The sharp ring of a telephone brought Laeni to her senses far too abruptly. She scrambled to find the cordless which had fallen between the mattress and her night stand somehow, and picked it up with a trembling hand. Her answer came out a troubled, nearly irritated �Hello?�
�Hey sis. You aren�t still asleep are you? Lazy bones....get up!� �Yeah, yeah...you know, you are the only guy in this city who�d call here before nine o�clock on a Friday. What time is it anyway?�
�About 8:15. Hey, I need you to do me a favor today...could you drop that blueprint off to a guy at my Central office? The one I left on your table Wednesday...He�ll need it by noon....� 8:15 in the morning he calls, for an errand sometime before noon...typical, Gib.
Still shaking, she rubbed her left eye and ran her hand through a toussle of unruly hair, trying to wake herself up. �Sure. What�s the guy�s name?�
�Koshkin. Ask Leah at the front desk to page him. He tends to wander around the place, and there isn�t a desk assigned to him so I need you to give it to him personally.�
�Sure. Noon, central office, Koshkin....anything else?� Finally coherent, she made a quick mental note to stop by the office before her lunch meeting on C street.
�That�s it. Oh, and kiss my girl for me. I�ll be home tomorrow night. Thanks sis.� Click. So abrupt. You�d think he could learn to say goodbye. Laeni, you have got to stop reading all night long and get some sleep like a normal human being. 2 a.m., like it was on my schedule or something. I should have just rolled back over, closed my eyes and at least pretended to sleep.... She practically fell out of bed, turned off the alarm and stood up a little too quickly. Groaning, she waited for the room to stand still and then stumbled to her bathroom, stepping on a teddy bear in the doorway.

�Any messages for me?� �No, Miss Curtis. Your crossover assignment is on the desk, though. Delivery came early today.� �Thank you.� She walked past the receptionist and through a glass door. Opening blinds on the east wall to let in the almost blinding morning sun, she inhaled deeply with a smile, and placed a white lily in the tiny vase on her desk. When did I start that ritual anyway? She shrugged visibly and sat in the chair, picking up the assignment in front of her. �The World in a Minute� on C street...hmm...travel agency. But it�s very near the cafe where I�m supposed to meet Jarrod for lunch. Okay... She scanned down the page quickly. The list seemed pretty normal, and after one spin around on the chair, she picked up the phone to begin contacts for the day. Fifteen minutes later a very short woman with greying hair peeked into the door, tapping lightly. Must be ten o�clock. �Come in, please. Take a seat. Mrs. Johnson, I presume?� Laeni smiled brightly as the woman sat in a chair across from her. It was a ruitine appointment, scheduling her term of service in the elementary school with three extra hours per week at the library nearby. Thirty three hours weekly total, two hundred semester credits of education...6600...divide 8...825 credits per week...a range six service improvement quotient. The woman seemed happy to report that she would be studying at the university again for the next two terms, and Laeni congratulated her sincerely. Light conversation peppered the meeting with informality, and they parted with a smile. After editing the SIQ file in the computer system, she called South Elementary to verify Mrs. Johnson�s intent to teach fourth grade again, for her sixteenth year. Dedicated. I�ll bet she loves those kids. THIS CHAPTER YET UNFINISHED...