“I AM a crazy hyperactive bunny and I’m proud of it,” Alice said, her nose in the air.

“Will the two of you stop it,” I laughed. “We’re not in kindergarden, we’re all adults here.”

“Or pretending to be,” Alice added. Shane and I both shot her a look. She had just opened her mouth to go on, but she shut it again.

The movie was over and Alice looked happy. “I told you they’d kiss. But really, why is the guy pissed? She just did her job, you know. I’d do the same.”

“You’re a journalist, Al, of course you would,” I told her. “He just feels hurt, and lied to.”

“He’s just dumb, Tina. I mean, look at her! How can you possible think she’s seventeen? And than she knows so much, and she acts so weird. If I were the guy, I would so know it.”

“That would kinda ruin the movie,” Shane said. “I mean, in ‘White Chicks’, would you believe for a second those two were the real twins? But it’s a movie, Al.”

Alice was replying when I couldn’t stand it any longer. I took out my cellphone and dialled Bette’s number, I had to know if something had gone wrong.

To my surprise, Bette didn’t pick up. I ried to call the Planet, but of course nobody picked up. It was probably closed by now.

So I tried the number Jessie Cane had left on the voicemail. A sleepy voice answered after a few rings.

“Hello?”

“Is this Jessie? Jessie Cane?”

“No, it’s Shirley. Jessie is staying here tough. Who am I talking to?”

“Tina, Tina Kennard. Jessie doesn’t know me, but I would really like to talk to her, just a minute.”

“She’s asleep.”

“Could you please wake her? It’s important.”

“Alright, but the consequences are for you.”

I figured Jessie Cane was someone who really liked to have her hours of sleep, like Bette. Bette. Bette. Bette. Her name went through my head as if it was a mantra or something. A few minutes later, another, even sleepier, but vaguely familiar voice sounded.

“This is Jessie, so tell me what the FUCK is so important that you have to WAKE me from my sleep and BOTHER the hell out of me.”

“Hi, Jessie, it’s Tina. It’s just… Bette, she said she’d call me, but she didn’t.” I stopped, realising how needy and childish that sounded. “The thing is, she always does something if she promises it. She doesn’t pick up her cellphone. Do you know where she is?”

“How the fuck would I know? That pretty girlfriend of yours didn’t even show up.”

Jessie slammed the receiver down, clearly angry. Because I had woken her or because Bette hadn’t showed up? I didn’t know and couldn’t care less. The only thing I cared about was the whereabouts of Bette and why she had stood Jessie up.