43) --- Lego Maniac ---------------------------------------------------

	"...there is virtually nothing in the world that cannot
	be reproduced in LEGO bricks, if only you try hard enough
        (and have a LEGO factory at your disposal)."
			-- Henry Wiencek

    "Hmph," said the lizard as he surveyed the crash site.  "I was 
wrong.  The Geek _wasn't_ a wimp.  But he was still a Geek." He turned 
to deal with Trevor, Gordo, and Rufus, who were trying to get Aerianne 
to safety.  But as he moved to attack, a voice said, "Why, _Jesus_... I 
never thought you would be be the one to forget..."
    "Who said that?!" yelled JHC as he spun towards the voice.  All 
that was behind him was the mass of LEGO bricks that was all that was 
left of the Runabout.  Was there a bit of movement in the pile? The 
Superlizard floated forward to investigate, as the voice continued.
    "...that there is more than meets the eye?" And before the lizard
could react, an arm made out of LEGO pieces flew towards him and gave 
him a mighty backhand.
    "WWHHHAAAATTTT???!!!!" screamed the lizard as he flew backwards
once again, impacting several walls until being stopped by another.
Shaking his head, he extracted himself.  "SHOW YOURSELF!!" he bellowed 
towards his unseen assailant.
    "Ok...  I will..." And before SuperLizard's eyes (and several 
others), the hill of LEGOs coalesced, shifted, and extended itself with
the sound of hundreds of thousands of LEGOs clicking together and 
apart, of gears meshing together, of electrical units forming 
connections.  Ironically enough, the combined sound almost sounded like 
the buzz-crunch from 'The Transformers', but instead of pieces flexing,
folding, and shifting, the LEGOs flowed in a manner more similar to 
that out of 'Terminator 2'.  And as the transformation finished, it
settled on a humanoid form.  One that was familiar to some of the 
people there.

		<<<Sledgehammer : Peter Gabriel>>>

    "Goddess," Zoner managed to say.  This was _not_ happening.
    "Hm... a Griffin.. it's a pity Gryphon isn't here to see this," 
stated Vaughn.  Zoner just nodded.
    Yes, it _did_ bear a striking resemblance to a Griffin battlemech. 
Well, except for the fact that it was full-sized.  And seemed to have a 
few more weapons than the GriffinMech did.  And a _lot_ more armor.  
And that it was built out of LEGOs.  And that Griffins don't usually 
have large hammers instead of hands.  Other than that, it was almost an 
exact duplicate-- a 20 ft. tall duplicate, yes-- but a copy
nonetheless.  Zoner had a fleeting thought of yelling "Copyright 
Infringement!" but let it pass.  One doesn't _worry_ about literary 
rights when one's life is at stake.

    "Ok, lizard... Let's try for round TWO." Philip rushed the lizard 
at full speed, feet tearing up the ground at a terrible pace.  JHC
stood his ground, and as Philip swung, intending to pulp the lizard 
under one of his hammer-arms, he dodged, leaving Philip to create 
a nice hole in the pavement.  "Come back here!" he yelled as he 
continued to swing, trying to connect.  The lizard just dodged, and 
stuck out his tounge.  "YerrRAUGH!" Philip roared as he tried to hit 
the lizard again, missing and pounding an asphalt crater.

    Philip and the lizard faced each other like two Sumo wrestlers at
the beginning of a match.  Now, granted, one of the wrestlers was 
twenty feet tall, and the other only six inches, but the Corps recalled 
the words of Yoda: "Size matters not.  Judge me by my size, do you?"
    Philip, still half-blinded as he was by rage, stepped forward to 
make the first attack.
    Bad idea.
    Philip's attack came in the form of a forward step, which he 
planned to follow with a downward strike.  Unfortunately, he never 
quite got that far.  The lizard grabbed his leg and managed to pick up 
Philip and toss him over a row of trees.  Philip managed to make a 
not-quite-graceful landing in the baseball field.  "Oy," the lizard 
mock-sympathized, "that's GOTTA hurt!"
    Philip was in no condition to disagree with him.

    <Alright, Moyer,> Philip chastised himself.  <Time to pull yourself
together and get on the right track.  Waittaminnit, 'track,' 'track,'
that gives me an idea...>
    Those members of the audience who used to watch "The Transformers" 
will no doubt remember the trademark buzz-crunch sound when one of the 
characters changed form.  As Philip's LEGOs rearranged themselves once 
again, a similar sound erupted from the armor.  The armor shifted form,
the arms and legs folding in on itself, until it resembled... a rounded 
rectangle shape?  No, not a rectangle... more like a train!  Seemingly 
oblivious to the fact that there were no traintracks anywhere near the 
baseball field, the train surged back up the hill towards the Quad.

    Trevor and Rufus were watching the action with excitement and
apprehension at the same time.
    "Rufus, isn't there anything we can do to help him?  He's being
squashed by a bug!"
    Gordo was quick to point out that Philip's adversary was indeed not 
an insect, but rather a member of the lizard family.
    Trevor blinked his eyes in a blank stare at Gordo a few times, then
closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side slowly.  "You 
missed the point, there, Gordo.  But anyway...  waitasec, what about 
Aeri's cannon?"
    "But Aerianne's laser cannon is damaged, I don't see how it 
could--"
    "Can you fix it?" Trev asked, pointing at Rufus.
    Rufus got a hurt look on his face as if he was asking "Do you 
really mistrust my abilities that much?"  All he said, however, was "Of 
course."
    <Why do I feel like I'm talking to a three-year-old?> Despite his
frustration, Trevor's eyes danced with a glint of light.  "Shall we 
dance?"

    This time it was JHC's turn for his eyes to widen as a LEGO train
hurtled its way towards him at full speed.  He planted himself, ready 
to throw the train over him as it passed.  
    This time, however, Philip was ready.  As Superlizard ducked 
underneath and pushed the train into the air, it suddenly sprouted...
wings?  For a moment, it almost looked like a space shuttle, but 
further transformations finished molding the image into that of a 
slightly thicker F-15 Eagle.  The plane flew around and lined up for a 
strafing pass.
    The lizard smirked at what he thought was the total ineffectiveness 
of Philip's latest tactic, but he had to admit, "Nice effect..."
    Philip, sitting in what was now the LEGO Armor's cockpit, had a 
smirk of his own on his face.  "Alright, you overgrown lizard... well,
not exactly 'overgrown,' but... shrug _this_ off!"
    JHC, expecting a line of bullets to rain down on him, was shocked 
to see, at the last minute, the plane flipping over and shifting form 
again, this time into that of a tank, landing on the ground with an 
audible KRUNCH!
    "Ya know," Superlizard droned, "this is no longer funny..."

    "How's it going, Rufus?" Trevor asked, nervous to start kicking ass 
and taking names with Aeri's cannon.
    Rufus looked up at Trevor with en expression of broken 
concentration.  "Trevor, you must understand that this is a _delicate_
operation."  As he continued his explanation, he grew more emphatic and 
intense.  "It takes the utmost concentration to repair a weapon of this 
magnitude.  You must remember, after all, that there is a limit to even 
my capacity.  Damn it, Trevor, I'm an engineering student, not a bloody 
warp-speed repair machine!"
    Trevor smiled as he mused, <He doesn't even recognize that, does 
he?>

    Philip's tank barrel blazed as salvos glanced off Superlizard's 
hide. "I guess it's true what Rogue said," Philip muttered to himself, 
"'You just can't get close to some men.'  Or lizards, as the case may 
be..."
    JHC braced himself for his next attack as Philip's LEGO tank bared
down on him.  <That's right, you imbecilic human, just a _little_
closer...>  As Philip got within arm's reach, the lizard picked up the
tank and launched it across the WPI campus, this time in the opposite
direction, into Alden Hall.  Before the tank could hit the floor,
however, it shifted again, first becoming a bit larger, a bit greener,
and a bit blockier, then assuming a humanoid form and landing.  On both
feet.  The blocks that had constituted the tank's barrel now existed as
a gun mounted on the armor's shoulder.  A hideous grin played on the 
faceplate.  Philip, inside the armor, decided that the LEGOs-as- 
projectiles idea wasn't working too well.  Then, remembering where he 
was, he glanced towards the fly carriages and grinned.  <Hmm... twenty
to fifty-pound stage weights... those could be useful!>  He loaded the 
weights into the barrel of the gun.
    This was going to be amusing...

    SuperLizard, by this time, was getting tired of the whole affair. 
It had been easy at first, but this new opponent?  Well, he was 
getting... _annoying_.  <It's about time to play _hardball_,> JHC 
thought to himself as he picked up several large pieces of belltower, 
intending to rush into the Alden auditorium and throw them at his 
opponent.  Which he did. 
    "Is that all you're going to do?" the lizard asked as Philip just 
stayed where he was, and let the blows hit.  "Just _stand_ there?!"
    The armor began to move, aiming the cannon towards the lizard.  
"Well, if you don't _want_ me to..."  Philip smiled tightly, and fired.
    klunkWHANG!
    klunkWHANG!
    klunkWHANG!
    klunkWHANG!

    "Rufus, you got that thing fixed yet?" asked Trevor hurriedly.
    "Hold on," he said as he tweaked a few more wires.  "You're lucky I
had my tools with me.  There!" he exclaimed as the cannon started to
hum.  He handed it to Trevor, who kneeled and rested it on his 
shoulder. Gordo hooked his powerplant into the cannon, and Trevor 
targeted on Alden Hall.
    "We will have to wait until Philip exits the building before we
fire," Gordo commented.
    "I'm sort of aware of that," muttered Trevor, who was still 
targeting.  They waited for several long seconds, the cannon charging, 
until a horrendous tearing sound filled the air.  They watched as the 
blocky greenish-purple LEGO armor burst out of the building, a long 
cannonlike object aimed downwards, firing rapidly.
    "FIRE!" bellowed Gordo, and Trevor fired.
    <BthrubZARK!> The beam of energy lanced forward, knocking the three
back due to the gun's force, and hit the building dead-on.  The 
building's vaporization was instantaneous and actually quite pretty,
as a tremendous fireball blossomed and made its way to the sky.  The
backblast threw the three humans across the remains of the quad, and 
the LEGO armor backwards towards the DAKA. 
    "Now THAT was a kick!" Trevor exclaimed, as they shakily stood up.
They watched as what little debris there was fell from the sky.  And
then they gasped as one piece of debris apparently stopped in mid-air, 
hovered for a few seconds, and then rocketed towards DAKA.
    "I believe the appropriate expression is 'Fuck Me'," Gordo said,
the color going out of his face.
    "Close," Trevor replied, totally expressionless, as if giving a
lecture on the subject of colorful metaphors.  "'Fuck me, long and 
hard, with a chainsaw' has always been one of _my_ personal
favorites..."

    Philip shook his head, trying to clear it, as pieces of Alden Hall
fell around him.  He tried to stand, but was knocked off balance by
the lizard as it kicked him.  He flew backwards, out of control, into
the center of DAKA.  Tables, trays, counters, and LEGOs flew everywhere 
as the armor ripped apart under the stress.  Fortunately, there were no 
students to be squished, as DAKA (as previously noted) was closed over 
break.  Philip tried to reform the LEGO armor, but was unable to make 
anything that could move in the confined space.  All he was left with 
was the remains of his original Hardsuit.  And Jesus Christ SuperLizard 
knew this.
    "I'll rip you out of there like sardines out of a can!" JHC
taunted as he advanced.  Philip, out of ammo and desperate, started 
throwing DAKA trays at the SuperLizard.  But the lizard seemed to be 
impervious to the material that DAKA trays were made of, and he 
continued to approach with a leer on his face.
     "You guys have to be the wimpiest bunch of losers on the face of 
the planet!  Did you _really_ expect you could defeat someone like me?"  
Philip ignored his monologue as SuperLizard grabbed him and tossed him
through the (locked) airlock to the Wedge.  He skidded for several 
feet, sending Wedge Rats scattering for cover.
    "I was born in the fires of a nuclear test detonation in Africa!", 
JCH continued as Philip grabbed anything that was handy (in this case, 
a soda can).  "Next to me, Godzilla's a _WIMP_!"  Philip threw the can 
as hard as he could.  "What's that supposed to do, make me want to 
clean my suiAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"
    <What the hell?> thought Philip as the lizard screamed in pain.  He
looked around, his optics scanning, for any other soda cans.  Most of 
them had fallen over during the battle, but then he looked over towards
the soda machine.  Making a break for it, he rushed over to it, and
punched an armored hand into the machine, voiding the warranty on the
hardsuit and the Soda machine.  He grabbed several cans, and hurried 
back to the lizard.
    <Here goes nothing,> he prayed as he threw the cans.  They arced
through the air, and hit JHC, shattering as they did so and releasing
their contents.  SuperLizard's cries of anguish increased, and then
faded, as the Lizard melted away.
    "What the hell did you use?" Trevor asked as the Corps and the
Wedge Rats came over to look at the wet sticky spot that was all that 
remained of the metaLizard.  Philip picked up an unbroken can, tried 
to open it, and failed.  Trev had to pop it open and hand it to him.  
Philip took it, and sipped.  His face grimaced, and he spit the 
liquid out.
    "What is it?!"
    Philip cleared his throat as he turned.  "Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi."
    Trevor's eyebrows went up.  "And he survived _how_ many cans?  He
must have been sturdier than we thought..."  He caught a glance out of
the corner of his eye from a badly bruised Philip.  Oh, if looks could
kill...

    The battle over, the Wedge and the Corps set to the task of 
cleaning up.  But Philip hung back.  Someone wasn't there, and he had
to find her.  
    "Aerianne!  Where is she..?" he asked with worry in his eyes.
    "Just look over there," said Gordo, pointing.  His eyes widened as
he saw Aerianne laying on the grass in front of the Wedge.
    "Aeri?" he said he ran over and kneeled next to her.  She didn't 
stir, and Philip placed his arms under her back in an effort to hold
her close.  "Oh, dear god no..." he said, his eyes beginning to fill 
with tears as he rocked her back and forth. 
    As Philip rocked her, mumbling incoherently, Aerianne began to
awaken.
    "Ooh," she moaned, holding her head in pain, "Tell the guy with the 
jackhammer to lay off, would ya?"
    "You're.. you're alive?" Philip managed to stammer.
    "Pretty much," she said, nursing several sore spots as Philip 
helped her up gently.  "Guess I'm still with you..."
    "Damnit," he said just a little ruefully, "You have more lives than
Kei..."
    "I told you never to call me that," she tried to say with some
irritation in it, but it came out softer and more wryly.  Perhaps the 
fact there were tears about to escape her eyelids could account for it.
    They hugged each other and kissed.  Never mind the fact that they 
both were wearing battlearmor, they were just happy to be together and 
alive.
    "Yeah Phil, great, I'm happy for you," Trevor said as he attempted 
to talk to Philip.  "But do you have any idea how we're getting 
_home_?"
    "Hmm?" asked Philip, who was currently occupied with Aerianne,
and couldn't really devote his brain to things like talking.
    "Allow me," stated Gordo with a smile.  Positioning his armored 
hands between the two, he gently, but firmly exerted outward pressure 
until they were forced to separate.
    "You were _saying_, Trev?" Aerianne said, not too pleased at being
interrupted.
    "Well, _basically_ the Suburban's a total wreck.  And I doubt 
Greyhound likes people wearing power armor on their busses, or that
AAA tows flying trucks."
    "Ah.  Could be a problem," Philip stated obviously.
    "Er, yes, it could," Trevor said with _heavy_ sarcasm.  "So, any 
ideas?"
    "Well, not at the momen-- PING!" he exclaimed, miming the action
of a lightbulb going on over his head.  "Hold on, be right back," he 
said as he walked back to the remains of his LEGO armor that was left 
in DAKA.  As the others followed behind, curious, they could hear the
buzz-crunch of a transformation taking place.
    "What the hell is he doing?" asked Trevor.  Rufus shrugged.  The
sound finally ended, and Philip walked back in his new form.
    "He's _got_ to be kidding me," Trevor said as he stared at Philip's
new armor, dumbfounded.  Aerianne, even though injured, couldn't help
laughing.
    Philip's new armor was actually quite simple, although more of
a mecha than a power armor.  In fact, you could almost see him behind
the windshield that made up the chest of the red and blue (with 
silver-grey accents) mecha.  
    "Yes, Trevor?" Philip asked, tilting his blue antennaed head, the
silver mouthplate moving in synch with his words.
    "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
    "You better believe it! TERRAPINS, ROLL OUT!" Philip yelled with an
unseen smile as he transformed, the grey trailer rolling out from 
inside the building and linking up with the tractor.  He willed the 
back gate open, and Gordo, on cue, maneuvered the mangled Suburban into 
the back of the trailer.  

    The Corps managed, with the accompaniment of multiple moans and
groans, to extricate themselves from their thoroughly trashed armor.
Philip and Aerianne had their arms around each other's shoulders,
Philip supporting Aeri and Aeri trying to put up a front of supporting
him but failing miserably.
    "Trev, you're driving," Philip stated as they entered the tractor.
    "Oh, I'm so surprised!" Trevor said in his best Iago impression.  
"I think I'm going to have a heart attack and _DIE_ from that surprise!"
    "Trevor," Aeri managed through a haze of pain and exhaustion, "I'm
too tired to kill you.  I'm even too tired to cause you hideous pain.
Kindly shut the fuck up."
    "Hmm," Trevor mused with a smirk on his face as he got into the 
driver's seat, "It is wonderful that, even in the worst of times, we 
can rely on our sense of humor to sustain us..."

    Back at FOWL HQ, Ray looked over the remains of the Sable strike
force-- all three of them.  The rest of the WPI operatives were dead,
and Ray's hole card had been destroyed, by a _soft drink_ no less!  But
Ray wasn't mad.  
    He was _livid_.
    But strangely enough, he didn't show it.  He just walked around the
conference room, looking at the three sable commandos who stood there, 
eyes downcast.
    "This wasn't that difficult of a mission, was it?" he asked
offhandedly, searching for a reason, _any_ reason, why the sables had
failed so completely.  "Didn't I give you the best weaponry?  Did I
not brief you sufficiently on your opponents?  Were you not adequately
trained to be able to stop five college-aged --" he sneered at the word 
"--_human_ children?"
    "But sir..." the sable said, pulling out one of the salvaged wing
cameras, "Not all of our news is _bad_..."
 
44) --- Registration Blues --------------------------------------------

	"Have you ever walked alone at night,
	 Like a man against the world?"
			-- Survivor, "Man Against the World"
	
    The rest of the break was, fortunately, a lot less hectic than its
first day.  However, it was tiring in its own way, as Philip had
homework to do over the break.  Most of it was reading, but there was
some research to do as well as some compsci problems, which he did
grudgingly.  He also had an interview to prepare for, as well as other 
things.  He had _so_ been hoping for a break where he could just sleep 
all day, but it was not to be.
      Of course, the break wasn't _all_ bad.  Aerianne was with him
(enough said), and he had also finally gotten the gumption to get onto
channel #Eyrie.  Unfortunately, that meant that he usually ended 
staying up until midnight or after, which did _not_ please his mom.
But somehow he managed get enough sleep (yaright), and therefore he was
at least alert enough to realize that Early Registration was coming up.
Both he and Aeri would be taking the same classes (hopefully, if 
Philip's grades didn't bomb outright), and from the looks of their
schedules so far, they _might_ be able to spend some significant time
with each other out of class.  But first they had to _get_ their 
classes...

			MONDAY, MARCH 21
	
    "So, how's it goin?" asked Aerianne as Philip left his Calc III 
class.  Philip wobbled his hand.
    "Oh, so-so," he replied as they walked towards the Taco Bell. "I 
still need to work on my outline, I didn't even get _close_ to
starting--"
    "Small wonder, with you being on #Eyrie all night--"
    "Well, you were on _too_, and you were on _just_ as long as I was,"
he rejoined, poking her in the shoulder.
    "Well, at least _I_ had the sense to tell _you_ it was about 11:30 
and you had _class_ tomorrow..." she poked in return.
    "Good point," he yawned, which prompted Aeri to give a self- 
satisfied chuckle in return.  "Where was I?"
    "Oh, describing how the entire universe is out to get you, _as 
usual_."
    "Ah, yeah... Well, I've still got the outline, plus Calc homework,
a Calc take-home quiz, _Etta Jenks_, and I still need to start the next
LISP project--glarg.  Well, it's not all bad," he said with a smile.
    "How so?" she asked, curious.
    "Welll," he said, teasing her, "have you checked your mail yet?"
    "No, why?"
    Philip just smiled.  "Just check it out after lunch..."
    "There's something you're not telling me..."
    "... and I _know_ it," Philip said with a grin.  "Trust me, it's
good." Philip said nothing more on the subject, despite Aeri's 
proddings on it.  

    After lunch was consumed, they made their way over to AVWilliams
to pick up their registration letters.  It was raining lightly, so
Philip pulled out his small umbrella and deployed it.  Aerianne did the
same, but pulled her umbrella from a pocket in her trenchcoat.  Once
inside, they went to the undergrad advising office for their
transcripts.  Aerianne got hers first.
    "'Aerianne Connor'?  Ok, let me look... here you go!" said the 
secretary as she pulled out Aeri's transcript.
    "'Connor'?" queried Philip bemusedly.  "You're taking your
Highlander fascination a little too far."  Aeri just stuck out her 
tounge as the secretary checked for any registration blocks.  None were
found, and Aeri took her transcript with a smile.
    "Thank you!  Philip, I'll be in the DEC lab while you get your
transcript, it shouldn't take a minute.  Seeya!"  Giving him a peck on 
the cheek, she turned and left the room.  Philip turned and showed the
secretary his id.

    Aerianne chuckled to herself.  <Philip was right!>  Gryphon's new 
UF:FI story was shaping up to be another winner, as usual.  She turned 
and looked at the laser printer, which was happily churning out pages.  
The fact that there was no print quota from these machines only 
improved her mood. 
    Aeri turned as Philip entered the lab, a smile on her face, eager
to tell him about the new story.  But then she noticed that Philip was
_not_ happy.  In fact he was downright _morbid_.
    "What's wrong?" she asked with concern as she walked over to the
brooding Philip.
    "rgstrtn blk," he muttered, his head buried in the folds of his
coat.
    "Huh?"
    "_Registration Block_!" he exclaimed, startling Aerianne.  "A 
fragging _registration_ _block_!!"  His sudden outburst caught the
attention of the others who were in the lab, who glared at him.
    "How's that possible?"  Aerianne asked as she picked up the pages
from the printer, and began to log out.
    "The printout had a dollar sign... apparently I owe _them_ some
money," he said with malice in his voice.
    "But what do you owe them?" she said as she filled her backpack and
shouldered it.
    "I don't know... but I'm going to find out..." 

                     SEVERAL HOURS LATER

    Aerianne stuck out her head from the suite door as Philip walked
down the steps of the dorm entrance.  "How'd it go?" she asked him,
but judging from his scowl, it hadn't been good.
    "Oh, just _fine_," he replied.  "Just frigging _great_..."
    "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as he reached the bottom
of the stairs.
    "Sure... not that it'll change anything..."  Aerianne led him into
her suite's living room, they both sat down, and he began to relate the 
tale.

			*	*	*

    As Philip had left AVWilliams, several emotions had been running 
through his head.  First was the anger.  What the frick was the campus
doing to him?  Didn't he have _enough_ problems as it was?  The second
emotion was confusion.  What _was_ it that the campus thought he had
done?  Forgot to pay a bill?  Was his account dead?  What if he 
couldn't pay off his tuition?  What then?  Philip didn't even _want_ to 
think about what his parents would say.
    The third emotion was mild panic.  Ok, make that _extreme_ panic.
What was going on?  Was the entire _universe_ out to get him?  Will he 
be able to fix this?  Will he be able to finish his homework?  What 
will Aerianne think about this?  He didn't know, but he was pretty sure 
that Aeri would be more sympathetic about the consequences than his 
teachers.
    Which brings us to his fourth emotion: Optimism.  Aside from all 
the angst and stress he was feeling, he knew that _somehow_ it would 
all work out.  He didn't know how, and it would probably be a long 
involved process, but eventually it _would_ be fixed, and he'd be able 
to return to a normal life (or whatever passed for one at Maryland). 
    By the time Philip reached Lee Building, he was at least a little 
more calmed down.  It wouldn't be bad.  It would all be fixed.  All he 
had to do was...wait...in...line...
    Philip had looked at the line leading out of Lee Building.  The 
very _long_ line.  The line that reached all the way to Mitchell 
Building and into the Engineering Fields.  <This _could_ take a 
while...> he had said to himself as he walked to the end of the line 
and began to wait.

    Several hours later, Philip had stomped his way up the Mall in a 
huff.  Several things were on his mind, and he didn't like _any_ of
them.  The harried bursar officer at the questions desk had said that
his "financial obligation" was not due to a lack of tuition funds, or
something as mundane as that.  No, it was something (that was for 
Philip, at least) much, _much_ worse.
    An overdue library book.
    And the value attached to the overdue fine?  _Ludicrous!!_   The
only way he could have run up a tab like that was if he had forgotten 
to return a book from the first day of class his freshman year!  And he
_always_ returned his books, no exceptions.  He was too ingrained in 
the library culture for that to happen.
    So then, what _had_ happened?  Philip didn't know, but he was going
to find out.
    Unfortunately, he'd have to wait a while before getting them.  
Because there was _another_ line snaking around McKeldin Library into 
the Mall.

		*	*	*	*	*

    "Did you find out what the fines were for?" Aerianne asked as 
Philip made a break for air in his narrative.
    "Yeah, not that it _mattered_," he grumbled as he rubbed his
throat.  "There's no way in _hell_ that I can try to find the books, 
since I don't have them _anyway_..."
    "What _were_ they?" Aeri asked again as she got two Cokes out of 
the suite refrigerator and offered one to Philip.
    "Thanks," he said as he took it, popped it open, and took a sip to
soothe his throat.  "It was an Encyclopedia."
    "PHHHPHTTT-- WHAT?" Aerianne said as she accidentally spewed the 
sip of soda she had taken. 
    "Yeah, that was sort of my reaction too," Philip said as he tried 
to clean himself.
    "Surely you're joking," Aeri said as she tried to do the same.
    "No joke."
    "Was it just one book?  Surely they didn't say..."
    "Yes they _did_ say."  Philip grimaced at the thought.  "They said,
and I quote: 'You are due two years of overdue fees for the checkout of
the Encyclopedia Brittanica, Volumes One through Twenty-Six.'"
    "Gahhh... owch."
    "_Exactly_.  _Of Course_, it didn't help that I said that I 
_hadn't_ checked out any Encyclopedias, and that the University doesn't 
usually _let_ people check them out in the first place.  If the 
computer said it, it must be so."  Philip slouched where he was.  
Aerianne, not knowing what to say, reached over and hugged him.  He 
accepted the hug graciously.

    After several minutes of sitting together, embraced, Aerianne had
a thought.  She turned towards Philip.
    "Philip?" she asked gently.
    "Yeah, Aeri?" he said halfheartedly.
    "I might have an idea on how we may be able to fix this..."
    "Hah!" he snorted.  "Not even _Rufus_ could get us out of this 
one..."
    "Actually, he's just the guy I was thinking of.  Come on,"  she 
said, grabbing Philip's hands and pulling him up to a standing 
position.  "Let's see if he _can_..."
  
    Aerianne and Philip walked down the hall to the double which Gordo
and Rufus shared.  The door was closed, but Philip could _clearly_ hear 
the strains of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" through it.  Aeri pounded on 
the door several times, and soon the sound died down to a tolerable
level, and the door opened.
    "Greetings, Aerianne and Philip!" Gordo boomed as he opened the 
door.  "What seems to be the problem?" he asked amiably.  
    "Well, Philip was having some troubles with registration, and I was
thinking that perhaps Rufus could---"
    "Say no more, Aerianne," Gordo said as he escorted them into the
double room.  "I do believe that _whatever_ your problem, Rufus and I
can help you."  Gordo turned to Philip, and asked "And what _is_ your
predicament?"  But Philip didn't respond.  He was too busy gawking
at Rufus and Gordo's room.
    At first glance, it looked like the stereotypical male teenager's
dorm room.  Then it hit him that it looked _exactly_ like the 
stereotypical dorm room, right down to the pizza stains in the carpet 
and the randomly placed hard-rock posters and SI issue cutouts that 
lined a wall.  But when he looked at the rest of the room, he realized 
that that was _Gordo's_ half of the room.  The other side...
    The other side was even harder to reconcile.  The floor was 
immaculately cleaned.  On the walls, various posters of dragons hung
about, showing many varieties of flying firelizards.  And arrayed about
his desk (and the rest of his side of the room, even extending 
partially into Gordo's half) was the largest array of computers that 
Philip had ever seen owned by one person.  
    Monitors of many sizes and colors were supported by metal brackets 
in a small matrix over his desk, while several rows of keyboards were 
nestled beneath them to give his desk _some_ room to work on.  A block 
to one side was filled with various removable-media drives, each one 
labeled as to which one went to which computer.  The monitors and 
keyboards were labeled the same way.  The computers were stored 
anywhere that Rufus could have found space for them.  By Philip's 
reckoning, there were at least six of them, but since there were more 
monitors than visible computers, there were probably more hidden 
somewhere.
    Philip just continued to look about in awe at this tribute to 
gweeping, ignoring what Gordo and Aerianne were discussing.  All of
the monitors were on and running screen savers, indicating that this
entire mini-network was still on-line.  He could see Spock scanning 
plants, Toasters flying in formation, X's blinking across a screen, 
and several types of moving lines.  One screen had a series of squares
flying about in a series of spirals, forming very mesmerizing patterns.
Philip continued to stare at that one particular monitor for a _long_
time...
    "Philip?  Philllliiiippp... <sigh>."  Aerianne shook her head, and
then gave him a soft nudge in the ribs.
    "!!  Huh?  Wha..?" he said, groggily and confused.
    "As I was saying, Philip," Gordo said, "I do believe that Rufus
should be able to provide some assistance for your predicament."
    "Er, ah, yeah, right..." Philip continued, a little embarrassed.
<Gods, I must be more tired than I thought...>  "Ok, so, what's he
going to do?" he asked, returning his attention to the here and now.
    "It's actually a very simple procedure, Philip," Rufus said,
cracking his knuckles in anticipation.  He pressed a key on one of
his multiple keyboards, and all the screen savers on all his various
monitors exited.  Philip looked around at all the various interfaces
that Rufus had running: text-based, graphical, and was that -- a
pictorial representation of the Net?  Oh dear...
    "First," Rufus lectured as if on a gourmet cooking show, "we log
on to Victor as a normal student.  Then, we access the administrative
portion of Victor --"
    "Administrative?" Philip almost choked.  "You can't do that!"
    Rufus turned around with an imitation of Trevor's smirk on his
face.  "Watch me..."  At this point, Rufus began typing too fast that
Philip could not keep up with what he was doing.  He resigned himself
to the fact that all would be well.  <Why me?> he mused.  <You know,
they say you meet strange people in college, but this is ridiculous...>     
    After a few minutes, an unfamiliar text screen appeared in one of
the text-based windows.  A glance at the Net screen revealed what
looked like the inside of a bank vault.
    "Rufus," Philip asked, almost afraid to.  "What is that?"
    "This," he replied nonchalantly, "is the student library account 
database."
    "You have access to the library accounts??" Philip asked 
incredulously. 
    "Of course," Rufus replied, still belying no hint of anything out
of the ordinary until he brought up Philip's account.  "Now this is
strange," he mused as he accessed some other student accounts.  
Pivoting his chair around to face an X-Windows screen, he proclaimed to 
Philip,  "Yours is not the only account to have suffered such a 
burdening, shall we say.  What is even more interesting is that these 
reports of checked-out encyclopedias were reported only about a week 
ago."
    "But the report says I've had that thing checked out for two years!"
    "I am aware of that.  That is precisely what is so strange."
    "Can you fix it?"
    Rufus's face twisted into one of those "Have you ever seen a horse 
fly?" kind of looks.  "Of _course_ I can fix it."
    At this point, Aerianne piped up, "Well, if this is so widespread,
shouldn't you change it for the others too?"
    "That was going to be my next priority, Milady."
    Philip blinked in surprise and glanced at Aerianne.  She, noting 
his expression, feigned surprise as well...
    Before he could ask, their attentions were drawn back to Rufus as 
he commented that he would now access the financial accounts to make 
sure the charges were dropped.
    At this point, Philip lost all sense of self-control.  "YOU HAVE
ACCESS TO THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS?!?!?!?"  Rufus's only response was a
grin.

    The next day was crystal clear, and with a happier heart, Philip
returned to his studies.  Although it was a Tuesday, it was a 
surprisingly good one, and he was not about to question it.  After all,
his financial aid had been secured for the rest of his college career;
things were _definitely_ looking up.
 
 
45) --- Busch Garden Party --------------------------------------------

	"Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around..."
		        --R.E.M. (Feeling Gravitys Pull)

                         SUNDAY, APRIL 3

    "Hey, Philip?" Aerianne asked as Philip entered Charles Hall at
about eleven pm.
    "Yeah, what is it?" Philip yawned as he walked down the short
stairwell.
    "Have you checked your messages yet?" she continued as he turned
towards his suite.
    "No.... why?" he asked, suddenly suspicious. "Did you get Rufus to 
hack into my phone account?"
    "Nooo...," she continued as Philip chuckled to himself as he moved
to unlock his door.  "It's just that I got a call from Wyndi today, and
it didn't seem to make much sense.  She's having a party, which is
cool, but I don't understand -why-..."
    "But why are you asking me?" Philip asked, pausing to look at Aeri.
Aerianne looked back at him with a look of half-annoyance and half-
confusion, her arms crossed defiantly.  <Ooops,> Philip mentally
chastised himself. <I've _got_ to stop asking that...>
    "I'm sorry... You were saying?" he apologized, putting his backpack
down as they continued to stand in the hall.
    "Well, we got to talking, and Wyndi mentioned that she was inviting
you--"
    "That's nice of her--"
    "That's why I thought you would know -why-," she said with a final
sigh. 
    "Well, maybe if I was able to get to my Phone..." Philip sarcasmed,
noting the fact he -still- hadn't entered his room to check his phone.
    Aerianne blushed as she moved away from Philip's suite door.

    Once the door was unlocked and open, the two made their way into 
the darkened dorm room.  Rahel was asleep, so Philip and Aeri quietly 
walked over to Philip's desk.  Sure enough, the message light on 
Philip's phone was blinking, and he picked up the handset and dialed 
the voicemail codes from memory.
    Aerianne stood silently as Philip got his messages, and hung up the
phone.  
    "Wyndi's having a late birthday party," he said in a whisper, as so
not to disturb Rahel.
    "I -know- that's what she said," Aeri whispered back plaintively,
"but what does it -mean-??"
    Philip blinked in confusion (although, since the room was dark, 
Aerianne couldn't see it), and then sighed as he sat down on his bed.
As he shrugged off his backpack, Aeri sat down next to him and leaned
on his shoulder.
    "Aeri, I love you -dearly-, but it's waaay too late at night to be
discussing human coming-of-age rituals, since if I get started on it,
I'll be up all night, and I'll ramble a lot, which isn't bad, except 
for the fact that I wouldn't be sleeping, and I -need- my sleep,
especially since I've got a quiz tomorrow, and --"
    "Philip?" Aerianne whispered.
    "Hm?"
    "You're babbling.  Again."
    "I'm sorry," Philip replied apologetically.
    "'Salright..."
    Philip stopped talking, allowing his train of thought to stop at 
the station and get its oil changed.  He took a deep breath, and then
turned his face towards hers.
    "Aeri, all I can say at the the moment is that a 'birthday' is
something that you have to experience yourself.  Everyone does, at
some point in their lives."  He hugged Aerianne, which seemed to
placate her.  "Tell you what... You let me get a good night's sleep,
and you go to bed too; and in the morning I'll go into the whys and
wherefores of birthdays, ok?"  Philip felt her head move up and down,
signalling the affirmative, and he smiled as he released the hug.  "All 
better now?" he asked as they stood up.
    "Yeah, I guess so..." Aeri said as they walked towards the suite
door.  "And besides, it'll be nice to see Wyndi again," she admitted.
    "There is that," Philip managed to chuckle, before the chuckle
turned into a long yawn.  Aerianne smiled, and then took Philip in a 
gentle embrace.
    "Well, goodnight Philip," she said as she kissed him.  "Thanks for 
your help..."
    "You're welcome.  Goodnight, Aerianne," Philip yawned as the two 
parted, and Aeri turned to go back to her room.
    <And maybe then I'll be able to experience this 'birthday' thing 
firsthand,> Aeri continued to herself as she opened her suite door.

    And as Philip tried to go to sleep, one thought kept surfacing,
which would make it very hard for him to sleep that night:
    <-Why- doesn't Aerianne know about birthdays?>

                        SATURDAY, APRIL 16
    
    "I hope I got the instructions right," Philip said as he drove
through Sligo Creek.  "Ok, Aeri, what's next?" he asked as they made a 
turn onto a side street.
    "Make the next left, and then go until you hit 10122 Renfrew Road,"
she said as he slowed down to be able to read the house numbers.  
However, due to the overcast skies, the numbers were hard to read, and 
Philip had to turn around and go back because he had overshot the 
house. 
    Philip pulled up to the curb and parked the car as Aerianne pulled
their backpacks from the back seat of the Citation and opened her door.
She handed Philip's to him once he was out as well, and together, they
walked up to Wyndi's front door.
    Philip knocked on the door, and waited.  The door opened.
    "Pooh Bear!" Wyndi exclaimed as she opened the door.  Philip 
stepped inside, and then stopped in his tracks, causing Aerianne to
bump into him by accident.
    "Ooof!  Philip, why'd you stop?" Aeri asked as she moved around to
get a better look.  And then she blinked.  And the only thing she could
say was: "Wyndi, what did you -do- to your hair?"
    Wyndi smiled and laughed as she closed the door behind them.  Her
normally long, blonde hair had apparently been dyed auburn and curled,
and the change in appearance had evidentially been too much for Philip 
to take.
    "Come on, we'd better get him to the sofa," Wyndi laughed as she 
and Aeri guided him to the couch in question.  "He seems to be in 
shock," Aerianne said with a hint of amusement herself, as she sat down
next to him.
    "No, no, I'm fine... I think," Philip managed to get out as the
initial shock finally passed.  "It's just that... what the hoek 
happened to you?"
    Wyndi smiled as she sat down opposite to Philip. "It's a _wig_,
Pooh Bear," she explained as she removed the hair in question.
Philip went "D'OH!", while Aerianne sighed, and put a hand on his
shoulder.
    "Well, what're we going to do today?" Aeri asked as she leaned
against Philip.  Philip was sorely tempted to respond "The same thing
we do every day, Aeri..." in his best Brain imitation, but glanced at
the katana well within Aeri's reach and thought better of it.
    "We're gonna wait until everyone else shows up, then we're going to 
Busch Gardens, and once we're done, we'll come back here and have a 
party," Wyndi explained, and then got up as she heard another of her 
friends arriving.
    "Sounds like fun," Aeri commented as Rebecca came in the door and 
blinked.
    "Eh, I don't know.." Philip commented with a so-so gesture.
"Amusement parks usually have _rides_..."

    About fifteen minutes later, the last of the guests had arrived and
expressed a range of emotions concerning Wyndi's new hairstyle (most of
them surprised, but accepting, especially once the joke was explained).
Once everyone was there, the gang split into two groups, and got into 
their separate cars.  Philip, Aeri, Wyndi, AJ, Diana, and Tina were in 
Wyndi's mother's minivan; while JD, Rebecca, Sharon, and Mark were in 
JD's car.
    The drive to Busch Gardens was several hours long, and Philip tried
to kill the time any way he could.  He had brought along his backpack,
but in the cramped confines of the back of the van, it was kind of hard
to maneuver, especially with Aerianne sitting next to him (not that he
was complaining about her proximity, mind you.)  He attempted to sketch 
for a while, but gave up due to the car's movement.  Instead, he pulled 
out his walkman and cranked the volume up, in an attempt to wall out 
the world.
    Aerianne turned from the sleeping form of Philip to Wyndi and 
Diana.  Aeri looked at Wyndi, and then jerked her head towards AJ.  
"When did you two get involved?"
    Wyndi smiled at him and said, "About 4 months after Trev dumped
me."
    "'Dumped'?   What's that mean?"
    "It means that he no longer wished to have anything to do with me.  
He decided that he wanted to date other people, so he broke up with me. 
Not that he told me at the time."  Wyndi grinned, a bit self- 
consciously.
    Aeri thought for a bit, confused.  "And you don't hate him or 
anything?"
    "I did for a while, but I got over it."  A smile lit up her face.  
"About a month or so before I met AJ, I was involved with Mark, you met 
him today.  It wasn't supposed to be anything serious, but he was 
pretty hurt for reasons I've never understood.  I was happy out of a 
relationship exactly a week before I met AJ.  I didn't know then how 
everything was going to work out."  Wyndi laughed.  "Trev had a 
heartattack when he found out that AJ was even speaking to me."
    Aeri blinked twice.  "But Trevor said you still hated his guts.."
    "What?"  Wyndi looked shocked.  "Why would he think a silly thing
like that?" 
    "Well, he told me so over email..."
    "He's emailing about me?"  Wyndi grinned again.  "Who would've
thought.  And here I imagined he didn't care."
    Aeri sat there for a few seconds, and then shrugged.  "Whatever."
And then she leaned back and smiled as she played with Philip's hair.
"At least I've got Philip," she said fondly as she placed a kiss on 
his forehead. 
    "So how long have you and Philip been seeing each other?" Wyndi 
asked, watching her as she kissed him.
    "Hmm... About eleven months now, I guess," she said as she paused.
    "Wow,"  Wyndi looked honestly impressed, "The most I've ever 
managed is four months, and that was between two periods of time."
    "What periods were those?"
   "The first and second times that I dated Trev.  The first time I 
dated him for two months and a week, Rachel timed it for me, and the 
second time we dated for one month and three weeks.  Four months 
total."
    Aerianne now looked genuinely confused. "You dated Trev.  Then 
broke up.  Then dated him -again-?  Why?"
    "The first time he asked me, and I liked him enough, so I said yes,
but after awhile I began to realize that I didn't love him as much as 
he loved me, which made me uncomfortable, so I broke up with him."  
Wyndi bowed her head briefly, a painful smile on her face.  "After 
about half a year, he and I became friends again, and eventually, I 
fell in love with him.  Big mistake.  When I fell in love with him, he 
fell out of love with me.  Ah, well."
    Aeri sat there in silence, processing this.  "Well, I don't think
that'll happen with me and Philip."  She hugged Philip to prove her point.
    "Good luck," Wyndi said, a wistful smile on her face.  
"Relationships can be REALLY confusing, at times."  She glanced over at 
AJ.  Aeri looked over at AJ, then at Wyndi again.
    "You two don't love each other fully?"
    "What's fully?  We love each other and all, but...things aren't 
going so well right now."
    "I don't get it..."
    "Neither do I."

    About two hours later, the Anderson's minivan pulled into one of 
Busch Garden's parking lots.
    "Philip?" Aeri said, shifting Philip's shoulder gently.
    "Huh?" he replied groggily.  "Wha?"
    "We're here, Pooh Bear!" Wyndi exclaimed as she pulled open the
minivan's side door.
    "Oh, yeah, right," Philip groaned as he managed to pull himself
into a fully upright position, and then shook his head to clear it.
Still muttering to himself, he extricated himself from the back of the
van, following Aerianne's lead.  As he pulled himself out into the open
air, his glasses automatically tinted to compensate for the bright 
sunlight.
    "darrrg, too many photons," he continued to complain as he shaded
his eyes out of habit.  
    "Wait a second... where's JD's car?" Wyndi asked as the rest of the 
passengers piled out.
    "I don't see it," Aerianne commented. "Maybe they got lost?"
    "It's a possibility," Diana added, looking at the -large- parking
lot they were in, as well as at the several ajacent ones with other
entrances.

    "There they are!" Philip exclaimed as he pointed into the distance,
catching everyone's attention.
    "Where?  I don't see them, Pooh Bear," Wyndi asked as she strained
her eyes to see them.
    "Trust me," Aeri said with a smile, "If Philip says he can see 
them, he -can- see them..."
    
    After the entire group finally got back together, they made their
way towards the tram that would take them to the park itself.  One 
5-minute ride later, the tram stopped at the ticket sales area, and 
everyone got off and got in line.  As soon as Wyndi's mom paid for the
tickets, they proceeded down a wooded hill towards the park proper.
    And as for the 'park proper' itself?  Well, as Mark wryly stated,
"It's just like Europe, brought to you by Annheiser-Busch."  Everything 
was clean and orderly, with "cities" that were based on various 
historical periods and locations in Europe's history.  Passing through 
a section which imitated England's Elizabethan period (complete with 
Globe Theatre), they came across a petting zoo, and stopped for several 
minutes to pet the animals there (some of which Aerianne had never had 
the chance to see firsthand).  After managing to drag Aeri and Wyndi 
away from the various young critters, the group stood for a moment to 
decide what to do next.

    "So, what next?" Aerianne asked, once everyone was assembled.
    "Well, I'm not sure," Philip said, looking at the map.  "We could 
go back to Banbury Cross, or to 'Festa Italia', but that one's a dead
end..."
    "How about a ride or two?" AJ suggested with a smile.
    "Sure!" Aeri immediately announced, while Wyndi began to look
apprehensive, and Philip became nervous.
    "Ummm, I dunno..." Philip waffled as the rest of the group looked
at him curiously.  
    "Oh, come on, Philip; It'll be fun!" Aerianne said as she put an 
arm through his and hugged him.  "If you can handle all of the stuff 
we've done this year, then I bet you can do -that-," she said with an 
honest smile, which Philip tried to return, but failed.
    "Even so, I--" he tried to protest, but was then cut off by 
Rebecca.
    "Besides, Philip; how can you say that you haven't been to an 
Amusement Park if you haven't been on any rides?" Rebecca pointed out.
    "Well, there is that..." Philip reluctantly admitted.
    "Don't worry, we'll start you off easy..." Rebecca smiled as she
patted his arm.  Philip was -not- calmed by this gesture.

    Upon leaving the Petting Zoo, Wyndi's birthday troupe made their 
way down a cobbled path and up a well-manicured hill, which took them 
into a small Italian-style park. It was surrounded by a wall of trees 
that blocked the view from the rest of Busch Gardens, and it had many 
small hedges inside it, giving it a subtle, mazelike quality.
    Philip was about to comment on the various DaVinci inventions that
were scattered about the park, when the shouts and screams of the 
people on one of the rides caught his attention.  He turned to look as 
they got into line.
    The ride itself was pretty simple.  A large platform with rows of
seats on it, which hung beneath four rocker arms.  The arms would
swing back and forth, keeping the platform parallel to the ground.
It kept swinging back and forth, higher and higher...
    Philip watched as the thing reached the apex of its swing.  And
then it freefell around in a circle back to where it was before.
    "Oh no.. Nononono..." Philip shook his head, and tried to back out
of the line, but Aerianne put a firm hand on his shoulder.
    "Don't worry, Philip, I'll be right next to you," she smiled.  As
the ride came to a stop, Aerianne guided him to the center seat as
Wyndi put their backpacks by the exit.  They buckled up as the safety
bar locked into place.  Aeri gave Philip's hand a squeeze as he stared 
forward, nervously.
    DaVinci's Cradle began to swing.
   
    Philip's speech during the ride can be quoted as follows: 
    "NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
    Repeat liberally.
   
    The ride finally stopped, and Aerianne stepped off, albeit a little
shakily.  She had yet to come off her adrenalin rush, but it was a
_good_ rush, and if this was one of the easier rides, then she couldn't
wait to try the _real_ roller coasters!  She turned to get Philip, but 
was surprised to not see him.  Where was he?  It wasn't like he was 
easy to lose, him being 6-2.5 and all.  She turned to ask Wyndi where 
he was, but then she saw him.  He was hunched over and shivering by 
their pile of backpacks, and Wyndi and Diana were trying to get him up 
again.
    "Philip, are you all right?" Diana asked as they got him off the
backpacks.  Philip didn't say much, but something about "I'll have the 
linguini with clams..." was audible from him.
    "Come on, Philip, don't faint on us now!" Aerianne said as she came
over and pulled him up carefully.
    "Don't worry," Philip managed to say faintly. "I'm not planning on 
fainting, just on dying..."

    After Philip managed to get his internal Gyroscopes recalibrated,
the valiant party continued their way through the park.  After passing
a large theater (fashioned after the original Teatro di San Marco, 
though as Philip was quick to point out, the original wold have never 
been -that- clean, nor had Strand lighting instruments), and some small 
shops that were selling sculpted glass and porcelain, they walked over 
a high wooden bridge to one of the Germany-themed areas.
    "Hey, how about the 'Big Bad Wolf'?" AJ pointed at one ride, which
was a suspended-car rollercoaster.  Both Philip and Wyndi blanched as
he mentioned it, but then let out a collective sigh of relief as JD
pointed out that the line to the ride was past the one-hour-wait point. 
Instead, they diverted instead to another ride which was much more 
restricted and level, Bumper Cars.

    Once the gang had ran out of time on the Bumper cars, they 
continued northward, until AJ noticed another sign.  This one had a 
large green and blue dragon breathing flame wrapped around it, 
indicating the entrance to the ride 'Drachen Fire'.  And this one 
_didn't_ have a five mile line on it.  In fact, the line was quite
short, since nobody was riding it at the moment, although the ride
itself was operational.
    Philip watched the bright red cars as they rocketed along the light 
blue metal tracking, around, around, around, around, over, under, and 
through.  Philip got that look again, and began to back away.  However, 
his backward movement was blocked by AJ and Aerianne, and together,
they moved him towards the ride's line.
    "Aw, come _on_, Philip!" Aerianne said as she pulled/pushed Philip
towards the entrance to 'Drachen Fire'.  "If you can fly to and from 
New York in a Citation, and perform combat maneuvers in midair, you can 
_certainly_ handle a roller coster!" 
    "As I recall, that was your _last_ argument, Aeri... AND LOOK WHAT 
HAPPENED!!!!"
    "Well, this should be easier, this one's just all forward 
movement," AJ offered as they got into line.
    "great.  put it on my tombstone..." Philip muttered.  But he got 
into the line willingly.  Perhaps it was the fact that Aeri had a hand 
on her katana that had something to do with it.
    The wait was slightly longer than normal, as the management was
still running the ride through its safety checks.  Therefore, Philip
got several chances to see what it was he was up against.  It didn't
calm him any.

    "There, there, Pooh Bear," Wyndi consoled Philip as they left the
ride.  "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"  Philip however, was still 
spinning around physically and mentally, and his speech reflected that.
    "Oh, please ... stop with the world of making with the spin, around 
with, in the head..." he said as he wandered about aimlessly and bonked 
into things (kinda like Godai).  He continued to stagger about 
erratically, until Aeri caught up with him.
    "I'm proud of you, Philip," said Aerianne as she hugged him, both
stabilizing his erratic movement and his mental state.  Philip, once
steadied, began to return the hug.  It was about to turn into something
more when the rest of the group "AHEM"'d loudly.
    "Er, um, sorry," Philip blushed as Aeri broke off the hug.  "Well,
that just about took care of my fear and adrenalin quota for the day;
can we go home now?" he offered hopefully.
    "No way, Philip," AJ proclaimed as he and Aerianne took the lead.
"We've only got four hours left, and eleven more rides to get on!"
    Philip and Wyndi groaned in stereo.

    The rest of the day turned into a kind of "Significant-Other" tag
team affair, as Aerianne and AJ tried to convince Philip and Wyndi to
go on all the rides that Busch Gardens had to offer.  Every sort of
persuasive method ended up being used; from subtle hints and nudges, to
forceful shoves and goadings, and even out-and-out seduction.  
Eventually, though, the sky began to slowly darken as evening began to
advance, and the stalwart (and now quite dizzy) group made their way
back to the front gate.  Fortunately, Wyndi's mom (who hadn't ridden
any of the rides) and JD (who was used to this sort of thing) were 
driving home, so any incipient traffic accidents would be avoided.
    "Ok, now I _know_ how my laundry feels..." Aerianne muttered as she
attempted and failed her Seat Belt Buckling roll.  Philip, in much the
same state as she, nevertheless made a go at buckling her seatbelt for
her, but only managed in ending up lying on Aeri's lap rather 
awkwardly.  They stayed in that position for a second or two, until 
Aerianne began to chuckle at the ridiculousness of the situation, and 
Philip joined in soon after.
    "Now children, have we learned anything from our field trip today?" 
Wyndi asked with a grin as everyone in the van else buckled up.
    "I won't get on the Loch Ness Monster while wearing my earrings
again," Tina commented, somewhat regretfully.
    "I've learned never to cross mid-16th century England with 17th
century France," Diana added as she made sure she had all her stuff
with her.
    "I'll never put Pooh Bear in the dryer ever again.  I promise,"
Aeri said, raising her hand as Wyndi's mom closed the driver's side 
door, and started the ignition.
    "-Thank You-," Philip laughed at the double meaning, and then 
leaned back, allowing Aerianne to lean on his arm and shoulder.  And it 
is in this position that the two of them rode back to Maryland.
    (It was a three hour drive, but they weren't complaining.)

    Once everyone returned to Wyndi's house, those assembled got down 
to the business of partying.  Abraham Silverman and Lindsey Bass (aka 
Magic), who hadn't been able to come to Busch Gardens, came around then
and took part as well.  Wyndi had put on the wig again, just to see 
its effect on them when they arrived; and although Abraham didn't have 
much to say (except for a raised eyebrow), Lindsey broke out laughing 
at the extreme silliness of it all.  Fortunately, Philip had his camera 
with him at the time, and was able to capture the moment on film-- a 
true "Kodak Moment".  After that, cake was distributed, stories 
exchanged, and some improvisational party games were played as the 
evening went on. But eventually, it got late, and the partygoers 
trickled out as their rides arrived or as they decided that they really 
had to go home and sleep.  Philip and Aerianne were the last to leave, 
after they both wished Wyndi well and gave her birthday hugs.

    "Well, what'd you think?" Philip asked Aeri as they got into the
Citation and buckled up.
    "That was -great-!" Aerianne laughed as she stretched back in her
seat as Philip started the car.  "And you're saying that she does this
-every- year?" she said with awe.
    "Well, I didn't get invited to her -last- birthday party, so I 
couldn't say for sure if she went to Busch Gardens every year," 
Philip said as he drove back out to University Boulevard.
    "No, I meant the birthday itself, not the rides," Aerianne replied
with a hint of annoyance.
    "Well... yeah.  Everyone does," Philip reminded her as he turned
onto University towards Wheaton and Garrett Park.
    "Oh, yeah," Aerianne said to herself, and then fell silent.  They
continued to drive that way for several minutes, each one having their
own private thoughts on the matter.  Finally, Philip spoke up.  
Something had been nagging at him for a while, and he just -had- to ask
Aeri about it.
    "Oh, by the way, when's _your_ birthday?" he asked offhandedly.
    "When's yours?" Aeri immediately asked in return, startled out of 
her thoughts.
    "October 15th," Philip immediately replied.  "But that isn't the 
point... when is yours?"
    "Ummm... it's a surprise!" Aerianne blurted out.
    "Yeah, _right_... you just want me to 'forget' it so you'll have an
excuse to use the katana, right?" Philip said with a sarcastic grin.
    "Yeah," Aerianne halfheartedly smiled back.  Philip chuckled out of
reflex, but in the back of his head, he was becoming worried.  About
Aeri, her continued apparent lack of cultural knowledge, and her
evasions concerning her birthday.  But he shoved the worries into the 
back of his head.   Now was not the time to think about such things.
Not while they were both happy.