.. 1 ... fire,” I heard over the radio, as I made sure that my face was covered and my eyes tightly closed. Miranda had been listening also, and had...canceled her ward as soon as he had started counting.The word fire was followed instantly by a prolonged flash of intense light. It was so intense that I saw it even facing away from it, with my eyes closed and my face buried in my pack. It was that intense. It was instantly followed by a blast of heat that evaporated all of the sweat and moisture. She really doesn’t swear that much, so her language took me by surprise.“What do you mean?”“I waited in the study lounge till midnight! We were going to work on our Fundies presentations together. You never showed up and then you waltz in here this morning and give a Broadway production while my stupid paper looks like a dog ate my homework and then threw it up. Where were you?”“Shit! I completely forgot we were going to meet up. I’m sorry. I had so much going on yesterday I was a total wreck.. ’ ‘Not a problem, love. My name is Susie Brock, and I’m here on a summer vacation.’ ‘Olaf Svengard. Vacation from what?’ ‘Well, darling, if you must know, I’ve just graduated from the university, and I’m taking a short retreat here before I start on my career.’ ‘Really- what career?’ ‘I want to be a photographer. What about you?’ ‘I’m a reporter for the local television station.’ ‘Really! Then, you’re a local celebrity?’ ‘In a manner of speaking, yes, I am.’ ‘Well, that’s rather nice. I’ll bet. Of all my friends, she was the only other one who was a lesbian. I never really was involved in the LGBT community so I met all my friends at school and they all turned out to be straight, except her. Neither of us had girlfriends, but I had never really thought of her in a sexual way, though I admit she was very attractive. She did seem a bit flirty sometimes, and had a knack for talking with a cute voice.We were pretty close, in that we had known each other for a few years and knew all kinds.