Chapter 23: No Means No

Our health and psychology class alternated with gym with gym class only being on Monday and Wednesday and some Thursdays this term. From last week, I had no inkling of what the class covered and there wasn’t a detailed syllabus for it on the website, just a general statement that issues of physical and psychological health in American society were studied.

When we arrived in the classroom, Miss Stevens, the teacher, passed out a sheet titled “Sexual Health of American Teens.” Oh my god, I could see the handwriting on the complaint form. Here comes another struggle.

The bell rang and Miss Stevens looked around the room and then at a paper.

“Well, we’re scheduled to have two Program students in this class, are Miss Roberts and Mr Coris present?”

We raised our hands.

“You’re in the Program! You need to be naked! What’s the meaning of this violation?”

I took out a copy of the page I had prepared for Monday’s classes and gave it to her.

She read it and said, “Well. that may be ok for the halls, but in this class you’re the class demonstrations, so I’m requiring your nudity right now. Take those things off and come up here.”

Then I noticed the items that were on the table in the front of the room. There were dildos of varying sizes, what I assumed were vibrators, and tools which I assumed must be speculums.

“Miss Stevens, I’m looking at the items you have on the table. They look like sex toys and medical instruments. Am I correct? If they are, exactly what is their relationship with class demonstrations?”

“In this class we cover the use of these items. We demonstrate how they are employed in sexual play and also the condition of the vagina after orgasm. We also demonstrate manual and oral stimulation of the sexual organs in boys and girls.”

Denise exclaimed, “Oh!” and sat there looking stunned. “I can’t!”

“In that case, Denise and I decline to be your demonstration models. We have exemptions.”

“There are no exemptions for class. The Program curriculum requires your participation and if you don’t participate you will fail and not graduate.”

“Miss Stevens, I direct your attention to the Program booklet which specifically prohibits the insertion of foreign objects.”

“That rule doesn’t apply to class demonstrations.”

“And that exception appears exactly where in the booklet?”

“In the teacher’s guide.”

“Ah. However, I see no reference to a teacher’s guide in the rules shown in the Program booklet, which are actually the sole governing rules for the Program. Any other rules cannot conflict with the rules as shown in the booklet. We went through this with Dr Fletcher and the Program officials and have a signed agreement with them about exactly this issue. So if your curriculum requires your demonstration of those items. I suggest using volunteers, videos, or simply describe by verbal means the teaching points you want to cover.”

“You are absolutely impertinent. We can force you to comply, you know.”

“I think not. That’s been tried.”

The class, up to now listening raptly, laughed.

“I will take this up with Mr Abover. He’ll ensure your full cooperation.” I winked at Denise. “You, what’s your name?” she asked, pointing at a kid next to the door.

“Janice.”

“Janice, could you please take this note to the office?” She scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to Janice, who left the room, looking behind her as if she hated to miss what was coming. “Now, class, this sheet shows what we’ll be doing this week, beginning when we secure the required cooperation of out Program students.”

The sheet showed that the demonstrations included stimulation to orgasm in a girl by several means: manual self-stimulation, manual and oral stimulation by the boy participant, and by using a dildo vaginally. For the boy, stimulation to orgasm by manual self-stimulation, manual and oral stimulation by the girl participant, and use of a butt dildo for a prostrate massage.

Denise was reading the sheet and turning white.

“Miss Stevens, this is totally unacceptable and violates many of the Program rules. Under the Program changes Dr Fletcher announced last Friday, most of this material can’t be demonstrated, at least by mandated Program participants who decline participating,” I commented after reading it.

“The teachers determine who must participate and how the students...” She broke off as Janice had returned to class.

Stevens looked questionably at her. “They said they’d call him.”

Probably means Abover. Stevens then turned her attention back to me.

“Now, Mr Coris, this is what we’re going to do.”

She launched into an introduction to sexual foreplay and demanded that Denise and I come to the front of the room. I said I’d go up to start and that Denise would wait until Stevens made it clear how she intended to use us.

“The first thing I need is for you to demonstrate an erection,” she said, “so you need to take those tights off and get an erection.”

“Medically I’m unable to do so; I’m sorry.” Gasps from the class. “I wish it weren’t so.”

“Take the shorts off and I’ll make sure you do get one,” she said, angrily.

“Ok, that’s it,” I said. “You’ve lost your chance for any demonstrations from either of us,” and I returned to my seat.

Right on cue, Abover appeared. “What’s the problem, why did you call for me?” he asked her.

She explained the situation and Abover wheeled around and looked at me.

“You!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, me,” I replied. “Good to see you again. How’s the arm?”

“Like you really care.”

“Oh, I do. I hate it when people have accidents.”

The class roared with laughter and Abover stormed out. Stevens looked at the door in confusion.

“Please proceed, Miss Stevens,” I said sweetly.

She shuffled through her papers, probably trying to see how she could reorganize her lesson on the fly, then looked up and asked if anyone in the class would volunteer. Everyone sat on their hands and looked everywhere but at her.

“You know, class, I can draft any one of you into the Program and have you do the demos instead.”

I had to ride to the rescue again. “Not true. That particular rule only applies to a Program punishment. And precisely what Program rule would you claim that the student violated to invoke that punishment?”

She glared at me. “Mr Coris, I think I’m sending you for detention for the rest of the week.”

The class gasped.

“Miss Stevens, I’d rethink that. There are plenty of witnesses who would back my contention that the punishment was a vindictive response to your being shown to be wrong.”

Her glare disappeared and was replaced with a look of anger mixed with uncertainty. “All right, class, use the rest of the period to study quietly,” she said, and sat down at her desk, shoulders hunched and fists clenched, and stared at the students around the room. Soon she relaxed a little and began going through her folders.

Well, I suppose I might hear about this from Fletcher, but I did have his signed agreement that backed what I had just done. When the bell rang, I was surrounded by a bunch of kids, all clamoring about how they had never seen anyone ever stand up for themselves as I did. Really? I’m only following the rules, and if that’s expected of me, then it’s appropriate that I expect it of others too—including teachers.

The last two classes of the day were uneventful. I just wish they all were like these, solid academic subjects. English and History. No Program demos. The teachers were supposed to use Program students to further the academic objectives of the classes but apparently these English and history teachers had no need to try to fit nudity into their classes—although they did ask us if we needed relief, which of course, we declined.

When the dismissal bell rang, Denise dashed off again to meet her mom to go to the therapist’s appointment. I had given her my extra trunk key so she could get her clothes. While I was fiddling with stuff in my locker, Nelson, the sophomore went by.

“I heard about your scene in health class,” he commented. “I wish I could have seen it.”

“Yeah, well, you stood up great in your biology class when you had to do illegal stuff,” I pointed out. “You and Barbara stood up for your rights. We need to see when Fletcher’s gonna start that student advisory panel, but it’ll be too late for our week.”

He agreed and dashed off to get dressed.

I actually had some free time after school, so I ran some needed errands. The first was to get a driver’s license so I stopped and picked up the needed forms. They were interested to see my Korean license and the IDP and I had to explain how, as an American citizen, I wound up with a foreign licence. When I began to tell them that my mom was in the State Department, that was all they needed to hear.

During my errand running, I got a mobile call from Bob Charlesworth who told me that he was hearing some interesting information about Abover’s background and had escalated the checking to an urgent status. He wondered if I had any more information about him.

“Not on his background, but on something he did.” I went on to relate the attempted locker break-in on Monday and mentioned the signed confession I had obtained.

“Good job. Not sure how we could use that yet, but hold on to it. Brian Ebers tells me you’re all set if the feds show up tomorrow.”

“As best as I can right now, and thanks.”

“Ok, keep safe. Oh, and about that convenience store holdup last Thursday—that was a nice piece of work, son. My contacts at the police department tell me that you’ve got a lot of impressed cops down there. So I mean it—keep safe and no more heroic stunts, ok? Call if you need anything.”