Chapter 4: Uncertain and Unknown

It took two days plus to get to my destination. I had two flight delays that resulted in an overnight stay in Tokyo; fortunately I had packed lightly or my luggage would certainly have gotten lost. I had a change of clothes, some toiletries, and my electronics. No mobile; I had been told that the international SIMM card wouldn’t work in the U.S. and my device couldn’t accept U.S. carriers’ cards. That would be the first stop. Stop two had to be a car. I had checked out the area where I’d be living and although it had a reasonable public transit system, I still needed wheels. I already held a South Korean licence that I used in Indonesia and also had an international driver’s permit so I could drive for a while on it in the States but would eventually need to get a regular license. I didn’t expect Aunt Helene to meet me since she had difficulty getting around, so I took a cab to her home—my home now, too. I got there about 2 pm after some delays at clearing customs.

She greeted me warmly and lovingly. I was always very fond of her while growing up and she reminded me so much of Dad. We had a long and tearful reminiscence of Mom and Dad’s lives and Aunt Helene told me some really funny stories about Dad when they were younger. She was definitely the “older sister,” being some 15 years older than Dad. Seems he was their parents’ “surprise” baby.

Then she treated me to a super dinner; she obviously remembered that the way to a teenager’s heart was through his stomach. I was tired after my long trip and quite jet-lagged so I sacked out early, since I had a busy Saturday in store.

First thing Saturday I caught a bus—really need to find a car—to the bank and they had all my credit stuff and legal documents on my status ready. Then to the mobile phone store place and got a new mobile. I had scoped out on line a used car dealer which seemed to have a nice stock; they had a four-year-old Volvo (no luxury sports car for me) in good condition; nice solid and safe car. All was fine, I negotiated pretty hard—it’s that Arts training again, wow—until it came time for signing. All they wanted was a parent’s signature. No parents? Then a guardian. I showed them my emancipation decree; no go. I asked if they were aware that I had the legal standing of an adult. They didn’t seem to care. So I pulled out my big gun and told them that my lawyer could explain it. I got a rise when I mentioned his name. Hmmmm, they seemed to know it.

Bob Charlesworth spoke to the manager for exactly two minutes, and exactly two minutes after that, the paperwork was done, spitting out of the printer. Computers are cool. Good lawyers are cooler.

I drove off in my new wheels and did some more scouting around the area and ran a few errands, checked out the best way to get to school, and looked for a nice restaurant to treat Aunt Helene to dinner for the great meal on Friday. On Sunday we went out for a drive and Aunt Helene pointed out some of the sights she thought I’d like to visit when I had time. The evening came all too soon.

Then it was Monday and I had no idea how uncertain and unknown the day would actually be.

I had arrived at school about forty minutes early and looked for a “legal” spot—one that didn’t need a special sticker. I didn’t want any troubles on the first day. Made my way to the office where I was confronted by a blizzard of papers to fill out; you already know that part.

That’s when the real weirdness started and I’ve already begun to tell you about that, but even now that episode has such a surreal quality that sometimes I kind of wonder if it happened as I recalled it.

I had asked Dr Fletcher to explain, using one-syllable words in a logical order what this circus was all about. Ok, I was too polite to use those exact words, but I think he caught my irony.

“Kevin, as I told you, we covered it in orientation and the materials went out in the summer mailing, surely you saw that?”

“Dr Fletcher, as I explained to your secretary, your mailing went to Seoul but we were in Jakarta then, and I came here directly from Jakarta. I didn’t see any mailings from you. To make it easier, let’s just stipulate that I have no idea whatsoever about this whole Program thing and let’s take it in small steps, ok, sir?”

See, I told you that maybe I’d like to be a lawyer. They get to use such nice juicy words that make someone think you know more than you really do.

“All right, Kevin. First, the Naked in School Program is a federally mandated cultural education program, completion of which is required, in the schools that run it, for a high school diploma. If you don’t successfully complete your Program participation, you don’t graduate. Everyone in school is required to spend one week naked whenever they are at school or at any school-sponsored activity. Second, a vital component of the Program is for the student to become comfortable with his or her body’s sexuality and to do that, there are various activities that students perform to accomplish that goal. I think the best way of describing that part is to refer to the Program booklet.”

He produced a little booklet and I glanced at its cover, which showed a drawing of a naked male and female holding hands. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The other kids, all of whom had obviously heard this stuff before, had a glassy-eyed look. The goon was still smirking but now he was bouncing just a little on the balls of his feet. His hands were also now curled a bit as if to grasp and they were slightly bent at his elbows whereas before they hung limply at his side. Hmmmm. Need to watch this guy. He’s priming himself for action.

I won’t bore you with the details about what the Program booklet covered. As I found out, a copy can be found on any school site or on the federal NiS office’s site. But in glancing through it, I noticed that there were a few “requirements” that I just couldn’t let pass unremarked, especially about a weirdness called “Reasonable Requests.”

“So, as I understand it, Dr Fletcher, any student can ask to handle a naked student’s sexual organs and manipulate them and the naked student cannot refuse?”

“That’s correct, any touching is by definition ‘Reasonable’ and failing to permit that is grounds for spending another week in the Program.”

“What if the person has a condition that precludes being touched in certain places?”

“Ah, Kevin, that’s exactly what the Program is designed to achieve. Its purpose is to remove any personal inhibitions, hangups, or phobias about having one’s sex organs stimulated.”

“And you say, uh, I think I’m quoting you properly, ‘the Program is for the student to become comfortable with his or her body’s sexuality,’ unquote, is that what you said?”