Chapter 2: A Gathering of Players

Lesa greeted each of the arrivals Wednesday afternoon and escorted them into the spacious study to the right of the front entrance. Jake Caulfield and Ralph Peterman were the first to arrive, followed shortly by Marvin Clark and Leslie Owens. Lesa was asking what everyone wanted to drink when the other four girls arrived together, apologizing for getting lost. Janet Olson had missed a turn while chatting with Sasha Morgan, Misty Nokamura and Sara Johnson. With the exception of the sixteen-year-old Jake, the group was in the twenty-one to twenty-two-year-old range expected for college seniors. Jake had been out of public high school for nearly two years, but had been taking mostly college level classes for the last four years.

There may have been five years difference in age between Jake and Ralph, but each could be a serious contender for nerd of the year. Their unkempt brown hair, thick glasses, pocket protectors, and the large PDA cases at their waists would permit that classification from several blocks away.

Marvin had short sandy hair above a nearly square face set on solid shoulders with hardly any neck. He was a star offensive tackle for the Yellow Jackets and was the most probable reason for attracting the majority of the females participating in the study group. A noticeable amount of Sara's body paint had been transferred to Marvin's biceps shortly after she arrived.

There was something about Janet that had Lesa suspecting she didn't really fit the ditzy blonde airhead image she projected. Even with the media campaigns touting CAP scores as being more important than physical attributes, the general consensus remained that smart girls didn't get as much male attention as dumb girls. A quick look was all anyone needed to see that the robust blonde possessed only well-hidden physical flaws, if any at all. The D-cups below the oval face were perfectly balanced by the 36-26-38 frame and athletic legs. The crop top and running shorts were almost constantly in motion above the soft flesh they barely concealed. There was no panty line under the loose shorts and the wisp of blonde pubes that showed themselves when the leg opening skewed gave further evidence that there were no panties, and that the collar and cuffs matched.

Except for her large conical D-cup mounds, Sasha sported a lean, athletic body with a boy-cut blonde mop. Her open-mesh, cropped muscle shirt revealed more than it covered. The wide-based masses of mammary tissue were in almost constant motion, and much more visible than Janet's comparable hooters. Her plaid lounging shorts were baggy enough to mask her trim butt cheeks, but they really showcased her slender thighs. Her big smile revealed perfect, bright-white teeth. If she had any physical flaw, it was her wide jaw. Her face was more of a trapezoid that a square.

Misty had more teeth than would comfortably fit in her small mouth. She rarely showed more than a tight-lipped smile to keep the overlapping and jagged teeth hidden. She had the classic almond eyes, small breasts, flawless skin, and raven black hair typical of her homeland. At 5'5" tall she towered over most Japanese women, but her long delicate neck and slender frame made her appear vulnerable. The yellow and orange bib overall shorts easily revealed both of her A-cup mounds from either side. The deep, stiff cuffs pulled the wide leg openings away from her firm butt cheeks. When she was standing at just the right angle, a seated person could see from one leg opening to the other across the neatly trimmed patch of black hair above her perpetually pouting pussy lips.

Sara and Leslie were a bit taller than the other girls, with classic cheerleader bodies complete with C-cups and the requisite big, toothy smiles. Each exhibited more energy than can be contained without drugs. Both wore very short, pleated skirts and tennis shoes with ankle socks. Both subscribed to the current fashion trend of not wearing panties for most of the month. When asked why they wore tennies instead of fashionable flip-flops they both agreed that you just couldn't flounce and kick up your heels as comfortably or energetically in flip-flops. Above the waist, Sara had brown hair with blonde highlights and swirling black and gold body paint on her pert, conical breasts. Leslie was a classic redhead complete with freckles across a cute little nose and across her chest above the twin globes on her chest, which were showcased by a mostly transparent tube top. The occasional flash of reddish-orange at the juncture of her trim thighs was hardly necessary to prove she was a natural redhead. The pattern of translucent and transparent lace in the top deepened the shadows and made her breasts appear larger and more stable. The top was too thin to protect her boobs from the cool temperature of the room. Like the other girls, Leslie was sporting erect nipples on crinkled areola. Hers were just a bit larger than average.

"Is the room too cool for you?" Lesa asked. "I've not changed my wardrobe in years, and have fallen seriously behind the current fashion trends."

There was a chorus of "No, its fine," and "No cooler than the library."

Lesa removed the jacket that matched the classic skirt, and it wasn't long before she was also sporting nipple bumps in her thin silk blouse. The soft cup of her under-wire bra didn't totally mask the erect nubbins.

Lesa chose to take immediate control of the conversation. She started out as if giving a library lecture on Literature.

"Fashion has changed dramatically since Shakespeare's time, but his themes seem to apply more today than when I was your age," she remarked. "The current age of majority for sexual consent makes the scenario of Romeo and Juliet even more applicable. The probability of impetuous, immature passion colliding with prejudice and hatred is certainly greater. Consider the prejudice being created by the media between those males with CAP scores above and below six-point-five. The fear created by the threat of destruction and death in the path of the Sa'arm is easily transferred into hatred by those being left behind for those being 'rescued' by the Confederacy." She indicated quotes with her fingers when she said 'rescued'. "However, I'm not convinced that Space Marines are all that safe. I mean, they go looking for Sa'arm, don't they?"

Lesa smiled inwardly as her torpedo struck into the heart of the assembled youngsters. It became clear rather quickly who was on which side of the 6.5 score. The discussion didn't settle onto the group's original agenda until Lesa interrupted them to distribute the requested refreshments.

It was nearing sundown when Marvin had to leave for practice. Lesa invited the group to stay for spaghetti and further discussions about the impact of the Confederacy and Sa'arm on the contemporary social structures. Marvin was clearly annoyed when only Sasha was going back to campus with him. Leslie and Sara opted to stay when Janet offered them a ride back to the dorm. Ralph dithered before asking Marvin for a lift. They had been avoiding each other all afternoon, but said that he would be late for the astronomy club gathering if he had to catch a bus back to campus.

Lesa was surprised that all but one of the girls and none of the boys other than Jake would be staying for diner. She became worried that the presence of so many "Group A" girls would push Jake into his shell. She had really hoped that the frumpy brunette she had seen studying with Jake from time to time would have been in this group.