Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

lightning!"
    "Fine." I wasn't going to argue with him. "Next up, jobs. Ladies, any preferences? Alan—"
    "I want to direct."
    "Fine," I said. Mallory blinked, and Tania shifted. Alan stared a moment, his mouth open to snark. "When we have some ideas," I went on, "I'll start on the script. Alan, you'll start scouting locations, and the ladies will get together on our equipment needs. Since you're new here, Alan—"
    "Yeah, yeah." Alan snagged a red marker from Mallory's supply pile and drew an arc across the top of his calendar. "I'll ask a homebody for suggestions."
    "We still need to decide what to cover," I said. "To fill twenty minutes, we'll need to be able to go in-depth, so it might be best to choose something one or more of us already knows." I raised my voice over the growing noise around us; the place was filling with the evening crowd. "Something we can be passionate about."
    "Ooh, I know!" Alan drew an orange arc below the red on his calendar. "The imperiled rights of straight white boys!"
    "Alan." Mallory shook her head. "Tania? Anything in particular getting on your justice nerve at the moment?"
    "How about people who don't even give others a chance before they start acting like assholes?" Tania asked, staring at Alan. He tilted his chin, gave her an unrepentant grin.
    "Let's not start the infighting just yet," I said, tapping the table above the rainbow Alan was drawing on his calendar. "Alan, would you like to do something about gay rights?"
    "Would you like to do something about none-of-your-business?" he asked.
    "If you wouldn't shove it in his face—" Tania began.
    "He's wearing flannel!" Alan yelped. "He's shoving his straight in my face!"
    "What if we look at some of the groups around campus?" Mallory asked. "I mean, did you know we have an SCA chapter?"
    "Our audience has been here two-and-a-half years by the time we turn it in," Tania said. "If they don't know about a group, it's because they don't care."
    I agreed with Tania, but I typed campus activities anyway.
    Alan finished his rainbow and picked up a pink gel pen. "The effectiveness of student activism," he said, drawing. "What groups actually accomplish things, and who just makes noise."
    "That… would take a lot of work," I said, turning the idea around. I liked it. Investigative work, asking interesting questions, lots of passionate people to interview… "But if we only looked at… oh, three to five…"
    "Making noise is sometimes the goal," Tania growled. "It's called raising awareness."
    "Raising awareness doesn't matter shit if—" Alan lurched forward, shoved from behind. Tania caught his cup as it tipped. Mallory shoved back against the guy who'd bumped him.
    "Watch it, jackass!" she snapped.
    "Sorry, girls!" the guy sang, and he and his friends moved off laughing.
    "We could profile jerk-off jocks," Tania muttered, glaring after them.
    "We've only got twenty minutes," Mallory answered, doing the same.
    "We could do make-up tips," Alan suggested, drawing. "With the three of us, surely we could teach Lukas something ."
    "Oh, for goddess' sake," Tania grumbled, folding her arms.
    "All right," I said. "That's one more task before we get together again— everyone come up with some ideas we can explore." I tapped Mallory's calendar. "Monday is Labor Day. Are you coming to Aunt Lilia's barbecue?"
    "Told you," Mallory said with a grin at Alan. "No vacay with Lukas! But his Aunt Lilia bakes the most amazing cookies and Lukas grills ribs to die for, so it's not a hardship." She tossed her hair to smile at me. "Yes, we'll be there! Tania, want a ride?"
    "Wait, I—" Alan began, but Mallory patted his arm.
    "You're coming. Tania?"
    "Yes, thank you, if you have room for one more? And if, Lukas, significant others are still welcome?"
    "Of course." I folded up my laptop. "As long as they don't mind if we actually get some work done."
    "And they don't eat all the cookies!" Mallory added.
    The meeting broke up and when I was sure everyone had a way home, I stuck my stuff in my little truck and went to work, the real reason I was wearing the flannel Alan had mocked. Not that it mattered what he thought. Why had I even noticed?
    Mallory and Tania weren't the only ones surprised I'd acceded to Alan's demand to direct. Not because I was married to directing— I'd worked with each of the girls directing before. No, it was because it was Alan. He was an unknown factor, it was a semester-long project, and the director more than anyone had to have