Back Talk by Saxon Bennett

that?”
    “Embarrass Veronica to the very core of her being.”
    Dave started to breath again. “Not to mention I’ve got it all on video.”
    “How the hell did you do that?” Hilton asked.
    “I disconnected the cam to Anne’s booth and plugged in the extra one you’d brought. It was really quite simple. Sorry, boss, but I had to make an executive decision and what was happening here was obviously more important.”
    “Good call. Remind me to put you both in for a Christmas bonus.”
    “I can’t wait for the Christmas party,” Dave said, quickly going back to the control room. He checked the board and put on the bottom-of-the-hour news and weather.
    Anne, Hilton and Dave were lounging in the studio on the couch after the show when Ed walked into the room. All antics stopped and Shannon did what Hilton wished she could do—creep into the control room and crawl under the nearest desk. Hilton mouthed the word “coward.” Shannon just whimpered. Hilton figured this was the end of her radio career.
    Ed stood in the middle of the room while the suspense built.
    His stern face erupted into a smile. He started clapping. “Good show. The only casualty was Veronica getting her knickers in a twist, and I suspect they’re always a little askew, but we got good feedback. Veronica is insisting that I put out a memo that forbids certain paraphernalia on the studio floor.”
    “I can live with that,” Anne said.
    Hilton and Dave nodded in unison. Ed winked at them. He left, shutting the door behind him.
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    They all broke down into fits of laughter.
    “Let me see that thing,” Anne said.
    “You try getting it away from Shannon,” Hilton said. She sat down and took a deep breath.
    Later that afternoon, Hilton sat on the steps of the back porch.
    She liked her new schedule. She basically worked from eight-thirty to two, depending on how well the Web site update went. She was alone in the house for once. Liz and Jessie were still in class and Nat was nowhere to be found. The flower gardens had long gone to seed except for the hardy vincas, which ended up being tall on stem and short on flowers. Still, their shiny dark green leaves gave some color to the vast array of browns and yellows. The Chinese dogwood trees that lined the back fence had littered the lawn with burgundy leaves. Fall was in the air and for the first time in her life Hilton felt grownup. She didn’t know exactly what it was or how it came to be. But she felt sort of responsible.
    Maybe the evil bitch Veronica was right about dressing for success. Maybe it was time to change her femi-nazi attire and give the business world a try. She wasn’t a college kid anymore. Although she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, maybe it was time to leave off parties, getting laid and generally shirking responsibility. She wondered if her extended child-hood may have had something to do with Gran dying. If the old woman had still been alive, the house shenanigans would never have evolved to their current state and Hilton would have been expected to have a grownup career by now.
    She looked over at Shannon, who was unmercifully chewing off the head of the dildo. Hilton inwardly flinched as she relived the day’s episode. Thank God Anne had a sense of humor.
    “What’s up?” Liz asked as she came around the corner lugging a giant book bag.
    “Boy, I don’t miss that,” Hilton said, pointing to the knapsack.
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    “I’ll say. Why the hell are textbooks so, I don’t know, substantial? I swear they’re trying to kill us off before we have a chance to graduate.” She plopped down next to Hilton on the porch steps.
    “They are. The professors want to make sure they don’t have any up-and-coming competition.”
    “With tenure they have no worries. My God, when will the old farts retire?”
    “How’s your new job at the computer