Part 3: Monday After School

11. Elizabeth

In just one more hour, I would wear clothes again. I expected this hour to be easier than the others, for I would be able to use my cello as a shield. The pamphlet indicates clothing may be worn if necessary for plays or other performances. The suspension of disbelief required for the theater collapses if, for example, Eliza Doolittle were to appear nude in London society merely because the actress portraying her happened to be in the Program during the week of the show. Because it is necessary to sit behind a cello in order to play it, application of the clause would permit my partial concealment by the instrument.

Lily and Frank were waiting for me in the hall outside the music rooms. “Hello, Elizabeth,” they said in unison.

“Shouldn’t both of you be at practice?” Neither are scheduled to perform Saturday; Frank doesn’t even play an instrument.

“You might need support from someone your own age, so Mrs. Nelson gave me permission to be late for soccer.”

“What about you, Frank?”

“What does the coach need me around for? I don’t need to know any of the plays, or watch the game film, or do much of anything. All I have to do is keep my leg loose for the game.”

Lily provided her own spin. “The further away he is from Mr. Shea, the smoother practice goes. His absence is good for the team.”

“It’s one of the benefits of my membership in the kickers’ and punters’ union. I even get my own card.”

“It’s one of the jokers. He’s fifty-three cards short of a full deck.”

“There are only fifty-two cards in a deck, Ms. Math Wiz.”

“I’m counting the jokers.” Lily decided to end the repartee. “Elizabeth, how has your day been?”

“Lousy. Boys keep asking to touch me, and I keep telling them no. I have to sit in the loud part of the cafeteria. Worst of all, I have to deal with people leering at me and telling me what’s on their mind. Frank, you saw what John Norton and Louie George did in Health.”

“Frank, what did they do?”

“Made off-color jokes and demanded to see some sex.”

“Louie got his chance last period.”

I had to ask Lily for clarification. “Two people had sex in your last class?”

“Frank and I were both so horny when biology came around. All the touching was wonderful-”

“Just who did you two ... Don’t tell me that you two made love at the beginning of class.”

Lily replied, “We didn’t make love.”

“What a great relief,” I sighed.

“That’s what we both thought after we had sex.”

“Lily’s pretty good at it.”

“Please don’t tell me the details.” I sat on the floor, with my hands holding my temples. “It’s been a difficult day. If not for Sam, the only people talking to me in the halls would have been those would-be molesters.”

“If anyone touched you without permission, you can tell Frank or me.”

“The only such incident was Liv Wolf’s hugging me in French, and that was only because I gave Heather Fitzwater first aid for a broken toe. It wasn’t sexual, just spontaneous joy on her part. If she had asked me first, I wouldn’t have said no.”

Frank was surprised. “She has a broken toe?”

Lily explained the situation. “The sophomores were shy, so we switched up during lunch. I sat with Ron Venturi, and Frank sat next to Heather. Did Sam help you during lunch?”

I nodded, then closed my eyes. “She let me sample her lunch, and we talked about it on the way to our next class. She has great strawberries.”

Frank asked, “And strawberries is code for?”

“Just strawberries. They came with balsamic vinegar.”

Lily inquired, “Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“Not now. I have to rehearse.”

“Elizabeth, here’s my number. You can call me any time you need to talk. Frank, do you want to giver her your number, too?” I also received their e-mail addresses.

“Thank you.” Now it was time to rehearse Mozart’s Fifteenth String Quartet. I would have preferred one of the Prussian Quartets, as they give the cello greater prominence, but the Haydn Quartets have the dual advantages of being more demanding and sounding better.

Ron Venturi, who plays second violin, has to be naked this week, too. He’s sullen when he’s not playing, but smiles when he is. Music may be a refuge from his inner pain. Our violist is Sarah Benton, a junior who’s a very close friend of our first violinist, Olivia Schumer, senior and daughter of our calculus teacher.

Olivia barked out in her usual drill-sergeant demeanor, “You two. I don’t care if you’re naked.” Thank you for reminding us, as we hadn’t noticed it at all earlier today. “That’s no excuse for errors.” Unfortunately, her attitude was counterproductive. Ron does not react well to direct orders in the best of times, and mandatory nudity only increased his anxiety. He misplayed notes and mishandled his bow.

Our first violinist only has the one leadership technique. Because each mistake on Ron’s part led to more commands from Olivia, his performance became even more disjointed. After half an hour, we still hadn’t finished rehearsing the first movement. As I had several times earlier today, I wanted to find a hiding place. This time, however, it had nothing to do with my body being on public display.

Sarah couldn’t handle the tension any more, either. She made a “T” with her hands, startling all of us with a yell of “Time Out!” Six eyes stared at her. “This isn’t working. If it’s okay with you, Livvy, could we take a five-minute break so everyone can relax before we resume?”

“Fine. Five minutes, everyone!” That’s enough time to engage in progressive muscle relaxation. First you tense your foot muscles, then you relax them a few seconds later. Then you do the same with the calf muscles. This proceeds upwards, and ends with the tension and relaxation of the jaw muscles.

Unfortunately, I only managed to relax some of my muscles. While Ron played no wrong notes after the break, I had become incapable of playing legato without stabs of pain. My back’s forward bend moved the cello forward, rendering bowing even harder.

“It’s not flowing, Elizabeth!” I know that, Olivia. I’m trying to play through the pain, but I haven’t figured out how to adjust my bowing technique to provide satisfactory sound while suppressing groans. “Forget you’re not wearing anything. Just play.”

Rehearsing the first movement took over an hour. Our first violinist and beloved leader grumbled, “Well, today was an utter disaster. We must do better tomorrow. Dismissed.”

Sarah put her viola in its case, then walked towards me. “May I help you put your cello away?”

“Why?”

“Because your right shoulder hurts.” I nodded in agreement. “You’re handling the Program much better than Ron is.” That was hard to believe, considering all I had been through.

“How do you know my shoulder hurts?”

“Ron’s playing was all over the place. That’s nerves. You made several mistakes, but they were all when you had to play legato. The short strokes and fingering were good. That points to a physical problem with the bowing arm. You want me to carry your case out to my car?”

“With my shoulder, I don’t have much choice, do I? Go ahead.”

“I’ll pull my brown station wagon outside the office while you go get dressed.”

Get dressed? I’ll finally get my clothes back! I settled my backpack onto my good shoulder, then entered the deserted halls. Ron came out of the office as I entered, so at least I would be alone while dressing. Mrs. Glazer, who runs the office after school, pointed out the room with the box.

Although I could put my panties and slacks on, albeit with some difficulty, I only managed to get one arm into its sleeve. I stuffed my bra into the backpack, then walked out of the office holding the front of my blouse together. I hit the handicap access button to open the school doors because I didn’t want to put pressure on my left shoulder by using it to push them open. Sarah was waiting outside, with Olivia sitting in the front seat next to her.

The driver asked how to get to my house. “Go down Hall Street, then turn right on Spruce. One and a half blocks later, you’ll see the blue house on the left. That’s it.” Sarah didn’t take the direct route, since my directions were designed for pedestrians, and she wanted to park next to the house without crossing the middle of the street. She didn’t have to do that, as Spruce is merely a side street. During the drive, the two friends were gossiping about events I knew nothing about.

They also carried my cello into the house. “Get better soon,” wished Sarah.

“We’re counting on you Saturday,” added Olivia.

12. Sam

The JV cheerleaders’ van had yet to arrive when I reached Fiddlehead Valley’s field. I impatiently tapped my foot against the floorboards until I realized they would have changed into their uniforms back at our school. While I waited for them to arrive, I put some blue and yellow face paint on my cheeks. Since the school colors needed to be more prominent, I made some lines down my arm. Because the van still wasn’t there, I changed into my usual cheerleading footwear.

Finally our Scythians convoy pulled in – one bus for the football team and one van for the cheerleaders. I ran to the van as the squad disembarked. Mrs. Morris said, “I’m glad you could make it, Sam. Where’s the uniform?”

“No problem,” I said, as I removed my top. I tossed her a copy of the pamphlet.

“Sam! What are you doing?”

“It’s the Program. I’m not permitted to cheer with clothes on this week,” I said while removing my bra.

“We have uniforms.”

“Only permitted for sports teams, and the courts ruled that cheerleading isn’t a sport.” My skirt and panties went down simultaneously. I heard some murmured complaints about Lily. “Squad, don’t give her a hard time. We don’t have regular competitions, so we can’t legally qualify as a sport. Blame the AD for that. Besides, if you haven’t already noticed or heard, Lily’s going around naked this week, too.”

Mrs. Morris was looking through the pamphlet. “Clothing can be used if deemed necessary for plays and other performances.”

“It’s not necessary. I can perform like this.”

She gave up. “Line up behind Sam, squad, and march in.”

The attendant at the gate raised her hand to halt us. “Tell the naked girl to put on some clothes.”

“I’m not allowed to. Program rules. Hey, Coach, give her the pamphlet.”

While the attendant flipped through the pages, I painted lines around my neck and waist. She concluded, “Uniforms for sports teams only. You wouldn’t qualify. It’s legal. Nothing we can do. OK, go in.”

I could see Panthers fans gawking. “Never see a girl before?” I asked. “Take a good look. You might never see one again.”

We stretched and performed a few practice tosses before the game started. I suddenly wished I could wear a sports bra, if only to provide comfort during tumbling routines. We really do need, at minimum, some midriff-baring uniforms. When I have to throw somebody, I have to place my hands under the her top to get a secure hold on her waist. That makes the throws safer, since clothes that slip could cause a toss to go awry. However, with their small busts, our flyers could get away with going naked instead.

Because of my height and captaincy, I’m usually the backspotter. She’s the one who provides direction during the stunts and catches the head and neck of the flyer - the cheerleader who gets lifted up - when she comes down. However, I can fill in at main base, Heather F’s position, and lift the flyer. My dance training even makes it possible to be the flyer in some varsity routines, the key word being varsity. Flyers my height are few and far between, but they do exist. Our JV captain, Sophia Roberts, has a much more typical height for a flyer at 5’2”.

I could hear some grumbling from the squad about being naked, especially from Sarka Valo. As another flyer, would be the especially prominent during her Program week. I needed to ask Sophia a question. “You know routine nine?”

“What about it?”

“Do you think I could fly in that one?” Routine nine involves a three-person lift in the center, with the backspotter assisting the bases.

“We’d have to try the lift.” Sophia called three of the stronger bases to experiment, and we discovered they could support my weight.

“Here’s what I want to do. Nine usually involves throwing the flyer. Instead, I’ll perform a bow-and-arrow. Then I’ll do just a regular jump down.” The move involves lifting the left leg straight up next to the torso, extending the left arm sideways in front of it, and holding the left ankle with the right hand.