Sibling Rivalry

"Hey, Xanth," Walter said, sitting down next to her on the cool tile floor. "Homework again?"

"I'm probably studying too much," she said, "but I really want to get on the Dean's List."

"I just missed it this term."

"I know. Sorry about that."

He shrugged. "My own fault. I wasn't as dedicated as I should have been. You seem driven."

She shrugged. "It's a kind of friendly competition with my sibs. My sister Xena graduated with a solid 4.0. Not even Ariel, the family supergenius, did that."

"And you want to top that, huh. Kind of hard to do."

"Not top it, just not let her do better than me."

He grinned. "Sibling rivalry is a slippery path, my friend."

"You should know."

He chuckled. "Guilty as charged. We've been competing since George came out of the womb five minutes before I did."

"My siblings are so much older than me. They've got families already. I'd have liked to have a sibling closer to my own age."

"It's a mixed blessing." Walter stretched. "I'd better get to that homework if I'm going to beat you next term."

"I'll wipe the floor with you," she said, grinning.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we," he said, getting up and leaving the room.

Walter and George

George was a poet. He would often wander off mid-conversation to find a piece of paper, and then sit in the corner scribbling for an hour or so. Sometimes when he ran out of notebook paper he'd use other things.

"Hey, Shakespeare," Aries said, "lay off the toilet paper, OK? Or at least go buy some more."

"Sorry, bro," George said, blushing as much as a man his color could blush.

"Oh, leave him alone, Aries," Stella said. "His poetry is beautiful."

George looked even more embarrassed and went to get the car and go buy more toilet paper.

"He's in love, that's why he's writing again," Walter said, smiling after his brother. "Wait till he falls out of love, again. Then he'll just be all Byrony and broody."

"Happen a lot?" Zaid asked.

"More than you can imagine." Walter was a history major, and passionate about his subject. He and Xanthe stayed up all night one night arguing about communism and why it had collapsed in the Soviet Union. She found him interesting, if a little intimidating. She was out of her depth when it came to history. Give her a lab and a test tube any day.

Poison

As soon as Xena got home from work that night she lost it. She stood in the doorway, sobbing like a six year old girl. Porter ran to her and held her and sat her down on the couch, not saying a word until she'd gotten herself under control.

He handed her a tissue and she blew her nose, loudly.

"The show closed," she said, mouth trembling. "The critics hated it. They said I was ... AWFUL!" She started to cry again. "And it's not fair because the director is a big huge jerk who made me do the role that way ... I knew I shouldn't have taken this part."

Porter declared it a sick of work day the next day and made her lie on the couch while he brought her chicken soup. She wore her comfy jammies and watched soap operas with her head on some pillows and her feet in his lap. He read a book. He couldn't stand soap operas.

"I don't want to go back to work," Xena said. "My agent said he has a cartoon voice gig for me, but that's about it. I'm ... poison," she sniffled again.

"You're not poison. Show business is silly and fickle, you know that. This will all blow over, you'll see. We can't afford for you not to work, but if you want to get a different job, even if the pay is less, then go ahead."

"No," she said, "I'll face my fears and just go. You work at a job you hate because it pays well. Why should I get special treatment? Besides, you know what they say, get back on the horse and all that."

Porter smiled at her. "Let's go out to dinner somewhere special. I think it's time we got off this couch."

Four Becomes Six

The four roommates were getting awfully tired of hotdogs and gelatin. They had bought a grill rather than a stove when they first moved in, to save money. And now it was the start of a new term and they had weeks until they'd get their new stipends, and somehow they had managed to spend nearly every penny.

First, they'd needed new beds. The ones they were sleeping on left them tired and cranky, and Aries had a crick in his neck for a week that made him almost grouchy. Then, they'd needed a second shower.

And then the boys had come home wheeling a stove, grinning from ear to ear. Xanthe was worried about money but joined Stella in a little cheer.

Aries and Zaid took a bow. "No more hot dogs for us," Aries said.

Once the stove was installed it was clear they must have a "we just got a stove" party, which wiped out even more of their money, as they needed to order pizzas and buy a stereo.

The next morning when Xanthe got up to fix breakfast she discovered they'd gone through all of their groceries. She clipped coupons all day and managed to get them enough food for a week on what was left.

"We've got fifty simoleans left," Zaid said at dinner. "We need to get another roommate."

"How about your girlfriend?" Xanthe suggested.

"No go. I asked her already. She's president of her sorority, and besides she says moving in would be too serious a move, at this point in our relationship."

Xanthe could definitely identify with that. "So, what?"

"How about Walter and George?" Aries said. "I know them from highschool. They're cool guys, but they're brothers, so you get one, you get the other."

"Do we have room for two more?" Stella worried.

"We can move the weight machines into the courtyard," Zaid said. "It's not like someone's going to steal them."

Yes, they were broke, but everyone had wanted the machines, and Aries had found some at a bargain last year.

"All in favor of George and Walter, raise your hand," Zaid said. Everyone raised their hands.

And so four became six.

It Runs in the Family

The investigation wasn't going too well. For one thing, Xena had gotten cast in a new production and was working her tail off trying to learn her new role. They had been able to buy a car, and a few things for the house, and it was starting to look like a home.

Porter hated his job, but it paid too well for him to quit just now, at least until they got their finances under control. He wanted to be a scientist, maybe teach at the university.

"Just do it, Porter," Xena urged. "Life is short."

"I will," he promised. "Just as soon as we can afford some new light fixtures, and a better bed. My back is killing me."

"And then we'll need a dishwasher, and new wallpaper, and ... Porter, it will always be something."

"I'll think about it."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Which means no."

They did manage to have some fun, of course. They even drove to the Shangri-La one afternoon just to have woohoo in the public hot tub, because it felt so naughty to do so. They had a lot of fun before the maitre d kicked them out. They giggled all the way to the car.

So between their jobs and worrying about money and spending time with each other and getting to know Mallory, they didn't have a lot of time, or inclination, to dwell on their enemies and what they might be plotting.

They had narrowed it down to three suspects, two if you asked Xena, and a possible unknown person who meant them harm.

"Jack just wouldn't," she said. "He was sorry he caused all that trouble. I think he's staying well out of our way."

Porter frowned. "I'm not sure I share your optimism. But OK, if it's not him, we have Tiffany and Solange. And the fire happened before I found out about Mallory, so I have a strong hunch I know who our main enemy is."

"She sounds so unpleasant."

"Trust me, she's worse in person. And since we know it's probably her, we just need to make sure we keep tabs on her somehow."

"My grandmother."

"Come again?"

"Lola's the vampire hunter. It's her job to keep an eye on the vampires. So, we'll just let her know that Solange is sneaky, and possibly vindictive."

"We sicc an old lady on a vampire?"

"Hey, my grandma may be old, but I'm glad she's not my enemy. She can be ruthless."

"Old age and treachery, huh."

"In spades."

He grinned. "Must run in the family."

"Hey, watch it, buddy." The conversation dissolved into a tickle fight.

Xanthe and Xander

"Hi Xander," Xanthe sniffled into the phone.

"What's wrong, Xanthe?"

"Oh, nothing. I just broke up with David."

"Was he mean to you?" A protective tone crept into Xander's voice.

"Oh, nothing like that. He was wonderful. It was just getting so serious. I'm not ready for serious."

"Well, that's too bad, Xanthe, but I think it was probably for the best. He is a lot older than you."

"I know. I'm just worried I'm going to end up as a crazy cat lady," Xanthe said.

Xander laughed. "Xanthe, you're a junior in college. You have your whole life ahead of you. Trust me when I say there's no danger of cat ladyness."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Hey, what did I hear about you on the starting lineup for the team?" she said. "I didn't even know you were ON the team."

"Oh, yeah. Apollo told me there were tryouts and I made the cut. We tried to get Alec to try out too but his kids are younger than mine and he needs to be home with them."

"That's great, but I feel so out of touch. I heard it from my friend Zaid."

"So what's up with Zaid? He seems nice."

"He has a girlfriend, and I think he's cute and all, but honestly he's like another brother."

"Well, don't worry, Xanthe. The right guy's out there. Just don't think about it too much and he'll show up eventually."

"You're probably right," she said. "I'm not sure I'm ready for him right now, anyway."

"Well, good, then, that works out, doesn't it."

She laughed. "Yeah. I guess it does."

Just Not Ready

"I guess you know how I feel about you," David said over dinner that night as he caressed Xanthe's hand across the table. Xanthe smiled, though inside all she felt was panic. She'd been dating David for several weeks now and it had all gone so fast. They hadn't slept together yet but they'd done everything else. David had been patient, knowing she was much younger than he was, and it was her first time and all. She was running out of excuses. And why did she need one? He was kind, attentive, interested in the same things she was, and handsome too. What was her problem? "Hello, Xanthe, you here?" David smiled. "Oh, sorry, daydreaming. You were saying?" "I was just saying, I really like you, Xanthe. More than like you. I know you need to finish college first, but I was thinking ... " Xanthe stood up. "Uh, David, I can't do this. I'm sorry. You're really wonderful and everything. I'm just not ready for a serious ... whatever this is." David stood up too, frowning slightly. "You've just been playing with me?" "No, no, I really like you. I really do. I just ... it's ... you've got your whole life planned out already. You're a doctor with a good job, and I don't even know what I want from life yet. I'm ... just not ready. I'm sorry." "I'm not sure what to say." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'm really sorry, David. I think we shouldn't see each other anymore." She turned and walked out of the restaurant. She knew she should be upset, but all she felt was relief.