Chapter 1

I was in Fuzzy's Bar & Grill waiting for my pizza, which I did most Wednesday afternoons. Fuzzy's was pretty dark, but it was close to my dorm, had food that was remarkably different from dining hall food (it tasted almost good), and it had Asteroids and Missile Command next to each other in a niche next to the kitchen.

They served beer, but Academy students like me weren't allowed to drink. So while I waited I was trying to win a bonus spaceship while playing Asteroids. I was not very good, but I was better at Asteroids than I was at Missile Command.

On this particular Wednesday, Dougie walked in. I didn't know Dougie at all, but I remembered him from before. He was pretty memorable because he was pretty disgusting. He was a construction worker, and was always dirty, and always crude. He had a thing for one of the waitresses.

He walked back to the back of the bar and called through the doorway for "Janey".

"Git her out here - I want to talk to her," he yelled back to the waitresses in the kitchen. After a few seconds, a waitress came out, looked at Dougie, and grimaced.

"What the hell are you doing in here, Dougie? You know I don't want to talk to you, and you know you're not supposed to bother me while I'm working."

All this was going on, in loud voices, right behind my back as I played Asteroids.

"I just wanted to see you a bit, Janey. You sure are pretty. I was thinking about you, and I know you were thinking about me." You could hear Dougie leer, even without looking at him.

One of the small spaceships nailed mine, and my game was over. 4020 - not a bad score for me. I turned around to see Dougie, his face contorted into a smile, Janey looking down at him from the kitchen doorway, and one or two other waitresses peering over her shoulder. Dougie grabbed his crotch, then lifted his right hand to his face. His fingers were in a vee, and he put them up against his mouth. An impossibly long tongue reached out between his fingers and licked up and down lewdly.

I'm sure I blushed. I was naive, but I wasn't so naive that I didn't recognize this as a gross imitation of cunnilingus, something I knew all about from four years of reading Penthouse Forum letters. Penthouse seemed to be on a mission to convince all men that the secret way into a woman's heart was tongue-first through her pussy.

Janey clearly got his point, as did the other waitresses behind her, and the people sitting in the table by the window. Everyone blanched.

I still have no idea why I did what I did next. Maybe I was growing up. I walked the five feet forward so that I was between Dougie and Janey, and turned towards him. I was taller than Dougie, but he outweighed me by at least 50 pounds. His arms were about as big around as my thighs.

"Dougie," I said, looking him in the eye, "you're disgusting, and you're bothering the customers. And I really don't think you'll get into Janey's pants after a stunt like that. Why don't you just get out of here like the she asked?"

"What's it to you, Brat?" he spat at me. "You step outside, and I'll pound you, you pussy." "Brat" was what all the townies called us - Academy Brats. And they hated our guts.

"Doug, everyone's heard your threats. If you kill me, they'll know who to fry. So just get lost instead, OK?" The manager was pushing his way out of the kitchen and was nearly to my elbow. Dougie glowered at me for a minute, then called out to Janey.

"How about Saturday night then, just you and me, baby." He didn't wait for an answer, but just turned and walked out. I shrugged and went over to play Missile Command. The waitresses got back to their tables and their orders and the manager went muttering up to the front door to make sure Dougie had actually left.

Janey came over to me looking cross. "What the hell were you doing? I can take care of myself - I don't need some fucking preppy kid to bail me out. Anyway, he's mostly harmless. Just mind your own fucking business."

I looked up at her from my game. "He's a disgusting pig, and that licking thing made me sick. Besides, there's a family with kids at the table over by the window. None of us need Dougie's shit. I didn't do it for you."

I turned back to my game, but it was too late. My inattention had allowed all of my bases to be hit. Game Over. Janey had gone back to the kitchen.

I contemplated playing another game, but I heard "Order Up" called from the kitchen. Allison, the waitress I'd ordered from, dashed back, coming out a moment later with my small Supreme pizza, a plate, and a coke. "I'm taking my break, Joe," she called over her shoulder as she left the kitchen.

Allison brought it over to the table I always ate at, right next to Asteroids. I smiled at her, and went to sit down. She surprised me by sitting in the other chair.

I took a slice and took a bite while Allison watched.

"Thanks for saying what you did to Dougie. We all think he's sick; we don't know why Janey gives him the time of day," she said quietly to me as I took a bite.

I chewed in silence, and then took a sip of my coke.

"Well, his tongue is obscenely long. It reminded me of that guy from Kiss - Gene Simmons? Maybe she likes it..." I let my voice trail off in a suggestive fashion. Allison shuddered.

"I don't even want to think about it," Allison said, seriously. Then we both broke out laughing.

"So what's your name?" she asked.

"David -- David Treadstone. And you're Allison..."

"McCreevy," she finished for me. "You go to the Academy, huh?" It wasn't much of a question, since the answer was obvious from my clothes. I just nodded.

"You a senior?" Again, not much of a question. Only seniors could go to Fuzzy's. I nodded again.

"You eighteen?" Again, not much of a question. But this time I had a real answer.

"Actually, I'm 19. I'm a PG - post-graduate - I already graduated from high school, but I'm doing one year at the Academy to get me ready for college. My high school wasn't very good."

"Oh." She paused, then added, "I'm 19 too." I swear she blushed, though why, I couldn't figure. "Is PG common?" she asked after a while.

"Nah - most PG seniors do it for athletics - my roommate is PG so he can play one more year of high school football. If there weren't guys like him, the Academy team would really suck. I'm kind of unusual in that I'm here for the classes instead.

"Are you really smart then?" she asked. Another not much of a question. Maybe Allison was as clueless around the opposite sex as I was.

"I guess you kind of have to be to get into Academy," I said, trying to make it sound like I wasn't bragging. I actually didn't know if I was smart or not. My high school was so lame, I bet Dougie could have made the Honor Roll.

Allison looked down at the table. "I did pretty well in school too, but I had to go to the town high school, and I can't afford to go to college." She sounded wistful.