I was about to correct that impression when George came up with his lunch and plumped down on the seat beside me.George was looking really good. We'd ...one out a couple times a week at least over the summer and here he was now. We three high-fived and got all excited about being together again. George and I eyeballed each other pretty good, too. I noticed Bob seeing it; he doesn't miss much.Bob took the lead in introducing Natalie to George as the "new resident of our illustrious school" and. We then settled down to the main problem, the evening show. Actually, we were not the ‘Main’ evening show really, there was a Paris/Vegas style variety act with a cast of dozens that operated in the main showcase theater next door. Our lounge might seat 100 or so, if folks were friendly. We banged around a few ideas and started to develop the kernel of some ideas. Neither of us were crazy about doing modern pop covers, and even the thought of doing older 60’s covers wasn’t terribly appealing. It was bad enough that Béla had Jake.“Ah… okay,” Alicia agreed, reluctantly. “We can talk some more…” She shed her gown and carefully hung it on the rack the closet presented to her, and tossed her undies into the hamper. It actually acted annoyed that someone hit it and made a sound like it was shredding her undergarments.Alicia found it surprisingly easy to make light conversation with Béla in the Jacuzzi, telling her a little about the work she did, and the underground city she was having. Her grandmother had become impregnated while working the docks of Yokohama after WW-II, the father being most likely an American sailor. Her own mother had worked in a bordello near the docks of Tokyo and had raised her daughter (whom as I suspected was indeed a quarter Western in blood) into the family profession from a much too early age. Shinju discovered early that she had a gift for languages and learned as much as she could even as a girl from the sailors and merchantmen who patronized.