As everyone laughs at this tale, Kammy recalls, “The guy and the girl even went by nicknames the whole time because he was so nervous after being thrown off that cliff, he never told anyone his real name again.  His girlfriend, whom he eventually married, just named him Edge, after the cliff, and he called her….” Kammy’s hysterical laughter immediately stops as she remembers the name of the girl in the story.  She suddenly has no interest in this tale, or even in breathing as she stares at her pacing feet, her face deep red in humiliation.

    “What was his wife’s name, Kammy?” asks Faye, extremely curious to know the end of this particular story.  As there is no answer, Faye repeats the question.  “You must not have heard me, princess, what was the name of the queen of the trashy kingdom?”

    Kammy angrily turns and screams, “IT WAS CRYSTAL!  I’M SORRY!”  Having said this, she walks ahead of the group, weeping heavily and saying, “I’m so stupid!”

    The group is stunned, not sure how to handle this one.  Paul doesn’t know whether to comfort Kammy or be angry with jealousy.  Poor Elfie.

    For what seems like forever, everyone stands in the darkness of nothing watching this poor girl bawl her eyes out, no one sure what to do.  In the quiet, Cat can be heard quietly muttering, “Hey sis, when you get this, call me back.  I may need the listening ear by then.  Seeya.”  After this, Duplica looks at her fellow teachers and starts giving orders, politely, of course.  “Jo, you know the way to XL, right?  You and Mercy take the kids there.  I think the most important thing they could ask for right now is a game of soccer in Storyboard XL, yeah.  But don’t let them get too carried away.  I’ll stay here with Kammy for a second until she’s ready.”  As the class slowly edges toward what has been implied to be a lovely reunion with the likes of Acer and Buddy, or perhaps the Baylor Quartet, one student is called back.

    “Faye, please stay behind.”

    As this request catches the attention of the teens, Duplica and her girls do well to goad everyone else away from what isn’t their business.  Soon enough, the rest of the group is in another dimension, leaving Lady Duplica alone with these two young ladies.

    “Care to explain the rant?” Cat starts with Faye, opting to let Kammy stay at her safe spot in the distance until she’s ready to talk.

    “I’m tired of her going back and forth between Paul and Elfie.  She is supposed to be all happy with her new boyfriend, but all she does is flirt with my guy and makes stupid comments like that ridiculous story about Crystal and her prince husband Edge.  That’s what she’s been calling MY Elfie all day, Double-Edge.  I’m sick of it.”  Having said this, Faye’s eyes of cautious rage alternate between looking at Kammy in contempt and looking back at Duplica in anticipation of some lecture.

    “Okay,” Cat calmly says, “I definitely see why that bothers you.  If Ally or Jo was to be all buddy-buddy with my husband, especially after I told them they could marry him but they gave him to me, I’d feel unimportant, like my opinion doesn’t matter.  Do you really think Kammy sees it that way?”

    “I don’t ca—” Faye catches herself.  “Should it matter if she sees it that way or not?  Elfie’s my, well, he’s not my boyfriend, I know that.  But we like each other and are patiently waiting for when we can date later.  It’s stressful to have Kammy flirting with him all the time, talking to him as much, if not more, than I do, when she couldn’t even care less that he existed back when Elfie wouldn’t have anything to do with me.  It’s like, ‘Oh, ho!  Elfie finally likes Faye?  Let me get in the middle and take him away, but oh, I still got my Paul, because I’m a woman of integrity.”  The scene of Faye strongly huffing in her little rage is so comical that it’s all Cat can do to not laugh, but she totally agrees that Kammy’s got to chill.

    “You need to know something, young lady,” Duplica says with a voice that gradually sharpens, causing Faye to brace herself for an ear full from a defensive mother.  Cat leans in and whispers right in Faye’s gradually tearful face, “You keep this up, the way you’ve been acting for the past year or two, and Doug and I are going to be watching you and my son walk the aisle together some day.  Got it?”

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