Tuesday Morning

Tuesday Morning:

Emanuel

Emanuel woke up to his blaring alarm clock, slowly opening his eyes. He turned to the large clock on the wall, and wondered why it said six. Then he remembered, he had a rank test today before class. He quickly stepped into the shower, stripping as he walked. He sighed, banishing all thoughts from his head except for his lessons. He turned the water on, reciting his oath as he did. Having finished that, he started to meditate as he cleaned himself.

I am my own refuge and source of strength. On whom may I rely if not myself? With a wisely disciplined self, I find a truly rare and precious fountain of strength. By doing evil, I contaminate myself. By not doing evil, I purify myself. Purity and impurity come from within, and others cannot purify my heart. He repeated this over and over in his mind as he washed every part of his body.

He stepped out of the shower, reaching for the towel to dry himself with. As he did, he could feel his inner strength pulsate. He cleared his mind of worry, and started to go through the techniques he’d be tested on. With his mind focused on this, his body went on autopilot getting dressed – slipping on the pants and top of the Gi, then tying the brown belt around it. He reflected for a moment at the three lines on the belt, as the past five years flashed through his head.

If I’m ready, then today will be the last day of this brown belt, and I will graduate onto black, and I can start to learn new techniques he thought. He grabbed his duffel bag, slipping his clothes for the rest of the day into it as well as his book bag and keys. He checked the room quickly to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, and left through the door to the outside.

He walked over to his bike, and just as he was getting on it heard his father’s voice. “And where do you think your going at this hour young man?”

He’s drunk this early? I thought he’d still be asleep.

“I have a rank test to go to father.”

“You’ll have to go through me little brat. I’ve put up with this warped hobby of yours for nearly five years, but I’m not putting up with it any longer. I forbid you to go.”

Emanuel sighed, responding, “I don’t want to raise my fists against you father, but I will if I have to.” He breathed a sigh of relief as his father stepped out of the way. Emanuel peddled away as fast as he could, before his father could change his mind.

As he rode he let his mind drift back to happier times, to before his mother had died. He remembered his dad teaching him baseball for the first time when he was seven. The little league games, his dad’s beaming smile and pride when one year the team he was on won the championships.

If only father could remember those days ... I’m sure he’d become sane again.

He quietly emptied his mind again, letting his mental peace pervade into his emotions and body.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the dojo. He parked his bike and locked it up, grabbed his duffel and walked into the small building. He stopped at the beaded curtain that covered the entrance way into the dojo proper, took off his shoes and socks and placed them in a cubby on the wall along with his duffel bag. He stepped through the curtain, his hands in the greeting position, looking straight at his sensei sitting in a meditative position.

“Kenshi Emanuel, you have arrived early. Please sit down and prepare your spirit.” Emanuel bowed and entered, sitting down cross legged.

After a few minutes of focusing his breathing, Emanuel could feel three people walk in and stand like he had earlier. He could hear the Sensei ask him, “Kenshi Emanuel, did anyone just enter?”

Emanuel answered, “Yes Sensei, Kenshi Kara, Paul and Ken have just entered, and are waiting for your instructions at attention.” He heard a gasp from Paul and Ken, but could sense Kara smiling.

“Kenshi Paul and Ken, why does this surprise you? When one meditates as one should, one’s senses become sharper, and one is able to see one’s surroundings without one’s eyes.”

Emanuel heard Paul speak up. “Sensei, I do not understand how a person can ‘see’ other people and what they are doing. Walls and furniture do not move on their own, and give off no energy. How can we as human beings ‘see’ other humans, who do give off energy?”

“Kenshi Emanuel, please explain this to Kenshi Paul.”

Emanuel obeyed, saying, “Kenshi Paul, all things give off energy, for all things have something in them that was once alive. Humans give off a lot of energy, and it is easier for the spirit to read this energy. This sense gets stronger every time it is used, much as muscles grow stronger as we exercise them. The mind can grow just like the body, and thus with enough practice, one can not only sense when people are nearby, but exactly where they are, and what their body is doing or even what they are feeling. Has this helped you Kenshi Paul?”

He could feel that Paul was still a little confused. “I believe so. Thank you Kenshi Emanuel.”

“Kenshi, enter and sit like Kenshi Emanuel is. We will start the test with stretches.”

Emanuel’s mind wandered as they stretched – he had after all been doing these for nearly five years now, so they had become second nature.

Before he knew it, he heard the sensei speak again, “It is now time for the oath Kenshi.”

Emanuel spoke the oath as he had in every other test and every lesson – it was ingrained in his head, but he still said it with all his heart. His voice joined the others as they said, “In attaining this Art, we pledge to affirm the founders, to be honest with our teachers, to respect those ahead of us, to not disdain those behind us, to give as well as receive help, to cooperate, and to give ourselves to contributing to the Way. We resolve to settle with our pasts and practice with purely focused hearts as if we were newly reborn into this world. We pledge to train in this Art only to help people, never for personal reputation or profit.” The words seemed to roll right off of his tongue.

Emanuel knew the creed was to be said next, and the sensei just looked at them, knowing that they knew to say the creed now.

Emanuel started with the same seriousness he had with the oath, saying in Japanese, “Mindful that our spirits come from Dharma and our bodies from our parent’s, we acknowledge our debts and express our gratitude by applying ourselves to the full. We resolve to love these communities and these people, and through them to contribute to world peace and happiness. We resolve to become men and women of true courage, who love justice, respect humanity, act with decorum and defend peace. We strive toward constructing an ideal world by mastering the principles of this Art, strengthening ourselves mentally and physically, and sharing this purpose with others in mutual friendship, respect, and support.”

He could hear Kara mirror his voice nicely, while Paul and Ken were a few seconds behind.

He settled into the meditation, focusing his mind on the words:

I am my own refuge and source of strength. On whom may I rely if not myself? With a wisely disciplined self, I find a truly rare and precious fountain of strength. By doing evil, I contaminate myself. By not doing evil, I purify myself. Purity and impurity come from within, and others cannot purify my heart.

He could feel his energy increase back up to full. The next fifteen minutes seemed a blur to him.

His sensei’s voice broke through – “Kenshi Paul and Ken will perform their embu first”.

Emanuel opened his eyes, paying close attention to the delicate act that was about to begin. He watched as Paul and Ken stood across from each other, bowed, and awaited the okay to start. “You may start now Kenshi,” the sensei said.

Emanuel watched with great interest as the two began. They started by exchanging basic light strikes – something Emanuel was well used to by now.

He reflected on how Paul seemed to be slightly out of sync with Ken. That small difference shouldn’t affect their performance on this part he realized However, when they proceed to hard strikes, they might encounter some difficulty.

His thought turned out right as the pair moved onto the hard strikes. As they did, Ken performed a technique that Paul should have easily blocked. However, Paul had slipped a few seconds behind at this point, and the strike landed hard on his right knee. Almost instantly, Paul fell to the ground, clutching his knee in pain. Emanuel stood up and went into the nearby supply closet to grab a bandage, knowing that one might be needed, as his sensei quietly knelt down next to Paul. After a few minutes of feeling the knee, he signaled to Emanuel to bring the bandage over to him. Emanuel did, handing the bandage over.

“Listen carefully Kenshi. Kenshi Paul was not quite in rhythm with his partner, and as a result has injured a muscle in his knee. It will recover, but it will take some time. As this is the case, Kenshi Ken, you are without a partner for now. Please sit where Kenshi Emanuel was just sitting,” the sensei quickly said, helping Paul to the side, his knee now carefully wrapped. “Kenshi Emanuel and Kara, since the previous embu has ended, please perform yours.” Emanuel went across from Kara, bowed, and began their embu.

His thoughts focused on the techniques they had been practicing the past few months. He and Kara started with some very basic punches and movements, building up the rhythm they would need to succeed. After about ten minutes of this, Emanuel watched as Kara added the first complex technique. He easily blocked it, returning the strike with one of his own. They kept up this back and forth for another fifteen minutes. Finally, Emanuel added one of the more newly learned techniques, the one they had decided would finish the embu. He watched as Kara stepped out of the way, resuming the greeting position as he did automatically.

They bowed to the sensei, who motioned for them to sit down. “Very well done Kenshi Emanuel and Kara. Kenshi Paul and Ken, I hope you were paying attention to the embu. It showed the importance of not only knowing the techniques, but also keeping in rhythm with your partner. I encourage you to try again when you feel you are ready.”

Emanuel watched as he turned towards them. “Kenshi Emanuel and Kara, stand up” he said as they stood. “You have proven that you both are indeed ready to progress to new techniques, and a higher rank. Take these belts as a symbol of your progress so far.” Saying this, he presented them both with a black belt with their name sewn into it in Japanese. Emanuel bowed as he accepted the belt, and watched as Kara did the same.

Emanuel quietly sat down again and began to meditate. Just as he did, the sensei added, “Kenshi, you may all leave now, as the embu are now over”.

Emanuel sat there as Kara and Ken helped Paul stand up and get his shoes on. He quietly signaled in a look to Kara, letting her know they’d meet up later.

He quietly stood up, walked to a position in front of his sensei, and bowed, saying “Sensei, I would like to ask a question. A special friend of mine has expressed some interest in studying this art. Would it be wise for me to bring them to the next class?”

“Kenshi, that is indeed the wise thing to do. Do you need any information to bring to her?”

Emanuel thought for a moment, then answered, “Yes sensei, I have the old pamphlets. May I ask sensei, how you knew I spoke about a girl?”

He could hear the man chuckle softly, responding with, “Kenshi, you spoke of a special friend. I have only heard you use that term once before – when you sought permission to bring Kenshi Kara to this dojo. You have brought other friends as well, but have always referred to them as ‘friends’, without adding special to their title. I must warn you one thing though – whatever your relationship with her may be, you must not let it negatively affect your training.”

Emanuel bowed once more, quickly responding, “I understand sensei”. He gathered his things, including some new pamphlets the sensei had just handed him, bowing as he left the inner dojo, and headed to school.

Allison

Allison looked deep into Emanuel’s eyes, wondering what she had done to deserve such a great guy. She let her eyes wander down his naked body – looking in awe at his perfect chest, not too hard and not too soft she thought. Her eyes then drifted to his powerful thighs and muscled arms. She licked her lips as she looked upon his rock hard penis. She lightly touched it, asking sweetly, “Is this for me?” as she did.

“Of course it’s for you my precious.”

She played with it a little, rubbing her hand up and down, intending to tease him a little. She felt his hands creep up to her naked breasts, and heard a gasp escape her throat as he lightly squeezed them. She could feel her breathing quicken as he started to work all her sensitive spots – starting with a passionate lip to lip kiss, then moving down to kiss her neck. She gasped again as he kissed down her body until he got to her breasts, gently taking a nipple in his mouth and nibbling as he fondled the other breast. She watched as he switched sides, gasping louder now as she started to feel herself get a little wet.

She basked in the feelings as he repeatedly switched sides over the next few minutes. As he switched for the last time, she could feel the wave of pleasure wash over her, rocking her body as she arched her back. She flopped back on the bed, gasping again as he started to kiss further down her body. She could hear a soft moan escape from her lips. She watched with excitement as he kissed down her legs, sucking on each toe. She could feel the wetness building up again. He then started to kiss back up her legs, finally settling right in front of her other womanly parts. She started to moan as he gently licked her clit, while rubbing her vaginal entrance with his finger. She began to moan even louder as his finger began to rub her clit as his tongue started to lap around her vaginal lips. She moaned even louder and arched her back again as she felt another wave of pleasure rush over her, this one more intense than the last. “I’m ready Manny. I want to make love to you” she managed to get out in between heavy breaths.

“Are you sure, my precious?” she could hear him ask.

Yes, I’m sure she thought to him. She felt the small nervous feeling as he lined up and readied himself for his first thrust. She watched his penis start to enter her tight vagina as he slowly inserted himself. She grimaced as she felt a small amount of pain, but then could feel the pain quickly turn into the greatest pleasure she had ever experienced. He got all the way in, then pulled back preparing for the first full thrust.

As he did, a loud noise rang in her ears. She looked around, and sighed as she recognized her alarm clock. She slowly opened her eyes, silently cursing the thing for disturbing her dream. She quickly sat up, noticing the large wet spot on the bed. She nervously wondered what her mother was going to think. She’ll be happy I’m finally accepting my body she realized as she walked over to the pile of clothing on a nearby chair. She looked at the outfit her sister had laid out the previous night – it wasn’t what she was used to wearing. She briefly considered picking something out from her closet, then turned back to the clothes on the chair. They’d look better than anything in her closet, but she remembered she was just going to be taking it all off again with in a few minutes of arriving to school.

Her eyes moved between the pile on the chair, and a simple outfit she kept in her closet. She was about to grab the clothes out of the closet when her eye caught an article that hadn’t been on her mirror the night before. She picked it up off the frame, and realized it was a bundle, all dealing with the program in other schools.

The first article in the set talked about how some parents in a Midwestern town protested upon finding out that their children were being forced to put on public strip shows in the morning. She remembered Amanda telling her about this practice the day before. The next article spoke of several problems that had been observed in some schools during their program trials. One caught Allison’s eye in particular – apparently many boys were fond of stealing clothing from the clothing boxes.

Allison sat down on the bed. If I wear the flattering clothes, then the public stripping will probably go much more smoothly. However, this will no doubt attract more attention to me, and there is a chance those clothes may be stolen. Sarah wouldn’t like that. On the other hand, the clothing from my closet will attract less attention to me, and is much less likely to get stolen. Plus, if they do, it doesn’t matter, I have plenty of clothes in that style. And mom is taking me shopping later.

She smiled as she thought this. She quietly and quickly put together an outfit from her closet, then walked into her bathroom.

She disrobed slower than she did the previous day, looking over her body as did. Emanuel seemed to love how she looked, so she couldn’t be all that bad looking. Oh how I wish I could hear him say how he thinks I’m beautiful right now she realized. She finished disrobing, then stepped into the shower, quickly turning the water on. Her thoughts drifted to the previous morning – mostly on how she had sped through the shower as fast as she could. She shivered as new thoughts popped into her head – This new philosophy on life is wrong. It’s dirty. I’m a dirty, weak sinner for giving into it I should be ashamed of myself for what I did yesterday.

As this thought passed, she could feel the guilt start to build up. She started to retreat into her safe place, then realized what she was doing and thought, No! Loving my body is not sinful. Having my breasts touched is not wrong. It is not wrong to let people see the body I was given.

As she thought this, the negative ideas disappeared.

She continued to wash and soap up her body. She covered her breasts, and as she did felt a small jolt of pleasure run through her body. The thoughts returned: Such pleasure is wrong. Such feelings are sinful.

She felt the urge to retreat again, but breathed in for a moment and thought, I was given this body, and these feelings with it. Therefore, they can not possibly be sinful.

With that thought, the urge disappeared again. She continued to clean her body, making her way down to her vagina. As she touched her clit, she felt the pleasure for a second. She continued to massage it, and after spending about a minute doing so felt a sharp stabbing pain rather than the pleasure of before. “Ouch!” she exclaimed. As if on cue, the thoughts returned, this time with:

See? Proof touching there is wrong. In fact, that little knob should just fall off.

She focused her mind on the pleasure that Emanuel given her yesterday – that felt right. So, this pain can not possibly be because touching my clitoris is wrong.

The thoughts left again.

She stopped none the less, and rinsed off all the soap on her body, enjoying the hot water as it touched her skin. As she rinsed off her clit, she felt the pain increase. She wondered for a moment why it was that sensitive all of a sudden. Then she remembered the sex-ed class she had taken in sophomore year. One day the teacher had said that if one of the sexual organs became over stimulated, it would often hurt to touch that body part – and that this tended to happen quite frequently to a girl’s clitoris. She breathed a sigh of relief, then quietly washed and conditioned her hair, making sure to keep water from reaching her clitoris.

A few minutes later she finished, stepping out of the shower and looking at her wet body in the mirror. The word ‘ugly’ started to repeat in her head. She focused herself on one thought as she dried her body – I am beautiful. After about four long minutes of repeating this thought, the word disappeared. As it did, she could feel some of her strength leave her. I’d better get dressed quickly then she thought.

Wrapping the towel around herself, she walked back into her bedroom, and quickly got dressed in the simple bra and panties, the large loose shirt and jeans. She looked in the mirror one more time, then grabbed her jacket and book bag and made her way down stairs. As she did, she thought out to Emanuel, Are you awake Manny?

She was surprised when instead of feeling his presence she felt a strong wall and emptiness. She tried to send the thought again, but only faintly heard some Japanese. She decided not to think about what she had just felt.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could smell French Toast cooking. It smelled really good. I’d better not eat that, or I’ll get fatter echoed inside her mind. Manny wouldn’t care if I gained a few pounds she countered back.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the negative thought disappeared. She quickly walked into the dining room before the negative thoughts could return. As she sat down at the table, she could see her mom look in her direction.

“You’re down for breakfast early. What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion mom, I’ve been very disrespectful to you lately, and I intend to correct that.” She watched as a surprised look crossed her mother’s face. “Mom, I feel hurt that you don’t believe me.” She looked over at the stove and asked “When is the toast going to be done?”

“Two minutes” her mom replied. “Would you mind waking up your sister while they finish?” she added. Allison nodded her head in agreement then walked back upstairs.

She stopped in front of her sister’s door, knocked on it three times, and yelled out, “Time to wake up Sarah! Breakfast is almost ready.”

“I’ll be down in ten,” came the sleepy reply.

Allison returned downstairs and sat down again. She could feel her focus shift to Emanuel. She flinched as the thoughts returned:

He blocked me. He doesn’t want anything to do with me. The Japanese must be a technique to get rid of sinners. And I am the worst of sinners.

She shook her head, rebuffing the thoughts with, He would never shut me out without a very good reason.

She breathed a few times, smiling as the negative thoughts disappeared again.

Sarah finally came down a few minutes later. “You girls have fifteen minutes to eat before the bus gets here.”

Allison picked a few pieces of toast off of the big platter of toast, and started to eat. She savored the taste of the cinnamon and nutmeg, letting herself get lost in it. She lost all track of time, and when she looked up at the clock, she realized nearly ten minutes had passed, and she had gone through half a dozen pieces of French toast. She wondered for a moment why Manny had that strange wall up earlier, and resolved to ask him about it later. She finished up eating just as the bus arrived. As she made it to the door, she could hear her mom shout, “Don’t forget to come straight home from school today, and think of places you’d like to go to shop.”

Allison nodded her head, and quickly ran to the bus, looking for a seat in the back. She found one and sat down.

Manny, are you okay? she thought, and was relieved when he responded.

Yes, I’ll explain about the wall before first period. Can’t wait to see you precious.

She smiled as she let her mind drift to their date the night before.

When she finally looked around again, she noticed they had arrived at school. As she made her way to the front, she could see a large crowd gathered by the front doors, and Lucas and Barbara giving the crowd a strip show. She breathed a few times, stepped off the bus, and prepared for the negative thoughts to start arriving. One student almost pushed her up next to Lucas, and she cringed as the crowd started to chant “Strip, strip, strip!” She took her jacket off slowly, breathing a sigh of relief when the nervousness didn’t start up. As she pulled off her shirt a moment later, she did feel it.

I am a dirty daughter of Sodom suddenly popped up in her mind.

She tried to rebuke it, but failed, and could feel herself start to drift into her safe place. As she did though, a familiar hand grabbed hers, and she felt her strength return.

“How about we try something precious?” she heard Emanuel whisper, “I’ll take off your clothing, and you can take off mine.”

She thought for a moment, then replied, “anything that can make this process easier.”

She began by watching as he took her shirt off the rest of the way. The crowd clapped and cheered, but Allison only noticed them a little bit – her focus was mostly on how Emanuel was so carefully and lovingly undressing her. She slowly pulled off his shirt next, looking in awe at his perfect chest. She seductively trailed her hands down it, loosening his belt buckle when she came to it. She looked around her, and was surprised as she couldn’t see the crowd any more, and couldn’t hear the noises they had been making.

Emanuel smiled at her and reached behind her to her back, gently and quickly unclasping her bra and sliding it off of her chest. She gasped in pleasure as he ran his hands slowly down her breasts, stopping for a moment to lovingly play with her nipples, then leading further down her body to her jeans, loosening her buckle just as she had done his.

She smiled at him as they opened and slid each others jeans down at the same time. She smiled when she spotted the bulge in his boxers. She passed her hand over his cloth encased penis and squeezed it a few times.

He returned the favor by rubbing his finger up across her panty covered vaginal slit, pressing gently in. She gasped in pleasure as he did this, the underwear somehow stimulating her clit and labia.

She stopped him from going for a second try as she pulled down his boxers, adding them to the pile on the floor.

He followed suit by removing her panties. As he did, she heard the bell ring, signaling that they should head inside.

She quickly put her clothes in one of the nearby boxes, and waited for Emanuel to the same. As he did, she grabbed his penis and pumped it a few times. She laughed at the look of surprise on his face, then gasped as he brushed his fingers across her clit a few times. She looked at him, and they entered the building hand in hand.

As they walked towards their homeroom class, Allison could hear a familiar voice behind her shout, “Emanuel!”

She cringed as Kara came up behind her man. She looked at the girl who had made her younger life hell, staring meanly. She quickly dropped the look as Emanuel turned to face her, an unhappy look on his face.

“Allison, this is Kara, my best friend in the world. Kara, this is Allison, the girl I’ve told you about.”

Allison waited a few minutes for Kara to say something. She looked over at Emanuel, and watched as he quickly shot a glance to both her and Kara, and she instantly knew what he meant. A moment later, Kara stuck out her hand. Allison grabbed it with her own and shook it as cordially as she possibly could. She smiled as Emanuel smiled.

Their hands stayed locked for a few moments. All of a sudden, she felt Kara’s grip loosen. She noticed Kara let go and nervously say, “My goodness, look at the time ... I really must be going now.”

As she said this, she quickly left. Allison looked over at Emanuel, curious to see if he saw anything she didn’t. The scowl on his face told her everything she needed to know.

“Care to talk about what’s bothering you my special one?”

He replied, “You were perfectly civil with her, even though she probably did unspeakable things to you when you were younger. She however has no reason to dislike you, and thus no excuse for her behavior.”

She sighed, replying, “I don’t know about that. She might have a reason you don’t know. Why don’t you ask her about it later?”

He nervously gulped, then answered, “Sure ... that is the right thing to do.” And I’d hate to lose my embu partner because of petty jealousy over my girlfriend she heard him think, choosing not to respond back.

“The bell’s due to ring soon – we should get to class.” He nodded his head in agreement, walking into the classroom holding hands.

Allison had expected the surprised looks she saw on her fellow student’s faces, but not on her teacher’s face. “Allison and Emanuel, please come here for a second,” she said. “Now, I’m not going to report you two, because I think the rule is stupid, but holding hands and other pda is against school rules. I advise that you follow the rule because some of the staff do enforce it.”

Allison nodded her head yes in unison with Emanuel. As they walked back, Allison felt the urge to grab Emanuel’s hand, but managed to restrain herself at the last second.

There’s the last piece of proof that this is wrong she suddenly thought. No ... it’s just an arbitrary stupid rule that made sense to the school before the Program came here. Now though, it makes no sense. She repeated this thought for a few moments, until she could feel the negative presence leave. Just as she felt this, she felt a weird weakness wash over her body. She reached out and grabbed hold of a desk before she fell, and breathed deeply for a second.