Zoe was about to call another friend, when suddenly her phone began ringing. The ID said that it was Athena.
"Athena?"
"Hey, Zoe. I was thinking maybe we could go out. I might have a lead on who's behind the switch."
"Really? Who?"
"I don't know exactly ... yet. But I thought we should all get together and talk about it. I already called Stephanie and she's going."
"I tried to get Sabrina to come, but she being an ass, just as usual."
"Well, if she knows why we're meeting, she might come with."
"Good point. I'll call her back. What about Zelda?"
"Her line was busy. I couldn't reach her."
Zoe looked at her clock. "Let's meet at the mall food court in thirty minutes."
"Did you say the mall?"
"Sarah said that she goes there a lot with her friends. I just thought we should go, you know, to just check it out. Once."
"Okay. Fine. But I think Stephanie and Sabrina might have a problem with that."
"Well," Zoe said. "If they know why they're going, it may not be as big a problem as you think."
"Okay. See you at the mall."
After her call with Athena, she called Zelda. But the line was busy. So, she just left a message on voicemail.
Who was she talking with?
Zelda sat on her bed, her arms folded across her halter top, trying to get comfortable. Trying to get comfortable with her new life. But it just wasn't happening. It was too hard to put her old life away. And that included her life of hacking. It was bad enough when she thought she wouldn't have any opportunities to hack anymore. It was even worse when she discovered that she lost her ability to hack altogether. She enjoyed hacking, but she didn't know how bad it would feel if she lost it for good.
While she was caught in her thoughts, her cellphone rang. The ID said that it was Melissa.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Zelda. You didn't tell me about your friend Wendi," said Melissa.
Zelda was confused. "I don't have a friend named Wendi."
"Well, I do. We just went to a rave club."
Zelda sat up. "You went to the rave club? Tonight?"
"Yeah. And it was so fun. We danced and ..."
"You danced?" Zelda just couldn't picture Melissa dancing at a rave club, especially after their meeting a few hours earlier. She seemed embarrassed by her new lifestyle. And now she was out at a club? So soon?
"Yeah, for almost an hour. You were right. That music really does grow on you."
"Who's this Wendi girl?" Zelda asked.
"I don't know." For some reason, she sounded a little out of it.
"Have you been drinking?" Zelda asked. She knew that they sold alcoholic drinks at the club.
"Maybe ... a little."
"Maybe I should come over."
"No, that's okay. I just need some sleep. Wendi said so too."
"What does Wendi look like?" Zelda asked.
"Tall, red braided hair, excellent figure," she said, with a small laugh.
Zelda tried to think. She may have known who she was talking about, but she knew next to nothing about her, including her name. Then a thought occurred to her. "You're older than me," Zelda suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"You're 16, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if this Wendi girl is the girl I'm thinking it is, then she's a college girl. Maybe 18 or 19. I'm 14. That's why we never hooked up as friends."
"So ... because I'm older, things are different for me?"
"It seems so."
Melissa laughed. "That's weird."
"Maybe you should get some sleep," Zelda told her.
"Okay," she said, then hung up.
Lying on her bed, Melissa looked down at herself. She ran her pale hand along her latex-covered body and smiled. Then she drifted to sleep, still wearing the outfit she wore to the club (boots and all).
