The Gemini: Emancipation

30 - Millennium

January 23, 2000

Jody loves those glasses. Those sepia-lime tinted rectangular lenses framed in polished gold wire. She loves when Prince wears them. They give his brainy inquisitive aura a too cool for school vibe. The sort of confident sexy that makes her smile and feel proud to be his. But right now her teeth don't show and he's staring. In this conference room a long table separates them. Jody at one end, Prince at the other. Behind those glasses is a look unreadable to her. Though one thing's sure, he's insulted.

Two days ago...

"Okay, I quit."

"You done?"

"Yeah, I'm out."

"Thank God! What the hell took you so long?"

Dialing down the treadmill speed, Jody gradually coasts from running to jogging. "Me?" she pants, "If you were tired how come you didn't say so?"

"Cuz track stars don't quit," Nikki brags. Following into cool-down mode, her tune changes quick. "But 1984 was a long time ago." That's the last time her feet won her any metals. "Anyways, I didn't get dragged out my house to lose."

It was a Sunday when Jody first invited Nikki to hit the gym with her. She obliged unknowing it would turn into a regular thing. After that day, with drill sergeant persistence, Jody continued to show up and collect her friend. It's been a month and Nikki still complains.

"Because you know I could be on my couch right now. I had no problems with my baby fluff. I had just bought a cute pair of jeans, the stretchy kind. I was fine."

"Your ass looks good though."

Lighting up, Nikki smiles. "Don't it? Devin thinks so too."

"You're welcome."

One friend cuts a look, the other just grins. She complains but if it weren't for the other's push there'd be no gains to celebrate.

Pacing down to a brisk walk, Jody dabs her face with a towel. "You ever wondered if Devin would kill you?" Terry cloth hid half her words but Nikki heard just fine.

"All the time."

That isn't the answer she was expecting.

"Really?"

"Girl, no. What the hell?"

That's the answer Jody was expecting. And because of that she had an excuse ready.

"It's for this role. This plot thing Yaris sent for me to look at. I'm just trying to get a feel for it, you know? See if I like it."

"Hmm."

"What's hmm?"

"You doing that thing you do when some wild mess happened. It's all in your voice."

"I'm walking, how am I supposed to sound?"

"You don't even do it all the time, thats how I really know." Her fingers tally. "Last time was the other day when you asked if I ever did CPR on one of the kids. Come to find out, Brie swallowed a peanut M&M."

Mrs. Nelson sucks her teeth. Mrs. Miller kept on listing.

"When you asked if I would ever mess with a friends man, you had just hooked up with Michelle's boyfriend. And then when you cheated on whatever his name was—"

"Nik—"

"Oh and that stalker shit when you got snatched. You sounded like this then too."