Jenny flopped down onto the bed, stretching out on it. Ted just made her so mad sometimes! All this time, she thought he was a friend, someone she could trust. But no, all he ever did was try to boss her around and tell her what to do. Just like everyone else in her life!

Why does he have to be such a jerk? she thought. Why can't he understand? This isn't just a term project for me, an easy 'A' in applied science; this is something more, much more! If he was invisible, then he'd understand… Then he'd know what it's like! Then he’d know what this really means to me!

She let out a disgusted sigh, as she tried to understand Ted's attitude. He’s just jealous, that’s all; just because I got to be invisible and not him! Well, why shouldn't I get to use the formula? It is mine, after all! It was all my idea and I did most of the work; all he did was crunch some numbers for me, that's all… It's my idea, it's my formula and I'll do what I want with it! And I will, too! Nobody can stop me, nobody!

She continued to lay there, sulking and staring at the ceiling, as she weighed her options. She wanted to go out and have some more adventures, have some fun somewhere with her invisibility, to stir things up and have a good time. It was Friday night, after all. She tried to recall if there was some campus function going on, some party somewhere that she could crash, someplace where her friends would be. It had been days since she'd hung out with any of her friends, and she missed them. If only Connie or Muriel knew about this invisibility! she thought, delightedly. Ooooh, I wish I could tell them about it! I’d love to play tricks on them & watch their reactions! I bet they'd totally freak!

Yet at the same time, Jenny realized that telling her friends would probably be the stupidest thing in the world she could do. True, they were her best friends, but they were also two of the biggest blabbermouths on the face of the earth; Muriel especially. Jenny just knew that, if ever she were to tell them about her invisibility, they’d probably blab it all over town inside of five minutes and then everyone would know about it. And after that, who knew what could happen? So, reluctantly, Jenny decided she had to continue keeping her condition a secret from her friends.

Yet at the same time, she realized it wasn't much fun being invisible if she couldn't share the experience with her friends and brag about it to them. The truth was, Jenny was beginning to feel…well, a bit lonely. It’s not fair! she thought in frustration. Here I am, invisible, and I can’t even tell anybody about it! There’s nobody I can talk to; I’m all alone with it! It’s not fair, that’s all…it’s just not fair!

Ted knew about it, of course. He was her lab partner and saw her disappear when she took the formula. But Ted was…well, Ted was different. He’s not really a friend, Jenny told herself. I mean, I don’t hate him, but…well, he’s not really a "friend" friend… He doesn’t understand what this is like for me; he just doesn’t ‘get’ it…

Jenny heaved another great sigh, continuing to stare at the ceiling. So what am I gonna do? she asked herself. I gotta do something! she thought. I’m bored!! I’ve been cooped up inside this stupid place all day long; if I don’t get out of here, I’ll go stir-crazy! With that, Jenny got up from the bed and began to unbutton her blouse. Well, I’m outta here, that’s for sure! she thought. There’s gotta be someplace I can go!

But as Jenny unfastened the buttons, she began to think. And as she thought, her movements slowed. She looked down at her half-buttoned blouse and suddenly recalled who it was that had taken care of her clothes when she had left the lab so abruptly, and who had even laundered, pressed and folded them for her. And who had allowed her to stay in his apartment. And who had loaned her the use of his pajamas and bathrobe. It was then that Jenny began to feel the first pangs of guilt.

Even though Ted was wrong in trying to tell her what to do, Jenny knew, she also realized that he probably meant well. And even if he was wrong, that didn’t give her the right to snap at him the way she had, especially after he’d been so nice to her in a time of need. Under the circumstances, Ted was the closest thing she had to a friend just then. He was being so darned nice about this whole thing, even though it couldn’t be very easy for him. This whole thing must be soooo weird for him, she thought, as she stuck out her lower lip in a silent, invisible pout. Maybe…maybe I could be a little more…

With that thought, Jenny suddenly realized what she had to do. Oh, nuts! she thought, hastily buttoning up her blouse again. I hate feeling guilty! She finished with the last button, then walked over to the door, opened it and stepped out into the living-room

"Say Ted?" she called softly, hesitantly, as she entered the room.

"Yes?" Ted jumped slightly at the sight of the empty blouse and skirt floating out from the bedroom. Now what? he wondered. Is she still angry? Is she going to start another argument or what? Ted didn't know what to make of Jenny's mood just then; her voice didn't sound angry…yet Ted couldn't really tell what kind of mood she was in. The fact that he couldn't see her facial expression didn't help matters any. He felt very awkward and uncomfortable.

"I want to say something," Jenny began, as her empty clothes drifted over to the sofa, then stopped, hovering beside it. It gave Ted a chill to see those empty clothes just standing there, seeming to stare at him that way. Then, without warning, the empty clothes suddenly sat down beside him on the sofa. Ted flinched slightly as they did so, and Jenny noticed it.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Why are you so jumpy?"

"I can't help it, I just am."

"Is it because of me?" she asked. "Are you afraid of me or something?"

"I don't know… I guess…maybe…"

"Why? I'm not going to hurt you or anything. You know that."

"I know, but…"

"Well stop it, then! You're making me nervous!"

Ted said nothing more, and a brief silence followed, as Jenny struggled to find just the right words for what she had to say.

"I—" she began, with difficulty. "Okay, okay, okay…" she said quickly, the empty blouse shifting slightly with each word, as Jenny’s unseen head bobbed from side to side. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. There, I said it. Okay? All right? Friends?"

Ted blinked. This was literally the last thing he expected to hear. What the hell is this? he thought. Not five minutes ago she didn’t even want to speak to me… And now…? He gave a slight shake of his head in bewilderment. Girls…! he thought. I can’t figure them out at all…

Jenny reached out an empty sleeve to him. Ted stared at it, mutely, for several seconds before he realized that Jenny was reaching her hand out for a handshake. It was eerie to see the empty sleeve simply hanging there, suspended in space, inches away from him.

"Go on, take it," Jenny said, waving the sleeve. "It won’t bite you."

Ted finally recovered from his surprise and cautiously reached his hand out to the end of the sleeve. He groped at it for a moment or two, marveling at the uncanny sensation of a hand being there, somewhere, even though he couldn’t see it. Ohhhhhhh wowwww… he thought. That is just so bizarre! Finally, he took Jenny’s hand in his own, held it firmly and shook it. "Okay," he said. "Apology accepted. We’ll just forget about it."

"No, no I mean it. I was a jerk, I admit it, and I’m sorry." She fell silent again and Ted tried to think of something to say to fill the void. Finally, she spoke again. "I don’t know what’s gotten into me today; I’m not usually this cranky."

Ted opened his mouth, about to say something, but as if anticipating what he was going to say, Jenny cut him off:

"And no, wise guy," she said. "It’s not that time of the month!"

Ted closed his mouth again. The two sat in silence for another moment, before Jenny spoke up again.

"I—I guess it's just being cooped up in here all day that's getting to me. I think I've got cabin-fever or something."

"Yes, well—" the words were barely out of Ted’s mouth when Jenny interrupted again, trying to sound as though she had just come up with a brilliant idea. "Say! Tell you what!" she exclaimed. "How 'bout we go out for a little bit and have some fun, huh? Come on, whaddaya say? Just you & me."

Ted’s opened his mouth. "Well, I—" was all he got out before Jenny waved an empty sleeve, cutting him off.

"I don't mean like a date or anything like that!" she said, laughing. "I just mean, you know, let’s go out just for fun, for a drink or something." She playfully nudged Ted's arm with an unseen finger. "Huh? C’mon, big guy; buy me an espresso? Huh? C'mon,!"

In spite of his resolve not to do so anymore, Ted flinched slightly at the touch. As much as he normally would have liked to go out with Jenny, he never thought it would be under these circumstances. "What, are you serious?" he said. "What, go out now? The way you are?" He began to laugh, as he realized that, once again, Jenny was just joking around. She had such an unpredictable sense of humor…

Only she wasn't joking. "No, no, I'm serious." she said. "Come on, Ted; I've been cooped up in this cracker-box all day, you've been cooped up in classrooms all day. We need some fresh air, some fun & relaxation."

"Yeah, but an espresso? This late in the day?" Jeez! Ted thought. That’s all she needs: caffeine! He didn’t even want to think about what Jenny would be like on a caffeine buzz; she was goofy enough to begin with!

But Jenny persisted. "Aw, c’mon…pleeeeeze?"

"Man, you have an espresso this time of day, you’re gonna be bouncin’ off the walls all night long!"

"Well, all right, then you can buy me something else! Huh? C’mon…"

Still laughing, Ted closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" Jenny asked, disappointed, as a slight whine began to creep into her voice.

"Why not?" Ted looked up again to face the open collar of the blouse seated beside him. "Well, I—I mean…look at you! Don’t you think…um…people are gonna stare?"

"Silly!" Jenny laughed. "I can take care of that. This," she plucked at her blouse with her unseen fingers. "is nothing." The empty sleeves then made a few quick movements in front and the blouse’s buttons began to undo themselves. "See? If I take these off, I guarantee nobody’ll notice me!" she laughed.

Instantly, Ted's face fell and his laughter abruptly stopped. Jenny was serious, he realized. She really did want to go out…and probably cause more trouble, in all likelihood! "Oh, now wait a minute, wait a minute!" he said, staring wide-eyed at the blouse as it unbuttoned itself. "You're not serious, are you? You don’t really want to go out again…" he trailed off.

The blouse ceased unbuttoning. "Well, why not?" Jenny's voice sounded as though she were genuinely hurt.

"Well—well, because…because…" Ted flustered, gesturing uselessly with his hands, indicating wordlessly Jenny’s invisibility, as though the answer should be obvious.

But Jenny was not to be put off. "What’s the matter?" she said. "Are you still mad at me? Huh? Is that it?" She reached out an empty sleeve, and Ted felt knuckles playfully noogying the top of his head. "Come on, don’t be such a sorehead!" Jenny laughed.

"No, no, I’m not mad at you, it’s just—"

"Or is it that you don’t trust me, is that it? You think that, just because I played a couple of jokes on people, that I’m liable to get into trouble! Is that it?"

Do you really want an honest answer to that? Ted thought.

"Or maybe it’s just that you don’t like me; is that it? Huh?" By now, Jenny was fully aware of Ted's growing consternation, and she discovered that the urge to have some fun with him was too much to resist. I bet I can get him to change his mind! she thought. The sleeves of the blouse then reached down and resumed unbuttoning the front, slowly, one by one, as Jenny savored the look of increasing agitation on Ted’s face. The sleeves then pulled the blouse open to reveal an empty brassiere inside, suspended in space. "Well, Ted? Don’t you like me?" she asked.

Ted’s eyes bulged, threatening to poke holes through the lenses of his glasses. His mouth suddenly went dry, he immediately broke out into a sweat and his heart began to pound through his chest. "No, no, it's not that; of course I like you Jenny, it’s just that…that…" he said, trying to tear his eyes away from the floating, empty brassier and come up with a somewhat coherent answer.

"Well, what then? Hmmmmm?" The empty, unbuttoned blouse leaned closer to Ted; his gaze now fell to the inside of the bra’s cups. His face suddenly felt very hot.

"Well, um-um-" he replied, thinking furiously. "Because— well…because I've got homework to do!" With a superhuman effort, Ted managed to tear his eyes away from the brassiere, and shifted his attention to a pile of textbooks, folders and papers that lay strewn about the cluttered floor. He then began shuffling furiously through the papers, as if trying to find something. "Yeah…yeah, that's it!" he went on. "I’ve got homework! And so do you! Jeez, with all the days you've missed, you've probably got tons of make-up work to do, and—"

Jenny slumped back in the sofa, and the empty sleeves of her blouse folded themselves in front, in an unmistakable gesture of annoyance. "Oh, come on, Ted!" Jenny said. "It's Friday night, for heaven's sake! We've got all weekend for all that homework junk."

"Well…yeah, but I've got to attend a special class tomorrow, and—"

"A class? Are you kidding me? Tomorrow’s Saturday! What kind of class meets on a Saturday?"

"Well, it’s a philosophy class. It’s all about Kierkegaard and the Paradox of Faith and—"

In spite of her annoyance, Jenny laughed. "Philosophy?" she said. "You in a philosophy class? Ted, you’re a math major, remember? A number-cruncher! What the heck are you doing in a philosophy class?"

"Well, it's for extra-credit, and—" Ted persisted in his feeble excuse.

"Man, you gotta be kidding me! Extra credit? You? You've got a four-point-oh as it is! How much more credit do you need, man?"

"Well, yeah, but a little extra never hurt…" His eyes fell to the floor.

Jenny sighed in disbelief, and leaned her head back, rolling her eyes heavenward. Oh, man! she thought. Is he for real? He’s gotta be putting me on! Nobody is this uptight in real life! She shook her head in bewilderment. Man, he is pathetic! He really needs to loosen up! She remained silent for another beat, then, taking a deep breath, she decided to try again.

"Ted," she said softly. "Don't you ever lighten up? Don't ever just want to, you know, kick back, relax and enjoy yourself?" Ted looked up again to face her and she paused, examining the deadpan expression on his face. "Come on, lighten up once in a while, willya?" She gave him a light, playful little tap on the back of his head, jarring his cap loose.

Ted adjusted the cap, and continued to stare blankly at the empty blouse. It leaned back, spreading its sleeves wide and placing them upon the back of the sofa, thus opening the front of the blouse, offering an even-better view of the equally-empty bra inside. Once again, Ted’s attention was firmly rooted to the well-rounded twin cups of white lace fabric.

The sofa cushions creaked, and the empty, unbuttoned blouse then leaned over close to Ted, reaching an empty sleeve over to him. He flinched as he felt what seemed to be a ghostly hand touching his thigh. A shiver ran through his entire body like an electric shock, though from fear or excitement, Ted couldn't be sure. He felt Jenny’s presence moving closer and closer; he knew her face must be right there, right beside him. Her scent filled his nostrils…yet there was still nothing there but an empty blouse, bra and miniskirt. I—I—I can’t believe this…! he thought. This isn’t happening…!

"Come on, Ted, come onnnnnn…" Jenny's voice softly purred in his ear. Ted’s pulse rate quickened.

The empty clothes then rose from the sofa, and the blouse slowly, leisurely tugged itself off of the unseen shoulders beneath, leaving in its place the bra, now hovering in space alone, only a few inches above the floating, empty miniskirt. "Of course, if you don’t want to go out with me, you don’t have to…" Jenny’s voice said from the empty space above the brassiere. "I could just go by myself, you know…"

The blouse, now hanging limply from unseen fingers, slowly, casually folded itself up in mid-air, then laid itself across the arm of the sofa. Still, Ted’s eyes remained riveted on the floating brassiere, the cups of which undulated curiously as though something other than air, and of considerable dimensions and weight, jiggled inside them. "But if I do go by myself, I can't promise I won't get into trouble..." By now, Jenny’s voice could no longer conceal the fun she was having with Ted…and the whole situation.

"I don't know why, but things just seem to have a way of happening whenever I'm around," Jenny went on. "I can’t help it, they just do!" She laughed, the floating bra and miniskirt swaying gently from side to side with the sound of her giggles.

Ted stared, spellbound, at the well-filled cups of the brassiere and equally-rounded-out, tight curves of the empty miniskirt. The zipper of the miniskirt then slowly, deliberately unzipped itself, and with slow, sensuous, writhing movements, the skirt slithered down the soft curves of Jenny’s unseen hips. Just before it fell limp to the floor, it then floated up and fluttered over to the sofa, folding itself up like the blouse and laying itself down gently on top of it. Jenny’s presence was now reduced to the bra and a pair of pink satin panties immediately below.

Ted watched the entire performance with a mixture of awe, fascination, titillation and growing anxiety. On the one hand, it was an incredibly sexy sight to behold. It was absolutely uncanny! He'd never seen anything like this before in his life, never even imagined it. But now, before his eyes, was a strange, ghostly striptease. It was fascinating…but the same time, it was also eerie…!

"On the other hand," Jenny went on, as the floating bra and panties gave another quick wiggle-jiggle. "If I had someone along to help keep me out of trouble," Another wiggle-jiggle. "Things might be different."

The floating bra then unfastened itself and in loosening, its cups seemed to collapse somehow, like a pair of twin water-balloons deflating. Like the other articles of clothing, it then floated up and over to join the other garments folded atop the arm of the sofa. The only visible sign of Jenny’s presence that now remained was the floating pink satin panties, which continued to gently sway from side to side with her every word. They now hovered in space mere inches away from Ted’s wide-eyed and unusually-reddened face.

Ted continued to gaze, unblinking, unbreathing, at the gravity-defying underwear.

"Wellll….?" Jenny’s voice said from somewhere above the floating panties.

"Well…" Ted replied hesitantly, his eyes still riveted on the empty pink satin contours. "I guess maybe we could go out…for a little while… just for a quick drink or something…"

"Great!" Jenny cried, jubilantly, and the floating panties bounced delightly up and down in space. Ted flinched as an unseen pair of hands suddenly grabbed his face from out of nowhere and an equally-unseen pair of lips planted a quick kiss on the forehead.

"And you'll see, Ted, we'll have a great time." The panties quickly curled themselves down and away from the empty curves beneath, and the last visible sign of Jenny was now gone.

"Well," her voice said from…somewhere. "I'm ready! Let's go!" she laughed. "Bet you never thought a girl could get ready that quickly, did you? Well, come on." An unseen hand suddenly grabbed Ted’s and tugged at it, pulling him off the sofa, to his feet, and toward the front door.

"And I promise I'll be good," Jenny said, as the door opened by itself. "I'll behave myself, I promise!" The unseen hand dragged Ted out through the doorway, and the door closed by itself behind him.

* * *

The coffee shop was crowded, but no more than usual for a Friday night. The regular crowd of college student was gathered there, some few newcomers, but for the most part, the shop was filled with the same faces that had made the place a major hub of the college student-body social life. In one corner of the busy shop sat three girls at a table. Ordinarily, the topic of conversation of these three might have consisted of such earth-shaking subjects as the what the "in" shade of lipstick was for that season or who of the three was dating which boy for that particular week, or which unfortunate soul happened to be on their "enemies" list at any given time. On this particular evening, the topic of conversation for the three was something quite different indeed.

"Well, all right, so who or what do you think it was?" Jewel Morgan said, banging down her cup on the table in exasperation.

"I don’t know yet," Tiffany answered, her green-stained hair now concealed beneath a scarf tied around her head. "But I’ll tell you one thing: It sure as hell was nothing supernatural! I don’t believe in all that junk anyway, and I’m not about to start now! For one thing, it seems awfully strange that I should be the only one targeted!"

"But you weren’t the only one!" Tisha Winn spoke up. "That’s what we’re saying! You’re not the only one to have weird stuff happen to them. Weird junk like that’s been going on all over town, all week long! Just the other day, I even heard that some really freaky stuff happened to Tank & the other guys on the football team, while they were taking their showers after practice!"

"Oooh, what happened? What happened?" Jewel said, her ears immediately perking up at the mention of the boys’ locker room, her attention eagerly awaiting all the juicy details.

"Well…" Tisha began, hesitantly, as though she were embarrassed to reveal the information. "Now, this is what I heard—I don’t know if it’s true or not—but I heard that when Tank was drying himself off, someone or something grabbed ahold of his—"

"Look, will you forget about all that?" Tiffany spoke up, annoyed. "Who cares? It’s only a lot of ‘boys-locker-room’ talk! Who cares about that? It’s got nothing to do with what we’re talking about! It’s me we’re concerned about here, remember?"

Her companions said nothing, but simply looked at her, then glanced quickly at one another. Of course, the glance said. It’s always about you… But when Jewel spoke, her tone was appropriately deferential. "All right," she said. "Let’s just say you’re right and you are being singled out. We’re still back to who and how!" She paused. "So….what? Do you have any ideas?"

"Well," Tiffany said, staring hard at her drink. "I have some ideas… But I’m not going to say what they are just yet; you guys’ll just think I’m nuts. But I am sure of a couple of things: One: Whoever is behind it, it’s got to be a girl, not a guy. That was a girl’s voice I heard last night. And it sure looked like a girl wearing my cheerleader outfit. And…" she hesitated.

"And…?" Tisha said, as though to coax her on.

Tiffany looked up at both of them, with a look of pure, cold poison. She hesitated, then went on. "And because…whoever did it, knows how I think. They knew the kind of thing that would piss me off! And…well, it’s the exact same kind of thing that I would do, if I were…if I could…" She paused and looked away, then waved her hand, angrily dismissing the thought. "Never mind!" she said.

"So, okay, so let’s say a girl’s behind it, somebody who’s got it in for you, right?" Tisha said. "Any ideas on who might have a grudge against you?"

Jewel failed to suppress a laugh at the question. Who’d hold a grudge against Tiffany? she thought. Who wouldn’t? Just pick up a phone book! Her brief laughter quickly died down as she caught Tiffany’s caustic glare.

"Okay, okay," she said. "Look, I know I have a lot of enemies. What do you expect? Anybody as cool and hip as I am is going to generate a lot of envy in people. It goes with the territory. But…" she paused, dramatically. "There aren’t many people stupid or crazy enough to tangle with me. Most people have more sense than that. Anyone who has ever messed with me has lived to regret it."

Tisha and Jewel both looked at Tiffany, smiling with just the right mixture of servility and toadiness. They were both glad they were Tiffany’s friends rather than her enemies, as they both knew full well how vicious and vindictive Tiffany could be to the latter.

"But you know…" Tiffany set her cup down on the table, her brow wrinkled in deep thought. "Now that I think about it…there is somebody I know…one person who would be stupid and crazy enough to take me on…" she rolled the cup between her hands thoughtfully, as she frowned hard into it.

"No…no…" she said finally, shaking her head, dismissing the notion. "On second thought, it can’t be who I thought it was. As a matter of fact, I haven’t even seen her on campus all week. So…no, it can’t be her."

"Well," Tisha ventured, cautiously. "Maybe that flaky artist had something to do with it. That—what was her name? Vicky, that was it. After all, she did have that empty green-ink bottle in her room—"

"No, no…" Tiffany shook her head. "I told you before: I don’t think she had anything to do with it. Not after the way she acted when she found her stupid green ink was all gone! She got all pissed off at me, in fact! She accused me of ripping off her stupid green ink! Can you believe it? Like I would pour a bottle of green ink on myself in the shower!"

"Yeah, rilly," Jewel said. "I mean, if you really wanted a bottle of green ink, you could certainly afford to buy it; you sure wouldn’t have to steal it from her."

Tiffany slowly turned and faced her friend with a look that instantly chilled her blood. "That is not the point!" she said, disgustedly. Tiffany averted her gaze from her now-withering friend and slowly closing her eyes, letting out a tiny sigh. Dear lord, she silently prayed. Give me strength…

The three girls then fell silent for several minutes, as they pondered which of Tiffany’s many enemies was the one most likely to be behind her torments the previous night.

"Whoever it was," Tiffany began, breaking the silence. "Well, I’ve got a pretty good hunch it’s gotta be somebody I knew from cheerleading. Probably some little loser nonentity who didn’t make the squad and blames me for it." She took an angry gulp from her espresso. "Plus…that…cheer she gave…last night…" She momentarily shut her eyes tightly as a shudder ran down her spine. She took another quick swallow of her drink, as if to bolster herself, and went on. "Anyway…so I gotta feeling it’s either a former cheerleader or a never-was cheerleader. So that narrows it down a little bit."

"That still doesn’t explain how they did it," Tisha interjected. "I mean, from what you told me, I don’t see how anyone could do something like that. It doesn’t seem possible."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Tiffany said, turning on her friend and eyeing her coldly.

"No, of course not!" Tisha hastily replied. "It’s just that…well, are you sure—"

"—That I wasn’t imagining things, is that it?" Tiffany finished. "Dammit, everybody keeps asking me that! And I keep telling them: I wasn’t the only one to see it! Other people saw it, too!"

"Okay, okay, okay," said Jewel, trying to calm things down a bit. "So we’re agreed: it really happened, just like you said. Fine. We’re still back to the same question of how."

"Well now, look," Tiffany began. "There aren’t that many ways it could have been done, all right? Now I know darn well it was nothing supernatural, so we can rule that out. So what else is there?"

She looked from one blank face to the other.

"Come on, you guys! Think!" she said, in a tone similar to that of a teacher dealing with an especially thick class. "How do you think it could have been done?"

More blank looks. Tiffany sighed. Figures! I have to all the thinking around here! she thought.

"All right," she began, patiently. "The way I figure it, there are only three possible ways it could have been done: One is by magic—"

She caught a quick look from her companions as she said the word, a look of bemused confusion, indicating that their first reaction was to laugh, as if Tiffany were making a joke, while simultaneously being unsure whether it was a joke. So Tiffany hastily explained. "I don’t mean magic magic; I mean like stage magic. Illusions. David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Masked Magician, junk like that, you know what I mean?"

Tisha and Jewel faces both brightened with comprehension. They smiled and nodded. "Oh yeah!" Jewel said, brightly. "Got it! I know where you’re going with this. You mean like what Eric does, right?"

"You’re beginning to get the idea," Tiffany smiled back. The "Eric" to whom Jewel referred was Eric Weiss, a nerdy Freshman who’d been pestering Jewel for a date for months, only to be repeatedly turned down. He never gave up however, and kept coming back for more. Jewel had observed more than once that the silly dweeb must really dig rejection. Either that or he really, truly didn’t have a clue.

However, Eric also happened to be an amateur-turned-semiprofessional magician, working weddings, bar-mitzvahs, kids’ birthday parties (where he usually ended up being bombarded with water-balloons and gumdrops by the kids) and the like. But as nerdy and obnoxious as he was, he also happened to be an expert when it came to magic tricks and stage illusions of all kinds. He was, in fact, an absolute nut on the subject, widely acknowledged by all on campus as an unquestioned authority in the field.

Trying to keep up with the rapidly-turning wheels inside Tiffany’s head, Jewel struggled to see where Eric fit into the forming scheme. "So you think maybe Eric might have had something to do with last night?" she asked.

"I don’t know," Tiffany replied. "But I think it’s possible. I mean, he is a dweeb, but there aren’t too many people on this campus with the skill & expertise to pull off anything that good."

Jewel shook her head, smiling. "He may have the expertise, but he doesn’t have the brains. OR the nerve."

"Well then, maybe he’s working with someone else, somebody who’s using him. That’s what we need to find out. Or even if he wasn’t actually in on it, maybe he’s heard something about it. Or, at the very least, he could maybe tell us how it might have been done."

"Okay," Jewel said. "So how do we get him to tell us? I mean, if he was in on it, he probably wouldn’t be real talkative about it."

"Oh, I don’t know," she said. "I think the right person could…persuade him…"

"Like who?"

Tiffany set her cup down and looked Jewel straight in the eye, beaming. To a casual observer, Tiffany’s smile might be read as charming; to those who knew her however, it could be chilling.

Jewel stared blankly at her for several seconds, before the meaning of the smile finally began to dawn on her. "Oh, now wait a minute!" she said. "You’re not…you’re not saying you want me to…to…"

Tiffany said nothing; her smile merely broadened.

"Me?!?" Jewel cried. "Go out with that little jerk?!? You’ve got to be kidding me!"

"Why not? You know he likes you—"

The look of disgust on Jewel’s face was absolute. "But I’ve got my rep to think about! What’ll people think if they saw me with that little creep?"

"Look Jewel, if there was anyone else I could ask, anyone else I could depend on, you know I would. I know it’s asking a lot of a friend, but really, you’re the only one I can trust. Besides," she took a leisurely sip of her drink. "It certainly couldn’t do as much harm to your ‘rep’ as if word were to get around about…you know…what people called you in junior high… You know: Your unofficial nickname…"

Jewel’s face blanched. "You wouldn’t! You wouldn’t tell anyone about that! You promised!"

"Of course I wouldn’t," Tiffany said softly, as though trying to set her friend’s mind at ease. "I’m not saying I’d tell anyone about it; I’m just saying it would be a shame if people found out about it! Know what I mean?" Another smile, this one showing an inordinate amount of teeth.

Tiffany and Jewel engaged in a mini-staring contest for what seemed to Jewel to be centuries passing. It was a foregone conclusion however, as Jewel soon backed down. "Okay, okay, I’ll do it!" she said. She glared at Tiffany (but not too hard, not enough to get on her bad side, or anything, of course) and said "This is an awfully big favor you’re asking of me, you know! I won’t forget this!"

"I won’t forget it either," Tiffany said. "But if you could…you know, pump the guy for information—"

In spite of herself, Tisha giggled nervously at Tiffany’s choice of words.

"—and find out what he knows, who he knows, of if he knows anything about what happened, I’d really, really, really appreciate it…"

Tiffany paused, then turned from Jewel, whose demeanor now suggested an impending trip to the dentist, and faced her other friend, whose smile promptly vanished when she realized that she was the next one to be put on the spot.

"Now, Tisha," Tiffany began, beaming widely. "The other possible way last night could have been done…"

"Yes…?"

"Well, my guess is special-effects. You know, like what they do for movies & stuff."

"Oh, I don’t think so," Tisha said, after a pause, shaking her head doubtfully. "I mean, I know they can do a lot with special-effects these days, but I don’t think they could do anything like…what you described…"

"Well…maybe they can… Maybe there is a way. And if it is possible, then that’s another option we have to look at." She took a long, slow drink from her espresso before she went on. "You used to go out with a guy in the film program, didn’t you?" she asked, casually. "What was his name? Sparky something?"

"Spunkmeyer," Tisha said, closing her eyes, as if in agonizing pain, unable to contain the look of disgust on her face. "Sparky Spunkmeyer, the king of the dweebs! Jeez! A night out with that jug-eared twerp was like 40 miles of bad road! Never again! Never! I swear—" Her voice trailed off as she caught the look on Tiffany’s face and instantly interpreted its meaning. She swallowed, then sighed resignedly, realizing the futility of resistance, having witnessed the exchange moments before with Jewel. "Don’t tell me, let me guess," Tisha said. "You want me to go out with him and pump him for information, right?"

Tiffany smiled. "Isn’t it amazing how great minds think alike? We can almost read each others’ thoughts!" She laughed, and reached her hands out to place them on her friends’ shoulders, in what was intended to be a gesture of camaraderie, but which proved wholly inadequate under the circumstances. Jewel joined Tiffany’s laughter, although hers was just a bit more forced.

"All right, all right, I’ll do it." Tisha said at last. "But I don’t know what good it’ll do. I still don’t see how it could’ve been special-effects. I mean, we went over that room with a fine-tooth comb, and didn’t find anything. No wires, no hidden speakers, no nothing."

"I know, I know…but I just want to make sure… We might have forgot something or overlooked something. I don’t want to leave any stone in turn—"

"I think you mean unturned." Jewel added helpfully.

"Whatever," Tiffany replied, flatly.

"So, okay," Tisha said. "You said there were three possible ways it could have been done, but you only mentioned two. What’s the third way?"

"Well…" Tiffany began cautiously, picking up the cue. "I’m thinking, like, maybe science or physics. I’ve seen stuff where they can make magnets and things float in laboratories. If they can do stuff like that, maybe there’s a way to make perfume bottles and—" unconsciously, she started to reach a hand up to her putting-green-colored hair, hidden beneath the scarf, before she caught herself. "—And other things—float & fly around the room."

"So you’re thinking of somebody who’s like a real science whiz or something, right?"

Tiffany nodded.

"Got anybody in mind?"

Tiffany shrugged. "I’m not sure… Maybe that math guy. I think he’s also into physics and all that junk. I don’t know his name. You know who I mean? The tall, skinny, geeky guy? Looks kinda like Big Bird with glasses?"

Looks of puzzlement fell across Jewel’s and Tisha’s faces for several moments, until Tisha’s suddenly lit up with realization. "Oh! Wait a minute! You mean… Tom—no, Tim…no, Ted. I think his name is Ted; Ted Rosenfeld. Or something like that."

Immediately, Jewel broke out into giggles. "Him?" she laughed. "You’re going to go out with him?!?" Tisha joined her friend in laughter at just the idea of Tiffany Nelson going out with Ted Rosenfeld, the king of the nerds!

"All right, all right, I know," Tiffany said, extremely unamused at their laughter. "But let’s face it: he knows science and all that junk, right? I mean, anything having to do with science, whether it’s chemistry, physics or whatever, he’s gotta be the guy to ask, right? And if there’s any way possible to do the kind of stuff that happened—whether with electri-magnets or whatever, he’d know."

Still, Tisha’s and Jewel’s laughter continued, unabated. Finally, Tisha spoke up. "Ted Rosenfeld!" she repeated. "Oh, that’s too much! He’s…you know, he’s still a virgin! Everybody knows it!" She and Jewel’s laughter grew in volume.

"All right, enough’s enough, all right?" Tiffany said, beginning to get annoyed.

"And I heard he’s got a little bitty, teeny-tiny—"

"Look, willya shut up? I don’t care! I mean, it’s not like it’s even going to get that far anyway, so—"

"Well, how could it? Especially if he’s got a little bitty, teeny-tiny—" Jewel broke into a fresh round of laughter. Tears now rolled down hers and Tisha’s face. "It probably couldn’t even reach!" Another round of laughter.

Tiffany rolled her eyes, sighed in exasperation, then went on, trying to ignore the laughter. "Anyway, I think I heard he was lab-partners with—"

"Don’t expect too much!" Tisha added, catching a quick breath. "You’re gonna be disappointed!"

"Yeah, ha ha, real funny, I get the point!" Tiffany exploded, by now really annoyed with her two friends. "Now will ya shut up about it already?!?"

Tisha wiped tears from her cheeks. "Ohh, Tiffany & Ted, Ted & Tiffany…that’s too funny… He even makes Sparky look good!" Tiffany glared at her, boring holes in her with twin laser-beams, until Tisha’s laughter finally subsided at last.

"So where do you expect to find Pencil-Neck anyway?" Jewel asked. "And—" she stifled a snicker. "’pump’ him for information?"

"I don’t know, I’ll probably see the doof on campus on Monday. I just need to get him alone…back him into a corner and start shmoozing up to him…it’ll be a cinch. I bet I can get all the answers I want inside of five minutes. He’ll probably—Son of a--!" Tiffany glanced up suddenly, catching something in the far corner of the coffee-shop, then turned back to her friends, ducking low and speaking quietly. "Guys, check it out! Look who’s walking through the door right now! Speak of the devil and there he is!"

"Well, I’ll be damned!" Tisha said when she saw the tall, thin, bespectacled young man entering the coffee-shop. "I’ve never seen him in here before! Wonder what the hell he’s doing here?" she snickered. "What does he think; he’s going to see friends here? As if he has a social life!"

"I don’t know," Tiffany said. "But it sure makes my job a lot easier!"

She narrowly watched the young man as the beginnings of a strategy began to form in her mind.