Chapter 20

At their study period, the trio heard how the coup was actually accomplished. Don, one of the students who had spoken to them from time to time in study hall, sat down next to them wearing a huge grin.

“Okay, Don, spill it. You got hot info, I can see,” prodded Cynthia.

“Shit, yeah. I won’t say who ‘cause it would be big problems, but some kids know their way around the stage, okay? So yesterday afternoon, this guy was working up in the fly, you know, above the stage? And Davis and Cirota come in with the tech guy who runs the systems, the lighting, audio, all that, okay? And he hears them talking about the assembly next day and finds out it’s about the Program, that there’ll be people using the wireless mikes and showing a video, all that stuff. So okay, he calls his friends when Davis and the others leave and they take a few mikes out and go to the balcony control room and patch the mikes into the sound system from there.”

“Wow,” Roger said. “Cool!”

“It gets better,” Don continued. “In the morning they come in and enable the remote control room override so their mikes’ output can’t be blocked. Then they leave the auditorium and come back in so their names get checked off, then they go back to the control room and to the lighting booths at the front of the balcony, you know, those little enclosures on the sides? Then they wait for the right time to cause that havoc. You saw the results.”

“Yeah, it was great,” Roger grinned. “What about after?”

“So, the best part. One of the guys stayed behind to take down the override and heard the Program people talking through the audio monitor, and realized that they hadn’t shut off their mikes. The auditorium sound system can be connected into the main school PA system so that school-wide announcements can be made from the stage, so he patched the wireless feed into the school PA system. That’s usually done backstage but there’s a duplicate sound board up in the control room. Wicked cool, huh?”

“Just freakin’ awesome,” Cynthia agreed. “Um, you wouldn’t personally know anyone involved with that stunt, now would you? Someone really close?”

He blushed. “Nobody I’d be willing to tell on,” he demurred but looked down as Cynthia fixed him with a steely-eyed gaze.

“Hey, Don, take some advice,” she said. “Don’t play any high-stakes poker, okay? You’d lose,” she grinned. “Your secret is safe with us. But if you tell anyone else, skip all the tech details. That was a give-away, okay? But that was a majorly awesome job, though.”

Roger looked thoughtful. “Something’s bugging me ... I know, it’s about Cirota. I wonder where he was, the assembly was his kind of show.”

“Um, Cirota had to be at a prosecutor’s office in Riverside County ... uh oh,” Don stammered. “Oh shit.”

Cynthia grinned at him. “Don, you may be a great tech guy, but don’t even think of becoming a spy, you hear? So give, what other wisdom did you learn, oh ye fountain of information?”

“Yeah, well, he told Davis that the county prosecutor was talking to all the people involved with providing student names to the regional Program office and he had a subpoena thing for today and couldn’t be here. That’s all. They didn’t talk much, just got the video system checked out and set out the mikes and stuff; then they left.”

“And your friends?” Roger asked. “They did great with their comments.”

“Just guys I know from the drama club. They’re good at changing their voices a little, you know? So their voices couldn’t be recognized easily. And a lot of acting calls for ad libbing. I knew they had a meeting Thursday afternoon so I texted one of them and they came running,” he grinned. “They couldn’t wait, actually.”

“Well, find a way to tell them thanks, that they did a super job. The performance of their high-school careers, actually,” Roger laughed.

As Don left, they all exchanged high-five salutes.

“Wow, and wow,” Cynthia said. “Everyone’s really making this anti-Program program work. What did that girl call it? ‘Controlled mayhem’?”

“I don’t think it was that, Cindy, but controlled mayhem is a great description of what’s happened, actually,” Roger chuckled.

Ayame had been listening to everything in awed silence. After Don left, she relaxed and slipped her hand into Roger’s.

“What do you think about all that stuff, sweetie?” Roger asked her.

“Better than any manga story could possibly be, Roger. But I also still can’t get rid of sight of that Karen girl in video, how she did sex stuff for video like that. When boy did that to her, I felt how you did it...” She shivered. “Got wet watching them too. Ugh.”

“I didn’t mean about the video, actually; I meant all the drama after that.”

“Errr, that was the manga part, like I am living in fantasy. I can’t believe all these things happen in real life. The video was the hentai part, the perverted one. Program sex like that in classroom? That’s perverted. You think maybe Program ends now? What Davis-san ... Um, what Mr Davis said would do?”

“Well, I assume they’ll call people every week like before, but not go chasing after anyone who doesn’t show up. Maybe a few will even participate. Time will tell,” Cynthia mused. “Davis said they’d ‘go through the motions,’ after all.”

When school ended, the twins and Ayame met Tom at the door and the remaining Program students quickly ran out and began dressing.

Mary was beside herself with joy at the ending of her ordeal and even Elliott had a faint grin as he chortled, “Son of a bitch, all freakin’ done!” saluted the school building with his middle finger, shouldered his pack, and marched away.

“All over,” sighed Mike. “Damn, now I can relax and enjoy the next three years here without that shit hangin’ over me. No school events this weekend for me, Roger—oh, Jessica and Tom, you’re on the swim team ... wow...”

“No fear, buddy,” Tom said. “We’re in suits. No skinny-dipping competing for us.”