Ask Xabar for help

Alex didn’t have to be an expert in profiling to be able to conclude that Xabar is an expert in deception and manipulation. He clearly is not someone who can be completely trusted, of course, but he could prove to be a valuable ally at a time like this.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to spy on you,” he explains, “but I had to hide from that woman, and you guys just came in and started — well, you know.... Anyway, I’d really be grateful if you could help me get out of here in one piece.”

Xabar considers Alex for a few moments, chin in hand. “So you’re the guy Old Lady Pennyweather mistook for Jack, huh? Was she drunk or were the two of you in a dark room?”

“I don’t know what happened. I was laying under the stove, trying to fix the damn thing, and the next thing I know, she was pulling my pants off and —“ He stops, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation is going. A quick look at Xabar confirms that the young man is far from being scandalized by the talk. In fact, Xabar is grinning back at him with a knowing look.

“Ah, that explains it. Yeah... this Jack fellow is quite the player. This isn’t the first time our paths have crossed. I’d really like to meet him. I suspect he may have a bigger track record of conquests in this town than even I. Everywhere I go, it seems that some chick has just gotten laid by this guy.”

Alex nods. “Yeah... I’ve kind of noticed the same thing.”

“So you’re Murphy’s new guy, huh?” Xabar grins mischievously. “What do you think of Elaine?”

Somehow, Alex isn’t surprised that Xabar knows about Elaine. Given what he’s come to suspect about the girl, it’s doubtful that there’s any guy with pubic hair who hasn’t had at least one roll in the hay with her.

“She’s.... Well, she’s something else.”

Xabar chuckles. “That’s a good way of describing her. I’ve been meaning to get over to see her again, but I keep getting sidetracked.” His eyes stray over to the bed where he and Laura were so recently banging away like a screen door in a hurricane.

“So I gathered,” replies Alex. Despite Xabar’s obvious untrustworthiness, he can’t help but find himself liking the guy. Xabar is the first fellow his own age that he’s met since starting his apprenticeship, and he realizes how much he has missed some simple friendship. “So that’s your mission in life — to restore virginity to gals who are engaged to get married? How could she possibly fall for that?”

Xabar laughs. “OK, yeah... Laura is as dumb as shit. At first, I thought she was just being intentionally naive because she wanted to get laid, but you can’t be around her for long before you realize she has no measurable IQ whatsoever. With a body as hot as that and a mind as vacant as it is, it’s a wonder she didn’t get knocked up years ago. But, I figure, what the fuck? Her fiancé isn’t going to care whether he gets to bust her cherry as long as she puts out for him, right?”

Alex shrugs. “I suppose.... I never really thought about it.” The sound of footsteps in the hallway causes both boys to tense and turn and look at the door. When the maker of those footsteps passes by, they both take a calming breath.

“Alright, we both need to get out of here,” says Xabar. “I typically go solo, but you seem to be a good guy, so I will help you out. Besides, maybe you can help me.”

“Help you?”

“Yeah... So it seems that there’s a wee bit of a misunderstanding over at the school, and I kind of, sort of, a little bit got myself expelled. I’m sure it will all work out, but the chancellor is a real dickhead, and there’s no talking to him right now. So... I need a place to stay for a night or two.”

“Can’t you stay at your home?”

“Yeah... that’s part of the problem,” says Xabar. “My father is the dickhead chancellor. Until he comes to his senses, it’s best if I just stay clear of him. So... Do you think you might be able to persuade the Murphy family to put me up for a day or two?”