plotting to unnerve her

[self_composed]

Bella finds Milliways in the moon palace instead of one of her balconies.

"Huh," she says aloud.

Then, to Alice, Libby, Elena, and Mary, and Lazarus except he autoreplies with a busy message, [Hey folks, Moonstone Palace grew a bar that I don't remember putting in, come check it out.]

Comments

[manofmyword]

"Really," he says, glancing up at her with his face tipped forward as though looking overtop of imaginary spectacles. "Never heard that one before." He gestures invitingly at the empty seat across from him.

[self_composed]

She sits. "Mine's younger, not as scratched up, and makes different aesthetic choices, but yeah. I'm Bella. What're you going by?"

[manofmyword]

He hmms and tips his head from side to side, consideringly.

Then he puts his finger on a card sitting face down on the corner of the table to his left, out of the way of the solitaire game, and slides it sloo o o  o   o o  o  o o oowly across to Bella.

[self_composed]

Bella peers at the card and at the game. She picks up the offered card, inspects it.

[manofmyword]

The game appears to be going poorly.

The card is a joker.

[self_composed]

"Joker?" Bella asks. "I suppose that goes with the thematic makeup."

[manofmyword]

"Mm-hmm," says the Joker. "So. How old's yourrr," he licks his lips again in that disquietly reptilian way, "friend?"

[self_composed]

"Nineteen. Little older than me," Bella says. "And he goes by Alice, if you were wondering. Or sometimes Whistle."

[manofmyword]

"Alice," he says musingly. "Montreal?"

[self_composed]

"Montreal?" Bella asks, puzzled. "If he's been to Montreal, I don't know about it."

[manofmyword]

"That's where I was," he explains, "when I used that name. But then, I never had a - friend like you."

He examines his game for a moment, and then moves a card from one place to another, apparently at random.

[self_composed]

"He told me it could've been any of a number of possible names," Bella says. "I think I may've been the first person to ask him what I should call him. Whistle, on the other hand, I made up. He needed a code name a while ago. Came in handy recently when there was another Alice around."

[manofmyword]

"How'd you kids meet?"

[self_composed]

"High school gym class."

[manofmyword]

He turns his head to one side slightly, leans forward, and peers suspiciously at her.

"When?"

[self_composed]

"Not quite a year ago, when I moved to the town he'd also recently moved to." And if that's not what he means: "February 2005."

[manofmyword]

The Joker blinks. Twice.

With mild incredulity: "He was still in school?"

[self_composed]

"Occasionally," says Bella.

[manofmyword]

"Poor kid," he sighs.

[self_composed]

"He quit showing up after I did," she says. "Of course, I went to college, and he didn't, but now I've dropped out to rule Mars instead."

[manofmyword]

He grins.

"Good for you!"

[self_composed]

"Thanks!"

[manofmyword]

Curiously: "What about his parents?"

[self_composed]

"His father's in jail," Bella says. "I helped. His mother lives in a mansion in my hometown, with a housekeeper who I am trying to set up with my dad."

[manofmyword]

"Jail," he snorts. "Yeah, that'll work."