Chapter 14

Maddi tugged at the baggy sleeves on her Moringa Univeristy uniform. It was all she could do to quell her nervous energy as she sat solemnly at the kitchen table across from Mary that morning. She stirred again as she hoisted her purse from the floor onto the table. She sighed heavily and fixed her tired, blue eyes on Mary’s flushed face.

“Mary, I know I hurt you,” She confessed with teary eyes. “But getting revenge through Diana is so cruel. Not only that, but she’s dangerous.” Maddi leaned across the table with a soft, terse voice. “I know she set fire to my mom’s house,”

“You’re overreacting, Maddi,” Mary blew off proudly. “Even though God forgives her, she still feels guilty. You have no idea how often I’ve held her in the middle of the night when she’s crying hysterically and overcome with guilt and grief!”

“What?” Maddi’s heart pounded. She cleared her throat and fumbled with her purse again, body filled with rage. “She confessed to you?” When Mary nodded silently, Maddi asked again. “Is that a yes, Mary?”

“Of course,” Mary snapped. “Unlike some people I know, Diana has sought forgiveness. On the other hand, you forced me to extract penance from you. You made me fuck a ‘sorry’ out of you like the disgusting whore you are!”

“What’s going on out here?” Diana asked, rushing from the bedroom and adjusting her uniform collar. Her voice was wrought with suspicion when she cut into the conversation. “What’re you two talking about so intensely?”

Mary cocked her head back with an air of victory. “I was just saying how badly you’ve been feeling about what happened to your mom.”

“Mary,” Diana sharpened a glare and shot it back and forth between her lover and sister. Then she fixed her primal eyes on Maddi and slowly hovered over her. “What are you doing, Maddi? Trying to incriminate me?” Diana grinned, teasing. Like a tigress playing with her food, she sauntered to Maddi, then lunged at the purse draped over her sister’s hands. Maddi recoiled as her phone tumbled out and fell flat on the table, a snap of tempered glass smacking ceramic so loud that all three girls jumped.

Mary’s sunken face filled with horror. “Maddi, you tricked me? Again!” And then it turned to sorrow and regret. “Diana, honey, I’m so sorry!”

Diana rushed to hush Mary with the calmest of tones. “It’s okay, honey,” she kissed her pursed lips. Let her keep it. She can’t use it against us. After all, the law protects the bond between a futa and her bride.” She kissed Mary again.

“You’re married?!?” The color left Maddi’s face as she exclaimed.

“Before we came to Moringa Island,” Diana cooed as she traced a delicate pattern down Mary’s side. “I’m giving her everything she’s ever wanted. More or less,” Then she sighed and slinked away. “But it does disappoint me that you’d share such intimate information with someone, even if it were my sister. I still love you, though,”

“She doesn’t, Mary,” Maddi cried. “She doesn’t love you; she’s just trying to get to me.”

“Don’t listen to that whore,” Diana whipped around, rejoining the fray in the kitchen. “Maddi always thinks it’s about her. How typical.”

Maddi scrunched her face in disgust. “I have always protected you, Di!” She cried. “I loved you! You were my soulmate!”

“SHUT UP!” Mary’s scream rattled the house’s flimsy windows as the girl grabbed two fistfuls of her already broken, thin hair. When she pulled away, wisps of dirty red hair had floated all over the table. Mary gasped for air, and her feet staggered underneath. She appeared faint to the Masters sisters but quickly recovered her balance and menaced towards her ex. “Maddi, I swear--the world would be better without you!”

“No, Mary,” Diana scolded. “Stop speaking nonsense,”

Mary’s face, entirely red, huffed loudly for several seconds. “I’m sorry,” Her lifeless voice droned. Suddenly, she both looked and sounded exhausted. “I didn’t mean that. Please forgive me, Diana,”

“I think you should leave, Maddi.” Diana turned her back and folded her arms. “I don’t feel like going to class anymore,” Maddi said. As Maddi tried to walk away, Diana grabbed her wrist and wrenched it toward her. She whispered, “You must really think I’m stupid to try the same trick on me. I’m two steps ahead of you, bitch.”

Maddi stood frozen as Diana flashed an evil smirk; the luster in her eyes grew pale as she finally withdrew. It took another moment for her to work through her fear and continue her retreat. Maddi clutched her chest; the bones in her thin wrist peeked over her wrinkled sweater sleeve. She at least could breathe again.

“Hey,” Mary called to Maddi at the door. Her voice was calm and detached, but tension remained below the surface. She ordered, “You are to come back after class. For one last punishment. Do you hear me?”

Maddi said nothing. Something about Mary’s set posture frightened her into silence. She finally nodded, afraid that her voice would break if she spoke. She didn’t want Mary or Diana to know just how terrified she’d become, confident that if she returned to this house, she would never leave again.

♥♥♥♥

“I can’t trust anyone.” Diana moped as she hunched under her bed. She stretched until she found the suitcase’s rugged leather handle and dragged the oversized case to the middle of the bedroom floor.

Mary huffed as she drifted in. “What’s wrong, honey?” She undid her robe as she loomed over Diana, trying to peak. “What are you looking for?”

“I thought there was some jewelry that didn’t get unpacked,” Diana quickly replied. Then she looked over her shoulder and asked. “Mary, please tell me the truth. When you said Maddi to come back tonight, you were planning on killing her, weren’t you?”

“I won’t let her make a fool of me again.” Mary’s face grew blush again. “I’m sorry. I know you had a plan, but I can’t wait any longer.”

“I understand.” Diana nodded. “And what do you plan to do with her body?”

Mary’s eyes watered as they wondered for an answer. She shook her head, defeated. “I--I don’t know yet. W--would you help me with that?”

Diana smiled. “Of course, love. You are your own person. I can’t control you, but I can help you.”

“Thank you, honey.” Mary breathed a sigh of relief. “I was thinking of letting her off the hook because I have you. I have all I’ve ever wanted. Honest to God, I felt so great before she deceived me. Maybe I’ll take a shower.”

“That’s an idea.” Diana cooed. “Can I join you?”

“Um,” Mary said sheepishly, biting her index finger as she pretended to think. “I’m sorry, dear. I have some lady things to do—I shouldn’t be distracted.”

The smile faded from Diana’s face, replaced with contempt. “And I don’t know about ‘lady things’?”

“Of course!” Mary knelt to wrap her arms behind Diana’s rigid stance. “But there are some things I want to keep private. You understand, right?”

“Certainly.” Diana smiled with her eyes. “That’s fine with me,” Mary kissed her cheek, but Diana waited until her wife strode into the bathroom and locked the door before she shuddered. “Disgusting lesser,” Diana mumbled under her breath. She returned her focus to the suitcase and unzipped its length. As the bathroom’s rusty pipes churned just before the shower roared on, Diana stepped into the case to judge its size. “Perfect.” She confirmed loudly, content that Mary couldn’t hear.

Diana rummaged through the nightstand before she found a piece of rope the length of her arm. She studied the smooth black line of medium thickness. She wrapped it around both hands and pulled it taut, and the crisp snapping sound made her spine tingle. “Huh,” Diana marveled as her eyes flickered. “I was supposed to tie you up one night. We never even got to use this. But thanks for confirming that I can’t trust you anymore, Mary.”

The bathroom door lock popped under duress as Diana pressed the screwdriver deeper into the strike and latch. She held the knob fast and gently opened the door to confirm Mary hadn’t heard the intrusion. Diana made out Mary’s figure behind the curtain through the streamy veil. The girl sang as she showered, running her lanky arms through her tangled her. Diana edged inside the tight bathroom quarters, gripping the rope. Her breathing came in terse, stressful puffs as she entered the steam. She’s shampooing; I’ve timed this right so far, Diana thought, now a mere arm’s length from her prey.

Diana took a deep breath and held it. Ready to pounce, Diana grew distracted by something she saw sitting on the sink. Despite the shower’s haze, the pink plus on the pregnancy test was unmistakable. Diana gasped as her whole face went slackjawed before she realized how much noise she’d just made.

“Diana?” Mary stirred. She peeked around the flimsy, opaque curtain with a face full of bubbling white suds. Her spindly fingers carefully wiped her vision clear, but she still squinted. “I thought I locked the door,” she said.

“No,” Diana snapped erect, hands behind her back. “No, the door was open.” Her eyes drifted back to the test, and she remained quiet.

Mary smiled and shrugged. “Surprise!” she giggled with excitement. “I wanted to take another test to make sure, but it’s happening!”

“Yes!” Diana made a half-grin as she balled the rope into one hand. She rushed to stroke Mary’s face and kissed her. “We can celebrate tonight. Go ahead and rinse yourself, dear. I’m sorry I interrupted.” Diana afforded Mary a fleeting ‘I love you, too’ as she rushed from the bathroom. She tossed the rope across the room and threw herself onto the bed. No sooner did she burst into tears; both hands covered her face as her body trembled. “Oh my God. What was I about to do?” She wept.

“Diana, honey.” Rochelle’s voice tried to soothe her daughter’s distress. “Di, are you okay?”

“Mom?” Diana’s voice broke. She rolled to her back and looked up at her mother. Seeing Rochelle gave Diana great comfort. She sat up and cradled her stomach. “Mom, I almost killed my baby.”

“But you didn’t.” Rochelle looked down, smiling. “Thank God you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Tears rolled down Diana’s puffy cheeks as she held her temples. “I know, Mom, I know. I can’t believe Maddi would do this to me.”

“Di,” Rochelle’s voice grew stern.

“She turned Mary against me.” Diana gasped and sat up as her mother spoke. “If I had known Mary would be such a liability, I wouldn’t have married her. My own sister wants to destroy me and thinks she’s so damn smart. It makes me want to fucking scream.” But instead of wailing, she stifled a short, guttural cry before gathering herself. Sniffling, she went on. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I just have to change plans. My birth mom visited me the other night and told me I didn’t have the guts to kill Maddi. Y’know, she’s right. I can’t live without her. But I must teach her a lesson--she can’t live without me either.”

“Mommy, I’m going to ruin her at Moringa today. You know I have enough to do it.” She flashed a wide, teary-eyed grin while vigorously nodding at Rochelle, who grew more morose by the second. “See, Mom? I can change plans on the fly. See how smart your little girl is?”

♥♥♥♥

The thought of eating made Maddi wretch. Still, she bought a whole tuna sashimi and rice bowl lunch at the Moringa dining hall and returned it to a seat next to Ashley, Sunny, and Mallory. The cafeteria was a small, self-serve area with a single food line and ten circular tables that were never over 50% capacity.

“How come you guys never want to eat outside?” Mallory asked as she picked apart a piece of shrimp sushi and nibbled on the protein. “It’s always really nice out,”

“Because the Queens eat outside,” Sunny chided. “And they’re the meanest bitches I’ve ever met.” Then she shoveled as much steamed white rice into her mouth as possible. “Ya know, I went to a really nice high school.” Her voice went muffled as she continued talking. “And even the richest girls never acted like that.”

“Are you going to dye your hair again soon, Sunny?” Ashley asked as she observed Sunny’s naturally blonde roots shining through her shoddy black dye job. “Olivia and the rest of the Queens will want you back.”

“Oh, wow.” Mallory teased. “On a first-name basis with the Duchess, are we?”

“Stop it.” Ashley laughed. “Olivia just stopped me in the hallway to chat the other day. She’s not that bad.”

Sunny scoffed, spitting flecks of white over her bowl. “Um, yeah, she is that bad, actually.”

Mallory nodded. “I usually don’t agree with Sunny and actively try not to.” She waited for Sunny to sneer, acknowledging her barb, and continued once Sunny stuck out her tongue. “But she’s right. The Duchess makes any girl of a certain status dye their hair blonde and follow her orders.” Then she winced as she considered something. “Everyone living in Goldenrod House is a bunch of bottle-blond bullies. And there’s Maddi.”

“What?” Maddi snapped from her trance. She looked up, groggy and bewildered. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Why hasn’t the Duchess come after you?” Mallory repeated. “You’re rich, after all.”

Maddi shrugged and returned to studying her food. “It’s probably out of some respect for my mom and family. The Masters and Drakes are names that carry weight in our world.”

“Hey!” Sunny howled. “What are you trying to say about the Skyes? Why the hell has she taken an interest in me?”

Ashley laughed. “Maybe she likes you.”

“She punched me in my stomach,” Sunny said flatly, shrugging her disbelief.

“Or maybe she’s just mean.” Ashley’s voice trailed off as she attended to her California rolls. The four students returned to their eating silence until Ashley spotted Dr. Saito entering the double doors. The young futa failed miserably, hiding her adoring grin, and she watched the Dean of Students wearing her uniformed green sweater and slate grey skirt. The woman’s heels thumped against the flat carpet as she made her way through the food line--each thump felt in tandem with Ashley’s heartbeat. “Good afternoon, Dr. Saito.” She sang.

“Hello, Miss Washington. Hello, girls.” Umi juggled her handful of belongings when she stopped. “I thought I’d find you here, Ashley. I found one of your sweaters at your old desk in my office.” She shifted her weight to drop the folded green bundle onto the table. I had it washed because who knows how long it’s been there. She smiled at each of her students before dropping her jovial air. “I’m also glad I caught you here, Madison. We called your dorm earlier, but you both were away. Please come to Dr. Bykov’s office before you head to Futanari Studies. I’ll meet you there. Enjoy the rest of your lunch, all.”

The girls muttered their farewells as Dr. Saito rushed back through the door. Perplexed, Ashley ran her fingers over the fabric. She shivered; It was still warm.

“Did she really have it washed?” Sunny scrunched her face as she scrutinized. “It’s kinda wrinkled.”

“How would you know?” Ashley snapped. “You’ve probably never even done your own laundry.”

Hurt, Sunny stared slackjawed in disbelief. “Rude.” She spat. “I don’t care how right you are. You didn’t have to say that.”

As Ashley shrugged off Sunny’s complaints, Mallory leaned over the sweater. “Chill out, Sunny. Dr. Saito’s cool for being a ciswoman.” She sniffed the air. “You can tell she washed with her stuff because it smells like that green tea perfume she overuses,” she said with a snicker.

“What’s wrong with the way she smells?” Ashley’s curls bobbed as she whipped toward Mallory. But she didn’t give her a chance to respond. She gathered her things and stood from the table. “I’ve got calculus in an hour. See you there, Sunny.” Ashley didn’t say anything as she left, cradling the sweater Umi gave her close to her chest.

“What’s her problem?” Mallory scowled. “Wait a minute,” she turned to Maddi. “What’s your problem? Why does Dr. Bykov want to see you?”

“I--I, um.” Maddi muttered under an uneasy sigh. She shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“That was convincing,” Mallory scoffed. She felt her dormmate’s pulse and forehead. “You’re pale and a little clammy. No wonder you seem off. You should see what the Chancellor wants and then tell her you’re skipping Futanari Studies. I’ll cover for you and bring you some Tylenol later.”

“Really?” Maddi blinked. “Oh, thanks.” Maddi awkwardly stumbled to her feet and started away. Moringa Island boasted a gentle summer breeze that afternoon, and Maddi’s skirt fluttered as she stepped onto the green. Her mind wandered as she crept toward the admin building, and her fists clenched as she ran through what Mary had told her. Diana practically confessed she killed their mother--now Maddi faced the challenge of recording the admission.

Maddi’s limp wrist knocked gently on Dr. Bykov’s office door. There was a brief shuffling behind the door and then silence before Dr. Bykov called out. “Please come in, Madison.”

Maddi inched toward the empty chair across from Dr. Bykov, eventually sitting alongside Dr. Saito.

“Madison is here now.” Dr. Bykov pressed a button on her jade green telephone on her desk before looking up. “Madison, we’re here with Dr. Drake.”

“Dr. Drake?” Maddi asked, sitting up straight and collecting herself. “How are you?”

After a tense silence, Dr. Dory Drake cut to the point. “I’ve been better, but that’s what I’d like to ask you. Madison, when I heard your sister was attending Moringa, I assumed she’d be gone by the end of the year. I never thought I’d be getting a phone call about you.”

Maddi shot looks of confusion around the room. “Me? What do you mean? I don’t--”

“--I just got a call from Dr. Bykov.” Dory snapped. “She just received a cell phone video of you at a sex party. You know what that means, Madison.”

“WHAT?!?” Maddi clutched her chest.

“Who’s the redhead in this video, Madison?” Dory accused. “It’s obvious she doesn’t attend Moringa.”

“She’s--” Maddi’s heart pounded. She fought her urge to faint. “She’s nobody.”

“Madison.” Dr. Drake scolded. “I’m coming to Moringa Island next week to ask the Board of Directors to repeal the purity rule for students. That’s the only way you’ll be able to stay at Moringa.”

Maddi shook her head, disbelief wrought on her pale face. She slumped in her chair as the room spun. “So what happens now.” Her dried lips managed to ask with hoarse words.

Dr. Bykov cleared her throat. “Until the Board of Directors has their emergency session, you are officially suspended from all academic activities at Moringa University. Dr. Saito will freeze your current grades until the board approves my recommendation.”

Dr. Drake breathed heavily through the speaker. “Umi. Dominika. I’ll be in Moringa tomorrow afternoon.” The receiver clicked over without another word.

“Well, I suppose that’s that. Futanari Studies begins within the hour, and I need to prepare.” Dr. Bykov’s long, flowing skirt spiraled up like an obelisk tomb as she stood. Her cold, grey eyes pierced through Maddi and toward the door. She announced. “Ashley can work alone for a while before the board decides. Then, we can pull from the admissions waitlist. Having a shortlist is something we need anyway as we expand next semester.”

“That sounds like something I can pay Ashley for,” Umi agreed. I’ll offer her a four-week contract and move her back into my office. Do you need anything else?” Her deep brown eyes watched Dr. Bykov shake her head slowly. Umi stood. Very well. I’ll make the arrangements. Madison, you have an appointment in my office at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Is that understood?”

Maddi said ‘yes’ under her breath as Dr. Saito left. Then her eyes followed Dr. Bykov, and the woman hummed with whimsy as she collected a stack of books. Maddi tried speaking again, her throat tight and dry. “You don’t seem especially angered or bothered by this.” She noted with a whisper.

Dr. Bykov side-eyed her student. “If I’m disappointed in anything, it’s with your decision to overlook your excellent futanari classmates and succumb to futa on female lust.” She scoffed. “Letting that flimsy redhead fuck you with a strapon? They want to be us so badly. Such a tired and drab trope. You may leave now.”

Maddi gasped, rage building in her chest. She watched Bykov leave the room without addressing her again. As the room continued to spin, Maddi began to seethe with anger. While Diana hadn’t been on campus in two days, Maddi knew her sister would be strutting across the green today--she’d always take advantage of the opportunity. She lept up and strumbled through the door. The sun glowed behind her as she marched past a trio of laughing girls towards the Futanari Studies building, with fists held so tightly her wrists hurt. She caught a glimpse of Mallory and Ashley walking together but quickly outpaced them. Maddi heard them call out, but she barrelled into the building, her feet suddenly taking off once she saw Diana and Olivia talking in the hallway.

Diana caught her sister’s approach from the corner of her eye. But it was too late to react. Maddi’s fist connected with Diana’s jaw with a magnificent snapping sound that buckled both girls equally. Diana knocked into Olivia, whose stance braced them both. Maddi recoiled and shrieked. She clutched her wrist as if to keep her hand attached.