Communications Log

It had taken Jeff about half an hour to listen to his messages, but eventually he had managed. Nervously, he wandered up to Hoshi's room, then paused in the entrance. And paused. And paused.

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Hoshi was about to run next door to ask Carmela something, and that's when she spotted Jeff. "Hi! You got my message. I wasn't sure, because your communcator sounded weird."

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"My phone has issues," Jeff replied, instantly. "You know what it's like, phones..." He trailed off. What was he here about again-- "Like wearing clothes!" he smoothly non-sequitured.

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"Don't worry about the phones. They'll evolve a bit in the next century," said Hoshi. "So, here's the suit and tie (http://www.execstyle.com/Sproducts.asp?pid=1079#) I picked out, and then there's a mask (http://www.anytimecostumes.com/ecommerce/control/product/~product_id=01741216BLUE) that sorta matches the colors of the tie. What do you think?"

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Jeff moved his head one way. Then he moved it the other. Then he moved it back to the first position before settling somewhere in the middle, shrugging his shoulders slightly, and said, "Well, it's not a phone."

Then shook his head repeatedly, "I mean, thanks! It's very--" How to have an opinion? "--Excellent."

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"You're welcome. Actually, finding your stuff was easier than finding mine. So, do you and Turtle have any plans for Valentine's day?" asked Hoshi.

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"It's very striped," Jeff offered as an after-thought, and in what he hoped was a grateful tone. It probably came out a little clumsier than he'd have hoped, though. "I don't know. She won't tell me."

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"Pinstripes are safer than spots," said Hoshi. She couldn't help smirking. "She gets to make all the plans?"

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Jeff scratched the back of his head, and said, with some helpless resignation, "It's probably safer."

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"Probably," chuckled Hoshi.

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"I'm going to be in my room all day. She might need me." Jeff paused, thinking this over thoroughly, worked himself up into a slight panic, came down from said panic, and said, all in the space of under a minute, "...Unless she expects me to be in her room."

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Michael had somehow failed to consider making sure his and Hoshi's clothes for the dance would match, until Ino had told him to.

He showed up now looking a little sheepish.

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"Hi Michael," said Hoshi, smiling. "What brings you here?"

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"Uh... I figured I should probably check what you're wearing tomorrow. Haven't got my stuff yet."

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"Are we supposed to match or something?"asked Hoshi, wondering if she should have gone to see Isabel at work for fashion advice.

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"...Ino says so?" he said uncertainly. "Or she said dates weren't supposed to clash, anyway."

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And now Hoshi wondered if she should have checked with Turtle before picking out Jeff's suit. Which would have meant talking to Turtle, which could have been awkward.

"I, um, haven't quite decided yet on a dress, but I've got it down to two and one is fuschia and the other is red with a gold pattern," said Hoshi.

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He nodded.

"Okay. I'll go see Isabel, see what she says about that."

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Hoshi nodded. "She's really good with that stuff," she said. "She helped me find my homecoming dress."

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"Fashion queen of West Roswell High", Michael said with a wryly affectionate grin.

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"It must be cool to have her as a sister," said Hoshi. "I've got an older brother and a younger brother, but we don't really get along. They got to go to school while I was home-schooled so I never spent time with them."

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Michael looked at her in confusion.

"Your brothers got to go to school but you didn't? How come?"

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"Someone convinced my parents that I was gifted and needed to be taught separately from the other kids because I could learn so much faster than them," said Hoshi. "And by separately, I mean I used to go for days without seeing a single living sole other than my tutor."

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"Sounds lonely", he says, frowning. "You didn't get a say in it? Even when you got older?"

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