Pink and Blue: That evening, Pink told Martha and Horatio about Rebecca and the other girls admiring her new styling. That is, she mostly told Martha. Naturally, Prime already knew everything that Pink knew. However, Horatio had made himself visible, and was acting as if he was a normal human listening to the others. The conversation moved on and they ended up discussing Rebecca and James. "I have always admired Rebecca," said Blue, "mostly from afar, of course. Even now, I think it's wonderful how she so obviously has it all together. Good marks, good at sports, sociable. And, from my memory, a good figure also, although I can no longer quite see that. And James is her natural companion. Also a good all rounder." "Same with me. I tried to get to know James once, but, of course, it was a complete flop." said Pink. Blue agreed with that. "Now that the two of them appear to be becoming a couple, I'm very happy for them. Back before I met Blue, I would have been envious of their relationship." At this point, Pink and Blue stopped and briefly glanced at each other. They had their radio links on, and were aware of each other's background emotions. And of Martha's and Horatio's. Who were both just a tiny bit sceptical. "Hmm? You seem to be disagreeing about something?" said Blue to Martha. "Well, you see, Pink and Blue, it's like this. Rebecca and James are also seventeen year olds, which means that they cannot possibly have it all together. If they are lucky, then by the time they are mid twenties, they might have made a start in achieving that happy state, but as teenagers..." "But, but, they look so confident, so mature!" said Pink. She was clearly not believing this at all. "Even I," said Horatio, "will have to agree with Martha on this one. They look so good to you, but only because you are both teenagers yourselves." Considering the relative ages of themselves and Martha, and the relative knowledge about minds that they possessed and what Horatio possessed, the two teenagers were forced to conclude that, maybe, just maybe, they were slightly wrong in this matter. "Ok, we shall see." said Pink. James and Rebecca: Romance is in the air A romance can often start by one person noticing something admirable in the other: When Rebecca had run out of the stair well onto the top floor, she had seen Blue toss Renee over the railing, into James’s arms. James helping save her precious sister was certainly admirable. James was definitely noticed. The next step is to get the other person to notice you back: Rebecca had the perfect excuse to lavish praise all over James and James definitely noticed. Now let there be lots of little interactions, to build up the initial awareness of each other: Rebecca made sure that James was included in the lunchtime invitations, and to briefly touch his hand when handing out the food. And to sit next to him when eating the food. And to occasionally, casually, purely accidently, lean her leg against his. James interacted right back. Around about this stage, both participants are probably becoming hyper aware of each other, thinking of each other: James had looked at Rebecca across the classroom, and admired how lovely she looked, how confident she acted, how well she socialised. He wondered if she would still be interested in him, when she found out that he himself was none of these things, not really. Rebecca had watched James during sports period. Seen how good he was at athletics, how he was the centre of a group of friends, how well he managed as a sports team leader. She wondered if he would still be interested in her, when he found out how messed up she was. Hmm, those last bits do not sound too good. Whatever. Next thing to do is to raise the stakes a little, and make a deliberate invitation: "James, we both live on the same side of the river. Would you like to walk home with me, and Renee, after school?" "I would love to, Rebecca." Then raise the stakes a little bit more, and ask for some time together, without any little sisters nor nosey classmates around: "Rebecca, would you like to go for a walk along the river this Saturday?" "Certainly. How about straight after lunch? You come to my place and we walk on from there. Next, comes the mutual exploration of each other's personalities, histories, wishes and hopes for the future. At this stage, this is only at a very light, easygoing level: "This is nice. You know, I've never actually had a girlfriend before..." said James. They were walking along the river wall. At one place, there was an uneven section, and James held Rebecca's hand to stabilise each other. When the going became smooth again, they kept on holding hands. "Never? I actually would have thought that you would have had no problems with finding girls willing to go out with you." "Well, ah, it never seemed to work out like that. And, err, what about you?" Silence. "Well, yes, I did have... a boyfriend. Last year... For a while." said Rebecca. "You did! Ah, last year you were sick for a month or so, if I remember." "It was before that, but, let's talk about something else." "Why? Did you have an affair? Was the period you were absent anything to do with it?" said James. He was starting to get excited, waving his arms around. Rebecca had pulled away her hand from his and began to get agitated herself. "It's none of your business!" "Well, it is! How can I trust you if you keep secrets like that?" By now, they were shouting and standing apart. Rebecca turned around and started walking back to her house. James trailed along. Nothing was said but a mutual 'See you'. Now, having intense arguments about inflammatory subjects is a perfectly valid technique in building a relationship. But, for advanced couples only, please! Couples who have already established a solid relationship, and who are now getting down to the really hard bits. Rebecca and James were definitely jumping the gun here. Ok, let us start again. The next step after something like this is to apologise and make up and try again: At school on Monday, they arranged to have a private chat. "Ah, sorry, I, well, I perhaps went a bit too far..." said James. "Well, yeah, ah, perhaps we can try again..." said Rebecca. It so happened that Renee was going to the house of some other girls that afternoon, so James and Rebecca had the perfect chance to walk by themselves again. The polite conversation lasted for fifteen minutes or so, and then- "But still, I am interested in your past relationships." said James. "Ah, he was older than me and, and, well, let's say it didn't work out very well in the end." "He was older than you? How much older?" "Older. He had a job." "But you were only sixteen last year! If you were going out with mature aged men, well, what does that make you?" James was raising his voice again. "What does that make me? You think I'm some sort of, of..." Rebecca's voice trailed away. "Well, what are you? Chasing after men older than you!" "It wasn't like that! I got so hurt I ended up being sick for a month!" "So the illness was connected to your affair! How can I trust you not to do that again?" By now the conversation, and the mutual walk home, was beyond remedy. Rebecca stamped her feet, said 'Get lost!' and turned and stomped towards her home. James said 'I will!" and turned and stomped off towards his house. If a new relationship gets to this stage, it is probably an indication that the best thing to do is to give up. There may be some bitter self-recrimination going on: Rebecca, alone in her bedroom that night. It's hopeless. I'm damaged goods. No one will ever want me again. Tears. Although, he does appear to have extreme issues with trusting others... Maybe he's not perfect either? Still, he does appear to be a nice person. At least some of the time. And similarly for James. It's hopeless. I just can't find anyone I feel I can trust. Which isn't surprising I suppose... Although she does appear to have had some bad experiences herself. Still, she is very pretty. And obviously loves her little sister. Maybe in different circumstances...? Sounds like they are both damaged goods. Maybe they could be compatible after all, if they could only manage to get past the initial distrust stages. Of course, at some point in a romantic relationship, the question of, you know, sexuality, comes up. Obviously, in this case: James had at one stage made a tentative effort to kiss Rebecca. "Get your hands off me! You're just out for one thing only!" said Rebecca. "Fine, fine, this is where we separate to go on our own ways to our homes, anyway." James went home, feeling extremely frustrated. As did Rebecca. As a normal relationship develops, it soon gets to the point of being noticed by others. The others will, as circumstances dictate, start interacting with the couple as a single unit, instead of as two separate people. The couple feel their relationship is being validated by others, and a virtuous feedback loop is created. Of course, this is a real pain in the behind if the relationship is dead on arrival, but no one else has realised it yet: Rebecca and James managed to remain civil towards each other. The catering by Rebecca had come to an end, but out of sheer habit, they kept on having lunches together. One day- "Hi" said Teresa and Jennifer. "Can we sit and eat lunch with you?" "Sure" "We're so glad you have found each other." said Jennifer to Rebecca and James. "You go together so well." "And, frankly, we're both a little envious of you." said Teresa. "With our relationship, we have to struggle with every single little step along the way. Work out exactly what we want, and why, and then have to contend with the reactions of our parents, and other school students, and random people in the streets. Sometimes it gets really intense, not to mention exhausting." "And I find the whole process can be so irritating. But, we have managed to hang in there, so far." said Jennifer. "Whereas with you, you have all of that laid out for you. You just have to get on with the getting to know each other." said Teresa. "Ah, yes." said Rebecca. The two girls finished their lunch. "But, that's life. We can't complain. And we can use you as our role model." said Teresa. They waved good-bye and, hand in hand, walked away. James and Rebecca looked at each other, and then looked at their lunches. In an awkward silence, they completed their own meals. And then there was the whole meet-my-parents thing. An important milestone; for a normal developing relationship, that is. But for Rebecca and James, it was painful: "James, my parents have finally gotten around to aligning their work schedules and want to invite you, and Blue and Pink, to a big thank you meal at our place." "Ah, right. For Renee's sake. Ok, we shall just have to go through with this." Rebecca really was able to forget her own troubles for a while. After all, this was all about saving her sister's life. "So, you and Pink became an item because of all of this?" said Rebecca's mother to Blue and Pink. "Yes, that's right. Things just sort of snowballed and before we knew it..." said Blue. Pink laughed. "It just so happened that we were very compatible." "And also, we admire how Rebecca and James have also become a couple." said Blue. The meal came to an end. As they were saying their thanks, Pink and Blue looked at each other and were momentarily silent. Then Blue said, "We would like to invite James and Rebecca to our place for meal, also. Perhaps this Friday?" Rebecca, conscious of her parents looking on, said "Ah, yes, certainly." James, not wishing to spoil the occasion, said "Yes, that sounds good." Rebecca's Parents: Later that night, Rebecca's parents were in their bedroom. "Is she really getting on well with James?" said her father. "I don't know, but I do wonder..." said her mother. Pink and Blue: Host a dinner party And so, we come to the point where Rebecca and James, in a brand new and already dysfunctional relationship, had to maintain the act of being a loving couple for an entire evening, in the company of two people whom they barely knew. Two people who were not particularly sociable, and just a little bit weird, although lately they did seem to be becoming much better. Two people, who, in spite of their faults, nevertheless seem to have managed, in a very short space of time, to create a very successful relationship between themselves. Martha was still living with them. So Pink and Blue both decided to invite her to the meal also. "Let's not kid ourselves here," said Blue, "we have both made great strides in our socialisation ability, well Pink mostly, but still. However, we are not at Rebecca's and James’s level. So if Martha is present, she can act as the responsible adult in the room. She can also subtly help us out when we need it." Martha chuckled "I'm happy to lend you a few hints. This radio link certainly comes in handy. And I can always make my excuses and retire if the four of you seem to be getting on well without my help. Also, I must admit to some curiosity about those two." So the big night arrived. Prime's financial resources made the procuring of top class food easy. Martha exercised her considerable cooking skills, with some argumentation from Horatio, and the resulting meal was equal to any you could obtain from the finest restaurants of the city. It was starting to rain and the wind was rising outside, but inside, eventually, there were five well fed and content humans - err, four humans and one robot - gathered around the dining table in Pink's living area. "There goes my diet resolutions for the week," said Rebecca, "Pink, how on earth do you eat so much and still remain so skinny?" "Ah, well, I guess I am just lucky, I suppose." "Good genes?" said James. "Sort of" said Pink, with a giggle. "But, both you and James still manage to be more or less slim and fit." said Blue. "As does Martha, also." "In my case it is due to relentless attention to diet and constant exercising. Just one of the disadvantages of growing older." said Martha. "Growing older. Tell me, ah, do, you know, things, get better as you get older?" said Rebecca. "If by things you mean being comfortable and at peace with oneself, and having meaningful relationships with others, then yes, in the general case." said Martha. "I and my husband met when we were sixteen and married just before we turned seventeen. But our relationship grew continuously for its two decades length." "Did you have any really bad fights?" said James. Martha smiled at the memory. "The worse would have been about a decade after we started. We had a screaming argument about something which I have totally forgotten, and I ended up slamming and locking the bedroom door. He got so angry he put his boot right through the door panel. Nobody was hurt and we never got to violence, mind you." "When he died it left an enormous gaping hole in my heart. Even today it's still there, I have to, in effect, walk around it all the time." Martha drifted off, just slightly, into a riviere. "So, so, screaming fights at the beginning of a relationship wouldn't normally occur?" said Rebecca. [Say, is there a pattern emerging here?] Martha said to her radio linked audience. "Ah, probably not, I suppose." she eventually said. "It's a little strange, but I think it requires a fair degree of trust between two people before they can have a screaming match with each other. Trust that the other will stick around to see things through, and not just decamp at the first signs of difficulty." Both Rebecca and James had twitched at this. Prime, cross correlating the view of Rebecca and James through three sets of eyes, easily noticed. [I think there is definitely a pattern emerging here. And that statement about trust really set off something.] he said to all three. "I would agree with Martha on that," said Blue, aloud. "Me and Pink have had some, shall we say, extremely robust arguments. But due to various circumstances, we already had built up a strong bond and we have no problem in trusting each other." There was a silence. Rebecca and James fidgeted awkwardly, and acted as if they did not quite know if they wanted to sit closer to each other, or move further apart. Pink and Blue were aware that they were definitely getting out of their depth. So it was up to Martha to make the decisive move. "I take it that you two, in spite of giving all the appearances of being a brilliant young couple, aren't in actual fact doing too well?” she said. "No, we're not." said Rebecca. James stared at his hands and said nothing. The silence stretched and stretched, until, not being able to bear it any longer, James started talking. "Rebecca seemed so nice, but she is keeping secrets about her previous love affair and she has become just another woman I can't trust at all. They all betray me." "Betray you? Of course I have secrets! I'm not going to just blurt them out to just anyone! I need to be able to trust that you will not betray me!" said Rebecca. "You're worried about being betrayed? I've never done that to anyone! But it's certainly happened to me! My mother left us for another man! Just dumped us so she could sleep in another man's bed!" By now James was standing, shaking in fury, fists clenched, glaring at Rebecca. The others were entirely forgotten. "You've never betrayed anyone? Well, neither have I! But I was well and truly betrayed. He was an older man, twenty nine, but he not only managed to seduce me, he managed to convince both of my parents that he was genuine. Then he dumped me so hard I tried to... I tried to... " Rebecca was staring right back at James, face white, voice stressed with anger and shame. "How can I believe you? Mum acted just like that, and then she left us for good!" "My God! It took me a month to recover my health! And you think I am just making this up?" "How can I trust you?" and with that, James ran for the door and turned towards the front of the house. [I'll follow him.] said Blue, privately to the others. He started running after James. Immediately after James started fleeing, Rebecca screamed after him "Then don't trust me! I certainly don't trust you!" She ran out of the room, and not wanting it to look as if she was chasing James, turned in the opposite direction. Pink followed her. Martha: Recalls some bad memories Martha was left alone in the room, staring at the debris of a meal, holding a glass of fruit juice which she had not yet had the chance to taste. "Oh" she said. "I see you have thought of the possible connection." said Horatio. He had just then materialised himself, sitting on one of the now empty chairs, also holding a glass of some liquid. In keeping with his image, it was brandy. "Yes. Last year Rebecca would have been sixteen. And Lex would have been twenty nine." She leant her head forward, supported by her hands. "And right now, he could be busily seducing another innocent little girl, using my money." "Here, there's some tissues on the side table. Unfortunately I hope you understand that I am unable to hand them to you." Martha got the tissues herself. Sniff, sniff. She dried her eyes. "If it's any consolation, I have been tracking Lex as closely as I can. He does not appear to be associating with any ladies, teenagers or else wise. He appears to be taking a break, and is spending his time hobnobbing with the high and mighty. The top politicians and military leaders of your country. He's managed to get himself invited to their little parties and social meetings." "Well, I suppose that is a relief. Can't you backtrack his movements by a year or so and find out..." "Sorry. I have only recently started to expand my capabilities in that area. Before that, I was concentrating on making extensive connections with the World Wide Web, building up my finances, and creating Pink. But in future, I certainly will track his every movement." Martha made an effort to relax herself. "And how are they going now?" "Both Pink and Blue are having intense discussions with Rebecca and James. I shall keep you informed."