Gina cringed faintly at the mention of Zombieland, shaking her head and laughing. Zombieland had been a classic example of a train-wreck. Gina hadn’t been able to stand the movie. In fact, she’d had a panic-attack and all-but-eviscerated an unfortunate pillow. She most certainly hadn’t handled it well.

“I’m not kidding you,” Gina countered, “You say it’s bull, but it’s true. No one starts out pro at anything, but with practice you get better. Not all girls all the same, but… I’m sure you get just as freaked-out with any unfamiliar, attractive girl you talk to. Trust me. The more you talk, the easier it gets.”

Locke persisted, pressing for a cure-all solution to his problem. Gina grinned wordlessly. Nope, not relly. There really wasn’t. Locke continued rambling when the younger teen didn’t give him an answer, and attempted to explain what he meant.

“Girls like boys that treat them right,” Gina said simply, “But what’s “right” depends on the girl. It varies based-on what you’re looking for. And what they’re looking for.”

Gina paused for emphasis, a smile in her eyes.

“Example,” she began, ceasing in her absent rocking to fix Locke with a stare, “I like nice guys. Ones who will treat me like I'm their princess. Ones who don’t seem to mind my mutation, or maybe even like it. And I like tall boys, too-” Gina’s grin grew, “Though it isn’t too difficult to find guys taller than me. But you see, there are certain boys that wouldn’t work for me—a shorter boy, a bad boy with a mean streak, or a mutant-hater—that could work for other girls.”

The first thought Locke had was that he had pulled some sort of word bathtub plug. He tried to remember if Gina had ever spoken as much so quickly. Where he had few words, and those that he had didn't always get out of him correctly. This couldn't be a girl thing, because Eaan had spouted out even more words at an even faster pace. Granted with Eaan they didn't always make sense, especially if the guy was talking science or math words, but the point was that Locke wasn't facing something that he could establish being a girl thing. This was Gina trying to give him advice.

Which caused the next thought. There was in fact some sort of girl code that Gina must be trying to avoid breaking. This was why she was giving him the most vague answers possible and using herself as an example. Gina was nice, she really was, and Locke probably would spend more time with her if his life hadn't gone and decided it wasn't weird enough. Now that he wasn't under house arrest he could go out, hang with friends, get back to a life that did not confine him to the school. "How does what I'm looking for have to do with treating them right?" Locke asked. A thought occurred to him of what that might possibly mean. "No, I don't want to know."

As far as what Gina wanted it wasn't going to do him any good either. Not if all girls were different in what being treated right meant. To his ex it meant being in a state of constant closeness. Not that there was anything wrong with being with someone you liked, but at the time Locke hadn't even wanted to look at a mirror, let alone have someone try to sit on his lap in the cafeteria. The princess part was even more confusing to Locke. In fairy tales princesses were never treated right until they met their prince, and even then you didn't know what happened. Until Disney had made the sequel to Cinderella she very well could have ended up like her counterpart in Into the Woods. "Gina. You just described me. Sort of. I don't do too well with the idea of flying."

Gina interjected before Locke could cut her off, her voice adopting the tone of, “Now really Locke, do try to keep up with the lesson.”

“Locke,” Gina said carefully, her words daring him not to listen to what she was saying, “You want to treat a girl right, because if you’re a jerk to them, they won’t like you. If you’re nice to them, they will. Or, at least, they will treat you more kindly than they would if you were mean.”

Really, Gina didn’t know what was so difficult to conceive about that. For her, it was so matter-of-fact. So logical. Boys were logical, right? Why wouldn’t that make sense?

Gina grinned as Locke pointed-out that she’d explained him. To which she replied, “I just explained nearly every half-decent man in the world, excluding my fellow short people.”


Gina brushed her hair back with her hand, before tilting her gaze in his direction.

“Do you want to practice?” she inquired. Gina didn’t wait for the answer, “Pretend I’m KD.”

She swung the chair around so that she was sitting on it backwards, her tail hanging over what would typically be the front. Gina tilted the backrest back, making it into a pretend counter.

“Okay, next in line,” Gina chuckled, scooting the chair a little closer. When the carpet impeded her progress too much, Gina gestured for Locke to come over. No amount of explaining would do the job. It would be better to pretend and act-out, so that he'd remember it.

The difference between guys and girls was that Locke had picked up on Gina saying you have to be nice to a girl to get what you want. Meaning, to him at least, that she had said there is no other reason to be a decent person than to have someone do things for you. Maybe it was just he was a big brother and when it came to dating, his view was that guys would only be interested in one thing from his sister. But she was seven and still didn't like boys, especially when she had to deal with a twin brother who sent her into the men's room at the firehouse. Possible that that was why Locke had gotten the wrong idea, but just as likely not. So once Gina started to berate him he was left totally in the dark as to what he had said wrong.

Nothing seemed to offend Gina for very long though, because she took Locke's pointing out that her description of guys resulted in a smile and gentle teasing, of both herself and him. True, there were plenty of half-decent men in the world, and there was probably no shortage of people taller than the gargoyle, but Locke questioned the "alright with dating a winged/horned/tailed girl who didn't wear shoes". Locke got weird looks just for his eye, and that wasn't anything in comparison.

Gina turned her chair around so that she could pretend to be KD. Locke would correct Gina about her portrayal, but he didn't know enough about his crush to give her any guidance. The winged one wanted to act this out, presumably to give Locke practice, but it felt more like an excuse to make him look and feel as awkward as possible. The fool stared at Gina as if for the first time really noticing how out of the ordinary she was before talking. "I don't have any books."

Gina fell into the role smoothly, leaning forward as if waiting for him to come to the “counter” Waiting… and waiting… and waiting.

“How may I help you, sir?” she urged Locke, hoping to jump-start his speech with the cue.

>> “I don’t have any books.”

Gina grinned. Oh boy, did she see a lot of charades in her future.

“Well, this is a bookstore,” Gina said cheerfully, “So this is a great place to solve that problem. Now, usually I would direct you to the help desk-“ Gina gestured across the room, towards her bed, “But since you’re already here…”

She shifted a spiral-bound notebook onto the back of the chair, and sent all of her fingers perched upon it, pretending it was a keyboard.

“What kind of books are you into?” Gina inquired sweetly, brushing her curls back, “Oh, and by the way, my name’s KD.”

Gina pretended to type, as if pulling up a book search, and then TAP! selected the search engine with her invisible mouse, before returning her attention to Locke.

Gina was able to do the role playing easily, but Locke had issues with it. Even the psychologist that he had to see after the accident, someone who was trained to ease people into being able to do so, could not get Locke to step out of himself. Ironic since the teen had to do exactly that to control the golems he made. Even more ironic was that Gina probably wanted him to act the way that he would with KD. "No Gina," he held up his hands. He had not come armed with any sort of bribe for the gargoyle girl in hopes that she could steer him right in this. They were remarkably empty. "I don't have books."

It wasn't just the lack of books that kept Locke from continuing the game with Gina. Of course KD would know that he had books. She had rung him up the last time he was in Barnes and Noble, which was how this whole fiasco got started. Even if this was just Gina Locke was talking to, he still did not know how to advance anything. He wasn't witty with girls the way that Eaan was. Locke couldn't just casually drop a pick up line and act like it wasn't weird at all. The boy wanted to say the right thing, but was so worried about the wrong that he wasn't able to think of anything.

As the playing-pretend continued, Locke broke the game—he interjected by saying, “No, Gina,” and then pointing out that he didn’t have any real books. Why on Earth did he actually need books? Ginas’ brows furrowed in momentary confusion, and then she laughed. Really?

“And I don’t have a real cash register, Locke,” she teased, “It’s a pretend-game. You don’t need real books.”

She stared at Locke in scrutiny, an uncertain grin upon her face. Or… did he? As the two stared at one another, Gina realized that Locke was completely serious. He really needed an actual book in his hands for the pretend-game.

“Goodness me,” Gina sighed, turning her chair around and plucking one of Agnes’s textbooks off of the desk behind her. She then spun slowly back around, holding it up for Locke to take, “Does this work?”

Locke wasn't much for playing pretend. When he was little sitting in a cardboard box was lacking in the entertainment value when he could go outside and try to strike up a baseball game. It was a good thing that there had been twins, because Locke wasn't going to act as though the plastic scone was delicious or that a towel was a super hero cape. Him having a book was important, though he didn't care if Gina had a register or not. You didn't see them all the time in stores, usually there was a little light up thing that showed the price, but he didn't look at those. To be honest he hadn't looked much at KD either. There had been a brief moment in which their eyes had met followed by him staring at the wooden courtesy desk. Why did Gina have to question his need for a book? Locke had told her that KD worked at Barnes and Noble. To not have a book when approaching her, or ask about one would just scream "I'm creepy!". When one questions if they inherited their stalker mom's insanity you do not try to be creepy.

As much as Gina might have questioned him needing a book she did at least give him something to hold in his hands. There was always comfort in being able to actually hold onto something. It was like the security that his hair had offered, or being barefoot in the summer. As long as Locke had something physical in his hands he had something to hide behind. Gina gave him a textbook, prompting the teen to frown. You don't go to Barnes and Noble to buy textbooks. Not the hard cover ones like this at least. He even opened his mouth to protest this to Gina, but thankfully that part of the brain that usually told him "Go ahead, you won't look stupid" did as it was meant and let him know to let this one go. "It works" Locke mumbled into his shirt.

He had managed to buy himself a little bit of time, so with act two maybe Locke could actually manage to say words. The whole pretend thing felt fake to him. Not just in the sense that Gina wasn't KD. That he could maybe get around. What bothered him more when it came to the fakeness was that it just wasn't natural. He didn't flirt with girls, and to the best of Locke's knowledge, girls did not flirt with him. Sure they might say they went for the quiet brooding type, but he wasn't a sparkling vampire. No, Locke was more of a dirt clod. "Do we try again?"

Gina felt her eyes roll in their sockets as Locke gave Gina a quizzical look. She could hear the protest now, but as Locke begrudgingly stated that it worked, Gina grinned, and then chuckled. The textbook would suffice, for now.

“You’re so silly,” Gina said warmly, falling momentarily out-of-character. If Locke just got out of his habit of acting with such uncertainty around girls, he’d do so well with them. He had that awkward, nerdy, “I’m so at a loss when it comes to girls” thing going for him. Which, shock of all shocks, occasionally worked for guys. If they were nice and nonthreatening, sometimes that made girls want to be around them more. You just had to find the ability to speak to them, first.

“Sure, act once, scene two,” Gina announced, clapping her hands together once. She pretended to call Locke over once again, with the line of, “Next customer, please?”

This time Locke did not interrupt the game to say that something was unrealistic, or broke character, though technically he wasn’t playing at anyone. He was suppose to be himself, talking to KD, only Locke kinda sucked. When Gina called for the next in line Locke took the role seriously. Standing up he approached the sitting Gina with the book in hand. This was possible. Locke occasionally needed to buy books, if not for himself than for others. Mai liked to read, and Chris was always in the middle of some series. The latest obsession for the kid was the Thirty Nine Clues books. Talking to KD was more likely to happen if Locke was at the register. Sure he might run into KD out on the sales floor as he tried to find something, but that was a possible, this was more likely.

Locke offered the textbook to Gina, looking her boldly in the face for about two seconds before his head ducked back down. Already he towered over Gina, but with her sitting, and him standing, the height difference was all the more obvious. He had to look down to be able to hold her gaze, and even further to look at the book. One thing that he had learned well was not to stare. Not only was it impolite, but people tend to mimic what you do, and Locke did not want anyone staring at him, even if it was someone he knew. Instead he looked at the book. It was an incredibly awkward angle to be looking at, and his neck was going to be protesting it.

Now was the time for him to say something. Strike up a conversation, or make a complimentary remark. Everyone likes to get complimented from time to time, and when you worked in retail it probably meant even more. All day long you’d be so busy helping out people, trying to make them happy that you can easily feel as though you have no purpose but to be an ego boost to others. Locke knew he should say something. He wasn’t without some idea of how to talk to people. His best friend always seemed to have a girlfriend, and Locke had been witness to a few of those magical moments when lovers first meet because of that. Usually when Locke wanted to try chatting up a girl it took him a try or two after opening his mouth for words to come out. This time though that wasn’t an issue. Locke didn’t say anything at all.

Locke passed the book off to Gina, which she accepted with a friendly smile. Locke looked her dead in the face for all of two heartbeats, and then his gaze dropped shyly, tucked at such an obscene angle (so as to avoid Gina’s gaze) that it was a wonder that he could even breath at all. How the heck was she supposed to carry a conversation with him if Locke was busy studying the collar of his shirt?

“How are you today, sir?” Gina prompted, “Did you find everything that you were looking for?”

Yeah, that sounded good. Cashiers asked questions like that—or so Gina thought. Either way, it might get Locke to answer her, might jumpstart his brain into working. Gina busied herself with pretending to ring the book up.

Whenever you get trained to work in customer service you are taught to ask open ended questions. It helps to make the customer feel more at ease. Also it prevents the customer from using single word answers like yes or no by encouraging conversation. Gina didn't ask any open ended questions, and Locke answered her questions by just nodding his head. It struck him that such behavior wasn't getting them anywhere and he sighed. "Sorry Gina," he said, breaking the scene up once again. This time it wasn't because of a lack of prop, they just had overlooked an important thing.

Which was how little Locke actually tended to say. He was shy, and usually had to think out things first. It wasn't a debate that he was trying to win, or an oral report. All this was was trying to talk to a girl at a book store. Even if he didn't really like books Locke could talk about movies, or music. Those were things at Barnes and Noble. "I didn't know what I was suppose to say."

Gina might not have been a real cashier, or even remotely close to one, but she still was under the impression that she was doing a pretty dang decent job at pretending to be one. She was asking her questions—how Locke was, if he’d found everything he was looking for—and she got nods. No speech whatsoever.

Up until he apologized. Ginas’ eyebrows leapt. What now? He didn’t know what to say.

“Make conversation,” Gina said simply. When she realized that this simple answer might not be as simple of concept for Locke to grasp, Gina elaborated, “Tell me how your day went, talk about the books you’re getting, ask me out for coffee.”

Most Barnes and Nobles’ were attached to Starbuck’s, weren’t they? There you go. They could share coffee on KD’s break.

“Heck, she works at a bookstore, ask her what she likes to read—then, read that book, and the next time you go in, talk about it,” Gina murmured. She smiled at Locke, her tail twitching faintly as she stated, “When I’m through with you, you’ll be so good at talking to girls, we’ll have to beat them back with brooms.”

”Wouldn't that make me look, I dunno,” Locke mumbled, ”Weird? Like I'm spying on her or something?” It was too suspicious sounding to him. Not only suspicious but also obvious. If he knew the book in advance then maybe he could talk to her about it, but to look up the book and read it just screamed to him “I'm trying to impress you.” Some guys could pull off that blatant flirtations, but Locke wasn't one. It required a certain level of confidence that Locke did not have. If your self image wasn't the greatest and you were so obvious you looked like the creepy mouth breather from Hey Arnold.

And why did girls always tell him that he'd be swamped with girls whenever he did some sort of self improvement thing? Learning to dance meant that he'd send their heads spinning, and Gina was going to make him face a tidal wave of admirers. But what Locke wanted was just one girl, not a harem. ”I don't want to beat them back with a broom. I don't even want that many. Isn't one enough?” To Locke there had to be a difference between attracting one girl and attracting a whole bunch. You win the masses over in politics by listening to the general consensus and making a plan that adjusts to it. One person is won over by focusing just on them.

Gina shrugged and shook her head, “It shows you’re interested in what she is interested in, or more specifically, that you’re interested in her.”

Gina leaned on her hands and listened, beaming. It was almost kind-of cute with how he was floundering and proclaiming that he only wanted one girlfriend.

“Locke,” Gina said patiently, “You’re a nice guy. Once you send out the signal to one girl that you’re interested, if another girl picks-up on how good of a guy you are, they’ll start flocking to you, dear. One’s plenty. But if you throw off a good vibe, other girls are going to notice it. Make sense?”