Chapter 6: First Outing with Ashley

The rest of the day at school passed quickly. Jason and I sat with Julio and Walter at lunch. Jason spent most of the time trying to cheer up Walter. I said little, but did discover that Julio and Walter were going to attend a one-day seminar that was reported to help young men improve their scores. Both had scheduled tests for the upcoming Tuesday afternoon. Jason and I both offered to walk with them to the training center.

Jessica did stop by during lunch. She teased Julio a bit. Her entourage followed and meshed surprisingly well with my friends. We soon had a large gathering around the table. Everyone joined in a number of loud and silly conversations while we finished our meals and enjoyed the break from classes.

My final two classes of the day passed unremarkably. Mrs. Greer liked the still life I had completed the night before. She suggested that I work on a landscape and that I sit out on the courtyard and draw an image of the mountains to the east of our town. It provided me a chance to sit by myself and think for the first time during the day. My worries had no answers, but I did reaffirm my decision to hide my CAP card from my family for as long as possible.

Mr. Franken in my history class was even more poisonous than he had been the day before. He threw out the planned lessons and instead lectured us on some completely fictitious time when a powerful culture had deliberately destroyed a peaceful people out of greed. He provided no references or examples, but it was clear he was trying to make the aliens who had asked humanity for help into some kind of cultural supremacists who were going to destroy all that was good for their own evil purposes. He did ask me to carry a sealed envelope home, but kept it after I told him that I had plans to spend time with a couple of my friends immediately after class.

When class finally ended, I was one of the first to rush to the door and dash towards the parking lot. I found Jason strolling out of his class and playfully punched him in the shoulder as I ran past. "Slowpoke!" I shouted.

"You aren't going to beat me," he shouted back as he began to run. I sped up, dodging the slower moving students as I made my way to the parking lot.

I rounded the building first and put on another burst of speed when I saw the Roberts' minivan parked at the front of the pickup line. The door slid opened as I approached. Behind me I could hear Jason's labored breathing as I jumped up and slid into the middle seat.

I had time to get the seat belt fastened before Jason caught up and closed the sliding door before opening the front door. "Why are you riding with us?" he asked as he gasped for air.

"I have reasons," I said quietly as Mrs. Roberts released the brakes and began moving the minivan forward. She had to proceed slowly as the other students ignored the moving minivan and walked directly in front of it. She reached the street and turned right to head for the traffic light before Jason had caught his breath.

Mrs. Roberts quickly guided the minivan into the turn lane at the light. Jason looked back at me as we stopped. "Ashley..." he said.

"Jason, please," I started. "Don't make both of us regret this. Your sister trusts me, and you know I believe she's the most beautiful woman in town. But if my parents get a hint, it could be destroyed."

"What about today?' he asked.

"Oh, I just thought you and I would spend the day at the arcade in the mall," I chirped back. "I'll even purchase the first twenty dollars in tokens."

Jason turned in his seat just as the light turned green. The motion of the minivan making a u-turn made him lean in the seat as he looked at me. "And how many tokens will you play?" he asked me.

"Well, I need to play at least a dollar's worth so that I can honestly tell my parents that I was taking time at the arcade to process what happened to me in the testing," I said with a smile. "I'll even take you on in that Cage fight game you like so much. After that, you'll have all the tokens, but knowing your skills, you'll just take on all comers at Cage Fight for the next three hours."

Jason shook his head as his mother pulled the minivan into the high school's parking lot and lined up behind the four other cars there waiting to pick up students. The high school let out about ten minutes after the junior high, so we had a few minutes to wait.

"I can't believe you are going to all this trouble," Jason said.

"Your sister is worth it," I said firmly. "She's a wonderful woman. But you do have to remember that this is completely secret. No one else can be told."

"Dude!" Jason said as he stared at me. "Is your father really that scary?"

"He put two people into the hospital back when I was six," I replied. "We were living in a different city back then. The union was trying to organize a new auto factory, but some of the workers had chased off the first three organizers sent into the building. Father found out who was leading the group against the union and proceeded to beat him and his brother. Both spent more than a month in traction healing. The police didn't try too hard to find out who did it, but the union got Father a transfer here after that."

"It's a union, not the mafia!" Jason exclaimed.

"There is a lot of money involved," I said. "Wealth and power make people do strange things. My father might have been honorable once, but he isn't now. Anything that might diminish his influence will be seen as a threat. Right now the whole CAP system threatens his power."

"That is just stupid," Jason said. "How can you live with him?"

"I have a younger sister who needs protection," I said.

"But she just turned twelve. It will be two years before she can test," Jason pointed out. "Can you protect her for that long?"

"No idea, but I must try," I said.

I could see students starting to pour out of the main doors of the high school. At first they came out as individuals. Then a large crowd emerged all at once. The center of this group was a short man wearing glasses and suffering from one of the worst cases of acne I had ever seen. He had a rather unhappy black haired cheerleader holding onto his right arm as several other attractive girls fought over his left. The boy himself seemed uninterested in the antics of the girls, but walked directly toward an extremely battered economy sedan near the front of the line. When he reached it he quickly got in and then rolled down the window. The cheerleader leaned over and put her head through the window opening. When she retreated and the car drove away, I could see an extremely sour expression on her face.

I was still watching the cheerleader when the door beside me slid open and Ashley jumped into the minivan. She noticed my gaze. "What are you watching?' she asked.

"One of your sister cheerleaders who appears to have been sucking on a lemon," I said absently.

"Black hair, big tits?" Ashley asked as she climbed over me so she could sit against the window. She pressed her ass against my face and I noticed a musty but pleasant smell.

"That would be her," Jason said. "I've never seen any of the cheerleaders look that upset."

Ashley giggled. "She's beyond upset. That was Trinity Chance."

"Isn't she going to be next year's cheer captain?" I asked.

"There might be a vote on that," Ashley said. "For now she's Virgil's main squeeze. I guess after class yesterday, he talked her into agreeing to be his if he'll take her from Earth. Virgil claims that he'll be able to predict pickups and that he'll be picked up by Labor Day."

"Now that I don't believe at all," I said. "We haven't even heard how they'll conduct pickups, and he's sure he can predict where they will occur? He's trading on Trinity's desperation."

"And probably is demanding that Trinity convince the other cheerleaders to join her as his playthings," Jason said. "I thought this guy was supposed to be a shining example of humanity. He's not showing much empathy right now."

"Trinity brought him over to the cheerleader's table during lunch. Virgil claims that he is only being demanding because the system being put in place will require that anyone he takes with him is submissive. Supposedly a non-volunteer will be in trouble if they speak out or fight back, so he insists that anyone he takes clearly understands that he is the one in control," Ashley observed

"Stupid," I said. "It will work, but he's sacrificing the chance to build a long term emotional connection in order to make his own work a bit easier once he and his group are picked up."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Roberts asked.

"I'm sure that to a point Virgil is right. The companions a volunteer takes with him aren't going to be full citizens, and they need to be prepared mentally and emotionally to deal with a system that doesn't grant them full rights. But I think a better way to deal with it is to be supportive of your companions and cherish the fact that they came with you. It sounds like Virgil is going to make sure they see him as their true master. It will ease their minds in some ways, but I think the loss of closeness will hurt him and the girls he takes with him," I argued.

Ashley giggled. "Oh, Virgil plans on bringing along an extra man. He says he doesn't want to be stuck keeping six girls sexually sated. He's been telling some of the jocks that they can get a ride with him if they clearly understand that he is in charge."

"Who is in charge of you?" I asked flippantly.

"Mark!" Ashley sang out with a giggle. "You don't need to worry. I want you to be there for me, and I'll promise to do what you say."

"Anything?" I asked as I twisted an invisible moustache next to my left lip. I leered at Ashley.

"Mark! Please, I'm in the car too," Jason moaned. "I don't need to hear that you are going to turn my sister into your sexual plaything."

"He's not turning me into anything!" Ashley called to her brother. I felt both her hands grip my left hand. They drew it downward towards her lap. She had somehow loosed her lap belt and guided my hand under her belt and her unfastened shorts. I realized what was happening when my hand brushed against the soft peach fuzz of her pubic hair.

Ashley pushed her crotch against my hand as she released it. I froze as she reached around my neck and pulled my head close to hers. "You aren't turning me, because after Virgil's antics at lunch I decided that I already had agreed to be your sexual plaything. Is that?..."

"Perfect," I whispered back. "But don't let that consume the wonderful and caring woman you are."

Ashley giggled. The giggle turned into a soft long deep moan. "Oh god," she whispered. "Your touch is perfect."

I had slid my fingers down and was teasing the top of her slit. Ashley pushed her cunt against my hand as we continued to ride in the van.

Jason was pointedly looking out the windshield and ignoring his sister's occasional yips. I was watching him and noticed when he sat up. "This isn't the way to the mall," he said.

"We're not going to the Town Center Mall," Mrs. Robert said. "I realized it might be too close to the school, and someone might say something that got back to Mike or Gertrude."

"Gertrude?" Jason asked.

"Otherwise known as my mother," I said with a sigh. "And if she learns you know the name, she'll be extremely upset. She actually cut off all contact with her family because she was given that name."

"Why give a name like that?' Jason asked as Ashley reached down to pull my fingers away from her pussy. She raised my hand to her lips and started licking them.

"It's some kind of family heirloom name," I said. "Supposedly there used to be a great inheritance that was given to the girls given that name. Something about a will dating back to the eighteen century. But the money was lost before mother was born."

"And yet the family gave her that name anyway?" Ashley asked. "That's just cruel."

"I don't think anyone considered how she'd be treated in school," I said. "All I know is that she refuses to respond to the name and hates people using it. But back to Jason's unasked question. Where are we going?"

"I thought I'd take you to Paradise Faire," Mrs. Roberts said. "It's a bigger mall than the Town Center, and I remember Jason saying the arcade is better."

"What will you do while we are there?" I asked.

"I've got a new romance novel to read," Mrs. Roberts said. "I'll find a table at that new outdoor café and enjoy some sunshine."

I was going to say more when my cell phone started to ring. I had to fumble through my backpack to find it. It had rung three times before I pulled it out and swept my thumb across the screen to answer. "Hello, this is Mark."

"Mark!" my mother called out. "Where are you? I'm at your school to pick you up, but you haven't appeared. Did you get in trouble for fighting again? I heard you faced off with Billy yesterday."

"Oh shit!" I muttered. "Mom, I should have called. My test ... It upset me a bit. I've been struggling to deal with the implications all day. Jason's mother offered to drive him and me to the mall, so I can spend time at the arcade while I try to get my mind around everything."

"You didn't get the score you wanted?" mother asked. "I was sure you'd want to brag about it."

"Mom..." I sang back. "If I had something to brag about Roger and Billy would try to beat me up. I did get a score, but what does it matter? We need to think of Father and Mike's futures first."

"I'm already working on that," mother replied. "Your father is going to return to the center next week for a retest. I'm sure that the retest will clear up the problem. I tried to schedule a retest for Mike, but they said that the next opening for a retest would be on his birthday in September. He didn't take that news well."

"Jason was telling me that his sister says the social dynamics at Central High are all messed up," I said.

"That must be it," Mother said. "What about dinner tonight?"

"I can try to be home by dinner," I said slowly.

"No," Mother replied. "No one will be there. Your father is at the union offices. There is a huge organizational conference call. It hasn't happened here, but city governments in Texas and Florida have moved to void union contracts after the president's announcement. The unions are planning some major protests for Monday. I might need you to miss class that day."

"Again?" I asked. "I need to get an education. I don't when I'm being dragged to these protests all the time."

"You need to support your father," Mother responded. "As for tonight. Your father is having dinner at the meeting. Mike told me he's going out with friends, and I'm taking Matilda over to Kelsey's. I guess Kelsey heard some bad news and your sister is offering her some support. I figure you can get your own dinner."

"I'll do that Mother," I said. "Sorry that I forgot to call you to let you know I was being picked up."

"It happens," Mother said. "I'll get going."

The call disconnected. I leaned forward to slip my phone back into my bag. Mrs. Roberts was shaking her head. "I should have reminded you to call."

"I think this way works better," I said. "My mother will likely assume I didn't score well, and if she tells my father, I'm safe from them prying. For now that's the best I can hope for."

Jason was shaking his head from the front seat. "That is so phony. I can't believe your family is that deranged. And what was this about missing school."

"It sounds like the union is planning protests in major cities all over the nation," I said. "Which means they'll try to get the teachers to join in, so they can have all the kids show up. Make the protest all about children to hide that it's really about their fear of losing political power."

"Yuck," Ashley said. "I remember the last time that happened. They expected the cheerleaders to stand in front of the crowd and cheer. The front row was a bunch of old, dirty miners. They kept trying to look up our skirts. One even asked Tiffany for her phone number."

"I hope she gave him the number to the Blue Oyster Bar," I said.

Jason snorted. "I still don't know why we are going to the mall."

"Nothing bad," I replied quietly.

We stopped at a light. Mrs. Roberts twisted in her seat to look at Ashley and me. "Mark," she said. "I talked to Morgan Cunningham earlier today."

"The contractor?" I asked.

"Exactly," Mrs. Robert said. "Tomorrow while you are at school he and a worker are going to visit and repair a certain site. And he's willing to pick up some items to make it a bit more comfortable. Put them under my name if you get anything."

Jason looked confused. "Should I understand what was just said?" he asked.

"Nope," Ashley replied with a smile.

I squeeze her hand. She giggled and turned to look at me. "This cloak and dagger stuff is fun. But I so want to tell everyone that I've agreed to be yours."

"Someday," I promised. "And your family knows. I think even your father would be proud of you right now."

Ashley's eyes darkened for a moment. "I will always miss him," she admitted.

I held her in my arms as we drove on. Jason and his mother talked quietly about school and Jason's plans for the summer. Mrs. Roberts had finally guided the minivan onto the interstate and less than fifteen minutes later was taking the exit that would deposit us directly into the parking lot of the mall.

Mrs. Roberts apparently came to the mall often. Instead of following the line of cars heading for the main parking structure she confidently turned away at the second opportunity and guided the car to an empty section of the lot right next to a mall entrance. She pulled in so that the passenger side of the van was facing the mall door.

Jason jumped out immediately. Mrs. Roberts unbuckled quickly, but turned and grabbed my left hand. She placed a fat envelope into my hands. "It's more than I said, but you'll need more. I suggest you plan on stocking up your hideaway with snacks. Mr. Cunningham promised that it will have a lock only the two of you can open."

"Thanks again Mother," I said to Mrs. Roberts.

She reached out to smack me on the shoulder. "Just don't make me a grandmother yet!"

"No," I said with a huge smile. "That will wait until Ashley's high school graduation. I do want her pregnant with our baby when she gets her diploma."

"Mark!" Ashley screamed at me.

"What?" I asked as I unbuckled and slid the envelope into a pocket of my pants.

Ashley grabbed my face and slammed her lips into mine. Her tongue thrust forward, pushing my lips apart and then began a vigorous investigation of my teeth. I kissed back with equal passion for several moments until the sliding passenger door opened abruptly.