Chapter 6: After Party

Elspeth dragged herself back to the room she shared with Harshini and Vivian. Though the hour was late and the day had been long, that did not account for the fatigue Elspeth felt. The others were sitting cross-legged on the beds, discussing the scene they had witnessed. Vivian was again (or still) topless and stroking the pink marks on her breasts. Harshini was asking about how the pain had colored the orgasm.

That did not shock Elspeth. Harshini was from a region where the Kama Sutra was a lifestyle, much like yoga. Vivian was another story. She was from the rural Midwest, so Elspeth had expected something conservative, even repressed. Yet Vivan voluntarily went topless at the event and had shown no sign of embarrassment when Elspeth entered the room. Elspeth fought an urge to reach out and stroke the tits and their pointed nipples.

Instead, Elspeth went to her own bed. She pulled back the covers, making sure that Harshini and Vivian could have a good look at her still burning ass. Then, biting her lip, Elspeth removed her bra before she crawled into bed. Harshini said nothing, but Vivian smothered a laugh before she rose and turned out the light. Elspeth fell asleep thinking of the bruising on Christine’s legs.

The morning came late. There was a wrap party planned, but it was after the Amish had religious services. Elspeth dreamed of being naked in Dr. Richards’ class while a small dog was shaking her foot. It turned out to be Vivian trying to wake her. It was almost ten o’clock. Breakfast was over and the merry-go-round was about to be started. Elspeth donned her workout clothes and went to see the fair.

deja vu yet again. This time, it was as if she had already attended as someone else. Still, it was fun. One ride on the merry-go-round seemed obligatory. Then, Elspeth tried some of the skill games and played a round of quoits. The archaic game proved both challenging and hysterical. Every player was laughing, with a couple rolling on the grass, before they gave up finishing the game. Instead, the players moved to the lemonade stand, then dispersed in several directions.

Elspeth acquired a drink, a pimento cheese sandwich, and an Amish-made pickle. She sat on a shady bench to eat her lunch. It felt good to relax. All week she had been Google and Wikipedia for the whole project, not to mention Dr. Richards’ gofer and voice. If anything, things were even busier when Dr. Richards was not around. Everyone had wanted Elspeth to play boss-interpreter. Finally, no one needed to know what to do next or to get approval on what they had already done. It was nice. She smiled and closed her eyes.

In moments she was asleep. Elspeth was not given to smiling. Anyone that knew her would have been startled by the beatific look on her face. Justin Immons was not one of them, but he was a photographer and knew an image when he saw one. He captured several angles before moving on. Elspeth would not see them for some time.

Instead, she was woken by an errant Frisbee. It began the slow spiral of a pleasant day into bleakness. Soon after waking, Elspeth saw Dr. Richards coming toward her. A step back and to the left was Christine. The purpose of the visit was for Dr. Richards to express formal thanks for the work Elspeth had done. Without saying it in so many words, Dr. Richards was saying that the event was over.

Worse, Elspeth was one in a crowd. There were nine graduate students from Dartmouth. Dr. Richards took time to thank them each, individually. Elspeth felt like Norman at the end of The Dresser. At least, Dr. Richards was still among the living. There was a chance that someday Elspeth and Dr. Richards could reconnect, possibly back in New Hampshire. It was her only consolation.

For the moment she fled the sight of Christine in her chosen place. The irony was too bitter. It galled Elspeth that she could be replaced by an uneducated teenager, but there it was. Ivy League degree or not, Elspeth could not do something Christine did without apparent effort—stay within easy reach, but never draw attention to herself. Past that was the level of pain Christine seemed willing to absorb in a sexual context.

Elspeth had enjoyed the spanking, but the sort of whipping Christine’s bruises bespoke was another matter. Word went around that there would be an encore scene. Elspeth did not attend. Instead, she found a workout mat and did her toning routine to the point of exhaustion. It was so bad that Security showed up to escort her to her room. When Vivian and Harshini returned, Elspeth pretended to be asleep.