Chapter 8

The foursome was a one-time event, but Jasper and Anna Belle would occasionally accept an invitation to Ms. Sellers' house for a threesome, ostensibly to consult with her on the project. The sex was loving and sweet, and watching his girlfriend and his teacher going at it while he was plugged in to one or the other was about the hottest thing he could imagine.

Elmer, feeling fairly confident his employers would strongly disapprove of that level of intimacy with their son, backed away from any further sexual adventures with the two young ones. He'd done what he set out to do by providing his son with an education that would serve him well. Whatever growing up issues he was yet to face, at least Jasper wouldn't be stumbling through his life saddled with a heap of imagined or imposed hangups about what sex was supposed to be about. He wished he could have been as open with P.J., but he knew he couldn't trust the boy to fully appreciate the need for discretion.

As for Jasper, while the sex was so much more than he could ever have hoped for, it didn't define his relationship with Anna Belle, Ms. Sellers or his father. Jasper and Anna Belle each knew in their heart that the other would be a friend for life; that they had developed a bond few could appreciate. Elmer and Carolyn saw it and encouraged it, and so did Alma and Peter Van Buskirk. And while Jasper's sharing an amazing sexual adventure with Elmer was bizarre to say the least, somehow it brought them even closer. And as for his relationship with Ms. Sellers, well, what could he say? She was an awesome woman on every level!

The State Science fair went off pretty much as they had predicted. Anna Belle and Jasper easily took first prize and advanced to the nationals to be held in May, just a week before they graduated. They had just over a month to prepare.

Around the high school, Anna Belle and Jasper were suddenly celebrities. Students who would have otherwise ignored the odd couple or even cracked childish jokes about them, now walked around with a vicarious pride and affectionately thought of them as their own special brainiacs, claiming them as close friends.

Elmer and Carolyn accompanied Jasper and Anna Belle to the National Science Fair held in Arlington, Virginia. The principal was more than happy to call in a substitute teacher for the three school days Ms. Sellers would miss.

When they arrived at their hotel, in order to maintain at least the appearance of propriety, they took adjoining rooms; Elmer and Jasper in one, Carolyn and Anna Belle in the other. Of course, come bedtime the guys switched rooms through the adjoining door.

The day before the fair was officially underway, it took them nearly the entire morning to set up their display. They had several aquariums displaying corals living at various water temperatures and at various levels of acidity. Several species of tropical fish were tossed in for esthetic effect. The pre-recorded video displayed on Jasper's large iMac was looped to play a twenty-minute narrative every half hour. Charts and graphs displayed on the wall behind the aquariums highlighted the steps taken to arrive at their conclusions. Of course, Jasper and Anna Belle would man the booth to answer any questions.

Among the people visiting their display were scientists from independent research facilities who were nosing around the fair for potential talent, educators from many top universities, and of course, the judges. All were very impressed with the depth of the research that went into the project, but even more impressed with the remedies for restoring and regenerating coral reefs that were postulated by a fourteen year-old boy and his eighteen year-old partner.

At the end of the second day, even before the prizes were announced, Anna Belle and Jasper were made an offer they hardly expected. A representative from Cal Tech asked Anna Belle if she would consider accepting an offer of a full scholarship. Ms. Sellers, standing behind her, leaned over the girl's shoulder and whispered, "You should probably accept it. If you get a better offer from another school, you still have options."

Anna Belle smiled at the woman and said, "Well, I'll certainly consider it, Ma'am, but only if the same offer is made to my partner here." She nodded at Jasper.