Chapter 42: The Beginning of Fall

The varsity game ended in a huge loss for the upperclassmen. The crowd actually started to get uneasy with half of the fourth quarter still to play. Several recent graduates and parents started shouting at the players, cursing them for their poor play. It got bad enough that the faculty advisor for the cheerleaders sent them away from the field with two minutes left in the game.

The exodus of the cheerleaders signaled to Morgan that it was time for our group to make its way out of the stands. "We might as well leave now," Morgan said. "We aren't actually here to watch the team."

"Not the varsity at least," Beatrice said as she reached out and hugged her son. "I never realized how proud I'd feel watching my son run out on that field in a football uniform."

"Mom!" Jason shouted fondly. "People are watching."

"Let them," Becky said as she moved to join the hug. "We are proud of all you have done in the past year. Letting us show it does you no harm."

"It's embarrassing," Jason whined.

"Then let's give them something to talk about," Letty called out as Beatrice and Becky released their hugs. I looked down to see Letty climbing the stairs towards us. She ran up and put her hands on Jason's shirt. Then after looking him directly in the eye, she pulled him down into an extremely passionate kiss. Several students sitting in the stands started whistling and making obscene suggestions.

I waited for a moment and then walked over to put a hand on the two lovers' shoulders. "How about we take it home and you can finish what you've started," I said.

Jason glared at me and then smiled. "Yes, let's."

Letty giggled and started dragging Jason down the stairs. I waited for Lenore to make her way to the stairway. She was carrying Angel who was still asleep. My love nodded and held Angelique out to me. I gathered her in my arms and followed the others down the stairs and out of the stadium.

There were only a few people in the parking lot when we arrived and started to split up. Jessica must have called ahead, because a black SUV pulled up right after Kelsey and Matti told her they would spend the night with me. Jessica, Kathy and Milli jumped in the SUV as the rest of us walked up to the minivans belonging to Beatrice and Morgan.

Everyone seemed to know how to split up. Jason and Letty ran to the first minivan. My sister grabbed Kelsey and started to follow, but Kelsey stood and gently pulled her hand away. "I want to ride with Mark," she said.

Matti frowned, but then hugged Kelsey and ran ahead of Jason and Letty. "Shotgun!" she shouted as she sped toward the minivan.

I put an arm around Ashley as she ran over to join us. She looked at Kelsey and sighed. "Mark, it's unfair to her," she pointed out.

"It might be, but I'm not going to change the rules or ignore them. She turns fourteen before the year is up and will just have to wait," I replied sharply.

Kelsey stopped and looked at me. I could see tears forming in her eyes. She raised her hands to her chin and then ran towards me wrapping her arms around my torso and squeezing. "I'm sorry!" she cried.

I hugged Kelsey. "There is nothing to be sorry for."

"But I'm in the way," Kelsey wailed.

"Kelsey, let's get into the minivan and we can talk on the ride home," I said.

Kelsey reluctantly loosened her grip. I took her right hand with my left and stepped around her. Ahead I could see Lenore moving to sit in the front passenger seat while Ashley opened the sliding door to the back. Ashley held it open as Kelsey and I approached.

"Sit in the back and comfort her," she said.

"I'm sorry," I said. "This isn't how I pictured tonight."

Ashley smiled. "You'll fix it on the ride home," she said confidently.

I nodded as I gently helped the still crying Kelsey into the back seat of the minivan. I followed her, putting my arms around her once we were sitting and wearing seatbelts. Ashley jumped into the middle seat and closed the door as Becky climbed into the driver's seat.

"Now," I said firmly to Kelsey. "We need to ease your mind. Kelsey I don't mind having you around. In fact I love having you around. You are cheerful, fun and cute as a button."

"You make me sound like a child," Kelsey said sorrowfully as she squirmed in my arms.

"The law and the Confederacy feel that you are not yet an adult," I noted. "And if I admitted that you are one of the three sexiest women I knew, you might try to push our relationship. The last thing I want is for our actions to attract some level of official displeasure from the government."

"I'd never tell!" Kelsey said.

"It doesn't always work out that way," I said. "Suppose we did allow you to join us in our bed for the next three nights. Monday you would go to school with a huge smile on your face and walking funny because you were a bit sore in certain places."

"A bit overconfident aren't you?" Becky called out.

Ashley and Lenore laughed. "I don't know," Ashley said. "I know that once Kelsey joins us all three of us do plan on giving her all our attention for about sixty hours."

"Sixty?" Kelsey asked.

"Sure," Lenore responded. "It will start Friday night about six in the evening and end Monday morning at six in the morning. If you stop smiling before lunchtime we won't have done a good job."

"Which would mean we'd have to try again the next weekend," I said mournfully. "Oh the pain of having this little bundle of sweetness writhing on the bed as we kiss and lick her into unconsciousness."

Kelsey started writhing in my arms. I noticed one of her hands drop to her crotch and grabbed it firmly. "No teasing me."

"But you are all teasing me," Kelsey said. "Now I have to fall asleep dreaming of that weekend you promised."

I hugged her one more time and then slowly released our embrace. Kelsey put a hand on my thigh and smiled at me as she used her other hand to wipe away her tears. The makeup she had been wearing was smeared, but the smile in her eyes was all I needed to see.

"Better?" I asked.

Kelsey nodded. "I just wish I didn't have to wait."

"We understand," Lenore said. "But we don't have any other options. The laws are clear. You can't join us until you turn fourteen. It won't be too bad."

"Can I sit with you and join in your games and such?" Kelsey asked.

"Of course," I said. "We already study together. I don't think anyone minds if you join in the games and such."

Kelsey sighed. "It's hard to wait."

"I know," Ashley said as Becky started the minivan forward. "We hate that we have to make you wait."

"You do?" Kelsey asked.

Lenore giggled. "Mark isn't the only one to find you cute. And you probably have already heard that girls can enjoy a long cuddle."

"A cuddle? Is that what we call it now?" Becky said sarcastically. "Why not call it what it is?"

Ashley looked over her shoulder at me, a flirty smirk on her face. "Really? So you want me to say that I love sticking my tongue in my lover's twat and sucking on her clit until she can't remember her name. That Lenore and I have found that having Mark cumming in our pussies while our other partner has her tongue circling our breasts often makes us babble incoherently."

"That sucking Mark's cum out of our lover is our favorite flavor in the world?" Lenore added softly.

Becky sat quietly for a moment. I thought she was concentrating on driving, but as we came up to the light where we would turn towards home I heard a faint whisper. "Ditto."

I was tempted to respond, but just put a hand on Ashley's shoulder. She immediately reached up to grasp it as we continued the drive home.

Once the ride was over, everyone got out of the minivan. Becky had managed to beat Morgan home so we stood outside waiting for the rest of the family. Ashley and Lenore enveloped Kelsey in a loving hug while I walked over to talk to Becky.

"Are things going well?" I asked.

Becky shrugged. "Financially my life is nothing special. The boutique I work at doesn't pay very well, but we aren't all that worried since Beatrice has money and Morgan's business does very well. At the same time, my love of Beatrice and Morgan keeps growing. I do worry about after the pickup. I know Beatrice will want to be near her children, and I'm not sure that will happen."

"We can hope," I said as Morgan guided the second family minivan into the driveway. When it stopped Ashley and Lenore released Kelsey and ran over to help open the door. I took a moment to sweep Kelsey into a hug. The young lady twisted around to press her body against mine. When I looked down, she grabbed the side of my face and held it while she mashed her lips to mine. The kiss was not one a child would give and I found that I was using my tongue and lips to fight off her own tongue as it attempted to invade my mouth.

We finally broke apart to the sound of laughter from our friends and family. I tried to step back, but Kelsey held my head long enough to put her lips next to my ear. "I'm going to make you regret making me wait," she promised huskily.

"I already do," I said honestly as I stepped away.

Kelsey giggled and ran towards the door to the house. She had to wait for Beatrice to walk up and unlock the door. I watched her vanish inside and then turned to see Ashley and Lenore running back over. They were leading Matti.

My sister was shaking her head. "You better love that girl," she ordered. "She fell for you hard."

"Why?" I asked.

"Mark, she's not blind or stupid," Matti said condescendingly.

"I know that," I growled.

"Then don't make stupid statements," my sister said with a sniff. "She sees how you are with Ashley and Lenore. Those two ladies glow. Heck Jessica admits she envies them, and she's completely content with Kathy and Milli,"

"And how do you know that?" I asked.

Matti giggled. "Mark! I spend time with Kathy and Milli at cheerleader practice and I do watch and listen during our lunch and break times. Jessica has this special smile she uses when she looks at Kathy and Milli. I just hope that I can get her to smile at me that way someday."

"You will," Letty said. "It's clear that she thinks you are wonderful."

"Not a surprise," Jason said as he walked over by me. "I think you are wonderful too."

Letty giggled. "But he's taken."

"Off to see Jana?' I asked.

Jason pouted. "Not this weekend. She had some plans she couldn't get out of, but she promised to be around next weekend."

I nodded as Morgan began walking around the minivan's making sure all of the doors were locked.

"In that case," I said. "Ashley, Lenore and I have an appointment with a bed. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Ashley giggled. She grabbed my left arm and started dragging me toward the house. I playfully fought against her until Lenore took my right arm. They marched me to the door as I shouted increasingly comical and lewd protests.

My ladies and I entered the house to a chorus of laughter before immediately heading to the stairway to Ashley's basement bedroom.

The weekend that followed was a wonderful break. We spent the night holding one another and reaffirming the bond we had spent the summer building. The next day we gathered the entire family. Throughout the weekend we spent time playing games, entertaining Angel, and relaxing. The success of our first week of school finally broke through the seemingly endless stress of the summer.

We returned to school happy and relaxed, only to discover that Constance had spent the weekend trying to build a case for ostracizing us. The majority of the student body appeared shocked by the action, but by Thursday it was clear that Constance still had influence. Kelsey and Matti both reported that the sophomores on the cheerleading squad were shunning any cheerleader who was friendly to the girls who sat at our table. This soon extended into the football team. The defense largely supported Jason and me, but Lucas and Terrence continued to openly defy the coaches during practice with their refusal to give me the ball. It got to the point that Coach Durant made me a first team safety and had me concentrate on defense in order to get the most value out of me.

Our classes continued to be interesting, but not as challenging as I had expected. Part of this was all of the exercises Sergeant O'Malley had put us through over the summer. While the majority had been physical, he had included more than a few mental challenges. These made studying go much smoother, and by the end of September we were weeks ahead of the rest of the class.

There were more than a few lowlights in class though. Our first three periods continued to be an exercise in patience. Mrs. Pangrac in particular seemed to find a devilish pleasure in giving out pop quizzes and tests. She also proved to have a slanted memory and opinion of many events. It soon became apparent that she would always give the side that used tyranny the benefit of the doubt when comparing cultures. Jessica, Jason and I rarely spoke up in class unless directly called on, and when we did speak, we were careful to avoid giving a positive portrayal of our experiences due to our CAP scores.

The only classes we all seemed to enjoy was our cooking class. Millicent was good about bringing in plenty of high quality ingredients. Kelsey and Matti helped out by scouring the internet for recipe variants we could all try. Miss O'Neill did try to break up our group a few times, but soon accepted that she had nine students who would work together. We always made five batches, and usually used five separate recipes, but we all worked together.

We did find that our little courtyard was the one place in the school where the insanity seemed to be kept at bay. Jessica and Kathy tried visiting the main courtyard a few times for lunch and always returned with a report that the seniors with high CAP scores were bullying the rest of the student body and more than a few of the teachers. Three male teachers were the primary target of the bullies, often being forced to humiliate themselves in front of the prettier female students. I heard that Mister Wilkins had been forced to strip of his pants and wear a tutu one day, but avoided asking questions. Coach Durant and Coach Grisham managed to keep discipline during practice, but it was one of the few activities where the students were not working to take over. There Jason and I had a huge effect. Most of the team knew we had the CAP to volunteer, but rather than try to take over, we made sure to openly listen to the coaches and do our best to perform the drills. Maurice made sure to point this out to the rest of the defense.

The first four weeks of classes passed this way. In early October, the teachers announced that for the first time ever there would be midterm examinations in every class. These were going to be scored as a significant portion of our final grade. My circle of friends just smiled. We were all holding down high scores on every test and homework. Still we concentrated even harder on our studies, organizing review sessions for our break and lunch in the courtyard. These soon were attended by most of the students in our classes.

When the week of midterms finally arrived, my friends and I breezed through the testing. We heard that Vice Principal Flanagan became increasingly frustrated as Jason, Jessica and I aced test after test. It was clear that the Vice Principal had been hoping that we would get poor grades on the tests. His attempt to get us in trouble had more of an impact on Constance's minions. Two junior cheerleaders who were part of her clique failed multiple midterms and were suspended from the squad. Lucas also struggled and on Friday it was announced that he was no longer eligible.

Terrence and the others on the offense complained bitterly about this, especially when Coach Durant announced that they were going to open up tryouts for a new quarterback. The team had only managed to win one more game after the opener, and was two and three at this point in the season. Most of the problems were due to the lack of any passing attack. Terrence had the arm, but no accuracy and little confidence in his ability to throw. Lucas had been considerably more accurate, but could only throw the ball about twenty yards. Teams were seeing this on film and adjusting the defense accordingly.

The search for a replacement quarterback seemed to occupy most of the team for the first three weeks of October. Coach Grisham also spent hours working with Terrence trying to improve his accuracy. Jason and I willingly stayed late after each practice to catch balls thrown by Terrence. Our hours of help slowly improved his ability and by the time everyone was talking about the final game in October and the Halloween dance afterward, we had managed to struggle through two wins. The team was four and four with two games left in the schedule. We were out of the playoffs, but the defense was second in the state, and many alumni were predicting that next year the varsity team might be able to make a run at the state championship.

I was more concerned with the Halloween Dance at this point. Once we were finished with the midterms, the academic pressure vanished almost overnight. I kept up my studies as did the rest of my group, but the teachers finally backed off on the constant quizzes.

The week of the Halloween dance finally arrived. This year it also coincided with Homecoming, which resulted in some rather unusual adjustments. Halloween had always been a costume dance, but the seniors led by Constance were pushing for a formal dance and presentation of a Homecoming court even though the majority of the students were not participating in most school activities. Attendance at games and dances was down considerably as the students spent most evenings at restaurants and cafes hoping to stumble into a pickup. This did not seem to work well as the only pickup during the period was a quiet one occurring at a hotel that was hosting a conference for chemical engineers.