Chapter 2

Jason was 6'3"; since Kylie was barely 5' even, her attempt to hide behind him as they left the office was mostly successful. Still, people behind them could see her.

"Which one is your locker?" Jason asked.

Kylie stopped at a locker. "This one." She leaned forward to half-bury her upper body in it, clutching the clothes for several seconds before shakily letting them go and picking up her books and notebook. She stood there, uncomfortably, as the hall filled around them, looking as if she'd like to crawl into the locker and pull the door closed behind her.

Jason held out his hand. "Want me to carry your books?"

Kylie paled at the whistles and jeers and occasional applause coming from the students around them. "I've got them," she said, clutching the books to her chest.

"Okay. Just ... remember, you can't use them to cover yourself up," Jason said reluctantly.

She clenched her jaw for a moment, then nodded, lowering the books to her hip.

Jason smiled at her. "You're doing fine, Kylie. Let's get to class."

Someone called out, amidst the loud whistles, "Put your hair back, sugar, it's in the way."

Kyle turned even paler, but pushed the hair back over her shoulders with one shaking hand as the crowd closed around them, touching them both. A pretty red-headed cheerleader ran her fingers down Jason's body and weighed him in her hand, smiling appreciatively and somewhat speculatively.

Kylie's eyes were closed as they made their way through the hall, flinching at every contact. Jason could see that the hands on her breasts weren't rough, but from her reaction he'd have thought that they were iron clamps. When one boy stopped her, wrapping his hands around her waist from behind, she snapped.

Just as one hand slid down between her legs, she dropped her books and bolted into the nearest doorway, a janitorial closet, and slammed the door behind her, sobbing. The boy looked stunned, and uncomfortable whispers ran through the crowd.

Jason frowned, bending to pick up the books she dropped. He looked at the crowd as he straightened. "Guys, she's having a hard time with this. I dunno why, but could you maybe ease her into it, at least for the first day or so? Give her some time to get used to it? She didn't even know her dad had signed her up for it."

The confused boy nodded. "Hell, I didn't mean to scare her. I've always thought she was a pretty little thing."

There were mutters of agreement, though a few people seemed rather resentful. The bell rang before anyone could say anything else, however, and they scattered, heading for their classrooms.

Jason pulled the closet door open, finding Kylie crouched on the floor in the far corner, crying and shaking uncontrollably.

"Kylie? C'mon, you've gotta get up. You can do this, really."

She shook her head. "No, I cannot." Her words were tinged with a faint accent he hadn't noticed before.

"Sure you can," he said.

"No. I cannot. I think I am going to be sick." She looked up at him, miserable. "I know you think I'm just being ridiculous, but I mean it. I cannot do this."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I hate it. I do not like being touched. My worst nightmare is to be helpless while my body is being touched, used. I do not understand how anyone can stand it."

Jason looked at her, puzzled. "Why don't you just enjoy it? I mean, it's fun."

She shook her head. "It is not fun to me. Being forced is not fun. Being afraid is not fun."

Jason sighed. "I don't get it. What are you afraid of? I mean, doesn't it turn you on that guys find you attractive? I know it turns me on that all those girls like me."

Kylie looked him up and down -- down to the waist, anyway. Her eyes steadfastly refused to go any lower.

"What could anyone make you do that you didn't want to? What threat could any female be to you?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," Jason said. "But those guys didn't want to hurt you; I mean, the guy who touched you just thought you were pretty. He wasn't going to hurt you. Look, I'll tell you what -- I'll make sure no one hurts you this week, okay? I'll protect you. In exchange, you at least try to enjoy it."

She shook her head violently. "I cannot enjoy it, any more than you could enjoy your worst nightmare. It is barely possible that I may be able to live through it."

Jason looked at her, upset. "Look, this is supposed to be fun. Is there any way you can enjoy it? Anything I can do to make it better for you?"

Kylie looked at him oddly. "It may have been meant to be fun for you, but that was not the intent for me. It was meant to embarrass and humiliate me, quite obviously. Nothing could succeed better. Nothing can make it better, either. But you can make it safer, and perhaps that will be enough."

Jason frowned in confusion. "Why do you think it's meant to embarrass you?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. It is not important, and perhaps I am wrong. There's no choice, whatever the motivation. I cannot be expelled, no matter what."

"O ... kay. Well, look," Jason said. "If you do think it was meant to embarrass you, then why don't you decide to enjoy it anyway? There's no better way to make it fail than to enjoy it." He grinned. "I'll guarantee you -- a lot of those girls were jealous. And I suspect there's a bunch of guys who wish they had been picked as your buddy. And a couple of the girls."

"I can't enjoy it," Kylie said. "It scares me too badly. Look, I was not raised like this. I have only been in this country since my mother died, three years ago. I do not believe in the same things that you do."

"Why does it scare you?" he asked.

"It ... it is a lack of control, a violation of privacy. No adult would dream of subjecting an adult woman to being indiscriminantly groped and forbid her to fight it."

Jason frowned, still confused. "Okay, yeah, I guess I can see that, sort of. But I don't see why that should scare you. I'd think you'd want to focus on the good bits, and ignore the bad bits."

"There aren't any good bits!"

Jason stared at her. "Sure there are. Like, you can get an orgasm, right there in class. That's a good bit!"

"I don't want one!" she said.

Jason's jaw dropped. "Why not?" he asked.

"Right there in class? Why would I?"

"Because it feels good?" he asked, wondering if it was a trick question.

"It's private," Kylie said.

"It's fun to come with people watching. Trust me on this one. It's great."

She shook her head. "Only if you choose to do it. If you are forced, it is not fun. It is humiliating."

"Well ... yeah, I can see that," he said. "But if you choose to do it ... that's what I'm saying. You think you were forced into this to humiliate you. Okay, fine. But if you turn it around, if you take it and make it your choice, then you win."

Kylie buried her face in her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Trust me, this I cannot win. If I can just get through it, I will count it as success."

"Well ... okay," Jason said. "But I still think you should loosen up, and try to enjoy it. Even if that doesn't let you win, at least you had fun."