Disclaimer:

Roger Price, Thames, Tetra, someone other than me owns rights to the TP. I 
don't have permission, and since this is non-profit, it doesn't matter. Tana's 
mine, though..... The title, "Hey Jealousy," is taken from the Gin Blossoms 
song. That's about all this derives from that, except for the opener. I'm not 
ripping off Selma again :) However, I *am* ripping off Amy's great short piece,
"Jaded Trouble," by referring to it once.

This is the other piece I was working on, aside from "Requiem." It's a lot 
lighter and a bit longer, and doesn't quite fit into the R-trio that preceded 
it. 

That's all. For once, this isn't a page-long disclaimer. Huh.



Hey Jealousy
by Mandi Ohlin


"Tomorrow we can drive around this town
 And let the cops chase us around
 The past is gone but something might be found
 To take its place....Hey jealousy...."

Jade shut off the stereo with a groan. Ever since Megabyte had returned from 
the States, he'd been playing those maudlin alternative rock albums he'd picked
up at discount prices. Everything else, from Byron Lucifer to Ace of Base, had 
taken a back seat to the depressing music. The Gin Blossoms weren't half bad, 
but she could only take so much.

"Are you coming at all?" she called up the stairs, vocally and telepathically. 
"I've been down here for twenty minutes!"

(Keep your shirt on! I'm coming!) Megabyte shot back. (Yeesh, first my mother 
and now you.)

(Don't push your luck,) she shot back. (I can do worse than your report card.)

There was the sound of thumping as Megabyte really began to hurry. Jade 
grinned; well, occasionally he could be taught a lesson. But still, she had 
been out of the loop ever since Adam had taken off on what he called "private 
business" the week before. Megabyte's mysterious New York trip, to "see some 
old friends" didn't help much either. 

She was so tired of being the runt of the group, the one who was always left out. 
Adam seemed the most understanding, even though he was too over-protective. It 
would be good to see him again, now that he was back. He'd even called her and 
Megabyte to get over to the ship. She hoped it wasn't an emergency.

Megabyte thundered down the stairs, wearing a t-shirt and torn jeans. His hair, 
as usual, was a flyaway mess. Jade stared at him. "*That's* what took you 
twenty minutes?"

"Hey, good looks take time," he joked, and she made a face at him as they 
disappeared in twin flashes of light.

*** 

The sky over the island was clear, and the bright sun was disconcerting as they
appeared on the beach. Adam was seated on the sand a few paces away from the 
porthole, grinning at something they couldn't see. Through the bushes they 
heard Ami shout, "I've got you!" and someone else laughing.

"Hey, Adam, we're here. What's up?" Megabyte crashed onto the sand beside his 
friend. He paused at the unfamiliar laughter. "Don't tell me someone *else* 
has broken out."

Adam sighed. "Not really. I brought my sister to the island today."

"You did what??" Megabyte exclaimed. 

At the same time, Jade cried, "You have a sister???"

Adam looked from Megabyte to Jade and back. "You didn't tell her, did you?" he
said in annoyance.

"Weeellll...." Megabyte scratched the back of his neck. "It kind of slipped my
mind. You know, went down to see Elisa and company, Times Square, got some
really good buys on CDs..."

"Megabyte," Adam groaned, "shut up."

Jade ignored the two of them, lost in her thoughts. Adam had a sister? Adam had
a sister??? Well, it wasn't entirely unthinkable. But how long had the others 
known about this? Adam was generally secretive about his past, and had been for
a while. But after some years of being a Tomorrow Person, that part should have
come up, especially if Adam was trusting his sister with their secret. She 
fumed; she probably was the last to know. It was in keeping with the way of 
things. No one ever told her anything.

She turned her attention to the action down the beach as Adam and Megabyte 
started bickering. Actually, it was Megabyte doing the bickering; Adam was just
 trying to ignore him, with little success. From the sounds past the protruding
brush, Adam's sister was a lot younger than he. Maybe younger than her. And she 
was giving Ami a time of it, by the sound of things.

"All right, all right, that's enough!" she heard Ami gasp. There was a soft 
thud. "Tana, I think I'll just lie here. Go bury your brother."

"I *tried*," was the response, half joking, but edged with enough petulance to 
cause Jade to stifle a laugh.

She stepped through the brush to get a better look at the tableau. Ami was 
half-sitting, half-sprawling on the sand, flushed and tired. Her braids seemed 
to droop, and she tossed Jade a thankful look. The reason for her exhaustion 
had plopped down on the sand beside her, a look of concern in her wide blue 
eyes. Other than the eyes, Jade was amazed at how much Tana looked like Adam; 
straight brown hair, slim limbs that just missed being gawky, and a long, thin 
face softened by a spattering of freckles. Catching her composure, she grinned. 
"You could always bury Megabyte."

Ami laughed. "Now *that* would be grand!" She gestured towards Adam's sister.
"Jade, meet Tana, Tana, meet Jade, both of you, good night." She fell backwards
to lie flat on her back in the sand.

Tana cocked her head. "Is that your real name?" 

A surge of dread rose through Jade, and she hoped against hope that Tana wasn't
half as obnoxious as Millie. Another part of her wished that Adam's sister was
a brat. Then she'd have an excuse not to like her. "That's what Mum tells me."

"It's pretty," Tana said with a toothy grin. She turned back to the still-prone
form beside her. "Ami? Are you okay?"

"Mmmm-hmmm," Ami murmured, closing her eyes. A moment later, she opened them
again and sat up. "What are those two arguing about now?"

Jade shrugged. Tana blinked.

Ami sighed. "I'd better go break it up." She staggered to her feet. "Jade, would
you mind?" Jade shrugged again. "Wonderful." (Don't let her talk you into 
hide-and-seek, whatever you do!) she added mentally as she stumbled through the 
brush.

There was a long silence as the two girls merely looked at each other.

*****

[And in that awkward pause, I drew a complete and utter blank and eventually forgot
about this story. Part of that has to do with the fact that I was trying to tie it 
into the same "universe" as "Relatively Speaking" - and I now regret dragging the
TP into that story. Go figure. --Mandi]