Chapter 21

“I DON’T OFTEN SEE students who aren’t in a crisis mode,” Ms. Duvall said. Dennis had managed to snag an appointment with her during his study hall period Wednesday. “Especially as we are rushing toward commencement and students are discovering they are one class short of graduation or that applying for college admission just slipped their mind. But the good news for you is that I’ve been working with the DMACC admissions office over the past few weeks and I know who to contact for the Career Advantage Program. I think you’ve identified a valuable course that we should get you enrolled in.”

“Do you know what tuition would be?” Dennis asked. “I’ll have to ask my mom if we can afford it.”

“You need your parent’s approval to enroll in the program, but as long as you’re in high school, your tuition will be covered. It’s treated the same as the rest of your high school education. You may, however, have some lab fees or the cost of a textbook to cover. This course is not on the normal CAP list, which is targeted toward the more general required classes or classes that can be used to fill high school requirements. I believe we can get you in as an elective for the summer, though, and then talk about a fall schedule that will earn you college credit at the same time that you are fulfilling high school requirements.”

“That’s great, Ms. Duvall. I’d definitely like to get started.”

“Your grades are adequate for admission to the program, but you should try to pull your math grades up in Algebra II next year. You do very well in history and science. I’d say English literature is one of the areas we might consider moving you into in the CAP program. For now, let’s get you registered for the summer,” Ms. Duvall said.

Dennis left the counselor’s office feeling very happy.

The girls had just two more meets before State Qualifiers. Thursday was the West Central Conference meet at Van Meter and Monday would be the Marysville Invitational. With the number of teams involved, both meets would use timed finals, just as the State Qualifiers would. The Monday meet of eleven teams was at 4:00 in the afternoon, and the girls were primed and ready. The girls would run in the same events as they would at the State Qualifiers. They dressed in the locker room at Bartley and were on the bus before three o’clock. Dennis checked the roster to make sure everyone was there and they took off for the forty-minute drive to Van Meter.

The team put everyone on notice with the first event. They brought the sprint medley relay in at 1:55.07 for a new school record. Leah took third in the 3000, just as Lana missed her last high jump attempt at 4’8”. Nonetheless, that event wasn’t doing well and there was only one competitor who cleared the bar at that level. Lana was in a tie for second. Leah, Laura, Janice, and Diane managed second place in the 4x800 relay.

The Bartley sprinters led the field. Brenda’s first place in the 100-meter dash set a new personal best at 12.48. Judith did the same in her 200-meter win at 26.0 flat. Tori led the pack all the way around the track in the 400-meter, but her first-place finish at 1:02.37 was two seconds off her best effort to date. She was closely pursued by her teammate, Debbie, just half a second behind her. Leah won the 1500-meter run and Roberta, in a surprise showing, won both the 100 and 400-meter hurdles. The hurdlers were unable to put together a place in the shuttle hurdles.

In field events, Bartley was shut out of the long jump when Rosie fouled on both her attempts. Lana split the second place honors in high jump. Corrine put together a fourth place showing at the shot put with a throw of 32’6”. She was jubilant and cheered for her friend Denise as the fellow junior threw the discus for a new school record of 106’5.5” and freshman Jennifer threw a personal best of 89’9” that was good for third place.

When the team boarded the bus to return home, they had taken second place with 150 team points to Van Meter’s 177. Both teams were nearly double in points what the next team in the meet accumulated. They were jubilant on the way home and incredibly playful. Judith trapped Dennis against a window seat and under the cover of girls leaning over the seat in front of them, smashed her mouth against his and trapped his hand between her legs.

“I want you,” she husked. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“It’s a school night,” Dennis protested.

“You know he’s right and Mom won’t let you stay over on a Thursday night,” Diane said from the seat in front of them.

“How about after the qualifier next Saturday?” Judith asked. “There’s no school. Oh, God! In fact, school’s out the day before. I could spend the next week with you!”

“Hey! He has other girlfriends, you know,” Brenda said. “And Sunday is my special day. I want him to take my graduation gown off me and discover what I’m not wearing under it.”

“You aren’t really going to go naked under your graduation gown, are you?” Leah asked. “That’s too daring for me!”

“No. I’m thinking I’ll wear hose and a garter belt,” Brenda laughed.

“Hey, can I get a kiss?” Tori asked. She was looking at Dennis but Judith pulled her into the seat and laid one on her before she could react. Tori started to scramble away and then relaxed and wrapped her arms around Judith’s neck as she kissed her back.

“Oh, wow! You’re pretty good at that,” Judith gasped. Tori grinned at her and turned her face toward Dennis. He gave up all thought of resisting temptation as soon as her lips touched his. Judith was right. Tori kissed with her whole body, molding herself against him and against Judith as well. The kiss went on and Dennis’s erection made itself known. Tori backed up a bit and looked at him.

“Okay. We’ve kissed,” Tori said. “I’ll show you my breasts again at the party Saturday.”

“Um ... uh ... What party?” Dennis asked. It seemed he was always the last to know about parties.

“The one at my house Saturday afternoon. It will be outdoors at the farm. You know what they say.”

“Um ... no. I don’t think I do,” Dennis said.

“Hip hip hurray, the eighth of May. Outdoor fucking starts today,” Tori giggled.

“I thought that was supposed to be the first of May,” Brenda said.

“Does it make any difference what day in May it is?” Tori asked. She gave Dennis another quick kiss. “Four o’clock Saturday. See you there.”

“I know I’m slow and cautious,” Lana said. “But I hope you’re saving spot number ten for me. You can make Tori number eleven.”

“You know, I already have enough girlfriends. I’m not collecting,” Dennis said. They got in Brenda’s car with Amy.

“Do you think any of your girlfriends would prevent you from looking at Tori’s breasts?” Amy giggled. “Or having my beautiful classmate Lana as number ten?”

“Amy, you’re so sweet,” Lana said.

“Why would you want to be number ten to a guy who already has nine girlfriends?” Dennis asked. “It doesn’t seem logical at all.”

“Who follows logic?” Lana said. “Logically, I should want nothing to do with boys at all after what happened last fall. And mostly, I don’t. But you’re more than just a boy. I like you. And I think you like me.”

“I do, Lana. I like you a lot. But I don’t expect you to show me your boobs or to kiss me or to run around naked like my other girlfriends do.”

“That’s why you’re different. My experience with boys told me all they wanted was a wet hole to put their cock into. It doesn’t even make a difference if it’s a willing hole. I’m not sure it makes a difference if it’s alive. And you had that experience. You know the difference. You know I’m not just a collection of wet holes. Sometimes I wish you were the only boy in the world, because then all women would know what it means to be a real person.” Lana blew out a deep breath and sagged forward. Dennis automatically reached over and put his arm around her. She looked up at him and then leaned into his embrace. “I really like you,” she whispered. They rode the rest of the way to her house like that.

When Dennis got out of the car to walk her to her door, Brenda and Amy stayed in the car. At the door, Lana leaned into him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then opened the door and rushed in.

Dennis was so used to wearing his red emergency waist pack that he automatically strapped it on when he was getting ready to leave for the party Saturday afternoon. His jeans, he noted, were getting pretty worn. He tried to only wear them a couple of days in a row without washing them. Since he’d taken over doing the laundry a few months ago, it was easier to toss a load into the washing machine in the evening, change it to the dryer before bed, and have clean clothes in the morning.

Dot certainly appreciated the way Dennis had picked up a couple of chores, even when he was busy with the teams. It seemed like less of a burden to her to spend her Saturday morning cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, vacuuming the floors, and washing the kitchen floor. And she still did a load of her and Peg’s delicate underthings on Saturday morning. It wasn’t proper to give those to Dennis.

“You’re wearing your emergency pack to a party?” she asked her son when he emerged.

“Oh. Um. I guess I don’t have to.”

“If you and your friends are comfortable with having it with you, I think it makes sense. And it’s consistent with some of your goals,” Dot said. “Who is picking you up?”

“Oh. Natalie, Roberta, and Daniella. I think we’re picking up Leanne, too.”