A few more days went by.

Tatiana went through all the places she had visited before the swapping started but hadn't found any leads anywhere.

Lola's investigation into birthday wishes had come to a similar dead end.

But the two were still switching bodies, and on one Saturday evening they faced yet another difficult trial.

Tatiana Tichy was hosting a big fancy dinner party for some very rich and important people living in the city.

Actually, dinner party is a bit of a stretch. This was no mere dinner party. This was "The Twelve For Aristology", a yearly meeting of twelve gourmet individuals who eat a sumptuous seven course meal and discuss the different flavours and methods of cooking.

Aristology, for those who don't know, means the "Science of eating" and was a term invented by people who love fine dining.

In other words..... "Its a bunch of rich guys who eat a lot and then talk about it?"

"sigh....Yes Lola, thats....a crude way of putting it but yes." Tatiana felt a headache coming on.

"That sounds reaaaaally boring. Can we postpone it until you're back in your own body?" Lola whined with Tatiana's grown up voice.

"No you little idiot. We can't postpone this." Tatiana snapped in Lola's high pitched voice. "There's a man who attends these meeting every year and I want to introduce myself to him. His name is Desmond Bethell. I need to form an alliance with him to stop whatever my board of directors is planning behind my back."

"But... I don't know how to do that." Lola said nervously

"Then don't. Just make an introduction and throw the guy a good party. You love hosting parties. This should play to your strengths."

"But those where tea parties. This...this is a fancy grownup party. With fancy food, and fancy conversations. Do I even serve tea?"

"No Lola. You'll be serving wine and drinking it."

Lola cringed. She remembered the awful beer she had that first time inTatiana's office. Wine was basically the next step up. "Do you really think I should be doing this?"

"Again. We don't really have a choice Lola. I went through a lot of trouble to invite these guys over. It's done. But here's the thing. I've hired the best chefs and waiters to help with this. The menu and drinks have all been picked, you just need to show up and look like you know what your talking about. I can help you with that. Just think of it as a normal tea party but more grown up."

"...you'll help me?"

"Of course I'll help you Lola."

"Okay. Thanks Ms Tiche."

"Call me Tanya. And please...PLEASE drink responsibly. While you're in my body your tolerance to alcohol is high, but you don't actually know how high. You'll have to have one drink to keep up appearances but that doesn't mean you have to keep in pace with everybody else."

...........

And so Lola spent the day making sure everything was the way Tatiana wanted it. The dining room was covered with a beautiful white linen table cloth. The silverwear was pristine crystal and the plates were sparkling.

The chefs soon arrived and got in the kitchen to start cooking. Tatiana helped Lola memorize the names of all the menu items. Lola's favourite was called "Gratin Dauphinois", she would say it to herself as she walked around Tatiana's house and pretend like she was dining in Paris.

"Garcon, This Gratin Dauphinois is Devine. My compliments to the chef....What's that Lucy? Oh yes, this IS your fist visit to France isn't it? I recommend the Gratin Dauphinois..." Lola would murmer to herself in her fanciest voice.

Despite Tatiana's instructions to handle it herself, Lola called Sally and asked her to come for moral support. Sally was surprisingly delighted and offered to act as co-host.

Now, being a bunch of rich people who love eating, Lola expected the guests to all to be the size of baby elephants, but surprisingly they were all pretty average in build. The guy Tatiana wanted to impress, Mr Bethell, was a fifty year old man who's dark hair was starting to go silver. He was broad in the shoulders and had a good strong grip when he shook Tatiana's hand.

There was also two other women who came to this. Ms Calvier, a older woman who had a southern accent and was very friendly, and Ms O dell, who handed her jacket to Sally like she was a butler and barely said hello.

The only one who was a problem (Tatiana had predicted this) was a big fat man with thinning blonde hair and he laughed so loud it made Lola feel frightened. His name was Mr Louis and he liked to get drunk. Lola was instructed to watch how many glasses he had and to say there wasn't anymore wine if he finishes his fourth.

Lola was very nervous. Even the pretty pink dress she bought for the occasion felt wrong. But as her mother once said, "sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do."

"Good evening Mr Bethell, I just heard that your son had a baby. Congratulations! Is it your first grandchild?"

...........................

Tatiana was nervous too. She hadn't said it over the phone but this meeting would either save her company or doom it completely. She didn't tell Lola this because she herself was frightened of Lola messing up, and didn't want to make Lola nervous.

"Lola? You okay?" Lori asked

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Really? Your staring at her phone pretty hard."

Tatiana didn't say anything. She was waiting for Lola to call for help any moment. Every minute made Tatianas heart race. "I'm just keeping...waiting to hear back from someone."

"Well, they'll have to call you tomorrow."

Tatiana felt her chest go tight. "Why?"

"Because dads having a special dance event at his restaurant. Remember? Get your shoes on."

...............................

"......Tanya....Tanya slow down.....look I'm sorry, dad sprung this on me last night and I just forgot about it."

"How am I supposed to help you with MY dinner if I have to keep up appearances in front of your family?"

"Well.... I guess I'll just have to wing it without you. The parties about to start anyway."

".....Lola, I expect you to text me an update every hour. No excuses."

...........................

Lola had NEVER eaten a seven course meal before. She had a very light lunch to make sure she wasn't too full for dinner.

But as it turned out, she needn't have worried. Fancy meals are served in much smaller portions than her father served at his restaurant. The first course was a little dumpling the size of a pack of dentil floss.

"So Tatiana, what is your opinion of this countries economy right now?" asked Ms Odell

"Uh....well.....I think the economy is doing good...but I think we could do much better." Lola said as confidently as she could.

"EXACTLY MY THOUGHT! Bellowed Mr Louis (who had finished his second glass of wine) "Exactly right my dear. We should never have to slow down and settle for anything less than total profit. We built this country and we help keep it strong. Am I right? What are we?! Are we communists?!"

"Dang right we are!" Lola cried.

The whole table went silent. "Uh oh. Communists are bad. Quick, laugh it off."

"Oh my goodness look at your faces! You really thought I meant that?" Lola laughed.

The table erupted into laughter and began slapping each other on the back. "You guys looked like you were about to kill me. Oh look, here comes the roast pheasant."

The table chatter died down as they ate the most succulent bird Lola had ever had. "Tatiana? Are you not drinking?"

Lola looked over at her untouched glass of wine. "Of course I am. I'm just... pacing myself."

"No need to show restraint around us my dear. We all know you enjoy a good claret."

"Yes....heh heh....I sure do love...claronets.." Lola looked at the glass of red liquid. She took the glass in her hand and slowly took a tiny sip.....

.........................

Lynn's table was Lynn loud sr's personal family restaurant. The tables had been cleared to the side to make way for a dance floor.

Apparently this was new thing Mr Loud was trying. Family dance night.

Lori and Leni and their boyfriends were dancing to the music overhead while couples ate dinner over to the booths on the sides.

Pop-pop loud was spinning around on his side like a professional breakdancer, everyone was cheering but Tatiana was still staring at her phone.

It had been an hour and Lola hadn't updated her. The future of her whole company was on the line, can't this kid keep her in the loop?

"Come on Lola, come and dance with us!" Lana grabbed Tatiana and dragged her to the dance floor. Tatiana tried to look like she was having fun but it wasn't working. Images of her waking up in the morning to find herself locked out of her own company kept flashing through her mind.

"Hey Lola, show Pop-pop that dance you made up last Christmas?"

Tatiana brushed everyone aside. She couldn't deal with the louds and their nonsense today. It was too important. Why did this happen? Why??

...Did someone choose to flip their minds today on purpose?...maybe one of her shareholders?...No that's ridiculous. She can't afford to give in to panic.

"Whats wrong Lola?" Lana asked

"I'm sorry, I just need to run to the bathroom really quick."

Tatiana ran as fast as she could. Got the bathroom and texted Lola for the eleventh time. Please text me Lola....Please....

"Man, this place sucks." came a voice outside the bathroom door.

"Tell me about it. Whisky?"

"Dude. Absolutely."

......Tatiana pulled her head out the bathroom door and saw two teenage boys exchanging a bottle. "That's better. I can't believe my mom dragged me down to this dumb place."

There was a door nearby that led to the kitchen. It opened up a one of the employees saw the two boys and asked them what they were doing.

The boys gave the usual teenage reply of "nothing". The employee told them to head back to the dance floor.

One boy slid the bottle behind the fire extinguisher. Probably hoping to collect it later.

....................

".....so I said to my wife, My son can dye his hair green when HE'S paying the bills, not me."

The crowd laughed again. Lola quickly took her glass of wine and dumped it in a nearby plant. She had finished half a glass of the nasty stuff and she wasn't going to have any more.

The waiters appeared with the blini with sour cream.

...........................

Tatiana sat in the ladies room with the bottle of whisky. Her lips felt dry. Her throat felt parched. But what could she do? She's seven years old right now. Far too young for this. A single glass would be enough to hurt Lola.

"....But I'm not going to have a glass." Tatiana took off the cap and poured a thimble full of whiskey into it. She took a quick drink and placed the cap. "There. That's it. Just to take the edge off."

Tatiana placed the bottle behind the toilet and returned to the party.

....................

"hmmmm... What is this seasoning in the sour creme? It's delicious." Said Bethell

Lola gave him a list of all the spices in perfect French.

"Tatiana, You've really outdone yourself. and this is only course four."

.....................

"Why hasn't Lola texted me yet?!!" Tatiana thought furiously as she bit her finger. "Somethings gone wrong. It's almost at the ninety minute mark."

"Hey Lola! How do you get a squirrel to like you?" asked Luan as she held out a stuffed squirrel in front of her. "Act like a nut! hahaha. Get it?"

"This is killing me." Tatiana murmured as she raced back to the bathroom. "Just one more sip. I can't get through this otherwise."

..........................

"...So my granddaughter texts me..." said one of the aristologists

"Text!" Lola cringed. How long had it been?

She excused herself and calmly walked to the bathroom for the update.

............................

The text finally came.

"Everything going well. People love the food. Made a slightly bad remark about communists but they thought it was a joke. Don't worry."

Sadly... Tatiana was no longer concerned about the text messages.

"Okay, seriously now. Last one. Absolute last one." Tatiana's hand shook as she poured another thimble of liquor into the whiskey cap. She poured too much and it spilled on the floor.

"Dangit! son of a-" Tatiana grabbed paper towels and began cleaning the floor. She soaked the whiskey up before anyone could see and put it in the trash bin. She then moved to put the bottle back behind the toilet.

"Screw it." Tatiana put the bottle to her lips and took a big swig. "Okay, that is enough. Lola's going to have a headache tomorrow and its your dumb fault. You'll have to just...tell her the music was really loud."

............................

"You know something Tatiana? We should really consider making you an aristologist." Mr Bethell said

Lola laughed. "Oh no Desmond. Not unless you change the name."

"Change the name?"

"Totally. The SCIENCE of fine dining. Please. Food is an Art. Not a science."

"Here-here"

"Well said."

A round of cheers went up around the table. Lola took bow. Tatiana would be so proud of her.

................................

"So then I said.....and he was all......Like no way.......and I was all like ew.....Omgosh you guys you wouldn't believe!... You know what I mean?" Leni babbled

Tatiana nodded her head and smiled. She felt very tired all of a sudden.

"Lola, would stop checking your phone?"

"I'm waiting for an important text Lincoln!" Tatiana said. She scrolled through Lola's e-mail list but couldn't find any new texts.

Tatiana cursed under her breath and chucked the phone away.

"Lola, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, lets dance."

Tatiana sulked over to the centre of the dance floor and began waving her arms in the air while jumping up and down. It would have looked okay if the speakers weren't in between songs while she did it.

...............................

Lola was now a big fan of baked Alaska. It was one of the most delicious desserts she'd ever had. She made a mental note to tell her daddy to try making one at home one day.

Desmond Bethell sighed with contentment and stood up to ring his glass. "Well ladies and gentlemen I don't know about you, but I think this is one of the best dinners we've ever had together."

Everyone around the table nodded in agreement. Mr. Louis shouted "OUTSTANDING!" (His face looked like a red tomato by this point. Lola had called Tatiana's limo driver to stop by and give Mr. Louis a lift home)

"So I hope you will all join me in one final toast. To the chef..."

Everyone raised their glasses to the chef who was standing in the dining room with his hat between his hands.

"....To the waiters..."

The staff all took a bow.

"....And most of all, to our host, Ms Tatiana Tiche. The queen of Silicon Valley."

Everyone applauded. Lola felt like she had just won the little miss sunshine pageant and blushed uncontrollably.

Lola felt so confident in fact, that after the meal was over, she approached Mr Bethell and told him that she would offer a bottle of her finest wine as a gift if he would call her in the morning. she had a business arrangement she wanted to discuss.

"Make it two bottles of that marvellous Claret and I'll clear my schedule entirely." He chuckled

....................................

Tatiana felt awful. She'd been drunk only once in her life (college) but nothing like this. Her head was swimming. Her insides felt like they were full of acid.

She tried to eat some fries to try and balance out but it was no good. This body was too small for this.

"Lola? dude are you crying?" Luna bent over her little sister. "What's the matter? You've been way out of sorts all evening."

Tatiana was indeed crying. She felt like she had failed. She felt like she had lost control of her life. Her company. Her body. Her emotions were spiralling and she felt so wretched that all she could do was sit in the booth and weep with self loathing.

Luna was looking very concerned now. "Dude, maybe we should take you home? You want Lori to take you home?"

But Tatiana didn't hear her. Instead she heard a teenage girl from the next booth over say, "In a minute! I just have to use the bathroom!"

The girl left and Tatiana was stricken with fear. What if they found the bottle? Then everyone would know what she did.

"I have to pee." Tatiana said as she shoved past Luna and ran to the girls bathroom.

she knelt down and peered underneath the bathroom stalls. There were three pairs of legs but none of them were in the stall with the bottle.

Tatiana went over to her stall and crawled underneath the door and grabbed the bottle. she turned and unlocked the door. (but the door was already unlocked so she had locked herself in)

"Hey! What the heck! Hey someone help me! I can't get out!" Tatiana banged on the door frantically. She had to get out of the bathroom before someone saw her with the bottle.

A woman heard her and began trying to help. "Hey kid! Unlock the door!"

Tatiana unlocked it and staggered out with the bottle in her hands. "Well that's stupid. You have to unlock the door twice just to get out."

She wandered past the extremely horrified woman and went back to the dance floor.

Along the way she looked at the bottle. It was half empty. How could it be half empty? She only had a couple of sips. This was way too much. How could she have been so stupid? She had to get home and bury the bottle before anyone saw it.

Everyone on the dance floor was looking at her as she walked in.

"Okay Luna! I'm ready to go home!"

Then the bottle flew out of her hands and smashed into a dozen pieces. Tatiana screamed the f word at the top of her lungs. She looked up at the faces of the loud family.

Every single one of them was looking at her with their jaws hanging open.

"......That's not mine.....I just found it behind the toilet...."

The floor rushed up and hit Tatiana in the face.

.........................

Tatiana jolted out of bed in alarm.

She was back in her bedroom. Outside her window, Dawn was peering over the horizon. It was five thirty in the morning.

That wasn't real.

That didn't happen. It couldn't have.

She just had a nightmare.

She must have had a nightmare....

Too be continued....

.............................................

Things got real in this chapter.