Chapter 25

THOUGHTFUL INTERLUDE...

He thought about things as he made his naked way through the crowds of kids either going to their next classes or to lunch.

What a fuckin' crazy day! What else can happen? What the hell is next!? Do the bug-eyed aliens in charge of savin' the galaxy arrive and tell my why they've done this to me?

Dan reviewed the last few hours. First there had been the bathroom ambush by Don's two stepsisters. Jan and Susie had got him where they both wanted him — between their legs. Then there'd been the biggest surprise of all! He'd actually cum! They'd given him a successful blowjob! He just knew that his life was gonna be very complicated as a result of what had happened in the early AM hours.

Then there'd been the public stripping routine and watching the public seduction of Leroy by Debbie while that crazy Vice-Principal had been drug away by the police. He had to ask somebody about Debbie. He'd first heard she was the mayor's granddaughter. Then he'd heard she was the police chief's granddaughter. Don would have known if either or both were true. But Dan could barely retrieve maybe one or two of Don's more intense memories. What kind of girl might she be if she had two grandfathers holding such powerful local positions? He hoped that no trouble was headed Leroy's way. But then, everyone should be able to see that it was little Debbie who was the sexual aggressor in that relationship.

Then his thoughts tripped over the scene in Mr. Jeffers' class. How he'd gotten pissed off with the teacher and literally threatened him with physical and legal mayhem. Damn! I was pissed. And I was way gone towards bein' outah control. I gotta watch myself. More control. Don't let things set me off.

And of course — then there was Cindy. She'd really surprised him with that request of hers in the English class. But then, it was obvious that Susie had shared at least part of what had happened that morning with both Cindy and Donna. That had to be what had gotten Cindy so excited and determined to have Don eat her out. That first time around with Cindy had been a revelation. She'd gone off like she had a hair trigger.

And then she'd repeated the same request in History. Well, maybe now she'd learned a little bit of a lesson from what he'd done to her. He'd done her until she'd begged him to quit. But then, if she's so hot and ready to have me do it to her twice — damn! She might still be wanting more of it by the time we get to Math class.

Along the way there'd been his perception of the possibility that he was being watched by two parties. There'd been the piss-in-his-pants little rapist and then there'd also been the unknown but new to school watcher. His movements were possibly being tracked by at least one known enemy and an unknown guy.

And what happened in Biology had been frightening and sweet, simultaneously. He wondered what he would have done if that weird Snottingham had made demands of Cindy. Oh well, that didn't happen. And it shouldn't happen to anyone else, either. Snottingham is history.

He momentarily wondered what he'd missed in Spanish. But then, he was sure he'd just cruise through that class. It was a language he already knew from his SF training.

He walked the hallway with these thoughts in mind as he approached his locker. He wasn't watching who was around him or where he was going so he was completely surprised when he was attacked.

FIRST ATTACK.

His attacker showed him no mercy. He immediately lost his balance and crashed into two kids and a set of lockers as the momentum of the attacker's body drove him backwards.

His attacker continued showing him no mercy as he found himself being drawn into a powerful grip. The assailant knew him well and had him penned without much chance of his putting up a defense.

He was fortunate to have his shoulderbag between his naked back and the lockers he crashed into to. Otherwise, he'd have had scrapes and bruises across his back from being driven into the metal surfaces so forcefully.

"DAMN Tasha! What the HELL are you tryin' to do to me!?" His assailant lifted her head from his chest and he once again saw that same expression. He was toast and he knew it. This girl had it bad for him and he'd never escape from her. He could see his future lain out before him as clearly as anything possible. There'd be no escape from Tasha.

"Don! They didn't arrest you!"

"Nope! No reason to arrest me. Mr. Robbins told the police that I was attacked and that I only pushed my attacker away from me once." He smiled at that and saw a look of relief wash over the younger girl's face.

He heard some chuckles and looked up to see an audience of sorts. Abe and Vince were standing alongside Ceasar and Antonio. "'Damn Tasha' is right! She hit you hard, Don! I thought I was bein' run over!" That was from Antonio.

"Yeah! You gotta watch out where you throw your boyfriend around, Tasha! You could hurt somebody doin' that kinda thing! Ceasar was smiling as he theatrically adjusted and rubbed at an injured, 'sore' shoulder.

Tasha's eyes did manage to get a little large at what the boys had said. She had to realize that they were teasing her. But also they were also speaking the truth. She let loose of Don. She'd have to be more careful about how she did things with Don. Of course, her eyes got large at the mention of 'boyfriend'. Somebody must have been watching her, she realized — and recognized the truth of how she felt about Don.

"Don, do you need to be saved from this particular girlfriend?" That was a grinning Vince speaking and Abe's chuckles now turned into a hearty laugh as he watched the reaction of his friend Tasha.

"Vince, remember what I said to Leroy and Billy. I can put you on my short list, too!" Tasha was glowering at Don's oldest friend.

"Nnnoooooo! Not that, Tasha! Protect me, Don!" Vince was smiling and hamming it up while sliding around to get behind where Don was now standing away from the lockers. He feigned cowering behind the naked body of his larger friend.

Dan couldn't help it. After all that happened, it just came out naturally. He didn't grin or smile. He didn't chuckle. He laughed. And he laughed hard. His laughter bellowed out in a good-natured way. He hadn't been so relieved since he'd arrived in Don's body.

And Tasha's eyes got just a little bit hard and flinty as suddenly all four guys surrounding them were laughing hard. Dan was laughing in sheer relief. It was something he needed to do. The tension of the day had been building and now he had a chance to shed some of the built-up feelings. The guys around them were just enjoying seeing Don having a good laugh. He obviously needed one, after what had happened to him. But Tasha was giving the four of them the eye once again. Even so, they just continued laughing along with Don. They might be about to die at the hands of Tasha, but at least they'd go out laughing.

Ceasar got control over his laughter and asked the question. "Is it true - is Snottingham really history? We heard he attacked you. What's gonna happen to him?"

Dan's laughter stopped as he thought about that. "I don't really know, but the Sheriff and Police Chief seemed inclined to lock him up and charge him with everything they could think of. I guess they're gonna have to talk with Mr. Mullins and Mr. Anderson to see what's possible. I don't see how Snottin'ham could return, but then I've seen one of those guys who attempted to rape Julie still here at school. I have to think just about anything is possible." He shook his head a little at the thought of having the crazy V-P back in the school. Could that really happen?

"Good riddance! I don't ever want to see that crazy weirdo again!" Tasha was quite adamant in her opinion as she nearly shouted her opinion for everyone to hear.

Dan happened to catch Abe's eyes with a glance and looked to the device that was barely visible on the cord where it hung around his neck. Dan twitched an eyebrow up. Abe nodded. Dan let another genuine smile play across Don's face. Abe winked and smiled back. Dan just knew that he'd have to get a few minutes alone with Abe to ask him about what he might have recorded. And there was still what they'd briefly and quite obliquely referred to the previous day. Maybe Abe had already been busy. Perhaps there was other stuff to examine. Dan's smile stayed plastered on Don's face.

Who knows what evil might lurk on the harddrive and flash memory arrays of a video server installed in the V-P's office? Well, maybe there had been some evil there — until Abe had a look at things. I certainly hope that Abe's had a chance to look at that kinda stuff...

Dan pondered the possibilities with a broad, silly smile still evident on Don's face. Don's friends noticed the continuing presence of the smile and several of them reached a perhaps erroneous conclusion that Vice-Principal Malcolm Snottingham was done for and merely a topic of history at Morgan County High School.

Their antics and then the serious discussion that followed had now attracted a small crowd and amongst those nearby and getting closer were Susie, Donna, and a smiling, naked Cindy. Dan hadn't even noticed them after Tasha had nearly bowled him over. He clearly hadn't noticed them before as he'd been deep in thought and ignoring his immediate surroundings.

Things changed immediately. Tasha saw who was approaching and stepped back just enough to allow Don's stepsister and two other girlfriends to get up close and personal with him. The resulting display of affection shown Don had everyone around then cheering and making comments.

Some few comments were about Susie and the fact that she was hugging and kissing her brother just as fervently as her two friends. Susie pulled back and shouted out a few comments of her own. "Don is NOT my brother! He's my stepbrother. And he saved me from being kidnapped and a horrible fate! Do you all HEAR me!? He took on a crazy monster with a gun and kept him from kidnapping me! I don't want to hear anything like sick rumors about me an' Don! I LOVE him!" She looked defiantly at the circle of students surrounding their group.

Dan got worried in less than a second after hearing what Susie had just said.

His fears were partially undone as Cindy and Donna spun about to engulf Susie in a hug.

Tasha rushed in and joined them in supporting Susie. The younger girl was their classmate and a first cousin to Susie's half-sister Jan. She'd provide support to her step-cousin in any way she could — especially where Don was concerned. She didn't want anyone threatening Don or any of his family! Even if she recognized the possibility that Susie's love for Don might be something other than sisterly love.

One of those who'd walked up on the group was Miguel. He added his more than several cents worth of comment in response to what had been said about Susie. "Hey! I heard what Susie said! If she wants to express her love for her stepbrother Don, then what's the problem!? They ain't really brother an' sister — an' you all know that! So, what's got your underwear all tight and twisted up!? HUH!? You think they're actually gonna do somethin'!?"

Susie's head popped up from the group hug she was getting from her friends and she just beamed a smile at this guy she hardly knew. "Thanks! You've got sisters, don't you?"

"Yeah, one older stepsister, another younger stepsister, and a little sister who adores me. I hate having anyone tease them or say anything about them. I protect them when I can." He turned to the crowd. "An' I can see that Don's the same way about his sisters. So, anybody insultin' Don an' Susie better watch out for me! I don't like hearin' that kinda shit!"

Susie just gleamed in thanks to Miguel.

Dan thought that he might need to have a talk with Miguel. He seemed kinda intense — in Dan's estimation.

Antonio was watching this and shaking his head a bit after having listened to his friend. He'd been in the homeroom with Don and had seen things that had made him wonder about how to interpret what Susie had said just prior to Miguel's outburst.

Ceasar was frowning a bit as he seemed to be adding things up and coming up with an answer that was different from what his friend Miguel might be thinking was the sum of relations between Don and Susie.

Dan noticed their reactions. He leaned into them and whispered. "Please keep it to yourselves, guys. Susie has it bad and I'm it, I think..." He looked them in the eyes and they nodded in understanding.

He returned his attention to the girls and noticed that Vince and Abe were having an earnest discussion with a couple of kids that made some of the unwanted comments. Those two were nodding as they listened to what was probably a warning about not screwin' around with Don's family. He walked over and added his two cents worth of comments.

He stepped in between Abe and Vince to look over the two they'd cornered up against the wall. "Just don't say anything more about Susie. She's had a bad year and if she wants to cling to me a bit then that's not a problem. You two understand me?"

The two guys nodded and just kept their mouths shut. Dan nodded Don's head in return. He turned to check with Don's two friends and found them nodding also. The problem seemed to have been solved. He turned around again and checked on the girls. They'd been watching — along with the still large group that collected around them after Tasha had tackled him. He let a grin play across Don's face. "It's lunch time for some of us. The rest of you have classes. What are you doin' standin' around watchin' us for?"

There were some giggles and snorts from the crowd, but the group now broke up. He looked at the girls. "Let's get some lunch before something else happens!"

Dan went to his locker and opened it up to stuff his shoulder bag into it. He paused in thought for a moment. He dug down into it and pulled out the sheet on which he'd written the information he'd recorded about the guy who'd been watchin' him. He turned and found Tasha right away. He handed it to her. "You can share this with Vince and Abe." He nodded to the two guys as they looked on.

"Guys, this is the car that I saw my watcher in yesterday. He was at the wheel of it. This car is out in the student parking lot. That guy you got a video of is whoever's driving this car. Can you do something with this?"

Abe's eyes lit up. Tasha just chuckled. Vince smiled and looked around. He saw what he needed in the advancing form of Janet Mullins. He nudged Tasha and pointed to Janet. "There you are - one of the few students who can get away with carrying a cellphone in school. Call your father and tell 'im about this. After what happened earlier he'll probably have it checked out, don't yuh think?"

Tasha's head rotated between Vince and Janet for perhaps a total of one an' a-half moments. She momentarily reached out and touched Vince on his shoulder. "I forgive you. You're off my list!" Then she went straight over to her cousin's best friend.

"Janet. Could I use your phone to call my Daddy? It's about Don and somebody who's been watchin' him."

Janet and her boyfriend Todd just stood there for a moment with expressions of surprise on their faces. Then, the older girl released her phone from her waistband and handed it over to the younger girl. She smiled. "Anytime, Tasha."

Tasha used the phone's digital camera function to capture an image of the note that Don had given to her. Then she dialed the Sheriff's Office. "Hi Patty! Let me speak with my father, please. Thanks!"

After a moment of explaining to her father what she was sending to him, she sent him the image file of the information about Don's watcher. "OK, Daddy. You'll call the school. Sure. I'll tell Don. Bye!"

Tasha looked satisfied and quite self-assured. She closed up the telephone and handed it back to Janet. "Thanks, Janet! That oughtah get us some answers!"

Janet just smiled at whatever mystery was being solved. Cindy Richards slipped up beside her older brother and his girlfriend and quietly started telling them about what seemed to have been happening.

Todd Richard's mouth dropped open as he listened to his sister describe what had happened when Vice-Principal Snottingham attacked Don. Janet's eyes just shone as Cindy described the official's bouncing off of classroom floor.

As that happened Tasha Thomas next spun to Abe Rosen. "Here - combine this information with that video I shot earlier. Let's make sure this is one and the same guy! Then my Daddy and some of our friends can ask him why he's always watching Don and Susie." Tasha smiled a not so sweet smile. She was working on a plan to protect her friends.

She turned back to face Don. "We'll be getting a call into the school about whoever owns that car. Daddy was gonna sit down at a computer and pull up the information on its registration as soon as he could." She was gleaming with anticipation and expectation of discovering who it was that had been watching Don.

"Hey! Didn't someone say something about lunch?" That was from Donna, who'd been watching and listening to all of the action amongst her friends.

"Yeah! Don did. Let's go get some of that awful stuff they call food." Several kids chuckled in response to Vince's comments regarding school cafeteria food.

They turned as a group and headed off to the lunchroom.

LUNCHTIME INTERLUDE.

As Dan worked his way along the tail end of the lunch line he noticed that Mr. Jeffers and Mr. Robbins were having a conversation just inside the doorway to the lunchroom. Mr. Jeffers appeared to be surprised and perhaps shocked as he listened to what the naked Biology teacher was telling him.

The discussion between the two teachers ended and the English teacher came walking over to the lunch line. He walked up to where Don stood between Cindy and Tasha. Dan worked to keep Don's expression neutral. Cindy seemed to be having some trouble deciding how she should react to the approaching teacher. Tasha had no such problem — she was scowling.

"Don, I just heard about what happened in your Biology class. I didn't realize things were quite so strange with Mr. Snottingham. I just want to apologize for how I spoke to you this morning. That was thoughtless of me. But, I didn't really know just how bad things might be for you. You were right to feel uncomfortable with what the program appeared to be doing to you. It's just unfortunate for you and the rest of us that we seem to have had a crazy person placed in charge of the program. Please accept my apology for what happened in my classroom. I'll try and keep in mind that you're not especially comfortable with this situation you find yourself thrust into. Perhaps your friends" — he looked to the several girls and boys standing in line with them — "should also keep this in mind." He again looked at Cindy and smiled ever so slightly. "This morning may have been more trying for you than they might have realized." The teacher stuck out his hand in expectation of a handshake.

Dan knew a good way of keeping things calm when he saw it offered to him. He allowed a slight smile to play across Don's face and took the teacher's offer. The handshake was brief but seemed to be sincere. Mr. Jeffers departed after a few more comments between them.

Don's friends were standing about in the line and seemed to be appraising him. He looked at all of them and shrugged his shoulders. "That was a whole lot easier than how I was forced to deal with that crazy Vice-Principal. Much better experience, too. I'll take a handshake over a fight any day."

They made their way through the food service line. Cindy and Don were treated to their free lunches as they had no readily available means of carrying money on their naked persons. They made it out into the lunchroom and headed towards the tables where they usually sat.

A couple of guys he definitely didn't know got up and intercepted them. They were smiling as they came up to him. One of them spoke. "We heard about what happened to that crazy asshole Snottingham. Last week he put us in after-school detention for two weeks. We didn't think what we did was that bad, but he seemed to be enjoying making our lives miserable. I just want to thank you for taking him down. I wouldah've loved to have seen that!"

Dan shook Don's head in response to the praise. "I didn't do anything. I just ducked when he went kinda crazy. The Vice-Principal just fell over and cracked his head on the floor. You can ask all of my friends who were in the class with me. He did all of it to himself." Dan gestured around to the group of boys and girls who'd accompanied him to the lunchroom.

Tasha nodded and spoke up. "That's right! It was so funny! That idiot tried to hit Don twice and the second time his swing just kept goin'! He went right over and cracked his head on the floor. I'll remember that for the rest of my life! It was really, really cool!" The appearance of her seeming to be a little girl was belied by her fiercely gleaming eyes.

The two guys said a few more things as the group moved on towards their tables. Vince hung back a moment and seemed to speak with the two guys. The three of them laughed as Vince left them to join the group now settling down together into their places around the tables.

As they approached the table Dan was met by Jan. She'd been sitting beside Leroy and got up to meet him. She was smiling and hugged him. She leaned in and whispered into his ear. "I've heard you had a busy morning. Good work, all the way around! I got loose during my library study period and called the office. I told Mom and Dad about what happened. They know you're fine. They were going to call the school offices to find out if they needed to come in or not. I'm guessin' that because you're here, then that's not necessary."

Dan nodded Don's head. "Yeah, I don't think they need to be worried about it. What Snottingham tried was real obvious and Mr. Robbins supported me with Lester and his boss and the police chief, too. I'm cleared of anything, so far." He just hoped that was the case.

Jan smiled. "Good! Now sit down." She kissed him on the cheek and turned around to return to her seat by Leroy.

Dan looked around and found that it seemed as though a whole lot of kids in the lunchroom had been watching what had occurred between the two stepsiblings. He didn't react to that. He just maintained his control and cool. He'd already been through enough during the last twelve hours to wear down his wariness.

Dan sat down with Donna and Cindy bracketing him. Susie sat across from them and looked over her shoulder to where Jan had just resumed he seat besides Leroy and Debbie. Debbie was still naked as Leroy. And Leroy seemed to be having some difficulty with concentrating upon his lunch. Something seemed to be distracting him. Susie caught Jan's attention and gestured to the seat beside her.

Jan looked to her big cousin and what seemed to be developing and likely to be consummated between him and Debbie sometime before Jan might have a chance to finish her own lunch. She nodded to Susie. Jan looked around at her friends and the others seated around her. "I've got to talk to my little sister." She glanced at Leroy. "Y'all have fun!" She grinned and didn't meet anyone's eyes with that departing comment. She got up and moved to join Susie.

Dan watched this and knew that Susie had acted on his earlier request. He himself had failed to do so. He thought about the complements of a couple minutes earlier. He turned to where Vince was taking up a seat at the end of the table. "What'd you tell them?"

Vince grinned. "I said it was a whole lot better and more satisfyin' if you were there." Vince looked around. "You and me an' just about everyone seated here knows that Snottingham didn't just fall over. Everyone else hearing about it is assumin' the same thing. Hell, Don — you've got a reputation. Nearly everyone knows you're the guy that no one wants to mess with. And now that crazy V-P is just gone! People are hearin' about it and they know what that must mean. You did him in and you're walkin' clean an' free. You did good, Don. You set an example for the rest of us. You didn't let some whacked-out asshole run you over. You stood your ground and let him do himself in. Man, you should be happy and proud of yourself!" Vince was still grinning as he finished his short speech.

Dan knew that he had to deny it. He couldn't let anyone confirm what had happened. Even though Vince had seen it and spoken to him about it. Dan just knew it would be better in the long run if he just denied everything. "No, Vince. I just ducked and let him do that to his own self. I didn't have to do anything to him. He self-destructed and laid himself on the floor all accordin' to his own efforts." Dan let a smile play across Don's face yet again as he looked around the table to everyone surrounding him.

Vince just nodded, deciding to go along with his oldest and best friend's wishes.

Jan smiled as she sat down beside Susie. "Sure, Don. I'm just sure that you're innocent as fresh snow! You'd never do anything to trick someone into falling on his face. No — not ever! It's never happened before!" By the time she finished both Jan and Susie were smiling at their presumed stepbrother with gleeful affection.

Damn. Jan seems to always have something to add that undoes whatever it is that I've been trying to achieve. She knows too much about me!

"You heard about it."

"Oh yeah! Two of your classmates saw me and almost wouldn't let go of me! They were so excited! They said you'd tricked Snottingham into attacking you and then you'd floored him. Then, they said you'd called for the ambulance and Dr. Prescott. Then they watched and heard all about it as Dr. Prescott asked you about what happened and Tasha told him exactly what happened." She turned to her younger cousin and just smiled at her.

Unbeknownst to Dan, Jan had just decided that Tasha could have her way with him — as far as Jan was concerned. And Jan knew she could convince Susie of the rightness of that decision. And once Susie agreed to it, then both Cindy and Donna should be able to deal with such a decision. Jan had fallen deeply in love with Dan and his presence within Don. She was willing to share her love for him with her cousin and sister — as she knew they felt about him in the same way she did. The two other girls already had prior claims, she knew. If there were five of them, so be it. She'd work hard to make it all happen as smoothly as possible.

Dan was oblivious to this particular development. He had other things on his mind. He looked at the four of them he'd decided he needed to speak with. He looked at each in turn, getting their attention. "Eat quickly. I want to talk to all four of you. We can go outside or some other place private. There's something we need to discuss." He had taken on a serious, somber expression to make sure they understood that he had something important to say to them.

Susie seemed to become concerned. But, she nodded. Cindy and Donna nodded. They'd heard about this earlier in the day. Jan looked to Dan with a question in her eyes. "What's up, Don?" She smiled at him as she used that name.

Dan glanced around at the four of them. "I think I remembered something from before the accident. It involves Cindy, Donna, and Susie. I want you there to hear it and help with our trying to understand it. Just the five of us." He looked at the others at the table. Tasha, Abe, and Vince looked back in surprise as he remarked that he might have remembered something.

He nodded to the four girls. "Just them. I think they'll maybe know something about it. No one else. I don't want to talk with anyone else about it — at least, not yet." He shrugged for their benefit.

Tasha reluctantly agreed to Don's request. The two guys just nodded. They were curious, of course. But if Don wanted to talk with his two stepsisters and his two old friends (who happened to be girls) about it, then who were they to question it. If he had just remembered something, then that would be great! Vince actually grinned at the thought of Don remembering some of the stupid stunts they'd pulled off when they'd been kids.

The five of them quickly eat their lunches and took the lunch trays they'd mostly emptied to the return area. They walked out together. Eyes tracked them from all around the lunchroom. Lots of guys were focused upon the naked figure of Cindy Richards. Most of the girls were focused on the naked form of Don Nichols. Some of the more discerning guys were actually looking at the Goddess who went by the name of Janice Thomas and who was walking alongside her younger sister Susie Waters and their stepbrother. The guys hung up on redheads tracked Donna Rhodrick.

A few other watchers also tracked their departure from the lunchroom and their progress along the hallway that lead outdoors. Some of those individuals and small groups observing their progress outdoors were friends.

Four weren't.

LUNCH ENDS — LIFE GETS HARD...

They walked outside and Jan suggested that the nearby baseball diamond would be a good place to have a quite talk. The other girls nodded in agreement with the older girl and Dan just went along with the suggestion. He's only jogged or walked across the field on a few occasions during football practice. It had only been of passing interest to him in the past. Now that he thought about it, it would be a good place to sit and be able to be sure that what they discussed wouldn't be overheard.