Boys, Boys, Boys

Their other roommate turned out to be a handsome young man named Aries Thibadeux with blonde hair and a laid-back, party boy attitude that belied a very sharp mind and a great sense of humor. Despite all that, he wasn't really Xanthe's type, and neither, she was finding, was Zaid.

But that was just fine. Zaid was probably the best friend she'd ever had, and why mess that up with romantic stuff? Dating your roommates wasn't necessarily a good idea, anyway. Zaid had a girlfriend named DJ Verse, and judging from the sounds coming from their bedroom late at night, they were getting along very well indeed.

And it wasn't like Xanthe was lonely. In her freshman year she'd dated a boy named Justin Thunderoad, followed in sophomore year by Curtis Handby, who was nice enough but she just couldn't get over the name. Xanthe Handby was about as unromantic a name as she could imagine for herself.

Xena had laughed at her when she mentioned that. "You obviously are not ready for a serious commitment if that's going to hang you up."

"Says the woman whose fiance has a cool last name."

"Uh, not really," Xena said. "When we finally do tie the knot my name will be Xena Kane. I think that's the name of a drug, or something ... "

Xanthe laughed. "OK, OK, you've made your point."

Xena was right, anyway. Even now, in her junior year Xanthe knew she wasn't ready to settle down. She hadn't even had any wild adventures yet, no crazy rollercoaster romance, heck, hardly any making out, let alone her first woohoo.

She wanted it to be with someone special, and she hadn't met him yet.

And then she met David.

Alien Girl

The mission was indeed old, and in need of repairs. Most of the windows had been boarded up and plastered over, but in the desert heat the rooms stayed cool and dark, so it wasn't so bad. It had rudimentary plumbing and four huge rooms that could be used as bedrooms, with a kitchen and two other rooms left over. In the center was a courtyard where a lone Joshua tree grew.

Xanthe loved it immediately.

"Zaid, this is so cool, but I don't think we can afford to fix it up."

"Not to worry, I put an ad in some of the buildings on campus, asking for roommates."

Most of the potential roommates took one look at the decrepit old building and quickly departed. The two friends had almost given up when Xanthe noticed someone standing shyly by the side of the building, watching her.

"Hello," she said, "are you here about the room?" She couldn't get a good look at the young woman, who seemed determined to stay in the shade.

"It's OK," Xanthe said, "I don't bite."

The young woman didn't laugh, but stepped nervously forward, and Xanthe saw that she had skin the color of old copper and black eyes with no whites to them. She couldn't help starting just a bit. She'd never met an alien before.

"I ... was hoping I could stay here," she said, quietly. "I can pay my way. There are ... too many people in the dorm."

"Of course you can," Xanthe said. "I'm Xanthe."

"Stella," said the green young woman, and smiled. She was quite pretty when she smiled, and her eyes were amazing.

"Well, come on in, Stella," Xanthe said. "It's not much, but you're welcome to call it home."

What Friends Are For

"Fight! Fight! Jess and Zaid are having a fight!" someone yelled outside Xanthe's door.

She sat up, still groggy. What time was it? She heard yelling, and running footsteps. Why would Zaid and Jess be fighting? She got out of bed and headed toward the noise.

She got there just in time to see Zaid win the fight. Jess rose stiffly to his feet and stalked off. A few of the dormies congratulated Zaid before heading downstairs to breakfast.

"Zaid? What was that all about?"

"I think you'd better sit down," he said.

She couldn't stop shivering, once he explained what had happened. He put his arm around her for comfort.

"That's so ... creepy," she said. "Why would someone do that?"

"I don't know, but I think you'd better lock your door from now on."

"If I was still at home, I'd call my brothers," she said, "or better yet, sicc my Uncle Spike on him. But I don't want my family to worry about me. I can handle this."

"So what do you want to do about it?"

"I don't know. I don't think I'll feel safe living here, now. I guess I'll have to find a new place."

"I've got an idea," he said. "I found a house for rent. It's not in very good shape, so it's cheap. We'd have to fix it up, but I think it would be a cool place to live. We could maybe get a few other students to go in with us. I think it's an old adobe mission or something. It has a lot of rooms."

"That sounds nice," she said. "Thanks, Zaid. For everything."

He shrugged. "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for."

Lessons

Zaid was up late, studying. He'd always been kind of a night owl, and he liked the relative quiet of the early morning hours. He sat at a table in the dining area, writing an essay on rhetoric for his political science course.

Thanks to Xanthe he was passing math, now. It had never been his best subject. He understood politics, and people, much better than numbers and equations, but the way she explained it made it seem so much simpler. She'd make a great teacher, if that's what she chose to do.

She was a nice person, and he felt bad that he'd been so rude. He planned to make it up to her. He'd like it if they could be friends.

He glanced up and looked toward her room, where he knew she was sleeping. He had a pretty good view of her door from where he sat. And that's when he noticed that it was open.

He knew she'd closed it when they'd said goodnight.

He got up and walked quietly toward the door, heart pounding, not sure what he would find. Maybe he was just being silly. Maybe she'd gone to get a drink of water or something.

When he pushed open the door he saw Jess Kauker standing there, watching her sleep, the creep. Zaid's skin felt all crawly.

"Hey!" he said. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jess pushed past him and ran upstairs, Zaid on his heels. He'd seldom been so angry. No one had the right to violate someone's privacy like that, and Jess had to be taught a lesson. Zaid didn't fight much, but he was pumped with adrenaline, and he'd spent a lot of time at the gym lately.

He grabbed Jess and threw him to the floor.

His Tutor

"You're kidding," he said. "You're my math tutor?"

Xanthe sighed and sat down across from him. "I guess so, if you're Zade Mustafa."

"Zay-eed. Zaid Mustafa. Not 'Zade.""

"Sorry." She sighed. "It seems we can't escape each other, so what do you say we attempt to be civil?"

"You're right," he said. "I'm sorry I was so rude to you. I shouldn't have taken my hostilities out on you."

"Apology accepted," she said, smiling and holding out her hand. "Xanthe Nova."

"As in Xena Nova? I thought you looked kinda familiar."

"Yes, as in Xena, my super famous sister." She sighed again.

"Guess that gets kind of old, huh," he said, smiling. "If it's any consolation, you're even prettier than she is."

Xanthe stared at him. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Zaid?"

He laughed. "Look, like I said, I'm sorry. I was just sore because I lost out on a scholarship to this kid who didn't even need it. That didn't have anything to do with you. For all I know, your family's broke too."

"Well, not exactly," she admitted, "my parents are scientists, and they do OK. But they raised five kids, so money's not exactly in huge supply, either."

"Scientists? That's pretty cool."

"How about yours?"

His expression darkened. "Tell you sometime when I know you better. Now, about this homework ... "

The Verdict

When Porter came back from the police station his expression was grim. Xena put down the book she'd been reading and stood up.

"What is it?"

"I just had a long talk with your brother-in-law Orlando. It seems our house fire is being ruled as arson."

She gasped. "Who would do such a thing?"

"That's what the police wanted to know," Porter said, loosening his tie and sitting down wearily on the sofa, one of their few pieces of furniture. They had both hated the dinky brick home they'd originally moved into and had recently bought a row home they could barely afford. They had no car, and only the barest amount of furniture. They planned to use Porter's latest paycheck to buy a stove.

She sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "I can't believe anyone would hate us that much."

"Oh, I can," he said, laughing bitterly. "I've got a whole list. That's the problem. I've got a lot of enemies, Xena. The only thing is, I don't know who would want to hurt you as well." He put his arm around her and pulled her closer. "I hate the thought that they're just going to get away with it."

"They don't have to," she said. "We can do some investigating on our own."

"That sounds dangerous."

"Says the man who used to be a vampire."

"Used to be is the operative phrase," he said, "and I was talking about you."

"I can handle myself," she said. "The thought that someone wants to hurt us makes me want to take action, not just sit around waiting for them to try again."

He sighed. "You're right. I suppose we should make a list."

"I'll get a piece of paper." She stood up.

He pulled her back down to the couch. "Let's do this tomorrow, OK? I've been over this over and over again with the police and I don't want to think about it anymore today. I'm just so grateful that you are all right, and that I am too."

"All right, whatever you say," she said, snuggling up to him again.

He leaned back on the couch and pulled her down on his chest and they lay like that, holding each other, until they fell asleep.

Unwanted Company

"Hi, Xanthe," said the eager and kind of goofy young man, holding the door for her and following her into the dorm. "Just get back from a date?"

"Uh, yes, Jess, was it?"

"Yeah, that's right," he said. "You remembered."

Xanthe smiled. "Yes. Well, see you."

"Uh, Xanthe?"

"Yes, Jess?" She stopped and waited as patiently as she could. She had lots of homework to get to that she'd blown off to go out with Curtis, but her mother had raised her to be polite.

"Who'd you go out with? On the date, I mean."

"I don't think that's any of your business," she said, slowly, backing away from him. She barely knew this guy, so what was with all the questions.

He shrugged. "Of course, of course, just wondering. It's just that you went out with a guy last week and I was wondering if you were, you know, an item or something."

"Jess, I have a lot of homework." Xanthe felt warning bells go off. He was tracking who she dated?

"Uh, do you want to go out for coffee or something?" he said, everything coming out in a rush.

"I said I have a lot of homework."

"Oh, sure. I meant, sometime."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think so."

"I just ... "

"I believe the lady told you no," said a smooth voice behind her. "I'd suggest you accept gracefully."

Jess's face grew red but he sized up the speaker and decided to leave. "OK, then, later," he said.

Xanthe turned around and stared. It was the young man who had knocked her down on her first day there. "You're coming to my rescue now? Why? So you can insult me some more?"

"A simple thank you will do," he said.

"OK, well, thank you, I guess."

He nodded. "Well, see you round then."

"Okaaaay," she said, watching him go. Maybe it was something in the water, but boys at this college seemed even weirder than the ones back home. Or maybe it was just that she attracted the weirdos. Xanthe sighed and went to do her homework.