet unknown reason… I remember he could have visions of the future. What do you think, Ami?"

Ami shrugged. "I… I don't know," she responded, somewhat dejectedly. She shook her head. "I'm not really sure what I feel anymore."

"Feel about what?" Usagi asked, walking into the room.

"About Ami having a boyfriend again," Minako clarified.

"Ah, are we talking about that new student from overseas?" Usagi inquired.

"An overseas student?" chorused the others. Ami moaned and put her head in her hands.

"We were talking about Urawa being back in town," Rei indicated.

"Oops…" put forth Usagi. "Actually, I remember seeing Urawa this morning too," Usagi recalled. "So he wants to restart their relationship?"

"Wait, who's this exchange student?" Minako wondered.

"You mean that Canadian student at our school?" Makoto asked. "He's gotten pretty popular in two days. I'd say he reminds me of my old boyfriend - but you'd probably see that line coming," she noted with a smile.

The others rolled their eyes while Ami tried not to look worried, hoping to her self that this was just another of Makoto's jokes or short-lived whims.

"But if that's him what's he have to do with Ami?" Makoto continued, undaunted.

"Yes, that's him," Usagi verified. "Ami was showing him around before class yesterday."

"Don't jump to conclusions," Ami said hurriedly. "We reside… close by. I just sort of ended up as a guide." Better not to bother her friends with the rest of her problems. At least, not right now.

"Soooo… is this why you're hesitant about Urawa?" Minako asked slyly.

"I don't believe it. Suddenly Ami gets all the guys," Rei said, shaking her head.

"It's not like that," Ami protested. "Greg is just an acquaintance… I barely know him! And Urawa, well, I'm just not sure how I feel about him anymore…" her voice trailed off as she started at the smiling faces of her four friends. "Oh, stop," she finally muttered, blushing furiously.

"Okay, okay," Makoto said, with a wink. "But if you need any help or advice, you know we're here for you…" Ami nodded, and gave a small smile.

"Speaking of help, I don't understand half of what this assignment is asking me to do," Usagi admitted. "Ami, do you have time to explain this before you go…?"

Ami giggled. "Of course," she agreed.

*****

When Ami got home that evening, she again found Greg alone in the kitchen. There was another thing… if she got back together with Urawa, what would he think of the current rooming situation? And what would Greg think?

Ami sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. At least it looked like her mother had managed get around to doing some cooking earlier.

Greg waved as Ami walked in and took a seat. "Good evening," he said. "Your mom found time to cook tonight. It's quite good… I'll have to compare sometime to see if beauty isn't the only thing that runs in your family," he commented.

Ami shrugged as she picked up a fork. "It's amazing what genetics can tell you these days," she remarked, somewhat despondently.

Greg raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Ami looked up. "Why do you think anything's wrong?" she returned.

"Well, you seemed preoccupied back in school…" Greg observed. "And just now you didn't react at all to my comment. Usually you'd blush or something. …kind of like how you're starting to now."

Ami turned her face away, mildly embarrassed. "Look, I… I'm fine. There's nothing you can do, so don't worry about it."

There was a pause. "All right, I won't pry into your personal affairs if you don't want me to," Greg finally said. "But I'm sure whatever it is, it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. If it's not urgent, forget about it for the time being. Go shopping. Talk with a friend. Study. Things will get better I'm sure."

Ami turned back with a frown. "Greg, problems don't go away if you ignore them," she objected.

"But there are times to deal with problems and times to decide to deal with problems later," Greg responded. "And you look like someone who needs a bit of a break. Some decisions in life aren't due in before class the next day."

He shrugged and got up from the table.

"It's just a shame not to see that lovely smile of yours," Greg added with a grin. He paused again, then went and put his dishes in the sink. "Anyway, enjoy your dinner…," he concluded.

Ami watched as Greg walked out of the room. She absently took another bite, contemplating what he'd said. She wasn't sure she completely agreed, but one thing seemed clear… worrying about it would get her nowhere right now. She just wasn't used to this sort of thing happening… it happened to other people if at all!

Well, the situation wasn't out of control yet. She'd talk with Urawa tomorrow, maybe get him to give her time to think things over. That decision made, Ami finished her dinner with a smile and hurried off to do her homework.

*****

"Well, you seem happier today," remarked Greg as he and Ami arrived at school. Breakfast had pretty much been as usual; minus the marmalade.

"Must be your imagination," Ami replied with a hint of a smile.

Greg paused. "No… my imagination gives me much more interesting images…" he commented, rubbing his chin.

Ami blinked then shook her head. Did he ever stop? "Do I want to know?" she inquired.

"Probably not, most of it involves chemistry," Greg replied with a shrug. "Anyway, see you in class," he finished, hurrying off.

Ami proceeded on to her locker, frowning slightly. Who was the real Greg anyway? Did she want to know?

"Ami!" came the familiar voice.

Ami looked up. She felt prepared this time. "Urawa," she greeted him.

"Ami…" Urawa continued hurrying up. "I'm sorry for springing everything on you yesterday, it… it was probably a lot to digest. And if you need more time to sort things out, that's… that's fine with me."

Ami paused, her mouth open and those very words on her lips. "Er… yes, I'd… I'd appreciate that," she stated in surprise.

Urawa nodded. "I'll level with you, Ami. I… I wasn't going to push the point. After transferring I was going to take it slow. But had a vision a few days ago of you… and someone else…"

Urawa shook his head.

"For some reason, that just got to me. But at the moment you still seem unattached - and of course, you showed me the future is mutable. So I guess I was just too eager to change things."

Ami blinked. "You saw me… and someone else?" she whispered. "Who?"

Urawa shrugged. "I'm not sure who. I didn't recognize him…" Urawa smiled ruefully. "Heck, I suppose it might just be someone you're tutoring and everything is just my overactive imagination. But it made me realize I still care for you, and now that I can be here… but you obviously need time. I'll be starting classes again today, so I'll be around. Though please think it over…"

Ami nodded, mutely. Urawa smiled back, waved, and proceeded down the hall.

Ami removed her shoes from her locker, mind whirling again. Had Urawa had a vision of her with Greg? Was it due to them living together, or something more? There was still the matter of that kiss… but Greg didn't seem to understand her feelings about that. Or at least he gave that impression.

Then again, maybe in the vision she hadn't been with Greg at all! Ami shook her head. Things were getting complicated again.

*****

Ami found she was the first to arrive home that evening; her teacher had been ill so juku had been cancelled and she'd declined Usagi's invitation to go to the arcade. She felt like she needed some time to herself, especially now that it seemed both Greg and Urawa were going to be in her classes.

There seemed to be a parcel inside the door; figuring her mother had signed for it, Ami took it into the living room. There didn't seem to be a label on it… perhaps her it was from her father.

Ami opened the box, wondering what he could have sent this time. She started looking through the contents in confusion.

Some English novels… videocassettes… notebooks… this wasn't from her father. Who…? Ami suddenly blinked at the writing on one of the books.

These were Greg's things! With a gasp, Ami started putting everything back in the box, blushing furiously. She was going to have to get used to the fact she was sharing this house!

In her haste, a photograph accidentally fell from one of the books. Ami quickly scooped it up, then paused and did a double take. It was a picture of Greg… but… he was with… with… Minako???

Was she imagining things? How could they possibly know each other?? And if they did know each other… in what capacity? What did it all mean?

"This can't be happening," Ami murmured, unable to tear her gaze from the photo. "This… just… can't…" she repeated, her voice fading into nothing.

<closing theme>

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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 2a: START OF A RIVALRY? URAWA'S RETURN. <opening theme>

"Ami! Aren't you awake yet? If you don't hurry up you might be late!" came Greg's voice from outside her door.

Ami sat up with a start and pressed her hand to her forehead. She'd had trouble getting to sleep last night and had experienced some troubled dreams…

What had Greg been thinking? How could they face each other now?? That had been her first kiss last night… even she and Urawa had never… she quickly pushed Urawa out of her mind. She was upset enough as it was.

"Ami, I don't have to come in there, do I?" came Greg's voice again.

"I'm… I'm awake!" she called out.

"Good… hurry and get ready. I'll see you downstairs," Greg answered.

Ami turned to look at her alarm clock - she usually didn't bother setting it since she tended to get up with the sun anyway. She gasped as she realized she'd overslept by at least twenty minutes.

Ami hurried to the bathroom, noting Greg wasn't in the hall anymore. She sighed. What would she say to him downstairs? Should she bring up last night's events or wait for him to? Would he?

'What do I do…' Ami thought once again.

Fifteen minutes later Ami hurried downstairs, still with time to spare before they had to leave. She paused outside the kitchen, wondering what to say to Greg… what he might say to her… taking a deep breath, she walked in.

Greg was finishing up whatever he'd been eating. There was another plate across from him with some toast and scrambled eggs on it. She sat down across from him and Greg looked up. Ami felt herself blushing reflexively as their eyes met.

"You'd better hurry and eat," Greg commented as he stood up and turned away. "Wouldn't do for the top student to arrive to school late."

Ami blinked in surprise. Was he just going to act like nothing had happened? How could he do that?? She'd been lying there, feigning sleep and he… Ami paused.

She'd been pretending she was asleep… so if he thought she didn't know… maybe he didn't want to admit it?

Ami moaned as that thought sank in. Now what do I do? she wondered. Her first kiss… and she couldn't talk about it? She didn't even know what Greg was feeling!

"Problem with breakfast?" Greg inquired, looking back.

"Er, no…" Ami said with a sigh. "Wait.. yes!" she corrected as she looked at the jar next to her toast. "I usually have jam… what's with the marmalade?"

Greg shrugged. "That's all I could find. Don't be so picky." He turned away again.

Ami stared. "I don't BELIEVE this…," she muttered quietly to herself.

"You know, you're sort of like marmalade yourself," Greg added, still facing away. "Sweet and innocent looking on the outside… but who knows if there are bitter secrets that lie within…"

Ami blinked at him. Was he joking? Was this a reference to the kiss? Or even to her secret identity as Sailor Mercury? Or perhaps something else?

"Spare me the metaphors," Ami finally replied. "Why should I be hiding secrets?"

Greg shrugged. "I don't know… I just felt poetic. Anyway, I'm going to go on ahead. See you at school!" Greg said, walking out of the kitchen.

"Just a minute!" Ami said, exasperated. "Who's going to clean up?"

*****

Ami hurried up towards the school with five minutes still remaining until class would start. She felt absolutely infuriated with Greg - yet at the same time she wished she could figure him out.

Looking up, Ami pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and smiled at the sight of Usagi approaching from the other direction. Usagi arrived moments ahead of her.

"You know Ami, you're not setting a very good example for me if I arrive before you do," Usagi noted with a grin.

"Well, follow Makoto's today then, she probably beat both of us here," Ami noted as the girls proceeded inside.

"Canadian friend not with you today?" Usagi inquired.

Ami rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He has better things to do than come to school with me," she said. And yet he had kissed her…

"Incidentally, thanks for helping me with that trig yesterday," Usagi commented. "I was thinking of having a study session at Rei's temple tonight too, if you're interested…"

Ami nodded, glad to be moving on to other subjects. "Sure, count me in." She smiled again as they approached her locker. 'At least things still seem fairly normal at school,' she thought.

"Ami," came a voice from behind them.

Ami froze. That was probably the last voice she'd expected to hear… she turned slowly, hoping she'd imagined it. No such luck.

"Urawa…," she whispered.

"Can I just talk to Ami for a minute?" Urawa asked Usagi.

Usagi paused then nodded. "Er, see you a little later then, Ami," she noted as she walked off, with a couple of backward glances.

"What… what are you doing here?" Ami asked him.

"I'm transferring back," Urawa replied.

Ami felt her knees go weak. She said the first thing that came to mind. "Why?" she asked. Then, more strongly: "WHY?"

Urawa paused and looked away. "We didn't part on the best of terms last time, did we…" he remarked.

"You broke up with me," Ami said softly… and the memory came flooding back to her.

~~~~~

It was a warm day just a few months ago. Urawa was coming by for the first visit in a while. Ami giggled, remembering their last phone conversation last weekend… Urawa had been surprised she hadn't been cast as "Snow White" in Mamoru's upcoming play.

Shaking her head, Ami let out a sigh as she ordered a drink from one of the waitresses in the Crown Cafe. 'Long distance relationships are tough,' she admitted to herself. 'Especially when I probably can't write a love letter to save my life', she added ruefully. But they'd still managed to get together when they could.

She perked up when she saw Urawa coming over to her table… but paused when she saw the expression on his face. He sat down across from her and paused, looking at the table.

"What's wrong?" Ami asked.

"It's my dad," Urawa finally said. "He's moving abroad."

Ami gasped, stunned. She'd never thought that the relationship would end up with a distance quite this big…

"It's a really great career opportunity for him," Urawa continued with a pained look, "so we'll be leaving Japan in a couple of weeks."

Ami nodded, wordlessly. "Where?" she finally managed to ask.

"Canada," Urawa said. "My uncle lives out there, he's found us a place." The two of them stared at each other for another minute. "So I guess we won't be able to see each other any more," Urawa finished, uncertainly.

There was a moment of silence.

"What… what do you mean by that?" Ami whispered.

Another pause. "I don't know," Urawa finally replied. "Do you… do you think our relationship can survive such a separation?"

Ami bit her lip. "Well… even if we can't get together… there's still the phone…" she offered.

"Ami… even now we only talk once a week, if that. Not only will it be more expensive overseas, but there's also the time difference…" Urawa's voice trailed off. "And I don't want to tie you down," he added. "If I can't be here for you…"

"What makes you think you're tying me down?" Ami interrupted, finding herself becoming irrationally upset over the whole situation. "If anything it's probably more likely that I'm tying you down," she returned, feeling somewhat hurt.

"Ami… I just want to try and do what's best," Urawa tried to rationalize.

"And so you want to break up with me?" Ami asked, disconcerted.

Urawa paused. "I… I don't know," he said with a pained look. "I… I suppose… unless you stop me…" he seemed to decide.

He'd put the ball in her court. Ami tried to think of a hundred good reasons to stay together. But her mind refused to work… it was all too much to take in at once!

She tried to think logically… it was true that they had been seeing and talking to each other less and less over the past months. And now that they couldn't see each other… but did that matter? Should that matter? What did she feel?

She wasn't sure. Suddenly she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Ami opened her mouth to speak… but no sound came out.

She sat there, mind numb, watching Urawa as he stood up. He gave her one last look, and turned away.

Ami tried to say something, anything… but for some reason her voice did not cooperate. She just sat there as Urawa walked out of the cafe.

The drink she'd ordered a mere ten minutes ago was served, but she was no longer thirsty. She remained there, crying into her soda for over an hour… upset with Urawa, upset with his father, and most of all upset with herself.

Ami had refused to let it get to her after that day, preferring to bury herself in her studies. She hadn't let it interfere with her Senshi duties either… though after Ail and Ann had been defeated, she'd allowed herself some time alone to come to grips with the situation.

She had thought she'd managed to put Urawa behind her.

~~~~~

"You broke up with me…" Ami repeated.

Urawa abruptly turned back to her. "Ami… you know that wasn't completely my fault!" he exclaimed. "Under the circumstances I… I just… Well, while I know you probably can't forgive me for the way I walked out, I want a second chance."

Urawa grasped Ami by her shoulders. "Ami, please, if you still feel anything for me… I'd like to get back together!" he stated.

Ami gasped as his request sunk in. Thoughts pinwheeled through her head too fast for her to sort out.

"My life just wasn't the same knowing you were no longer a part of it," Urawa continued. "So when my uncle decided to come to live in Japan… and my dad offered me the option of moving back here with him… I couldn't turn it down! He's found himself a place not too far away from here either; so distance won't be a problem anymore! Ami… please tell me… is there still a chance…?"

Ami stared at Urawa, not sure how to answer, or what to do. She opened her mouth uncertainly…

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

Previous	Chapter Links	Next
	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 1b: TROUBLE BEGINS... A VISIT FROM OVERSEAS

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

"Don't tell anyone you're living with me," Ami requested. "I'd like to avoid... gossip."

Greg nodded. "Okay, whatever," he agreed.

It was Monday and the two of them were walking to school. Sunday had passed pretty much without incident... Greg had spent the time adjusting to Japanese time and trying to acquaint himself with the neighbourhood. Ami's mother had seemed to hit it off well with Greg, but Ami wasn't quite sure how she felt yet.

"I heard you're the greatest student in the school," Greg commented, conversationally.

"Well, I do tend to have the highest academic marks," Ami admitted.

"You do well academically too?" Greg said, seemingly surprised.

Ami paused, and shook her book bag at him. "Try and be serious...," she chastised, feeling her cheeks becoming a bit warm.

Greg just smiled back, and Ami sighed. He was nice but she was never sure if he was teasing her or complimenting her. She had been somewhat chagrined to find out they'd actually be going to the same school. And although he was a few months older than her, they were both positioned in the same grade.

Ami sighed again... there were definite mixed feelings about the whole thing, especially about possibly being in the same class as him.

As they arrived at the school, Ami heard a voice call to her from down the street. Ami did a double take as she pinpointed the source. "Usagi! You're going to be on time today!" she said, startled.

"Yeah, well, my mom came down hard on me considering I was late every day last week...," Usagi answered, running up. "And she said unless I got up early today she'd ground me. Since me and Mamoru made plans for the coming weekend I decided I'd try and humor her this once," she added with a yawn.

"I like what you've done with your hair," Greg commented.

Usagi blinked. "Hey, Ami, who's your friend?" she asked.

Ami paused, wondering how much to say. "He's an exchange student from Canada," she revealed. "He's going to be at school with us for a couple of months. I agreed to show him around." She could always explain the rest later if it seemed necessary...

Usagi grinned at her. "I see. That was nice of you."

"Don't get any funny ideas," Ami warned her. "This... wasn't exactly my idea," she explained.

"Wasn't exactly mine either," Greg added.

Ami spun around to keep him from saying more, but he was already walking away from them.

"Anyway, I'll let you two chat, I have to go complete my registration," Greg said with a wave, and he hurried off towards the school.

Ami watched Greg as he ran off. She couldn't quite figure him out.

"Hello? Earth to Ami?" Usagi uttered, waving a hand in front of her eyes. Ami blinked, then sighed as the two of them proceeded into the school.

"So, what's the story there?" Usagi asked.

Ami shook her head. "Things have been getting a bit... weird recently," Ami admitted to her friend. "But I don't think it's anything to be overly concerned about yet." She smiled. "Come on, race you to class," she suggested.

"Oh yes... can't wait for class to start...," Usagi said, rolling her eyes as she returned the smile.

*****

Ami checked her watch as she arrived home that evening; she was a little bit later than she'd intended. She'd spent some time helping Usagi with her math work after juku. She quickly took off her shoes and headed for the kitchen. But it wasn't her mother she found there.

"Hi," Greg said, waving to her from where he sat at the table. "Where've you been? Your mother's already eaten and is upstairs phoning people about some medical conference."

"I was at juku - cram school - and then talking with a friend," Ami answered, washing her hands at the sink. She hadn't seen much of Greg during the day... at least, not directly. She had noticed how they had ended up in the same homeroom, but she certainly hadn't gone out of her way to talk with him... it still felt weird having him at home with her.

She turned. "What are you eating?" Ami inquired.

"Take out," Greg indicated, gesturing at the food on the table. "Your mom didn't have time to cook anything, and I didn't feel up to it."

Ami nodded. 'I should have expected that, the way this day is going,' she mused, sitting down across from their house guest.

"So, what friend was this?" Greg asked conversationally. "That girl with the interesting hairstyle from this morning?"

"Yes, if you must know," Ami answered, picking up a fork and beginning to eat.

"She wasn't bad looking," Greg mused. "What's she like? Popular with guys?"

Ami choked. "If you're thinking of dating her she already has a boyfriend," Ami noted, as she reached for a glass of water.

"Ah... well I don't know if I'd want to go out with her," Greg commented. "I can think of other girls I'd rather do that with," he added with a smile.

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Ami mumbled, returning to her food. He was doing it again! Why was she even giving this guy a second thought?

"Anyway, I'll leave you in peace," Greg said, picking up his now empty plate and moving to put it in the sink. "By the way, what cram school is it you go to?"

"Crystal Seminar, why?" Ami inquired.

"No reason. Just thinking about other academic horizons," he said, airily.

Ami blinked. "What? Don't come to my juku!" she protested.

Greg raised an eyebrow. "How rude. Don't tell me what to do," he answered.

Then he shrugged... and Ami could have sworn he actually looked serious for a minute.

"I don't join things like that anyway," Greg admitted. "Anyway, enjoy your meal," he concluded, leaving the room.

Ami stared after him. Trigonometry is easy compared to boys, she decided, returning to her dinner. She soon finished and washed up before going upstairs to complete her homework. When that was out of the way, she took a moment to stretch out on her bed and think.

Greg, Greg... what was it about him anyway? Why was he on her mind? Just the fact that he was living in her house? The fact that his actions made him somewhat of an enigma? He'd certainly shown no real sign that he liked her at all, and she wasn't sure she was all that crazy about him either. And yet there was something... Could she handle the next few months with him?

Ami's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. "Come in," Ami called out. Her mother poked her head around the door frame.

"Hi dear, hope dinner was okay," Mrs. Mizuno said. "Sorry, I may not be around much of late, this conference is taking a lot of my time... but I'll be able to cook a nice dinner tomorrow."

Ami smiled. "Don't worry about it. We all have things on our minds," she observed. Her mother smiled back and nodded. "Well, just stopped in to say goodnight... sleep well!" she said in parting.

Ami lay back on her bed as her mother closed the door. She thought about changing into her nightgown but she didn't really feel tired yet. Maybe if she made herself a sandwich or something... supper hadn't really been that filling.

Ami wandered back downstairs and, after making herself a couple, she took them into the sitting room to leaf through the TV Guide. There was an old movie on that might be interesting... sitting back on the couch and flipping on the television, Ami consumed her evening snack.

Fifteen minutes later, Ami felt herself becoming a bit drowsy... and the movie didn't look as good as it had first seemed. She was about to turn off the television and go upstairs when she heard someone else coming down. Her mother was probably asleep... she had an early shift the next morning... so it was probably Greg. And she really didn't feel like talking with him right now. So she remained quiet, willing him to go back upstairs.

She heard him go into the kitchen, then back towards the stairs... but then she heard him pause. "Ami? You in there?" she heard him call in the direction of the sitting room.

'Great, he heard the TV...' Ami thought to herself. Well, maybe if she pretended she was asleep he'd just leave her alone. Ami quickly lay back on the couch and closed her eyes.

She heard his footfalls as he entered the room and called out "Ami?" She waited for him to go, but instead she heard him come right up to her. "Ami, are you asleep?" he asked.

'What is he doing?' Ami wondered, keeping her eyes closed, not daring to make a move. There was a pause, then suddenly Ami felt a pair of lips brush against hers. She almost cried out in surprise at the contact, but forced herself not to react to the kiss.

Kiss?!? Greg was kissing her??? How... what... why... But even as Ami processed this, Greg straightened up. And without a word, Ami heard him leave the room and continue upstairs.

Ami sat up in shock, eyes wide as she pressed a hand to her lips. "N-- N-- Now what's he up to??" she gasped out.

There was no answer except for the sound of her heart pounding in her chest. "What do I do..." Ami murmured. "What do I do?"

<closing theme>

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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 1a: TROUBLE BEGINS... A VISIT FROM OVERSEAS <opening theme>

"What? A Canadian exchange student?" Ami inquired, startled.

"You're sure I didn't tell you?" her mom wondered. Ami shook her head. Mrs. Mizuno sighed. "I'm sorry dear, I guess it slipped my mind because of the big medical conference I've been organizing," she explained.

Ami rested her head in her hands from where she sat at the kitchen table. Her mother wasn't usually this forgetful about such important events. She must be too deeply engrossed in her work. Ami paused and made a face. Then again, she herself became too involved in studies sometimes. She looked back up at her mother. "So what exactly is the whole story here?" she asked.

"Well, your father was in Canada last month on a trip," she began. "He was asked to do some paintings of the Capital region, and while he was there he made friends with this woman. Turns out she has a son who was looking to further his studies abroad, but was having trouble finding a place to live here in Japan. So your father called to see if we still had that guest room and asked if we had any objections to housing someone for a couple of months.

"With housing costs in the area these days, I figured it would be all right if he stayed here for a while… and I've always been willing to support educational ventures," Ami's mother continued. "So I told your father I'd bring it up with you and call back if there were any problems. You weren't home that night and I guess it's since slipped my mind… I'm really sorry but it's really too late to back out now, he'll be arriving next week."

"No, no, that's all right," Ami said, pressing her hands to her temples as she tried to assimilate all of this. "What do you know about him?" she inquired.

"Sorry, not much," her mother admitted. "His name's Greg… your father said he seemed like a nice, well behaved individual… I think he's just a little older than you actually."

Ami nodded absentmindedly. Actually, she now remembered her father mentioning something about meeting a woman on a trip abroad in his last letter. If she remembered, he'd mentioned her son too; Ami hadn't been quite sure what to make of it at the time, but now she knew. She'd have to find that letter again to check…

"Anyway," her mother continued. "As I was saying, we need to make up the guest bedroom for him… if you have some free time…"

Ami nodded again. "I'll get to it," she said, as she tried to sort though the confusion in her mind. Pushing herself away from the table, she stood up. "I'll be in my room for now if you need me," she concluded. Her mother nodded.

Ami walked up to her room, thoughts whirling through her head. 'A guy staying in the same house as me??' she contemplated. This was something she hadn't planned on worrying about until she was married. Ami paused and shook her head to clear it.

'What made me think that thought?' she wondered. 'This is just a friend of the family, staying over. Like how Yuuichiro stays at Rei's temple. Of course,' Ami admitted, 'the temple is a larger place. What weird twist of fate has brought him to my house?? If people find out, they might talk… but could this sort of thing be kept a secret? Should it be kept a secret?'

"My head hurts…" Ami moaned. She found her father's last letter and reread it, but didn't learn anything new that was of great importance. The guy was apparently a pretty good student… her father thought they might get along… but overall this Greg just seemed to be an average person. At least, on paper.

Ami sighed. Well, her father was a pretty good judge of character. She wouldn't worry about it now; maybe working a bit further ahead in her studies help would clear her head. She paused as she pulled out her mathematics text. No real reason to tell anyone yet either, she decided. Anything could happen in a week.

*****

Yet the week passed with no incident. The situation was still the same the following Saturday night.

Ami walked back and forth in front of the TV in her room. She knew there was no real reason to pace, but for some reason she just felt nervous about the guy arriving. Call it instinct, call it intuition, call it whatever you want, she just felt nervous, so she was pacing.

The whole thing still seemed sort of surreal… like it wasn't really happening. Maybe if she just ignored the situation… suddenly the phone rang downstairs and she jumped. Leaving her room, she walked downstairs to see what was going on. She got down just as her mother hung up the phone.

"I'm afraid I have to hurry to the hospital," her mother said.

"Now???" Ami gasped, a little louder than she'd intended.

"I'm sorry, but something's come up… I shouldn't be gone long. But please greet our guest if I'm not back before he arrives," she added as she put on her jacket.

"Um… okay," Ami acknowledged, as her mother waved good-bye. Ami stood behind the closed front door, head spinning. It was as if things had been going too well for her recently, and the world had suddenly decided to throw a bunch of curve balls at her. Had she done something to deserve this?

The doorbell abruptly rang and Ami moved to open the door. "Did you forget someth--," she began, but her voice trailed off as she realized it was no longer her mother on the other side of the door.

It was a guy, slightly taller than her, with brown hair. Ami felt her heart hammering in her chest as she processed this. Despite the week of preparation, she still hadn't really been ready for him… 'Say something!' her mind finally shouted at her.

"H-h-hi," she managed to get out.

The guy blinked back at her. He paused and took a deep breath. "Ummmm…. is this the Mizuno residence?" he finally got out.

Ami nodded. "Er, I'm Ami," she clarified, offering her hand. "Pleased to meet you," she added.

He took her hand carefully, as if afraid it would abruptly disappear. "Greg," he finally introduced himself, shaking enthusiastically. "And believe me, the pleasure is mine." Greg beamed at her with a wide smile.

Ami felt as if she was about to blush, and hastily changed the subject. "I'll help you with your things," she offered.

"Thanks, it's okay," Greg replied, picking up his suitcases. "Just show me where I can leave them."

"Your room's up here on the right," Ami indicated as she shut the door behind him and led the way up a short staircase. "Bathroom's just down the hall." She watched as Greg went into his room and dropped his luggage.

"Nice," Greg commented. He turned. "Which is your room?" he asked.

"Uh, second door on the left," Ami said, forcing herself not to react with embarrassment what was, she supposed, a rather reasonable question. Greg nodded, continuing to look at her. Ami began to feel somewhat flustered again.

"Er, have you had anything to eat?" she asked. "Airline food isn't all that good, I could make something if you want…," she offered.

"You cook?" Greg asked, surprised.

"Of course," Ami replied. "Why wouldn't I?"

Greg shrugged. "No reason. You just didn't seem like the cooking type," he responded.

"Well, my mother isn't always home when I am… and she goes away to medical conferences too," Ami explained. "So I've learned some tricks. Of course, it's probably nothing as good as one of my friends, Makoto, can do but…" Ami shrugged. "I get by."

"You mom away right now?" Greg mused.

"Oh… yes, something came up at the hospital where she works. She should be back shortly though," Ami added.

"Does your father stay here too?"

Ami paused. "They're divorced…," she finally said.

Greg winced. "Oops… sorry… he never told me that," he apologized. "I didn't realize…"

"Don't worry about it," Ami said, shaking her head. "It was a couple of years ago… I've gotten over it. Besides, my father still sends me letters and things."

Greg nodded. "Hm… hope he hasn't been spreading any rumors about me in them," he commented.

"Nothing we can't deal with," Ami quipped.

Greg raised an eyebrow and Ami blushed as she realized what she'd said. He smiled. "You're cute when you do that," he teased back.

Ami felt herself growing even more red as he turned away to look at his luggage.

"Well, I think I'm okay for now… I need to get unpacked anyway," he said.

Ami nodded. "Okay, well, just tell me if you need anything then…," she responded as she backed out of the room. Back in her own room she closed the door and sank to the floor behind it.

'I don't believe this,' she thought. 'I almost felt comfortable with him back there… the situation is too weird for me to be feeling like that. I can't be so accepting.' Ami paused in her thoughts. 'Still, he seemed nice… and was sort of good looking… and none of this is his fault, after all. And it has been a while since I've felt that comfortable around a guy; not since Urawa…'

"No, best not to remember that…," she whispered, breaking her train of thought.

Ami stood up with a sigh and went over to her desk. Perhaps some studying would take her mind off of this crazy situation. Studying always tended to help.

<commercial break; Ami, Greg and Urawa skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

EPISODE 0: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: ver. 6.1

ALTERATIONS:
Some reformatting of paragraphs on prior parts. Added Chapter Links.

CHAPTER LINKS:

Ep 01: Trouble Begins... a Visit from Overseas.
(MB title 01: "There is Love, He's Handsome: But I Can't Forgive Them")

Ep 02: Start of a Rivalry? Urawa’s Return.
(MB title 02: "Side Effects of a Kiss: He Doesn't Understand My Feelings")

Ep 03: Close Encounters! What Will People Think?
(MB title 03: "Two Kisses: Yuu Had a Girlfriend")

Ep 04: Secrets of the Past. The Tale is Told.
(MB title 04: "Ginta's Confession: I Won't Let You Have Her")

Ep 05: Confrontations. Can a Medallion Help?
(MB title 05: "Legendary Girlfriend: Making a Wish on a Medallion")

Ep 06: Dilemma with a Chess Mate. I Can’t Talk to You Now!
(MB title 06: "Love Game: I Really Hate Ginta")

Ep 07: Tower Tour Trouble. Complications Continue.
(MB title 07: "Love in Hokkaido: What's Going On With That Couple")

Ep 08: Mixed Emotions. What’s With Those Two?
(MB title 08: "Fragrance of an Adult: I'm Not Jealous")

Ep 09: Video Vendetta. The Game is Afoot!
(MB title 09: "Part Time Job: The War of Love Depends on Sales")

Ep 10: Just the Two of Us. An Unsettling Discovery!
(MB title 10: "Our First Night: Surprise in the Bathroom")

Ep 11: Celebration! The Significance of His Presence.
(MB title 11: "Birthday: Yuu Is Watching Me!")

Ep 12: Decision Time? Hoping for the Perfect Match.
(MB title 12: "Smash: I Love Both Yuu and Ginta")

Ep 13: In Search of a Solution – Urawa, Take Minako!
(MB title 13: "Love and Friendship: Ginta, Please Date Arimi!")

Ep 14: Qualification of Love – Things Aren’t Going as Planned.
(MB title 14: "Qualification of Love: You Don't Deserve Yuu")

Ep 15: Impact of a Confession – How Long Will This Happiness Last?
(MB title *18*: "The Direction of Yuu's Love: Things Aren't Going As Planned")

MarmMerc Postlude: The Spoilers Behind The Story

THE SAGA, TIMELINES:
Dec 1996: Episode 1

Jan-Mar 1997: Reworked Episode 1 and completed Episode 2
Apr 1997: After receiving positive feedback, wrote Episodes 3 & 4
May 1997: Episodes 5 & 6, story posted to webpage (vs NCF)
Jun-Aug 1997: Break; troubles working in the class trip
: Wrote "A Stitch in Time"
Sep 1997: Episode 7 in time for Ami's birthday
Oct 1997: Episode 8
Dec 1997: Episode 9; one year anniversary

Jan-Aug 1998: Break; out of MB synopses to reference!
: Wrote "What Evil Lurks"
Sep 1998: Thanks to continued support, wrote Episode 10
: Again sent out in time for Ami's birthday
Oct-Nov 1998: Webpage troubles and some work on another story
Dec 1998: Episode 11 out in time for XMas; have synopses to 20!
Aug 1999: Episode 12; now over 2.5 years in

Jul 2000: Episode 13 completed, unreleased
2002: The live action "Maramalde Boy" series
2004: English dub of "Marmalade Boy" released by TokyoPop

May 2017: “Marmalade Boy” relicensed by Discotek Media
Aug 2017: Episodes 14 & 15 to complete the series
: Yes, that’s a 17 year gap. See Postlude for explanations.

THE IDEA:
Back in late 1996, me, Curtis and Scott were watching the entire Marmalade Boy anime over the span of a couple months. Given my known obsession with the lovely Mizuno Ami, they told me I should write a fanfic called Marmalade Mercury, as a Marmalade Boy/Sailor Moon crossover featuring Ami. Though probably said somewhat in jest, the idea did have a certain amount of appeal… and thus I wrote an episode in my spare time in Dec 1996. (Ha! Dare me, will you? ;) ) Prior to that, the only multi-part fanfic I’d managed was “Dark Slide of the Moon”, a Sailor Moon/Sliders Crossover.

THE EXPLANATION:
This story isn’t really a Crossover - it’s a fusion. A Sailor Moon (SM) story that contains Marmalade Boy (MB) style plot points… no MB characters appear. Romantic hijinks ensue. If you don't want to be spoiled on some early MB plots, you may wish to skip the story and/or not continue reading on; alternatively, if you’ve never HEARD of MB, here’s a fun introduction. Some things had to change as I fit events into the SM Universe (the parents in particular), but I tried to remain as true to the MB series as possible.
I’ll explain some of my character rationalizations below, lest people start reading and immediately complain, “But THAT’S not accurate…". I have tried to avoid any major spoilers (for my story), but if you really want to go in blind, feel free to only read the rest of this document after checking out the actual MarmMerc episodes. Just don’t gripe about continuity. (Note: There is now a Postlude document for the end, explaining things WITH spoilers.)

THE STORY TIMELINE:
As to creating the crossover, some parallels were obvious… Miki to Ami indicated an Usagi to Meiko parallel. (Best friends.) This casts Mamoru as Na-chan; but if you then situate the story before the Dark Moon saga of the anime’s R series, it makes a scary sort of sense, recalling their relationship. (Plus any earlier and they weren't going out.) So that's where I've situated it. After the Makaiju (Ail/Ann) arc, and about a month before Chibi-Usa shows up. (Meaning yes, there was over a month with no Senshi battles, work with me here.)

SM/MB STORY DIFFERENCES:
Of course, I fiddled with some MB plot points too, to make the story fit. Ami's parents are already divorced, so a partner switch isn't as feasible… all of them living in the same house becomes more unlikely… and a single remarriage I decided would complicate matters too much. It all seemed out of place for the SM world anyway, and I was never too sure about the Miki/Yuu family relations. So those parent hijinks are out. But Ami DOES live in a house now, not an apartment, and I bend other elements of character history (notably for Minako) to fit the plot. Hopefully it’s not bent to the breaking point.
It should also be noted that, in both cases, my portrayal of the Japanese school system ranges from “suspect” to “inaccurate”. My understanding of Japanese naming conventions is somewhat better, but in this story, they’re not that accurate either. If you see a simple way of dealing with such issues in edits, I’m listening, but I didn’t want to completely revamp story elements that were (by now) old enough to get their own driver’s licence.

THE FEMALE CHARACTER FUSION:
From the basis above (Miki to Ami, Meiko to Usagi), I figured it was pretty much a case of making the other Senshi friends on the sides, filling in for Usagi at times. However, I quickly ran into a bit of a snag with Arimi, a major MB character. I was trying to use established lore if at all possible, and had trouble deciding on an acceptable minor Arimi-type SM character who'd been seen in the show. (Naru just didn’t fit.) At the end of episode two and beyond you'll see what I did with that, and I do hope it works. Free free to let me know.

THE MALE CHARACTER FUSION:
Obviously Ryo Urawa (from first season) should figure in. Another male character was then needed to also be in love with Ami… and so I chose to invent the character "Greg Anderson", selected due to Urawa's North American dub name, in combo with a not-exactly-canon last name for the NA-dubbed Amy. (grins) Yes, my name is also Greg, and I do have some things in common with the character in the story… but I wouldn’t call this an intentional self-insert. (Hey, the last names are different. :) ) After that, and having already decided on Mamoru as Namura, the only other obvious parallel I could come up with was Umino for the "Lunchtime News" guy (Furutachi). ^_- This left the main characters Miwa and Tsutomu…

THE NEW CHARACTERS:
I needed people to correspond to Miwa, Tsutomu, and Ryoko (the sensei who liked Namura) - and no characters from Sailor Moon seemed to fit the bill. So I went to an online Japanese<->English dictionary (in 1997, mind!) and fiddled around, coming up with the characters Kaijin [mysterious person], Sewaya [from sewayaki: meddlesome person] and Kato [tame rabbit]. If you're wondering just what the heck I was thinking when I came out with new names, there you go. (As it turns out, Kato is apparently the name of some other anime character, a not-tame male, but oh well.) They’re roughly on par with their MB counterparts, but being original characters, I felt I had free reign to bend their histories even more than the established ones.

CHARACTER LIST: Moved to the Postlude.
(No Suzu or Anju. If I’d gone that far, it’d be shocking. ;) )

THE FUTURE: Thanks to everyone who gave feedback (mostly within the National Capital Freenet’s “Sailor Moon” discussion forum). It was largely positive. I’m certainly still open to constructive criticism now that the fanfic’s complete. Recognize that, with the plot being “recycled”, it’s the integration and characterization that were my primary focus… though the plot itself wasn’t always that easy to follow, episode-by-episode!

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

• Scott Delahunt. For comments, for helping me realize Usagi couldn't do all Meiko's work by herself, for tips, and for general inspiration in the home stretch of 2017.
• Margaret Brown-Bury for the idea of Greg's part-time job.
• Craig Erickson for offering assistance and brainstorming.
• Andrea Doolan for Marmalade Boy synopses, as well as Margaret Brown-Bury.
• drdata, for providing Karen Duffy's synopses that were of some use.
• Brad Lascelle, for letting me borrow Marmalade Boy episodes 9-20 in the late 90s so that I could remember where I was going.
• Everyone who has e-mailed me concerning the story and everyone who has enjoyed it thus far. (A surprising number! :) That I no longer remember!)

With no further delay, I present to you (in the next post in two weeks) a Sailor Moon/Marmalade Boy fusion: Marmalade Mercury.

I have never worked harder in my life. Teaching math has shifted from quadmesters (2020-2021) to week-on-week-off (Fall 2021) to regular classes wearing N95s (Winter/Spring 2022). This last for some students who hadn't seen math for all 2021 (having had it first quadmester 2020). Meanwhile I got a new prep, from a mix of losing other teachers to virtual school and to the new destreamed Grade 9 curriculum. And of course in June, Ontario still put Ford in charge, so nothing will get better (in fact, it will probably get worse).

And yet, I did do what I could to keep things running here. Thanks for sticking around.

In August 2021 I queued up all the QL/Hopital Parody Posts on this blog through to Dec 2021, making only slight post modifications as time went along. (Those did include a brief update at the end of my "l'Hopital Bonus Post" in mid-November, if you missed it.) I queued again to start January, enough to get to mid-March, then on the March Break I queued up right through to last week, while somehow making time to create the silly Sinefield logo.

That buffer's gone. Where to now?

Well, I put up an informal poll on twitter last week. The results were 75% in favour of old Sailor Moon Fics and 25% in favour of Epsilon... meaning it's become a formal poll, and we're doing the former. The added benefit of reruns is, it gives me more time to write the "Time Untied"/"Time Denied" sequel, which I'll mention a bit more about later in this post.

SAILOR MOON FICS

My first completed fanfic from 1996 was "Dark Slide of the Moon", a Sailor Moon/Sliders crossover taking place in early Sailor Moon S/Sliders Season 2. I then wrote a Sailor Moon R story in 1997, "A Stitch in Time" featuring Ami and Setsuna tying up loose ends from the original anime show (involving the rainbow crystals, etc). And then was the most popular Sailor Moon fic I ever wrote, "What Evil Lurks", a shifting POV retelling of the original anime, if Mercury had been evil. That was 1998, so before the Dark Mercury saga of PGSM (the live action in 2003).

I won't be reposting those yet. Instead I'm going to hit you with "Marmalade Mercury".

While "Sailor Moon" was my first exposure to anime in early 1996, "Marmalade Boy" was the first anime to really captivate me, as I saw it at the first anime showing I ever went to (in Ottawa) later that year. Ever heard of it? Well, as Tuxedo Unmasked wrote, it was once an anime predicted to be the next Sailor Moon. It had collectors cards, a live action version and everything.

If you're wondering what was it about, hold onto your hats.

The fanfic I wrote was a fusion fic. That's where you take the characters of one story, and mash it up with the plot of another story. Meaning to say more about the plot of "Marmalade Boy" would be a spoiler. But I suppose I'll give you the title of the first episode: “There is Love, He’s Handsome: But I Can’t Forgive Them”.

I started it in December of 1996, then started gradually posting it to a local bboard, where I got some feedback. A year later, to end 1997, I had reached Episode 9. Then things slowed. I sent out Episode 12 in 1999. I finished Episode 13 in 2000 but didn't release it. At last, the whole story was completed in 2017, after a 17 year gap, because I hate to leave a work unfinished.

This means that actually only one person has ever read past Episode 12, namely the fan who heard me on episode 59 of Zannen, Canada's podcast in 2019 and asked if I had anything else on Mercury to share.

The rest of you will have to let me know what you think. It begins next week.

TIME DENIED

Speaking of old stories, some may recall that "Time & Tied" (formerly "Time Trippers") began around 1999. Ten years and 44 parts later, it was completed. It then underwent numerous edits (including splitting each part in two) before finally being posted to this site (and RoyalRoadL) from 2015 to 2017.

If you didn't know, and like time travel, do check it out.

I started work on the sequel "Time Untied" (formerly "Time Spinners") in 2014. The writing only began in earnest in November 2017. After several years, once it reached 150k for words, I splintered it off into the sequel's sequel "Time Denied". (In fact, I submitted that new start to Ink&Insights in the summer of 2021 for feedback.) I'm still working on it even now, for Camp JulNoWriMo. The lesbian love triangle is sort of taking over.

Give it another year, and we might be there.

In related news, coin tracking. Recall that to end 2015, I had 42 coins from that year. During 2016 I got 37 coins minted then (some in BC). During 2017 I got 20 coins minted that year (some before June). During 2018 I got 21 coins minted that year. During 2019 I got 17 coins minted that year.

During 2020 I got one coin (a twonie). Because pandemic, and not much in the way of cash payments. I got a second coin in early January 2021. To follow up now, in 2021 I got one (loonie) coin from said year. Again, a second coin was a quarter, this time in early February of 2022.

However, so far in 2022 I have FIVE 2022 quarters, all obtained in early May from a couple trips to the same store. So apparently this is a good year for time travel... but we'll see how things hold up as time progresses. (Do you ever check the dates on your coins?)

SITE STATS

After over 7 years of posting very regular content to this website, with over 360 posts to choose from, we had the worst ever statistics for 2021. Only 402 visitors generating 1,394 page views. (In 2020, it was 670 visitors generating 1,635 page views.) Granted, subscribers don't count in those totals, and I think I might still have a half dozen of you? Not sure.

There were only 11 page views towards the end of Epsilon's sixth serial. Quantum Loop only saw 6 page views at its end, which admittedly beats l'Hopital's single view. Ouch.

I just don't have the time necessary to publicize this site; there's an automatic tweet that goes out, because I can schedule it along with the post. That's it. I mean, it's not like I didn't do lots more publicity years ago. That lack of visible payoff is playing into my motivations now.

If you're able to recommend my site, please do so, though at this stage a simple ReTweet would go a long way too.

On the plus side, there did seem to be someone in 2021 who read the whole Time&Tied archive, in September. And for 2022, thus far we're at 660 pageviews, meaning there's a chance we won't backslide even more. And I'm getting a lot less spam comments in the blocker. Yay?

So that's where we are. My thanks to John Golden for his occasional comments, which keep me on my toes, and to Scott Delahunt, for the occasional character-centred Discord chat. And also to you, for taking the time to get to the bottom. I hope you are well. Take care, and happy reading.

A column about nothing

So what’s the deal with all the reality based TV lately? Big Brother… Survivor… The Olympic Games… all containing a bunch of people competing against each other to become rich and/or famous. In the end a lot of us will just be disappointed by the results anyway. I remember when so-called reality TV needed a number of talented scriptwriters; now all it takes is a surveillance camera in your bedroom.

The lilting strains of the Olympic theme drifted quietly across the higher dimensions of MC’s sixth floor. They were then interrupted by a knock at the door of Sine’s apartment. Sine hit mute on his television as eLAN walked into the room. “Hey, did you hear they’re rerunning that ‘Survivor’ show with additional footage against the Olympics?” she inquired.

Sine nodded. “Yeah. You know, I never understood what all the fuss was about with that show.”

“Duh, it’s about being on TV and winning a million dollars!”

“But I thought that’s what ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ was all about,” Sine countered.

“Well, that show is for smart people, not normal people,” eLAN refuted.

“Smart people who think that the capital of Quebec is Montreal?”

eLAN shrugged. “Maybe it depends on if you’re watching the American edition, the Canadian edition, or the original one?”

“Is that your final answer?” Sine retorted.

Just then, Sine’s door opened again and Gee.org entered. “Hey, you guys see the latest on ‘Win Ben Stein’s Money’?” he inquired. “Some guy outwitted, outplayed and outlasted him!”

“Don’t you mean was smart enough, fast enough and had the guts?” eLAN wondered.

“Oh, this is ridiculous. There’s way too many get rich quick shows on television these days,” Sine declared.

“No, wait a minute, maybe the slogan was swifter, higher and stronger. Where have I heard that before…” Gee.org mused.

“Perhaps we should start up our own parody show here on campus?” eLAN proposed. “After all Sine, you’re the secret head of the Maintaining Flawed Computers Federation, so you should have some pull.”

“If we do that, I say let a Hooker win,” Gee.org stated.

Sine rolled his eyes. “Must you always make such references to people involved with the Hooke server?”

“How about ‘Who Wants a Mathematics Degree’?” eLAN mused. “And we’ll vote ten people on the Dean’s list out of the faculty each term…”

“Guys, check it out, mathNEWS is doing an Olympic-based parody!” Cray-mar interjected, bursting into the apartment unannounced.

“Hey, if anyone could do something based on those television shows, it would be those guys,” Gee.org remarked.

eLAN laughed. “What, you think they should vote out a mathNEWS editor every year?”

“The Faculty is already doing that,” Cray-mar commented. “Over the last five years they’ve voted out Chadwick “CAS” Severn, Matt “So-Krates” Walsh, Brian “Latrell” Fox, Mala “Crakko” Krishnan and Mike “Hammer” Hammond.”

“That can’t be right,” Sine said. “Matt is still doing the gridWORD, Mike wrote articles for Daglobenpost and I saw Brian around the building a few weekends ago.”

“Shouldn’t “Disco” Stu Pollock figure in there somewhere too?” mused Gee.org.

“Just because the editors get voted out with a degree doesn’t mean they leave,” Cray-mar observed. “After all, it looked like Richard Bilson was gone last Winter but now as a grad student it’s come down to him and Greg “hologrami” Taylor.”

“Maybe it was the ‘Survivor’ hype but my money’s on Richard then,” eLAN stated.

“Maybe Greg can come up with a random number generator to sway the vote?” Gee.org commented.

“Actually, he probably wants to graduate now,” Sine pointed out.

“Well either way, they’re already auditioning new editors for mathNEWS Survivor II: The New Millennium,” Cray-mar concluded, turning to leave the room again. “Now I’m off to deliver a copy of mathNEWS to Neumann.”

“Hm… mathNEWS and the Olympics… makes me wonder if the editors take performance enhancing drugs,” Gee.org pondered.

“Have you read mathNEWS?” eLAN refuted. “The drugs would not be performance enhancing.”

“Anyway, I think I’m going to go back to watching real Olympic events,” Sine concluded, grabbing his remote control.

“You know, those aren’t the real events,” Gee.org stated. “Everything already took place at 3am, what you have is recorded feed that’s been touched up with a lot of product placement commercials added in.”

“Oh, I’m only watching the Games to see who’s going to be appearing in commercials and on billboards for the next two years anyway,” Sine said with a shrug.

“Seems sort of pointless then,” eLAN remarked.

“Hey, so is a lot of the stuff that happens in this room,” Sine countered, turning the volume on his television back up. Again, the lilting strains of the Olympic theme drifted quietly across the higher dimensions of MC’s sixth floor.

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[This appeared in the Olympic-based parody mathNEWS issue “Sports Integrated”, Volume 84, issue 1, Sept 22, 2000. Not in the sports parody part, but on page 14. Now, instead of being filler, it needed filler itself, as Bradley wrote about a muffin to fill the space. Might still be available here:

http://mathnews.uwaterloo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/v84i1.pdf

You might have noticed this is a year and a half after the previous entry. Again, this was never supposed to be a series, and so it ends here. Though alert readers might have noticed a brief shout-out in the "Quantum Loop" Entry 6, which had closed off 1999. So I'd never fully forgotten about it, and thus somehow (much like in Epsilon), all my universes are connected.

And yes, all the mN editor references are genuine, and as Sine says, I was into my last term and was interested in graduating.

Final thoughts about my twenty-year-old parody series'? Comments? Let me know, and thank you for reading.]

A column about nothing

You know, it’s important not to rely too much on technology these days. It has the habit of breaking down when you least expect it, and at the worst possible time. Think about it: why should we trust something labelled as “terminal”? It’s not like server tips are defined as helpful hints anymore either; they’re the physical action one performs on the hardware.

In the small apartment, hidden within one of the higher dimensions of the sixth floor of MC, Sine wanted a byte to eat and was considering frying bacon. But instead he decided to attack Nachos - bacon was the lassar of the two evils. He was interrupted, however, by the arrival of eLAN. She had come by to pick up the floor mat from her car, which Sine had borrowed.

“Why did you need this anyway?” eLAN asked, merrilly retrieving it. “Just because it’s shaped like a chess piece?”

Sine shrugged. “My parents were coming by and part of my floor wasn’t kleene. So it’s what I put your fine knight auto mat on.”

“Ah,” came the response. “And your parents are gone now?”

“Yeah, they left just before all the network malfunctions,” Sine confirmed. “What’s bothering me now is just an inability to track down the original cause for the troubles Hooke was having!”

eLAN nodded. “I suppose as the secret head of the Maintaining Flawed Computers Federation you were landen in hot water?”

“Not really,” Sine admitted. “But it affected my comedy routine. No laughs, everyone just chanting ‘Get the Hooke’!”

“So what are you doing about it now?”

“Well, I’ve eliminated Neumann as a suspect. He’s been busy with his mailbox hopper. Actually, I’m starting to think the source of the failure was a band of Hookers.”

“Hookers?” eLAN wondered.

“Yes, a secret organization around here investigating Hooke! I discovered them when I took a table and began to markov change in behaviours. I’m currently working on a .plan to…"

It was then that the conversation was further interrupted by the arrival of Cray-mar, who burst in the door, scattering things all over laplace. “Hey, Sine, do you have a ski I can borrow?” he inquired, looking about.

“Yes, but I think it would be the wronski for you,” Sine observed. “The size is incorrect; it barely fitch me.”

Cray-mar paused. “So does that mean you won’t or you cantor-“

“A ski??” eLAN interjected. “Why do you want ascii?”

“I have someone from Germainy over. She was going to show me the trick that put her into l'hopital.”

“Look, could U NIX that idea, Cray-mar?” Sine protested. “I was just in the middle of some complex analysis.”

“i see,” Cray-mar remarked.

“I should deque you both,” eLAN muttered, wondering if she’d need to display hermite. “These discussions are boring, so I’m no longer taking debate.”

“Oh, hey, Sine that reminds me! When your mother was here, she was bored, so she washed a board,” Cray-mar declared.

“Oh? What board?” Sine mused.

“The motherboard, naturally,” Cray-mar retorted.

“My mother washed the motherboard?” Sine gasped.

“Yes, shortly before she got on the bus.”

“Well, no wonder there were problems then!” eLAN remarked.

“I don’t believe it!” Sine cried out. “And I had to pay so much cache to buy a new one!” Conversation was suspended for a bit, as Sine punched cards.

“Hey, if you don’t have a ski, can I take descartes you decked?” Cray-mar eventually asked.

“Sure, picard, any card…" Sine muttered. Cray-mar quickly grabbed the entire set and hurried back to his own address space.

“And I’m leaving too,” eLAN added. “Because you know, I don’t think there was a kernel of truth to any of this.”

Sine shrugged. “Well, I still wouldn’t have been surprised if Hookers were up to something…" was all he could say in conclusion.

And once again, all was quiet on the higher dimensions of the sixth floor.

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[Everything that looks misspelled (lassar, landen, germain-y, etc) is actually the name of one of the computer servers at the University at the time, which were in turn named after mathematicians. There’s at least 15 in there (including subtle ones like bacon). Then there's also the usual puns, like 'finite automaton' aka finite state machine.
This appeared in Volume 79, issue 4, Feb 26, 1999, so again about four months after the previous entry. We add eLAN to the cast. Maybe I wanted a computer pun series, to branch out? I have no idea. There's only one more.]

A column about nothing

You know, I think there’s really a generation gap forming because of all the technical jargon we use in computing. Take electronic mail. When I told my mom I was e-mailing people she asked me why I was sending letters 2.71828 times.

In the small apartment, hidden within one of the higher dimensions of the sixth floor of MC, all was quiet. At least until the door burst open and a man ran in shouting, “Sine! I need your help!!”

The occupant of the room looked up from where he had been sitting, reading ‘Captain Hooke’. “You can’t test any more programs on our system, Cray-mar!” he declared. “Your last one forced us to decommission napier!”

“I didn’t come about that,” Cray-mar protested. “I came because you’re the secret head of the Maintaining Flawed Computers Federation.”

“You have an MFCF affair?”

“Well, in a way. See, there’s this girl I’m seeing, and she’s not receiving the e-mails I send her.”

“Ah. But you know, you’ve never been great with e-mails. Or females for that matter.”

“But this is waaAaAaay beyond strange, Sine; it’s like they’re not getting sent out of the building!”

Sine frowned. “You’re sure it’s an internal problem?”

“Sine, I’m telling you, my messages are not getting off the campus!”

Sine’s eyes narrowed. “Then it must be Neumann! Problems with mail always originate from his corner of the building… plus the guy is always scheming.”

“Hey, Scheme is a perfectly good coding language,” Cray-mar objected. “I use it all the time.”

“Regardless, I’m suspicious of what he did with those new CPUs we installed to get him to improve performance… stay here, I’m going to go and investigate.”

It took five knocks for Neumann to answer his door, and when he did he refused to open it the whole way. “Hello, Sine,” he greeted.

“Hello, Neumann,” Sine returned. “What are you doing in there?”

“What makes you think I’m doing anything?” Neumann asked innocently.

“The fact that something in your room is announcing ‘you have mail’ every ten seconds. You’re purloining people’s e-mail, aren’t you!”

“Errr… well so what if I am!” Neumann stated angrily. “People take it all for granted, they never think about all the work that’s done to get those messages from point A to point B! All those overworked electrons! Besides, it’s not like I was going to keep them indefinitely. Just a day, maybe two…"

“Neumann… I was hoping not to resort to this, but if you don’t release all the mails I’ll be forced to release some pictures of you taken at the last MathSocks meeting.”

“What?” Neumann recoiled in horror. “How could you get pictures of my socks? That meeting was closed to the public!”

“Aha!” Sine responded, whipping a card out of his wallet. “But you can do more with the mathNEWS Press card!”

“But this is blackmail!” Neumann protested.

“Well it seems like mail is the only language you understand,” Sine observed.

“Curses!” Neumann groused. “All right, you win this round, Sine… but you haven’t beaten me! I’d watch your step next time you walk under an elm or pine tree!”

E-mail was restored in a matter of hours. And once again, all was quiet on the higher dimensions of the sixth floor.

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[This appeared in Volume 78, issue 3, Oct 9, 1998. Shortly after the big Issue 500, which did include a classic “press mathNEWS” card (MC3035) on page 29.

I forget why I brought the column back after four months. It's true the University of Waterloo's Napier server (named for John Napier) had recently been decommissioned, while Neumann (named for John von Neumann) sounds like Newman (from Seinfeld), but I don't think that would have been enough?

Anyway, Sine is officially named, while Cray-mar is a call out to Cray Supercomputers. For those not in the know, the sixth floor of the math building was like a maze of offices, including dead ends. You'll see I now start the column with a stand-up comedy gag too, much like the original show.]

A column about nothing

You know what I heard the other day?

[No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.]

Our lives are like a sine wave.

[A sine wave?]

Exactly. They have their ups and downs, but they’re always moving forwards.

[Why a sine wave, why not a cosine wave?]

Because a cosine wave doesn’t start at the origin.

[Well, sine waves don’t necessarily start there, what about negative values or displacements?]

Those don’t count. We’re just looking at a specific field. Otherwise life would go on for infinity.

[How specific are you talking?]

Depends on the life.

[So everyone’s life is a sine wave.]

That’s what I said.

[Then how are new sine waves made?]

By integrating two different, compatible sine waves.

[I don’t know if I buy that.]

You don’t have to buy it, it’s just a theory.

[And cats have nine sine waves.]

What?

[If cats have nine lives then they must also have nine sine waves.]

What are you bringing up cats for? Leave cats out of this.

[What about exponential or logistic growth? How does that fit the theory?]

Well, a bigger sine for the overall population bounded by some exponential value.

[So not only is individual life a sine wave, all life is a sine wave?]

If that makes you feel better, then yes, ALL life is a sine wave.

[All life except cats.]

Fine, you want to be difficult? Then how about we just say life is NOT a sine wave. Are you happy now?

[Oh, I’m at the peak of my sine wave.]

Sometimes I wonder why I bother talking to you.

[I’m sure everyone else is wondering the same thing.]

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[This appeared in mathNEWS Volume 77, issue 2, May 29, 1998. On the same page as “Quantum Loop”, perhaps to fill the space. Probably to fill the space, mN needs an even number of pages.

For the record, I’m not a fan of Seinfeld, but the show had just ended in May 1998 after nine seasons, so it was hard to avoid. And this parody was not meant to return in any way... but then it did, three more times.]

Some people have wondered how I come up with such serial columns as General l’Hopital (v75, 1997; v85, 2001) and Quantum Loop (v77, 1998; v81, 1999). In fact, creating such Taylor Series’ is not that difficult, and I shall now reveal the appropriate steps in their creation to anyone who cares, or is actually interested in making their own Taylor Series derivative.

1. Select a story arc. Something you can effectively babble about for six issues. If it’s related to math, all the better. You don’t have to stick to said arc the whole time but people will appreciate knowing that the column will eventually stop. This may deter them from coming after you with sharp objects (the operative word being ‘may’). Prior arcs of mine include “mathematical punctuation”, and “why chairs were chained in MC”.
2. Write each column the same week it comes out in mathNEWS. Don’t prepare anything in advance. This way you can slip in any current events as well as give yourself a crash course in stress management. They usually only take between 2 and 4 hours to do anyway.
3. When you write, have a math textbook on hand. Liberally insert terms into the column. As an example, don’t say “You did something wrong”, say “You didn’t log the major factors” or “What you-knit was not a-tribute”. There are actually two ways to do this.
   • Write the column, go back and change the wording. In my case, most often done with QLoop. Classic QLoop comments include “Lynn Kedlist cursed, then recursed”, “My processes have better threads than you, Admiral” and “the CPU will be arrested for making con currency to buy hash”.
   • Pick out some good catch phrases first, or words that you want to use together, and fill in plot elements around them. In my case, most often done with l’Hopital. Classic l’Hopital comments include a paragraph containing words all starting with “ex”, “Gran U. Larity is into cayenne distribution”, “back us now or form”, and the redoubtable “Gram Schmidt ortho gone, Ali Zay’s shun process”.
4. If possible, include some mathematical trivia and words like paraskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) to maintain reader interest. For QLoop this was required, for l’Hopital it seemed a moral at the end would suffice. Doing this means there’s a chance someone will actually learn something by reading the column. Of course, there’s also a chance they’ll simply be totally confused, but if they miss out on the enlightenment that’s their problem.
5. Finally, make sure to carefully spell and grammar check your work. Whether you have available editors on a production night or not, you don’t want them correcting intentional “kneed” or “monic” errors anyway.

So there you have it. Note that if you have a topic you can only babble about for one issue, it may still be useful (witness Sine Field). I now leave my legacy in the hands of others… but remember, old mathNEWS editors never die. They just get written off.

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[This appeared along with the last General l’Hopital, Volume 85, issue 6, March 30, 2001. By this point I had basically already graduated University, though I would contribute a couple columns later, as I did my first year of teaching in Sept 2001.

Did you find this informative? Recall there was also the behind the scenes notes for General l'Hopital Entry 1.5 & 1.6, if you like. Now, if you came here looking for information about Brook Taylor's infinite sums of mathematical terms... sorry about that? Hope you're still entertained, thanks for reading, feel free to drop a comment below.]

End of the Taylor Series

“Will you please explain to us what the point of all this was?” Ana inquired of her sister.

Elly nodded. “The punctuation that’s been going missing is all connected to numbers. Periods as decimals, dashes as minus signs, exclamation marks as factorials. But there’s no such correlation with question marks, which is why we’re seeing more of them! A question mark fancier must be behind this scheme!”

“Don’t start into Scheme,” groused a large ?, rising up from behind a basic pro-log sign. “With all the parentheses involved in that language, my fort ran better under Al Golle. Though he was never able to seize me a big, oh, notation in math!”

“Awk!” exclaimed Max. “I see Q! And it’s irrational!”

“pFFT, just call me ?,” the ? said. “You know Elly, you didn’t even mention how commas appear in numbers and as french decimals.”

“Right, commatose patients have been sparse too,” Dr. Waterson realized.

“Now this all parses,” Ana remarked. “It’s been a plot designed to amplify appearances of the question mark.”

“With an attempt being made to finger Elly as the cause of some problems, owing to her natural immunity,” Max reasoned. “? wanted her out of the equation!”

“Indeed,” ? stated. “But I was thrown a curve by her discussing with people who could track the problem to this sector of town. I regret that I’ll now have to dispose of each of you… but my principal ideals must continue.”

“Wait, you’re forgetting something,” Dr. Waterson interjected. “The question mark may not appear often in notation but it is of fundamental importance. Without mathematicians asking questions, we would never be where we are today.”

? paused. “There’s a ring of truth to that,” it admitted.

“Consider the following,” Elly stated. “The popular questions that surrounded Fermat’s Last Theorem, the current P versus NP problem, even the 23 Mathematical Problems of David Hilbert.”

“All of it is mathematically important and all of it involves big question marks,” Ana added.

“Don’t go recognition crazy now and put mathematics in Jeopardy,” Max concluded.

“You think maybe I taught all o’… gee,” the ? reflected. “I suppose my role is larger than I suspected.”

“Of course,” Dr. Waterson concluded. “Come on now, let us work to re-solve our differences and put an end to this power struggle.”

“Very well,” agreed ?. “I suppose what I really require is psychological counselling…”

*

So, as a result of their care, ? overcame a period of monic depression and became unconditionally stable. Electra “Elly” Lysis resumed her duties in the l’Hopital as before, actually being five times as functional. Max Value and Ana Nuther Value took relaxing vacations in Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, prior to accepting a case that involved making Al Gore rhythmic using a horn clause. And Dr. Carrie Waterson carried on with her own work… with no other large problem ever revealing itself.

So the moral of the story is: If you question marks, don’t forget the importance of notation.

Finis II

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[Dr. Waterson suddenly gets a first name. And yes, it's Carrie Waterson, the same name as the protagonist in "Time & Tied"... recall that I was first writing that story at around this time in 2000/2001 (under the name "Time Trippers"). I don't think this will be Time Carrie's eventual occupation though... setting aside how she doesn't go for puns, and this one looks like Ami Mizuno, I have other plans for Time Carrie.

In other random trivia, the ? was actually italicized as a person in the issue. Also in this issue was “How to Derive a Taylor Series”, an explanation of how I wrote Hopital and Quantum Loop... I will probably include that on this site too, because why not.

So did you realize the question mark was behind things, as Sham alluded to in Entry 4? I did actually sketch l'Hopital out very roughly this time around, so there's that. Did you have a favourite character from the series at all? Even back then I did seem to prefer largely female casts. Feel free to let me know, or at least share the link around. Since it's my birthday this coming week, that'd be cool and all.

Thank you for reading!]

Full of questionable content

“What are you doing at the Fourier Factory on this fine night?” Max muttered.

“Dr. Waterson connected our series of errors to your punctuation problem,” Elly explained.

“Did I?” Dr. Waterson worried.

“Sounds like a quick sort of decision,” Ana admitted. “But is merging really a heap of trouble, Max?”

“I suppose not,” he huffed. “But can we keep things proper, prim and kruskal?”

“NP. Complete control is yours,” endorsed Elly.

The four characters advanced into the factory a bit testily, making their way past a Campus Crew pram, a fortuitously full adder, and some touring machine pumping lemma meringue on the floor.

“Who Kleenes this place?” Waterson whispered.

“I think it’s a con cave, does the con vex you?” Max mused.

“I feel like a mime-on-the-road,” Elly enunciated erroneously.

“Would that make you the LIFO the party?” Ana articulated.

“Can we hash this out without getting to the use of PCP?” winced Waterson.

“Look, would UNIX all the talk now?” Max mumbled.

“Or what, you’ll deque someone?” asked Ana.

“But then wouldn’t the odds be stacked against us?” Waterson warned.

“Hey, either you back us now or form a rival group, right?” Max maintained.

“Wait!” Elly exclaimed. They all reached a halting state. “Your language is irregular,” Elly elaborated. “It’s currently all in the form of questions.”

“She’s right, isn’t she?” Ana asserted.

“Who am I, the Confused Mathie?” Max moped.

“Could there be interference from the CFL?”

“No, Doctor,” Elly expressed. “There is no field goal and the context is sensitive. In fact, I’m starting to realize that the complexity of the situation is a sham.”

“If so, doesn’t this sham rock?” mentioned Max.

“Could you not make this an ire ish?” Waterson wondered.

Elly exhaled. “Enough!” she soothed. “I think I now know who’s behind both the punctuation trouble AND the numerical mystery PLUS the reason they’ve been doing it!”

“What??” the others observed.

“Is this finally a terminal case?” Max marvelled.

*

Have you come by-nary a solution to this column? Then make sure to read the conclusion in two weeks time!

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[This appeared on the same mN page as “The Confused Mathie”, including a picture of me. I’d forgotten about that filler, though of course it was referenced by Max. Find it here: [mathnews.uwaterloo.ca/wp-conten...](http://mathnews.uwaterloo.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/v85i5.pdf)

Did you spot the descriptives synching with the names? I'd forgotten about that too. And if only I could remember what "mime-on-the-road" was a reference to. Ah well, as it says above, last part in two weeks! Can you see where this is going?]

A subsidiary of Quantum Loop Enterprises

Theorizing that one could time travel within their own lifetime, Doctor Sham Breakit stepped into the Quantum Loop accelerator… and vanished. He awoke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mere images that were not his own, and driven by unknown source code to arrange history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Hal, an observer at run-time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sham can see and hear. And so Dr. Breakit finds himself looping through life after life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next loop… will be the loop $home.

“Sham, we got problems,” Hal Calalilli asserted as he entered the imagine chamber.

“No kidding!” replied Sham. After dispensing with Elly by sending her on her rounds, Sham had spent the last hour looking about the l’Hopital. “Hal, everyone here is talking in math riddles or doublespeak!”

“Sounds like the joy of lex.”

“Hal…”

“Sham, you’ve handled worse,” Hal said. “Now, back in Stall-Eons Gate, New Mexico we’ve got real trouble! Your parallel hybrid computer BigE is having a mental breakdown. Sushi and Xina can’t fix her, so it’s up to… er, Dr. Geeks.” Hal caught himself before mentioning Sham’s wife Drawna WeeBTree, or Sham’s daughter Shammy Pro Filer.

“So I guess you don’t know why I’m here,” Sham sighed.

Hal tapped at his TI-85 calculator. “No, but we know the woman in the fating room is Dr. Waterson,” he offered.

“Doctor! Doctor Waterson!” called out Electra Lysis as she rejoined her associate. “Sir Cul wants to transcend dental work and eat pie. There’s also trouble with Jacob, Ian and May tricks. Oh, and Zeke wants help tracking down new classical records, but I just told him ‘Stop playing Haydn, Zeke’.”

Sham winced. “Stop speakin’ like that,” he pleaded.

“Like what?” Elly inquired. “I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. Though I often strike a chord when not aligned with the story arc. But my maxim is, ‘If you’re cut, seek aunts’!”

“Sham, I was wrong,” Hal sympathized. “No matter what it takes, we’ll get you out of here.”

*

However, it was a few days before Hal could return with good news. “You won’t believe this, Sham,” he revealed at last. “The underlying situation here is a peculiar punctuation problem.”

“You positive?” Sham mused. “Because the Hopital logs show even their elementary operations involve calculations that are way off base.”

Hal flinched. “You’ve been here too long, Sham.”

“The trouble is I can’t project the point of origin for these errors!” Sham looked up. “Uh, Hal, can’t you wear proper ties?”

“Sham, what you need to do is make sure Dr. Waterson and Elly Lysis team back up with Max Value and his wife Ana. Elly’s presence is necessary to crack this missing punctuation case.”

“But what about the stats here? The error vectors on this scale are—”

“Stop it, you’re going dotty!” Hal interrupted. “Just get Elly to the Fourier Factory!”

“Wait, that’s it,” Sham realized. “Decimals and periods are both dots! There’s the connection, it even explains the missing cases of colon cancer. Brilliant, Hal!”

“Oh. Well, it was adjoint effort—” Hal stopped himself. “Anyway, just get that clique of people I mentioned back together so you can loop out of here.”

Sham quickly co-ordinated things. “But Hal,” he realized even as he left for the Fourier Factory. “I haven’t im-parted any mathematical information yet, like how there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible positions for a Rubik’s cube. How can I loop?”

Hal shrugged. “General l’Hopital is just less educational.”

Indeed, Sham did loop upon his arrival at the factory. However, the story did not end there.

*

Still going…

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[Was this worth it, to hear about Shammy ProFiler? Or about Hal's properties? Well, here's something more random: Sham's "stop speakin' like that" line was a direct reference to FASS 2001, the February 2001 show for which I was CSW (chief scriptwriter). I'd written in a character who constantly spoke in music puns - a role I was ultimately cast into. In Act II scene iv, s/he was told to "stop speakin' like that". Weird that I still remember that 20 years later.

Anyway, that concludes Quantum Loop's bonus episode of 2001. Two more parts remain in the Hopital!]

Why won’t that place just die?

“Your ex claimed exclamation marks!” exclaimed Max Value.

“Exactly, extraordinary exchange,” expressed experienced Expo executive Exeter excitedly. “Except extremely expensive experiment, exporting extracted exam exclamations! Excerpts exited existence exponentially!”

“Excellent extra example,” Max said, hanging up the external extension.

“Explain what function that call served?” Ana asked the PI.

“I can add it to my composite,” Max revealed. “I now have many prime cases with odd factors.”

“Are you positive?”

“Naturally.” Max proceeded to pull several files. “There is just one common thread I’ve seen running through all these processes. Observe the following cases! Colonel Space spoiling nachos. Jordan missing cannon nickel forms. The Gram Schmidt ortho gone, Ali Zay’s shun process—”

“Enough!” Ana interrupted. “What is the common factor?”

“Its identity,” Max said, “Is… punctuation! Or more precisely a lack thereof.”

Ana frowned. “But Electra’s case involved no missing punctuation, it had to do with lopped off decimals,” she recalled.

“Ah, unfortunately I’ve discovered that connection has time doubt,” Max remarked. “So while the decimation of her numbers does occur within the same time period, I must set her case aside temporarily to concentrate more closely on the punctuation caper.”

“But while we caper and bandy about, who is left to orchestrate how l’Hopital Central conducts itself?” Ana noted. “This is the pits!”

*

Indeed, back at the l’Hopital, things were hardly peachy. “I’m plum tired,” Electra remarked gingerly to Dr. Waterson. “Earlier I saw a man go by with the key we needed for a pre-cot storage area. I’m so berried in work I was nuts enough to let the seedy guy leave.”

“Work is a mixed bag,” Dr. Waterson agreed. “Even my breakfasts of late are not Special K-complete.”

“Do you think there’s any angles or incidents we can pursue to help with Max’s investigation?” Elly reflected.

“Perhaps. But we should look before we leap or something may throw us for a loop,” Dr. Waterson stated.

Suddenly, the form of Dr. Waterson was encompassed in a wash of blue light, accompanied by a tingle of static energy. Unnoticed by anyone, she had just been replaced by Dr. Sham Breakit of mathNEWS Quantum Loop fame.

“WHILE I think I got that, could you REPEAT UNTIL I know FOR sure?” Elly asked.

“Oh boy,” Sham concluded.

*

To be improved…?

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[How's that for a teaser? Continuity-wise, this takes place after all previous Quantum Loops. And how many mathematical references are you catching, amid the random wordplay? I feel like it was a goal of mine to get the Gram-Schmidt Orthogonalization Process in there. Oh well, hope you're enjoying the twenty-year-old rerun... feel free to let me know!]

The nonspecific continuation

“These events do form an unusual sequence,” Max Value stated, a bit nonplussed.

“Don’t react negatively,” Dr. Waterson advised. “You must discover the cause so that we can limit such occurrences before they increase without bound.”

Having met with Ana and Max Value, Dr. Waterson and Elly were now persuading the PI to assist them in their investigation of errors at l’Hopital Central.

“Well, my case volume is low and your arguments seem solid on the surface,” Max yielded. “So I’ll get to the point. Electra, any line on people in the area out to wreck your reputation?”

“No, I don’t hang out in circles containing such squares,” Elly replied.

“Are you certain there’s no one, in any shape or form? Perhaps a platonic relationship?”

Elly sighed. “Read my ellipse: Try angles other than your wrecked angle. Maybe contact the Pentagon?”

“Or heck, Saigon,” Max retorted. “After all, I have an informant over there, Gene Etic. He’s my link for criminal confinement cases…”

“Dear,” Ana phrased, moving forwards. “This case has nothing to do with jail cell divisions.”

“AIe!” Elly yelped. “Get off my toe, sis!”

“So who might be involved in this business then?” Max mum-bled, scanning some files. “Someone in marketing? Apparently Eko Nomics decks people… hey, where’s DECA gone?”

“If I may,” Dr. Waterson cut in. “The trouble is primarily financial with the added dimension here including lopped off decimals and negative numbers which were dashed off. It will lead to positive chaos.”

“Aha!” Max realized, raising a digit. “That’s why your number’s up! Figures. But you can count on me.”

“You’re acting a bit irrational about the whole thing,” Elly remarked.

“Max has been dealing with complex cases, it’s only natural,” Ana soothed. “Leave everything in our hands, I’ll even foot the bill.”

“Give us a heads up then if you kneed more info,” Dr. Waterson stated. “We’ll keep in touch as friends and family. But right now me and Elly should start trekking the long distance back to work.”

There was a pause after the two Hopital workers departed. “Well, their case doesn’t seem very arresting,” Ana finally piped up to Max. “How much attention do you think it warrants?”

“Quite a lot,” Max countered, producing a table he put on his desk. “Because I think some of my other cases here are connected! Mark my words Ana, there’s something deep going on here. But it’s not so deep that I can’t get to the bottom of it!”

*

Not to be discontinued…?

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[If it's not about polygons, it's about mitosis. The 2001 hospital saga continues, as more familiar characters return. What do you think? It was actually somewhat planned out in advance this time.]

The unprecedented revival

Dr. Waterson patiently corrected the impatient patient’s chart with a graphical notation and then updated her evaluation table. She frowned. It looked like a large problem was revealing itself, the likes of which had not been seen since Volume 75 in 1997.

She quickly traced the problem to a section of l’Hopital Central now run by Electra Lysis, a co-worker currently undergoing periodic difficulties. Electra (also known as Elly) made a waving sign as Dr. Waterson approached. “Something up?” Elly inquired. “I was about to bring Dee O. Fantine her formula—”

“There are issues we must discuss,” the Doctor interrupted. “Most importantly, this bill for Bill doesn’t fit the bill. I even chequed in voice, and Bill’s bill is for the birds! Why was he overcharged?”

Elly blinked. “Billing is an area solidly outside the sphere of my influence,” she protested. “Maybe the RSA cubicle is involved in another pyramid scheme?”

“It’s not an RSA scheme,” Waterson countered. “A raise for Bill’s records was cosigned by you. The change was logged.” She presented Elly with the file.

“This is an unnatural log! It could have been changed with ease, I saw it out on the lawn yesterday.”

Dr. Waterson frowned. “The file manager Doctor Firestone does tread out there occasionally when he’s tired. But Otto’s track record is not in question, as we’ve had a good year. And he didn’t charge Polly more fees; am sure of that.”

“I know what’s been done, lopped off decimal points!” Elly fumed, pointing back at the file in question. “That’s the problem, you should talk to Michelle in—”

“Wait,” Dr. Waterson interjected. “There are some very complex factors involved here and the problem isn’t imaginary. Your name has been coming up so often of late that it can’t be without basis. What IS odd is exactly why, seeing as you have been a practical, dependable worker…”

“I think this is a setup,” Elly concluded. “Let me contact my sister Ana.”

“Ana Lysis?”

“Actually Ana Nuther Value, now that she’s married Max Value,” Elly clarified.

“Oh! The PI?” Dr. Waterson recalled.

Elly nodded. “He just helped con Gruence with a case. I’m sure he can help us.”

Dr. Waterson nodded. “Let’s consult him then. No matter what, we must determine the meaning behind these events…”

*

To be continued…?

-Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[NOTE: This would be from Volume 85, in January 2001. Over three years after the initial "Hopital" story from Sept 1997, and shortly before my University graduation in April 2001. I had always left the plot hook... I'm not sure why I decided to return to it. Also not sure why I was keen on tires this entry, with firestone, goodyear and michelin.

At any rate, this is actually still online in back issues. Go to http://mathnews.uwaterloo.ca/?cat=3 then find V85.]

“That went well,” Hal acknowledged. Sham was returning from the police office, where he had left a well documented statement. After all, once Sham looped, Ray Toobe would likely have no memory of the pivotal events.

“It’s remarkable that Millie came quietly,” Sham markedly remarked.

“I don’t think she really believed you could expose the truth,” Hal observed. “She seemed unphased.”

Sham shrugged. “I just figured that Millie’s encoding was going to have something to do with 357,686,312,646,216,567,629,137,” he pointed out. “No matter how you decapitate that number, you end up with another prime.”

“I don’t know how your swiss cheesed memory can recall stuff like that but forgets terms like the ‘lucky numbers’ or the ‘weird numbers’.”

“The weird numbers are abundant numbers without being the sum of any set of it’s own divisors. Like 70,” Sham noted.

Hal rolled his eyes. “If only you’d remembered that last loop…"

“So, what happens to Millie Niem anyway?” Sham continued.

“Oh… it looks like she gets off with a light sentence but they confiscate her viral device,” Hal answered, tapping at his calculator. “So everything’s back on track at the Project because of that… she doesn’t try it again. And hey, Sham, it looks like you accomplished your mission too!”

“What? I thought it was to provide room for terminals.”

“Yeah, well it looks like Millie’s son, Tita Niem, was going to prevent some initiative by the University of Mizuloo this year… that is, in the year 2000. But due to this disruption in her life, now Millie never has kids. And without the hinderance to the Mizuloo space program, it seems there is no longer a need for you to renovate the original MC design!”

“Oh.” Sham paused. “But then if I’ve fixed Y2K and accomplished what I was supposed to do here, why haven’t I looped yet? Am I supposed to prevent your alien invasion in the year 2000 too?”

“Oh… that turned out to be a hoax. It was a scam run by some cracked group of PCs,” Hal admitted. “And… it seems you’re still here because you need to render your art.”

“My art? Do I have to make a mosaic?”

“Hmmm… if ice in act, I've…" Hal smacked his calculator. “Sorry, you’re here to render your artifice inactive. BigE is playing with parsing…"

“My artifice?”

“You know, the thing you used to broadcast your mapping? It’s going to cause problems for some guy named Sine Field who ends up living on the sixth floor.”

Sham shrugged and detoured back to where he’d left his equipment. Arriving promptly at his destination, Sham Breakit switched off his device and began to dismantle it. “So, I guess that even though this wasn’t a routine loop, it at least has a good end,” Sham concluded.

“Uh oh… wait a minute,” Hal abruptly broke in. “It looks like there’s still a lot of unexplained Y2K problems in the future.”

“Pardon?” Sham mused, putting away his circuits and wires before looking back at his friend.

“Sham -- someone else has a Y2K Bug!” Hal declared, shocked. “And… oh man, Sham, it’s…”

Sham looped.

Finis

--Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[Thus ends "Quantum Loop" as a serial, in December 1999. I hope you enjoyed it. In the issue's mastHEAD, I was pleased with myself for avoiding coffee to that point in my life. I’m pleased to say the trend has continued over 20 years later.

That said, there was ONE more entry, as part of the "General l'Hopital" serial in 2001. Once it's published, I'll switch the "Next" to link out to it. Beware, there's no returning from that. Alternatively, you can look up the standalone "Sine Field" entries (a column about nothing), referenced above, of which there were four. Seems I loved to multiverse my stories even back then.]

Hal looked up from his calculator. “The lucky numbers? They’re similar to the prime numbers. You start by striking out all the even numbers. Then after 1 you have a 3, so you strike out every third number. That gets rid of 5, 11, 17, etc. Now after 3 you have a 7, so take out every seventh number, and so on.”

“Oh, right,” Sham recalled. “13 is the fifth lucky number then, isn’t it?”

“Oddly enough, yeah,” Hal confirmed. “But you don’t have triskaidekaphobia, do you?”

Sham blinked. “That’s like paraskavedekatriaphobia, isn’t it?”

Hal shrugged. “Not quite. Look it up.” He punched at his calculator. “But it doesn’t look like that will work either. Your higher dimensions on the sixth floor are never used as extra space for terminals. You’ll have to try something else.”

Sham frowned. “Would the odds improve if I provided the mapping information directly?”

“We have zip on that,” Hal indicated.

“There’s that big room right in the middle - how about I just place some sort of device near that location which will activate in 1999?”

“Well, it would be difficult constructing it with the technology of this decade,” Hal said, nonplussed.

“It’s better than restarting,” Sham insisted. “Go get the Quantum Loop staff and BigE to work on it.”

“I think you’re using fuzzy logic.”

“Just open the imagine chamber door, Hal.”

“I’m sorry, Sham. I can’t do that,” Hal intoned ominously.

“Pardon?”

“It’s going blooie again…" Hal smacked his calculator and the door opened. “There we go. Wish we could thrash the originator of this Y2K bug.” Sham sighed, stacking some papers as Hal popped off.

Sometime later, Sham was prepared to put his plan into action. But Hal still didn’t have high hopes. “Sham, BigE has calculated a 90% probability that activating your device will only delay the 1999 reconstruction in the Red Room by 4 months. People will actually have LESS terminals to work on.”

Sham sighed. “Well, currently I have no alternative so let’s try the direct route. Here goes nothing.”

Sham switched on his abstract device. And Hal blinked. “Sham, in tracking your signal, BigE has picked up an analogous analog object!”

Sham blinked. “How do you account for that?”

“Someone else has an assembly!” Hal addressed Sham. “And… it looks like the other one is actually responsible for Y2K?!?”

“What??”

“I’m trying to get a fix… but it’s looking like the Y2K Bug that hit us in 2000 was actually a virus initiated by someone named Millie Niem here in the 60s. That’s why even Y2K approved computers were affected!”

“I knew Quantum Loop was compliant,” Sham muttered.

“Sham, you can repair our problems in the future if you catch the person in the field nearby!” Hal finally declared.

“Would a net work?” Sham wondered, hurrying towards the location.

But as it turned out, a net was unnecessary. The person was Millie Niem herself, and she stopped willingly when Sham confronted her. However, she was not very forthcoming (or even thirdcoming).

“A virus to truncate dates to two digits in the Year 2000?” Millie retorted, laughing. “How fantastically fantastic! I’d like to see you validate such a claim.”

“You can prove it if you crack the encrypting of her device,” Hal assured Sham. “Unfortunately we don’t have a starting point.”

Sizing up the situation, Sham reached down and grabbed a bit of paper that had been left on the ground. “‘Use largest known truncatable prime’?” Sham read. “I think this will provide enough information to substantiate my statements.”

“That won’t help you,” Millie stated defiantly.

“On the contrary -- I think everything can be determined now,” Sham retorted in satisfaction.

What has Sham figured out? Will all this really solve the problems with Y2K? And what about Sham’s mission to provide Mizuloo’s terminals? Find out when the story concludes in issue six…

--Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[This issue also had more "Cynic's Corner", and the results of my survey on Saskatchewan. I'd needed some filler in the prior episode. I was kind of clever in my youth. Maybe I still am.]

Hal walked into the Central Processing Room of Project Quantum Loop. “Any news?” he asked.

Sushi, the head programmer, stood up from behind the centre dais. “Dr. Geeks was looking for you earlier,” he replied. “That Katho guy in the fating room asked for some punched cards to toy with, and she doesn’t think he’s playing with a full deck.”

Hal nodded. “Well, I’m still trying to convince the nozzles who want to shut us down that we could fix Y2K better than their aliens.”

“As long as I don’t have to interface with all the infected computers,” the omnipresent BigE reminded. “It would cause hard wear.”

Hal nodded. “I’m currently working on just the right angle for my next presentation.”

“Then will things get back to normal?” Sushi mused.

“It may result in some basis of normality,” Hal shrugged. “So, anything else I should know before I see Sham?”

“The only people still reading this column are the ones looking for the occasional mathematical number theory,” BigE offered.

Hal blinked. “BigE, sometimes your statements don’t make a heap of sense,” he accused.

“This from someone in a lime green tinted suit. My processes have better threads than you, Admiral.”

Hal frowned, while Sushi patted a console, consolingly. “There, there. We’ll get to the root of this,” he assured.

Just then, Drawna WeeBTree entered the room. “Hal! How’s Sham?” she inquired.

“Haven’t checked on him yet, but I’m sure he’s doing fine,” Hal said with confidence.

Drawna nodded. “Xina was telling me that this looked like an easier loop.”

“Awk!” muttered Sushi, having gone back to his calculations. “Well, debugging this Y2K isn’t easy - I’m starting to think someone planned all this two-digit-bug business from the start.”

“I’m sure you’ll pull through when the chips are down,” Drawna comforted.

“Anyway, I’m off to the imagine chamber,” Hal declared. He grabbed his TI-85 and headed up the appropriate slope. Hal arrived holographically back in the 1960s shortly after, where he found Sham computing an inverse in verse. “Hey, Sham, how go the Harshad numbers?” Hal intoned.

Sham paused in his singing. “I decided that a number divisible by the sum of its own digits wouldn’t work for the mapping,” Sham responded. “But I think everything is finally in place now.”

Hal peered down at the schematics. “Sham, this floor labelling makes no sense,” he protested. “You’ve even labelled the potential elevators on each floor. 1101, 2079, 3093, 4115, 5220, 6312… where’s the pattern in that?”

“They all sum to numbers divisible by 3, except 4115.”

Hal tapped at the calculator in his hands. “Sham, no one figures this encoding out. There’s still the space problem in Mizuloo. Maybe you need to apply a mapping using the lucky numbers.”

Sham paused. “How do you define those again?” he inquired.

Can Sham still save the day? Are lucky numbers important? Do you feel lucky? Then keep reading when this series next continues…

--Greg “hologrami” Taylor

[Happy New Year 2022! I still chuckle at 'My processes have better threads than you, Admiral.' Yes, we needed a scene set in the far future of 2000 to see the Drawna character. For those who don't know, we now have the following Quantum Leap (Quantum Loop) name associations: SAM BECKETT (Sham Breakit); AL CALAVICCI (Al Calalilli); ZIGGY (BigE); TINA MARTINEZ (Xina); DR. "GOOSHIE" GUSHMAN (Sushi); DR. VERBENA BEEKS (Dr. Geeks); DR. DONNA ELEESE (Drawna WeeBTree). If you're puzzled about Calalilli that's a self-referential joke for hardcore Leap fans. Make sense?]