Chapter 13: The Second Month

I had devised a crude but comfortable hammock out of a length of carpet ripped from the plane's cabin floor. I had suspended it with vines between two nearby palms. I had found that a siesta during the hot part of the day seemed to fit well in my day's schedule. It was from here that I witnessed the next set of events.

Over the past few days a new camp status hierarchy had emerged. The new order insinuated itself almost completely outside of my awareness. I came to realize that Jennifer considered herself "the first wife".

My lowered male sensitivities missed most of the subtle early signs of a female power play. Looking back, of course, the sequence of events and the final outcome should have been readily foreseeable.

Immediately upon joining our camp Brittany seemed to have inherited the scut work. I assumed that she was attempting to show she could fit in and ultimately to please me. She took over the fire detail, cleaning detail, and did all our cooking.

I witnessed the final moment of rebellion, the resulting consequences, and initially failed to recognize the significance. Brittany had evidently cut herself while cleaning a fish. Jennifer had been dictating instructions to her on how to perform the task properly while she herself sat against a palm tree sharpening a spear.

I was disturbed from my nap at the change in the tone of their voices. Brittany stood up from her chores and approached Jennifer. She stood above Jennifer and while I could not make out all the words, the tension of the charged moment was highly evident. Brittany was delivering a whispered tirade and pointing at the fire, the hut and me. She paused to look at me, and then turned to again to shake a finger in Jennifer's face.

I watched in dispassionate interest, not really having the energy or inclination to involve myself in a minor catfight.

Jennifer paused in her task and was looking up at her friend with a slightly puzzled expression. Abruptly she kicked out her folded leg and caught Brittany's kneecap with the base of her foot. Brittany buckled and collapsed flat in the sand. Jennifer never moved from her sitting position but simply extended her arm and her spear so the tip lay under Brittany's chin.

Brittany had been attempting to rise when she felt the sharp prick and realized her position. Her eyes widened and she stared at her friend in shock.

Jennifer said something to her in a low tone.

I figured that this situation was close to getting out of hand. "HEY!" I yelled.

Both girls turned to look at me.

"ENOUGH!" I ordered.

The two girls looked back at each other and there was a long moment of tension. Jennifer then withdrew her spear but not without flicking Brittany with its tip. I heard Brittany cry out, falling back into the sand as she clutched at her chin. Jennifer rose, shook her long hair from her face and looked over her shoulder at me. She then strode almost defiantly down the beach to the surf.

I was going to get out of my hammock and check on Brittany, but she had shuffled to her feet and returned to her cooking duties with her back to me. It seemed as if the moment had past so I decided to let the matter go. I dozed back off.

Later that night when I returned to the camp after checking the traps, I found a tense atmosphere. Brittany was huddled in the sand with Jennifer standing over her. Both girls watched me approach, Brittany with apparent trepidation, and Jennifer with a scowl.

Jennifer immediately told me of the situation. "Do you know what this stupid BITCH has done?" she said dramatically.

I smiled slightly and shrugged.

"Look at your supper!" Jennifer exclaimed, pointing at a smoking charred fish at the edge of the fire. "I caught your favorite fish for you and she burned it!"

Jennifer nudged the prostrate Brittany who looked up at me miserably. She was crying. I noticed she had a slight scab on her chin. "I am so sorry!" Brittany blubbered. "I only left it a minute and it started b-b-burning."

I shook my head as if in dismay "Damn! And I am starving," I said.

Tears welled in Brittany's eyes. She brought her hands up to her face and started earnestly sobbing.

"I told you, Brittany, and now he will whip you good with the bamboo switch!" Jennifer told her friend triumphantly.

Actually I had snacked on some raw oysters earlier down at the beach and had taken the edge off my appetite. But I thought I might play this out to see if it went in an interesting direction. "Jennifer, you whip her. I'm too tired tonight," I announced.

Both girls' heads came up and twisted toward me at this. Brittany coughed in the middle of a sob. A sudden light came to Jennifer's eyes and we shared a conspiratorial understanding.

Brittany stared at me in dismay. "Oh no... Not her... Please!" she begged. She had risen to her knees in supplication. "It won't ever happen again... Master... please don't let her whip me." She sounded pitiful. She started crying again.

Jennifer was watching me. I shrugged my shoulders in an indifferent manner. "Try not to break any more of her skin when you whip her," I said in a serious manner. "We don't need anyone getting an infection out here."

Brittany crawled to my feet. "Oh please don't let her whip me," She pleaded earnestly. "I have been trying so hard to do everything right. She is just so mean. I can't stand having her whip me. It's not fair."

I pulled my leg away from Brittany's grasp.

"You must learn, Brittany," I told her coldly. I turned and walked over to the far side of the fire, sat down on a rock and prepared to watch the evening's entertainment.

Jennifer walked over to the pile of roof thatching material we had cut. She found a limber bamboo switch that she tested by flicking it in the air. It made a wicked hissing sound.

Brittany rose to a crouch and was watching her friend closely. Her head turned and it was apparent she was debating fleeing into the darkness.

Jennifer made no move to approach her but stood nearly ten feet away. "Don't you even think about running off, you bad girl, because if you do, you will not be coming back," Jennifer said sternly. "You can go back and live with Kimberly and be cold and hungry."