Chapter 12: Thursday After School

Support group attendance, at least, seemed to be down. Instead of being packed, the room was only half full. If there was any joy, that was it.

Dee Muntz was still hanging around but at least she didn't insist on sitting with the moderators. Maybe she was tired of getting her arm yanked.

The first student with a so-called problem was Marilyn Lipsche, a luscious blonde who made Crystal look plain. And believe me, Crystal knew it.

"Hello everyone," Marilyn began in her melodious little sing-song voice. "I'm Marilyn Lipsche and I'm Naked In School."

As if anyone didn't know that. Nevertheless, we all answered, "Hi, Marilyn."

"Well, I'm worried about this mole here on my right breast? Do you see it? I'll walk around and show it if you like."

A couple of guys seemed ready to volunteer but Nystrom told Marilyn that wouldn't be necessary.

"Well, I know that moles can be beauty marks, but do you think this one is? Because it's, you know, on my breast rather than my face. And my left breast doesn't have one, see? And this mole on the right, it seems to have gotten a little darker lately. Do you think it's too dark now?"

Oh brother. None of us on the panel had to say a thing. Half a dozen guys escorted Marilyn out of the room for a closer inspection and final ruling.

"Hi, my name is Ziggy Zaleski and I'm Naked In School," began the next speaker.

"Hi, Ziggy," everyone answered.

"Well, my parents are in, like, a quad marriage? You know, my dads are gay and my moms are lesbian? Well, I want to get this naked business over with, you know? So I've been going naked everywhere, not just at school? So, I'm naked at home, too, right?"

"We understand," Teah said.

"Well, I think my dads have been looking at me differently this week, you know?" Ziggy stated, or asked, or whatever.

"Tell us how," Teah suggested.

"Well, instead of just noticing me, they both kind of stare at me, you know? And like, would you believe that a couple of times I think they got erections from me? Is that possible?"

"Well, if they're gay, I guess that would be natural," Nadia supposed. "Tell us anything else that might be important."

"You mean, like touching me or propositioning me?" Ziggy asked.

"Yes, that's what I mean," Nadia confirmed.

"No, none of that. Is that OK?"

"It is if that's what you want," Crystal stated.

"Oh, yeah, I don't go for either of my dads, you know? Don't you think that I, my brother and my two sisters are enough for each other?"

"Yes, I imagine they are," said Dan with some astonishment.

"Hi, my name is Carina Granato and I'm Naked In School," began the next head case.

"Hi, Carina," everyone answered.

"Well, my problem is this: I wonder if my new boyfriend will still like me after I go off The Program," Carina stated.

"Have you asked him?" Adam questioned.

"Oh, yeah, I did, and he says it won't make any difference. But he never noticed me until I was in the program, you know? So when I'm wearing clothes again, he might change his mind."

"If so, maybe he's a jerk and you're better off without him," Nadia suggested.

"Who says you have to start wearing clothes after you go off The Program?" Crystal asked.

"Well, nobody, I guess. My Mom asked me the same question. I just thought... OK, thanks."

"Hello, my name is Quinton Riley," began the next speaker.

"Hi, Quinton," everyone replied.

"My problem is that I can't stop touching myself," Quinton explained.

"If you mean you can't stop masturbating, that's more common than you probably think. Look around any classroom," Dan observed.

"No, not masturbating. Just... anywhere! Like, where can I put my hands? If I put them on my legs, then I'm touching my legs. If I put them on my waist, then I'm touching my waist. If I fold my arms, I'm touching my chest and my nipples. I don't want people to see me touching myself all over."

"I'm not sure there's much you can do about that," stated Dan after no one else found an answer. "I mean, everyone else is in the same boat. Look around the room, here. Everyone's hands are somewhere, and not just arms, legs, and chest. Other people really don't notice that much."

Suddenly at least half a dozen hands moved off their owner's thighs. Another half dozen didn't.

"Uh, OK, thanks," said Quinton.

"Maybe I can help you with that problem," said the girl sitting next to him, who hadn't moved her hand.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Eleanor Tuholski and as you can see, I'm Naked In School."

"Hello, Eleanor," we all replied.

"My problem is that I work in a clothing store and my boss keeps pressuring me to wear clothes," Eleanor explained.

"Did you sign up for seven by twenty-four? Is that it?" Ben asked.

"No, it's just that after being naked all day Monday at school, I thought, why get dressed to go home? And then, why get dressed for dinner? And then, why get dressed for work?"

"You might have to speak with a lawyer about this," Nadia suggested.

"Why?"

"There are laws and court rulings that grant anyone the right to be naked anywhere," Nurse Nystrom explained. "But employers can still require their workers to be in uniform. I'm sure you can see the contradiction there. It would probably take a lawyer to sort that out."

"What kind of clothing store is it?" Teah asked.

"Oh, it's Naufzinger's, the department store at the mall," Eleanor replied.

"What department?" Ben queried.

"Women's wear," said Eleanor.

"Maybe you could transfer to menswear," suggested Crystal, and Eleanor sat down.

Nystrom allowed a few minutes for anyone else to stand but no one did. That meant the group broke up a three forty-five, which was fine by me. Adam left his car in the parking lot and drove us both to Bushman's in the jeep.

Walt arrived at Bushie's Off-Road right at four o'clock, as did we. As I expected, Ollie had the Dunemaster fairly torn apart and there was still a pile of accessories waiting to be installed. Walt and Adam checked through all the boxes -- empty and full -- and were duly impressed. This was going to be one tricked-out Dunemaster, all right. I just hoped it wouldn't be too heavy.

At four twenty-five Walt gave Adam a ride to swimming practice. At four twenty-six I called Dan and Nadia to give them the all clear. At four twenty-seven they arrived, and at four thirty we were all talking to Bushman.

Dan and Nadia started by explaining the status of the Shallow Chasm property. Basically they repeated what Edgar had told us: That we could lock up the property by offering to buy it, even though we didn't have the money, and we could probably buy permission to do grading from whoever had the permit to operate the prior landfill. Bushman thought that was pretty cool. I got the impression that at one time or another he might have worked some land deals himself.

After that we reviewed the preliminary layout for Shallow Chasm, and also the test track layout. There was actually more discussion about the test track because the bulldozers were coming the very next day. It was a clear case of, "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Reb and Magic arrived right on time at five o'clock. It was good to see them again, but scary too. I made the introductions, of course, and Bushman was all eyes.

Reb, you see, was wearing The Outfit. It started with a dark blue western hat and continued with an onyx, opal, and silver hatband. On the front of the hatband was a bullet with wheels, which also seems to be done in silver and onyx. (Actually, it was titanium and onyx but Reb, Magic and I were the only people on earth who knew that.)

The rest of The Outfit consisted of mirrored sunglasses, a white tie top, red leather hot pants, and black boots. Never once had it failed. In addition, Reb had that swagger: The one that meant she was on top of her game. Slowly and methodically she paced around the shop, including areas marked private or off limits, sometimes frowning but often smiling. That, for me, was the scary part.

Magic, of course, gravitated toward the mechanics' bays and I followed her. Ollie Chan was still working on the Dunemaster.

"That's gonna be one fully-loaded buggy," Magic observed.

"Oh, thanks," Ollie replied with a smile. I don't think he understood that Magic, like me, was worried about weight.

"Ollie Chan, this is Madge Ikemoto," I began. "Magic for short. She's a fellow mechanic."

"Looks like a chick mechanic to me," Ollie observed. Magic threw him a glance that I knew meant sheer hatred.

"Pretty good lookin' chick mechanic, though," Ollie continued, digging himself in worse.

Bushman passed through just then and wasn't impressed by the look on Magic's face. "Is there a problem here?" he asked.

"I think your mechanic Ollie here needs to learn a few things about women," Magic replied. "I think he needs to learn a few things about weight, too. Have you compared the weight of all these accessories to the Dunemaster's recommended trim weight?"

"I'm sure we have," Bushman replied as Ollie shook his head. "And you, young lady," which irritated Magic even more, "you need to learn a few thing about not upsetting operations. You're not insured back here, you know."

"I'm a fully licensed, bonded, certified mechanic," Magic replied tersely. "And I carry my own insurance."

Reb, meanwhile, continued pacing around the shop, the store, and the grounds. Bushman could hardly keep his eyes off her. When she strolled past Ollie's open bay, Bushman went catatonic. Eventually, of course, Reb rounded the corner and Bushman started breathing again.

"Ollie, the reason I came back here was to check on my jeep. Have you figured out why it's running rough and stalls?" Bushman asked.

Ollie had half a dozen scopes hooked up to Bushman's jeep, which was indeed running rough. He ran over to check the latest readings.

"Sorry, Mr. Bushman, but everyone in the shop has looked at it. No one can figure it out. We even called the manufacturer's support line. Nothing. We'll keep trying, though."

Magic walked over to Bushman's jeep and listened to the engine for a second. "I suppose you're getting ready to replace the hydrogen flow relief override capacitor," she stated.