The following morning dawned bright and…really bright. Ella was up and padding around the kitchen making tea and some sort of pastry, but everyone else was still dead to the world.

Or so she thought.

As the pastries were baking, she heard footsteps entering the kitchen, but she didn’t bother to turn around; Juliet was always up second, and almost always at the precise moment when she knew Ella was getting breakfast together.

“I’ve got some tea ready if you want some,” Ella said, pouring some steaming liquid into a cup. “Just hand me a cup.”

A cup was extracted from the dish drainer and put into Ella’s outstretched hand. “Can you put the sugar on the table?”

The sugar was placed on the table, and then Ella heard the tell-tale scraping of the chair being pulled out and then the groan as someone dropped heavily into it.

Ella picked up both mugs and turned around to take them to the table, but only made it about one inch before she started screaming.

“Oh, God, sorry,” Michael yawned, taking the mugs from her and settling them on the table before stretching his arms out behind his head; he was wearing nothing as far as Ella could see, but she assumed he had some boxers or something on. Ella stood, transfixed, staring open-mouthed at him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Still staring at him, she plopped down in the seat across the table, watching as he blew on his cup of tea. “What…”

She fumbled over her words, apparently unable to form any sort of coherent sentence; luckily, Michael was pretty quick in the mornings.

“I called Aaron,” Michael covered another yawn, “And he was on his way here with…Juliet?” Ella nodded mutely. “I was stuck in the Aquatic Center…there was this HORDE of girls outside, and some reporters, and I couldn’t get out. So Aaron smuggled me out, with Juliet’s help, and we all came here. I thought she left you a note.”

“Who?” Ella squeaked.

“Juliet.”

“A note?”

Michael nodded, and Ella stood up. Normally, notes were either left on the countertop near the coffee maker or on the fridge. There was a note in neither of these places.

“She didn’t put the note in the predetermined place,” Ella said, her voice faraway.

He laughed a throaty, groggy laugh. “I’m not surprised. She was a little out of it.”

Ella sighed, shaking her head. “She cannot hold her alcohol. We keep trying to tell her to only have half a glass, but she doesn’t listen. Or just forgets. She’s sort of flighty that way.” Ella was peering closely at the countertops, and out in the hallway, where she gave a triumphant “AH HA!” and scuttled back into the kitchen to sit back at the table. “On the telephone table.”

“You have a telephone?” Michael asked, craning his neck to look into the hallway.

“No, I just call the table that, because I think if there was a telephone, that’s where it would go.”

“My cell died, after we got here. I was going to call a taxi, or at the very least, my coach.”

“It’s okay,” Ella said, unfolding the note. “We have plenty of room here. Where’d you sleep?”

“In the living room…or that room that looks like a living room. It has no TV, or stereo, so it’s hard to tell.”

Ella rolled her eyes. “No modern conveniences, or, as Ava’s parents say, no modern distractions.” She paused, reading the letter quickly. “Juliet’s notes are always really informative. Listen to this. A & E, Boys staying here for night. Jules.”

Michael chuckled. “That is informative.” He took a long drink from his mug. “You can walk to the village from here, right?”

“Yeah, it’s about twenty minutes or so, depending on how fast you walk. It takes us a half hour.” She laughed slightly and pushed some hair out of her face. “We’re never all totally awake when we leave in the morning so one of us is always lagging behind.”

Michael yawned again. “I’m going to throw my clothes on, then, and get back to my hotel. I’ve got an early swim.”

Ella nodded, attempting to smile even though she still felt quite shocked.

“Thanks for the tea,” He smiled, and left the room. He poked his head in again, once he was fully dressed, and waved before taking off up the road.

When Juliet woke up, and shuffled into the kitchen rubbing sleep out of her eyes, Ella was still sitting at the table, a cup of untouched tea in front of her.

Juliet poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, sniffing the air. “Smells good.”

No response.

“Did you have somebody here?” She asked, picking up the cup and examining it. Only dregs remained at the bottom, so it was obvious that there had once been tea in it. “Did you get my note last night? Ella? ELLA?”

Ella blinked several times when Juliet waved a hand in front of her face. “What.”

“Did you get my note last night?” Juliet repeated very slowly.

“Got it this morning,” Ella said, waving a hand toward said note. “Michael scared the living daylights out of me.”

“I’m really sorry. I was so out of it last night---”

“So he said.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Juliet asked, peering closer to her friend. “You look pale.”

“He wasn’t wearing anything but underwear,” Ella replied stoically, staring at her cup.

One of Juliet’s eyebrows rose. “You’ve seen him in a Speedo.”

Ella looked up. “Not up close.”

Juliet started laughing, and then stopped abruptly. “Hot, huh?”

“Quite.” She jumped up, took the pastry from the oven and set them to dry on the sideboard. Juliet was amazed at how Ella worked; she could be in a complete state, but still remember to do things like take baked goods out of the oven on time or ring her Grandmother to see how her tea party went. “Scones, if you want one.”

Juliet nodded, standing and going to set a couple on a plate; really she just tossed them about for a few minutes until they were cool enough to handle.

“The note said ‘boys’,” Ella said eventually, watching as Juliet spread butter and jam on her scone. “Plural.”

Her mouth full, she looked up at Ella’s curious face. “Oh, Aaron’s here.”

“Here where?”

Juliet jabbed a thumb behind her. “Bedroom.”

Ella cocked an eyebrow. “Your bedroom?”

Juliet swallowed the mouthful and nodded. “Nothing happened, though. I passed out as soon as we got back here. Actually, he passed out first, and I passed out next to him.”

A small giggle escaped Ella’s lips. “Jules, you have all the luck.”

Juliet looked both proud and pleased at this remark.

*

A couple of hours later, the three girls were seated in the stands at the Aquatic Center again, watching as some of the final races took place.

“So, let me get this straight,” Ava said, leaning over Ella to address Juliet. “You slept with him. But you didn’t sleep with him.”

“That’s right,” Juliet replied, jutting her chin toward the pool. “Watch the race.”

Ava sighed in annoyance. “You had Aaron Peirsol in your bed and you didn’t DO anything?”

Juliet gave her the death glare. “Say that a little louder, Av. I don’t think my mother heard you.”

“I don’t think she did either, as she’s in California,” Ella chimed in helpfully; Ava and Juliet ignored her.

“He’s so hot, though,” Ava continued, sitting back in her seat and staring straight ahead.

“Ava, shut up.”

“But he’s an Olympian! He gets free condoms!”

“AVA.”

“He’s friends with the Thorpedo. The Thorpedo gets more sex than anyone in America combined. Everyone knows that if one guy is getting lots of sex, chances are so is the friend.”

“Ava. Shut. Up.”

“He’s not friends with Ian,” Ella stated evenly. “He knows him, I think, but that doesn’t constitute friendship. Also, I don’t think those statistics are correct. Where did you get them?”

Ava shook her head in exasperation. “I made them up.”

“Oh,” Ella said, as it finally dawned on her. “Then it’s obviously not true.”