Chapter 33 -- Double Initiation

Who knows how long this will last,
Now we've come so far, so fast?
But, somewhere back there in the dust,
That same small town in each of us.
I need to remember this,
So baby give me just one kiss.
And let me take a long last look,
Before we say good bye.
Just lay your head back on the ground,
And let your hair fall all around me.
Offer up your best defense,
But this is the end,
This is the end of the innocence.

--The End of the Innocence (Don Henley)

The next day, June picked me up from the apartment and drove me to my house at 11:45.

Merry was impatiently waiting for me in front of the house.

"You're late!" Merry demanded.

"Kristen got hurt a couple of days ago," I said. "I wanted to make sure she was all right before I left, Shortcake."

"Kristen's hurt?" Merry said, suddenly finding a new perspective.

"She was in a wheelchair the other day," June said.

"Not Kristen!" Merry said. Suddenly, our being late wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"Nothing is broken," June said. "No bones, anyway," she added quickly.

"We took her to the doctor's the other day. She was on pain pills and Lynette is taking care of her now," I added.

"How did she get hurt?" Merry asked.

"Accident in the shower," I answered with a straight face.

Both June and I practiced not smirking or otherwise giving away the true nature of Kristen's injuries. If Kristen wanted to tell Merry, I figured, then it would be her own decision.

Merry looked from June to me and then back to June.

"If you want to get to school, Shortcake..."

Merry realized that time was going short. "Oh, yeah!"

"Tell Mom and your dad good-bye, Merry."

Merry raced into the house and was out about ten seconds later. I think this was a local record for good-byes.

Despite Merry's worries, June got us to the high school on time.

The ceremony started out similar to the one I experienced with Sherry--I needed to undress Merry.

I figured that this was an easy thing for me to do, but I was wrong. Although Sherry was infatuated with me, I didn't really love her in return when I was part of her initiation. She was a just friend--a recent friend!--but I really didn't have a relationship with her.

I had relationships with some women. There was Kristen, of course, who was still recuperating at our apartment. Then there was Lynette, who found a love in me that I never knew existed. June, who allowed me to visit the dark side of both of our personalities, was another. Of course, there was also my mother, who was probably the one female that most influenced my life.

Then there was Merry. That cute, sweet, innocent girl that I manipulated into the cheerleading squad in high school... the one that I still sort of thought of as a perpetual adolescent... the one that I fell in love with.

I never fell out of love with Merry. I mean, I knew that she grew, but I cast her as the "Fisherman" in the Spring Concert as if she were still the pre-teenager that she was the first time I met her.

It seems that I fell into a trap that many older brothers fall into when it comes to kid sisters. There's an image of them at a certain age that is forever burned into their minds, and no matter how many years pass afterward, that image is still what comes up when the word "sister" is mentioned.

Back in the present, I was now required to undress Merry.

It wasn't that I didn't know how to do this. I've undressed many females in the past year. Nevertheless, there was a nervousness that I normally didn't have with any of my friends.

I knew this was all a trick of the mind. I forced myself to think of Merry as the person who experienced the communal shower at our apartment, the place the cheerleaders dubbed The Den of Iniquity.

Unbuttoning Merry's blouse, I felt her shiver, and I knew that Merry had as much difficulty and possible embarrassment with this as I did.

Actually, that made me feel a little better. We were both sharing the same feeling. It was as if the bond that we shared between us was getting stronger.

I steeled myself and forced myself to do the job. Suddenly, my fingers found themselves more sure of themselves, ignoring our nervousness. In fact, as I continued, I noticed Merry looking up at me in admiration.

When Merry was totally nude, I looked for Merry's sponsor, June. I didn't have any uniform for Merry to change into. June stepped into another aisle when there was a minor crisis with another couple, leaving the two of us alone.

"You are very pretty," I told my sister.

Merry blushed, but didn't answer. I also noticed that she didn't try to hide anything from me.

I tried not to stare.

I loved my sister, but I found it difficult to see her as a sexual creature. I wondered if I was doing my sister a disservice thinking this way.

"Might as well sit down, sis," I said.

"Does it always smell this bad in here?" Merry asked.

"The locker room? Of course. Why?"

"The girls' locker room is much nicer."

"I'm not sure I've ever compared the two," I said.

Merry laughed. "You are probably the one guy who could walk in without causing a scene. Sherry told me that all the girls in the school have a crush on you."

"I doubt that every girl does."

"When you got here, Jim, every girl's eyes were on you, including the ones with boyfriends. They weren't looking at Jackie, June, or me, but you."

"I think you're biased in favor of your big brother." I laughed.

"Every girl," Merry insisted. "I saw them. For a moment, I hated every one of them, but I eventually realized that they liked the same guy I did."

I sighed. "I'm not that special, Shortcake."

"Do you know you say that a lot, Jim?" June asked.

I was startled. I didn't know that June returned. "Where's Merry's clothes?"

"Oh!" June said, surprised. "I'm sorry! I was carrying them before. Let me find them." June left quickly.

I certainly hoped that this wasn't supposed to be a trick on Merry. I'd have a problem with that!

A short bit later, June came back with a uniform. "I'm sorry, Merry. I had this in my hand when I went to check out a problem."

"No problem, June," Merry said. "Thank you."

"Time is running out," June warned.

Thanks to Sherry's initiation last year, I had experience with cheerleader's outfits before. I managed to quickly get Merry dressed, to her surprise. June led Merry and me out of the locker room and into the gymnasium. On our way out, every aisle that I passed had boyfriends either kissing the girls they were changing, or fondling them. Few guys were actually putting clothes on the girls. I remembered June and Lynette telling me that I was one of the few boys that didn't take advantage of their girlfriends, and I wondered why the other boys found it necessary to take such liberties with their girlfriends.

When we entered the gymnasium, Merry was the second of the six incoming cheerleaders there.

Jackie smiled at the two of us, and Merry reddened in embarrassment.

Jackie went over to me and said, "June said something about Kristen being hurt. Is it serious?"

"It looked serious," I admitted. "The doctor just gave her some pain pills and advised her to keep off her feet."

"Then why are you here?" Jackie smirked.

"Because I love my sister, and because your former cheerleader captain is quite capable of keeping Kris company."

Jackie smiled. "You really are something."

I shrugged. "Maybe I just hang out with the right people."

A lot of the ceremony was similar to the one that I was at with Sherry Jordan last November. There was the ceremonial "boys dressing the girls" that we just finished, and then the "stern warning" to the girls that came out late. Jackie seemed to use the same words that Lynette used the last time.

One thing that was different was the kissing ceremony after each of the girls was officially welcomed into the squad. Each kiss I got was either on my cheek or very brief. Unlike the last initiation I attended, none of the cheerleaders tried to lick my tonsils. I was quite surprised by this, actually. Even June's kiss was noticeable by its lack of heat. The only girls that seemed to try anything with me were the new initiates, although Merry was a bit hesitant with me.

On the other hand, the other boyfriends were orally attacked by the entire squad. Since Merry was the second one welcomed, she also kissed deeply, although her kisses weren't quite as long as some of the other girls.

I smiled, watching the other boys get all the attention. I actually enjoyed this. I think that a few of the other boys gave me looks of nervousness when they first saw me, and I knew that most of them knew me at least by reputation. With the stories being told about me ever since the Senior Weekend last year, I guess I couldn't blame them for being afraid that I'd attract the majority of the cheerleaders' attention.

It took about a half hour for all six of the incoming cheerleaders to be welcomed properly.

Jackie made an announcement. "Cheerleaders, it's now time for a vote. We need to vote on the best kisser. I'm going to hold up each guy's hand, and if that guy was the best kisser, then vote for him."

I was the first guy that Jackie selected. She raised my hand, and only one person voted for me: Merry. I smiled at my sister. "One vote, and I think she's biased!"

Jackie held up each boy's hand, and the winner was a senior named Jackson.

"It looks as if our winner is Jackson, Mary Jo's guest. Maria, please bring Jackson to the winner's room."

Maria Wilson, the co-captain of the cheerleaders this year, walked out of the gymnasium with Jackson.

Jackie looked over to me and shook her head. "Jim, I had high hopes for you, but you only managed to get one vote, and it doesn't count, since it was from your own sister!"

I shrugged my shoulders. This actually hadn't bothered me. I hadn't ever received any complaints from Kristen, Lynette, June, or Patty when I kissed them, so the opinions of a bunch of other girls--even though June was among them--didn't really matter to me.

Jackie saw my reaction, and was a bit surprised. She turned to Sherry Jordan and said, "Sherry, please lead Jim to the loser's room."

Sherry came over and took my hand. She led me through the main door that led into the gymnasium into the mail hallway in the school.

"Don't worry about anything, Jim," Sherry whispered to me once we were out of the gymnasium. "The cheerleaders always pick a favorite, and he's usually shunned at the public kissing."

"Favorite?" I asked, softly. "I thought that was Jackson."

Sherry shrugged. "He kisses all right, actually. His prize will be more kisses."

"How about the others?" I asked.

"Silly games in the gymnasium meant to cover the fact that you and Jackson are gone."

"And me?"

"You'll find out," Sherry whispered, leading me toward a familiar hallway.

Miraculously, the music room door was open. I wondered how the cheerleaders managed this feat. This room was locked constantly due to the fact that there were a lot of expensive instruments within it.

"Do you always use the music room?" I asked Sherry.

Sherry shook her head. "June suggested that this room might be more appropriate for you."

"How did you get the key?" I asked.

"Cheerleaders' secret," Sherry answered mysteriously.

Inside the music room, Sherry looked at me expectantly. "The game is that you will be visited by each returning cheerleader, and the first one will be June, who will explain the rest of the game to you. I will be last."

Sherry went up on her tiptoes and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "I need to get back now. June will be your first visitor. She'll explain the game to you when she gets in."

Sherry left me alone in the music room.

The music room was far enough away from the gymnasium that I really felt alone. I stood in the room for a couple of minutes, watching the clock on the wall. Nothing was happening.

Bored, I entered a practice room, turning on the light and leaving the door open. Playing the piano could always make the time go faster for me.

I started playing the piano part of John Lennon's Imagine, but just thought the vocals in my head. It was a classic Lennon tune, surprisingly simple and nothing short of lovely.

Thinking about simple and lovely Lennon songs, I remembered a song that was on the Plastic Ono Band album. It was even more simple than Imagine and was called, simply, Love:

Love is real, real is love.
Love is feeling, feeling love.
Love is wanting, to be loved.

The lyrics were deceptively trite, but the song was haunting in its beauty.

"I never heard that song before," June said, standing at the entrance to the practice room. "I take it from the way you're singing it that it's a Beatles song, but I don't recall ever hearing that one before."

"It's from John's primal scream album," I explained. "The one nobody likes to hear, where he screams, 'I don't believe in Beatles!'"

June shook her head. Apparently, she wasn't as familiar with Lennon's solo works as I was. Heck, I had that album, Live Peace in Toronto and even Wedding Album. My mother prevented me from getting the Two Virgins album, but I listened to it played in its entirety on the radio one midnight and realized that there wasn't very much stuff on that album that I'd care to perform myself. Lennon could be an acquired taste when he was at his most experimental.

"You were picked as the cheerleaders' favorite," June said with a giggle. "I'd like to make a request of you."

"What?"

"The game we play with the favorite is 'Seven minutes of heaven, '" June explained. "I've heard that it sometimes gets out of hand. You are allowed to ask any cheerleader to undress as much as you want, within the limitations of seven minutes. If you make that request, you must get just as naked. Jackie's original suggestion was to bring you into the girls' locker room and take each cheerleader in the shower. Then I got an idea to let you do what you do best. Play."

"You mean, the way we did here the time you spent two periods in this room naked?"

"You don't have to make them sit on your lap. Do you think you could come up with a special song for each of the cheerleaders?"

"How many are there?"

"Eighteen," June said. "I know it's a lot."

I multiplied eighteen by approximately five minutes per song. It came just under two hours. "No. I refuse."

"What?" June asked, taken aback.

"I won't do it. I've done that with you, Marla, and Patty. It was special each time. If I do it today, it will be cheap. I refuse to go along with it!"

June looked almost as if I punched her.

Of course, my heart went out to her as soon as I said that. I wondered, idly, if any male could ever be mad at June.

"June," I said, softly. "I'll play a song for each of the cheerleaders, if they want me to. I just don't want them naked and sitting on my lap!"

"Oh," June said, suddenly understanding me. "I told you before, you can have anybody undress. It's not mandatory, although I don't think I can remember anybody refusing to have any cheerleader get at least partially undressed."

"Good," I said, smiling. "I prefer to be the exception!"

June laughed at me, shaking her head. "Not even me?"

"June, I will take you, naked, in the apartment, in the shower, on the pool table, and even in your own bedroom at your house with your mother watching. I don't want you to undress with me just because you're a cheerleader. OK?"

June smiled at me even as she shook her head in disbelief. "Will you play Bojangles for me, Oogie?"

"Of course. You can even sit on my lap."

"Can I take my bottoms off?"

"Nope."

"Meanie!" June said, giggling.

I played the song for June, who kissed me deeply when the song was finished. It was a much better performance than a couple of nights previous when I couldn't even manage to sing at all.

There was a knock on the outer door to the music room, and June giggled. "I'll be right out," June yelled.

June kissed me again, not seeming to worry about whoever was waiting at the door.

After we broke the kiss, I think there was a confused look on my face. "Got to keep up appearances, Jim," June explained. "People are expecting me to need to get dressed, so I took the opportunity to sneak another kiss at you!"